While the group discusses their plans to wrest information from Ordikon, the mage smirks and makes a quick chant of magic, before vanishing through a portal-like field that formed atop his person!
”By Grandma’s Beard!” Gadgorin exclaims!
Lorthan interposes himself in front of Ryli’s child, as Elthariel readies her bow.
Jeevika turns to Ethariel and panically asks, "What did he just cast?! His hands were bound, and he's blind! What could..."
"Oh, that's unfortunate," Ryli says. She quickly chants a spell and a ten-foot ring of mushrooms appears on the ground.
She then steps forward and lowers Kallie down into the ring, where she vanishes. "You all are welcome to visit the grove. The animal attendants there will take care of her while we hunt down the mage."
Ryli tilts her head in thought. "Do you think he went far? What if he went into that room that made Zoli feel funny?"
”He used a short range teleportation! He is still somewhere in the complex!” Elthariel says.
"Then let's start searching! I'll cover the entrance!" Jeevika says as she dashes off through the northern door to make sure the entrance is secure. "Someone go check the evil jacuzzi!"
Suddenly, it becomes obvious where Setsuna got a few of her quirks...
"I'll check the back room," Ryli says as she gallops quickly into the room with the "evil jacuzzi." She stops short of fully entering, and looks into the chamber for the blind metal mage.
Jeevika and Etharian rush straight to the door. Ryli and Lorthan check the pool and then head North. Zoli, Eugeni, and Gadgorin go South. As they head out, Zoli grabs the Rod of Mineral Detection and periodically uses it to search for mithril.
Minutes pass, and they all join up empty-handed.
"He's clearly out of Greed already. Which hall would he go to next? One of the two allied sins? Let's see if we can find him ASAP.
"Can any of you use magic to divine him? Otherwise, this rod can be helpful, but it only has a thirty foot range so we'll need to do some searching."
Eugeni goes to look wherever Jeevika and Ryli aren't looking.
"I can, but I will need time to prepare the spell," Jeevika with an annoyed groan. "Let's just go hide in Ryli's Faerie Ring Retreat and recover our spells."
After securing all of the metal mage's spellbooks and paperwork, Jeevika enters the Faerie Ring Retreat and does not budge until she recovers her spells. When she does, Jeevika casts Magic Vestment on her armor and buckler, Greater Magic Weapon on Love Hurts, Moment of Prescience on herself, and an Extended Tears to Wine on the water in her canteen, which is swiftly drunk and shared with whoever wants it.
"Okay, let's see where Ordikon is hiding..."
Jeevika casts Discern Location with the goal of pinpointing Ordikon's exact location.
. . 8th—
. . 7th—heal, particulate form, spell turning[D]
. . 6th—heal, heal, mislead[D] (DC 20), word of recall
. . 5th—break enchantment[D], communal air walk, dimensional anchor, righteous might, spell resistance
. . 4th—death ward,
. . 3rd—beacon of luck, beacon of luck, borrow fortune[D], dispel magic,
. . 2nd—align weapon,
. . 1st—divine favor, divine favor, divine favor, shield of faith, shield of faith, true strike[D]
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, detect poison, stabilize
Jeevika years a divine voice in her mind.
::The Festering Maze::
"...He's hiding in the Festering Maze. According to Soldara, that would be the Sloth wing," Jeevika says as she charges her buckler with a Vindicator's Shield. "Let's prepare ourselves for the worst."
After a nights rest in the magical alcove Ryli created, the group makes their way to the last possible place Ordikon could be, confirmed by Jeevika's divination.
The Festering Maze.
The air grows thick and foul-smelling in this chamber, yet the vaporous stink here is nothing compared to the insult to the senses elsewhere.
Slime encrusts the walls in swaths of sickly brown and noxious green. A foamy sewage channel runs along a slippery walkway, the thickly shuddering skin atop the slowly churning fluid seeming to hint
that, despite its repulsive appearance and smell, something lurks in those depths.
Spiders the size of Gadgorin's fist climb the walls. Deformed rats and pallid foot-long centipedes scurry about the floors and walkways. Glistening tangles of worms wriggle in the corners of the chambers. The floors are slick with grime and muck.
Standing off to the side, however, is a small figure that stands out from the rest. It is a small, extremely fit looking Quasit. As you enter and take in the sight of this cesspool, it bows and calls out "Ah! Greetings! Greetings! My Master has been expecting you! Yes, yes. Trust that you find no enemies here, like you have faced so far! Lord Jordimandus is most eager to reward you for your efforts, so long as you are agreeable to his terms! Please, accompany me to his throne room!"
Despite the stereotype of poor Elven constitution, Jeevika and Ethariel seem unaffected by the stench.
Not caring much for fiends (especially demons), Jeevika studies the quasit for deception. She notes that Ethariel appears to be doing the same. However, since this one appears to be a familiar to the resident wizard, she stays her hand for the moment...
Zoli pulls her scarf up over her nose and mouth, but manages to avoid the worst of it. She nods to Lion, who scampers down from her shoulder into her familiar satchel.
"OK then, by all means, bring us to Lord Jordimandus. While you do, perhaps you can tell us about him and his realm. And do you know where Ordikon the Mithral Mage is at the moment?"
As they walk Zoli eyes the slimes and molds suspiciously. She'll pause every 60' or so to concentrate on the Rod of Mineral Detection, searching for mithral.
”Ordikon? That Mithral Moron? Ha! He’s dead! Thought to find an ally in my Master and instead met his doom! Lord Jordimandus doesn’t suffer himself with the prattling of his lessers.”
The quasit begins flying down a tunnel out over the sludge. ”But you! You lot have done him a great service! And for that, he I willing to reward you, if you agree to his terms.”
"I am willing to speak with your Master; his diplomatic approach is a welcomed change of pace," Jeevika announces as well.
As for his terms, we will have hear what they are...
As she travels, the Holy Vindicator takes care to make the most of her Air Walk spell.
Before they enter the Sloth wing, Eugeni offers to cast stoneskin on Zoli and whoever else will be manning the front line. He also casts his daily repetoir of extended spells. Just in case it's needed, he casts the getaway spell again.
Once they enter the stinky wing, Eugeni is extremely pleased with his overland flight and life bubble spells as he floats over the stench and filth in a private bubble of comfort. He seems content to let the more charismatic members of the group handle negotiations for moment, floating along quietly above and behind them while keeping his eyes peeled for danger.
When Jeevika prepares her Word of Recall, she sets it for the Faerie Ring Retreat location as well. While Eugeni's Getaway spell is better, having a backup alternative is always a good idea. Being a melee fighter herself, she also happily accepts a Stoneskin from the tusked mage if he allows it.
The fairy ring dissipates in the morning as soon as Ryli exits it, so she recasts it. After a motherly goodbye, she sends Kallie through.
She casts her usual assortment of spells in the morning on herself and Olympus, along with barkskin on Zoli and whoever else requested it through the use of a pearl of power.
She brings up echolocation just before entering the wing of sloth.
Ryli's eyes go wide at the unexpected diplomacy shown by the master of this wing. She chews her lip in thought after a moment, then nods along with the others who agree to accompany the imp to see Jordimandus.
"A moment, if you will," she says after considering the efforts of moving through this maze with her four hooves. She turns and pats Olympus lovingly, then casts a spell which reduces him to a small statuette.
Then she concentrates a moment and she shrinks down to an ordinary human, this time a female of seeming Chelish stock.
"Damn," she comments softly as she realizes she's without pants or, worse in this wing, shoes. "Let's try this, then." Her form shifts one more time, this time becoming an air elemental of large size. "Better," she whistles, then follows everyone through the maze.
The quasit begins leading you all through the passageways, seeming not to care whether you fly, walk, wade, or swim.
As you finish the trek through the winding passageways, you come to a large open area. The surrounding stone has fallen away into a large, curved cavern. Here and there, foul water cascades into the room from intersecting tunnels, tumbling ten feet to the frothy surface of liquid below. Residing in the sludge are a pair of large creatures with tentacles slipping above the surface at different places, each with one large central eye looking at you coldly. The imp calls out to them, telling them to behave sternly as you make your way through to a passage to the north, though at times you each do feel slimy limbs reach out and curiously rub across you. Gadgorin and Elthariel seem quite unnerved by this, but Lorthan remains stoic.
The passage to the north climbs back up to solid ground at a pair of large double doors. The quasit waits for you there.
Jeevika and Elthariel easily Air Walk over all the foul water. Thanks to their shared Communal version of the spell, this should be true for Zoli as well. Thanks to her absurd variety of defenses, Jeevika seems to casually dance around any tentacles that try to poke at her. The Holy Vindicator frowns when she notices that poor Elthariel is not so lucky but holds her tongue.
When she joins the quasit at the double doors, Jeevika asks neutrally, "Is this your master's chamber?"
”Yes, yes. But clean the muck off yourselves before we go in! I don’t want to spend hours cleaning up after you when you leave!” the demon says with a scowl, pointing at all the places the tentacles rubbed the sludge on each of your legs, abdomens, and arms.
Like you have anything else better to do.
Jeevika rolls her eyes but cleans herself off with a healthy but controlled dose of Create Water. If anyone else asks, she casts the spell for them as well.
"May we speak with him now?" she again asks neutrally.
Ryli bursts into airy laughter, whistling mirthfully for several minutes. When the eyes begin to turn her way, her laughter dies somewhat. "Get it?... He doesn't want to clean up after us... You know, he doesn't want to work... here in the Wing of Sloth?"
Ryli sets Lorthan down, to let him get cleaned off -- likely through Eugeni's cleaning spell or a dose of Jeevika's water.
As she airwalks above the muck, Zoli turns to Jeevika and says, "Hey, thanks again for the lift!"
At the door, she elects to clean herself (and anyone else who requests it) with Prestidigitation.
"Do you want me to return the favor with Prestidigitation, Jeeves? No sense walking in in wet boots."
Just before the door is opened, Zoli brushes her lucky Thassilonian button and thinks a lucky thought.
Jeevika (and presumably Elthariel) happily accepts Zoli's offered Prestidigitation.
"My thanks, Little Highlady," Jeevika says with a sincere smile after she is dry.
The quasit opens the doors with a great heave (for him) revealing the room beyond. This room reeks of strange chemicals. A five-foot-wide metal walkway looks out over a large pool of foamy, filthy water ten feet below, from which five metallic pipes emerge through the walkway above. Four of these pipes are five feet in diameter and extend up in the four corners of the room to a height of about a foot above the balcony; each is filled with a different colored bubbling fluid. The fifth pipe is twenty feet wide and extends up to the north—this pipe is filled nearly to the rim with shuddering, glowing green sludge. Thin streams of fluid flow through the air from the four corner pipes to drain into the central one. Clearly the quasit’s definition of clean is different than you’d expect, as all the surfaces in here are just as slick with slime as the rest of the maze.
A stone throne floats in the air above this slime. Sitting atop the throne is a rotund man, his long black beard parted and held stiff by, likely, the same slime and grime as what covers the rest of the place. His chest is open, strangely enough, and in the open void writhes and pulses a black, strange looking organ. In the pool, swimming languidly, are a pair of slimy looking humanoidish creatures that appear to be made up of filth itself.
And lying to the left of the floating throne is the lifeless form of Ordikon.
”Ah! My guests! Welcome,” the man on the throne says.
”May I present Lord Jordimandus,” the quasit says.
”Do come in. Have a seat,” Jordimandus says.
The Highlady of Righteous Anger doesn't sit but bows her head toward the enthroned man. "Lord Jorimandus, thank you for your hospitality. We appreciate your offer to treat in peace.
"I am Zoli Tileani and we are the Varisian Rangers. It seems you know of our time here, and our goal to thwart Karzoug's attempt to return. What are your goals and intentions here? May we count on your aid in thwarting Karzoug?"
Eugeni maintains his position above and slightly behind the group. He tries to stay within thirty feet of the others, should they need to getaway.
Glad that her air elemental's form didn't convey facial expressions well, Ryli tries to hide her disgust at the general wrongness of the place. She allowed the practicality of a wing that discourages assault by being disgusting, but she had been given hope that the Festering Halls would end with a modicum of cleanliness where the lord lived.
But no, the lord of this wing was equally disturbing, in both his living space and his appearance. She was glad to have Zoli to take the lead in negotiations.
"Yes, thank you for allowing us here in your, um, place."
Absolutely unphased by the appearance of the Maze's master, Jeevika curtsies.
"I am Jeevika. Your diplomatic overtures are most welcomed and appreciated, Lord Jorimandus," the Herald Caller states in a very professional tone that emphasises respect for the man's station.
Jeevika looks around for chairs. Upon seeing none, she mimics a Galtan mime and takes an invisible seat in midair.
Jordimandus waves a hand, albeit barely, at your greetings. ”Yes, yes. I know all of this. Let us not strain ourselves with the prattle of pleasantries. Sobloch, handle the rest would you?” he says.
The quasit bows his head as Jordimandus leans back in his chair more comfortably. ”Master Jordimandus has a few simple demands. Firstly, once business is concluded here, you hand over the tuning fork to Runeforge you found in the Crypts. Then, you leave the Runeforge and never come back.”
The demon pauses a moment before adding ”In return for your service in clearing out his rivals in the other wings, you will be allowed to leave with your lives. He also sends you with a parting gift...”
"Are you asking us to leave without our Runeforged weapons?" Jeevika asks, her voice now sporting a slight edge now that "pleasantries" are over. "That is literally why we are here. Vraxeris believed that they would be 'pivotal' against Karzoug. Even though he himself was powerful enough to astrally project, the fact that Vraxeris felt that he even needed them speaks volumes about how mighty he feared Karzoug to be."
"Yes...?"
The rune on the Lil' Highlady's forehead pulses with pink light as the quasit says 'you will be allowed to leave with your lives' but she bites her tongue, waiting for the quasit to finish.
The quasit smiles a toothy grin, ”Lord Jordimandus learned long ago how to craft these Runeforge weapons. Should you agree to his terms, he shall tell you how it is done. He has no interest in Karzoug's return, it would serve him no gain.”
"Exactly. We will defeat Karzoug for our interests. Your Lord will assist us for his interests. And this gift? Were you just referring to the means of crafting runeforged weapons?"
”Oh? Is Lord Jordimandus’ generosity not enough for you? He offers you the secret to the one weapon Karzoug, your enemy, is weak against, and you scoff like it is nothing? That, as well as Your lives, should be more than enough of a reward for Lord Jordimandus allowing you to leave this realm in peace!”
Zoli rolls her eyes, and then glances at her companions.
"We are already quite firmly in possession of our lives, as the residents of the other wings can attest...or could if you can Speak to the Dead.
"That said, I am personally happy to trade knowledge of how to forge runeforge weapons for leaving you Lord Jordimandus and his wing unperturbed. If my companions have n objections..."
The only good thing I can say about this guy is that he's likely too lazy to cause any serious harm...but that might be enough.