The Eye of Moloch

 

Moloch

"Well I guess someone here worshipped Moloch. That was an incredibly bad idea and probably ended poorly for them" stated Dakhir as he gazed at the huge demonic looking statue.

"Moloch appears to have ruby eyes the size of dinner plates pointed out Ricmo. "If those are real, that could work out really well for US." 

"That's problematic in many ways." Dakhir replied.  "That statue is hotter then hell, it's glowing red hot, I can feel it from here. And doubtlessly cursed in half a dozen ways."

Ricmo looked disappointed. "Dinner plates. Dakhir. Ruby's the size of DINNER PLATES. That's worth some burns and some curses I think. Get me up there somehow and I bet I can pry them off, and old Moloch none the wiser."

"There are three doors leading from his room, other then the way we came in." interrupted Merus. She had been carefully casing the room while the rest of the heroes had been gawking at the huge statue. "The door across from us is large, and barred with three bars. Three pedestals sit in front of it. The others doors look more ordinary"

"Some kind of puzzle I warrant, to open the barred door." Whisperleaf observed. 

Tello perked up. He liked puzzles. 

"Perhaps before we take any action we should thoroughly explore this complex?" he suggested. 

"That sounds incredibly boring and practical, as opposed to prying the eyes off a demon" responded Dakhir with a grin. 

After some discussion, the party decided to explore the rightmost chamber first. As the assembled near the doorway, Ricmo took one last, longing look at the statue.

"I will be back for you, sweetie, never fear" he promised.

The Chamber of Bones

This rooms was an ossuary, with no obvious exits other then the one they had entered by.  The whole place was packed with bones. Bones lined the walls and a huge column of skulls were formed into a pillar in the center. 

Over in the far corner a throne made of bones overlooked the chamber.

"That's pretty creepy." announced Ricmo. "Bet there is treasure hidden in here somewhere."

Tello and Ricmo walked forward to investigate the column of skulls in the center. Not all of them were human shaped skulls, some appeared to be more snake like in appearance. Fascinated, Tello reached forward to examine one, picking one up that seemed more snake then man.

The instant the Tortle touched the skull the room shook. From the column of skulls a massive bloodcurdling howl erupted, knocking the Tortle back. A huge wave of black, necrotic energy erupted from the pillar, washing over the party and tearing at their life force, ripping their very souls apart. 

It nearly killed them all.

But somehow, they managed to endure it. Weakened, and some near death, the heroes clung to life.

From out of the pile, a single skull rose, wreathed in blood red flame and crackling with the power of unaccountable ages of evil.

Fear and doomed seemed to ooze from the creature, paralyzing the party.

Then, with a great cry, Radiant Lightbringer lit up like the the sun. His armor, the Armor of Mithras glowed with a pearly white light so bright it was impossible to look upon . The whole chamber lit like  the sun itself had descended from the heavens, banishing shadows and darkness. 

The skull let out another great cry, but this time it was a cry of pain.  And the enchantment broke.

"Shit" said Ricmo, dancing behind a pillar and whipping out his flintlock pistols. The Sturg never hesitated, charging into battle with furious intensity. The Sword of Andronicus glowed with terrible energy as it engaged the undead creature, the principle threat it had been crafted to defeat. Merus' bow thrummed, Tello's cannon crashed. Dakhir and Vincent unleashed fire on the creature. Whisperleaf took the form of a gigantic bear, gnawing and clawing at the quick moving skull.  Radiant Lightbringer spoke holy words, healing and sustaining the party. 

The party, though hideously injured by the initial attack, rallied and overcame, smashing the skull with magic and metal..

The skull, taken aback by the assault, flew high up to the roof of the chamber, putting itself out of reach of many of the party's attacks.  Readying some fresh magical assault no doubt.

In response, with a great cry, Dakhir ripped Sysuul's Necklace from his neck and threw the entire necklace with all six fire rubies at the creature. The necklace exploded in a huge cataclysm of flame, and the skull fell lifeless to the ground. 

Vincent let out a loud gasp and leaned against a pillar for support. "Those creatures usually have some kind of anchor for their spirt, holding them to the world. If we don't find it and destroy it, it might return."

Dakhir nodded grimly, concentrated and attuned his occult senses, seeking out magical auras. He found two. The skull of the defeated lich that lay inert on the floor, and one of the gems that encrusted the throne.

They quickly destroyed the gem, the Sturg smashing it repeatedly with the adamantium hilt of his sword until it shattered. As he did so, a great wail of pain and despair emanated from the shattered shards, shrill, but quickly fading as if into a great distance. 

"That was probably it." said Vincent. 

"But what about this skull? It still radiated magic, I don’t feel we should just leave it." said Dakhir.

“I have an idea” announced Tello.

---------------------------

The Statue of the Monkey God

The second room off the Moloch chamber was plainer then the first. A small alter and a smaller dais held a jade statue of what appeared to me a monkey. The statue was only around six inches tall and was surprisingly lifelike in appearance. Other then the shrine, the room was utterly bare. 

The party carefully examined the shrine and the statue but could find no hidden mechanisms or traps.

“It’s quite magical” announced Dakhir. “Seems to be aligned with number of schools”.

Whisperleaf was looking perplexed.

“It looks a lot like a miniature version of the god the Priest of Mbo summoned at Skull River Bay. During the Contest of Magic.” noted Dakhir. “Remember, he wiped the floor with every challenger?”

“I do remember” said Whisperleaf softly. “I’ve seen that god several times since, in visions”. 

“I’m guessing this one is for you then” Ricmo theorized. “You crazy monkey wizard.”

Radiant nodded. “You do seem to often favor simian forms and the summoning of simian helpers. I suspect you have earned the attention of a simian god.”

"But is that a good thing? asked Whisperleaf, smiling. 

Whisperleaf reached out and carefully grabbed the small statue. He looked up in wonder.

“I think it’s….friendly” 

“But is that a good thing?” asked Tello

The Eye of Moloch

The companions stared at the closed and barred door, the only entrance yet unexplored leading from the massive central chamber of the complex.

“Hey look over here, at the base of the pedestals” remarked Ricmo. He carefully brushed  dust and dirt away from the bases to reveal a small carving.

“Hey, it’s a monkey”! he announced. “I bet we need to place the monkey idol on the pedestal.

Whisperleaf did so, there was a “click” and one of the three massive bars that locked the door smoothly slid back. 

“And there you go” said Ricmo in a satisfied tone. “How about the other two?”

“This one is an eye” Tello commented 

“Uh. This one is a skull” said Freddy. 

The entire party became very quiet. 

“Shit. Tello, when we decided to glue that skull to the throne so that lamo wouldn’t come back…” asked Freddy

“Yes” acknowledged  Tello.

“And you said that it was ‘Sovereign Glue’ and it was utterly impossible for any force to detach it….” asked Freddy

“Yes” said the Tortle tranquilly.

“So, you know how to get it off right?”

“Never glue on, that which you can’t glue off, young one” said Tello tranquilly. “The answer to your question is called ‘Universal Solvent’. And fortunately I have some.”

“Whew” said Freddy. “So what about the eye?”

“Oh I know exactly what we need there” said Ricmo with a huge smile on his face.

Dakhir groaned.

Ricmo liked flying. Normally he would just climb up this statue without any issue but it was red hot, hot as a furnace. So, thanks to Dakhir’s infernal sorcery he flew. He still had to get close to the statue of course, but Radiant had also cast a charm on him to help with the heat, so overall it was still hot but bearable. 

Dakhir stayed close to him, scowling as he concentrated on maintaining his spell 

Below, Vincent and Tello were going through Vincent’s notebook, studying the notational system Vincent had devised to keep track of the Labyrinth above them, making sure that someone other then Vincent could decode them if they needed to make a quick escape. 

The Sturg sat on the first step of the alter, relaxed, and taking the opportunity to put a razor sharp edge on his mighty sword. 

Over in the corner, Whisperleaf leaned on his oaken staff, gazing at the alter, lost in thought.  

It was quite a diorama, Ricmo thought from his high vantage. He smiled briefly

Then he  reached the left eye, and he focused on his job The massive ruby glowed with an inner fire. 

“This is so cool” he smiled to himself. “I wonder what will happen? It’ll animate probably.”

He drew one of his many daggers, and looked down at this companions. 

“Button up gents, here we go!” he exclaimed giddily, then expertly worked the point of the dagger into the seam where the ruby was mounted to the metal of the statue. One flick of the wrist, and the huge ruby popped free.

Then all hell broke loose.

As the ruby popped off a cone of molten metal erupted from the empty socket, The nimble halfling pirouetted in mid air and managed to avoid the jet of flame, but the rest of the party was not so  lucky. The molten metal played over the unfortunate heroes, who had been arrayed to engage an animated statue and thus were perfectly positioned to catch the brunt of the cone of fire. 

Whisperleaf screamed and Radiant Lightbringer was knocked back a step his armor smoking. With a great crash the statue exploded and revealed what had been imprisoned inside it. 

A creature of pure flame, a suit of armor containing nothing but molten fire and malice. The monster wielded two massive weapons, a huge flaming flamberge in one hand and a bident in the other,  a sword breaker. With the main ranks of the party in disorder, only The Sturg, Ricmo and Freddy stood against the creature. 

The Sturg moved to engage, drawing sword and readying shield. The heat of the creature even this close was searing, but  the dragon scales worked into The Sturg's enchanted armor, The Armor of the Undying Flame, absorbed the worst of the heat.

As the jet of fire hit Dakhir he lost his hold on the flight spell and Ricmo plummeted to the floor thirty feet below. The nimble halfling turned the fall into a roll, popping up gracefully behind the creature, who's attention was on The Sturg.  Somehow he managed to draw both of his pistols while rolling.

The Sturg attacked aggressively and fast but the monster parried the first blow with his bident, almost disarming the Sturg in the process and then counterattacked with his flamberge, dealing a grievous wound and pushing The Sturg back, The two continued to trade blows, while Ricmo's flintlock pistols cracked, tearing into the creature from behind,

The Sturg's stalwart defiance gave the rest of the party time to rally though. They shrugged off their burns and injuries and leapt into the fight. Radiant Lightbringer's white light brought defense and healing and after a few more desperate minutes of combat, the elemental exploded, leaving nothing behind but ash. 

The Aftermath

Ricmo sat on the steps, with the giant ruby in his lap and groaned through his aching muscles and burns. Overall, the hero's were feeling exhausted, injured and spent. 

"I don't know if I have another bout like that in me" remarked Dakhir. "My powers are becoming weak. We need to rest a bit before we tackle the final chamber."

"We cannot rest long." replied Lightbringer, "I can feel the foul power in this place, leaching at me. To sleep here would be fatal I think."

"Not to mention whatever creatures or shades roam these halls."  agreed Merus.

"A short rest then, and a watchful one, just enough time to bind our wounds ad salve our burns. Then we will see what lies behind this barred door." Whisperleaf suggested. 

The Temple of the Serpent 

Even only an hours rest had a restorative effect on the party, allowing them to lick their wounds and restore their resolve. As the final set of doors swung open, it was a bruised and battered, but resolute group of heroes that entered them.

As they walked into the wide, lofty chamber, Radiant Lightbringer raised his glowing mace high and banished the darkness that must have lain over this place for thousands of years.

"This reminds me of a place" said Ricmo quietly.

"Sysuul's inner sanctum" agreed Whisperleaf. "Where we finally confronted her, where we finally defeated her."

"Where we nearly died" agreed Dakhir. 

"That three headed snake statue, that's exactly like the idol Sysuul worshipped" agreed Freddy.

"Look, before the idol, on a pedestal, is that a BOOK?" observed Vincent, and excited tone in her voice..

"There can be no doubt that whatever creature lived here, they were kin to Sysuul. And that the defenses of this place were intended for one purpose only. To protect that tome." proclaimed Freddy.

As they walked further into the chamber, Ricmo noticed a burning sensation around his neck, and reaching under his tunic he found the Amulet of the Eternal Serpent was hot to his touch. He took the amulet out from under his clothing and the green glow of it illuminated his face.

He'd worn that amulet for over a year, ever since he had taken it from Sysuul's lair, and it had saved his life numerous times. As long as he wore it, he didn't need to breath, not really, and so was immune to drowning and any poisonous or noxious gasses he might encounter. But he had never seen it glowing like this. 

In the light of the green glow, the murals that covered the walls of the temple seemed almost three dimensional. Almost like the serpent folk portrayed therein where moving, watching the party.

Carefully the party walked across the temple floor, approaching the alter. The red gems of the serpent statues eyes seemed to watch them.

"I think Ricmo should be the one to take the book" said Dakhir. "Maybe that amulet is a key. It certainly functioned as one in the Dungeon of Doom."

Ricmo nodded, and walked carefully toward the alter. The book that lay open upon it was clearly magical, even with Red Alice's Gift of Tongues he could make no sense of it. Boldly, he walked up to the tome, nodded respectfully at the huge serpent statue, winked at it, and took the book.

The amulet sent out a green pulse of light but other then that nothing happened, though Ricmo was vaguely aware of crashing sounds coming from a considerable distance away. The statues and murals stayed quiet though, so, with a jaunty step, he walked back to the party, book tucked under his arm.

"No problem" he said chirpily. 

"What was that crash" asked Merus.

"What crash?" said Ricmo innocently. 

"What do I smell? It smells like the river" mused Whisperleaf.

Ricmo look down and between his bare, hairy feet he saw a trickle of water meander from the open door and make it's way across the stone floor.

"Oh shit. It's a trap. It's let in the river." said Dakhir, staring at the same trickle of water. "We are very far underground. And the complex is flooding."

Ricmo looked at Vincent and grinned. "I hope you are able to decode those markings of yours, and I hope you can do it on the fly. Because we need to RUN!!!!"