27 Thaumont 1000AC - Entering Kota-Hutan Temple

Broneslav reached the temple gates without incident. As he approached, he realised that they were decorated with animal and plant motifs. The walls of the temple were covered in vines and Broneslav thought that it would be better to climb the wall and scout the interior before he entered. He tested a vine and it fell quickly. A different one felt firm enough and he began to climb, only to fall on his backside as it too would not bear his weight.

Are the vines climbable? Unknown quantity. The oracle says that they are not but that something the hero believes is actually wrong. Thus he thinks he can climb it but falls.

Nothing for it but to charge the gates then, he thought. Checking them, he found that they swung open easily. He stopped and listened before stepping quickly into the apparently empty courtyard. Small wooden sheds stood on either side of the courtyard and two stone structures occupied the external corners of the courtyard wall. Above him the rock towered over the double doors that must lead to the temple interior. The dirt floor was well trampled and showed signs of neglect. Weeds grew everywhere and rubbish had been left haphazardly around the place. There was a large reflecting pool in the centre of the yard. The water in the pool looked manky and algae-ridden.

Turning to the left, he stalked panther-like along the wall to the stone building in the corner of the courtyard, pausing only long enough to admire the delicate dome that roofed it. It was a shrine with a statue on a dais and a small altar in front of the statue. He recognised it as Elayas, the immortal from the shrine.

Following the courtyard round clockwise he moved stealthily towards the four wooden shacks next to the shrine. They were empty and long unused.

1 square equals 10 feet

He retraced his steps round to the stone building on the other side of the courtyard where he found a shrine that mirrored the one he had already investigated. This, too, looked deserted, so he skirted round it and moved to the wooden shacks on that side of the courtyard. These appeared empty until he checked the last one. Two sacks lay discarded at the back of it. Upon investigation, these turned out to contain a couple of hundred copper coins. Although the sacks were rotting, a black panther symbol was visible on them and the word 'Tithe' could be made out. Broneslav pocketed the cash and moved towards the stairs leading up to the temple's main entrance.

There's little point spending ages checking everything out like most D&D players would do if this were a live game with DM and players, so I figure to race through the empty areas. Broneslav has missed being ambushed by a gargoyle at this stage because he did not see anything worth investigating in the shrine at bottom right of the map. Perhaps it will emerge when he is on his way out. We shall see.

The map is made with Campaign Cartographer, as usual, using the Jon Roberts dungeon style that was issued with one of the annuals. I am still only moderately competent with the software and could do with learning an awful lot more about it, but I reckon it gives great results despite that, although I have just noticed that two of the movement arrows have disappeared beneath the stairs. Time to add a new layer to the map for the arrows. That way I can keep them above the other map symbols. I have also just realised that I left the grid switched on but that it is not visible in all parts of the map. No harm done, eh?

Character
Broneslav Torenescu (S16, D14, C15, I12, W10, Ch14, F1, HP 9, AC4, Sword 1d8+3, Bow 1d8)
Human (Traladaran)
XPs: 60
Traits:
Torenescu Family Member 1
Hunter 1
Keen Vision 1
Good Education 1
Empathy with Animals 1
Goal: Prove that he is an adult following the Shearing Ceremony
Goal: Slay a red dragon
Quest: Deliver a parcel to Merisa in Gray Mountain Village