The Biscuits	Gimar - Fighter 8th Level (PC) Jaron - Paladin 3rd Level (PC) Rheaphlyndar - Thief 7th Level (PC) Nicola - Cleric 1st Level (PC) Wed - Mage 3rd Level (NPC) Little John - Fighter 4th Level (NPC)
Locale	Approaching the evil temple
Date	7th of Fireseek, 585 CY (Common Year)
Time	Midday

The track led south from Nulb at first, but angled around toward the east. It had not snowed for a few days, and ahead of the party were found shambling tracks, the shuffling gait a perfect match for a zombie. Twice Rheaphlyndar had stopped the group, but the only items found along the track were occasional skulls and bones. In fact most of the growth looked unhealthy and twisted, scrub growth bare from the winter winds.

Topping the next hill, the adventurers spotted the temple compound. The walls were no more than fallen mounds of rubble, although a few half towers and in the distance one full tower stood at the corners. The road continued forward and paralleled the south wall of the compound, and the party chose to enter there. The horses were left just before the hill, not visible from the temple proper, until such time as better shelter were secured. Readying their weapons, the party approached the ruins.

Jaron	I don't like the look of these weeds. I can't make out anything that isn't taller than six feet if its more than 20 yards away.
Gimar	(hefting his battle-axe) Good, they won't see me coming.
Nicola	Does anybody need a bless or anything?
Little John	Save your magic, sister, we're gonna need it soon enough.
Gimar	Perhaps now is an appropriate time to don these robes. Whatever guards that temple might just mistake us for it's guardians, not it's defilers.

The gates at the front entrance had fallen down, and leering gargoyles were covered in a light frosting of snow. The party moved quickly up the path towards the front steps. The oddly peaked and gabled roof set many sets of teeth on edge. Crowning the front steps were a pair of huge bronze doors, held fast by huge iron chains.

Rheaphlyndar	Wow, those are some gates.
Wed	The fact that those chains aren't rusty in all this precipitation leads me to believe that they are magic.
Gimar	What he said. I didn't get much information about this area, I think Prudence mentioned that their group snuck in a window.
Jaron	In my opinion we can either go in the first opening we see or circumnavigate the building first.
Gimar	What's with the big words? I would bet nobody is home on the main floor, and it is mid-day so the undead probably rest. I vote for the circum-thing.
Nicola	I realize I am not a full member of the group yet, but I would vote for that too.
Rheaphlyndar	Sounds good to me.
Wed	East or West?
Little John	East, West, just points of the compass each as stupid as the other.
Rheaphlyndar	Go west young Wed.

The group started off to the west. Many more gargoyles and other evil visages leered from the walls at every turn, projected as ornaments or carved into supports.

Gimar estimated that the group went about 450 feet from north to south. From the west and east walls jutted out wings, heading towards the southwest and southeast respectively. The walls were somewhat less than 50 feet high, with the roof making up the rest of the height of the structure. The final point of notice was the north wall, which jutted into a rounded section containing a small alcove with a dried up gargoyle fountain.

At two different points the party spotted windows or holes in the walls that could be enlarged to gain access. The, on the eastern wall, the party found a window that had been enlarged much more recently than the other entrances. Marking that as the most likely entry point, the group continued its surveilance. No shots were fired and no occupants were spotted.

Returning to the entryway, Rheaphlyndar first hoisted himself up on the ledge below the enlarged window. Laying about near the window were the remains of bronze bars and spikes. No sign of the enemy was seen so the thief quickly tied off a rope and shortly everybody was inside the temple.

The interior of the temple was dimly lit from light filtering through the stained glass windows. It took a few tense moments for several pairs of eyes to adjust. The floor inside this nave of the temple consisted of mossy-green slate-like stone squares. The plaster on the walls, though crumbling, revealed scenes of evil acts. The columns were made up of a deep green stone, with blood-red striations. Above, the columns supported arches and they supported the roof above that. It was impossible to tell if the ceiling had also been plastered once.

More immediately, there was a circular dais-like area in the center of the east wing. Rheaphlyndar approached it cautiously, covered by two crossbows and a sling. The two tiers each rose about a foot and a half. The lower step was a greenish black stone, the upper a blackish green. Above that rose an altar, some nine feet across. Filling most of the top was a pool of scummed-over black liquid. A broken bronze knife was found nearby along with several pieces of smashed shells.

Putting off further examination of this altar and a small closet-like door at the end of the wing for later, the party moved forward to the evil church proper. The pillars in this section were a white marble material, veined with ugly red. The two eye-catching features here were an altar and a well.

The altar was oval, roughly five by seven feet. Within the top was a depression that was basically man-shaped, but the limbs were separated from the torso. The depression was stained with a dark substance which nobody cared to speculate further on. Just north of that was a marble lined pit, roughly twenty feet across.

Gimar	So that depression isn't dwarf-sized, right?
Rheaphlydar	(to the north) Hey, there's a small ledge in this pit, spiraling downwards.
Jaron	Another possible entrance to the dungeons. What does your map say, Gimar?
Gimar	This map, labeled level 2, indicates an entrance to a corridor's north wall but no stair case. That could be this well.
Little John	Okay, so that means that this well leads directly to level two. Let's make a note of this broken crystal knife here as well.
Wed	(scribbling) Got it.

Continuing to the west, and more confident that the main floor of the temple was long deserted, the group came across another altar. The supporting pillars in this wing were sandstone and the floor was a red slate. Along the north wall was a very small door, also marked on the map.

This altar had been violently assaulted and destroyed, perhaps by the previous party. Chunks of brownish-red rock lie all about, along with a few links of bronze chain and a twisted manacle. Yet another closet-like door led to the southwest.

To the south, the main entryway showed the rear side of the great bronze doors, flanked by smaller bronzewood doors in the east and west walls. These doors were bolted and barred, and would have made entry difficult indeed.

Returning to the north part of the church, the party approached the main altar. A grand staircase was found to lead downwards, it's twenty foot wide steps made of a dull grey stone. Closer examination and Gimar's continual light rock revealed small flecks of color -- white, blue, red, green, and black.

Beyond the stone railing the floor was paved with three-foot squares of highly polished red granite. The columns here were square and carved in bas relief to show demons and torture. Another door was noticed to the east of this section, and marked.

Far to the north was the high altar. Six legs held a huge coppery-bronze vessel about a foot over the floorstones. A piece of broken chain dangled high above the altar, the bottom of which was filled with old charcoal and bits of blackened bone.

The northernmost point of evil temple held the throne. Four highly polished black basalt steps led to the upper platform. The huge throne was carved with demon faces and grinning skulls, and sat on ten-foot square flag stones of mismatched colors, some sort of mosaic pattern. Above the throne, chiseled into the curved northern wall, were the words:

Returning to the doors, a quick exploration found doors at the end of each wing leading to descending staircases. The door just off the north wing led led to a small vestry, stripped and partially burned.

The door off the main altar area led to another larger vestry, some thirty by sixty feet. Within were the remains of great couches, tables, and padded chairs. An adventurer with a sharp sword had probably slashed each of the pieces looking for treasure, and none had been found. Among the ruins were also several scattered skeletons, perhaps the remains of an undead battle.

After much discussion, Gimar and Rheaphlyndar opened up the eastermost door at the entryway and the horses were retrieved. The sky was a dark grey and threatening heavy snow, and the horses were glad to be inside. Some sparse vegetation had been collected for the horses to eat, but in general there wasn't much about and none of it too healthy looking. After some discussion, the horses were brought up the steps and inside the temple, to enhance their survival chances. They shied away from the bronze doors but were otherwise fairly calm.

With all the precautions taken and preparations made, the party settled down to figure out which stairs to take to the first level of the famed dungeon.

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