Keep your boat
You find the ladder and Grom offers to go down first.
"I can see the sausage place from here," Grom says cheerily as he climbs the shaky ladder. You on the other hand are not so happy as the ladder leans out over a long drop and is secured by ropes so frayed they could snap at any moment. "Looks shut though. Maybe if we bang really loudly on the front door they'll open up for us."
Grom holds the ladder as you reach the bottom and get firm ground under you for the first time in a while.
"There's the temple, just as I promised." Grom waves towards the rear of a squat stone building. From the back, it looks like a long-forgotten crypt and not a golden temple. "That concludes the tour. If you'd like..." Grom trails off as he sniffs the air and cocks an ear. "I can hear something rattling, like a stack of plates being carried down a steep staircase in the dark."
"Silence, you fool!" a robed figure shouts as they jump out from behind a curtain. Her face is hidden inside a deep hood but you can feel the evil intent emanating from her as if it was a wave. "You have wandered into my trap and must now bow before me!"
A black cloud swirls around her obscuring the temple and blocking out the light seeping through the cracks in the roof. The cavern turns to nighttime and you take Grom's hand so you don't lose him in the dark.
"My army will grow and soon we will leave this accursed place..." the woman glanced over at a shut door and coughed loudly. The handle rattled but the door refused to open. "I said 'my army will grow'!"
"Is something supposed to happen?" Grom asks but the woman ignores him and crosses to the door and gives it a shove. It opens and a skeleton dressed in rags steps out sheepishly.
"I do apologise for Kevin," the woman says to you and Grom. "I prefer my skeletons a little fresher but I only had so much to work with. I do hope you two work out better than Kevin, not that it will be too difficult."
Kevin rattles his bones and takes a threatening step towards you. Grom lets out another shriek and collapses at your feet.
"Oh, that's very considerate of him," the woman says. "I do like it when they just die like that. Saves me a lot of bother. What about you, are you going to give up or will Kevin have to do some work for once?"
Roll a die to see whether you stand and fight or flee;
1d2
roll a 1
roll a 2
roll a 1
Grom lays at your feet with his eyes closed as Kevin staggers towards you. Seeing no other path but to fight you free the axe from Grom's belt and step over the unconscious dwarf's body.
"How disappointing," the necromancer says. "Kevin, try not to damage their skull. It looks shapely and I would like to use it as a paperweight."
Kevin lets out a ghastly growl and swings at you but you duck and lash out with the axe. The blade knocks a rib free and it clatters to the floor. Kevin reels and spins around searching for the rib but as he reaches down to pick it up a rat comes scampering out from a sewer grate and drags it away. Kevin chases after the rat and leaves you and Grom alone.
"Kevin, get back here!" the necromancer screams before running after her skeleton.
You breathe a sigh of relief and check on Grom. He's unhurt and snoring softly at your feet.
Leaving him to sleep you skirt around the stone building in search of the front. A set of golden doors, almost twice the height of you, take up most of the facade. Each has three panels with relief sculptures that have been worn by time but you can see mountains and seas along with forests and a great expanse punctuated with angular towers. As you approach a sound grows within your body, as a vibration played upon a string. A warm feeling of safety and comfort builds with the song and lifts your soul so that by the end you are on tiptoes and smiling to the heavens.
Time passes unnoticed until Grom coughs and taps you on the shoulder. He has his ticket book out an expectant look on his face. "Do you want a return ticket? You only paid one way. If you want me to show you the way out then it will cost you."
One return ticket, please
Or
Find your own way out.
by Chris Noonan
Or
Find your own way out.
roll a 2
Kevin takes a lazy swing at you but you trip over Grom and land on your back. The dwarf jumps to his feet scaring the skeleton. Kevin reels backwards in fright giving Grom just enough time to get you on your feet.
"Run!" Grom shouts and then sprints from the room. You give the cackling necromancer a last look before chasing after your tour guide.
Chased away from temple
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