Sorry, it's been a long time since I posted. They party has finally reached the central point of the original module, and I didn't mean to leave everyone hanging so long. So, back to the story!
***
Gotrek and Emyn pull the door open. It swings easily, but this time there is no corresponding flash of light…..
The room beyond the door is brightly lit. You step through the door onto a ledge of green serpentine. A decorative openwork screen stands at the end of the ledge. To the left and right you see that other doors open onto ledges like the one on which you stand, each with its own screen. The chamber is spherical, and the doors and ledges are symmetrically arranged along the equator of the sphere. They would seem to match the assumed locations of the other sets of doors which you have tried to open.
The upper hemisphere forms a dome of lapis lazuli, as dark as the night sky at the top, as pale as a twilight horizon at the equator. The lower hemisphere is of serpentine, pale green at the equator, deep green at the bottom of the bowl. The sides of the sphere are perfectly smooth and look as if they cannot be climbed or walked on.
The screen is carved from rare wood and inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. It blocks your view of the center of the chamber, though you see a golden chain hanging from the center of the chamber which supports something in the middle. You can't get a good look from here, though if you get closer to the screen you would be able to see through the openwork and see the rest of the chamber. You could also move to the corner where you could peak around the screen to see the center and floor of the chamber.
Looking through the intricately carved openings reveals a jeweled lantern on a golden chain, hanging from the top of the chamber. Within the lantern burns a steady amber flame. The crystal lenses set in the lantern’s framework magnify its light. The warm and comforting light from this lantern makes the air seem to dance with a fusion of sunlight and moonlight.
The lanthorn hangs above a broad stone dais, its rays reflected mostly downwards by the smooth, polished walls towards a dais of rose-colored marble, 6' long, 3' wide; and 3' high. On the dais surrounding the marble block are small carpets and a pair of beautifully fashioned stands upon which rest rare porcelain vessels. At the foot of the marble block is a low table with a crystal bowl filled with a rainbow of gems. At the head of the block is a silver tripod with a small brazier which emits a tiny plume of sweet-smelling smoke. -- Atop the marble block is a slab of white alabaster, inlaid with gold sigils-moons, stars, and strange symbols. A woman sleeps on the alabaster slab.
The sleeping maiden is armored from toe to neck in gold chased plate mail. A long bastard sword is atop her body, its quillons below her breasts, its point near her feet. The woman's gauntleted hands are crossed over the sword's pommel. Her pale face seems composed. Her lips are bright red and her raven-hued tresses are lustrous. A helmet with plumes as black as the maid's hair rests on the slab just above her head.
The sphere is 40' diameter, so it's 20' deep from the balcony.
Here's an image from the original module which basically shows the scene described above:
Manny is back in the hallway, and standing right next to the painting. It shows a 15-foot wooden boat with a lovely, black-haired lady at the tiller. She smiles under a stormy night sky. The boat in the painting has the name, “Kacerayu,” on the prow. If he pushes himself up to the front, which I am assuming he does so I can say this, he sees that the woman lying below is the same one portrayed in the painting!
He says the word, “Kacerayu,” but nothing happens.
"Oh my,” says Emyn. “Wasn't that painting supposed to be of Iggwilvs daughter? She must surley be preserved through some necromancy. "
"So Iggwilv's daughter.” asks Manny, though to nobody in particular, and not a question. “Daughter of one of the most powerful Witches ever to exist, granddaughter to Baba Yaga herself. Great. Now the question is; is she dead, undead, or living? Two of those say this is the strongest defense we are going to meet. The first, that something in the room guards her, the other two that SHE is the guard."
"Virtually everything we have encountered here has been evil in nature,” says Berenn. “If this evil slumbers, I suggest we let it do so.” He looks at Manny with a glance full of warning. “If you are going to do any searching of the room, I suggest you tread lightly."
He nods, not needing the reminder. "I suspect the treasure we seek is on the woman, under the woman or is the lantern that hangs above her. Iggwilv would never make this easy."
[Isilme OOC: Nuke her from orbit...its the only way to be sure. This scene reminds me of the one with the Prince in the TOEE, the one we re-did twice.....that didn't go too well the first time.]
Sir Godwynn and Emyn both use their Detect Evil abilities, and neither detects any evil within the chamber. Meanwhile, Isilme flies upward and above the party, holdling Maerthorlear out as she does. She then casts Detect Undead on the woman lying upon the alabaster slab. The result…she is most definitely undead!
Emyn folds the screen, leaning it back against the wall that you can see. Gotrek had entered, and he stands at the edge of the balcony, gripping Goreblade tightly, his muscles bound in expectation of danger. Sir Godwynn and Emyn stand behind him. They both concentrate on the chamber, the woman, the lanthorn, attempting to detect evil. They can sense no evil at all.
Manny had moved up and glanced in, then went back to the picture again. "It is the same woman as in the picture," he says.
"I must see this," says Elrae, who moves up. He pushes passed Thorgrim and Gotrek, stopping dead in his tracks when he sees the majestic lanthorn hanging before him. Thorgrim hears him, his voice barely more than a whisper. "By the Gods," he gasps. "Daoud's Lanthorn."
"Part of our mission was to destroy evil artifacts,” says Emyn. “I would say that lantern likely qualifies.”
Elrae turns incredulously towards Emyn. "Are ye daft, man? Our mission is NOT to destroy artifacts. We are simply supposed to keep powerful magic from falling into the hands of the Iuzians. And the Lanthorn is certainly not evil. The tales that have come down speak only of its marvelous healing powers!”
Elrae recovers from his awe, then tells what he knows. “Daoud was once the philosopher-pasha of Tusmit, a wealthy and well-respected man in his youth. In middle age, however, he lost everything. He was reduced to begging on the streets far from his homeland. He became a mendicant priest of Istus and contemplated the harshness of Fate before arriving at his radical new philosophy. When Daoud was stripped of his wealth, he decided that the Four Feet of the Dragon which define Baklunish society - piety, honor, generosity, and devotion to family - were mere ostentation. In their place he proposed four superior virtues: honesty, humility, piety, and endurance. He called this new philosophy the Path of the Seeker.
His name is associated with the lanthorn, which supposed had wondrous healing powers. Its last known location was in Lopolla, Ket over a hundred years ago.”
Gotrek snorts, his nose rings chiming. “Well, she’s undead, so let’s destroy her anyway!”
Hepla casts Detect Magic. The hanging lantern is VERY magical, so much so it almost hurts her! The censer with the incense is magical. The sword is magical, as is the armor.
Isilme casts Detect Invisible and scans the entire chamber. She discovers nothing.
We'll have to awaken that lass to leave here, I suspect," says Thorgrim. "She must be a guardian. How will we fight her, from this ledge? How will she fight us? Disturbing the artifact or calling her name three times might do the trick. I wonder why no Evil was detected?"
"Emyn my dear,” says Hepla. “Let me use that scroll you have." She will use the Scroll of Wizards to determine what sort of magic is at play here.
"Good idea dear,” he replies. He takes it out of his pack and hands it to her. “Here you go. It was meant as a present for you anyway, so please keep it."
“I have a few stakes,” muses Thorgrim.
The old Isilme returns for a moment as she replies, "Chop her head off and torch her...its the only way to be sure."
"Let's figure out what it is first,” says Emyn, “but that might not be a bad idea when the time comes."
Hepla takes the scroll, stands at the front of the balcony, and uses it. It reveals the magic in effect, streaming from the Lanthorn. The magic is a combination of three spells: Lesser Healing Rays, Cure Disease, and Neutralize Poison.
Isilme flies back over to the group, floating next to the balcony. “Through divination, Elistraee has revealed to me that this undead is unlike any other we have encountered. She is not innately 'evil' as undead are, and hence why your detection may be working. In fact, her aura she seems more like us among the living in this aspect, with varying gradients and thus harder to pin down. There is more to her than appears on the surface, we should not jump to any immediate conclusions."
"She may not be evil, but her at least half-brother is the Old One,” says Manny quickly. “And her mother consorted with Demon Lords. We have no idea who her father was, but he was unlikely to be some powerless peasant. That 'hunger tragic' sounds like a real problem as well." He shakes his head. “I do not know what she is, but I cannot help feel a sense of dread, deadly and dangerous.”
"I don't recall a time when the undead have been on friendly terms,” replies Berenn grimly.
Gotrek spits. "Common sense, laddie."
“What about Elrae’s Sunfire spell?” asks Emyn. “Undead hate the sun.”
“If undead hate the sun,” says Manny, “then why is it being bathed in Healing Rays spell? That spell causes "a beam of healing sunlight” to caress one. Why isn’t it hurting her?”
Isilme flies back to check the Lanthorn, but sees no way to unhook it, no clasps or open links. She checks the walls next. The walls are very smooth, too smooth for even a thief as skilled as Noot to climb. Finally, she looks at the floor around the slab. The flat bottom is only large enough for maybe two people to stand to either side of the alabaster slab and one at each end.
Noot, pulling a rope out of his pack, says, "Hey -- why don't you hold this rope and I'll climb down and take a look."
"Let me come with you, Noot,” replies Sir Godwynn quickly, “in case she isn't as friendly as we might hope."
"Did we all get stupid during this adventure?” asks Berenn with an incredulous look. “We are supposed to be searching for Iggwilv’s treasures to keep them from The Old One, whose minions have arrived I might add.” He points above them for emphasis, then waves an arm towards the undead figure below. “Why are we disturbing this undead?”
"I thought we were here to keep powerful magic items out of the Old One's hands," replies Manny. He points at the Lanthorn. “That certainly qualifies!”
""What better reason to steal the Lanthorn?” question Elrae. “Why don't we just have someone try to steal Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn without waking Princess Raven-hair,” says Elrae. “It's worth a shot if no one else has any ideas."
Berenn nods at him. “I cannot believe I am about to say this, but for once I agree with Elrae.”
“There are just too many questions,” says a quickly getting exasperated Thorgrim. “What's in the porcelain vessels? What is the function of the censer/brazier? Its smoke could be keeping her subdued, with the Lanthorn keeping her alive? What would happen if the brazier were extinguished?”
“I am going,” says Noot. “We need to take a closer look.” When Berenn starts to speak, he quickly adds, “and I will not touch anything.”
Godwynn moves forward to follow. “And I shall protect him,” says, shield out. “The Shield of Light has a decent chance holding off potential undead should that be the case.”
The others nod assent, the two descend to the bottom. Noot finds no apparent traps, but he does find a secret compartment in the side of the slab. After making sure it's not trapped, he opens it.
"Uh," I think you should see this Isilme," he says, looking inside.
Berenn sighs. “Thanks for not touching anything,” he mumbles.
Isilme flies down and looks inside. She finds that the alabaster slab is hollow. It is also lined with some kind of strange reflective material. There is only one spot not so lined, and it on the top, a small square hole. She can see the back of the woman’s upper torso through it, and she notes it lines up perfectly with her heart. Sitting on a small block inside the hollow is what look like a small cage. There is something inside it, and it looks like a very small version of the positive energy creature you encountered before, in the Soul Gem. Though seemingly trapped inside the cage, it yet gives off a steady glow of positive energy.
“Whatever we do, we must not leave the Lanthorn to Iuz’s agents,” says Elrae.
“I don't want to leave anything useful behind for them, period,” snaps Manny, obviously getting frustred. “There is a mystery here, though, that may be useful to solve. If the woman is imprisoned for being a threat to The Old One, then releasing her would be beneficial. Then again, she may just be a threat to us. But if there is any chance to release a problem upon The Old One, it is worth trying for.”
“I am starting to think that hole through to her heart is the perfect size for a wooden stake,” says Thorgrim, getting another nod from Gotrek.
“Iggwilv set this up,” says Manny, so there must be a foul purpose here. But is it to keep her trapped? Keep another trapped? Power the complex?”
“I still think we are overthinking this,” says Emyn. “I suspect both the woman and this energy monster are just layers of protection and something else lies beneath. Who knows how many levels of protection are involved. I do think the first thing that needs to get done is get that lantern and stick it in the portable hole, even if it means dumping something out to make room. I bet someone strong like Isilme with her belt could break that chain and make off with it. After that we deal with what comes.”
“Has anyone thought that maybe some good forces trapped her here?” asks Hepla.
“I had considered it,” replies Emyn, “but given the unrelenting evil we've found here and the legends I find it unlikely.”
Isilme seeing the parties murmuring seem to darken. "Nobody is harming this woman outright,” she says, standing up. “Let me see if I can rouse her, and I will take the brunt of what happens on my shoulders. Clearly this whole setup with the healing rays above and the positive energy below were meant to do something beneficial for her daughter - but after 100's of years we still sense that she is undead - this may have been a failure.”
The others seem to consider, then a few are ready to reply, but Isilme waves them off.
“I agree to the point if we can't figure this mystery out, we are not leaving a major artifact for dark forces to acquire either,” she continues. “I don't care what it's doing for this lady, it's simply not an option!" she says with an emphatic finality.
“Whatever we do, we need to do it soon,” says Berenn, looking up as if he could see the Iuzians on the levels above.
“Wait!” says Isilme quickly. She points back behind the party. “I sense undead, coming behind you!”
Everyone turns. “What do you sense?” cries Emyn. Noot starts to quickly climb back out.
“I cannot say,” she answers, floating up. “Only that it is and comes towards us.” She then casts Invisibility again.
[DM OOC: Detect Undead has a long range for her, but only gives indication and direction, not type or strength or anything else.]
Berenn draws Bonefire and moves to the rear. “This could be Iuzian vanguard,” he says.
Gotrek takes out Goreblade and moves beside him. “Good!” he says grimly.
As they stand ready, a dark shadow appears at the far doorway. As it gets a bit closer, you recognize it is a shadow. You have seen many of them before, some summoned by Isilme. However, this one speaks, and none have EVER done that!
"Ah, you have found Iggwilv's treasure," it says in clear common tongue which obviously does not belong to the creature. "My Master will be pleased when we bring it to him."
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:06 am; edited 5 times in total
As we left our stalwart band of heroes, they were within the circular chamber at the heart of the Great Caverns. Thanks to Isilme’s “Detect Undead” spells, they were alerted to the approach of a shadow. However, this was no ordinary shadow, for it spoke!
***
"Ah, you have found Iggwilv's treasure," it says in clear common tongue which obviously does not belong to the creature. "My Master will be pleased when we bring it to him."
"Tell your master the only thing he will have is death,” says Emyn. He is about to charge, when a dark, billowing, cloud of black smoke pours forth from the shadow, quickly enveloping the entire area. Emyn cannot see, and the noxious cloud which smells of death causes [14] damage to him. He hears eerie laughter from the shadow.
[DM OOC: Noot is at the bottom of the sphere while Isilme is near the lantern flying invisibily. Elrae, Gotrek, and Sir Godwynn are on the balcony. Everyone else is in the hallway, between Emyn who is at the end, and the balcony]
"The Death Smoke of the Necromancer," says Irvil, voice tinged with fear. "The Iuzians are here!"
"Sounds like we have run out of time,” replies Berenn, drawing Bonefire. “We are either taking the artifacts with us now or leaving them for the Iuzians."
“To hell with this!” exclaims Emyn as he backs out of the smoke. “Time for action.” He then closes the doors.
“That’s action?” says Gotrek, astonished. “Seems more like cowardice.”
“We must buy time,” says Emyn, nearly shouting. He points down towards the woman inside. "That woman is Iggwilv's daughter. I think those things around her are trying to cure her somehow from her vampirism. Even an evil bitch like Iggwilv can love her daughter. I think we need to let those things be. Messing with them now will cause no end of trouble. We are better off to either close these doors and defeat the Iuzians in battle now, leaving the woman until later.”
“Her name was Drelnza,” says Manny. “She was supposedly killed by Iuz way back before he became a demigod.”
Hepla calls down to Noot. "Any chance that the platform is actually a doorway to something below?"
Noot gets a strong whiff of the incense, and he suddenly drops to the floor. Isilme checks him out, being the only one who can, and realizes he is fast asleep. The Everburning Incense seems to cause sleep.
"Everyone down in the bowl!” shouts Emyn. “We need to shut those other doors!"
"I will NOT cower in a hole," says Sir Godwynn. "And I will not leave our dwarven friends to die alone outside." He strides to the doors, pushing passed Emyn who sounds almost panicked. When he gets to the doors, he pauses and looks back at the rest of the party.
Gotrek grunts, then smiles and walks up next to Sir Godwynn. “Open them,” he says, then he starts to sing.
Isilme revives Noot, then speaks. “Again, while it pains me to say so, I suggest we leave her be with the healing artifacts and incense, search the room and take the rest. With our enemy at the gates, our best defense is to re-set Iggwilvs traps and make our stand against the evil that faces us. We need to exit and shut these doors."
"From the background on her, I doubt she is going to be friendly to the Iuzians,” replies Berenn. “I think we need every friend we can get. I still say remove the incense and see if she revives. This is a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If removing the incense does nothing, then we can leave her and go fight."
"But if you are wrong, we face an enemy within and without,” cautions Isilme. “Let us heed the warning and leave her be. We can always find a way to monitor things here later. "
Thorgrim nods, then walks down and stands behind Gotrek. "We are with you, Sir Godwyn," Thorgrim says. "I also do not wish death upon our allies." He moves to assist Godwyn with the door.
Sir Godwynn nods to Thorgrim, then opens the door. The smoke is gone. With Sir Godwynn's shield emitting light, you see nothing in the caverns before you. Meanwhile, Berenn casts Negative Plane Protection.
"They have returned to their masters to report finding us," Thorgrim whispers. "Either that, or they lie in wait for us to exit these chambers with our prize. We should Detect Invisibility before exiting."
Back on the landing, everyone has left the chamber. Some still argue to revive the woman, if possible, but Isilme denies them. "I refuse to rouse the daughter of Igilwiv,” she states flatly. “Much care has been taken here, I believe to give her a chance to overcome the dark forces that strive to take her true life. I would not take that away from her even if it means leaving the lantern here for a bit longer. The fact that the lantern is found is a great victory in itself."
"Fine,” says Emyn. “Then we take the fight to the enemy.” He drinks his potion of extra healing to get rid of the damage he has taken and then follows Godwynn. “Let us pray we succeed.”
Sir Godwynn waits patiently, but when he hears the continued discussions he sighs. "I am going to find Delaim and the Azcral," he says. He then strides off in their direction.
Feeling she has done her part to help the sleeping daughter, Isilme follows Gotrek and Sir Godwyn out. "I follow Gotrek,” she says grimly. “There is a time to fight and a time to talk. We need to repel this evil force." She drinks her heroic potion that increases her hit points.
Hepla says, "I agree that we should not wake the lady even though I have the herbs that will probably do it as you just saw. If this is our last stand, it has been a pleasure working with you. I do ask one thing. Whomever is our last person break my staff. eYou will probably feel nothing but it might b powerful enough to vaporize a good part of this mountain and everyone and everything in it. We will never know but certain things will not fall into the wrong hands." She then gives Emyn a kiss that makes him want to live.
Emyn tells her, "Stay close to me. If things go badly, you and the baby will need to escape. "
Gotrek is aware who is with him, despite his talks earlier. His singing gets louder. And more violent. Spittle hangs off his beard. His nose ring shakes in anticipation. His eye bulge. And Goreblade sings along with his master, as Gotrek paces forward....
Thoughts start to dim, as the rage seeps in. But two words. Clangeddin. Clariece. He hears a howl from Hell. He belatedly realizes it is him. Then, all goes black, as he looks for something to send to his deity.
Elrae still wants to get Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn. "We can't leave it here. If moving it wakes up Iggwilv's daughter, then so be it. Spell casters up high in the balconies, melee types down in the bowl, just stay away from the smoke. I could use Snowfang to extinguish the flames of the brazier, there's a 50% chance of this working. Just feed me one of Hepla's shrooms if I pass out."
“To hell with it!” says an exasperated Isilme. “Fine, do what you will. I am going with the dwarves.” She then flies on after them.
While half the party is still discussing what to do in the sphere, for those who went to check on the Azcral dwarves, they turned out to be ok. A couple scouts were up above, watching the area of the destroyed bridge. They are still there, and haven't seen anything. Once Isilme returns and reports, Delaim reasons that the undead you saw came from another route, either by means of the Behir cave or some other place you have not yet found.
"Either way it is bad, as we do not know where they are or where they may appear," he says. "We are blind, and they are not. Never a good thing before battle."
It isn't long before Orili makes his way to the dwarves.
"Orili!" they cry, and a bunch go up and bear hug him.
"I thought ye trapped above," says Delaim.
"Aye," but I seen that witchy woman Hepla go off looking for a way in," he replies. "Then a big dragon thing and some flying beasts attacked the Iuzians." He chuckles a bit, "tore right through thems that were outside," he says. "Until their leaders appeared." He then looks serious. "There was one threw lightning and fire at it. Thought he was a warrior by his armor, before that." He shudders, "never seen such destruction. Then the leader, Melchor they said he was, just pointed a finger and slew the biggest of the flying creatures. The rest tried to run, but another wizard, a flying elf, blasted them with lightning too. It was over quickly. I decided it was better to not hang around, so soon as it got dark and slipped away. I found where the big dragon thing laired, a long wide tunnel in the mountainside that wasn't easy to get to, believe that! But I got there, and it led me back here."
He hands over the Farspeaker to Delaim. "Before I left, I heard 'em talking about their scouts finding a large archway and they sent most their troops there. They don't seem to know about crossing the underground river."
"Information and communication are critical at this juncture,” says Isilme. “And we really need a good strategy and cohesive battle plan to repel the invaders." She casts Farspeaker again and hands out the boxes to the others. "I will fly out and report on the enemy, and ensure we still have an escape"
Isilme flies off, and the rest wait impatiently. Meanwhile, back at the sphere.
"I can light a candle of telepathy and try to reach her mind,” says Hepla. “I do not know how the candle will interact with the candle already burning."
"This is worth a shot,” says Berenn. “If we can contact her first, it would be advantageous. Just be careful what you think to her."
“Hepla, that sounds like a good idea,” adds Noot. “We really need info about this lady. I suspect she is the key to all that is going on."
"Most of the questions I would have would revolve around her intentions and how she came to her current resting position,” says t he usually quiet Vaddarra. “Start there.”
Hepla sets up the candle on the ledge she has been on, settles down on the floor, and lights the yellow candle. It burns for about 10 minutes before she can start. With a look towards the others, she begins…..
"Hello, my name is Hepla, my friends and I have found you just ahead of a party that we believe your brother has sent out to destroy you and raid the treasures here. We want to be your allies and not allow those things to happen. Is that possible?"
Hepla doesn't hear anything at first, but then the somewhat confused mind of the woman begins to talk back. At first it seems she thought this all a dream, but Hepla soon gets her to understand that this is real.
"I am Drelnza," she thinks to Hepla. "Daughter of Iggwilv." She can't understand why she cannot see anything or where she is.
“Drelnza,” replies Hepla. “You are in a room( she will give the compeate discription) and appear to be under the influence of a candle that is burning incense of sleep. I think it is a century candle, but it is almost burned out. I cannot tell how many years it has left. You are being bathed by healing rays and positive energy. Do you remember who put you here?"
“No,” she replies. “I remember leading the campaign to put down a Perrenlander revolt for my mother. I then met my brother Iuz on the road back, but I cannot remember anything else.” When she hears of the century candle she asks, “What year is it?”
Hepla looks at the others, then after a nod from Berenn replies. “It is 582.”
“97 years!" she shouts mentally! Hepla then senses much anger, anger such that she has never sensed or felt before.
“Easy Drelnza,” thinks Hepla. “Please, we are here to help if we can. Do you want to be released and if we do that will you agree to work with us and not to attack us?"
As Hepla says this, Drelnza sits up on the slab. She looks around, taking in all the others. "I need no help," she says darkly.
"I am Hepla,” says Hepla aloud. “We have been talking. I am glad you have such power, this can mean that together we can defeat your brother's army."
"The Old One brings minions to slay you,” says Emyn quickly. Drelnza is armored from toe to neck in gold chased plate mail. She picks up the long bastard sword that was atop her body, looking at it, then runs a hand over her great helmet, through the plumes black as her own hair. Her pale face seems composed. Her lips are bright red and her raven-hued tresses are lustrous.
“They have penetrated your defenses here in the Horn of Iggwilv and are gather near some sort of arch,” continues Emyn. “We can aid one another and perhaps by doing so, allow the healing work your mother started here to be completed. I propose an alliance that serves both our needs."
She looks up at Emyn, is about to speak, then notices the Lanthorn for the first time. "Beautiful," she says. "So warm." She shakes her head, like one just waking up from a long sleep. She then stands up, sword in hand, and looks back at Emyn. "What healing work?" she asks. Her grip tightens on her sword, and she continues. "And what of my traitorous brother?"
"We believe your mother placed you here after you were transformed into a vampire by your brother or through some other means,” says Emyn, rambling on quickly. “There is this lanthorn that is sending healing rays onto you and also some sort of a positive energy being in the bed you were laying upon. We believe that she wished you to be returned to normal life rather than lose you to the darkness. It seems your mother loved you a great deal to take such pains to restore you. The Old One has been sending agents to steal objects of great power and also destroy his enemies. Already his drums are beating towards war. We think He is coming here to slay you and steal this lanthorn as well. We would prefer not to see either of those things happen for everyone's sake."
She listens to Emyn, then sheaths her sword. "My brother introduced me to a friend of his. Maskaleyne. Tall and pale, I thought him of Suel lineage. I remember now. I could not resist him, thought he was incredible. He....he was a vampire." She looks down, and for the first time she notices her pale skin. "By the gods..." she whispers, her voice trailing off.
"I can only imagine how terrible your situation is," Berenn begins, "but your mother's design was restoring you to human form and we will assist in returning to your stasis once this threat has ended. We will do our best to ensure no one else disturbs you until the process is complete."
"I remember," she says, ignoring Berenn, seemingly not having heard a word he said. "He bade me go to the Heart, and I could not resist. Me, Drelnza, a mere thrall!" She slams her fist down on the table, cracking it straight across the top.
Shocked by her strength, Berenn puts a hand on his holy symbol. Emyn, however, seems not to notice as he drones on.
"The forces arrayed against us may well include him among their number. Is there a way for you to control the denizens of this place and bring them against them? We have a small force of dwarves to aid us. You clearly are a fearsome commander and your knowledge of battle tactics and this fortress would be a great asset. There are also a few Velnuese who seem to have gotten themselves lost somewhere too who might be of help. We would appreciate your thoughts and counsel."
"My mother," she says quickly, staring at Emyn. "Where is she?"
"We do not know,” says Hepla, a quick glance at Manny to stay quiet. “We were not looking for her."
"Then why are you here?" she asks. "She stares at Emyn. "Tell me!”
When Emyn doesn't answer, she gets angry. She puts a hand on her sword and turns to Hepla. "Tell me what I wish to know," she says.
"We were looking for ancient treasures," Berenn starts. "And a party from Veluna that went missing. The army of Iuzians came here as. We are opposed to allowing them to lay their hands on the lanthorn."
"We do not know where your mother might be,” adds Emyn, “though there was a shrine to BaBa Yaga far above in the mountain. There was a very strong presence there. We only know what we have learned as we came here and investigated.”
"Miss Drelnza,” interrupts Hepla. “My friend and my husband speaks the truth; finding you was a surprise. We sought artifacts and the lost party. Anything else was above and beyond what we were looking for. Your mother is not here, as far as we know. This is quite a clever place that you were hidden in, and it took us some time to open these doors. Meanwhile, the Iuzians have gotten close."
Manny finally speaks. He cannot do otherwise. “Your mother is dead,” he says with grim finality. Her empire was thrown down a hundred years ago, and she was slain by demons of her own summoning.” He crosses his arms and has a feeling this entire thing is going to go bad.
The dwarves return, and Thorgrim stands above, watching. He feels the wooden stake in his belt. He thinks of putting it back away, decides against it.
This doesn’t pass unnoticed by Drelnza, though she says nothing. After learning what you know about her mother, she seems to relax. She studies those around her, then finally speaks. "So, my mother is gone, and you are but treasure-seekers," she says.
"We are not thieves Drelnza and have no intention of stealing anything from you,” replies Berenn.
"Nay, Drelnza. We are more than mere treasure seekers. As well as searching for a missing party, I am here to kill as much vermin as my skills and my axe will allow," Gotrek says. “And take whatever I find that aids my quest.”
"I care nothing for my mother's toys," she replies. "If she is truly gone, then there is nothing left here for me. Take what you will." She starts to move, then stumbles weakly and has to reach out and steady herself on the alabaster slab.
"If you insist." Elrae eyes the Wondrous Lanthorne.
Berenn sees where Elrae's attention lies and rebukes him, "Perhaps you missed the part where I said we weren't thieves Bard?” he hisses.
"Oh I'll just borrow it for a little while, maybe 60 to 80 years,” replies Elrae flippantly. “What's that to the undying. Imagine the lighting for the stage with this.” He notes Berenn’s frown, then smiles and adds, “At least we can use it to help defeat those evil Iuzian thralls."
Noot, who had been listening to all this in silence, quietly smiles. "And the army gathering outside?" he asks.
"Regardless of the location of your mother, who I doubt is truly gone given who she is, the threat to you is real,” adds Emyn. “If the Old One gets this lanthorn or control of you, then none are safe in this world. We have a score to settle with these Iuzians, that is true, but our true purpose of coming was not to be tomb raiders. It was to rescue those who came before us and make certain the Iuzians failed in their task of taking Iggwilv's treasure, which according to your mother's writings was in fact you, and also to prevent them from getting the Lanthorn. I ask you humbly to work with us. Your mother left many minions here, including dragons and a death tyrant. If you can somehow rally them to your defense, the Iuzians will be hard pressed to win."
Drelnza looks at Emyn quizzically. "Who is this 'Old One' of whom you keep speaking? What is he to me? And by Iuzians, I can only assume you mean my brother's minions, though I fail to understand how he too lives after all this time. He must be over 100 years old!" She shakes her head, obviously unsure what to make of things.
"The Old One is one of the names of Iuz and without going into too much detail, certain parts of the world revere him as a demi-god."
"Your brother is also known as the Old One,” confirms Manny. “His form has twisted and aged over the years since you last saw Him, and he has gained some semblance of godhood, which may account for his age. He controls vast lands to the northeast of here where he sits on his throne of bones at Dorakaa. He spawns terrible evils of undeath into the world and seeks to dominate it all. Oerth will be covered with nothing but death and ruin if he succeeds.”
After listening to you regarding her brother, Drelnza takes a very pensive stance. Then she pulls herself erect and proud. "Then we must stop him," she says. "This army you spoke of," she says to Berenn, "it is his minions?"
"Yes, they are his followers." Berenn replies. "And since they are his followers, you would be more familiar than most with what terrible things they are capable of doing."
Emyn interjects, "Aye, they are gathered supposedly at some sort of large archway right now. One of them is certainly a necromancer of some power. Our friend Isilme is scouting now to find out more information. They also know that we are here. The necromancer sent a wraith or something at us earlier. They also have some formidable warriors and strong mages from what we have been told with lightning magics."
"When Isilme returns,” says Berenn, “we will make our final preparations. One thing is certain ... and Gotrek should love this ... no quarter can be given and none can escape. If someone survives and reports back, it will convince the Old One to send a larger expedition, but if there are no survivors they will probably go artifact hunting elsewhere deeming this place too dangerous to visit again."
"I was here, but not often," she says. "This chamber I do not know." She looks pensive, then says, "The archway you speak of is in the Lesser Caverns. It leads eventually to the Heart of the Horn." She stops, lost in thought.... She looks around, taking stock of the items in the chamber, then turns away. "Let us leave this place and take care of my traitorous brother's minions."
Berenn lowers his Rope of Climbing so she can get out, as Hepla asks quickly, “Mistress, what of the energy being?”
Drelnza barely glances back, then shrugs. “I care not,” she says, then she just walks up, right up the wall as if it were level ground.
“We can't leave the Lanthorn here,” says Thorgrim. “These traps are obviously insufficient to protect it. Earthquake might bury the whole place, but that's not guaranteed. And that's insufficient, as well.”
Hepla casts Fly on Gotrek, who flies up, snaps the gold chain from the ceiling, and takes the lantern. He sets it carefully into Thorgrim’s portable hole, pushing it back behind the ladder without touching it. Noot takes the cage. The creature inside is only about 3" tall, and as he looks at it, he can see that it is a ball of energy with tentacles and what seem to be a couple eyes, but not really. It's very difficult to tell. He checks the door of the cage and finds that it is shut tight, though there is no lock. He has no idea how to open it.
Meanwhile, Drelnza leaves the sphere and enters the caverns themselves. She looks around, then says, "this way," and heads north.
We bring an enemy of our enemy, to aid in our fight," Thorgrim announces.
You all soon reach the rest of the Azcral dwarves, who do not know what to make of Drelnza. Hepla makes introductions, but Drelnza seems unconcerned.
"Milady, can you rally any of the denizens of this place to your aid as well?" asks Emyn.
She laughs at Emyn. "These were my mother's haunts, not mine," she says. "And a hundred years ago. In any event, I spent most my time at the fortress of Duerngor, across the valley."
"Ah, then we must wait for Isilme,” he replies.
About this time, you hear a call from the dwarves by the stairs. "Trogs!"
Hepla steps between Drelnza and the stairs, while Emyn moves to investigate. You have to go all the way around, via 4 (gargoyle cavern) and then through various tunnels. It will take a few minutes to get back there. Delaim sends Gilhak and another dozen dwarves too. Gotrek growls and heads off with the dwarves. Belak goes with him. "Let me at them!" says Gotrek.
[DM OOC: Just so you know, there are 40 dwarves total. There are currently 2 dwarves setting up a scout position in the Behir cave. There are 2 up watching the destroyed bridge in the Lesser Caverns. There are 2 at the stairs between the lesser and greater caverns. A dozen others were with you just now, and they have gone running back to their companions at the bottom of the stairs to the Greater Caverns. That leaves another 22 dwarves there when the trogs attacked.]
The dwarf that leads there is named Orrim, and he has the Farspeaker. He calls out again, "There are too many, we can't stop them!" You then hear him yell "Form Shield Wall!"
Hepla stands with Drelnza and says, "Should we help them?" She is looking at Drelnza..
She barely glances at Hepla, but seems unconcerned.
"We should probably stay together at this point and follow the rest of the party,” says Berenn, watching Drelnza.
The others finally catch up with the dwarves. Gotrek flies forward, passing Emyn, and crashes into the trogs, lopping the head off one with his axe. The trogs just flow by him, and though he hits a couple more as they pass, most just keep going. A few stop and swing crude weapons at him, missing, while the rest continue. They run passed Emyn, who also gets caught up with a few, while the rest run into the dwarves moving up behind you. Soon it's a big confusing melee. A trog leader stops more from coming your direction, instead getting them to go north. Another leader barks commands at the trogs fighting in the hallway, while some take off to the south, away from you, running down other passages.
Gotrek takes out two trogs, and takes one club hit [5]. Emyn kills another trog, and is not hit himself. The dwarves and trogs fall upon each other with gusto. Lots of other trogs run off, and there is a stream of trogs coming from the direction of the rest of the Azcral. Some are small, evidently young, and some are females. They are not here to fight, but are clearly fleeing from something else, something that can make an entire tribe flee!
Emyn enters full defensive stance, "something is wrong here. They are fleeing something!"
The dwarves rally, all except Gotrek who is singing and doesn't notice. In fact, he charged singing, so he slips into his rage now. The slays two more trogs, and there are two attacking him. Belak is singing like Gotrek, but has not raged. He does slay a trog though, and takes a hit in return [5]. Another trog goes down, as does another dwarf. The rest run away. The dwarves following trogs hear Thorgrim yell and pull back. Emyn is still fighting two, but at full defensive, they fail to hit him. Trogs throw three javelins at Gotrek, one hitting [6]. Suddenly there is a further collapse from the area where the umber hulks caused a collapse earlier, which is the direction the trogs mostly were running. That area collapses, sending a billowing cloud of debris throughout the tunnels. Nobody can see anything!
Thorgrim is able to save a couple dwarves that otherwise would have died. It takes a few minutes for the cloud to dissipate, and when it does the trogs are gone. The only ones left are a half dozen trapped down a dead end passage to the south. Gotrek is still raging, and he runs ahead toward the sound of more fighting. By this time, everyone else who was coming is there.
Emyn follows Gotrek, who he finds bowling into the rear ranks of some more trogs, fighting against other Azcral dwarves. It's over in no time with the trogs scattering before Gotrek's fury. One runs back towards Emyn, while two others run south. The dwarves finish off the rest. Gotrek comes out of his rage when the last trogs are down and he's surrounded by dwarves. There are a couple wounded, but nothing too serious it seems.
Meanwhile, those that did not run off continue to talk with Drelnza.
"Drelnza,” asks Manny, “twice you have mentioned the 'Heart', why did the vampire send you there?"
She looks back at Manny, as if she forgot where she was. She is obviously still confused, but she hides it well as she searches her memories. "He bade me free the wizard Tsojcanth from imprisonment," she says. "He attacked my mother, and though caught by surprise, she was still able to defeat Tsojcanth, leaving him barely alive on the floor of the chamber. The battle left her drained, however, bereft of her mightiest spells. Her demon lover, Graz’zt then chose this moment to strike. Yet even the mighty Graz’zt, in his hubris, underestimated the sheer power my mother had achieved. For hours the lovers battled, and the mountain shook with magic beyond the ken of most mortals. My foolish brother Iuz who had caused everything eventually attempted to interfere, but instead the chaotic energy mauled and deformed him. Truly, I thought him dead, as I thought myself to be. I do not know what happened after, for the next thing I remember is you waking me."
"So something from the battle might still be there that your brother wants,” reasons Berenn. “For that matter, your mother likely still lives, or lived, so as to put you in that field. Clues would lie in the Heart, then, as to who won, what condition they were in, and the loser's losses. Do you remember anything else of the Heart that would help?"
"It is all a blur," she says.
"I would judge your brother decided to increase his power by removing his rivals,” says Manny. “You, your mother and possibly the Demon Lord. From what you say, he failed. And now he's trying to achieve what he failed to do the first time.”
"This way," says Drelnza, as she starts to walk back towards the sphere.
Manny, Hepla, and Sir Godwynn follow Drelnza as she makes her way to the chamber with the strange, glowing marble column.
The cavern glows faintly blue, as if under the light of a fey moon. In the center of the cavern stands a flawless column of white marble with purple streaks that extends 20 feet from floor to ceiling. The radiance appears to emanate from the column. Thin rivulets of water trickle down the side of the cavern, helping give form to large crystalline growths that protrude from the walls. These crystals, anywhere from a few inches to a few feet, refract the blue glow, providing light by which to see.
When Hepla sees it (this is her first time) she recognizes it as the same kind of witch magic as the shrine atop the flat-mountain which allowed her mother to transport her here.
Drelnza continues to the other chamber. When she gets there she walks over to the Alabaster column and touches it. A fog suddenly starts to fill the chamber.
Hepla says. "Wow, a teleportal, may we come with you mistress?" She moves close to Drelnza. She does not appear afraid of it.
"Hmm, before we take off souldn't we bring as much strength with us as possible? It is better to be too strong, than to go to battle without needed support. Wars turn on small things. If the chamber we are going to matches this one, we could bring more warriors with us." Manny speaks, and as he does the fog engulfs Drelnza and Hepla. Sir Godwynn looks at Manny, then steps forward into the fog drawing his sword. Manny thinks to flee, then decides that he should watch after his friends, and he too steps into the fog. When it dissipates, everyone is gone.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:08 am; edited 3 times in total
Isilme has returned, still invisible, to the party. She finds them confused after the scrambled melee with the fleeing trogs. They quickly piece together that half the party is missing, with Emyn having barely caught a glimpse of the party disappearing into the fog. He is back at the column trying to figure out how it works, when the others appear.
He takes a farspeaker and attempts to call Manny. “Manny, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Emyn,” he replies, much to the Guardian’s relief. “We have teleported through some fey magic I do not understand. A mist of some kind.”
“Where are you?” asks Emyn. “What's happening? We are done with the trogs. But we cannot get where you are. "
"Maybe you have to be a witch or spellcaster to activate it?” wonders Manny. “She just touched it and it worked. Maybe Isilme could work it? Just suggestions."
Meanwhile, Isilme finds a wounded trog and tries to communicate with it. She finds it impossible, and gives up, slaying it instead. “Boring conversation anyway,” she thinks.
Just then Emyn calls for her. She sighs and returns, as Manny is continuing. “Hepla just walked off with Drelzna through a secret door! Trying to figure how to open it.”
“We have a choice to make,” says Emyn, getting more nervous by the minute. “Isilme, can you share what you have learned of the leaders, their composition, protections and anything else pertinent, please? We need to know before we blindly all follow the others.”
She fills in the rest about what she saw when she spied the Iuzians. Outside the entrance to the mountains caverns are about 50 men, camped around two fires. There are at least two groups of gnolls patrolling, and she used her wand on them, though she didn't stick around to see the effect. There were a half-dozen zombie wolves guarding the entrance itself, along with a couple zombie orcs inside. There were some hobgoblin guards in the upper dungeon level. She used her wand on them, and they got into a fight which drew out one leader. He was a very strong man, in plate armor and wielding a great two-handed sword. He was commanded by another man she didn't see.
The strong man's name was Deverell, and he made the hobgoblins stop fighting, after killing one. Isilme was thinking of doing something when the man then animated three dead hobgoblins as zombies. She had thought him a warrior, but he must have been a priest of Iuz. At that point she decided it wiser to slip away again. There was also an elf woman in the chamber, along with another woman who was sitting down. She only saw this woman's legs. So, four leaders in the throne room.
[DM OOC: I want to make it clear that there are TWO throne rooms. There is the throne room in the upper dungeon level. That is where the four Iuzians leaders are. Oh, and there are a couple zombie orcs there and a zombie ogre too!
There is also the throne room deep below, in what Drelnza called the Hollow of the Horn. This seems to be Iggwilv's "real" throne room. It is not to be mistaken for the one up in the dungeon levels.]
Emyn says, "Though I am loath to do this, we really do need to think about attacking those leaders on the upper level. Maybe find a way to cause a distraction and draw some out so we can hit them piecemeal given we are also split. If we can remove the priest of the Old One from the field of battle, that might do us some good. The other option is draw them out, go after their other spellcasters instead, which will disrupt their rest and prevent them from regaining spells. If we are lucky, we can eliminate them entirely."
Isilme’s voice interrupts him. “If you are expecting spell support from me you will be mistaken, my energies are close to sapped,” she snaps with irritation. “I did try to do exactly that, and make no mistake, those Iuzians are not to be taken lightly.”
[DM OOC: missed some stuff about Isilme’s attempt to disrupt the Iuzians. She used her Wand of Highfolk and other magics, but her attempts were countered by even stronger reactions by the leaders. They had no problem slaying misbehaving humanoids, and then simply raising them as obedient zombies. She then decided to give up before they figured out she was around.]
"Did anyone see where Ervil went?" Wonders Thorgrim. They look around and find no trace of him.
The party looks around, but they find no trace of him anywhere. “Fine,” says Thorgrim. “We can’t worry bout him now. The Azcral should retreat to a central position near the pillar. Isilme stays with them to keep an eye on things and rest while the rest of us check out this level and search for Ervil.”
“We are currently close to exhaustion,” says Emyn, “and divided again. And leaving the dwarves without our presence is a bad idea. If the Iuzians show up they will get wiped in a heartbeat and then turned into undead to pursue us.” He throws his hands up in exasperation. “Hepla, Godwynn and Manny are separated from us and with Drelzna. We have no way to get to them that we can discern. We have a group of Iuzians in the throne room on the upper level of the caverns. There is also a priest of Iuz and some peons near the front entrance. There is something below us where the trogs were chased from. We are slowly being encircled. The rest of us are exhausted and low on spells. We can either try to take on the enemy with minimal spell support, try and find the others, or we rest.” He looks around, arms crossed on his chest, waiting for somebody to argue.
"Why are you intent on fighting?” asks Isilme, almost becoming visible again to emphasize her words. “What is the gain? Let us take what treasures we have found and begone! Through your folly the greatest threat here may have already walked away!"
Stung by her words, Emyn snaps back. "These are some of the same miscreants who butchered a monastery full of defenseless Raoan monks. Vengeance must be meted out lest they do it once more."
"Part of party is missing and we are heavily outnumbered,” answers Berenn, calmly. “Vengeance can wait for another day."
Delaim looks to Thorgrim and Gotrek for their opinions. He has a high respect for Thorgrim's advice, but these dwarves have been pent up in their mountain stronghold for many years, and they also have an equally strong respect for Gotrek and his charge first attitude. Even Delaim is not old, as dwarves go, so all of these young dwarves are eager to get into a fight, whether or not that is the reasonable thing to do. So, Delaim waits to hear what your two dwarven party member think.
Gotrek spits. "I think either way, we wet our axes wet with the blood of our enemies.”
Thorgrim nods. "Isilme, stay here with the Dwarves, and see if you can figure out how to work that column. If you can, bring the lot of them with you. If no, stay here and await our return, and that of the others."
"I will lead the rest of the party to explore the remainder of these caverns to see what caused that ruckus, and to extirpate any evil we find. Delaim, we could use a half-dozen or a dozen of your finest, to help protect Elrae and Berenn during spellcasting."
"We came here to ensure the evil ones did not get the treasures of Igilwiv, and to find those of the goodly party that came here. Seems we have forsaken the people of the other party. Perhaps it's why the gnome left us, I was tempted to do the same with him earlier simply so we didn't abandon that quest. So, let us take the fight to our foes.”
This time Isilme DOES appear. “We also came to get Igwilv's treasure,” replies Isilme. “Right or wrong you woke that treasure. No matter what she does in the heart of the mountain, do you truly believe the vengeance she reigns down will discriminate between us and the other forces? This place is a death sentence. While I am tempted to simply leave and ensure what little good we did here has value, I can't leave Hepla and our friends behind. Know this is the only thing holding me back, as the rest of you are choosing death for no reason other than the glory of battle.” She looks at Emyn and Gotrek, then turns to Thorgrim and continues.
Thorgrim, if I can find our missing friends I say we beat a strategic retreat and you cause an earthquake with that weapon of yours that brings this mountain down around their ears, vampire and evil party alike!" She pauses. "If we all don't survive today, or see each other again, know it was my honor to fight by your side."
"I have to agree with Isilme,” says Berenn, stepping over to her. “In hindsight, waking Drelzna was a folly and I don't think we should make another by entering into combat when there is no need. Our priority should be finding the rest of the party and leaving this place."
The entire party meets up at the pillar, with the dwarves hanging back for support. When Isilme touches it, the magic activates. Fog begins to fill the chamber. Noot recognizes this as the same teleworking fog as before.
"Here's our chance guys, back to the mists,” says Elrae.
Emyn enters the fog, his sword out. As Gotreks starts to enter, Thorgrim takes the wooden stake from his belt and hands it to him. "I admire your loyalty, friend. You may join the rest if you desire. I will stay behind and ensure nobody ambushes us upon our returning. Come, Delaim, let us set up fort."
As everyone else enters the mist, Elrae looks back. "Thorgrim, are you sure you want to stay here. Wouldn't the other dwarves be enough defense to prevent a sneak attack from the Iuzian?”
"Nay, friend, my path lies here,” he replies. “I will hold down the fort for your swift return."
Elrae nods solemnly. “You will be missed, and please join us as soon as you can." With that he enters the mist with Snowfang drawn.
As everyone else enters, Thorgrim turns to the Dwarven leader. "Delaim, we Entrench right here in front of the Trog caverns, and prepare for attack."
When the mists disappears, Thorgrim feels a hand on his shoulder and a familiar voice. He turns to see Isilme standing there. "I too stand by your side friend Thorgrim. Let us hold back the hordes. Besides, should you need to retreat or join the party, you will need my help to activate the portal."
Thorgrim nods to her gravely. "Indeed, we may need your help, before the end."
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:10 am; edited 1 time in total
Everyone except Isilme, Thorgrim, and Gotrek have now gone through the teleporting pillar. Thorgrim gathered the dwarves, and they prepare a defense of the main entrance chamber at the foot of the long stairs from the Lesser Caverns above. Guards were posted at the Behir caves as well as in the Lesser Caverns to watch for the approach of the Iuzians. Using the Farspeakers, Delaim checks on them constantly. Two dwarves were in the Behir cave; they didn't respond. Four were at the bridge in the Lesser Caverns, two watching the bridge and two with a Farspeaker watching them from the chamber with the stairs down. They didn't respond either. 32 other dwarves are with you at the bottom of the stairs.
Assuming the Iuizians are coming, Thorgrim casts Entrench on the main cavern. Loose stones and boulders are magically arranged to form a defensible wall or rampart along the perimeter of the area of effect. [DM OOC: Those behind the wall receive 75% cover (+7 bonus to AC), or 50% cover if they expose themselves by firing missiles or defending the wall. In hand-to-hand combat, the wall's defenders receive a +1 bonus to attack rolls; man-sized attackers must spend one full round in climbing over the wall in order to enter the fortified area. Enemies take 2 full rounds to get over the barrier.]
The dwarves take up defensive positions in the area, using the newly created fortifications.
Two are watching the chute down leading to the troglodyte area, in case Iuzians come from that way. The plan to collapse a boulder over the chute, blocking it if necessary. The rest of the dwarves all man the wall. Thorgrim and Delaim stand in the center to give orders, while Gotrek stays in the NE corner, anchoring the flank towards the chute.
"This is fine," says Delaim, though he has no real first-hand combat knowledge, certainly not like Gotrek. "But I am concerned with our flank, the Behir cave. We lost contact with Thurric and Whurvar too."
“Isilme?” asks Thorgrim. “Can you check that out?”
Isilme sighs. "I will see what information I can collect for you ‘General’ Thorgrim."
She flies to the ceiling and will carefully make her way to the Behir cave to observe, then most likely check the tunnel and report depending on what she sees. She thinks the options are rapidly diminishing, and they will soon find themselves between hammer and anvil.
She does not note the presence of enemies. She finds the two dwarves though. They are both dead, their throats slit. She finds the farspeaker with the dead dwarves in the Behir cave. There is one unaccounted for, the one with the dwarves that were watching the destroyed bridge.
She continues on, checking the end of the tunnel. When she gets there, she finds a large group of goblins just entering. They are led by a priest of Iuz with some kind of armor under his robes and strange linear tattoos on his bald head, and another woman with leather armor, a strange spotted cloak, and holding a bow with a knocked arrow.
They are just barely coming into the behir cave, about 200' away from Isilme. That's a good 10 minutes from the rest of the dwarves IF they head straight there. She uses the Farspeaker to report to Thorgrim; however, her voice is then interrupted.
They all hear a voice coming across the Farspeaker. In fact, everyone who has or is near one hears it. It is a man's voice, cold and full of malevolent power. "Thorgrim Duerkas," he says. "Are you quite comfortable? Have you prepared your graves adequately?" The man laughs. "Little good it shall do you for you shall soon serve Our Lord Iuz."
[Thorgrim OOC: Holy **** he knows Thorgrim's name!]
[Berenn OOC: You’re famous!]
"Nothing to say?" mocks the voice. "What of you, Lord Berenn Silverwood?" The voice laughs again. "You have come a long way only to die."
Berenn picks up his farspeaker box. Though he is with those that travelled through the mist, they can still communicate. "First meetings usually warrant introductions,” he says calmly, though he clearly is worried now.
"I am Melchor," replies the voice, "Chosen of Iuz. I shall be your death, though you shall all be reborn in the service of our Lord."
As the dark laughter of Melchor echoes through the caverns, Isilme ends the Farspeaker spell, silencing all the boxes. "Boring conversation anyway,” she says.
Isilme then heads back. She is about a minute away when a mist appears from the ground. It quickly billows out from a point roughly in the center of the fortified area and covers the entire cavern. All of the dwarves are in it except for the two that are watching the chute. Within the mist visibility is reduced to 10', and everyone takes 1d4 chill damage from it. Thorgrim takes [3] and Gotrek takes [4]. All the dwarves take damage too, and I'm just going to give them all [2] for sake of simplicity. Further, Thorgrim loses a point of strength. About half the dwarves loose a point of strength too, you can hear them groaning.
[Thorgrim OOC: Ugh this entrenchment is a deathtrap! Haha I thought the zombies were upon us! Well, we know we're in spellcasting range. We don't see anything up the stairs? Oh yeah, 10’ visibility. Not sure how to handle this, without burning most all of Thorgrim's remaining spells, before the battle. Thinking....]
"Abandon the Entrenchment!" Thorgrim shouts. "To the northwest! Gotrek, go with them, and get to the Magic Pillar. We'll wait for Isilme there."
Thorgrim then casts Dispel Magic, and the fog suddenly clears! However, just as quickly, half the dwarves are covered in webs!
[DM OOC: Thorgrim is caught, but Gotrek is not. Consider Gotrek to be just outside the webs, and as long as he moves the other way, he's free of them. He can move through them at a rate of 2'/round, which means almost not at all! Delaim is next to Thorgrim, and he too is caught. The dwarves to the south barely escape, as do a few others. And Belak, the would-be battlerager next to Gotrek, is also stuck.]
Gotrek pulls him out this round! One of the dwarves watching the chute come up to Gotrek, wondering what's happening. The dwarves to the south are about to split when the webs entangle the rest. They are momentarily delayed, and then, down the stairs, comes the sounds of shuffling feet. Looking back up the stairs, they see a dark mass which, when it gets close, they see are a zombie horde. Leading the zombies are the four lost Azcral dwarves, now serving the enemy in death. Beyond them are zombie orcs.
"Hager?" says one of the dwarves. "Is that you?"
"Grrr...."
Thorgrim attempts to tear himself free. "DRAS," he says, and his dagger appears in his hand.
"THEY ARE LOST!" Thorgrim shouts. "SLAY THEM ALL!"
Isilme is Flying, Invisible, and has Stoneskin. She can just see the webs sticking into the southern passage as she approaches. She sees the zombies coming down the stairs and facing the dwarves. The press of the many zombies would likely overrun the dwarves, if not for the entrench spell. It breaks up their "charge" and keeps the great mass of them from being exerted inexorably against the dwarves and pushing them back. So, there was a purpose for the spell after all!
[Thorgrim OOC: Hooray for Entrench!]
Isilme casts Dispel Magic, ending the web spell! Thorgrim moves up to the front, pushing passed a couple dwarves, and eating the herbs Hepla gave him so he can see better. He can see about 40' up the stairs, before they are out of his sight, and it's full of zombies! However, they are slowed down by the stakes, then the wall. The dwarves are forming a shield wall behind the wall, giving them further defensive benefits and allowing double the dwarves to fight in close order. Two ranks can use spears, which means 8 attack the zombies each round. Four more zombies are killed, as more move up!
"There is no way they will ever get through there," says Gilhak.
Gotrek and Belak start singing, and they move up as well.
A Stinking Cloud suddenly appears over the dwarves by the stairs. Many of the dwarves start to choke and cough. They will be unable to do anything for 2-5 rounds, while others within the cloud must retreat out of it or suffer the same effects. The coughing ones are circled. The area of effect of the cloud is the square. Thorgrim made his save. Right after that, a Darkness spell appears over most the dwarves. That is shown by the shaded black area. So, now nobody within that area can see.
“We need to get to the pillar!” shouts Thorgrim, seriously doubting himself now.
“You guys are far as hell from the pillar,” replies Isilme.
Isilme casts Darkzone along the southern hallway to cover escape, then flies off to the southwest, planning on heading for the pillar.
In Dwarvish, Thorgrim shouts, "Everyone standing in this cloud, grab a comrade and get out! Delaim! Lead your dwarves to the pillar! Gotrek, get over here!" Dwarves start trying to grab their comrades and pull them out as Thorgrim casts Rockburst. It blasts the zombies at the bottom of the stairs, and the entire area collapses in a mass of rubble, blocking the way completely and burying dwarves and zombies alike! He then falls to the ground, coughing and choking on the Stinking Cloud that now is affecting him!
Gotrek and Belak run north, singing, and then climb up the wall. They are looking for the spell casters and circling around to the left, to come out behind the dwarves. They hear Thorgrim's call and pause for a moment when suddenly a huge fireball erupts back in the dwarf chamber. They hear the explosion, though he doesn't see it due to the magical darkness. It is followed by the agonized screams of multiple dwarves which gradually turns to soft moans.
Thorgrim coughs, "GET TO THE PILLAR!"
Isilme continues, flying fast as she can back to the pillar. Other dwarves are following, dragging their incapacitated companions. Gotrek continues, coming around a corner just in time to see a man in armor cast magic missiles from his outstretched hand. The half-dozen magical darts fly from his fingers unerringly hitting a dwarf dragging another wounded, smoking dwarf through the tunnels and killing them both. He turns hearing Gotrek's singing, and that's the last thing Gotrek can rationally consider before flying into his rage!
Isilme stays at ceiling level and stops to look back and see if Gotrek and Thorgrim are among those coming out of the devastated area....
She doesn't see anything, but notes Gilhak and some other dwarves coming out, then all of them fall to the ground except Gilhak. Gilhak checks them out, then takes up his axe, makes a dwarvish warcry, and charges back towards the northeast, out of her line of sight. She hears Gotrek's singing from that direction. With a grim smile, Isilme flies back towards Thorgrim. Thorgrim continues to choke and cough, and though Isilme cannot see him (he's in the edge of the bad guy's Darkness spell!), she knows basically where he is and tries to reach him.
Meanwhile, Gotrek charges south, attacking the Iuzian battlemage. His blows simply bounce of the man's Stoneskin, and the man laughs at Gotrek's frustration!
The battlemage backs up, spreads his and sending an arc of fire from his Burning Hands. Gotrek takes [14], but Gilhak takes [27!].
Gotrek steps up, swinging madly but futilely as his axe slams against the man's Stoneskin! Belak moves up and attacks as well, also doing nothing.
The battlemage looks concerned with Gotrek's ability to shrug off his Burning Hands. He "floats" backwards, revealing himself to be using a Fly spell, and then casts Invisibility, disappearing from view!
Gotrek charges, swinging his axe wildly, but he hits nothing! “NOOOO!!!” Gotrek howls in frustration, looking for something to lash out at....
Meanwhile, an extremely irritated Isilme flies to where she hears Thorgrim. She casts Breathable Air, enters the area, and finds Thorgrim and a couple of dwarves. She sees the collapsed area of the stairs, and the dead leg and arm of a couple dwarves sticking out. She helps Thorgrim and the two dwarves get out of the area, pulling them out to the south, out of the darkness and stinking cloud.
"What?" Thorgrim looks confused. "What of the others? Where is Gotrek? Where is Delaim?"
"Look around you,” says Isilme sadly. “The dwarves are lost. I can try and help Gotrek but if he is raging. How will I help? He may have literally bought you time to escape with his life!”
“How many Azcral made it?” he asks, regaining his strength quickly.
“I saw only a dozen or so,” she replies.
“Delaim?” he questions, looking back.
“No,” comes her invisible reply. She then continues, "Thorgrim, have you not had your fill of glorious battle yet?” she asks. “Send the dwarves to the pillar, and I will see what I can do to get Gotrek. Stealth and care is needed here, not more confrontation."
Thorgrim addresses the remaining Dwarves. "Gather your companions and wait for us at the Pillar. We will meet you there. Avoid the Stinking Cloud. Get them out through the northwest side." He then speaks to Isilme. "Isilme! Give me two of your empty crystal vials." They appear out of thin air as she hands them to him, and Thorgrim fills the vials with sips of Invisibility Potion before handing them back. He then takes a sip himself, turning invisible. That leaves two in the flask.
“Let’s go find Gotrek,” he says.
“Thorgrim this is folly,” she begins. “I...,” she hesitates, there is a pause of silence that feels like an eternity to Thorgrim.... "Fine. We help Gotrek together. Know this...I go no further into this accursed Mountain." [Isilme OOC: Probably use that last phrase on her epitaph too.]
Isilme drinks her Elixer of Heroic action and puts the empty bottle in Thorgrim's hand to fill with some Invisibility potion.
[Isilme OOC: Two dwarves and a dark elf, back to back in melee combat against the unstoppable horde. Would make a great book.]
"Isilme, your courage is as great as your intellect. I cannot fault your logic. But this is something I must do. I pray that I see your face again, somewhere far from this accursed place. I say this now in case there is no time to say it, later."
"We will see each other again friend,” she replies, placing an invisible hand on Thorgrim’s shoulder. “Now let's help Gotrek!”
Thorgrim can hear Gotrek to the Northwest, through the darkness. The sound of his angry singing is hard to miss!
Isilme flies back the other way, and she ends up in the corner of the various passages where she finds 4 dwarves down. The three next to her seem to be ok with no visible signs of damage, and their loud snores tell her what happened: Sleep spell. To her right is another dwarf corpse smoldering on its back. When she gets closer, she recognizes it as that of Gilhak, Delaim's second in command. He is horribly burned and barely alive. Back to her right she sees Belak, Gotrek's protege, and Gotrek himself, venting his rage on the air and walls just shy of the darkness area.
She faintly begins to hear the sound of steel on steel from back behind her, in the direction of the pillar and where the other dwarves were heading.
"There's no telling who or how many escaped that damned chamber," says one of the dwarves as they follow.
In a rare moment of mercy and kindness, Isilme channels the healing power of her goddess and gently uses her "lay hands" ability (using all her 15 points) on the burnt dwarf to revive him. [DM OOC: Good move, as he was at -9 hit points!]
She whispers in his ear, "Rise friend dwarf. Waken your friends and make way to the pillar."
Gilhak awakes, shaking his head. Isilme flies down by Gotrek, who comes out of his rage, slumping a bit, but not badly. He looks around, and she sees clear frustration on his face. Behind her, Belak sees Gilhak sit up, and he rushes to help him. Thorgrim and the other dwarves meanwhile awaken the other three. They don't know what happened, but they are all awake and standing now. They do not know the fates of anyone back in the chamber.
Thorgrim passes out droughts of his Potion of Healing to any who need it. "All you get to the Pillar and await me there,” he says. “I have to go back and look for survivors, especially Delaim."
"So, you are going to abandon the warriors that we did save,” replies Isilme sternly, “to chase after ghosts in the darkness? Suit yourselves,” she adds. “I will lead the others to safety.”
“I’m sorry Isilme,” he says. “I can’t leave without knowing. I promise we’ll soon be back.”
The dwarves move off towards the pillar, followed by an invisible Isilme who flies over them. As the get closer, they hear the sound of fighting.
Meanwhile, Thorgrim moves to Gotrek, and he is followed by Gilhak and Belak. They refuse to leave without seeing if they can rescue others of their kin. Thorgrim nods, then they all return to the scene of the battle. When Thorgrim reaches the darkness area, he flips his eyepatch. The Continual Light counters the darkness, and you can see the chamber. It is littered with dwarven bodies, most of them still smoldering from the fireball unleashed on them. A couple of them move slightly as the darkness disappears. In a couple of deep alcoves, there are some other dwarves, also badly wounded but alive. One to the south is frantically tending to two others which lie still on the ground.
Across the chamber, Thorgrim spots movement. It looks like a shadow!
Thorgrim hands his Potion of Extra Healing to one of the Azcral dwarves, saying, "Save whom you can!" He then shouts to Gotrek, “Shadow!” and moves to attack with Souldrinker.
"I'm sorry, Isilme. I can't leave without knowing. I promise we'll soon be back." Thorgrim remembers the last words he spoke to Isilme. He says a silent prayer to Clanggedin, praying for revenge against the battlemage who dealt this destruction. He moves in for attack. If the Shadow withdraws, he'll not follow, but attend to his Dwarven allies.
Thorgrim charges across and attack the shadow, hitting it with Souldrinker for [16], blasting away a portion of the shadow and leaving it visibly weakened. He then notes that there are two shadows, and they quickly swarm Thorgrim, with one hitting him with its cold touch [4 and -1 STR drain. That's two -1s to his str now.] A third shadow stands up from the corpse of a fallen dwarf. The corpse seems to shrink, shriveling in upon itself, and rising in its place is another, newly formed shadow!
Gotrek moves up, takes stock of the situation, then moves beside Thorgrim to fight. Belak and Gilhak move up and aid their comrades, two more of which come out from nooks where they had taken refuge earlier.
Thorgrim attacks, destroying the shadow before him with a swing of Souldrinker. Gotrek then hits the one before him, formed from a fallen Azcral dwarf [13]. The shadows attack, missing, while one backs off a bit and from it a dark malevolence flows, pouring over Thorgrim and Gotrek. They feel their strength's sapped, but whatever the magic was, they fight it off! [DM OOC: Luckily, they made their saves!]
Thorgrim and gotrek both hit again, Thorgrim doing [9] and Gotrek doing [12].
“What is this unholy thing?” says Thorgrim. You can hear the rubble in the collapsed stairway shifting.....
Thorgrim and Gotrek both finish off their shadows this round, though Gotrek is struck causing [4 and a -1 to STR]. The last shadow left the area, disappearing into the darkness. The downed dwarves have been stabilized, but three are unconscious and near death. The rubble in the stairway shifts again, and you hear the sound of digging in that direction. The zombies are working to clear the way.
Gotrek laughs. “Good, more to kill,” he says as he continues to fight.
Thorgrim hands Gotrek his Potion of Extra-Healing. He then distributes his own potion in three portions, one to each Dwarf that is near death.
"Get to the others, before it's too late," Thorgrim replies. “This is a fight we cannot win, but we can save as many as we can.” He looks towards the collapsed stairs. “Then we will have our vengeance.”
Reluctantly, Gotrek agrees. He will not have his own recklessness cost the lives of any companions. Nevertheless, one of the dwarves dies, joining his companions in this cavern of death. Looking around, Thorgrim counts eleven dead dwarves, plus Delaim, who's body is badly burned at the center of the compound. He looks to have been at ground zero of the fireball, as his armor has melted right to him.
So, it's Thorgrim and Gotrek, along with Gilhak, Belak, and another five dwarves. Thorgrim doesn't know how many made it in total, but he thinks it can only be about twenty. He is deeply saddened to leave the dead where they lay, but the sound of digging and rockfalls is increasing, and he knows he doesn't have time to do anything but leave.
***
Meanwhile, Isilme and the dwarves see light around another corner, and the sound of fighting beyond. The dwarves charge ahead when they hear dwarven battlecries. They round the corner and find another group of their kin surrounded in a narrow passage. Goblins press them from both sides, and a couple are down, though so too are a half-dozen goblins. The dwarves are fighting back-to-back, when they enters the fray. They charge into the rear of the northern group of goblins, dropping four with their charge. The northern goblins now find themselves trapped between two forces and look about to break. The dwarves in the center give a shout as they prepare to bust through the goblin ranks.
Isilme rounds the corner just as the goblins are about to break. However, two other groups of goblins suddenly make their appearance, flooding into the rear of the dwarves from the north and south, giving new hope to the goblins. The battle in the hallway now becomes a confused melee, with participants all mixed up.
https://is.gd/Gdhw3r
Isilme casts Chaos on the battle. All but one dwarf and all the goblins are affected. The result is complete confusion. Most of the fighting simply stops, though she sees a couple goblins attack their neighbors, a couple of dwarves at attacked by goblins and dwarves, and all the rest simply stand there dazed. Two goblins just walk off, one to the southwest and another to the North. She hears a man's voice speaking common that way, now that the sound of battle has basically stopped.
"Where are you going?" he says. "Get back to the fight."
"Something is wrong," says a female voice. Then you hear a loud crack, like a skull being hit with a mace!
Isilme finds herself wishing Gotrek were here.
[Isilme OOC: Got to admit, I'm really uncomfortable with the turn this adventure has taken and the ridiculous risks we have opted for. I don't think I have ever been this low on spells AND faced with TWO equal opponents - alone. I think I have officially had it, and to quote blazing saddles, "son, you're on your own."]
She flies quietly and carefully to the corner to take a peek. It is the two leaders that she saw earlier. The woman wears leather armor made from some kind of spotted animal [DM OOC: it's a cheetah, but Isilme doesn't know that!]. She has an amused look on her face, as she watches the priest wipe the gore from his mace. She holds a shortbow, arrow ready in her fingers, and has another sheathed sword on her belt. She looks pretty capable, as much a warrior as a thief. The priest is a typical Iuzian priest, and exactly what you would expect from one of their depraved, ghastly ilk. He wears a long black robe, the clasp being a large skull symbol of The Old One. Beneath she sees the bulge of heavy armor. In one hand he wields a large, wicked mace.
"Something isn't right," says the woman, her voice with a heavy, southern accent. "There's a mage around," she adds, scanning around. [DM OOC: BTW, some of the goblins were carrying torches. Just so you know, this area is lit with actual light.] The priest is suddenly serious as well, he free hand going to his unholy symbol as he begins a chant.
Behind Isilme, most everyone stands confused. Another goblin wanders off to the south. Three dwarves kill two goblins in the north, right behind Isilme, and two dwarves wander off. One goes to the NE, where it will eventually run into the others returning from the east. The other one wanders SW and is jumped by some goblins which pull him to the ground and start beating him.
Isilme also notes a light appearing behind her, shining brightly. It could only be Thorgrim!
Isilme then casts Hold Monster on the priest. When the man doesn't respond to his companion, she looks at him. "Alton?" she asks, then reaches out with one hand and shakes him. He is held!
Meanwhile, the three dwarves at the top which saved continue to kill goblins, and quickly the northern ones are mostly down. Another dwarf and some goblins down at the far end wander off while the rest just stand around confused.
A few dwarves with Thorgrim stop to help the wandering confused one, which is shortly joined by another. The others, along with Gilhak, advance with Gotrek and Thorgrim. When they get around the corner and see the goblins, they rush to attack, except for Thorgrim, who sees the now visible Isilme. He notes she is looking north.
Isilme ignites Maerthorlear's "Silver Strike" power and swoops down to attack "Cheetara".
"Yo, she-bitch! Let's go!" she quips as silver filaments trail through the air and she begins the intricate steps of the battle dance on her opponent.
Though Isilme misses when she attacks, the cheetah warrior nearly craps herself when she sees Isilme appear! She actually stumbles backwards, not prepared to run into a drow! She falls to the ground, but she quickly recovers, rolls over, and sprints away to the NE faster than Isilme has ever seen anything move!
Meanwhile, Gotrek and the Azcral continue to attack the goblins, which fall under their axes like chaff. Though the dwarves and goblins in the south/center basically stand around doing nothing, the last few goblins turn and flee into the darkness, dropping their torches as they go! The three beyond the leaders flee too!
[DM OOC: Well, Isilme may have missed, but she scared the crap out of the enemy. That's one way to win a fight!]
“Wise decision," Isilme mutters after the running Cheetara. She then ends her "Chaos" spell for her Dwarven allies with a dismissive thought and takes a drink of invisibility potion, disappearing again. "Thorgrim and Gotrek my friends, this priest is held frozen for a few more minutes and is yours to do with as you see fit."
"I do not like doing this, but this is about our survival,” says Gotrek, as he walks up to the priest. “Such an evil cannot be trifled with,” he adds, then with one swing of Goreblade he decapitates the Iuzian!
Thorgrim, who was about to do the same, grunts in satisfaction. "Here, friend, heal while ye may," he says, and hands Gotrek his Potion of Extra-Healing to drink. Thorgrim then casts Detect Invisibility, to help us avoid being waylaid as we pull it together and make our way to the Pillar.
They check the body, but it has nothing of interest except some jewelry which Isilme takes. They then head off to the pillar. Isilme activates it again, and you all go through.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:14 am; edited 2 times in total
Now that the rest of the party and their dwarven allies have been driven back by the Iuzian assault, I will return to those who separated from them earlier when they followed Drelnza through the teleportation pillar.
They appear in a large cavern, hundreds of feet wide. It is carpeted with fungi of all varieties and spanning hundreds of feet in every direction. The walls glow with strange light, and silhouetted is a large stalagmite, roughly in the center of the cavern. There is a very palpable taint in the air which makes everyone feel uncomfortable.
[DM OOC: Now, just so you guys know. I find pics online, adjust them best I can, so they are NEVER perfect. They are more for "feel" than anything else, so don't get all "oh, what is over there?" and such. When I use real pics, they are usually just representative of what you see. Still, I think this one works!]
"Wow, this is really something,” says Hepla. “Are we going to that stalagmite over there? I should tell the others." she says.
While Manny is talking to those left behind on the Farspeaker [see previous post], Drelnza starts walking across the cavern. "This way," she says.
Manny and Sir Godwynn look at each other, both sensing a darker tone behind her words.
"Say hi to Emyn for me," Hepla says as she walks next to Drelnza.
Manny calls out, before they get too far. "Drelnza! Have you thrown off the compulsion? Think as the general I believe you to be, we need troops for fighting. We need the dwarves and fighters to hold off opposing forces while spellwork is done."
Drelnza doesn't look back, but keeps walking. "You assume that I care," she replies coldly.
"No, I assume that you want to win,” he calls back.
"I plan to," she says, reaching the stalagmite. You can't see clearly what she does, but a secret door opens. She steps through, followed by Hepla.
"Hepla!" shouts Sir Godwynn, who runs to the door. Unfortunately, he is too late, and it shuts before he reaches it.
Manny moves up and investigates for the secret door. He puts a hand on the wall, and a 10-foot section of the rock face slides back, revealing the entrance to a hallway of smooth, worked stone. The red-tinged illumination shines down from the ceiling. At the end of the hallway is a large illuminated chamber. You can't make out much from here, but it looks like a large throne room or something.
Manny and Godwynn move in down the hallway. The rough passage goes about 50', sloping slightly down before ending at a 10-foot-wide entry hall, the ceiling of which arches about 12 feet overhead. The rough cavern wall transitions to smooth, worked stone. At the end of the hall, a set of stone stairs ascends into a larger chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling. The floor is covered in an irregular array of what appears to be slate tiles covered in odd pictograms and distracting shades of color. The chamber is about 40 feet wide, stretching at least as far in, and in the dim light, a door is visible on the eastern wall. You hear music playing from the chamber, a haunting melody played by stringed instruments.
"Uh, Hepla, some help here,” says Manny, speaking into the Farspeaker. “Which way did you go?"
"Sorry," she replies back into her farspeaker, giggling. "We are in the throne room."
Manny feels a strange itching sensation. He just realizes that he has been scratching himself since they entered. “Great,” he thinks. “Either the place is getting to me or I'm picking up parasites.”
"Straight ahead," says Hepla. Sir Godwynn has sword and shield out, and he moves next to Manny as they move forward. Once they move up to the top of the stairs, they see that about 40 feet into the chamber is another set of stairs, again leading up. This time, they rise only 10 feet before opening onto a raised dais that comprises the northernmost section of the chamber. Against the far wall is an extravagant throne, gilt in gold and set against what appears to be the bright blue-green splay of peacock feathers. On either side of the throne stands a black statue, each depicting a steely-eyed human female. At each statue’s feet sits what looks to be a short, winged creature with a clasp around its neck.
You rush across and about the time you get to the top of the dais, Drelnza touches the painted stone with her hand. The section of wall bearing the feathers rolls quietly up into the ceiling, revealing a 10-foot-wide passageway. Hepla looks back, sees them, and giggles. "You have to keep up!" she says. "We are off to Iggwilv's sanctuary!"
Drelnz steps through, followed by Hepla. This time the rest of the party can get through before it closes. Meanwhile Drelnza opens the far door. It swings wide to reveal a spacious cavern, some 30 feet wide and nearly twice that long. The stone floor is decorated with numerous multicolored murals, some depicting otherworldly beings engaged in various disturbing acts, others depicting images so abstract that they defy definition. Cutting through the middle of the room like a giant scar is a crevasse, across which stretches a makeshift bridge. A door in the stone wall on the other side of the chasm can just be made out.
Drelnza doesn't even look back as she walks through the door and heads for the chasm.
Sir Godwynn moves forward and grabs ahold of Hepla and spins her around. "By the Gods, stop!" he says.
She turns around, surprised. "What's wrong?" she asks.
"Don't interfere with my following my friend," says Hepla, trying to pull away.
"Nice to know you aren't immune to charm," mutters Manny, watching and preparing for trouble.
[Manny OOC: bad feeling about this. Not sure if we created a challenge for Iuz, or just released more evil chaos on the earth.]
Drelnza stops for a moment, loowing back at Hepla. She stares at Sir Godwynn, locking gazes. "Release her," she says, her voice like cold steel.
"No." He replies, his voice ominous but calm as he locks gazes with her.
[Isilme OOC: You guys haven't noticed she's been calling her mistress and following her around like a puppy for a while now? Good news is the Paladin can't be controlled by a vampires charm due to their continuous protection from evil.]
Sir Godwynn feels a strange attraction to Drelnza, a sense that he could do anything for her, would do anything for het. He is about to release Hepla, until his entire body is wracked with a feeling of pure revulsion. He immediately understands that the being before him is pure evil and he will not succumb to it.
Sir Godwyn says "May the hand of Rao protect you from all evil," casting 'protection from evil' directly upon Hepla.
Drelnza smiles, her face almost softening, but her voice sounds cold, emotionless. "Your concern for your friend is touching," she says, "but in this place you will find your prayers of little value." She turns and walks across the chasm. She continues talking as she walks away. "Stay, go, do as you will. I have more...pressing concerns."
Sir Godwynn then addresses Drelnza again. "We released you and chose to aid you. We are your allies, you have no need to exercise such control and violate her mind. When you recalled how it was done to you you were angered. Remember that and release my friend. The will of the group is to stand by your side, and we will honor it."
Drelnza has crossed to the other side, and stands before a doorway, but she stops after Sir Godwynn speaks. She doesn't turn for a long while, then finally does. It is impossible to read her face, shrouded in shadow so far away now. "Go," she says. "Leave this place before its evil taint destroys whatever is good in you....and your friends." Despite her clearly evil nature, he could swear he hears true, human concern in her voice. She then opens the door and passes beyond it out of sight.
"I will stay with my good friend." Hepla says as she follows Drelnza.
Manny and Sir Godwynn then follow, getting to the other side, almost to the door, when Drelnza turns back from inside the chamber beyond. "I said GO!" she shouts, hands raised. A wave of force rushes from her upraised hands, slamming into Sir Godwynn. He takes [5] from the forcewave, and is knocked backwards 10', flying right off the edge and into the chasm!
“Drelnza,” says Hepla. “Stop, we can help you. I sense you still have a spark of good in you.’
Drelnza moves faster than Hepla can react, literally flying to her. She grabs her by her hair and twists her head back savagely. "Then let this show you the folly of your ways," she says and sinks her teeth into Hepla's neck! Hepla takes [8] and gains two negative levels!
Falling to his certain death, Sir Godwynn locks his gaze momentarily on Manny. It is a look of farewell, but to his dismay, Manny raises his bare hand towards him and mouths the words of an incantation. Suddenly, Sir Godwynn is light as a feather, and as he floats down into the darkness, he sees Manny nod towards him and smile.
Hepla attempts to cast Spiritform. However, with Drelnza grappling her and draining her blood, she fails her Concentration check and loses the spell, as Drelnza continues to drain her [5 and another -2 Negative Levels].
Hepla feels her strength rapidly draining away, and for the first time wonders if maybe this was a mistake. She thinks of Emyn and their unborn child, when suddenly Drelnza releases her, screaming and pushing Hepla away. Hepla falls backwards to the ground, and when she looks up she sees Drelnza standing there, blood dripping from her fanged mouth, grabbing at the sword that Manny has thrust through her chest! Manny backstabbed her for [28]!
Sir Godwynn finds himself at the bottom of the chasm. It is not possible to climb, but it continues in both directions. Ahead it seems to cut across another small tunnel running north/south. [Sorry, no map]
[DM OOC: Hepla has now lost another 5 hp, as well as gained two more negative levels. The negative levels cause her to lose two more spells. She's lost all her 6th level spells now and a 5th, plus the failed spell. Her hps are also very low; with 4 negative levels, plus damage, she's down to 2 left! Plus, with 4 negative levels, she in essences has -4 to everything she does.]
Hepla is torn between helping Manny and helping herself. then she thinks of the baby and cast CSW on herself while taking the 5' step back. [DM OOC: After her spell, Hepla is as healed as she can get. She has 15hp left, but that is because of her negative levels. She is very weak.]
Hepla reaches into her hair, grabs her hairpin then she roles off the bridge. She says her magic word, and as the broom appears in her hands she gets it to fly before splatting on the floor.
Hepla pulls off her Harry Potter maneuver, while Manny rolls away. Drelnza is faster than he imagined, and it is all he can do to avoid her grasp. Recognizing that he has no chance, he leaps off the cliff!
He casts Feather Fall on the way down, landing safely next to Sir Godwynn.
"We should have heeded the vampire’s warning while she still had some humanity left within her,” says Sir Godwynn ruefully. “There is a lesson in this somewhere milady Hepla. While there is nobility in a last stand, methinks we should get this pregnant lady to safety." He braces for an attack and scans above him waiting patiently.
Sir Godwynn's shield is providing continual light as per spell. Along with Manny and Hepla, they are all down at the bottom of the chasm, 100’ down. The top of the chasm is lit by some kind of continual light too, but you don't see Drelnza. She doesn't seem to be following. The chasm goes as far as you can see in either direction. It narrows towards the east and widens towards the west.
"I have no intention of waiting here,” says Manny. “We need to get back to the rest of the party. He then casts Fly on Sir Godwynn and then himself. “I know you like to have your feet firmly planted on the ground, but you need to fly up and out to cover Hepla’s retreat, I'll come as I can. Rear guard is needed and you need to be her protector."
"If Drelnza doesn't pursue, no doubt she returns to her quest deep within the heart of the mountain. Our best chance is to return to the pillar and see if our own witch can activate it. Wandering aimlessly about this place of the evil is no doubt certain death."
The three fly up, and when they reach the top Drelnza is nowhere in sight. "I fear we have released yet more evil on this troubled land,” says Manny. “Yet mayhap it will disrupt the Old One's plans. First we need to rejoin the rest of our merry band, then decide on a course. There is both the other party and, I'm sure, yet more power-filled trinkets Iggy left behind."
They then make their way back to the pillar. When they get there they find the others, minus Isilm, Thorgrim, and Gotrek, waiting, having just used the pillar themselves. Hepla goes right for Emyn's arms but steps back and says. "Drelnza attacked me and I feel very weak. She moved into the Heart of the mountain or the Horn, whatever she called it. Let me give some of you some herbs to help you.” She gives Emyn, and Sir Godwyn some Menaleas Flower powder mixed with a little wine. It is a full Cure Light Wounds.
"I suggest we leave this place and seal it for all eternity,” says Berenn.
"Should we not at least look into those buildings?” asks Emyn. “We may still be able to stop Drelnza. After all we did let her free, so we are responsible."
"They are not just buildings,” says Manny. “That is the Heart of the Horn. Somewhere in there a Demon Lord and his captor fought a great battle. Those two titans of magic neither leveled nor hid this place. Somewhere in here is likely the heart of the evil of this place. I suspect the only reason it has not been pillaged before was the Old One being distracted, or restrained, for most of the last 100 years.”
Looking around, Manny continues. "Our choices are few, and poor. We can follow Drelnza into the Heart, in the hope of destroying the center of this evil before the Old One can exploit it. We can turn and attack these minions of his, knowing more will come after. We can flee this place in the hopes that a stronger, more capable party can be found and brought here in time. None of these choices are good, we may be too weak to accomplish any of these tasks but the last, but I have no intention of fleeing like a cur. With honor, we can try either of the first two. In doing one, we may achieve the other as well."
Sir Godwyn smiles and says "tis a fine thing to see all of you again!" Then his face become grave, and his deep voice carries throughout the chamber. "Truly we have let forth a great evil upon the land, I call upon you all to help me rid the world of this evil we have WILLINGLY released. This vampire is no ally, and all humanity in her is lost, but the black essence of the undead remains." He punctuates his final point with great fevor.
"This dark misdeed WE have done needs to be rectified NOW!"
Emyn simply clasps arms with Godwynn and says, "Then let us go brother and remove this evil we have so foolishly unleashed. " He starts towards the heart of the horn no matter what anyone might say.
Sir Godwyn returns his clasp strongly and takes heart that there is at least one person of good conscience among the party.
"Let us root out this festering evil brother!" says Sir Godwynn, and heads towards the heart of the mountain with Emyn.
Berenn doesn't like this idea, but will follow the idiots ... I mean ... brave souls into the heart.
“Just to be clear,” says Elrae, “I wanted to kill her in her sleep."
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:16 am; edited 1 time in total
Sir Godwyn strides on foot across to the other side and the open door Drelnza went through, remaining just ahead of Emyn, sword and shield at the ready to smite down upon enemies with the righteous fury of Rao. Emyn follows Godwynn, vengeance in his heart for the attack on his wife and unborn child. The others have rarely seen him as angry. "She will pay for her treachery,” he almost hisses as he walks.
Elrae looks at his comrades and goes towards the door. "Let's slay that bloodsucking bitch."
The rest follow, crossing the bridge, and move towards the doo. Beyond is an irregularly shaped room, smooth on its southern and eastern walls, but jagged and rough to the west and north. At its longest, the room is 25 feet deep and 15 feet wide. The south and east walls are lined with shelving units, while the shelves to the north and west have toppled forward into the room. Opening the door causes a red glow to brighten overhead and a floral scent to emerge. A quick scan of the shelves along the eastern wall reveals a collection of strange curios, from stuffed lizards to gnarled, severed hands floating in jars of milky liquid. As this room’s appearance would suggest, this was a place of storage for the Witch Queen. It was here that she deposited many of the nonmagical curios she came across in her studies.
Elrae uses Snowfang which reveals nothing to be magical, and a search for secret doors likewise reveals nothing.
"D R E L N Z A !!!!" yells Sir Godwynn in his best Captain Kirk voice! The only answer you hear is the oppressive silence of the tomb. He then scratches at a small sore on his face. He doesn’t know if it was there before or if his scratching caused it.
Berenn takes a look at Godwynn and assesses his condition. He uses his rod on it, but nothing happens. "This place is affecting all of us and it has the potential of being more fatal than the monster we are attempting to follow. There is nothing more to be done here." With that Berenn heads back to the entrance point.
[Berenn OOC: Fighting a vampire on its terms is foolhardy. He is going back to the rest of the party.]
As Berenn passes into the corridor he notes that the two doors to the sides are now open. Beyond them are two more rooms. He calls back over your shoulder. “Some doors are now suspiciously open,” he says as he continues on. Noot moves back there and glances in. The west room looks like a storeroom, while the east room seems to have been a library as it's full of bookshelves. There are maybe a couple of dozen books left there that he can see.
About this time the party hears the voice of Melkor speaking over the Farspeaker. Then they stop functioning altogether as Isilme cancelled her spell.
Hepla says, "Not that anyone, especially my husband, cares what I have to say, but fighting the fellow who is speaking to us over the farspeaker would at least be out of this opppresive place. After we kill him we should still have time to return here if we wish. Also there is a chance that this guy does not know us as good as he thinks he does. He might not know of Sir Godwyn."
Emyn looks at her and says, "Dear, I care very much about your opinion, even when it is wrong. We need to understand what else is at work here."
Sir Godwynn understands the desire to return to the others, but he now has an undead enemy to combat, and he moves into the library room. He does not see Drelnza in the room. It does look like it has been recently searched though, as dust is disturbed.
Curious, even Berenn now stops. "We should probably do a little searching, and we might be able to find out what Drelnza was looking for." He casts Detect Invisibility, then looks in. He sees nothing.
"If we can't retify our mistake of releasing the vampire, we should go,” says Sir Godwynn, scratching his sore. “There is nothing to be gained here. The taint of evil upon this place is palpable."
Noot finds a secret door. One of the bookcases clearly moves over, as evidenced by the floor. The dust of a hundred years has been pushed to the side, resulting in a small pile that is out of place. Streaks in the floor show the bookcase moves. Manny finds a hidden latch, which once flipped allows you to push the bookcase over. It reveals a passage sloping down quite steeply.
It is only a 5' wide passage, about 8' tall. It goes down at an angle for about 100' before turning north and still angling down. Sir Godwynn can safely assume that this is the passage that intersects the chasm.
Sir Godwynn enters, his shield before him to light the way. Berenn has his cloak of protection on and ignites Bonfire. "Something tells me she went this way." Berenn enters the passageway.
It goes a long way. It indeed is intersected by the chasm, which cuts the tunnel in half about 20' above the chasm floor. So, you have to get across, but it's only about 5' so it's not a big deal. It ends in a blank wall, that is obviously a secret door. Berenn notes it immediately, but cannot open it. Manny moves up to check it out, and as soon as he touches it, it swings open completely.
“It seems a lot of these secret doors were attuned to magicusers,” he says. Beyond it, the passage continues a bit, then opens up into a large chamber. There is a drop off, but you can't see any more from here.
The wall slides away to reveal an enormous, pitch-black cave. With the door open, a shrill wind whistles through the cavern air, echoing below in the darkness. A ledge, some 10 feet wide, stretches along the eastern wall. Beyond the ledge, in the inky blackness, the “floor” of the cave is open space, disappearing into the yawning abyss below.
Sir Godwynn waits for the others. "I fear my light gives us away," he says to Emyn, "but alas, what hope do we have against such creatures of the night if we fight them in darkness black as their evil hearts." He holds his shield before him bravely illuminating the way. "Shall we?"
"Lead on,” says Hepla bravely.
You move on until you find yourselves on the edge of the pit. It goes down as afar as you can see, which is only 60’. The chamber is also so large that you cannot see the ceiling or across it.
Hepla takes out her hairpin, turns it into a broom, then flies up to see how high the ceiling is. She flies up, just about beyond the limit of everyone's sight, when Berenn spots movement in the darkness. Clinging to the ceiling, creeping along it and preparing to pounce, is what looks like a giant spider.
"Hepla, spider! Look out!" He yells. Hepla swerves away, circling off to the side since she doesn't see it. Nobody else can see it except Berenn, who has Detect Invisibility running which sees through the darkness above. As it gets a bit closer, he sees that it is not a spider, at least, not one from this world..... Everyone backs up, and the thing leaps down, landing on the ledge before the party, and right in front of Sir Godwynn!
The creature resembles a huge spider, but it is the size of an elephant, with a black, chitinous exoskeleton and six insectile eyes. The creature’s four rearmost limbs actually carry most of its weight; its front four limbs end in cleaver-like blades that aren’t used for walking. Despite the monster’s bloated appearance and hideous bulk, it’s frighteningly fast and nimble. It makes an insidious whispering that disturbingly sounds like whatever your nightmares are, and they seem to be in your heads.
[DM OOC: It’s a very good thing that Berenn had Detect Invisibility working!]
Sir Godwyn stands defensively, sword and shield up, ready to blind fight. He hopes that perhaps his protection from evil can keep something like this at bay? "Lord Rao guide my hand against the forces of evil festering within this place!"
The thing recoils from Sir Godwynn, who breaths a sigh of relief. "Gather around me, the protection of Rao shields my companions." He slowly walks "casually" in the direction we need to go, using Beren to guide him.
The rest of the party gathers around Sir Godwynn, who then starts to move. Hepla has to circle back, and as she nears them, to her horror, the creature attacks! From one of its four eyes, a fireball streaks out, exploding right on Sir Godwynn!
[DM OOC: Noot failed his save but was luckily using Emyn’s Ring of Fire Resistance. His items must still save though…..
Here's what is destroyed:
Dagger of Parrying (dang, I liked that)
Dirks
Boots
Cloak
Backpack and everything in it
Pouches
rope
Ring of Infravision
Lucky Ring of the Wild Coast
All potions except 2 flasks oil (go figure!)
Please take this all off your sheet. Sorry Gorn!]
Only Noot failed his save, and he is down in a smoldering heap! Hepla has circled around on her broom. She's at 25' elevation.
Berenn goes to Noot and gives him a CLW. He turns to the rest of the party and says, "Just don't stand there, kill it!"
[Violator OOC: Hoho you dudes are in serious, serious trouble!]
Emyn goes full offense with his bastard sword. "Go back the Abyss in the name of Trithereon!" he shouts.
Elrae casts Stoneskin, if he hadn't done so already. He will then move to get an angle on the spider demon abyss monster and start with his offensive spells, cone of cold, lightning bolts, melf's acid arrows, magic missiles until exhausted or end up dead.
"Fear not comrades, together we shall send this foul creature back to it's wretched plane. Now is not the time to plan, but is the time to kill."
"Spread out, people! Got a choice, Godwynn, fight or be spelled." Manny starts tumbling away from a straight line with the others.
[Manny OOC: Did the fireball negate it's invisibility?]
[DM OOC: It wasn't invisible. Detect Invisibility also allows you to see in the dark. The thing is, it's range is 10 yards/level, though only 10' wide "searchlight." But, since he was looking at Hepla, and she was moving right towards the Retriever, he was able to see it. Lucky for her, really.]
“Don’t forget your fly spell,” calls Manny as he tumbles away, coming up on the far side of the ledge to the right. Elrae casts Stoneskin while Berenn casts Sunbow, then sheathes Bonefire. Sir Godwynn drinks his potion of Super-Heroism. He gains 15 hitpoints and +3 levels. He then floats up 5' to get even with the creature. The fly spell cast upon him is indeed still working.
Emyn then steps up 5' and attacks. He misses with his first attack.
It then attacks Emyn, slashing at him savagely with its four massive cleaver-like claws. It hits Emyn twice [16 and 9; total 25]. [DM OOC: it gets 4 attacks, each doing 3d6!]
Then Hepla flies behind it and up a bit higher, using her staff to fire a bolt of lightning into its back [16]. Emyn then misses with his second attack.
Noot takes a flask of oil, lights it from his flaming shirt, and throws it at the retriever. He misses, and it falls to the bottom of the pit and explodes there. It's at least 100' down.
Berenn fires his first shot, missing with a sunbow arrow. It streaks by the thing and smashes into the ceiling!
The retriever focuses an eye upon Emyn, hitting him with a ray of cold [10]. Emyn falls back to the ground, an armored Popsicle. It focuses another eye upon Sir Godwynn, hitting him with a lightning bolt [12]. The bolt continues on and hits Elrae [50]. That's a bad missed save! Gotta roll for all Elrae's stuff now. Elrae is blasted back to the ground, stunned, and he loses concentration on his lightning bolt spell.
Hepla fires another lightning bolt, hitting it for another [15] as Manny casts Vitriolic Sphere which explodes on the retriever for [26: failed it's save].
Berenn then hits it with a shot from his sunbow [8], missing with his third shot.
[DM OOC: Emyn is at -5, Sir Godwynn at -7. Elrae has 2 left! Gotta roll for his items, so give me some time. I'll give you guys time to decide your actions.]
[Sir Godwynn OOC: I think you missed sir Godwyn 's attacks]
[DM OOC: No I didn't. He was knocked to -7; he didn't get any attacks!]
[Sir Godwynn OOC: %&$#]
[DM OOC: Elrae lost his magic crossbow Sweetness and its quiver. Not bad, considering. He also made his System Shock roll for Massive Damage, so he didn't die outright. However, he is stunned and cannot act for 3 rounds.]
[Manny OOC: Ok, here goes nothing. Manny uses all his skill to cast Bigby's Force Sculpture to create a flat featureless (no eyeholes) helm around the thing's head, covering its eyes and connecting under its mandibles in a flat form. If he can get it to cover the mouth with the available amount he will, but the eyes are mandatory.]
[DM OOC: 'll allow it, but it's going to get a save. If you try to put a Wall of Force (a 5th level spell with no save!) around a moving/meleeing creature, I give it a save, because if it is broken during casting, the spell is ruined. So, I'll give it a save to avoid you successfully being able to form it around a moving, fighting creature. It will not end up being a perfect prison helm, regardless, but if successful it will do something. That's the best I'll give you beforehand….]
The retriever looks to be about to spike both Emyn and Sir Godwynn, but cannot break the plane of Sir Godwynn's Protection from Evil. [DM OOC: Yes, I know Emyn attacked but he never hit, so I'm ruling that's not any different than just making a show of attacking. And he's still in the AoE of the PfE, which only stops when Sir Godwynn dies. So, he just lucked out! I actually had to look that up to see if that was so, and I found it in the online forums!]
Anyway, Manny goes first and casts his spell, putting a force helm around the thing’s head. It turns and tries to fire a beam at Hepla, but it is blocked by the helm! It makes a screeching, angry noise, and then scrambles around towards Manny, scratching at the strange force helm as it moves. It also takes another [10] from the acid.
Berenn crawls forward, taking out his scroll and casting Heal on Sir Godwynn. “What a waste,” he says, but continues. “Better than we all die I guess.”
As the flow of power from St. Cuthbert pours over him, Sir Godwynn is instantly healed of all but 2 wounds. He gets up, takes up his sword and shield, and prepares to battle the thing once more. He does not plan to hide behind his protection!
Noot rushes forward, checks to see that Elrae is ok, then slips around to Emyn. He attempts to stop the flow of blood, but cannot. "Berenn," he says quickly, though not too loudly! "He needs help!"
Finally, Hepla flies around a bit, trying to keep the thing lined up but not where she can hit her friends, and uses another lightning bolt from her staff, hitting it for another [16].
He swivels its head around towards her, it's many eyes full of hateful malevolence!
The retriever then slashes at Manny with four cleaver-like claws. He is hit by two, for [10 and 11: total 21]. Manny falls unconscious, and is lifted up by the thing's great mandibles!
Hepla blasts the thing with another lightning bolt [13]. Chunks of abyssal armor are flying from its back.
Berenn moves over to Emyn, casting CLW [8] while Sir Godwynn adds his Laying of Hands upon him for another [18]. Emyn can now rise, ready to fight some more.
Noot moves up behind the thing, attacking with Rod and Dagger. He hits with his dagger, stabbing it in the leg [5].
Elrae gets up and casts Melf's Acid Arrow. The arrow misses!
The retriever swings its massive head back, sending Manny cartwheeling into the abyss.
[DM OOC: I was actually going to pause, to allow Hepla time to use a Feather Fall, the ONLY spell I ever let you cast spontaneously in this kind of situation. However, I note that....she doesn't have it!] It's not a straight drop, the sides are more like small terraces, so, Manny tumbles slowly down, falling about 20' and taking [6]. He is still falling, so he'll continue his death tumble next round. He is bouncing along the terraces, like falling down a mountain side with several drops. He also is now at -6.]
Sir Godwynn immediately flies down, finding Manny nearly falling off another terrace. He grabs him, stopping his fall. Manny groans unconsciously, as Sir Godwynn lays him back safely. "You saved my life today Mage,” says Sir Godwynn. “I but return the favor."
[DM OOC: BTW, DMs like this kinda stuff!]
The retriever then strides forward, attacking with its cleaver-like claws. Two attack Berenn, hitting him twice [10 and 6: 16 total], and takes him up in its mandibles too! It then hits Noot with one for [11]. Noot falls back unconscious, while Berenn loses his Holy Orb spell which he was preparing to unleash!
Elrae was going to use Snowfang to do a Cone of Cold, but now holds his action since he would hit Berenn as well. Hepla does the same with her Lightning Bolt. Emyn then steps forward, slashing at the retriever. He hits it twice, [11 and 12; total 23]!
"If my heavy hitting spells aren't effective, then I should try something else." Elrae casts golddust at the eyes of the spider demon blinding it's deadly gaze.
Sir Godwynn pours his Healing Potion into Manny's mouth, healing [13]. Manny will be at 7hp. Hepla casts Fog Cloud, which covers the area around the retriever in a fog, limiting vision to 2'. Emyn stands in front of Noot to protect him, and fights using his blind-fighting. He misses the retriever with his attack. Elrae now has no target for his Glitterdust spell, and he cannot cast it, though he doesn't loose it. He just fails to cast another spell.
The retriever throws Berenn off to the side. People suddenly see him fly out of the fog, and he falls to the bottom of the pit.
While Berenn is gently fluttering to the ground thanks to his Ring of Feather Fall, he calls out, "There is only one thing I say to Death: Not today!"
The thing then skitters away from Emyn's slashing sword. Hepla sees it come out of the fog to the north, along the ledge. It is now pretty much beneath her on the ledge. It can see Sir Godwynn and Manny, but it cannot see Noot, Emyn, or Elrae.
ere's the map for the retriever battle. I added altitude labels, since there are four characters at various levels. Hepla is 50' up. Sir Godwynn and Manny are 20' down on a ledge, and Berenn is 100' down at the bottom. Berenn fell to the bottom, since Feather Fall drops your rate to 120'/round. It was 100' down, so he's at the bottom. I just created a texture for fog, so hopefully that is clear too. The other circle is Sir Godwynn's Protection from Evil 10'radius.
Elrae will drink an extra healing potion he has been holding on for what seems to be an eternity. "I hope these don't expire," he mumbles. He then starts to sing!
The retriever moves first, quicker than you'd have thought possible. From one eye it fires a lightning bolt at Hepla. She tries to get away from it but takes a glancing blow [which means she made her save!] and she takes [21]. She is blown back off her broom and starts to fall to the ground. Manny, just recovering from his wounds sees her and immediately reaches out, casting Feather Fall on her. She floats gently down, landing next to Berenn.
Emyn heals Noot of [8] with his Potion. [please remember to delete it!] Elrae uses his Potion of ex-healing healing [17].
"Rao,” calls out Sir Godwynn, invoking his Lord. “Illuminate your children and blind this creature of darkness!"
He casts light upon the creature's eyes, and it roars out in chthonic rage, stumbling around as it is blinded! He then flew up 40', ending up at a +20' elevation.
Berenn, going last, drops his action to do a healing check on Hepla. He stabilizes her and heals [3] with a successful Heal check. She is unconscious at -3.
Manny casts Lightning bolt, which hits the creature [13].
Berenn casts CMoW on Hepla, healing [9]. She's back to 6 hps. [Maybe with those 4 negative levels and the associated weakness it causes, Hepla should hang back?]
The retriever crawls quickly down to the ledge and attacks Manny. It hits him twice [15 and 8; 23 total], also picking him up in its mandibles.
Sir Godwynn cries out and flies down, attacking the retriever from above. "In the name of Rao, return to the hells from whence you came and trouble this plane no more!" He hits it in the back of its head [9]. His Protection from Evil is basically void now.
Emyn drinks his potion, healing [16]. He then moves forward, just out of the fog cloud. He sees the thing below him, on the ledge below attacking Manny. Sir Godwynn is flying above it, smashing it in the back of the head. Noot retreats back by Elrae.
"Let him go beast!" snarls Sir Godwynn as he hits it again [10]. The retriever rears back, slashing at him with all four claws and hitting with each one! Sir Godwynn takes [ 8, 9, 13, and 15: 41 total!] He is grabbed by the retriever which is about to throw him when Emyn shouts from above and leaps upon it.
"Feel the sting of Trithereon's wrath, you accursed beast!" he says as he lands on it, driving his sword down through the things mandibles, deep into its throat [24].
The creature shudders under the blow and immediately starts to fall backwards over the cliff..... [Yes, it is still holding Sir Godwynn, and Emyn is atop it!]
Berenn simultaneously casts Holy orb, which which wracks it with righteous fury and blasts the thing into oblivion. Sir Godwynn takes [9] and Emyn takes [14].
They topple off, tumbling to the bottom as Berenn cast Air Column and arrests their fall.
It takes a bit to get everyone up. Hepla then gives out herbs, and Berenn uses up the healing of the Rod of Xodal.
“My spells are almost exhausted,” says Berenn, “and we have already had one comrade fall because of this foolishness. There is nothing more to be gained here."
“Aye,” replies Emyn, once recovered. “We should aid our friends now. Drelzna is certainly long gone and we are ill equipped to handle much more.
The rest of the party agrees, and they return to the pillar. They reach it just as Gotrek, Thorgrim, and the dwarves used it after their battle with the Iuzians. The party is now all together again.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:19 am; edited 1 time in total
After the battles with the retriever and with the Iuzians, both groups have come together again. As for the Azcral dwarves, they took a beating. Their leader, Delaim, fell in battle, as did many others. Gilhak is their leader now. Orili and Belak are the only two named dwarves left [meaning dwarves whom I have named so far, they all probably have names!] There are another 15 unnamed dwarves, and many are wounded badly. However, Berenn can take the time to heal them with the Rod of Xodal, which will bring most of them back to full hit points. Only a couple are left with wounds after this.
Thorgrim gathers the Dwarves in a prayer for their fallen comrades. After some time, he speaks again. "I fear the dangers of this Adventure will only grow as we continue. I pray that, should we die, it be in glorious combat, rather than wretched ambush, as died noble Delaim. I swear I shall see that mage dead, before I am called." He turns to Berenn.
"Berenn, there is a strong chance our enemy may follow. Did you find a place of refuge? Behind that secret door you described sounds promising, but we must assume our enemy knows of it, or can find it as did you. From the description of your encounter, 'twould seem foolhardy to explore further in our present state. "The way back is closed to us, for now. Things may change, if we are able to whittle our enemy. But I think our path lies deeper within the mountain. Indeed, the Heart."
"If you consider almost getting ripped up apart by a huge demon refuge and spending time getting drained by a vampire refuge, we found refuge," Berenn say dryly. "There is no refuge here. I suppose we could all rest in one of the rooms while keeping Protection from Evil going, but I would rather leave this place."
"We need to do something to impede their progress into here,” says Emyn. “We will likely face more fearsome foes and essentially be clearing this place for the Iuzians. We need to set some sort of trap."
Hepla agrees, as does Gotrek who grunts in response. He spits harshly, clearly undecided. He wants to do what is best for his friends. He does not want them dying, because of any vows he may have. "I understand. Whoever has to go, let them go. I will stay a wee bit longer. We yet have business here."
Berenn throws his hand up in the air. "The only business left here is our deaths!” he almost yells. “We are out of spells and most of the party is on death's door. We will be lucky to get out of here without another encounter, looking for another fight is folly."
"We will have to kill many to get out,” says Hepla. “They may even be setting up a block to stop us. We should leave while they are still working on it." While speaking, Hepla hands an extra healing potion from her stash to Manny, Godwynn, Elrea, Noot and Emyn for immediate use. She keeps the remaining two in reserve. “Everyone needs to be more careful,” she warns. “I don't have many potions or herbs left.”
"I doubt the enemy has every route covered,” replies Berenn, calming down. “If we did some scouting, we could probably find a way out of here without getting into another fight."
Sir Godwyn rises, full of righteous anger. "ENOUGH!” he shouts. “THAT'S ENOUGH NOW, FROM ALL OF YOU!” He moves around, looking at everyone. His voice slows down, calming and cold. “You should see ice. It moves like it has a mind. Like it knows it killed the world once and it got a taste for murder. We were on patrol when the avalanche came......it took us a week to climb out, and somewhere my men lost hope. I don't know when they turned on each other. I just know......that twenty of us survived the slide...and only four made it out.”
He stops, quiet. He seems to be lost in thought. Then he nods and continues.
“Now, we took an oath that I'm breaking now. Swore that we'd say it was the snow that killed the rest. But it wasn't. Nature can be lethal. But it doesn't hold a candle to man. You've seen how bad things can get and how quick they can get that way. Well, they can get a whole lot WORSE!” The emphasis on the last word shocks everyone, and they stare, rapt, as he continues. He speaks loudly, firmly, in a voice broaching no argument.
“SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO FIGHT ANYMORE! WE'RE GOING TO PULL TOGETHER AND FIND A WAY TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
Nobody speaks, and after an awkward pause, he turns to Hepla. "Hepla, use your herbal remedies to awaken Manny. I would have him face death with eyes open. If you cannot waken him then strip the Rod of Security from his body, we may have need of it this day." He then scans the group. "Everyone take stock of their gear, some may be out of spells, but many have magic that may still win the day, all hope is not lost.”
"Emyn,” he continues, looking at the young paladin. “Help dispense all of our healing herbs and potions to those wounded, the party first, our dwarven army second. If there was ever a time they needed our strength to survive it is now."
"We have choices here. We can use the rod of security and rest here and now. I am against this because we are still in the heart of the mountain and the evil here is great. I would prefer we use the pillar while still operable to at least reach the outer ring of the mountain where we can secure ourselves with the magic of the rod, or make our final push against the enemy to leave.
We have things going for us. If we vanish through use of the rod, after a time the enemy will believe we somehow escaped or transported away. If we push now the enemy is still regrouping. We may be able to punch through one portion of the opposition while they are still imbalanced. I won't promise it will be easy or there will be no lives lost, but better to die out there facing an opponent in combat honorably, then to slink around the demon infested heart of this mountain and hope our souls and honor remain untarnished."
He looks to Thorgrim. "Where are ye stones man? Would you run craven into the very heart of evil? Are you quaking in fear like a maid over a spindly old mage and a few zombies?" He spits in disgust. "Be the leader I know ye were born to be. These Dwarves honor and respect you - the greatest warrior among them, Gotrek, looks to you for counsel. Would you falter now? Show them their faith is well placed and lead them home. If not here, how will you ever display the grit needed to retake your ancestral home?"
"So what say you "Heroes of Hommlet"? Will you follow me out of this den of evil?"
Thorgrim stands there, not sure what to say, taken aback by the young man’s fervor, when a familiar voice appears from behind you. "So, you have found the Hollow of the Horn."
Looking that way, you see Drelnza, standing atop the dais next to the throne, sword in hand. She has a hand out peacefully, as if to calm your obvious impulse to attack her.
"My mother is gone," she says. "There is nothing left for me here."
"What are your intentions?" asks Emyn, hand on sword and ready, indeed, to attack.
She gazes down at Emyn. "I intend to leave this dreadful place," she says finally. "Beyond are my mother's personal chambers," and she points back towards where you confronted her by the chasm. "There is nothing there," she adds, "but her workshop yet remains intact. I see you destroyed her pet; you may even recover her greatest treasure, the Necronomicon. It lies beyond the retriever lair, but you would also confront Tsjocanth himself. He yet lives, in a way, trapped in the abyssal rift created by the great energies unleashed in that epic confrontation years ago. This is the source of the mountain's taint, as abyssal energies leak forth around him. Slay him, and you seal the rift, or not, as you will. I care not."
A sad, forlorn look crosser her face. "Thank you for releasing me," she finally says. "Forgive my attack," she says to Hepla. "The shock of my condition, the taint of this place..." She shakes her head. "I am sorry."
"You are wrong," says Hepla, walking forward. Emyn grabs her arm, but Hepla turns, taking his hand. "It is alright," she says softly, the naive girl suddenly gone. She turns back, but doesn't approach any further. "You are wrong," she repeats. "Your mother's greatest treasure was not some book." She pauses, then smiles knowingly. "It was you."
"And a great army lies opposed to us beyond this place,” adds Emyn. “It is not something either you or we can face alone. What will happen if your brother seizes these abyssal energies for himself?"
"We need time to recover from the battles we fought,” says Berenn. “Against the retriever and the minions of your brother. If you are truly repentant, aiding us in our endeavors would go a long ways to proving it."
Gotrek spits. "I have had enough of this group’s weakness” He looks at Berenn accusingly. “How can you say you serve a god, and let this evil continue to exist in the world? Because we might perish? If I died for what I feel is the RIGHT thing to do, by Clangeddin, I would give every ounce of effort to see it done. If I die, I die with honor. Too often, I have kept my mouth shut, fearing my actions would harm the group. Now, evil is HERE. And you want to talk, or run?"
She stands mute for some time, seeing the antipathy of most of the party before shaking her head. "No, you would just as soon drive a stake in my heart as I would drain you of every drop of your precious blood. It would seem we all are captives, to some degree, of our natures." She sighs, and it seems like genuinely sad resignation. "No, I must leave, before the evil of this place takes hold of me. I advise you all to do the same."
"Well you heard the lady,” says Elrae suddenly. “Now let's get that book. It lies beyond the retriever lair." Elrae gets up then grabs Snowfang and points it towards the exit.
Thorgrim considers what he heard from Gotrek and Godwyn. He thinks for a while, silently. "There is no turning back," he says, finally. "The only path is forward, into the Heart."
Gotrek looks around in disgust. He remembers the dwarves that have died recently, combating this evil. He gets angrier. "Are any of ye with me?"
"I am with both of you. Whether here or in the great hall of Dorob Kilthduum, I would stand by my Dwarven friends in battle to the end." Says a familiar musical voice. What stuns you more is you can actually see Isilme as she floats towards the party. She salutes Gotrek and Thorgrim with her blade then flies slowly towards Drelnza.
Thorgrim returns her salute. "Isilme, your return is most welcome. Most welcome!"
She nods, as she continues. "If any among us is living proof we are not captive to our nature it is I.” She slides up her mask to reveal she is a Drow, which clearly surprises Drelnza. "No matter what our nature,” continues Isilme, “we have the power to choose. I chose not to harm you while you slept - in truth I would have left you to finish your restoration as your mother intended. Your mother took great care to give you the chance to have a hand in your own fate. As my dear friend Hepla said, YOU were her greatest treasure. I would honor that. The words of my goddess Eilistraee hold true for you as much as for my own people.... ‘A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the sunlight. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again.’ Our high priest Lareth was a human priest who served Lloth herself, and he found a different path. Know if ever you chose to fight this ‘nature’ and continue the healing your mother started you have but to ask and I or Lareth will help you. You will have sanctuary in my domain.”
Isilme holds about 10’ in front of Drelnza, who has yet to respond. “If you leave the influence of this dark place perhaps you may retain the humanity she restored to you. Even I feel the cold chill of its despair at my back."
Drelnza sighs, shaking her head. “I am done here,” she says. “However, I will tell you what you need to know before I leave. It is the least I can do.”
"Years ago an Oeridian archmage named Tsojcanth rose to power. Tsojcanth was a student of great magic and a protector of the mortal realm. For many lifetimes, Tsojcanth defended Oerth from incursion and assault. He battled the minions of the demon princes, Orcus and Graz’zt, and even slew a wielder of the horrific Hand of Vecna. Yet these battles exhausted him, and the time came when even the great Tsojcanth knew he must pass on. Legend says that he made his final rest in these caverns beneath the mountains.
And then a young depraved witch named Iggwilv found her way here. Until this time, my mother had dwelt in the city of Greyhawk, apprenticed to the mad wizard Zagig Yragerne. She learned much at his side, including the secrets of demon lore. Together, using their mightiest spells, they bound the demon prince Fraz-Urb’luu. Hungry for greater power and determined to repeat such a feat on her own, Iggwilv questioned the imprisoned archfiend outside the presence of her master, and she learned much of the ways of the Abyss.
Absconding with many of Zagig’s artifacts and writings—including the Tome of Zyx, which would one day form the foundation of the dread Demonomicon. Iggwilv traveled to what was thought to be the last resting place of Tsojcanth, the peak that would one day bear her name. Accompanied by an array of humanoid and fiendish minions, she made her way to the center of the inner complex, hungry for the knowledge she believed it would contain.
To her dismay, she found no books of spells and no ancient artifacts. She did, however, sense the planar energy that flowed through the mountain like an unseen current, and the potential was not lost on her. She used her own dark magics to bring life back to Tsjocanth, enslaving him to do her bidding. From him she learned many secrets and began to experiment with means to tap into the energy of the Planes themselves.
As the decades passed, her interaction with Tsojcanth became a twisted game. She could command his general obedience, but not acquiescence to her every demand. She baited him and challenged him with questions, and he tested the limits of her control. One day, however, the witch’s interest in her slave suddenly waned, for she had unearthed a greater prize. Somehow, Iggwilv had learned the true name of the demon prince Graz’zt, and she summoned him forth.
If the archmage’s struggle for dominance over Tsojcanth had been mighty, her war of wills with Graz’zt was titanic. Many of Iggwilv’s minions were slain, much of her magic hoard and mystic writings destroyed. In the end, however, her depth of demonological knowledge and her arcane power were sufficient to defeat even so mighty a being as Graz’zt. The archfiend was humbled before her, a demon prince laid so low as to be slave to a mere mortal.
This, then, was the height of Iggwilv’s reign. She became undisputed master of the region surrounding what was now known as Iggwilv’s Horn. Neighboring lands, such as Ket and Perrenland, sent forces against her, and she obliterated them. Iggwilv and Graz’zt became lovers, and the witch gave birth to a half-blooded son she dubbed Iuz. To her slave Tsojcanth, Iggwilv assigned a less pleasant fate. Unwilling to risk dividing her attention between the two great demons, she confined Tsojcanth to the nearby caverns. There he was tasked with overseeing her lesser minions and forgotten experiments, allowed out only when she required him to perform a specific task. During this time, Tsjocanth worked to overcome his master by opening a more permanent rift to the Abyss, to slowly empower Graz'zt with the strength to resist and ultimately defeat Iggwilv.
Had circumstances remained thus, Iggwilv might well have conquered the entire region, perhaps even major portions of Oerth. Eventually, however,Iggwilv realized that the flow of Abyssal energy from the depths of the mountain was increasing, and formerly healthy areas had grown severely tainted. The darkness Tsjocanth had released through her various summonings and experimentations had grown strong and threatened to tear a rift between Oerth and the Abyss. Already, several uncontrolled demons had slipped through, riding the waves of chaotic magic.
Iggwilv knew she must close the leak. She hardly cared for the well-being of the world around her, but the notion of an influx of demons over which she had no control disturbed her. None of her magic proved able to seal the gap, however. Finally, after discussion with Graz’zt, Iggwilv determined that the only way to stem the Abyssal flow into Oerth was to trap a great source of power and magic in the rift, anchored to the Material Plane.
In this, the great mistress of demons was deceived. Graz’zt, despite his carnal relations with his mistress, had never accepted his lot as a mortal’s slave. Where he could have elucidated other ways to seal the rift, he instead fed to Iggwilv the one that might win him freedom. Graz’zt knew that only he and Tsojcanth had the power to serve as a living barrier. He knew that Iggwilv would not sacrifice him. She would have to sacrifice Tsjocanth, imprisoning him permanently as a plug between worlds.
And thus was Tsjocanth used to seal the rift between the worlds; however, in this Iggwilv was deceived. Tsjocanth indeed kept the rift closed, using his own magic and energy to block those coming from the other side. The taint, however, could not be stopped. It continued to seep through, quietly, almost imperceptibly, and Graz'zt gathered this taint, the energy of his own Abyssal Realm, Azzagrat. He gathered this energy and bided his time, waiting.
It was some time after this that Iuz used his vampiric ally to control Drelnza and set her on the path to freeing Tsjocanth. This led directly to the confrontation during which Graz'zt gained his freedom. Iggwilv, weakened terribly by the conflict fled to places unknown, and Tsjocanth was left, trapped in the rift between worlds."
“If Tsojcanth is the plug between planes,” asks Hepla, “would not removing or destroying him leave the rift open? I don't understand how the rift would be closed.”
“He was trapped in the rift during the battle with my mother,” she replies. “By either freeing him or destroying him, the rift will close. His presence in it is what WAS keeping it blocked, but now it is keeping it open.”
"Ugh." Manny's eyes flicker open. "Seems I missed the most exciting part. The dwarves are here. Good. Mistress Drelnza. I hope you have recovered your control. Dimensional rifts that are not being forced open tend to close. That is why summoning elementals does not open a permanent rift. That explains a lot. How twisted has Tsojcanth become, stuck in a Rift to the Abyss for over a hundred years?"
"There is no telling," she says. "He was a powerful sorcerer in his own..." She is interrupted as suddenly the entire mountain rocks as a great boom sounds from deeper within.
"That came from the lab," says Drelnza, her worried look showing even a little fear.
[Isilme OOC: What? You thought Ragnar was actually going to let us rest?]
Drelnza turns back, fear etched on her face replaced by anger. "What have you done?" she says.
"I suspect that was Iuz's followers taking the direct path," says Manny. "I also imagine their goal is to take the book, widen the Rift and enslave Tsojcanth. Or let Iuz do so. I would figure that Iuz will welcome a way to bring an army of demons through into this plane. Which means the taint would be far, far worse."
After the crashing from the lab, the party makes all haste to get there. The lab is NOT across the bridge. The lab is reached by going to the bottom of the retriever pit. Hepla says she will scout it out, but Emyn stops her.
“No you won’t,” he says sternly, “and frankly you should not be here. Putting yourself in danger is one thing, but our child?” The others nod in agreement, though nobody says anything. A long uncomfortable silence reigns, broken finally by Isilme.
“I will look,” she says. She hands a potion of healing to Hepla. “For you and your baby,” she says before flying off. "Take care Lady Helpa - we must protect your child. Despite our lack of spell energy perhaps a stone skin spell is prudent?"
“What is more prudent is that she stay behind,” says Gotrek, “and you will, girl!” His stance shows there will be no argument this time. “Gilhak and the Azcral will guard the pillar with Hepla as the big gun. The area fills with fog when the pillar is used, so you can't be surprised. If anyone comes through, Hepla drops fireballs on them and the dwarves charge. Meanwhile, we finish this!”
Isilme flies to Hepla and with a look of deep and heartfelt sadness she has never displayed, presses the ring of regeneration into her hand. "Wear this for now, it will ensure you and your child survive........I don't do this for you but your child.” Before Hepla can thank her, Isilme continues in a scolding tone. “You should be ashamed of yourself. YOUR decisions have lead to the dire situation your child is in. No doubt this will lead to my demise as well. I hope for your child's sake, YOU GROW THE HELL UP AND TAKE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES SERIOUSLY."
She turns her back on her friend cursing in drow, then flies off. Hepla, embarrassed by Isilme's words, but understanding the truth of them says nothing. She stays back with the dwarves, and when Emyn offers to stay she forces a smile. "I am safe with them," she says. "Go, help our friends."
Returning to the retriever pit, Sir Godwynn and Isilme fly across it, investigating the size, while Thorgrim and Gotrek move around the right. The rest prepare to go down to the bottom. The chamber turns out to be pretty big, nearly 200' across. As Berenn gets his rope set, Thorgrim and Gotrek find a passage leading north from the upper ledge. Some 20 feet off the north wall of the main cave is an ovalshaped side cavern, roughly 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Dominating the center of the area is a large circle of debris, piled 2 or 3 feet high, composed of numerous branches, small rocks, and other miscellaneous materials. The stench of decay hangs in the air. Emyn pokes around, and among the offal, he finds the following: 9 gemstones (3 rubies, 3 diamonds, 1 emeralds, and 1 black pearl) totaling 1,800gp in value; two ivory scroll tubes, and a beautifully worked short sword. This takes 10 minutes to find. Meanwhile.....
Sir Godwyn, Berenn, and Noot quickly join Drelnza at the bottom. Sir Godwynn tries to detect evil. He senses something down that passage, something that makes his hair stand up. It is at that point that he realizes that he was not feeling the taint. He checks he arms and notes that they are not itching anymore. The taint is gone!
"Then the rift must be closed," says Drelnza. "That means Tsjocanth has been killed," and she looks at Sir Godwynn with a mixture of uncertainty and trepidation, "or freed."
Gotrek joins them and grunts. Looks up and around. His arms bulge like rippling snakes, as he tightens his grip on Goreblade. "Well then." He looks at Thorgrim. "What next?"
"If possible, one of you stay right here so my scout report can reach you on the whispering winds," says Isilme. She then drinks the rest of her potion of invisibility and flies over to scout out what has happened stealthily. As she does, everyone else descends.
As Emyn, Berenn, and Manny are descending to the bottom, an invisible figure cloaked in faerie fire erupts from the passage, flying away as fast as possible!
Sir Godwyn, still benefitting from the Fly spell, launches into the air and attacks the glowing form with his morning star. "Slow down...I won't hurt you...much."
The flier goes straight up the pit, and he follows after. Just starting to descend, Manny sees what it happening below. He quickly takes out his potion of flying, drinking it as the figure flies by, entering the passage back towards the throne room and flying as fast as possible. It is far down the passage when Berenn is able to cast his Dispel Magic. The faerie fire disappears, but the figure is so far away by that time, that it is out of infravision range. You cannot tell if the invisibility or fly were negated. Neither he nor Manny can see that far.
Noot paces back and forth waiting for Isilme. He keeps poking into corners and holes and anything else he sees. He finds the remains of more than a few bodies, and he sees something under some bones. When he examines it, he finds it is a small crystal lens.
He gingerly picks up the lens and takes a look. It's a thin yellow topaz lens. Looking through it doesn't do anything.
"Maybe it's part of Daoud’s Wonderous Lanthorn,” says Elrae. “Take it and let's move on. The Necrocomiccon should be close by."
Noot puts it away for later investigation.
Meanwhile. Berenn and Manny run down the passage after the flier. Suddenly they find it completely blocked by webbing! You hear a woman's voice laughing from beyond the webs. Berenn draws Bonefire, lights it, and burns the webs away.
The two continue following until they reach Hepla and the dwarves. They are lying in wait near the pillar at the far end of the entry cavern. The area suddenly begins to fill up with mist, the telltale sign that somebody has activated the pillar. Hepla stands ready to launch fireballs into the area from her staff.
"Hepla hit the mist,” cries Berenn. “Something is trying to leave here!"
Hepla fires a fireball from her staff. It enters the mist, which then suddenly vanishes along with the fireball!
[DM OOC: The mist appears when you activate the pillar. It fills the immediate area, just like Hepala's teleportation which you guys have used before. It must be some kind of high-level witch spell. Anyway, it only takes 1 minute, then the teleportation happens. So, there wasn't any more time. Hepla thought somebody was coming through, and was ready to hit them when they did. It was only when Berenn shouted at her that she fired her fireball. The teleportation happened before the fireball could explode, so it most likely exploded on the other side.]
In the mean time, Isilme returns through the passage and reports to the others. Everyone is synced up again!
Isilme continued along, following the hallway of smooth, worked stone. A dim red light pervades the area. There are a couple of doors finally towards each side, and the passage opens to a very large area ahead. She hears something crashing, breaking within that area. She moves forward enough to see.
The hallway opens into a massive, oval-shaped chamber measuring some 60 feet deep, and close to 90 feet wide. The ceiling, too, expands in this area, rising domelike over the chamber to a height of some 30 feet at its apex. On the floor, radiating outward from the center of the room, is a 25-foot diameter circle, etched into the worked stone. Various arcane sigils are visible along the circle’s perimeter and burned into the circle itself. Two smaller circles, 10 feet in diameter, rest on either side of the middle circle, the edges of which begin about 20 feet from the perimeter of the central circle. A few scattered tables sit pressed against the chamber walls, and a long oaken altar stands north of the central summoning circle.
It turns around while Isilme is watching, and she sees it for the first time:
After the crashing from the lab, the party makes all haste to get there. The lab is NOT across the bridge. The lab is reached by going to the bottom of the retriever pit. Hepla says she will scout it out, but Emyn stops her.
“No you won’t,” he says sternly, “and frankly you should not be here. Putting yourself in danger is one thing, but our child?” The others nod in agreement, though nobody says anything. A long uncomfortable silence reigns, broken finally by Isilme.
“I will look,” she says. She hands a potion of healing to Hepla. “For you and your baby,” she says before flying off. "Take care Lady Helpa - we must protect your child. Despite our lack of spell energy perhaps a stone skin spell is prudent?"
“What is more prudent is that she stay behind,” says Gotrek, “and you will, girl!” His stance shows there will be no argument this time. “Gilhak and the Azcral will guard the pillar with Hepla as the big gun. The area fills with fog when the pillar is used, so you can't be surprised. If anyone comes through, Hepla drops fireballs on them and the dwarves charge. Meanwhile, we finish this!”
Isilme flies to Hepla and with a look of deep and heartfelt sadness she has never displayed, presses the ring of regeneration into her hand. "Wear this for now, it will ensure you and your child survive........I don't do this for you but your child.” Before Hepla can thank her, Isilme continues in a scolding tone. “You should be ashamed of yourself. YOUR decisions have lead to the dire situation your child is in. No doubt this will lead to my demise as well. I hope for your child's sake, YOU GROW THE HELL UP AND TAKE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES SERIOUSLY."
She turns her back on her friend cursing in drow, then flies off. Hepla, embarrassed by Isilme's words, but understanding the truth of them says nothing. She stays back with the dwarves, and when Emyn offers to stay she forces a smile. "I am safe with them," she says. "Go, help our friends."
Returning to the retriever pit, Sir Godwynn and Isilme fly across it, investigating the size, while Thorgrim and Gotrek move around the right. The rest prepare to go down to the bottom. The chamber turns out to be pretty big, nearly 200' across. As Berenn gets his rope set, Thorgrim and Gotrek find a passage leading north from the upper ledge. Some 20 feet off the north wall of the main cave is an ovalshaped side cavern, roughly 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Dominating the center of the area is a large circle of debris, piled 2 or 3 feet high, composed of numerous branches, small rocks, and other miscellaneous materials. The stench of decay hangs in the air. Emyn pokes around, and among the offal, he finds the following: 9 gemstones (3 rubies, 3 diamonds, 1 emeralds, and 1 black pearl) totaling 1,800gp in value; two ivory scroll tubes, and a beautifully worked short sword. This takes 10 minutes to find. Meanwhile.....
Sir Godwyn, Berenn, and Noot quickly join Drelnza at the bottom. Sir Godwynn tries to detect evil. He senses something down that passage, something that makes his hair stand up. It is at that point that he realizes that he was not feeling the taint. He checks he arms and notes that they are not itching anymore. The taint is gone!
"Then the rift must be closed," says Drelnza. "That means Tsjocanth has been killed," and she looks at Sir Godwynn with a mixture of uncertainty and trepidation, "or freed."
Gotrek joins them and grunts. Looks up and around. His arms bulge like rippling snakes, as he tightens his grip on Goreblade. "Well then." He looks at Thorgrim. "What next?"
"If possible, one of you stay right here so my scout report can reach you on the whispering winds," says Isilme. She then drinks the rest of her potion of invisibility and flies over to scout out what has happened stealthily. As she does, everyone else descends.
As Emyn, Berenn, and Manny are descending to the bottom, an invisible figure cloaked in faerie fire erupts from the passage, flying away as fast as possible!
Sir Godwyn, still benefitting from the Fly spell, launches into the air and attacks the glowing form with his morning star. "Slow down...I won't hurt you...much."
The flier goes straight up the pit, and he follows after. Just starting to descend, Manny sees what it happening below. He quickly takes out his potion of flying, drinking it as the figure flies by, entering the passage back towards the throne room and flying as fast as possible. It is far down the passage when Berenn is able to cast his Dispel Magic. The faerie fire disappears, but the figure is so far away by that time, that it is out of infravision range. You cannot tell if the invisibility or fly were negated. Neither he nor Manny can see that far.
Noot paces back and forth waiting for Isilme. He keeps poking into corners and holes and anything else he sees. He finds the remains of more than a few bodies, and he sees something under some bones. When he examines it, he finds it is a small crystal lens.
He gingerly picks up the lens and takes a look. It's a thin yellow topaz lens. Looking through it doesn't do anything.
"Maybe it's part of Daoud’s Wonderous Lanthorn,” says Elrae. “Take it and let's move on. The Necrocomiccon should be close by."
Noot puts it away for later investigation.
Meanwhile. Berenn and Manny run down the passage after the flier. Suddenly they find it completely blocked by webbing! You hear a woman's voice laughing from beyond the webs. Berenn draws Bonefire, lights it, and burns the webs away.
The two continue following until they reach Hepla and the dwarves. They are lying in wait near the pillar at the far end of the entry cavern. The area suddenly begins to fill up with mist, the telltale sign that somebody has activated the pillar. Hepla stands ready to launch fireballs into the area from her staff.
"Hepla hit the mist,” cries Berenn. “Something is trying to leave here!"
Hepla fires a fireball from her staff. It enters the mist, which then suddenly vanishes along with the fireball!
[DM OOC: The mist appears when you activate the pillar. It fills the immediate area, just like Hepala's teleportation which you guys have used before. It must be some kind of high-level witch spell. Anyway, it only takes 1 minute, then the teleportation happens. So, there wasn't any more time. Hepla thought somebody was coming through, and was ready to hit them when they did. It was only when Berenn shouted at her that she fired her fireball. The teleportation happened before the fireball could explode, so it most likely exploded on the other side.]
In the mean time, Isilme returns through the passage and reports to the others. Everyone is synced up again!
Isilme continued along, following the hallway of smooth, worked stone. A dim red light pervades the area. There are a couple of doors finally towards each side, and the passage opens to a very large area ahead. She hears something crashing, breaking within that area. She moves forward enough to see.
The hallway opens into a massive, oval-shaped chamber measuring some 60 feet deep, and close to 90 feet wide. The ceiling, too, expands in this area, rising domelike over the chamber to a height of some 30 feet at its apex. On the floor, radiating outward from the center of the room, is a 25-foot diameter circle, etched into the worked stone. Various arcane sigils are visible along the circle’s perimeter and burned into the circle itself. Two smaller circles, 10 feet in diameter, rest on either side of the middle circle, the edges of which begin about 20 feet from the perimeter of the central circle. A few scattered tables sit pressed against the chamber walls, and a long oaken altar stands north of the central summoning circle.
It turns around while Isilme is watching, and she sees it for the first time:
"I was the one who caused this, years ago," says Drelnza. "I shall stop Tsjocanth. You should make your escape." She draws her sword and prepares to enter the passage.
Emyn, who has by now descended, says, "Let's go back to the others. Thank you, Milady. We should try and escape this place. "
"I will join you,” says the invisible Isilme. “This is something that should not be done alone."
Drelnza seems surprised by Isilme's comment. She then turns to the passage. "Let's go," she says, and she starts to walk, grimly, into the darkness.
“Let’s go find the Necronomicon,” says Elrae. “Now, what was that phrase…?”
Noot's going along. He wants to see that book destroyed too.
[DM OOC: So, just to be sure and to avoid issues, I'm making a list.
At the pillar:
Berenn: teleporting after the fleeing woman
Hepla: staying back with the dwarves to guard the pillar
Manny:
At the bottom of the retriever pit:
Isilme: joining Drelnza in facing Tsjocanth
Thorgrim:
Gotrek: He's been itching for a fight, so what do you think? Not a question!
Noot: Joining Drelnza
Elrae: quote: "Elrae will push forward and try to stop the evil or die trying"
Emyn:
Sir Godwynn: joining]
Seeing a thief, bard, drow, and vampire willing to face evil or die trying, how can Sir Godwynn not? He draws his blade, drives it into the ground, and says a prayer to Rao, repeating his knightly oath.
“Be without fear in the face of your enemies.
Be brave and upright that the Gods may love thee.
Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death.
Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong – that is your oath.”
He then stands, straighter and taller than before, girded in the knowledge that he fights for right. He turns to the others. "Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness. That is what we stand for. What Rao desires is here," and he points to head, "and here," again he points, this time to his heart, "and what you decide to do now and every day, that is what determines if you will be a good man – or not.”
"Emyn the rift has been sealed,” says Isilme. “If you decide to follow, see if you can summon your avengers to help us now. If you can that opens up some options for us."
Isilme follows Drelnza and surges ahead "Your willingness to sacrifice for my friends will not be forgotten. Let me slip in and attempt to slow the beast down, then silence him as we attack."
Emyn prays to Trithereon for aid and then says, "I will not let you or my friends down. I am still your sworn knight-protector, Isilme...and your friend."
He draws his bastard sword and readies his shield as he moves forward with the others. He says, "Godwynn, use the morning star."
He waits, but nothing answers his summons.
Isilme laughs. “I guess the good news is, if we can't gate help in, the demon can't gate in buddies or teleport out.”
“Aye,” says Gotrek. “To the death it be then.”
The party basically then just charges in!
Tsjocanth turns around as he hears the others charging him. Sir Godwynn leads the way, and his Protection from Evil protects him for any attacks. He then bashes Tsjocanth for [5]. Isilme follows that up with a silence spell on herself, making the area beneath her quiet. She uses her flight to stay right above and behind Tsjocanth, keeping him in the silence so he cannot cast spells.
Gotrek has his singing cut off when he charges, but it doesn't bother him too much as he slashes Tsjocanth with Goreblade [14]. Emyn charges next to him, but he misses. [DM OOC: He would have fumbled and hit Gotrek, if not for his Deck of Many Things benefit about hitting friends.] Finally, Elrae charges as well, and he is hit with one of Tsjocanth's clawed hands which does nothing due to the stoneskin. Elrae's attack misses.
Noot moves around behind him, invisible still, and Thorgrim moves into the chamber, ready to cast a spell, but now having the way blocked by allies.
Drelnza then moves over to Tsjocanth's flank, staying back out of the way, and waits, watching.
Tsjocanth attacks Sir Godwynn, hitting with both hands which then stretch around his neck, wrapping it tightly and squeezing. He takes [13 and 13; 26 total] It begins constricting his neck, sqeezing with other-worldly might. Further, his tail lashes out at Emyn, missing, while his tongue whips forth, lashing Gotrek's face for [4] as his acidic saliva burns the angry dwarf.
So, everyone except Thorgrim and Noot are in silence. That means no talking between you. Noot is positioned for a backstab. Sir Godwynn is constricted by the two clawed hands.
Noot moves up and backstabs Tsjocanth, driving Blackknife deep between his shoulder blades [20]. He screams in pain [silently!] as he continues to choke Sir Godwynn. The doughty paladin hangs right on the edge of consciousness, looking like he going to pass out, but doggedly holding on. Emyn slashes at Tsjocanth's arm, cutting it [10] and forcing him to let go of Sir Godwynn, who stumbles backs, barely maintaining his feet.
Tsjocanth's tail whips around, stabbing right into Noot's chest [4]. Noot's eyes glaze over, and he topples backwards to the ground, his body convulsing with seizures.
Gotrek takes another [3] damage from the acid, but he just ignores it, as well as the second tongue lash which does [3] more. Meanwhile, Tsjocanth attacks Emyn, hitting him twice [14 and 10: total 24]. Emyn is caught in Tsjocanth's grasp, and without a good breath, he is quickly rendered unconscious.
Sir Godwynn steps right back up and hits Tsjocanth in the head [10], and he releases Emyn. Sneering at the paladin, he drops Emyn limply to the ground and turns towards Sir Godwynn as Goreblade rips a chunk from his side [18]. Elrae then swings again with Snowfang, missing. Sir Godwynn hits a second time [7] but Gotrek misses.
Drelnza then moves quickly, quicker than any can follow, and drives her bastard sword into Tsjocanth's side [14].
Maerthorlaer sends a wave of revulsion through her as it senses the pure evil in Tsjcanth...she mentally nudges her old friend in response "Understood!" Isilme flies down and attacks, silver streamers of holy energy flowing behind her strike. She slashes Tsjocanth across the back of the neck [17].
Gotrek attacks, but misses, and Sir Godwynn misses with his mace. Drelnza hits again wtih her sword [15].
Tsjocanth's tail whips up, stabbing into Isilme. It too would have hit, but it bounces off her Stoneskin.
Tsjocanth the tongue-lashes Gotrek again, dealing another [4, plus his face burns again for 4; total 8]. The attacks with its hands against Gotrek both hit, doing [15 and 16; total 31]. It grips him tightly, quickly sqeezing the life out of Gotrek when Elrae comes through with a surprise slash from Snowfang [12]. The soundless scream of pain shows that Tsjocanth is feeling the blows, and it lets go of Gotrek, turning on Elrae.
Thorgrim then charges from the flank, a cry to Clanggedin echoing through the chamber before being cut off by the silence. He slams Souldrinker into Tsjocanth's side, plunging the pick deep into his side [23]. With a soundless scream, Tsjocanth drops to his knees, and Isilme finishes the fight with a final slash, lopping the ancient, twisted sorcerer's head from his misshapen body.
The head rolls forward, and Gotrek bring Goreblade down on it, splitting it in two ghastly halves, burying the axe deep into the floor.
"His misery is ended," Thorgrim says, then stops because no one can hear him. He tends to Noot, who he finds is dead.
[Noot OOC: 4hp damage and dead?]
[DM OOC: Poison! You could have used anti-poison such spells BEFORE the onset time, which was one round. It was supposed to be immediate, but I gave you guys the one round to act. Nobody did. So Noot died. Once that occurs, Slow/N. Poison doesn't work. He’s dead Jim.]
[Thorgrim OOC: Drat! I considered having Thorgrim immediately rush to Noot's aid...but I reasoned it thus: based on the rules we're playing by, Thorgrim could make a half-move and attack, then Hold Poison the next round, OR Thorgrim could make a half-move, then Hold Poison the next round: the exact same timeliness, though I've a feeling the DM might have given some leeway the other way. Indeed, he just said so. Noot was killed by meta-gaming! Sorry.]
[Hepla OOC: An appeal to the kindly nature of our DM. Since it appears no one could get to Noot with a spell, or anything, that would have saved him, can you not grant him an extra time where his life could be saved by the action of a character?]
[DM OOC: No. It is what it is. I already give you guys far more breaks than you deserve. That stinger was equal to a quasit stinger. " In addition to inflicting 1-4 points of damage, this stinger injects a powerful poison which is so deadly that those who fail their save versus poison are instantly slain by it. " I gave him one extra round, because I am nice. Two players could have helped, but neither did. It's not a knock on them; they were fighting a tough creature. It happens.]
[Noot OOC: You check on Noot and find his will. He leaves all his stuff to the orphanage in Hommlet. Please don't leave his body in this evil place. Noot did very well for a thief with no magic.]
[DM OOC: Yes, nobody had worse luck with magic than Noot. It's possible that the party can bring him back somehow, so I won't make the hasty move of moving his characters sheet quite yet!]
Emyn looks the Drelnza and asks, "Do you have a way to return him to life? Our spells are largely expended."
“Not the life he would want,” she says.
[Emyn OOC: That isn't really an option.] Emyn wipes a tear from his eye and says, "Fear not, Dragonslayer. You will return to us. Let us gather what we can of worth here and return to our friends. Maybe Berenn or Isilme might have a way to return him to us."
"We have defeated a great evil here today - but paid a grim and terrible price. I didn't know hm well, Noot was one of few words, but he died heroically in the struggle against the forces of darkness."
Isilme then passes out the dozen potions of healing she had brought back from Hommlet.
Emyn says a short prayer to Trithereon for Tsjocanth's and Noot's souls and intones, "Let us return to the gate. Our work here is done. Now it is time to aid our friends."
Gotrek grunts for his fallen comrade. "Rest well, my friend." He then carefully picks up the body and places it reverently in Thorgrim’s portable hole.
Elrae's eyes swell up looking at his fallen comrade. "You deserved better my friend. I shall write the most epic ballad for you. No one will forget Noot."
Everything in the large summoning lab is destroyed. The great circle in the middle is where Tsjocanth was held, as Drelnza relates. There's nothing remaining in here that you can see that isn't destroyed.
I'll just read the description, and you can assume that some of the info comes from Drelnza.
Iggwilv conducted the bulk of her experiments here. The massive workspace is largely bare now except for a few tables and empty basins, and of course, the three summoning circles etched permanently into the worked stone floor. Iggwilv cleaned the area of any residual impurities, magical or mundane, so the chamber gives off a strangely sterile feel. From the altar, Iggwilv conducted the laboratory’s affairs, whether chanting before the circles or commanding her servitors. Rising from the top of the altar is an onyx lectern, where one might place a book. There is nothing upon it.
Isilme doesn't detect any magic within the chamber. The other doors only open to cells, and they are all empty. One had a really, nasty golem in it, but that's dumb, so I'll ignore it. They are all empty. You can return to the pillar now, as you've pretty much exhausted everything else. There you find Hepla and Berenn, who can fill you in on what happened above. Manny is not there.
Almost immediately after they left, the mist begins to appear again around the pillar down below that Hepla and the dwarves are guarding. She flies to a different angle and shoots another fireball into the mist as it is about to disappear. She also says to the dwarves, "Be ready to fight this time, these guys may be sending in someone who is fireproof."
The fireball explodes into the mist, just as Berenn and 4 zombies appear. Berenn does not make his save, and he takes 54! All four zombies are destroyed. You notice that Berenn is standing still, clearly held by some kind of spell or paralysis, with tendrils of smoke rising from him and his possessions.
[DM OOC: The following equipment is destroyed by Hepla's fireball:
Quiver of arrows burns, along with 7 normal arrows and 2 +1. [He still has 3 normal, 5 +1, and the 1 Arrow of Red Dragon Slaying]
Cloak of Elvenkind
Dragon Scale Gloves
Backpack
Scroll of Produce Fire
Potions: Double Vision
2 Vials Holy Water (3 left)
Tent (tied to pack)
100' spider silk rope (tied to pack)]
Actually, there are another 22 zombie corpses too, as they all teleported with the mists. So there are now 26 burning corpses on the ground around the pillar!
"Sorry," she says. She looks at Berenn to see if he is held or paralized. He is clearly held or paralyzed. "Damnit!” she swears, as she dispels the Hold Person on Berenn. He awakens from the hold, but collapses, suffering terrible burns [He is down to 4hp]. Hepla uses her witchy curative magic, as well as some herbs for burns. “They have the frickin' book!” gasps Berenn as she helps him. “And the whole crew is just waiting on the other side! We were totally surrounded, then…” his voice trails off. He looks around. “Where’s Manny?”
“I do not know,” she says, offering him a potion of healing. “He did not return with you.”
Berenn will drink the potion offered by Hepla and his own. "We should find the others and tell them what awaits us on the other side of the pillar."
In time, the rest return.
"Tsojcanth is dead but at a great price,” says Emyn. “Our friend Noot is no more."
Hepla says, "I hope you have his body, last time he died mom reincardnated him. Maybe, just maybe she can do it again."
"He probably won't be the last one to die this day,” says Berenn ruefully. “The main part of the Iuzians wait on the other side of the pillar. The female mage has the book and had Manny not acted swiftly, I would already be dead." He looks at his charred gear. "Of course, Hepla fireballing me as I came back through the portal almost finished what the Iuzians started. If there is another exit from this place, I suggest we use it."
Drelnza tells you that you can take a shaft up. It's a perfectly round shaft, created by the beholder in the ceiling of the entrance cave, about 100' up. She's never been in his areas, so she cannot tell you how or exactly where it goes, though she knows where some other exits are. So, that's obviously risky. There is also the chasm which cuts through the Hollow, where she fought with you before. The far side of that chasm cuts across other tunnels, but again, there's no telling where they lead.... Other than that, the only way back out is through the teleportation pillars.
The party quickly settles on the tunnels. “We can't let Iuz get the Necronomicon or all of this is for naught,” says Elrae.
"Mm!" Thorgrim grunts. "Like as not. Though I fear he's beyond recall. Another of us falls." Thorgrim's brows furrow into a knot, and a darkness seems to cross his features. "Isilme? Lanthorn in the Hole? Its rays could do what good they may while we do our work."
Thorgrim turns back to Elrae. "The Necronomicon would surely unleash great evil, I agree," he says. "But this could only be accomplished after rest, and our enemies would be likewise revitalized. Perhaps using Manny's Scepter--oh! That's probably what he's using as we speak! Still, I'd not abandon another to this deathly place."
“The lanthorn is already on its way to Canon Hazen,” she says. Isilme flies up to the top, to check out the beholder hole. It is just like the one you saw atop the mountain, in the chamber with the waterfall. It is perfectly circular, carved by the beholder's disintegrate ray. There is nothing to tie a rope to, nothing to grab for climbing, nothing. Only by flying can you navigate the beholder tunnel.
“We must find another way,” she says.
Drelnza then leaves, flying up through the beholder hole. There's only one other way out of the chasm, and that is the difficult, narrow passage to the west. When this chasm was created, it bisected another cave system, and that is where you are going. It is tough going, but you can do it.
Isilme takes another sip of her invisibility potion and scouts ahead. She stays ahead of the party, and returns to them after about an hour of scouting. There are multiple ways to go, and no indication as to which may or may not lead out.
I am not mapping this because, frankly, it's not really mapable to you guys. Thorgrim can mark passages so you can find your way back, if needed.
"I was the one who caused this, years ago," says Drelnza. "I shall stop Tsjocanth. You should make your escape." She draws her sword and prepares to enter the passage.
Emyn, who has by now descended, says, "Let's go back to the others. Thank you, Milady. We should try and escape this place. "
"I will join you,” says the invisible Isilme. “This is something that should not be done alone."
Drelnza seems surprised by Isilme's comment. She then turns to the passage. "Let's go," she says, and she starts to walk, grimly, into the darkness.
“Let’s go find the Necronomicon,” says Elrae. “Now, what was that phrase…?”
Noot's going along. He wants to see that book destroyed too.
[DM OOC: So, just to be sure and to avoid issues, I'm making a list.
At the pillar:
Berenn: teleporting after the fleeing woman
Hepla: staying back with the dwarves to guard the pillar
Manny:
At the bottom of the retriever pit:
Isilme: joining Drelnza in facing Tsjocanth
Thorgrim:
Gotrek: He's been itching for a fight, so what do you think? Not a question!
Noot: Joining Drelnza
Elrae: quote: "Elrae will push forward and try to stop the evil or die trying"
Emyn:
Sir Godwynn: joining]
Seeing a thief, bard, drow, and vampire willing to face evil or die trying, how can Sir Godwynn not? He draws his blade, drives it into the ground, and says a prayer to Rao, repeating his knightly oath.
“Be without fear in the face of your enemies.
Be brave and upright that the Gods may love thee.
Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death.
Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong – that is your oath.”
He then stands, straighter and taller than before, girded in the knowledge that he fights for right. He turns to the others. "Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness. That is what we stand for. What Rao desires is here," and he points to head, "and here," again he points, this time to his heart, "and what you decide to do now and every day, that is what determines if you will be a good man – or not.”
"Emyn the rift has been sealed,” says Isilme. “If you decide to follow, see if you can summon your avengers to help us now. If you can that opens up some options for us."
Isilme follows Drelnza and surges ahead "Your willingness to sacrifice for my friends will not be forgotten. Let me slip in and attempt to slow the beast down, then silence him as we attack."
Emyn prays to Trithereon for aid and then says, "I will not let you or my friends down. I am still your sworn knight-protector, Isilme...and your friend."
He draws his bastard sword and readies his shield as he moves forward with the others. He says, "Godwynn, use the morning star."
He waits, but nothing answers his summons.
Isilme laughs. “I guess the good news is, if we can't gate help in, the demon can't gate in buddies or teleport out.”
“Aye,” says Gotrek. “To the death it be then.”
The party basically then just charges in!
Tsjocanth turns around as he hears the others charging him. Sir Godwynn leads the way, and his Protection from Evil protects him for any attacks. He then bashes Tsjocanth for [5]. Isilme follows that up with a silence spell on herself, making the area beneath her quiet. She uses her flight to stay right above and behind Tsjocanth, keeping him in the silence so he cannot cast spells.
Gotrek has his singing cut off when he charges, but it doesn't bother him too much as he slashes Tsjocanth with Goreblade [14]. Emyn charges next to him, but he misses. [DM OOC: He would have fumbled and hit Gotrek, if not for his Deck of Many Things benefit about hitting friends.] Finally, Elrae charges as well, and he is hit with one of Tsjocanth's clawed hands which does nothing due to the stoneskin. Elrae's attack misses.
Noot moves around behind him, invisible still, and Thorgrim moves into the chamber, ready to cast a spell, but now having the way blocked by allies.
Drelnza then moves over to Tsjocanth's flank, staying back out of the way, and waits, watching.
Tsjocanth attacks Sir Godwynn, hitting with both hands which then stretch around his neck, wrapping it tightly and squeezing. He takes [13 and 13; 26 total] It begins constricting his neck, sqeezing with other-worldly might. Further, his tail lashes out at Emyn, missing, while his tongue whips forth, lashing Gotrek's face for [4] as his acidic saliva burns the angry dwarf.
So, everyone except Thorgrim and Noot are in silence. That means no talking between you. Noot is positioned for a backstab. Sir Godwynn is constricted by the two clawed hands.
Noot moves up and backstabs Tsjocanth, driving Blackknife deep between his shoulder blades [20]. He screams in pain [silently!] as he continues to choke Sir Godwynn. The doughty paladin hangs right on the edge of consciousness, looking like he going to pass out, but doggedly holding on. Emyn slashes at Tsjocanth's arm, cutting it [10] and forcing him to let go of Sir Godwynn, who stumbles backs, barely maintaining his feet.
Tsjocanth's tail whips around, stabbing right into Noot's chest [4]. Noot's eyes glaze over, and he topples backwards to the ground, his body convulsing with seizures.
Gotrek takes another [3] damage from the acid, but he just ignores it, as well as the second tongue lash which does [3] more. Meanwhile, Tsjocanth attacks Emyn, hitting him twice [14 and 10: total 24]. Emyn is caught in Tsjocanth's grasp, and without a good breath, he is quickly rendered unconscious.
Sir Godwynn steps right back up and hits Tsjocanth in the head [10], and he releases Emyn. Sneering at the paladin, he drops Emyn limply to the ground and turns towards Sir Godwynn as Goreblade rips a chunk from his side [18]. Elrae then swings again with Snowfang, missing. Sir Godwynn hits a second time [7] but Gotrek misses.
Drelnza then moves quickly, quicker than any can follow, and drives her bastard sword into Tsjocanth's side [14].
Maerthorlaer sends a wave of revulsion through her as it senses the pure evil in Tsjcanth...she mentally nudges her old friend in response "Understood!" Isilme flies down and attacks, silver streamers of holy energy flowing behind her strike. She slashes Tsjocanth across the back of the neck [17].
Gotrek attacks, but misses, and Sir Godwynn misses with his mace. Drelnza hits again wtih her sword [15].
Tsjocanth's tail whips up, stabbing into Isilme. It too would have hit, but it bounces off her Stoneskin.
Tsjocanth the tongue-lashes Gotrek again, dealing another [4, plus his face burns again for 4; total 8]. The attacks with its hands against Gotrek both hit, doing [15 and 16; total 31]. It grips him tightly, quickly sqeezing the life out of Gotrek when Elrae comes through with a surprise slash from Snowfang [12]. The soundless scream of pain shows that Tsjocanth is feeling the blows, and it lets go of Gotrek, turning on Elrae.
Thorgrim then charges from the flank, a cry to Clanggedin echoing through the chamber before being cut off by the silence. He slams Souldrinker into Tsjocanth's side, plunging the pick deep into his side [23]. With a soundless scream, Tsjocanth drops to his knees, and Isilme finishes the fight with a final slash, lopping the ancient, twisted sorcerer's head from his misshapen body.
The head rolls forward, and Gotrek bring Goreblade down on it, splitting it in two ghastly halves, burying the axe deep into the floor.
"His misery is ended," Thorgrim says, then stops because no one can hear him. He tends to Noot, who he finds is dead.
[Noot OOC: 4hp damage and dead?]
[DM OOC: Poison! You could have used anti-poison such spells BEFORE the onset time, which was one round. It was supposed to be immediate, but I gave you guys the one round to act. Nobody did. So Noot died. Once that occurs, Slow/N. Poison doesn't work. He’s dead Jim.]
[Thorgrim OOC: Drat! I considered having Thorgrim immediately rush to Noot's aid...but I reasoned it thus: based on the rules we're playing by, Thorgrim could make a half-move and attack, then Hold Poison the next round, OR Thorgrim could make a half-move, then Hold Poison the next round: the exact same timeliness, though I've a feeling the DM might have given some leeway the other way. Indeed, he just said so. Noot was killed by meta-gaming! Sorry.]
[Hepla OOC: An appeal to the kindly nature of our DM. Since it appears no one could get to Noot with a spell, or anything, that would have saved him, can you not grant him an extra time where his life could be saved by the action of a character?]
[DM OOC: No. It is what it is. I already give you guys far more breaks than you deserve. That stinger was equal to a quasit stinger. " In addition to inflicting 1-4 points of damage, this stinger injects a powerful poison which is so deadly that those who fail their save versus poison are instantly slain by it. " I gave him one extra round, because I am nice. Two players could have helped, but neither did. It's not a knock on them; they were fighting a tough creature. It happens.]
[Noot OOC: You check on Noot and find his will. He leaves all his stuff to the orphanage in Hommlet. Please don't leave his body in this evil place. Noot did very well for a thief with no magic.]
[DM OOC: Yes, nobody had worse luck with magic than Noot. It's possible that the party can bring him back somehow, so I won't make the hasty move of moving his characters sheet quite yet!]
Emyn looks the Drelnza and asks, "Do you have a way to return him to life? Our spells are largely expended."
“Not the life he would want,” she says.
[Emyn OOC: That isn't really an option.] Emyn wipes a tear from his eye and says, "Fear not, Dragonslayer. You will return to us. Let us gather what we can of worth here and return to our friends. Maybe Berenn or Isilme might have a way to return him to us."
"We have defeated a great evil here today - but paid a grim and terrible price. I didn't know hm well, Noot was one of few words, but he died heroically in the struggle against the forces of darkness."
Isilme then passes out the dozen potions of healing she had brought back from Hommlet.
Emyn says a short prayer to Trithereon for Tsjocanth's and Noot's souls and intones, "Let us return to the gate. Our work here is done. Now it is time to aid our friends."
Gotrek grunts for his fallen comrade. "Rest well, my friend." He then carefully picks up the body and places it reverently in Thorgrim’s portable hole.
Elrae's eyes swell up looking at his fallen comrade. "You deserved better my friend. I shall write the most epic ballad for you. No one will forget Noot."
Everything in the large summoning lab is destroyed. The great circle in the middle is where Tsjocanth was held, as Drelnza relates. There's nothing remaining in here that you can see that isn't destroyed.
I'll just read the description, and you can assume that some of the info comes from Drelnza.
Iggwilv conducted the bulk of her experiments here. The massive workspace is largely bare now except for a few tables and empty basins, and of course, the three summoning circles etched permanently into the worked stone floor. Iggwilv cleaned the area of any residual impurities, magical or mundane, so the chamber gives off a strangely sterile feel. From the altar, Iggwilv conducted the laboratory’s affairs, whether chanting before the circles or commanding her servitors. Rising from the top of the altar is an onyx lectern, where one might place a book. There is nothing upon it.
Isilme doesn't detect any magic within the chamber. The other doors only open to cells, and they are all empty. One had a really, nasty golem in it, but that's dumb, so I'll ignore it. They are all empty. You can return to the pillar now, as you've pretty much exhausted everything else. There you find Hepla and Berenn, who can fill you in on what happened above. Manny is not there.
Almost immediately after they left, the mist begins to appear again around the pillar down below that Hepla and the dwarves are guarding. She flies to a different angle and shoots another fireball into the mist as it is about to disappear. She also says to the dwarves, "Be ready to fight this time, these guys may be sending in someone who is fireproof."
The fireball explodes into the mist, just as Berenn and 4 zombies appear. Berenn does not make his save, and he takes 54! All four zombies are destroyed. You notice that Berenn is standing still, clearly held by some kind of spell or paralysis, with tendrils of smoke rising from him and his possessions.
[DM OOC: The following equipment is destroyed by Hepla's fireball:
Quiver of arrows burns, along with 7 normal arrows and 2 +1. [He still has 3 normal, 5 +1, and the 1 Arrow of Red Dragon Slaying]
Cloak of Elvenkind
Dragon Scale Gloves
Backpack
Scroll of Produce Fire
Potions: Double Vision
2 Vials Holy Water (3 left)
Tent (tied to pack)
100' spider silk rope (tied to pack)]
Actually, there are another 22 zombie corpses too, as they all teleported with the mists. So there are now 26 burning corpses on the ground around the pillar!
"Sorry," she says. She looks at Berenn to see if he is held or paralized. He is clearly held or paralyzed. "Damnit!” she swears, as she dispels the Hold Person on Berenn. He awakens from the hold, but collapses, suffering terrible burns [He is down to 4hp]. Hepla uses her witchy curative magic, as well as some herbs for burns. “They have the frickin' book!” gasps Berenn as she helps him. “And the whole crew is just waiting on the other side! We were totally surrounded, then…” his voice trails off. He looks around. “Where’s Manny?”
“I do not know,” she says, offering him a potion of healing. “He did not return with you.”
Berenn will drink the potion offered by Hepla and his own. "We should find the others and tell them what awaits us on the other side of the pillar."
In time, the rest return.
"Tsojcanth is dead but at a great price,” says Emyn. “Our friend Noot is no more."
Hepla says, "I hope you have his body, last time he died mom reincardnated him. Maybe, just maybe she can do it again."
"He probably won't be the last one to die this day,” says Berenn ruefully. “The main part of the Iuzians wait on the other side of the pillar. The female mage has the book and had Manny not acted swiftly, I would already be dead." He looks at his charred gear. "Of course, Hepla fireballing me as I came back through the portal almost finished what the Iuzians started. If there is another exit from this place, I suggest we use it."
Drelnza tells you that you can take a shaft up. It's a perfectly round shaft, created by the beholder in the ceiling of the entrance cave, about 100' up. She's never been in his areas, so she cannot tell you how or exactly where it goes, though she knows where some other exits are. So, that's obviously risky. There is also the chasm which cuts through the Hollow, where she fought with you before. The far side of that chasm cuts across other tunnels, but again, there's no telling where they lead.... Other than that, the only way back out is through the teleportation pillars.
The party quickly settles on the tunnels. “We can't let Iuz get the Necronomicon or all of this is for naught,” says Elrae.
"Mm!" Thorgrim grunts. "Like as not. Though I fear he's beyond recall. Another of us falls." Thorgrim's brows furrow into a knot, and a darkness seems to cross his features. "Isilme? Lanthorn in the Hole? Its rays could do what good they may while we do our work."
Thorgrim turns back to Elrae. "The Necronomicon would surely unleash great evil, I agree," he says. "But this could only be accomplished after rest, and our enemies would be likewise revitalized. Perhaps using Manny's Scepter--oh! That's probably what he's using as we speak! Still, I'd not abandon another to this deathly place."
“The lanthorn is already on its way to Canon Hazen,” she says. Isilme flies up to the top, to check out the beholder hole. It is just like the one you saw atop the mountain, in the chamber with the waterfall. It is perfectly circular, carved by the beholder's disintegrate ray. There is nothing to tie a rope to, nothing to grab for climbing, nothing. Only by flying can you navigate the beholder tunnel.
“We must find another way,” she says.
Drelnza then leaves, flying up through the beholder hole. There's only one other way out of the chasm, and that is the difficult, narrow passage to the west. When this chasm was created, it bisected another cave system, and that is where you are going. It is tough going, but you can do it.
Isilme takes another sip of her invisibility potion and scouts ahead. She stays ahead of the party, and returns to them after about an hour of scouting. There are multiple ways to go, and no indication as to which may or may not lead out.
I am not mapping this because, frankly, it's not really mapable to you guys. Thorgrim can mark passages so you can find your way back, if needed.
Meanwhile, while the party continued to confront Tsojcanth, this is what happened beyond the pillar….
Berenn asks Hepla to activate the pillar. “Anyone coming?” he asks.
[Berenn OOC: Since they were supposed to be guarding the pillar and someone slipped right past them. Hopefully the fireball blew up the fleeing party guest. It is really rude to leave a party without saying goodbye.]
Hepla nods, and goes up to the pillar. She places a hand upon it, and the mists begin to form. “I have guard duty,” she says, “so I shall remain here.” The dwarves will remain as well, their duty to guard the gate here.
Berenn nods and casts Detect Invisibility, and Manny casts Invisibility. They then disappear with the mists….
The fog clears, and the two of you appear in the chamber back in the Greater Caverns where the other pillar was. Looking around, you stand amidst the charred and burning remains of dozens of orcs. It looks like about two dozen were fried by the fireball. Many are still burning, and their light casts an eerie glow around the chamber. Beyond them you see a half-dozen more, still standing; they must have been just beyond the radius of the fireball. However, worse than that are the figures just beyond them, further down the passage out of the chamber.
A woman with her back to you turns around. She looks like an elf, and in one hand she has a wand. In her other hand she holds a large, black book.
Beside her is a giant of a man, wearing the black robes of a priest of Iuz over plate armor and wielding a massive two-handed sword. He is slightly burned, and it seems he caught a bit of the fireball. He looks rather upset.
Berenn takes cover behind the pillar and tells Hepla to open the pillar NOW through Farspeaker! Unfortunately, it doesn’t work since Isilme cancelled it after loosing a couple boxes to the Iuzians.
[Berenn OOC: OOC: Awwwwwww *&#$)#!]
Manny touches the pillar. As the mists begin to form, Mechor cries out. "Stop them!"
The archer fires her readied arrow, hitting Berenn [4]. The priest then casts a Hold Person, which causes Berenn to freeze in place. Four zombies move forward through the burning bodies and attack him, all hitting for [5,6,7, and 7: 25 total.
The archer then fires a second shot, this one hitting Berenn [6]. The mist has completely filled the area, as Berenn and the zombies are being transported to the area below.
[DM OOC: Now, it's "possible" that Hepla blasts the mist with fireballs as you return, since that's what she's supposed to do. so, don't say anything as I post there.]
Almost immediately, the mist begins to appear again around the pillar down below that Hepla and the dwarves are guarding. She flies to a different angle and shoots another fireball into the mist as it is about to disappear. She also says to the dwarves, "Be ready to fight this time, these guys may be sending in someone who is fireproof." As expected, she fires a fireball into the mists just as she sees other forms appearing.
The fireball explodes into the mist, just as Berenn and 4 zombies appear. Berenn does not make his save, and he takes 54! All four zombies are destroyed. You notice that Berenn is standing still, clearly held by some kind of spell or paralysis, with tendrils of smoke rising from him and his possessions.
[DM OOC: The following equipment is destroyed by Hepla's fireball:
Quiver of arrows burns, along with 7 normal arrows and 2 +1. [He still has 3 normal, 5 +1, and the 1 Arrow of Red Dragon Slaying]
Cloak of Elvenkind
Dragon Scale Gloves
Backpack
Scroll of Produce Fire
Potions: Double Vision
2 Vials Holy Water (3 left)
Tent (tied to pack)
100' spider silk rope (tied to pack)]
Actually, there are another 22 zombie corpses too, as they all teleported with the mists. So there are now 26 burning corpses on the ground around the pillar!
"Sorry," she says. She looks at Berenn to see if he is held or paralized. He is clearly held or paralyzed. "Damnit!” she swears, as she dispels the Hold Person on Berenn. He awakens from the hold, but collapses, suffering terrible burns [He is down to 4hp]. Hepla uses her witchy curative magic, as well as some herbs for burns. “They have the frickin' book!” gasps Berenn as she helps him. “And the whole crew is just waiting on the other side! We were totally surrounded, then…” his voice trails off. He looks around. “Where’s Manny?”
“I do not know,” she says, offering him a potion of healing. “He did not return with you.”
Berenn will drink the potion offered by Hepla and his own. "We should find the others and tell them what awaits us on the other side of the pillar."
Meanwhile, back on the other side of the pillar….
Manny is able to fly up to the ceiling 20’ above, then across and get out of the mist. Once it clears, the Iuzians are upset.
Melchor rails at the others. “I promise you death,” he says, or a return in undeath if you continue to fail me so!” He then turns his attention to the elf sorceress. “And where have you been?” he asks angrily. His anger builds suddenly as he continues. It is bad enough I do not know what you are doing or where you are, but that Altarius has disappeared as well.” He paused to let his anger set in, and while the rest seem to almost take a step back from him, the elf sorceress does not seem worried. However, in an effort to assuage his ire, she presents the book to Melchor. He snatches it, but then just continues. “And what I really want to know is how to use that damned pillar!” He actually shouts, pointing at the pillar.
Manny stays hidden, listening.
“Only those touched by magic may activate it,” replies the woman in a voice as dark as it is beautiful. Melchor then spreads his arms wide. “And what happened to my minions? You power of our Lord revived them to his bidding, and they are not to be wasted so.” “There is a wizard on the other side,”Naerenthyxelle says, “as well as more of those dwarven warriors. “They closely guard the pillar, and it would be folly to use it. Just as we slew that Cuthbertine, so too would they do to us if we try to follow.
Melchor curses, and Manny slowly flies down to a place where he can see clearly. There's a big zombie ogre behind Melchor, who is still holding the Necronomicon. Behind him there are lots of orcs, dozens.
Melchor then calls out, “ZEB!”
Another priest of Iuz answers the summons, passing through the orcs and showing up quickly. He is clearly a lesser priest, judging by his demeanor. He is bald and wears the standard dark cloak over his armor, and he wields a morning star.
“My eyes have been destroyed,” he says, “and I cannot spy on them. Damn that Altarius!” he complains again. “When I find that mage, I will flay him alive!” Zeb smiles, but the smile fades quickly when Melchor stares at him. “And you will join him if you fail me,” he says, making Zeb swallow hard. “Take your company and watch this pillar,” he adds. “Destroy any who come through.” Zeb nods silently. Melchor exits with the rest of the leaders, leaving Zeb and a bunch of zombie men and gnolls to watch the pillar.
Manny slowly and carefully flies after them. They only go out into the larger hallway, and there they discuss the book. There are a couple more leader types there. One Bakluni warrior with scimtar and bow, another priest, and another woman archer in some kind of spotted animal clothes. It's a leopard cloak, but he doesn't know what a leopard is.
Naerenthyxelle puts a hand on his shoulder, almost tenderly, and it is clear she is simply trying to calm him. “This is the Necronomicon, Iggwilv's great tome,” she says. “This allowed me to free the warped wizard Tsjocanth, who is rampaging below. He is as much demon now as man, and will assuredly destroy the Velunese below.”
“Then we have no more purpose here,” says Melchor, nodding his approval. “Our Lord will be more than pleased,” he adds. “Let us prepare to leave.”
Most of the zombies and orcs, along with a very tough looking 1/2 orc named Moorsh, the priest Zeb, the Bakluni and a Suel warrior remain behind, while the other leaders, along with the zombie ogre head back.
First, they reach the stairs where they head up. Melchor is in the lead, with the rest behind. Manny can follow up the stairs, and when he gets to the top he finds more orcs there. They are using a boat, which he recognizes as the boat from the painting they saw down below, to travel on the river. There are four orcs inside it, rowing and steering, and the other leaders get on the boat.
This is the route they take, and Manny follows along quietly. They reach the other side, then the group begins to get out. Melchor leads the way, followed by the rest. They walk the long way around, eventually making their way back up to the upper level. There are a dozen hobgoblins guarding the way in the crystal cave at the end of the entrance dungeon, and the group passes by them. They eventually reach the throne room where there are two zombies guarding the far door. The zombie ogre moves over to allow everyone in. Inside is a man in plate mail.
"Ah, there you are, Altarius," says Melchor dryly. "While you played with those dwarves, I have gained our Master's prize." Manny notices that the elf woman sneers a bit at that, but she says nothing. Altarius notes it too, but his attention is focused on Melchor, who holds up the Necronomicon for Altarius to see.
Melchor turns to the large Iuzian priest. “Deverell, you will lead the rest of our forces against these Velunese. Captain Altarius will provide support. Once you have finished them, continue to loot this place of anything you find. In the mean time, Naerenthyxelle and I will return the Necronomicon to Lord Iuz.”
“Altarius looks displeased, but he does not argue. He just nods, and the rest return to the caverns, leaving just Melchor, the elf girl, and the female archer. The ogre zombie goes to close the door, and Manny flies in silently and invisibly.
Once that happens, Melchor takes out the Necronomicon and sets it on the table. He then pulls a school from his robes.
"We shall use the Word of Recall to return to Dorakaa," he says, and Naerenthyxelle moves closer. "There we shall gain great favor."
"Maybe appointment to the Boneheart?" she asks coyly.
"Mayhaps," says Melchor, his hopeful tone quickly turning dark. "One never knows."
So, he has set the Necronomicon down while taking out a scroll to teleport back to Dorakaa. The doors to the throne room are both closed, the one leading back to the caverns guarded by the ogre zombie, while the other leading to the dungeon guarded by two orc zombies, the archer having left that way.
Holding his Rod of Security, Manny sweeps in to try and snatch the book.
Manny moves quickly over and tries to snatch the book up, but he fails, knocking it to the floor. [DM OOC: Gave him an 85% chance to use his Sleight of Hand, and he failed.]
Manny grabs the book, activating the rod at the same time as Naerenthyxelle stepped up and grabbed it. The two find themselves both shunted into the rod's non-dimensional plane! There she rips the book from Manny's hands, and he is surprised by the strength of this lithe little elf girl.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:24 am; edited 1 time in total
Manny flies up and away, twisting to the left. The space is pretty non-descript. Looks like food and water in abundance is about it. So probably a flat plane. She is trapped here til it expires or Manny negates it. Expires is 200 days if she kills him (if she knows that). He is flying out of range of Magic Missiles, and then casting his Specialty, Protection from Missiles.
When he turns back, she is gone. “Great,” he thinks. “One on one with another invisible elf mage, and I’m almost out of spells and wounded.” He flies further up. “Joy.”
Now that he has a moment, he digs into the Haversack and gets out some flashpowder packets and the Extra-healing Potion. Drinking the potion gets him back his lost hps. He then looks around. Did she appear anywhere else? If not, and she hasn't attacked yet, will send his next move.
[DM OOC: Just so you know, he flew about 200 plus yards away. That's the range of magic Missile and you said he went beyond magic Missile Range. That's a couple rounds of flying to be clear. Anyway it's a weird situation with two invisible opponents about 200-plus yards away from each other. It will be interesting to see what happens.]
[Manny OOC: Kinda overkill, but fine. Actual range for him is 150 yards, so 200 is reasonable. He just wanted to keep her from surprising him for a little while. He is drinking the potion of Extra-healing, and getting out flashpowder packets. And it will be interesting.]
[DM OOC: So, to tell you the truth, I have no idea how this may go. Two invisible mages in a non-dimensional space. There's almost something classic about the standoff, in a very non-traditional way.]
Manny hears a female voice calling him. "Just surrender now," she calls out, " and save me the trouble of finding you."
Manny thinks to himself, "Something mages have been saying to thieves since time began."
Once he is done drinking the potion, it is time to start. He has a large supply of flashpowder and smoke packets for his magic act. None can really harm anybody (unless you somehow get them in someone's eyes) but are great distraction and disorienting effects. The smoke doesn't last more than a few rounds at best (typically 2-8 rounds, 1-4 for smaller) and the flashbangs are just that (a loud report and bright light).
He hurls one packet as far to the right and forward as he can, then another smoke one a little to the left of that. Following up by flying 1/2 way to them and watching for her.
He doesn't see any response, nor does she call out this time
Manny flies back the direction he came from, he thinks. Eventually, he does see tracks. However, they just end. It is clear to him that his adversary is also flying!
He thinks to himself. “I know she has used two flying spells and two invisibility spells so far today. She didn’t have any heavy weapons or a bow, so she isn't a fighter. Could be a thief/mage, but most likely just a mage. Probably in Hepla's or Isilme's class. I need to use all my skills for this one.”
He doesn't "see" anything, but he hears a chanting not too distant. It's a Dispel Magic, and he suddenly loses his invisibility, but not his Flying.
"Well," says the elf girl, "I see now that there is no use attempting to charm the likes of you. So, why don't we skip all the chasing and fighting. It's incredibly tedious."
Manny has a pretty good idea of where she is, thanks to his Observation skill. Plus, the longer she talks, the better idea he has.
"Interesting," she says, "most cannot resist that spell." The voice slowly moves to the side, towards Manny's flank.
“Good,” he thinks. “One more spells used.”
"Oh, I have plenty of spells yet," she says.
[Manny OOC: Sorry, that was an OOC.]
[DM OOC: Which means he was probably thinking it, and she “heard” him. Not a mistake….]
"Must be that odd way of thinking I have," he thinks, testing her. He pivots slightly to that side, not trusting it isn't a trick. He also uses slight of hand for a couple of smoke and a flashpowder packets.
"Your little tricks won't help you," she says, now behind you. "So, you let me out of this place,” she says, “wherever it is, and I will agree to spare your life and let you go."
"Hah!” he laughs back, flying away quickly, dropping smoke and flash powder. “Spare it just long enough for your friends to do the job instead. Come up with a better offer."
“I could just kill you," she replies with a sardonic laugh. Her voice is moving, and it is clear she is approaching from another angle.
"And stay trapped here,” he snaps back. “That works for me."
Manny casts Non-detection.
"Oh, clever boy," she says, and he senses a note of irritation creeping into her voice. "That will not save you though. I could have killed you already, and now you are trying my patience."
"Whatever gave you the idea I want to live?" he calls back.
Manny immediately casts Dancing Shadows, creating a flickering area of lights and shadows around him. He hears a deep sigh from the elf.
“Seriously?" She says with an annoyed air. The sound comes from directly above Manny. "You are not going to get the Necronomicon, so just stop before you get me angry."
The smoke swirls, making the attempt easier, but before you can hide the elf speaks again. However, this time she casts a spell. A handful of magic missiles fly forth from the elf, floating about 30' above Manny. They strike unerringly, hitting Manny for [16].
"I have been doing this for more years than you could imagine," she says, "and I can do this far longer than you, boy," she says. "As you will not end this wretched spell of yours," and she waves an arm encompassing the surroundings, "then I will have to do it myself, by ending you."
Manny draws blades and flies up at her. He is basically out of spells anyway, so he may as well try and surprise her with his fighting ability, and hope it’s better than hers.
She chants a spell, then reaches out towards Manny. He feels his bones twisting, pulling in different directions. The pain is terrible, and he is certain they are about to snap asunder, when the feeling gradually fades. Whatever spell he just avoided, he knows it was not a good one! [DM OOC: He made his saving throw!]
No attacks this turn, because Manny was moving and drawing blades. The two are now in flying melee, Manny with his short sword and dagger, and her with her rod.
He then stabs out with his short sword, hitting her [5]. She flies back and up, away from Manny who gets in another stab as she flees [6]. She flies straight up a full move away.
"You will pay for that," she says, holding a hand on her side where Manny struck her. Manny notices the blood is not red; rather, it is a sticky, pitch black ooze, that smells of death. It is unlike anything he has ever seen.
"What, I'll die?” he quips. “Hah, you already promised that. Then here you rot."
Manny then flies 90' up too, half a move. He's now 120' up and 60' from her, just below her. He figures his only chance is to stay close and hit her quick and often to keep her from casting. Otherwise….
Manny is the faster, and he flies up, closing the distance and attacking as she begins casting another spell. He smiles as his plan seems to be working, until he misses. Naerenthyxelle finishes her spell, which Manny quickly recognizes....Dispel Magic.
She completes the spell with a grim smile, and Manny suddenly loses his ability to fly. Non-detection is still running.
Unfortunately, Manny begins to plummet to the ground! As he falls, she laughs an evil laugh, following down slowly as he falls. Manny casts Feather Fall, his last spell, and gently floats to the ground while she flies down after him. She seems upset that Manny robbed her of the fun of watching him go splat!
As he floats down, he eats some Gariig root when he lands. The powerful herb restores all his lost health.
Manny draws his bow and is about to release his first arrow as the elf maiden casts another spell, Hold Person. He freezes in mid-action.
Naerenthyxelle lands next to him, walking around Manny and studying him. An evil smile crosses her face as she whispers an incantation, leans in, a kisses him, draining a level from him and restoring her own strength in the process. Manny sees the wound in her side healing has she saps his life force.
"Now," she says, "what shall I do with you?"
She inspects Manny, learning of his disguise and true heritage. "That explains why my charm did not work,” she says as a wicked smile plays across her lips. "But you were not the only one pretending to be something you were not."
Slowly her form changes before him, turning to that of a beautiful, woman. However, her black wings and horns reveal something he had never imagined, something dark and sinister....
She ends up working him relentlessly with charms, until finally charming him. He then is forced to reveal the nature of the place, the rod, etc. She gets him to return them to the throne room, where some of the Iuzians are waiting. I think you've met them before.
The leader, Melchor, tries to take the Necronomicon, but the demon woman, Naerenthyxelle, actually refuses. "You've lost it once,” she says. “Now I shall hold it." The two have a bit of a standoff, but Melchor relents with a wave of his hand as if he doesn’t care. He then orders the rest to continue searching these caves, while he and Naerenthyxelle return the Necronomicon to Iuz. They head out at first light, and Manny is chained up and beaten so badly that he is barely able to move. He does not regain spells, and has had all his stuff taken. The two leaders leave, along with about a dozen gnolls, and the zombie ogre.
Naerenthyxelle seems very interested in Manny, and every so often he catches her leering looks. She did tell him that she is not going to give him up. No, it is clear that she has plans for him, and he shall be hers for a long, long, time.....
He's essentially out of things for now. So, he's obviously been taken prisoner, and Naerenthyxelle is bringing Manny back with her. Melchor wants to just kill him and be done with it, but she doesn't let him. He's not afraid of her, but he is obviously not able to boss her around either.
She was also able to learn everything Manny knows about the party, so they now know what they are facing. Again, Melchor thinks those he is leaving behind are perfectly capable of dealing with them. Captain Altarius, the battle mage, is left in charge along with Deverell, the super strong priest. He thought he should be left in charge, being the next senior priest, but apparently Altarius was always the second in command. He was not going to bow to Deverell, and Melchor threatened to kill both if they didn't get along.
So, they left eventually, with the remaining leaders staying behind to continue searching the place and also trying to kill the rest of the party if they can find them.
[DM OOC: I'm not sure what else I should try and let Manny know. He ended up gaining a lot of info by getting caught, so at least that's something. And he's not dead, which is another.]
He will comply, then try to escape when given a chance.
[Manny OOC: Ok, I was seriously irked. I'm feeling the character was completely railroaded. Being that as it may, I'll continue. Since they proceeded to beat Manny into the ground, I'm going on the assumption the charm is broken. The problem with running a character is you end up making decisions based not on what you want, but on what he knows, feels, and how he behaves. Which seriously lowers his survival rate in anything close to reality.]
[DM OOC: Well, he was sort of railroaded. What can I say, as a DM that's my job sometimes. Like you said though, sometimes you get yourself trapped by your own character, like when Gotrek just says "Screw it" and runs off to fight something. It's what he does, and if KC doesn't play him that way, then what's the point of playing a battlerager? So, Manny did what he could. The problem was that it was ridiculously dangerous, even he thought it was a suicide mission. Plus, he was dealing with an enemy that was far beyond his ability, at least alone, and he had no idea. Maybe in a different setting, with his spells available, but wounded and almost out of spells? It was incredibly brave, even foolhardy, but IMHO quite awesome.
The only part that was suspect for me was when he activated the rod of security and Naerenthyxelle transported with him, because she too was holding the book. Nothing says that would happen, but nothing says it wouldn't. Unfortunately, there is almost no information about the Rod of Security to peruse, except some mentions of it being way too powerful for characters to have. I'm not really sure about that but whatever. This isn't the place to debate the rod.
Anyway, I knew what he was facing at the time, and I did not think he could win. But Manny didn't know that. So, things went as they did. He could have died, very easily, but I decided to have her take a sort of perverse liking to him, or at least to the idea of keeping him for who knows what. So, rather than kill him, which I did think would in some ways be unfair, she just took him prisoner.
I really would have been much happier as a DM had Manny returned with Berenn initially, which I was going to have him do until you changed your mind and decided that he would go after the Necronomicon. Since I knew how dangerous the Iuzians were, I was reluctant to let you change your mind. I believe that clearly shows my reluctance to "railroad" you, as I still gave you the choice. It just was a choice loaded with more peril than even he knew.]
Manny has not been able to recover spells, as they know not to let him get adequate rest. However, he is no longer suffering his negative level. Hey, it’s the little things!
Our intrepid party has defeated the twisted abomination that was Tsojcanth. Unfortunately, they failed to stop the Iuzian sorceress Naerenthyxelle from taking the Necronomicon and escaping. Berenn barely survived the attempt to get it back (and Hepla’s fireball!), and Manny ended up getting captured after quite the ride. With the Iuzian threat being so near and intent on their destruction, they decided to find another way out. Drelnza left, floating off through a beholder-made hole in the ceiling, while the party destroyed the teleportation pillar, keeping the Iuzians from using it to follow them.
"I never trusted that wench," Thorgrim remarks. He removes the wooden stake from his belt and replaces it in his backpack.
They then set off into the deeper caverns to hopefully find another way out.
Isilme takes another sip of her Invisibility potion, leaving one more, and scouts ahead. She stays ahead of the party and returns to them after about an hour of scouting. “There are multiple ways to go,” she says, “and no indication as to which may or may not lead out.”
They arbitrarily choose one, and set out. It's pretty tough caving, which requires some squeezing and crawling, but the way stays clear. You have reached a point where there is a passage that goes down, but after a little bit it is flooded. There is a passage that goes in roughly the same direction, but it goes up, and it is dry.
Isilme scouts it too, but comes back way too quickly. “Cave fishers,” she says.”They are crab-like spider creatures that hunt using long sticky strands, like fishing line. They are not terribly dangerous in the open, but they can entangle prey, and in the close confines where they are (you have to crawl almost), they would be difficult to fight.”
“How many did you see?” asks Emyn. “Do we have magic to go through the watery passage?”
“I saw two,” she replies. “It was too tight to fly, so even I had to crawl. That's why I didn't approach the cave fishers; there's no way around them since they take up nearly all the passage.”
[DM OOC: I don't believe you have any water breathing spells left. Certainly not enough for all the party, let alone all the dwarves with you.]
[Isilme OOC: Last time we take along a bunch of dwarves!]
It's a tight cave that you need to crawl through. Maybe a dwarf could sort of stoop, but not everywhere. OK, if you had a halfling, it could just walk. You can't swing weapons in this cave and crawling up on some cave fishers would give them a decided advantage.
“I’ve got this,” says Elrae. He crawls up the passage to almost where the cave fishers are, then uses Cone of Cold. He crawls back out, and Isilme scouts further. When she goes back up there, she finds 4 cave fishers, all frozen to death. The cave is now completely iced over, slippery as can be. There are holes in the floor, all maybe 3-4' wide, through which the cave fishers were fishing in a river below. They are still open and pose a dangerous obstacle, since you need to carefully get over them and it's so slippery now.
They get some rope, and with everyone tied together they easily make it through the area with nobody falling into the river below. Moving on you reach a small chamber, maybe 15' wide. There is a waterfall falling into the chamber from another narrow passage above. There is another passage maybe 5' high, leading away from you. The bottom of this cavern is full of water. There seems to be two water passages, one somewhat below the upper passage, and another flowing back the way you came. Clearly this is where the water was coming from which led to those holes.
Isilme scouts ahead, and she says there's a chasm about 15' wide up ahead, about 100' away. There is water below it, about 5' down, and looks about 10' deep. There is a large volume of water flowing down from above, and it seems to have once flowed through the passage above until it undercut it and now flows beneath the upper one. It is safe, but you will need to cross the chasm ahead. At the chasm, you can go up through the waterfall or once your cross it keep going through a dry cave.
Thorgrim takes out his planks, and he is able to make a platform to cross. It doesn't take too long to do so, and everyone gets across. Following the dry cave, it opens up in a short while so that you can walk easily. It runs up for another 50' before coming to another chamber. There are three exits. There is one straight across, but it's low forcing you to remove armor to crawl. There's a cave in the floor which is also very small requiring crawling through a bunch of fungus and mold. A large passage leads out through the ceiling, but it's at a very steep angle, about 45 degrees.
"I would prefer to avoid the mold,” says Emyn. “That never ends well. Isilme, can you scout the upper route, please?”
[DM OOC: OK, I've decided that adventuring this way will take FOREVER. I don't want to railroad you into going any particular way, but in the interests of time I'm going to just move you through these caves. It's going to take a long time, and in fact you guys kinda lose track of time while moving along. After a while, at least 6 hours of caving have passed. Isilme's fly spell has ended. In fact, everything except her Stoneskin have ended. You eventually stop when you find a large domed chamber, maybe 50' wide which is pretty dry.
“Let's set up your fortress if there is room,” says Emyn, looking at Thorgrim. “Double watch regardless of where we are. Those inside sleep without armor, those on watch, be ready.”
Thorgrim casts Wyvern Watch and Squeaking Floors, to help guard the area of the tower, which barely fits in the cave, nearly brushing the ceiling. The party then sleeps, and they pass an uneventful period of rest. When they get ready to go, they are feeling rested for the first time in quite a while.
[DM OOC: After a quick bit of healing from the Rod of Xodal, and a few CLW as well, the party gets ready. Hepla also made her save, so she recovers one of her four negative levels.]
Earthday, 27th of Reaping (582 CY)
You wake up after a LONG sleep. Everyone was so tired from over two full days without sleep, that you rested for quite some time. In fact, while I post this as a new day, you don't know exactly what day it is, what time it is, nothing. In these dark caves, there really isn't any way to know (except that I say so!). Anyway, you wake up and can prepare for a new day.
Isilme casts Invisibility and Stoneskin, while Hepla casts Fly on her. Then she sets out to scout ahead, relying on her superior drow vision.
Isilme heads out to scout the way forward. She follows a few caverns, but they end up leading nowhere. After two hours of scouting, her Fly spell runs out, and she has not found a way that continues anywhere. She returns back to the fortress and reports that there are only a few other options. You can go back to where the water pours down from above, or you can squeeze through the tight fit cavern, but everyone will have to go without armor; it's that tight.
[Isilme OOC: What? Why so fast?]
[DM OOC: It only lasts 1 turn/level +1d6. She's been scouting for 2 hours, so yes, it ran out. I have told you guys many times before, you are wasting your 3rd level spells by constantly flying around when there just is no need. In fact, the same goes for Invis. A drow sneaking around is already stealthier than most; you waste your spells by casting it all the time. Besides, why does Isilme have to ALWAYS be invisible? It's weird, even creepy. Anyway, Fly is over. You have to decide your next move?]
"Perhaps Isilme can scout the tight cavern first,” says Emyn. “She is slender and could give us a sense of what might lay ahead."
"$&#@ scouting!..." She mumbles "That a drow of a noble house would......"
Isilme casts Reduce and then scouts that area out. It will be a very long crawl, but eventually it opens into another area which is much larger; you all will even be able to walk comfortably. It looks like there will be a few different options once you get through, so the party can start coming this way if they wish. Like I said, large folk, which means everyone except Isilme and Hepla, will have to remove armor and packs, and you guys have to basically push all that stuff ahead of you. It's a very tight squeeze.
Again, it takes quite a while to get through, what with everyone having to strip and belly crawl. And yes, I've done this in real life. It is not easy! So, a few hours later everyone has passed that section of caves. Reduce has run out now.
"We need to find our way out of here and, if we can, find Manny in the process,” says Emyn. He looks at Hepla. "Is there a way to find Manny and maybe get to him? Scry maybe?"
Hepla casts Magic Mirror. Manny is chained up, and beaten and being pushed along by zombies. He seems to be in mountains. Hepla does not recognize anything she sees around him.
"The Iuzians may have left the mountain, having gained what they sought, and more," Thorgrim says. "The easy way out may be back through that damned pillar, after all. What do you guys think? I am thinking of reversing course and exiting back out the way we came. We are now at full strength, minus a few party members. If the Iuzian forces are split, we could quite probably defeat what forces remain. I think it more likely that they have left the mountain entirely.”
Gotrek growls. "We have to save our mate. I won't leave anyone behind." He grunts, as he looks at Emyn. He scowls. He looks to Hepla. "How far away is he?"
Hepla casts Message through the Magic Mirror. She whispers, "Manny, who is with you, did they leave any ambushes behind? Are you still in the mountain?"
“I tried to get the Necronomicon but failed,” he whispers back. “They are taking book and I East, to the lands of the Old One. Most of the Iuzians have been left behind to finish you off. Melchor thinks those he is leaving behind are perfectly capable of dealing with you. Captain Altarius, the battle mage, is left in charge along with Deverell, the super strong priest. He thought he should be left in charge, being the next senior priest, but apparently Altarius was always the second in command. He was not going to bow to Deverell, and Melchor threatened to kill both if they didn't get along.” He glances around, then adds. “With me are Melchor, some gnolls and zombies, and Naerenthyxelle. She is also not what she seems. She's a.....
He is cut off as the magic is dispelled!
"We should leave this place, avoid the rear guard if possible and pursue Melchor,” says Berenn.
“And rescue Manny,” says Elrae.
“Then we have not a moment to lose,” says Sir Godwynn. “Let’s go.”
“We should go up the waterfall,” says Isilme. “It may connect to the waterways we have encountered already.”
Thorgrim concurs with this assessment. "We have had enough of full frontal assaults, and using the Pillar would lead us right into an ambush, now that we know such awaits us. We must use stealth and surprise, as usual, and take them from behind. Forget not that they likely have many scouts." He grips his pick so tightly his fingers turn white. "And I would see that battlemage dead before we leave the mountain."
Isilme scouts ahead, climbing up a difficult passage, which takes quite a long time. However, it eventually comes out at a pool of water in a large cavern.
She's in a large which is maybe 10' high along the south and west walls, and rises to about 30' along the north and east where there is a ledge about 10' above, wrapping around this lower area. Water drips all over and some pours off the ledge above a pool to the east. The floor down here is covered in about an inch of water which gradually runs out through the sinkhole she just climbed. There is moss and fungus everywhere, and some rather large mushrooms too. The entire place is pitch black, and there is the sound of dripping water echoing everywhere.
She moves ahead as the party catches up. The dwarves are coming up, and they will be followed by Berenn who is watching the party's back. Isilme casts Fly and Hepla flies off on her broom to scout around. They note the cavern is very large. There are four tiers to it, and the entire thing is covered in moss, mold, and mushroom-like fungus. Any and all of it may be dangerous. Then entire place is wet, with a lot of the water coming from the east. The ceiling rises along with the floor, staying about 30' high throughout, so basically it's like the entire place is tilted, though kinda terraced.
Hepla and Isilme scout the entire cavern.
“That way,” says Gotrek, pointing across the cavern. “I will by a keg of beer for everyone when we get out of this stinking hole.”
The party heads that way, eventually going up to another level. This level is thick with various molds, fungus, etc., and there is a lot of water, a few inches almost everywhere where there are not little fungus mounds. Where the party has moved up is almost a tiny stream, though only a few inches deep. It's very slippery, and you have to watch your step going up that incline.
oving on, you avoid the strange looking fungi, trying to stay to the paths between them. Constantly wary of them, you are relieved when nothing jumps out at you, literally. The cavern starts to rise more here, and up ahead you can see the growth seems to diminish. To the bottom-right another chamber opens up, also full of fungus. The ground rises at the far end of it (by the 1a), and seems to be clear of fungus there too.
horgrim finally reaches a point where the cavern rises up above all the dripping water, to a dry cave. At the far end there is a wide passage leading out to the top-right, flanked by ledges that lead away from it along both walls.
Once out into the dry cave Hepla urges everyone to brush off their neighbor so we do not bring anything bad with us. "Emyn let me brush you off then you brush me off."
"Quit preening like cats," Thorgrim hisses to the young lovers. "You all hang back, and don't expose yourselves unless necessary. Gotrek and I will explore the northeast passage, as it seems ripe for ambush. You can fill in the cavern when it seems safe."
Thorgrim and Gotrek then search to the northeast, exploring the passage between the murder-ledges. They search the area, and they find no threats. The larger passage continues into the distance and feels right to Thorgrim. However, they find some strange tracks that don't make sense. They call up Berenn to look.
When he gets there, he finds strange tracks that are unlike anything he's ever seen. Further, they just stop and start ofdly, which makes no sense. He also notes human bootprints, leading from the NE passage and into the fungus cavern. They disappear into the watery floor. Berenn checks them out and notes that there is just one set of prints. You can't tell anything except they were made by a man.
Berenn follows them to the wet floor, trying to see where they go. "They look fresh," he says.
"That's because I just made them," says a man's voice in common. Looking up, you see a man, medium height though broad-shouldered, with black hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing buckskin clothing. He steps out from behind a large column. He has a bow in one hand, no arrow in hand though, and he holds his hands out peacefully.
Thorgrim takes defensive stance. "What are you? State your nature and your reason for being here," he asks commandingly. He scans the edge of his vision for possible enemies.
"My name is Thaddeus," he says proudly, in a manner that reminds you immediately of Taki. "Frontiersman, scout, and tracker." He looks around, then shrugs with an ironic grin. "Though I seem a bit out of my element here in these dark caves."
Thaddeus dresses in buckskin trousers, shirt, a fur half-cape, and leather boots. At one side is a sheath knife and a small hatchet. On the other he wears a long sword. His hands are covered with leather half-gloves, leaving his fingers free for his bow, but he has mittens available for cold weather. His bow and quiver of arrows are slung across his back next to a stout wicker backpack of gnomish design. It carries his blanket, extra clothes, and a small satchel. Beneath the buckskin, you catch the glint of a chain shirt.
"I am from the Sepia Uplands," he says, "north of Highfolk. My companions and I came here to seek Iggwilv's treasures , but became separated after encountering a terrible beast, one whose breath turned you to stone." He shakes his head. "I have seen many things, but nothing like that. After battling through legions of undead, and worse, we ended up in these deep tunnels. I do not not know how many days it has been, but we have not been able to find a way out.
"Your ability to tell us where not to go may be useful in finding the way out if you wish to join us,” says Berenn, offering him his hand.
"Hell yes I wish to join you!" he says emphatically. "Why else reveal myself?" He comes up and takes Berenn’s hand in his strong grip.
Emyn says, "So you're one of the folks left from the expedition that came here? We've been looking for you. We killed the gorgimera but there are lots of Iuzians about. "
"Yes," he replies, greeting Emyn, "though there are only a few of us left. My companions and I, we joined them at Highfolk, hired to be their guides in these mountains. We fought the priests of Iuz twice on the road here. We thought we lost them many weeks ago; we have not seen them in over a month, and I hoped we never would again."
"We have been lost more than a week," he says, "wandering these caves. "Only four of us remain: Marius, Gabriel, Doran, and Justarius."
He pauses a moment before snapping, "Justarius!" He looks around, looking at the tracks. "He disappeared four days ago," he continues. "He had complained of something watching us, hearing things. Even Marius found nothing wrong with him, could not help him. We thought it was this place working on his mind, but then he disappeared." He goes over to the strange tracks you found earlier, the ones that seem to appear and disappear. "I found these tracks nearby. I think whatever made them took him, for every once in a while I saw Sir Justarius's tracks too, in the middle of them. They appear, then disappear, then appear again. I have tracked them for two days. It was not easy, and I had to use light sparingly, but I have followed them...here." He points into the fungus chamber. "I had just reached this point when I saw your light. I took cover on the ledge, and waiting until I saw better who it was. When I spotted your shield," he points to Sir Godwynn," I knew you were not enemies."
"We've recovered some of the bodies of you companions. A few were stoned. If you have an antidote, it would add to our number. Also, we destroyed Tsojcanth and returned the Lanthorn to safety but the Iuzians tooks the necronomicon and captured our friend Manny. I am afraid Ervil fled rather than aid us. "
He doesn't know who or what Tsjocanth and the Lanthorn are, but he gets angry over Ervil. "Ervil would never do such a thing!" He says. "If he disappeared, there must a been a reason, just as there is with Justarius."
"Perhaps they both lost their minds, tainted by the unending evil of this place," Thorgrim remarks. "We have sealed the source of the Abyssal energies, I believe. Perhaps their minds will now be returned to them?"
"Maybe," he replies, "but I KNOW something took Justarius. Something took him and it went that way!" He points into the fungus chamber. "I have tracked him this far; I will not turn back now." He looks around at the party, and you see something new in his face, hope. "Will you help me?"
We will help you," Thorgrim replies. To the party, he says, "Come, let us retrieve some of these Velunese we came here to find."
He points up the large passage to the NE. "They are that way," he says. "Marius, our expedition leader, Lt. Thatcher--Gabriel. He is Marius's protector. Then there is Doran, the Battlemage, Justarius's friend. Doran would have come, but that would leave the others defenseless, and this is no place to be defenseless. It is dangerous enough with a powerful mage along! Look, I can take you to them," he adds, ""It is not too far, though it seems that way making your way through the dark with barely any light." He takes out a small coin, "enchanted with permanent light," he says, "but I could barely use it lest I give away my position. These caves are no place for men," he finally adds, nodding to the elves.
BTW, Sir Godwynn knows Marius and Lt Gabriel Thatcher. Marius is a priest of Rao, and he was the Velunese leader. Lt. Thatcher is a skilled warrior and expert archer. Both are from Mitrik.
"Whatever took Justarius, they are sneaky," he says. "They also seem to simply disappear only to reappear in another place. Each time I have lost the trail, I've had to scour the nearby caves to pick it up again, and each time they barely leave the faintest of traces. I would never have noticed had I not spotted Justarius's boot prints a couple times. Whatever they are, I believe they are carrying him."
"What do you think it was? Some sort of dark faeries?" Thorgrim asks aloud.
Thaddeus shrugs. "I know mountains, hills, even forests," he says. "Down here I may as well be a child."
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:52 am; edited 1 time in total
It seems that I have lots of problems trying to post images and even links to them here. Either they don't work, or you can't see them without a google account, or the formatting is weird and messes up the way you view the page. It is quite frustrating. I'm working on it, but if anyone has issues or ideas, let me know.
After their retreat deeper into the mountain, the party has come across the mountain man, Thaddeus, guide for Velunese party. Having learned that the other surviving members are ok, but one, Sir Justarius, was captured by some unknown group, the party has determined to aid in his rescue.
Thaddeus takes Berenn back a bit, into the large passage where he points out some tracks. They are strange, more like an insect. They then just stop in the middle of the passage, about 15' back. Thaddeus was searching the area where the party now stands when he saw their light and went up on that ledge.
"The furthest they ever skip is about 50'," he says. "First I thought they were jumping or flying, but they have reappeared a couple times in completely different passages that didn't connect for hundreds of feet." He shakes his head, "I've never seen anything like it," he says.
“Could be spiders climbing the cave wall,” replies Berenn, examining the area.”
"I thought that too," Thaddues says, "but they just disappear, reappearing later even beyond solid rock."
“Or something worse,” continues Berenn. “We should probably keep an eye out in every direction."
"Could be Shadow Blink,” says Hepla, “a spell that allow a mage to travel from one shadow to another. But it is to another shadow that the mage can see so if it is a long distance may be something else."
"Never more than about 50'," he repeats, "but not in line-of-sight." He scratches his head. "I tell you, I have lost the trail, then picked it up a few hundred feet away, in a side tunnel. Tracking back, I found where they appeared. Like they teleported right through the rock!"
"The last set of tracks went on for about 50', then disappeared 15' back." He starts to pace off distance from the cave mouth. When he gets about 40', he swings his arms. "Somewhere about on this arc," he says, "we'll find more."
Sure enough, you find some tracks, just a few feet beyond that line. They cover an area about 10sq', right along the cave wall, but do not go anywhere.
"Teleporters, then...this place is full of them. I've a spell that may anchor your friend in place, should we find him." Thorgrim decides this man is speaking the truth, and begins to trust him.
“Thaddeus,” asks Emyn, “how long would it take for us to get you companions? If you fall, we may have no way to find them and I'd hate to leave them behind.”
"Not really sure," he says. "I marked the way, scratches on the walls. I took two days to get here, but that was two days of tracking, backtracking, trying to constantly pick up this trail when it disappeared." He thinks for a bit, then shrugs. "I'm going to guess a half-day, if there aren't any problems. Doran set up a safe hold, so they are awaiting my return while healing." He starts to pace off the distance from the last prints, then starts searching the arc. "Hopefully they went through this cavern," he says.
"I saw something in the far reaches of that low ledge," says Isilme. When Thaddeus questions this disembodied voice, they simply explain it is their invisible companion, and elf named Isilme. He nods, obviously no stranger to magic. "If you're done..." she says, then continues. "There was something at the far end, hard to distinguish, but it was not natural."
Berenn finds the next set of tracks. They appear just beyond the great column behind which Thaddeus had been hiding. From there, tracks lead back west, easily followed in the slimy ground. Thaddeus notes a dragged bootprint about 10' away, showing that Justarius was, indeed, carried this way. The tracks lead away, disappearing into a dark cleft beneath the ledges 20' above.
It goes pretty much in a straight line since entering this chamber. Clearly going to that short cavern Hepla and Isilme saw earlier.
"Whatever they are," says Thorgrim, "we need to keep them from teleporting away with Justarius. I can hold him in place with a spell (Dimensional Anchor), but I have to sneak in there first. If Godwynn shines light in there, they will just flee again, if they are there even."
Thorgrim takes out his Invisibility potion. "That be me last sip," he says. "Maybe a spell would be better, and I can use a silence stone. Then I can just crawl back in there and see what is there."
"That is a good idea,” says Emyn, “but hold onto your potion. Hepla, dear. Can you make Thorgrim invisible, please? I am sure he'll handle the stone himself."
She does so, and Thorgrim casts Silence on a stone. Thus prepared, he will make his way up to that cramped ledge. He moves around a large double-column, and when he gets closer he can see a shield, lying flat on the ground. Upon it are the arms of Furyondy. Beyond that a curtain (cave curtain, NOT a fabric curtain!) that mostly blocks vision into the area beyond. You have to go around the sides of it, or just bust it off. Also, just to his left he sees a strange creature, something he has never before seen.
This is a shadow-dwelling, bipedal creatures. It is squat, two feet tall, and covered in shaggy, black fur. Its bent arms end in nasty, three-clawed hands. Its head is white and hairless, with small, toothsome mouth, flat nose, and large yellow eyes devoid of pupils.
Thorgrim tosses his Silence stone north against the wall where the passage continues on. He considers for a second maintaining his Invisibility, but realizing the humans will be next to worthless in these tight confines, he quickly decides against it and moves in to attack.
"GOTREK!" he yells as he makes his first attack. "YOU'RE UP!"
The creature turns quickly to Thorgrim, making a series of low, guttural growls. It then leaps forward, scratching and clawing him. He is racked across the face [2], and he feels his limbs start to seize up, but barely fights off the feeling. He swings Souldrinker, hitting the creature [11].
Gotrek and Belak both rush in, as rushing as the two dwarves can rush, what with the low ceiling and all. They both hit the thing and successfully slay the short little creature before it can do anything else.
It's a 3' ceiling. The rest of the party would be crawling, so they let the dwarves do their thing. Even the dwarves are not comfortable. They haven't seen Sir Justarius; Thorgrim only saw his shield lying on the ground. The tracks you were following lead beyond the flow curtains, and there are other tracks up here too. There is also a very small hole, maybe 1 1/2 feet wide, just above the floor and leading north.
Thorgrim points to the three tunnels (he's in the silence area). He motions for Belak to watch the two smaller ones, while he and Gotrek go around the curtain.
Gotrek nods, and the two of them move that way. They see the shield is beautiful, though dirty, and sure enough bears the arms of Furyondy upon it. Thorgrim nods and points, telling Gotrek to go left while he goes right.
The two burst into the chamber behind the curtain, and there they find three of the creatures. They are all surrounding a man, lying on the ground and covered with, well, they can't tell, but some kind of paste or something. They instantly see you, hearing you come around the curtain; they must have excellent hearing. It's a good thing you used the silence stone. They are making their growls and such, as Thorgrim casts Dimensional Anchor on the man. The three creatures then disappear, using some method of teleporting. The man doesn't move, though they were holding him, he is held in place by Thorgrim's spell!
As they pull him out, Thorgrim notes pieces of armor strewn about and gathers it up too. They note that he is covered with some kind of paste which looks like it's made from the mushrooms and fungus in the large chamber. They grab his shield, and then drag him out to the rest of the party. Thorgrim picks up his stone to continue to hide their sound as they get him out. He slips the rock into his small, lead box [DM OOC: which I just retroactively gave him. I was reading up on this stone strategy, and it seems that the silence would go through something as simple as a pouch. You either need a lead box to shield the magic, or something a bit thicker, like a door or wall. So, since I'm kind of making a new ruling, I'm going to also give Thorgrim what he certainly would have bought or made long ago! See? I’m fair!]
"Get the goop off him." She stays at a distance.
"How odd,” says Emyn, poking at it. “I wonder if it has a religious purpose or if it was just a marinade," Emyn says as he uses a worn out piece of clothing to wipe off the paste.
Sir Justarius is paralyzed, so he cannot move. As you wipe the goop off, you notice his skin is weird. It seems like it was changing.....
"Maybe this stuff turns him into one of them?” wonders Emyn, quickly wiping his hand off. Berenn, Thorgrim...Is this poison or disease? Whatever it is, I suggest we cure it quickly."
Thorgrim grimaces. "I suspect Ervil already met such a fate...they had a few more days to work on him than this guy. I felt the paralyzing poison of their touch. Combined with their Teleport ability, that makes them dangerous opponents to face in small numbers...I don't know that it would be fruitful to search for him, as well."
He then takes out his Potion of Vitality and pours it into Justarius’s mouth. "That will perk you right up, man. You can thank Lyseios, the Life-saver, for that draught."
It works, basically bringing him back to awareness, though it doesn't do anything about paralysis. Berenn says a prayer to St. Cuthbert, then removes the man’s paralysis.
"Justarius," Thorgrim addresses him. "Did you catch sight of Ervil during your travel with these beasts? Do they have a lair?"
"I don't know," he says. He looks confused, then he sees Thaddeus. He obviously feels better once he sees him. After exchanging quick pleasantries, he says, "I think this is it!"
Nobody has seen Ervil, unfortunately. "Your armor," says Thaddeus, handing him some pieces. "I have most of it here, as well as your helm."
“I thank you all,” he says, “ but perhaps it's best to just get out of here now, before doing anything else.”
"Let us go, then,” says Sir Godwynn, helping the man. “And remain vigilant for these creatures."
Sir Godwynn does not know Sir Justarius, though he has heard of him. Justarius’ family has a long tradition steeped in the faith of Heironeous with ties to both Chendl’s Church of the Archpaladin, the military, and count many armorers in its family ranks (including Justarius himself!). Sir Justarius, holy warrior of Heironeous, was told by King Belvor of Furyondy that he would lead the expedition; however, this position was given to the Raoan priest, Marius instead. Justarius followed the orders given to him, as he did not want to rock the boat. With capable leadership (Fallroyce, Marius, Luther), he did not see it necessary, and still a bit uncertain as to his role in this group, the young man filled whatever position needed to be done.
Thaddeus then leads you through a combination of tunnels which leads eventually to the others. You make it back to the rest of the Velunese expedition. They are holed in small cave on a shelf, overlooking a small larger cavern with a small pool of water in it. I'm going to post them here, so you can meet them.
Doran was trained as an invoker (specialist) and is a childhood friend of Justarius. The two have a near unshakable friendship in spite of their differing opinions about religion. Doran is not pious and takes a pragmatic view to the Powers as well as a good many other ideologies. Doran, aggressive and practical of mind, served as the chief magical artillery of the party. Whereas Kelmar undoubtedly was more skilled and powerful in the arcane, Doran's magical arsenal was far more offensive in nature. Always eager to launch into battle with devastating evocations, Doran intended to prove his worth, upstage the arrogant Kelmar, and 'get the job done.' Furthermore, Doran felt indebted, angrily so, for being 'forced' into this mission by the Furyondian military, but he was at least satisfied to serve alongside his friend.
Next is Lt. Gabriel Thatcher, 6th lvl Myrmidon fighter (defender of Marius, captured by Iuzians and then rescued.) Expert archer. Lt Gabriel was Marius' close companion, personal bodyguard, and protector. He took orders from Fallroyce so long as they did not counter his primary role. Gabriel was a good man, dutiful soldier to this country, and generally well-respected and liked among the party. He owes them his life, especially Marius who risked his to save him against ridiculous odds. With so many of their number slain, Gabriel has now become somewhat obsessed with vengeance, almost to the point where he forgets that his primary mission is to protect Marius. However, as Marius too seems itching for a fight, this suits Gabriel just fine!
Marius is a 7th lvl Scholar Priest of Rao. He is the Church (and Archclericy of Veluna) representative of the group, and though technically its 'leader' he deferred to the military authority of a high-ranking militant priest of St. Cuthbert, Captain Desmond Fallroyce. After Captain Fallroyce fell, turned to stone by the gorghimera at the bridge, Marius looked to Sir Justarius.
Marius was also a scholar in the ways of magic and thus had a skillset appropriate to the task at hand. Marius was the 'glue' that held everyone in check, finding a diplomatic balance between all factions of the party, from the common soldier to the ranking men of minor nobility. He was more than willing to debate with the diviner, Kelmar, whom he knew from a scholarly perspective and was the advocate for his membership, about religion and the roles of the Powers over mortals, and counter the snobbish man's arguments with his own. He alone seemed unaffected by Kelmar's haughty bearing and chided him for his lack of piety and humility, and Marius felt Kelmar's loss quite heavily. Marius took a liking towards most of the party, especially Sir Justarius, for his open mind and humble persona.
Marius squared off briefly with Melchor in a battle in the mountains. You came across its aftermath. Melchor outmatched him in every way possible. It was only with the use of some of his prized scrolls that he was able to free Lt. Thatcher from the Iuzians clutches and escape himself, and though he does not look forward to running into the evil man again, he sees it as a necessary thing that must be done, and he is willing to pay any price to end him.
Marius is rather young, for a Raoist, but has a wisdom and intellect that bellies his age. He did not believe in fighting, and was given command of the expedition for his other reasons. However, since taking the field against the minions of the Old One and encountering the fell denizens of the Lost Caverns, he has grown much harder. He now knows what True Evil is, and he understands what it will take to defeat it. He has, in fact, become almost militant in his demeanor, and the smile that almost never left his face before this mission has now been gone for many weeks.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:03 am; edited 1 time in total
“True that!” says Emyn, stepping forward. "Friends, it is good to have finally found you. We had feared you lost when Ervil told us of your encounter with the gorgimera. Know that is is destroyed. We also saved a number of your companions in the hope they may be restored to life, including those turned to stone on the bridge. If you have the means to restore them, it might be a good time to do so.”
The priest, Marius, shakes his head. “Alas, such is beyond our power,” he says, “but your appearance is most welcome.” He strides forward and takes Emyn’s hand. “Who are you?”
“We are the Heroes of Hommlett,” he replies with an easy smile, as if that should be enough. “I am Emyn Frel, Avenger of Trithereon and this is my wife Dame Hepla, a witch of some power though she has been weakened lately by the touch of the undead. Sir Berenn Silverwood is our leader and a follower of St. Cuthbert.” The two nod at each other as Emyn continues. “The dwarves are Thorgrim, a warrior priest of Clangeddin and Gotrek, our battlerager. A word of advice. Don't stand too close to him in a fight as he berserks. The other dwarves are the Azcral, who have guided us here and aided us in our quest. Elrae of Woodstock is our bard and Isilme is a Battledancer of Elistraee. Don't let her appearance fool you. She is one of the most goodly souls I know.” Emyn notices the confused look on Marius’s face, then quickly adds. “My apologies, she often goes invisibile, the better to scout.” Emyn then continues the introductions. “Our thief Noot fell in battle with the corrupted mage Tsojcanth when we closed the rift to the Abyss, and our guide Manny is curently being taken away by the Iuzians.” Emyn’s easy smile then changes, a foreboding sense of concern revealed in his chisled feathers. “Unfortunately, they now possess the Necronomicon of Iggwilv. The Iuzians have split their forces thinking they outmatch us. Some remain here while others take the tome and our friend away. We would quit this place and pursue them if we can. Will you join us?"
Doran steps forward, embracing Justarius. "I knew he'd find you," he says, his affection obvious and touching. Then he hits him in the shoulder. "Now, you done hallucinating? We got work to do!"
Justarius smiles, then slams him back, knocking the battle mage back a step. "I told you, I wasn't hallucinating you mumblecrust!" He points to the party, "and they saw them too, those spindly little creatures, whatever they were."
"Well," says Doran, adjusting his shoulderpiece from the blow. "We're just happy Thaddeus found you." He looks at the party, "all of you. You are most welcome." He then clasps Emyn's arm. "I have known many of your faith," he says. "In Northern Furyondy your faith is well-respected."
"Not just Furyondy," says Marius, stepping forward as well. He too clasps his arm (if that's the right way to say it!). "You are welcome here, for the time for talk, for reason, is passed. Vengeance is what is required now." He says it strongly, like a follower of Trithereon himself, and such is the grimness of his voice, that Sir Godwynn, paladin of Rao and member of the Church Militant, stands at a loss for words as a chill travels down his spine.
"Aye,” replies Emyn grimly. “Vengeance must come, but let us take our vengeance in a wise manner. They have split their forces, leaving the bulk here while those with the Necronomicon and our companion are lesser in number and flee eastward towards the lands of the Old One. We managed to prevent them from seizing a powerful artifact in the Lanthorn of Daoud, but the tome will give the Old One untold new powers to raise undead armies. We must make it safe if we can and in the process destroy his minions. If afterwards you wish to return here and finish off the others, I will pledge myself to those efforts. Do you have the means to change the petrified to flesh and restore the dead to life with you? We rescued Kelmar and a few others. "
"I, for one, would see the Iuzian battlemage dead before leaving this mountain," Thorgrim says. "The rest are immaterial to me, though any we could return to their makers would be deaths well-dealt, and worth the trouble. Any weakening of their forces may help us, later, when we retrieve Manny….and the Necronomicon."
"I am sure we will need to deal with the forces they left behind in order to pursue the Necronomicon and rescue Manny,” says the invisibile Isilme, whose disembodied voice seems odd to the Velunese. “I would see the battle mage who attempted to end the life of my dwarven friends and allies brought to heel.” She gives them a moment, then continues. “Well met friends, the King of Furondy himself was concerned for your welfare and set me to learn your fate. I am sure they are many who will rejoice at your return."
"I will never get used to speaking to invisible people," says Thaddeus.
Thorgrim takes the shield out that he found. “We recovered this at the bridge,” he says. “I assume it belongs to you.”
When they see it, Marius and Lt. Thatcher are instantly saddened. "That is Captain Fallroyce's shield," says Lt. Thatcher. "He fell in the fight against the gorghimera."
"It was a chaotic time," says Marius. "We lost Kelmar, Sir Dalby, Fallroyce, and Ervil to that beast."
I think at this point Thorgrim can show them the statues. They are of Sir Dalby and Kelmar the Diviner. You have Fallroyce's shield, but never recovered a statue of him. He probably didn't turn to stone, since the shield is not stone. Then there is Ervil, who you rescued from the Dao. Of course, he later disappeared too.
"Perhaps we can find them yet," says Marius hopefully, though when you see his eyes, it does not seem that he really means it.
“If you are ready to get out of here,” says Thorgrim. “Do you know the way?”
They shake their heads, then tell you what they know. They fell or jumped into the river by the bridge, and went over the waterfall into a cavern with hundreds of ghouls. How they fought across that foul place, they do not know. By the time they were clear, they were the only ones left. They do not recommend returning that way, nor do they know how they would get up the waterfall anyway.
"I have a protection from undead scroll," Isilme offers, “but I believe you are right. I think fighting our way through is folly.”
They continue to explain their trek. They scrambled away from the ghoul chamber through a series of caverns. The ghouls did not chase them after Doran threw up a Wall of Fire, blocking the way. Thinking themselves still too close to the ghouls, they explored deeper, looking for a way out.
Eventually, they ran into more trogolodytes. After the death of Leonard at the hands of the trogs earlier, after going through the arch in the Lesser Caverns, they didn't want to disturb the trog tribe again. They backtracked and made their way to an area with a ledge which dropped steeply down to the river below. They saw a cave on the other side of the river, but didn't proceed down there. They continued through another series of caverns until they got into another big fight with some kinda large repitles things. Eventually, they reached the caverns where you found them. The only reason Thaddeus had been in the fugus cavern was that he was tracking the strange creatures which has taken Justarius.
Since nobody has any real idea where to go, they lead you back through the caverns to the chamber which overlooked the river from a high ledge, which they felt was safe.
Hepla, who was not at the trog battle, asks about the troglodytes. “How many were there?”
"We cannot say," says Marius. "We faced only a few at a time, but they kept coming in ever increasing numbers."
"After Leonard fell," says Justarius, "we decided to retreat. There is no telling how many there were."
Gilhak saw the trogs fleeing passed them, and he says there were at least a few hundred, counting young. "It all happened so fast, and we could only form square and keep them from us. Luckily, they seemed more intent on fleeing than fighting, and they just kept going."
“We should move through the troglodyte caverns,” says Emyn.
Thaddeus can easily show you the way there. “The smell is unmistakable,” he says with a wince.
"Let's follow that trail then,” replies Emyn. “It will surely lead us to where we can find a way out.”
"Certainly," Thorgrim replies. "Thaddeus, Isilme, you're in the lead. Don't allow any warning of our approach. We don't want to slay Trogs by the hundreds. Look for a way we can bypass, or move them out of our way. See if you find an area you recognize.” He glances at Gotrek. "It's not in Manny's or our interest for us to into a fight here."
The passage leading to the troglodyte caves is very long. There is only one passage, which goes quite a long way. It takes a couple of hours to catch up to Isilme and Thaddeus, who are waiting at a small chamber, the first you've found in this tunnel. It seems to have been used as a guard post. There is a side passage here, based on the few prints going that way, but the main passage continues in another direction. After a short break, the group continues that way.
“The troglodytes seem gone,” says Isilme. “I scouted beyond here into their warrens, but I found no sign of them. Only a handful of zombies standing guard. They were mostly goblins, but I noted a couple of gnoll zombies too.”
Emyn says, "Let's take care of those undead but do it under silence with no flashy spells. For things like this, our blades should be more than enough, unless our clerics can destroy some of them with their holy might."
They can. It doesn't take much to destroy them, esp the goblins zombies. The groups blasts its way through the zombies without any effort. The sinkhole leads up to more caverns, all of which seem to have been trog caverns. One has a large pool with islands in it. That's as far as the Velunese reached before, when they explored from the other direction. From here, there is a passage that leads to area 3 of the Lesser Caverns. The Velunese destroyed a flesh golem there, then went through a large archway. It led to the trog tunnels which you just traversed. Anyway, from area there you can loop around to the right, up the stairs, and you end up in the crystal caverns that connect to the entrance dungeon.
Isilme casts Fly, then proceeds alone. She finds that dungeons upstairs are still watched by zombies. Half a dozen zombies guard the stairs up, and she flies silently just above them. There are a couple guarding the throne room. No leaders are there. The door there is closed, so she can't scout further without revealing her presence, so she returns.
“Let us move that way,” says Thorgrim. “A handful of zombies is no threat, and if we move quickly we can reach the throne room without a problem.” The rest agree, and the party moves out. Indeed, they quickly destroy the zombies at the stairs, and make their way without issue to the throne room. There they prepare to fight their way through the dungeon level and make their way outside.
Opening the door reveals a hobgoblin guard at the corner, 15' away. He sees it opening and quickly calls out when he sees you. Before anyone can act, Gotrek rushes forward and cuts down the hobgoblin with one swing! He sees another one down the hallway, about 30' away.
"Someone needs to silence the other hobgoblin fast!" says Berenn.
"I will silence them," says Gotrek. He rushes forward and cuts the humanoid down.
Suddenly Belak rushes forth out of the throne room as well. When he gets to the corner, he sees a hobgoblin that way and turns, charging it. Thogrim moves up to the corner, to see what's happening. He sees Belak to the south, fighting two hobgoblins with at least a couple more behind them. Another moves up the right corridor and attacks Gotrek, missing.
[Isilme OOC: Yeah I suppose alerting the entire complex to our prescience was the smart thing to do.]
[DM OOC: Hey, when you open a door with a guard on the other side, he yells. Not sure how you avoid that other than, maybe Clairaudience spells, silence spells, etc., and you used none of those. But just opening a watched, guarded door? Yeah, that's what happens!]
Anyway, Hepla tries to go rushing out, as usual, but Emyn grabs her. "No you don't!" he says, and holds her tightly. She grunts, but doesn't really struggle.
Belak kills another hobgoblin, stepping forward. Gotrek kills the one in the hallway, then moves down into the chamber below to another one. Thorgrim moves down beside Belak, killing another.
Sir Godwyn moves forward, then notices movement to the left. In the barracks back there he sees hobgoblins rising. "Justarius, this way!" he yells, moving into the chamber.
Sir Justarius follows, and the two find themselves facing a half-dozen hobgoblin guards, all just waking up.
Another hobgbolin rushes into the fountain chamber from the west, intent on attacking Gotrek. Howver, Belak cuts it down as it runs by him. Two more come out, and they attack Belak, one hitting the dwarf. Another moves forward to attack Gotrek, but misses.
Gilhak now enters the throne room, and once he learns of the hobgoblins, he sends the Azcral forward. The long line of 20 angry dwarves will be rushing ahead next round. The rest of the party basically holds back, as the dwarves sweep through the dungeon area slaying all the hobgoblins in an orgy of vengeful rage.
The group then gathers near the entrance, where Isilme scouts the way. She finds that there are at least two score enemies there, some gathered around campfires, others standing guard in various groups. Looks like a mix of men, humanoids, and zombies, but none of the Iuzian leaders.
"Our fight is outside!" Thorgrim says to the group. "Dwarves, Forward!”
Gotrek smiles. “Finally,” he says as he follows Thorgrim.
We left Manny quite some time ago, after he had unsuccessfully tried to get the Necronomicon and been captured. As the party is finally exiting the Caverns, we return to Manny and his plight. Can he escape? Will the party find him in time? Or is he destined for years of torture and worse at the hands of the evil Naerenthyxelle...?
Manny has been marched out of the Horn, and back down the canyon to the crossroads. He is surprised that Melchor did not yet use his Word of Recall. Perhaps the Horn interferes with it as it did with their own teleportation magic, he thinks. This could aid him, he reasons. He then realizes that the charm is gone.
“I don’t need it,” laughs Naerenthyxelle, obviously using her ESP ability to read his thoughts. “And you have nowhere to go.”
“We’ll see,” he replies, staring at her coldly. Naerenthyxelle laughs, and Melchor turns with a disapproving look. This just makes her laugh harder.
Manny tries to think of intense images, to mask his real thoughts. He cannot tell if he is successful, but Naerenthyxelle does not look at him as he tries to consider his situation. A half dozen gnolls are out front, and another half dozen are in the rear. The zombies are dragging Manny. Melchor and his zombie ogre are in front, and Naerenthyxelle is behind Manny. The zombie and the demon may be tireless, but the human and the hobgoblins are not. First chance he gets, Manny will try to escape somehow. He recognizes where they are. They are following a path leading to the top of the large flat mountain just to the east of the Horn. Some parts are actual cliffs, while others are more like this, but falling of the edge anywhere is probably fatal.
[Manny OOC: I thought about the fact that she is a succubus and working for Iuz. Then I considered his background. And several things immediately stuck out.
1. He is loaded with information about the strengths and weaknesses of the Vesve elves, Highfolk and Veluna areas. He's been spying on the wealthy and powerful humans for the elves for a long time. Far more than she could get in a few hours with an unwilling subject. Iuz could pick his brains over a period of months, if not years.
2. He is right now a seriously suicidal elf. Female elves who suicide become banshees. What would a male become? Can she arrange the conditions that would make a banshee for him? A very intriguing question for an evil being interested in more evil.
3. She can't really have both. Which does she want more? A dilemma for her she needs to decide before Manny passes into Iuz's hands.]
[DM OOC: Well, Manny may have a chance to escape, or you can choose death. That's why I put you on the cliffside path. I mean, it's an option.... Or he can bide his time, see where they are taking him. I don't want to railroad you any further, and instant death stuff's not my forte (except for poison, criticals, death spells, traps, and massive damage!). However, I don't want to just let him have an easy escape either. These folks are terribly evil and dangerous, and to do anything less that play them to the hilt, that would be a disservice to them, know what I mean?
So, I'm a bit torn what to do with him. Absolute worst case is they take him back to Dorakka, alive. Of course, that could lead to an interesting rescue. Anyway, he has options; you decide what he tries. Just remember, he has 20 hps, so he's pretty beat up. He has not had enough sleep to recover any spells either. So yes, the deck is stacked against him, but at least he is still in the game!]
Manny follows along until they reach the top of the mountain. He notes that there are ruins around, though barely more than foundations and what look like trenches. There is also a strange monument, like a roadside marker. He does not realize it, but this is the spot where Hepla appeared when she was transported here by her mother.
Melchor and Naerenthyxelle move away to speak, and Manny notices an old, rusty nail on the ground. He picks it up unobserved; at least the zombies do not react. He is able to pick the lock on his chains with it. He is free, but keeps that fact hidden and secret. He hums an old olven song to try and throw off any ESP attempts.
He looks around and finds a spot where he can leap off the side of the plateau. It's not straight down, so he can basically roll down (using tumble skill). It's quite a was down though before he can find any cover or foliage to hide in, hundreds of feet. Unfortunately, you are so high up and in such a stark, rocky area, that there isn't a lot to use.
Manny also notices that his familiar, the falcon Wilbara, and her mate Lantquesse are flying nearby. He thinks that their best use at this point is giving him info as to what the enemy forces are doing. He has a link with Wilbara but can't see what he sees without the spell. But Wilbara can tell him what he sees. Manny will keep them from being targets, just telling him where they aim or move so he can try to escape. Despite their many skills, Manny worries about them becoming targets of arrows and Naerenthyxelle.
[DM OOC: I think he can only speak emphatically with Wilbara, but that's ok. You could jump. It's a slope, and the rules are different. No damage for first 20', then 1d6 for each 10' after. Tumbling would normally not help on a fall after 60', but this is more a slide, bounce, fall. I imagine the fall the guys took in Lone Survivor, if you've seen that. Not pretty, but survivable. I'd let him make a new tumble roll for each 60'. That means he gets 20 free, then a fall of 40' for 4d6 (half with a successful roll). He could make it, and if he spots something on the way he'll have to make a climb check (half his Climb Walls) to stop his fall. This is the same chance for catching a ledge on a fall, and I'm ignoring the restrictions on distance, since again, it's not a fall. I think that's the best way, mechanics-wise, to do it. Since it's about 200' of slide before an edge beyond which he cannot see anything, I would say it's a tough call. There's definitely no brush to hide in for the first two increments, and "maybe" something on the last, depending on the fall.
Also, he has to consider that Naerenthyxelle may be able to find him, even if hiding in shadows. On the other hand, she has his rod stuck in her belt. Nothing a good thief can't grab. Of course, that's what Manny thought about the Necronomicon! It's also possible for him to somehow get it, and then use it to get to safety. So, you give me a specific plan, and I'll work it out. If you have more questions, ask me. I'm not sure how much more detail you need from me.]
Manny is able to express his need somehow to Wilbara, and the falcon swoops down, cawing and making Naerenthyxelle glance that way. Manny slips his chains, tumbling back away from the zombies before they can act. He then then leaps over the ledge before anyone can act. He tumble-slides down the mountainside, falling a total of 60' this round. Made his tumble roll AND his save, so he takes only [7] when he hits a rock. Not bad. He's still tumbling, and he really can't do anything else except tumble.
He tumbles another 60', again making his tumble and his save, taking only [4] as he falls. He is still sliding, falling, and doesn't see any place to hide. He has another 80' before he gets to the edge of a cliff, and he'll either have to stop himself (which requires a climb walls at 1/2 skill) or he will go off the edge. He doesn't know what's over the other side, but he can imagine it's a long way down….
[DM OOC: Manny has 15hp left.]
Manny tries to stop his fall, but he cannot. He keeps sliding another 60'. He made another tumble check, so he only takes another 1/2 dam [6]. He is then able to finally stop. He's 10' from the ledge now, and yes, it is a LONG way down, easily a thousand feet. He knows that there is no way he could survive that fall.
He rolls out of his tumble, scramble, and when he stands he spins around. Naerenthyxelle is standing there, an evil, knowing smirk on her face.
"Did you truly think I did not know your plans?" she asks. "I have read your wondrous mind this entire time. I knew what you were going to try before you knew." She then laughs. "Your powers are insignificant next to mine," she says. "I showed you my true self, for the pure pleasure of seeing the horror on your face, the knowledge that I would drain your life away and there was nothing you could do." She holds up her other hand, holding Wilbara by the tailfeathers. "But first you watch as I slay your precious familiar." A smile of pure wickedness crosses her face as she sees the anger well up in Manny. "Then I shall feed you the pieces!" She tilts her head back and laughs, a loud, horrid laugh that only can find its home in the Abyssal regions.
[DM OOC: Sorry, didn't mean to fool you on all that, but I figured, what better way to simulate the absolute horror and frustration of dealing with, well, a demon, than to so give you false hope, then completely dash it! I know, evil, but I am a DM, and that is a demon.]
Manny knows he is doomed, as is Wilbara. There is only one chance, though not for him. For his people. It is not a thought, but almost instinct. She never picks up a note with her ESP, as Manny turns and leaps off the cliff without a thought, without hesitation. He free falls for about 5 seconds, falling about halfway to the ground far below, and he is oddly at peace. He feels a great sadness for his friends, but at least he knows that his people will be safe. He closes his eyes as he approaches the ground, falling at over 100 mph. To his great surprise he is caught, just before he hits the ground! Massive claws wrap around him, and he looks up at the underbelly of a great, Copper dragon. It is Clonoc!
[DM OOC: BTW, I always assumed that Clonoc would return in the end. I had planned a big battle outside, maybe on the slope or the valley, wasn't sure. I also knew you all would be vastly outnumbered, maybe outgunned, and that Clonoc would have to appear to help, especially if either the Caucimera or the Black Dragon were involved. Things haven't actually gone that way, but Clonoc was always there in the back of my mind. So, why not have him in the area, like I planned, and watching what was going on. When he sees everything, he finally acted. It still follows my original plan which, despite my distaste for the Deus Ex Machina trope, actually works sometimes.]
[Manny OOC: It is interesting, and unlike most deus ex machina, has a logical probability. Clonoc would know we were in dangerous lands. If we hadn't freed him, he wouldn't be available to assist. Actions have consequences. Plus, we freed him from a demon, and now he repays the favor. Not bad.]
[DM OOC: Come on, I'm not going to let you just die, not after everything else that has happened. I'm really not an evil DM!]
[Manny OOC: Maybe, but Manny would rather he have rescued the hawk.]
[DM OOC: sheesh! Give a guy a hand, a full Deus Ex Machina (well, Draconis Ex Machina I guess) one, and the DM STILL can't catch a break!]
"I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT NEED A HAND," says Clonoc as he catches Manny.
Naerenthyxelle moves up to the ledge and looks over, and she is shocked, truly shocked, when she sees the great dragon fly up holding Manny! Wilbara nips at her, and she cries out, surprised, releasing the hawk which immediately flies away.
Naerenthyxelle immediately disappears, knowing more than to tangle with a dragon, as Clonoc flies Manny away, taking off to the north, across the small valley towards another mountain. When he settles down, Manny is overjoyed to have his avian companions back with him as well. He thanks Clonoc, who tells him to sleep. He is safe for now.
It is true; Manny is very tired. He's been up 3 days now, so he falls fast asleep, watched over by Clonoc. He wakes in the morning, having slept all through the night. His hawks are still around too, and he hopefully feels better when they are there sitting over him when he wakes. He can get Clonoc to take him back.
Right now, Manny feels responsible for allowing the book to fall into Iuzian hands and unleashing the type of attack upon his nation that his twin brother gave his life to stop. Not to mention completely besmirching his own, his family's and his clan's honor by allowing his brother's sword to fall into evil hands while he still lived.
Manny seldom does elven reverie, the reason being the elven memory is as sharp as if the event had just happened. Think about that and his description for a moment. Most of his memories involve his brother, which inevitably leads his thoughts back to the day he died. There is no 'Time heals all wounds', the memory is as fresh as if he had died that day. Manny can't escape or evade it, it is always there.
Now, to make it worse, he just made that sacrifice meaningless. The worst tear, the greatest loss of his life just lost all meaning. To go with that, he lost something he was supposed to guard with his life. The item his brother's life had been intimately caught up with. It was not just a relic, it was a symbol of his brother's life to him.
Now he has 3-4 hundred years to look forward to of constantly re-living that. I had him holding on to the thread of attempting to retrieve it, then of passing information on to the party of what they face.
The party has reached the entrance to the caves, which are being watched by a large contingent of the Iuzian forces. Thorgrim casts Recitation, reading aloud ancient dwarven quotes from his clan’s history. This pretty much affects everyone, but the dwarves especially. Emboldened by the spell, they charge outside. There they are attacked by some zombie wolves. The wolves attack, strangely slowly, but Gotrek and Belak are in the lead, singing their warsong. The two battleragers quickly cut down two wolves, as the half-dozen hobgoblins outside call for help. They take up positions ready to charge back, and they are backed up by a dozen gnolls which move up, longbows out. They fire them into the dwarves, sticking them (and a couple zombie wolves) with arrows. Of course, the dwarves just laugh, continuing their raging battle.
The rest of the Azcral rush outside. They erupt out of the skull archway like a rolling avalanche, bowling over two wolves and pushing the others back. A group rushes straight ahead, taking the fight to the hobgoblins. The gnolls back up, changing targets and going after the Azcral, one of which goes down with a couple arrows in his chest. Beyond the gnolls, the men arise from their cold campfires (it's morning and the fires are out), grabbing up weapons.
The Azcral attack, driving back the remaining wolves, and along with Gotrek and Belak they finish them off. The rest push forward and attack the hobgoblins.
Gnolls fire again, their arrows finding the mark more often than not.
Justarius charges around to his right, attacking the gnoll archers, while Godwynn goes left, attacking the gnolls on that side. Doran goes out and backs up Justarius, casting a sleep spell which drops two gnolls. Thaddeus moves to the right, taking cover behind a large rock. He fires at a gnoll archer, hitting it [6].
Some gnolls change weapons and attack the paladins, while a couple fire again into the mob of dwarves. One more Azcral falls.
The hobgoblins attack, a couple scoring hits on dwarves.
Emyn stays back, keeping Hepla safe inside. Elrae stands by him as well, while Berenn moves outside, taking out his bow and preparing to join the archery fight. Isilme flies out, ending up about dead center of the battle but about 50' in the air, invisible as usual.
With a wild laugh, Gotrek charges forward, slipping right between a couple of Azcral. With a mighty swing, he cleaves a hobgoblin nearly in two! As the halves fall away, he yanks Goreblade free and searches for his next target....
Keeping watch behind them, Emyn hears a familiar scrapping sound. He is thus not surprised by the zombie that shuffles into the chamber and attacks him. [That's mostly going with your stated actions of watching behind you. Otherwise, it could have gained a surprise attack.
Elrae was about to move out, but now he stays where he is, calling Hepla to him. Hepla moves over, ready to act either inside or outside, as needed. Emyn then moves up and blocks the way into the chamber. He swings his bastard sword, hitting the zombie [8], but it just keeps coming....
Sir Godwynn scores another weak hit with his mace [6]. They are just glancing blows, and he grits his teeth as he takes a blow in response from one of the gnolls [5].
The other gnolls attack, with two firing at Thaddeus, who ducks and avoids their arrows. The other three attack Justarius, and all miss badly. One even hits its companion [6].
The rest of the Azcral dwarves then attack. They surge forth, swarming the hobgoblins, taking all of them down with cuts of their axes. Only a couple hang back, as one is sorely wounded, and his companion holds him back. Berenn steps up, pulls out his rod, and heals the dwarf. With a happy grin, it turns back, ready to charge again!
The rest of the Azcral go left and right, attacking the gnolls. Gilhak and another dwarf check on one of their downed comrades. He too is wounded [down to 0 hp] but alive. Thorgrim moves up to the last down dwarf, and he is badly wounded. A CLW brings him back from the brink of death [to 2 hp].
Marius moves over and casts CLW on the other downed dwarf, bringing him back to 8 hp. He wakes up, and the three help him to his feet. Lt. Thatcher stays by Marius's side, but on hearing the call from inside, he turns and moves back in.
Thaddeus then fires, putting an arrow in the chest of one gnoll [8].
The battle seems to be in order, when suddenly the mountain men beyond charge forward, into the rear of the gnolls! The battle is then swift, and never uncertain. They absolutely surprise the gnolls, which are cut down like chaff. In a moment it is all over.
Well, almost. Gotrek comes out of his rage, but Belak, his new Battlerager follower/henchman does not!
[DM OOC: No map, as I don't think it's now needed. With the men switching sides, the battle is over. Well, except for the zombies inside and Belak still raging.]
Inside, the zombie missed Emyn, who then attacks it and kills it. He kicks it backwards, and Elrae uses Snowfang to create a Wall of Ice to block the way in case there are more.
Outside, Gotrek grabs the raging Belak, who then punches him in the face [4]. Four Azcral then jump him, pulling him down. Eventually he calms down, and he too slumps to the ground. He looks over at Gotrek's lip, dripping blood, then starts to laugh. There are no other opponents, though 20 odd barbarians are now standing before you, bloody weapons in hand.
Emyn comes out of the entrance with the others and moves to the main group in a show of strength. "You know, it might be a good test of your earthquake hammer to collapse that dungeon and its entrance,” he says to Thorgrim. “You might even catch a bunch of the enemy in the collapse."
"Whose side are you on?" Thaddeus then asks the mountain men.
They know all about Melchor and the Iuzians, and they tell their story. The Iuzians came through their village nearly a month ago. After killing and then raising some of their people, the Iuzians forced these men to guide them here. They have been forced to do their bidding for a month. Many of the human zombies you have encountered were their people. They have had no choice but to do as they said, until now.
So, they basically just took their chance. They can tell you that Melchor and the elf woman Naer something, they left yesterday, heading back east with some gnolls and zombies, including the ogre zombie. They have not returned, nor do they expect them to. Melchor left the mage Altarius in charge, and all the rest of the Iuzian leaders went back inside the caverns this morning. You actually just missed them!
Emyn says, "I am Emyn Frel and we are the Heroes of Hommlett. As you can see, I am an avenger of Trithereon. Would you join us in tracking the Iuzians and raining vengeance upon them? What they have done to your people is wrong and they have seized a friend of ours as well as a special book that will allow them to unleash untold undead horrors upon the world. Will you help us find they way and join us in the fight?"
The leader, a warrior named Karkon, speaks for them. "You can count on our steel," he says. "We would send our friends to their rest, and these fiends to Hell."
[DM OOC: The mountain men come from a village to the north named Zillar. It lies to the west of the Salach Valley. They know of Karprun and Ammsee, but they did not know of the Azcral. In fact, they can give you a lot of info, but it's not really pertinent right now. Let's move on, and when the immediate issues are resolved, if you survive, we can revisit this.]
So, Berenn and Thaddeus can use their ability to track, and you can easily follow Melchor and his group to the east.
"Thorgrim, collapse that cavern,” says Emyn. “Let's move! It is time to seek our revenge and rescue our friend."
"'Ware of landslides," Thorgrim says, and everyone moves far away. He plants Earthshaker in the ground, speaking the Dwarvish rune inscribed upon its head. With a great rumble, he collapses the entire front of the entrance. "May that evil mountain be their tomb," Thorgrim declares with satisfaction. "May they rue the day if ever they escape its confines and face us in battle again."
Berenn is able to track their prints. It seems that a group of gnolls and zombies went back down the valley to the east. They were half-dragging Manny. Tracks are at least a day old.
Thorgrim takes a stand on the nearest boulder. "Dwarves, Humans, Adventurers...the vow has been taken, together, to do all within our ability to do battle with the evil powers which govern this world. With forces joined, our strength waxes...to become a deadly Force!"
"Now, affirm your oaths!"
Emyn draws his sword with a deadly rasping sound and says, "I have stood with you for many battles. I will not shirk my duty here. TO VENGEANCE!"
The many cheer, and the group then continue down the mountain pass. Thaddeus and Berenn easily track the Iuzians all the way back to the crossroads, then find that their trail goes off to the right, leading to the flat-topped mountain.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:05 am; edited 1 time in total
After leaving the caverns, the party travelled down the mountain to the crossroads. The trail leads up the flat-topped mountain, where Hepla was transported here by her mother. It takes a few hours, so we are talking maybe noon the next day when the party finally reaches the top of the mountain. There they find a familiar sight. It is the great copper dragon, Clonoc, lying stretched out and enjoying the sun.
Hepla says, "Great Clonoc, we search for some who stole our friend, would you please help us."
"THEY ARE GONE," says Clonoc. He angles his head and neck to the side, indicating behind him. There you see Manny, sitting upon an old foundation stone beside the ancient temple marker where Hepla arrived.
"Great Clonoc, have the Iuzians escaped?” asks Emyn quickly. “Were they destroyed? Is the Necronomicon made safe? I apologize for my ignorance but I don't have your mighty gifts, let alone your vast intelligence."
"Manny, what happened, how are you, where are the evil people.". Hepla runs everything into one sentence.
Manny doesn’t say anything, lost in an unusually depressed silence. Clonoc explains that he found the zombies and killed them. He didn't see the gnolls or the other two Iuzians. He relates how he saved Manny, but when he returned, the Iuzians were gone.
"Thank you for rescuing him, great Clonoc. We are in your debt.” Hepla runs up to Manny and hugs him. Approaching, you realize Manny is deep in reverie, though it seems less than restful. Tears stream from his eyes, as he mouths words that barely make a sound. Hepla leans close, to hear what he says.
"The wrong one died." Manny swings his legs down and stands up. "Naer is a succubus. I fought her and lost. They came up here to use some means to travel to Iuz. My equipment and any chance to regain my honor went with them."
Emyn lowers his head and says, "Then we have failed. We surely cannot pursue them into the bone-paved streets of Dorakaa. Manny, you did what you could under impossible odds. There is no dishonor in failure. What matters is the effort was made. What manner of travel did they use?"
Manny shrugs. "I have no idea. My escape attempt and Clonoc's rescue came before they left. Failure was mine before this. This but compounded it to disgrace. Despair is all that afflicts me."
Emyn remembers his own travails, and he nods, not pressing him many further.
"Berenn, Thorgrim, get over here and check Manny out to see if something else afflicts him." To the others he says, "The Necronomicon is lost, and the enemy has escaped to the lands of the Old One. It is now our duty to return to those who sent us and warn them of this new threat. Perhaps saving the Lanthorn will help balance things. Let us camp here for the night under Clonoc's watchful presence and then move on as quickly as we can."
"There really is no help for it,” mumbles Manny. “I've betrayed all I hold dear and there is just no point to continuing."
"Manny, how have you betrayed?" asks Emyn as he holds Manny's hands, "Though Trithereon brings vengeance, we who worship him also know that at times forgiveness is also possible. Confess your sins and let us find a way together to make them right. I as a friend, could do no less to help you."
Berenn thinks Manny is drowning in despair and there is no magic which will fix it. Marius goes to Manny. "You do not know me," he says, "but I feel your pain. I have suffered as you these last days, leading all but these last of my companions to death, or worse."
Manny looks up, seeing the Priest of Rao for the first time. He also notices the other men with him [DM OOC: I mean the other party NOT the mountain men tagging along!] "We numbered seventeen when we left Highfolk." He stops, looking to the east, towards Highfolk, just as Manny looked in the direction of the Vesve. "Only we five remain, and were it not for your friends, I fear we would not have lasted long." He looks back at Manny, his kind, knowing eyes strong and resolute. "We have only to go on," he says. "It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things."
[DM OOC: BTW, I thought I would give you a view of the flat-topped mountain. [It's actually Monte Piano, if you want to look it up!]
Manny pulls his hands free. "Better things? They lie dead at my back. None of you understand. It's not just that I allowed the book to pass into Iuz's hands, though that is bad enough. It makes the sacrifice of my brother for naught. Nay, far worse was my folly! Striving and failing. Aye, it happens. But I carried my brother's blade! The ancient, Vesve Forest Sylvan Bladesinger relic! Lost to those scum! I have dishonored not just myself but my family and Clan! I SHOULD HAVE DIED TO PROTECT IT! And I didn't. I couldn't even fight for it." Manny slumps back against the stone. "I do not even deserve the effort mighty Clonoc made. My brother brought our family to the height of honor, and I have trampled it into the dirt."
Gotrek approaches, standing before the disconsolate elf. "I will go with you. Help you retrieve your prized weapon." He takes Goreblade, and uses it to slice his arm, the blood flowing freely to the cold stone ground.
"THIS, I swear to, by CLANGEDDIN!"
As he says this, there is a rumbling of sound like thunder, but no one can discern the source. Unless you can feel a god's wrath, under your skin. Gotrek can. And he howls in his god's anger.
Sir Godwynn also approaches, then knells before Manny. "I know your pain, but know this. Were it not for you I would be dead. Were it not for you, Lord Berenn would be dead. Were it not for you, Lady Hepla would be dead. Her unborn child would never be. Were it not for you, we may never have survived that abyssal spider beast. We would not have saved Justarius there, nor his comrades. Our brave dwarven comrades would likely have met their deaths, and the men of Zillar would be yet enslaved, like as not to meet a dreadful end worse than death. All these owe you their lives, and all lives saved by them in the future. 'Tis no small thing you have done, Menelbrethil of the Vesve."
Emyn looks in Manny's eyes, locking him with a gaze so intense that he cannot look away.
"By Trithereon I swear that vengeance will be had Manny. I shall stand by your side as a living weapon and see that justice is done for you, your brother and your people. " Emyn holds his gaze and adds, "Trithereon grant me the power to pursue this Succubus Naer and wreak vengeance upon her. Fill me with your divine might and make me into you weapon. Fill us all with righteous anger so that we can right this wrong and throw down those who would use their power to enslave the world "
Thaddeus moves up and says: "We all need to keep the world free of these troublemakers ... count me in for the chase."
Silent for some time, Thorgrim ends his meditation, and responds to Manny. "Have faith, my friend, that we may somehow regain what you have lost. Had you died protecting it, it would still be in the hands of the Iuzians, with no one left to retrieve it. While you yet live, there is hope. I myself have known great loss. When I was but a youth, Orcs through treachery invaded my ancestral fortress when no warriors were there to defend it. They slaughtered all who remained. I wanted to fight and defend my home, but was instead shuttled away with some others, at my mother's insistence. She died so that I might live to fight another day. That day comes soon, and the Euroz will know the name of the one who brings vengeance raining down upon them. The place is set, but no one, not even I, knows the time."
Isilme reasons that this location allows teleportation, so she decides to try to contact Lareth. She casts Magic Mirror, and she is able to scry him. She then instructs him to use the mirror to open a gateway to her. He does so, which allows EVERYONE to go back home. Azcral survivors return to Homlet with you. The men from Zillar decide to return to their village, and Clonoc will protect them if the Iuzians return.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:07 am; edited 1 time in total
After a short break in Hommlet, just a day to rest, clean up, etc., the party gathers at Isilme's grove. This group includes the Veluna party. They are all amazed by the place, especially Marius, who has never seen such trees. "A small slice of Arvandor," says Lareth with a rare smile. Others note he seems much better.
Isilme leads everyone to her island home where she keeps the mirror. There you scry someplace in Mitrik, doesn't matter where, and open a gate through which everyone can step. Hepla remains behind with the other half of the communication scroll, so that Isilme can call on her to reopen the mirror later. This time Isilme and Emyn make sure that Hepla remains home!
Small crowds gather as you walk there, drawn by your presence as well as those that are with you. It seems word has spread since your departure. In the mean time, the party returns to the Palladium where they are ushered into the presence of Canon Hazen.
Canon Hazen greets Marius Velestes and the others, and he is very saddened by the small number of people returning. Marius gives a full accounting of their travels, their conflicts with the Iuzians, losses in the Caverns, and finally their rescue by the Heroes of Hommlet. Then the party can add in their own details.
"We were able to find and recover Daoud’s Wondrous Lanthorn,” says Berenn, “but the Necronomicon was lost to the hosts of Iuz. They brought a small army into the caverns and we were not able to prevent them from escaping with the book."
Emyn bows deeply and says, "Your Holiness, I am Emyn Frel, Avenger of Trithereon. May I also add that we have brought some of the expedition's dead with us as well, including some who were turned to stone and might yet be restored to life. Though our faiths sometimes don't see eye to eye on matters, I would beseech you to help those we have recovered for we will need all our strength to fight the Old ONe's forces now that he has this terrible book. Also, you should know that the ancient mage Tsojcanth has been laid to rest and through his death, a rift to the Abyss was closed. Iuzians still prowl the caves along with many terrible evils, including a death tyrant."
You learn that the Lanthorn was not known to them, but from them you can learn more about it. Nobody knows what's in the Necronomicon, but the consensus is that it can't be good.
Isilme bows deeply and says "As I promised your holiness and the king of Furondy, we have done the utmost to know the fate of the joint party, and bring home those we could. Sadly we were only able to keep some of those powerful items out of evils hands, but it seems a stalemate. The Necronomicon has fallen to them, and the lantern has fallen to us. Dark times may be coming, and we need to act together.”
“We shall see what we can do about those turned to stone,” he replies. He also gives Berenn a scroll of Raise Dead, in gratitude for his service.
Berenn thanks the church leaders for their generous gift.
Emyn says, "Let us return to our homes for a time and allow Manny, Isilme, Elrae and Hepla to study, unless you feel like going after those Iuzians in the caverns first."
Thaddeus will return to Highfolk, and Gilhak and the rest of the Azcral will go with him. One Azcral, Belak, does not wish to go. He is now a 3rd level battlerager, and he chooses to follow Gotrek. "Where you go, I follow," he says flatly.
Six Azcral dwarves decide to stay behind in Hommlet too. One is Orili, the scout from outside the caverns. I think he's one of the last surviving named ones. The other 5 are just 3rd level fighters, but generic, without anything worked up individually. They all promise to stay in touch through Hepla and Isilme.
Thorgrim leads the surviving Azcral to his shrine to Clangeddin. He kneels and prays for a very long time.
Rising, he notes with satisfaction how well the shrine has been tended in his absence. He is somewhat surprised to notice various baubles on the offering-plate, placed there, perhaps, by passing travelers. There is a silver necklace, a small bag tied shut, a dagger, a pitted sword. Thorgrim adds his MW warhammer to the lot, and some of the Azcral follow suit with offerings of their own. He then calls down a Flame Strike, consuming them utterly and reducing the steel plate to a molten puddle, glowing red. When it cools, there is no trace of the offerings, nor of encroaching rust.
"Mm!" Thorgrim grunts in satisfaction. He retrieves his cask of Dwarven ale from his Portable Hole, and casts Blessed Abundance, multiplying his store greatly.
"Drink!" he bids the Dwarves. "Drink to Delaim. Drink to the dead. Remember them always, in our tales. Honor their memory, when we do battle."
He then sits on his porch and has a long-awaited smoke, but does not enjoy it as usual. He says little, watching the Dwarves drink, watching the river flow past on its slow march to the Nyr Dyv, and to the sea.
The next morning, the group gathers at Isilme’s island again. There, Hepla scries Manny’s sword. Manny says nothing, still lost in despair. Her crystal ball reveals a woman. Some recognize her; she was the rogue archer with the Iuzians. The sword is on her belt. Manny’s eyes widen as he recognizes the beautiful, elven scabbard and the unique pommel.
The view is inside, as Manny saw the cobbled stone floor. Where inside, he doesn't know; however, Isilme recognizes the place. “It is the throne room, deep inside the Horn,” she says. “It seems that divinations now work,” she adds.
She hears conversations, and one of the things you learn from them speaking is that most of the dungeon level collapsed. The Iuzians within the caverns could not go beyond the small throne room. They are not really trapped, and know that, but at least they are free to explore without interference. That's what they are doing now, with some arguing that they should finish checking the upper caverns first.
"Moolah is doing that," says a familiar voice. That of Deverell, the priest with the greatsword. "He and his kind are more suited to caves anyway."
"Since divinations now work, maybe we can teleport or gate as well,” says Thorgrim. “We know the place and could pick a place from which to ambush them!”
"Remember,” says Emyn, “they surely have mages. Our spellcasters should hit them hard and fast.”
"Oh, I agree,” says Manny, his old energy suddenly returning. “Here is my idea. First, find out if the mirror will work. If it does, then we trap them in an ambush. With surprise on our side for a change, we can finally give them a taste of their own medicine.”
Isilme uses the mirror to open a gate to the caverns nearby, and everyone holds their breath. Remarkably, the mirror works. The party gathers their things and prepares to return for one final accounting….
[DM OOC: The party spent a LONG time planning this coming assault. They have more spells prepared than I can list, but suffice to say, the left no stone unturned! They finish healing, then the next day they use the mirror to enter the far end of the throne area, away from prying eyes.]
Gotrek grunts. He aches for battle. He knows deep down Isilme could have handled this in a more conventional, subterfuge manner. But he needs this. If this plan goes awry, he will blame himself heavily. He pushed for it. Gotrek shakes his head. He stares ahead, waiting to move thru the gate, once established.
Everyone goes through the mirror except Gotrek, who gets the last Haste from Hepla before entering.
Noot and Manny get to the far side and flank out to the sides. They cannot see the throne area from here, so they move around. They fly up and around, spying a handful of figures at the far end, standing around the throne. They move quickly along the side walls, then throw their silence stones as the rest of the party should be just about clearing the entrance and moving up to the main floor. Nobody moves atop the stairs, and soon everyone is pretty much there, though all but Thorgrim I believe are invisible. The figures at the top of the dais are clearly Azcral dwarves. When you get close, you see that they are all now undead, in the service of the Old One!
Gotrek rushes forward on the attack. As everyone gets closer, you realize the Iuzians are nowhere to be found. The zombies fall before Gotrek, and the party looks around, wondering what to do next.
[DM OOC: Oh, I’m sorry, did you think the Iuzians would still be there? You could have checked BEFORE you teleported!]
There is an open door to the right, where you guys never went. Manny checks it out. Through the doorway lies a smaller chamber, measuring some 15 feet in either direction. Against the northern and southern walls rests a pair of high-backed couches covered in stained red leather. An elegant, gold-framed mirror reflects the scene from high upon the east wall. The floor is tiled with the same colorful slate, and a faint floral aroma hangs in the air. Disrupting the room’s pleasant flow is a gaping hole with jagged edges where the two walls meet in the northeast corner. It looks like it was tunneled at some time in the recent past. Manny notes (using his skills which I just rolled!) recent traffic in here. The place is freshly "tossed" and there are footprints leading away down the passage.
Gotrek continues to sing and runs off down the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness. The zombie were not enough to sate the vengeful dwarf, and others wonder if it is safe to follow him.
Isilme looks around, pretty sure that there's nothing to find here. Thorgrim is up on the dais now, speaking with Sir Godwynn. He thanks him for sending the poor lads to their rest. Meanwhile, Emyn, benefiting from a Fly spell, whooshes by Isilme as he flies after Gotrek. The dark tunnel goes on straight for some time, before starting to turn back and forth as it winds downwards. Gotrek continues to run, signing his warsong....
"This is no time to laze about,” says Isilme, invisibile and flying. “Our friend Gotrek needs us! Follow him!" She then takes off as well.
“Aye!" Thorgrim says. He hurries after Gotrek, hoping to do battle before the effects of his protective spells wear off, followed by the rest.
Gotrek rushes into a small natural chamber. There is an exit on the far side, covered by a half-broken Wall of Stone. He rushes through it and down the tunnel beyond, which winds band and forth quite a bit. The others come following.
Following in the narrow tunnel are all the rest, but with him running hasted, Gotrek is far ahead. He will end up with about 5 rounds of fighting on his own before anyone reaches him. The order will be as follows, unless somebody does something different.
When Gotrek runs around the last bend, he sees a sight that stops him in his tracks, even in his raging state. Well, at least for a second, but what has ever done that?
From around the last corner comes the maddening din of many babbling voices, all screeching over one another. When he rounds the corner, he sees that the source of the voices is not the Iuzians. Rather, it is a large fleshy form covered in mouths and eyes, like the liquefied fusion of many human and nonhuman faces. The nightmarish creature oozes forward eagerly.
He stands dumbstruck for a moment, and the sound of all the gibbering mouths confuses him, but only for a moment, as the rage fills his mind again. All he sees is his next enemy, and with a song to Clanggedin, he rushes forward eagerly!
[EMYN OOC: Yay! Jubilex the Demon Lord.]
[Berenn OOC: This is getting better all the time!]
When Berenn enters last, he takes his time. Eveyrone else is just running after Gotrek, which he doesn't want to even do, so he looks around. He notes there are a lot of tracks into that tunnel, and very few leading out.
Gotrek attacks, hacking at the monstrosity with Goreblade, but not hitting anything really solid (i.e. he missed!) despite his Haste and Rage. The thing lurched its green, slimy body toward him, all its mouths working. Some were biting at the floor, pulling its nasty bulk along; others were babbling nonstop. Imagine all the inmates of an asylum talking, screaming, and mumbling at once. The noise it was making was even worse than that —or it would have been if Gotrek were not lost in his rage. At least madmen speak in voices that are human. This thing doesn'’t; its din is a combination of sounds resembling human voices, animal noises, and things you would rather not think about. It’s the sound of chaos incarnate—not just the voices of the insane, but the voice of insanity itself. It is enough to unseat your reason, which lucky for Gotrek was already long gone!
Just as the monster advanced, one of its mouths cut loose with a nasty gob of saliva. The liquid struck the wall behind Gotrek, who ducked quickly, and exploded impressively. He almost dropped goreblade when he felt the heat and pressure from the burst on his back. The flash momentarily blinded his infravision; leaving him open to attack. The stone floor around the monster smelled like it was baking, and Gotrek's steps were slowed in the softening stone. The thing lurched forward, striking out with strange, amorphous pseudopods, each snapping with jaws that resembled many diverse creatures, all that had fallen to this monstrosity. Gotrek didn't know how many mouths bit him; he was nearly lost in his rage. Then with surprising strength Gotrek felt himself being pulled by the mouths which had latched onto him. He barely avoided falling, and he swung Goreblade wildly in response, with only one swing connecting with anything solid [20].
Gotrek attacks again, hitting for [15]. The mouther let fly with another spitball—. BANG! Gotrek is blinded by the flash. Then he is pulled to the ground, engulfed by the monstrous abomination. He is bitten by untold numbers of mouths and finds that he cannot swing Goreblade effectively. He is half sunk in hot mud beneath the thing, which sucks at him like quicksand. He tries to crawl away, but he can only go about 10', and the thing just flows along with him. He knows that he will have to cut himself out!
The others are still moving down the tunnel, Emyn in the lead. He thinks he can faintly hear Gotrek's singing in the distance, then it goes away.
[DM OOC: Just copying the note of the party's order. Thorgrim, running now, passes Sir Godwynn and Elrae. You can't use the "run" rules with Flying; it's one big disadvantage. He will pass Manny and Isilme next round!
Reinforcement Order.
Emyn, Isilme, and Manny on Round 5, ie will be able to act on round 6.
Thorgrim on Round 4. He'll pass Isilme and Manny on Rounnd 3, and reach the battle on round 4.
Elrae on round 6.
Noot and Sir Godwynn on round 7.
Berenn is not following.]
Round 3
Gotrek continues to be bitten, and he is now blinded by the spittle flash. Still, he refuses to give in. With herculean effort he pushes up from the muck, resists the tugging pull of the thing's amoebic forms, rips his way from the many, many teeth that had latched upon him, and breaks free! He stumbles out of the thing, slamming against the cavern wall. He looks down the tunnel from whence he came, and the thought of retreat crosses his mind, the first time ever in the middle of a fight. Seeing such a creature before him, is as close to a "Clangeddin" rapture he could achieve. Even though he may be near certain death, he howls with joy!
Round 4
The thing lunges forward again, bringing Gotrek out of his momentary hesitation. He looks at the monstrosity as it surges forward, and he hears the call of Clangeddin. It overpowers his senses, and he sings back, at the top of his lungs and he presses forward to meet it. Goreblades flashes back and forth, cutting huge swaths of gelatinous goo [16] as the mouther launched another exploding spittle at him. It misses, flying over his head as Gotrek sinks to his knees in the quicksand-like ground.
Pseudopods gnash out at him, and he barely feels their bites. All they tell him is he is still alive, which means he can do Clangeddin's bidding. He swings again, and again, his muscles fueled by the unnatural speed given by Hepla. He takes two more massive chunks out of the thing [19, and 17]. It doesn't even seem to notice, and Gotrek, well he just smiles!
Back down the tunnel, Thorgrim is breathing heavy now, but he keeps running, desire to reach his companion pushing aside all other thoughts. He hears Gotrek singing ahead now, and behind it, muffled by the dwarf's great lungs, a strange sound that he just can't identify. He keeps running, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Whur A Faeyn!!!"
I guess I had that mixed up. OK, Thorgrim has reached Gotrek. He rounds the last corner and sees the battle ahead of him. He collapses against the wall, barely holding himself up as he catches his breath. Well, something I'm going to have to figure out. He failed his con check, so by the rules he collapses for a TURN! I think that's lame, so I'm going to use the Fatigue rules from Combat & Tactics. Exhausted characters move and fight as if they were encumbered two categories more than normal. His move drops to 1", and is at -4 "to hit" and +3 to AC. He needs to make a save vs. Paralyzation (using con bonus too) to recover. That'll work for now. I'm going to streamline this system in the future. But this works for now.]
Thorgrim just ran 'til he almost dropped! Slumped against the wall, he can barely keep going. However, there's nothing to stop him from spellcasting, and he begins to call upon Clangeddin for aid! [I don't know what he will cast, but it'll be good! Kinda want to hold onto the Holy Orb, but I don't know.....]
Sir Godwynn runs ahead, and he runs into Manny, also invisible and flying. Manny is knocked into the wall [1], and he turns to see somebody invisible collapse to the ground! Sir Godwynn is prone; he'll have to get up next round, then can continue. [DM OOC: It's tough when you are all invisible!]
New reinforcing order:
Emyn and Isilme will arrive next round, 5th.
Manny on round 6 now, along with Elrae on round 6.
Noot and Sir Godwynn on round 7.
Berenn is not going to matter.
Berenn is checking the footprints. Well, it doesn't really matter now. There are no other exits from this tunnel, so it's just the gibbering mouther. Most the Iuzian "characters" got out, but their minions, well, let's just say they bit off more than they could chew. The same can't be said for the gibbering mouther!
Thorgrim is taken aback by the sight of the hideous monstrosity before him. "DIE NOW, ABOMINATION FROM HELL!" he shouts. "FEEL THE POWER OF CLANGGEDIN'S HOLY MIGHT!" Thorgrim casts Holy Orb in such a fashion as to not catch Gotrek in the AOE. He gathers this thing is big enough to accomplish this.
Exhausted from his run, Thorgrim does his best to drive the hideous gibbering from his mind as he casts Holy Orb upon the abomination before him. [DM OOC: I made him do a Concentration check at -4, the same as his "to hit" modifier for being exhausted. He made it easily!] The white light streaks from his hand out to the center of the cavern where it explodes amidst the thing's central mass [10].
As if in response, one of the things many gnashing maws spits forth a stream of spittle which explodes in Thorgrim's face, blinding him (3 rounds)!
Gotrek is again yanked down by the mouther, as it smothers him, attacking him with numerous bites. Further, it presses forward, after covering Gotrek, close enough that it can also lash out at Thorgrim with more snapping pseudopods. He is hit by 6 maws [6], all of which grab him fiercely.
Gotrek struggles free, standing up and swinging Goreblade in a massive arc, ripping his way out from beneath the thing [20]. The hole he carved closes right back up as he stands, nearly to his neck and struggles out of the thing, back to the wall.
Emyn and Isilme arrive at the end of the round, both invisible and flying.
Manny will arrive on round 6 now, along with Elrae.
Noot and Sir Godwynn on round 7.
Berenn is not going to matter. (Incidentally, he tries to track the Iuzians, but cannot over the cobblestone floor inside.)
When Elrae turns the corner and sees his friends engulfed in a hideous monstrosity of gaping jaws and lidless eyes, he gasps and retches in his mouth. The mouths move yet are silenced from Isilme's spell, which means Elrea's countersong is unnecessary. Elrae spreads his fingers and unleash a volley of magic missiles staying away from the silence sphere and lashing pseudopods.
Isilme turns a bend as well and sees this hideous creature come into view with her friend Gotrek penned in and bleeding against the wall. She feels a wave of despair break over her. He has finally done it this time. Perhaps the mighty dwarf will finally fall.
Her magic is weak, the stuff of whispy enchantments and otherworldly summons. No time to plan. What can she do?
Then she feels a deep and dark anger burn within her.....she must do....something. She must help her friend. Then a vague and distant memory crosses her mind....she is sure it is not even her own memory.....how strange. She sings words of power as if she has known them her whole life and unleashes energy the likes she has never felt before upon the creature to save her friend.
"Ulu l'choas yutsu!" she says in drow, as she casts "Vecna's Dark Fury!"
[DM OOC: This is a unique spell she “acquired” the ability to cast from the mind of Chardath in the Ghost Tower. This is the first time she has used it, and maybe for good reason.
Vecna's Dark Fury (Necromancy)
Range: 60 feet + 10 feet per level
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
Casting Time: 2
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None
Original Author: Robert Johan Enters
This spell brings into being one globe of negative material for every three levels of the caster. These globes can be targeted at one or multiple targets (as many as there are globes). Each globe strikes the target unerringly, like a magic missile, but is unhindered by any defensive spells. It roars straight through walls of force, shields, etc.
Only magic resistance (if successful) or an anti-magic shell or similar magic stops such a bolt. Each bolt does damage for 3d6+3 points.]
Isilme draws upon the dark power she learned years ago, in the nightmare realm of Chardath's mind. She thought she spoke Drow, but the words seem different; darker, and strained. The very air above the monstrosity begins to spin, dark tendrils of pure negative power spinning into annhilating votices of doom. Thorgrim hears the sound, but doesn't recognize it. But he remembers the sphere summoned in the Temple of Evil, during the final battle with Imix, the Dread Prince of Elemental Fire. While not as big, there are three, and they shortly show their incredible power.
They descend on the gibbering mouther abomination, which seems to also reach out towards them, pseudopods sucked into the three spinning voids, gibbering screams suddenly drained away into nothingness. Tremendous swaths of the thing simple cease to be, sucked into the deadly disks where they vanish without a trace. The remaining mouths scream one last dispairing wail, as the abomination is ripped to pieces by the terrible forces unleashed.
[48 damage dealt!]
Gotrek is oblivious to the scene in the cavern beyond, seeing only the creature before him, and he cuts huge swatches through it, ripping holes that this time do not close behind the fury of Goreblade [18, 19]. The pseudopods that were attached fall limp around him, and he just continues his wanton destruction, even as the magic disappears, taking with it the foul life of the unnatural beast.
Thorgrim leans against the wall, exhausted and stunned, before slumping to the ground. He doesn't eve remove the half-dozen jaws, still clamped to him in death. He is just too tired! He looks back as he sees Isilme appear, and he sees her just floating there, seemingly dazed.
Emyn flies over to Isilme and tries to get her out of her daze, saying, "Isilme, you did what must be done and saved lives by doing it. Let me help you." He carefully brings her to the ground where Berenn or Thorgrim can minister to her. "What I wouldn't do for Hepla's smelling salts right now," he mutters.
Isilme seems completely disoriented and out of focus. "Help them?" She stammers.
They are fine, and Gotrek finally comes out of his rage. Emyn helps Thorgrim up.
"Just had to catch me breath," he says, still a bit winded. "Ain't run that hard since Jargret was chasing me." When Emyn just stares at him, Thorgrim explains. "Her name literally means 'Ugly daughter,'" he says, chuckling at the memory.
"Your rage served you well, this time," Thorgrim says to Gotrek. He clasps a hand to his friend's bloody shoulder. "Perhaps you should..." he lets his sentence trail, realizing its futility. "Here, accept this healing. I'm already here, aren't I?" Thorgrim casts cure spells upon him, as Manny casts Locate Object to find his sword.
The spell points him up, and the party begins to follow the trail best they can. They make their way to the Greater caverns, where they run into a couple of beholders. Isilme quickly realizes that they are gas spores, and the party gives them a wide berth. They soon find more; the caverns seem to be infested with the things. You go around that way, with the others slipping back and looping around. Noot stays absolutely still, and he notes that when he does, also controlling his breathing, the things slip on by, moving towards the sounds made by the others and they move around the corner. They seem to have excellent hearing, though he saw no ears. Perhaps, me muses, they can sense vibrations in the air, like a fish in water. Very interesting.
Manny is in the lead, and when he gets to the four-way intersection above, he sees a terrible sight. A group of bodies lie on the ground, three orcs and a man wearing the garb of a priest of the Old One. The bodies seem to be dessicated husks, and sprouting from the bodies are a half-dozen more of the gas spores, though of smaller size than the others. They are still attached by their fibrous tentacles, not yet having separated from the corpses of their hosts.
They avoid them and make their way to the Behir caver. Berenn notes tracks leaving, showing that the Iuzians must have chosen to leave the caverns after their encounter with the gibbering mouther. They party follows, leaving the caverns for good this time as they track the Iuzians and Manny’s sword. They are soon outside, and they make their way around to the front. Berenn confirms that the Iuzians have started down, and they are currently in the valley leading back down.
After some more planning, the party rushes down the mountain and prepares to attack the remaining Iuzians while still in the pass.
Last edited by ragnar on Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:07 am; edited 1 time in total
With the party having decided to ambush the Iuzians as they are leaving the area through the narrow canyon. The party spent a full week planning and preparing, which culminated in lots of Stoneskins, Flying, Silence, and Invisibility. I will skip all that, but I will sum up what happened with a picture.
After some quick moments in which everyone decides to basically follow the plan, Elrae and Thorgrim cast silence spells on the rocks for Noot and Manny to carry. They fly out out to gain flanking positions to either side of the narrow canyon. After the first attacking spells, they will immediately toss them into the group of enemy leaders.
Everyone is getting into position, when Elrae leads off the combat with a Cone of Cold from Snowfang (which makes him visible). It blasts one zombie out of the corner of the undead ranks, as it continues on to the leaders. They all get plowed by the surprise blast of icy frost, chilling their cold hearts even further!
Consider that the surprise round. Also, Berenn finds himself suddenly in silence, as Noot has moved too close to him. Others are getting into positions. I will post the map. Then I will continue with the first round, doing your set orders. After that, we'll see.
Surprise and opening salvo:
Elrae appears flying 15' above the ground, out of range of all those zombies but low enough to still catch all the Iuzians. That was some tricky geometry! That signals everyone else to act, so I'm going to do the next round. It's not a surprise round now, but since all the rest of you are invisible, well, you get the idea.
Round 1
Isilme goes first, and casts Hold Person from 120' high and over towards the cliff. She's at max range of being able to reach the ground in one round of flying, if she chooses. She loses her Invisibility, and swears to herself when the thief she targeted shrugs off the spell. The Iuzians thief was already turning and raising her bow towards Elrae, so she continues to fire at him.
Noot and Manny both throw rocks next, tossing them silently among the Iuzians. The leaders are all covered in silence area!
Kendra (the woman with the cheetah cloak) runs away. As soon as she leaves the silence area she stops, looks around, waves something at the others, then backs up looking around. She already saw Elrae, so she fires a shot at him which bounces off his precast Stoneskin!
Emyn flies down and hits the immensely strong Deverell from behind [10]. He appears, floating in the air about 5' up. The priest turns and swears, but no words come out as he is silenced!
The Bakluni warrior, Al’Qasim, snaps out a scimitar when he sees Emyn appear, and losing no time steps up and slashes across Emyn's back. Again, no damage thanks to another Stoneskin. Deverell too turns, drawing his massive two-handed sword and slashes at Emyn fruitlessly, but removing another Stoneskin in the process!
Leora, the thief with Manny's sword, steps back and fires an arrow in at Emyn, which bounces off his Stoneskin. “They are protected by magic!” she shouts, though most of the party doesn’t hear because they too are within the silenced area.
Gotrek then charges forward. He attacks Leora, becoming visible, but she turns at the last second, apparently hearing him. Still, it is no use. He slashes her with Goreblade, a wicked blow which knocks her to the side and ground. [17]
Lothar, the fur cloaked suel warrior, fires an arrow at Elrae, but it bounces off ineffectively.
Zeb, the Iuzian underpriest, turns around and hits Emyn with a two-handed sword, again bouncing innefectively off his Stoneskin.
Thorgrim and Berenn then both simultaneously cast Holy Orbs, dropping them on the Iuzian leaders. Deverell takes [32], Zeb, the other priest, takes [63]. He is instantly slain! Emyn takes [17]. Al-Qasim (the Bakluni warrior) takes [20], Gotrek takes [15], Leora takes [8], and Lothar takes [33] and he is down too!
Finally, Sir Godwynn flies down, just out of the edge of the Silence and about 20' in the air, and he turns the Dwarven Undead to the south. Presenting his Shield of Light before him, he calls upon the power of Rao. “Great Rao, send these our friends back to their rightful rest.” Suddenly five of the zombies simply incinerate before his holy wrath!
The rest of the front zombies all simply keep walking, as those in the front were so commanded, and nobody can say otherwise thanks to the silenced rocks. The ones to the rear stop, as everyone else stops, but again, without a command they simply stand there.
The orcs swarm back towards the fight, with the nearest making it and attacking Thorgrim, Gotrek, and Emyn. All miss, but Emyn loses four Stoneskins, Gotrek three, and Thorgrim two. Others fire arrows, with six attacking Sir Godwynn, missing but taking out six Stoneskins. Two fire at Elrae, taking another two Stoneskins off.
[DM OOC: Not bad. Two down, virtually no injuries, and the Iuzians in disarray! I still have to do the extra attacks at the end of the round, but that was a good start! Unfortunately, they are quickly taking out your Stoneskins.]
The orcs fire six more arrows at Sir Godwynn take out the rest of his Stoneskin spell. Three more fire at Elrae taking out his. Three secondary attacks on Emyn take out his remaining Stoneskins too.
Leora, the one with Manny's sword rolls away from Gotrek who is now engaged with three orcs and gets to her feet. She's armed with a bow but doesn't get another shot due to movement.
Kendra (Cheetah girl) drinks a potion and disappears, to everyone except Isilme who was looking right at her! [DM OOC: And that's because she has Detect Invis. BTW, you don't see everyone. That spell is VERY focused, so you ONLY see people when you look directly where they are. It's more like a detect invisibility spotlight, but you have to look directly at the 10' area where they are. ]
I think that's it. Oh, there are 5 goblins, all armed with shortbows. They all fire in volley at Elrae, the only real option. He takes 4 arrows for [18].
One orc stands in front of the zombie orcs that are walking away and commands them to stop. He then commands them to turn and attack any enemies, and they all turn around together. The rear zombies are still just standing there, waiting for commands.
Here is the map, showing names for all the key individuals. Yellow halo means they are flying, and their altitudes are also shown below them.
Round 2
Leora moves into the zombies. "Protect me," she orders. She then fires an arrow at Elrae, floating in the air. He takes a shot the chest [7].
Suddenly all the silence area goes away! Emyn's fly spell ends, and he falls to the ground. He takes no damage because it was only a 5’ fall onto snow, but he is momentarily prone. Sir Godwynn also loses both his Fly and his Stoneskin spells. He immediately falls the 20' to the ground, taking [11] and he is prone. Gotrek loses his Fly spell, but not his Stoneskin.
“Dispel Magic!” yells Thorgrim. “Somebody find that blasted battlemage!”
Kendra (Cheetah girl) fires an arrow at Berenn, which just bounces away thanks to his Protection from Normal Missiles spell!
A large half-orc rushes forward, shouting a loud orcish warcry. He goes through the zombies and charges Sir Godwynn while he's still on the ground. He attacks him with a broad sword and short sword, hitting him with the short sword [7].
The orcs then attack. Three attack Thorgrim, missing but taking off three more Stoneskins. Three attack Gotrek, also missing, but taking off the last of his Stoneskins. Four attack the prone Emyn, and he takes two hits with swords [3 and 7: 10 total].
Two more orcs fire at Elrae, both missing. Six then fire at Berenn, and all either miss or have their arrows deflected away!
Gotrek starts to sing and kills an orc in front of him. He takes a 5' move backwards, to keep them from flanking him.
The goblins fire four more arrows at Elrae, one hitting him [4].
Deverell raises his two-handed sword and brings it down heavily on Emyn. “I have you now,” he says, as he hits him for [16].
Isilme uses her Wand of Slow, which catches Kendra and the two orcs behind her, slowing all three!
Manny casts Avoidance on his sword, which springs away from Leora, landing on the ground just beyond the zombies.
Elrae has his spell ruined by arrow shots, and he flies away. He flies over and lands on a ledge where he can get some cover. He also doesn’t want a Dispel Magic to drop him into the middle of the fight!
Thorgrim attacks, killing an orc and stepping forward.
Berenn smiles at the benefit of the Protection spell, and summons his last Holy Orb, unleashing it on the enemies below. Al'Qasim takes [29], Deverell takes [15], and Emyn takes [11]. 5 orcs surrounding Emyn and one attacking Gotrek all are slain as well!
Noot, still Invisible and Flying, flies down and backstabs Al'Qasim [15]. The Bakluni arches back in pain.
Sir Godwynn stands and attacks Moorsh, the half-or, hitting him for [10]. Emyn also rises, attacking Deverell but missing.
Al'Qasim spins around, slashing at Noot and hitting him with his scimitar [14].
The dwarven zombies all move forward, following Moorsh. The spread around him, attacking Sir Godwynn who hits two of them with attacks of opportunity [8 each]. Four are able to attack him still, three hitting him [3,3, and 5: total 11].
[extra attacks at end of round]
Leora gets none, as she moved. Kendra loses hers because she is slowed. Moorsh doesn't get one because he moved.
Gotrek kills the last orc in front of him, as does Thorgrim. Noot takes another slash from Al'Qasim [11]. The man clearly outclasses Noot by a wide margin, even with Noot's Improved Invisibilty.
Four goblins fire at Elrae, all missing as they bounce off the rocks. Good thing he took cover! Three more fire at Berenn, all missing! One fires at Gotrek, missing, and two fire at Thorgrim, but again, they miss too.
Nobody else gets extra attacks due to movement. The zombies have surrounded Leora, protecting her as she ordered. The remaining dwarf zombies are surrounding Sir Godwynn. One orc is left fighting Thorgrim. The rest are to the south, firing arrows. The mage is clearly around somewhere, but nobody has seen him.
Manny flies down immediately and grabs his sword, silently thanking the gods and his new friends for its retrieval, then flies up and away, 40' high to a small ledge where he then stows his brother's blade (and scabbard!) in his bag of holding.
Isilme casts her bonus song spell Charm Monster on Kendra, charming her. She speaks to her via her precast Message spell. "You are in no danger my friend. You need to stay exactly where you are and remain out of the fight to remain so." Kendra stops, looking around. She then turns back to the battle and waits.
Elrae steps out from the protection of the ledge and casts Sleep, sleeping all four of the goblins. As he does, Leora fires an arrow, hitting him for [6].
Sir Godwyyn holds his shield up and summons the strength of Rao, banishing another half dozen dwarven zombies to oblivion.
Thorgrim feels the power of Clanggedin surging within him, urging him to battle. A mighty call escapes his lips: "BLOOD AND VENGEANCE!!!" he cries, his battle cry echoing off the canyon walls. All the orcs are stunned!
Al'Qasim slashes again, hitting Noot once more [10], before Noot flies off to the other side of the gorge to escape the fierce warrior.
Moorsh attacks Sir Godwynn, missing with his broadsword, but stabbing him again with his short sword [5].
Finally, Deverell lands another blow on Emyn [11], dropping him to the ground!
Berenn casts Healing Rays on Emyn, healing [12] from afar, leaving him conscious again, though he cannot act this round.
Gotrek ignores the stunned orcs and charges forward, seeing Emyn knocked to the ground and helpless before Deverell. He slams into the big priest, the collision of armor ringing out across the battlefield. Deverell stumbles backwards, falling to the ground.
The dwarven zombies then press forward, with two attacking Gotrek and missing. The rest move to swarm Sir Godwynn, with two more clawing at him for [5 and 7: 12 total].
Extra attacks phase:
Leora fires again at Elrae, missing. Al'Qasim continues to swing around him, but the Invisible Noot is long gone. Moorsh hits Sir Godwynn with his broadsword [8]. Deverell backs up 5' and stands, not attacking again as he wipes the blood from his lips and faces Gotrek.
Sir Godwynn also calls out, "Can someone pleas do something like sleep thos archers, they are turning us into pin cushions."
Elrae takes out one of his scrolls and reads the spell, Obold's Brightness. A thick, smoky cloud 60 feet in diameter that glows bright white, shot through with sparks appears. Unfortunately, the spell misfires. It goes off centered upon Elrae. [DM OOC: These sparks are actually tiny bolts of lightning that leap here and there inside the cloud, dealing all beings within 6d8 points of damage. A successful saving throw vs. spell means that creatures contacting the brightness take only half damage.] Elrae saves and takes [14], but Berenn fails his save and takes [33]! He has lost a few items too: His backpack is blasted away, and it falls to the ground 20' below. If/when he gets to it, I'll check all the stuff in it. He had his Wand of Zooming in his hand, but everything else in it falls. He also looses his quiver, and that falls too. I'll roll for everything in it later too, to save time. His magical cloak BARELY made it; I thought it was gone for sure! Rope of Climbing is blown apart. I believe everything else is either in the pack and quiver or is ok, so I'll move on.
“You are not through serving,” says Deverell as he says a prayer to Iuz. Suddenly, the dead orcs in the area all rise again.
Moorsh slips behind Sir Godwynn from where he hits him twice, with Broadsword and Shortsword [10 and 6: 16 total].
Ignoring the blows, Sir Godwynn sends the last of the dwarven zombies back to hell, along with a newly created orc. Sweat runs down the paladin's face, but he shows nothing but grim determination as he then turns around to face Moorsh directly.
[Berenn OOC: I just have no words! The next person that hits me with friendly fire is going to receive it in return!] Berenn glares at Elrae hard enough to burn through lead, but says nothing. He decides to NOT use his wand. Rather, he flies directly across the way to get out of the disastrous lightning cloud. As he flies across the valley, Leora fires at him, but her arrow just bounces off. She frowns, finally aware that he is magically protected as well!
Isilme maintains her overwatch position and spends the entire time scanning the area, but she does not see the battlemage. She curses the nature of Detect Invisibility, thinking to begin studying an improved version. “If we survive,” she whispers to herself.
Thorgrim casts Holy Orb, and he takes three attacks of opportunity from the two orcs and zombie in front of him. Two hit him [7 and 3: total 10]. Thorgrim remarkably maintains his concentration, and he summons his last Holy Orb centered on Leora. She makes her save and takes [8], but every zombie around her except two are blasted into oblivion!
Noot uses the power of his amulet to regain 5 hp. He then flies around behind Leora, preparing for a backstab.
Suddenly, the ground begins to shake and heave behind Gotrek. He glances back and sees an earth elemental rises from the ground behind him!
The two orcs attack Thorgrim, missing, and one of the archers drops his bow, draws a sword, and charges as well, unable to resist the call to attack him. Rest are still stunned.
Emyn drinks his Potion of Extra Healing [healing 6] and stands. [Worst potion of ex-healing ever!] Two zombies make attacks as he does so, but they miss.
Manny takes out his lasso and flies behind Leora.
Zombies move up and attack Thorgrim, while others swarm Emyn. All miss.
Leora does not take a second shot, but she downs a potion she had handy. Al'Qasim looks around, taking stock of the situation. He then moves over to Lothar and pours a potion down his throat, reviving him.
Meanwhile Gotrek kills another orc with a swing of Goreblade as Moorsh misses with his second attack.
Isilme flies down, scanning for the battlemage, but she cannot find him anywhere. Now that she is lower, she sees the path leading up along a draw in the cliffside, and she wonders if he is up there, hidden from her sight.
Leora points something at Berenn, and brilliant light flashes out, blinding him!
Moorsh attacks Sir Godwynn, hitting him with a broadsword [8] but missing with the short sword.
Emyn shifts to full defensive fighting. He kills another orc that is just standing there, and he avoids all the zombie attacks as he turns towards them.
Elrae flies straight up, getting out of the area of the storm before any more bolts hit him. It then flashes for another round, before going out. Berenn's backpack and quiver are now a smoking ruin on the ground.
Noot drops down the last 5' and backstabs Leora with Black Knife and his Short Sword of Skewering. He drives BOTH deep into her back, with Black Knife doing [19] and his short sword doing [24: total damage of 43!]. She cries out in pain, arcing her head back as she drops her bow. Noot holds her there for a moment. “Your life shall feed me later, he whispers into her ear before he lets her drop to the ground, her life draining away into his amulet. [He gains 5 hp to his Amulet].
With Leora dead, Manny flies over behind Al'Qasim and throws his lasso around him. He snags the man good, binding his arms tightly!
Thorgrim kills a zombie attacking him, while Gotrek kills one next to him. Gotrek turns back to face the elemental, and just in time, as he ducks a heavy-fisted blow!
Berenn is blinded, and he cannot call down a Flamestrike with any certainty as to where it will go. He casts anyway, going on best memory, and the flame blasts Lothar into ashes, but it misses Al'Qasim.
[Berenn OOC: Too bad I have better aim blind than Elrae when he can see!]
Al'Qasim has his arms pinned, and he struggles, failling to break free.
All the orcs now attack, and they all swarm Thorgrim. "Take him down!" yells the orc leader, following behind them, and they do so. About six pull Thorgrim to the ground, where he is then attacked by two zombies, one of which hits [6]. As others rush towards him, Sir Godwynn kills three with attakcs of opportunity while Emyn kills one.
Deverell smiles as he steps up behing Sir Godwynn. He reaches out and grabs ahold of the paladin, who feels the cold breath of death reach out to him. He takes [15] and cries out in silent anguish before slumping to the cold hard ground.
Moorsh then delivers a coup de grace on Sir Godwynn, driving his broadsword through the man's heart has he falls, his sword and shield clattering to the cold earth.
By the end of the round, Berenn is no longer blinded.
[Sir Godwynn OOC: Sir Godwynn dies in the service of his god, and fighting evil, what could any paladin ask for but that.]
Round 6
Manny holds on tight, while Noot flies over to Al'Qasim to backstab him, hitting with Black Knife [7] but only a minor wound. He misses with his short sword.
Al'Qasim breaks free of the lasso [beating Manny by a lot with a contest of strength per CFG]. He is free! He whirls around and slashes at Noot, missing.
Isilme flies over and up, scanning the cliff along the hidden path. Sure enough, she sees the battle mage standing on the ledge where she could not see him before, but where he had a good view of the center of the battleground. He is obviously conentrating on the elemental.
Berenn uses his Wand of Zooming and zooms the orc leader (Not Moorsh, but the regular orc leader) 100' away! [DM OOC: This takes 2 charges, because he's over 200 lbs. You need to specify beforehand next time. Also, if you want to accellerate him into a wall or something, or another person, you have to expend double charges. Just so you know!]
Gotrek finally goes into his rage as he attacks the elemental, missing, and he is hit by its massive fist in return, but he barely registers the blow.
Thorgrim, struggling under the weight of the massed orcs, releases his grip on Souldrinker. He quickly loosens his Runestone pouch and removes a carved piece of amber. In Orcish, he says, "Here, some treasure fer ye...'twas given me by yer MOTHER!" He smashes the Rune Stone directly into the nearest ugly Orc-face he can reach, and the blast goes of point blank! He takes [10], but all the orcs surrounding him are blown away by the explosion. There is one left that was beyond the blast radius, and it steps up and delivers a blow with a sword [3]. The zombies keep clawing at him, and he takes another [7]. [That would normally happen later, but I'm just doing it now!]
Emyn steps back, calling upon Trithereon. "Trithereon, hear my call! The allies of Keak have slain a good friend of mine. Given me aid that I may bring vengeance and death upon their heads!"
Nothing happens. Deverell looks at Emyn grimly. "Your God has forsaken you, fool," he says as he drains a handy potion. Emyn sees the wound on Deverell’s face suddenly heal.
Moorsh steps up, attacking Gotrek with both swords. If they hit, Gotrek doesn't even notice!
Elrae casts Magic Missile, sending a series of singing bolts streaking towards Deverell. He stands incredulous as they all miss!
The zombies move up and attack, one on Gotrek, two on Emyn. All miss.
Al'Qasim swings at Noot again, missing again. Moorsh hits Gotrek again, and Gotrek whirls and hits Moorsh with Goreblade [14]. The blow rocks the big half-orc back, but he snarls back something in orcish and keeps fighting.
Noot's invisiblity ends. That means Manny's will end next round too!
Gotrek swings at the elemental, hitting it again [24] as Goreblades tears great chunks from it.
"Trithereon, what have you forsaken me in my hour of need!" shouts Emyn as he tries to summon his Equus. Duskhoof appears five feet away, and Emyn quickly mounts his great steed.
Al'Qasim swings at Noot, but misses as the nimble thief deftly avoids the blade. He then withdraws, flying up and away, putting distance between himself and the skilled Bakluni warrior.
Berenn then casts Healing Rays on the badly wounded Noot, healing [9].
Elrae sends another barrage of singing Magic Missiles into the fray, this time at Al'Qasim. They fly unerringly into him, striking for [19]. He looks at and curses at Elrae, but keeps his attention focused on the fight.
Manny then attempts to backstab him, but he misses.
Gotrek is pummelled again by the elemental, and he is attacked in the rear by Moorsh who also hits him.
Deverell says a prayer to the Old One for Battle Aid.
The orc leader charges all the way back into the fight now, missing Thorgrim wildly.
The zombies then attack, with two missing Thorgrim, two missing Gotrek, and one missing Emyn.
Gotrek attacks again, this time destroying the elemental with his last swing!
Moorsh misses, and Al'Qasim swings at Manny, slashing him across the legs [11]. Manny then turns visible!
Isilme silently flies down, approaching the Iuzians battlemage until she floats invisibly, five feet away.
"Come Duskhoof,” says Emyn. “Let's show these vile people what it's like to face the charge of an Avenger and the greatest horse to ever live. " Duskhoof neighs, rearing back and smashing the zombie in front of it with its hooves.
Deverell casts another spell while pointing at Gotrek, but whatever it was nothing happened.
Berenn casts Hold Person, but Al'Qasim is unaffected by it.
Gotrek hits Moorsh with Goreblade [16], but the half-orc just shrugs off the blow.
Emyn rides off south, with Deverell watching him go. "Cowardly paladin," he sneers. Emyn ends up about 100' away, where he turns around and gets ready for a charge.
Manny flies up and back 5' (putting him at 10' elevation) where he casts Magic Missile at Al'Qasim, striking him repeatedly [15].
As Al'Qasim looks at Manny, Noot flies down and attempts to stab him in the back. [With back turned he dosn't get dex and shield bonuses, but it's not a backstab.] Noot hits with Black Knife [7].
Al'Qasim spins around, laughing. "You should not have come back," he says, slashing Noot with his scimitar [11]. Noot and Manny both note that he seems stronger, faster, and they also note many of his wounds are healed.
Moorsh continues attacking Gotrek, but fails to hit.
With Maerthorlear in hand, Isilme drops behind the battlemage, who stands there watching the fight on the valley floor. He is looking over at Emyn, lining up to charge back into the fight, and he has a hand raised as if he plans to cast a spell.
Isilme Silver Strikes, and hits the mage from behind, but her attack is stopped cold by something she knows too well, a Stoneskin! She becomes visible as the battlemage turns around to face her.
Having not acted, he draws his broadsword and slashes at Isilme, also hitting a Stoneskin and becoming visible himself. He then steps back 5' and nods to her. "Isilme I presume," he says, taking a one-handed defensive stance. "I wondered where you were."
“I will be the last thing you ever see,” she says back grimly.
The orc leader misses, and Thorgrim smacks him back [10]. Elrae flies down and hits one of the zombies from behind [10].
The zombies all attack. Two attack Thorgrim and miss, while three attack Gotrek with one hitting him.
Gotrek hits Moorsh again [20], knocking the half-orc to the ground. He turns back to the zombie orcs swarming him from behind.
Al'Qasim slashes Noot again [8].
Thorgrim hits the orc leader again [14], driving Souldrinker through its chest and dropping it!
Berenn begins to cast his Hold Person, calling upon St. Cuthbert to bind the Bakluni warrior, but Deverell strides forth, summoning the dark power of the Old One to counter Berenn's casting. Berenn's spell fizzles as quickly as it began.
Deverell never smiles, and his face looks like death itself as he walks towards Berenn. He glances towards the zombies standing near Leora's corpse, "Kill the dwarves," he says. He then looks back at Berenn. "You, Cuthberite. Floating beyond the battle like a cowardly woman. Come down and face me."
Meanwhile on the ledge, Captain Alterius smiles, stepping back 5' and raises his hand before him. He mouths the words of a spell, and an orange light flashes from his pointing finger. It flies straight at Isilme and explodes in a fiery blast. [DM OOC: I'm going to just tell you, I rolled a "1" for her save. **** happens! You charmed a tough rogue opening salvo, so things do even out sometimes!] Isilme takes [15!] She is also going to have to make item saves.
[DM OOC: I have to deal with Isilme's items now, since it could have an impact on the progression of the combat. I'll just list below everything that does NOT make it:
Spidersilk hooded cloak
Spidersilk suit +1
Boots of Levitation
Pouch #1 (Everything spills out. Bag of marbles burns, and marbels roll out all over. Charcol burns up. All three scrolls burn up. Small bag of herbs burns up.)
Pouch #2 made it!
Ring of +2 Protection melts.
Wand of Wonder
Wand of Highfolk
Backpack (Both potions of ex-healing. If those are the same two in the pouch #2, ignore this. I seem to recall you moving them, so maybe you didn't fix your sheet? Either way, there should not be any left in the backpack. If I made a mistake, then you dodged two shitty rolls! Oil of Etherealness, both spider silk ropes, leather gloves, journal and writing stuff, half-block of sleep herb.)
That's a lot of stuff, both magical and mundane, but not your best stuff. Good thing you left some stuff at home.
I may as well do Berenn’s items now, to see what was lost from the earlier spell.
First the arrows from his destroyed quiver:
All 3 normal arrows destroyed
2 +1 arrows lost
In the backpack:
Rod of Zodal (That's unfortunate; no more jokes about Berenn's rod!)
Elixer of Health
Scroll in Leather case: Resist Fire, Remove Curse, Raise Dead, Heal
3 vials holy water]
[Isilme OOC: Now you all can quit bellyaching about how Isilme has lots of items. I get nailed just like everyone else!]
Noot uses his ring and Blinks! He disappears, reappearing behind one of the zombies. He immediately stabs it with both dagger and shortsword, doing [7 and 6: total 13].
[Thorgrim OOC: Thorgrim was facing that way when Isilme and Captain Altarius appeared. I think it's reasonable to think he might have noticed them. If he sees the hated mage who slew his friend and comrades, and against whom he swore undying vengeance, Thorgrim unhesitatingly casts Flame Strike upon the enemy battlemage. He prays to Clanggedin to burn the very soul out of him.
BTW, this is turning out to be quite the fight. Manny vs Al'Qasim, Berenn and Emyn against Deverell. I think Gotrek might turn the tide.]
[DM OOC: I just made a spot check, and Thorgrim saw him. So, go ahead and change targets. I have to allow such changes in our medium, because of how things work. However, this isn't the kind of thing you can "count on" being able to do in a combat round. Anyway, Flame Strike on the battlemage, check!]
Emyn charges forward, galloping with all speed towards Deverell. Emyn shouts as he charges, "Time to go to hell Deverell! I'll be sending Keak to join you soon. For Rao and Trithereon!" Deverell turns around when he hears Emyn yell....
Emyn misses with his lance as Deverell knocks the lance away with his sword. [Rolled a 4! I'm telling you so you know.] Emyn gallops on by, ending up by the sleeping goblins.
Manny flies 5' higher, to make sure he's out of the way, and hits Al'Qasim with another barrage of Magic Missiles [21]. The man is realing from the hits now, and it's obvious he cannot take much more. Swearing in Bakluni, he sheaths his sword and takes up his crossbow.
Elrae kills one zombie, as Thorgrim casts his Flame Strike. He is hit by the last zombie's attack of opportunity [6] but he succeeds at his Concentration check and blasts Altarius with the holy fires of Clangeddin's forge! [20] Isilme's smiles when she sees the man's items burnt by Thorgrim's attack. He loses his own cloak, a small pack, a bag, and maybe more, but it's clear that was a wicked blow as tendrils of smoke waft from his smoldering clothing!
Gotrek kills another zombie, but the two left as well as the last two from the north all attack him. As the one just follows its last command and ignores Noot, Noot gets an attack of opportunity as it moves away. He stabs it in the back, killing it! Still, the other one reaches Gotrek, and he is attacked by the last three zombies. He takes another hit, but just ignores it as he chops the head from another zombie. Only two left.
Round 10
Berenn casts Cure Medium Wounds on himself, healing [13].
Isilme picks up her ring from the snowy ground and puts it on. She then heals herself of [15] by Laying Hands. "Actual swordplay too much to ask from a "battle' Mage," Isilme sneers at him.
"When your opponent has Stoneskin, yes it is," he replies. He then flies away! He crosses the gorge, going up much higher, and lands on a ledge on the other side.
Gotrek kills one zombie, and Manny fires Magic Missiles at the other, killing it. He sends the other two missiles at the last zombie fighting Thorgrim [8]. Elrae then hits it with Snowfang, killing it.
Emyn turns around, tramling two sleeping goblins in the process.
Noot blinks further away. [It says the ring works for 5 rounds, and it doesn't say you can stop it, so I think he's at the mercy of the blinking!]
Seeing the situation, Al'Qasim tosses aside his crossbow and snaps out his sword again, waiting for the inevitable charge from the raging dwarf.
Deverell calls again upon The Old One, attempting to Hold Thorgrim and Elrae. Elrae is held, but Thorgrim fights through the magic and charges. He runs straight at him, swinging Souldrinker, but misses. [Doesn't use up the x3 strike; that is in effect until he hits.]
At the end of the round, Gotrek moves up to Al'Qasim, who slashes Gotrek across the face. The blood just makes Gotrek sing all the louder!
Captain Altarius casts as spell, but Isilme casts Dispel Magic upon him in quick succession. She can't tell which of his other spells were just cancelled, but you did just counter his Minor Globe of Invulnerability!
Gotrek attacks Al'Qasim, who parries with his shield.
Manny casts Magic Missile, sending a flight up agains the battle mage Altarius, but they just fizzle against his Shield spell!
Thorgrim swings, again missing Deverell as Noot blinks further away!
Berenn attempts to zoom away Deverell, but he fails. Deverell then hits Thorgrim with his 2-handed sword [15].
Emyn rides back, attempting to skewer Deverell, but the man again just manages to avoid Emyn's lance attack. Emyn rides on by, preparing to turn around again.
Al'Qasim remains on the defensive, and when Gotrek slashes him again, he blocks this time with his scimitar, the clang echoing loudly off the cliff faces!
Thorgrim hits Deverell with his second swing, Souldrinker biting deep [20].
Thorgrim realizes he should've healed himself as he'd planned, before engaging this enemy. But what was he to do? Allow him to waltz past him with impunity? Never!
"Berenn, quit ****-footin' around and engage!" Thorgrim shouts, pressing the attack.
Berenn summons a spell he has not used in many years, and casts Heat Metal upon Deverell's armor. Unfortunately, the Iuzian’s magical armor avoids the spell.
Gotrek swings wildly at Al'Qasim, hitting him but the blow is parried again.
Thorgrim lands another blow [10], but Deverell hits him right back [15].
Manny then casts Lightning Strike on Al'Qasim, hitting him for [14] He reels backwards, his scimitar dropping from his hands.
Noot makes his final blink, out by the goblins. [I am not sure I did this right, but oh well.]
Emyn turns around, ready to make another charge.
Isilme begins casting her spell. She casts Rary’s Spell Enhancer and is about to follow up with a Hold Monster, but as she is about to start her next spell, the battlemage suddenly disappears via Teleport. She curses and switches the target to Deverell. Unfortunately, he makes his save. [DM OOC: Hey, he's a badass, well-protected priest. Holding him is not easy!]
Gotrek then steps up and hits Al'Qasim again [19]. The blow rips down through his shoulder, clear to his belly. There's no way the man is not dead!
Thorgrim then hits Deverell again [10] while Deverell hits Thorgrim back for [16]. Thorgrim falls back, unconscious.
Emyn mutters, "What in the Nine Hells is wrong with this lance? Oh well, like Hepla says, third time is the charm. "
Noot flies up to Deverell and stabs him in the back with Black Knife [5].
Gotrek continues to hack at Al'Qasim, unable to pull himself away!
Berenn summons Lesser Healing Rays upon Thorgrim, but they only barely carress the downed dwarf [+1 hp].
Deverell then brings his two-handed sword down swiftly upon down and unconscious Thorgrim, hitting him for [12]. The grave wound leaves no doubt that the tough dwarf is good and truly dead. Deverell turns back to the others, no smile but just pure malice. His black soulless eyes seem that of a demon, with no conscience. Only evil and silence.
Seeing her longtime friend and ally Thorgrim fall, Isilme rushes and "silver strikes" Deverell. "Gurth gothrim Tel'Quessir!" see screams in ancient elvish. [DM OOC: “Death to the foes of the Elves!”]
She hits him with Maerthorlear, driving it deep into his side [19]. He is quite badly wounded.
Seeing that Thorgrim is clearly dead, Manny moves over and casts Lightning Strike against Deverell, hitting him for [6].
Emyn no longer has a route to him. He rides close and throws his lance like a javelin, hitting for [5]. Gotrek continues to blindly hack Al’Qasim into a bloody mess.
Only Deverell yet stands, defiant against the remaining Heroes of Hommlet.
"Dark maiden, grant me the strength to send this soulless creature back to the hell from which he sprang" prays Isilme as she strikes with Maerthorlear, her Silver Strike hitting first for [19]. She drives the blade right through the evil priest's armor, piercing his foul heart. He grabs her silver hair with one hand, pulling her face close with strength equal to hers, though now slipping quickly away.
"Death is just the beginning," he croaks, coughing blood.
She meets his gaze evenly. "Failure suits you," she says as she twists her sword.
She withdraws Maerthorlear from his chest and removes his head with a powerful silver strike. Tired and bloody, she steps back, looking around the battlefield. She then looks to Berenn and Manny. "Heal Thorgrim and burn the bodies - burn them all to ashes." she says as she walks off.
Meanwhile, Manny goes through Thorgrim's potions finding his Elixer of Life and administers it to him. In one turn he will revive with 1 hp.
[Thorgrim OOC: WOOT!!!]
Emyn carries Sir Godwynn over to lay him next to Thorgrim. "Our fallen friends deserve a second chance," he says. Emyn begins to pray for their safe return to life once Berenn reads the scrolls. He prays to Rao, Clangeddin and Trithereon as well as Nerull.
Everyone leave Gotrek alone, until he finally stops hacking at Al'Qasim. He looks around, still crazy, but remarkably regains his composure. A huge smile crosses his face as he sees Thorgrim stir, then he collapses in the bloody snow. He is at -7hp!
Manny runs over and pours a potion of extrahealing down his throat which takes care of Gotrek.
Elrae's hold ends with Deverell's death. Everyone is dead, and the party strips the bodies as Berenn uses his scroll to revive Sir Godwynn.
Manny has his sword back. You have raised your fallen comrades. The Iuzians are dead. It's done. I will give you a list of items which survived the fight; much was destroyed.
The adventure is now officially over. There are other things to do, but they can wait.
The one survivor, Kendra, was the Iuzian guide. She mostly ran from fights, because she was not only not evil, but basically trapped. She had been hired, then charmed by Naer who later left. She couldn't flee them once she was free of the charm. I wasn't sure how to deal with Isilme's charm, whether it superseded the other or just cancelled it, so I just left her in place. I figured the 4th level CM was more powerful than the 1st level CP, and she followed the suggestion. But the fact was, she was more than happy to do so. Had you figured she was charmed and freed her of it, she'd have helped in the fight. Anyway, she will pledge herself to Isilme in gratitude for freeing her from their vile clutches.
Other than that, you all can now return via the mirror.
I hope you guys enjoyed the adventure. It was a tough one. The original module was very deadly, with little to gain for your effort, except survival. You guys though, you gained quite a bit, and not just in magic and exp. You gained a lot of important information, new allies, knowledge of the world, and the friendship of the Velunese. You rescued the survivors of the previous expedition, saw to the retrieval of a valuable relic, and defeated a very strong group of Iuzian agents.
It was not without loss, especially Mirielle. If not for some important potions and scrolls, you'd have lost Noot, Manny, Thorgrim, and Sir Godwynn. So, a successful adventure.
This saw a lot of new things on my part, including running three separate parties simultaneously. I handled the Velunese and Iuzians while you were doing your thing. I didn't run them 100% like you guys, obviously. I just don't have that kind of time. However, I followed them on their adventures just like you guys. I can give you a rundown on what they did if you'd like. You certainly can learn the truth of things from both the Velunese you helped as well as from Kendra, the Iuzian guide.
I think my favorite part was actually the wilderness part. I used real mountains for all of it. I will show you how I did it; I really was proud of the work I put into the outdoor part. In the original, that was supposed to be a big part of the adventure, but it really seemed like it was minor. I believe I substantially upped the ante there. I will tell you about that too. I put a lot into this one, and it kinda sucked that I had to basically stop for 3 months when I worked night shift. However, life is what it is, and we all deal with such things. In the end, I believe things went well, even if not like I planned.
So, again, good job. I hope you liked it.
Thanks again to Lanthorn for his help in creating the background vis-a-vis the Iuzians and Veluna/Furyondy parties. Spinning my adventure off from what I was reading of his worked great. The characters he created were what made this adventure shine. In fact, my players put this pretty much at the top of their list, with all the fights against the Iuzians being truly epic! I do not think we ever had so many ups and downs, wins and loses, as in these fights. The party emerged victorious, but barely, with some of the worst Iuzians escaping to fight another day. And let us not forget to mention that they returned to their Lord with the dreaded Necronomicon. We know that will not turn out well. And then there is Drelnza. Nobody knows what she is about, nor how freeing her will impact the world. I guess time will tell.
Still, all in all they did well. When the final tally is scored, I believe the players will consider this a successful adventure. Lost Caverns of Tsjocanth was always a favorite, and I was really happy to run it again. The Dragon Magazine article made it even better, and again, Lanthorn took it over the top. Looking back, I think this was my favorite adventure of the last ten years or so. I hope you guys enjoyed it too!
Ragnar, I am humbled to be your muse. I likewise consider my own campaign of the Lost Caverns to be have an epic adventure, rivaling, perhaps exceeding, my saga series against the Slave Lords. I am sure my player would agree (the original PC of Justarius the paladin and Doran the battle mage). The Lost Caverns spun-off other adventures involving the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, and neither the Caverns nor the Forgotten Temple have been conquered in my campaign setting. In fact, given all the death and myriad lives lost, the Lost Caverns are officially banned to all citizens (who know of its locale!) of Veluna. However, there are plans to return to the Forgotten Temple in the spring/summer once the mountains are no longer locked in ice and snow...
...but this is YOUR thread, Ragnar, so please continue, my friend.
Those characters were great. Boy did my players not like the Iuzians, and they really liked the Velunans. I kept notes about their progress, as well as the Velunans, as well as notes regarding the group dynamics of the Iuzians, as they had varied goals.
Melchor was the leader, and he hated Captain Altarius. Both were tasked with the same goal of retrieving Iggwilv's treasures, but not necessarily to work together. Melchor would only have been too happy to sacrifice Altarius, who would have loved in turn to show up the powerful priest. In the end, Melchor dominated the group and he used Altarius to thwart the party while he got away with the true prize, the Necronomicon.
Naerenthyxelle was an alu-fiend, but I also made her a 7th level Undead Master. She was perhaps the deadliest of the group, and basically played Melchor and Altarius off against each other. In the end, she sided with Melchor and they left with the Necronomicon, leaving Altarius to lead the remaining Iuzians. There were some interesting things happening with her and Manny, and the player was terrified of the thought that his character was going to be her plaything back in Dorakaa, or worse. That she took all his stuff, as well as was going to use him to destroy the Vesve elves all added to his discomfort. And the moment she revealed himself to him.... It was grand!
Altarius was cool. A 9th level Militant Mage, he was loaded with damage dealing magic, especially fire types. However, he tended to focus on his own defensive magic first, and tried to be "sneaky" as he wasn't about to risk himself for Melchor. He was biding his time and angling for a way to take over, but the chance never really arrived. In the end, he chose to flee rather than aid Deverell and the rest of the remaining Iuzians.
Those were the top three, but the next, Deverell, was scary. A huge man with a massive two-handed sword, I gave him levels in fighter and made him a dual-classed Fighter/Priest of Iuz. This really surprised the players, as he had fighter abilities they didn't expect. Sitting on a ton of hit points, and with massive damage dealing ability, well you said it best. "What he lacked in brains, he made up for in 'might'." Augmented by battle magic, he proved as tough as he looked.
Finally, there was Al'Qasim, the Bakluni warrior. He was an 8th level Myrmidon warrior, with enough skills to be deadly in combat too. He specialized is speed as opposed to strength, and used his skills to deadly effect. His Potion of Superior Healing (thank you Polyhedron Magazine!) came in quite handy too!
The rest were all support characters, though Moorsh, the half-orc fighter/thief and leader of the orcs was pretty tough. Lothar and Leora were going to be the Iuzian archers, but Lothar was Flame Striked right off the bat and Leora neutralized as well. I actually made Kendra an unwilling accomplice, and she basically stayed out of the final fight, though all were useful in the early ones.
Mechor also used his necromantic ability to act "through" undead, using the shadows to great effect in the Iuzian ambush at the bottom of the stairs. The party spent a lot of time planning their defense, and to have it so completely circumvented by the Iuzian's counter-ambush really upset them. The fact that he raised their dead dwarven allies, well that just added fuel to the fire! They were thrown back on their heels, forced to retreat, then run, then keep running. That just doesn't happen that often, and in a way was glorious to watch!
This Iuzian group was great. They were the perfect finale to the best adventure I've run in a long while. With all three of the main characters surviving, I look forward to using them again.
Ragnar, you played the Iuzians in your campaign in much the same way that I did mine. I quickly found out that they were stronger offensively than defensively, given their relative lack of healing, protective, and guardian magicks. However, when taking the fight to the 'good guys' they proved far more dangerous. This was primarily a combination of the necromantic and summoning magicks that Iuz grants his clergy. The animals and undead minions were pawns, pure and simple, and allowed the 'bad guys' to whittle down the defenses (magical or otherwise) of the party. The Iuzian clerics stayed in the backdrop (perhaps with the exception, as you noted, of Deverell, their heavy hitter), Melchor primarily (why expose yourself to danger when you have minions?). As Magneto once said, "This is why the pawns go first!"
To add insult to injury, the Iuzians animated EVERYTHING they could as they slowly increased in number. What started as a small retinue of undead became a veritable army. Anytime something was killed, animal or otherwise, it was animated. Sure, this slowed them down (quite a bit actually, practically halving their rate of travel), but it provided so many foot (or winged) soldiers that this became the heavy hammer they employed to smash resistance. In fact, in my game the priests even managed to animate the gorgimera, Chossos, and add him (it) to their ranks, along with some ogres, and many troglodytes! Try turning or destroying monster zombies! Not any easy task!
In the end, in my campaign (still haven't finished writing its conclusion), the Iuzians also won the prize and the 'good guys' were hard pressed to call the constant back and forth war a win. In fact it quickly became a blood bath and I have a veritable tomb of NPCs in my folder, many of whom were subsequently animated by the Iuzians to bolster their own ranks!
Yes, my player has a new found respect (grudging as it may be), and some fear, when thinking about fighting Iuzian clerics again. And with the Greyhawk Wars right around the corner, he WILL have that chance again!
And who knows, maybe in my game, he WILL cross paths with either Melchor and/or Altarius (both survived in my campaign as well) in the future...
Glad you all had such fun and it also became and epic saga.
That adventure had so much more going on in it than the original written work. The Iuzians were a great addition (looking forward to the rest of Lanthorn's version, too), the unexpected turn with Drelza (though the party did reason through it well), the additional locations under the Horn (are those from a written source, or your own creation), and the Azcral dwarven allies. Oh, and great job including Clonocsplurcat, the copper dragon! When he caught Manny before he hit the bottom of the valley I gave out a verbal 'Whoop!' 😊
Glad you liked it. Yes, the additional locations were from the Dungeon Magazine #151. It was all 3rd ed, but I liked how it fleshed out the place more. A lot of the other caverns were my own design, or taken from the net somewhere. I populated with whatever I wanted. I really like the ghouls at the bottom of the waterfall. There were about 100 there, and if the party went down there it would have been bad. Luckily, they avoided that encounter!
I also changed the doors entering into Drelzna's chamber, and as you saw I changed her nature, giving a new backstory spun from many sources. There is some good hook stuff happening there.
The Azcral were also one of my favorit creations, and I pulled a bit from the area's real history with old WWI and WWII bunkers and such to create them. Then added in some flavor from MERPS to do their special metal, based on Titanium. They were one of my favorite parts.
When I started creating this, I remembered Clonoc from my original Greyhawk boxed set, so I planned to use that. However, he was fully possessed by this point. It was dumb luck that one of the players had the ability to summon an angelic being and free Clonoc. I was always going to use Clonoc as a Deis ex machina, but it set up perfectly with Manny.
Again, glad you enjoyed it. There is so much potential in that module, that I feel I have barely scratched the surface.
Your treatment of Drelnza sparked a memory (don't recall the source) that she may be the daughter of Iggwilv and Dahlvier, a lich in the northwestern Vesve. This inspired me to see a possible plot where PCs completing the Keep on the Borderlands in that area are sent by Dahlvier into the Cold Marshes after an Iggwilvian artifact (Fiend's Embrace) to prevent it falling into the hands of Iuz's minions. Once the item is acquired, they are sent east into the Clatspurs/Sepia Uplands to put an end to Strahd Von Zarovich. Dahlvier has learned that Barovia is temporarily accessible from Oerth again and he wants Strahd destroyed. Strahd is the vampire who cursed his daughter, Drelnza with undeath.
All is not as it seems, however. As you demonstrated in this campaign blog, Iggwilv actually wants to cure Drelnza of her vampirism. Not so, Dahlvier. He only wants her free of Strahd's lordship. As long as Strahd lives, Drelnza must obey his commands as she is his spawn. Dahlvier sent the PCs to destroy Strahd to free his daughter to do as she will - hopefully to ally with him.
The PCs must discover this information during the course of the adventure. After destroying Strahd, they must then find Drelnza and decide what to do with her (Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth).
Drelnza is the product of Iggwilv and Lerrek the lich, not Dahvlier. Lerrek is a high-level priest of Erythnul residing in Delvenbrass, I think (or some such other location in the Vesve). I believe that I got all of this information from an Oerth Journal article some time ago. If I uncover it I will tell you the issue number and pages.
Drelnza is the product of Iggwilv and Lerrek the lich, not Dahvlier. Lerrek is a high-level priest of Erythnul residing in Delvenbrass, I think (or some such other location in the Vesve). I believe that I got all of this information from an Oerth Journal article some time ago. If I uncover it I will tell you the issue number and pages.
-Lanthorn
Thanks, Lanthorn.
I suppose that makes sense because Lerrek is CE while Dahvlier is LE. Though it made better sense to my storyline to have a reason for Iggwilv and her lover to be at odds over the fate of their daughter. Still, I prefer to bend a story to be in keeping with canon as much as possible.
Lerrek is in the Iuz-infested portion of the northeastern Vesve, while Dahvlier is in the northwestern portion controlled by the elves.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Canonfire! is a production of the Thursday Group in assocation with GREYtalk and Canonfire! Enterprises
