Stackman's Adventures (Chapter eight)

[bsftcs]

The smell of burning flesh in the morning

Being the eighth chapter of Stackman’s adventures

In which several certain serpent servants get their fair share of stomach-crawling in the dirt and in which the zenmaster ponders the idea of an annual Gael Serran sado-masochist party.

The party had now completed the northern part of the lower central level of the Serpent Temple. They were soon back in the room where they had encountered Kreug (room D at Xignal’s Site). They were ready to complete the southern part of that level. From Kreug’s room they moved westward always staying on the same floor. They soon found themselves in a room (room K) overlooking another room with a chute in the floor. Walking a few paces west the valkyrie spotted something in the wall with her spirit eye spell. It was a small lock. Trying the key Kol had given them it matched. A portion of the wall gave way and behind the wall was a small room in which a Statue of the angel Kerah stood (room L).

On the floor lay some ankhs and an amulet of life. These amulets were not quest items, since they would not disappear from a character’s inventory when the fabled “Reset Adventure” button was activated, but at the same time they could not be sold to any stores. The zenmaster finally saw his chance to get rid of all the amulets of life he had acquired during the party’s adventures. He simply dropped them in front of the statue. The statue was another one of those special ones that could speak and would have had to have been made by a very talented sculptor. After speaking for a while with the statue the party moved on, knowing they had done what Kol had asked them to do. Thus ended the fifth of seven small quests given by NPCs in the Wilderness of Valeia.

The party then entered the room with the chute. The meaning of the room had always puzzled the adventurers. It was uncertain whether monkeys were turned loose on one another here to cause a spectacle, whether the servants were sent to fight the monkeys, or wheter the monkeys were simply driven into the chute to be eaten by the naga. Anyway the barbarian flipped the lever by the side of the entrance to the room thus closing the portcullis behind them, and soon they found themselves attacked by several monkeys falling down from the ceiling. They quickly disposed of them and the portcullis opened again. Just outside the room another monkey had made a breakaway, and it was carrying a third monkey figurine. The warlock got it from a distance with the incinerate spell, and the party retrieved the idol.

In the next room to the west (room N) the party came upon a button on the wall which activated an elevator. Knowing from previous occations there would only be one secluded room there they went up the elevator and explored it. The party then went into what appeared to be the Serpent Temple treasury (room O). There they flipped the levers in an exact order which they remembered from earlier occasions and spent a few serpin coins in the coin slot thus opening the six doors (As explained on Page eight of the Best tips (tip named “The Serpent Temple door puzzle”). There is also a discussion of the clue to the puzzle), behind which were treasure chests. In one of the treasure chests a fourth monkey figurine was discovered.

The party then walked back to the main entance to the temple and took the ramp leading to the next floor. In the first hall they came upon there were two doors leading west. They took the south door first. They followed a corridor to a “T”-shaped intersection. They quickly examined the few rooms in area to the east of the intersection including a room overlooking the room with the golden serpent statue that had dispensed the cones. To the west of the intersection they came upon a room from where the monkeys they had fought in the chute room had obviously been fed.

They walked on over a wooden balcony (of room N) through a door, and there they encountered a particularly unpleasant fellow, whose exploits were infamous throughout the Gael Serran. He was the Grand Inquisitor of the Serpent Temple. He asked them if they had come to see the prisoner. Being of an honest mind the valkyrie told him that that was indeed the case. It all too soon became apparent that the inquisitor really did not care about the circumstances so long as he just got some new fresh flesh to leave his poker burn marks in. A short, fierce battle ensued with the inquisitor being the one lying stretched to the floor in the end. The valkyrie picked up the key he had dropped.

The party explored the room outside which the inquisitor had stood from where a small ramp lead down to a closed grate from where the great summoning room could be seen. Walking down a flight of stairs from where they had met the inquisitor they came upon the extremely well-stocked torture chamber of the Serpent Temple.

In the first room of the chamber (room P) the party came upon a brazier on which rested a burning hot poker iron. Inclined partition walls here would separate the people shackled here to be cleanssssed of their wickednesssss leaving them to hear each other’s cries as they were tortured. In the middle of the brazier there was a button which the valkyrie pressed. It opened a small secret room in the ceiling above one of the partition walls.

In the next room was the stretching slab. The zenmaster immediately thought of Lysandra of Yur. He had always had a soft spot for the young nosferata, and he had always pitied her fate. Left in cold catacombs bereft, left, and alone. He pondered the possibility of taking her here. This would really be a place she would adore. An eldorado for a person with her sado-masochistic tendencies. However, items and characters cannot leave a dungeon (unless placed in a party member’s inventory). They always stay in the “dungeon”-version of the transition room. The zenmaster sighed, sad that that was not a suitable way to alleviate the deplorable plight of the young vampiress.

Unlocking a cell in the room with the streching slab using the key dropped by the inquisitor, the party came upon an arcane prisoner. Suspecting he was the missing rogue H’Thark the party started questioning him. But he refused to give any information. The party now had two options: Either they gave him the lockpicks given to them by Gorthius in order to try to make him speak, or they singed him using the poker iron on him. Knowing that the poker iron had only made its way into the game for the event that the party had not received the lockpicks from Gorthius, the valkyrie decided to give him the lockpicks to show that they were friedly minded towards him. (Although she also had a good mind to leave a smoking impression on him for his unwillingness to cooperate). Thus ended the sixth of seven small quests given by NPCs in the Wilderness of Valeia. No matter which of the two approaches had been chosen, the result would have been the same: H´Thark would have given them the information on how to do the tabooed summoning.

In the next room (room Q) the party came upon a wheel controlling a steel plate hanging over a crush pit. In a small room to the north of that room there was a small counter or stand, indicating that room was used for sentencing of wicked and faltering followers. A small lock in that room revealed a secret room. Back in the room with the wheel the group went down a small ramp.

A tap above a grille disclosed the fact that this was where the temple’s fabled spider nectar was being bottled. The valkyrie placed an empty flask on the grille. In a nearby room milking spiders were kept for the purpose of producing eggs. The bard disposed of them with an icestorm spell before they fell down from the ceiling on top of the adventurers. The eggs were placed in the crush pit, and the metal plate was lowered on top of the eggs turning the wheel. The party now had the spider nectar. (It takes one egg to produce a bottle, and there are many empty flasks. The nectar is used for the very important summoning so at least one bottle should be kept for that purpose. The nectar, however, also works a a cure poison potion as mentioned by legendary Wyvern on Page one of the Best tips. With the nectar working that way and with many dowry priests dropping cure poison potions it is not absolutely necessary to have a character trained in that spell before entering the temple. It can be useful not to do so for low level parties keen on developing their spellcasters, since the book of cure poison is found later in the temple as a fixed treasure).

They went back and took the north door from the hall just up from the temple entrance hall. There they came to a four-way room (room H). The path to the south of there just led to a stairway leading down. The north path led to a balcony above the dining hall. Doors there led to both the east and the west of there, and the party explored the secluded areas there. Back at the four-way room the party jumped down to the room below and disposed of the local inhabitants there who had been feasting well on the chained corpses of unbelievers. The party went up to the four-way room once again and disposed of a few temple vipers. The party members were really impressed with the reptile inhabitants of the temple: They were house-trained and domesticated. They could even open doors.

To the west they came to the summoning room (room S). Skull levers opposite the brazier in the middle opened the grates leading to the ramp they had come to shortly after meeting the inquisitor and to the library area. They went into the library area and soon entered the library itself (room T). The valkyrie immediately started gathering crates and chairs to stack their way to Kreug’s study above the library, when a hand was placed upon her shoulder. It was Stackman who had finally come to his senses after his fit of nostalgia. “I am touched that you want to stack your way to honour me, but this adventure also has an educational purpose, so I think you should just enter the study in the way intended by the game creators". (The idea of stacking one’s way to the study is explained on Page seven of the Best tips).

The party placed the monkey figurines in the niches along the walls making a portion of the floor act like an elevator going up to Kreug’s study. They also placed the serpent idol in the middle niche thus revealing a hidden study behind the bookshelves. There they retrieved the book of the servant. They took the elevator to Kreug’s study and encountered Kreug’s Familiar. The insect fiend had been awoken by the elevator’s starting. (He would not have awoken if the party had stacked their way up there). Disposing of the familiar the party explored the study. The bard recalled the time when he as a young rogue had found the scrool of trickery here. The very same scroll which had ultimately made him a bard. In a treasure chest were among other fixed treasure the pipes of poison and the book of venom bite. Finally on a table they found the serpent wand.


NPCs encountered:

The Statue of Kerah reacts to following words:

Cet, Mavin, Anephas, Kerah, Dark Lord, Battle, Oath, Black Fire, Solemn Vow, Great Sacrifice, Sleep, Twilight, Story, Pharaoh, Lord.

H’Thark reacts to following words:

Gorthius, Hidden Circle, Serpent Temple, H’Thark, Gypsy, Fortune, Serpent, Naga, Face Of Death, High Priestess, Spirit, Masque, Library, Worshippers, Summoning, Snake Head, Serpent Wand, Lizard Wizard, Spider Nectar, Incense, Spider Eggs, Pit, Snake Basket, Evil Masque.

Hidden rooms encountered:

Room of the Statue of Kerah. (Room A on the Serpent Temple maps posted by Wyvern) To enter: Use the lock provided by Kol in the lock at point XA.

Elevator room. (Room C). To enter: Press the button at point XC and ride the elevator.

Room above torture chamber. (Room D). To enter: Press the button in the brazier at point XD.

Room near the sentencing room. (Room E). To enter: Activate the skull lock at point XE.

[whiteknight]

wooo hooo!!!!! wtg bfstcs.....good story....must remind myself in the near future to interview stackman for the w&w chronicles ..hahahahaha..seems like stackman is becoming as famous as the gael serran citizens them selves ..(I would'nt be surprised if one day the mayor writes stackmans name in the historical archives of famous people....keep it up.......


whiteknight

[Wyvern]

BRAVO!!!!

Excellently done and such fun to read!

Wyv