Thank you all for the suggestions, the players did what players do best ; the unexpected. But i did use a Giant crab on the docks :)
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I have a group of 1st level PCs and I want to give them one or flavourful mini-encounters on the way to their next Quest objective. They will be travelling through a harbour town that has plenty of rundown buildings and unkept streets for them to run into something dangerous as they make there way to a location. Things along the lines of rats or other urban pests, footpads maybe? its a big group though, seven of them, so that might put off casual thieves. Group is: drunken master, paladin, brawler, druid (with wolf), wizard, cleric, and a shaman.
As a level 12 Conjuror whom enjoys the benefit of Augmented Summoning every time I cast Summon Monster VI I will say that Scorching Ray is one spell I wouldnt be without. It does very favourable damage compared to other evocation spells. [3 rays at 4d6 each, versus 12d6 cone of cold]. Black Tentacles is a great spell but is highly situational, it can be the fight winner or it can end up just creating another obstacle for the party, so be careful with that one. Also, something my cleric always carries is a mass resist energy spell or two. This combined with a Wall of Fire has saved our bacon more than a few times.
The figures turned out not be apes or humans but zombies and skeletons. The zombies moved incredibly quickly, much faster than other zombies I have encountered, and before we could mobilize they bottled us into the corridor. Mal and Tegan met them head on and the first two went down quickly. I was able to summon a Hound Archon to aid them in the fight. However, upon each death the zombie exploded in a shower of gore and entrails. I can only assume their hardy constitutions have saved Mal and Tegan from catching some dread disease. About a dozen or so undead piled in, the closest to Mal tried to drag him down to the floor and across the room to the well but between his divinely granted powers, his and Tegan's martial prowess and a few Magic Missiles from me, Mal was ok. Fayne reported over the telepathic link that single figure had not joined in the rush. A Deathspeaker priestess of Wee-Jas seemed to the directing influence for the undead attack. Fayne tried to attack her from the shadows with his bow but to little effect. She seemed to be aware of him somehow and was able to pluck the arrows from the air before they struck. "She is by the well" he told us over the link "and more are coming up from the well." Hoping to catch her and any zombies by the well I surrounded the well with a Wall of Fire. Alun cast a Resist Fire on us all and we all entered the ring of fire. I was careful to fly over it though, as it reached nowhere near the ceiling. The priestess was nowhere to be found, however. A few more zombies were climbing up the well but we soon discouraged them from attempting to enter the room. Mal was keen to carry on upstairs to explore but we all felt that down the well would be the best bet. Fayne dashed upstairs and quickly scouted around. The upper levels were mostly empty; signs of a recent fight and that the upper door was used were all he found bar one large mechanism. A giant wheel hooked up to some chains that would have been right above our heads. Fayne disabled the device. Alun and Tegan used the ongoing power of the Windwalk spell to assume gaseous form and floated down the well. The scene they described sounded horrific. Dozens of ghoulish creature were feasting on a colossal pile of dead flesh. Some other undead seemed to be directing more bodies and offal to be added to the pile. Occasionally some were removed and inspected. Worms, no doubt Kyuss' own, were being removed and placed into storage containers. Tegan also described a giant figure at one end of the room. It appeared to be a Giant, of indeterminate race, dressed as one of the Scarlet Brotherhood, turned at some point into an undead creature. Most likely a zombie given it size, though I am no expert on the undead.
Mal and Rushforth flew up and around the spire. Rushforth spotted something in the jungle and almost immediately Doctor Sin also spotted something. This was at a different point so there must have been several creatures. From his aerial vantage, Mal could see that the entrance high up on the ziggurat had also been used recently.
A short corridor lead from the chamber to a double door. This door was an exact duplicate of a door underneath the Greyhawk Arena that sealed the stasis chamber of the Erlgustata. The Apostolic Scrolls, however, did not magically seal this door. Mal opened them and we continued on. We quickly came to a large open room, which we guessed took up most of this floor of the ziggurat. Using a minor light spell we could another corridor on the other side the chamber, a symmetrical design no doubt. The room had four rows of four pillars holding up the ceiling, which was cloaked in darkness. Two staircases led up from here, one on either side of the room. The only other visible feature was low circular wall in the centre. Alun stepped up to have a look and it seem to go deeper than the extent of his dwarven vision. Shortly after looking over the edge he asked, "Can anyone hear that?" No one else could hear anything; Alun described it as a distance crying. Fayne moved next to the well and he started hearing it too. The floor had some remains near the well, all the bones were picked nearly clean, and no clothes but tiny rags were in evidence. No coins or gear either. Which we assumed meant that we were dealing with intelligent foes rather than a nest of creatures using the tower. Of course this on top of the footprints, the door being closed behind them (with a stone shape no less), all pointed to this conclusion too. Mal suggested that they both back away from the well and as he was walking across the room nearly slipped on a thick mucous trail on the floor. "Gribblies!" he exclaimed. Still any slug big enough to leave that size of trail might have other abilities and should not be underestimated. We dropped a small rock with a light spell on and Tegan told us "Five hundred foot till the bottom." We had just decided to take one of the stairs up when Rushforth alerted Mal to a presence outside. Moving quickly back I caught a glimpse of two figures outside. They moved quickly, leaping from cover to cover. They appeared to be human in size and either ape like creature with black fur or humanoids in black clothing. Blackwing II flew a quick reconnaissance outside, "Monkeys! Hordes of them!" he said before darting back inside. One of the creatures threw themselves bodily against the door, which shook in place. We decided to seal it up and head back into the ziggurat. Fayne had stayed to watch over the main chamber and told us that he could see through the darkness covering the ceiling and that it was covered in chains with something hanging in them. Possibly bodies. Then he shouted "Slug". A slow moving creature was crawling along the floor. However because of this we could now see the humanoid figures on the other side of the main chamber trying to sneak up on us. These were probably more of the same creatures coming through the entrance on the other side, though showing remarkably more restraint than their compatriots. In any case, our best move is to head up on of the stairs forcing our numerically superior foes into a smaller space that is easier to defend
In quick succession we teleported from Magepoint to Cauldron via Sasserine. Manzorian's agents were ready and welcomed us to each city. All the items we ordered in Greyhawk were brought on as well. We have left Cauldron and using a variety of flight spells or modes we have travelled out into the jungle to the immediate northeast. Blackwing was the first to spot a spire-topped ziggurat. It was heavily overgrown; Fayne quickly scouted the perimeter and told us of two entrances on either side of the base of the ziggurat. We approached one and Fayne spotted tracks. Booted humanoids had used this doorway recently or in great numbers.
It has been several days and we expected Manzorian back today. The temple, a multi faith operation though the main feature was the library and dedications to Boccob, was open for any and all of us to spend time with. I spent most of my time over the last few days in there and I have now expanded my knowledge of spells. Namely; a variation of Scorching Ray, Contagious Flame, that bounces the rays from foe to foe for a small duration, another variant this time for Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, that hits a single foe first then arcs to all nearby, and Ant Haul, a utility spell that will help me carry extra items (a real boon given my current feeble capacity). I really should get hold of a copy of Detect Scrying sometime soon. We were told that Manzorian had returned to his tower and that we were to have an audience with him. I cast a few spells (Ant Haul, Overland Flight and an Extended Telepathic Bond on the whole party) before heading to the tower. We were warned that casting spells while in the tower would not be a good idea and especially not to try to teleport whilst on the causeway that connect to island. Apparently it would mean ending up somewhere not pleasant. I acquiesced. Guards showed us in to the outer courtyard, the illusion of the ruined tower clung strongly but we could see the real building now. We saw that a corps of mounted warriors was performing drills on horseback. Mal noted that they were extremely competent to be pulling off those manoeuvres. Inside the tower was well appointed and we were escorted up grand stairs to a study with many portraits on the wall. Manzorian, and I assumed Agath, was sat at a reading table. The pictures on the wall were possibly former companions of Manzorian, I recognised a few former Circle of Eight members. We talked together for a while, of Allustan and of our current endeavours. Manzorian seemed to be receptive and gave us the name of his contact that had been investigating the area of jungle we wanted to search. Though this individual seems now to have fled north. He confirmed many of the things Riggby had said of Kyuss. Manzorian also showed why he could not mount an expedition himself. In a faceted dome at the top of the tower he revealed a legion of demonic forces that constantly try to batter their way into this realm. The tower he had built here was as a defence of a magical nexus point that could be used by abyssal minions to invade Oerth.
After taking our leave of Allustan we headed to Magepoint. Mal rode Rushforth and Alun tried out his new spell “Windwalk”. It was most strange to be flying by divine instead of arcane power. Shortly before arriving in the village we ended the spell and walked the final stretch. The pastoral scene was very tranquil and almost the idealised image of what a small coastal village should look like. A very noticeable Castle sat on a small island out in the lake itself. Pale blue stone ruins, covered in growth and weather-beaten, it could be nothing other than Manzorian’s abode. A wide causeway stretched out from the village to the island. A casual look around the village revealed many small items of magic and wards on doors or windows. Many of the locals also had exotic looking pets, a lynx here, a colourful parrot there. I surmised that many if not all of the villagers would have arcane knowledge or some real power. A helpful local directed us to the tavern, The All Seeing Eye. The sign was familiar to me, it was a stylised version of Boccob’s sigil. Once inside the tavern it was clear that it was a focal point of village life. It was big enough to hold most of the 500 or so people that I estimated to live in the village in a town hall style meeting. The décor was well crafted, design to look as natural as possible, tree branches and leaves on fine arches throughout. The birds that flew about from branch to branch therefore did not look out of place. I directed Doctor Sin to make friends with the local Ravens, not doubt familiars to some of the wizard inhabitants. The Halfling waiting staff were polite and quick with the food and drinks we ordered. They explained that all would be on the house and that rooms have been prepared and already paid for. As we sat and enjoyed the fine food and drinks a Elven woman walked in. She carried a greatsword and looked like she knew how to use it. She approached our table and introduced herself as Cymria. She appeared to know Mal’s name and the others though she did not address me directly. Cymria then explained that Manzorian was not in town at the moment but someone else would like to meet them and then she showed us into a smaller area off the main hall. Sat at the table was a familiar red-haired man that I confess was very much surprised to see. Eligos, thought dead by all in Greyhawk was obviously quite hale and hearty. Fayne and Mal did not handle the shock very well and seemed almost affronted that Eligos was here and kept asking why. Eligos explained that a friend of his Agath, a Celestian Cleric of some power, had performed the resurrection a few days previously. It had taken time to establish that no remains were available and to contact his spirit to return it to this realm. Eligos and Cymria explained that Manzorian and Agath were currently on the outer plane of Arcadia and would be back in a few days. We were welcome to stay here in the All Seeing Eye, all rooms and board were paid for.
The next morning we teleported to Diamond Lake and found Allustan sat desolate in the ruins of his house. He was sat next to the body of Marzena, who had obviously been killed when Illthane had attacked. We tried to offer comfort and Mal took the body to the local temple for proper burial rites. Allustan was grieving and blamed himself. In Marzena’s hand was a Dragon Chess piece, The Wizard. I was greatly moved by his grief and saddened for his loss. “It is a message from my former mentor, Manzorian. Marzena was trying to convince me to rejoin my former mentor and his associates, The Circle of Eight.” I was intrigued that such a group was still active; the general opinion is they faded from activity many years ago after the deaths of some of the original members. It seems that others have taken the empty chairs and from behind a veil of secrecy attempt to affect the world. Allustan said that he had grown sick of the nature of their work, the unending death of so many in their name, and had also grown fearful that he too might be sacrificed in the greater good. Mal then went off on one, berating him for cowering from the world when he had such arcane power to do Good. At one point he even compared him to an undead creature hiding his face from everyone. Alun and I strongly opposed such arguments and could clearly see it was only making Allustan’s grief much worse. I began to help with the task of cleaning his ruined house by summoning an unseen servant. He told us that he Dragon Chess piece was also a key and that it would be needed to seek an audience with Manzorian. We were welcome to try, his tower was in a village on the lakeshore called Magepoint. Mal suggested we do, Manzorian could have some information relevant to our quest to the south. Allustan warned us that the population of Magepoint would have the power to deny us access to Manzorian and that we should be friendly toward them. Also that Manzorian tower is “ in the world but not in the world” and only Manzorian could let us in or not as he desires. So before we head south we will seek out Manzorian and ask for his assistance. I also have grave reservations about asking Mal for any training at this point. Maybe Tegan could show me how to swing a sword?
During our stay in Greyhawk we have learned a number of new things, well new to me at least. I spent some time in the temple library and in conversation with High Priest Riggby. He has shared a wealth of new information regarding Kyuss. It seems he was a mortal necromancer once that led his followers into the jungles far south of Cauldron and founded a city “Kuluthmar”. Its location and activities became hidden from arcane and divine magics. Legends speak of horrific practices employed by Kyuss, his people degenerate to cannibalistic ghouls, sacrifice of any travellers found in the area. Kyuss grew in power and was able to create new forms of undead. The Spawn of Kyuss being one type we have encountered here in this very city. Riggby explained how in the culmination of Kyuss’ power he forced all his populace to sacrifice themselves on his black ziggurat in order to fuel his Apotheosis into godhood. Kyuss himself disappears from history then, the result uncertain even to the gods themselves. The location of the city is lost to current knowledge, and all who seek it are lost too. Kyuss made pacts with some dark elder gods and with alien creatures, giant six armed abominations that might have been Spellweavers. That Spellweavers have been encountered recently, though destroyed in the process, only adds to the evidence that someone or many someone’s are trying to fulfil an ancient prophecy. Riggby also talked some more about the Age of Worms, that Kyuss would reward his followers by letting them live so they could rule over a world cleansed of all life. Allustan returned to Diamond Lake to check the state of his home. Fayne came and went during the day, running errands. That night we had a diner held in our honour at the Town Hall. It had many guests and very fine food. We also ran into an old friend of the group. Initially presenting herself as a human druid, in private she revealed her true lizardfolk visage. Hishka of the Twisted Branch tribe greeted us and reaffirmed her tribe’s commitment to the truce with the forces of Greyhawk. She told us that the Black Kobolds that worshipped Illthane had been scattered though not wiped out entirely. Illthane’s brood, the half-dragon lizardfolk and her clutch of dragons had fled north, abandoning camps to the extreme edge of the Mistmarch. She also asked if the blue-clad human soldiers the tribe had seen were anything to do with us. We said they were not, I asked if they may be seekers. Fayne stated that it if they are wearing blue they may be Keepers, a splinter sect of Seekers that actually want to gain knowledge and not just as a means to regain racial supremacy. I suggested that having Fayne in our group could only be an advantage in any encounter we have with them. I asked Hishka to send word directly to us if these men started attacking her tribe. She stated she needed a fixed place and agreed to send an animal messenger to the Temple of Heironeous; Mal would let them know to alert him should any such messenger appear.
We are back in Greyhawk City. We rested overnight in the lowest part of the tomb and then returned back up to the Maelstrom to tell the Kolyarut of what had happened. It gave us some speech about how we are the destined ones that signify the end or fulfilment of a prophecy, the Worm God’s rise and an Age of Darkness where all life higher than vermin will be extinguished. It also seemed to think we were all of the Vaati bloodline, not just Mal. This seems unlikely in reality though. Maybe we are actors in some prophesied apocalypse but I’ll be damned if I am going to let some jumped worm of a demon with delusions of godhood end the world. The Xorn were very helpful in getting us back to the surface. Having been warned about the local volcanic activity playing havoc with teleports, we decided to use a Telepathic Bond with a group of Xorn. We asked them to travel to the surface and see what was there, allowing me to getting a better fix for the spell. We got up to the surface with only a minor distortion, we all appeared five feet above the ground. But since we were in the swamps north of the Nyr Dyv we had soft landings. We were also within no more than a few days travel of the infamous White Plume Mountain. One more casting of Teleport and we were back in the city. We will travel back to Diamond Lake in a day or two with Allustan. We have sold or disposed of some of the items we acquired in the Tomb. Mal is now wielding the longsword we found in the sarcophagus; Fayne has its paired Shortsword. After some discussion I am to carry the Geode, known to be one of the sections of an artifact known as The Rod of Seven Parts. It has a daily use of a powerful healing effect and my abilities to teleport about quickly means I am a logical choice to carry it and use it should a need arise in a deadly encounter. We then had a share of cash, which we have now spent. I have acquired a new Cloak [of resistance +4]. Ekaym came to the Knights house (formerly Eligos’ house). He thanked them for their part in his return from beyond the grave and shared with us the winnings from the group’s bets on the Championship final. Mal generously included me in this and no one opposed the idea. Fayne and Ekaym spent some time going over recent events and trying to determine what our next course of action may be. So far the prophecies and evidence of Kyuss’ involvement, direct or otherwise, points to the southern jungles around Cauldron. Raknian was involved with a noble woman in that city and we may find more Ebon Triad conspirators there.
I regained some semblance of rational thought when Mal used his healing touch. Even more so when Alun used a scroll of Remove Fear. I quickly described the situation and that in my moment of shame I had dropped the Cube. With no time to prepare Alustan dimension doored us all (bar Fayne who was still pretty much catatonic) back up to the Tomb. I could see now the detail of the intricate frieze, depicting many elemental creatures as in other parts of the tomb. The Demon attacked again as we appeared. Mal and Tegan went toe to toe with it. Alun helped by using curative magic to keep Mal going despite the awful attacks the Demon was delivering. I tried a blast of cold but its magic resistance was too great so I switched tactics and covered it’s corner of the tomb in a Web. Though it was still able to move and attack without hindrance Mal and Tegan had now effectively cornered it and it was unable to fully manoeuvre without going further into the web strands. It could still use a number of evil magics though and I found myself frozen in place a couple of times during the fight. Alustan tried to manipulate the Cube from a distance to take it away from the demon and to place it in the socket on the top of the rotating coffin. The Demon did manage to break free of the Web but Mal and Tegan wore it down. The Cube was eventually correctly placed causing it to drop to the floor, the lid of the sarcophagus faded from view. The Demon was eventually killed, after what was a real fight for our lives. The now open sarcophagus contained a rotted corpse, Icosiol, and a number of powerful magic items. A longsword and Shortsword, each powerful on its own right but together would be deadly. A ring and a Geode. The geode exuded power, enough to briefly knock me out when I tried to assess its magic. The Djinn of the Cube then appeared again and proclaimed that Mal should be the one to take the Geode, but a part of a greater whole. He was worthy because he carried the blood of Icosiol in his veins. Interesting. We debated as to whether we should take anything else, the Djinn told us that the tomb now had no real guardians that could keep it safe and that it would be best to take the weapons of Icosiol as Mal’s birthright. Given what we had seen, the Qlippoth and the Demon camping right in the heart of the Tomb, we did not argue. Looking back at the final fight with the Demon we all acted in concert quite well. Mal and Tegan fought hard against it with Sword and Faith. Alun’s divine abilities bolstered the rest of us and kept the fighters in the fight long after they should have dropped. Of the spells I used, the web turned out to the most effective thing, but felt I was limited in options, mainly due to me succumbing to the evil magics of the Demon. I should definitely acquire some item or technique to ward off such things in future. Maybe I will ask Mal how he does it?
Alun cast True Seeing and could see that the very tall pillar was in fact an illusion and the large flat platform in the middle of the room was directly under a hole that was disguised by another illusion. After some debate as to how to proceed, Alun offered to send his raven companion, Blackwing, in to test the defences or traps of the room. The poor bird flew in and was soon hit by the blast of lightning. Its magically granted resistance saved it from being cooked there and then. However that just meant that it was then caught by a fierce updraft from the mist. The wind was incredibly strong, pinning it to the ceiling. This was still not the end of the birds travails, a huge Elder Air Elemental rose up out of the mist to attack it, swiftly followed by another. With little we could do to save it from its fate, we withdrew. We then came under attack from the corridor. Fayne, still feeling the effects of the Antipathy spell on the large doors was attacked by what looked very much like two Mohrgs. Behind them another figure was seen. Mal and Tegan charged the two undead and I helped by casting a Wall of Fire around them and the figure behind. When the wall was dispelled it became obvious that we were dealing with a spellcaster. Only one of the Mohrgs survived at this point and was quickly put down. The spellcaster fled, under a flying spell effect. However we could all fly ourselves (even Mal had Fly cast on him by Alun now) and chasing him down proved no hard task. With some more spells and attacks he was dispatched. A search of his remains turned up a few things, most important of which was the Cube of Icosiol. As I held it up to inspect the faces a visage appeared. Calling itself the Djinn of the cube it proclaimed me worthy to bear it. It also gave us some more information about the stepping stone room. Using the Cube I was able to open the large stone doors (well one the other was buggered by the Stone shape). I was able to fly across the room unmolested. Standing on the platform on the other side of the room I realised the door here was an elaborate carving, a false door. Knowing that there was a hole in the ceiling above it I landed on the large central platform. It had a small square indent in the centre. Upon placing the Cube in the indent the platform began to rise. Seeing and knowing are two different things and I realised how much trust I was placing in Alun when it got close to where he said there was a hole. Much to my relief he was correct. The room it led me to was another tomb. This time the large sarcophagus was floating ten feet in the air and was slowing turning. And I always thought that was just a figure of speech. However I did not get long to inspect the room as I was brutally attacked by a Demon of frightful aspect. All I could initially recall was large horns, a vicious looking sword and many, many eyes. Its attack left me shaking with sickness and fear and I had no recourse but to flee by dimensional steps back to the others.
Allustan and I flew further down to avoid the Wind Warrior but it continued to press its attack, ignoring the Air Elemental completely now. At one point I had to fish a healing potion from my haversack it was getting in so many attacks. Finally the elemental was able to finish it off. We arrived at a junction of two shafts, ours and another that also carried some water downward. The two waterfalls joined into one vertical tunnel and Allustan dived into the water to see what was below. By now I could see Mal on Rushforth, Teegan and Alun, both flying, and Fayne all in the second large chamber. The single remaining Warrior was no match for their combined might and was quickly dispatched. Allustan burst back up out of the falling red water quickly followed by two more of the white suits of armor. I was wounded once more but was able to fly back up to be healed by Alun. Fayne and then Teegan engaged the enemy, my Air Elemental managed to get below them. With them surrounded and Mal joining the fray, these two proved easier to deal with. They no longer had the advantage of mobility, we could all fly at this point negating another advantage. Still it took a good number of wallops to bring them down. Whilst it was still here I sent the elemental to scout a bit further down and a little way up the second shaft. It reported that it found no enemies. I was curious as to what was up the other tunnel and flew up to have a look. Though it was cunningly hidden and I almost overlooked it I spotted a door fashioned to look like natural rock. Beyond was a slightly curved corridor; the walls had been expertly worked. The ceiling was covered in runes, all extolling the might of Icosiol. The far end looked like a blank wall at first glance but another hidden door was soon revealed to me. The room beyond was empty, it seemed to be a simple antechamber. Opposite us were two massive stone doors, which spanned the whole back wall it seemed. I quickly noticed the magical glyph, radiated very strong Enchantment magic. It was a symbol of Law and the magical Antipathy effect would bar anyone not of that ethical persuasion from the doors (Fayne fled back to the corridor upon entering the chamber). We discussed how to get beyond the doors; Teleport, Dimension Door, another Elemental were all suggested but the simplest solution is often the best. Teegan repeated her trick of shaping the stone wall to bypass the door completely. The room beyond looked incredibly arranged. No floor was immediately obvious; instead a thick blue mist covered the whole room. Rising up out of the mist were seven columns, only one of which reached nearly as high as the ceiling, which in this room was forty feet above it. The flat top of the first, just behind the two doors was only a couple of feet above the level of the floor in the antechamber. The other pillars seemed to get higher and higher, creating a kind of stepping stone path to the other side of the room. A platform of rock jutted out of the wall on the far side and two more doors lead from this hazardous room. As we stood there taking this all in a bolt of electrical energy quickly built up in the mist and struck the first person in the improvised doorway, Mal. He was quick enough on his feet to avoid the worst and shrugged of the attack, thanks in main to the Energy Resistance spell Alun cast only a short while ago. So now we must devise a way for us to progress to the next room. This whole tomb had been filled with these kinds of traps and hazards, and we have overcome or circumvented each one in turn. I have no doubt that we shall get around this one too. This maybe a detour or side chamber though, we still have further down the red river to fall yet.
Discretion being the better part of valour I Dimensional stepped back up the sinkhole, while Fayne and Mal continued the melee. Just as I left I caught sight of the celestial hippogriff that Mal can sometimes summon to his aid. Teegan was already clambering down the rope, so Allustan and Alun were the only ones still left up at the top of the rope. Allustan, who was now operating a Fly spell, dove down through the water. Alun started climbing down. In order to combat the flying suits of armor, which the others were calling Wind Warriors over the group Telepathy, I tried out my newly upgraded Summon Spell and conjured the largest Air Elemental I could. That it turned out to be over 30 feet tall was satisfying to say the least. I ordered it down to attack the Wind Warriors, on the way down it brushed passed Alun. It attacked the one that was still near the opening that had attacked me previously. I Dimension Stepped back down into the chamber. Teegan was in the lake, Mal was on his hippogriff (Rushforth) and Fayne was shooting his bow. Allustan flew further down the cave and shouted to everyone to leave the fight and carry on down. Mal and Rushforth grappled with two while my Elemental attacked the third. Fayne then started to levitate and follow Allustan (has he some more unusual powers that I am as yet unaware of or has he, more likely, used a magical device such as a scroll or potion?). One of the Wind Warriors broke off the fight with Mal and came after me, chasing me down the tunnel harrying as it went. I was unable to maneuver enough to escape its blade and took some serious wounds. A fourth Warrior flew up from below and attacked Fayne. The Air Elemental also came after the warrior that was slicing me up but even in whirlwind form it proved ineffective at stopping it.
After a short search we discovered the hidden switch to open the portcullis that blocked the corridor in the direction we assumed Fayne was. Beyond was a room with six statues. Alun looked for magic and detected illusion magic on the statues. Wanting to press on Mal strode into the room. As he passed the middle statue on the left it spoke. It wanted to ascertain what we were and what we were doing in the tomb. Mal and then I reasoned with it, stating that we were searching for Icosiol’s cube, which was missing. It wanted to know what had become of its guardian, I spared Mal the need to explain and told it a half-truth, that he was dead before we got here. At the end of the room was an alcove. The statue told us that beyond it was the Maelstrom. Fayne managed to rejoin us but explained that the Qlippoth was communicating with him again. After going back and forth with the statue we decided that the only real course open to us was to descend down the maelstrom and to retrieve the cube if possible. Something, most likely the Qlippoth, then produced some misdirection for the statue. It dropped its disguise revealing itself as an Inevitable (a Kolyarut), this caused a wave of fear to pass uneventfully over all of us. Well all apart from Doctor Sin, who flew into a mad panic and flapped round and round the Maelstrom room till I ordered the Kolyarut to drop its effect. I explained to it that the qlippoth was the behind the deception and we are working to thwart it and asked for its help. It stopped for a moment then admitted that it was bound to that room. We used Fayne’s Rope of Climbing to descend the rushing red water. Fayne went first with Mal following shortly after. I went next but lost my grip on the rope partway down. Luckily I was able to right myself before falling the rest of the way down to the lake fifty feet below us. Mal and Fayne had already fallen into it. We also found ourselves under attack by flying animated suits of armor. Mal tried to reason with the first but it attacked anyway paying him no heed. One came flying at me so I threw a lightning bolt at it. The pieces of armor seemed to almost fly apart to avoid the blast, though I am sure some did catch it, before reforming and attacking me with two swords.
After regrouping into the carpeted room we discussed what to do next. I proposed two courses of actions. The first was that I could summon a Water Elemental and send it down the river to attack the remaining Ice Golem. We could then follow it and explore the ice corridor. The other option was to get across the circular room, to explore the stairs on the other side. I had originally suggested Dimension Door but after realising that the far side was now covered in magical darkness Alun offered to cast Resist Electricity on everyone so we could walk across. That just left the Temporal Stasis trap. Allustan explained that it was triggered when he was walking across the room and was struck by the lightning. I summoned a Dretch and sent it into the room, knowing that the lightning would not hurt it. Also, keeping one Dretch trapped forever on this plane is fine too. It did a magnificent job of triggering both effects. During the flash I noticed thin ropes stretched across the room. Mal went over first, sliced through the tripwires with ease and avoiding any serious harm from the lightning bolts. He tested the darkness with an arrow, suspicious that it might have been something more sinister that simple darkness. He was about to return when some invisible force shoved him back, sending him flailing into the dark and down the stairs. Fayne, Alun and Teegan rushed across to his aid. The dark it seemed hid two smaller versions of the Qlippoth. Even in the darkness however the others managed to strike one down. Alun used his Daylight ability and Fayne shouted that he could see, or at least sense, the larger Qlippoth further down one of the two corridors that branched from the bottom of the stairs. Allustan crossed the room and was about to enter the stairs when a large iron door slowly descended to cover the doorway. Making a quick decision he threw himself onto the other side, where he bumped directly into Teegan and fell flat. It was then that they noticed the rushing sound of water. Whilst this was going on I was summoning another creature, this time a Hound Archon. I directed it to try to open the door but the others reappeared back in the room, holding onto Allustan. All that is except Fayne. A xorn ran wildly through the large room shouting about the Shadow Demon. We all rushed to the double doors and the river chamber but the Qlippoth was gone. We then saw that the river was now running at a lower level than before. Through the telepathic bond we could hear Fayne describe the large chamber he was in by the river. He had run down one of the corridors and jumped over the river. From the description he was in a large bowl like room where the river emptied down a large sinkhole, swirling wildly as it went. There was also a set of stairs that led up from the water. We theorised that this might connect at some point further along with the ice corridor. We told Fayne to make his way up to that point and we would make our way to the ice corridor. It was not exactly the most dignified of journeys, all tied together and soaking wet in freezing cold water. Allustan lead the charge first by sending a Fireball up through the hole, which must have wounded the golem severely. The Hound Archon went next but was not as effective as I had hoped but definitely helped. Teegan and Mal both stepped up and once they decided to use blunter weapons, rather than their preferred axe and sword, they felled the ice creature in short order. So that left us in a corridor caked in red ice and all wearing wet clothes. It may take a little while but its moments like this that Prestidigitation comes in very handy.
Mal was obviously up for some more hand-to-hand combat so decided that he would go down the river next. Again we tied him to a rope and the Xorn once more took a grip at the end, though we all got our hands on the rope to help pull him back. Alun cast an Enlarge Person spell on Mal, this seemed like the thing to do now, and off he went. Upon his return and after the violence that followed he recounted what he had encountered. Mal had felt his way down till he reached the red ice Alun had told us of. He then broke through and climbed up into a long corridor. Two creatures were stood either side of him and moved swiftly to attack. Mal was not sure exactly what they were due to the dim light, cramped quarters and the tumult of fighting for his life. The two creatures were not undead or evil, so Mal was not at his best fighting them. They, however, were not so hindered. Mal was badly battered when he had popped back up out of the river, even after he had been able to his divine gifts to heal himself. One of the creatures had grabbed hold him as he fell back down the ice hole and into the river. It had kept up the hold nearly all the way back to our chamber, with Mal only managing to break its hold briefly. Allustan recognised it before I could get a good look at and named it a type of Golem and that fire-based spells would be the most effective. Between us all we managed to dispatch it, though I dare say that my Wall of Fire cutting it in two was a major factor in its death. We had barely a moment then to catch our breath when Allustan was attacked. The Wolf-Spider had globbed a sticky strand of web onto the back of Allustan’s head and attempted to drag him back into the other room. Fayne tried to cut the strand but could not and for his trouble was dragged with Allustan back through the door. Alun, quick of thought as ever, Dimension Door’d with Mal and Tegan. I could see the others through the now wide open doors. Fayne was on his feet quickly and he, Tegan and Mal all struck at it. The thing squealed in pain and terror, and before I could manage to do much of anything it fled this plane entirely. I presume it uses the shadow plane due to similarities to the visible effect of its planar movement when used on others, the stretching of oneself off into infinity. Now we must be more cautious. It is very sneaky and now it knows how much we can hurt it given a chance. I doubt it will allow us another willingly.
Everything went quite for a few minutes but Fayne seemed to be very distracted, and through the telepathic bond we could glean some of his side of the mental conversation was having with the Wolf-Spider. Allustan was theorising as to what breed of qlippoth we may be dealing with. The bad news was that no matter what kind it would very tough to deal with, with an outsiders natural resistances to many forms of attack. Fayne told us some of what was said. Someone else had stolen the cube artifact, a humanoid was all the description it could or would give, and it wanted us to retrieve it for him. There was no fear of us actually turning it over but at least now we had some more information to go on.
We moved into the river chamber and were greeted by the xorn elder, or at least the one that seemed to be slightly larger than the rest and looked to be in charge. We asked it about the river, where and how far down it went.
Since we had little else to go on, we decided to explore the river. At first Mal wanted to go but it was decided that since he was not part of the telepathic bond Alun should go instead. This turned out to be a very wise choice. Using the Rope of Climbing, with additional help from the xorn. We lowered a now Large Alun into the river. He quickly disappeared below the red water. Alun communicated back that the river split, going right it veered round on a quarter turn but he then got to the extent of the rope. Coming back to the junction and trying the left fork, it quickly split again, both turns leading to dead ends. The water could escape through very narrow cracks and sinkholes. Alun also told that at one end he encountered thick red ice and that the water became intensely cold. Upon his return though it seemed that something in the water was actively pushing against him, unsuccessfully due to a Freedom of Movement he had running. Getting back to the bank we all saw that he was now covered not only in the red water of the river but also actual blood. No sooner than Alun had washed his beard of the viscous blood then a red ooze like creature reared up out of the river. Alun: “It followed me up”. With little time for further action it attacked him, drawing blood. Literally it pulled the blood from his body and seemed to add it to its own form. Allustan cried out that its actually a form of undead, an Amniote, not an ooze as its amorphous shape would suggest. He threw a Scorching ray at it, and along with bowshots from Fayne and a Magic Missile from me it was quickly dispatched. Then we noticed another had come up the river, onto the bank was now approaching us as we all stood on the bridge. Mal was hit pretty hard, what looked like a vast amount of blood poured out of him into the creature. Allustan shouted that if it gets much more blood it could split in two. Not wanting to risk that we all hit it, an acid dart from me, another scorching ray from Allustan, solid hits from everyone else, with Mal getting the final and devastating blow.
We finally decide that we will not be able to move the sphere or free Alustan without some rest and a new set of spells. Using my scroll I conjure Leomand’s Secure Shelter around the sphere. It takes up most of the space inside so the rest period was not as comfortable as it usually is. I am also disturbed many times by inquisitive xorn popping their head, sometimes tripping the alarm spell as well. Harmless enough, but annoying none the less. Given the time we need to recuperate I actually manage to put the finishing touches to a couple of spell theories that I have been working on for a little while. After my nap I rack the days spells, making sure to include a few Dispell Magic spells. Alun has a magic item called a Dispelling Cord, which he allows me to use for my attempts to free Alustan. Outside the shelter we noticed that it was completely dark and that huge strands of webbing blocked the door. The Wolf-Spider had been busy it seems. I cast a few daily spells (Mage Armor, Overland Flight and Telepathic Bond since we might get into a fight soon), and then prepare to free Alustan. The magic imprisoning him was strong indeed and I am sure the Alun’s cord was the extra help I needed in successfully casting the Dispell. Alustan quickly regained his composure and I introduced myself to him and the others told him of what had happened. Unfortunately we also had to inform him of Eligos’ recent demise, though he could take some small comfort in the fact that we defeated Illthane, apparently a bane of his for some years. We also told why the room outside the shelter was dark and he was perturbed by the news of the Wolf-Spider. He explained that it was a minion of Mishka and a breed of Qlippoth. Qlippoth were, he went on, the original inhabitants of what we know refer to as the Abyss. Mal was curious as to what this meant and Alustan told him it predates even the Blood War, the demons that rule there now are squatters and usurpers. The Qlippoth are forced into corners too foul or far for the demons to bother with, though they do constantly strike at he demonic forces that invaded their home. That a qlippoth was here in the cairn greatly concerned Alustan, and might have something to do with the missing item from the shrine of Zoffirin, a former bodyguard of Ekoziel, now a dread wraith. Formerly a dread wraith now just dead I guess. Alustan said the missing item would be the cube we have seen in several carvings of Ekoziel, with three visible runes on it. We all discussed the best way to proceed. Mal was bound by his word to Ignus that he (and by extension the rest of us) would not loot the tomb and would leave once we had rescued Alustan. Alustan was adamant that he would not be held to any promise not made by him or in his name. He did manage to bring Mal round to another way of thinking. The guardians, left here to guard Ekoziel and his worldly belongings had not yet managed to remove the qlippoth, either because they didn’t know it was here or because they couldn’t successfully defeat it. In either case, the items that are here are no longer safe, and in the interest of keeping them safe it would be ok to remove them. “As long as we do not profit from it, I think it would be ok to safeguard Ekoziel’s worldly goods, even if that means taking them elsewhere.” Indeed. Whilst we were still in the entrance to the shelter, we tried to clear an area in front of the door of the web left by the qlippoth. Mal tried to detect its evilness but it was out of his range. However Fayne was able to use some trick of perception to discern where the creature was. Using the telepathic bond we now shared he was able to give us its location, some way down the long corridor back to the Black Pudding room. It is well within the range of some of my more offensive spells though I cannot see it to target it right now
At a loss as to what to do next we decide to explore a little more before resting. Back in the spider room were two other exits, a single door and a double door. Mal proposed to open the single door with the no doubt to him excellent reasoning that the room beyond could not have anything large in it. Beyond was a small shrine or altar. The whole wall to the right of the door was painted to look like a door opening onto a wide vista. A weapon, empty but for a few flakes of rust, stood in front of some archaic armor. Fayne, who seems to have great ill luck, was attacked by a ghostly figure emerging from the armor. Alun shouted a warning to all that this was a Dread Wraith, a powerful undead creature. It used its incorporeal nature to attack from within the walls or the floor itself. I managed to get one hit with an acid orb and Alun used his divine nature to summon daylight into the chamber that did it some harm. However it was Malakai that watched the floor and walls with sword in hand that finally killed the creature. It tried to attack Fayne again and received a killing blow from Mal for its trouble. The other doors lead onto a wide chamber that seemed only partially worked form the natural stone. A red river stinking of iron ran under a stone bridge. Several figures stood in or near the river. Xorn. Seeing these creatures Tegan was taken aback, as someone who sees a mythical figure for the first time. She introduced herself and us, parleyed with them. She asked about the room Alustan was in and if they might be able to help us. One of them cam every close sniffed at her. It seemed to smell some other earth spirit near Tegan. It seems that Tegan was given a gift by Ekaym, a tiny earth elemental bound into a stone chisel on a leather cord. This had great signifince to her but what exactly eludes me. Must found out more upon our return to the city. The Xorn agreed to help and used their burrowing skills to dig under the round room. They were concerned about the electricity from the metal spike so Alun and Malakai used their healing powers to bolster them as they worked. Standing in a circle around the globe they seemed to vibrate the earth floor till the globe sank right into the ground.
Its possible Ignus might help us, if only to make sure we leave the cairn.
The door behind me, actually a double door, was metallic blue in colour. The other was normal door for the cairn. I tried the blue doors but they were locked, and I could not immediately hear anything beyond them. The other door was unlocked however and had been used recently. The dust on the faded carpet was disturbed. I opened the door slightly to have a look in the next room. It appeared to be roughly circular about 40ft across; in the centre was a huge glowing sphere. The globe was bathed in arcing electricity, which lit the room with strobeing light. A 20ft metal spike descended from the ceiling to touch the top of the sphere. Both were magical, evocation emanated from the spike and transmutation from the globe. In the globe was a still figure of a humanoid. I only saw it briefly in the flashing light of the room, but it could have been a human male in red robes. I also noticed something, a figure or a hint of movement or lack of it. Meanwhile the others, after some bouts of healing and wherever they were, fought a huge spider with the face of a wolf. I did not see it but from the mental description from the others, it sounded very much like on the servants of the Witch Queen (Mishka). As a Planar creature it would have a number of natural immunities and defences, which I made the others aware of. The wolf-spider used a web attack but Alun avoided the worst of it and Mal broke free of the strands. It tried to cloak itself in pure darkness but Alun’s Divine Light countered that. It attacked with tooth and claw but the armor of Teegan, Mal and Alun saved them from the most savage blows. Seeing that it was ineffective against them it fled, thought it did try, unsuccessfully, to take Teegan with it when it plane shifted. It was then that they realised that one of the doors in the spider room was metallic blue. Mal cut his way through the door and we were reunited. We discussed what to do next and I told them of the figure in the next room and that something might also be in the room. Mal could not detect any evil upon opening the door. He looked into the sphere and recognised Alustan. With little thought to himself he charged into the room. Alun cast resist electricity on him, this and his own toughness saved him from the quick bolts of lightning that arced out of the spike. He tried to reach into the sphere to get Alustan but was forced back. Once back in the carpeted room he described what he had felt. Just the Fayne cried out, the Wolf-Spider had returned to the other room and was trying to grab him with one leg stuck through the door. Fayne also resisted the plane shifting of the chimerical vermin. We closed the door again and discussed what to do to help Alustan, I tried a scroll of Dispel Magic but it was not sufficient. I have an idea that the spell may be a Temporal Stasis or something similar. This is a little beyond my expertise but with rest I can rack a few more Dispel Magic to try again tomorrow. Mal is concerned that something may be doing something to Alustan or draining his life in someway. Alun thinks it might have been some kind of trap that Alustan has fallen into or sprung, or been forced into. I am of the mind that Alustan is currently safe, just inaccessible and that if we rest he will still be there in the morning. Whilst I had been considering these matters I had a brief thought that the black pudding might have been Bwimp himself, a very simple material form that is itself quite amorphous. However, I dismissed this, as Ignus seemed confident that he would be aware if Bwimp came too close to him and he mentioned nothing about such a hated chaotic creature being in the very next room. Still, the Wolf-Spider laired not too far from him and he did not warn us of that either. One must think very carefully when dealing with such planar creatures
Ignus finally stopped talking and allowed us to progress. The fire elemental backed off and Ignus retreated back through the door he had come through. Beyond was a corridor cross-shaped intersection. With a warning not to loot anything or any of the interred bodies Ignus pointed to the right hand turn. He moved into the left hand turn and the fire elemental backed up the corridor straight ahead. In the middle of the intersection was a large statue of a winged humanoid. A Wind Duke by the look of it. It seemed to be enchanted this magical effect was giving Fayne a hard time as he tried to get past it. He seemed to be involuntarily seizing up briefly whilst in it’s “sight”. I also noticed several floating glyphs, glowing very faintly in the corridor. Since the glyphs or the statue troubled no one else we carried on. The right hand corridor was quite short ending in double doors that opened easily. Beyond was a large room with a raised walkway around a lower section covered in black tiles. However upon Fayne, Alun and I entering the room we discovered the flooring was actually a Black Pudding spread thinly over the floor. It gathered itself up quickly to an amorphous blob of gigantic size that attacked with long, powerful pseudopods. Alun was the first to be attacked. Fayne cast a Resist Acid spell on him and ran along the left most walkway to the double doors and the far end of the room. Doors were also place halfway down the room on each side. I Dimension-Stepped to be near Fayne and cast Burning Hands on the Pudding. Fire is the cleanser! However it was obviously incredibly tough. Alun ran down the room too. Both Mal and Teegan attacked the thing before getting into the room and moving to the left and right door respectively. Each of their attacks forced the pudding to split, meaning we now had three slightly smaller entities to deal with. I tried the door but he handles just spun in place so I attempted a blind Dimensional Step to get beyond the door. The door was a fake and it was solid rock beyond. I was shunted again into more rock and then ejected into a room. NOTE TO SELF: Don’t Step Blindly! Through the telepathic bond I could hear the others continue to battle the pudding, gaining wounds and losing shields and weapons to the creatures acidic attacks. Mal opened the door by him and drew the attention of one of the puddings. This represented the only way out of the chamber as the door that Teegan opened led into a small shrine dedicated to two Vaati lovers. Forced to flee, Alun Dimension Door’d Fayne and Teegan to be near Mal and they all raced further down the corridor. Though it initially looked like it was going to press the attack, the Black Pudding did not follow them once they reached a room at the end of the corridor. I feel terrible that I was not there to assist them and that I really could have taken Fayne with me, which would have caused him pain during the shunting but saved him from the dangers of the Black Pudding. The room Doctor Sin and I found ourselves in contained another statue. This one was made of solid gold with inlayed eyes, shielded by one of its hands. The other hand bore a weapon that it held aloft. The by now familiar bas-relief décor was present on the walls. Two doors led from the chamber, one facing the statue and behind me as I stood in the room, the other to my right. I drank a healing potion to recover from the side effect of being shunted. I figure that I am still within the same cairn as the others as I don’t think I was shunted much more than 1000ft. This could be outside the range of my remaining Steps and the one Dimension Door I have racked today. Alun suggests that we should rest soon to recover spells and our wits. I heartily agree.
We all moved into the next chamber and used spells and wands to heal some of the wounds taken in the battle with the Belker. I inspected one of the three identical doors that led from this room. It and the carved frieze around the room continued the story of Ekoziel, the mightiest of the Wind Dukes. This tomb seemed to be dedicated to him, with the first cairn belonging to his lieutenant Zoziel. The magic within the doorframes seemed to be pushing fresh air and the smoke from the incense into the room. It was quite noxious in volumes so I did not tarry too long near the door. We identified a number of significant events from the Battle of Pesh; Ekoziel defeating Bwimp and the epic fight against Juiblex. Before progressing I cast a Telepathic Bond on all bar Mal, as I can only get three others with my current version of the spell. Unsure of which door to try Mal suggested a straight-ahead approach, so Teegan used her innate Stonelord’s Stoneshape ability to carve a way around the door opposite the Belker chamber. A short corridor was beyond and another door, to the left. Fayne scouted ahead and entered the room beyond. Unfortunately the pillars of that room hid traps that he tripped. I floated in and nothing happened. Mal also walked in and nothing happened. Mal suggested that it could be based on detecting the ethos of those in the room, as Fayne does not share the same philosophical outlook as the rest of the group. At this point a creature entered the main chamber and spoke to Teegan, who was the nearest to the door. He imperiously told us to remain in the short corridor and began to question our intent within the cairn. It seemed like a salamander but was much larger then is normal for that creature, behind that one was another fire creature of very large proportion. Fayne tried to sneak back in but was spotted. It obviously had some fire-based spell racked and ready and when Mal attempted to enter the room it cast Wall of Fire. Quick thinking by Alun saved the group, as he had got ready to cast a Resist Fire on us on this side of the wall, unfortunately that didn’t include Fayne. As he was on the cool side this was not too bad for him, though it did leave him stuck in the room with the Elder Salamander and what appeared to be a huge fire elemental. Mal then stepped through the wall to talk to the creature. At first he was quite adversarial but the creature (who eventually called himself Ignus Rex, Earl of Coalchester) was impressed by our ability to withstand his spell (and by extension any other magic or ability he might have thrown at us). He questioned us and from the tone and type of questions was trying to determine if we were creatures of law or chaos. He told us that his people had been tricked into service of the Witch Queen at or before the Battle of Pesh and then betrayed. He now serves as guardian of Ekoziel’s tomb as recompense. Should it have come to a fight I had not doubt as to our victory but it would have a waste of magic and a shame really, as Ignus seemed quite noble, in his own strict planar way. NOTE TO SELF: Next chance = rack enough flight spells and resist energy spells We asked him of Alustan and he said “he had come this way but had fled rather than face me.” We asked his permission to follow in his footsteps and I think he has agreed. He did warn us that there are other guardians and that the Cairns. He also told us that they are all connected by portals, proving Alun correct, and are designed by the Vaati (a racial name for the wind dukes I assumed) to be accessed by creatures of Air or those capable of flight. In particular he warned us of Bwimp. He is apparently a reluctant guardian and has no true form, he can appear as anything and is devious, Ignus warned us. His exact words were “disgusting foul blob of protoplasm.” . Ignus also stated that whilst he would shed no tears for Bwimp's death, he would rather we did not kill him as it would leave the cairn vulnerable to attack.
This initial corridor we were in was full of swirling dust and smoke. A feature of the tomb construction, small carved fluting in the stonework, meant that it was also incredibly noisy. Shortly after arriving I felt something assault me, from the inside. It was them I noticed the creatures in the smoke, a kind of prehistoric elemental smoke creature known as a Belker, were hiding in the whirling dust. It had some sort of semi-corporeal claw rammed down my throat but I managed to cough it up and warn the others. The fight that followed was quite harrowing. The Belker were difficult to harm, whilst continuing to dish out damage to us. I was barely able to think enough to cast a spell and relied on acid darts for a while. Luckily it was much quieter in the next room allowing me to cast more effectively, though all I could effectively contribute was a low level Summoning (a wolverine). Teegan proved the most effective against the creatures, felling four of the six that were attacking us. My summoned Wolverine got one and Malakai downed another. So far this cairn is proving a heavy toll on my daily magic.
I called out to everyone that we should retreat; Illthane was probably too great a foe for us to combat effectively in these conditions. I used a Wall of Fire to dissuade her from entering further and told everyone to head to the portal. The wall did not stop her for long however and she burst though to attack Malakai, calling him “Murderer”. Malakai responded in kind. Both Alun and I noticed that she was protected by a number of spell effects. After hitting her with a Lightning Bolt, a Dispel from both Alun and I weakened her enough for Malakai to start doing serious damage. Encouraged by his example Fayne and Teegan both entered the fray, Alun staying out of direct melee to cast spells to support the fighters. Now the tide of battle turned in our favour. Malakai it seems is quite adept and divinely inspired to slay dragons. She tried to flee but was felled by final blows from Teegan and Mal. My final spell of the fight, a Summoned Wildebeest, arrived seconds too late. Still, it came in handy to move the large corpse. We were able to recover many reagents from the corpse; I now have a pint of dragon’s blood (which may come in handy) and a large number of scales (30, which will definitely come handy). Now we had a moment I asked Teegan about the smell and came to the conclusion that Illthane had used her ability to corrupt water to destroy her many potions. This had the added effect of making all the water on her person rancid (including the sweat gathered in her clothes and armor). She poured out the soured potions and the water from her skins, though a few potions it seemed survived the malicious attack. A little while later we all used the portal. It used the Shadow plane, rather than the Ethereal I had expected, to transport us to another corridor, very similar to the cairn though in better repair. Alun posited that the cairn might in fact be part of a network of tombs originally connected by more portals.
We met up with Fayne at a small shack on the road to the cairn, referred to as Ulgo's Place. He told us that he had been to the cairn already and seen a black portal in an area they had passed by the last time they were here. We pressed on to the cairn itself. Malakai flew up on his hippogriff to scout for any sign of a dragon. It was not seen. We entered the underground entrance. The corridors were much wider than I had imagined. Fayne and I went straight to investigate the portal. I was not able to determine much from a casual inspection from this side. I noticed that there was a distinctly unpleasant smell coming from Teegan, Detect Magic did not show anything untoward. NOTE TO SELF, ask permission before scanning anyone, Tegan was rightly unimpressed by my presumption. I had just decided to use the phantasmal steed to enter the portal first (with a rope attached) and was returning to the entrance when Fayne, Mal’s hippogriff and I, were struck by of the black dragon's acidic breath weapon (who was confirmed now as Illthane, who had been the force behind a coup of the Twisted Branch tribe of lizardfolk). Barely keeping my feet I attempted to ground the beast with a casting of Black Tentacles but was it unsuccessful at grabbing her. Alun and Teegan used some healing ability to restore some health to the downed hippogriff, and us, though we, or at least I, could feel the ongoing effects of the draconic acid. I covered the entrance with a Fog Cloud to discourage further attacks from outside. However she stuck her head into the cairn and blasted again, this time felling the hippogriff permanently. Malakai was distraught. I understand his pain, should anything happen to Doctor Sin I am not sure what I would do.
When arrived the next morning it was just outside the town itself, near a ramshackle observatory, which I took to be the location where they first met Filge. Fayne was dispatched to The Whispering Cairn, to scout it out. The rest of would go to town to gather information that might help.
For the last few days the group and their friends, the mining Foreman Terreg and the troops from Blackwall, have taken over a house of Eligos, the magic item dealer whom I knew by reputation. It seems that he perished recently due to the very evil forces that the group are battling against, a great loss to Greyhawk. Over the last couple of nights they have been explaining some of the background to what is happening; their initial meeting in Diamond Lake, the first expedition to the Whispering Cairn, the cult of the Ebon Triad and the fight with the Ebon Aspect, the rivalry with Khellek and Auric, the coup of the Twisted Branch tribe and lifting of the siege of Blackwall and the events leading up to the cataclysm in the Arena to which I bore partial witness. I have pledged to help the Knights of the Cairn Hills in their journey to prevent this “Age of Worms”, they have already uncovered much but I have a feeling that there is a lot more to come. Mal presented to me the spellbook of Freya and allowed me to copy any spells that I did not already have (as Freya was a Diviner, there were a number of spells that I could copy. I also had to purchase a blank book to copy them into). Freya was the only one to fall in the fight with the Ulgurstasta. I need to do some research on this subject. I am feeling distinctly ill informed. The church of Heironeous has, as a favour to Malakai, has now brought Freya back from death, and I have returned her spellbook, I must allow her access to my tomes to return the favour.
Additional.
Additional.
We decided to teleport to Diamond Lake in the morning to investigate, since I had not been to Diamond Lake before I used one of the new spells, Telepathic Bond, to get a strong impression of the place from the others who more familiar with that area.
During the aftermath of the battle at Raknian’s House High Priest Rigby himself visited us. He indicated that this was part of an ongoing conspiracy and that we had more to do to uncover the truth of it. And by “we” he included me with Malakai and his allies. It seems apparent now that I have stumbled into something quite large. I must now make arrangements for the shop and take up an active role in the world once more.
Upstairs Raknian was in cahoots with the Alkilith. The supine form of a man was also in the room along with some broken statues and Raknian’s Zombie servant. Malakai lead the charge into the room along with Teegan and Alundar, who seems to be the group priest. A hard fought battle followed and both Raknian and the Alkilith were forced to flee by demonic means. Downstairs another ally of the group, a man named Haaken, was battling with a Hezrou (almost certainly summoned from the Abyss by the Alkilith). Haaken was forced to flee but with the withdrawal of its master the Hezrou did not stay long to cause more mischief.
The scout of the group, Fayne, suggested that as we were probably under Raknian’s own quarters we should look for an alternative route. I did manage to find it with help from Fayne. A sliding tile puzzle that acted as the trigger for a well-concealed door. Quite ingenious. We raced up the stairs behind the door and found ourselves in Raknian’s mansion. Evidence of combat was found, many dead servants lying on the floor. In the banqueting hall was a scene of real horror. Guests, mostly minor nobles, lay dead amid Worms of Kyuss. Some had died a horrible but final death but others had not been so lucky. Out of the windows we could see more soldiers hunting down any that had escaped this chamber. Moving into the library we heard commotion form upstairs. We also encountered a dispel trap and lost some active spells (Overland Flight and Floating Disk in my case).
The arena had turned into a riot of confusion. The undead starting attacking the remaining crowd. The hurricane that surrounded the arena was picking those that tried to escape back onto the sands. The surviving combatants launched into action, each splitting off to take care of particular issues. I used Dimension Door to get to the University of Wizardly Arts, which is very close by and tried to get the message out about the events inside. It seemed that it had already been noted. I saw a figure atop the point of the pyramid; he seemed to gathering energy for a large casting. I D-Door’d back into the arena. The crowd were by now starting to be herded to an exit. A tunnel was hastily created by a summoned earth elemental to allow the crowd to bypass the locked doors and the hurricane. I joined the fighter and his allies in helping the citizenry to get to the tunnel. Some undead were trying to blend into the crowd, proving themselves quite cunning. But they could not get passed all of the priests and soldiers. I summoned a Hound Archon to help protect the crowd. By know the leader of the group (called Malakai, a paladin of Heironeous) was itching to follow Raknian, who had probably absconded during the chaos. I volunteered to assist. We all descended the gaping hole left by the creature and entered into the under-arena. It was at first a bewildering array of rooms and corridors but they seemed quite familiar with the layout. The rooms below also seemed to be in confusion. A hasty conversation with some soldiers, who seemed to be known to the group, and a running battle and an ever-present green smoke. Finally we all arrived in a small chamber that seemed to be some kind of private chapel. It seems that some kind of ooze creature had been here recently. At this time some of the group started experience telepathic communication from someone. We came under attack from a stinking cloud and Malakai smote a gaseous creature righteously. This seemed to drive it off. A thick Wall of Ice blocked our only way back.
Something major happened in the Arena. During the Champion’s Final a huge worm-like creature burst forth from the arena sands. A cloud of insects erupted spore-like from cysts on its fleshy hide. The combatants in the arena tried to desperately battle it. The panicking crowd jostled me. I noticed that a pile up was occurring by the exits so I shaped an alternative exit in the wall itself and drew attention to it. Hopefully a few lucky souls did manage to escape what happened next. One of the guards stood still while others were trying to help people. I confronted him and he started shouting that I was the evil wizard that had brought forth the worm. A fracas ensued but I withdrew before getting bogged down. However this guard turned out to be more than he seemed. Some spell effects had trapped most of the crowd in the arena, as it turned out for catastrophic purposes, and this guard may have been the source. He certainly had some arcane ability. Turning my attention to the arena floor I tried to assist those fighting the creature. It had somehow summoned undead minions to fight its cause. Some of these had grouped together to attack an armoured fighter. The worm, unfortunately, swallowed this fighter whole. A well-placed Wall of Fire finished off the last of the worm-spawn, leaving everyone to concentrate on the creature. The Worm spat forth a semi-digested victim and seemed to release a wave of necromantic energy. This affected everyone in the arena, killing nearly all the crowd. The guard’s nefarious part of the scheme was thus revealed. It is a shame I did not get to chase him down there and then. Note to self, this villain must be tracked down. It seems that the swallowed fighter managed to survive his ordeal and not only that but to fight his way out of the creature, killing it in the process. Perhaps he and his allies have some information. They have been here in the arena and may have learned something critical, such as to whom the guard may have been allied with. I suspect Raknian ever more, his royal box was covered during the battle and he was not to be seen in the immediate aftermath. To add the to tumult, the citizens that had perished now rose up, under the influence of the necromantic energy that had killed them. Though some powerful mage used a weather effect to contain the undead horde within the arena.
There is a major games on later today, I will attend and hopefully be able to find out more information whilst others are distracted.
My contacts in the city have been unusually quiet but I have inferred from the subtext of conversation that Raknian is making some kind of power play. I have asked around to gather background on him.
With a heavy heart I interred my father this morning. The coffin was installed next to my mother, dead these fifteen years. I now know that it was his illness that killed him not the riots, though looters did do some significant damage to the shop.
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