Howl of the Carrion King (by Moonbeam)


Campaign Journals

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Sovereign Court

Oathday, Neth 5th, 4710 (continued)

Three wishes

On Davashuum's corpse, Fawzy found the bone talisman that Zayifid had spoken about: it was seemingly a key that could open a secret passage in the Stone Speakers which led to Jhavhul's lair, the final resting place of the monstrosity called Xotani the Firebleeder. He also took Davashuum's magical quarterstaff, Maelstrom, which he hoped to one day give to a worthy student, if he lived long enough to have his own monastery. On a desk, the group found some notes written by Davashuum. They confirmed that the bone key was needed to access Xotani's Grave, and that a number of slaves had been transferred there in recent weeks, including Almah, Haleen, Mother Temir, Zemeyset and Teski.

The heroes left the tower and rejoined Nefeshti and the rest of the troops. There was a mixture of happiness at their defeat of Davashuum, mixed with sadness because of those who had died in the battle, and dread about what was still to come. But overall, the battle for Kelmarane had gone very well for its liberators. Except for the tragic deaths of Kardswann and Zayifid, who had courageously sacrificed themselves, very few of Nefeshti and Abdelmotaleb's soldiers had died.

Nefeshti offered to grant three wishes to the heroes. Fawzy was worried that it might cause more magical instability in the region, but the genie reassured him and said that, with some carefully worded wishes, she could keep the disturbance to a minimum and give them an edge for their upcoming fight against Jhavhul. Abdelmotaleb wished for a more powerful bow; Fawzy wished to become wiser; and Kelonis wished for a portable hole so they could better carry the enormous amount of treasure they had accumulated in their recent adventures.

"You could have wished for anything in the world," said Kazim with an expression of bewilderment, "and you wished for a hole??"

Undrella was saddened by Kardswann's death: indeed, before she became Abdelmotaleb's lover, she had been involved with him. The harpy wanted revenge against Jhavhul, but Fawzy told her to focus on rebuilding the future instead.

Abdelmotaleb pointed out that this was a good occasion to put some pressure on the Pactmasters to give more importance to Kelmarane: to make it a center of trade in the region. Twice, the group had been sent to save the city. Now, they were about to attempt what the Pactmasters themselves had been too cowardly to do: to eradicate Jhavhul once and for all. The ranger felt that it was only fair that a shift of power would come to pass after the end of their adventure. They would no longer be mere lackeys to the Pactmasters.

Kelonis contacted Teski with the magic of a Sending, but was troubled by her reply: she was seemingly in love with Jhavhul, her new master, and stated that she had no need of rescuing. The elven cleric believed that his slave had fallen prey to some kind of enchantment, and worried that the rest of the group might suffer a similar fate because of Jhavhul's potent magic.

It was now time for the group to confront Jhavhul at long last. They would travel to the House of the Beast by teleportation. Nefeshti and the troops would remain to defend Kelmarane, making sure to keep the mysterious portal at the bottom of the Brazen Tower under heavy guard.

It was mid-afternoon when the Protectors of Kelmarane all gathered around Kelonis for the teleportation spell. Nefeshti had placed Sarenrae's blessing on Toba. She would pray for the heroes' success. As she and her templars had fought Jhavhul for so long, centuries ago, it was now time for a new group of heroes to finish their mission. This was it. This was the last chapter in the saga of the conflict against Jhavhul! Kelonis spoke the words of his spell, and the group vanished, only to reappear in the Stone Speakers, deep below the House of the Beast.

Sovereign Court

Return to the House of the Beast

The group appeared in the round chamber to the side of the underground garden. The place was just as they remembered it, surprisingly inviting despite its location far below the surface. It still contained three benches around a fountain, a small stream and an almond tree. The four angry stone faces still stood in the garden, but around them were now some creatures right out of one of Abdelmotaleb's nightmares: gnoll corpses animated by some strange purple viscera that was growing within their rib cages. The corpses lurched to life and attacked the heroes, trying to paralyze them with the foul contact of their long putrid purple tongues. The adventurers fought bravely and slew several of the undead monsters. Fawzy, Toba and Kelonis fought in melee. Abdelmotaleb shot arrows, and Kazim shocked all the enemies with a Chain Lightning spell.

Unfortunately, Fawzy was surrounded by foes, and he was eventually paralyzed by the foul taint of their tongues. Kelonis rushed to his side and tried to free him of the affliction, but his magic failed to bypass Fawzy's magic resistance. The elf was helpless to prevent the hungry mohrgs from slaying Fawzy before his very eyes! While the others finished off the remaining mohrgs , Kelonis swiftly brought Fawzy back to life with a Breath of Life spell. He then restored the monk to full health with Remove Paralysis and Heal, but he knew that he had a limited supply of magic left and that he must keep some of it for their ultimate confrontation against Jhavhul.

Note1:
I completely forgot the wishwarp effect in this room until after the fight...

Note2:
I decided that Breath of Life works even on someone who died because of a failed Fortitude Save against coup-de-grâce... Otherwise coup-de-grâce is way too deadly for my taste, given how easily it can happen when fighting a large number of enemies who can paralyze...

Note3:
The adventurers had beheaded the Carrion King in "House of the Beast" and had kept his head as a trophy, so instead of him, they fought the remains of just a regular "Unchosen Gnoll".

When Fawzy returned to the round chamber, the presence of the bone talisman he carried caused the walls to waver as if under a great heat, and to become streaked with fissures of lava. Soon, a portal opened in the wall before the group; beyond it stretched a tunnel that led down into some sinister searing depths. A wave of heat came from the tunnel, but the companions did not suffer from it, as they were still protected by the same rings that had kept them safe of the Plane of Fire. Abdelmotaleb used his magic to protect Hayia from the heat.

The tunnel had seemingly been carved out by a lava flow, and the companions followed it down for around 10 minutes before reaching an intersection. Much to their surprise, Jhavhul himself was waiting for them there! But before they could begin attacking him, Jhavhul spoke, and the group understood that it was merely a recorded illusion.

“Welcome, visitors, to Xotani’s Grave, where all your wishes are granted!” the figure said, spreading his arms in welcome and unleashing a wave of heat. “You are honored to have been chosen to witness my ascension. Enjoy yourselves, and when you are but ants beneath my feet, I may even let you live!” Jhavhul threw back his head and laughed, a deep, booming sound that brought to mind the roaring of flames. He turned to smoke and slowly faded away as his thunderous laughter echoed down the tunnels.

Facing three corridors leading further into Xotani's Grave, the Protectors of Kelmarane chose to go straight ahead. They reached a cave that featured a river of lava flowing near the opposite end; ten feet higher, and beyond the river, a tunnel led further away. These seemed to be the living quarters of some soldiers, yet the room appeared empty of foes. While the group was wondering how to cross the lava river, however, they were ambushed by eight invisible jann warriors, in a tactic that was frankly starting to get on their nerves!

Once again, the dastardly lightning-quick jann caused the heroes some grievous wounds in the first few moments of the fight, turning invisible again after attacking to confuse their opponents. Abdelmotaleb, Fawzy and Kazim were badly wounded. In the furious battle, Toba caused great damage with her axe, and her canniness as a rogue allowed her to dodge the dirty attacks of her enemies. Fawzy stunned his enemies when he made contact, preventing them from attacking with the advantage of invisibility. Kelonis lent some help with his own blade, but also healed Abdelmotaleb, who was taking quite a beating, yet causing a lot of damage with his own arrows. He and Fawzy were able to strike true most of the time, as they had trained to fight invisible opponents. Kazim, however, had to escape the fight, otherwise she risked getting killed. The ceiling of the cave was too low for her to be able to fly out of reach of the enemies.

Eventually, all the jann were slain, except one that Kelonis had knocked out. The companions tied him up and woke him up as Kelonis healed the group. Abdelmotaleb intimidated him into revealing some information: Jhavhul was in a cave deeper inside, where the remains of the huge monster Xotani could be found. The prisoners were held further still. Between this cave and Xotani's, Jhavhul's two enormous and ferocious mounts stood guard, as well as some efreet. The jann had first tried to deceive the companions into returning to the intersection where Jhavhul's illusion had welcomed them and going left, but Fawzy saw through his treachery. Once they had the information they needed, the adventurers knocked him out again and left him in the cave, tightly bound.

The group then crossed the lava river with a mix of flying (Toba and Kazim), jumping (Fawzy), spider climbing (Abdelmotaleb with Hayia on his shoulders) and short-range teleportation (Kelonis). They reached a large cave where they fought two elephant-sized flaming horses who ferociously defended their lair. Kazim took some nasty wounds, and Toba and Fawzy were also lightly wounded, but the heroes prevailed and killed the two monsters.

Sovereign Court

Oathday, Neth 5th, 4710 (continued)

A difficult decision

The companions heard the sounds of enemies ahead: heavy footsteps and deep voices yelling in alarm using Ignan, the language of fire creatures. Moving into the next cavern, the companions encountered three efreet who were seemingly ignoring them, laughing and boasting around a campfire. A fire giant soldier stood ready for battle near them, and another such giant could be seen waiting in one of the two tunnels that led out of the cave.

Fawzy attacked the fire giant in the tunnel, so he wouldn't attack the group from the back, and the rest of the party engaged the other giant and the efreet. Kazim cast a Chain Lightning spell into the room, wounding the giant there, but realizing that the efreet were mere illusions: the real ones soon appeared and attacked the adventurers.

Fawzy dodged all attacks from his opponent and single-handedly killed that giant. As he fought, he heard loud barks and growls coming from further in that tunnel. Abdelmotaleb dealt great damage with his arrows, as usual, slaying two of the efreet. The magical bow that he had obtained from a wish was truly deadly against those creatures. Meanwhile, Toba fought courageously, but was caught between a giant and an efreeti, and eventually succumbed to the many wounds she suffered. Kelonis quickly saved her with a Breath of Life, and Abdelmotaleb and Kazim slew the last two enemies.

Kelonis was able to heal all of Toba's wounds, but he had by then exhausted most of his potent spells. He advised the group to return to Kelmarane to rest. Abdelmotaleb agreed: if they perished because of lack of healing, then Jhavhul would win anyway. Fawzy and Kazim wanted to press on, as they were worried that Jhavhul was imminently going to reach his end goal, but Kelonis was able to sway them, and everyone teleported back to Kelmarane. The group rested, but was worried that they might be delaying too long. Standing on the balcony of their mansion, Fawzy watched as Pale Mountain rumbled ominously, as if it were about to erupt...

Sovereign Court

Fireday, Neth 6th, 4710

The Final Confrontation

The Protectors of Kelmarane teleported back to the volcanic caves beneath the House of the Beast after eating a Heroes' Feast summoned by Kelonis. There were still signs of the previous day's battles, but all bodies had been removed from the caves they had already visited. Continuing forward, the group reached a huge cavern where stood the titanic remains of the worm known as Xotani the Firebleeder. Beyond the wide river of lava that bisected the room, within the carcass's rib cage, stood the efreeti-lord Jhavhul, next to Xotani's heart, which was alive once again, pulsating and oozing lava instead of blood. Jhavhul was much larger than other members of his race, clad in heavy armor and wielding a deadly unholy scimitar that was wreathed in flames. Before Xotani's remains knelt an old man dressed in rags: Zemeyset, who was being held captive by invisible creatures. Next to him stood a beautiful human woman whose skin seemed to be made of diamond. Jhavhul was trying to coax Zemeyset into uttering a wish, but so far the old wizard was stalwartly resisting.

The heroes had finally reached their destination: this was where Jhavhul was attempting to merge himself within Xotani and ascend to a greater state of being, to sow devastation upon Katapesh and neighbouring regions, and to win the heart of the fire queen Ymeri. This was the climax of their grand adventure!

Jhavhul soon became aware of their presence, taunting them and claiming that they would never stop his ritual. Abdelmotaleb replied with some profanity of his own, and the battle began.
Jhavhul began by creating a Wall of Fire to block the adventurers' line of sight. Fawzy used his monk's abilities to reappear near Xotani's remains, to fight Jhavhul there, but the efreeti lord had already started flying above. Tempest was seething with fury at being in the presence of Vardishal's arch-nemesis. The rest of the group soon appeared near Fawzy, transported there by Kelonis's magic. Hayia smelled some invisible opponents and fought an unseen creature who retaliated with powerful blows. As the snake fought this enemy, three more invisible foes began attacking the group. Kelonis was surprised that they didn't reappear even though he had cast an Invisibility Purge, but Kazim (an expert on the Plane of Air) understood that these were Invisible Stalkers, creatures who were able to remain unseen even when subjected to such magic. As Fawzy fought two of the invisible enemies, he noticed that Zemeyset had been knocked unconscious. Extremely agile and protected by powerful magic, Fawzy avoided nearly all the attacks of the Invisible Stalkers.

Sight and sound in this cavern seemed heightened, as it was under the effect of a wishwarp, caused by the astounding number of wishes that had been uttered in this place. Despite this, most of the spells cast by both sides of the conflict functioned normally.

Kazim cast a Haste spell on her companions, and Abdelmotaleb wounded Jhavhul with several arrows. As his bow and ranger's training were deadly against fire outsiders such as Jhavhul, and because the efreeti was flying, Abdelmotaleb was the one who was in the best position to destroy Jhavhul. Sensing this, the mighty efreeti rushed down and tried to attack Abdelmotaleb, but the ranger dodged his massive fiery scimitar at the last moment. The huge weapon left a trail of fire in the air and destroyed a large section of the cavern's floor. As Jhavhul was still flying and using his superior range to attack Abdelmotaleb in melee, neither Toba nor Fawzy could conveniently retaliate with their own melee attacks.

The diamond-skinned woman cast a Chain Lightning spell that wounded Kelonis and Toba. Everyone else avoided or resisted its effect. Toba attacked this mage, wounding her despite her very resilient diamond skin. The mage drained some of Toba's life essence with a Vampiric Touch spell. Kelonis cast a Destruction spell at the diamond mage, but she resisted it and merely suffered superficial wounds. However, with two mighty strikes of her greataxe, Toba badly wounded her, rendering her unconscious.

Meanwhile, Abdelmotaleb shot several more arrows at Jhavhul, badly wounding him. Alas, Jhavhul's fury was now in full swing, and he unleashed a merciless flurry of slashes with his scimitar, dropping both Abdelmotaleb and Kelonis. The two adventurers fell to the ground, grievously wounded and unconscious. Alas, before anyone could do anything about it, Kelonis, the group's healer, bled to death in an ironic twist of fate.

(OOC: He was down to -11hp with a constitution of 12. He needed a natural 20 to stabilize. And he rolled... 19.)

Kazim tried to cast a Fly spell on Fawzy, but failed to bypass his spell resistance.

(OOC: Since he gained that ability, Fawzy's spell resistance (monk ability) has been only a hindrance, not protecting him from enemy magic, but only preventing some beneficial magic from affecting him..)

Using his great agility, Fawzy abandoned his fight against the Invisible Stalkers, dodging their blows, and made a great jump to attack Jhavhul. He struck the efreeti lord, but suffered a tremendous blow in retaliation. Toba drank a potion of levitation and slowly rose to attack Jhavhul, but she was also hit by their enemy.

Kazim rushed to Abdelmotaleb's side, reviving him in the nick of time with a potion of healing she had found in the very last room, on the body of an efreeti. The archer regained consciousness; he was still very badly wounded, and took some time to tumble out of Jhavhul's range of attacks.

(OOC: Kazim's assistance was very timely, as Abdelmotaleb was also within 1 hp of death.)

Fawzy and Jhavhul traded blows. Fawzy knew that it was his destiny to fight Jhavhul, ever since the day he had unearthed Tempest in Vardishal's monastery. He struck powerful blows against Jhavhul, but alas, the efreeti's strength was incredible. Fawzy was hacked to pieces by Jhavhul's unholy scimitar, Firebleeder, and he fell to the ground, dead.

Toba also hit Jhavhul, focusing on precision over brute force, but still, she feared that within moments she would suffer the same fate as Fawzy... And that their mission would end in failure and death...

But no!

Abdelmotaleb got to his knees with a wince of pain, and held his bow steady. In his peripheral vision, he saw the lifeless bodies of Kelonis and Fawzy. He saw Hayia, his loyal snake companion, valiantly holding her own against the Invisible Stalkers, but getting badly wounded. He aimed and let his arrows fly, one after the other, in quick succession. His skill with the bow was unmatched, and his arrows penetrated Jhavhul's open mouth, instantly killing him. The efreeti lord couldn't even utter a gasp of surprise as he was suddenly slain by Abdelmotaleb. He only let out a disgusting gurgle as blood sputtered between his open lips... and he collapsed to the ground of Xotani's Grave in a great metallic cacophony.

Sovereign Court

The Aftermath

Kazim rushed to help Fawzy and Kelonis, but she was too late: they were dead. She fought a wave of sadness that threatened to overwhelm her, but took comfort in the fact that they had vanquished Jhavhul and that Nefeshti would most likely be able to bring her friends back to life. Toba went to revive Zemeyset. Abdelmotaleb could hardly believe that Jhavhul was dead at last! He suddenly noticed that the Invisible Stalkers seemed to have stopped their attacks, and that the diamond-skinned woman moved: she had been given a potion of healing to drink by one of the unseen creatures. Once she regained consciousness, the woman used her magic to teleport away, touching four invisible beings as she did so, but not before Abdelmotaleb marked her as his quarry...

Abdelmotaleb was thankful for Kazim's help, for she was the one who had given him the chance to kill Jhavhul. He hugged her, but then realized what he had done and looked embarrassed by his moment of soft-heartedness. "Don't tell anyone this happened..." he instructed her.

The group took Jhavhul's powerful magical items and his jewellery. Abdelmotaleb used the efreeti's own unholy scimitar to cut off his head, wanting to keep it as a trophy. Kazim then dumped the evil weapon into the lava river with a Telekinesis spell. The surviving heroes then gently placed Kelonis and Fawzy's remains within the portable hole.

Zemeyset thanked his old companions for saving his life. He told them the story of how Jhavhul and his army had emerged from the ruins of Kazim's villa and had ravaged part of the city of Katapesh. They had killed Kazim's servant Eramin and had taken Kelonis's beautiful slave Teski captive. Zemeyset only remembered part of the ordeal, as he had drifted in and out of consciousness, badly treated by Jhavhul as he was. He remembered an journey through the sweltering desert heat, and then the siege of Kelmarane, which had swiftly fallen before Jhavhul's mighty army, despite the best efforts of its defenders.

A number of prisoners, including Zemeyset, Teski, Almah, Haleen and Mother Temir, had been brought to the House of the Beast, and then down to these volcanic caves to give Jhavhul the wishes he needed to awaken Xotani. Those who helped him progress toward his goal were told they would be given their freedom; those who refused were slain. As he needed a different mortal every day, Jhavhul had gone through a sizeable amount of prisoners over the past few weeks, keeping them captive within a pocket plane that looked like a royal palace, but still consisted of a prison for them. The number of the prisoners had dwindled over recent weeks, until finally only remained Zemeyset, Mother Temir, and Almah. Haleen and Teski had been taken away by Jhavhul to speak his wishes, but the old man did not know what had later become of them. He knew only that Jhavhul was keeping Almah to be the person to utter the final wish.

Zemeyset also told his companions that Jhavhul had given the Scroll of Kakishon to two of his elite warriors, so they would bring it back to the safety of the vaults of his palace called Bayt Al-Bazan, on the Plane of Fire. The old wizard was, of course, quite surprised to hear that the rest of the group had in fact visited Bayt Al-Bazan after their escape from Kakishon!

Kazim used her mastery of air magic to give everyone the ability to fly, and Zemeyset led the group to another cavern where stood a magical portal that led into the extra-dimensional space where Almah and Mother Temir were still being kept captive. The two women were, of course, immensely relieved to be rescued. Using magic to protect them from the heat, the heroes brought them out of the dimensional pocket, back into the volcanic caves. Alas, the group didn't have the ability to teleport back to Kelmarane: only Kelonis possessed such magic. But Kazim used her wand of Dimension Door to bring the rest of the group, two at a time, back up to the surface near the House of the Beast. There, they were attacked by four monstrous Vrock demons, but Abdelmotaleb slew two of them with his arrows, and the other two retreated. Then, exhausted and badly wounded from their many battles, the companions found shelter in the cave where they had rested, long ago, in between their forays into the House of the Beast. Kazim used a Whispering Wind spell to inform Nefeshti of their victory over Jhavhul, and to request her help.

Some time later, Nefeshti and a few of her soldiers came to the group's aid. They had traveled in the form of clouds. The genie princess was thrilled that her mortal allies had finally prevailed, succeeding where she and the Templar of the Five Winds had struggled for so long. At long last, her arch-enemy was dead, and the threat of Xotani's return could be stopped. The Protectors of Kelmarane were truly the great heroes of this age.

Kazim used her wand again to transport herself, Abdelmotaleb and Nefeshti back down to Xotani's Grave. There, Nefeshti granted to Abdelmotaleb a wish which undid the entirety of Jhavhul's ritual: Xotani's heart stopped pumping blood and shrivelled back to a stone-like material. The great spawn of Rovagug was dead once again...

Returning to the surface, Nefeshti used her other two wishes of the day to grant two more miracles: Fawzy and Kelonis were returned to life.

(OOC: The characters rise to level 15!)


Moonbeam wrote:
The Final Confrontation

Nice final fight! It seems it was very, very close, which is exactly how I like my finales to be!

I was wondering how you were going to deal with the PCs retreating and resting. The addition of Rajali and the invisible stalkers was a very nice move. I wish I had remembered that Jhavhul had telepathy and could call for her help in my final fight. That would have made a nice addition, although it seems she wasn't able to do very much against your PCs. Are you going to bring her back and extend the campaign, or is the campaign over after Jhavhul's defeat?

Sovereign Court

Thanks! Indeed, the fight was very close, and very epic. I am quite satisfied with it! In fact, I was the one who suggested that the group rest before taking on Jhavhul, as I noticed that Kelonis (my DM-PC) was running dangerously low on high-level spells, and I didn't want the party to wipe on the last fight of the campaign because of negligence on my part. But it turned out they could have gone straight ahead: he didn't use any Heal or Breath of Life in the final fight.

Yes, I'm glad that I added Rajali and the invisible stalkers. It made for a more interesting fight, and gave Toba and Hayia something to do. If the group had been more buffed before going in, with Fly and Air Walk spells, they could have done more damage to Jhavhul up front, and there might have been less casualties.

All in all, the fight only lasted about 4 rounds. Rajali cast 2 spells (Chain Lightning and Vampiric Touch - which did mediocre damage), but my expectation for the survivability of NPC spellcasters at such high levels is very, very low. So 2 rounds is not too bad. :)

Jhavhul did ZERO damage in the first few rounds... First round, he won initiative, but was too far to do anything productive. Second round, he moved and made a single attack against Abdelmotaleb... and rolled a natural 1. At this point, I thought: "Oh no, please don't tell me they're going to wtfpwn him, trivially, without him doing a single point of damage to the party. And that henceforth we will always remember Legacy of Fire as, "Hey, remember that campaign we played way back when, when we totally destroyed the end guy without taking a single hit?""

But thankfully, Jhavhul survived 2 rounds of Abdelmotaleb's "machine-gun". The damage Jhavhul can do with a full attack is brutal, especially since I upgraded him to PFRPG rules, with a better power attack. He litterally destroyed Abdelmotaleb AND Kelonis within the same round. Mind you, I was pretty lucky for him, and rolled about 4 crits within that round and the one against Fawzy.

I find it ironic that Kazim, who is by FAR the flimsiest character of the group, was the only one who emerged from this unscathed!

I'm not going to extend the campaign, as we've been playing it since 2009 and are ready to move on to new stories and new characters (even though my player is very fond of Fawzy and Abdelmotaleb). I'm also kind of burned out of being a DM at the moment, so now that Legacy of Fire is over, and once I finish my Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign, I'd like to be just a player for a while.

I'll post the epilogue of the campaign next week. Rajali will not attempt to get revenge against the PC's, because:
1/ She's True Neutral and unemotional, so I don't imagine her as being so devoted to Jhavhul's cause that she would want to risk her life a second time just to avenge him.
2/ She saw how powerful the characters were: she was basically just a speedbump for them in the fight against Jhavhul. She's a realistic woman and realizes that she would probably not survive a second fight against them, so she will keep what she has: her life, her magical items and her wish-gifted diamond skin, and move on to greener pastures (which isn't hard, considering how arid Katapesh is :) ).

However, you will see that some other women will come after the PC's for what they did to Jhavhul. :)

Sovereign Court

Securing the region

Once the Protectors of Kelmarane recovered from the ordeal of their combat against Jhavhul, they returned to the House of the Beast to eliminate the last remnants of Jhavhul's army. Nefeshti and her troops accompanied them, and they fought a large number of elementals, giants and efreet. The villains had already done a lot of work in cleaning up the fortress of the gnolls' filth, thankfully. But now the heroes wanted to claim the place as their own. The battle was a difficult one, but these monsters were nothing the adventurers hadn't fought before, so it was only a matter of time before victory was assured.

Later, the group returned to the volcanic caves of Xotani's Grave and discovered Jhavhul's treasure, hidden behind some illusions. They also slew some salamanders, giants, and hell hounds that had remained behind, as well as a gigantic brass golem. They found a mysterious crystal cave, a cavern filled with illusions of tormented souls, as well as bedchamber that had served for a harem, but all three were empty: their inhabitants are surely fled after they learned of Jhavhul's demise. The heroes also narrowly avoided getting caught in a vicious lava trap.

Returning to Kelmarane, the party finally finished visiting the Brazen Tower by going through the portal in its lower level. There, they found old cages holding skeletons, but in a large room beyond the dark entrance hallway, four gorgeous women were bathing merrily. The beauties coyly invited the heroes to shed their worries (and their clothes) and to come bathe with them. Abdelmotaleb was immediately interested, but all other members of the group remained wary. They learned that the women served the masters of the Brazen Tower, and that Jhavhul's uncle reigned from the room beyond this one.

The heroes went to confront this "uncle" and found an undead efreeti, sitting on a throne in a vast room that was decorated with tables on which were placed the remains of several of Kelmarane's townsfolk, who had been horribly tortured and mutilated by this undead psychopath. A battle soon erupted, and Jhavhul's uncle Umad was still a powerful foe, almost as powerful as Jhavhul himself, and he was aided in the battle by three invisible nagas who had followed the group from behind. Heroically, the companions defeated Umad and his guards. Returning to the bath chambers, they discovered that the women were in fact Pairaka Divs, vile disease-ridden temptresses, and they destroyed them, as well as some mohrgs that were lurking in the water.

Sovereign Court

Epilogue

Soon after the liberation of Kelmarane and the defeat of Jhavhul, as Kelmarane's inhabitants were recovering from the war they had just been through, the group hosted a grand feast in celebration of their victory. Everyone in the town was invited, as well as Nefeshti and her troops, several Pactmasters from Katapesh, and even the legendary Shazathared herself, who returned to Golarion from the Plane of Water to take part in the festivities. She was delighted to hear of the companions' victory over her former captor Jhavhul, and composed a number of songs and tales based on their heroic adventures: thanks to her, the epic struggles of the Protectors of Kelmarane would be immortalized, and would become part of the folklore all across the planes.

The Pactmasters recognized the group's great contribution to Katapesh for having destroyed Jhavhul, and they invested considerable sums to ensure Kelmarane's future prosperity. Indeed, in the years to come, the town would at last know peace, and would soon begin to thrive as its reconstruction, commerce and expansion were well managed by Kelonis, Almah and Garavel.

With the defeat of Jhavhul, and of the Carrion King several months before, as well as the increased power of Abdelmotaleb's force of rangers, the gnolls of the Brazen Peaks were driven further and further into the wilderness. The House of the Beast was claimed as a fortress for Abdelmotaleb's troops, a bastion of power for the rangers of the Severed Paw. It became Abdelmotaleb's main stronghold, with the smaller Fort Abdelmotaleb becoming more a spot where travelers coming to Kelmarane were monitored and taxed. As time passed, Abdelmotaleb took on a less and less active role as a ranger, overseeing his rangers through officers, and instead he found himself enjoying the fruits of his labor, now that he was rich beyond belief, that the region was safe, and that he had sated his blood thirst by killing countless gnolls and other monsters he hated. He spent some good time with his lover Undrella, enjoying fine food and drinks, and relaxing. Only when a dire threat emerged from the mountains, when a dangerous predator needed to be tracked down, did he take up his bow again and return to the action.

Sometimes, he stood on the balcony of his mansion and thought about the golden sand of the beaches of Kakishon, and he dreamt of his beloved Iqilma, the Shaitan princess. Would he ever find a way to reach her? Would he ever see her again?

Kelonis also remained in Kelmarane and built a great temple of Abadar there. He was now a figure of authority, and Almah and Garavel were now his subordinates. What's more, the Decemvirate of the Pathfinders named him Venture-Captain of Katapesh, replacing Aurora Steelbloom. Although he rarely went on adventures anymore, he managed all of the Pathfinders in the region, providing them with healing and guidance in between their adventures, as was needed.

Like Abdelmotaleb, Kelonis found himself longing for women who were gone from his life: the beautiful Sereya, who had been savagely slain by Zemeyset when he had been caught in the throes of lycanthropy; and the magnificent Teski, whom Jhavhul had taken from him. Even though he could now afford many slaves, none of them were able to touch his lonely heart like those two women had.

Yet in a dark twist of fate, Kelonis did meet with Teski again: on a dark night, great winged shadows infiltrated his mansion and nearly slew him. With horror, the elven cleric looked upon his beloved Teski, whose great beauty had been at the same time enhanced and corrupted by a wish from Jhavhul: she was now an Erinyes, a foul creature of Hell. Threatened with death by Jhavhul, her only chance of escape had been to wish for eternal beauty as part of his harem. With Jhavhul's death, Teski, Haleen and four young women from Kelmarane who had formed the Efreeti's harem had been set free; yet, they still longed for their master, twisted as they were from his wish magic.

With a heavy heart, Kelonis destroyed Teski with his magic and sent the other furies scattering to escape his divine wrath. But forever from then on, he seethed with rage at the thought that Jhavhul had struck him so deeply from beyond the grave.

Kazim remained a Pathfinder reporting to Kelonis, and she continued an active life as an adventurer, traveling across the continent of Garund, seeking to expand her knowledge and to protect innocents. As her home was destroyed, and her father dead, she didn't feel at home anywhere but on the road. Yet, her companions had given her a wondrous gift: Jhavhul's Brazen Tower itself! Now, wherever she went, the young sorceress could bring her own fortress-home with her.

Fawzy returned to Solku, where he was received with great honor in the monastery where he had trained during his youth. He had now surpassed even his most experienced masters. The hero gave a large portion of the treasure he had inherited from Jhavhul's defeat to help the monastery flourish, and to help the poor. He taught martial arts and meditation to many young novices, hosting a great tournament to choose the most worthy of them. A young woman emerged victorious, and she became Fawzy's apprentice, was rewarded Davashuum's legendary quarterstaff Maelstrom, and she accompanied Fawzy in his travels. For before long, the great monk felt that it was time for him to continue his journey on the path to physical and spiritual perfection. A journey that was made easier by another magical item from Jhavhul's hoard: a flying carpet.

And so, for the years to come, Fawzy and his apprentice joined forces with Kazim and Nefeshti, and the four of them traveled the world and helped those in need. They continued to make the world a better place, sometimes returning to Kelmarane to visit their old friends.

Perhaps one day a threat will emerge, something so dire that it will require the entirety of the Protectors of Kelmarane to overcome. But if it is the case, that is surely a story for another time...

THE END.


Moonbeam wrote:

Right, that's the one!

I agree that it is quite tiring to be both the GM and the log writer, especially in a campaign like Kingmaker. And the bad thing is that when you start writing a log, it's a long-term commitment. You can't just take a few weeks off when you're tired and pick it up again later... because that will make a huge hole in the story.

I'm honestly not sure I have it in me to commit to writing another 2 years of logs once we start our next campaigns. Especially since I started playing World of Warcraft again. :)

You bet. Somebody introduced me to World of Tanks. It's kinda addictive, and cut deep into my writing time.

On the other hand, writing down a log does have a positive effect on roleplay and campaign continuity... And allows you to enjoy your campaign again and again, even after some years.

Congrats for tying up your Carrion King campaign, BTW. I have a lot of reading to do now...

Sovereign Court

Hi Smarnil!

I agree, writing the campaign journal is worth it in some regards. It's definitely going to be great to read the journals again in a number of years. :)

On the other hand, it depresses me when the following type of situation arises (which actually happened last night, as we resumed our Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign after a 1-month hiatus):

Player: "You know, I don't even remember where we were the last time we played."
Me: "You had finished the 5th adventure and found Serithtial."
Player: "What's that?"
Me: "The holy sword."
Player: "Oh really? Cool! I guess I wasn't at that game, though."
Me: "I'm pretty sure you were there. Yeah, you were even the one who killed Kleestadt."
Player <blank stare>
Me: "You know, the big worm-thing."
Player <blank stare>
Me: "See, here's the picture, do you remember it now?"
Player <blank stare>
Me: "Remember, you also fought the demilich and the Gugs?" (shows pictures)
Player: "Oooohh... yeah... I kinda remember now... I think...."
Me <thinking sarcastically "Jee, if only the DM was writing some kind of log of the campaign so the players could refresh their memory before restarting the game... Now THAT'd be useful...">

Silver Crusade

Nail-bitingly close fight at the end for the PCs; I'm glad that they squeaked it out. Thanks for sharing the story!

Sovereign Court

Thanks for reading, I'm glad you appreciated it! :)


Moonbeam wrote:

Hi Smarnil!

I agree, writing the campaign journal is worth it in some regards. It's definitely going to be great to read the journals again in a number of years. :)

On the other hand, it depresses me when the following type of situation arises (which actually happened last night, as we resumed our Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign after a 1-month hiatus):

Player: "You know, I don't even remember where we were the last time we played."
Me: "You had finished the 5th adventure and found Serithtial."
Player: "What's that?"
Me: "The holy sword."
Player: "Oh really? Cool! I guess I wasn't at that game, though."
Me: "I'm pretty sure you were there. Yeah, you were even the one who killed Kleestadt."
Player <blank stare>
Me: "You know, the big worm-thing."
Player <blank stare>
Me: "See, here's the picture, do you remember it now?"
Player <blank stare>
Me: "Remember, you also fought the demilich and the Gugs?" (shows pictures)
Player: "Oooohh... yeah... I kinda remember now... I think...."
Me <thinking sarcastically "Jee, if only the DM was writing some kind of log of the campaign so the players could refresh their memory before restarting the game... Now THAT'd be useful...">

It's so nice when your players fully invest themselves into the campaign you painstakingly prepared for them. Makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

Be reassured : mine do the same. I gave up working my ass off writing the log in time for the next play session, and replaced it by a short summary. Which most of them only read at the table, not beforehand. Ungrateful brats.

Sovereign Court

At least it's good that we can share our frustrations with some kindred souls on this message board. :)

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