It was huge, reclining in it's ebony throne. I'll never know how long the evil had rested in it's tomb. The stench of decay poured off of it, filling the room. As it stirred from it's throne, I knew it would suffice to serve my penance. I approached the necrotic spell-caster, arms at my sides, and demanded he do his worst, because it would be his last. I heard the others rush in behind me as his gaze burned into his mind.
I awoke in a daze on the floor moments later. The insidious evil had indeed done his worst - molesting my mind and using me as an instrument of his own malicious intent against my teammtes! Fortunately Koda was able to drop me to the floor before I levvied my awesome might against them. Lucky for the others I'm constrained by the laws of gravity.
For now.
The Dark One was successfully removed from the land of living, to languish in the hells permanently. I was horrified at the heinous infection it placed on my mind, combined with my earlier guilt. But having punched the fiend's ticket I redeemed myself in the eyes of the Order of the Pointed Stick and was ready to move on, though I knew I would never be as pure as I was. Slaying the evil took all of us acting in concert, and it felt good to be part of a real team instead of laboring as a guard on my own. If a battle master levies his talents against an abomination, and he has no audience, is it still awe inspiring?
As Rikka and our furry rogue snuck ahead in search of the Fire Temple, I wondered how she came to be in this cave. When I queried her before, she only answered that her presence was the will of Bahamut. I plainly refuse to place my bets on tempermental deity who may or may not dain to help us, but her faith is fast. I suspect she entered the mines as part of the local temple's youth group, on a "Teens Embracing Bahamut" field trip. She probably just got lost and tried to pet the gnolls.
Before long the stealthy spelunkers had segued us to a cave lined with a liturgy of lichens. (Alliteration is another value of the Order of the Pointed Stick) They sensed a trap and proceeded with caution. They found whispers in the dark, voices urging someone called Koba to wait for interlopers to fall into their trap. The two returned to us an explained the interlude. Neebo hoped to avoid further violence, and went into the cave and claimed we had an appointment with Koba. While I admire his cunning, Koba was not willing to parley, and our gamble failed to pay off.
A man in tattered earth tone robes had been talking to "Koba," his enormous pet wild bear! I kept the beast's attention while Reeka pelted him with punches and pugilism. Sadly, even my steel resolve failed to protect against being mauled by the ursine foe.
Eventually the druid relented, rather than see the bear choke to death on my armor. I retrieved my hat from it's maw and we made peace. The druid served the Doom Dreamer of the Fire Temple before he was betrayed and exiled. He had been laying in wait for the temple's agents, and siccing his hirsute partner on them whenever they met.
The druid explained that each temple had it's Doom Dreamer, and each carried one of the keys we sought to gain access to the temple's inner chambers that may thwart the cult. After we had gained two keys, we could progress to the black tower in the center of a vast lake at the crater's center. We thanked him for laying bare* the temple's weaknesses and prepared to bed down for the night. I take this time before resting to update my log of our tale. I know that when we emerge from these mines after triumphing over the worshipers of the Death God, there will be quite a story to tell. I see Neebo also taking notes for an epic ballad. I look forward to seeing my part in the song.
* Battle Pun!
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