Master CrimCatarina La'Spada
The trip to the temple was uneventful. She had half-expected to run into another gnoll ambush, but once they reached the temple it looked like the tables were turned on the gnolls instead. Their corpses were rotting in the sands, among the dead guardians of the temple. "Looks like they used the gnolls as shields to handle any of the temple's traps and guardians. With any luck, the temple would kill off most of our enemies before we get to them." Of course there was also the secondary issue of the gnolls triggering some sort of trap or powerful monster that would prevent the party from moving forward. But Catarina was certain that too could be bypassed with smart thinking and hard work.
Catarina decided to search the bodies for any clues that might help them deeper into the temple when suddenly the ground beneath them collapsed! She wasn't prepared for this at all and started to flail through the air before hitting the ground. Fortunately for Catarina, her armor did well to cushion her fall considering she fell among a pile of bones and armor. If she wasn't wearing her full plate, she'd be cut up or even impaled. Still, the fall made her sore. "Well just great..." Getting back to her feet Catarina took out Domina. Her holy blade shined with a bright light, illuminating the dark pit. She wouldn't bother with any attempt at stealth.
Looking around, it seemed like some of the others were dropped down here too. At least Alexander, Malkai, and Kalista. Catarina also saw Forbes unmoving corpse and the blood pooling around his body. The sight shocked Catarina, but she soon recovered. It must be hard for Alexander, but it was just a dark reminder to Catarina that this was a deadly job. No doubt more of them may die here today. She had to steel her resolve and push onwards regardless. She met up with Alexander and Kalistra first; the elf seem wounded from her fall, so Catarina took out a vial of healing. It was only a Cure Light, but hopefully it'll undo any damage she may have suffered. "Here Kalistra, drink this. We'll need to be at our full strength here."
Parum
It was nice not having to lead the horses for once. It may look like a simple job, but being a wagon driver was more complicated than just snapping the reigns every couple of minutes. One had to get a feel for the horses, make sure they walked at an equal pace, and neither rush them nor let them get lazy. At any moment they may need to make a dash just as often as they need to come to a sudden halt. But for Parum, she took this opportunity to smoke a bit more pipeweed. She was quite excited to get inside this temple and loot it of all it's treasure. She had no qualms desecrated the tomb of an evil god, or any god for that matter. In Parum's mind, any "lost" ruins were free game to anyone brave or skilled enough to take from it.
Once the party arrived Parum stayed in the wagon to finish off the last of the weed in her pipe when she heard the sound of a great collapse. She bolted out of the wagon and was ready to run half-way back to Sapphire when she turned to see a giant sinkhole form near the temple ground. Immediately she noticed that half their party was missing, and guessed that some must have gotten caught in the hole. Peering over the edge Parum couldn't even see the bottom despite the bright morning sun above them. "Damn. That's quite a drop." Some of the others started discussing how to approach, such as Veridis suggesting going down this hole or Elleonora using the main entrance. Parum chimed in. "I'm in favor of the main entrance myself. We don't know what's down there, or how deep that goes. Hopefully the others are alright and if not... We'll find out soon enough. "
Vivian was quick to get ready to head into the temple. She wanted to know if Ellenora had a blessed hammer, and just in case she didn't, Parum was prepared. "I have a few bottles of holy water, and if that isn't enough, two vials of Holy Oil. If we run into any undead down there just pour this onto your weapon and it should last you a few swings." Parum handed both vials to Ellenora seeing that she was more martially inclined compared to the rest of the others. Parum was certain she had enough holy water to last a few encounters, and if that wasn't enough, she had other tools too like alchemist fire or acid. "We should hurry. Not only do we have to meet back with the others down there, but we need to catch up to those gnolls. Last thing we need is for them to get to the treasure and use it against us."
