My Gaming Journey: The Temple of Elemental Evil - Journal Entry #5

Greetings and salutations from the Pacific Northwestern U.S, everyone, AnNimeman73 here back with another chapter of My Gaming Journey: The Temple of Elemental Evil. In the last chapter, Viera Whitemane told the tale of the continuing journey though the village of Hommlet. In the course of their journey the party discovered, The Temple of Elemental Evil is not so abandoned after all. Now the P.O.V. switches over to the Half-Elf Sorcerer, Garvin Moonstar as he continues to tale of the party’s journey to defeated the forces of The Temple of Elemental Evil. It’s time for the party to face the Moathouse.

But before we begin, I’d like to welcome the following people to my growing list of subscribers here on Minds.com.

I’d like to welcome: @mijankhan88, @ErwinBlackthrone, all the way from Vietnam @maotran, @FatesDeWhynot, @LarryImrich, and  @vanlocfun thank you so much for subscribing to my channel, I promise to do my best to entertain you. Thank you for helping me climb closer to my goal of 250 or more subscribers by the end of the year. Each one of you is a true blessing.

Now with that being said, on with the tale. My Gaming Journey: The Temple of Elemental Evil – Journal Entry #5 begins now.

Garvin Moonstar, Half-Elf Sorceror

My name is Garvin Moonstar, originally from a village in the Elvish lands of Greyhawk, Like Viera I too was forced out due to my Half-Elf nature. For all their understanding of beauty even Elves are not immune to the disease of prejudice.

Garvin was banished for the crime of being a Half-Elf!

However, unlike Viera, I wasn’t alone for long. A Half-Elf Sorcerer name of Vargas found me in the woods.

Don't let the stern look fool you, Vargas' heart is pure gold (Figuratively),

He brought me to a wondrous place called The Village in the Mists a place where the rejects of Greyhawk gather to live in peace. It is Self-sufficient, Self-Reliant and it became home to me. The people of the village welcomed me with open arms. While we sought to not interfere in GreyHawk’s affairs. Vargas taught me from time to time it is necessary for us to go into the world to provide balance to keep things on track for Greyhawk. Vargas is more than just a teacher. He became a father to me as he not only taught me how to control my Sorcerous powers, he taught me how to live and interact with others. 

The Village in the Mists, Garvin's adopted home where he became his own man.

Those lessons came in handy when I was given my final task for becoming a full-fledged sorcerer of the Village of the Mists. My master had been having visions and seeing them in his crystal ball. Dark forces stirred at the Temple of Elemental Evil, though what they were was a mystery to even my Master who is very strong in his power.

Dark power stirrs at the Temple of Elemental E vil!

Vargas also mentioned I had a role to play in stopping whatever was going on at the temple. So, getting the supplies I needed from Jessa, who was in charge of supply storage I headed out.

As Master Vargas mentioned I found Jerrod Northsatr and the others in that caravan after helping them deal with some Kobold bandits. And then my eyes met Viera Whitemane’s and I knew that I had found a kindred spirit. On our way to Mitrik I had much opportunity to speak with the Half-Elf woman and learn of her own painful experiences. It made me realize just how lucky I am that Master Vargas and the people of the Village of the Mists found me. I doubt either of us were quite ready for the adventure we’ve had.

With most of our business in Hommlet wrapped up we headed off to the Moathouse. And let me just say from the time we arrived things got ugly. 

Careful on your way to the Moathouse you'll get some dangerous company off the bat.

We started off having to deal with some nasty Giant Frogs. I know enough about those nasty things to remember how many an unwitting traveler has been eaten by one off those things. Fortunately, we managed to take them all down as they came our way. I am thankful to Boccob, my God, that Jerrod now has that magical Holy Longsword because it came in handy.

Things got even more insane once we entered the Moathouse itself, a large force of bandits was waiting for us. It was a hard fight. Fruella actually showed she’s not half bad with the sling we took down the bandits and then started going through them. For our efforts we finally got some armor for Fruella and Meleny. Granted it is just leather but leather armor is much better than mere cloth. Realizing we needed a place to rest we entered a tower in the Moathouse. That’s when things got hairy. It turns up the place had become home to a nasty giant, and very poisonous, spider.

Another giant spider...ew gross! Time for some more pest control!

Meleny somehow managed to dodge it. And the team took that wretched thing out. Afterwards we found a very nice treasure chest with all sorts of coin and other things. Taking everything and then looting toe corpses outside we gathered everything we could and then we caught some sleep. 

Next up we went inside the Moathouse. That’s where we learned that indeed the Moathouse had more than just mere ruffians in it. We met a very nasty Barbarian leader and his guards. Thankfully we wisely decided to lure that leader and his men out into the open. That way we were able to take them down. Then we went in and finished the rest of the guards. 

Take down the barbarian leader by luring his eman and him out into the open. Take his axe if youc an use it. Take his armor though it's VERY useful!

Once the battle was done, we looted the corpses. We discovered, much to our surprise, some barbarian Armor like the kind the Leatherworker Jakk is selling back in Hommlet. Jerrod took it and immediately donned the armor. The party then ventured into he rest of the Moathouse inside. The Dire Rats didn’t bother us so we decided to let them be. However, there was a foul-tempered giant viper and a giant lizard as well as a giant Tick that decided to give us some trouble. 

A giant Lizard and a giant Vioe. WHy did it have to be a snake?

Thankfully we ended up taking them all down. We then headed back to Hommlet. Selling off some of the excess loot from those Bandits we made enough to get Jerrod a large shield So our illustrious leader is now more protected than ever. With everything we wanted, the party headed back to the Moathouse. 

After sleeping in the tower to get some spells back we headed downstairs. That’s where became certain that the Moathouse isn’t deserted. We found a chest full of cloaks with a strange eye symbol on it. We all donned the cloaks because as strong as the party is becoming, we’re not that strong, so it would be wisest to prevent any potential trouble. In the next room we found a dead adventurer and a bunch of ghouls eating the body. AS we engaged the nasty things two slimes dropped down form us from behind.

Ghouls, watch out for their ability to paralyze.

Watch out behind or your party will get swalloeed by ambushing slimes!

A number of party members got injured because of those nasty things. We would’ve perished had it not been for Karlan and Pelor’s turning power which sent the undead fleeing and allowed us to take care of business. Once the nasty undead corpses were scattered, we headed back upstairs to rest and heal ourselves. Thankfully Meleny has finally started coming into her own as she has improved her skill. Praise Boccob and his wisdom the young lady is finally understanding how dangerous Greyhawk can be. Fruella is definitely sounding humbler with Jerrod. Praise Boccob for when he shares his wisdom and intelligence with us mere mortals.

We searched the room and then headed back to the room with the stairway up. We opened a door and went through it. The next room of note was a room that held a powerful looking ogre in it name of Lubash.

Careful of Lumbash, he's very powerful for your level. However a bribe with Diplomacy adn certain articles of clothing work wonders.

Thankfully Jerrod’s charisma and natural speaking ability, and a bribe of gold, and the fact we were earing those eye insignia cloaks allowed us to pass through without harm. We then found a Gnome and his female companion, apparently, they were survivors of an expedition here to investigate the goings on. Badly tortured and battered it was obvious the gnomes were in no shape to fight. So, we helped them escape. Jerrod, in the process, got a ring which will identify him as a friend to the gnomes.

That ring of Gnome Friendship will be important!

I have a feeling we’ll need it later. Next, we headed down a long set of stairs and around several hallways. Then we came across a group of Gnolls who had become dissatisfied with the one leading this band of highway robbers, a man named Lareth. 

Gnolls can also be nasty...unless you play your diplomacy catrd just right. 

Next up we went to a large room with a pool…and were assailed by a gigantic crayfish. I’ve seen such things even in some of the large pools near the Village in the Mists. The big ones can get really aggressive. Thankfully a few quick shots and even a spear shot from Meleny took out the overgrown Crustacean.

Picture something thisonly large enough ti could tear a person's ligaments off.

We then headed north into a crypt…and found several ghouls waiting for us. Thankfully between Anya, and Jerrod’s fighting ability and the power of Pelor to turn undead form Karlan…the ghouls never got anywhere near us. With that problem solved Viera was able to open up a nearby chest to grab some great loot for the party.

Where there's a guarded chest there's bound to be loot.

With that out of the way a little more exploration of the area revealed nothing. So, we took a nearby passage…and found ourselves back in the area where we fought those zombies and slimes. This underground labyrinth of the Moathouse just gets trickier and trickier. We then rested up at the Tower above…and then went into a room full of nasty Bugbears. 

Bugbears, they're always nasty creatures!

It ended up being a tough fight especially with their leader. But we maned to defeat them. I of course lent a hand with my Magic missile spells which are quite good at taking enemies down. Next up we had Viera lot the corpses for gold and other things. We then went back up and found some piles of Gold, silver, copper, and even a few platinum pieces we’d missed (shame on our part for missing those. We then made a return trip to town to sell of our loot and gain some extra money. 

Returning to the Moathouse, we made our way downwards again. We finally came to where the Raiders were hiding. The party had to fight a whole bunch of guards who most certainly we no pushover. Karlan, Anya, and Jerrod took several wounds from the guards, but through a nice bless spell we were able to triumph. 

We then found the leader of the group. To our surprise it was a Drow. And based on his magical aura he stinks of the taint of the queen of the Demonweb Pits, the Demoness Lolth. He may have only been one opponent but the Drow fighting prowess is well known to me. 

Lareth, the beautiful. Looks like Lolth is up to her old tricks again!

The Lolth servant proved to be quite the power and ended up hitting Fruella several times. Fortunately, we managed to defeat him before he could kill her. Fruella for all her bluster and gruffness appreciated Jerrod and the other stepping up. Finally, the Drow reached the point where he surrendered and confessed to being the leader of this lot. As it turned up, he leads a cabal of Lolth worshippers who had recently taken up residence at the Temple of Elemental Evil. And that was where we got a big surprise…much to our dismay the Temple is indeed coming alive again. What’s worse the leader of the Temple is known to me…and my Master, Zuggtmoy one of the Demon Princes of the Abyss, specifically the lord of Fungus! 

Zuggtmoy, the Demon Prince of Fungus from the Abyss. Things just got real!

Boccob, have mercy the battle that took place ten years ago was with a Demon Prince. I knew this adventure would be important, but a Demon prince. This thing has to be stopped; I cannot allow the chaos of a Demon Prince to upset the balance of Greyhawk. And it’s also well-known that Lolth and Zuggtnoy are arch-enemies. Well it seems we have that going for us.

Behold, Lolth, Queen of the Demonweb Pits and Zuggmoy's Arch-enemy. Things really just got real!

Jerrod read the diary and learned about the plan of Lareth “the Beautiful” to take over and corrupt Hommlet, and it seems he knows about the two spies in Hommlet. The raiders may have been stopped. This party’s task is far from done. The Temple of Elemental Evil awaits us as does a dangerously evil city known as Nulb which Lareth’s journal mentioned. Grabbing what valuables we could from the dead soldiers we slew.

We are making camp now, but tomorrow the next target of our campaign, the city of Nulb awaits.

Nulb a city of dark temptations!

For the betterment of the world the activities of Lolth and Zuggtmoy at the Temple of Elemental Evil must be stopped! Viera is visibly frightened because she’s never fought a demon before. I’ve promise to watch out for her but I fear for what may come. May Boccob, Pelor, and Heironeous guide us to victory against the Temple

And that’s a wrap, folks. Journal Entry #W5 is in the history books. I hope you’ve been enjoying the story so far, because there’s still more to tell. In all honesty we’re heading into new territory because I’ve really never gotten his far in the game. So, we’ll have some fun here. Anyway, if you like this kind of content on Minds please like and remind on to your Minds.com page if you have one. Also press the share button at the bottom to share the link to this on Facebook and/or Twitter. Or you can just copy and paste the link on to any other social media platform. Also, if you have a Minds account please subscribe to me and help me to reach my goal of 250 or more subscribers or more by the end of the year. I’ll leave a link to my Minds channel as well as my Gabe profile, which you can follow me on too, and the Previous and future chapter of My gaming Journey: The Temple of Elemental Evil.

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Also, this will be the last chapter of My Gaming Journey until 9/8/19 because I have a whole bunch of writing project backlog, I have to deal with…and I need some time away to get my writing fire back as I’ve really been pushing myself this month. stay tuned to this channel because Friday 8/23/19 will see the debut of my original serial, The Willowsbrook Chronicles my first ever Minds exclusive original fantasy series. I hope you’ll join me for that at 7 PM U.S. West Coast standard time.

Thank you so much for reading, I’m Animeman73 saying stay true to yourselves, stay classy, and God bless you all.

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