Sealing the Temple

Mahlajai made his way over to the spike covered knight’s faithful mount and offered some vegetables plucked from the nearby garden of the abbey. He found feeding the mule to be rather cathartic and simple; such tasks were becoming harder to find.

As he held a bit of food in his hand he had a thought and immediately set out to find the paladin.
He cleared his voice upon locating him, “..-Ahem-, Sir Mercurion, the Pincushion warrior; Servant of the Lady Ezra and member of the Order of the Silver Dragon- the last true Knight of Argynvost. It seems as though I have neglected and been somewhat amiss of an important duty pertaining to something of yours. I beg a moment of your time. This regards your quest to seal the Amber Temple or as I call it, the Temple of E’lazahd.

"I am honored that you remembered my many splendorified titles!" Mercurion lifted his visor, beaming.

"You can have as many moments as you require, my strange ex-puppet friend. If you have more to tell me about our quest to the benighted temple, I am quite curious indeed."

The djinn nodded, “Very well.”

He turns and points to the north, “The temple lies far to the north. It will likely take several days or more to reach it. The mountain pass is the quickest route to it, but there are other slower means available. Given the elevation it is likely we will encounter wintry weather but the Temple itself lies near a dry and desolate expanse. Heat and thirst abound. ”

Mahlajai looks back to the Knight. “But that is of less importance than what you must know of the temple itself. The Amber Temple is and was built as a prison of sorts. Many dark and evil and best forgotten things are bound within. It’s location and distance from other signs of life was largely why it was selected, but it also is a nexus of power. I won’t bore you with the nuance of magic theory but suffice it to say if all the magic in Barovia were rivers, all the rivers meet at the temple’s location.”
He clears his throat, “Furthermore, the Temple is not intended to be easily accessed or entered. Once you are within it, you must not stop moving forward. Resting within its confines allows the prisoners to interact with you. That is not good and is most assuredly a way to become corrupted or worse. EVERYTHING there seeks your soul at the very least.”

“And lastly, this temple will test you not to strengthen you but to break you-each of you. Perhaps YOU though most of all. In order to seal it permanently, you must enter its center, where the...door or gateway to the magic river analogy I spoke of is, and thrust your blade deep into the middle of that gate. Know that when you place your blade you must be certain that you want to seal the place, for should you waiver or hesitate or doubt your quest-even for a moment, you will be unable to seal it and likely doom yourself and the others to fates far worse than death. Even if it seems like the rest of the world is dying and only you could save or prevent it...you must not doubt yourself or your task. Everything and everyone will be relying on you.”

Mercurion listened to the words of the elemental creature, the Borcan's aspect growing more dour as he listened to the descriptions of the Amber Temple.

"I do not care overmuch for the cold. My homeland, with a few marked exceptions, is a temperate land of woods and hotsprings- but mark my words, has-been-puppet! I will not waver. With Ezra as my witness, I will strike this sorcerous river with my blade and unmodulate its waters..."

The paladin nodded resolutely, but his grim smile changed to one of mild bewilderment, and he shrugged beneath his heavy, dire armor.

"But I will confess, friend Mahlajai, I am a bit confounded as to what is to be gained by going to this bedarkened place. Does this fount of magic aid Strahd, or is there some boon or trinket to be gained?"

The djinn considered the question, “The reason for sealing the temple is to prevent evil from being released or at least that’s what the last knight of Argynvost said when he attempted it. Poor man.”

He mused, “I suspect it’s got more to do with Argynvost wanting to prevent Strahd from accessing it and using it’s dark powers to further serve his whims,  which was why Argynvost left a fellow dragon and my people to guard it. But Zahrys claims this dragon has died...which admittedly does not bode well and the fate of my people concerns me greatly.”
He sighs, “One of Barovia’s oldest foes-the Terg for instance are bound within the Temple. If Strahd somehow found a way to release them...that would be bad to say the least. The Terg were all but immune to magic and extremely powerful physical combatants.  Not sure even Strahd would want to risk those foes as it took him nearly ten years to beat them back...of course that was before he became a Vampire lord, but just the same-.”

Mahlajai thought about it for a moment before adding, “I know you rely of the lady Ezra for many things. She has certainly blessed your travels thus far. I hope she aids you in the Temple... but I would not be surprised if you learn something about your Goddess while in the Temple that might give you a new means of understanding her. Would you see that as a boon?”