Gorn-Rel leaps to attack the new dwarven foe.
Aen steps five feet to the east and fires arrows at the newcomer dwarf.
Gorn runs up and lands one of his many punches, the rest bouncing off Staunton's armor. Aen steps over and fires his bow, embedding two arrows. As Gorn gets closer, he can feel his mind and resolve weakening.
Staunton will call upon his mythic powers as he reaches out to Gorn.
He then lays into Gorn.
Varda roars something in Dwarven and rushes into the room, leveling her bow to fire a volley at the newly-arrived dwarf!
Picking up on Varda's rather vocal rage, Na'shok touches her shoulder and feeds her orcish might!
"Even if you slay, I will just become more powerful than ever! Deskari has willed it!"
Varda lands every arrow but the mighty dwarf still stands. The minotaurs move into the room. They swing their axes at Gorn.
Aen steps to the east again and fires more arrows, this time at the western minoraur.
Gorn lands one of his punches on the dwarven anti-paladin while Aen fills his target with arrows. Staunton stands and brings his weapon to bear on the hobgoblin after reaching out to him again.
Varda growls in frustration and sends another bunch of arrows flying toward the traitorous dwarf.
Na'shok rushes forward to answer the remaining minotaur's challenge and test his strength.
Varda misses with all her shots while Nash wrassles with a minotaur.
One will try to defend his master.
The one wrestling with Nash will try to reverse the hold!
Gorn-Rel evades the minotaurs blows, but this vile dwarf was another matter. His very touch caused the prince's skin to rot.
Gorn goes for one last desperate flurry, his first one knocking Staunton for a loop which lets Gorn hit with another punch that brings the dwarf down, the life going out of his eyes as he falls.
Aen takes a bead on the one to his south and fires three arrows at it.
Aen lands 3 shots into the minotaur fighting Nash.
The bull's bucking almost throws Nash free but the savage warrior holds fast. Maintaining his hold, he grunts with the effort of locking in a tight nelson.
Nash pins his foe like he was waiting for someone to start counting.
Varda nods in approval as Na'shok pins the creature, then unleashes another volley into the immobile target.
Varda shoots three arrows into the beast's hide and he goes limp in Nash's arms. Her last shot goes into the remaining minotaur who also drops.
Gorn-Rel shivers as the massive influx of healing energies knit his gruesome wounds. "That was a mighty warrior." He rounds on the mad dwarf. "Who was he? Who are you? Where is the Sword of Valor!"
Na'shok lets the defeated minotaur slump from his grasp.
"And who's the commander of this garrison?"
"He was my brother, Staunton Vhane, commander of Citadel Drezen. I am Joran Vhayne. The Sword is somewhere in the dungeons below."
+3 Spiked Fullplate
+1 Returning Throwing Axe
Amulet of Natural Armor +2
Belt of Mighty Constitution +4
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2
Skeleton Key
Soulshear*
680 gp.
Forged by Staunton Vhane with the aid of several Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth, this intelligent +2 transformative glaive is infused with a babau’s sentience and eagerness for murder. Soulshear is capable of hiding its evil nature with misdirection, and if its wielder’s alignment isn’t chaotic evil, it delights in infiltrating enemy forces to create personality conflicts with its wielder, manipulating his downfall through acts of conspiracy, betrayal, and murder. Even without dominating those who carry it, Soulshear can occasionally summon a babau demon to clandestinely carry out its will. These summonings often result in unexplained murders, or even the death of Soulshear’sowner so the glaive can pass to further victims or be returned to the devoted cultists of Baphomet. Soulshear can use misdirection on itself three times per day, typically selecting an unaligned magic item carried by its wielder to hide its evil. Once per day, it can cast summon monster V, but only to summon a babau demon.
After Aen describes Soulshear in detail, Na’shok jams the head of his ranseur into the ground, steels his will, and picks up the intelligent glaive by the haft.
I know your secret demon so save your tricks. You serve me now. Cross me and promise you a far worse fate than being bound within this weapon.
You hear a voice in your head. "Will you use me to commit acts of death and destruction?"
"The commander? Where are his rooms? His chambers of war?"
Joran points to the room where Staunton entered from. Rich appointments of fine furniture and plush carpet decorate this oddly shaped chamber. A mahogany desk with several bookshelves occupies the southeast corner, while expansive liquor cabinets follow the curving northern wall. A door leads south.
When you open it, this spacious bedroom is immaculate to the point of spotlessness. The bed sheets are tight against the mattress, and no splinters mar the floor near the well-used sparring dummy in one corner, despite its obvious heavy use. An inkwell, a blotter, and a black quill sit atop an otherwise bare desk, with a three-legged stool pushed out of the way underneath. A single large chest sits at the foot of the bed.
"I believe you. You are not like your comrades. You have, potential. Just feed me enough carnage and bloodshed and there will be no problems from me. Otherwise I will have to do it myself. And I am rather lazy so please do not make me do that." If you could hear a smile, it would be now.
The prince checks to see if the key from the fallen warrior fits the chest. He will also examine the room for any hidden compartments. Any intelligence could only aid their armies.
Gorn finds that the key works on the chest.
633 copper, 1,427 silver, 5,786 gold, 376 platinum, Nine garnets worth 100 gold each, a pearl of power(2nd level), a rod of metal and mineral detection, a scroll of divination, a set of stone-carved dwarven figurines worth 600 gold, an expensive pair of vases worth 250 gold each, a silver coffer worth 350 gold, an elixir of climbing, a potion of neutralize poison, a wand of nondetection(23 charges remaining), a dose of oil of lifecrafted from a cure serious wounds potion and the quicksilver from a philosopher’s stone.
Despite these incredible treasures, the most valuable object in the chest may well be Staunton’s journal.
This journal records events from Staunton’s life, recited from his childhood in the Five Kings Mountains to his time spent in the First Mendevian Crusade searching for the lost Sky Citadel of Jormurdun, on to his betrayal of Drezen and his time spent serving Deskari and Baphomet alike. Staunton feels that if his enemies can penetrate this far into his defenses, at least reading the increasingly grisly and harrowing account of the atrocities he’s committed over the past 75 years will horrify them, and perhaps shake their faith. The book is, after a fact, his legacy, since he never had children of his own, nor can he count on his allies singing songs of his deeds after he dies.
Other Notes:
A list of dozens of sacred and holy weapons and armor he and his brother have successfully tainted through the use of the corruption forge.
A description of the Sword of Valor, including Staunton’s frustration over Aponavicius’s desire to keep it as a mere trophy and not to attempt the banner’s corruption.
Several detailed pages of how he hopes to someday torture Irabeth for “ruining nearly everything” when she confronted him almost a year ago in Kenabres.
Notes on the shadow demon Eustoyriax, an unusually powerful shadow demon who came to Drezen a few weeks after Staunton fled here from Kenabres. The shadow demon arrived in the possessed body of a crusader named Maranse (a man the diary records as now being long dead after having been turned over to the succubus Kiranda), and bore gifts from a place called the Ivory Sanctum—five elixirs of distilled power brewed from powdered Nahyndrian crystal. The notes explain how Staunton volunteered to take one of the elixirs to test its strength before Aponavicius used one, and of the powers the elixir unlocked in him. The notes go on to describe the grisly deaths the elixirs inflicted on the dragon and xacarba servants Aponavicius tested them on, and that only the chimera Soltengrebbe survived the transformation. The notes conclude by revealing that the shadow demon Eustoyriax remains here in a chamber below the citadel, where Aponavicius has placed him in charge of protecting the Sword of Valor.
The Ivory Sanctum is the central stronghold of the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth in the Worldwound, a fortress led by a man named Xanthir Vang who also happens to be the regional leader of the Blackflame Adepts. Staunton records his sole meeting with Xanthir Vang, and indicates he would rather not meet him again, apparently something about the man particularly revolted the antipaladin.
Finally, Staunton mentions a special prisoner who’s been kept in the Drezen dungeons—a succubus by the name of Aureshalae who was captured by Aponavicius. Staunton knows the succubus is some sort of Abyssal heretic and that the marilith wanted her kept prisoner until a special oubliette in the Rasping Rifts on the Abyss was ready for her. The fact that the succubus escaped not long after Aponavicius left Drezen in Staunton’s hands is a major point of worry for the dwarf. He’s sent several minions out into the Worldwound to track her, noting that her loss of certain demonic abilities is the one saving grace and hoping her inability to teleport or become ethereal will allow his agents to find her and return her to Drezenbefore Aponavicius finds out she’s managed to flee into the wilds of the Wounded Lands. The final note in the diary talks of how he hired an annis hag cultist of Sifkesh to track her down as well, and that if this final attempt fails, he intends to seek out Arueshalae himself once “this matter with the so-called heroes of Kenabres is settled.”
Varda produces some rope and begins to secure the prisoner. "Gorn-Rel, would you check these knots for me?"
Na’shok clutches his new weapon and follows the others through the keep.
"You should read this journal, Varda. It seems like a shadow demon of particular power is guarding the Sword of Valor. We need to secure a way to ward off his influence and be able to strike him when we meet in combat. I think we should secure the upper reaches of the citadel and invest our army within it before entering into the lower levels. It will gives us time to prepare."
Gorn-Rel checks the rope.
You can activate the summon monster V power yourself. Soulshear can only misdirection itself.
"Bringing the army into the keep will just provide the demon with a wealth of hosts to hide among. The crusaders and your people are brave but if this shadow demon is as powerful as the journal says, there will be few strong enough among them to resist it. We should finish this as we started it."
"A lot of this is beyond me, but I think Na'shok may be right," replies Varda as she skims through the journal. Though how he knows so much about demons... nevermind, not now. We have a job to do here and Iomedae has included him in it for a reason.
"You are probably right, Nash'ok. I know next to nothing of these demons, but tactically we should secure the rest of the keep. I do not want to be caught between two forces. Moreover, the armies' spell casters may have some useful charms."
Aen rocks back on his heels, trying to mentally catalog all that has been discovered.
The next stop on your tour of Drezen is in one of the towers. This chamber is furnished as a study and a bedroom, but it looks as if the room’s inhabitant left the area quickly and recently. Searching the room reveals enough clues that you can determine that the room was once the home of a powerful priestess of Deskari, and that she’s relocated somewhere under the citadel.
The last destination on the ground floor is an open-air terrace looks out from the northwest side of the citadel, its interior shattered and broken. A pile of treasure lies gathered in the southeast corner, while a narrow band of stairs is half-seen just above the nearby rubble choking its entrance. This seems to be the nest of the late chimera.
The pile of coins and treasure comprises 3,438 copper, 1,319 silver, 7,753 gold, two pearls worth 500 gold each, three garnets worth 250 gold each, eight amethysts worth 100 gold each, 12 agates worth 50 gold each, an emerald-and-ivory scepter worth 4,000 gold, a silver candelabra worth 75 gold, a gold signet ring worth 50 gold, a bag of holding(type III) containing a small library of rare books that grant a +4 bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks when they are referenced (these two dozen books are worth a total of 2,000 gold) along with an empty blessed book, an efficient quiver containing two javelins of lightning and 19 +2 magical beast bane arrows, an elemental gem (earth), a dose of silversheen, a potion of lesser restoration, a scroll of dimension door, a scroll of move earth, a +1 flaming heavy crossbow, and a suit of +1 ghost touch full plate.
You then reach the stairs leading down into the Dungeons of Drezen.