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The mummy martial artist shrugs off both Irlana's attempts to parley and Sir Falcon and Tanssi's attempts to kill it. Maffei manages to stick her short sword into the mummy's side. The creature's body resists damage by the blade but the cold seems to hurt it at least. "If you can't defeat me, then you will never be able to close the Dark Mirror," he says as he delivers a flurry of blows at Sir Falcon.
Round 2
Round 3
Irlana blessed the group. As she finishes the spell the mummy moves up to Sir Falcon and delivers a high kick to his head. Luckily he was wearing his helmet!
The mummy effortlessly steps to the side as Sir Falcon swings at him. Round 1
Round 2
The mummy stands up from its throne and whispers in a raspy voice, "“I, Kanjougas, know not your convictions. I must know whether you possess the aptitude to close the Dark Window.” Then with surprising swiftness Kanjougas leaps forward to attack!
Round 1
Irlana leads the way through a narrow tunnel that leads to another shaft. After climbing up this ladder, the party emerges in a dusty chamber with walls that were painted in now fading frescos of monks engaged in feats of academic prowess. Sitting in a high-backed stone chair is a mummified figure clad in white robes with a thick braid of hair wrapped around its neck like an ornament.
Irlana recognizes that this creature is not a mere corpse but an undead creature commonly called a mummy. They have all the common resistances that are undead are known to have; but unlike most undead they are known to be particularly vulnerable to fire. The creature has not moved yet, but is watching the party carefully.
The party explores a long hallway and encounters the dormitories where the majority of the monks lived. Each of the cubbies are about five foot by five foot in dimension; meaning that the majority of humans monks were not able to fully stretch out when they slept here. One of them sections was burned in a fire at some point and is being occupied by a group of grioths that the party quickly dispatches. In the other dormitory they encounter a pair of incorporeal undead but Falcon and Maffei's magic blades and Tanssi's claws quickly destroy them. Finally they reach the building's temple. A blue mosaic dominates the floor of this chamber. The ceiling rises to several domes twenty-five feet above. A large marble statue of a robed man with hair braided in a loop and worn like a necklace looks down on the chamber serenely from
Irlana gets a hunch to pull a prayer rug to the side and discovers a trapdoor underneath. Opening the trapdoor reveals a narrow shaft shaft with ladder leading about 8 feet down. There is a tunnel on the bottom that is low enough that the human members of the group will have to crawl and even the halflings will have to lower their heads to move through.
"From what I have read, the monks were reclusive and the people of Belhaim were already afraid of the monastery. When the monks disappeared no one in town bothered to investigate what happened. I always kept an eye on the place and steered away any curious townsfolk who wanted to go there, but I never went in myself. I only went in there when I had to and tried to keep my time inside short, so I have only seen a small part of the complex. I can tell though that there are doors in there that the residents never open." "The Dark Window lets him summon the grioths but I also believe that it is what allows him to control the creatures. They are creatures that live in the Dark Tapestry and they are used to cold and darkness. Being here must be painful for them." Azur Kell lets out a deep, sad sigh. "If my theory is correct, I believe that not only will Aeteparax lose the ability to summon more of them but that the ones who are already here will turn on him." "After that, I can't fanthom what a dragon would do but from what I have seen I think he would first marshal what forces he has remaining and come up with a plan for revenge. If you want to confront him while he is still surprised, then you will have to take the tunnel to his lair." "I can only cast dispel magic once today, and you are correct that I will have to overcome the enchantment for it to work. But it will at least give you another way to shut it down. And I will also be there to help you face whatever horrors emerge from the Dark Window as well." "If we can dispel the Window than that will close the rift to the Dark Tapestry and maybe even severe his control over the grioths. He will have to come back to the Dark Window to reestablish control and my hope is that you will have killed him before he gets the chance"
"It does sound like you found the Dark Window and you were able to get into the room the same way that Aeteparax entered; with one of Pentosh's potions. I don't think its safe to be long in there alone though. There are evil things on the other side of that mirror." "I haven't been in the room myself, but I have done what research I could on my own. It has been there a long time; the monks who once lived here built it so that they could communicate with creatures from other dimensions. They thought that if they could study creatures that exemplified chaos and madness that they could better expunge those traits from themselves." "Unfortunately, on their first use of the window a powerful creature emerged that slaughtered almost all of the monks. The abbot was able to banish the fiend back to the Dark Tapestry, but afterwards he was never heard from again and this monastery was abandoned until Aeteparax came here." "I believe that the abbot never left this place and the key to the door would still be with his body. There are a lot of rooms in the monastery that Aeteparax's servants have never bothered searching and there may be other useful items in them that you may uncover while looking for the key." "Aeteparax has spent a lot of time talking with entities on the other side of the window. I have heard their voices but did not understand the languages they have spoken. But I know that he has come to some kind of arrangement with at least one of these fiends because he has been able to open a rift to the Dark Tapestry that allows him to bring the grioths to Dragonfen. If you truly want to stop the dragon then I suggest that you find away to close that rift." "From my research I believe that something as simple as a dispel magic spell could disable the Dark Window for a short period of time. That would be enough to close the rift until he is able to get back to the Dark Window and reopen it. I also think that it can be damaged by force energy; but you would need to figure out some way to amplify it." "When you are ready to close the rift, I would be willing to help you. But only close it when you are ready to face Aeteparax. As soon as the rift is closed he will know that you are intending on slaying him."
[ooc]Also, one detail in this module that I really commend the writer for is that almost every single locked door in it has a key for it that you can find or some other way to open it.[/b]
"Besides me, Aeteparax has three other powerful lieutenants that he relies on to handle his dirty work. You will want to make sure that they are all neutralized before facing him. The first is an enormous grioth general named Goladryth. He is the newest one, only appearing after he managed to get the Dark Window open but he quickly proved his worth to the dragon. The second is a mad alchemist named Pentosh. I have no idea why a human would voluntarily serve such a master but she's been with him for awhile. And finally there is Theana, the lunar naga. She has been with him the longest. Her mind has become addled but she is still quite a dangerous magic user. There used to be a fourth one; but Aeteparax had him killed. Supposedly it was for saying his true name in his presence. Aeteparax is pretty touchy about that." "He has more of those kobolds in his lair, but his most dangerous allies are those things that come out of the Dark Window. You might want to close that before facing him." "Aeteparax's lair is a cavern that is north of here, but it will be hard to reach it if you don't have a good way to fly. There is a tunnel underneath the monastery that he had his kobold cultists build so that his lieutenants could report to him directly." "The dragon keeps my wife with him. You'll have to kill him to save her." "I don't know about Aeteparax's weaknesses but I have seen him in his true form. What you saw was an illusion. He is much younger and smaller and his scales are green like summer leaves, not black. You could ask Bassy what she knows about green dragons, if you think its worth your time."
The man seems skeptical to say the least until the mention Maffei. The shae steps forward and pulls off her mask to reveal her featureless face. The man clearly recognizes that she is a formidable outsider that they have enlisted to help them, even if he doesn't recognize exactly what she is. But what really convinces the man is when they tell him about the magic items they found from Tula's crypt. At this point he directs them to follow him to a more private part of the monastery, where he insists they won't be able to be eavesdropped on by any of the grioth scouts or any remaining henchmen. The room is a small shrine with narrow pillars painted in blue and gold. At the west end is a large statue sitting in the lotus position with its hands clasped in prayer. Its resting in a niche that is lined with shiny mother of pearl. Knowledge Religion DC 18; Shrine Room:
This room is an Iorian serenity hall. Once per day a lawful creature can meditate in here to get the benefits of bless for 3 minutes. Once inside, the man first asks to look at the dragon slaying weapons they found. After touching them with shaking hands he says, "By the gods, you may have a chance of slaying the dragon." "Okay, I suppose its time for me to tell you who I am and what I know about Aeteparax. My name is Azmur Kell. I am a druid who, along with me wife Rima, has watched over Bellhaim and the surrounding wilderness for decades; protecting the townsfolk from any evil forces that the town's sheriff couldn't deal with. But when Aeteparax came here, he was too formidable for us to handle. He took my wife hostage and has been using her life and the.." he chokes up a little before continuing. "the life of my unborn child as leverage to make me do his bidding. I have tried to serve him while causing as little harm as possible but I am still ashamed at what I have had to do." Letting out a heavy sigh the man says, "There is much to tell you. I have learned everything that I could under this monster's compulsion and have written it down in a journal. Perhaps you should ask what you want to know first."
Irlana has no idea why there are a bunch of metal coffins in this room or why someone locked this half orc in one. The body is only wearing a long tunic so they were either grabbed while they sleeping or stripped of their belongings before being locked in here. It is also unclear whether they were left in here as a sadistic form of execution or if they were simply forgotten about. With this floor fully searched (with the exception of the Belkin room); the party decides to back track through the abbey and to the grove where the man in the hat was resting. As they go outside they see that the sky is a little less dark and their is a faint glow on the horizon. The sun will rise in a couple of hours and the night will give way to dawn.
As they approach the man stands up and glares at the adventurers. His hands are form into claws at his sides and his features are twisted in anger. "You were supposed to bring the ransom! Explain yourselves!" he hisses.
In the northern part of the compound, near the staircase leading up to the belfry is the monastery's kitchen. It appears to have been used recently, though the strange stains and smells don’t seem like they were created by preparing food. A cauldron of bubbling fluid sits atop a small fire burning in one of the fireplaces. DC 20 Craft (alchemy):
The bubbling liquid in the cauldron can be turned into five potions worth of resist energy, but it needs a final ingredient. You think a dragon scale would be the perfect thing to finish off the brew The other room is a small, cramped chamber filled with iron coffins. The coffins have vents on their side. There is a pile of stones on the lid of the western most coffin. A foul smell pours out of the chamber when the door is first opened. DC 22 Knowledge (religion):
These coffins were once used by some Irorian sects to better learn how to meditate by forcing them to experience sensory deprivation and extrem fasting. This practice has fallen out of favor in modern times and very few monastery's still engage in this practice. Inside the coffin is the rotting body of a half-orc. It appears that he has died about a week ago, most likely from dehydration. Irlana suggests returning to talk with the man in the funny hat, pointing out that he may be willing to talk to the party as he is one of the only creatures in the monastery who have not attacked the party on sight.
Irlana recognizes that there is some kind of monster lurking near the corpse. She recognizes that its a malevolent air elemental creature known as a belker. They have all the same immunities and resistances common to elemental creatures, but the most dangerous thing about these creatures is that they can enter their victims through their breath and attack them from the inside. Belker's are hateful, violent creatures and it is unlikely that this creature came to the Material Plane of its own volition and was most likely summoned. The body in this room is probably its most recent victim.
GM rolls:
Perception DC 24: There is a strange, thin gray mist drifting around the dead body. But more unsettling; after watching it for a few moments you get the strange thought that the mist seems like a crouched animal trying to stay as still as possible while watching to see what the party does.
A recessed mesh of iron gridwork crisscrosses the northern end of this room. Hundreds of tiny blue runes have been painted inside of each of the small squares formed by the grid pattern. A long-dead figure lies slumped against the wall to the northeast. Runes on the grid; Kn:Arcana DC 16: This rune pattern is meant to enhance the power of conjuration magic. Any conjuration effect cast by a creature standing on the grid gets a +1 bonus to the caster level.
The party heads back down to the second floor, having explored every room with the exception of the extremely well locked door in this tower. As the descend the stairs to the second floor they can see that there is a doorway to the north that they have not entered yet. This spiral staircase also leads back down to the ground floor as well, just like the one that the party ascended on the western side of the monastery. GM rolls:
Irlana also notices that there is something off about one of the statues lining the hallway to the south. After closer inspection the party realizes that pushing down the arm of the statue will open a nearby secret door.
The cloth cap is an ugly piece of headwear but it has an enchantment that might just save the wearer's life. Buffering Cap: This cloth hat is floppy and shapeless. It offers its wearer an unusual amount of protection against particularly devastating blows.
Once per day when struck by a critical hit, the wearer can spend an immediate action to convert the bonus damage of the critical hit into nonlethal damage. The cap has no effect if the wearer is immune to nonlethal damage.
The amulet around the snake creature's neck is a necklace of adaptation. Necklace of Adaptation:
The magic of the necklace wraps the wearer in a shell of fresh air, making him immune to all harmful vapors and gases (such as cloudkill and stinking cloud effects, as well as inhaled poisons) and allowing him to breathe, even underwater or in a vacuum. Irlana doesn't detect any traps on the door and the party enters the next room. It is a large bedroom that is only furnished with a single large bed before a wall of empty bookshelves. A shallow bathing pool sits opposite the bed, its tile basin empty and dry. Irlana detects a magic aura near the bed. After searching the area the party discovers a dusty, floppy old cap wedged between the headboard and the wall.
Sir Falcon catches everyone by surprise, including his own party when he suddenly whips out his flaming sword and strikes at the serpent woman. Its not the most graceful attack the knight has ever made but it catches the creature flatfooted and the blade is sharp enough to cut through her tough scales. GM Rolls:
Irlana casts spiritual weapon and the blade knicks the monster's neck. Round 1
The creature becomes agitated when Sir Falcon mentions the books and her tail twitches as a look of rage flashes over her face. "Oh, why can't those nasty villagers just give my little Aety what he wants! It makes me so angry!"
She doesn't seem bothered to hear that two of Aeteparax's servants got into a fight. "Well, if you need a healer than I guess you could talk to that shapeshifter in the funny hat. You can probably find him skulking around outside. He only comes into the monastery when he needs something." Her distain of the man is obvious.
When Sir Falcon says he's not familiar with who Szangi is, the creature appears to be taken aback. “No! I mean Mighty Aeteperax! Don’t tell him I said that!” The creature unravels its tail and then it raises the humanaoid part of its body into the air and cracks its back. With a yawn she says, "What was that dear? Oh, how long ago has Aeteparax been gone? Its been almost a week. Hmm...I was hoping since you were new here that you would know what he's been up to." "You're more polite than most of the riff raff Aeteparax brings up here." She scans the party and a look of disgust briefly flashes across her face before getting replaced by a polite smile. "Is there something I can help you with?" Uncoiled the party can see that the creature is about ten feet long from the top of its head to the tip of its tail. She wears no clothing except for a heavy platinum medallion around her neck.
A wooden veranda runs around the edges of this atrium. A large planter overgrown with various shrubberies and plants grows in the center of the area under the open sky. As the party enters the room what looks like an enormous black snake uncoils, revealing that the top of its body looks like the head and upper body of an elderly elven woman, except that it has no arms. She blinks sleepily as she looks the party over and then says in Common, “Oh! Pardon me, but have you heard word from Szangi? He’s not emerged from his lair since his last visit to that ittle human village, and I worry for the dear!”
Maffei realizes that she could easily and completely disable the bell by simply removing the clapper and hiding it somewhere.
Maffei knows that there are quite a few rooms left to explore in this keep. They haven't even been in the largest building yet and there is also that out building in the northeast part of the compound. The good thing is that they at least know that the only person guarding the grounds is that strange man in the brightly colored hat.
Maffei leads the way up the stone spiral staircase. The room above is scattered with coils of thick rope. There are three large bells along the walls. The staircase continues to spiral upwards to the top of the belfry. A long rope dangles down from above, attached to the great bell sixty feet up at the top of the steeple. There is also a thick wooden door on the southern wall. The spiral staircase leads up to a stone platform twenty feet above this room. After this point a wooden staircase wraps around the wall, providing access to the bell. With the exception of a simple wooden stool the top floor of the belfry is empty. Whoever was guarding this room is not currently here. The view from this high up is magnificent; offering a clear view of the village of Belhaim and the site where Aeteparax's bones lie. The entire grounds of the monastery can also be seen with the exception of two blind spots; the guard house by the gates and a large outbuilding in the northeast provide some cover. In the light of the moon the party can even see the man with the feathered hat is sitting cross-legged underneath a tree. The rest of the grounds appear to be empty.
The party goes through the door on the east side of the room goes down a narrow hallway lined with statues of robed men and women at regular intervals on the wall. Eventually they reach another door which leads to another hallway lined with statues. At the end of this hallway is a small room with a heavy wooden door on the northwestern wall and a spiral staircase that goes both down and up to the other belfry. GM Rolls:
Irlana recognizes the runes as magic writing and not any particular language. The rushing wind appears to be coming from the black window. DC 25 Spellcraft:
The small squares are made to amplify the power of magic that is cast in the large 15 foot square. DC 30 Spellcraft:
The small squares are particularly good at enhancing force effects such as magic missile Irlana checks out the door from this side and it appears to also be locked from inside as well. Unfortunately, the party will need to find a key before they can open this door from either side.
Inside the room: A drone, like the sound of a vast wind, fills this room, yet the air is cold and still. A fifteen-foot square of arcane symbols is inscribed on the floor. Two five-foot-square areas of similar
writing sit to the northeast and southeast of the larger one. Above the larger square hovers what appears to be a vertical hole in reality—a window that looks out into a night sky in which only a few tiny stars are visible. The window itself is fifteen feet square, running from the north and south points of the symbol below. It’s suspended a foot off the ground, and comes within three feet of the ceiling above.
Maffei tries to unlock the door but after a couple of minutes tosses her picks down in frustration. "I've never seen a door made like this! I don't think I can open it " Irlana examines the door and realizes that they could use the gaseous form potions to bypass the door. There is a hair thing gap around the hinge and the top of the door but the most obvious means of entry is the key hole itself.
Yeah, its a shame but I think we have lost all of our players. It has been several years; I had no idea how much time such a long module would actually take running over PbP. I've never actually run or been in something this long so it has been a learning experience. I'm not sure where to go from here. There is still a bit left. I believe there is enough for everyone to go up another level even. We have do enough where I think it would be fair to just send chronicle sheets out to everyone.
The concealed door opens by pressing a brick that happens to be slightly smoother than the other bricks in the wall. Inside is a narrow passage that wraps around the library room until in ends at a heavy iron door. The door is covered in complex sigils and runes painted in delicate black lacquer. A message is repeated over and over in several languages, including Common: “Beware! Dark Oblivion Lies Within!” The door has an incredibly complex looking lock preventing it from being opened.
[ooc]Sorry about the delay! Very busy with the baby[ooc] The party climbs up the spiral staircase and find themselves in an impressive chamber filled with tall bookshelves. The shelves are mostly empty, with only a few valueless books remaining. The elaborate
Irlana senses that behind one of the bookshelves in the southwest corner is a secret door that blends into the wall.
The room north of where the giant grioth was guarding just contains supplies for writing and binding books. There are shelves that once probably contained completed volumes but all the books have been removed and the shelves are bare. There is a passage in the south eastern corner. The passageway bends north and there is a door on the southern wall. The only other direction to go further up or back down the spiral staircase.
Irlana searches the room thoroughly but doesn't find anything else of interest. It looks like this room was just being used for sleeping for some of Aeteparax's servants but that the alchemist was the only one who has been here recently. Irlana notes that there is no alchemy equipment in this room, so the woman must have brewed potions and prepared her daily extracts somewhere else in the monastery.
Irlana sniffs the two potions found on the alchemist and picks up the subtle scent of early morning fog beneath the harsher odor of its alcoholic base. She speculates why the woman would need to make so many of these potions of gaseous forms. If it was a spell that she needed on a daily basis it would be much cheaper to make it as an extract, so most likely these potions are intended to be used by someone else.
Irlana -20
Maffei eventually manages to burn the swarm to a crisp with burning hands. The party is left wounded and a bit winded but otherwise okay. Irlana is perhaps the worst off; her skin is pale from the effort of having to absorb Sir Falcon and Maffei's wounds. Final status
The dead woman appears to have been Osirianni. Under her apron is chain shirt that has ancient Osiriani runes carved into the links. The black iron flail in her hand and the dark leather cape she is wearing also appear to be magical. There is also a pair of potions in her pouch; along with 92 gp. Spellcraft DC 18 - Flail:
+1 Flail Spellcraft DC 18 - Chainshirt:
+1 Chainshirt Spellcraft DC 22 - Cloak:
Cloak of the Bat Spellcraft, Craft Alchemy, or Perception - Potions:
2 potions of gaseous form The narrow hallway leads to a room with a small fireplace along the northern wall. The faint embers of a dying fire are still glowing in the hearth. There are three bedrolls laid out, but it looks like only one of them has been used recently. Next to this bedroll are a number of personal items of no value such as a basic hygiene kit, pen and ink, and a pile of pamphlets containing trashy stories about the escapades of a fictional Chelaxian courtesan. There is also a small ledger under the pillow. Inside are rows and columns of numbers and initials along with notes written in the margins in painfully tiny script. After reviewing the ledger for a few minutes it is clear that its a documentation of what potions the alchemist has made for her master; along with a record of material costs accrued and subsequently repaid. There are a wide variety of potions that were documented as having been brewed but besides the typical healing potions the reader notices that a large number of potions of gaseous form have been brewed over the last year and a half that is documented.
Sir Falcon throws off the effects of the poison. Tanssi backs away from the swarm while their master throws a glob of acid at the swarm which misses the mass of hornets.
The swarm moves out of the way and avoids taking the worst of Maffei's burning hands but the shadow spell still manages to burn a decent chunk out of the mass of stinging insects. The swarm engulfs Maffei. The alchemist who summoned the swarm is also engulfed and if she was still alive the wasps definitely finish her off.
Round 7 - Bless
Round 8 - Bless, 3 round of vomit swarm
Sir Falcon pushes through Maffei's shadow wind gust. He notices that the painful venom from all the insects stings is starting to make his limbs clumsy. Irlana uses her healing wand on Sir Falcon to remove the copious wounds he has suffered. Round 6 - Bless
Round 7 - Bless
Andwise remembers the wand of lightning they found in Hunclay's manor, but he doesn't dare use it in this narrow hallway. Instead he casts guidance on Irlana and backs out into the larger room. Maffei runs through the swarm and turning around casts a gust of wind. The swarm is blown back almost to the wall on the other side of the room. The angry wasps attempt to fly back towards the group but the wind keeps them at bay.
Round 6 - Bless
Round 7 - Bless
I do know the party found a wand of lightning bolt in Hunclay's manor; but off hand I don't know if anyone still has it or can use it. In addition to attacking the swarm with her swords for 1d6 damage a piece, Maffei can use shadow evocation; even though it requires a Will save shadow spells are not mind affecting. I'm giving a few hints because I really don't want anyone getting killed by a summoned swarm.
Between Irlana's alchemy fire and Sir Falcon swinging his flaming sword around the swarm has noticebly lost some of its size but is still going strong. Round 5 - Bless
Round 6 - Bless
Tanssi knocks the alchemist out with the swipe of a paw. The eidolon tries to attack the buzzing wasps but is unable to impact the impact with their attack. Unfortunately, even with the alchemist defeated The swarm is still going to continue attacking the party. Irlana's spirtual weapon is also ineffective against the tiny bugs
Round 5 - Bless
Round 6 - Bless
Maffei strikes the alchemist but fails to bring her down. Unfortunately neither Sir Falcon nor Tanssi can stop her and the alchemist burps out a cloud of wasps that start stinging Sir Falcon and Tanssi.
Spellcraft DC 17:
The alchemist just used vomit swarm. Some useful facts is that in order to summon waps instead of spiders she needs to be at least level 7. Also, if the alchemist is killed or knocked out she will lose the ability to control the swarm but it will not go away until the spell's duration expire or the the swarm is destroyed.
The swarm stings the samurai and the eidolon repeatedly; easily ignoring both Sir Falcon's plate armor and the shadow cat's displacement. Round 5 - Bless
Round 6 - Bless
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