The Temple of Fritz

We took a short break bandaging new wounds and catching our breath after the fight with the user of magic and his rat and skeleton horde. I am anxious for us to find a way out.  I feel like one of those trapped birds that Ronyn and I used to see at the markets fanatically flying against the wire cages over and over again, their beaks bloodied, and feathers littering the bottom of the cage in their frenzy. I feel if we get caught this time, something inside me will break.  I wish I could be as strong as Ronyn.  I watched her through slitted eyes as she meditated, calm and stoic, her emotions in control.  I wish, as I wished since I was little, that I did not have this beast blood burning through my veins and I could find peace within myself.

I waited until Ronyn was done with her meditation and told her I think we should scout ahead.  I am tired of being in the back and can’t see ahead.  Let us scout for the others, we have been trained for it. Ronyn agreed and said we should do it like we used to when we were hunting deer one ahead one behind and I said I would talk to Oberon.

Wave was not happy with Oberon and his indecisive leadership skills in the last fight.  I think Oberon carries all the slaves lives on his shoulders and only wants to find escape for as many as he can without getting them killed.  We already lost two of others that came with us and with the way blocked by the Sun Lich’s mage I’m sure he is wondering how to get the others out. But that was not the task at hand.  First, we must find our way out. I told Oberon of our plan to scout ahead and he agreed.  He wanted Wave to go with us, but the blue skinned former slave declined.

Penroy told us all the things his god or goddess - whatever this Belindapoop god is – had bestowed on him and I am happy this odd lizard man is with us. I’m not sure we will survive this without him. Ronyn and I headed down the hallway and there was another stairwell with a door below.  We called to the group and made our way down.  Wave found a trap and tried to disable it but set off an alarm.  We rushed back up the stairway and Wave saw two lizard creatures – not like Pinroy, more like a miniature dragonborn – stick their heads out and then shut the door again. 

We decided we were going to try to sneak in and surprise them, but first Pinroy should listen at the door.  I don’t think Pinroy understood the idea of sneaking and called quite loudly to us that he heard voices from behind the door. Oberon whispered that he should just listen and not talk when sneaking. He pressed his ear against the door again and the door swung open and the two lizard men stood there.  One screamed and ran to some double doors with a pot hanging from a string.  He pulled the pot and shouted through a hole in the door “Intruders, Intruders.”  So much for surprising them.

We rushed in and Pinroy called out a sleep spell and the two lizard guys crumpled to the ground.  On Oberon’s orders Wave dispatched them while they slept, making sure Pinroy could not see. Each of the guards had a pretty nice daggers (Ronyn and myself); slings with 5 bullets (Ronyn and Oberon); and 3 waterskins; 2 half filled with rum and the other with ale. 

Pinroy was staring at a prisoner chained to the floor screaming.  He had old wounds all over his body and didn’t even seem to notice us.  In the other cells were other slaves all dead and in some form of decay, it smelled horrible.  “What are we going to do with him?” I asked. 

Pinroy shook his head.  “He is broken.”

“Are we just going to leave him here?” I ask

“We can feed him and give him water.” Oberon said.

“Are we going to leave him here to be tortured to death like these other slaves?”

“I’m not sure he will make it,” Oberon said.

“So, we are leaving him to die?”

Nobody said anything, Oberon was looking for a rat to see if he would eat, Pinroy was nervously sweeping the cell, my sister leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.  I am not sure why I did it.  There is no real justification or forgiveness for it, I just couldn’t just leave him to be tortured to death.  At least he would get a quick death, a merciful death.  Wave seemed to read something in me and said quietly, “I can do it.” 

I shook my head, took out my dagger and as he screamed, I shushed him as I slit his throat.  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. 

My sister looked at me with shock.  “What the hell?” she asked.

“I would want someone to do that for me,” I said.  My hands shook as I put the dagger back in my rope belt.  There is a shift within me, something I can not explain, but right now I did not have time to explore my inner psyche, we had to get the hell out of this accursed place.  I looked at Ronyn and she looked away.  I know she is disgusted by what I did.  The scariest thing is…I’m not.

We decided to ignore the double doors and we headed to the other doorway which led to a chasm overlooking what looked to be the sewers…it definitely smelled like the sewers… and there was another tentacle monster down there but behind a gate.  It looked as though the corridor had fallen away. It was too far for Ronyn to throw me, but we could jump in the sewage below and hope we didn’t break anything.  Pinroy saw what looked like a rope bridge on the other side.  How do they get across from this side?  There must be another rope bridge beyond the double doors. 

We trooped back into the prison room and discover a hole behind the pot, a crude message relay to the other side. We could not open the doors. Wave told Pinroy or Oberon to pretend to be the guards and tell those on the other side that they are hungry and ask for food.  When they put their eye to hole Oberon will blast the beast with his acid spell.

It worked!  But then another alarm went off and they bolted the door from the inside.  For the next ruse we took one of the dead kobolds and as Wave pretended to moan on the ground Oberon again pretended to be the lizard guard.  He told them it was only one intruder and he was defeated and for them to come out and help him tie him up.  The door opened and we swarmed in. 

There were six kobolds within. The rope ladder was in the corner and there was a closed door leading to another room. One of them was screaming into a small pipe in the wall.  “Intruders, intruders” while the rest of the pack come for us.  Wave and Ronyn drop two quickly, Wave with his hands and Ronyn with her new sling.  Wave was like a whirlwind and dropped two more before the lizard creatures can even attack.  The last two gave up.  While Oberon and Penroy interrogate the prisoners as to what is behind the doorway, the rest of us search the bodies.  Six more slings, 20 bullets, six daggers. Oberon took a dagger and Ronyn took two more as she is good at throwing, I took a sling and divvied up bullets (3 to Oberon, 4 to Ronyn, 8 to me) and gave the rest to the red rags along with daggers.  Oberon and Penroy found out that this place belongs to the guard, Fritz.  It is basically his torture chamber where he brings prisoners who try to escape and have these creatures torture them.  One of the kobolds mouthed off and Wave silenced him with a punch.  The other one said that there was a temple behind the doors where the women and children were.  He told us it is Fritiz’ temple is for some lady dragon god that Fritz worships.  Pinroy has heard of this goddess but can’t remember her name. 

I don’t care about any of it.  We have the rope bridge we should be going.  We are taking too long.  This will be Ronyn and my third attempt and if captured we will end up here. I am a trapped bird and I need to fly!  I yelled at Oberon to stop wasting time.  But Oberon didn’t want to leave whatever is behind the door to come after us.  The kobold told us there was food and riches behind the door, armor and shields.  We need to go, but Oberon said we stay.  The kobold said Fritz is on his way and will kill us all, Oberon begins to ask where Fritz is but Wave was too quick and killed the kobold.

“I’m surprised you didn’t kill him,” my sister sneered.

“We’ll talk later,” I growled at her.

We opened the temple doors and there was a barricade with five “elite” guards and an acolyte on the temple, a gutted slave laid atop a pile of coins, his blood covering the gold. There was a door to the left of us. On top of the barricade was a cage of giant rats.  “Can you bring that cage down?” Oberon asked Ronyn and me. We nodded.  Ronyn tossed me and I kicked the cage and it tumbled off the barricade landing on one of the kobolds. Damn lizard man had a bag of stinging bees and he flung it at me.  Who the hell carried around a bag of stinging bees. It was not pleasant.

Penroy rushed forward and put a couple to sleep before hiding behind the barricade.  Oberon clambered over the wall and attacked one of the guards.  Ronyn used her sling to crack the acolyte in the noggin as he tries to attack Wave with a spell.  Oberon rushed in and killed the acolyte, and three of the guards followed.  We woke the sleeping guards and the one with the bees also had a pet skunk which has quite a potent spray; an acid flask, a potion of alchemist fire (Ronyn); a scorpion on a stick (Ronyn); a pot of grubs, a pot of green slime, a basket of centipedes.  Each guard had short swords of very nice quality.  Ronyn and I both took one and Oberon took two.  I give the other two to the red rags. We got 400 gold (a bit bloody – Ronyn carrying). 

The one guard mouthed off and Wave killed him outright.  Ronyn made a snide remark and I grabbed her arm and whispered fiercely to her.  “I am sorry you were disgusted with me.”

“I wasn’t disgusted, just surprised.”

“I wasn’t going to let him be tortured,” I hissed.  “Would you have just left him there.”

“I wouldn’t have killed him.”

“If it was me, I’d want you to do the same for me.”

While we were arguing Oberon decided we were going in the other room.  Huddled in the corner were the kobold women and children.  The room was filled with torture devices and on the table with a drill in his eye was a dead slave.  I cast a glance at Ronyn but she wasn’t looking at me.  We found bread and water and more rum.  We gathered what we could carry, took the skunk guy with us to be our guide and piled crates and stuff in front of the door to prevent the others from leaving, at least anytime soon.

We risked taking a long rest as I was in no position to continue.  I just hoped Fritz wouldn’t find us napping. 

Ronyn attempted a couple of times to throw the rope bridge and finally got it hooked on the other side.  Ronyn and I easily made it across, but the kobold and two of the red rags fell into the sewage, one bounced off the wall and landed in with the tentacle monster and was quickly devoured.  We were down to Bones and Scotty. Once everyone was across, we dropped the other ladder down and the kobold and Bones scampered up.  We entered a room where three guard dogs were finishing their meal of slaves.  We had to swing around the side to avoid falling in the sewage.  The kobold told us it was like a whirlpool, and it would suck us back down to the bottom.  Ronyn, Wave, and I easily made it but the others were not so lucky.  Oberon went in first and we saved him with having him grab the chain.  We tied the chain to the rest of the crews’ belts and luck we did as all of them fell in the water.  The kobold and Bones’ belts broke and they found themselves down at the bottom of the rope ladder again.  But finally, all of us were together, but by this time the dogs started for us. 

We attacked with fists and slings and short swords and a skunk. Wave, our immovable fist of fury monk fell under the ferocious attacks of the guard dogs. Pinroy stood stoically by him, healing him not caring there were slobbering beasts just a foot away. I was clawed and bit and finally had to somersault away, too bloodied to continue. The little kobold kept trying to take his pots away from me and I shoved him away. Ronyn came to my aid as I leaned against the wall and healed some of my wounds. Bones fell, but finally Oberon killed the last dog. We got three chained collars.

I am not sure if this is the way out, the kobold inventor insists that this will lead us toward Fritz’ encampment...and that doesn’t sound that promising to me…out of the flame and into the fire.