Temple of Death, Part Seven

The Skeleton Crew
The party recombines once again, mourns the loss of Excrutia for less time that it takes to read this sentence, then heads on! For a while, Habenath (aka Mr. Pointy Ears) has been hearing a horn a callin' and now it becomes obvious as everyone else hears it. The party decide to stop and wait, and all too soon a pack of spectral hounds come bounding down towards the group. The tension is high, and missile weapons are readied, but a handy Habenath fireball means that the fight doesn't go to the dogs.

However, there isn't progress made before there is a ship in the skies. A sailing ship of the aquatic kind. In the sky. (Fortunately this is D&D and no sanity checks are necessary.) An inviting rope ladder is lowered, and half of the party board to find the ship crewed by skeletons! Fortunately, Alrick learnt 'Speak with Dead' and so the party finds out that the Master graciously sent this ship to help sped the heroes to their final encounter. After the requisite bone and ship jokes, the party boards and they are on their way.


Tower of Troubles
The Master has some lovely lake front property, with a castle and surrounds facing out onto Lake Tross. The party see all this as they arrive to the top of the castle tower via the skeleton ship. Despite much talk about disabling the skeletons and crashing the ship into the castle, nothing eventuates from the all-talk, no-action wusses.

The top of the tower affords a lovely view of everything around them, such as the very long drop over the side, and the lack of any way off the tower top. Fortunately, Thaddeus finds a trap door, and he and Argorn descend into... an empty room! Score! They find another trap door, and open it to reveal a) a tiger, b) the Master, and c) another tiger, all in the Master's bedroom (Siegfried and Roy, eat yer heart out!).