The hobgoblins had allowed us to pass and given us directions through the temple, but we could not be sure if they were sending us to the altar or to our deaths…or both. We moved ahead carefully to a room with a large statue of a swordsman. To the left, two smaller dragon statues were set in corners. Cherry spotted some controls on the back of the swordsman’s platform, but as she drew nearer, the statue began to turn. She quickly ran in to get behind it and as the massive sword began to fall, I froze the statue. The ice was beginning to melt and as the sword slipped lower to the ground, the men rushed in to attack and disable the statue. One determined finishing blow from Kriv knocked the arm off the swordsman and it fell in a heap.
Certain now that the swordsman was of no further threat to us, I examined the dragon statues in the corners. They seemed to have some sort of force spell designed to shove people into the center of the room should they attempt to get to the walls. This could have been a very bad situation. I counted myself lucky and stepped back to the party to continue the mission to the altar. At the opposite end of the room was another hallway decorated with four cherubs holding large vases. Ever mindful where we were, I did not trust the cherubs one bit. I feared the pitchers might contain something dangerous that would tip over on us as we tried to pass.
“Lomweg, can you fly up and see what is in the vases?” I asked and the dragon obliged. He returned to tell me that it was just water. Still suspicious, I cut off a small bit of leather from the strap of my bag and asked him to drop it in the vase to see if anything happened to it. Once more, nothing but water. We sent Heddro ahead, who walked through the hallway with no trouble and so the rest of us followed. Iceborn boldly moved ahead after Heddro, but soon ran into what seemed like a glass pane. There was nothing there only he could not get through. Quickly Kriv turned to move out of the hallway the direction from which we came, and similarly ran into this forcefield.
Heddro reached out and felt nothing, he came back into the hallway and moved out both sides. We all tried against the barrier, but could not break free. Just then the cherub faces became devilish and the vases were tipped over. A splash of water came down on us, but did not stop flowing once the vase would have been empty. Up to our ankles, the water itself did not pass beyond the barrier and a horrible realization came over us: we’re going to drown. Heddro got out of the hallway quickly as the water began to rise. Cherry and I looked at each other in panic, as we would be the first ones to lose our footing. As soon as we did this, the water began to move in a whirlpool in the center of the area. It had no place to drain, but was spinning all the same. The faces of the cherubs now seemed wickedly happy with our distress.
Cherry threw a rope out to Heddro as the water became too deep for her to maintain her balance against the current. She held on tight, but the whirlpool was now whipping her around the room at the end of the rope. I also lost my control and reached out for the rope. Heddro nearly lost his footing outside the trap as he was now holding two small people at the end of the rope as it jerked back and forth against the whirlpool. Water getting higher now, Kriv and Iceborn jumped up to grab the cherubs and pull themselves up. They pulled out handaxes and attempted to break the statuettes to pieces. As they struggled to maintain their rip, the cherubs turned their heads and giggled at their assailants.
As the tiefling and dragonborn cracked away at the cherubs, Cherry had floated within reach of a third cherub and climbed over. One by one the cherubs began to be broken down, and the vases stopped flowing. Two remained and I attempted to hold the rope with one had while casting at the unattended cherub. Lomweg watched from above nervously and my hand slipped and I went thrashing about the cell, nearly drowning. Cherry crushed her cherub and now only one was left. I could see nothing at this point as I slipped below the water. I held my breath as I tried again to grab something for stability. Around the chamber I went flailing and at one point my leg was ripped into by something sharp.
Just then the barriers seemed to give way and the water went pouring out into both chambers. I tumbled out onto the floor and gasped. I took a moment to treat the wound on my leg, and in comparing the experience with the others I found out that it had been one of Iceborn’s horns that dug into my leg. I would hate to get into a fight with that guy! He’s right up there with orcs and that wasn’t even intentional. Clothes wet, I was very uncomfortable, but we had no time now to dry off. Kalarel was starting the ritual and we needed to hurry. This trap had kept us occupied for far too long already.
