The Keys of Telku / The Temple of the Apocalypse pt. 17 / Fos the 1st, 3593 CE / 7-5-20

In the complex beneath the Temple of the Apocalypse, the heroes fight a battle on two fronts, attempting to locate and rescue the invisible and paralyzed Waldo from a pack of ravenous ghouls while a gelatinous cube approaches from the opposite hallway. Using all their martial prowess, the swashbucklers Adrienne and Blur cut their way through the ranks of the ghouls, while the enlarged Henry cleaves the gelatinous cube in two with a mighty heft of his intelligent sword, Ironlaw. With their enemies dispersed, at least for the moment, the party is amazed to see a skeleton previously trapped within the acidic cube rise up and begin speaking. Henry, reacting upon his newfound oath to Accuris, reacts swiftly, and attempting to destroy the undead creature, but Moss and the others advise temperance until they can determine the creature's nature. Meanwhile, Uli helps Waldo open the door that the ghouls seemed so keen on, but the chamber within reveals only long-dead prisoners of the Temple, left to rot in a sealed room. The skeleton introduces himself as Sargem, a wizard in life who died while exploring the Temple and was raised again through necromancy (though whether it was his own black magic or another's, the cagey undead wizard does not say). Looking to earn the party's good graces (and keep from being attacked by their paladin) Sargem offers to help the party locate the book they seek regarding the Keys of Telku, as well as providing them with information and his own magical cloak, recovered from the slimy remains of the cube. Sargem tells the party that they are standing in only the first of four sub-levels to the Temple of the Apocalypse, each dedicated to a different cult worshiping an elemental evil; their ultimate goal, to use their combined powers to literally merge Anoria with the Elemental Plane and bring destruction down upon the world. The first sub-level is dedicated to the Stonefall Society, which utilizes the element of earth. The subsequent levels belong to Fury's Howl, the Crashing Wave, and the Sign of the Everfire, respectively. The party finds themselves conflicted whether they should involve themselves with clearing this compound of the evil which appears to reside within it, but Sargem advises that each cult is lead by high priest, and that "cutting the head off the snake" may get the job done quicker. He also vaguely remembers a library somewhere in the northeast corner of the floor they are currently on. After drawing out a crude map of the passages he remembers from his time trapped within the gelatinous cube, the party proceeds on a route they hope will take them to the heart of the Stonefall Society's temple. Henry spots a ghoul run into the passage ahead, and suddenly the Adventurers are once more embroiled in battle, as three well-dressed ghouls sneak up on the rear of the party and attack Adrienne. As Henry and Blur rush to her aid, Uli spots more enemies incoming from the north.