Hawaii:Sessions:19910216:The Dragon Temple
THE DRAGON TEMPLE
When the gates opened around 7:30 or so, the team prepared and entered the city. They found the market in the process of being set up. They sort of split into separate groups as they entered the marketplace. However, a distraction in the streets brought them all together, so they decided to go to a nearby inn to decide what to do next. Jake and Whitetop did some scouting around and found two bridges going over the river that were guarded. The team figured that the dragon temple Cartwright and Rathbone had found out about probably was over on that side of the river. Therefore, the team decided to cross over. Not being sure why the guards were there, they also decided to do it one at a time, with the most 'normal' going first.
It began. Rathbone crossed with no problem and headed on down toward the temple. Jessica was questioned as she crossed, but her confident answer got her past the guard. However, Trey in her attempt was stopped and sent back, as was Thomas who followed her. Meanwhile, Cartwright carrying Two-Leaf hidden in a basket passed over. Kathy and Whitetop quickly followed. Meanwhile, Thomas decided to get tricky but also got careless. While in plain view, he started casting a spell. Since he was one-handed and not yet able to forego rituals, the goblins noticed his movements and called attention to the wizard, who vanished. The ogre guard on the bridge immediately put it together and began swinging his mace across the bridge to serve as a barrier. Thomas was on the bridge, couldn't get by, and was getting tired. Jake, assessing all this, decided' what the hell', drew his 9mm, and shot the guard, dropping him in his tracks and allowing Thomas to scurry by. Jake then also shot the guard on the bridge down the way. Someone saw him pointing his weapon and yelled out that he saw the wizard. And the chase was on. In the confusion, Trey crossed.
While this had been going on, Rathbone had found the temple and circled it. Jessica stayed across the street. The others, except for Thomas who had found an alleyway to rest in, stayed near the bridge. They held this position while Jake shook his pursuers. Once he had done this and obtained a robe, he doubled back and crossed the bridge with some merchants as cover.
With Rathbone standing at the open temple door, Cartwright walked down to the altar area, which contained a huge statue of a five-headed dragon. Cartwright asked to see Sasha and was told that he was not there. He then asked if he could leave an offering. They pleaded ignorance about how this was done, and told him to come back later. Cartwright then turned as if to go. He took three steps, drew his gun, and whirled to fire at the two lizard-type guards. He never really made it because, as he whirled, one of the guards threw his spear, catching Cartwright in the stomach. Cartwright went down and out. Rathbone immediately advanced and tried to claim 'his' prisoner so he could take him to the city guard. The guard refused. Rathbone tried a little fast-talk but it did not succeed, so he headed out of the temple, calling for reinforcements over the net. Just as he stepped outside the main doors, they slammed shut. They were heavy, metal doors. Seconds later the rest of the team arrived. Whitetop began circling the building. He saw a shuttered window, stopped, and threw Fred with the command to go protect Cartwright. Fred began hacking at the very solid shutters. He the rest over the net of this possible way in, and Two-Leaf ran over to try to use it to sneak in. Whitetop continued on to try to find a way in.
Meanwhile, Kathy let off a spell which worked very well and blew the doors down. Jake, Jessica, and Rathbone charged in. Cartwright was nowhere to be seen, and one of the guards was charging Jake. Jake, Jessica, and Rathbone fired as one. The guard, hit by all shots, was dead before he even knew it. Thomas Black, hearing the shots, began to head for the temple. Fred had entered the temple and hovered near the ceiling, looking for Cartwright. Rathbone and Jessica charged for the rear door; Jake went up the stairs to its left; and Trey fell back and covered the front door. Jake found the left staircase led into an empty loft. He noticed Fred, but since it was hovering and doing nothing he had left it alone. Jessica and Rathbone touched the door at the same time in an attempt to open it. A force seemed to explode in their minds and they went blank, reverting to babyhood mentally. Jake, hearing their babbling, got down to them just as a tired Kathy made it to the rear of the church. She told Jake that the door was magical. Jake threw up his Black Hole and enticed the two child-minded into his room. He left them playing and rushed back out. Kathy, using a spell, opened the door, and the other guard was rushing them. Jake quickly cut him down. Trey moved from her position to enter the front of the temple with them.
Just then Whitetop, who had thoroughly examined all the rest of the temple exterior for a second entrance, arrived at the front doors right ahead of Thomas. They paused a moment to check out the reactions around the temple. There appeared to be none. Jake, Trey, and Kathy, followed by Two-Leaf, went deeper into the temple. They soon came to an area of cells where Cartwright lay on the floor. Two-Leaf immediately administered first aid, and the Black Hole was put up.
Jessica and Rathbone came to their senses and quickly came out of the Hole to determine what was going on. Whitetop entered but turned with Jessica to play door guard. Rathbone moved over to Jake, who had now returned to the altar and started up the right-side stairs. Kathy followed.
Two-Leaf and Trey put Cartwright in an autodoc. In her excitement, Two-Leaf forgot that nothing alive could stay in the Black Hole when it was pulled down. Thinking to keep him safe and in the Hole Trey and Two-Leaf did just that, which promptly ejected Cartwright causing him more hurt in the process. Thomas entered just at that time and tried to cast a major healing on Cartwright. He failed badly, which ended up injuring Cartwright even more. They then put the Black Hole up and reinserted him into the autodoc.
Meanwhile, Whitetop had put up his Black Hole in the main part of the temple. He went in and got the extra LAW rocket he'd been carrying around since the mission in Dallas with the Killer Robot. He had just finished doing this when Jake and Jason passed an alcove which was down the upstairs hall. This contained a small statue of the five-headed dragon. Jake passed it by with Jason following, but Jake did ask Kathy to check to see if it was magic. Both Jake and Jason were almost at the door at the end of the hall when they heard Kathy yell. She teleported out, and Jake responded immediately to her yell and dashed to the alcove opening, to be immediately met by five dragon breath weapons. Moving quickly, he managed to dodge three of the attacks. Even as he took that damage, he fired into whatever was attacking him. Rathbone also fired his blaster at it, as Kathy enchanted a spell. Whitetop began sighting in on it as it exploded from Kathy's spell. Rathbone did some basic first aid on Jake, as Whitetop came up and Kathy rested a little. Kathy checked the door at the end of the hall and also found it to be magical. Pulling a grenade, Whitetop said he really had a good door opener. He lobbed it against the door and they all took cover as it blew the door open. Rathbone guarded the door while the other three searched what appeared to be a living chamber. After a fairly thorough search nothing special was found. After the others finished, Rathbone also made an unsuccessful search of the room.
Once that search was done, the search began downstairs. They quickly found a robe, which he put on over his clothes. He then moved out to the front door, taking over guard duty from Jessica. Two-Leaf remained in the Black Hole with Cartwright, who was still in the autodoc. Black Trey was standing guard outside the Black Hole. While Kathy and Thomas both rested, Jessica and Jake engaged in a search for secret exits. Whitetop went into his Black Hole, got five thermite grenades, and began setting up to destroy the large statue at the altar. He put a grenade in each mouth and rigged them to one pullcord.
Meanwhile, Jake found a trap door and they began to try to get it open. Whitetop and he worked on it for a while. Finally with Kathy's help they got it open. A ladder led downward. Jake went down it. At the bottom was a large room full of urns which contained ashes. Jessica relieved Jason and he followed Jake. Past the room, the corridor ended in another one that went to the left and right. The corridor to the left led (after thirty feet) to a chamber that was a storage/barracks room. Jake, with Rathbone trailing behind, then went down the right corridor till it ended five hundred feet down the way.
Once this was done, waiting began for Cartwright's release from the autodoc. Kathy did a healing on him, but it would still keep him for some time. Several minutes later Jessica spotted a group of ogres with a robed human in the lead heading toward the temple. ETA would be about thirty seconds. Two-Leaf overrode the autodoc and ejected Cartwright. Thomas and Trey started carrying him toward the trapdoor. Kathy joined Rathbone, Jessica, and Jake at the front door. Kathy decided to try to stop or slow them down, and started to create a windstorm. She succeeded very well but used too much energy, even cutting into her health. She collapsed to the floor, bleeding from nose and mouth. The ogres were thrown about but then hugged the ground. However, the human was slammed into a wall.
The team then lowered the injured and exhausted (Cartwright, Kathy, and Thomas), then headed down to the corridor just past the room. Whitetop pulled the thermite grenade pins just before he came down, and he was the last down. He then put up the team Black Hole and got two gurneys from the infirmary. Jake put up his hole, got his sniper rifle, and headed back out. However, Jason and Jessica stopped him by saying it was too dangerous. Realizing that they would follow him if he went, he relented and put up his weapon. The team then headed down the tunnel. Kathy was on one gurney, unconscious, with Two-Leaf riding beside her. Cartwright and Thomas sat back-to-back on the other one. Jake took point, Trey took drag, with Jason providing cover, while Jessica pushed Kathy, and Whitetop pushed the other two. They soon reached the tunnel's end and opened the external tunnel door. Jake popped the door and went out to do a quick recon. It opened on a 30-degree slope leading down to a sandy beach.