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.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
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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