9th Day of Goodmonth, CY 592
The Calling
Imix had told us that in two day’s time, the Ritual of Unmaking was to take place. We spent the first twelve hours resting and preparing for the dragon and the three challenges. Creden readied the Feast of the Saint, while the rest of us planned our day’s work.
Vannay called the ghaele, Rowenar, from Arvandor to help us in our task. He gave a summary explanation of what our group had been through, and what still lay before us. He said that the cult is dangerously close to attempting to free Tharizdun, and though we are a powerful group, we may not be able to defeat Imix on our own. Vannay put it plainly, “We need help.”
Vannay decided that the ghaele would be more likely to help us if we did not anchor him into the calling circle prepared by Creden. It was a good idea, because that is the first thing Rowenar mentioned. The ghaele said that his kind would normally not interfere with the affairs of our world, but the head of his order had spoke of the “destructive tide threatening to wash over our world”. Rowenar went on to say that the First of the Seldarine, Corellon Larethian, looks fondly upon his elf children. So for that reason, Rowenar was willing to help us. He only asked that a donation be made to the elven church after the task is complete.
The Dragon
Any battle with a dragon is dangerous. Most dragon hunters (those who live long enough) say you must find an advantage. If you can show up ready to give battle, and the dragon is not, then the advantage is yours. The dragon, Ixenkurik, could not determine when we would exit the magnificent mansion, so we had just what we needed.
Rowenar, a summoned air elemental and an illusion of Victor closed with the dragon. The dragon breathed fire on them, but the protections held. Delvanos let loose with a volley of arrows dealing great damage. The dragon managed to get a full attack on (the real) Victor, but that was his last action. The next volley of arrows from Delvanos dropped the dragon to the ground. The hard fall finished Ixenkurik.
Ten Stones
We pressed on to the first of the three challenges.
Two armor clad efreet were in the room. One of them explained that each challenge was made up of a guardian, a puzzle and a “high price for failure”. The genies were ordered by Imix to design all three of the challenges, and they were the guardians of the first one.
The battle commenced, and Safadin managed to drop the talkative genie with a cold orb right to his face. Uthgar nearly fell into a concealed lava pit, but he was enchanted with a fly spell. We closed with the second one, but he turned ethereal before we could attack him. We readied actions for his return, but when he returned he had multiple images of himself. We destroyed all of them, but he feebleminded Vannay before we finished him off.
Victor went and collected Safadin and the babbling archmage, while Creden and Delvanos examined the puzzle. The writing on the wall said:
Ten little stones point to the west,
Change their direction in three moves or less,
Take heed of this warning and measure the cost,
Failure while trying and all protection is lost.
Creden spent a few moments looking at it, and came up with a solution. The rest of us gathered around the puzzle with a short diversion of Victor dropping Safadin on another one of the lava pits. Luckily, he had immunity to fire and succeeded on staying afloat long enough to fly out. We all agreed with the solution, and Creden moved the stones. The first challenge was complete. Rowenar healed Vannay and we moved on.
Fiery Pudding
We moved into the next room, which looked quite similar to the first. The main difference was a huge lava pudding hanging on the ceiling. Safadin and Creden recognized it as being similar to a much smaller version they encountered in the bowels of the Hellfurnace Mountains. It was conflagration ooze.
Creden sent Cuthbert’s Grasping Hand up to grapple the ooze. The hand succeeded on the grapple check, but the ooze did not seem to be affected a great deal. It did turn out to be a good idea though, since the pudding’s ability to grapple the rest of us was diminished. It did manage to burn Rowenar’s blood, before our combined efforts destroyed it. Unfortunately, it exploded spraying lava over several of us when it was killed. Uthgar and Rowenar were weakened considerably by the fiery toxin racing through their veins.
Now we just had to do a bit of healing, and then we could attempt to solve the second puzzle.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Heart of Fire
9th Day of Goodmonth, CY 592
We returned from our long stay in Chendl with a clear sense of purpose and renewed vigor. It was now time to start down that final leg of our quest that has taken up much of the last year. All but two of the Doomdreamers mentioned in Susain’s journal have been killed. We took out the new Third and the very old Second. Still before us are the former High Priestess of Fire, Tessimon, the Champion Lareth, the Doomdreamer Maliskra and the Prince of Fire, Imix.
Tessimon already fell to us once. She was thought to be a possible champion until she failed the test given by Hedrack and Varachan. Lareth has proved himself a formidable challenge, when he nearly killed our group in Nulb. All of us, especially Victor, are looking forward to setting that score right. Maliskra had been selected out of all the Doomdreamers to enter the Fire Node, though at this point we do not know why. Imix is the ancient Elemental Warmaster, who fought in the wars that preceded mankind. We also learned that he has a dedicated cult on the Elemental Plane of Fire, and they are opposed by the Efreet Lords of the City of Brass. Fistan Nolro provided some measure of help in his studies of the Fire Prince. We have passed all the obstacles leading up to this point, and now we will find out if the cult’s destructive goals can finally be stopped.
At the Gate
We teleported back into the greater temple room, and we began making preparations for taking on the guardians of the Fire Node’s gate. We expected Tessimon to employ her skills with fire, so we used several energy wards. Vannay used his clairvoyance wand to scout out their positions, and he summoned an earth elemental to fight alongside us. We found out later that the succubus, who watched us enter the recovered temple, was watching us prepare and let Tessimon and her salamander guards know what we were up to.
We used dimension door to get right in the middle of the enemy, but they had readied actions in preparation. Tessimon let loose a powerful fire storm laced with necromantic energies, and the salamanders targeted Creden and Uthgar with dispelling magic. It was a powerful first assault, but we responded in kind. Uthgar split the head of the nearest salamander wide open. Delvanos riddled Tessimon with five quick arrows, and Victor followed up the volley by snapping her neck. Her lifeless body fell to the floor. Vannay and Safadin used cold magic to severely damage the salamanders. The succubus stepped onto the large red diamond dominating the chamber and plane shifted into the Fire Node.
Once Tessimon dropped, Vannay could see the conjuration aura on the fire diamond losing its power. We finished off the salamanders and their summoned fire elementals in the next two rounds, and then we were faced with a decision. The gate to the Fire Node was clearly about to close. We did not know if we would be able to reopen it once that happened. At the same time, we had taken some damage in the attack, and a few of us were without fire protection. We decided that the risk of what lay beyond was worth taking. We stepped on to the fire diamond.
The process of plane shifting took a bit longer than expected. We could see a large chamber blinking into existence on the other side, and a huge red dragon was making a sweeping turn around the room. The furnace-like heat from the other side would quickly drain our strength if we did not have protection. When we finally arrived in the Fire Node, the dragon did not seem overtly hostile.
And then a voice like living flame spoke.
Imix Speaks
“You have entered my realm unbidden. But it is pleasing to me that you wish to give battle. Nothing you do can stop what is coming, but that does not mean you should not learn of true power before The Unmaking. The swath of destruction you have made has earned you entrance into my home. Now I will find out if you are worthy of entering into my presence.
If you wish to have an audience with me, you will have to prove your mettle and mind. As you can see the powerful wyrm, Ixenkurik, is your first challenge. He has somewhat of a grudge against you, since you slew his daughter Chymon. The remaining three challenges are behind the doors in front of you. Take them in any order you wish for I am not particular.
Once you have proved yourselves able, step in the circle and come to me. The devout followers of the Dark Lord, Lareth and Maliskra, have pressed me to complete the ritual. They believe that it is a mistake to wait for you to come. But are they of the royal bloodline? Are they of the Hidden King? Were they there at the beginning, when we smote the world in its infancy? The new order will be born in the destruction of the old. And He will know that it is I who freed him. I was called. I answered. I alone will sunder the walls of his prison.
You have two days until the world ends.”
Vannay’s Timely Refuge
The voice had barely finished speaking, when the dragon, Ixenkurik, swooped down upon us. He let loose with a cone of fire that did not quickly abate. The battle looked too dangerous in our current state, so Vannay conjured a magnificent mansion to shelter us. We spent the next ten hours resting and making preparations for the dangerous trials ahead.
We returned from our long stay in Chendl with a clear sense of purpose and renewed vigor. It was now time to start down that final leg of our quest that has taken up much of the last year. All but two of the Doomdreamers mentioned in Susain’s journal have been killed. We took out the new Third and the very old Second. Still before us are the former High Priestess of Fire, Tessimon, the Champion Lareth, the Doomdreamer Maliskra and the Prince of Fire, Imix.
Tessimon already fell to us once. She was thought to be a possible champion until she failed the test given by Hedrack and Varachan. Lareth has proved himself a formidable challenge, when he nearly killed our group in Nulb. All of us, especially Victor, are looking forward to setting that score right. Maliskra had been selected out of all the Doomdreamers to enter the Fire Node, though at this point we do not know why. Imix is the ancient Elemental Warmaster, who fought in the wars that preceded mankind. We also learned that he has a dedicated cult on the Elemental Plane of Fire, and they are opposed by the Efreet Lords of the City of Brass. Fistan Nolro provided some measure of help in his studies of the Fire Prince. We have passed all the obstacles leading up to this point, and now we will find out if the cult’s destructive goals can finally be stopped.
At the Gate
We teleported back into the greater temple room, and we began making preparations for taking on the guardians of the Fire Node’s gate. We expected Tessimon to employ her skills with fire, so we used several energy wards. Vannay used his clairvoyance wand to scout out their positions, and he summoned an earth elemental to fight alongside us. We found out later that the succubus, who watched us enter the recovered temple, was watching us prepare and let Tessimon and her salamander guards know what we were up to.
We used dimension door to get right in the middle of the enemy, but they had readied actions in preparation. Tessimon let loose a powerful fire storm laced with necromantic energies, and the salamanders targeted Creden and Uthgar with dispelling magic. It was a powerful first assault, but we responded in kind. Uthgar split the head of the nearest salamander wide open. Delvanos riddled Tessimon with five quick arrows, and Victor followed up the volley by snapping her neck. Her lifeless body fell to the floor. Vannay and Safadin used cold magic to severely damage the salamanders. The succubus stepped onto the large red diamond dominating the chamber and plane shifted into the Fire Node.
Once Tessimon dropped, Vannay could see the conjuration aura on the fire diamond losing its power. We finished off the salamanders and their summoned fire elementals in the next two rounds, and then we were faced with a decision. The gate to the Fire Node was clearly about to close. We did not know if we would be able to reopen it once that happened. At the same time, we had taken some damage in the attack, and a few of us were without fire protection. We decided that the risk of what lay beyond was worth taking. We stepped on to the fire diamond.
The process of plane shifting took a bit longer than expected. We could see a large chamber blinking into existence on the other side, and a huge red dragon was making a sweeping turn around the room. The furnace-like heat from the other side would quickly drain our strength if we did not have protection. When we finally arrived in the Fire Node, the dragon did not seem overtly hostile.
And then a voice like living flame spoke.
Imix Speaks
“You have entered my realm unbidden. But it is pleasing to me that you wish to give battle. Nothing you do can stop what is coming, but that does not mean you should not learn of true power before The Unmaking. The swath of destruction you have made has earned you entrance into my home. Now I will find out if you are worthy of entering into my presence.
If you wish to have an audience with me, you will have to prove your mettle and mind. As you can see the powerful wyrm, Ixenkurik, is your first challenge. He has somewhat of a grudge against you, since you slew his daughter Chymon. The remaining three challenges are behind the doors in front of you. Take them in any order you wish for I am not particular.
Once you have proved yourselves able, step in the circle and come to me. The devout followers of the Dark Lord, Lareth and Maliskra, have pressed me to complete the ritual. They believe that it is a mistake to wait for you to come. But are they of the royal bloodline? Are they of the Hidden King? Were they there at the beginning, when we smote the world in its infancy? The new order will be born in the destruction of the old. And He will know that it is I who freed him. I was called. I answered. I alone will sunder the walls of his prison.
You have two days until the world ends.”
Vannay’s Timely Refuge
The voice had barely finished speaking, when the dragon, Ixenkurik, swooped down upon us. He let loose with a cone of fire that did not quickly abate. The battle looked too dangerous in our current state, so Vannay conjured a magnificent mansion to shelter us. We spent the next ten hours resting and making preparations for the dangerous trials ahead.
The Council of the Free Peoples
18th Day of Wealsun, CY 592
A council was convened to discuss the progress of our group’s progress in the fight to destroy the cultists of Tharizdun. It was attended by many of the same people who attended the Hommlet council during Patchwall of last year. That council convened to put a plan together to retrieve the Air Binder from the Sea of Dust. Two of the people involved in that quest joined the main group shortly after they retrieved the binder. A second gathering, the Binder Council, met two months ago, where it was decided to give the Earth and Air Binders to the Circle of Eight until such time as we are able to pursue their final destruction.
Meeting Roster
Canon Gareth Heldenster, Prelate of Heironeous, Furyondy
Canon Cassius Varpan, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Veluna
Canon Clarence Herzog, Temple of Pelor, Verbobonc
Canoness Y’dey, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Hommlet
Archmage Fistan Nolro, Circle of Eight
Thurl Ranevalac, Arch-Heirophant of Obad Hai
Creden Vigorian, Justiciar of the Billets, Order of the Cudgel, Veluna
Delvanos Caelith, Riverwalk Society, Verbobonc
Safadin Gammel, Professor of the Wheel, Grey College, Greyhawk
Uthgar Khannenhelm, Khannenhelm Clan, Lortmil Mountains
Victor Nikeas, Sacred Fist of Kord, Verbobonc
Archmage Steven Vannay IV, House of Vannay, Veluna
The first issue that came up was the lack of support from the dwarves in the war effort. Uthgar explained that his people were currently involved in a war against the frost giants and their dragon master. Canon Heldenster veered the discussion away from this, because the purpose of the meeting was not the war.
Heldenster went on to say that the war was mostly in a holding pattern as neither side could gain the advantage. Crockport seems to be serving as the main focus of both sides, as it has been under siege all summer. Lord Noct is marshalling the forces of Iuz from there, but the location of Iuz is not known.
Y’dey explained that she felt that her presence in Hommlet, and the cultists’ knowledge of who retrieved the binder placed her town at risk. She had been in hiding for some time, but now she felt it prudent to attend this meeting and resume her position in Hommlet. Delvanos informed her of the status of the scout, Kainell D’Fehund, she dispatched to the temple site several months previous.
The main topic of the council was the disposition of the binders. It became apparent that Heldenster had told Varpan about the decision to give the binders to the Circle of Eight. This did not sit well with anyone in the group for a number of reasons. At the Binder Council two months previous, it was agreed that no one else would know. Since the Hommlet Council was compromised, it seemed foolish to assume that other meetings would be safe from agents of Iuz or cultists of Tharizdun. Though the cult does seem to be in disarray after much of the leadership and two thirds of the triad have been destroyed. Iuz clearly has designs on the binders based on the word of the wizard Lord Falrinth, and Iuz certainly has agents in Chendl.
Varpan stated in his typically caustic fashion that he had learned of the meeting about the binders, and he refused to be left out of the discussion. He had been at the Hommlet Council, and he had supplied the leader of the group currently assaulting the temple site. Creden pointed out that he is not the leader of the group, and the decision to limit the knowledge of the binder’s whereabouts was merited. Varpan was undeterred. He went on to rail against the turning over of the binders to people whose “motives were suspect”. He did not mention the Circle of Eight by name, but he was clearly referencing their representative, Fistan Nolro. Varpan brought up the old rivalry in Veluna between the church, the nobles and the wizards under Bigby of Mitrik. Varpan also pointed out that the spy at the first meeting was from the Grey College, and they still had a representative here. Safadin took exception to this, since one of his colleagues was killed because of the deception of Myrliket, the doppelganger.
We took Heldenster to task for his decision to inform people outside the first Chendl council about what happened. Heldenster defended his decision by saying there were other considerations. A coalition of several countries was needed to prosecute the war against Iuz. There is a careful balance that must be preserved in order to keep all the member nations in agreement. The other nations sometimes feel that Furyondy pushes the others around with their power, and so concessions must be made. It is a difficult balance, and Heldenster must strive to maintain it. Our group seemed to be of one mind about this. Political considerations fall a distant second to the purpose of our quest.
Victor spoke up at this point. He pointed out that no other Kordites were at this meeting even though they are aiding in the war effort, and they were critical in the evacuation of Crockport. Victor said this was not surprising, but it shows the prejudices of others. He went on to say that in this critical juncture of the war, political and theological differences were not the main issue. The careless words of Varpan and the decision of Heldenster put people’s lives at risk. Varpan did not seem to find the words to answer him.
The final portion of the council was concerning the last stage of the quest. An inquiry was made about the status of the Water Binder, but it seemed unlikely that the cultists have recovered it. Fistan Nolro said that the party would be going into the Fire Node, which in many places is referenced as a “moon”. The node would be similar to conditions on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Imix would likely have powers similar to a deity on his home plane. The extent of these powers is not known, but Imix would likely be aware of our presence immediately upon entering the node. The champion or as the prophecy states, “one of marked worth”, would be critical to the cultist’s plans. He would be protected as such. The details of the attempt to free Tharizdun are also not known, but it probably requires the presence of the champion.
Overall, the meeting was a bit heated and lacked the unifying spirit we would need in order to succeed in the two fold task of stopping the cultists and defeat Iuz. Some important information was gained regarding the nature of the Fire Node, but the spreading of information about the binders did not bode well. We spoke briefly with Ranevalac about Erwin Muir, our fallen druid. He was pleased to learn of Erwin’s contributions to the party, and he said that if we needed help in the future the people of the Old Faith would stand ready. We stayed in Chendl for the next eight weeks making our final preparations for entering the Fire Node.
A council was convened to discuss the progress of our group’s progress in the fight to destroy the cultists of Tharizdun. It was attended by many of the same people who attended the Hommlet council during Patchwall of last year. That council convened to put a plan together to retrieve the Air Binder from the Sea of Dust. Two of the people involved in that quest joined the main group shortly after they retrieved the binder. A second gathering, the Binder Council, met two months ago, where it was decided to give the Earth and Air Binders to the Circle of Eight until such time as we are able to pursue their final destruction.
Meeting Roster
Canon Gareth Heldenster, Prelate of Heironeous, Furyondy
Canon Cassius Varpan, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Veluna
Canon Clarence Herzog, Temple of Pelor, Verbobonc
Canoness Y’dey, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Hommlet
Archmage Fistan Nolro, Circle of Eight
Thurl Ranevalac, Arch-Heirophant of Obad Hai
Creden Vigorian, Justiciar of the Billets, Order of the Cudgel, Veluna
Delvanos Caelith, Riverwalk Society, Verbobonc
Safadin Gammel, Professor of the Wheel, Grey College, Greyhawk
Uthgar Khannenhelm, Khannenhelm Clan, Lortmil Mountains
Victor Nikeas, Sacred Fist of Kord, Verbobonc
Archmage Steven Vannay IV, House of Vannay, Veluna
The first issue that came up was the lack of support from the dwarves in the war effort. Uthgar explained that his people were currently involved in a war against the frost giants and their dragon master. Canon Heldenster veered the discussion away from this, because the purpose of the meeting was not the war.
Heldenster went on to say that the war was mostly in a holding pattern as neither side could gain the advantage. Crockport seems to be serving as the main focus of both sides, as it has been under siege all summer. Lord Noct is marshalling the forces of Iuz from there, but the location of Iuz is not known.
Y’dey explained that she felt that her presence in Hommlet, and the cultists’ knowledge of who retrieved the binder placed her town at risk. She had been in hiding for some time, but now she felt it prudent to attend this meeting and resume her position in Hommlet. Delvanos informed her of the status of the scout, Kainell D’Fehund, she dispatched to the temple site several months previous.
The main topic of the council was the disposition of the binders. It became apparent that Heldenster had told Varpan about the decision to give the binders to the Circle of Eight. This did not sit well with anyone in the group for a number of reasons. At the Binder Council two months previous, it was agreed that no one else would know. Since the Hommlet Council was compromised, it seemed foolish to assume that other meetings would be safe from agents of Iuz or cultists of Tharizdun. Though the cult does seem to be in disarray after much of the leadership and two thirds of the triad have been destroyed. Iuz clearly has designs on the binders based on the word of the wizard Lord Falrinth, and Iuz certainly has agents in Chendl.
Varpan stated in his typically caustic fashion that he had learned of the meeting about the binders, and he refused to be left out of the discussion. He had been at the Hommlet Council, and he had supplied the leader of the group currently assaulting the temple site. Creden pointed out that he is not the leader of the group, and the decision to limit the knowledge of the binder’s whereabouts was merited. Varpan was undeterred. He went on to rail against the turning over of the binders to people whose “motives were suspect”. He did not mention the Circle of Eight by name, but he was clearly referencing their representative, Fistan Nolro. Varpan brought up the old rivalry in Veluna between the church, the nobles and the wizards under Bigby of Mitrik. Varpan also pointed out that the spy at the first meeting was from the Grey College, and they still had a representative here. Safadin took exception to this, since one of his colleagues was killed because of the deception of Myrliket, the doppelganger.
We took Heldenster to task for his decision to inform people outside the first Chendl council about what happened. Heldenster defended his decision by saying there were other considerations. A coalition of several countries was needed to prosecute the war against Iuz. There is a careful balance that must be preserved in order to keep all the member nations in agreement. The other nations sometimes feel that Furyondy pushes the others around with their power, and so concessions must be made. It is a difficult balance, and Heldenster must strive to maintain it. Our group seemed to be of one mind about this. Political considerations fall a distant second to the purpose of our quest.
Victor spoke up at this point. He pointed out that no other Kordites were at this meeting even though they are aiding in the war effort, and they were critical in the evacuation of Crockport. Victor said this was not surprising, but it shows the prejudices of others. He went on to say that in this critical juncture of the war, political and theological differences were not the main issue. The careless words of Varpan and the decision of Heldenster put people’s lives at risk. Varpan did not seem to find the words to answer him.
The final portion of the council was concerning the last stage of the quest. An inquiry was made about the status of the Water Binder, but it seemed unlikely that the cultists have recovered it. Fistan Nolro said that the party would be going into the Fire Node, which in many places is referenced as a “moon”. The node would be similar to conditions on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Imix would likely have powers similar to a deity on his home plane. The extent of these powers is not known, but Imix would likely be aware of our presence immediately upon entering the node. The champion or as the prophecy states, “one of marked worth”, would be critical to the cultist’s plans. He would be protected as such. The details of the attempt to free Tharizdun are also not known, but it probably requires the presence of the champion.
Overall, the meeting was a bit heated and lacked the unifying spirit we would need in order to succeed in the two fold task of stopping the cultists and defeat Iuz. Some important information was gained regarding the nature of the Fire Node, but the spreading of information about the binders did not bode well. We spoke briefly with Ranevalac about Erwin Muir, our fallen druid. He was pleased to learn of Erwin’s contributions to the party, and he said that if we needed help in the future the people of the Old Faith would stand ready. We stayed in Chendl for the next eight weeks making our final preparations for entering the Fire Node.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Long Hot Summer
Summer of Common Year 592
The Second Level
We were quite happy to have finished clearing out the first level of the recovered temple. Having Falrinth behind us was a big turning point in the quest to stop the cultists and their lunatic plans. Of course it was much too early to be celebrating, when the main force of Doomdreamers were still to come.
The cultists placed two sets of very capable guards in the first section of the lower level. The first group were ropers, who had illithidae brains planted in them. We could not help but think that the mind flayer Satau, Oracle of the Outer Fane, was involved in this twisted process. The second set of guardians were stone golems with the Tharizdun obex chiseled into their bodies. The battle was challenging, because we had a golem on each side of us and a group of archers firing arrow volleys at our front. Victor once again showed his wrestling prowess by pinning one of the golems. Uthgar also was able to stand toe to toe with the other one.
We proceeded down a corridor marked “danger” and found out it was an apt warning. Of course signs like that draw adventurers like moths to a flame. A huge mass or writhing tentacles swallowed Vannay, and we beat a hasty retreat.
The Ghost and the Worm
We returned the next day to do battle with the tentacle creature, which turned out to be a purple worm from the Far Realms. It turned out that there was a sorcerer ghost accompanying him. Our level of spell preparation made short work of the worm, and the ghost was quickly dealt with.
We then found a raging insane dog tied to a chamber wall. We debated about whether or not to kill it, when Safadin determined that it was not actually a canine. We removed a few curses from it, and we discovered that it was an archon hound. It became apparent that this was the scout sent by Canoness Y’dey. Kainell D’fehund was his name, and he agreed to help us in our exploration of the temple. He told us that there were powerful glyphs placed around the temple site, so his ability to disable them would prove useful.
Where Dreamers Sleep
The next morning we made our way over to the other side of the main corridor. We found some goblin excavators with their ogre master working on the clearing process. Delvanos shot the ogre dead, and we freed the goblins.
We then discovered two prisoners kept in cages. They appeared to be Spugnoir and Zerosh of Hommlet, but Kainell informed us that they registered as evil beings. The imposters realized that the ruse was up, and they began attacking us with spells. It was a quick battle, and when they were slain they reverted to their rakshasa form. This led us to believe that the cultists had infiltrated Hommlet again after Dunrat’s group had been killed. It also reminded us that Canoness Y’dey had not been in touch with us for some time.
We pressed on and found the bed chamber of the Doomdreamers. A journal of their activities and another book called The Tome of the Black Eye were discovered. The journal was written by Susain Carun, who had taken over the duties of The Third. It mentioned a number of other cultists as well. They were Thucos, Estalion, Maliskra and our old nemesis Tessimon. Maliskra’s entry stated that she was already in the Fire Node with the Champion. The journal said that this was the job she had been training for her entire career in the cult. It also said that Tessimon was not overly popular, and that she was given the duty of guarding the Fire Node entrance. The Tome of the Black Eye was a religious text detailing the control of their altars. It said that an altar was in the old moat house, and that one was in the Fire Temple in the Crater Ridge Mines. Vannay and Victor remembered the one under the moat house, and we destroyed the one in the Fire Temple. The third altar was placed in the Greater Temple, which by the description indicated that it was nearby.
We also found glyphs in all three hallways exiting the Doomdreamer’s room. Vannay recalled that the aboleths are one of the most powerful glyph makers, so we decided that these were probably the work of The Second. We found the aboleth’s chamber near the other cultist’s room. It had a large tank with two skum in it. They did not put up much of a fight.
The Greater Temple
The next day saw one of the most deadly battles of our quest thus far. We made our way down the main center hallway, and we were assaulted by the remaining archers and an arrow demon. As we pushed forward, we found Susain in the midst of a ritual in front of the third altar. It was already in its heliotrope state, and there was an ogre with his eyes gouged out beating on a drum nearby. There was also a person bound on the altar, who appeared to be the sacrificial member of the ceremony. Delvanos acted quickly and destroyed the candelabrum with a well placed volley of adamantine tipped arrows. The other creature visible in the Greater Temple was a cornugon from Baator.
The battle was joined with a flurry of spells and arrows being traded back and forth. We wisely kept casting buff spells, since this looked to be a long and deadly battle. All but one of the archers were dropped, and he began to flee the battle. We let him flee, but the arrow demon dropped him when he tried to pass. The archon hound was banished, when Susain used Word of Chaos on us. Safadin managed to get off a successful greater dispel magic on Susain, but she retaliated by destroying him completely. We began moving into the room and engaging the spiked chain wielding devil, and we found another Doomdreamer, Thucos waiting on us. Uthgar nearly dropped him in one round of attacks, but it was not quite enough. Thucos buried his pick in Uthgar’s head dropping him to the floor.
The battle raged on, and through the combined efforts of our group we slew the cornugon and Thucos. Susain was nearly finished, when a huge water elemental appeared. It was too little too late for the newest member of the Triad. Another few attacks and she lay dead at our feet.
We discovered that it was Delvanos’ brother Lucas on the altar. He had also had his eyes gouged out, and he had severe scarring visible on all his exposed skin. He told us that he had been kept in a prison and tortured relentlessly by a creature named Yrthruk. The main question he was asked during the torture was the location of the binder. Even in the midst of the wracking pain, he lied about who had it. After he was blinded he was taken to the temple site by a creature, who we knew to be Infinitus. We promised him that the horror was over, and we would see to it that his sight was restored. We took Safadin’s gear and Uthgar’s body and teleported to Chendl. The next day, we met with Canon Heldenster, and he agreed to perform the True Resurrection on Safadin. Several of us pitched in on a donation to the Church of Heironeous to pay for the spell. We also raised Uthgar from the dead. Lucas was restored to full health, and he said he would be staying in Chendl for the time being.
Beyond the Veil
We returned to the Greater Temple the following day. The purple curtain beyond the altar, which we destroyed, had tentacles that attempted to attack us. Victor managed to avoid them and pull back the curtain. On the other side of it, we saw three altars in a triangle pattern and a strange creature on the other side of that. The feminine creature had pseudopods on her lower half and a human upper torso. Vannay and Safadin recognized her as the demoness Zuggtmoy, who had been instrumental in the construction of the original temple. It was our good fortune that she was just an illusion. After she was dispelled, an aboleth encased in a water cocoon entered the room. It was also an illusion of The Second, but it could be used as the source of the aboleth’s spells.
Once again we put up our buffs and protective wards as the battle go underway. Victor’s true seeing revealed the presence of Estalion in addition to The Second. The battle was quite dangerous, and the aboleth was nearly impossible to hit. We fired off a number of dispel magics on it, and that allowed us to actually hit the creature. Creden took the worst of The Second’s melee attacks, but he was able to heal himself before falling. Victor used silence and was able to completely neutralize Estalion. She fell quickly after being grappled by him. We managed to finally overcome the number two member of the Triad after several rounds.
Beyond the second temple area was a large chamber with a fungus covered silver throne. The ceiling and walls of the room were painted with scenes of slaughter by the original denizens of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Uthgar sat on the throne, and he heard a voice promising him three wishes if he would destroy the grand altar in the Tabernacle of Utter Darkness. The voice said that she would be free if he managed that task. After informing the rest of the party about the communication, all the party scholars decided that it was Zuggtmoy speaking to him. Perhaps the stories of her return to the abyss after the fall of the temple were not as accurate as we thought. We decided that thrones that channeled demon princes were not that safe. Victor, Creden and Uthgar smashed it into pieces. After gathering up all the cultist’s gear, we returned to Chendl for a well-deserved break.
The Second Level
We were quite happy to have finished clearing out the first level of the recovered temple. Having Falrinth behind us was a big turning point in the quest to stop the cultists and their lunatic plans. Of course it was much too early to be celebrating, when the main force of Doomdreamers were still to come.
The cultists placed two sets of very capable guards in the first section of the lower level. The first group were ropers, who had illithidae brains planted in them. We could not help but think that the mind flayer Satau, Oracle of the Outer Fane, was involved in this twisted process. The second set of guardians were stone golems with the Tharizdun obex chiseled into their bodies. The battle was challenging, because we had a golem on each side of us and a group of archers firing arrow volleys at our front. Victor once again showed his wrestling prowess by pinning one of the golems. Uthgar also was able to stand toe to toe with the other one.
We proceeded down a corridor marked “danger” and found out it was an apt warning. Of course signs like that draw adventurers like moths to a flame. A huge mass or writhing tentacles swallowed Vannay, and we beat a hasty retreat.
The Ghost and the Worm
We returned the next day to do battle with the tentacle creature, which turned out to be a purple worm from the Far Realms. It turned out that there was a sorcerer ghost accompanying him. Our level of spell preparation made short work of the worm, and the ghost was quickly dealt with.
We then found a raging insane dog tied to a chamber wall. We debated about whether or not to kill it, when Safadin determined that it was not actually a canine. We removed a few curses from it, and we discovered that it was an archon hound. It became apparent that this was the scout sent by Canoness Y’dey. Kainell D’fehund was his name, and he agreed to help us in our exploration of the temple. He told us that there were powerful glyphs placed around the temple site, so his ability to disable them would prove useful.
Where Dreamers Sleep
The next morning we made our way over to the other side of the main corridor. We found some goblin excavators with their ogre master working on the clearing process. Delvanos shot the ogre dead, and we freed the goblins.
We then discovered two prisoners kept in cages. They appeared to be Spugnoir and Zerosh of Hommlet, but Kainell informed us that they registered as evil beings. The imposters realized that the ruse was up, and they began attacking us with spells. It was a quick battle, and when they were slain they reverted to their rakshasa form. This led us to believe that the cultists had infiltrated Hommlet again after Dunrat’s group had been killed. It also reminded us that Canoness Y’dey had not been in touch with us for some time.
We pressed on and found the bed chamber of the Doomdreamers. A journal of their activities and another book called The Tome of the Black Eye were discovered. The journal was written by Susain Carun, who had taken over the duties of The Third. It mentioned a number of other cultists as well. They were Thucos, Estalion, Maliskra and our old nemesis Tessimon. Maliskra’s entry stated that she was already in the Fire Node with the Champion. The journal said that this was the job she had been training for her entire career in the cult. It also said that Tessimon was not overly popular, and that she was given the duty of guarding the Fire Node entrance. The Tome of the Black Eye was a religious text detailing the control of their altars. It said that an altar was in the old moat house, and that one was in the Fire Temple in the Crater Ridge Mines. Vannay and Victor remembered the one under the moat house, and we destroyed the one in the Fire Temple. The third altar was placed in the Greater Temple, which by the description indicated that it was nearby.
We also found glyphs in all three hallways exiting the Doomdreamer’s room. Vannay recalled that the aboleths are one of the most powerful glyph makers, so we decided that these were probably the work of The Second. We found the aboleth’s chamber near the other cultist’s room. It had a large tank with two skum in it. They did not put up much of a fight.
The Greater Temple
The next day saw one of the most deadly battles of our quest thus far. We made our way down the main center hallway, and we were assaulted by the remaining archers and an arrow demon. As we pushed forward, we found Susain in the midst of a ritual in front of the third altar. It was already in its heliotrope state, and there was an ogre with his eyes gouged out beating on a drum nearby. There was also a person bound on the altar, who appeared to be the sacrificial member of the ceremony. Delvanos acted quickly and destroyed the candelabrum with a well placed volley of adamantine tipped arrows. The other creature visible in the Greater Temple was a cornugon from Baator.
The battle was joined with a flurry of spells and arrows being traded back and forth. We wisely kept casting buff spells, since this looked to be a long and deadly battle. All but one of the archers were dropped, and he began to flee the battle. We let him flee, but the arrow demon dropped him when he tried to pass. The archon hound was banished, when Susain used Word of Chaos on us. Safadin managed to get off a successful greater dispel magic on Susain, but she retaliated by destroying him completely. We began moving into the room and engaging the spiked chain wielding devil, and we found another Doomdreamer, Thucos waiting on us. Uthgar nearly dropped him in one round of attacks, but it was not quite enough. Thucos buried his pick in Uthgar’s head dropping him to the floor.
The battle raged on, and through the combined efforts of our group we slew the cornugon and Thucos. Susain was nearly finished, when a huge water elemental appeared. It was too little too late for the newest member of the Triad. Another few attacks and she lay dead at our feet.
We discovered that it was Delvanos’ brother Lucas on the altar. He had also had his eyes gouged out, and he had severe scarring visible on all his exposed skin. He told us that he had been kept in a prison and tortured relentlessly by a creature named Yrthruk. The main question he was asked during the torture was the location of the binder. Even in the midst of the wracking pain, he lied about who had it. After he was blinded he was taken to the temple site by a creature, who we knew to be Infinitus. We promised him that the horror was over, and we would see to it that his sight was restored. We took Safadin’s gear and Uthgar’s body and teleported to Chendl. The next day, we met with Canon Heldenster, and he agreed to perform the True Resurrection on Safadin. Several of us pitched in on a donation to the Church of Heironeous to pay for the spell. We also raised Uthgar from the dead. Lucas was restored to full health, and he said he would be staying in Chendl for the time being.
Beyond the Veil
We returned to the Greater Temple the following day. The purple curtain beyond the altar, which we destroyed, had tentacles that attempted to attack us. Victor managed to avoid them and pull back the curtain. On the other side of it, we saw three altars in a triangle pattern and a strange creature on the other side of that. The feminine creature had pseudopods on her lower half and a human upper torso. Vannay and Safadin recognized her as the demoness Zuggtmoy, who had been instrumental in the construction of the original temple. It was our good fortune that she was just an illusion. After she was dispelled, an aboleth encased in a water cocoon entered the room. It was also an illusion of The Second, but it could be used as the source of the aboleth’s spells.
Once again we put up our buffs and protective wards as the battle go underway. Victor’s true seeing revealed the presence of Estalion in addition to The Second. The battle was quite dangerous, and the aboleth was nearly impossible to hit. We fired off a number of dispel magics on it, and that allowed us to actually hit the creature. Creden took the worst of The Second’s melee attacks, but he was able to heal himself before falling. Victor used silence and was able to completely neutralize Estalion. She fell quickly after being grappled by him. We managed to finally overcome the number two member of the Triad after several rounds.
Beyond the second temple area was a large chamber with a fungus covered silver throne. The ceiling and walls of the room were painted with scenes of slaughter by the original denizens of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Uthgar sat on the throne, and he heard a voice promising him three wishes if he would destroy the grand altar in the Tabernacle of Utter Darkness. The voice said that she would be free if he managed that task. After informing the rest of the party about the communication, all the party scholars decided that it was Zuggtmoy speaking to him. Perhaps the stories of her return to the abyss after the fall of the temple were not as accurate as we thought. We decided that thrones that channeled demon princes were not that safe. Victor, Creden and Uthgar smashed it into pieces. After gathering up all the cultist’s gear, we returned to Chendl for a well-deserved break.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Three Times A Charm
Week of Growfest, CY 592
The Vacuous Grimoire
Vannay was none too pleased the next morning, when he awoke bound and gagged in our suite at The Wyrm. Creden and Victor tried multiple spells to relieve him of the apparent curse, but it was to no avail. We decided to research it a bit further, so Safadin made off to the mage library, while Creden and Victor visited the Peloran Church. Safadin found out that the book was most likely a vacuous grimoire, and it would need to be burned while the curse removal spell was being cast. This presented a problem, since we still could not locate the book.
After much discussion, we decided that based on Vannay’s attraction to the book; it would be unlikely that he would have stashed it anywhere. Delvanos came up with the idea that Vannay may have purchased something to hide the book from us, when he became aware that the rest of us were concerned. A few trips to nearby magic shops proved the theory out. Vannay had purchased a bag of holding. The mystery was solved, and we burned the book while casting remove curse. Vannay was freed from the enchantment.
Not Much Better
We decided to make another run at Falrinth in the Recovered Temple. Our strategy this time consisted of very little buffing and a surprise attack. Unfortunately, he was using a ward which anticipated our arrival, and he had plenty of time to effectively prepare.
After teleporting to the recovered temple, we dimension doored in two groups into his room. A prismatic wall split our group in two. The situation had quickly escalated into high peril. Vannay and Victor were both in prismatic veils, and Vannay was plane shifted away. Victor moved into grapple with silence on. Falrinth was left with one option. He used kaleidoscopic doom on Victor. Victor successfully saved against a number of the effects, but the petrification took hold. In a foul mood, the four remaining party members escaped with teleportation magic. Falrinth now had Victor and Thurlkosij.
The Peaceable Kingdoms
Vannay found himself near Mount Clangeddin in Arcadia. A large dwarven camp of war was nearby, so Vannay made his way towards it. He rented a room for the night in the outer circle of the camp. The next morning the party arrived, but lacked the means to locate him. So Vannay located them with scrying and teleported to them. If time had allowed, both Uthgar and Creden would have enjoyed an extended stay. It was probably for the best that Victor missed this portion of our expedition.
Put to a Choice
Upon returning to our room at The Wyrm, we found an open wine bottle on the table, a stone pseudodragon and Falrinth waiting for us on the balcony. He once again broached the subject of giving him the binder. This time though he wanted it in exchange for Victor’s life. He stated that the binder would be given to Iuz, and Falrinth would probably be granted a position in the Bone Shadow. The little stone dragon was offered as a token of good will. He added that if the chief excavator, the beholder Kex, was not contacted within two hours then Victor would be destroyed.
We retired to one of the bedrooms to discuss our options. Creden was the only one in favor of the proposal. He reasoned that Victor would be needed in the trials ahead, and the prospect of Iuz with the binder seemed the lesser of two evils. After some heated debate, it was decided that giving the binder to him was not an option.
Now the problem was how to take down Falrinth and get to Victor before his time ran out. It seemed a bleak prospect, but if we used dimension door to get right up on Falrinth, we just might get the drop on him. We prepared for combat and teleported to the air surrounding the terrace. Falrinth quickly realized the gravity of his overconfidence as we unloaded on him. The battle was over almost as soon as it began. The seemingly unstoppable wizard lay dead at our feat.
Falrinth had given us enough time to purchase a few teleport scrolls and still get to Victor in time. We set out to do just that.
The Chief Excavator
In the course of adventuring, you run across easy encounters that turn bad quickly, and sometimes you have scary encounters that end up being much ado about nothing. Kex turned out to be the latter. It turns out that the best way to defeat the eye tyrant is an invisibility spell. That and a lot of bad luck on the beholder’s part. And a critical hit from a dwarven defender doesn’t hurt either. All the misfortune we experienced with Falrinth was set right (in a cosmic sense). Kex went down quickly, and we restored Victor to his prior fleshy appearance.
Before leaving the temple site, we decided to look around in Falrinth’s room. He had a spell book in plain sight, but Vannay had a bad feeling about it. It did not seem particularly hidden or magically warded for someone who specializes in those things. A lingering aura on a nearby wall indicated the use of some magic in the recent past. We still had the passwall needed against the green portion of a prismatic spectrum, and we used it to access Falrinth’s hidden room. We found his real spell book and a heavy bronze ring with an obsidian shard set on it.
Now we have two of the four binders, and we need to find someone else to keep them.
The Vacuous Grimoire
Vannay was none too pleased the next morning, when he awoke bound and gagged in our suite at The Wyrm. Creden and Victor tried multiple spells to relieve him of the apparent curse, but it was to no avail. We decided to research it a bit further, so Safadin made off to the mage library, while Creden and Victor visited the Peloran Church. Safadin found out that the book was most likely a vacuous grimoire, and it would need to be burned while the curse removal spell was being cast. This presented a problem, since we still could not locate the book.
After much discussion, we decided that based on Vannay’s attraction to the book; it would be unlikely that he would have stashed it anywhere. Delvanos came up with the idea that Vannay may have purchased something to hide the book from us, when he became aware that the rest of us were concerned. A few trips to nearby magic shops proved the theory out. Vannay had purchased a bag of holding. The mystery was solved, and we burned the book while casting remove curse. Vannay was freed from the enchantment.
Not Much Better
We decided to make another run at Falrinth in the Recovered Temple. Our strategy this time consisted of very little buffing and a surprise attack. Unfortunately, he was using a ward which anticipated our arrival, and he had plenty of time to effectively prepare.
After teleporting to the recovered temple, we dimension doored in two groups into his room. A prismatic wall split our group in two. The situation had quickly escalated into high peril. Vannay and Victor were both in prismatic veils, and Vannay was plane shifted away. Victor moved into grapple with silence on. Falrinth was left with one option. He used kaleidoscopic doom on Victor. Victor successfully saved against a number of the effects, but the petrification took hold. In a foul mood, the four remaining party members escaped with teleportation magic. Falrinth now had Victor and Thurlkosij.
The Peaceable Kingdoms
Vannay found himself near Mount Clangeddin in Arcadia. A large dwarven camp of war was nearby, so Vannay made his way towards it. He rented a room for the night in the outer circle of the camp. The next morning the party arrived, but lacked the means to locate him. So Vannay located them with scrying and teleported to them. If time had allowed, both Uthgar and Creden would have enjoyed an extended stay. It was probably for the best that Victor missed this portion of our expedition.
Put to a Choice
Upon returning to our room at The Wyrm, we found an open wine bottle on the table, a stone pseudodragon and Falrinth waiting for us on the balcony. He once again broached the subject of giving him the binder. This time though he wanted it in exchange for Victor’s life. He stated that the binder would be given to Iuz, and Falrinth would probably be granted a position in the Bone Shadow. The little stone dragon was offered as a token of good will. He added that if the chief excavator, the beholder Kex, was not contacted within two hours then Victor would be destroyed.
We retired to one of the bedrooms to discuss our options. Creden was the only one in favor of the proposal. He reasoned that Victor would be needed in the trials ahead, and the prospect of Iuz with the binder seemed the lesser of two evils. After some heated debate, it was decided that giving the binder to him was not an option.
Now the problem was how to take down Falrinth and get to Victor before his time ran out. It seemed a bleak prospect, but if we used dimension door to get right up on Falrinth, we just might get the drop on him. We prepared for combat and teleported to the air surrounding the terrace. Falrinth quickly realized the gravity of his overconfidence as we unloaded on him. The battle was over almost as soon as it began. The seemingly unstoppable wizard lay dead at our feat.
Falrinth had given us enough time to purchase a few teleport scrolls and still get to Victor in time. We set out to do just that.
The Chief Excavator
In the course of adventuring, you run across easy encounters that turn bad quickly, and sometimes you have scary encounters that end up being much ado about nothing. Kex turned out to be the latter. It turns out that the best way to defeat the eye tyrant is an invisibility spell. That and a lot of bad luck on the beholder’s part. And a critical hit from a dwarven defender doesn’t hurt either. All the misfortune we experienced with Falrinth was set right (in a cosmic sense). Kex went down quickly, and we restored Victor to his prior fleshy appearance.
Before leaving the temple site, we decided to look around in Falrinth’s room. He had a spell book in plain sight, but Vannay had a bad feeling about it. It did not seem particularly hidden or magically warded for someone who specializes in those things. A lingering aura on a nearby wall indicated the use of some magic in the recent past. We still had the passwall needed against the green portion of a prismatic spectrum, and we used it to access Falrinth’s hidden room. We found his real spell book and a heavy bronze ring with an obsidian shard set on it.
Now we have two of the four binders, and we need to find someone else to keep them.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Return to the Temple
18th – 28th Day of Coldeven, CY 592
The Remains of the Outer Fane
After the coronation of King Thrommel, we spent some time preparing ourselves for the final portion of the Outer Fane. All the major figures had already fallen, but there are always surprises to be found.
We found the holding cells, and after some playing around with the levers and magic circles figured out how to operate them. A number of prisoners were being held there including an azer name Renoux; a female elf named Vister, who had once been part of Tymerion’s ill-fated party; a lammasu named Maluccus and Lucas’ old master, Carthesus. Since we were planning on exploring the remainder of the fane, we decided to leave them there for the time being. In Hedrack’s chamber we found some remaining treasure, his journal and a book that will enter our story later on.
Before we were able to enter the Greater Temple, we had to fight a dangerous group of ancient eidolon guardians. Upon entering the vestibule, we found a horn and three levers. With a little bit of trial and error, we were able to use them to their purpose. It created a purple veil of energy, and we passed through it. The room had a large black altar. A voice (presumably Tharizdun) said, “Once more mortals trespass in the Black Cyst. Kneel before the essence of Tharizdun and accept his gifts. Mock the Dark God and face annihilation.” Upon kneeling before the altar and speaking his name, a silvery egg appeared. We had found the Orb of Silvery Death! Apparently, Hedrack did not confide its location to Varachan.
The Greater Temple was a site to behold. Railings that looked like writhing serpents flanked the entrance. Statues that were placed at the edges of the room mocked those who were not able to resist their taunts. And the massive altar stood at the head of the chamber. This was clearly the room that Vannay scried upon to view the testing of Tessimon. Before we could explore much more though a battle ensued with the dread wraith guarding the temple. We did not examine the altar a great deal, but it looked similar to the one in the Fire Temple.
We then faced the questions of the Dark God. In the form of a child he appeared at the tunnel exiting the room. Violet walls prevented passage until we could answer the questions of the god-child. We managed after a few failed attempts to answer them. The blasted yard lay beyond it.
The entire place looked like a burnt fire plain. In the middle of the great open area, the Black Spike towered over the area. It looked as if it was pounded down into the wounded earth. Chasms of magma stretched out from it like tendrils. The entropic skeletons called Ehloriads were quick to respond to our intrusion. After a short battle, we were able to dispatch the host of undead. After speaking briefly with the adamantine door that was the only visible entrance to the Inner Fane, we left the Temple of All Consumption.
The Watcher and the Well
Another minor teleporting incident split our party up. Those who went to Nulb had the opportunity to explore the dilapidated bay, which Lareth had encouraged us to visit some ten months prior. The remains of what was probably a pirate ship contained a few wights and an ooze. The next morning our party rejoined, and we returned to the Temple of Elemental Evil.
No clues were to be found of an excavation in progress around the temple site. A thorough search of the grounds revealed the skeletal remains of some unlucky folk. Among their possessions was a sketch of a secret entrance into the lower levels of the temple. As we made our way to the farmhouse indicated on the map, Vannay discerned that we were being scryed upon. We decided to lead the scryer away from our true intentions, and we made north. The next morning upon approaching the farmhouse, the scrying was detected again. This time though we learned that it was a succubus hidden in the barn. She teleported away before we could engage her. It appeared that the cultists were going to know of our arrival.
The farmhouse was abandoned, but the well outside had seen some activity. We uncovered the false bottom and descended into the lower levels. A long walk down a hall with supported earthen walls led us to the area we sought.
Goblins and Giants
The guards consisted of hobgoblin archers, an earth elemental and a spike chain wielding stone giant. After the skirmish was resolved, we pressed on into the recovered temple. We came upon a small grouping of hobgoblin slaves, who remembered some of our party. They were quick to give up what they knew. There were more stone giants in a hidden area, and they were led by a half-demon giant. The old head wizard, Falrinth, of the original temple was also nearby. And the one they spoke of with great fear was the chief excavator. His description fit that of a beholder. The battle with the remaining giants was challenging enough that we decided to rest afterwards.
The Colors of the Rainbow
Falrinth used the powerful guards and wards to impede our progress the next morning. He chatted with us a bit (in draconic) about the binder that we were carrying. He informed us that his loyalties still lay with Iuz, and he intended to return to his master with all the binders. He offered us a partnership, but suggested that our code would not allow it.
When we finally got nearer to him, he offered to let us prepare fully for the battle. Since he had an abjuration that prevented us from coming to him, it seemed like a good idea. The deal was that once we were all ready, he would get rid of the abjuration. The bastard instead showered us with a prismatic spray. Vannay was killed in the attack, and Thurlkosij was turned to stone. Delvanos tried to close the distance, but he was plane shifted by the purple veil around the wizard. The rest of the party dimension doored next to him, but this caused Safadin to plane shift as well. Falrinth unleashed his kaleidoscopic doom upon Creden killing him immediately. Victor and Uthgar used one of Varachan’s refuge sticks to escape.
The City of Brass
Safadin contacted us letting us know that he was in the Efreet City on the Plane of Fire. Delvanos also contacted us stating that he was in a beautiful meadow somewhere. Once we had Vannay and Creden raised in Chendl, Vannay was able to discern that Delvanos was most likely in Elysium.
We prepared for a day of hopping around the Great Wheel, and we went to the hot place first. Scrying upon Safadin revealed his location to us, so we teleported into the Commoner’s Market in the City of Brass. Safadin chose this place, since it is the largest gathering of non-efreet. We were approached by an efreeti named Melchoir. He said that he was the information broker in town, and he even recognized us. He said that we were the ones fighting the “Cult of Imix”. This begged the question as to the disposition of the Grand Sultan towards Imix. There was no doubt on this score. Imix is not in the favor of the Efreet Kingdom. Once Melchoir mentioned that he was off to the slave auction, things got a little tense, but we left the city without incident.
The Blessed Fields
We went from there to a much nicer place, Elysium. We did not locate Delvanos right away, but just wandering around the place was a true joy. The cares of our home world began to fade. A pair of angels visited us, and they were very interested in our arrival. They were eager to recruit us to help in the troubles of their world. We explained our quest, and they understood. When we mentioned the encounter with Galgaliel, they became even more interested in our mission. They offered to find our lost friend for us. We spent the most peaceful night in many months under the stars of Elysium. The next morning, one of the Five Champions came to meet with us. He was a stag guardinal named Lord Rhanouk. He was quite friendly and interested in a longer stay, but he also understood. They offered to use their magic to send us home, and we accepted.
The Matter of the Book
The next morning in Chendl, we divided up the spoils of our adventuring. Uthgar and Delvanos made off to get a report on the progress of the war. Creden and Victor went to lend their aid to the wounded soldiers. Safadin and Vannay went to the mage’s library to study up on prismatic magic. Safadin brought up the topic of the book that Vannay failed to turn in with the rest of the treasure. Vannay became quite belligerent at this point stating that the book was his. It was not party loot. Safadin relayed this story to the rest of the party that night, and Vannay suspected something was up. He stated that he was off to the library (in the late hours of the night), and Delvanos made to follow him. Vannay shook his tail quickly with a little magic. We decided that the best course of action would be to get Vannay back to our suite at The Wyrm by any means necessary and get the book from him. Clearly, some powerful enchantment was at work. Vannay is a bit bull-headed and he can be greedy, but this was stretching the limits even for him. The plan went off without a hitch. It ended with Vannay being knocked out by a silenced Victor.
So there we all stood around the body of our fallen comrade. We went from the beautiful fields of Elysium where the cares of the world seemed like a vapor to our party on the verge of upheaval. A lot can happen in the space of a few days.
The Remains of the Outer Fane
After the coronation of King Thrommel, we spent some time preparing ourselves for the final portion of the Outer Fane. All the major figures had already fallen, but there are always surprises to be found.
We found the holding cells, and after some playing around with the levers and magic circles figured out how to operate them. A number of prisoners were being held there including an azer name Renoux; a female elf named Vister, who had once been part of Tymerion’s ill-fated party; a lammasu named Maluccus and Lucas’ old master, Carthesus. Since we were planning on exploring the remainder of the fane, we decided to leave them there for the time being. In Hedrack’s chamber we found some remaining treasure, his journal and a book that will enter our story later on.
Before we were able to enter the Greater Temple, we had to fight a dangerous group of ancient eidolon guardians. Upon entering the vestibule, we found a horn and three levers. With a little bit of trial and error, we were able to use them to their purpose. It created a purple veil of energy, and we passed through it. The room had a large black altar. A voice (presumably Tharizdun) said, “Once more mortals trespass in the Black Cyst. Kneel before the essence of Tharizdun and accept his gifts. Mock the Dark God and face annihilation.” Upon kneeling before the altar and speaking his name, a silvery egg appeared. We had found the Orb of Silvery Death! Apparently, Hedrack did not confide its location to Varachan.
The Greater Temple was a site to behold. Railings that looked like writhing serpents flanked the entrance. Statues that were placed at the edges of the room mocked those who were not able to resist their taunts. And the massive altar stood at the head of the chamber. This was clearly the room that Vannay scried upon to view the testing of Tessimon. Before we could explore much more though a battle ensued with the dread wraith guarding the temple. We did not examine the altar a great deal, but it looked similar to the one in the Fire Temple.
We then faced the questions of the Dark God. In the form of a child he appeared at the tunnel exiting the room. Violet walls prevented passage until we could answer the questions of the god-child. We managed after a few failed attempts to answer them. The blasted yard lay beyond it.
The entire place looked like a burnt fire plain. In the middle of the great open area, the Black Spike towered over the area. It looked as if it was pounded down into the wounded earth. Chasms of magma stretched out from it like tendrils. The entropic skeletons called Ehloriads were quick to respond to our intrusion. After a short battle, we were able to dispatch the host of undead. After speaking briefly with the adamantine door that was the only visible entrance to the Inner Fane, we left the Temple of All Consumption.
The Watcher and the Well
Another minor teleporting incident split our party up. Those who went to Nulb had the opportunity to explore the dilapidated bay, which Lareth had encouraged us to visit some ten months prior. The remains of what was probably a pirate ship contained a few wights and an ooze. The next morning our party rejoined, and we returned to the Temple of Elemental Evil.
No clues were to be found of an excavation in progress around the temple site. A thorough search of the grounds revealed the skeletal remains of some unlucky folk. Among their possessions was a sketch of a secret entrance into the lower levels of the temple. As we made our way to the farmhouse indicated on the map, Vannay discerned that we were being scryed upon. We decided to lead the scryer away from our true intentions, and we made north. The next morning upon approaching the farmhouse, the scrying was detected again. This time though we learned that it was a succubus hidden in the barn. She teleported away before we could engage her. It appeared that the cultists were going to know of our arrival.
The farmhouse was abandoned, but the well outside had seen some activity. We uncovered the false bottom and descended into the lower levels. A long walk down a hall with supported earthen walls led us to the area we sought.
Goblins and Giants
The guards consisted of hobgoblin archers, an earth elemental and a spike chain wielding stone giant. After the skirmish was resolved, we pressed on into the recovered temple. We came upon a small grouping of hobgoblin slaves, who remembered some of our party. They were quick to give up what they knew. There were more stone giants in a hidden area, and they were led by a half-demon giant. The old head wizard, Falrinth, of the original temple was also nearby. And the one they spoke of with great fear was the chief excavator. His description fit that of a beholder. The battle with the remaining giants was challenging enough that we decided to rest afterwards.
The Colors of the Rainbow
Falrinth used the powerful guards and wards to impede our progress the next morning. He chatted with us a bit (in draconic) about the binder that we were carrying. He informed us that his loyalties still lay with Iuz, and he intended to return to his master with all the binders. He offered us a partnership, but suggested that our code would not allow it.
When we finally got nearer to him, he offered to let us prepare fully for the battle. Since he had an abjuration that prevented us from coming to him, it seemed like a good idea. The deal was that once we were all ready, he would get rid of the abjuration. The bastard instead showered us with a prismatic spray. Vannay was killed in the attack, and Thurlkosij was turned to stone. Delvanos tried to close the distance, but he was plane shifted by the purple veil around the wizard. The rest of the party dimension doored next to him, but this caused Safadin to plane shift as well. Falrinth unleashed his kaleidoscopic doom upon Creden killing him immediately. Victor and Uthgar used one of Varachan’s refuge sticks to escape.
The City of Brass
Safadin contacted us letting us know that he was in the Efreet City on the Plane of Fire. Delvanos also contacted us stating that he was in a beautiful meadow somewhere. Once we had Vannay and Creden raised in Chendl, Vannay was able to discern that Delvanos was most likely in Elysium.
We prepared for a day of hopping around the Great Wheel, and we went to the hot place first. Scrying upon Safadin revealed his location to us, so we teleported into the Commoner’s Market in the City of Brass. Safadin chose this place, since it is the largest gathering of non-efreet. We were approached by an efreeti named Melchoir. He said that he was the information broker in town, and he even recognized us. He said that we were the ones fighting the “Cult of Imix”. This begged the question as to the disposition of the Grand Sultan towards Imix. There was no doubt on this score. Imix is not in the favor of the Efreet Kingdom. Once Melchoir mentioned that he was off to the slave auction, things got a little tense, but we left the city without incident.
The Blessed Fields
We went from there to a much nicer place, Elysium. We did not locate Delvanos right away, but just wandering around the place was a true joy. The cares of our home world began to fade. A pair of angels visited us, and they were very interested in our arrival. They were eager to recruit us to help in the troubles of their world. We explained our quest, and they understood. When we mentioned the encounter with Galgaliel, they became even more interested in our mission. They offered to find our lost friend for us. We spent the most peaceful night in many months under the stars of Elysium. The next morning, one of the Five Champions came to meet with us. He was a stag guardinal named Lord Rhanouk. He was quite friendly and interested in a longer stay, but he also understood. They offered to use their magic to send us home, and we accepted.
The Matter of the Book
The next morning in Chendl, we divided up the spoils of our adventuring. Uthgar and Delvanos made off to get a report on the progress of the war. Creden and Victor went to lend their aid to the wounded soldiers. Safadin and Vannay went to the mage’s library to study up on prismatic magic. Safadin brought up the topic of the book that Vannay failed to turn in with the rest of the treasure. Vannay became quite belligerent at this point stating that the book was his. It was not party loot. Safadin relayed this story to the rest of the party that night, and Vannay suspected something was up. He stated that he was off to the library (in the late hours of the night), and Delvanos made to follow him. Vannay shook his tail quickly with a little magic. We decided that the best course of action would be to get Vannay back to our suite at The Wyrm by any means necessary and get the book from him. Clearly, some powerful enchantment was at work. Vannay is a bit bull-headed and he can be greedy, but this was stretching the limits even for him. The plan went off without a hitch. It ended with Vannay being knocked out by a silenced Victor.
So there we all stood around the body of our fallen comrade. We went from the beautiful fields of Elysium where the cares of the world seemed like a vapor to our party on the verge of upheaval. A lot can happen in the space of a few days.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
King Thrommel
2nd - 18th Day of Coldeven, CY 592
The Long Night
We left the fane with Thrommel and made our way through Rastor till we reached a good place to make camp. Thrommel was deeply troubled about what had happened to him. He spent much of the night at the fireside speaking with various members of our party about his fate. We assured him that even though his actions were vile, it was not him doing them. He had trouble accepting this, but as we spoke he seemed to come to terms with what happened. It would take many years to forgive himself, but he believes that he was being tested for future trials.
He asked that we spend another day traveling before going to Chendl. We teleported to Verbobonc the next day. We sent two messages about recent events. One went to Canon Heldenster telling him that we had the prince. The second one went to Canoness Y’dey. She said that she was no longer in Hommlet, but she did not go into detail. At Thrommel’s request, Creden performed atonement on the prince.
The Binder
The topic of what to do with the binder came up again. The argument for keeping it hinged on the fact that the people we trust most are in our party. Eventually the binder would need to be destroyed, and if we turned it over to Fistan Nolro it might be difficult to get it back. The opposing point of view suggested that it would be foolish to take the one thing the cultists wanted into their temple. We decided that a vote was in order, and the result was 4 to 2 in favor of keeping it. As a compromise, we agreed to keep trading it around within the party. Delvanos will carry it first.
In an odd coincidence, Fistan Nolro showed up just after our discussion was complete. He said that Canon Heldenster asked him to transport the party directly into the castle, which requires a magic item to bypass the warding magic. He had heard from someone that the binder was in his possession, which was news to him. We assured him that it was in safe keeping.
Chendl
The morning brought grave news. Crockport, the Kalinstren capital, had fallen in the night to an undead army. Refugees from the city were pouring into the city, and the capital was a flurry of activity.
The next day Thrommel asked us if we would accept citizenship in Furyondy. It is not common to have dual citizenship, but there are cases of it. Thrommel himself held the titles of Provost of Veluna and Marshal of Furyondy. The Lady Jolene D’Amphere arrived in Furyondy, and there was much buzz about the future nuptials.
The coronation took place three days later in the Cathedral of Heironeous. It consisted of prayers, anointing of the prince and the presentation of the sovereign relics. The kingdom was in a somber state, but they were greatly relieved that the line of kings was restored.
In his first act as king, Thrommel awarded the nation’s highest honor, Order of the Bolt, to our party. This honor includes a lifetime appointment to the Knightly Conclave, the king’s primary advisory council. It also provides a means of contacting any recipient of the Order of the Bolt, the Prelate of Heironeous and the King of Furyondy. We found out later that wearing the medal opened a lot of doors in the city as well.
The next few weeks were spent crafting items and preparing ourselves for the investigation of the excavation site at the Temple of Elemental Evil. The king was also very busy getting up to speed on the events of the last twenty years. He was also busy outfitting a special cavalry unit that he would personally lead into battle against the forces of Iuz.
The Long Night
We left the fane with Thrommel and made our way through Rastor till we reached a good place to make camp. Thrommel was deeply troubled about what had happened to him. He spent much of the night at the fireside speaking with various members of our party about his fate. We assured him that even though his actions were vile, it was not him doing them. He had trouble accepting this, but as we spoke he seemed to come to terms with what happened. It would take many years to forgive himself, but he believes that he was being tested for future trials.
He asked that we spend another day traveling before going to Chendl. We teleported to Verbobonc the next day. We sent two messages about recent events. One went to Canon Heldenster telling him that we had the prince. The second one went to Canoness Y’dey. She said that she was no longer in Hommlet, but she did not go into detail. At Thrommel’s request, Creden performed atonement on the prince.
The Binder
The topic of what to do with the binder came up again. The argument for keeping it hinged on the fact that the people we trust most are in our party. Eventually the binder would need to be destroyed, and if we turned it over to Fistan Nolro it might be difficult to get it back. The opposing point of view suggested that it would be foolish to take the one thing the cultists wanted into their temple. We decided that a vote was in order, and the result was 4 to 2 in favor of keeping it. As a compromise, we agreed to keep trading it around within the party. Delvanos will carry it first.
In an odd coincidence, Fistan Nolro showed up just after our discussion was complete. He said that Canon Heldenster asked him to transport the party directly into the castle, which requires a magic item to bypass the warding magic. He had heard from someone that the binder was in his possession, which was news to him. We assured him that it was in safe keeping.
Chendl
The morning brought grave news. Crockport, the Kalinstren capital, had fallen in the night to an undead army. Refugees from the city were pouring into the city, and the capital was a flurry of activity.
The next day Thrommel asked us if we would accept citizenship in Furyondy. It is not common to have dual citizenship, but there are cases of it. Thrommel himself held the titles of Provost of Veluna and Marshal of Furyondy. The Lady Jolene D’Amphere arrived in Furyondy, and there was much buzz about the future nuptials.
The coronation took place three days later in the Cathedral of Heironeous. It consisted of prayers, anointing of the prince and the presentation of the sovereign relics. The kingdom was in a somber state, but they were greatly relieved that the line of kings was restored.
In his first act as king, Thrommel awarded the nation’s highest honor, Order of the Bolt, to our party. This honor includes a lifetime appointment to the Knightly Conclave, the king’s primary advisory council. It also provides a means of contacting any recipient of the Order of the Bolt, the Prelate of Heironeous and the King of Furyondy. We found out later that wearing the medal opened a lot of doors in the city as well.
The next few weeks were spent crafting items and preparing ourselves for the investigation of the excavation site at the Temple of Elemental Evil. The king was also very busy getting up to speed on the events of the last twenty years. He was also busy outfitting a special cavalry unit that he would personally lead into battle against the forces of Iuz.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Crockport Falls
4th Day of Coldeven, CY 592
From they Furyondy Beacon
Reports have been slow in bringing news of the fate of Crockport, capital of Kalinstren, but it is clear that the Armies of Iuz now occupy it. No official statements have been made as of this morning, but rumors are widespread.
Based on the stories that have filtered in, here is what can be pieced together:
At some point after midnight on the 3rd, fighting broke out among the tower guards at the west gate in Crockport. No sighting of an enemy had been reported, and there was no reason given for the internal fighting. Attempts by the officers to quell the melee were met with no success. The garrison commander, Colonel Robon, was not called to the scene, or he was called and did not show up. Reports vary on this point. In any case, it was over an hour before he issued any orders regarding the fighting. The order to sound the general alarm was also delayed by some indeterminate amount of time. If the general alarm had been sounded, it would have called additional forces to the scene along with the Knights of the Hart contingent quartered in the city.
The first report of an attack was not made until about one o’clock in the morning. The situation at the west gate had drawn all the soldiers within earshot, but word had not spread. Apparently, the local commanders believed the fighting was a result of the tension following the Flare Line attacks in the previous days. It became clear that something else was underway, when a number of men were attacked from the shadows by unseen assailants. The order was sent out to raise the alarm, but the lighting posts had been disabled. No alarm was raised. In that moment, everyone realized that the situation had escalated from an uncommon break in discipline to a plot to take the city from within.
Colonel Robon arrived on the scene issuing a number of orders including the opening of the west gate. Robon said that a group of soldiers were returning from a reconnaissance mission, and they could help with the situation. A number of protests were raised at this suggestion, since none of the other officers remembered such a mission. The ranking officer under Robon refused the order, because he believed that Robon was acting under duress. What happened next is not entirely clear, but the officer who refused the order was found dead the next morning. The gate had been opened from within, and the whereabouts of Colonel Robon has not been determined.
A large army of undead flowed into the city through the open gate under the cover of darkness. Fighting in the streets broke out. The strength of the undead was too great. Leading the zombie army was a thirty foot tall creature of utter darkness. Some reports indicate that this may in fact be Lord Sidow Noct. Rumors have spread for several years that this “shadow lord” is in league with Old Wicked. The Kalinstren armies were paralyzed as they drew close to the shadow lord. Calls went out to the Trithereon temple to aid, but they went unanswered. Some priests did attempt to turn back the armies, but the undead were shielded by some dark warding magic. The rest of the night was a slaughter.
When the sun rose the next day, the crimson standard of Iuz could be seen waving over the city. The road between Chendl and Crockport is filled with refugees from the fallen city. The Trithereon church was apparently attacked at the same time that the fighting broke out at the west gate. The bodies of the clergy were examined, but no official statement has been released. Some reports indicate that their souls have been enslaved. Casualty reports vary widely, but estimates exceed three thousand.
The Knights of the Hart displayed great valor when they were finally alerted to the attack. The knights with a group of Kordite priests from Verbobonc rallied the Kalinstren forces at the south gate. They kept the gate secured for over an hour. The majority of the refugees who managed to escape left through this gate. The fate of the forty knights under Lord Hargamac and the Kordite priests is not known.
From they Furyondy Beacon
Reports have been slow in bringing news of the fate of Crockport, capital of Kalinstren, but it is clear that the Armies of Iuz now occupy it. No official statements have been made as of this morning, but rumors are widespread.
Based on the stories that have filtered in, here is what can be pieced together:
At some point after midnight on the 3rd, fighting broke out among the tower guards at the west gate in Crockport. No sighting of an enemy had been reported, and there was no reason given for the internal fighting. Attempts by the officers to quell the melee were met with no success. The garrison commander, Colonel Robon, was not called to the scene, or he was called and did not show up. Reports vary on this point. In any case, it was over an hour before he issued any orders regarding the fighting. The order to sound the general alarm was also delayed by some indeterminate amount of time. If the general alarm had been sounded, it would have called additional forces to the scene along with the Knights of the Hart contingent quartered in the city.
The first report of an attack was not made until about one o’clock in the morning. The situation at the west gate had drawn all the soldiers within earshot, but word had not spread. Apparently, the local commanders believed the fighting was a result of the tension following the Flare Line attacks in the previous days. It became clear that something else was underway, when a number of men were attacked from the shadows by unseen assailants. The order was sent out to raise the alarm, but the lighting posts had been disabled. No alarm was raised. In that moment, everyone realized that the situation had escalated from an uncommon break in discipline to a plot to take the city from within.
Colonel Robon arrived on the scene issuing a number of orders including the opening of the west gate. Robon said that a group of soldiers were returning from a reconnaissance mission, and they could help with the situation. A number of protests were raised at this suggestion, since none of the other officers remembered such a mission. The ranking officer under Robon refused the order, because he believed that Robon was acting under duress. What happened next is not entirely clear, but the officer who refused the order was found dead the next morning. The gate had been opened from within, and the whereabouts of Colonel Robon has not been determined.
A large army of undead flowed into the city through the open gate under the cover of darkness. Fighting in the streets broke out. The strength of the undead was too great. Leading the zombie army was a thirty foot tall creature of utter darkness. Some reports indicate that this may in fact be Lord Sidow Noct. Rumors have spread for several years that this “shadow lord” is in league with Old Wicked. The Kalinstren armies were paralyzed as they drew close to the shadow lord. Calls went out to the Trithereon temple to aid, but they went unanswered. Some priests did attempt to turn back the armies, but the undead were shielded by some dark warding magic. The rest of the night was a slaughter.
When the sun rose the next day, the crimson standard of Iuz could be seen waving over the city. The road between Chendl and Crockport is filled with refugees from the fallen city. The Trithereon church was apparently attacked at the same time that the fighting broke out at the west gate. The bodies of the clergy were examined, but no official statement has been released. Some reports indicate that their souls have been enslaved. Casualty reports vary widely, but estimates exceed three thousand.
The Knights of the Hart displayed great valor when they were finally alerted to the attack. The knights with a group of Kordite priests from Verbobonc rallied the Kalinstren forces at the south gate. They kept the gate secured for over an hour. The majority of the refugees who managed to escape left through this gate. The fate of the forty knights under Lord Hargamac and the Kordite priests is not known.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
The Fallen Prince
2nd Day of Coldeven, CY 592
Turn of the Tide
Victor closed with Hedrack, but an abjuration ward prevented him from getting close enough to attack. The silence kept Hedrack from being able to stay in one place. So a series of movements between the two combatants ensued, where Hedrack would move out of the silence and assault Victor with deadly spells. It was beginning to wear on the Kordite priest, and he was forced to withdraw and heal.
Safadin turned the course of this battle with a very successful targeted dispel on Hedrack. It brought down a number of powerful wards including the one that kept Victor beyond arm’s reach. Victor and Hedrack continued their move and close tactics, but now Victor could deliver a series of punishing body blows as part of the movement. The tide was turning against Hedrack.
Creden and Uthgar had intended to gang up on the vampire Thrommel, but Hedrack hit Uthgar with a debilitating spell which forced him to move directly into the path of Infinitus. Infinitus and the Khannenhelm Defender began attacking one another, but the grappling ability of the glabrezu made it difficult for Uthgar.
Creden was left to go up against Thrommel alone. They traded blows back and forth. It would come down to their weapon prowess and a bit of luck (or divine intervention if you did not believe in luck). Whichever one it was, Creden had it this time. Thrommel missed three times in a row, and Creden did not. The power of the Cudgel brought the fallen prince down. He turned gaseous and fled to his coffin in the Outer Fane.
Hedrack was forced to alternate between attacking Victor with spells and putting up defenses against the rest of the party, who now were moving in to help Victor. Vannay’s enchantment wore off, and he attempted to bring down more of Hedrack’s defenses. It was countered by Hedrack, and he put up a blade barrier blocking everyone but Victor. Vannay cast a dimension door moving everyone to the other side of the barrier. Victor continued his attacks, and Hedrack knew that the end was near. It may have been madness or a clever stratagem (the former is likely), but Hedrack tried to move through the blade barrier. For a man who worshipped destruction, he had a fitting end. The wall of whirling blades cut him into pieces. Hedrack, Master of the Outer Fane, was dead. Infinitus decided to terms of his bargain with Hedrack were complete, and he teleported away.
A Moment of Clarity
We spent some time healing, but it was clear that we needed to find Thrommel before he could rest again. A trip into unexplored areas of the Outer Fane was dangerous, but the risk was worth it. We crossed the Fire Bridge and made our way around the complex to the Air Door. Vannay attempted a clairaudience on Thrommel’s room, but it was unnaturally silent. Varachan’s password in the tentacle room worked, and we were able to bypass the trap.
Thrommel’s room was cloaked in silence, and it was apparently empty. Again Vannay used a divination to attempt to locate Thrommel’s coffin. It was under the floor of the room. We searched for a bit, and we found a secret button which opened the floor. The coffin was removed to a nearby hallway, and we gathered around it. The tension mounted as we waited for Thrommel to awaken, so we could attempt to lift the curse of dark feeding.
Fragarach spoke, “Prince Avras Thrommel, son of Belvor, son of Avras. I am Fragarach, the Answerer, of the ancient House of Nax. I was entrusted to serve the royal house of Furyondy, and through them safeguard the kingdom. Fallen though you may be, you are all that remains of the line. I can sing out the names of your ancestors. I can give epic poems about your deeds in battle. But I cannot save you from this curse. You must make that decision alone. Under this curse, it is not a choice you can make. So we will bring entreaty before the celestial hosts. They will grant you a moment of clarity. They will grant you one chance to have this curse lifted. Do not forget the faces of your fathers. Do not forget the people of Furyondy. Do not forget the Lady Jolene, who to this day waits on your return. Look upon the men here today. They have risked everything including their own families to be standing before you. In the name of Thrommel, the true King of Furyondy, I ask you to choose.”
Victor read the words of the scroll. As he finished the request for divine intervention, a blazing light filled the hallway. In the midst of the light, a being appeared. The being was very muscular and wore a red girdle. Victor recognizing the form of his god, bowed immediately. Kord spoke, “The request has been made, Thrommel. You now have the ability to choose. Do you choose an eternity of undeath, or a return to the living?” A look of understanding came upon Thrommel, and he said, “Though I am not worthy. Though I have sinned against god and man. I ask that this curse of dark feeding be lifted.” The feral features slowly lifted, and his blood red eyes turned blue.
Thrommel was restored.
Turn of the Tide
Victor closed with Hedrack, but an abjuration ward prevented him from getting close enough to attack. The silence kept Hedrack from being able to stay in one place. So a series of movements between the two combatants ensued, where Hedrack would move out of the silence and assault Victor with deadly spells. It was beginning to wear on the Kordite priest, and he was forced to withdraw and heal.
Safadin turned the course of this battle with a very successful targeted dispel on Hedrack. It brought down a number of powerful wards including the one that kept Victor beyond arm’s reach. Victor and Hedrack continued their move and close tactics, but now Victor could deliver a series of punishing body blows as part of the movement. The tide was turning against Hedrack.
Creden and Uthgar had intended to gang up on the vampire Thrommel, but Hedrack hit Uthgar with a debilitating spell which forced him to move directly into the path of Infinitus. Infinitus and the Khannenhelm Defender began attacking one another, but the grappling ability of the glabrezu made it difficult for Uthgar.
Creden was left to go up against Thrommel alone. They traded blows back and forth. It would come down to their weapon prowess and a bit of luck (or divine intervention if you did not believe in luck). Whichever one it was, Creden had it this time. Thrommel missed three times in a row, and Creden did not. The power of the Cudgel brought the fallen prince down. He turned gaseous and fled to his coffin in the Outer Fane.
Hedrack was forced to alternate between attacking Victor with spells and putting up defenses against the rest of the party, who now were moving in to help Victor. Vannay’s enchantment wore off, and he attempted to bring down more of Hedrack’s defenses. It was countered by Hedrack, and he put up a blade barrier blocking everyone but Victor. Vannay cast a dimension door moving everyone to the other side of the barrier. Victor continued his attacks, and Hedrack knew that the end was near. It may have been madness or a clever stratagem (the former is likely), but Hedrack tried to move through the blade barrier. For a man who worshipped destruction, he had a fitting end. The wall of whirling blades cut him into pieces. Hedrack, Master of the Outer Fane, was dead. Infinitus decided to terms of his bargain with Hedrack were complete, and he teleported away.
A Moment of Clarity
We spent some time healing, but it was clear that we needed to find Thrommel before he could rest again. A trip into unexplored areas of the Outer Fane was dangerous, but the risk was worth it. We crossed the Fire Bridge and made our way around the complex to the Air Door. Vannay attempted a clairaudience on Thrommel’s room, but it was unnaturally silent. Varachan’s password in the tentacle room worked, and we were able to bypass the trap.
Thrommel’s room was cloaked in silence, and it was apparently empty. Again Vannay used a divination to attempt to locate Thrommel’s coffin. It was under the floor of the room. We searched for a bit, and we found a secret button which opened the floor. The coffin was removed to a nearby hallway, and we gathered around it. The tension mounted as we waited for Thrommel to awaken, so we could attempt to lift the curse of dark feeding.
Fragarach spoke, “Prince Avras Thrommel, son of Belvor, son of Avras. I am Fragarach, the Answerer, of the ancient House of Nax. I was entrusted to serve the royal house of Furyondy, and through them safeguard the kingdom. Fallen though you may be, you are all that remains of the line. I can sing out the names of your ancestors. I can give epic poems about your deeds in battle. But I cannot save you from this curse. You must make that decision alone. Under this curse, it is not a choice you can make. So we will bring entreaty before the celestial hosts. They will grant you a moment of clarity. They will grant you one chance to have this curse lifted. Do not forget the faces of your fathers. Do not forget the people of Furyondy. Do not forget the Lady Jolene, who to this day waits on your return. Look upon the men here today. They have risked everything including their own families to be standing before you. In the name of Thrommel, the true King of Furyondy, I ask you to choose.”
Victor read the words of the scroll. As he finished the request for divine intervention, a blazing light filled the hallway. In the midst of the light, a being appeared. The being was very muscular and wore a red girdle. Victor recognizing the form of his god, bowed immediately. Kord spoke, “The request has been made, Thrommel. You now have the ability to choose. Do you choose an eternity of undeath, or a return to the living?” A look of understanding came upon Thrommel, and he said, “Though I am not worthy. Though I have sinned against god and man. I ask that this curse of dark feeding be lifted.” The feral features slowly lifted, and his blood red eyes turned blue.
Thrommel was restored.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Master of the Outer Fane
1st - 2nd Day of Coldeven, CY 592
The Guardian
Vannay placed a force wall blocking the guardian from advancing, and this allowed us to prepare ourselves before engaging the eviscerator. Once Vannay dismissed the wall, Creden and Delvanos pummeled it. Safadin was able to finish it off by blasting a hole straight through the middle of it. Uthgar and Creden pried Tulian’s Eye out, and Vannay examined it briefly after noticing a necromantic aura on it.
It was decided that we should take it to the Khannenhelms right away. Vannay, Creden, Uthgar and the two dwarves teleported to the Lortmils, while Safadin, Victor, Delvanos and the human slaves went to Verbobonc.
The Lortmils
Uthgar was given a heroes welcome upon returning home. King Redogon was pleased that the final relic was recovered from Kuluth Dun. We found out that Iuz has launched an attack on the Flare Line, but the dwarves are not going to give aid right away. Some agents of Iuz had been in contact with the White and the giant clans, and Redogon believes that if the dwarves were to leave the mountains, an attack might happen. Vannay offered some future help against the problem with the ancient wyrm. Redogon did not seem anxious to accept outside help, but he did seem to realize that the problem may be too big for the dwarves to handle. A feast was held that night, and some food for Creden and Vannay was brought up. The dwarves were happy to take in the last two remaining dwarves of the Saltheart Clan.
Verbobonc
The city was ablaze with news of the attack on Furyondy by Iuz the previous day. The party spent much of the day gathering information about the nature of the attack. Victor spoke with Andre, High Priest of Kord, about the future war. He implored the Kordites to send an envoy to Furyondy to give aid. Even though Iuz’s assault seemed beaten back, Victor believed that it was likely just a feint to spread the army out. Andre appreciated Victor’s counsel, and he agreed that it was the best course of action. The priest also spoke of a shadow lord known as Lord Noct, who had joined Iuz’s inner circle following the Flight of Fiends. Victor spent a few hours training with the younger Sacred Fists before returning to the Rook’s Cove.
Upon hearing about Lord Noct, Delvanos’ linguistic skills helped sort out who the creature might be. In the infernal tongue, "noct" means night. Safadin’s knowledge came into play, and he surmised that a shadow lord whose name meant night, could mean a nightshade. He did not know much about them except they are one of the most powerful of the undead. Vannay later agreed with Safadin’s reasoning.
Bait and Trap
The next day we returned to the dwarven temple in the ridge mines. Vannay’s divination ward alerted us to the presence of a scrying sensor on Delvanos. This was the opportunity for which we had been waiting. We wished to draw Hedrack out by feigning weakness. Delvanos and Uthgar put on a show for scrying sensor. The had an argument about what to do with Tulian’s Eye, and Uthgar refused to accept anything but immediately returning it to his home. Delvanos said splitting the party up was a bad idea, but he knew that Uthgar would not be moved. While this ruse was underway, Vannay began casting his own divination to monitor the entrance to the dwarven temple. We all made our way back to the temple, and we made sure that the sensor did not reveal that we were all present. The trap was set. A clairvoyance sensor was placed near the temple entrance, and we began preparing some long duration spells for the attack.
The Trap is Sprung
The plan hinged on the belief that Hedrack lacked the means to teleport to the dwarven temple. The sensor would alert us to his presence with enough time to finish our preparations. Hedrack and anyone with him would find a much different situation than he planned on. On all points, we were gravely mistaken.
Hedrack, Thrommel and the glabrezu, Infinitus appeared teleported directly into the temple right next to Delvanos. Hedrack congratulated us on the amount of destruction we had levied thus far, but said that our time was up. In addition to the malevolent darkness encircling him, he had a strange pallor of death about him. Fragarach spoke to Thrommel directly saying that it was not the time, but soon they must speak.
Thrommel closed with Delvanos killing him with two quick slashes with his great sword, which channeled his energy drain ability. Hedrack turned to Victor saying that no matter what happened in the battle, Victor would not be leaving. He cast dimensional anchor. Vannay split Hedrack and Thrommel off from the rest of the room with a well placed force wall. This gave us a chance to prepare, and Creden and Victor cast buffing spells. Uthgar closed with Infinitus dealing a good blow. Infinitus spoke a single word and Vannay was stunned. Safadin attempted to disintegrate the glabrezu, but it shrugged off most of the damage.
Victor began grappling the demon, but the demon teleported out of his grasp and appeared next to Safadin. Thrommel moved towards Creden, and after Hedrack disintegrated the wall of force, the fallen prince attacked. Creden was prepared for it though with a death ward. Safadin teleported himself and Vannay to relative safety away from the demon. Uthgar closed with Thrommel.
The situation after two rounds was as follows: Creden and Uthgar were right next to Thrommel waiting for the chance to defeat him. Victor was preparing to close with Hedrack using a silence and grapple combination. Vannay was still stunned, but he and Safadin were safely away from Infinitus.
We have been in battles like this before. The beginning looks dangerous, but the tide turns after a few rounds. Was today going to be any different? The answer would have to wait.
The Guardian
Vannay placed a force wall blocking the guardian from advancing, and this allowed us to prepare ourselves before engaging the eviscerator. Once Vannay dismissed the wall, Creden and Delvanos pummeled it. Safadin was able to finish it off by blasting a hole straight through the middle of it. Uthgar and Creden pried Tulian’s Eye out, and Vannay examined it briefly after noticing a necromantic aura on it.
It was decided that we should take it to the Khannenhelms right away. Vannay, Creden, Uthgar and the two dwarves teleported to the Lortmils, while Safadin, Victor, Delvanos and the human slaves went to Verbobonc.
The Lortmils
Uthgar was given a heroes welcome upon returning home. King Redogon was pleased that the final relic was recovered from Kuluth Dun. We found out that Iuz has launched an attack on the Flare Line, but the dwarves are not going to give aid right away. Some agents of Iuz had been in contact with the White and the giant clans, and Redogon believes that if the dwarves were to leave the mountains, an attack might happen. Vannay offered some future help against the problem with the ancient wyrm. Redogon did not seem anxious to accept outside help, but he did seem to realize that the problem may be too big for the dwarves to handle. A feast was held that night, and some food for Creden and Vannay was brought up. The dwarves were happy to take in the last two remaining dwarves of the Saltheart Clan.
Verbobonc
The city was ablaze with news of the attack on Furyondy by Iuz the previous day. The party spent much of the day gathering information about the nature of the attack. Victor spoke with Andre, High Priest of Kord, about the future war. He implored the Kordites to send an envoy to Furyondy to give aid. Even though Iuz’s assault seemed beaten back, Victor believed that it was likely just a feint to spread the army out. Andre appreciated Victor’s counsel, and he agreed that it was the best course of action. The priest also spoke of a shadow lord known as Lord Noct, who had joined Iuz’s inner circle following the Flight of Fiends. Victor spent a few hours training with the younger Sacred Fists before returning to the Rook’s Cove.
Upon hearing about Lord Noct, Delvanos’ linguistic skills helped sort out who the creature might be. In the infernal tongue, "noct" means night. Safadin’s knowledge came into play, and he surmised that a shadow lord whose name meant night, could mean a nightshade. He did not know much about them except they are one of the most powerful of the undead. Vannay later agreed with Safadin’s reasoning.
Bait and Trap
The next day we returned to the dwarven temple in the ridge mines. Vannay’s divination ward alerted us to the presence of a scrying sensor on Delvanos. This was the opportunity for which we had been waiting. We wished to draw Hedrack out by feigning weakness. Delvanos and Uthgar put on a show for scrying sensor. The had an argument about what to do with Tulian’s Eye, and Uthgar refused to accept anything but immediately returning it to his home. Delvanos said splitting the party up was a bad idea, but he knew that Uthgar would not be moved. While this ruse was underway, Vannay began casting his own divination to monitor the entrance to the dwarven temple. We all made our way back to the temple, and we made sure that the sensor did not reveal that we were all present. The trap was set. A clairvoyance sensor was placed near the temple entrance, and we began preparing some long duration spells for the attack.
The Trap is Sprung
The plan hinged on the belief that Hedrack lacked the means to teleport to the dwarven temple. The sensor would alert us to his presence with enough time to finish our preparations. Hedrack and anyone with him would find a much different situation than he planned on. On all points, we were gravely mistaken.
Hedrack, Thrommel and the glabrezu, Infinitus appeared teleported directly into the temple right next to Delvanos. Hedrack congratulated us on the amount of destruction we had levied thus far, but said that our time was up. In addition to the malevolent darkness encircling him, he had a strange pallor of death about him. Fragarach spoke to Thrommel directly saying that it was not the time, but soon they must speak.
Thrommel closed with Delvanos killing him with two quick slashes with his great sword, which channeled his energy drain ability. Hedrack turned to Victor saying that no matter what happened in the battle, Victor would not be leaving. He cast dimensional anchor. Vannay split Hedrack and Thrommel off from the rest of the room with a well placed force wall. This gave us a chance to prepare, and Creden and Victor cast buffing spells. Uthgar closed with Infinitus dealing a good blow. Infinitus spoke a single word and Vannay was stunned. Safadin attempted to disintegrate the glabrezu, but it shrugged off most of the damage.
Victor began grappling the demon, but the demon teleported out of his grasp and appeared next to Safadin. Thrommel moved towards Creden, and after Hedrack disintegrated the wall of force, the fallen prince attacked. Creden was prepared for it though with a death ward. Safadin teleported himself and Vannay to relative safety away from the demon. Uthgar closed with Thrommel.
The situation after two rounds was as follows: Creden and Uthgar were right next to Thrommel waiting for the chance to defeat him. Victor was preparing to close with Hedrack using a silence and grapple combination. Vannay was still stunned, but he and Safadin were safely away from Infinitus.
We have been in battles like this before. The beginning looks dangerous, but the tide turns after a few rounds. Was today going to be any different? The answer would have to wait.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Invasion!
1st Day of Coldeven, CY 592
From the Furyondy Beacon
Reports have been coming in through the night of attacks all along the Flare Line. The stories vary widely, but it is clear that a major assault has been inaugurated against the earthwork defenses laid by our late king. The assault force is made up primarily of skeletal warriors. The straightforward attack has been largely rebuffed by the soldiers stationed in the trenches. The sheer number of the attackers has forced the commanders to spread their forces out evenly along the line. So far there are no reports of any breeches in the line.
General Agamar, the joint commander of Kalinstren and Crystalreach Flare Line Regulars, said, “The fighting has been fierce, but none of the undead armies have set foot on Furyondian soil. We will continue to reinforce any breaks in the defenses, and we will ensure that all points along the line are defended. We have been planning this for years, and today we see the fruits of our labor.”
Lord Anton Hargamac, acting leader of the Knights of the Hart in Crockport, echoed the comments of the Lord Agamar. He said, “This may be the first of many incursions, but so far our forces have been successful.”
Scouting reports from the Razing Line have been less optimistic. As we reported earlier this week, a shroud of darkness has descended upon the desolate stretch of land near Crockport. There have been no reports of activity inside the shroud as of this morning, and magical attempts to pierce the darkness have so far been blocked.
When reached for comment, Canon Heldenster said, “This invasion marks the six year anniversary of the Flight of Fiends. It is not surprising that our enemy would choose the month of Coldeven. They may have tipped their hand early though with these fruitless attacks. Chendl is on full alert. We believe that with the guidance of the Invincible One, our lands will be safe.”
From the Furyondy Beacon
Reports have been coming in through the night of attacks all along the Flare Line. The stories vary widely, but it is clear that a major assault has been inaugurated against the earthwork defenses laid by our late king. The assault force is made up primarily of skeletal warriors. The straightforward attack has been largely rebuffed by the soldiers stationed in the trenches. The sheer number of the attackers has forced the commanders to spread their forces out evenly along the line. So far there are no reports of any breeches in the line.
General Agamar, the joint commander of Kalinstren and Crystalreach Flare Line Regulars, said, “The fighting has been fierce, but none of the undead armies have set foot on Furyondian soil. We will continue to reinforce any breaks in the defenses, and we will ensure that all points along the line are defended. We have been planning this for years, and today we see the fruits of our labor.”
Lord Anton Hargamac, acting leader of the Knights of the Hart in Crockport, echoed the comments of the Lord Agamar. He said, “This may be the first of many incursions, but so far our forces have been successful.”
Scouting reports from the Razing Line have been less optimistic. As we reported earlier this week, a shroud of darkness has descended upon the desolate stretch of land near Crockport. There have been no reports of activity inside the shroud as of this morning, and magical attempts to pierce the darkness have so far been blocked.
When reached for comment, Canon Heldenster said, “This invasion marks the six year anniversary of the Flight of Fiends. It is not surprising that our enemy would choose the month of Coldeven. They may have tipped their hand early though with these fruitless attacks. Chendl is on full alert. We believe that with the guidance of the Invincible One, our lands will be safe.”
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Eye of Tulian
27th – 28th Day of Readying, CY 592
The Arrowhawks
Most battles come down to the issue of positioning yourself in the best place to engage your enemies. The fiendish demonhawk attempted to make things difficult by creating a massive windstorm in the chamber. Our arcanists had prepared us well with haste and fly spells, so we were able to rise above the dominating winds. Once this had been accomplished, we took command of the field. The arrowhawks fell in short order to the punishing assault of arrows, spells and melee. Safadin managed to petrify one of the hawks, and it shattered on the marble floor. The demonhawk loosed a chain lightning on us, but our protective wards helped absorb the damage. We finished the leader off, and then began searching the area.
The Dwarves of Kuluth Dun
We had already decided that it was time to rest, when we found another group of slaves. Like the other poor fellows we encountered, the tongues of these men had been removed. The depraved workings of the cult leaders were more than a little disturbing.
Two of the slaves were aged dwarves. We used our diplomatic skills to convince the mute servants that we were there to help them. They said they belonged to the Saltheart Clan, which had long since been wiped out. They had been kept here as servants for nearly one hundred years. They knew of Tulian’s Eye, but it took some convincing to share the information with non-dwarves. They did not know exactly where it was, but they did know of a hidden area at the western end of the Air Temple.
Tulian’s Eye
We made our way through the ridge mines to the area the dwarves mentioned. Vannay used his wand to uncover the secret entrance. Things almost went horribly wrong when Uthgar stepped into the corridor beyond the door. His reflexes and defender training kept him from plummeting into the pit. Vannay managed to disable the trap. We proceeded down the corridor and saw the chamber of the Eye. It was atop a marble pedestal in a room containing runes. Vannay’s arcane sight showed that the room was filled with illusions. Uthgar stepped into the chamber, and the pedestal and diamond disappeared. The back wall of the chamber opened up to reveal a slaughterstone eviscerator. Apparently, the dwarves were pretty serious about protecting the diamond.
The Arrowhawks
Most battles come down to the issue of positioning yourself in the best place to engage your enemies. The fiendish demonhawk attempted to make things difficult by creating a massive windstorm in the chamber. Our arcanists had prepared us well with haste and fly spells, so we were able to rise above the dominating winds. Once this had been accomplished, we took command of the field. The arrowhawks fell in short order to the punishing assault of arrows, spells and melee. Safadin managed to petrify one of the hawks, and it shattered on the marble floor. The demonhawk loosed a chain lightning on us, but our protective wards helped absorb the damage. We finished the leader off, and then began searching the area.
The Dwarves of Kuluth Dun
We had already decided that it was time to rest, when we found another group of slaves. Like the other poor fellows we encountered, the tongues of these men had been removed. The depraved workings of the cult leaders were more than a little disturbing.
Two of the slaves were aged dwarves. We used our diplomatic skills to convince the mute servants that we were there to help them. They said they belonged to the Saltheart Clan, which had long since been wiped out. They had been kept here as servants for nearly one hundred years. They knew of Tulian’s Eye, but it took some convincing to share the information with non-dwarves. They did not know exactly where it was, but they did know of a hidden area at the western end of the Air Temple.
Tulian’s Eye
We made our way through the ridge mines to the area the dwarves mentioned. Vannay used his wand to uncover the secret entrance. Things almost went horribly wrong when Uthgar stepped into the corridor beyond the door. His reflexes and defender training kept him from plummeting into the pit. Vannay managed to disable the trap. We proceeded down the corridor and saw the chamber of the Eye. It was atop a marble pedestal in a room containing runes. Vannay’s arcane sight showed that the room was filled with illusions. Uthgar stepped into the chamber, and the pedestal and diamond disappeared. The back wall of the chamber opened up to reveal a slaughterstone eviscerator. Apparently, the dwarves were pretty serious about protecting the diamond.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Back Into the Fray
23rd – 27th Day of Readying, CY 592
The Choices of Delvanos Caelith
We were staying at our usual haunt in Verbobonc, the Rook’s Cove. We had a few preparations to make before continuing our assault on the Outer Fane. Delvanos was contacted telepathically by a being who identified themselves as Infinitus. He was offering to exchange Lucas, the brother of Delvanos, for the Air Binder. The requirement was that Delvanos must come alone to the exchange on the next day, and Infinitus gave his word that no harm would come to either brother. If Delvanos refused the offer or broke it in any way, Infinitus assured him that Lucas would be taken to a place we could never find him.
Delvanos informed the rest of us about this proposal. Two main questions had to be answered. Who was Infinitus? Could we turn this to our advantage? We could not seriously consider turning over the air binder to this being. Regardless of who he was, he was almost certainly in league with the cultists. Safadin wisely suggested that Varachan might know of Infinitus. Creden sent a message to the former cultist asking about the being. Varachan responded stating that Infinitus was a tanar’ri known as a glabrezu. He also added that the fiend could not be trusted. These creatures will tempt you into ruin with promises of wealth and power.
Delvanos, a devotee of Trithereon, detests bondage in any form, but he would also not allow the cultists to use his brother as a bargaining chip. That is a game he would not play. We also reasoned that this fiend had no intention of going through with his side of the deal, and it was unlikely that Lucas would be with him. The next morning arrived. Vannay had prying eyes searching the area around the Rook’s Cove for any sign of the demon. Infinitus contacted Delvanos again, and he inquired about the decision. Delvanos asked when and where the meeting would be, but the fiend declined to say. He did assure us that Lucas was with him. Delvanos refused to make the deal. Infinitus replied, “I would have thought that you would have tried harder to save your brother. His suffering will be legendary.”
The Chamber of Hate
We spent a few more days in Verbobonc before teleporting back to the temple. We found a kennel that probably housed the fiendish lions that attacked us several months earlier. We also found a bedchamber with a trapped chest. Both rooms seemed to have been vacant for some time.
We went to the room marked “Chamber of Hate” on Varachan’s map. It had a number of identical bodies encased in metal cocoons on the wall. In the center of the room was a glowing gem on a pedestal. The bodies appeared to be the clones of Unariq Vol’Talsimol of which Varachan had spoken. Vannay saw a number of auras in the room as well as an ethereal creature. Powerful necromantic auras emanated from the clones, and they were interacting with a strong transmutation aura on the gem. The creature was a succubus demon. Vannay spoke with her telepathically about who she was and why she was here. She attempted to use her seductive ways on him, so he would get close to her. She said that he should leave behind the rest of the party, and begin a new life with her at his side. He played along. He agreed to come close to her, so they could embrace. She manifested on the prime plane. Vannay said, “I have always wanted a consort, but you are not it.” Before she could respond, Delvanos notched three cold iron arrows in his bow and fired them. She was dead before hitting the ground.
The Goatfolk Guards
We began making our way to the air door. We entered a guard room inhabited by six goat-like humanoids called ibixians. A brief battle ensued. Three of them closed with us tripping Creden and wounding him. Vannay and Safadin combined their arcane powers killing the three in the back of the room. Victor stunned one of the remaining ones, and we quickly finished them off.
The Air Door
We entered a massive octagonal shaped room over sixty feet across with an eighty feet ceiling. A crushing windstorm at speeds exceeding fifty miles per hour blew down from the ceiling. Hovering about two-thirds of the way up were five elder arrowhawks. One of them had an obvious fiendish heritage. Everyone managed to withstand the high winds, but it was clear that missile attacks would be useless. The demonhawk and one of the arrowhawks ganged up on Uthgar dealing considerable damage. Safadin fired a disintegrating ray at one of them, but it resisted the effect. Vannay summoned a large air elemental to help us out. Most of us spent the first part of the battle positioning ourselves above the wind effect. With most of us in a better position to launch our attacks, the next round could be the deciding point of the battle . . .
The Choices of Delvanos Caelith
We were staying at our usual haunt in Verbobonc, the Rook’s Cove. We had a few preparations to make before continuing our assault on the Outer Fane. Delvanos was contacted telepathically by a being who identified themselves as Infinitus. He was offering to exchange Lucas, the brother of Delvanos, for the Air Binder. The requirement was that Delvanos must come alone to the exchange on the next day, and Infinitus gave his word that no harm would come to either brother. If Delvanos refused the offer or broke it in any way, Infinitus assured him that Lucas would be taken to a place we could never find him.
Delvanos informed the rest of us about this proposal. Two main questions had to be answered. Who was Infinitus? Could we turn this to our advantage? We could not seriously consider turning over the air binder to this being. Regardless of who he was, he was almost certainly in league with the cultists. Safadin wisely suggested that Varachan might know of Infinitus. Creden sent a message to the former cultist asking about the being. Varachan responded stating that Infinitus was a tanar’ri known as a glabrezu. He also added that the fiend could not be trusted. These creatures will tempt you into ruin with promises of wealth and power.
Delvanos, a devotee of Trithereon, detests bondage in any form, but he would also not allow the cultists to use his brother as a bargaining chip. That is a game he would not play. We also reasoned that this fiend had no intention of going through with his side of the deal, and it was unlikely that Lucas would be with him. The next morning arrived. Vannay had prying eyes searching the area around the Rook’s Cove for any sign of the demon. Infinitus contacted Delvanos again, and he inquired about the decision. Delvanos asked when and where the meeting would be, but the fiend declined to say. He did assure us that Lucas was with him. Delvanos refused to make the deal. Infinitus replied, “I would have thought that you would have tried harder to save your brother. His suffering will be legendary.”
The Chamber of Hate
We spent a few more days in Verbobonc before teleporting back to the temple. We found a kennel that probably housed the fiendish lions that attacked us several months earlier. We also found a bedchamber with a trapped chest. Both rooms seemed to have been vacant for some time.
We went to the room marked “Chamber of Hate” on Varachan’s map. It had a number of identical bodies encased in metal cocoons on the wall. In the center of the room was a glowing gem on a pedestal. The bodies appeared to be the clones of Unariq Vol’Talsimol of which Varachan had spoken. Vannay saw a number of auras in the room as well as an ethereal creature. Powerful necromantic auras emanated from the clones, and they were interacting with a strong transmutation aura on the gem. The creature was a succubus demon. Vannay spoke with her telepathically about who she was and why she was here. She attempted to use her seductive ways on him, so he would get close to her. She said that he should leave behind the rest of the party, and begin a new life with her at his side. He played along. He agreed to come close to her, so they could embrace. She manifested on the prime plane. Vannay said, “I have always wanted a consort, but you are not it.” Before she could respond, Delvanos notched three cold iron arrows in his bow and fired them. She was dead before hitting the ground.
The Goatfolk Guards
We began making our way to the air door. We entered a guard room inhabited by six goat-like humanoids called ibixians. A brief battle ensued. Three of them closed with us tripping Creden and wounding him. Vannay and Safadin combined their arcane powers killing the three in the back of the room. Victor stunned one of the remaining ones, and we quickly finished them off.
The Air Door
We entered a massive octagonal shaped room over sixty feet across with an eighty feet ceiling. A crushing windstorm at speeds exceeding fifty miles per hour blew down from the ceiling. Hovering about two-thirds of the way up were five elder arrowhawks. One of them had an obvious fiendish heritage. Everyone managed to withstand the high winds, but it was clear that missile attacks would be useless. The demonhawk and one of the arrowhawks ganged up on Uthgar dealing considerable damage. Safadin fired a disintegrating ray at one of them, but it resisted the effect. Vannay summoned a large air elemental to help us out. Most of us spent the first part of the battle positioning ourselves above the wind effect. With most of us in a better position to launch our attacks, the next round could be the deciding point of the battle . . .
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The Path Made Clear
9th – 22nd Day of Readying, CY 592
Through the Looking Glass
Using some drops of blood to aid our divinations, we attempted to scry on the assassin who killed Creden and took his body. She was well shielded against the divinations and it took two days of repeated attempts by our wizards before Safadin was finally successful.
Safadin saw the woman walking down a hall in the outer fane flanked by armored minotaurs. She entered a private room and began speaking with a man, who we later identified as Varachan. She said that a speak with the dead revealed some information about our group and our plans, but not a whole lot. The most important piece of information was that Creden did not have the air binder. She made mention of being lied to by “Caelith”. Varachan was very unhappy with her results, and he demanded that she return with Creden’s corpse, so he could conduct his own questioning.
We decided to exploit this great opportunity, and we teleported directly to Varachan’s chamber. He did not seem overly surprised at our appearance, and more importantly he did not attack. Even though we had received some help from him, trust was not immediately forthcoming.
Safadin kept watch over him, while we set the ambush for the assassin, Bethe. We jumped her as soon as she returned, and she died very quickly. The minotaurs were a bit more challenging with their powerful axes, but Vannay stopped them from charging us with a well placed force wall.
We spoke with Varachan briefly about his intentions, but we wanted to save most of the discussion for later. Varachan agreed to retrieve Creden’s gear from Bethe’s quarters. We left a note on her body stating that Varachan was left at the bottom of the Stalagos. We teleported to the Rook’s Cove in Verbobonc.
Tales of Loss and Redemption
Varachan joined the cult shortly after the fall of the original Temple of Elemental Evil. He rose quickly through the ranks in the outer fane, and he was well on his way to surpassing Hedrack. He was on track to become a Doomdreamer and join in their dark reverie.
He had made a pronounced mark early on with the breaking of Prince Thrommel. Thrommel had been captured by the noble drow house, Topart’tal, and delivered to the Temple of All Consumption. The young priest, Varachan, was charged with his interrogation. Varachan along with the torture master, Yrthuk Innar, and the demon ogre, D’Gran, worked on the prince for nearly two years. Eventually, the prince succumbed to the ministrations, and he accepted the gift of the dark feeding. Varachan was not unfeeling though, and the sheer force of will and faith that Thrommel exhibited left its mark on the young man.
Some years later, the First of the Triad, Unariq Vol’Talsimol, thought he had discovered a means of freeing their dark god. He created a portal to the Indomitable Gate and confronted the celestial guardian, Galgaliel. He was defeated and deposited in the prison plane with his master. Unariq was a rare breed of illithid known as an ulitharid.
Varachan was curious about why Unariq was not successful, so several years later he traveled through the portal and confronted Galgaliel. He spoke with him at length about why an immortal would agree to spend eternity in one place. Again, Varachan was confronted with a level of devotion and faith that was staggering. This was the turning point in Varachan’s life.
He eventually rejected all the tenets of his faith. This of course placed him in the precarious position of being an infidel in the inner circle of the outer fane. He was ready to leave the temple, when he heard of a group of heroes making their way through the ridge mines. He decided to keep up the subterfuge and help out the group if possible. On several occasions, he was able to do just that. The most important time being a warning about the red dragon, Chymon, guarding the fire door.
Varachan is not fully committed to helping out society, but he has abandoned his dark past.
The Inner Fane
Varachan provided us with a somewhat sketchy map of the outer fane. He also told us that Lucas Caelith has been captured and is being held in the sublevels of the inner fane. He told us that the inner fane has fourteen levels, and five of them are below ground. The lowest level is right above the molten core of the volcano. There is a massive artifact called the dreaming stone, which occupies many of the levels of the fane. This dreaming stone is the primary conduit between the cultists and their deity. The First is on or near the uppermost level. There is also some sort of teleportation device located in one of the fane’s sublevels.
The area between the outer and inner fane is the blasted yard. It is guarded by entropic undead called ehloriads (we found reference to these in the journal of Susain Carun). There is only one entrance into the fane, and it is a sentient door. We must figure out a way to make the door open for us. Varachan has only visited the inner temple a few times, and he never went beyond the first level. So his information was mostly secondhand.
The Plans of the Doomdreamers
It turns out that our final destination in our quest is not the inner fane. We must return to the temple of elemental evil. A massive excavation is underway there to unearth the collapsed lower levels of the original temple. It is under the supervision of The Second. They are attempting to uncover and reopen the elemental nodes, so the princes can be called into them by the champion. Once the elemental princes are present, they will use the Orb of Oblivion to free Tharizdun.
The champion is Lareth the Beautiful, who we fought in Nulb many months earlier. Varachan confirmed what we already believed concerning Imix, Prince of Fire. He has been called into the node (sometimes called a moon), and he is waiting to join his siblings in the ritual.
If all four princes are called into their respective nodes, then the ritual is guaranteed to work. Varachan believes that the ritual can still be performed with as little as one prince, but it is not guaranteed to work. He also stated that if the cultists believe that we are going to stop them, they will move up their timetable and perform the ritual early.
To stop their immediate plans, we must kill the champion and recover the Orb of Oblivion. We do not have to kill Imix, and it is possible (in Varachan’s estimation) that we could not kill him regardless. The cultists created two copies of the Orb of Oblivion. The first copy, the Orb of Golden Death or Goldskull, was destroyed by the group who defeated the cultists fifteen years ago. The second copy, the Orb of Silvery Death, still exists and is most likely being used by the cultists. The original is most likely being kept safe with the First at the top of the Inner Fane.
Varachan is not certain about this information, because he was not always privy to their plans. He does know that the Second is heading up the excavation with most of the other Doomdreamers. He also told us that Tessimon, former head of the Fire Temple, has joined the ranks of the Doomdreamers.
To stop Tharizdun from ever being freed, the Orb of Oblivion and all the remaining binders must be found and destroyed. Varachan has no idea how to accomplish this.
Varachan said that he will travel to Greyhawk City and disappear in the metropolis. Victor spoke with him privately about considering the faith of Kord, but he did not seem interested. He was not sure what new faith he will pursue. He told us to feel free to contact him if more help is needed in the future.
The Envoy from Baator
We returned to the outer fane and decided to seek out the gelugon that Varachan warned us about. The gelugon was sent by the lords of Baator to check up on the activities of the cultists. Vannay used clairaudience to check on Chymon’s chamber. We did not want to get ambushed again. He heard some heavy breathing but little else.
We prepared some spells and entered the room. It was occupied by the form of the most powerful of the Baatezu, a pit fiend. After some help from Vannay’s arcane sight, most of us realized it was an illusion. Uthgar was a bit stubborn about it, but after he attacked it he agreed that it was not real. A voice spoke to us telepathically, and it invited us to join it in the “great room”.
We made our way carefully through the passages leading to the large chamber. Upon entering it, we saw the gelugon on the stage in the center. Vannay also saw four osyluths, bone devils, in the room but invisible.
A large battle ensued. The devils kept dividing the party with ice walls, which limited our mobility. They also used illusion magic to make it appear as if there were more of them. It was a tough fight, but eventually we were able to overcome the fiends.
The Eaters
We searched the room and the adjoining areas. We found a servant who had his tongue cut out cowering in one corner. He was genuinely thankful that we were not there to kill him. We found one room with magmin in it. They mostly wanted to melt things, but they did say that they were there to keep the volcano in check. Delvanos convinced them that their services were no longer required.
We found a secret passage leading to a large room with many runes on the walls and floor. As soon as Uthgar stepped into the room, he appeared to change into a creature that looked like a brain with a beak and tentacles. These aberrations are known as grell, and some of the party battled them at the moathouse. It latched onto Creden and began pulling him towards it. Victor acted quickly by moving in to cast freedom of movement.
Vannay saw that there was a powerful conjuration aura in the room, and he surmised that this creature had merely swapped places with Uthgar. We found out afterward that Uthgar had been transported to a place (likely in the Far Realms) where his mind was being assaulted by alien entities. Vannay summoned a brelani. We began to battle the creature, but we had barely defeated it when another appeared and began attacking. Another round of combat passed before Uthgar finally returned. The second grell was slain, and the battle seemed to be over.
Vannay and Safadin began to investigate the summoning runes, while the brelani entered the circle to retrieve his dropped weapon. He promptly disappeared and was replaced by another grell. The grell grabbed Vannay and Safadin in its tentacles. Apparently as long as someone was trapped on the other plane, grell would keep appearing. A total of six grell appeared over the course of the battle. Once they stopped appearing, we decided to get out of the temple. We took the maimed servant with us and teleported to Verbobonc.
Through the Looking Glass
Using some drops of blood to aid our divinations, we attempted to scry on the assassin who killed Creden and took his body. She was well shielded against the divinations and it took two days of repeated attempts by our wizards before Safadin was finally successful.
Safadin saw the woman walking down a hall in the outer fane flanked by armored minotaurs. She entered a private room and began speaking with a man, who we later identified as Varachan. She said that a speak with the dead revealed some information about our group and our plans, but not a whole lot. The most important piece of information was that Creden did not have the air binder. She made mention of being lied to by “Caelith”. Varachan was very unhappy with her results, and he demanded that she return with Creden’s corpse, so he could conduct his own questioning.
We decided to exploit this great opportunity, and we teleported directly to Varachan’s chamber. He did not seem overly surprised at our appearance, and more importantly he did not attack. Even though we had received some help from him, trust was not immediately forthcoming.
Safadin kept watch over him, while we set the ambush for the assassin, Bethe. We jumped her as soon as she returned, and she died very quickly. The minotaurs were a bit more challenging with their powerful axes, but Vannay stopped them from charging us with a well placed force wall.
We spoke with Varachan briefly about his intentions, but we wanted to save most of the discussion for later. Varachan agreed to retrieve Creden’s gear from Bethe’s quarters. We left a note on her body stating that Varachan was left at the bottom of the Stalagos. We teleported to the Rook’s Cove in Verbobonc.
Tales of Loss and Redemption
Varachan joined the cult shortly after the fall of the original Temple of Elemental Evil. He rose quickly through the ranks in the outer fane, and he was well on his way to surpassing Hedrack. He was on track to become a Doomdreamer and join in their dark reverie.
He had made a pronounced mark early on with the breaking of Prince Thrommel. Thrommel had been captured by the noble drow house, Topart’tal, and delivered to the Temple of All Consumption. The young priest, Varachan, was charged with his interrogation. Varachan along with the torture master, Yrthuk Innar, and the demon ogre, D’Gran, worked on the prince for nearly two years. Eventually, the prince succumbed to the ministrations, and he accepted the gift of the dark feeding. Varachan was not unfeeling though, and the sheer force of will and faith that Thrommel exhibited left its mark on the young man.
Some years later, the First of the Triad, Unariq Vol’Talsimol, thought he had discovered a means of freeing their dark god. He created a portal to the Indomitable Gate and confronted the celestial guardian, Galgaliel. He was defeated and deposited in the prison plane with his master. Unariq was a rare breed of illithid known as an ulitharid.
Varachan was curious about why Unariq was not successful, so several years later he traveled through the portal and confronted Galgaliel. He spoke with him at length about why an immortal would agree to spend eternity in one place. Again, Varachan was confronted with a level of devotion and faith that was staggering. This was the turning point in Varachan’s life.
He eventually rejected all the tenets of his faith. This of course placed him in the precarious position of being an infidel in the inner circle of the outer fane. He was ready to leave the temple, when he heard of a group of heroes making their way through the ridge mines. He decided to keep up the subterfuge and help out the group if possible. On several occasions, he was able to do just that. The most important time being a warning about the red dragon, Chymon, guarding the fire door.
Varachan is not fully committed to helping out society, but he has abandoned his dark past.
The Inner Fane
Varachan provided us with a somewhat sketchy map of the outer fane. He also told us that Lucas Caelith has been captured and is being held in the sublevels of the inner fane. He told us that the inner fane has fourteen levels, and five of them are below ground. The lowest level is right above the molten core of the volcano. There is a massive artifact called the dreaming stone, which occupies many of the levels of the fane. This dreaming stone is the primary conduit between the cultists and their deity. The First is on or near the uppermost level. There is also some sort of teleportation device located in one of the fane’s sublevels.
The area between the outer and inner fane is the blasted yard. It is guarded by entropic undead called ehloriads (we found reference to these in the journal of Susain Carun). There is only one entrance into the fane, and it is a sentient door. We must figure out a way to make the door open for us. Varachan has only visited the inner temple a few times, and he never went beyond the first level. So his information was mostly secondhand.
The Plans of the Doomdreamers
It turns out that our final destination in our quest is not the inner fane. We must return to the temple of elemental evil. A massive excavation is underway there to unearth the collapsed lower levels of the original temple. It is under the supervision of The Second. They are attempting to uncover and reopen the elemental nodes, so the princes can be called into them by the champion. Once the elemental princes are present, they will use the Orb of Oblivion to free Tharizdun.
The champion is Lareth the Beautiful, who we fought in Nulb many months earlier. Varachan confirmed what we already believed concerning Imix, Prince of Fire. He has been called into the node (sometimes called a moon), and he is waiting to join his siblings in the ritual.
If all four princes are called into their respective nodes, then the ritual is guaranteed to work. Varachan believes that the ritual can still be performed with as little as one prince, but it is not guaranteed to work. He also stated that if the cultists believe that we are going to stop them, they will move up their timetable and perform the ritual early.
To stop their immediate plans, we must kill the champion and recover the Orb of Oblivion. We do not have to kill Imix, and it is possible (in Varachan’s estimation) that we could not kill him regardless. The cultists created two copies of the Orb of Oblivion. The first copy, the Orb of Golden Death or Goldskull, was destroyed by the group who defeated the cultists fifteen years ago. The second copy, the Orb of Silvery Death, still exists and is most likely being used by the cultists. The original is most likely being kept safe with the First at the top of the Inner Fane.
Varachan is not certain about this information, because he was not always privy to their plans. He does know that the Second is heading up the excavation with most of the other Doomdreamers. He also told us that Tessimon, former head of the Fire Temple, has joined the ranks of the Doomdreamers.
To stop Tharizdun from ever being freed, the Orb of Oblivion and all the remaining binders must be found and destroyed. Varachan has no idea how to accomplish this.
Varachan said that he will travel to Greyhawk City and disappear in the metropolis. Victor spoke with him privately about considering the faith of Kord, but he did not seem interested. He was not sure what new faith he will pursue. He told us to feel free to contact him if more help is needed in the future.
The Envoy from Baator
We returned to the outer fane and decided to seek out the gelugon that Varachan warned us about. The gelugon was sent by the lords of Baator to check up on the activities of the cultists. Vannay used clairaudience to check on Chymon’s chamber. We did not want to get ambushed again. He heard some heavy breathing but little else.
We prepared some spells and entered the room. It was occupied by the form of the most powerful of the Baatezu, a pit fiend. After some help from Vannay’s arcane sight, most of us realized it was an illusion. Uthgar was a bit stubborn about it, but after he attacked it he agreed that it was not real. A voice spoke to us telepathically, and it invited us to join it in the “great room”.
We made our way carefully through the passages leading to the large chamber. Upon entering it, we saw the gelugon on the stage in the center. Vannay also saw four osyluths, bone devils, in the room but invisible.
A large battle ensued. The devils kept dividing the party with ice walls, which limited our mobility. They also used illusion magic to make it appear as if there were more of them. It was a tough fight, but eventually we were able to overcome the fiends.
The Eaters
We searched the room and the adjoining areas. We found a servant who had his tongue cut out cowering in one corner. He was genuinely thankful that we were not there to kill him. We found one room with magmin in it. They mostly wanted to melt things, but they did say that they were there to keep the volcano in check. Delvanos convinced them that their services were no longer required.
We found a secret passage leading to a large room with many runes on the walls and floor. As soon as Uthgar stepped into the room, he appeared to change into a creature that looked like a brain with a beak and tentacles. These aberrations are known as grell, and some of the party battled them at the moathouse. It latched onto Creden and began pulling him towards it. Victor acted quickly by moving in to cast freedom of movement.
Vannay saw that there was a powerful conjuration aura in the room, and he surmised that this creature had merely swapped places with Uthgar. We found out afterward that Uthgar had been transported to a place (likely in the Far Realms) where his mind was being assaulted by alien entities. Vannay summoned a brelani. We began to battle the creature, but we had barely defeated it when another appeared and began attacking. Another round of combat passed before Uthgar finally returned. The second grell was slain, and the battle seemed to be over.
Vannay and Safadin began to investigate the summoning runes, while the brelani entered the circle to retrieve his dropped weapon. He promptly disappeared and was replaced by another grell. The grell grabbed Vannay and Safadin in its tentacles. Apparently as long as someone was trapped on the other plane, grell would keep appearing. A total of six grell appeared over the course of the battle. Once they stopped appearing, we decided to get out of the temple. We took the maimed servant with us and teleported to Verbobonc.
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