Recent Posts
Tegan came back down then, and demanded to know what was happening. Mélinde was now detecting for evil, and the pool was radiating it in strength! We began to bundle people on the winch. I volunteered to climb up the column, while the others could go up in the elevator. As we started our journey up and out, the pool bubbles, squirms and froths.
From out of it came a beastlike, hairy humanoid creature with six arms. Two of these arms ended in stumps with chains wrapped around them. His skin and hair were of a dark grey colour, his face was feral, and he also had one eye missing. He howled like a beast as he rose up. As he stepped out and rushed toward us, his one remaining eye was fixed on me. I recoiled in fear and revulsion at the events that I had apparently set in motion, and at my possible doom at this creature. This Ebon Aspect of the Overgod!
The ten foot tall beast-man could easily reach me with his chain. He lashed out and it wrapped around me as if alive. I tried to escape, wriggling and pushing against the metal links, but all for naught as he began dragging me towards him, licking his lips. I shouted out then, in desperation, "The creature has me chained - he's dragging me back to the pool!"
Meanwhile, the creature strikes out with the other chain, and catches Terreg, the miner. The man was also being pulled towards the Ebon Aspect. Up in the air, I saw Malakai coming down the chain at speed. I have never been as pleased to see him as I was then. The honour and nobility of the Storm Knight shined through there! I began to believe I may just survive this! The creature made a guttural sound and above Mal's head appeared a glowing flail. It swiped at the paladin but the attack passed over his head.
Malakai landed clumsily but upright on the chamber floor. Meanwhile, Mélinde cast a spell on Tegan’s axe, and Alun and Tegan got out of the elevator and moved up to engage the thing. Malakai, with a roar, struck at the creature and cut him across the chest with his sword. The Aspect howled in anger, and clawed and bit the paladin, causing him grievous damage.
The creature continued its retreat back to the pool, dragging me with it as I tried to wriggle free. Malakai continued to slash with his sword, his furious blade digging deep into the creature. Tegan also hit the abomination. It snarled and responded with a vicious swipe against the Storm Knight, drawing blood from his shoulder and neck. Above our paladin’s head the glowing flail lashed out and struck him also. Malakai dropped to the ground in a heap of armour. I thought then that not only I, but all of us, were doomed.
I got dragged further towards the pool, almost up to the edge of it. I looked upon the dark oil within and hoped I would never touch it. My struggles become more urgent. Tegan took a swing at the beast, but missed. Behind me, I saw Alun bend down and heal Malakai. I manage for a moment to stop the creature from dragging me further, but my strength was sorely taxed and I would not be able to hold out for long. Tegan got walloped by another clawed hand while Terreg got dragged almost into the pool, and as the beast pulled on the chain wrapped around me, I dug my heels in on the last step up to the pool and just managed to resist getting dragged into the pool.
That last attack had obviously badly wounded Tegan, and she stopped to heal herself. Whatever the healing that Alun had performed on Malakai was, it had the desired effect: The paladin stood up, and stepped in again against the monster, more warily this time. The creature pulled again on the chain that bounds me, and this time his strength is too much, and I am dragged into the black pool. The thick cloying liquid was extremely cold to the touch and I sank quickly under the surface. My world turned dark, but this time I was still conscious. Almost immediately though, the chain went slack and I started to free myself. ‘I have to get out of here!’ I thought to myself, as my body started to go numb, and the liquid seeped into my clothes, and into my eyes, ears and other orifices!
The cold dark water slowly started to freeze my bones. I shivered as it dulled my senses and slowed my reactions. I had no idea what was happening above. I struggled against the chains as the biting cold slowed me further, and was rewarded for my efforts as I drew free of them and started to approach what I hoped was the pool's side. The darkness prevented me from seeing beyond my fingers, but I could feel splashing nearby. I wondered if Terreg too had been pushed in, or if something else was in this oily water. I supposed that with the Ebon Aspect coming from here, nothing else would make their home with him. That being the case, I reached and struggled to find Terreg. However, I only managed to stop falling further into the cloying, gluey depths of the pool. I then felt Terreg grab hold of my arm. A glimmer of hope entered my head, ‘We may yet get out of this!’
With a surge of strength, I managed to drag both of us up to the surface, so we could see where we were. Right in front of me was the Ebon Aspect, standing in the pool. Off to one side were Rastophan and Todrik of Kullen's gang. Noticing our situation, Rastophan shouted to Terreg "Grab my hand!" Terreg released my arm in order to get to the two gang members. He was pulled out by them; his body sprawled out on the floor mere feet from this abomination of the Ebon Cult. On the other side of the beast, our Storm Knight faced up against it, his shining blade striking out against the vile thing, but missing the mark by mere inches. Alun moved up behind the paladin, and healed him.
Near Malakai I could see Kullen. With a roar of "Abomination!" he swung against the foul beast, but his axe-blow went wild. The Ebon Aspect retaliated against his attackers then, dropping Malakai with one blow, and then concentrating his further attacks on Kullen, biting and clawing at him, as he wrapped a chain about his waist. The other chain attack snaked out at Alun, who managed to avoid the attack. Things were obviously not going well.
With a surge of strength, I managed to drag both of us up to the surface, so we could see where we were. Right in front of me was the Ebon Aspect, standing at the edge of the pool. Off to one side were Rastophan and Todrik of Kullen's gang. Noticing our situation, Rastophan shouted to Terreg "Grab my hand!" Terreg released my arm in order to get to the two gang members. He was pulled out by them; his body sprawled out on the floor mere feet from this abomination of the Ebon Cult. On the other side of the beast, our Storm Knight faced up against it, his shining blade striking out against the vile thing, but missing the mark by mere inches. Alun moved up behind the paladin, and healed him.
Near Malakai I could see Kullen. With a roar of "Abomination!" he swung against the foul beast, but his axe-blow went wild. The Ebon Aspect retaliated against his attackers then, dropping Malakai with one blow, and then concentrating his further attacks on Kullen, biting and clawing at him, as he wrapped a chain about his waist. The other chain attack snaked out at Alun, who managed to avoid the attack. Things were obviously not going well.
I moved over to the side of the pool, but could not move further due to the sticky nature of the fluid. As I struggled, I felt voices stirring in my mind "Sink, Sink!” they said, in whispered tones “You want to join us! Be with us!" they continued. I ignored them, but in my mind I panicked over what the voices meant. Terreg, who had regained his feet, moved to my side and reached out his hand to pull me out. Behind me, the Ebon Aspect was landing blow after blow against Kullen, who eventually succumbed and dropped to the floor.
Another blow hit Rastophan, and the chains snaked out to entangle Alun and the mangy ranger. Tegan moved up to Alun and cast a spell to enchant Alun's mace. Terreg moved up behind Rastophan, carefully avoiding any attacks from the Aspect. He dragged the ranger out of the chains and into safety. ‘That is a plucky miner and no mistake!’ I thought, as I prepared myself for battle once more.
Todrik moved up to poke him with his gisarme, but the long weapon was hard to wield in this busy combat, and he missed. Alun healed Malakai, but could not bring him to consciousness. Tegan stood right up to the creature, but was canny, and blocked and parried to ensure the beast would have a hard time hitting her. She continued to be attacked by the glowing flail, but it did not hit.
The Ebon Aspect, now facing the threat of a pole-arm, bit and chewed at Todrik’s arm. The fighter blanched and moved away, past me. Meanwhile, the abomination wrapped its chain around Alun.
Terreg, again proving that the miners of Diamond Lake were no pushovers, nor timid, tried to free Alun, but failed to untangle him from the chains of the Aspect. Alun meanwhile, twisted around, still caught, in order to heal the Storm Knight. Malakai wakes up, but is only just able to function. Spying his quarry ahead of him, he uses the strength he has left to strike at the Ebon Aspect. Unfortunately, as he was lying prone, his blow was hampered, and he missed. The effort of that swing sent him back into unconsciousness.
I saw Todrik come back, but he stayed out of range of the beast’s wild limbs and teeth. The Aspect then dragged Alun closer with the chain, and rended and bit at him. The attacks had immense power, and our Shield Knight fell. I hoped to his god that he was still alive.
However, I had more pressing concerns then. The creature swung its chain at me, and although I jumped over it, the beast managed to pull it back so that it wrapped around me. As the chain tightened and pinned me I tried to get free, but ultimately I was again immobilised.
Not good for a scout.
Then, from above, missiles of magical force hit the creature, but it didn’t seem to notice them.
I looked up, and saw Merovinn the wizard coming down the chain. He must have cast them on the hoof, but it did us little good. Meanwhile, Tegan moved in and healed Malakai - he stirs from his unconsciousness. Kullen got up then, and took a smack from the Aspect as he did so. He must have been feigning unconsciousness, probably to get some healing potion. He was raging then, and the expression on his face was of fury and anger. It was directly completely at the abomination in front of him. He then attacked, and his axe bit deeply into the creature’s leg, blood spurting from the wound. It dropped to one knee for a moment, groaning. It then steadied itself, and eyed up the half-orc warily. The next few moments would spell our victory or defeat.
As I struggled to free myself from the chain once more, I glanced around the battlefield. Terreg was freeing Alun from his chain, while Todrik dropped a potion down our Shield Knight’s throat. Further over Tegan healed herself once more. Merovinn could do little it seemed – he stayed well out of harms way, and I never heard him cast another spell. Malakai was looking for the opportunity to get up and back into the fight, as the Ebon Aspect retaliated against Kullen.
It smacked Kullen with one clawed fist and the barbarian fell to the ground, unconscious. He then noticed me in its chain, and it swiped at me, hurting me badly, and then dragged me back into the pool as he took a step back into it himself. I feared I would not survive another immersion into that liquid, but for a fleeting second wondered what the whispering voices would say if I descended further.
As the beastlike abomination started to sink below the waterline, slowly due to its viscous nature, I tried to loosen my shackles, but could not. There was no hope for me, it seemed.
I had not counted upon the bravery and skill of our Storm Knight, however. Malakai stood up, shaking due to loss of blood, but defiant. As I was right next to the creature I could see the look in Malakai’s eyes as he looked at the beast. The look alone I was sure would kill a lesser foe. He hefted his sword, covered in the Aspect’s blood, aimed, and then struck at the beast. His blade sank deeply into the creature’s chest, blood pouring out from the wound. The Ebon Aspect shrieked, as its eyes rolled up and its limbs went limp. It started to sink very quickly into the pool. I followed it, bound up by the chain on its arm.
The beast was dead, but it could yet take me with it!
I was now under the water, and the cold was numbing me. Quicker this time, it seemed. I frantically tried to escape the bonds before his body sank deep underwater and dragged me to my death. After frantic seconds of tangling in the dark with the chain, I managed to loosen the chain, and escape. I moved up then, back to the light.
I arrived to see a scene of mass healing - potions, spells and wands being used to get people conscious. Kullen was especially concerned, as his exertions would soon debilitate him to the point where he would die outright as he stood in front of us. He was cured before that happened though.
Malakai reached over the pool with his gauntleted, still bloodstained hand, and pulled me out. I then got healed.
We moved all the treasure to the top of the mine, where I received a magical message from the High Priest of Heironeous at the Garrison: "Help is on its way, be ready to leave". Also nearby was a small raven with a note attached to its leg. I approached the raven, and although it did not wanting to be near me, it stood while I recovered the note. It merely asked for a reply, and for that reply to be attached to the raven. I did so, indicating we had a lot of stuff to bring out.
We get back to the entrance of the mine, where a stand-off had developed between the folks that had gathered outside. On one side were the guards of the mines, both human and dwarvish, and on the other side were the spiritual leader of the garrison, Velias of Heironeous, and the leader of the Graysmere Covenant, Bitris. The two priests were arguing that we should be allowed to leave.
We entered into the heated discussion, where the ins and outs of the mine owner Dourstone became a focus. The dwarves initially defended him, thinking him a valued member of the community - but the Graysmere dwarf dispelled this myth, and revealed that he was under something of a cloud back home. The dwarves took umbrage of this, and the humans didn't know what to think of the developments, but neither of them liked the members of Kullen's gang exiting the mine with all kinds of stuff with them. I wasn’t happy either – that was our stuff! At that point, Velias cast a spell and began talking to the crowd. A few well-chosen words and subtle magic of the Heironean cleric swayed them, and we were allowed to leave. But of Dourstone there was no sign... he had left the building, no-one has seen him leave the compound.
I scanned the surroundings, and noticed a dwarf trying to leave surreptitiously. Not waiting a moment, I charged after him, and as I tackled and brought him to the ground I recognized him as Dourstone. Shouting this out, the crowd came over – some of them too quickly for my liking. Shouts of “What have you done?”, “Dwarf-foe!” and “Traitor!” I heard as they came close. Thankfully, the garrison soldiers got to me first, and he was arrested before the pile of dwarves and human guards could suffocate him.
We get the hell out, and back into Diamond Lake proper, where we repatriated our goods from Kullen’s gang.
Back in town, we go to meet up with Allustan, and find two new allies waiting for us with the wizard. The first, a squire called Elgan, turned up looking for work after hearing about the prowess of a local warrior. That was our Storm Knight, and the young lad agreed to travel with us. The second was an elven wizard going by the name of Freya Nightbreeze. A diviner, she had been sent here to aid Allustan by Eligos – the wizard’s compatriot in Greyhawk City, and the source of much of our ordered magic, and the destination of much of our unwanted treasure. Allustan introduced Malakai and the rest of us, and our paladin was immediately interested in this mage.
Allustan indicated that he and Freya needed to travel to Blackwall keep, a guard post of Greyhawk City soldiers on the edge of the Mistmarsh, a couple of days travel from Diamond Lake. The resident wizard there, Marzena, was helping Allustan in investigating the worms we found, and had not been in touch recently. As she had her own lines of investigation, her work was valuable and warranted action. Especially now, as Allustan and Filge, who was working as a reluctant assistant, had hit a dead end.
So far, little was known of the worms. They had leech-like, toothy mouths and a thin, floppy body that would seem to be inadequate for movement and very fragile. They were unlikely to be able to survive on their own. ‘Perhaps they burrow into the body…’ I thought.
The last notes from Blackwall Keep indicated that the worms had been found there. The link between there and here was only known when we found the worms up at the observatory. The fact that the Keep was now silent was ominous, and was the main reason Allustan wanted to go himself.
We availed ourselves of some mounts and made our way to the edge of the Mistmarsh. One days travel passed uneventfully. We encountered dwarves from Graysmere, who were friendly, and gave us a warning - an ally of theirs had seen a band of warriors with a blue standard. They were very reticent to give any details as to their presence here, and the dwarf thought that they were... shady. I personally thought that a second-hand warning was probably of little veracity, especially as the blue standard bearers were not hostile, but I took him at his word nonetheless.
Presently, we camped for the night. We all bedded down and I took the first watch. I felt at home here, once again out in the solitude and freedom of the wilderness. I thought about my journey so far, and what might yet be ahead of me and the rest of my group.
Certainly the prospect of the Age of Worms was an unsettling one, and I was sure we would do all in our power to stop this. The cryptic clues and information thus far was not encouraging however, and we needed leads. Hopefully the mage Marzena would be able to help in that respect.
Of my personal quest, I had a great deal to think about. My father was involved with a secretive organisation, The Seekers. They want him, or want him dead at least, and will use any available means to get what they want. The Maure family want him, and from Allustan’s information, they are not to be trifled with.
Finally, a more immediately disturbing development has occurred since my fight with the Ebon Aspect within the Triad Temple. My eyesight has become more accustomed to night time and I find that my footsteps are lighter on the ground, and that I no longer feel the chill of a cool night’s air. As unusual these traits are, greater than all of these was what happened while I wrote this journal entry!
I heard the movement of a creature beyond the light of our fire, and I momentarily froze. Doing so, some reaction from my subconscious must have come to the fore, as I suddenly found myself appear to blend with the shadows around me, and somewhat hard to perceive. As I marvelled at my appearance I spied the creature that caused me such consternation. It was nothing more than a grass snake and it promptly slithered away as I looked at it. Seeing that, my form shifted again, and I was back to normal. At least it didn’t appear to be a permanent affliction. In fact, it could well be useful, I thought to myself.
With practice I learnt to control the change, and was able to move back and forth with a few seconds concentration. This was my legacy, I realised. From my father or elsewhere. “A thing sworn of shadows” the writings of Grallak Kur said. Well, I would make these abilities my strength and my tribute. I would be the Shadow Knight of the Cairn Hills. And I will find the truth behind all this plotting and secrets, whatever I might reveal and wherever that pursuit takes me!
The following day we set off again, confident we would reach Blackwall before nightfall.
As we got closer and saw the keep tower ahead of us, it became obvious that something was not right. In various trenches and hollows in the surrounding land, we saw lizard-folk keeping watch on the tower. They had it surrounded, and it was obvious it was under siege, albeit an unusual one.
We took stock.
Our Storm Knight was adamant that this situation could not continue, and resolved to charge at the assembled scaly creatures until all had fled from the pointy end of his lance. I argued with him that this would not work, and eventually he accepted that a frontal charge wasn't right. I then volunteered to scout ahead, with Allustan making me invisible. I approached the bunkers of the lizardfolk, trying to keep an even distance from adjacent ones, and well aware that their senses may well be better than ours, despite the lack of external ears.
Perhaps my nervousness was affecting my stride, as I managed to sink calf-deep into a muddy pit before I realised my wrong-footedness. The squelch my boot made going in was fairly loud and I worried about being heard, but the real issue was pulling it back out again. I tried to perform the action as smoothly and as quickly as possible, but the sucking noise as the wet boggy mass released my foot was so loud a couple of scaly creatures glanced in my direction and started sniffing the air.
The door was not totally closed. Going inside, I saw a pair of guards keeping watch at the front of the keep. I carefully made my presence known to them – they might have tried to attack me, and the outside chance of a blade in the ribs was not one I wanted to risk. “Do not panic” I began “I am a friend of Allustan from diamond Lake. We are here to relieve you.” This approach worked and the guards were put at ease by the wizards name being mentioned. After explaining why I would not turn myself visible, I gathered as much information as I could.
The siege had been going on for weeks now, and all patrols had been stopped from leaving the keep. Somehow, and the guards didn’t know how, the lizard people had managed to get hold of Marzena and carry her away, along with other members of the garrison. Pigeons had been sent back to civilized lands telling of their plight, but obviously they hadn't got through. The inhabitants have had little sleep, and also had wounded guards inside. I resolved to get back and tell Allustan and the others, and bade the guards farewell.
We decided to leave the horses beyond the siege. Following the awakening of my shadow-forged abilities, I was now able to see through any shadows I was aware of, bringing me a shadowy vision of the area where the shadows lay. This ‘shadesight’ I had used instinctively before, but I had much more control now. Also, I had developed an awareness of the whispers of the shadows in these places, and I could, instead of viewing, use my ‘shadesound’ to hear any noises occurring beyond my own range of hearing. I decided to use my shadesight to keep aware of the entrance to the keep, so that we would not be surprised by any developments when we got there. I imagined we’d get there in quite a hurry. Freya cast a couple of defensive spells on herself, and Alun invoked the protection of St. Cuthbert on us all. We headed in.
Following our planning, we knew what we had to do. Divide and conquer. Malakai, mounted on his charger and with a light spell on his lance, shouted at the bunkered lizardfolk and charged off to one side of the keep. Many lizardmen fell for his diversionary tactic, and started to chase him. I then shrouded myself in shadows and scouted off ahead, directly toward to keep, safe enough in the semi-darkness. The others came after me at a distance. We got a fair way into the lizardmen bunkers without an issue. Most of the reptilian warriors were being distracted by an armoured knight with a glowing lance charging around the place.
Finally though, some spotted the group behind me, and moved to intercept.
One moved up to Elgan and hit him with its spear. Another swiped at Tegan, but missed. One ran up to Alun and the Shield Knight smacked it soundly, before he evaded its now off-kilter spear lunge. Allustan avoided a blow through his magic shielding, and then scorched his opponent to death. Tegan walloped the lizard facing her and it collapsed to the ground.
I moved to help out Elgan as the others dealt with more scalykin popping out from holes in the earth. Elgan moved as fast as possible towards the keep at their appearance, and Freya did similarly, away from the new lizards. The others were now surrounded by lizardmen, but although we were acquitting ourselves well, their numbers were greater and their leader, up against Alun, seemed a hardier type.
Outside, a stand-off had developed between our paladin and the rest of the Knights, and the now assembled lizardfolk. Freya talked in draconic at Malakai’s request, to parley. They responded with some talk of eggs being destroyed, but by who was unknown. The eggs were poisoned apparently, with worms. Alarm bells started to ring in my mind upon being told of this.
Malakai asked for more information. After a further exchange between Freya and the lizard people’s spokeswoman, who was some kind of shaman, our elven mage said that the wizard from the tower approached the lizardfolk to make peace, and they think she poisoned the eggs then. Freya asked if anyone else was around, and they seemed to think that wizards of Greyhawk wanted the lizardfolk dead, but would not give further details. Malakai asked if this one incident was reason enough to bring humans and lizardfolk to war. “Have any of our 'eggs' been killed?” the she-druid asked. Malakai responded that we had had casualties from the worms.
As this was happening, Allustan and I moved up to the roof. He knew the other guardsmen, and talked to them as he retraced the steps of Marzena. Something caught his eye, and he then looked closely at the rooftop flags we were standing on. A worried look then appeared on his face as he looked out into the darkness. Suddenly, he turned to me and the guards down the trapdoor to the interior of the Keep. He shouted "Get everyone inside!! Get them inside! I shall deal with this!" He then started to chant. I and the others inside then started shouting to Malakai and the others to get in. Allustan finished his spell and flew out into the darkness. I looked out, across the battlements. In the night sky, with the aid of my night time vision I spotted a strange silhouette. My blood ran cold. "IT’S A BLOODY GREAT DRAGON!" I shouted to the others. "GET BACK!" They must have heard me as they started to return. But was it quickly enough? I faded into the shadows and prepared for the worst.
I jumped back down the trapdoor from the roof, and started back down the stairs. 'We need to be together to face this', I thought as I descended. Above me, I could almost feel the beat of the creature’s wings above the keep as I descended further downstairs. Some of the soldiers around me were talking nervously about leaving this place and returning to Diamond Lake. Others took a more robust view and did not want to leave. Malakai and the others were now back inside, and one of the soldiers asked Mal what they should do. He spouted something about doing their duty, and we decided to stay until we knew what the result of Allustan’s confrontation with the dragon was.
As we waited, there was no sign of the dragon. I asked Malakai "What's the deal with the lizards?" He responded by telling me they had called a temporary truce while we figured out who was responsible for poisoning their eggs, with worms similar to the ones we found back at Diamond Lake. Freya added that the lizardmen believed that the 'wizard from the tower' did this. By wizard we presume they meant Marzena, which was why they took her. And by 'they took her' I meant 'the dragon took her'. As to what the dragon's motivation was, it remained unknown.
From one of the arrow slits, a soldier spotted an explosion in the distance. We all assumed it was Allustan’s doing, but didn't know how to help him, or even if we could.
We decided to stay the night, and mounted a watch. The soldiers arranged who could do what, and they mentioned that Ungar was not present. Ungar, it appeared, was on the last trip Marzena went out on, and apparently they returned in a hurry. After this, Marzena went into seclusion in her quarters until her abduction.
I looked at the documents Allustan and I found in our search in Marzena's quarters. Some messages were on paper designed for pigeon carriers – these alluded to some unanticipated duplicitous plan of the lizards, and that Allustan should come here. These were obviously discarded due to misspellings. Others were written on some primitive bark-paper with messages of peace from the lizardfolk – one read ‘Meet the Twisted Branch Tribe’. These were penned by one Hishka. From appearances, they look to have been ignored or collected for some time...
The soldiers told us what they knew of the Mistmarsh: the lizardfolk were in there, obviously. There were packs of ghouls, crocodiles, some giant-sized, and a cockatrice was living there according to one report. The vegetation was twisted and entwined, leading to vast canopies and tunnels being created within the swamp.
We searched the entire place, looking for this missing soldier - he might have clues as to what Marzena or the lizardfolk were doing... The search led us to a locked door, previously unmentioned. It turned out that the soldiers were trying to construct a secret tunnel out, but it was never completed and the door was locked from this side. However, the tunnel now was boarded from the other side - a sign that others knew of its existence...