DARK CONTINENT: THE INFINITE TEMPLE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Entering past the gate and the red mist, the raised temple will be clearly visible, as it dominates the island. The model for this is roughly Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The rectangular temple complex consists of an outer wall, a large moat, an inner wall, an enclosed forest, the sanctuary, and the central the five-towered temple with its own inner moat. The sanctuary and temple are on terraced ground, commanding the landscape.


CHARACTER GOALS
If the players aren’t motivated to storm the island and confront Kurtz after everything they’ve been through to this point, I don’t know how they got this far.


THE OUTER TEMPLE GROUNDS
The outer earthen wall is not defensive, but simply keeps in the moat. There is an open sandstone causeway that crosses the moat. This leads to another open entrance in the inner retaining wall, and then a straight path into the forest and to the sanctuary.

The causeway and the road are lined with the hanging bodies of natives killed in a ritualistic manner. They are strung from ropes held up by poles, like macabre telephone lines. All of the trees in the forest have several bodies hanging from them. The smell of rotting flesh is nearly overwhelming. The dead here are being “ripened” for an undead army. A few here and there will have fallen to the ground and will rise to attack trespassers.

There are groups of harmless herd animals roaming the inner forest. They are kept there as a food supply for a megaraptor. A flock of pterodactyls that lives in the sanctuary towers hunts around the island as well.

There is one standalone building off by the side of the road. The large, heavy wooden doors are unlocked and entry is unopposed. It is obviously a library. There are rows of bookshelves with large numbers of scrolls stacked on the shelves. A search through the building will find the campsite of Kurtz’s expedition and yield supplies, healing potions, and other gear. If some of the scrolls are searched and can be deciphered, many magic spells are there to be had. By and large, these should be lower level spells. The more complex ones would require extended study.


THE SANCTUARY
Bas-reliefs cover the outside of the walls, celebrating the Serpent Men culture. The inner walls of the of the temple are galleries. They are filled with bodies of sleeping Serpent Men. Yes, the temple is a big Sleestack hibernation chamber. They can’t be woken up without a blood ritual, so the characters are okay there. However, several of them are awake and stalking them. They have thief-like stealth and flanking attacks, and are potent spell casters with high AC (skin and agility). Their goal is to ambush and slow down the party. They use the sleeping bodies to attempt to appear more numerous.


THE TEMPLE
Surrounding the five towers is an inner moat. There is a very steep stairway that leads between two giant stone Serpent Men statues which guard the open entrance. Also guarding it is the Fool. This man appears to be a colonist. He claims to have sought out Kurtz to worship him and document his triumph. Perhaps he is. Perhaps he’s a manifestation of a dark elder god. In any case, the Fool’s main purpose is to be annoying. He will follow the characters around and drone on endlessly about how great Kurtz is and his epic plans for the future. If he’s killed, unfortunately he resurrects in short order. Encourage the players to be creative in dealing with him.

The open towers are over 100 ft. tall, with the center one being the tallest. There are four small courtyards filled with water inbetween the towers. The surrounding towers each have another massive Serpent Man statue inside, more hibernating Serpent Men, and more Serpent Men ambushes. The pterodactyl nests won’t be a problem, unless the characters go outside.


KURTZ AND THE FINAL BATTLE
The central tower contains Kurtz and a group of Serpent Men conducting a ceremony. They knew the characters were coming. The attacks in the temple were just to slow them down enough to allow them to finish the ritual. They are standing around a sea (a big bowl) of blood. There is an enormous pit before them with no apparent bottom. The purpose of the ceremony is to summon the Serpent Men’s Master and awaken the rest of the tribe. The group arrives just in time to see the Master come out of the pit. If the ceremony is allowed to continue, more Serpent Men will be awakened.

So who is the mysterious Kurtz? He’s a high level wizard with an appropriate amount of magic items. I’ll list a few possibilities for the final encounter, just to keep the ending unpredictable. If Kurtz is killed during the encounter, his last words must be, “The horror! The horror!”

**Kurtz is dead and stuffed. He is just a powerful zombie-like creature.

**Kurtz is a heavily conditioned cipher of the Serpent Men and only acts at their orders. Mentioning his Intended and showing him the wedding ring, will disrupt their hold on him.

**Kurtz is the leader of the Serpent Men and has nearly turned into one of them. Mentioning his Intended drives Kurtz totally insane, lashing out at everybody.

**Kurtz body-swaps minds with the Fool. Imagine the surprise.

**Kurtz has been collaborating with the Serpent Men, biding his time and hoping to escape. He allies himself with the group against them.

**There’s more than one Kurtz at the temple thanks to a clone spell. The real one has one motive. The fake one has another.

To really spice things up, have the Intended there. She has been captured and has been brought to the temple to be sacrificed. Perhaps her sacrifice is Kurtz’s final initiation test. Perhaps he’s brought her there to either join him or die. This could add an additional emotional element to the battle, or it could add an unnecessary complication. Your call.

Who is the Serpent Men’s Master? I was thinking of a giant shell dragon, but any giant monster will do, as long as it has stats. The ceremony in progress won’t bring the Serpent Men out of hibernation, but will bring the Master.

If things start to get bad for the characters, remind them that they are there to get Kurtz. If things get really bad (or the characters succeed in grabbing Kurtz), Arc Light! Call in the airstrike! Hellion rips the top off the temple and lets loose with a blast of dragonfire. Give the players Hellion’s stats and let the giant monster rumble begin.

The inevitable conclusion of the fight will be death throes of the loser dragging the winner into the pit. Assume the temple goes down at this point and takes the Master, the Serpent men, and Hellion with it. The temple moat waters fill it in. A short time later, the island shudders and then the entire sanctuary collapses into a pit. The retaining walls crack and the moat starts to flood the forest, forming a lake. Hopefully, the characters will be watching the destruction from a safe distance.


CONCLUSION
Assuming the characters are victorious, they will be delivering Kurtz or Kurtz’s head back to civilization. They will not be molested by any natives on the way back, other than a message from Satha. Perhaps congratulations and an offer of permanent alliance, or perhaps a taunt and a challenge. The rebellion is over for the moment in any case.

The group will be credited with ending the war and hailed as heroes by the colonists. They need not worry about bounty hunters. They will have a full honors military escort back to Home Station. Kurtz or what’s left of his body will also be honored, with no one knowing his actual role in these affairs. The governor will invite the group to dinner at the palace and draw out their apportioned fiefs on a map.

The final sad or happy duty for the group will be meeting with the Intended (assuming she wasn’t at the temple). If there is a happy reunion, Kurtz will thank the characters and pledge to leave this Dark Continent behind. Otherwise, she will ask about Kurtz’s final fate and his last words.

“His last word--to live with,” she murmured. “Don't you understand I
loved him--I loved him--I loved him!”

I pulled myself together and spoke slowly. “The last word he pronounced was--your name.”


The End