Mike's Wrath of the Righteous (or mostly righteous)

Game Master Uncle Monkey

One appears to be a strategy/planning room. There is a large table in the center of the room. When you get there, the table is swarming with locusts. There are also shards of glass on the table. You surmise that the templars had some sort of device that released the locust swarm, which in turn ate the sensitive documents on the table. However, the walls are still covered by a couple of large maps of the worldwound. These are very valuable, as they appear to depict the region as it currently is. Most of the maps being used by the crusaders are old maps of Sarkoris with hand-written notes for where things have changed. The maps also contain notations of the locations of several Templar strongholds.

Next to the planning room, there is a workshop. A smokeless forge sits in the northwest corner of this room, next to an anvil. A weapon rack stands against the north wall, while two tables to the east and west, respectively, are covered with tools, alchemical supplies, magical reagents, books, and more. Several wooden chests sit under the western table, while to the north of the eastern table sits a second weapon rack; whereas the northernmost rack contains several weapons that appear to be in fine condition, this more southern one contains weapons that appear to be damaged.

Working your way all the way around behind the temple, you find one more room – the vault.
Behind a secret door, armed with an arcane lock (you find the key among Vang’s possessions) is the inner vault. The walls are lined with lead to prevent divination, and inscribed with countless tiny Abyssal prayers and runes that constantly sweat and reabsorb cold black water. The runes on the walls radiate strong evil and strong necromancy magic, for they are infused with the waters of the River Styx, filling the area with potent and debilitating energies and a low, discordant drone. The room is defended by a Thanadaemon. As you approach, he calls out to you, asking to talk. He has been bound here against his will by Vang. If you release him, he promises to leave your plane and cause you no harm. Whether you deal with him peacefully or violently, I am going to assume that the CR 13 daemon won’t slow you down that much. There is a substantial haul of treasure here. Two items stand out.

The first is a gleaming set of Mithral Full Plate (+3) emblazoned with the symbol of Iomedae. He isn’t sure why, but the armor seems familiar to Parmadon. Assuming you look into it when you get back to Drezen, you can find out that it is the armor previous worn by the paladin Yaniel, whose sword Parmadon now wields.

The second is a single darkwood arrow, decorated with Elvish script. The writing reads: “May Fortune Favor Him Who Bears this Arrow.” Its aura is very strong, and it cannot be identified with Detect Magic. Further research identifies it as Fortune’s Arrow, a minor artifact, which once belonged to Ison’s father. Description below.

Also in the vault, there are several powerful magic items that you recall were described to you back in Kenabres, as having been stolen from the Riftwardens, from their vault at the Blackwing library. This includes: a Greataxe +3, a Sword of the Planes, a Rod of Empower metamagic, a Staff of Healing (6 charges), a Carpet of Flying (5x5), and an Instant Fortress.

By spending the boon granted by this ritual as a free action while casting a planar binding spell (including the lesser and greater variants), the wizard gains a +4 bonus on all opposed Charisma checks attempted against a chaotic evil outsider, and the maximum duration of an open-ended task increases by 4 days. More information on preparation rituals is in Ultimate Magic.

• Vang was working with the Brain Collectors to modify Planar Binding spells so that they could be used to call and bind natives of the Material Plane. His theory is that on other planes, natives of the material plane are effectively Outsiders, and that spells like banishment and dismissal work on them. Binding ought to as well.
  
• Vang was intimately involved in the efforts to refine the Nahyndrian crystals into an elixir that can give incredible power to those who consume it. Also involved in the research were Areelu Vorlesh and an Alchemist named Mutasafen.
  
• These Crystals were also used to fashion a chisel that was to be used to destroy the Keanbres Wardstone (an event that the PCs prevented).
  
• A demon named Minagho was in charge of holding Kenabres until the Chisel could be brought in. Her failure has been a great displeasure to Baphomet.
  
• Vang has ideas about other ways to use the crystals, the most disturbing-sounding is to craft a Golem out of them
  
• The crystals are being mined in the abyssal realm of the Demon Lord Nocticula, the Midnight Isles, and are made from the fossilized ichor of dead demon lords. Apparently, all of the islands in
• Nocticula’s realm are grown from the corpses of her victims. The journal records several attempts by the cult of Baphomet to bring Nocticula into the alliance associated with the Worldwound, but so far, the Queen of Shadows has not agreed to join. The journal vaguely mentions a few new attempts to forge such an alliance that will soon be undertaken by the Templars stationed in the Abyss; these are the latest entries in the book.
  
• The mining operation is being run by Hepzamirah, the daughter of Baphomet and the true leader of the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth.
  
• The recipients of the elixir so far have mostly been test cases, but it has been successful enough that they are starting to distribute them to demonic commanders in a more strategic manner. You find a list of names, with several annotations. Most are unknown to you, but with appropriate knowledge checks, you might identify some of them.
  

• Khorramzadeh – the Storm King – checked off
  
• Mistress Anemora – Already Checked off
  
• Svendack
  
• Minagho –her name is scratched out, with a line next to it, moving it lower on the list. She is mentioned above)
  
• Aponavicius – a name you’ve heard before.
  
• Carrock - that is the name of a fabled demonic Treant, said to rule Storasta (a city where the Sakora River once ran into the West Sellen)
  
• Firadreal
  
• Inger-Maggor – research reveals him to be also known as The Ivory Hunter, favored minion of Baphomet
  
• Yracandra
  
• Diurgez Broodlord – His name is crossed out. – Research reveals him to be a Balor Lord. Speculation is that he was the ruler of the former Sarkorian Prison Threshhold.
  
• Zelmisdria
  
• Odeenka
  
• Plorig-Stagul
  
• Ursathella
  
• Kralisq
  
• Ibaheniel
  
• Uffandir

Hepzamirah,

Our esteemed representative of the Lord of the Locust Host continues his dalliance with his guests. It should not surprise me that one such as he would look to the Dark Tapestry for alliances. Despite his condition, he remains a child of this tiny plane, and I suppose I should not concern myself overmuch with his pastimes, yet the presence of these aliens in your Father’s Ivory Sanctum vexes me still. They are not so dangerous—not to one such as myself— yet I remain concerned for the dangers they may represent. Their presence is more a symptom than the problem itself.

Vang has been supplying them with victims intended for sacrifice. He knows better than to short my needs for the rituals, yet still. These mortals belong to your Father, not some clattering tangle of legs and brains. Even so, our Dominion visitors possess some interesting powers. I have not yet managed to crack their minds and tempt them with my wishes—nor have I cracked Vang, for that matter—but I will. And when I do, we will have an interesting new tool to use against these crusaders. Vang will simply need to accept the fact that, when that time comes, these “guests” were never his at all, but merely waiting upon the will of your Father to join in the war.

The effects of Nahyndrian elixir continues to impress me. My own experiences, combined with the fact that the last four demons who imbibed survived with ease, tell me that Minagho’s serpentine scum and her insane scientist have finally perfected the recipe. I look forward to the next shipment from the Fane, and hope to be able to join you soon to aid you in recruiting more of the lords and ladies of Midnight to our cause.

And in regard to the Drezen situation, you need not fear. I am in the process of

PRICE 8,000 GP
SLOT none CL 15th WEIGHT 5 lbs.
AURA strong conjuration

A retriever drone appears as a masterfully preserved spider the size of a house cat, whose eyes have been replaced by four glittering gemstones. These devices are created by spellcasters who wish to control their own retrievers, since the secret of creating those monsters is beyond mortal capacity to understand. A retriever drone can be used to usurp control of a retriever that is within 30 feet. To take control of a retriever, the user of a retriever drone must have line of sight to the target and concentrate on it while holding the retriever drone in both hands. The target retriever can resist the attempt to take control by succeeding at a DC 16 Will save. If the retriever is currently on a mission to retrieve a target, it gains a +8 bonus on this save.

If the retriever’s saving throw is successful, the drone thrashes and scurries, making a single +15 bite attack (1d6+4 damage) against its carrier before becoming inert for 24 hours.
If the retriever fails to resist, it falls under the control of the person who carried the drone—this control is permanent as long as the retriever drone exists and the person who activated the drone is chaotic evil. If the controller isn’t chaotic evil, control granted lasts for only 24 hours. If the retriever controlled by a drone is destroyed, the drone itself crumbles to dust. As a full-round action while touching an active retriever drone, the user can look through the eyes of a controlled retriever and direct its actions. If the drone is destroyed while the user is linked in this manner, the user takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage (Fortitude DC 16 negates).
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 4,000 GP
Craft Construct, Craft Wondrous Item, greater planar binding, scrying

AURA strong evocation; CL 15th
SLOT none; PRICE 22,315 gp; WEIGHT 4 lbs.
DESCRIPTION

This longsword has an enhancement bonus of +1 on the Material Plane, but on any Elemental Plane its enhancement bonus increases to +2. The +2 enhancement bonus also applies whenever the weapon is used against creatures native to the Elemental Plane. It operates as a +3 longsword on the Astral Plane and the Ethereal Plane, or when used against opponents native to either of those planes. On any other plane, or against any outsider, it functions as a +4 longsword.
CONSTRUCTION
REQUIREMENTS Craft Magic Arms and Armor, plane shift; COST 11,315 gp

AURA moderate evocation; CL 7th
SLOT: none; PRICE 1,500 gp; WEIGHT 1 lb.

This fragile glass flask encloses a single scrap of worn parchment held in place by a taut metal wire threaded through its cork stopper. As a full-round action, a spellcaster can cast a targeted language-dependent spell of 3rd level or lower into the flask as a full round action, which covers the parchment with magical writing and charges the flask with power. The flask cannot be used with spells that have a casting time longer than 1 full round. Any of the spell's variables that are determined by its caster (such as commands given to the spell's target) are decided when the spell is cast into the bottle.
The charged flask can be thrown as a splash weapon with a range increment of 10 feet. The flask shatters and is destroyed upon impact, releasing the stored spell. A creature struck by the flask is subject to the effects of spell contained within, just as if it had been the target of the spell. Creatures within 5 feet of the flask when it breaks hear whispery echoes of the spell's words and are also subject to its effects, though they receive a +5 bonus on their saves to resist the spell. If the spell does not ordinarily allow a save, creatures caught in the splash radius may still make a Will save to negate it (with the +5 bonus).
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Cost 750 gp
Craft Wondrous Item, imbue with spell ability

AURA strong conjuration; CL 18th
SLOT none; PRICE 10,000 gp; WEIGHT 1 lb

This divine food comes in many forms, from a light and airy honeyed cake to a deep, rich chocolate. A mythic creature that eats this food is restored and replenished. Eating this food takes 1 minute, and when the meal is done, the consumer regains all her uses of mythic power for the day. If a non-mythic creature consumes ambrosia, that creature is subject to neutralize poison,remove curse, and remove disease, each at caster level 10th. A mythic creature can choose to either gain this effect instead of regaining mythic power.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Cost 5,000 gp
Craft Wondrous Item, Mythic Crafter, greater heroism, heal

AURA strong evocation (minor Artifact); CL 15th;
SLOT none; WEIGHT 1/10 lb.;

While this +3 seeking arrow is carried, it grants its bearer a +2 luck bonus on saving throws and skill checks. The wielder doubles her favored enemy bonus on attack and damage rolls against any creature of that type she attacks with the arrow.
When taking a full-round action to fire a single shot using the arrow, the wielder ignores all range penalties for that attack. By expending one use of mythic power while such an attack, the wielder scores an automatic critical hit if the attack hits, and the arrow bypasses any damage reduction the target possesses.
Fortune's arrow can always be recovered if searched for. Even if lost, it finds its way back to its previous owner within 1d6 days as long as she still lives. Fortune's arrow fails to return to its owner only if she dies or freely gives it to another.