S1 E 31: The Tiger Gargoyles of Rael
General Summary
In which the gang learns the vicissitudes of gambling, and an admirer in the crowd tells them about the Pillar of Winter...
- Zalock participates in the Joust at the city arena, Defeating Sir Davenmore and Lady Pelligrew handily and driving the bets to ludicrous heights. Unfortunately he's soundly unhorsed by the Hobgoblin Knight, Sir Bilegar, and the gang takes a bath on their final round bets.
- While in the crowd. Xi Shi warms up to a local tavernkeeper named Fre Shavocados among the spectators, and he tells an interesting tale about some adventurers recently disappearing in the old ruins of Rael's Temple, part of the even larger ruins of a part of Marleven destroyed in the fighting between it and the Realm, when it lost its independence and was no longer a free city.
- They learn the party was seeking after an item or device called the Pillar of Winter, which had something or other to do with Rael's well - Rael being a priestess of a winter god-cult some long time in the past, and the temple she kept having been wrecked back when Marleven was still a Freehold (It was absorbed into the Realm about 120 years ago, and the temple was in ruins even then). Blizzard, however, knows of a woman named Rael who was a lieutenant in Veliamordonax's army. Maybe a coincidence, maybe someone with the same name, or maybe the temple witch hadn't truly been killed all those years ago.
- They make their way to the Collapsed City and the Temple of Rael, but find that all but two walls have collapsed at the surface. Those two walls are topped by breathtakingly gorgeous stone gargoyles carved with tiger heads, their bodies inlaid with gold and platinum. They find an intact door and a doorway choked with rubble.
- When they start to clear the rubble, the tiger gargoyles come to life and attack, evidently seeking to prevent passage into the areas beyond. Judicious use of the fly spell enables Blizzard to attack in the air, and gives Zalock's mount the power of flight; Lorfel's use of 'enemies abound' turns one of the gargoyles on its companion, effectively crippling their ability to focus fire on any one member of the party, and with their focus scattered, the monsters are eventually defeated.
- Unmolested by any other defenders, the party can clear away the rubble and gains access to a hidden garden on the other side, enclosed by partially collapsed stone and enormous trees, the back portion of the garden shrouded in fog and the front filled with signs of faded extravagance, with marble urns, stone benches and dry fountains choked by exotic vines and overgrown shrubs and plants. Many have a sinister aspect, resembling giant flytraps and pitcher plants, while others are just ugly.
- Despite the vigorous and indeed, visibly active growth of the plants in the walled garden, the temperatures are significantly lower here than they were in the ruins on the other side of the wall. The area has several overgrown paths and one has a strange feeling that the area inside of the garden is larger than the space defined by the intact outer walls; but this feeling is in part due to the distant end of the garden being hidden by a gently rolling fog. While it seems foreboding at first, Lorfel's Intelligence of 20 tells him that it may be natural - a function of the humidity off the plants and relatively warm ground temperature meeting the near-freezing air temperatures, creating instant condensation.
Rewards Granted
- 2400g worth of 'gold pieces' - not coins but pieces of gold and platinum dug out of the gargoyle statues
- Gold droplets worth 600g
- 24 pearls worth approx 200g each from various control points on the gargoyle's bodies
Missions/Quests Completed
- "The Tiger Gargoyles"
- "Rael's Portico"
Character(s) interacted with
Fre Shavocado
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