From the journals of Kremernesh Mommanpopple...
By the time the morning sun had broken the horizon, we had made our decision. We would accompany Maria into the jungle to retrieve her gem from the temple and then we would leave the Miguel to head into the northern seas to rescue their father. We made some quick preparations and then set out for the temple with Maria, Grim Rose and company.
Under Maria's guidance we were able to make good time to the temple though we did have a run in with a massive swarm of mosquitoes. Thankfully Rose was able to drive them away before we were totally drained of blood but I don't relish the thought of encountering them again on the way back to the town.
The temple itself was a massive stone building with an abyss in the center which surrounded a giant stone column on which the gem rested. After some exploration, we found that a trough containing some kind of liquid ran around the perimeter of the temple. We deliberated for a moment and then decided to see if we could set light to the liquid. Instantly the flames shot around the temple, illuminating it for us all to see.
Now that we had some light, we could see that there were staircases in each of the corners and numerous inscriptions throughout. Most proved to be to archaic to make sense of. The one that Puck was able to puzzle out was written around the entrance. "When the four lesser gods are appeased the great one will bestow his treasure." It seemed that the only way to solve this puzzle was to head down the various staircases to see what we could find so we choose the one to the left of the entrance and proceeded down.
The stairs went deep underground and it was while we headed down that I started to feel quite ill. Excusing myself from the party, I was able to force myself to vomit which seemed to help greatly. Must remember to avoid mosquitoes whenever possible on this island.
At the bottom of the staircase we found ourselves at the juncture of a three forked corridor. This time Puck was able to make our the various inscriptions which I am quite certain saved our lives as they held clues about what kinds of challenges we would have to face. I choose the central path as it seemed to indicate that there were numerous traps that must be avoided and it turned out that we were right! We each were able to succeed in our various tasks without too much difficulty until the end. As Lee was completing his task, his corridor began collapsing and a large stone crushed one of his legs. If not for his mighty constitution he might not have survived but he was able to drag himself free. Between Puck's healing sword and my own attempts at setting his leg Lee seemed to be not too much the worse for wear which is good as we still have three more challenges to face and I don't relish the idea of attempting them without him.
Upon returning to the main hall, we saw that a small section of bridge had extended out over the abyss toward the central column. It appears that with each challenge that we accomplish the closer we will get to our goal. This is good to know but for now we are taking a moment to rest before we continue.
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