My Gaming Journey: The Temple of Elemental Evil - Journal Entry #1

Greetings and salutations, everyone. Well it’s time! The time has come to begin a new chapter of My Gaming Journey. Come with me now as we begin the tale of a group of adventurers on the world of Greyhawk as they seek to end the menace of The Temple of Elemental Evil. This first chapter will introduce you to the characters in the party. I hope you enjoy this as much as you enjoyed my IcewinD dale II saga.

But before we begin, I’d like to welcome Pham Van Be _Agribank @phamvanbe, @Lordkage, @Khug68 (That’s the only real name I cn use with her since her actual name is just emojis.), @kwikeh, @Addender, @gameofthornes, @wizbiz, @jeffblun1230, @Iamevv, and @McIntattie to my growing list of subscribers. Thank you so much one and all who have subscribed and continue to support this project. Each of you is a true blessing in my ongoing efforts to reach 250 subscribers or more by the end of the year. God bless all of you.

Now with that being said let the story begin.

My name is, Jerrod Northstar, Paladin of blessed Heironeous.

Jerrod Northstar, Paladin of Heironeous

The story that is about to be related may seem like something out of a nightmare but I can assure you it is not. Heironeous have mercy had I and my compatriots not seen it with our own eyes we would surely have thought ourselves mad. But I get ahead of myself.

The story begins shortly after I was declared a full Paladin by my mentor the honorable Paladin Sir Gaulton Dragonfire of Mitrik, the Capital of Veluna.

Sir Gaulton Dragonfire, Paladin of Heironeous, and Jerrod's instructor.

Lord Gaulton had always taught me that on the world of Greyhawk anything is possible. Even before I achieved my Paladin status, I knew better than to not believe him. When I had completed my training and graduated with honors from the Academy of Might & Magic my first adventure was a not so grand adventure. I had to escort a group of Heironeous pilgrims to Mitrik, Capital of the country of Veluna, for a consultation with the Bishop of the Heironeous Temple. Those pilgrims were part of a Merchant caravan. It was there that an unlikely group was formed by me.

Delivering pilgrims and Merchant goods to Mitrik whoopee, what a grand adventure...or is it?

The first one to join up was Anya Kerros, a red-headed ranger lass who definitely knew her way around forests. While not a worshipper of any God her dedication to righteousness is unmistakable though this is also a woman who seems to follow her own code of honor rather than the law.

Anya Kerros, a Red-headed  Ranger with many secrets.

Though I cannot help but suspect that this is a woman with some hidden tragedy in her past. What it is I know not but I shall wait until she is good and ready to speak of it. While philosophically we may have had our differences, we still struck up a friendship rapidly on the trip.

The next to join was a Half-Elf Karlan Sunseeker, a devout worshipper of the Sun God Pelor, whom Heironeous knows well and considers an ally and friend.

Karlan Sunseeker, Cleric of Pelor

In fact, Heironeous’ sacred texts often mention Pelor with nothing but respect. While he tends to veer towards Neutral rather than Law or Chaos his dedication to the good is abundantly clear.

The book of Divine Justice, Heironeous' sacred text.

It did not take long for those of faith to strike up a conversation and friendship. Our philosophical discussions have been very stimulating intellectually. And he seems quite skilled with the mace.

Halfway towards Mitrik we discovered some supplies were missing. We soon found the culprit however. It seems we had a rogue stowaway in the caravan named Viera Whitemane. She is a Half-Elf and as her last name implies, she has a mane of ghostly white hair. It’s unusual for a Half-Elf who’s so young to have such hair.

A stowaway, Viera Whitemane, Half-Elf Rogue with a dark history.

However, as we found out when we interrogated her, there was actually no malevolence about her. It seemed even her people consider her to be a freak of nature and never treated her very well. Viera took up the Rogue’s trade in order to survive. Alas the world can sometimes be a cruel and merciless place, even Heironeous says so in the book of Divine Justice, his sacred text. Using my Sense Motive, I could tell she was speaking the truth. Her mother died when she was very young, murdered by elf males who couldn’t stomach the fact she had had a tryst with a human male who later perished in a battle.

Bigotry doesn't just exist in the hearts of humans, even Elves are subject to it. Viera's only crime was  being a Half-Elf.

Forced on to the streets to survive she left her village and learned the Thief’s trade. While Heironeous is a stern God he also teaches that prejudice is considered a cardinal sin. Verse 7 Chapter 4 of his text reads “Blessed are the humans of Greyhawk, and thusly are the Elves, Half-Elves, Gnomes, and all civilized humanoid species of Greyhawk. For all must be embraced if righteousness is to be brought to the land.”

What a pity Viera’s people never learned of this. Having nowhere else to go we chose to let the young lady join up with the little group that was forming. No one should have to go on their life’s journey alone.

Shortly before we reached Mitrik, we ran into a bunch of Kobolds causing trouble. However, that problem was quickly resolved with the intervention of a Half-Elf named Garvin Moonstar, a Sorcerer of absolute neutrality.

Garvin Moonstar, Sorceror, and worshipper of  Boccob

Again, my Sense Motive said the man wasn’t lying. His master of Sorcery had told the Half-Elf this was to be his final test. Word had surfaced of an ancient evil reemerging in the region, seeking to wreak havoc throughout the land. Garvin was sent to investigate it. Quite a task for one of his age. But in fairness I wasn’t the most experienced paladin at the time either. I also discovered that he worshipped Boccob, a patron of wizards and knowledge. I have heard mention of him in Heironeous’ texts but he is often spoken of in confused terms as if my Lord and God himself has had trouble understanding him. Still his skill in magic had a lot of potential. 

Garvin even made mention that his master had shown him vision of us and that we were meant for great and important things here in Grayhawk. By Heironeous if only I’d had an inkling of what we were in for at the time! 

Evil threatens the land!

Sensing there was no malevolence about the man we let him join. And I have seen him often speaking with Viera about their lives. And from I’ve been able to gather it seems Garvin too has had to deal with his fair share of pain and persecution. 

With the five original compatriots gathered the rest of the journey to Mitrik was uneventful. Once we arrived in the city we were paid in full. We celebrated that night with some ale and some very juicy steaks at the local tavern. We headed off to the local house of Heironeous to see about some work that could be done. It was when we heard he screams coming from an alleyway nearby that we chose to respond to. It was then, without warning, our great and at times terrifying adventure began!

One night in Mitrik, the capital of Veluna we heard a scream from a darkened alleyway...and walked roight into destiny!

Well there you have it, folks, the adventure truly begins. Next week the P.O.V. shifts to the female ranger Anya. What adventures are in store for the small group of adventurers in the Temple of Elemental Evil? You’ll just have to wait and see, come along this will be a great story.

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Thank you for reading this until next time, I’m Animeman73, saying stay true to yourselves, stay classy, and God bless you all.

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Original commentary: What I want to see in the next Elder Scrolls game

Next: My Gaming Journey: The Temple of Elemental Evil – Journal Entry #2