Storm 502.

Donations: Nate Autical

Exploration: Metz Temple-mania.

Soldi, day 3 of Autumn, 567

After the big push at Metzetli Island by PTF and friends, PAG decided to pick up the effort.

We used all the info that PTF had accumulated, plus all the information of earlier explorers, to choose what we hoped was the optimal route.

Once again, we pushed through the jungles, caverns and passes to reach various glow-spots, before attacking the Deathroot section of the Rainforest.

After clearing the Deathroot snells, we entered the ruined Temple there to find that all three elements of the Trialyth were glowing.

Unfortunately, this did not teleport us anywhere, or help us to enter any new sections of this temple, which are tauntingly visible past piles of impassable debris from earlier cave-ins.

However, we pressed on to the Tepui temple, with the help of teleporting Mystics.

There, we found we could enter the doorway we had noted earlier, into a new chamber with an altar.

Torin already has described what we found there, so I'll add only that while this was a big step forward for us, it was just one more step in a long journey that will (hopefully) eventually allow exiles to gain access to the deeper rooms of the Tepui Temple.

Whatever is hidden deep within this Temple is well protected; that's sure!

In my time in exile in these Lands, I have met several exiles with exceedingly strong wills and stout hearts.

Many of these folks have escaped from exile, never to be seen again, so I have made my own memorials to them.

I thought that Babajaga Vanimalda the Fleet was one of these.

So I was quite surprised to see that Babajaga had returned to Puddleby recently (along with many others!).

It has been a joy to hear her battle cry of "Dance the Beasts!" ringing through the woods once more, striking fear in her foes.

Welcome back.

Fordi, day 35 of Summer, 567.

PAG once again opted for fresh air over dank caverns, and headed to Metzetli Island.

Since Org du Lac had previously marked a quiet spot in the Rainforest, we were able to skip over much of the island by teleporting into the Rainforest directly.

Org du Lac and Asenath took turns teleporting in small groups, then swimming back down the river for another load.

Once the group was reassembled, we made quick progress through the Rainforest toward the Tepui.

The one odd thing we saw was several Black Locusts, that were very mean insects indeed.

Still, we reached the Tepui at last, and without losing anyone to Hellebore roots or by falling out of the treetops.

As we had during the last trip here, we set up a Kudzu fort at the cliff edge, and set to work thinning the large herds of Yorillas and Sazajas.

Although clearing the area took quite a long time, the time saved by teleporting in rather than fighting our way step-by-step through the Gloaming Wendecka caverns allowed us to see nearly all of the Tepui on this trip.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to a ruined Temple at one edge of the Tepui.

Inside we encountered various strong Arachne, including formidible Mammoth Recluse Arachne (the trophy-to-be that Kalian is chaining along).

In the farthest reaches of the temple, we encountered an angular room with a curious statue built into the wall at the North end, flanked by rows of figures bearing torches.

To our surprise, we saw one pair of these torches burst into flame as we walked near, and wink out as we withdrew.

The statue itselfhas the look of a doorway, with a face surmounting the lintel and the body formed by the two closed doors

However, no amount of effort could move the massive stone slabs, so if they really are doors they are tightly locked and give no clue as to what might lay beyond.

While we were at the Tepui Temple, Org du Lac took a teleport mark there.

With that time-saver in mind, PTF decided to investigate this temple further.

Org teleported us from the water at the South entry of Metzetli directly into the temple (hence the boats!).

After killing several vicious Arachne, we looked around, but all seemed just as before.

By chance, Mujin-kun and Lorikeet were leading a hunt in the Gloaming Wendecka caverns at the same time, so we asked them to make a stop at a small grove near those caves containing a small blue glowing spot that zaps healers.

The moment Lorikeet stepped into that distant spot, a second pair of torches burst into flame within the Tepui temple!

That observation started an epic quest as we decided to try to activate all the known blue and red glowing spots on the island to observe the effect on these torches, and perhaps open the doorway.

Recruiting some additional help, we took our leave from the Tepui temple and headed first for a fiery cave in the Twilight passes containing red glowing spots that zap fighters.

Kalian was able to reach the spots and was zapped as expected.

Mephisto then went alone to a small island in the river to be zapped by a blue spot there.

In the meantime, Org du Lac was monitoring events in the Tepui Temple, and at this time, the third and final pair of torches burst to life as well.

What remained were the two most difficult spots to reach: the Deathroot Temple, and the distant Twilight Temple.

With Asenath's teleporting assistance, a small group was able to reach the Rainforest to try to slip into the Deathroot Temple through the more lightly-guarded back entrance.

Gorvin swung across the river on a vine alone to tackle an impressive four Agronox, and the hunt was on.

Climbing down from the trees, we found large Haremau and Madzume Yorillas waiting for us.

We killed a few large beasts, but the first assault ended badly when the fighters were fallen too hard for Mephisto and Hunter to raise.

Thankfully, we didn't lose anyone to Hellebore roots!

After swimming downriver to heal up, we recruited Lorikeet and teleported in once again for another try.

We were able to advance slowly through the Raja-Yorillas and Utsanna Haremaus, and finally cleared the area up to the entry to the ruined Deathroot Temple.

This was a lot easier than using the main entrance, although still quite challenging.

Inside the Temple, we had two surprises.

First, in previous visits we had seen only one of the Trialyths glowing, but today there were two.

Second, when Mephisto stepped onto the blue glowing spot, he was not zapped as expected, but strangely repelled.

Clearly, something we had done elsewhere on the island had influenced this Trialyth, in addition to the flames in the Tepui temple.

At this time, I had take my leave, as the others continued onward to try to reach the Twilight Temple and its red glowing spots (I heard they did not make it there before some of the torches went out).

While it seems we are on the right track, we are obviously missing some critical information.

Perhaps the order of the glow-spot "activation" matters, or we need to get all three pillars of the Trialyth glowing too, and there is certainly a tight time limit.

Still, we made remarkable progress in a day with an ever-changing small group that did not even set out to attempt to solve this entire quest.

Knowing that we can reach the Deathroot Temple with a handful of exiles makes the larger effort seem much more plausible (since I have been part of small groups reaching the Twilight temple already).

We shall certainly be trying this again, to test out several ideas.

I helped a group escape from Alchemist's Folly recently.

Apparently, these younger folks were seeking grey pants, but took a wrong turn in a dark cavern through a path and, of course, ended up trapped and badly rocked.

Mephisto and I dove in to clear the many undine blocking the narrow tunnel, then chain the hapless exiles out.