NOOOOOOOO
Damm that sucks hope the other camp is as good as this one has been
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
THE SPIRES OF XIN-SHALAST
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Sunday, Neth 21st, 4708 (continued)
A way out
The four companions stood victorious in the central hub of Runeforge, among the debris of Runelord Karzoug’s statue, which they had just destroyed.
“We did it!” roared Drithnar. “Take that, you bastard!!!” he added, kicking a stone that had been part of the animated statue. It bounced off into the shadowy recesses of the large room.
“Woohoo!!!” cheered Ruh, jumping up and down.
The stern Navan had a satisfied expression on his face. “Well, we tested those famous Runeforged weapons against Karzoug’s statue. They seemed to work well. Now I guess the next step is to test them against Karzoug himself…”
“Yes,” said Kerista in her gentle voice, “I feel we have stayed in Runeforge long enough. It is now time to return to our world. But I wonder if the way we came from is now barred…”
“Indeed, the warriors of wrath indicated that the eighth corridor was but a dead end for them” said Ruh.
“Only one way to find out…” stated Drithnar.
The group retraced their steps back down the hallway they’d used to enter Runeforge. Indeed, as they had suspected, it now ended in a wall of stone, which didn’t seem different than any other wall in this place, even under Ruh’s magical sight.
“Then this means that we likely need to use a transportation circle to escape this place, as the warriors of wrath hinted at,” concluded Ruh. “But I wonder which one… We saw two of them in the Festering Maze of Sloth, yet Vraxeris wrote about one he supposedly drew in the Halls of Wrath.”
“Why would the Pride guy do something like that in the Wrath place?” asked Drithnar with a frown.
“I know not, perhaps, since those sins are close to one another, at least according to this Sihedron-like representation, this architectural metaphor of philosophical ideals, he felt a sort of kinship toward the warriors of wrath? Indeed, according to his writings, his hatred was greatest for those of the opposed sins, namely Ordikon and the slothful conjurers who only left behind those terrible poisonous clouds in what is now called the Festering Maze of Sloth. And by the way, please do not assume that the school of Conjuration is one that appeals to those of lazy disposition. Not so at all! I guarantee you that the art of Conjuration is a most complex one, which requires tremendous mental discipline, and which can only be mastered after many decades of dedicated studies, in order to avoid unraveling the very fabric of…”
“That’s ok, Ruh,” said Navan, interrupting the little chatterbox. “We know you conjurors are all very professional.”
“Oh. Ah. Uh, thank you, Navan! I just wanted to make sure this place didn’t give us a bad reputation!”
“Well then, I guess we have to leave by one of those conjuration circles. Can you make them work for us, Ruh?” asked Drithnar.
“Most assuredly,” replied the gnome.
“Which one should we use?” asked Kerista.
“I am not sure, but I’d rather try those of the more familiar Conjuration school.”
“The ones in the acid fog??” asked Kerista with a tone of dismay in her voice.
“Oh yes, a little acid never hurt anyone, well, anyone made magically impervious to acid, that is, and besides, I have much greater trust in my esteemed colleagues of ancient Haruka, no matter how slothful they may or may not have been, rather than the works of clumsy amateurs from Cyrusian! Pfff!” she snorted derisively.
And so the companions protected themselves against acid by magic, and ventured into the Festering Maze of Sloth once again. They moved slowly and carefully, making sure to avoid anything that looked like a dangerous spot of slime. They took the central tunnel and followed it all the way back to the temple of Lissala, on the floor of which was drawn a great magical symbol.
Ruh proceeded to study it for over an hour. Finally, she explained to her friends that she had discovered how to activate it, and that she could use it to bring them back to one of the side tunnels that had opened in the white dragon’s cave in Rimeskull Mountain.
“That’s great, Ruh,” said Drithnar. “But I just thought of something. If we bring all the treasure we’ve found in Runeforge into this acid fog… Won’t it kind of… get destroyed?”
The other three looked at him, a little bit taken aback.
“Yes, I … guess it would…” finally said Ruh. “I… really wish I’d thought of that an hour ago.”
Drithnar chuckled. “Ah well. Off to the Halls of Wrath, then, I guess?”
Fear of the unknown
Indeed, the group returned to the Halls of Wrath. On their way out, they had gotten down from the platform upon which the iron golem had stood by using rope ladders that the warriors of wrath had kept nearby; they used the same ones to climb back up. They reached the main hall of the complex, where several of the doors were open, leading into the rooms where surely the warriors had been gathering their belongings. But the companions saw that the warriors were now all in the hall, arguing loudly among themselves in Thassilonian.
“What the hell is going on here?” growled Drithnar in the Giant tongue.
The warriors turned to face him. Several of them had been yelling at a dark-haired woman, who had been crying. The companions recognized her as Lodria, who’d kept very quiet until now.
“Lodria’s afraid of leaving our home,” said the big man called Krog with a sneer. “She is weak and cowardly.”
“She is disobeying your orders, High Lord Drithnar! She refuses to leave and join the glorious war against Karzoug!” added Bakra, the tall blonde woman that the characters had already spoken with earlier.
“Is that true, Lodria?” asked Drithnar more gently this time. “Why don’t you want to leave?”
Lodria sniffed, clearly very upset. She looked at her peers, most of whom were regarding her with utmost disdain for her weakness. “I… I don’t want to leave, High Lord. I won’t do it!”
“Why not?”
“I’ve lived here all my life. This is my home. I don’t know what’s going to become of me out there. I can’t explain really… but I can’t go!”
“Lodria… You’ve been a prisoner here. You have all been prisoners here, all of your lives. Your parents, your ancestors were stuck here, with no chance of escape. But you’re all lucky! We’re giving you a chance to be free!”
Bakra gave Drithnar a military salute. “The rest of us are grateful for your offer, High Lord, and we will follow you back to Golarion and join your army to march against Xin-Shalast, sir!”
“Yeah, thanks. But forget the army for a minute. There’s more to it than that. Lodria, out there, you’ll be able to see the starry sky, to see the sun and the moon, to feel the wind play in your hair, to see wild animals prancing in the woods… and … err… lots of other fun stuff, too! There’s a whole world for you to discover out there! Aren’t you the least bit curious??”
Lodria sniffed loudly, and shook her head. “No… No… I don’t want to go… I don’t… I can’t… I want to stay here, please, High Lord, I beg you!”
Drithnar looked around in dismay, but nobody seemed to have any arguments that could convince the woman.
“You realize that you’ll be the only living being left behind in Runeforge, don’t you?” asked Navan.
Lodria nodded.
“And you don’t mind?”
She shook her head. “Better that than… what’s… out there!”
“Very well,” said Drithnar. “We won’t force you. You can stay here. The rest of you, get ready, we’ll leave soon.”
One other woman approached Lodria gently to say her good-byes, but the other warriors just avoided the “weakling”.
The companions then went to the room where they’d fought High Lady Athroxis and the demon. Ruh studied the circle there, and after some time, she nodded.
“I see how this works. Ingenious. This man Vraxeris was indeed quite skilled in the arts… despite his obsession with illusion magic. I’ll be able to open a portal that will bring us back to the circle of stone heads where we got attacked by Arkrhyst.”
“Better that than appearing at the bottom of his cave!” said Navan.
The companions then returned to the Vault of Greed via Dimension Door spells, and brought their loot into the Halls of Wrath, with the help of the warriors. They had found many potent magical items within Runeforge, as well as many precious magical tomes. Altogether, it made an impressively large pile of treasure. The companions could sure use the help of Drithnar’s new troops to carry it all around. Ruh and Kerista then returned to the room with the giant rune, and Ruh activated it. Indeed, a portal appeared, showing the circle of stone heads in the outside world. The two women went to get the others. The heroes used their protective magic to shield everyone from the effects of the cold they knew was waiting for them outside, and then everyone stepped through the portal and emerged into the chilly, windy night at the foot of Rimeskull mountain.
First contact with civilization
It felt good for the companions to be in the open air again. Even though they’d only spent a few days inside Runeforge, they’d been so disconnected from the natural cycle of their lives that it had felt like much longer.
The warriors of wrath looked around in awe. The spectacle around them was unlike any they could ever have imagined: the snow, the wind, the sky, the mountain in the distance… A few of them shivered nervously, perhaps having second thoughts about leaving Runeforge behind. But others were thrilled. Krog laughed uproariously and threw himself down on the snowy ground, where he started making snow angels. Arak put his arm around another warrior, a beautiful dark-haired woman, and they hugged each other fondly.
“Thank you, High Lord Drithnar,” said Bakra. “You have led us back into the world of our ancestors, a feat that no previous High Lord was ever able to do. And to think that the key to leaving Runeforge was within our very hall the entire time… I am shamed that our mastery of magic was insufficient to unlock it. But now, we are here with you, Lord! We will follow you to glory, we will follow until death! You have but to ask of us for anything, and you shall have it. Anything at all…”
Bakra’s clear gray eyes were fixed on Drithnar, and the ranger had a pretty good idea what the woman implied. She was clearly very zealously devoted to him. She was a beautiful young woman, in perfect physical condition due to her intense training. But he glanced at Kerista uneasily. Although the paladin couldn’t understand the words of the conversation, Bakra’s thoughts were plain to read in her body language.
“Yes, err… Thank you, Bakra, that’s very…err… thank you.”
Of course, the group couldn’t stay in the snow eternally. The companions discussed where to return via teleportation magic. They initially considered Magnimar, so the treasure would be there already, ready to be sold, but they couldn’t think of any place that was both large enough and secure enough to hold the treasure, the heroes, and the eight warriors of wrath.
“Let’s just go back to Sandpoint, then,” said Navan.
“The Cathedral?” suggested Ruh.
“No, let’s go straight to Kerista’s house,” said Navan. “We’ll have more privacy there.”
“What?” asked Kerista. “But… it’s not very big there. And I didn’t clean up before we left on this adventure. I wasn’t expecting to have guests!”
“Bah, come on, Kerista, these people are new to this world. They probably can’t tell a messy house from a clean one!”
So despite the paladin’s protests, her house was chosen as destination, and the spell casters brought everyone there by magic in two trips.
Kerista immediately burst into a flurry of activity: “Everyone please make yourselves at home… Sorry about the mess… No, Krog, please don’t touch that!... Errr… Excuse me… No, please don’t put that there!! Sorry, let me get these out of the way. Would anyone like something to drink?”
It soon became clear that indeed, Kerista’s house was too small to accommodate all twelve people. They stored the treasure in the basement, and then decided to go impose on one of their old friends, even though it was the middle of the night.
As they strolled toward the south shore of Sandpoint, Navan and Drithnar explained to the warriors a few key principles of social etiquette in Golarion. The warriors listened with discipline, but seemed to have trouble grasping some of the more bizarre concepts. Indeed, it was only by talking to people who’d been completely cut off from civilization for so long that the two men realized how many things in society didn’t make any sense at all.
Navan knocked at the door of the Kaijitsu manor, and after a minute or two, a bleary-eyed butler wearing nightclothes opened the door. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the heavily armed troops standing before him.
“Good evening, my good man,” said Navan, “we’re sorry to bother you, but my friends and I have just returned to town and we were wondering if perhaps we could receive your mistress’s hospitality for the night?”
“Well, errr… the hour is quite…” the man stared at Navan, but the hero’s reputation made it quite difficult to refuse the request. “Of course, Mr. Attaway, please come inside. Here. Please wait in the living room to the right, here. I will return with Ms. Kaijitsu in a few moments.”
“It’s all right, we don’t want to wake her up,” said Navan. “If you could just give us some blankets or perhaps a few rooms so we can all sleep for the rest of the night.”
“But sir…” said the butler. “Surely Ms. Kaijitsu would be most upset if I did NOT wake her up for this!”
A few minutes later, Ameiko and Belven came to greet the characters. Belven looked sleepy and quite grumpy to be woken up in the middle of the night, but Ameiko looked wide awake and very excited. She asked many questions to the characters about their most recent adventure, and the strange people who were there. The characters only answered briefly, but promised they would explain more in the morning.
“You brought some denizens of that accursed place into our HOUSE???” whispered Belven angrily, despite the assurances that the warriors of wrath didn’t speak Common.
“Well, we’ll keep an eye on them,” promised Drithnar.
“But how do you know we can trust them? Aren’t they the enemy?” asked Belven.
“No, they answer to me now. We’ve freed them from Runeforge. We just need to… explain to them how things work here.”
“It’s fine, make yourselves at home,” said Ameiko. “We’ll talk some more in the morning.”
Ameiko found some rooms for a few of the guests, and the others were given pillows and blankets and stayed in the living room.
Moonday, Neth 22nd, 4708
Ameiko’s hospitality
The next morning, the characters had breakfast with Ameiko, Belven and the warriors. Not wanting to impose more on their hosts, Navan cast a Heroes’ Feast. Several of the warriors had been in a foul mood that morning, and the characters guessed it was because, for the first time in their lives, they were hungry. Drithnar explained to them (still speaking in the Giantish language) that now that they were out of Runeforge, they had to eat, sleep and drink. A few of them shared dark looks and grumbled in discontent.
“Yesterday he was only telling us about the stars in the sky, and today we learn we have to eat to stay alive… what’s next?” grumbled a scar-faced brute named Meldar.
Kerista, again, couldn’t understand the conversation, but her insight on human nature was so keen that she could follow good chunks of the conversation nonetheless. She sensed the frustration in some of the warriors, and she was worried that perhaps her group had done a very foolish thing in bringing those people to Sandpoint. They could do a lot of damage to innocent people here. They were already upset by something trivial like eating… She shuddered to think how those warriors would react once they realized what their bodies would need to do a few hours after eating…
But for now, they were reasonably happy to be eating the delicious meal in front of them. Ameiko helped herself as well, since some of the magically created food soothed her cravings.
“Again, thank you so much for your hospitality,” said Kerista to Ameiko. “I hate to impose like this, especially since you’re pregnant.”
“It’s my pleasure,” replied the small woman with a smile. “But please, I’m dying to hear about this latest adventure of yours. How did it go? Where did you meet those people?”
And so Kerista told her and Belven a more detailed version of their mission in Runeforge: after slaying a mighty dragon, they had faced wicked wizards, terrible demons, deadly traps, foul undead, and finally, an enormous statue animated by the will of the ancient Runelord Karzoug himself!
“What’s that mark on Drithnar’s forehead?” asked Ameiko. “It wasn’t there before.”
“That’s the mark of wrath. He’s the High Lord of Wrath now.”
“That sounds pretty impressive!” said Ameiko with a grin.
Money for nothing
Meanwhile, Krog spoke to Navan. “Navan,” said the big man, “you said that the cycle of rebirth into the holy ones was now broken. I want to meet some women to mate with.”
“Yes, well, you see, the thing is…” stammered Navan.
“So where can I find some women to mate with? I see that woman over there, she’s with child, so I’m sure there’s some mating going on somewhere.”
“Yes, but the way it works, is that the mating takes place between two consensual people. But you can also use money to buy things.” Navan showed a few gold coins. “These are called coins, and you can use them to buy food, clothes, weapons, or… to get certain women to mate with you. But only at a special place. It’s frowned upon by some people, but there’s a place called the Pixie’s Kitten here that’s such a place.”
Several of the warriors were listening with interest.
“All right,” said Krog. “Where can I find this Pixie’s Kitten?”
Navan gave him directions.
“Can you bring me there?”
“Well, it’s a good way to test your orientation. You can find it yourself.”
The group then decided to give the warriors some money so they could be more independent. They gave each warrior the sum of almost a hundred gold pieces. They described to the warriors the price they should expect to pay for a few basic commodities, like a meal or a room in an inn, so they wouldn’t get ripped off.
“Thank you, sir, we will spend this money wisely, sir!” replied Bakra. But several of the other warriors just took the money without even thanking the characters, probably not fully appreciating the amount of wealth it represented.
Krog looked at the big pile of coins he had gathered. “All right, so how many women can I mate with if I use these?”
“Well, don’t spend it all on women, Krog. You also need to keep some money to cover food, accommodations, and …“
But Krog wasn’t really listening, he just took a large tablecloth from the table, folded it, and gathered some of the Heroes’ Feast into the makeshift bag. Navan looked at the man with shock.
“I should be able to eat for a while with this bag,” said Krog. He stood up and got ready to leave. “All right, then, I guess I’ll see you all later…”
Drithnar also stood up and stopped him. “Wait, you can’t go to the brothel! You don’t even speak our tongue, the girls won’t understand you!”
Krog looked at him in surprise. “You need to talk to mate? Wow, it’s a lot more complicated than I thought.”
“I can show you a spell that’ll make you understand them,” said Ruh, “but they still won’t be able to understand you.”
“How do you say ‘Do you want to mate with me’ in your tongue?”
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”
Krog wrote it down. “All right, so how many women can I mate with using the money you gave me?”
“Krog, you can’t just spend all this money on women,” repeated Navan.
The big man blinked at him. “But why not? We just came out of Runeforge with big bags full of those coins. I could sleep with an army of women if I wanted!”
Navan sighed. “I guess with that amount of money… you could sleep with around a hundred women.”
“Oh, all right, so I just need one of these to sleep with a woman? Good!” He approached Ameiko and placed a coin on the table next to her. “I want to mate with you.”
The companions and Ameiko burst out laughing. “No thanks,” replied Ameiko, and the others translated.
Krog grumbled. “Bah, she’s been mated with already… Not good.” He eyed Kerista for a moment, but decided it would be unwise to approach her.
“Why don’t you ask one of your lady friends to mate with you?” asked Navan. “They’re good-looking, they’re fit…”
Krog shrugged. “I’ve tried, believe me. I’m tired of getting punched in the face… or worse. They’re not worth the trouble.”
“Well, wait a few days. Maybe then we’ll bring you to the Pixie’s Kitten. But I need you to become a bit more familiar with our ways before you mate with anyone yet. The time will come soon enough.”
Meanwhile, the women had resumed talking among themselves.
“So what’s next?” asked Ameiko. “Are you truly going to go against Runelord Karzoug in Xin-Shalast?”
“Yes,” replied Ruh, “I’ve found some indications of where we might find the lost city in the Kodar Mountains.”
“But are you going to rest for a few days before that?”
“Oh, I would expect for more than just a few days. Even though we feel a sense of urgency at the Runelord’s impending return, there are many things we need to do.” She listed them, counting on her fingers, “we need to get in touch with the giants at Jorgenfist to coordinate our attack, I need to correlate the directions to Xin-Shalast I found in Runeforge with those from the library under Jorgenfist, we need to sell the treasure we found in Runeforge to upgrade our equipment – we’re going to need even more powerful things if we are to defeat Karzoug and his minions! Then, I want to study more spells. With all I’ve learned in Runeforge, I think I can manage to access some even higher ranks of spells, but I need to study in a quiet environment for a while. Navan needs some time to read this magical grimoire he found, it’ll bring him even closer to Desna, and then we also need to find some kalsorium crystals for the high-altitude breathing spell I found in Runeforge! And I have no idea where to find those!”
“Wow, that’s a lot…” said Kerista. “You think we’ll have time to do all of that before Karzoug launches his attack on Varisia?”
“We can only hope…” replied Ruh. “But we can’t exactly go charging into the Kodar Mountains without being ready, now, can we?”
Redwing’s letter
Later in the day, the companions brought the warriors of wrath to the Turandarok Academy, where they introduced them to Headmaster Gandethus and a few of the teachers. The aged headmaster was a bit wary of allowing these dangerous people on the premises, but he trusted the heroes’ judgment and led them to an empty classroom. There, the warriors were seated at desks, while Navan and Drithnar took several hours to explain to them in greater detail how the world of Golarion worked, touching many subjects from basic social etiquette to history, geography and even a few words of Common. Although the warriors were like fish out of water in this world, they were smart and learned fast.
Meanwhile, Kerista and Ruh went to see Sheriff Hemlock and Mayor Deverin, and brought them up to speed on the latest developments. They later brought them to the school to see the warriors. Kaven also passed by the school, as well as Brodert Quink.
The old scholar was thrilled to hear about the companions’ foray into Runeforge, and he drilled Ruh for information. He nearly fainted when he learned that the companions were considering venturing into the Kodar Mountains to battle Runelord Karzoug in Xin-Shalast. Although he knew the heroes had performed seemingly impossible feats of courage already, and had defeated many terrible foes, this new mission seemed like suicide even for them.
He brought Ruh back to his house, where the gnome proudly described to him the location of Xin-Shalast, as she’d learned from tomes in Runeforge. But by comparing the coordinates with recent maps of Varisia, Ruh was disappointed to find out that the maps of Runeforge were, seemingly, badly outdated. In the millennia that had followed the fall of Thassilon, the Kodar mountain range had apparently changed in shape, and now it seemed that the directions she’d found in Runeforge were useless.
But as he discussed with Ruh, Mr. Quink suddenly remembered an old letter he’d received from the famous pathfinder Cevil “Redwings” Charms; the man had mentioned some dwarven explorers who were the only people in recent history having claimed to have found Xin-Shalast. Mr. Quink searched in his shelves, eventually found the letter and handed it to the gnome.
It spoke of two dwarven miners, the Vekker brothers, who had managed to get substantial funding from several companies in Janderhoff more than a decade before, as they claimed to have found a road to Xin-Shalast. Alas, their expedition had disappeared, and they’d never been heard from again. Several of the companies who’d invested in them had gone bankrupt, and their name was now cursed in Janderhoff taverns, as they were suspected of having been con men all along, who had lied about finding Xin-Shalast in the hope of stealing honest dwarven money.
“But mister Quink, do you think these Vekker brothers really found Xin-Shalast?”
“I do. I investigated further after receiving this letter from Redwing. It seems that those who knew the Vekker brothers well held them in high regard. I believe they indeed found the way to Xin-Shalast, and that their secrecy was one born of necessity rather than malice. Perhaps if you followed the Kazaron river as indicated in Redwing’s letter, you could find the brothers’ base of operation, and from there, some indication of how to reach Xin-Shalast.”
The two sages then discussed about Redwing’s famous book, “Eidolon”. By the time they were finished, night had already fallen. Ruh headed to the Rusty Dragon, where she met her companions, who were with the warriors of wrath, as well as Sheriff Hemlock, Corporal Basvear, and Kaven. Ameiko had offered to rent out four rooms in the inn to the warriors. The sheriff and his men were currently discussing with the heroes whether, and how, to integrate the warriors into the Sandpoint guard.
About an hour after Ruh’s arrival, Shalelu and Jakardros also joined the companions. They announced that they had been patrolling the region. The two rangers seemed quite wary of the red-armored warriors, but at least, they both spoke the tongue of giants, so they could interact with the foreigners.
Drithnar allowed the warriors to drink one, but only one, mug of beer per night if they wanted. He did not want them to get drunk and cause trouble. Sure enough, as the evening drew to an end, big Krog walked up to Shalelu and offered her a gold piece to mate with him. He got the expected punch in the face. While Drithnar and Navan were struggling to hide their grins, Kerista hurried to explain the misunderstanding to Shalelu.
Krog was still watching the lithe, green-haired elven ranger as he rubbed his bruised jaw. “I think I’m in love!” he exclaimed.
Toilday, Neth 23rd, 4708
Back to Jorgenfist
The following day, while Drithnar and Kerista continued mentoring the warriors of wrath, Ruh teleported to Jorgenfist, and Navan went to Magnimar.
In Jorgenfist, Ruh saw that the Kavarvatti tribe, now led by Conna, had fully settled in the valley that had once been taboo to their people. They were the new watchers of the fortress. The other stone giant tribes, as well as the frost giants, were now gone.
Ruh was greeted by the stone giant watchmen, and she explored the citadel. She saw that Conna was there, as well as Ralazan Stormcloud, the illusionist from Galduria, and Leis Nivlandis, the headmaster of the Stone of the Seers in Magnimar, as well as two of his apprentices. She shared some of the information she’d learned recently with those wise ones, as well as her upcoming, deadly mission. Conna told her that Dwillvir’s tribe had left Jorgenfist a few weeks before, as the old frost giant had seemingly found the information he’d been looking for at long last.
Ruh used some Sending spells to inform Dwillvir of her findings. He replied that he was on the way back to the Kodar Mountains, as he had found the way to save his people. He said it would be dangerous, and asked Ruh to come join him once she was ready.
The gnome also contacted Sebania, who was in Galduria and doing well. Once that was done, she returned to the huge library, where she was greeted by the metallic voice of the clockwork librarian.
“My friend, we have a lot of work ahead of us!” she said cheerfully. “So many spells to learn, so little time!”
Wealday, Neth 24th, 4708
Domineering impulse
Navan was walking the streets of Magnimar, amidst a crowd of people. The sky was overcast, and a wind blew from the western sea. The citizens were dressed warmly, but were bent against the chill wind, cursing the bad weather.
“You’ve got bigger problems than the weather, you pathetic weaklings. A Runelord is about to invade Varisia, and once again, you’re expecting me to take care of it while you stand idly by and go about your meaningless lives.”
Navan stopped suddenly. Where had that thought come from? It did not seem his own…
He looked down at the crossbow that was holstered at his side. The weapon imbued with the sins of pride and lust… Indeed, since he’d plunged the weapon into the pool in Runeforge, he’d felt it had gained a personality of its own, always trying to insert its own insidious thoughts into his own, magnifying certain aspects of his personality, namely those two sins.
He remembered fondly the night of passion he’d just spent with Acacia, who’d been delighted to see him return to her side. How much of his behavior had been of his own desire, and how much had been brought on by the crossbow?
Navan steeled his soul: he would have to remain ever vigilant to guard himself against the weapon’s influence. And he knew his friends would have to do the same.
The priest was going throughout the various jewelry, armor and magical item shops in Magnimar, trying to locate buyers for the treasure they’d brought back from Runeforge, and to find some skilled mages who could increase the enchantments on their already potent equipment, but so far, it wasn’t going very well. Few merchants in Magnimar were rich enough to buy even one of the mighty items that comprised the hoard, and none of the wizards were skilled enough to perform the complex enchantments he required. Some of those he had talked to had hinted that even headmaster Leis Nivlandis wouldn’t be able to help. But some of them had pointed toward the Golemworks, where lived a mysterious mage who was rumored to be one of the most powerful in Varisia: Toth Bhreacher, the golem maker.
Oathday, Neth 25th, 4708
The Golemworks
Navan didn’t have any more success the following day. It seemed that Magnimar’s market just wasn’t rich enough to provide what he needed. Going to Korvosa to try his luck did not seem like a valid option: he had heard rumors indicating that things were not well in that city. Its old king had died earlier in the year and the city was now ruled by his foolish young widow, who apparently wasn’t doing a very good job at it. To make things worse, a plague had hit the city, which had been quarantined for some time. No, Magnimar was much better off than its rival.
So Navan decided to follow the wizards’ advice and to go visit the Golemworks. They consisted of a few ordinary-looking warehouses under the shadow of the Irespan. The only thing that seemed odd was the incredible amount of ravens that were perched on the roofs there. He was reminded of the undead crows of Foxglove Manor.
The cleric approached the largest warehouse and knocked at the front door. After a minute, a blue-haired gnome in dark artisan’s clothes answered him.
“May I help you?” asked the gnome.
“Good day, I am Navan Attaway and I would like to speak with Toth Bhreacher about a business proposition.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about you, Mr. Attaway. It’s an honor to meet you! Please come in.” The gnome led Navan inside, where he pointed at a few chairs in a sitting room cluttered with many figurines and statuettes. “My name is Kaboxil Fondroovinshmikan and I work for Mr. Bhreacher. We provide many different kinds of mechanical servants, toys and guardians. What kind of automaton do you wish to purchase, Mr. Attaway?”
“Actually, I don’t have such a purchase in mind. I would like to see if Mr. Bhreacher could enchant some armors and other magical items used for adventuring.”
“Oh, I see. Mr. Bhreacher is currently working on an important project, but let me see if he can spare some time to hear your request, Mr. Attaway.”
Kaboxil returned a few minutes later. “Mr. Bhreacher will see you. Please follow me.”
The gnome led Navan through a series of dark, cavernous storage rooms. Within these were placed many humanoid statues. Some of them were of gigantic proportions and represented black-skinned men with the heads of ravens, armed with exotic weapons. Navan couldn’t remember ever seeing such golems anywhere in Varisia, and he wondered how Toth Bhreacher’s business could be profitable: did people really buy golems?
Eventually, they entered a laboratory filled with all manners of magical gizmos. Around a huge slab of stone, several men worked at assembling another one of the gigantic raven-headed golems.
“Mr. Attaway is here, sir,” said Kaboxil loudly over the noise of the workers.
A tall, thin man had been soldering parts of the golem with a wand, but he stopped his work when the gnome spoke. He turned around and gazed at Navan. His wiry gray hair was wild; his nose and chin were long, and he wore large goggles that glowed with a blue light. Navan thought the man looked like a raven himself. He moved gracefully despite his obviously advanced age.
Toth Bhreacher removed the goggles, and Navan saw that it was not them, but rather, the man’s own eyes that glowed with a blue light. Just like Ruh’s: they were enchanted with Arcane Sight.
“A pleasure to meet you, Navan Attaway. I am Toth Bhreacher.” said the old man in a surprisingly deep and smooth voice.
“Nice to meet you,” replied Navan. The men shook hands. “I’m sorry, I know how busy you must be making all those golems.”
“Kaboxil here told me that you had a business transaction to propose?”
“I do.”
“Then please follow me to my office, it is quieter there.”
The tall man led Navan to a side office where they were shielded from the cacophony of the golem factory. Just as he had expected, Navan saw that the room was cluttered with all kinds of mechanisms, statuettes, scrolls, and drawings of glyphs or golems.
Toth offered a chair to Navan, and sat down behind the desk with the grace of a bird of prey.
“What brings you here?” he asked.
“I was surprised that your assistant Kaboxil knew about me, I haven’t really tried to publicize my adventures, although it’s true that things have happened in Varisia lately in which my friends and I have been involved. I’m not sure what’s your awareness of those events.”
“Your name is known among some of the high circles in Varisia and elsewhere as well. It is known here in Magnimar that you’ve eliminated a cult of deranged murderers. You’re also the ones that Varisia can thank for defeating the giant Mokmurian, whose army was threatening to invade it.”
“Yes, but the true evil behind all of those surges of evil is the rise of an ancient Runelord of fabled Thassilon. Karzoug is his name, and although we only met him twice by proxy, it would seem he definitely intends on conquering Varisia, and if he can, the entire world. My friends and I have been working very hard to try to prevent that from happening. The next step in our quest is to actually go and fight him, in his lair. This is where you come in, and it’s why I came to you: obviously, for such a mission, we need specially tailored gear that none of the wizards I’ve spoken to so far in Magnimar seem to be able to provide. And then we thought of you: our local expert in building magical things. With luck, perhaps you’d be able to upgrade, for example, this armor I’m wearing under my robes.”
Toth examined the mithral chain shirt with his arcane sight and an Identify spell.
“Exquisite,” he muttered. “Where did you find this?”
“In a demi-plane that once belonged to the Runelords of old Thassilon. A place called Runeforge.”
“Really?” said Toth, stroking his chin. “So it does exist…”
“It does.”
“Fascinating… How was it there?”
“It was divided in seven sections, each one attuned to one of the schools of magic of Thassilon. Within each lived a small civilization of descendants of the days of that empire.”
“You mean that there were still people there, following their Runelord’s bidding since the fall of Thassilon?”
“Pretty much.”
“Incredible… You see, Mr. Attaway, you come to me speaking of Runelord Karzoug, a figure of myth, awakening from ancient slumber and threatening to bring the entire world under his control. There are some people who would think that you’re completely mad… But rest assured that I am not one of them. We would indeed be in dire straits if Runelord Karzoug were to come back to Golarion. There are not many people in the world who could stand up against his might.”
“But this is a reason why we went to Runeforge in the first place,” replied Navan. “Perhaps you could also identify this.” And he placed his crossbow on the table.
Toth started to examine the item, but as soon as he touched it, he pulled back his fingers with a yell of pain: there was smoke coming out of them. He cursed in Draconic.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that would…” stammered Navan, surprised that the weapon had affected Toth like this.
“It’s all right… Only a slight wound. I can see that this weapon is imbued with potent magic: it is a weapon of bane against practitioners of transmutation magic. You mean to use it to slay Karzoug, don’t you? It would seem that the Runelord and I share one interest. Hopefully, only one.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to heal you?”
“I will gladly accept,” and Toth held out his hand for Navan to heal it. “Thank you. Please, take this weapon out of my sight.” After Navan did so, Toth continued: “But I will rest better knowing that, Desna willing, Karzoug will feel its sting, and that it will be the end of him. You come to me to enhance your equipment; indeed, you and your companions are very brave. And very powerful, from what I’ve gathered. But to face a Runelord… One wonders if any four mortals of our age could do it… Many of the ancient secrets of magic have been lost since the days of Thassilon.”
“Well, our plan is that, while we sneak into his fortress to deal with him personally, we’ll also have help from tribes of giants from the Kodar Mountains: they also don’t see Karzoug’s return in a favorable light. They were slaves to his people, long ago.”
“Truly, those are great news… The best news I’ve heard in a long time… I’m afraid, though, that I won’t be able to help you for free. In fact, I will have to charge you a hefty sum.”
“Of course, that’s all right.”
“I assume you have found great treasures in your adventures?”
Navan nodded. “And those treasures in turn will allow you to fund more of your golem-making activities. Though I must say, I’m surprised to see so many golems here. I’ve been aware of your reputation for a long time, even though I never met you, but I was wondering, because I’ve never seen any golems being used in Magnimar. Knowing that there’s a great golem maker in this very city, I was surprised. I guess they’re mainly for export purposes?...”
“You guessed correctly. We do sell some minor constructs to rich people in the region, and the city also uses some as guards or for mindless labor. But there are places where my greater creations are much needed.”
“Where is that, if I may ask?”
“I must apologize… I cannot reveal that information at this time.” The old man paused for a few moments. “Perhaps another time. Could you please describe to me what manners of enchantments you and your companions would require?”
Navan took out a piece of paper on which he’d written what everyone in the group would need, and read it out to the wizard.
Toth considered the list thoughtfully, with his hands joined together below his chin. “Hmm. That is quite an impressive list of magical items. Some of them are within my power to enhance or create. But for others, I must admit that I do not have the knowledge to help you personally. However, some of my associates are very skilled in the art of creating magical items that I cannot make. I will contact them today. Please come back tomorrow and we will let you know if we can help you.”
And so Navan left the Golemworks, pondering what he’d discussed with the old mage.
|
|
Fireday, Neth 26th, 4708
Allies from a distant land
Navan returned the following day, and once again, Kaboxil led him into the Golemworks. This time, Toth Bhreacher was accompanied by three very unusual-looking individuals, whom he introduced to Navan.
The first was a huge, muscular, red-skinned, horned humanoid wreathed in flames: an efreeti called Al’Hodras. The second was a tall, dark-skinned man with a long black moustache and a staff with a carved snake coiled around it; his name was Arclord Tanno. The third was a half-elf with blood-red hair, dressed in black robes inscribed with tiny red runes. His left hand was missing, and it had been replaced by a glowing red crystal globe. He was called Arclord Melnorem.
“Gentlemen,” said Toth, “this is Navan Attaway, of the group of adventurers I told you about.”
Navan and the three strange men bowed to each other.
“My associates have agreed to set some time aside to enchant your items,” continued Toth, “for indeed, your quest is a valorous one. We wish to aid at least in this way. However, I would ask you and your companions to please keep their identities to yourselves, for they are Arclords who come from the distant land of Nex.”
“Arclords?” asked Navan, unfamiliar with the title.
“We follow the ancient teachings of Nex himself,” replied Arclord Tanno with a thick foreign accent.
“You go against a Runelord?” asked Arclord Melnorem. “That is a bold endeavor. It is quite fascinating that such a powerful being comes to life again in our age; but of course, such an entity of the past would only come to clash with the current powers of Golarion, such as Nex.”
“Have you heard of the land of Nex?” asked Arclord Tanno.
“Yes, I’ve heard some tales about it,” replied Navan.
“As you may know, our land has been at war, either openly or secretly, with the land of Geb for a long time; some say that this conflict will never end. But no matter; we come from the city of Quantium, where the materials to make powerful magical items are in abundance. We will be able to enhance your items as you desire, and we can even provide transportation for you, should you wish to sell some of your acquired treasure in the vast markets of Quantium.”
“That would be most appreciated,” said Navan. “Through the good graces of Desna, my goddess, I’m able to teleport over great distances, but only to places I’ve been in the past. I’ve never been far from Varisia.”
“We commend you and your friends on your bravery,” said Al’Hodras in his deep voice. “We hope you will be successful in your mission, it would be most unfortunate if you met a terrible end facing this Runelord.”
“To be perfectly honest with you,” added Arclord Melnorem, “we are somewhat skeptical regarding your chances. But nevertheless, we admire your bravery. Were you to succeed in defeating the legendary Runelord Karzoug, you would become the stuff of legend yourself. You would ascend to an elite circle of power at the level of Golarion itself. The land of Nex is a powerful one, and we always seek valuable allies.”
“Among those is Toth Bhreacher here, who’s been helping us for decades,” said Arclord Tanno.
“We hope that, should you be victorious over Runelord Karzoug, we will have the chance to work with each other in years to come,” continued Arclord Melnorem.
“Probably, possibly, but as one might say, one thing at a time,” replied Navan. “I’m not saying that my group’s quest is an easy one, maybe we’re going to our doom… But I have faith in Desna, and that’s what’s carrying me forward.”
Later that same day, Navan returned to Sandpoint via teleportation. He used a Sending spell to ask Ruh to join him and the others, and she also teleported back from Jorgenfist. That night, the four companions dined together at the Rusty Dragon, and Navan described to them what had happened in Magnimar. They discussed this and agreed to go to Quantium and take the Arclords’ offer. It would take the powerful mages forty days to enhance the group’s equipment. In the mean time, the companions had been invited to stay in Quantium.
“I’m a bit worried about leaving the warriors of wrath behind, though,” said Kerista. “Headmaster Gandethus has taught them the Comprehend Languages spell, at least, which is good. But I still feel some evil within them. I think at least some of them will be able to abandon their evil ways, but I fear that some might not.”
“Do you know which ones?” asked Navan.
“Well, Krog is very loud and seems brutal. Meldar, the scar-faced one, seems very ill-intentioned as well. On the other hand, I sense that Bakra is totally devoted to Drithnar and wouldn’t disobey any of his orders. Likewise, Simri seems to be much more peaceful than her brethren. Actually, she doesn’t want to come with us to wage war on Karzoug unless we ask her to. She would rather stay here in Sandpoint, and perhaps teach the kids magic at the academy; once she’s learned out language, that is.”
“Yeah, I don’t trust those two guys, but those two girls are all right,” said Drithnar. “And then there are the two couples.”
“Couples?” asked Navan, puzzled.
Kerista smiled. “It seems that since we liberated them, as you suggested, Navan, they’ve abandoned their strict rules about mating. Arak and Targonna are always together, as are Shirag and Diria.”
“Do you think they’d behave if we left them in Sandpoint?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Well, I don’t feel like babysitting a whole army when we get to Quantium,” said Drithnar. “I say we just bring Krog and Meldar, since they’re the two most likely to cause trouble. Let’s leave the others here, and ask the rangers to keep an eye on them.”
Starday, Neth 27th, 4708
Welcome to Quantium
The following day, the companions said good-bye to their friends and family in Sandpoint, and gave instructions to Sheriff Hemlock, the two rangers, and to the warriors of wrath. Drithnar asked Bakra, in private, to keep an eye on the others, since she seemed to be the most responsible one of the lot.
Then, the companions teleported to Magnimar with Krog and Meldar. They met Toth Bhreacher at the Golemworks, and the old wizard led them to the depths of his factory, where, in a dark room adorned with strange glyphs, a portal of swirling blue light shone within an oval frame of metal.
The group followed Toth somewhat warily through the device, but they emerged safely in a similar-looking dark room. They saw a few mages there, working on some sort of ritual. Toth led the characters up some long stairs, and past vast hallways lined with statues. Finally, they emerged on a landing bathed in warm sunlight and where they had a view of ancient splendor: before them sprawled the immense city of Quantium under a sky of deep azure. The architecture looked alien but very beautiful. The city was so huge that it made Magnimar look like a village in comparison.
“Welcome to Quantium!” said Toth, gesturing with this arm to encompass the entire city.
The companions were soon greeted by Arclord Tanno and some of his servants, who were given instructions to take care of the group’s belongings and to show them to their sumptuously furnished quarters. They were located in the Bandeshar, the most majestic building in the city; it had once been the palace of Nex himself. The ancient archmage had apparently left this world for a magical dimension whose entrance was below the keep. Over the centuries, many thieves and explorers had ventured down there, but none had ever returned.
Ruh felt an incredible sense of awe at being in this place. Nex was one of the most legendary wizards of history. And soon, she and her companions would face another legendary mage, Karzoug the Claimer. If they indeed managed to vanquish that evil man, they would themselves ascend to the rank of legends, and would be known forever in the history of Golarion!
Once they were settled in their apartments and that they had explained in greater detail the enhancements they wanted the mages to put on their magical items, the companions left the Bandeshar and explored the neighboring area of the city, with one of Arclord Tanno’s servants as a guide.
The local population consisted mainly of humans, whose skin was much darker than those of Varisians or Chelaxians. But there were also some fair-skinned humans, as well as many people of non-human races and even a few monsters. Seeing that the adventurers were wary to see such beings, the guide assured them that in Quantium all were welcome regardless of race, and that hate crimes were severely punished here.
Of course, Krog and Meldar, who had already been impressed when they had first entered Sandpoint, and even more so when they had seen Magnimar, were in awe of this ancient city and the frantic activity of its crowded streets.
Moonday, Neth 29th, 4708
The marvels of Nex
For the following two days, the companions continued exploring the city. The Common tongue was not the most popular one in Quantium, as most people were more fluent in Osiriani or Kellish, but enough of the locals spoke Common that the characters were able to get by. The adventurers sold much of their accumulated treasure during those two days, and obtained a large sum of money that would allow them to pay the Arclords for their services. They also bought a few magical items.
They saw more of the city in those two days. Among the many exquisite sights, one of the most beautiful was the great fountain of living water in the Warlock’s Walk, where water elementals danced gracefully before the delighted onlookers.
Yet even more impressive were the two golems of colossal proportions who circled tirelessly the plaza’s perimeter, as they had done for millennia. Both seemed to be made of metal; one had a greenish tinge, while the other was crimson. The companions learned that the warriors had been there since Nex’s time, and that in time of great peril, they came to the city’s defense.
The four major temples of the city were dedicated to Irori, Abadar, Nethys and Pharasma. Many other religions were also worshipped in the metropolis, but it seemed that this far south, Desna was not as well-known as in Varisia.
While the group was doing its business in town, Meldar suddenly became aware that a thief had lifted his purse. The warrior immediately reacted by casting Magic Missiles at the young man, who collapsed under the impact. Meldar then walked up to him, took his purse back, and cut off the thief’s head. The companions, shocked, tried to explain to him that such punishment had been much too harsh, and when a patrol of guards arrived, they made no effort to defend Meldar’s actions. The guards moved to take Meldar into custody. The scar-faced man looked at them and at the adventurers angrily, and spat on the ground. Then, he started casting a Fireball spell at the guards, but his spell was unraveled by Krog, who had been waiting for him to react just in that way, and had cast a counterspell.
Drithnar and Kerista helped the guards to neutralize the struggling warrior, and they were relieved to see him being carried off to ward a prison: they didn’t want to have to deal with him anymore.
“I’m glad he’s gone,” observed Krog. “I never liked him, and I thought he would turn on you some day. It’s good he never got the chance.”
“I hope you won’t give us a reason to treat you the same way we treated him,” said Drithnar.
“You won’t,” assured the big warrior.
That night, as the companions dined together in their luxurious quarters in the Bandeshar, Arclord Melnorem joined them and told them the story of Nex, who had risen in power to become one of the world’s greatest archmages, over five thousand years ago. He had founded this nation which bore his name, and for a long time, he had been at war with the land of Geb to the south, which was also ruled by a powerful wizard. The conflict between Geb and Nex had been devastating, and much of the lands of Nex had been turned into a barren wasteland due to the magical energies that had been released during the war.
After over a thousand years of war, Geb’s forces had released a terrible cloud of poison on the city of Quantium, which had killed thousands of people, and had forced Nex to retreat beneath the Bandeshar, in what had become known as Nex’s Refuge. Since that fateful day, the mysterious wizard had never again been seen in Golarion.
Oathday, Kuthona 2nd, 4708
One hell of a ride
Over the following few days, while the two women remained in Quantium, Navan, Drithnar and Krog explored the region around Quantium on horseback. Just as Arclord Melnorem had said, it was rather bleak, as it had been blasted by centuries of magical warfare. The land was arid, and there was little wildlife. The men heard rumors, and saw signs of brigands and monsters roaming the wilderness.
One day, as they stood at the top of a high hill, Navan looked at a map of the Inner Sea region, and looked over the horizon.
“I wonder if Ruh would be able to summon a Phantom Steed that would allow me to get to the middle point between here and Varisia. That way, I’d be able to teleport between here and Varisia freely in two steps.”
“That would make one hell of a ride…” replied Drithnar.
“Ruh’s mounts can fly at incredible speeds. If I flew for the full fourteen hours that the creatures last, I might be able to make it far enough.”
Drithnar chuckled. “Bah! But where’s the fun in that? Think of all the exciting things you would miss along the way! Nah, Desna’s most precious gift is the wonder of exploration. You wouldn’t want to miss that, would you?”
Sunday, Kuthona 5th, 4708
Immortality’s lure
During her stay in Quantium, Ruh started learning other complex spells to add to her repertoire. She got to know some of the Arclords better, and she also crossed the portal and visited Toth on a few occasions. She talked to him about Vraxeris’s work in Runeforge, and his breakthrough discovery that allowed someone to clone their body almost indefinitely. She couldn’t use that necromantic procedure, but asked Toth if he’d be interested in purchasing it.
“Such knowledge is at once miraculous and terrible,” replied the old man. “In one way, it represents eternal life, yet in another, it means dying countless times. You know, Ruh, I never got married and I never had children, but I hope that my creations will remain behind as my legacy in this world, long after my frail organic remains have decomposed.
“I find it ironic that I’ve spent so much of my life building golems from material gathered from the ruin of the Irespan, which was created long ago by the Runelords. I feel like a beggar eating the discarded remains of a lord’s meal. And soon, you and your friends will face one of the Runelords in what seems like an inevitable battle. Those ancient mages have such an aura of legend and wonder. It feels almost sacrilegious to think of killing one of them. But they are wicked, and it must be done.
“Where did they go wrong, though? How did they let themselves become so corrupted? And will the same thing happen to our society down the line? As our knowledge of magic grows and grows… Will it take a great cataclysm to stop us then, for humanity to start anew once again?”
Desna’s answers
Meanwhile, the three men had returned to Quantium. The adventurers had many questions on their mind, but they wondered whether or not to use the Quill of Revealing. If it had been created by Karzoug or one of his allies, would it give them the answers they needed, or try to lead them astray?
Finally, Navan decided to ask a more reliable source, and he performed a ritual to Commune with Desna. He learned the following:
“Can we trust the Quill of Revealing’s answer regarding questions touching Karzoug?”
“Not entirely”
Has Nualia’s body been raised from the dead?
“No”
For the safety of Sandpoint, would it be better if we burned Foxglove Manor?
”Burning is not enough”
Would casting a Hallow spell after burning Foxglove Manor be enough?
”Close”
Has Xanesha returned to Magnimar?
“No”
Is Xanesha seeding corruption anywhere in Varisia at the moment?
“No”
Is there matter to worry about concerning the Halflings and the Hellknight seen in Magnimar a year go?
“No”
Do we have, as it is now, all that we need to enter Xin-Shalast?
“No”
Would it be safe for me to remove the Mark of Justice from Kaven’s forehead?
Why?
Moonday, Kuthona 6th, 4708
The exorcism
The following day, Navan, Drithnar and Kerista decided to return to Sandpoint while Ruh remained in Quantium to study. They wanted to put an end to the curse of Foxglove Manor once and for all: although they had defeated Aldern there the previous year, they knew that a great evil still lurked within.
Kerista spoke of the time when Zeeva Foxglove, one of Aldern’s sisters, had come to visit Sandpoint a few months after Aldern’s death. She had traveled there from Korvosa after receiving news of her brother’s demise. Kerista and Drithnar had explained to her the terrible story of Aldern’s corruption. The young woman had seemed very troubled by it all, obviously, but she’d also stated that she wanted to go take a look at the mansion. Kerista had advised against it, but Zeeva insisted. Escorted by the two adventurers, the young woman had gone there, and after witnessing a few of the horrible haunts that plagued her childhood home, she fled in terror. She told the adventurers that she would never come back, and returned to Korvosa.
Kerista remembered the quiet young woman well; she had been quite unlike Aldern, much more modest, and in her dark eyes, it was obvious that she was still haunted by her troubled past. She wished she could’ve done more to help her. And now the woman was in Korvosa, where chaos reigned. She might still be in grave danger…
Based on discussions he had on the subject with Ruh while they were still in Quantium, and later with Father Zantus in Sandpoint, Navan thought that the core of the evil of Foxglove Manor seemed to be the man-shaped fungal growth that they’d seen in the room where they’d fought Aldern. Navan bought some expensive holy items to perform his sacred ritual to exorcise that evil, and then the three companions returned to Foxglove Manor.
The place was just as sinister as when they had visited it the first time, and despite their now much greater power, the companions still felt a sense of dread as they entered the house. Navan had warded them with powerful protective magic, so they were immune to the haunts that still appeared inside. New swarms of rats also infested the basement, but Navan destroyed them with a Flame Strike spell.
The companions went down into the bowels of the haunted mansion, past the decayed corpses of ghouls, past the huge “breathing” cavern, and into the horribly foul-smelling room where Aldern’s corpse was still rotting. The heroes had to brave the stench of it for many hours as Navan performed the lengthy Hallow ritual on the sickly green, thorny mold that stained the far wall of the room.
For hours and hours, Navan chanted prayers to Desna, while the two warriors stood guard. Eventually, they grew weary, but kept on going despite the fatigue that was setting in…
Toilday, Kuthona 7th, 4708
Finally, at long last, twenty-four hours later, Navan uttered the last prayers in a hoarse voice. A radiance of holy moonlight appeared in the room, and with that, the man-shaped fungus tore itself free of the wall, howling hideously. Navan cast a Consecrate spell on it, and the thing writhed in final, true agony, and finally it crumbled to dust. The companions sensed immediately that, despite the foulness of the air, a tension had been lifted from them. As they made their way out of Foxglove Manor, they realized that its evil seemed to finally be gone: they had exorcised the place!
Oathday, Kuthona 9th, 4708
Two days later, the companions had gotten the chance to rest and recover from the unpleasant trip. Ruh also joined them by teleportation. That evening, they gathered at the Vigandirs’ to celebrate Kerista’s 20th birthday. Toloria and her family had decorated the place beautifully, and the house was soon crowded with many of Kerista’s relatives and friends: Sheriff Hemlock, Mayor Deverin, Father Zantus, Milenken, Cyrdak, Brodert Quink, Ameiko, Belven, Fendris, Bagurtak, Shalelu and Jakardros. The warriors of wrath were also there, and the companions learned that most of them were helping in the town guard in the mean time.
Kaven was present, and the companions noticed that he spent a lot of time with Simri, the warrior of wrath who wanted to teach magic at the academy. The two seemed to really hit it off.
Father Andrall, the local priest of Abadar, attended the celebration and asked the companions if they were truly going to travel to Xin-Shalast, the legendary city of gold. He seemed excited to hear that such a place really existed, and in his eyes, they saw a glimmer of greed…
Fireday, Kuthona 10th, 4708
Tales from the World’s Roof
The following day, Ruh returned to Magnimar and contacted the Pathfinders there. She gave them a report on her latest adventures in Runeforge, which she’d written during her stay in Quantium. The Pathfinders were, of course, fascinated to hear about this. She also questioned them about the Kodar Mountains and the Vekker brothers that Brodert’s letter had mentioned.
Looking at some of the many maps available at the lodge, Ruh and the Pathfinders realized that Mhar Massif had never been found even by explorers who had access to flying magic. Winds, blizzards, flying predators, as well as some kind of warping magic in the region had always blocked such dangerous exploration.
Many people had tried to find the legendary city of gold over the years, but apart from the Vekker brothers, it seemed that nobody had ever found Xin-Shalast and returned to tell the tale. Ruh frowned as she got confirmation that the maps she’d found in Runeforge which showed the location of Xin-Shalast in the days of Thassilon were badly outdated. She felt that Mhar-Massif must still exist, but had no evidence to prove it. One thing looked certain, though: the Kodar Mountains looked very inhospitable. They were even known by the Shoanti as “The World’s Roof”.
Ruh learned from the Pathfinders the general location of the Vekkers’ cabin in the Kodar Mountains: finding it wouldn’t be easy, but at least now she had a rough idea where to look. It was in the lower reaches of the Kodar Mountains, relatively close to Guiltspur, a very dangerous place ruled by a terribly powerful evil dragon, which was enslaving ogres and forcing them to dig in an old Thassilonian ruin.
The gnome then tried to contact Dwillvir the oracle via Sending, but received no answer. She also tried to contact his daughter Gunnidra, but had no answer from her either. Strange… Wondering whether the giants were in danger, or merely ignoring her spells, she used the Quill of Revealing to learn whether she could rely on the giants for the upcoming assault on Xin-Shalast. The answer she received was:
“The great oracle of ice will be of aid
In securing the fallen one’s domain.
Three rings of power must be stolen,
So the tyrant’s hold may be broken.”
Moonday, Kuthona 20th, 4708
Ruh wonders
A few days later, the companions returned to Quantium. The Arclords were still working on enchanting their items. Drithnar and Kerista had the chance to visit the city together and to enjoy what it had to offer, spending time in beautiful gardens and sampling the exotic local food.
Navan wished he could bring Acacia here with him and enjoy the city in her company, but he had promised to keep the existence of the portal a secret even from her. He found himself talking about the beautiful red-haired woman to Krog one evening, who told Navan that he had enjoyed Shayliss’s company the last time he had been in Sandpoint. He seemed quite smitten with the charming young woman, but Navan wondered amusedly how long the flirtatious blonde would remain interested in the huge warrior, especially with the language barrier.
A few of the local wizards spoke with Krog during his stay, as they were interested to learn about Thassilonian magic: the knowledge of evocation magic that had been passed from generation to generation in Runeforge had been almost perfectly preserved over the millennia.
Ruh also spent a lot of time with the wizards at the Bandeshar. She spoke with Arclord Tanno about Vraxeris’s book of cloning, and the wizard paid her a hefty sum to purchase the precious tome.
The gnome was worried by one thing that had been mentioned in Vraxeris’s notes: the occlusion field surrounding Xin-Shalast. She couldn’t figure out how to bypass it, because she wasn’t sure of its nature. Would wielding Runeforged weapons be sufficient to get through it? Vraxeris had said it was linked to Karzoug’s Runewell: what was that thing? Where was it? The group had found a magical pool of energy under Sandpoint, but that one had likely belonged to Alaznist. Was Karzoug’s Runewell the elemental arcana pool in Runeforge’s Vault of Greed?
She had no definite answers…
Fireday, Abadius 1st, 4709
More than another week of rest in Quantium followed. The warm, mostly sunny weather this far south was surely much preferable to the cold, rainy winter season of Varisia, and a few of the characters wondered if they might perhaps spend all of their winters here from now on.
They took part in the great celebration that was held for the new year, and mingled with the city’s elite. Their stay in Quantium was most enjoyable, but more and more, the heroes were getting restless: Karzoug’s menace was growing stronger in their minds. They couldn’t stay here forever. Thankfully, most of their items were ready by now. Only one more week, and they would be ready to start their adventure.
During this “vacation”, Navan had the chance to read the Tome of Understanding they’d found in Runeforge, and his already considerable wisdom was increased.
Oathday, Abadius 7th, 4709
Unable to adapt
A week later, the Arclords handed the last of the magical items to the companions. As they had promised, they had been imbued with great power, and with them, the adventurers were more powerful than ever. In exchange, the group paid them the last part of a large sum of money they owed them. They had gained an incredible amount of wealth from their latest venture in Runeforge, but now most of it was gone.
The four friends returned to Sandpoint, and were dismayed to learn that all had not been well in their absence. On new year’s eve, two of the warriors of wrath, Shirag and Diria, had gotten into a fight with some of the festive citizens, and one of them had cast a fireball inside the Hagfish, killing eleven people and wounding several more.
The two culprits resisted arrest, killed two guardsmen, and fled into the woods. The town was put on alert, and Jakardros, Shalelu and Kaven decided to track down the fugitives. The other warriors of wrath were furious at what their compatriots had done. The rangers took Bakra with them, and together, they caught the two murderers, and slew them before they could do more damage.
The remaining warriors of wrath, Bakra, Simri, Arak and Targonna, had been confined to an abandoned farm on the outskirts of town for now by Sheriff Hemlock. Although they resented the isolation, they understood that the citizens of Sandpoint had lost faith in them, at least for now. So they complied to the Sheriff’s demands, and Kaven was put in charge of acting as liaison with them, bringing them food from the village on a daily basis.
The companions visited the farm that night. They asked Krog to stay there as well, which he reluctantly agreed to. Ruh and Kerista questioned each remaining warrior of wrath more thoroughly this time, and they believed that the remaining five would behave reasonably well in modern society. It seemed that the three who’d been weeded out had been the worst of the lot. Krog, despite his coarse manners, seemed disciplined and smart enough to abide by Drithnar’s rules after all.
Several of the warriors asked if they could come to the Kodar Mountains now that the heroes would start their adventure, but the adventurers asked them to stay put for now. Perhaps once they reached the giants, they would put the two groups in touch. Except for Simri, the warriors seemed disappointed to be left behind, but did not protest too much.
Fireday, Abadius 8th, 4709
Calm before the storm
The following morning, Ruh teleported to Jorgenfist, and from there, she summoned a Phantom Steed. She rode it at high speed over the Storval Plateau. Near the end of the day, she reached the foot of the Kodar Mountains, and stopped there. She studied a safe area to teleport back to the following day, and returned to Sandpoint. Tired and with her hair blown completely wild by the day’s mad ride, she joined her friends at the Rusty Dragon.
Navan, Kerista and Drithnar were having dinner with Shalelu and Jakardros. Earlier that day, they had explained to them, as well as to Sheriff Hemlock, Father Zantus, Mayor Deverin and Brodert Quink, the latest details about their mission, so that if something should happen to them, they might pass on that information to others who would seek to oppose Karzoug. Shalelu had insisted on coming with them, but the companions had told her the same thing they’d told the warriors of wrath.
The four companions spent that evening playing cards with the two rangers. They reminisced about their adventures together: a year ago, Jakardros had been a captive of the foul ogrekins of Kreegwood, and Shalelu had been on the edge of despair. How far they’d come since then… They quietly celebrated Drithnar’s birthday, which would take place just after the group left for the mountains. And then, the adventurers went to bed early, as they knew they had a rough day ahead of them.
Great to see it back up and running
Can we get a write up of the four PCs
I love some of the stuff you guys have added to the game
Well No
Our group as a whole have been going through some rough times with people losing there Jobs losing there wives and graduating so DND doesnt get played alot recently hoping to start it up in April
Not yet but there is talk about me losing my job at the end of the school year
|
|
The characters are now level 14. Here’s some updated information about them.
= = = =
Navan Attaway (CG Male Human Rogue Level 2, Cleric Level 12) – Worships Desna
Str: 10 Dex: 22 Con: 12 Int: 14 Wis: 24 Cha: 14
AC: 34 HP: 113 Fortitude: +11 Reflex: +18 Will: +20
Initiative:+6 Speed: 30’
Ranged attacks: +1 flaming crossbow +18/+13 (1d8+1/19-20 plus 1d6 fire)
Cleric Domains: Luck (1 reroll per day), Travel (freedom of movement 1 round per level per day).
Height: 5’10”. Weight: 136 lbs, Age: 29, Date of birth: Arodus 20, 4679
White hair, brown eyes, wears immaculate white robes over a light chain shirt, as well as a cool feathered hat. Fights with a crossbow. Carries a buckler adorned with the symbol of Desna.
Feats: Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus: Light Crossbow, Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot, Crossbow Mastery, Silent Spell.
Weakness: Weaker Fortitude.
Skills: Appraise 6, Bluff 9, Climb 2, Concentration 18, Diplomacy 15, Disable Device 14, Disguise 3, Gather Information 3, Hide 9, Knowledge: Religion 8, Open Lock 14, Search 16, Sense Motive 11, Sleight of Hand 9, Spellcraft 7, Spot 14, Swim 4, Tumble 13.
Languages: Common, Varisian, Shoanti, Giant.
Main gear: Flaming Light Crossbow +1 (Runeforged: Domineering), Periapt of Wisdom +6, Cloak of Resistance +5, Hat of Disguise, Gloves of Dexterity +6, Boots of the Mire, Ring of Protection +3, Buckler +5, Glamered Mithral Chain Shirt +5, Belt of Giant Strength +2.
= = = =
Ruh (NG Female Gnome Wizard, Level 14) – Worships Sarenrae and Nethys
Str: 8 Dex: 18 Con: 18 Int: 25 Wis: 10 Cha: 10
AC: 24 HP: 106 Fortitude: +10 Reflex: +10 Will: +11
Initiative:+4 Speed: 20’
Specialized School: Conjuration
Forbidden Schools: Enchantment, Necromancy.
Special Ability: Permanent Arcane Sight.
Height: 3’3”. Weight: 32 lbs, Age: 67, Date of birth: Gozran 27, 4641
Brown hair, glowing blue eyes, wears a robe adorned with strange runes. Has an elaborate Varisian tattoo. Fights with a small glowing staff.
Feats: Scribe Scroll, Wizard’s Staff, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Augment Summoning, Varisian Tattoo: Conjuration, Quicken Spell, Maximize Spell, Energy Substitution (Cold).
Skills: Concentration 21, Craft: Alchemy 12, Hide 10, Knowledge: Arcana 24, Knowledge: Religion 15, Knowledge: History 13, Knowledge: Geography 10, Knowledge: Planes 24, Search 11, Sense Motive 1, Spellcraft 24, Spot 7.
Languages: Common, Gnome, Varisian, Thassilonian, Draconic.
Main gear: Wizard’s staff (Runeforged: Domineering), Cloak of Resistance +2, Ring of Protection +2, Headband of Intellect +6, Ring of Force Shield, Amulet of Health +2, Gloves of Dexterity +2, Meta-Magic Rod of Lesser Maximize, 2 Meta-Magic Rods of Lesser Quicken, Robe of Runes, Fogcutting Lenses, Quill of Revealing, Bracers of Armor +5, Eversmoking bottle.
= = = =
Drithnar (NG Male Human Ranger, Level 14) – Worships Desna
Str: 22 Dex: 20 Con: 21 Int: 12 Wis: 14 Cha: 8
AC: 28 HP: 160 Fortitude: +19 Reflex: +21 Will: +11
Initiative:+5 Speed: 40’
Melee attacks:
+3 cold iron keen longsword +22/+17/+12 (1d8+10/17-20) and
+1 holy war razor +20/+15/+10 (1d4+5/18-20)
Ranged attacks:
+1 mighty composite longbow +21/+16/+11 (1d8+6/x3)
Special Ability: Mark of Wrath (+1 insight bonus to AC, attack rolls and damage rolls; fire shield 1/day, CL15th, as a swift action).
Favored Enemies: Giants (+6), Undead (+2), Dragons (+2).
Animal Companion: Wolfbane (black stallion).
Height: 6’1”. Weight: 210 lbs, Age: 24, Date of birth: unknown
Long black hair, green eyes, ruggedly handsome, wears a red metal breastplate and wields a Longsword and a War Razor. The rune of wrath adorns his forehead.
Feats: Track, Dodge, Two-Weapon Fighting, Endurance, Mobility, Two-Weapon Defense, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Big Game Hunter, Lightning Reflexes, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Blind-Fighting.
Skills: Balance 17, Climb 22, Heal 4, Hide 20, Intimidate 23, Jump 13, Knowledge: Nature 16, Ride 6, Search 9, Spot 19, Survival 19, Swim 8, Tumble 24.
Languages: Common, Giant.
Main gear: Cold Iron Keen Longsword +3 (Runeforged: Domineering), Holy War Razor +1 (Aldern’s), Mithral Breastplate +4, Amulet of Health +6, Belt of Giant Strength +6, Ring of Minor Cold Resistance (10), Ring of protection +3, Gloves of Dexterity +4, Cloak of Resistance +5, Mighty Composite Longbow +1 (+4 str), Boots of Striding and Springing, Bag of Holding Type 4.
= = = =
Kerista Vigandir (LG Female Human Paladin, Level 14) – Worships Sarenrae
Str: 24 Dex: 12 Con: 14 Int: 8 Wis: 14 Cha: 21
AC: 30 HP: 150 Fortitude: +19 Reflex: +13 Will: +16
Initiative:+1 Speed: 30’
Melee attacks:
+2 adamantine holy earthbreaker +24/+19/+14 (2d6+12/19-20, x3)
Ranged attacks:
+1 mighty composite longbow +16/+11/+6 (1d8+5/x3)
Height: 5’10”. Weight: 170lbs, Age: 20, Date of birth: Kuthona 9, 4688
Long dark brown hair, brown eyes, attractive but a bit on the heavy side, wears a beautiful golden plate armor and wields an Earthbreaker.
Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Iron Will, Weapon Focus: Earthbreaker, Big Game Hunter, Improved Critical: Earthbreaker.
Skills: Climb 3, Diplomacy 15, Heal 3, Knowledge: Religion 4, Ride 2, Sense Motive 19.
Languages: Common, Shoanti.
Main gear: Holy Adamantine Earthbreaker +2 (Runeforged: Domineering), Full Plate Armor +5, Ring of Protection +3, Amulet of Natural Armor +3, Cloak of Charisma +6, Belt of Giant Strength +6, Phylactery of Undead Turning, Mighty Composite Longbow +1 (+4 str), Boots of Striding and Springing, Handy Haversack, Ring of Resistance +3.
|
|
Starday, Abadius 9th, 4709
Soaring above the Kodar Mountains
The following morning, the four companions got ready to start what might very well be their last and most dangerous adventure. They gathered together at Kerista’s house, where the paladin protected them from the cold by magic. Once they were sure they had all the equipment and provisions they would need for the arduous journey, Ruh teleported them far away.
They appeared in the desolate northern reaches of the Storval Plateau. They were in a region of rocky, barren hills. To the north loomed the immensity of the Kodar Mountains: the World’s Roof. Climbing this natural barrier seemed like a nearly impossible task for mortals; but thankfully, the characters had magic on their side!
Ruh performed four rituals which each took several minutes. With the complex conjuration magic she performed, she created one mighty steed for each of her companion: dark, misty winged horses.
“They’re beautiful, Ruh!” said Kerista as she caressed the nearest one. “And these will be able to carry us all the way to the mountains’ summits?”
“Indeed, they can,” replied the gnome. “The creations will remain in our world for over twelve hours: more than enough for us to travel very far. But I wish to remind you that, from what I’ve learned, the air gets quite deadly as one rises far above the ground. Although these steeds could carry us at a great distance, we might not survive the journey! It is therefore imperative that we locate a source of kalsorium crystals to allow me to activate the ancient spell I found in Runeforge.”
“And you think that perhaps those dwarven brothers had mined some of those crystals?” asked Navan.
“They might have. I cannot be sure of it, but I hope they did. What’s more, the directions to Xin-Shalast I found in Runeforge and Jorgenfist date back to the Thassilonian era. I fear that the mountains have shifted since the catastrophe that brought an end to that age. Those directions are now obsolete: I need something more recent. If the Vekker brothers indeed told the truth about finding Xin-Shalast, we might learn from them the way to reach our destination.”
“But nobody’s heard from them in years, Ruh. What if they’re dead?” said Drithnar.
“In that case, perhaps we can discover what we need through magic once we find their bodies. Or perhaps they will have left some maps behind.”
The companions climbed up on their steeds, and took to the air. Soon, they found themselves soaring over the rocky hills, and they entered the mountainous region of the Kodar Mountains. It was an exhilarating experience to be flying so high, and to see the trees and the animals look like tiny toys far below. But it was also a difficult task, for the fierce wind blew relentlessly, and the companions had to direct their mounts to stay together. Since they were looking for the dwarven cabin, they decided to fly low over the mountains, to be sure not to miss it. They also didn’t want to fly too high and risk having problems breathing.
The mountains range was immense. Ruh only had general directions to the Vekkers' cabin: even with their fast-flying mounts, it might take the adventurers quite some time before they found it. After a few hours of searching, the friends decided to stop on a mountain ledge to have lunch. They had packed some remains of the previous night’s Heroes Feast. Although the food had lost its magical properties, it still beat iron rations any day.
The dangers of the World’s Roof
As they ate, the companions shared their excitement at the morning’s experience with high-altitude flight. They were lucky to have access to such powerful magic, for mountain climbing was very difficult when performed the hard way; that is, climbing the sheer cliff faces with nothing but ropes and grappling hooks. Ruh remembered well the words of Ronagard “Two Toes” Roteshield, a pathfinder she’d talked to in Magnimar:
“The Cold’s not your enemy. No, when you get it in your fool head to go gallivanting up to the top of the world, there’s plenty else to be worried of. Up there, there’s mountains that roar and try to eat you alive. There’s air that quits caring and does you about as much good as trying to breathe a lake. There’s rock that’s solid as a fortress wall ‘til it’s the only thing holding you over a gap a mile deep. And then there’s the things. The snowy, hungry things that don’t let anything made of meat just pass on by.
“The cold, though, it’ll kill you slow and quiet. It’ll be there when you’re fallen and broken, half-eaten at the bottom of some ravine. It’ll make the hurting stop, wrap you up in that dull, soft numbness, and make you forget any thought of climbing back down.
“No, the cold’s not your enemy. Up there, it’s the best friend you’ve got.”
Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by two terrible predators that Ruh spotted climbing down the cliff’s face above the companions: they looked like huge spiders with black and red chitin. The hooked claws at the end of their many-jointed legs pierced the rock wall with every step they took down, as they eyed the companions with their many glittering black eyes.
The first spider shot a thick strand of web that captured Kerista, while the other one dashed down and tried to bite Drithnar. The ranger barely dodged out of the way at the last moment. While Kerista was struggling to escape the webbings, Navan cast a mighty destructive spell and approached Drithnar’s spider. He blocked the monster’s mandibles with his new magical shield, and discharged a deadly Slay Living spell on the spider, killing it instantly. The creature shivered in the throes of agony, and fell off the side of the ledge, into the abyss.
Meanwhile, Drithnar had moved to engage the spider that threatened Kerista. He slashed furiously at the spider, chopping off two of its legs, and piercing one of its largest eyes with his sword, sending a disgusting jet of green blood to spill out on the ledge’s floor. Ruh helped him with a Magic Missile spell that finished off the creature. For a few moments, it flayed wildly with its remaining limbs, and then it crumpled on the ledge and did not move again.
Drithnar helped Kerista out of the web, cutting the thick strands with his enchanted blades.
“All right, let’s finish lunch,” said the ranger as he sat back down.
“Finish… Drithnar, how can you think about eating?” asked Kerista with a disgusted shiver. “Those things were so disgusting!”
Her lover shrugged, and then his expression brightened. “Hey, does this mean I can eat your portion?”
The companions continued scouting the mountains during the afternoon. Every now and then, they saw some of the wildlife of the mountains. Kerista smiled as she gazed at a group of mountain goats gracefully jumping from rock to rock. But her expression changed to shock when she saw a gigantic white worm erupt from the ground and swallow one of the unfortunate creatures in its gaping maw. The great worm shook its head left and right, its mandibles clicking horribly, as the rest of the goat herd quickly fled, and then it retreated back into its hole.
Clearly, the companions were avoiding many of the deadly perils of the Kodar Mountains by flying.
The ice cave
Unfortunately, after several more hours of searching, the group still hadn’t found the dwarves’ cabin. The sun was setting, and they started thinking about finding a spot to spend the night. Drithnar noticed the entrance to an ice cave on a mountain side, and the heroes headed that way.
They entered, and saw that they had actually found a complex made of several caves. The place had been the lair of some giants – probably frost giants, according to Drithnar. However, it seemed they had left a few months before. The only creature that had ventured in here recently was a large humanoid with clawed feet.
To spend the night more comfortably, Ruh summoned a Secure Shelter within one of the largest grottoes; the group felt much more at home inside it than inside the icy caves. Navan summoned another Heroes’ Feast, and once they were done eating, the companions went to sleep. However, after only a few hours, they were rudely awakened by the cacophony of one of the alarm spells warding the cottage’s entrances, and the sounds of a large, furious creature trying to bash its way in.
Drithnar quickly got to his feet and grabbed his weapons, as he looked at a menacing, towering white-furred humanoid through the holes in the door. The thing’s eyes burned with an angry orange light, and the sight of it might have scared the companions, had they not still been under the soothing effect of the Heroes’ Feast, and therefore, immune to fear.
Before the ranger could engage the creature, though, Ruh shot a Quickened Scorching Ray and a Maximized Scorching Ray at the monster… pulverizing it into a smoldering pile of ashes!
“All right, we can get back to sleep now,” said Ruh, lying back down on her bunk bed.
“What was that thing? Some kind of yeti?” asked Navan.
“Yes, those monsters are called abominable snowmen,” said Drithnar, who had heard many tales about these monsters during his days in Fort Rannick. “They have an intense aura of cold that makes their attacks even more deadly, and their gaze can freeze a hunter in his tracks. But as you saw, they don’t seem to like fire too much.”
Sunday, Abadius 10th, 4709
Need for shelter
The following day, the companions continued exploring the Kodar Mountains on the backs of magically summoned mounts. At some point, Navan spotted the silhouette of what looked like a fey of some kind on the ground far below, but chose not to disturb her. The group also saw three huge shapes flying in the distance: rocs! But the monsters did not come in their direction.
Near the end of the day, they had still not found the cabin, and were starting to grow frustrated. What’s more, Drithnar seemed troubled: he had the impression that something had been observing them for some time.
“It might be Karzoug scrying on us!” shouted Ruh over the wind. “Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to stop him!”
As the sky started growing darker, the group quickly found themselves surrounded by even stronger winds, and thick snow flurries. They were stuck in a blizzard!
“We need to find shelter!” shouted Drithnar. “Stay close to me, guys, I’ll look for a good spot!”
The ranger directed his flying mount closer to the mountain side, but it was very difficult to control it with the high winds. After a few minutes, though, he pointed in the distance. “There’s some light ahead! Can you see it?”
His companions didn’t have eyes quite as sharp as his, but a little bit later, they also saw a dim light shining through the blizzard. They headed that way, hoping it was some kind of shelter. As they got closer, they saw that it seemed to be an item glowing on the ground, at the base of an old dead tree. They were at the bottom of a valley, and here, the wind and snow didn’t blow as strongly. Most interesting, though, was the fact that a large log cabin stood not far from the light.
“Desna’s luck is with us!” said Drithnar happily. “We found the Vekkers’ cabin, and just at the right time!”
The ranger landed and approached the source of the light. He saw that it came from the head of a broken warhammer. The weapon must have been enchanted, but was now useless. Near the weapon, half-buried in the snow, was the skeleton of a man. A grainy black substance was spread out on the ground in that area, and it seemed to have flowed down from the side of the cabin.
“There’s a body here,” called Drithnar toward his still-airborne companions, “a Shoanti, I think, judging from what remains from his outfit. I wonder what…”
“Look out!” shouted Kerista suddenly.
Drithnar quickly turned around as the dead tree started moving as if to attack him. Two gleaming yellow eyes opened to gaze at him, while two of the tree’s branches animated to attack him. Drithnar’s reflexes were fast, though, and he slashed the tree with his blades before being attacked. Then, a myriad of firebolts erupted from Ruh’s hands as she cast another combination of Quickened Scorching Ray and Maximized Scorching Ray at the ancient tree. It immediately caught fire and was destroyed by the intense inferno!
Also if I had to do this again, I would give the tree a surprise round of attacks. I was too nice to go straight to a regular attack round.
The Vekkers’ cabin
The group looked at the cabin. It was made of logs and looked quite sturdy: indeed, it had likely been built by dwarves. A wooden tower led from the cabin in front of the characters, along the wall of a steep cliff, all the way to a second cabin sixty feet above. Drithnar mounted his flying horse again, and the group flew up to the upper cabin.
There was a porch there that led up to two doors. It was decorated with animal skulls and antlers, and a sign hung above the closest door, with something written on it in Dwarven. None of the cabin’s windows were lit: although it seemed in good condition, the whole place looked abandoned.
“Do you sense any evil coming from that place, Kerista?” asked Navan.
“I’m not sure… I feel something strange. I have a bad feeling about this place.”
Suddenly, out of the blizzard came a terrible howl from some distance away. Whatever had emitted that sound was clearly not human, but seemed possessed of a terrible, feral malevolence.
“Something’s out there!” said Drithnar in a trembling voice. He seemed quite shaken by the sound.
The companions peered through the whirling snow, but could not locate the source of the howl. Ruh tried to use her Fogcutting Lenses, but they were of no use in the blizzard.
“We should take refuge inside the cabin…” suggested Drithnar. “We don’t want to be caught outside by that… thing.”
Navan sensed that his friend was frightened, and placed the blessing of Desna on him to soothe his spirit. The group also decided to fly back down and examine the lower cabin first.
Both of the doors there were closed by rusty locks. Navan picked the first one, which led to an abandoned tool shed where the companions hid their mounts. He failed to pick the lock of the main door, but Ruh opened it with her wand of Knock. The companions entered the cabin and closed the door behind them. The entrance room was dusty and empty. Behind a curtain, they found a small bedroom with a few articles of dwarven clothing. Inside an old boot, Navan found a magical punching dagger that had likely once been coated with poison.
Navan picked the lock of some double-doors that led deeper into the cabin. The companions climbed a short ramp which led them to a room cluttered with various items that had been used for ore separation. All of the items looked quite old and in a state of disuse. Of more immediate concern, though, was the dwarf who was kneeling on the ground, eating something. He had his back to the companions, but once he became aware of them, he turned to face them, and they saw that he seemed to be eating great mouthful of gold dust!
When he became aware of their presence, the bald, brown-bearded dwarf smiled madly. “You! You have to try jish!” he said as gold dust trickled down his mouth and stained his beard. “It’sh sho… delicioush!”
The words echoed in the character’s minds, and strangely enough, they sounded quite reasonable to Drithnar and Ruh, who knelt and started putting mouthfuls of black dust from the floor into their mouths. But in fact, the dust was definitely NOT delicious! Both of them started choking and coughing uncontrollably. Meanwhile, the dwarf was looking at them, and his entire frame seemed to shrink on itself and grow emaciated. Then, his body suddenly exploded into a shower of bite-size morsels and gore!
Navan and Kerista shielded their eyes from the disgusting sight, but when they looked around afterwards, they saw no sign that the dwarf had ever been there! They turn to help their friends as best as they could. Ruh was able to cough out the dust without any further damage, but Drithnar became gravely weakened by the substance, and Navan had to use a Restoration spell on him.
The companions discussed what had just happened. The dwarf had seemed like an illusion. Had he been one of the Vekker brothers? Had he been cursed in Xin-Shalast, and was he now living as a ghost, being punished for his greed?
Feeling that there were perhaps more of those haunts in the cabin, Navan decided that the group would take a break in the entrance room. It was evening, time for dinner, and he would summon another Heroes’ Feast for everyone. The magical food would help them face whatever horrors were in wait for them.
The place was dusty and had no tables or chairs, but the companions made themselves as comfortable as they could while Navan cast the lengthy incantation. Meanwhile, the wind was still blowing madly outside. Drithnar seemed particularly worried that perhaps the howling creature they’d heard earlier would come looking for them.
Finally, the food appeared on a cloth that Ruh had placed on the ground. It looked delicious and its wonderful aromas filled the heroes’ nostrils.
“Eat, my friends!” said Navan. “And don’t worry, Drithnar, you’ll feel much better after you’ve had a good meal.”
“Yeah… It should get rid of the aftertaste of that foul grit I ate,” grumbled the ranger.
Kerista smiled at the huge meal in front of her. “Hmm, we’re going to eat well again tonight. Thank goodness that we have such an active lifestyle… Otherwise, after a few weeks on this diet, I wouldn’t even fit into my armor anymore!”
An hour later, the companions were all sated and felt quite reassured they could deal with any trouble the cabin or the howling storm could throw at them. They explored the rest of the lower cabin, and found that the tower connecting the two cabins was a large shaft with some stairs going up. They decided not to venture in it, though, and instead, they returned outside, took out their mounts from the tool shed, and flew up to the higher cabin.
Starving shadows
Ruh read the sign with a Comprehend Languages spell: “Vekker Mining Co. Headquarters”. While Navan started looking at the main door for traps, Drithnar pointed out in the night. Amidst the whirling snow, he could see a figure approaching the cabin. The companions prepared themselves for battle, but as the silhouette approached, they realized that it looked like an exhausted dwarf, moving through the deep snow with difficulty.
The companions hurried to his help, but stopped a few feet away: they recognized this dwarf as the same one who’d urged them to eat gold dust. This time, he was dressed in tattered furs and his body bore several bloody wounds. His eyes were wild with fear, and when he saw the characters, he shouted: “RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THEY’RE GOING TO EAT YOU!”
With this, the dwarf turned and fled away in the snow. Each character felt a slight tug at their sanity, and if they hadn’t been so well fed from the Heroes’ Feast, they might’ve been affected by the panic in the dwarf’s voice.
“Another damned illusion!” cursed Navan. “But who’s casting them? Are they coming from inside the cabin… or is there something out there in the snow that’s playing with our minds?”
“Well, we can’t see anything out there,” said Drithnar. “So let’s check out the cabin for now.”
They returned to the porch, and Drithnar easily opened the front door, even though it had been stuck due to ice. Inside, they found themselves in what had once been a kitchen. It was in a state of disarray. The furniture was broken and displaced, and old bloodstains marred the walls and floor, as if a great battle had taken place here. On the northern wall, a large painting hung askew, but it had somehow escaped destruction. It showed two dour dwarves standing in front of the carcass of a large elk. A sign at the bottom read: “Silas and Karivek Vekker.”
The companions recognized one of the two dwarves as the one they’d already seen twice, as a ghost or an illusion. While they were in the room, they felt slight pangs of hunger, probably caused by the haunted aura of the cabin, but they were soon nullified by the effect of the magical food that filled their stomachs.
The cabin was dark, but the companions lit the way with their weapons and another Light spell from Navan. The next room they visited was a larder. Metal hooks hung from the ceiling, but the place was empty of food. A window in the far wall was closed by a tight lattice of iron bars, probably to let in the cold and keep any food kept here fresh longer. In a corner of the room was a heap of bones. The companions approached it carefully, and Navan examined the bones. They seemed to have once belonged to several dwarves.
But surprisingly enough, Navan saw that some of the bones carried his personal items: a symbol of Desna, his ring of protection… He felt slightly dizzy, and soon saw several starving-looking dwarven ghosts surround him. They looked at him hungrily, and bit him mercilessly with their sharp fangs. But thankfully, Navan did not give in to the fear, and wasn’t harmed by the terrible vision. After a few moments, the dwarves faded away.
The group explored the rest of the upper cabin and found two closets and a bedroom. They then reached the top of the shaft, and saw a large chain there that was linked to a complex mechanism that had likely been used to lift ore from the lower cabin to the upper one. As they examined this, the chain suddenly animated and attacked them!
Ruh cast a Disintegrate spell at the chain, as well as a Quickened Haste on the group. Drithnar attacked it with his weapons, but they didn’t seem to do as much damage as they should. Navan cast a Searing Light at the chain, causing minor damage. The chain wounded Drithnar, and also noisily slapped Kerista’s armor as she moved closer to the edge of the shaft. But in return, she struck the chain with a powerful blow with her adamantine earthbreaker.
Ruh kept casting spells at the chain in quick succession: a Quickened Scorching Ray was soon followed by a Lesser Orb of Cold. Drithnar did a bit more damage with his sword, while the crossbow bolts that Navan shot didn’t do much damage except for their aura of fire. Finally, Kerista destroyed the chain with a few more attacks from her mighty weapon. Several of the links broke, and the whole thing collapsed with a deafening crash at the bottom of the shaft.
Once everything had grown quiet again, the companions discussed the layout of the house and their sharp senses noticed that there seemed to be a secret room nearby. Navan started looking for it in the closet, but after a few minutes, he heard some sounds coming from below. The whole group returned to the top of the shaft, and soon, they all heard it too: it sounded like someone was knocking at the main door below.
Silas’s plea
While they discussed what to do, the knocking stopped. A few moments later, the cabin was shaken by a loud cracking noise, and it started tilting to the side, as though it were losing its hold on the cliff side. It became very difficult for the companions to remain standing. But once again, this was but a trick of the mind, and the group was immune to it thanks to their meal.
The sound of hammering soon surrounded them, as well as the sight of emaciated dwarves at the edge of their vision. The dwarves tried to enter them, perhaps to take control of their actions, but none of the companions were affected by this terrible evil. After some time, the shaking stopped and the dwarven ghosts disappeared in silence…
… all except one. The bald, brown-bearded dwarf that they had seen twice already remained behind. His features looked curiously indistinct: he had no eyes, and when he spoke to them, his lips did not move. Once again, he addressed them in Common:
“You… You are alive? You do not hunger? Ah… that is what I sense in your blood. Greed. You seek the City of Greed.”
As he spoke, bite-sized bits and pieces of him tore lose and faded, as though he were being eaten by some invisible things.
“You should abandon your quest, lest you end up like me. Cold. Dead. Eaten. But I suspect you cannot be swayed. Know then that I know the way to Xin-Shalast. I can show you the way, but only if you bring me my brother, Karivek. He died on a ledge high above our final mine. I can feel his soul out there, still hungry, still insane. Bring his bones to me so that I might reconcile with him. Once he is at rest, I will show you the way so that I might rest as well…”
What was left of the dwarf then faded into nothingness…
“Poor dwarf,” said Kerista, “his is a grim tale indeed.”
“Yes,” said Ruh. “If Karivek was his brother, then that would make him Silas. Silas Vekker. And as I suspected, he knows the way to our destination. If we help him, he will help us.”
The other companions nodded in contemplative silence.
“But first, let’s steal their stuff!” said Ruh cheerfully before she cast a Detect Secret Doors spell. They found the entrance to the secret room just next to them, at the top of the shaft, and Ruh unlocked it with her wand.
Inside, they found several bags filled with gold dust and gold nuggets, worth several thousand gold pieces in total. They also found a small chest containing gems, and another one filled with tiny blue crystals.
“Woohoo! Wonderful!” exclaimed Ruh, jumping up and down. “Those are the kalsorium crystals I was looking for! With these, we’ll be able to venture up to much higher elevations with no fear of asphyxiation!”
In the secret room, the companions also found a desk which contained maps and Silas’s old ledger. They spent some time studying these, and realized that the dwarves had exploited several mines in the region, although none of them had produced a tremendous amount of ore. They had been mining in the region for about seventy years before they allegedly discovered Xin-Shalast, twelve years ago. Alas, the last few pages of the ledger had been torn out, so the companions were unable to find out more about this exciting discovery.
On the bright side, they did find the site of the brothers’ last mine on one of the maps. So they would be able to journey there to find Karivek’s bones. That would have to wait until the morning, though, as it was now too dark to find their way.
Before going to sleep, the group searched the upper cabin more thoroughly. They found a magical earthbreaker in one of the closets, and were surprised to find some broadsheets from Korvosa, dated twelve years before, in the latrines.
“That’s strange,” commented Kerista, “I guess those dwarves were interested in human culture.”
Drithnar chuckled. “I don’t think they read those, honey. They used them for… other business… in the latrines… get it?”
“Ohhh!!!”
|
|
I think you're right.
At first, we used one mana pool which the spellcaster used to cast all spells (the cost of a spell depended on its level). That made them very powerful. Since "Sins of the Saviors", we tweaked this to keep the same number of spells per level as the classes normally get. It has helped a bit.
The reason we decided to use this system is that we're not big fans of the Vancian system. My friend and I find that there are some big flaws in it. But there is still room for improvement in our system as well. Although in Ruh's case, even by the book she would still be very powerful due to her 3 rods.
Thanks for reading my log, and I hope you'll enjoy its conclusion!
I see your Complaints about Damage but if characters are built right even combat characters can throw between 100 and 200 a round
All the damage really happened because the gnome had fire against the tree creature who were vun to fire
Hey if you want some of the undefined areas I have a bunch of them in my conversion for 6 players
|
|
Moonday, Abadius 11th, 4709
The hungry spirit of Karivek Vekker
The companions slept in a magical cabin that Ruh summoned on the plateau near the upper portion of the Vekkers' cabin. They had preferred not to risk sleeping in the haunted house. They slept without assigning watches during the night, trusting in the alarm spells placed in the summoned cabin. Thankfully, they were not disturbed during the night, despite the blizzard that was still raging outside.
Kerista woke up troubled that morning: she remembered having nightmares of being prisoner inside the Vekkers' cabin, along with her friends, for a long period of time. They had run out of food and had begun starving, and she had felt some cannibalistic urges as she contemplated sinking her teeth into the short, tender shape of Ruh.
Despite this, she didn’t suffer from weariness, and she found the courage to smile and wish Drithnar a happy birthday. Navan summoned a Heroes’ Feast to celebrate the event, although it didn’t feel quite so special since all meals had consisted of this in the past few days. The companions also prepared themselves with Endure Elements spells, and Ruh cast her High Altitude Breathing spell on all of them.
The blizzard had stopped, and the weather was now clear, with a pale blue sky hanging over the frost-covered peaks. Following the directions from Silas’s map, they headed toward the dwarven brothers’ last mine on the backs of new Phantom Steeds. Once again, the companions traversed the rugged mountainous landscape at great speed, doing the equivalent of what would’ve taken several days of arduous and dangerous climbing in just a few hours. At some point, they saw a group of three massive rocs heading in their direction to attack them, but they were able to simply outdistance them with their incredibly fast-flying mounts.
As they flew, Drithnar and Navan noticed that the black mountains to the north, and the slightly greenish tinge of the sky, looked most unusual. Something seemed to be off… That did not look like a landscape that belonged in Golarion. Likewise, Ruh also told them that lately, she’d felt some difficulty performing her conjuration spells, as though there was some kind of magical interference going on in the region.
Eventually, the companions reached the spot of the last mine. On a wide ledge high above the mine, they saw the frozen corpse of a dwarf lying next to several old tombstones. They approached carefully and saw that there were dwarven names written on the crude tombstones, one of which was “Silas”. Kerista also warned her friends that she felt a powerful evil emanating from the dwarf’s corpse.
Approaching it carefully, the group saw that its bones were broken as though it had fallen from a great height, and that its feet were missing, as the legs ended in charred stumps. Despite the corpse’s terrible state, they recognized Karivek Vekker from the painting in the cabin.
Suspecting that perhaps a ghost was haunting the body, Kerista and Navan both tried to channel positive energy against it, but saw no visible effect. Ruh then created an Antimagic Field and the group moved the corpse. Again, no effect. It’s only once Ruh got further away that the ghost of Karivek emerged from its body, attacking Drithnar in retaliation for trying to place its frozen remains on top of his mount.
The very sight of the ghost was so disgusting that poor Ruh felt weakened from it. The unfortunate dwarf’s soul seemed thoroughly corrupted, as its eyes gleamed red and its mouth was lined with long, sharp fangs. After letting out a terrible howl that might’ve scared less-well-fed adventurers, it sank these fangs into Drithnar’s shoulder, leaving a horrible wound that bled profusely.
Navan blasted the ghost with a Searing Light spell that left a smoking mark on its chest, and Kerista destroyed it with three mighty swings of her holy earthbreaker. Navan warned his friends, though, that the ghost would likely re-form in a matter of days: the only way to truly destroy it was likely to bring the corpse back to the cabin.
Navan stopped the bleeding from Drithnar’s wound and healed it, and with Kerista’s help, he restored Ruh from the shock of having seen the ghost. Then, they got back up on their mounts and returned to the cabin. As they reached it, another blizzard started forming, and soon after they landed, as they were walking toward the cabin’s porch, they heard another frightening howl coming from further back on the plateau; but this time, the howl sounded much nearer than the previous day.
The wendigo’s rage
The companions brought Karivek’s corpse back into the cabin, all the way to the top of the ore shaft, where Silas had spoken to them the previous day. This time, they were not subjected to any harmful haunts, but Silas appeared again. There was an expression of great sadness on his ghostly face. As he looked at his brother’s remains, Karivek’s ghost also reappeared out of them, and the two dwarves faced each other. They exchanged a few bitters words in their language. Suddenly, waves of gleaming energy started pouring out of each of them, clashing in the middle of the room. Some kind of otherworldly duel was being fought by the two ghosts, as wisps of ectoplasm sparked back and forth between them.
Kerista held out her symbol of Sarenrae, but before she could start her prayer, Silas, who was deeply frowning in concentration, briefly turned his eyes toward her: “Don’t do that, lass… I’ve got things under control… I think…”
At that point, the cabin shook again, but this time, it did not seem to be the effect of a mere haunt. The companions heard more noises of shocks coming from the porch, and the howling of the terrible monster: it seemed to have finally reached the cabin!
“Ye might wanna see to that critter, though…” continued Silas.
The companions rushed toward the kitchen’s entrance, and got there just in time to see the door burst open, and a large and terrible creature enter the cabin. It looked like a ten-foot tall emaciated man with the head of a monstrous elk. Its midsection was shriveled, organs were floating out of it, and its legs ended in charred stumps, just like Karivek’s. It was hovering close to the ground. The monster’s entire body was coated in frost, and an aura of cold surrounded it. A terribly evil light shone in its eyes, and with a threatening growl, it attacked the companions.
Drithnar was the quickest to act, and drove his cold iron longsword deep into the monster’s chest twice, and also slashes its throat with a flick of his war razor. Black blood flowed from these deep wounds, and the creature roared in pain.
Navan cast a Flame Strike on the monster, but the fire disappeared as it made contact with its body. Ruh, who was in the Vekkers' bedroom during that time, started summoning a powerful creature.
The elk-headed monster bit and clawed Drithnar, grappling him with great strength. Kerista approached to help the ranger, and was bitten by the monster as she got closer, but she struck it with a powerful blow of her earthbreaker, enhanced with the golden light of Sarenrae.
As Drithnar struggled to escape the monster’s grasp, Navan freed him with a Freedom of Movement spell. Suddenly, a celestial wholly mammoth appeared outside the cabin, behind the elk-headed monster, and slammed it brutally. While the monster roared in rage at this new foe’s attack, Ruh ran to the kitchen to join her friends in the fight.
The creature kept on attacking Drithnar, causing him more wounds, but thankfully, the ranger was protected from its deadly chill by the ring of cold resistance he’d taken from the corpse of Barl Breakbones, long ago. Kerista struck the monster three more times; it seems resistant to her weapon, but she still dealt serious wounds.
Drithnar had by then recovered from the grapple, and he slashed the terrible friend several more times with his blades. By then, the monster was bleeding from many wounds, and although it seemed to be regenerating, it wasn’t regenerating fast enough. Ruh ended its terrible life with two mighty spells, namely a Quickened Scorching Ray and a Maximized Scorching Ray, which were both able to pierce the howling terror’s resistance to magic.
After quickly healing Drithnar and Kerista’s wounds, the companions returned to the top of the shaft. The two dwarves were still locked in their ghostly combat, but soon enough, the energy faded, and Karivek sighed peacefully. His wounds disappear, his feet reformed, and it was with the appearance of a healthy, if translucent, dwarf that he vanished into the afterlife.
Silas turned to face the adventurers: “You have saved my brother. You have saved me. I should reward you by simply taking the path to Xin-Shalast with me into the beyond, yet I sense that you still harbor a desire to see those golden ruins. Very well. Look to the pages of my ledger for the way, and may Torag watch over you in the darkness to come…”
And then he, too, faded away into nothingness. In the place where he had stood, several pages from his ledger appeared and slowly floated down to the ground. The companions examined them and saw that they indeed described how the brothers had found Xin-Shalast: by following the frozen Kazaron river ever higher into the mountains until they’d found it branching into the flowing river Avah. There, weary and starving for many days, they had followed the river Avah to its source, and on the night of a full moon, they had seen the ghostly image of the river Avah continuing past its source; they had followed this surreal path, and it was the one that had finally led them to Xin-Shalast.
Satisfied, the companions decided to follow these instructions to try and locate the fabled city. Before they left, Navan took the time to contact Dwillvir by Sending: “Have found way to Xin-Shalast. Up the river Kazaron then Avah to its source where it becomes ghostly. We are heading there.”
A moment later, he received the frost giant’s answer: “The way is treacherous. Two worlds are colliding. A guide will come to you. She serves Desna.”
By then, it was early in the afternoon. A sense of peace now hung over the abandoned cabin, and the companions got the feeling that they had exorcised it, just as they had recently exorcised Foxglove Manor. There was now one less evil place in the world.
Outside, the blizzard had stopped abruptly. The adventurers got back on their mounts, and started flying over the Kazaron river. It led them higher and higher into the mountains; at some point they spotted the silhouette of a large flying creature in the distance, most likely a dragon, but it did not approach them. Later, they passed by a huge castle standing on the peak of a mountain, but they chose to keep traveling without investigating it.
Finally, it started growing dark, so they found a safe ledge on the side of a mountain, where Ruh created another magical shelter, and they spent the night there.
Toilday, Abadius 12th, 4709
Lost giants
The following day, they continued on their way. They found the river Avah and started following its course. At some point, they saw a terrible battle taking place on the river’s shore: two giants were battling a huge, white-scaled, many-headed reptile that breathed jets of ice through its many jaws. As the companions approached, wondering if they should help the harried giants, one of the giants struck a powerful blow on the hydra’s body, and killed it.
The companions landed near them warily and saw that they were cloud giants. Navan introduced himself and his companions, and the giants greeted them politely. The male was called Haralid, and his wife was named Andalia. Both had sustained grievous wounds fighting the hydra, but Navan graciously healed them.
The giants told the group that they had been roaming the Kodar Mountains for several days, looking for some marshes called the Fen of the Icemists. Indeed, they said that the mountains, which had once been their home, had become corrupted by some strange magic. When the heroes told them of Runelord Karzoug’s awakening, they said that he was most likely the one behind these changes.
Now, the familiar rocky slopes of the Kodar Mountains seemed to be mixed with some strange, black mountains of an unknown place. But even worse, dark creatures out of ancient legend, which they called the “black ones”, had returned and started enslaving their people. Most of the giants of the Kodar were now under their sway. One of the only ones still resisting them was Duke Vidarian, a powerful cloud giant noble. The two had been trying to reach his troops when they’d gotten lost. Ruh recognized Duke Vidarian’s name: he was an ally of Dwillvir.
The adventurers knew the two giants couldn’t keep up with their fast steeds, but they wanted to make sure they got to safety. Therefore, they decided to teleport them to Jorgenfist for the time being. Ruh and Navan each took one of the giants and started casting a spell of teleportation.
However, something went wrong as they cast the spells: they felt a strong disturbance from their environment. Ruh and Andalia appeared somewhere on the Storval Plateau instead of at their destination, and the gnome had to use a second teleport spell to reach Jorgenfist.
Navan had even more trouble: his first spell did nothing. His second spell released a blast of non-lethal energy that struck him and Haralid. When they recovered from the stunning effect, he tried casting again, and this time, he appeared safely in Jorgenfist with Haralid.
The two cloud giants thanked their small saviors profusely, and were welcome to Jorgenfist by several stone giants, including Conna. Ruh and Navan took a few minutes to describe to Conna the recent events.
Thankfully, Ruh and Navan were able to safely teleport back to the Vekkers’ cabin, where a few hours later, Drithnar and Kerista joined them. They had been forced back almost a full day’s travel, but at least they had the comfort that they had helped the two giants.
Wealday, Abadius 13th, 4709
The following day, the companions traveled all the way up the Kazaron and Avah rivers, going over the same route they had taken recently. They flew far above the massive corpse of the Hydra and kept going all the way up to the source of the river Avah, which they reached as the night started falling. In the dark sky above them, the moon was almost full: the conditions of the dwarven brothers’ journal seemed to be present!
Yet strangely, none of them could see the ghostly image of the river Avah showing them the way to Xin-Shalast. After a few hours, the companions gave up and decided to get some sleep. Navan suggested that he would use one of his most powerful prayers to Find the Path to Xin-Shalast by magic the following day.
Oathday, Abadius 14th, 4709
Queen of the Icemists
The following morning, as the companions were inside another one of Ruh’s magical cabins, getting ready for their next day of adventuring, someone knocked at the door. Surprised, the companions prepared themselves for battle. Ruh cast a Greater Invisibility on Drithnar, who carefully opened the door, gripping his sword firmly in the other hand.
But beyond the door stood only… a small white rabbit!
“Hello,” said the little creature to the characters.
But Navan was in no mood for games. It told the shape-shifting creature that they should talk outside and that it should resume its true form.
Once everyone was outside, the rabbit (who was puzzled at how stern and grumpy this so-called servant of Desna was proving to be) spun around and transformed into an amazingly beautiful, naked elvish-looking woman with long dark hair and a purple skin.
“She’s some kind of ice-fey, I think,” whispered Drithnar.
The fey smiled at the companions, and they learned that she was named Svevenka. They also introduced themselves to her. She said she had already heard about them, and she knew they had helped her cousin, the nymph Myriana.
Svevenka said that she was an ally of Dwillvir the oracle, and that she had sheltered him and his troops in her home, the Fen of the Icemists. She offered to lead the companions there. They accepted, and followed her to a small copse of evergreens. She approached one of the largest trees, and created a portal within it that they all went through, only to appear in another small wooded area that stood on a ridge overlooking a small valley. The ground of this valley seemed to be a strangely warm icy marsh. Although they were still obviously very high in the mountains, it seemed that geo-thermal activity was making the area warm enough that the ice melted.
“Welcome to the Fen of the Icemists,” said Svevenka.
Below them, a path led to the entrance of a large cave, at the entrance of which the companions saw several giants standing guard, talking to each other, and training for combat. There were many races of giants there, from stone and frost giants to the mightier cloud and even storm giants.
“Great… more giants…” said Drithnar glumly as he glared at the huge beings he hated so much.
“Please, my love… behave,” whispered Kerista.
Svevenka led the adventurers down near the cave, where they were greeted by a mighty frost giant woman: Gunnidra, Dwillvir’s daughter. The two “icy” women brought the companions inside the cavern complex, which they saw were being used as living quarters for a small army of giants of various races.
Threat of slavery
In one of the deeper caves, they saw four older giants speaking gravely in hushed tones. They turned their attention to the characters when they entered.
“Ah, at last, the small-folk have joined us!” exclaimed Dwillvir, the frost giant oracle. “Welcome, little ones, welcome! I’ve been expecting you!”
The companions were introduced to the other giant leaders: Duke Vidarian, a muscular and handsome cloud giant dressed in shimmering silvery armor and Kamanar, the Voice of Gozreh, an immense green-skinned storm giant with wild hair; by far the largest giant around, he was dressed in furs and looked like a true force of nature.
Also with these was a stern stone giant named Oriandian the Hunter: the companions recognized him from Jorgenfist. He was the leader of the Crannoch tribe, who had rebelled against Mokmurian in the great battle between the stone giants defending Jorgenfist, and the frost giants of Dwillvir’s tribe.
Before the assembled giants, the companions told the tale of their latest adventures, and how they came prepared to face Runelord Karzoug in his lost city of Xin-Shalast. Dwillvir nodded once they were finished.
“I am glad you have come to join our cause, however doomed it may be,” said the white-bearded old giant. “As you saw in this camp, there is only a small portion of our combined armies left, less than a hundred able-bodied warriors in all. Meanwhile, the forces of Xin-Shalast have grown. They’ve been a threat to our people for as long as we can remember, but they’ve never been this powerful until recently, because the dark ones were still asleep.
“But a few years ago, as you know, it seems that Runelord Karzoug was somehow awakened. And his conscience returned to this world, the dark ones were awakened also. They were his most powerful servants in the days of our slavery. In a way, they are giants like us, but to us, they are like what we are to you. They are much, much larger than us. They are giants among giants. In our lore, they are known as ‘Rune Giants’. And we do not fully understand how, but through their wicked magic, they are able to control our people, turn them into mindless slaves to do their bidding. And more than their strength, which is considerable, and more than the foul powers of the legions of lamias that live in Xin-Shalast, it is this inevitable domination that we fear.”
“Indeed,” said Duke Vidarian, “as for every one of us who is taken in this way, our forces lose one warrior, but Xin-Shalast’s gain one. And thus, over recent years, the armies of Xin-Shalast have been reinforced by hundreds of giants, bound against their will. So it is that we, giants of various clans, races, religions and allegiances, have pushed our differences aside and have rallied here, to make a final stand against our oppressors. We have little hope of victory, but if we are to fight our enemy, it must be now, or never.”
“We have despaired for a long time,” continued Dwillvir, “and this is why I convinced my tribe to journey all the way down to the sweltering, barren wastes of the Storval Plateau, to reach Jorgenfist. I had to look for a way to oppose our enemy’s insidious powers. And after much studying there, finally, finally, I found it! I forged this in the depths of Jorgenfist!”
The oracle then took out a massive metallic orb from his cloak. Three holes appeared in its surface.
“This orb will create a resonating field of energy around us, and will disrupt the rune giants’ powers of mind control. But alas, the orb is incomplete. For it to gain its energy, I need to empower it with three symbols of Runelord Karzoug’s tyranny. In visions, I have seen what I need: three of the mightiest tokens he ever crafted in his forge of greed. I do not know exactly where they are to be found, but I believe they are probably still located within Xin-Shalast itself, for in the olden days, he gave them as gifts to his most powerful and loyal servants, in the shape of rings adorned with the Sihedron rune.”
All the while, Svevenka was sitting on a nearby rock with her legs crossed. She had a small, amused smile on her lips, as if she weren’t particularly concerned with the giants’ plight. “Yes, they’ve been moaning about this for weeks,” she said with a giggle. “And the irony of it all is that they almost have the item that would make them immune to the rune giant’s control, but in order to complete it, they will have to venture into Xin-Shalast and submit themselves to this control. Ah, what a conundrum!”
“Indeed,” answered Dwillvir gruffly. He turned back toward the adventurers. “But in my visions, I also saw once again that the key to our freedom rested in your hands, little mortals. For you will not be swayed by the magical influence of the rune giants. You are not giantkin, and therefore, you will surely be immune to it.”
“So basically, you want us to risk our lives to go to Xin-Shalast and get those rings for your metal ball?” asked Drithnar suspiciously.
“Yes, that’s what we would need from you, Drithnar. From all of you. What say you?”
“It sounds like our best chance,” said Navan. “We’ll do what you asked.”
“You can count on us, we won’t let you down!” assured Kerista.
Drithnar looked at his companions with a frown on his face, and finally shrugged. “Whatever.”
“Wonderful,” said Dwillvir. “I know we ask a lot from you, as Xin-Shalast is a deadly place, but if you succeed in bringing us these three rings back, we will bring our troops to Xin-Shalast and free our hundreds of captive brethren. And we will form a mighty horde that will strike back at our oppressors! Together, we will drive away the evil denizens of Xin-Shalast, and take control of the city once and for all!“
The Plateau of Leng
“And you say there are lamias who live there?” asked Kerista. “We’ve fought one before, and she was very powerful!” The paladin remembered well how she had almost perished in the deadly battle against Lucrecia, the temptress who had been instrumental in the fall of Fort Rannick.
“They are indeed very powerful creatures,” replied Duke Vidarian. “They are subtle and sneaky. There are many, many of them in the ruins of Xin-Shalast. They are terrible beings. They have always followed Karzoug’s bidding.”
“They are faithless scum!” exclaimed Kamanar, who spoke for the first time. The cavern floor trembled lightly from the sound of his deep voice. “They follow no god, but rather worship the depraved ideal of greed itself! They are alien to this world and defy even the natural dominion of the gods. I would see Golarion cleansed of their foul influence. I would see them all cast back into Leng!”
“Leng?” asked Ruh curiously.
“Leng is another world,” replied Duke Vidarian. “Indeed, the lamias are truly intruders into our world. You have traveled for some time in these mountains, yes?”
“Yes, we have,” replied Kerista,” and by the way, we met some of your subjects, Haralid and Andalia. We brought them to Jorgenfist by magic, for their safety.”
“Thank you, that was very kind. But I assume that this magical travel was done with some difficulty?”
The adventurers nodded and describe what had happened.
“What you felt happened because of the proximity of the horrible realm known as the Plateau of Leng,” continued Duke Vidarian. “You’ve surely felt it… A sense of unease… Something is terribly wrong in this place.”
“Yeah, we felt it,” replied Drithnar.
“That is because two worlds are colliding with each other. Our world, Golarion, and another one is being superimposed on top of it. It seems that both worlds’ influences are felt here. It brings great disruption to magic.”
Dwillvir and Kamanar nodded. “Leng is the name of that wicked world which is invading ours,” continued Dwillvir. “It’s a place of great darkness and corruption. We do not know by which foul magic it is absorbing Golarion like this. We fear it must be the work of Runelord Karzoug.”
“So in addition to Karzoug’s considerable power,” said Duke Vidarian, “in addition to his vast army of controlled giants and lamias, it seems that our entire world risks being absorbed by Leng. This is the greatest of all the threats that we face. We do not yet fully understand the ways in which it’s affecting our magic. And we do not know exactly what lies ahead of us because of this.”
“The lamias themselves came from that realm,” said Dwillvir,” as well as maybe other mysterious creatures we’ve caught glimpses of here and there.”
The companions then discussed strategy with the giants. They learned that the Fen of the Icemists was very close to Xin-Shalast: by following a valley, the city could be reached in a single day by foot (or much faster by flying mounts). It seemed that the fen’s layout was controlled to some extent by Svevenka, who’d morphed it to hide and shield the giants from the denizens of Xin-Shalast.
Later that day, the companions attempted to teleport back to Sandpoint. Eventually they were successful, and there, they gathered some of their closest followers who’d expressed a wish to join them in their final quest. Shalelu and Jakardros joined them. Bakra, Arak, Targonna and Krog also joined them. They used a Sending spell to contact Sebania, and even she agreed to join them, teleporting to Sandpoint to meet them.
Even Kaven approached Navan: he wanted to redeem himself for the crimes of his past. He wanted to help in any way he could. He asked Navan to go on the quest with the rest of them. Navan considered this for a long moment, and finally agreed: he dispelled the Mark of Justice that had been holding his brother captive as a defender of Sandpoint.
“Thank you for your trust, brother,” said Kaven. “I won’t betray it… this time.”
Since Kaven was going, Simri eventually agreed to go as well, and so the five remaining warriors of wrath all ended up joining their High Lord in the assault against Xin-Shalast.
Navan also considered asking Acacia to join them. That way, all of the eight heroes who’d assaulted Jorgenfist would be present. But he decided not to in the end. For one, they didn’t have any room left to teleport her. Also, she was needed in Magnimar, and finally, since he felt a sense of dread about the upcoming mission, feeling that it was quite possible that they would all die, he felt better knowing that Acacia wouldn’t share their fate and that, even if Karzoug proved victorious, she would, at least for a time, remain alive and safe.
And so it was that Ruh and Navan brought back the three rangers, the five warriors of wrath, and Sebania with them at the Fen of the Icemists. All of them were protected from the cold by magic, and were protected from the high altitude oxygen depravation by Ruh. During the evening, she taught Sebania and the warriors of wrath how to cast that spell; she also gave each of them a handful of kalsorium crystals.
The little ones were well-received by the giants. They were glad for the help of even such small beings. In the upcoming epic battle, they would need all the help they could get.
Hey if you want some of the undefined areas I have a bunch of them in my conversion for 6 playersWould love them!
I like the addition of the giant army to help them take the city out
What are you making them get the Standard rings or what?
|
|
I like the addition of the giant army to help them take the city out
What are you making them get the Standard rings or what?
Also, I like to mix things up by having some of the giants being enemies, some being allies, some being in the middle.
I wanted to avoid having the PC's roam endlessly and aimlessly in the (not-too-detailed-in-the-module) ruins of Lower Xin-Shalast. Since the 3 most detailed/most interesting locations described are also those with Sihedron Rings, I decided to use that. So they only need to do those encounters instead of feeling like they need to kill dozens (or even hundreds) of giants and lamias before taking on Karzoug. We want to finish RotRL this year. :)
Also, since they don't have Sihedron Medallions anymore, and there are 4 PC's, there wouldn't have been enough Sihedron Rings for everybody. What I'll do instead is to say that the wielders of Runeforged Weapons (Domineering) are immune to the Occlusion Field. This also helps to justify why only the 4 PC's will go up to the Pinnacle of Avarice. Normally, they would've taken some allies to help them.
Thats a good idea to stop them from brining everyone with them.
I added alot of extra stuff to the area I have a Demonic Knight and shadow demons in one area, I created the Root of the Tangle, I also added some non OGL Giants that will be hunting the PCs i put a link to my changes already in this thread
|
|
Fireday, Abadius 15th, 4709
The Splendor of Xin-Shalast
As the light of dawn rose over the Fen of the Icemists, the four companions prepared themselves for their foray into the fabled city of Xin-Shalast. Finally, at long last, they would reach the very city from which Karzoug had ruled his realm thousands of years ago. And in there, they would finally face this hated enemy; or perhaps they would instead find their doom…
Ruh summoned four new magical flying mounts, and after saying their good-byes to the giants, rangers and warriors of wrath, the companions took to the air. They decided to approach the city with as much stealth as possible, so they avoided the most direct route, which went through a valley at the edge of the Fen of the Icemists. Instead, they followed the same direction, but flew low over the mountain peaks. After about an hour, they finally came in sight of the lost city of Xin-Shalast.
The view was unbelievably majestic. Before them sprawled the ancient metropolis of titanic proportion. Many of its buildings seemed to have been built by and for giants, and reached heights of several hundred feet. Others were sized for smaller, human-sized people. They were built with stones of various colors, rare forms of marble, and adorned with what looked, even at a distance, like glittering gems and sheets of gold. Just as the legends had said, the city itself, the buildings and the streets, were all made of precious material. The wealth available within the city seemed infinite!
Yet it was clear that millennia had passed since the height of Xin-Shalast, and the magnificent city, no matter how well-built it had been, had suffered from the passage of time. On the eastern side, below the characters, a volcanic flow seemed to have destroyed a large portion of the city. Only the tops of a few of the tallest buildings were still visible through the blackened, and now solidified, lava flow. From what the group could see, the volcano that had once erupted and so damaged the city now seemed dormant.
In addition to this great cataclysm, time itself seemed to have affected the city, as many of its buildings stood in ruins, or at least in a state of poor repair. Though it could house hundreds of thousands of people, the city had an abandoned look to it, although the companions could see shapes moving along its streets here and there, and they could hear the echoes of powerful voices shouting far below. Although they stood at a great distance, the companions believed that those they saw were giants of various kinds. Most of them seemed to be gathered in a huge plaza in the southern part of town. Further to the south still stood a solid fortress of glassy black stone.
Xin-Shalast was located in a large valley, surrounded by sheer cliffs that ranged from one to three hundred feet in height. To the characters’ right, a vast expanse of surprisingly thick vegetation was growing over part of the ruined city. Further, the valley curved toward the west, and in that northwestern portion of the city, the buildings grew even more impressive in size and in beauty.
The size of it all was staggering. Xin-Shalast was many times larger than Magnimar, probably larger even than Quantium and certainly more impressive due to the size of its buildings. A wide road that seemed paved with gold crossed the entire city, from south to north-west. And it continued even beyond the city’s limits, as it ascended the massive peak that loomed over the city to the northwest.
The giants had informed the companions that Xin-Shalast stood at an altitude of around 15 000 feet. That immense mountain seemed to reach at least double that height. The road climbed up almost all the way to its summit. On the mountain’s side, more huge buildings stood here and there, great citadels of dark stone with many spires. The road ended at the largest of these citadels, which seemed yet more magnificent than any of the others. Still higher than that lofty construction, though, the huge carving of a stern man’s face looked over the entire valley with menacing eyes. The companions immediately recognized Runelord Karzoug’s features.
Ruh and Navan were especially fascinated by the discovery of the city. As explorers and relic-hunters, finding Xin-Shalast had been beyond their wildest dreams for many years. They could scarcely believe that they were really here!
Ruh pointed at the gigantic face of Runelord Karzoug high upon Mhar-Massif. She told her companions of a legend that said that, eons ago, before even Karzoug’s time, a monstrous being of incredible power had tried to enter Golarion from the slope of that mountain. It had become imprisoned there, though, and its face had turned to stone on the flank of the mountain. When the first Runelord of Greed had chosen this location to build his capital city, he had used magic to transform the features of the mighty being into a likeness of his own face; and so had done all of his successors, all the way up to Karzoug, who had been the 8th Runelord of Greed.
The companions surveyed the city for a while, trying to decide which part to explore first. They knew that great danger lurked within, and they tried to remain hidden behind some rocks. They also wanted to avoid attacking any location of the city in a noisy way: surprise was likely their main advantage here.
Prying eyes
After some time, they decided to first explore a set of gigantic buildings that stood on top of the cliffs on the opposite side of the valley, where it bent to the west. They flew far to the south, to go around the city and out of sight, and flew back north to land on a remote ledge not too far from the gigantic compound. There, Ruh used one of her most recently mastered spells: Greater Prying Eyes, and she instructed the tiny orbs to go explore the place. Most of them returned about an hour later, and through them, Ruh saw that many cloud and storm giants lived within this fortress. Unlike most of the city, it was in a good state of repair, and contained many spacious rooms that served as chambers and training halls for the giants. Statues and frescoes showed heroic scenes of ancient victories, as armies of giants led by terrible rune giants invaded foreign lands.
Indeed, Ruh’s magical eyes had also seen one of the dreaded rune giants up close, as it was training the lesser giants in combat. It stood twice their size, a full forty feet in height, and wore a heavy metal armor, under which its muscular body was covered with glowing runes. It was terrible to behold, and Ruh immediately concluded that the gigantic corpse they’d found in Hook Mountain had once been one of these ancient rune giants.
The gnome described what her summoned eyes had seen to the rest of the group.
“Well, that’s fine,” said Drithnar, “but it doesn’t help us. Where are we going to find these damned rings? That blasted oracle could’ve been more specific. ‘Find three rings’! Bah! It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. No, it’s worse! It’s like trying to find… a ring… in a giant city!”
“Dwillvir told us all he could,” said Kerista. “And if finding these rings is what we must do, then we will do it, no matter how long it takes. I trust our goddesses will lead us on the right path.”
Navan shrugged. “Well, we have to start somewhere. Might as well explore the biggest building first, that one over there.”
He pointed at an enormous building adorned with a colossal Sihedron symbol. Bright lights shone from its seven towers, and it was around seven hundred feet in height. That building alone was almost as large as Magnimar.
Ruh turned the entire group invisible, and they flew toward the building and landed on one of the towers at the edge of the seven-paneled dome of crystal. That tower was decorated with runes of wrath, and it glowed with magical light. The companions found an entrance into the building, and saw that it had once been an immense amphitheater capable of seating perhaps 150 000 people, including many giants. An enormous arena stood at the center of the structure. For some time, the companions explored the ring-shape maze of corridors and stairways along the edge of the building. Here and there, they saw the skeletons of long-dead giants or humans.
“Humans?” wondered Navan. “What the hell, this doesn’t make any sense! Why are there skeletons in the corridors, shouldn’t they be on the arena floor? It’s not like gladiators have fought here since the fall of Thassilon. And why aren’t there any lamia corpses? Why only giants and humans? Why humans? There aren’t any humans in Xin-Shalast, or else the giants would’ve mentioned them. “
His companions looked back in silence and shrugged, unable to answer any of his rhetorical questions. As they explored, Kerista felt a sense of unease about her surroundings.
“I think the anguished spirits of the dead still linger in this place…” she said.
At some point, Drithnar saw what seemed like a large shadow observing them from a hallway above, but it disappeared into the darkness before the companions could investigate. Finally, Navan decided to question one of the human skeletons on the ground to learn more. He cast a Tongues spell on himself, followed by a Speak with Dead. The skeleton turned its skull to face the priest, and answered his questions in Thassilonian.
“What were the circumstances of your death?” asked Navan.
“I was slain by the restless spirits of this place,” answered the skeleton darkly.
“Why were you here for?”
”To sate my curiosity.”
“What year did you die?”
“In 9882 S.L.”
Navan did not recognize the strange date, nor the “S.L.” part of it. But Ruh pointed out that Thassilon had fallen around ten thousand years ago. If that man’s calendar had started at that time, the date he had given should be relatively close to the present.
“Where did you come from?”
“From down below.”
“Do you know of rings with a Sihedron rune on them?”
“What is the Sihedron rune??”
“While you lived, who were the lords of this place?”
“The terrible lamias and the dark giants ruled above, but the lord of death ruled below.”
“How does one get below?”
“Find an entrance.”
Navan sighed at the useless answer the skeleton had given his last question. “Thanks for nothing, genius!” he muttered bitterly and sarcastically.
“Maybe your question was too vague,” suggested Kerista.
“Whatever. This is leading nowhere. I’m just going to ask Desna where we can find these rings.”
A nice devil
Navan began casting a divination spell, but the ritual was brutally interrupted by a sudden attack! Two ghostly stone giant warriors appeared out of the wall, moaning menacingly. Ruh and Drithnar suffered their cold touch, and felt their very lives being drained from them. At the same moment, a large insect-like humanoid appeared next to the group. It was surrounded by a frosty aura of evil and fear, and it wielded a massive spear which was coated with ice.
“Oh dear!” squeaked Ruh. “It’s an Ice Devil!”
“What? A nice devil???” asked Kerista. “But Ruh, he doesn’t seem nice at all!”
But Ruh didn’t get a chance to clarify, because she was interrupted by Drithnar’s cries of pain. The ranger almost perished within the first few moments of the battle. Drained twice by one of the ghostly giants, he was also struck several times by the devil’s icy spear. Navan, who was carrying one of Ruh’s rods of quicken, cast a Lesser Restoration and a Quickened Lesser Restoration on Drithnar, giving him back some of his drained life.
Drithnar slashed the ghostly giant in front of him with his sword, and sparks of darkness surrounded his blade, threatening to harm him, but he managed to resist them. Kerista presented the holy symbol of Sarenrae; it glowed with the bright light of the sun, and one of the ghostly giants fled from it through a wall. Ruh cast a Banishment spell at the devil, but it resisted the spell. She also cast a Quickened Haste on the group.
The remaining spectral giant drained more of Drithnar’s life force. The Ice Devil growled threateningly at Ruh in its dark tongue, and stabbed her several times with its spear. Even though the little mage was very resilient and protected by potent magical items, she nearly died from the hellish onslaught.
The chilling effect of the spear also cancelled Ruh’s Haste. Navan cast a Dismissal spell, but the fiend resisted it. The cleric also cast another Quickened Restoration on Drithnar. With a snarl, the ranger turned toward the Ice Devil and slashed it several times with his powerful blades. He caused it nasty wounds, but was also weakened by the aura of darkness that engulfed him every time he struck.
Kerista directed the shining light of her holy symbol toward the other ghostly giant, and it too fled into the dark stone walls of the corridor. Ruh stepped away from the Ice Devil and cast another Banishment at it, but again, it failed to pierce the monster’s considerable resistances. Knowing that another blow would finish her off, she also cast a Quickened Displacement on herself.
The monstrous outsider towered over the little gnome mage, and it roared in anticipation of bloodshed. Once, twice, three times its spear pierced Ruh, but every time, it seemed to have no effect. In fact, it was only striking her displaced illusion. With a hiss of frustration, the devil brought down its spear with great might on Ruh’s true location, but this time, she managed to duck out of the way at the last moment.
Navan cast another powerful Dismissal spell, but the devil resisted it. He also healed Ruh with a Quickened Cure Serious Wounds spell. Drithnar tumbled out of the devil’s reach, took out his bow and shot an arrow at the fiend, but it bounced off its icy carapace. Kerista hefted her mighty earthbreaker and struck the devil several times, causing it great wounds. Alas, Kerista was also affected by the black aura surrounding her enemy, and part of her strength was drained. Ruh cast another Banishment spell, which had no more effect than the previous ones, followed by a Quickened Invisibility spell to protect herself.
But she wasn’t the greatest threat the devil perceived now, and besides, the fiend knew that she was protected by frustrating illusions. No, now the monster’s hatred was directed toward the golden-armored woman who’d made its pets flee and had struck it harder than any mortal it had ever encountered. With a terrible screech, the devil unleashed his might attacks against Kerista, and she very nearly died as well. Over and over again, she was pierced by the merciless spear.
But thankfully, most of Kerista’s wounds closed immediately as Navan cast a mighty Heal spell on her. Drithnar shot a few more arrows that bounced off harmlessly, and he cursed in the darkness. But, despite her remaining wounds and the strength that had been drained from her, Kerista stood her ground courageously, and struck the devil twice more, finally killing it!
With a roar of agony, the fiend collapsed to the floor, where its entire body quickly withered into a twisted mound of blackened ice. Only the being’s spear remained intact, and Ruh saw that it glowed with potent magic.
The companions knew the fight was not over, though: the ghostly giants would soon return. Navan, Kerista and Drithnar healed themselves as best they could as they waited for the monsters to reappear. Ruh summoned a Bralani Eladrin, who helped with the healing and prepared itself for battle.
Finally, the first spectre returned. It approached the delightfully alive Bralani and tried to drain his life, but the outsider ducked at the last moment. Navan cast a Searing Light at the giant ghost, which badly burned it. Drithnar, Kerista and the Bralani all attacked the incorporeal undead, but their weapons passed through it harmlessly. Ruh then blasted the enemy with a volley of Magic Missiles.
The first spectre turned to Drithnar, but failed to drain the ranger, who’d been warded against negative energy by Navan during the break. The other reappeared then, and touched Ruh with its cold fingers of death. Alas, the little gnome had not been so protected and she suffered from the contact. Navan missed with his next ray of Searing Light; Drithnar hit the first wraith, but it was Kerista who struck the final blow on the undead, which vanished into nothingness. The paladin quickly hurried to protect Ruh, who stepped away from her attacker and blasted it with MMM’s – Maximized Magic Missiles.
The last remaining ghost snarled deeply. It had tried to attack Kerista and Drithnar as they approached, but both of them were immune to its icy touch. It then turned toward the closest being that radiated delicious positive energy: the Bralani Eladrin. The spectre’s claws approached the angel, but once again, he ducked at the last moment!
The Bralani struck the ghost, but once again, it was the mighty Kerista who struck the final blow, and her holy earthbreaker transformed the terrible spectre into harmless ribbons of ectoplasm, which disappeared in the darkness.
Once the fight was over, the companions finished healing themselves. The Bralani introduced himself as Zalaril. Ruh thanked him for his help, and he wished the heroes good luck on their daring mission, before returning to Arborea.
The companions realized that they had just narrowly avoided death, and weren’t any closer to finding the rings Dwillvir had told them about. Navan and Drithnar grew even more bitter about the whole thing, but decided to at least finish exploring this building before returning to the giants and asking Dwillvir and Desna for more divination-based information. They took the devil’s mighty spear and explored the rest of the complex.
Eventually, they found a large chamber within which had been stored various items that could’ve belonged to a museum: the walls and tables were covered with armors, weapons, works of art and books from various periods and places in Golarion. It seemed as though an army of collectors had placed their accumulated findings here. Ruh and Navan could barely believe their eyes: this collection was immensely precious.
The group took the time to search the place. Ruh noticed that two of the books were Pathfinder Chronicles. Navan found three darkwood chests, which Ruh opened with a small summoned earth elemental. It turned out they were untrapped, and inside, the companions found a large treasure of gold and jewelry, as well as a golden ring adorned with tiny black sapphires which formed a Sihedron Rune.
Drithnar let out a low curse. “Un-fricking-believable! That’s one of the rings we need, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I believe so!” replied Ruh with a wide smile.
“What are the odds?” mused the ranger. “We’re really blessed with Desna’s luck. Like with the Vekkers’ cabin, it’s as though she led us straight to it!”
Ruh identified the ring and realized that it had very potent protective powers, and also allowed its wearer to change the appearance of his or her clothes by illusion. The companions agreed that Ruh should wear the ring.
“Thank you, friends,” replied the gnome, “it’s true that my magical defenses are somewhat lacking compared to yours. These rods I’ve bought don’t come cheap, you know?”
“Nah, it’s not that,” said Drithnar. “We just think your robe looks butt-ugly.”
Kerista sighed at her lover’s lame joke. “It’s not true, Ruh, it looks perfectly fine!”
Finding the second ring
The companions then decided to try and locate the other two rings. They returned to the top of the gigantic amphitheater and cast a variety of protective spells on Navan, including Invisibility. Ruh also cast a Telepathic Bond on the entire group. Then, while the rest of the group waited on top of the huge building, Navan and his mount flew up and started circling the westernmost portion of the city, while he concentrated on a Locate Object spell to find a ring similar to Ruh’s. The spell had a long range, but the city was so huge that it would take some time to cover its entire area.
During his first pass, Navan saw another huge amphitheater below him, to the east of where they’d fought the Ice Devil. Its southern part was partly swallowed by the thick tangle of vegetation growing in that part of the town. Navan then directed his mount toward the west. He was a bit nervous, because previously, while the group had been waiting for Ruh’s magical eyes to explore the giant fortress, they had spotted a huge dragon flying over this part of the city. The beast was nowhere to be seen now, though.
Instead, Navan saw a few giants walking the streets below, as well as some monsters with the lower bodies of lions and the upper bodies of humans: lamias! This part of the city had large buildings, which had perhaps once served as temples or palaces. From one of them came the echoing sounds of many female voices singing a dark hymn. Inside a large courtyard, Navan saw a market where dark-robed, human-sized people had gathered and seemed to be conducting business.
Navan returned to the large amphitheater, where Ruh refreshed the invisibility on himself and his mount. He then went for a second pass around the western part of Xin-Shalast, and this time, his spell indicated the presence of a Sihedron Ring within a large, mostly ruined building at the southern edge of that district, right next to the cliff.
The companions, now all rendered invisible by Ruh, then flew away from the amphitheater and sought a sheltered spot on the mountain overlooking the southern section of the city, on the western side. From there, Navan ventured forth once again, still invisible. He passed over an open area where many hill, stone and frost giants huddled around campfires and in the entrances of some ruined buildings. They seemed quite idle, perhaps tired or hurt.
While Navan was flying above them, a mighty rune giant came out of one of the buildings and started giving orders to some of the giants, directing them toward the north to return to work. Navan continued flying south and east, passing over the fortress of glassy black stone at the southern edge of the city. Within it, a herd of thick-furred aurochs was being kept in a large pen, and the sentinels of that fortress all seemed to be ugly, feral-looking bird-men armed with huge bows.
Return to the Icemists
Navan did not locate another ring on this path, and he returned to his companions. They were tired, and had used most of their spells. They decided to fly back to the Fen of the Icemists. They were received as heroes by the giants, for they had returned alive from the dangers of Xin-Shalast. Dwillvir showed again his metallic orb to Ruh and asked her to activate it with her Sihedron Ring. When she did so, the globe started to hum gently for a few moments.
“Excellent, it’s working just I had expected! If you can locate the other rings, then it will be fully activated!” exclaimed the oracle. “But come, friends, pray tell us of your battles this day.”
Before the gathered giants, rangers and warriors, the companions described what they’d seen of the city, drawing a map on a piece of parchment, and also spoke of their battle against the terrible Ice Devil and the spectres.
Once that was done, Navan attempted to ask Desna where to find the third ring by divination, but received no answer. He asked Dwillvir to try and find the answer. The old frost giant performed a ritual of his own, focusing on a large and complex formation of ice in one of the caverns. After a few minutes, some strange shapes and lights appeared within the ice, which only the oracle understood. He translated the message he had received to the companions:
“The Lord of Death has enslaved the Spared
Within ruined darkness he has made his lair
The Hidden Beast hides behind this puppet
One of its victims bore the ring you covet.”
Pondering this, Navan tried a second Divination to find out how to access the place “down below” that the skeleton had mentioned. This time, he received an answer:
“Not all of my children have become enslaved
Some of them in the darkness still fade
An ancient prophecy their last hope to survive
Let yourself be seen; let them know you’re alive.”
“Huh?” wondered Navan. He told the rest of the group what he had learned. “Well, if Desna’s best advice is for us to act like fools and make noise so that the whole city’s going to come down on us, I’d consider that was a waste of a spell.”
Drithnar shrugged. “I guess Desna’s got her ways, you’ve got yours. It never ceases to amaze me how unlike Desna you are, my friend. It’s not a criticism, just an observation. You’re so… cerebral.”
“Would you rather we rush in blindly and get killed? Even by being ‘cerebral’ as you say, we almost perished today. Against only three enemies. Imagine how many more such fights we could have in Xin-Shalast…”
“Hey, don’t worry, buddy. I’ve got nothing against your methods. They’ve led us on the right path so far. And Desna must like it that way because she keeps giving you stronger and stronger powers. I’m just observing that you asked for some ‘Desna’ advice, and you complained because it sounded too ‘Desna’-esque. Anyway, you’re the priest, it’s your problem. Look, I’m starving. Can you summon dinner yet?”
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Starday, Abadius 16th, 4709
The lair of Ghlorofaex
The following morning, the heroes returned to Xin-Shalast to try to locate the second ring. Once again, they protected themselves with magic and flew above the peaks on their flying mounts. They carefully approached the southern edge of the western portion of Xin-Shalast. They landed on a remote ledge, where Ruh turned the entire group, including their mounts, invisible. She also cast a Telepathic Bond spell so they could communicate in silence and coordinate their attacks even though they couldn’t see each other.
The four companions flew down toward the building inside of which Navan had felt the presence of the second Sihedron Ring. The large building had likely once been a massive, solid fortress, but its northern half had been reduced to a heap of rubble. A wide entrance led into the darkness within, and the group approached it carefully. Ruh could see no magical wards, but Drithnar warned the others that he saw dragon tracks on the rocky ground.
“Looks like a big one,” said Drithnar mentally. “About the same size as the white dragon we fought on Rimeskull.”
“Can you tell what color this one is?” asked Navan.
“Nope. No idea.”
The four companions and their mounts entered the building and found themselves in a large room with two pillars in the middle. The light spells on their weapons illuminated the way. On their left, a wide passageway curved to the right, and to their right, a sturdy but rusted grate blocked the way to a set of stairs going up.
Navan quietly cast a Silence spell on a stone, and asked the two warriors to try to bend the bars leading to the stairs. Both tried and failed at first; after a few minutes of arduous work, though, the powerful Kerista managed to create an opening wide enough for everyone. Leaving their mounts behind, the companions went up the stairs. They reached the inside of a square tower, in the middle of which was an old, abandoned vault. The companions proceeded carefully, with Navan checking for traps, and they were still within the bubble of silence.
They explored several other rooms and found another vault that looked like it had been looted eons ago. Along the way, their invisibility spells expired. They finally found themselves in a room with two doors leading northwest. Drithnar opened one of them, and saw that it led into a large hall. But before he could do anything else, an intense trail of lightning exploded inside the room and blasted the ranger squarely. Kerista, who had been standing behind him, was also wounded, but she was able to dodge partly out of the way.
“DRAGON!!” yelled the two warriors mentally, for they had caught a glimpse of the enormous monster which had appeared out of the thin air just as it had breathed on Drithnar.
Navan was the quickest to act, but he was still stuck in the zone of silence: Kerista held the stone that had the enchantment on it. He quickly dodged past Drithnar and entered the hall through the left door. He saw the gigantic blue dragon that was standing further into the shadows; it was truly a magnificent and terrible creature to behold. Navan cast a Quickened Resist Energy – Lightning spell on himself, as well as a Dispel Magic spell on the dragon.
Drithnar then bolted past him and approached the dragon. He tumbled past the first of the mighty beast’s attacks, but with a terrible roar, the dragon then slashed, bit and stomped the unfortunate ranger. This was a terrible foe indeed, and Drithnar had already suffered much from its deadly breath weapon; these new attacks were too much for him, and he fell to the ground, covered in blood.
Kerista felt a sense of panic at seeing her beloved Drithnar fall to the ground, but she couldn’t shout… She rushed forward, throwing the silenced stone far back in the hallway they’d come from. Ruh followed her closely, casting a Quickened Displacement on her, and then starting a summoning spell.
Navan rushed to Drithnar’s help; the dragon’s jaw almost swallowed him as he ran within range, but he dodged out of the way at the last moment and only suffered a nasty bruise. Then, calling upon the power of Desna, he infused Drithnar with a mighty Heal spell. He also took the chance to cast a Quickened Resist Energy – Lightning on Kerista. Drithnar quickly regained consciousness and got back to his feet, eager to get a chance for revenge on his enemy.
“Pathetic worms!” roared the dragon, “You seek to steal the riches of Ghlorofaex? You will pay for your insolence!”
The dragon then attacked Kerista, hitting her with a few nasty attacks, but also missing her due to the displacement; it growled in frustration and hit Drithnar with its last attack instead of the well-defended paladin. Kerista moved forward to be able to retaliate, but the dragon bit her once more; she was now badly wounded, but healed herself with her divine powers.
The ground then started to rumble, and a huge monster burst out of the fortress’s floor: an earth elemental that Ruh had summoned. The two massive creatures roared at each other threateningly, and the elemental moved in to attack the dragon, although it failed to wound it due to its thick scales. An instant later, the dragon vanished!
“What the hell?...” began Drithnar.
“I cast a Maze spell on it!” said Ruh mentally. “It might return in but a few moments!”
The companions took the chance to heal and cast defensive spells, and the elemental lumbered forward, to place itself in a position to flank the dragon upon its return. The lull in the combat was short, though, for after only a few seconds, the massive blue dragon reappeared, even more enraged than before.
Drithnar slashed the dragon twice with his longsword, eager to spill the blood of one of his (many) favored enemies. The dragon retaliated with a mighty series of attacks, which threatened to tear the ranger to shreds, but in fact, the damage was shared between both warriors, for Kerista had cast a Shield Other spell on her lover while the dragon was in the maze. Kerista and the earth elemental both struck mighty blow against the dragon – although it was a powerful foe, it was now badly wounded, and dangerously surrounded. Ruh cast a Quickened Haste on the group, and started summoning another monster.
This time, the dragon decided to attack Navan, and it badly wounded him with its many deadly attacks; these attacks would’ve slain most mortals, but thankfully, Navan survived. Covered in his own blood and some of the dragon’s bile, he took a moment to shake some of the foul liquid off of his hat.
“Could be worse…” he muttered, and then he cast a Heal spell on himself.
Drithnar and Kerista struck the dragon again, but even such mighty warriors as them had trouble getting past the monster’s incredibly hard scales. Another huge elemental, this time made of air, appeared near the dragon, but neither it nor its earth counterpart succeeded in wounding the dragon.
After summoning this new ally, Ruh blasted the dragon with a barrage of devastating spells: a Maximized Scorching Ray and a Quickened Scorching Ray of Cold. Much to her surprise, the cold spell had no effect on her foe. She was bewildered, for she knew blue dragons very well, having studied them since she was a child.
“But… but… that’s mathemagically impossible!” she said to herself. “Blue Dragons aren’t immune to cold!”
Nevertheless, the dragon had been terribly injured by the fire spell. As it reeled in pain, Drithnar jumped up and pierced the dragon’s throat with his sword; using all of his strength, the ranger then yanked it to the side, opening a deep gash in the dragon’s neck. Dark blood flowed down to the ground, and over the victorious ranger, as the mighty dragon fell to the ground with a thundering crash.
“Oooohhhhh yeeeaaahhh!!!!” roared Drithnar.
Once again, the four heroes had been victorious against a terribly powerful enemy. Though it had been about the same size as Arkrhyst the white dragon, this blue dragon had been even more dangerous. The two elementals were ordered to stand watch at the entrance of the hall while the companions healed themselves. Once that was done, the group searched the area. On the dragon’s body, they found two rings, including the Sihedron Ring they had been looking for. In a small room, adjacent to the great hall, was stored the dragon’s hoard: thousands of silver and gold pieces, dozens of gems, and several potent magical items.
Ruh took a few minutes to identify the various pieces of treasure they’d found. The elementals were now gone, so the rest of the group stood watch. They divided the most powerful items among themselves. Navan took a ring of greater cold resistance (which had rendered the dragon so resistant to cold), and Kerista took the Sihedron Ring and a ring of evasion.
Morgiv’s heroes
As they finished dealing with the treasure, they heard a faint whisper nearby. They looked around, but could see no enemy, no magic, and even Kerista could sense no evil. Eventually, Ruh understood that the voice whispered in Thassilonian.
“Saviors… You are the Saviors… I found you…”
Navan cast a Tongues spell on himself, and addressed the mysterious voice:
“Show yourself. I am a follower of Desna.” He showed the symbol of his goddess.
“The winged goddess… so it was true…” came back the whisper.
Suddenly, the adventurers were surprised to see a small, pale humanoid dressed in dusty rags appear before them. It seemed it had been camouflaged against the wall. Its skin was doughy and its beady little eyes were almost entirely black. It was unarmed and looked rather harmless.
“It’s a skulk,” said Ruh to the others through the mental link.
“She told me you would come,” said the being in a whisper. It seemed unable to speak louder than that.
“Who did?” asked Navan.
“The winged goddess… I was in her house. Her light shone on me through the window, and I heard her voice in my head. She said you would come.”
“She has also spoken to me. I am one of her priests. She said that I would find her lost children. I assume that she was talking about you, and those who are with you, under the earth. With the Lord of Death.”
“Yes,” replied the pale man. Despite his fat, doughy features, he moved gracefully, and from time to time, he faded back into nothingness, then reappeared. Even the keen-eyed Drithnar couldn’t keep him in sight at all times. “He has taken many of us.” He still spoke only in a whisper, and the companions had trouble hearing him at times. “We have survived for very long here, for many, many, many centuries. In this very dangerous place, hiding… and watching. But when the Lord of Death appeared, he took many of my brothers and sisters in his evil darkness. And he enslaved them into fates worse than death. Now, those who remain free are afraid. We live in constant fear. As time passes, more and more of us are taken. My brothers and sisters are starting to lose hope, but I didn’t lose hope. I knew you would come.”
“We are here to break the chain,” stated Navan. “We are here with the goal of getting rid of Runelord Karzoug, who has awoken. And in doing so, we will free this place and your people.”
“I knew you would come. They laughed at me when I told them you would come, but I’m glad to know I was right. I saw your pictures on the wall…”
Navan turned to Kerista and asked mentally: “Is this guy evil, by the way?”
“No,” she replied.
“My name is Morgiv,” whispered the pale man. “What are your names?”
“I am Navan Attaway, Cleric of Desna. These are my friends, Ruh the Conjuror, Drithnar of the Black Arrows and Kerista the Pure.”
Morgiv bowed before them. He also looked at the enormous corpse of the dragon. “You have slain Ghlorofaex!” he exclaimed as loudly as he could whisper. “He was a terrible creature, very powerful, feared by many in this city. I know that he was looking forward to Karzoug’s return. I think he was to become one of his most powerful servants. I think even the lamias were afraid of him. If you were strong enough to kill Ghlorofaex, maybe you will be strong enough to kill the Lord of Death.”
“But who is this Lord of Death? Where did he come from? Is he allied with Karzoug?”
“We do not know… About fifty years ago, he appeared in our realm.” Morgiv hesitated for a moment. “You know, we are called the Spared, we survived the great darkness that lasted almost forever, very long ago. We were saved by the priestess Mesmina. She was our saintly mother.”
“A priestess of Desna?”
“No. She worshipped the rune-goddess Lissala. She saved us. She taught us how to hide. How to be safe. We’ve been hiding in the city below, in the Hypogeum.”
“In the what?”
“The Hypogeum. It’s the name of the under-city. Most monsters don’t go there. They do not know the secret ways in, but I know. The Spared know the way. For a long time, many many centuries I think, my people have remained hidden in the Hypogeum. Sometimes, some of us were killed by the giants and lamias that lived in the outside world. But for the most part, the Spared were safe down below. Yet fifty years ago, this changed. We don’t know where he came from, but… he is a terrible being. He comes at us from the darkness and almost nobody survives his attacks. Some of the few who have survived to tell the tale say that he was a monstrous being of utter darkness. Others spoke of a skeletal man shrouded in black robes, wearing an iron crown. The Lord of Death does not even release its victims into death: it turns them into its slaves, controlling them beyond death. By now, many of the Spared have become his slaves. I fear that if he remains, he will turn all of us into his slaves. He is a terrible foe. I fear him much more than I fear Karzoug. Karzoug will be in the outside world, he will not bother us in the Hypogeum, but the Lord of Death wants to rule us. Please! Please, I beg you! You have killed Ghlorofaex! Please attack the Lord of Death! Free the Spared!”
“Where is the way in?” asked Navan.
“I can show you! Morgiv knows the way… But I am very scared. I cannot lead you all the way. I can lead you most of the way to where we think the Lord of Death resides. I am too scared to face the Lord of Death.”
“We will come. We will take care of the Lord of Death. It’s part of our mission. Actually, our destiny is to confront him. He has something we need.”
“What is this?” whispered Morgiv.
“A ring like this one,” replied Navan, showing Ruh’s Sihedron Ring. “Unfortunately, though, we need to rest after the terrible fight against this dragon.”
“I can bring you to a safe place in the Hypogeum. You will rest in peace. The giants and lamias won’t find us.”
Navan translated the conversation to the rest of the group. They weren’t sure they could trust him, but they decided to take the chance.
Ruh turned the group invisible, and together, they followed Morgiv out of the building. They were holding hands to avoid getting lost. On the way out, Ruh noticed an aura of abjuration in the main hallway: most likely, the dragon had warded it with an Alarm spell which they had bypassed.
Into the Hypogeum
Morgiv led the companions through the ruins of the northwestern part of Xin-Shalast. For the first time, the group was actually walking on the ground among the gigantic ruined buildings. Several of them looked like ancient temples. They passed behind a ruined construction of enormous proportions. Its walls were still decorated with statues of jade peacocks, and the adventurers recognized a shrine of the Peacock Spirit.
Giants and lamias were roaming the streets. Thankfully, the companions were able to avoid them all. Most of the lamias looked like those they had fought in Jorgenfist: creatures with the lower bodies of mountain lions and upper bodies of humans. But they also saw one whose lower body was a giant green snake, like Lucrecia’s, and another lion-bodied lamia, but who was much larger than the others: she was as huge as a giantess, and the others bowed before her as if she were their mistress.
But other beings lived in Xin-Shalast as well. The group saw several men wandering the streets; they wore dark hooded robes. There was something strange about the way they walked, which perhaps hinted at the fact that they were in truth not human. As a pair of them passed by the invisible heroes, they spoke in hushed tones in an alien language. Only Navan understood their words by magic:
“… more supplies. We could make a very good profit since they are preparing for war,” said the first.
“This will all become much easier after the opening,” replied the second one. “For now, we have to make do with what we have.”
Eventually, Morgiv led the group through a dark opening in the side of a building, down some stairs, and through a thin crack in a wall that led them into an underground maze: the Hypogeum. Indeed, there was another huge city underneath the Xin-Shalast the adventurers had seen on the surface. They could not fully grasp its immensity, as their lights only reflected dimly on the edge of ruined buildings or leering statues as they walked through vast hallways and partially collapsed caverns. At other times, they walked down cramped hallways, or went up or down crumbling stairs. Here and there, some tunnels had collapsed, and others had been walled off.
“We had to seal off some parts of the Hypogeum,” commented Morgiv, “there were dangerous beings that lurked there.”
Every now and then, Morgiv quietly greeted someone, most likely another one of the Spared, although the companions never saw any of them: they were clearly masters of camouflage. Finally, Morgiv brought the companions to a small, dusty complex where some dirty bedrolls were lined up on the floor.
“Welcome to my family’s residence,” he said. “Please make yourselves at home.”
As the companions settled in, he offered them some water and some stone-hard bread. It was obvious that the Spared lived in miserable conditions. Navan thanked him, but said he’d summon some magical food when they were hungry.
The companions decided to rest there for the remainder of the day: they wanted to have access to all of their most powerful abilities when they fought the Lord of Death.
A few other people of the Spared joined Morgiv throughout the day. They seemed scared of the characters, but Morgiv convinced them that they were heroes who could potentially save them from the Lord of Death. Morgiv told the adventurers that, according to the prophecy, Mesmina had long ago foretold that, once the Spared were once again driven into slavery, outsiders that looked like their ancestors on the city’s murals would appear and save them. He even showed the murals to the companions: they depicted humans of the days of Thassilon. Indeed, they looked a lot more like the characters (or like the human race in general) than like the Spared.
Ruh hypothesized that, of the humans who had lived in Xin-Shalast, those who’d escaped the city when the empire had fallen had become the ancestors of those who were now known as the Varisians and Shoanti. But it seemed like those who’d stayed in Xin-Shalast had transformed into Skulks, having had to hide in order to survive in this dangerous environment.
Navan questioned Ruh about the various kinds of lamias they had seen in Xin-Shalast. She told her companions that the first lamia had been a human priestess of Pharasma, cursed by her goddess for some terrible sin into the form of a being that was half-beast. From that cursed woman had come an entire race of foul monsters. The most common lamias were those with the lions’ bodies, and they could be either male or female. They were wicked and had natural powers to torture and control the minds of other creatures.
Once in a while, a lamia was born who was naturally more powerful than the rest of her race. Those were always female lamias. There were the matriarchs, who had the bodies of snakes, and who were highly skilled in magic. Lucrecia had been one of those.
Then there were the harridans, who looked like gigantic version of the regular lamias. They were the mistresses of their race, stronger than all others, and they were blessed with divine powers. This was ironic, as lamias were in fact bitter atheists. They hated gods, especially Pharasma, but were able to obtain divine-like powers from the philosophical ideal of greed; this had of course made them very popular as servants of the Runelords of Greed.
There were three other races of creatures that might be linked to the lamias. First were the harpies. Second were the kuchrimas, foul disease-ridden carrion-eating half-bird, half-humanoid beings of low intelligence but of great malevolence. They were vicious but cowardly predators, and not as powerful as other lamias. As a result, they were often enslaved and mistreated by the other, more powerful lamias.
Finally came the hungerers, who were enormous, disgustingly fat creatures who had strange powers. It was rumored that they were in fact perhaps the result of magical experimentations on lamias. Apparently, they were as dangerous as they were hideous.
Morgiv asked the companions many questions about the outside world. He had no idea what the rest of Golarion looked like, and was fascinated to hear about places like Sandpoint, Magnimar and Quantium.
He was able to give the characters more information about Xin-Shalast as well. The leaders of the city were rune giants and lamias, just as the adventurers suspected. The mistress of the lamias was a harridan who was called Most High Ceoptra; it seemed that these days, she was always in the Spires of Xin-Shalast: the buildings that were located near the summit of Mhar-Massif, the residence of Runelord Karzoug himself.
Morgiv had not seen Runelord Karzoug before, but he believed that was in the Spires as well. He had however seen two humans, a man and a woman, who had been dealing with the lamias. They seemed powerful, and the lamia harridans seemed to treat them as equals.
The fortress of black stone at the southern edge of the city was manned by a garrison of foul kuchrimas, the bird-men Navan had seen earlier. They were also in charge of taking care of a herd of mountain aurochs, which served as a source of food for many of the city’s inhabitants. A few months ago, the kuchrimas had rebelled to try to get better living conditions, but they had been forced into submission by the giants and lamias. Many of them had died, and now, the fortress was badly defended.
Another item of note was the Tangle. This was the large patch of vegetation the companions had seen on the eastern edge of the city. It was very mysterious, as those who ventured within it tended not to return. And from within its green depths came the sounds and cries of strange creatures. It seemed that even the lamias feared to tread inside.
On the western side of the city, in a huge building, lived a tribe of abominable snowmen, vicious hunters who seemed to obey the lamias for some reason.
The dark-robed “men” were, as the companions suspected, not human. Morgiv said they were very dangerous and possessed strange powers. They had only started living in the city in the past few years. At first, there had only been a few, but now, more and more of them were spreading throughout the city. He had heard the lamias refer to them as “the Denizens of Leng”.
|
|
Sunday, Abadius 17th, 4709
The Lord of Death
The companions spent almost an entire day resting in Morgiv’s lair. During the night, Kerista received a Sending from Sebania, who was worried about them. She briefly explained to her what had happened.
Navan summoned a Heroes’ Feast for the group, and the few skulks present also took part in the meal; they were amazed, for never before in their lives had they tasted such succulent food. Morgiv’s peers brightened and started believing that indeed, perhaps these strangers might be the ones who would free them from the Lord of Death.
Morgiv later led the companions through dark tunnels, to the area where he believed the Lord of Death had made his lair. He wished them good luck, and they continued without him after casting some protective magic on themselves. Eventually, they reached an old iron door. Navan opened it easily, but directly beyond it, Ruh saw some abjuration magic radiating from the floor. Her companions had already stepped on it.
“An alarm spell, perhaps,” she said mentally.
“There’s no time to lose, then,” said Navan. “Let’s get ready and go!”
After casting a few shorter-duration spells on themselves, such as Death Ward, the companions continued down the tunnel quickly. After a few minutes, they entered a large room with pillars, and two tunnels leading into darkness in the far walls. Kerista’s earthbreaker was shining with Daylight, and it illuminated the thick mass of spiders crawling on the floor. Beyond them, sitting on a stone throne at the end of the room, was a skeletal figure draped in dusty black robes. It wore an iron crown, and near it floated four globes of light, similar to the will-o-wisps the companions had fought in the Shimmerglens near Hook Mountain.
“Lord of Death!” announced Navan in Thassilonian, “We have come to bring an end to your reign of terror! We are the ones who killed the dragon Ghlorofaex!”
“Who are you,” rasped the skeleton in a voice from beyond the grave, “… mortal… I feel the warmth of your blood… you have come to serve me…”
“We have come to fight you, we shall not die on this day, for Desna is with us!” said Navan, interrupting the undead. “And Sarenrae, goddess of light!”
“I do not care about these names… they are alien to my ears… step forward… fleshling… I wish to drink your blood… step forward and kneel before your lord…”
“Lord? Don’t you know we’ve come to kill Karzoug? Do you think yourself more powerful than him?”
“I am the Lord of Death… I am more powerful than all… I am more powerful than life… step forward and join me for eternity…”
Meanwhile, Ruh was looking at their foes, and she saw an aura of illusion on the Lord of Death, and evocation on the will-o-wisps. She was also trying to translate the discussion for Drithnar and Kerista. Suddenly, Drithnar grunted in surprise.
“What the hell?” he grunted.
The others looked at him in silence, asking him what was wrong mentally. He did not reply.
“Something’s happening!” he said out loud.
And the companions understood that something was wrong. Now was time for combat!
Ruh cast a Quickened Haste on the group and a Maximized Fireball into the room, roasting the thousands of spiders crawling on the ground. The Lord of Death and the will-o-wisps didn’t seem to be affected, though. Drithnar then charged through the charred mass of spiders and stabbed one of the will-o-wisps with his blade, but it went right through it.
Then, ten shadowy shapes came out of the walls and surrounded the group. They seemed to be bothered by Kerista’s bright light, but still came at the companions. Their attacks caused them no harm, though, for they were protected by Death Ward… except for Drithnar, who felt his strength ebbing from his muscles as one of the shadows drained him.
Kerista brandished her symbol of Sarenrae and a golden beam of sunlight came out of it, destroying half of the shadows. Navan cast a Dispel Magic and Quickened Dispel Magic on the Lord of Death, who disappeared.
“Mislead!” said Navan to his companions in the mental link, as he ran forward to catch up to Drithnar.
Suddenly, three more enemies materialized out of the shadows. They were dressed in black clothes, and their white skin looked somewhat like Morgiv’s, yet their malevolent red eyes identified them as the Lord of the Death’s minions. Judging by how well they had been hidden before attacking, these creatures must have once been skulks, but they were now some form of undead. Navan blocked his attacker, but the other two rounded on Drithnar. One of them struck the ranger a nasty blow, which also drained him of energy.
Meanwhile, the will-o-wisps were merely hovering close to Drithnar, but weren’t attacking him. Some time later in the fight, the companions understood that they had been mere Dancing Lights all along.
Suddenly, Ruh, who was flying above the ground with an Overland Flight spell, was attacked by a terrible fiend! Tentacles wrapped around her and squeezed her painfully, almost slaying her instantly!
Screaming in surprise and pain, Ruh cast a Stoneskin spell on herself and a Quickened Dispel Magic on her enemy, which looked like a large, multi-colored, disgusting octopus-like flying monster. Her companions saw that she was getting hurt, but none of them could see the creature: it was still invisible.
Meanwhile, Drithnar struck one of his attackers, while shadows struck at Kerista and Ruh uselessly, as they were immune. Kerista infused Ruh with the healing light of Sarenrae, laying her hands on the wounded gnome. Navan cast a Death Ward spell on Drithnar, who was hit by a nasty blow from one of the vampires. Another skulk lunged out of the shadows and attacked Navan. Now, each man was being flanked by two of the pale fiends.
The Hidden Beast struck Ruh again with its many tentacles, but this time, the Stoneskin spell absorbed most of the damage. Ruh then cast a Maze spell on the monster, which disappeared.
“I cast a Maze spell on my attacker!” she said to the others telepathically, knowing they couldn’t tell it was gone since it had been invisible anyway.
Kerista called out Sarenrae’s name again and destroyed the five remaining shadows in a glorious burst of sunlight. Navan cast Invisibility Purge, while Drithnar kept fighting his enemies. They were very agile, unfortunately, and dodged most of his blows. What’s more, they seemed highly resistant to both of his weapons.
While Ruh chanted the words of a summoning spell, Kerista turned her holy symbol toward the skulks, and forced Navan’s two attackers to flee. One went to cower in a far corner of the room, while the other fled down one of the tunnels. Navan cast a Heal spell on Ruh, who was still very badly wounded.
Ruh finished her incantation, and an avoral guardinal appeared. The gnome directed the majestic bird-man to guard the spot where the Hidden Beast had disappeared, and then she cast a Greater Invisibility spell on herself. She was quite surprised to realize she remained visible, and only later realized that Navan had cast an Invisibility Purge!
Drithnar finally killed one of the two skulks; it dissolved into a translucent mist which started to flow toward the far wall, going up to a narrow balcony above the throne. Navan cast a two Fly spells on the warriors.
Ruh shot a Lightning Bolt at the cowering skulk, using the wand she’d found in Ghlorofaex’s lair, but the nimble creature dodged it. Drithnar killed the only remaining, non-cowering skulk, and then went to finish off the cowering one.
While everyone kept an eye on the spot where the Hidden Beast had disappeared before being thrown into the maze, the companions healed their wounds as best they could. They noticed that all three of the dead skulks had, much like vampires, turned into mist, and had disappeared into cracks in the far wall.
Ruh cast a Stoneskin spell on each warrior, and Navan protected Drithnar with a Shield Other spell.
The Avoral disappeared, and about thirty seconds after that, the Hidden Beast returned, and this time, everyone saw it, thanks to Navan’s Invisibility Purge. However, it was also surrounded by Mirror Images. Before the heroes could react, the hideous monster wrapped its tentacles around Kerista, but thankfully, much of the damage was absorbed by the Stoneskin.
Drithnar retaliated, but only one of his attacks damaged the monster, the others instead destroying mirror images. Navan and Ruh blasted the monster with a Dispel Magic, two Quickened Dispel Magic’s, and a Greater Dispel Magic. Still, surprisingly, it remained flying even after this anti-magic barrage. Kerista also struck the monster with her earthbreaker, empowered to smite evil. She had managed to escape the Hidden Beast’s grapple as she was protected by Freedom of Movement.
But the Hidden Beast was a powerful enemy indeed. It kept attacking Kerista relentlessly, and it pierced through all of her Stoneskin, leaving the bloodied paladin at the brink of death.
While Drithnar stabbed the monster, Navan approached Kerista; he got struck by a tentacle, and avoided being grappled by Desna’s divine power of freedom. He healed the worst of Kerista’s wounds with a Heal spell. From behind him, Ruh unleashed a Maximized Scorching Ray spell that badly wounded the Hidden Beast.
Kerista lifted her earthbreaker high above her head, and once again called for Sarenrae’s blessing, hitting the Hidden Beast with one final deadly blow that caused it to disintegrate into an acrid cloud of mist. It floated toward the throne, and disappeared into cracks beneath it.
Meanwhile, the fourth skulk had returned and tried to attack Ruh, but the companions slew it easily.
The adventurers had survived the terrible Hidden Beast, which had tricked them with an illusion of the Lord of Death; they now understood that the Lord of Death had never even existed, and that the threat to the Spared had been the Hidden Beast all along. They now better understood Dwillvir’s divination from two days before:
“The Lord of Death has enslaved the Spared
Within ruined darkness he has made his lair
The Hidden Beast hides behind this puppet
One of its victims bore the ring you covet.”
Indeed, Drithnar had noticed that the Hidden Beast wore a Sihedron Ring around one of its tentacles. Ruh found no secret doors by magic, but used a Passwall spell to access the cavity below the throne. There, the companions saw a large stone coffin that contained the bloody carcass of the Hidden Beast. Using her adamantine earthbreaker, Kerista destroyed the coffin, preventing the vampiric creature from regenerating. Ruh and Navan knew how to kill a vampire, but none of the other methods seemed feasible at the time.
The companions looted some magical items from the monster, including the precious Sihedron Ring, and returned to the room above. They created another Passwall into the wall above the throne, and accessed a large room filled with dozens of stone coffins. Four of those contained bloody skulks. Kerista took the time to destroy all the coffins, which took her almost two hours, leaving her sweaty and panting, but with the satisfaction of a job well done.
Later, the companions retraced their steps and informed Morgiv of the good news: the Spared were now safe from the Hidden Beast and its false “Lord of Death”. Morgiv quietly rejoiced in his usual whispers, and profusely thanked the heroes for their help. He said he would ask some of his brethren to lend whatever help they could in the upcoming assault of Xin-Shalast: although they weren’t warriors, they could spy and sabotage on behalf of the invading army. He also told the companions that he knew of a good way to reach the Spires of Xin-Shalast without attracting too much attention. However, even through that secret tunnel, it would take several hours to reach the Spires of Xin-Shalast, for they were very high up in the mountains. Also, the secret tunnel was, he thought, guarded by a terrible creature – those who had ventured into the tunnel in recent years had not returned. Navan said he might contact him by magic, but that otherwise, he would try to meet him at Ghlorofaex’s lair at sun down.
Morgiv led the weary heroes back to a discreet area on the surface, where Ruh summoned four new magical steeds. After saying good-bye to their new friend, the four companions started flying back toward the Fen of the Icemists, with the satisfaction that they had in their possession all three of the Sihedron Rings that were needed to activate Dwillvir’s device!
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sunday, Abadius 17th, 4709 (continued)
The heroes return
A cold wind blew harshly over the Fen of the Icemists. The place was usually very quiet, as it was mostly uninhabited; but recently, many soldiers had gathered at its southeastern edge. The sounds of their voices and combat practice broke the silence during the daylight hours. Those people were getting ready to go to war.
Krog aimed his bow carefully, eyeing the target that stood a hundred paces away. He released the arrow and watched it lodge itself at the edge of the target a moment later. It hadn’t been an impressive shot.
“You suck!” observed Kaven with a grin.
The big warrior turned toward him with a furious glare. “Don’t make me punch the teeth out of that dirty mouth of yours, little man!” he growled.
Conveniently, the three rangers, the five warriors of wrath, and Sebania the enchantress all spoke the tongue of giants, so they’d been able to communicate with each other, and with their enormous hosts, during the past few days.
“He’s right, Krog,” said Bakra, who stood close by with Shalelu. The two women were also practicing their archery skills. “You’re our strongest warrior, but your skill with the bow leaves to be desired. You need to train harder.”
“Bah, why should I bother with it when I can rely on my mighty spells, and my deadly blade?”
“Because we’re going to take part in a great battle soon. It might last for hours. You need to remain useful even once you run out of spells!”
“And I don’t think you want to take on those twenty-foot tall giants in melee, do you?” added Shalelu.
“I’m not afraid…” grunted Krog.
Shalelu smiled and got closer to the big man. “Here, let’s work on your grip first… Take it more like this…”
Meanwhile, Simri and Targonna were sitting on a boulder not far from there. Next to them were the bows that Jakardros had crafted for them. The two women had practiced all morning and were now taking a much-needed break.
“I think Krog really likes that green-haired elf,” said Targonna with a smile.
Simri chuckled. “Too bad for him she’ll cut him if he ever tries anything funny. She’s a fierce one.”
“Yes. I heard that she was once the High Lord’s mentor. She deserves our respect at least for that.” The dark-haired woman paused for a few moments. “Oh, I hope the High Lord and his companions are all right! What are we going to do if they don’t come back?”
“They will come back, I’m sure of it. Sebania contacted Kerista this morning by magic. If they survived the onslaught of a dragon, they can survive anything.”
“Even a Runelord?”
“… I hope so.”
Targonna looked around. The world was a scary place. She had only been outside of Runeforge for a few weeks, but she had seen countless strange things since then. She had been amazed at how weak the people of Sandpoint had been; almost none of them had knowledge of magic, and most of them weren’t trained in even the most basic combat techniques. She and her peers had been vastly superior to them. Yet now, they felt puny and fragile compared to the giants they lived with.
Not far from her, a massive storm giantess was making tiny fur clothes for them – the “little people”. The giantess caught Targonna’s stare and smiled at her almost as a mother would smile to a child.
Suddenly, Simri sat up. She was pointing at the sky. “They’re here!” she shouted for all to hear.
Indeed, four shapes in the sky approached, and everyone soon saw that they were the adventurers and their magical mounts. The four heroes landed, and were greeted by the giants and their friends.
“We have them!” announced Drithnar triumphantly. “We found the other rings!”
“You look like you had to fight hard to get them, High Lord,” said Bakra.
“We did,” replied Navan. “We’ll tell you all about that in due time.”
“Come inside,” said Shalelu. “The commanders are making plans for the upcoming battle.”
The elf led the weary companions inside the dark caves, which were lit here and there by torches. As they approached the large cavern which served for the war council, they became aware of raised voices echoing around them.
“I am the Jarl of the Ice Moon Clan now,” bellowed a powerful voice, “and I get to decide how our warriors will be deployed in battle!”
“But we must do so in unison with Duke Vidarian’s forces…” stated a female voice.
“Silence! You will learn your place, woman!” growled the first voice.
The companions entered the large hall and saw that several giants were gathered around a massive map of Xin-Shalast. Bormandar and Gunnidra were arguing bitterly. The son of the defunct Jarl seemed to be on the verge of striking the oracle’s daughter; more than ever, he looked like a feral frost giant from the tales that depicted them as bloodthirsty barbarians.
“She’s right, oh Jarl,” said Arak, who had been studying the map. He, Jakardros and Sebania had taken part in the council, lending their aid to the strategic planning based on their own experiences. “What you propose would leave our forces too divided.”
The frost giant turned on the (relatively) small human. “And what would you know of battle, runt? I’ve heard the tale, you come from an alien world, where you lived sheltered for thousands of years. You know nothing about war!”
“You might say that,” countered Arak. “Indeed, I have never known the glory of a battle as grand as the one we will soon fight, but I have spent my entire live studying strategy. I’ve been preparing for this since I was born.”
“The human is right, Bormandar,” said Duke Vidarian. “But let us put these squabbles to the side for now: our friends have returned.”
All eyes turned toward the four companions.
“Wonderful, you’re back!” said Sebania with a warm smile. “Did you find the rings?”
“We have,” said Navan, holding up one of them, while Ruh and Kerista did the same. “Where’s Dwillvir?”
“He’s spent the entire day in the Seeing Cave. I think he’s performing divinations about the upcoming battle. Come, let us bring him the good news.”
“… if he already doesn’t know about them from his ice crystal.” added Shalelu with a grin.
Sebania and Shalelu led the adventurers to one of the deepest caves in the complex. Gunnidra also came with them, eager to see her father’s reaction to the good news.
“I’m sorry,” said Navan, “I didn’t mean to interrupt the war council.”
“It’s all right,” growled the powerful giantess, “you likely saved Bormandar’s life. I was about to strangle him…”
“I didn’t see Kamanar in there either, is he with Dwillvir?” said Kerista. She had only recently learned the language of giants, and still spoke it hesitantly.
Gunnidra shook her silver-haired head. “No, he’s out with Svevenka. They’re using their druidic powers to shift the layout of the Fen, to keep us hidden from our enemies.”
The threads of destiny
They finally reached Dwillvir’s dark cave. They found the ancient oracle there, sitting on a boulder, starting at the shimmering formation of icy crystal before him.
“Father… The humans have returned with the three rings of power!” announced Gunnidra.
The seer did not move. The companions looked at each other with puzzled expression.
“Father, are you all right?”
Finally, Dwillvir turned to face the group. He wore a grim expression, and his eyes were deep pools of blackness. He spoke in a hoarse, sad voice. “Yes… I am all right.”
Ruh, Navan and Kerista approached him, and presented the three Sihedron Rings. Dwillvir looked at each one in turn, and then took out the massive metallic orb from the folds of his fur cloak. He held it out before him, low enough for the adventurers to reach, and they all placed their rings against it. Runes lit up on the sphere’s surface, and it started to hum louder and louder. The glow of the runes was reflected in Dwillvir’s eyes, and it shone on his wrinkled face.
“It worked… It worked…” he said. “The orb is now activated!” He spoke a few more incantations, and it stopped humming. “I have stabilized it. We are finally ready for war.”
“Are you all right, Dwillvir?” asked Sebania. “I thought you would’ve been happier?”
Dwillvir gave her a small smile. “I am happy. The orb is complete, thanks to the heroics of Navan, Kerista, Drithnar and Ruh. It now holds the power to protect us from the rune giants, and to free our captive brethren! There is now hope where there was none before. Soon, we will have vengeance.”
“Did you see anything useful in that crystal of yours?” asked Drithnar.
Dwillvir glared at him darkly.
“You’re an oracle, right?” continued the ranger. “Did you see anything that might help us?”
“The future is fragmented,” answered Dwillvir enigmatically. “A maze of destiny opens up before us. Many of its twists and turns lead to sinister oblivion. I have seen that many hardships lie in store for all of us. Yet we will not fight in vain: I have seen that Karzoug will not threaten our world after the coming battle. So we will be victorious.”
The companions cheered at this, but they sobered up after a few moments when they saw that Dwillvir still looked grim.
“But know that your victory will come with a price: some of us will not survive the battle.”
“Which ones?” asked Sebania anxiously.
“I cannot speak of this, for if I pull out the threads of destiny, I will unravel the weave of the future and render my visions obsolete. Please put these concerns out of your minds and focus on what must be done: Runelord Karzoug must be stopped at all cost!”
A few minutes later, the adventurers returned to the war council’s cave. Dwillvir and Gunnidra had gone with them, and all of the “little ones” were present as well. The companions told the tale of their latest adventure to everyone assembled. They spoke of Morgiv and of the secret way he had described as leading all the way up to the spires of Xin-Shalast.
“While you giants attack the Xin-Shalast itself,” said Navan, “we will sneak into the Spires high above, using this secret entrance, and attack Karzoug in his own lair.”
“A bold plan,” said Duke Vidarian.
“We will go with you, High Lord Drithnar!” said Bakra eagerly.
“Yes, Bakra. We will go together against Karzoug in this final battle!” said Drithnar.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” All eyes turned toward Dwillvir.
“Why not?” asked Drithnar.
“Just like the wizard Vraxeris whose journal you read in Runeforge, I tried to access the Spires of Xin-Shalast by the way of the mind. It is not possible. The entire area is surrounded by an occlusion field that protects it utterly. It is not possible to penetrate it in this way, nor by teleportation, which is risky anyway. While in the Spires of Xin-Shalast, those not attuned to the occlusion field risk getting shocked by its powerful aura at frequent intervals: even the strongest among us would not survive this for long. I am afraid it would spell certain death for your followers, Drithnar, and even for giants.”
“Crap,” commented Drithnar.
“Is there any way for us to get through the occlusion field?” asked Ruh.
“One can get attuned to it by pledging allegiance to Karzoug and getting branded with his sacred mark upon one’s flesh: those who bear the Sihedron Rune may enter unharmed.”
Navan looked toward his brother, but Kaven avoided his gaze. Shalelu also glared hard at the one who had betrayed them in the shadows of Hook Mountain.
“But there is another way as well. The Domineering Runeforged weapons you bear will allow you to ignore the occlusion field’s effects.”
“So it’s only the four of us who’ll be able to go up against Karzoug, then?” asked Drithnar.
“I’m afraid so,” replied Dwillvir.
Drithnar turned toward Bakra. “Sorry, Bakra. All of you, warriors of wrath. Jakardros, Shalelu, Kaven. You too, Sebania. You won’t be able to come with us against Karzoug. That’s probably a good thing for you.” He chuckled, even though Bakra, Krog and Shalelu especially looked disappointed not to be able to go with the heroes on this final step of their grand adventure. “But you can still play a part in the battle that’s to come. Please, go with Dwillvir’s army. Help them in the battle in any way you can.”
Bakra nodded bitterly, but she stood up straight, saluted Drithnar, and replied: “Yes, sir!”
Then, for about an hour, the companions discussed strategy with the giants. They were pleased with what the giants had come up with for the assault on Xin-Shalast. Duke Vidarian would be leading the assault.
“I think this has a good chance of working,” said Navan to the Duke after the session was over, “as long as Dwillvir’s orb works like we think it will.”
“Yes, I think this is a sound strategy,” said the cloud giant. “Have you ever heard the tale of the Grand Polemarch Turengate, Navan?”
“No, what’s that?”
“He was a rune giant, and the mightiest general who ever served the nation of Shalast. Some say he was the greatest military strategist who ever lived. During Karzoug’s many conflicts with the other Runelords, it is said that Turengate’s army suffered few setbacks, and no defeats. He is the only general to have faced Alaznist’s personal army on the field of battle and walked away a clear victor.”
“You seem to know a lot about him,” replied Navan.
“I admire his skill as a commander, though he was surely an evil being. It is said that he wrote a mystical book called the Ebidwar, which contains the entirety of his military strategies. Should such a tome have ever really existed, and should it have survived the passage of the millennia, chances are that it could very well be in Xin-Shalast. It is said that anyone reading it and applying its tactics would become an almost unbeatable general.”
Navan scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Well, let’s hope nobody in Xin-Shalast has read the Ebidwar, then!” he said with a grin.
Farewells
It was decided that the attack would take place two days later, in the morning. The companions would attack the Spires of Xin-Shalast, where they hoped to find Karzoug and defeat him, while the battle raged in Lower Xin-Shalast. Navan bought a great quantity of diamond dust from the giants, giving them most of the gold the group had found in the dragon and devil’s hoards in exchange.
Kerista approached Dwillvir and Gunnidra as they were talking to each other in low voices. She carried the mighty spear of the ice devil.
“Excuse me,” she said as she solemnly approached Gunnidra.
The frost giantess stared at the intricately carved weapon.
“My friends and I decided to give you this weapon for the upcoming battle,” said Kerista. “I have tasted its sting personally, and I can guarantee you that it is a very powerful weapon.”
Gunnidra took the spear and lifted it proudly. “Thank you, Kerista. I will bear it in battle; may it strike fear in the hearts of our foes.”
Kerista nodded. “I’m sorry, Gunnidra, but could you excuse us, please?”
Gunnidra looked from the paladin to her father. “Of course…” she said, and she left the two together.
Kerista approached the old frost giant. “What is it, little one?” asked the oracle.
“Does she know?” asked Kerista in a choked voice. She was looking down at the cavern’s floor.
“Does she know what?”
Kerista lifted her gaze toward Dwillvir, and he saw that her eyes were glistening with tears. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”
Dwillvir stared back at her, his expression impossible to read.
“… I just wanted to say good-bye,” said Kerista, now with tears flowing down her cheeks. “I don’t really know what to say… But I wish we could’ve both lived to see a world free of Karzoug’s menace. I’ll miss you, Dwillvir!”
A sad smile slowly crept over the aged giant’s face. With the tip of his fingers, he caressed Kerista’s hair. “You would have made a fine oracle, little one. I do not know how it came to be, but it seems we have both caught a glimpse of the future. Know that if you and your companions are successful in your mission, my soul will be at peace. What I worked for will not have been in vain. Dry your tears and be strong, little one. I am old, and have almost reached the end of my life’s road. But you are still young. The destiny of my clan rests on your shoulders.”
As much as they would’ve liked to spend one last evening with their friends before returning to Xin-Shalast, the timing wasn’t right. The companions had to return right away, to ensure they were in place, with a full store of magical spells ready, when the attack started.
Ruh spoke with Sebania while Navan exchanged a few words with his brother.
“Don’t look so grim, brother. You’re a hero, I’m sure you’ll win this gloriously, as always,” said Kaven.
“I’m not sure I’ll get out of it alive, this time,” replied Navan. “I don’t dare to think what we’re going up against…”
Kaven put his hand on Navan’s shoulder. “You’ll pull through, Navan. I’m sure you will. You always do.” For once, there was no trace of bitterness or jealousy in his tone. “I’m glad to have a brother like you.”
Meanwhile, Drithnar shook hands with Shalelu and Jakardros. “Well, that’s it, I guess. You two be careful in the battle. Aim for the eyes and try to dodge boulders if you get the chance.”
“Try not to get yourself killed up there, Drith,” said Shalelu.
“Lamatar would be proud of all the things you’ve done, Drithnar,” said Jakardros. “You’re the brightest and the best that ever came out of Fort Rannick.”
Drithnar grinned at his mentors. “Let’s just say I had some good training. For the Black Arrows!”
“For the Black Arrows!” said Jakardros, saluting him.
Kerista finally came out of the caves and joined her friends. They waved one last time to their allies, mounted their flying steeds, and flew back toward Xin-Shalast.
About an hour later, they met Morgiv in the dragon’s lair. He in turn led them back down to the Hypogeum, and to a safe place where they could rest for the night. Ruh summoned a magical cottage in a spacious underground plaza, and Navan summoned a Heroes’ Feast which the group ate in the company of Morgiv and a few others from the Spared. Morgiv described to the adventurers the way to reach the spires. It wasn’t particularly complicated to follow, and the companions told him they didn’t need him to come: he would be in great danger from the monster that lurked within and from the occlusion field.
The companions all took a full night’s sleep in the comfortable beds of the cabin, while the Spared stood watch outside.
Desna’s gift
Navan heard a voice speak his name, and woke up suddenly. Strangely, he was back in the giants’ ice caves… but they were empty. Neither his friends, nor the giants, could be seen anywhere. But a voice echoed through the caverns… calling out his name… beckoning him.
Knowing this must be a dream, Navan followed the voice and came outside, under a starry sky. Not far from the entrance stood the form of a beautiful nude woman with long, flowing black hair, and whose flawless skin shone under the moonlight. She giggled as she heard Navan’s footfalls behind her, and turned around gracefully. The beautiful winter nymph winked at him.
“Hello, Navan,” said Svevenka in a crystalline voice, “Desna herself asked me to come to you through a dream. She likes you very much, you know, Navan?”
“That’s always good to hear.”
“She’s been watching your adventures, and you’ve given her a lot of entertainment. She likes how resourceful you are, always barely escaping terrible situations at the last minute.”
“It’s true we’ve had a few close calls here and there…”
“But she’s worried now, Navan. She’s worried that she’s going to lose you. Karzoug is a terrible enemy, and the path that leads to him is a deadly one.”
“You mean, because of the dangerous guardian lurks in the caves that lead up to the Spires of Xin-Shalast?”
“No, silly! In the spires themselves, you’ll likely get in way over your heads. She wants to give you something that’s going to help out. Follow me!”
And so the nymph brought Navan up a steep mountain path that climbed beside the clear, cold waters of a small river. They eventually reached the source of the river, and perched on some rocks above it stood a huge, magnificent creature: it was a multi-colored winged insect that was as big as a house, and somehow, a deep wisdom could be felt within its many-faceted eyes. It was a night monarch, a herald of Desna!
“He’s a friend of mine,” said Svevenka with a smirk. “But here, place your holy symbol into the source of the stream and it will be infused by some of Desna’s essence.”
Navan did so, feeling the ice-cold water around his hands. After a few moments, he took out the holy symbol; as he did so, the night monarch flapped its gossamer wings, and some sacred shimmering dust came to rest on the symbol, which now glowed as if by moonlight.
“When your need is great, you will be able to use it to call down the radiance of the moon,” said Svevenka. “It will rejuvenate your mind and body, and those of your companions, restoring you to a perfectly freshened state. But it will take a few minutes to take effect… so there’s no use doing it during a fight!”
“All right… thanks,” said Navan.
Svevenka giggled lightly, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. She smelled good, even in the dream.
“Take care of yourself, Navan!” she said. And then she gracefully got up on the night monarch’s back. “Come on, boy! We’ve got work to do!”
Navan saw them both disappear into the starry sky, and he fell down into another dream…
|
|
Moonday, Abadius 18th, 4709
A lurker is slain
The following morning, Navan saw that, indeed, his holy symbol still glowed with Desna’s sacred moonlight. He told the others about his dream, except for Svevenka’s kiss. That part, he wanted to keep for himself.
Ruh summoned some Greater Prying Eyes and sent them to scout out the first half of the tunnel. The tiny orbs returned some time later, and had found a large monster that looked like a stalagmite with tentacles: it seemed to be a big roper!
The group said good-bye to Morgiv and started making their way up through the dark tunnel. The climb was arduous. Shortly before they reached the area where the roper was waiting for them, sitting high up on a rocky ledge, Ruh cast some defensive magic on her companions, such as Haste and Greater Invisibility. Navan also cast some Fly spells on them. Then, the two warriors and Navan flew up to where they had been told the monster would be. Ruh remained behind, as she knew that ropers were very resistant to magic.
The following battle was quick and easy. Although it was normally a terrible foe, the roper was surprised by the adventurers, and couldn’t see them. It was a rather simple matter for them to kill it. Once that was done, the adventurers continued on their way up to the spires. After several hours, they reached a place where a visible force field blocked the way. It radiated very strong magic to Ruh.
“It’s the occlusion field!” she said.
The group decided to wait nearby and rest until they got the signal of the attack. Ruh found a large cave where to summon another cabin, and they waited there for now.
Toilday, Abadius 19th, 4709
The Spires of Xin-Shalast
The following morning, Navan was contacted by Sebania via Sending: the giants were launching the attack! The companions quickly got ready, and then carefully stepped through the occlusion field. Just as they thought, they were protected from it by their weapons, which glowed a bit brighter when they came in contact with it.
A bit further, the group emerged into an old dungeon. It seemed to have once been used as a jail for Karzoug’s enemies. Here and there, they could see ancient statues that might be constructs of some kind; they stayed clear of them. After doing some quick exploration, they found an exit to the place, and came outside. They were relatively close to the top of Mhar Massif now, not that far from Karzoug’s carved face.
Far below them sprawled Lower Xin-Shalast, and down there, they could see dark, tiny shapes moving in a great battle. Their friends had indeed launched the attack. The golden road led all the way down there, and they could see forms of giants and enormous spiders hurrying down toward the city.
At their level, there were some other large buildings, which had likely once housed Karzoug’s most esteemed followers. By far the most impressive building was an immense tower that soared high above them. They cast some Fly spells on themselves, and flew up to investigate. The tower reached over two thousand feet in height. The companions entered it through one of its many arched entrances. Inside, a 200-foot-diameter stone circle was located at the center of the structure. All around it, sixteen relatively thin columns supported a gigantic column of stone that seemed to rise all the way up to the top of the tower. A wide ramp climbed along the height of this pillar.
“Architecture’s not one of my areas of expertise,” said Ruh as she stared around her in awe, “but this entire building’s construction just seems… impossible!”
“Must be working by magic, I guess,” said Drithnar.
“Surely. I can see a strong aura of transmutation all around us!”
After casting a few defensive spells, the four companions flew up. Climbing the ramp on foot would’ve taken an eternity, but after only a few minutes, they reached the tower’s summit. Before them stood two golden doors, one enormous and one somewhat smaller, but still quite large. The floor was made of a gold and onyx checkerboard pattern, and the decorations along the walls, such as torch sconces, were made of gold and jewels: this was clearly Karzoug’s palace of greed, built with the most expensive materials that could be found!
Five sentinels stood between the companions and the doors: four massive cloud giants armed with morning stars, and an even bigger storm giant who wielded a greatsword.
“Intruders!” boomed the long-bearded storm giant in an echoing voice. “You have dared to tread into Karzoug’s aerie, and for this, you will be slain!”
The giants all moved to attack, and a great battle begun!
Ruh cast an Acid Fog to cover the central part of the platform. Several of the giants became stuck in it and suffered painful burns. The cloud giant on the right had escaped the spell and approached Navan to strike him, but the blow miraculously bounced off the cleric’s highly enchanted chainshirt. Drithnar and Kerista moved toward that giant and started attacking him. Navan protected himself with an Entropic Shield, as the storm giant easily escaped the magical fog: he seemed somehow immune to its restricting effect. He struck Ruh with his sword; she was flying above him, but not quite high enough to be out of the giant’s reach. The pain was shared between Ruh and Kerista: they were linked by a Shield Other spell. Meanwhile, the other giants were trying to escape the cloud.
Ruh then cast a Haste spell on the group. The first cloud giant struck Kerista, but Drithnar jumped up and stabbed it through the throat as he was leaning down. The giant fell to the ground, dead. Drithnar turned around and attacked the storm giant. Kerista also moved to attack the storm giant, whom Navan also shot with his crossbow. Drithnar got attacked by the storm giant, and by one of the cloud giants, who’d escaped the cloud, but he survived the attacks. Another cloud giant threw a stone at Ruh, but missed her.
The largest golden door opened, and another cloud giant appeared in the room. This time, Ruh cast a Solid Fog on that area, blocking half the door and protecting the group from the advance of any further giants. His blades whirling with fury, Drithnar slew the storm giant and attacked the second cloud giant. Kerista also approached that giant, but she was struck several times by that immense warrior. Navan approached and used a wand of Cure Moderate Wounds on Drithnar. To the group’s left, the last cloud giant, a female, finally escaped the Acid Fog and threw a boulder at Ruh, but she missed the tiny gnome, only destroying part of the wall.
From behind the golden door, the companions could hear the voices of more giants getting ready for battle. Clearly, reinforcements were on the way!
Ruh activated a scroll of Mirror Image on herself, as Drithnar and Kerista killed another cloud giant with their deadly weapons.
Kerista grimaced. “These aren’t even evil, I hate having to kill them!” she shouted.
Navan cast a Cure Critical Wounds on Kerista, while the female cloud giant threw a rock in Ruh’s direction, destroying one of her mirror images.
Ruh shot a Lightning Bolt at the cloud giantess, using the wand she’d found in Ghlorofaex’s lair. The giantess partly avoided it. She was now the only enemy that remained standing on the adventurers’ side of the magical clouds. Drithnar and Kerista flew in to engage their enemy. The giantess tried to strike Kerista as she approached, but missed. She was struck by the two warriors, and by some of Navan’s flaming crossbow bolts. In return, she struck Drithnar twice with powerful blows from her morning star, but the ranger retaliated, and slew her.
The enormous blue-skinned woman’s corpse fell to the ground with a thud. Beyond the clouds, the companions could hear the sounds of huge giants moving, and voices speaking in giantish. They couldn’t understand much of what was being said, because they were themselves casting healing spells, using their wands. They wanted to conserve Navan’s more powerful healing spells for later, while they were still protected by the two fog clouds.
Ruh cast a Stoneskin spell on Drithnar (she had cast one on Kerista before the fight), Drithnar cast Barkskin on himself and Bear’s Endurance on Kerista. Ruh then put on her Fogcutting Lenses, and blasted two of the giants with her wand of Lightning Bolt through the fog. The giants were only slightly shocked, but they retreated beyond the door and closed it behind them.
After about a minute, the companions had finished healing themselves with their wands. The Acid Fog had ended, and so had the Haste spell. The group approached the small door, and Drithnar heard some low voices behind it. The door didn’t seem locked or trapped. The group then did the same thing behind the large door (half of which was still covered by the Solid Fog), and heard more giants behind.
Thats the thing with Standard classes high level DND becomes increasingly deadly.
Prestige Classes move up the power level of the PCs so they can Survive
|
|
Breaking the shackles
The giant army proudly advanced along the valley. Grim stone giant hunters from the Iron Peaks, savage frost giant barbarians from the icy rifts, noble cloud giants from their citadels in the clouds, and mighty storm giants from the highest peaks of the Kodar Mountains marched toward the city of Xin-Shalast. They were the last of their kind: all others had already been captured by the dreaded rune giants, minions of the terrible Runelord Karzoug, the hated human who had enslaved their ancestors in the time before the great darkness.
This was to be their final, decisive battle. They would either be victorious this day, or they would suffer fates worse than death: they would become once again the slaves of a Runelord.
The ground shook under the marching feet of this incredible army. A group of elves and humans was walking among them, and was trying very hard not to get trampled to death.
Sebania Mallis, the beautiful elven enchantress from Galduria, worried about what would happen today. She remembered how dangerous her previous adventure had been when she had ventured with Navan, Ruh, Drithnar and Kerista into the fortress of Jorgenfist. They had almost perished there. And now, the four adventurers had gone to face an even much greater challenge: today, they would face Runelord Karzoug himself in battle. Sebania wasn’t sure she would’ve had the courage to do that, even if she had been able to approach the Runelord’s citadel.
No, instead, she would help the giants. Their entire strategy depended on whether or not Dwillvir’s magical orb would really work as he thought it would. Otherwise, the combat would be a quick and bloody massacre, as the forces in Xin-Shalast outnumbered them vastly. The previous day, Dwillvir had taken the time to show her the complex incantations needed to activate the orb. He had spent a great deal of time making sure she was able to do it, and eventually, she had grown tired.
“This is very important, Sebania!” he had growled. “I want to make sure you know how to do it!”
“But why, you’re going to be taking care of it, aren’t you?” she had replied.
“Yes, but should something happen to me, you’re the only one with the arcane knowledge necessary to keep it active!”
“Come now, Dwillvir, don’t talk like that! If the orb works as you think, we’ll be fine.”
The frost-bearded elderly giant looked at her sadly. “Please,” he said in a surprisingly gentle voice, “humor an old fool. Show me again that you can remember the activation sequence.”
Sebania was shaken out of her reverie by the sounds of horns. She glanced up and saw that four enemy cloud giants were observing the advancing army from a ledge high up on a slope, and were warning the city of their approach.
Several of the giants in the army readied boulders to throw them at the enemy, but Dwillvir gestured for them to stop. Then, he spoke the arcane words to activate the orb. The metallic sphere’s runes started to glow, and it hummed loudly. Slowly, the cloud giants above let go of the hunting horn and let their boulders fall to the ground. They blinked several times.
“We are free…” said one of them after a moment. “We are free!”
“Join us, my brothers!” shouted Duke Vidarian from down below. “Today, we will lay siege upon Xin-Shalast! Dwillvir, the oracle of the Ice Moon Clan, has found a way to free our brethren from the influence of the dark ones! Today, we will break the shackles that have kept them prisoner for so long!”
With great shouts of victory, the cloud giants levitated down toward the army, and joined their ranks. Then, the horde continued making its way toward Xin-Shalast…
The initial assault was quick and brutal. Duke Vidarian’s cloud giant knights and Jarl Bormandar’s frost giant berserkers lay siege upon the black stone fortress of Krak Naratha, and easily killed most of the vile kuchrimas who guarded it. The few remaining bird-men flew deeper into the city, screeching wildly about the invading forces.
The mighty army continued its advance, entering Xin-Shalast proper. They moved among the ruined building, deploying into the formations that the commanders had outlined before. Soon, they reached the wide plaza where a great host of giants were waiting, ready for battle. Most of them were hill giants, stone giants or frost giants, and there were hundreds of them. They outnumbered the attackers at least five to one. Among them stood a half-dozen towering, black-armored rune giants. They ordered the attack, and the great wave of giants rushed to face the invaders.
Vidarian and Bormandar’s forces moved into defensive formations, and Oriandian gestured to his stone giant hunters to hold their actions. Once again, Dwillvir summoned up the power of the orb, and its song was soon heard above the din of battle. The roaring giants of Xin-Shalast slowed down, and eventually stopped. Each one seemed to be struggling for a moment, and then, they all turned to face the rune giants, who gazed back at them in shock, and snarled some dark curses. Then, the previously enslaved giants rushed toward their former masters with a cacophony of war cries! Several of the rune giants were soon overwhelmed and slain by the enraged giants, but a few of the others fled back into the city, seeking reinforcements in the form of their lamia allies.
“Advance slowly, and stick to your formations!” shouted Duke Vidarian in a commanding voice. “Stay within earshot of Dwillvir’s sphere at all times! We must stay together to win this battle!”
And under the song of Dwillvir’s orb of freedom, the mighty giant army marched on to invade Xin-Shalast.
|
|
Toilday, Abadius 19th, 4709 (continued)
Against impossible odds
Guessing that a terribly difficult fight lay ahead of them, the companions protected themselves with more spells before continuing further. Ruh and Navan cast Spell Turning on themselves, Drithnar protected himself with Freedom of Movement, Ruh cast Displacement on both warriors, and Enlarge on Kerista, and Kerista called for a Divine Favor from her goddess.
Kerista stood guard in front of the larger door, with the intent on protecting the group’s rear, while the others opened the smaller door (which was still, in fact, quite large).
Navan, Ruh and Drithnar were quite shocked when they saw who was standing in the room beyond the smaller door. They had seen images of him many times now, so they immediately recognized the tall, green-robed man with multi-colored gems set in his very skin: Runelord Karzoug! Gripping his burning glaive tightly, he sneered malevolently at the companions as he ordered his minions to attack them.
At his side was a gigantic woman in ornate golden plate armor. She stood a full twelve feet tall, though from her features, the companions judged she was an enlarged human woman, and not a giantess. She was more or less the same size as Kerista, and wore a golden armor, just like her. The two powerful women seemed destined to clash in a duel, but it seemed it wasn’t in the cards, at least not yet. The woman wielded a magnificent golden scimitar and carried a heavy shield. The rune of greed was tattooed on her left cheek, and what’s more, Navan recognized her: she was Viorian Dekanti, the leader of the now disbanded Whispering Blades, a mercenary guild who had traveled with his family in his youth. He remembered Goldbraid the dwarf telling him about how Viorian had gone insane one night and had killed everyone in her estate; but what was she doing here, now, defending Karzoug??
Also in the room were two huge lamia harridans, and flying high against the wall, to the left (and unseen by the companions at first), was a purple-robed man with long black hair and pale skin, who also bore the rune of greed on his cheek.
Navan was the first to act, and he cast a Silence spell into the room. One of the lamias, who seemed to be under the effect of an Air Walk spell, ran above the characters into the entrance room, to escape the silence. She tried to dispel it, but failed. Drithnar tumbled into the room and attacked Karzoug, but his blades passed harmlessly through him.
Ruh turned around and cast a Maximized Scorching Ray, grievously burning the lamia who had just passed above her. Then, the companions heard sounds coming from the room once again: someone had dispelled the silence! They saw some Magic Missiles hit Drithnar from above, and noticed the flying mage for the first time.
Meanwhile, Viorian had moved next to Navan and attacked him mercilessly with her scimitar. She towered over him, and struck him several times, despite his incredible protections. One of her strikes was deadly in precision, and wounded him severely; what’s more, her scimitar glowed when it hit, and Navan felt himself suddenly paralyzed by the effect. To their horror, his companions realized that he turned into a ruby statue of himself! Viorian smiled evilly at this, but suddenly, Navan’s crossbow glowed brightly, and he was restored to flesh!
“Damnation!!” spat Karzoug in Thassilonian, “They bear Domineering Runeforged weapons!”
Kerista rushed the lamia who had moved into the entrance hall. She struck the feral priestess with several mighty attacks, and killed her!
Karzoug waved his hands while pronouncing a dark incantation, and directed a bolt of pure blackness at Navan. Thankfully, the spell rebounded back to Karzoug, but it passed straight through him, leaving him unharmed!
Then, the massive double-doors behind Kerista swung open, and from behind them came two mighty storm giants! The one on the left was a man, and the one on the right was a woman, whose visibility was reduced, because she was stuck on the edge of Ruh’s Solid Fog spell. Somehow, she was able to pass through it freely. Both of them attacked Kerista, but only the male hit her.
Navan, who had been badly wounded by Viorian, tumbled out of reach of the ex-mercenary captain, and cast a Cure Critical Wounds spell on himself. Drithnar came to Navan’s defense and attacked Viorian, hitting her with both weapons. However, the large woman seemed to be tough as nails, and barely acknowledged Drithnar’s blows. Ruh cast a Quickened Dispel Magic on Viorian, removing at least her Haste spell, and then cast a Greater Dispel Magic on Karzoug, which had no visible effect. She could see that he was still imbued with a powerful aura of conjuration.
The lamia that was in Karzoug’s room cast a Dispel Magic on Drithnar, while Viorian turned her attacks against Ruh, slashing her three times with her scimitar and bashing her with her shield. The flying mage cast the green ray of a Disintegrate spell at Drithnar, but the nimble ranger dodged out of the way, and the ray destroyed a section of the floor instead.
“Khalib, you clumsy oaf!” roared Karzoug. “Watch your aim! Do you know how much those floors cost??”
“Apologies, master,” replied the purple-robed wizard obediently.
Karzoug then cast another ray of blackness, this time at Ruh. Once again, it bounced off her magical protection, and once again, it seemed to pass harmlessly through the Runelord.
Meanwhile, Kerista was holding the rear against the two storm giants, who towered immensely even above her enlarged frame. She struck the male twice with her enchanted earthbreaker, but once again, she winced at the knowledge that she was attacking a non-evil, and magically controlled, noble giant. Alas, despite her regrets, the giants were still deadly enemies in the current situation, and they both struck her.
There was a door on the left wall of Karzoug’s room, and it seemed that reinforcements were on the way from that direction. A cloud giant entered from there and joined the combat. Assessing that Karzoug’s apprentice was one of the greatest current threats, Navan boldly flew back inside the room, and directed his deadliest spell at him: Destruction! The mage was subjected to the immensely powerful spell of divine wrath, and was utterly consumed by it! He disappeared with a shriek of agony, and his robe and staff fell to the floor.
Karzoug glared at them, and his eyes did not show even a hint of companion or sadness at the loss of his apprentice. “Useless imbecile! All those years spent teaching him the arts, and for what? Nothing! Ahhh, must I do everything myself??”
The remaining lamia walked up to Navan and unleashed a mighty Harm spell on him. However, his Spell Turning caused part of the spell to backfire, and both he and the lamia were wounded. While the wild-haired lion-woman was reeling from the pain of her own spell and glaring at Navan, Karzoug directed another ray of darkness at the cleric of Desna. The Enervate spell hit him, and drained him of energy now that his Spell Turning was spent. Karzoug laughed sadistically as he saw Navan grow pale from the terrible effect.
Drithnar struck Viorian several more times with both of his weapons, but most blows bounced harmlessly off her armor, or were blocked by her shield. He eventually managed to slice her thigh painfully with his war razor. Just as she turned against him, raising her scimitar to hit him, Ruh caught her in a Maze spell, and she vanished!
Meanwhile, Kerista was not faring well. She had taken several nasty wounds from the powerful storm giants, and had also shared the wounds Ruh had sustained from Viorian. She healed herself with her Lay on Hands ability, but alas, the male storm giant hit her twice more. Kerista would not be able to last much longer against these enemies.
Another storm giant entered Karzoug’s room. There seemed to be a veritable army of giants waiting for space to clear up so they could attack the companions. There was little hope of winning: already, most characters were badly wounded, and they had only slain two enemies, with many more getting ready to move in.
Navan, who was very badly wounded from Viorian’s blows and the lamia’s Harm spell, tumbled out of the room again and cast another Cure Critical Wounds on himself.
“Retreat!” he shouted. “We have to retreat!”
Drithnar plunged his sword deep in the lamia harridan’s belly, and she screamed in agony as blood flowed freely out of the wound; but she survived. Then, narrowly escaping the crashing weapons of the giants near him and the lamia’s claws, Drithnar tumbled out of Karzoug’s room, back into the entrance hall where the rest of his companions all stood.
To cover his escape, Ruh blasted the entire room with a Prismatic Spray spell. Karzoug was left unharmed, but the cloud giant was badly shocked by a powerful discharge of electricity, the lamia was burned, and the storm giant was hit by a spray of acid. Snarling in pain, the cloud giant struck Ruh with his morning star, and the storm giant moved closer as well. The lamia healed herself by magic, and Karzoug unleashed some Scorching Rays on Ruh, but they were turned back against him (and once again failed to harm him). Kerista struck the male storm giant, but the stalwart enemy still stood.
|
|
The battle of Xin-Shalast
The army of giants had been fighting the defenders of Xin-Shalast for several hours now. Many more giants had been freed by Dwillvir’s orb, and they helped the attackers against the mighty rune giants, the various kinds of lamias, and the dark-robed Denizens of Leng.
All around, an epic battle was being fought between the deadly creatures. Slowly, the attackers were gaining ground. Against the combined magic of the lamias, the storm giant druid Kamanar called down cyclones, fire storms, and summoned mighty earth elementals from the ground. Several gigantic animated plants also came to help the giant army; they seemed to be controlled by the ice nymph Svevenka, who floated among them, giggling merrily as she directed them to attack the foul lamias. Somehow, it seemed, she had taken control of some of the plant creatures from the Tangle!
High up on the cliffs surrounding the city, Oriandian’s stone giant hunters battled feral yetis. Behind the main ranks of giant warriors, Dwillvir stood his ground, holding his orb close to his chest, keeping its power active, and helping the warriors with mighty spells of destruction. Sebania, Krog, Arak, Targonna and Kaven stayed close to him, also aiding the giants with their spells and arrows.
Further away on the battle field, a group of giants found themselves surrounded by enemies between several tall, majestic buildings. Out of the wave of lamias and Denizens of Leng came a mighty rune giant, who killed several of the closest giants.
Shalelu, Jakardros, Bakra and Simri were firing on the enemies from behind a huge fallen pillar. They saw Bormandar bravely charge up to the rune giant. For a few moments, the two mighty beings exchanged blows, but the rune giant was too great an enemy even for the new jarl of the Ice Moon Clan. That day, Bormandar, son of Rilmund, died in glorious battle.
A wave of panic flowed through the ranks of the nearby giants, and they started retreating from the advancing foes, are the mighty rune giant pressed his forces onward.
Gunnidra, the proud frost giantess, gathered a few of the closest giants, and pointed toward the rune giant with the Ice Devil’s magical spear. “We must slay him at once, or our western flank will crumble!” she shouted.
As she prepared for battle, Simri came close to her, and protected her with a Displacement spell, then cast a spell of Haste on the giants gathered around Gunnidra. Enhanced by this potent enchantment, they charged the terrible rune giant, as Simri retreated back to join her friends. The fight was brutal, as the giants fought the rune giant and the lamias around him. Several more of the frost giants fell, but eventually, roaring ferociously, Gunnidra pierced the rune giant’s heart with her spear. As the lamias stared in shock, the great being toppled to the side, and crashed against one of the nearby towering buildings. Under the impact, the structure collapsed in a great rumble of debris and dust, which threatened to crush the unfortunate ones who had taken shelter near it!
Gunnidra watched in horror as Jakardros, Shalelu, Simri, Bakra and a few giants ran madly to escape the collapsing building. It all came crashing down, and she couldn’t tell if they had all perished or if they had safely escaped on the other side of the mountain of rubble!
|
|
The cold wrath of Xanesha
Meanwhile, an elite group of Xin-Shalast’s defenders approached Dwillvir and his guardians. Among them were three immense rune giants, as well as several lamia spellcasters. A great battle ensued, during which one of the rune giants threw a huge boulder at Dwillvir, interrupting the spell the old giant had been casting. The elder was crushed under the boulder’s weight, and fell to the floor, apparently slain by the terrible blow. His metallic orb fell to the ground with a sharp metallic sound, and then it grew silent.
All around, the giants were thrown into a state of confusion, as some of them fell back under the rune giants’ dominion. The giant soldiers starting fighting among themselves, in addition to battling the lamias and rune giants. In the middle of it all stood Duke Vidarian, who was bravely trying to rally his troops.
Sebania froze for a moment when she saw the crushed carcass of Dwillvir. She couldn’t believe that the ancient, canny old giant was truly dead! He had seemed so totally in control, so omnipotent… She had perhaps been too confident, and had trusted in him to see the battle to its conclusion.
But now, the hope of the entire army rested solely on her: she had to reactivate the orb! She ran toward the metallic sphere. Dwillvir had been right to teach her how to activate it the previous day. Had he already known what would happen today? Had he seen his own death in his ice crystal? If so, it must have taken great courage for him to still take part in the battle, in the hope that his sacrifice would mean freedom for the rest of his people.
Krog, Arak, Targonna and Kaven ran after the white-robed enchantress. But just as she reached the orb, Sebania suddenly gave a piercing scream of pain, for she was impaled by a wicked barbed spear. The wielder of this spear then came into sight, as the invisibility spell faded: she was a large lamia with the lower body of a dark green-scaled snake. Her long hair was black with green highlights, and her face was covered by the sinister mask of a medusa. She yanked her spear out of Sebania’s torso, and the unfortunate elf fell to the ground, bleeding heavily.
The lamia turned toward the four humans and spat: “None of you shall touch this accursed orb! Try your luck if you wish, and face the cold wrath of Xanesha!”
Kaven recoiled in horror at the sight of the lamia matriarch, and a wave of terrible memories flashed within his mind. It was too much for him: so much misery had been brought into his life by another creature such as this one: the vile temptress Lucrecia, who had used him as a puppet, made him betray the Black Arrows, and had almost gotten him killed.
After a moment of hesitation, Kaven turned around and fled behind some fallen boulders.
“Get back here, you coward!” roared Krog.
“It’s no use,” said Arak. “It’s up to the three of us to stop her.”
And so the three warriors of wrath, Krog, Arak and Targonna, moved in to challenge Xanesha, unsure if they would be able to defeat her.
|
|
Toilday, Abadius 19th, 4709 (continued)
Desna’s blessing
Retreating from the terrible battle, Drithnar, Ruh, Navan and Kerista flew down to the base of Karzoug’s tower, and found a suitable hiding place among the rocks of a nearby peak. They had narrowly escaped death; they had not expected to be facing Karzoug himself this early, but were thankful to have survived the encounter. Navan gave a prayer of thanks to Desna, and then used the medallion she had imbued with her divine power to restore the group’s health and magical energy. For about ten minutes, the companions were bathed in holy moonlight, and once it was over, they were as well-rested as if they had slept for an entire night.
The blessing gave back full hit points and full spell selection to the PC’s, but removed all their buffs (to avoid having them buffing like crazy, THEN using the medallion).
Once that was done, the companions cast an amazing amount of protection and enhancement spells on themselves. They wanted to be at their strongest for the next battle!
Drithnar: Heroes’ Feast, Barkskin, Resist Energy (Fire), Resist Energy (Electricity), Freedom of Movement, Spell Resistance, Comprehend Languages, Fly, Protection from Evil, Silence, Telepathic Bond, Stoneskin.
Kerista: Heroes’ Feast, Resist Energy (Fire), Resist Energy (Electricity), Bear’s Endurance, Death Ward, Spell Resistance, Comprehend Languages, Enlarge, Fly, Protection from Evil, Silence, Stoneskin, Telepathic Bond, Freedom of Movement.
Navan: Heroes’ Feast, Comprehend Languages, Entropic Shield, Fly, Protection from Evil, Spell Immunity {Searing Light, Enervation, Silence}, Spell Resistance, Spell Turning, Telepathic Bond, Silence, Shield Other (from Kerista).
Ruh: Fly, Comprehend Languages, Protection from Evil, Reduce, Resist Energy (Fire), Resist Energy (Electricity), Spell Immunity {Orb of Cold, Enervation, Silence}, Spell Resistance, Spell Turning, Telepathic Bond, Silence, Mirror Image.
Notice the incredible cheesiness of casting Silence on everyone and Spell Immunity: Silence on the 2 casters. I don’t blame my player, though. The adventure was so brutal that he had to do whatever he needed to survive, no matter how lame it seemed.
Exploring the Pinnacle of Avarice
Ruh turned everyone invisible, and the companions flew up toward the top of the tower, but this time from the outside. Once they were near the summit, Navan cast a Locate Object spell on Karzoug’s glaive. Strangely, though, he did not sense it anywhere in range. How could it be? Had Karzoug left the tower? Navan had been hoping to find a way of bypassing the guards and getting to Karzoug, to slay him without the protection of his minions, but that didn’t seem likely to happen now.
Using other Locate Object spells on a rune giant armor, and on Viorian’s scimitar, he got the impression that they were still massed near the center of the tower, to protect the internal entrance. However, on the way up, the companions had noticed that a hole gaped in the southern wall of the tower. They approached it carefully. It looked like a section of the wall had been disintegrated. They entered, and beyond, there was an empty room. However, Ruh warned her friends that she saw strange swirling currents of conjuration in the middle of the room.
While the characters examined the room, they were surprised to see Karzoug appear in the middle of it, suddenly. The villain glared at them darkly, and opened his mouth as if to taunt them. However, no sound came out: the entire room was caught in the aura of silence that surrounded the four companions. The Runelord sighed and disappeared. Fearing a trick, the companions flew back out of the room, through the hole.
Circling toward the west, they chose a spot where to make their next entrance from. Ruh used a Passwall spell to make an opening in the roof. The companions, still invisible, passed through it and entered a huge room which seemed to serve as sleeping quarters for a group of giants. The place was currently empty, though. Exploring carefully, they saw that the next room contained more sleeping arrangements for giants, as well as a huge portal adorned with runes. Hoping that it would lead them to Runelord Karzoug, the companions went through it, but nothing happened. The portal seemed inactive, and indeed, Ruh could only see very faint residual magic emanating from it.
The companions opened another ser of huge double-doors, and saw that in the room beyond, several cloud, storm, and rune giants waited for battle. They quickly backtracked and closed the door behind them. Thankfully, none of the giants seemed to have noticed them.
Heading south, the companions opened a smaller door and found themselves in the most extravagant room they had ever seen. The most magnificent ball room in Magnimar seemed like a broom closet compared to this. A gigantic throne of solid gold, inlaid with countless enormous gems, stood to their right. The furs of some unknown, wondrous animals were draped around it. The rest of the room shone with a multitude of lights reflecting on gems and gold everywhere, as two rows of columns advanced from double-doors to the left, all the way up to the throne. Between the columns was a walkway that looked like a red carpet, but was actually composed of a multitude of glittering rubies. The wealth within Karzoug’s throne room was incalculable!
Further to the left, in the far corner of the room, the companions saw a rune giant and a lamia harridan standing ready for battle, and the main double-doors leading into the room showed a long hallway, where more giants stood. Rather than to face those enemies, the group headed straight ahead, and hurried down another large hallway. At the end of it, they saw two other giants and another lamia, but to their left was another ser of golden double-doors. They went through them and entered a room with three more doors. At the center of it, Ruh noticed another swirling maelstrom of conjuration, and while the companions went around it, they saw Karzoug appear within it. He observed them cautiously, still stuck in a zone of silence. Glaring at him in return, the companions exited the room through the farthest door.
For some time, they roamed through a complex of interconnected rooms. Some of them were empty, some were imbued with the strange conjuration aura from which Karzoug seemed to be able to materialize, and another seemed to be the luxurious bedroom of four lamia harridans. But the companions were trying to get to the eastern side of the complex. The way seemed to be protected by a group of giants, in the tunnel to the south, so Ruh cast another Passwall to continue toward the east.
The group was now in a wide tunnel. There was no sign of the giants anymore. The adventurers headed north. The tunnel turned to the right, and beyond a door there, they found yet another room within which Karzoug appeared. Ruh was getting frustrated with the Runelord, and she made a rude gesture at him; it only seemed to amuse the ancient archmage.
The adventurers went through a set of double-doors to the south, and entered a strange room indeed. It was very large, and at its opposite end was a huge portal framed in metal. It showed a sprawling city that looked strangely similar to Xin-Shalast, and where a multitude of terrible monsters stood ready, seemingly expecting a great battle.
The room itself contained many strange machines made of metal, which emitted all manners of weird lights (and maybe sounds as well, but the companions couldn’t tell from the Silence spell). Tubes connected them to each other, to the portal, and to the walls of the complex. Throughout the room, twelve Denizens of Leng toiled left and right, manipulating the machines.
Hoping that the portal led to the place where they would finally find the real Karzoug (and not mere images of him), the companions flew high up, close to the ceiling, to avoid catching the Denizens of Leng in the aura of silence, and floated toward the portal. They tried to go through it, but could not: its surface seemed as solid as stone. When they touched it, strange ripples of lightning went through its surface, alerting the Denizens. But before the strange beings could investigate further, the double-doors opened again, and from them emerged the magnificent silhouette of Viorian, who still stood as tall as a giant, and who was accompanied by several giants and lamias.
She spoke urgently to the Denizens, and the companions guessed that she might be aware of their presence in the vicinity. They tried to fly above Viorian and her minions, but when they approached them, they suddenly reappeared: they seemed to be caught in the area of an Invisibility Purge spell! As the enemies got ready to attack them, Ruh reacted quickly, and created another Passwall spell on the ceiling, allowing the group to escape. Once all four of them were safely out, Ruh closed the opening behind them.
A courageous assault
“What do we do now?” asked Ruh through the mental link.
“I don’t know, we need to find a way to reach Karzoug,” replied Navan. “Maybe if we go to the east part of the tower…”
“How about we attack them?” said Drithnar. “They’re divided now, if we can destroy that patrol, we’ll greatly weaken their forces!”
The companions hesitated, as they were afraid of getting into another terrible battle, but Drithnar convinced them to strike now, before their magical enhancements faded. They returned to the first Passwall, went back through the throne room, down the hallway, and saw a lamia, a cloud giant and a rune giant at the end of the hallway, before the bend leading to the Denizens of Leng’s strange laboratory. And then, still invisible and silent, they attacked!
Navan moved closer, reappearing when he entered the zone of Invisibility Purge. He cast a Prayer over the area. Kerista charged past him and struck the cloud giant with a powerful blow. To her surprise, she saw that this giant was in fact evil. The giant roared silently and struck Kerista twice with his morning star, but was slashed in return by Drithnar’s blades. The lamia harridan walked above the companions, but was struck by Kerista, who could reach up to her due to her great size. She attacked Navan, but missed.
Ruh dispelled the Passwall that still stood to the group’s left and led to a room where Karzoug could manifest himself. Then, she cast a Quickened Haste on the group. The rune giant moved forward and struck Drithnar with its greatsword.
Navan cast a Destruction spell on the lamia harridan; she survived it, but was still badly wounded. Meanwhile, another cloud giant appeared from around the bend and threw a rock toward Kerista, but it bounced harmlessly off her enchanted armor. Kerista struck the lamia with her shimmering earthbreaker, and slew her; she then turned toward the first cloud giant and struck him as well. Drithnar flew up and pierced one of that giant’s eyes with his sword, slaying the enormous warrior instantly.
Ruh moved forward, cast a Quickened Displacement on Kerista, and then a Maximized Fireball that hit the rune giant, the second cloud giant, and a storm giant that was getting ready to join the fight. Thankfully, the enemies were so huge that they couldn’t all attack the companions at once, even in the wide hallway. The storm giant approached Drithnar, and struck with his mighty blade, but the ranger was able to dodge it at the last moment.
The rune giant rushed the companions, threatening to trample them, but they all got out of the way, and the two warriors were able to wound him as he passed. From behind the group, the runes covering the immense giant’s body then started to glow with a blinding red light, and a shower of sparks erupted in that section of the hall, badly burning Navan and Ruh. From behind the corner of the corridor, a second rune giant appeared!
Navan waited to see where his heals would be most required. The second cloud giant threw a rock at Kerista, but missed her again. The mighty paladin struck the storm giant several times with her earthbreaker; even such a mighty creature as he could not withstand the onslaught, and she shattered his skull with a particularly effective blow. Drithnar tumbled closer to the first rune giant, avoiding his attacks, and slashed his lower legs. Meanwhile, Ruh cast a Cloudkill spell at the hallway’s bend, in the hopes that it would move away and affect any remaining enemies further down the hall.
The first rune giant directed his attacks toward Navan, and struck the priest a mighty blow that sent him reeling against one of the walls. The poor cleric of Desna felt a terrible pain in his chest and knew that several of his ribs had been broken, despite his mighty armor. He struggled to retrieve a scroll of Heal from his pack, and cast it on himself, feeling the warmth of the positive energy coursing through his body.
The second rune giant approached and blasted the group with another shower of sparks, but thankfully, this time, the heroes all survived it unscathed due to a combination of awesome reflexes and magical protection. But alas, the giant struck the unfortunate Navan another painful blow!
The cloud giant squeezed himself past the second rune giant, and attacked Kerista, but missed her due to her displacement spell. Just in front of him, the golden-armored heroine was a mighty whirling of destruction. She swung her enlarged earthbreaker in deadly arcs around her, collapsing the rib cage of the first rune giant, and smashing the skull of the cloud giant to little pieces. Both behemoths ponderously collapsed to the ground from the impact of her mighty weapon.
Drithnar silently whistled at his girlfriend’s heroic move, and tumbled closer to the second rune giant, whose foot he painfully stabbed with both blades. Ruh took out her wand of Lightning Bolt again, and shot at the second rune giant, and at Viorian, who had escaped the Cloudkill spell, coughing painfully. However, both avoided taking any serious damage from the wand.
Navan backed away and cast Cure Moderate Wounds on himself with his own wand, while the unfortunate Drithnar suffered two terrible wounds from the second rune giant’s monstrous blade. An instant later, he was also struck by Viorian’s deadly scimitar. To his left, Kerista struck the rune giant twice. Baring his teeth against the pain, Drithnar flew up and slashed the rune giant several times, eventually piercing his throat with his mighty longsword. Black blood flowed down the colossus’s breastplate, and he toppled backward, slain by the ranger’s deadly blow.
Ruh shot some Scorching Rays of cold energy at Viorian, but they seemed to have no effect on her. As Drithnar floated back toward the ground, Ruh cast a Quickened Displacement on him, and Navan cast a Heal on him.
Viorian now stood alone against the four adventurers. She struck Navan several times with her scimitar, leaving deep, bloody gashes in his skin.
The cleric almost collapsed from the pain, and felt his body stiffen. Once again, he transformed into a statue of ruby, but once again, his runeforged crossbow shone brightly and liberated him from the spell. Their eyes blazing with fury, Kerista and Drithnar attacked Viorian, and finally, the powerful woman fell before their combined might.
The cursed sword’s puppet
Drithnar spun around, looking for more enemies. There were none left: the companions were surrounded by gigantic corpses, and the floor was slick with a thick layer of blood. Ruh approached Navan, who was gasping painfully from his many wounds. Once again, he had narrowly escaped death.
“Thank goodness for our runeforged weapons!” said Ruh.
Kerista carefully knelt next to the Viorian’s body. She was intrigued by this strong woman who seemed similar to her in many ways. She wondered what had made her choose to serve Karzoug. There were only two humans in Xin-Shalast: what was their story?
She then realized that the woman was still breathing, though with difficulty. “She’s still alive!” she said through the mental link. “Should we keep her alive, maybe?”
Navan turned her way, his eyes burning with rage. “Kill her! She’ll be easier to question that way, anyway!”
Kerista was surprised at his hateful reaction. “Are you sure? We could keep her unconscious and…”
But before she could even finish her sentence, Drithnar had walked past her, and he cut off the woman’s head with his magically sharpened blade. He took hold of her hair and held up the grisly trophy, as a thick trickle of blood flowed down to the ground. “There, that settles it!” he growled.
Kerista watched in horror as Drithnar also chopped off the head of the lamia harridan. Navan and Ruh approached the northern wall, and after making sure that the Cloudkill still prevented their enemies from attacking them, Ruh cast a Passwall to lead them to a remote, empty room where they could rest. Drithnar followed them, proudly holding up the women’s heads as trophies.
“Bring the woman’s body, Kerista,” said Navan.
And so the bloody task of dragging Viorian’s headless, heavily armored body went to Kerista. As she did so, she also grabbed the woman’s scimitar. Immediately, a shock went through her mind and she felt an alien presence trying to take control of her. She steeled her resolve, though, and was able to resist it. “Is this what happened?” she wondered. “Was this woman an innocent who was controlled by this cursed sword?”
Once they were all inside the room, Ruh closed the Passwall behind them, and they healed their wounds. Ruh mentioned that the rest of their enemies had likely closed the door leading toward the Denizens of Leng’s machines to prevent the Cloudkill from reaching them. There were still foes around…
After they were healed, Navan prepared to cast Speak with Dead on Viorian’s corpse.
“Let’s strip her of her gear first, though, in case she gains any kind of resistance from it,” he said.
“Hey now, wait a minute!” said Kerista hotly. The others all looked at her, surprised at her reaction. “We already cut off her head! Can we at least show the rest of her body a little respect??!”
The others grudgingly accepted, and Navan began casting his spell on Viorian’s head.
As Navan spoke the last words of the ritual, Viorian’s dark eyes animated with a semblance of life.
“How can we get to the real Karzoug, not just an image of him?” asked Navan out loud, now that the Silence spell had ceased to function.
Viorian frowned, as if dazed. “It seems like a dream… This time I was in the city. Was it real?... Karzoug… I remember that name… I only know that the way to reach him is through a green crystal which is guarded by Ceoptra, his high priestess.”
“Where exactly is Ceoptra?”
“North of the entrance, to the right.”
“Give us the detailed number of guards in this place.”
“I see shapes in my mind… I commanded them… Sixteen cloud giants, eight storm giants, eight rune giants. There were also eight lamia harridans serving Ceoptra, twelve Denizens of Leng, and there was also that man… Khalib… Did he really die? Did I really meet him? Was he real?”
“Why is Karzoug in a crystal?”
“He’s not fully awakened yet.”
“Passed Ceoptra, are there more guards with Karzoug?”
“No.”
“Why did you serve Karzoug?”
“I served the voice that drove me mad… That sword… Did it really happen? Was it all a dream?...”
And with that, her soul left Navan’s grasp. Strangely, he got the impression that it wasn’t going very far away.
“Kerista, is that sword evil?”
“Yes. It’s very evil!”
“Then I guess it’s indeed what caused her to kill everyone is her manor. We have won a battle, but there are still many enemies in the complex. We need to slay them before going against Karzoug!”
Securing the Pinnacle
For the next several hours, the companions fought the remainder of Karzoug’s guardians: rune giants and their controlled minions. Eventually, they realized that when the rune giants died, some of the cloud and storm giants were set free. By the time the ordeal was over, the heroes had three storm giants and three good-aligned cloud giants with them, who had helped them against their former masters.
The lamia harridans were also all dead now, and their mistress, Most High Ceoptra, had been the most powerful of all, but the heroes had eventually vanquished her.
Before venturing into Karzoug’s realm, the companions also fought the Denizens of Leng. They damaged their strange machines, but while they were doing this, a horrible monster came out of the portal before the thing went entirely black. It was a four-legged creature with writhing skin and globulous black eyes, and they remembered fighting such monsters below Jorgenfist: the hounds of Tindalos! Except this one was much larger and more dangerous. However, the companions were victorious against this enemy as well.
Finally, the companions stood in the chamber that led to Karzoug’s inner sanctum. Several golden statues of the Runelord surrounded an empty sarcophagus. The largest of the statues held a lens of green crystal that radiated strong auras of magic and evil. The companions eventually understood that by striking it with their runeforged weapons, they could open a portal leading into Karzoug’s domain.
As they prepared themselves for this final battle, one of the storm giants asked them if they wanted their help.
“No,” replied Navan. “We’re meant to do this alone.”
And the four companions stepped through the portal…
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Touch of madness
Jakardros, Shalelu, Simri and Bakra had narrowly avoided getting crushed by the falling building. A few other warriors from both sides had also fled to escape the same fate, although more had gotten buried alive under the many tons of stone. A stone giant and a frost giant stood close to them, but so did many lamias.
A battle immediately ensued. Thankfully, most of the lamias attacked the two giants, perceiving them as the greatest threats, but two of them turned toward Simri and Bakra. Each woman fought one lamia, while Jakardros and Shalelu helped them with their arrows. The two warrior-mages protected themselves with Mirror Images, and everyone’s movements were increased by a Haste spell.
Eventually, Bakra slew her foe, but her mind was reeling from the maddening touch of the creature. She then heard a voice within her mind: it was the second lamia, who asked her to defend it from Simri. Immediately, in her madness, Bakra attacked her sister-in-arms. Simri was completely taken by surprise, and unfortunately, she wasn’t able to parry the bigger woman’s blows, and she fell to the floor, with blood clouding her vision.
Bakra grimly turned to face Shalelu and Jakardros, with poor Simri’s blood flowing down her greatsword.
But before she could reach them, the archers fired a volley of arrows at the wounded lamia, slaying her, and Bakra was freed from the enchantment. She looked back in horror at the slumped form of Simri.
“What have I done?” she wailed. “What came over me? What have I done??”
Jakardros looked around. Their giant allies were not faring well, and soon, they would be overrun by the lamias. “There’s no time to lose, we have to –aaaaaa!!!”
Bakra and Shalelu turned toward him in surprise and to their horror, they saw the tip of a blade protruding from his chest. Behind him stood a dark figure, which at first glance looked like a man, but it soon became apparently that its face bore hideous mandibles: it was a Denizen of Leng!
As Jakardros fell to the ground, Shalelu stepped back and fired arrows at the enemy. Bakra moved in to defend her, and attacked the foul creature. It moved with dazzling grace, and it was very hard to hit for both women. Worse yet, its wounds seemed to regenerate at great speed. It dealt Bakra several wounds, and she felt her arms weaken from some kind of poison. The end was near…
But suddenly, the Denizen of Leng gave its own shrill cry of agony, as two figures bearing dark masks appeared from behind, also clutching deadly knives. They slew the hideous being.
The two women, panting from the terrible fight, stared at the newcomers, wondering if they were friends or foes. They were slight and had pale skin. One of them spoke in words that Shalelu didn’t understand, but Bakra recognized the Thassilonian speech.
“You are saviors, like Navan and his friends. I am Morgiv of the Spared. Follow me if you want to live!”
Bakra quickly relayed the message to Shalelu. But the elf woman had already moved to Jakardros’s side. She checked his pulse: he was still breathing, but barely. He had lost a lot of blood.
“We can’t leave Jakardros and Simri behind!” she yelled at Bakra.
“Let’s take them with us, but we must hurry. Go now! I’ll get Simri!”
Bakra rushed to where Simri had fallen and hoisted the smaller woman over her shoulder. Like Jakardros, it seemed she was still alive, but barely. Despite her weakened state, Bakra would do whatever it took to bring her sister in arms to safety. After all, it was she who had almost killed her. She wondered if she would ever be able to forgive herself for being so weak of mind.
She then followed Shalelu and the two Spared through a narrow crack in a nearby building, and just in time: one of the giants had been slain, and the other one was being cut to pieces by the lamias. Alas, the large creatures would not benefit from the Spared’s help as they did.
|
|
Vengeance
A furious battle was taking place between Xanesha and three warriors of wrath. Even though the denizens of Runeforge moved with the enhanced speed of a Haste spell, the deadly lamia matriarch seemed even faster. She was able to parry most of their blows, and she struck back with deadly precision and brutal strength. The three warriors surrounded her, and Krog was finally able to deal her a serious blow, but Xanesha turned around, and suddenly, her mask glowed eerily, and the massive soldier turned into a statue!
Meanwhile, Sebania, who had barely survived the sting of the lamia’s barbed spear, crawled away from the fight. She took a potion of healing from one of the pouches at her belt, and drank its contents, feeling the pain of the terrible wound lessen a little bit. With difficulty, she got back to her feet, and cast a powerful spell to paralyze the lamia in place. But alas, it had no effect: the vile creature seemed totally resistant to it!
To her horror, Sebania saw Xanesha impale the poor Targonna with her great spear. Blood flowed from the woman’s chest, and from her mouth, as her features twisted in pain, and finally, the spark of life left her eyes.
“Nooooo!!!!!” wailed Arak as he watched his beloved’s corpse being tossed unceremoniously to the ground, as Xanesha pulled back her spear. The vile snake-woman turned to face him, chuckling coldly.
Arak fought Xanesha with desperation, seeking to avenge the death of his beloved Targonna. From further back, Sebania unleashed some powerful rays of fire which badly burned Xanesha. Arak’s greatsword and Xanesha’s spear clashed loudly, time and again, as each tried to gain an advantage over the other. Once, twice, Xanesha pierced the mighty Arak’s body with her spear. Bleeding profusely, Arak defiantly stood his ground against all odds, but eventually, the proud warrior received a final blow from the merciless matriarch.
As Arak fell to the ground, joining the beautiful Targonna in death, Xanesha was blasted by another volley of firebolts from Sebania. She hissed in pain and rage at the offending elf’s assault.
“It’s your turn now, weakling!” she snarled as she advanced to end the enchantress’s life.
Sebania was frantically chanting the words to another spell, but she knew she wouldn’t have time to finish it before Xanesha was upon her.
Suddenly, a shadow moved from behind a boulder that Xanesha passed by. The matriarch stopped suddenly, a look of surprise and pain in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but only blood came out. She turned around to face her attacker, but it was already too late: the man’s blades had struck true, and had ended her sinister life of murder and deception.
“Give my regards to Lucrecia!” said Kaven as Xanesha fell to the ground.
Sebania limped toward him. “Kaven! We thought you had fled! You killed her! Thank you, you saved my life!”
“No need to thank me. I had a score to settle with these damned matriarchs.”
“Quick, help me get to the orb, we must free the giants from this confusion!”
With Kaven’s help, Sebania reached the orb.
“That thing’s quite big, how are you even going to lift it?” said Kaven.
“Oh, I hope Krog can help me with that.”
“But he’s just a block of stone now!”
Sebania cast another spell, and a moment later, Krog regained his normal color and substance. She had reversed the petrification spell. Then, the enchantress knelt next to the orb, trying to recall the complex formula to activate it. After a few more moments, she succeeded: the sphere once again vibrated and hummed with its powerful magic. Immediately, the giants who had swayed back under the control of the rune giants recovered their wits, and the tide of battle was turned back against the defenders of Xin-Shalast!
Kaven and Krog were kneeling next to Arak and Targonna, hoping that they would be able to save them, but alas, both were already dead. Xanesha’s attacks had truly been merciless.
“I hope Simri’s all right,” said Kaven sadly. “I should never have let us get separated like this…”
“Krog, please help me carry the orb,” asked Sebania.
The big man complied. The companions looked once again toward the two fallen warriors, and toward the immense corpse of Dwillvir. They had taken over the oracle’s burden: now it was their duty to see it through to the end of the battle.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Seanthia, my love
Shalelu and Bakra had cautiously followed Morgiv and the other strange, pale man into dark tunnels that led below the city. They had finally stopped, and seemed to be safe for now: they heard no sounds of pursuit behind them. The two weary women gently laid down their burdens, Simri and Jakardros, on the ground.
Both of them were still unconscious, and seemed to be very badly wounded. The quieter of the two pale men examine them carefully. He applied a strange poultice that seemed to be made of fungus on Simri’s wounds. Morgiv, who was watching him work, spoke quietly to Bakra. He looked grim.
The tall blonde woman translated to Shalelu: “The other one has some talent as a healer, and thinks that Simri will be able to recover from her wounds, given enough rest. I am relieved to hear this, I would’ve never forgiven myself for causing her death.”
“What about Jakardros?” asked Shalelu anxiously.
Bakra lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry… They said he is too far gone. He might not live another hour.”
Shalelu’s knees buckled, and she sank to the ground, with warm tears flowing down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands and wept. She was losing Jakardros. It seemed like only very recently that she’d finally understood how deep his love had been for her mother, and that she had renewed her friendship with him after more than two decades of living as a hermit, and hating him. And now… he was dying. She had guessed that he would die before her; after all, he was a short-lived human, and already passed his prime. But she wasn’t ready to lose him. Not now, it was too soon!
“Dry your tears… my friend…” said a feeble voice at her side.
Astonished, she turned around and saw that Jakardros had regained consciousness and was looking at her through his single eye. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, and yet, there was a look of peace on his face.
“Jakardros!” she said, “don’t worry, we’ll get you healed! Navan will come back, and he’ll be able to cure you completely! Just don’t talk, save your energy!”
The grizzled veteran winced from the pain. “No…” he finally said. “It’s… too late… for me… It’s… the end of the road… Shalelu… my friend.”
Fresh new tears flowed from Shalelu’s eyes. “Even if you die, Navan can bring you back! Like he brought me back, after that battle in Jorgenfist!”
Jakardros smiled at her, and with great effort, he lifted his arm and caressed her cheek, wiping away the tears. “It won’t work… Desna… is calling me home at last… My time… has come. My dear, dear Shalelu… I loved you… like the daughter I never had… Tell… Drithnar… not to let… the legacy of the Black … Arrows… die…”
The old ranger winced again in pain, and his eye grew unfocused. His life seemed to be slipping away. His arm fell limply to the side, but Shalelu took his hand in hers, wishing she could somehow transfer some of her life into him.
“Jakardros… please don’t leave me!!!” she begged.
Jakardros’s gaze regained some focus, and he looked at Shalelu has though he hadn’t seen her in a very long time. He smiled.
“I won’t leave you!” he promised. Shalelu brightened at this. “I won’t ever leave you again… Seanthia, my love... Is it really you?”
Shalelu’s smile faltered as she realized that the poor man was now delirious. He saw in her the image of her mother.
“I’ve missed you so much…” continued Jakardros. “All these long years… I never stopped loving you… Now… we’ll be together… … at last… … …”
Jakardros gave one last breath, and then he was still.
He had died with a smile on his face.
|
|
Toilday, Abadius 19th, 4709 (continued)
The final battle
The four companions stood in the reliquary that contained the entrance to the secret dimension where Karzoug had waited for ten thousand years. They had been fully restored once again by Desna’s gift, and they cast their most powerful enchantments to be fully prepared for the fight ahead. Now, they knew they were about to start the final, climatic battle of their great adventure. Everything they had done, every foe they had bested, every obstacle they had overcome, every drop of blood, sweat and tears they had shed had been for this. Now was the moment of truth, their greatest test yet: they would face the ancient and immensely powerful Runelord Karzoug in combat!
As they prepared themselves for this final battle, one of the storm giants asked them if they wanted their help.
“No,” replied Navan. “We’re meant to do this alone.”
“Well, mostly alone,” corrected Ruh. “I actually want to summon an Air Elemental to help in the fight! I want to show Karzoug that conjuration is even more powerful than transmutation!”
Once they were ready, the four companions and the elemental stepped through the portal…
… and entered a strange magical place. They stood on a circular platform of stone, which was surrounded by a wall of fog that writhed wildly, as though they stood in the eye of a great cyclone. Within the walls of fog, they could vaguely see tormented faced appearing and disappearing. The walls of fog seemed to continue up above into infinity. At the center of the platform was a strange symbol formed by shallow pools of water, and lit by braziers. In the middle of this symbol floated a huge purple gem, which was surrounded by two rings of gold upon which were inscribed some runes.
But the four adventurers’ attention was immediately diverted toward the shape that floated above them, on the other side of the symbol. The man wore a dark green robe, and an angry light shone within his sinister eyes, as he gripped his burning glaive menacingly in one hand, and clutched a black tome adorned with the Sihedron Rune on the other.
It was Runelord Karzoug! The companions KNEW that they were facing their real enemy, at long last.
The Runelord opened his mouth and started speaking to those who had intruded in his domain. But he stopped soon enough, as he noticed the vacant look they were giving him: they were surrounded by magical silence yet again, and couldn’t understand a single word he said. There would be no climatic speech, no dramatic revelation. There would only be death, for one side or for the other.
Drithnar started running toward Karzoug, and Ruh also moved closer as she directed her elemental to attack. She cast a Disintegrate spell at Karzoug, followed by a Quickened Lightning Bolt. Both spells hit the Runelord, but he survived the attack.
Karzoug then cast a terrible spell, and a Meteor Swarm hit Kerista. The paladin was badly battered by the rocks themselves, but the following explosion of fire barely inflicted any damage to her, Navan and Ruh due to their high protections. Then, Karzoug disappeared, and reappeared in a completely different spot. Something seemed different, somehow.
Navan teleported next to Karzoug, catching him in his aura of silence, and cast a Quickened Searing Light spell at him. Meanwhile, Kerista and Drithnar were still running around the pool toward the fight.
The air elemental was close to Karzoug, and hit him with a blast of wind. Ruh cast another Disintegrate spell at Karzoug, and this time, she caused him a severe wound, although the mighty Runelord once against escaped complete annihilation.
Karzoug moved away from Navan and the elemental, and cast a Horrid Wilting on the elemental, Navan, Drithnar and Kerista, before teleporting to the other side of the platform. Kerista, already weakened by the meteor swarm, could barely remain standing, and had to heal herself with her Lay on Hands.
Navan started running toward where Karzoug now floated. He cast a Dimensional Anchor which hit the Runelord, bathing him in a bright green glow. Karzoug snarled, as he understood that he wouldn’t be able to teleport away anymore. And then, he was hit by a Quickened Searing Light by Navan.
The other companions also moved toward Karzoug. Ruh cast another Disintegrate at Karzoug, badly wounding him, followed by a Quickened Scorching Ray of cold energy, which failed to affect him due to his spell resistance.
By then, Runelord Karzoug had been severely hurt by Ruh’s multiple Disintegrate spells. But he wasn’t defeated yet. Calling upon his dark magic, he cast two more Horrid Wilting spells in quick succession. The results were disastrous: Drithnar fell to the ground, unconscious, and Ruh was instantly slain by the terrible magic, her body withering to a tiny, dry-boned skeleton.
“Noooo!!!!” screamed Kerista through the mental link, as she kept running toward Karzoug. She hadn’t even managed to approach him since the combat had started, she felt so useless! And now Ruh was dead, and Drithnar was close to death as well. A quick glance at Navan showed her that he was as badly wounded as she was. One more of these terrible spells, and Karzoug would be victorious!
Navan continued approaching; he raised his hands in the air, calling down for the wrath of Desna (silently). Karzoug was burned by a Flame Strike, followed by a third Quickened Searing Light.
The Runelord was almost beaten, his skin was scorched from the many spells he had endured, but with just one more spell, he would destroy Navan and Kerista. They were too far to stop him… They were too late…
But Ruh’s air elemental wasn’t.
The mighty force of nature descended from the sky and struck Karzoug with the strength of a furious gale. The Runelord gave a final cry of rage and agony, and fell to the floor.
He was dead!
The four heroes of Varisia
Navan and Kerista could scarcely believe it. Runelord Karzoug was finally dead!!! And in an ironic twist of fate, it wasn’t one of them who had slain him, but rather, an outsider that Ruh had summoned!
They hurried to Drithnar’s side and healed him just before he expired. He slowly opened his eyes as Kerista cradled his weakened form in her arms.
“What… happened… Karzoug…?” he asked weakly through the mental link.
“Karzoug is dead. We have won!” said Navan with a mixture of triumph and sadness in his voice.
“Where’s Ruh?”
Navan bowed his head and didn’t reply.
“She’s dead!” said Kerista with a sob.
Drithnar looked further and saw that indeed, Ruh’s tiny form was sprawled on the floor, unmoving, a few dozen feet from Karzoug’s corpse. Suddenly, though, the walls started to swirl faster… the madness within them increased. The companions looked around them in horror, wondering what was happening. They recognized some of the faces in the mist: Banny Harker, the mill manager who’d been sacrificed by Aldern; Galenmir and Teraktinus, the stone giant warriors; Ulerto, the fisherman from Turtleback Ferry who’d been marked with the Sihedron Rune and who had died in Paradise. There were many more faces in the mist: men, women, giants, dragons, but they soon became a blur as the walls started swirling faster and faster. The companions noticed that the huge purple gem at the center of the pool was growing brighter and brighter, until suddenly… it exploded!!!
A wave of utter brightness washed over the three companions. For a moment, they couldn’t see anything…
Then shapes started to appear before Kerista’s eyes. She saw that Drithnar and Navan still stood close to her. She felt wonderful: all of the pain she’d sustained from Karzoug’s terrible spells was now gone, and she saw that the two men’s wounds were also gone.
A chill wind blew over them, and she realized that they had returned to Golarion. They still stood on the platform with the strange pool of water, but the gem was gone now. The platform itself was now located at the base of the great tower where they had fought Karzoug’s strongest minions: she remembered that a huge circle had been located there, and she understood that the platform that had been removed by magic, millennia ago, had finally returned to its rightful place.
“Damnit… What’s happening? I can’t see a thing!” growled Drithnar through the mental link.
“Me neither,” replied Navan. “Hold on…” He cancelled the silence around them all, and then cured his and Drithnar’s blindness by magic.
“We’ve returned to Golarion… “ said the ranger out loud.
“Yes, could someone please explain that last part to me? I’m a bit confused!” said a small voice further ahead.
The three friends turned around in surprise, and saw Ruh getting to her feet. She was alive!
“Ruh! You’re alive!!!” said Kerista merrily. She rushed toward the little gnome and picked her up in a warm embrace.
“Oh, well, hehe, yes, I seem to be alive indeed! And that corpse yonder? Is that Karzoug? Have you slain him?”
“In a manner of speaking. It was your elemental who did it, Ruh! He struck the final blow!”
“Really???” said Ruh, her big eyes wide with wonder. “Ah ha! I was right to say that conjuration is the strongest school!!”
The sound of a gusting wind got closer. The majestic air elemental approached the four companions, and they bowed to him in gratitude.
“Thank you, oh Sillik’Saryis, warrior of the sky, for liberating us from this terrible tyrant,” said Ruh. “Your name will always be praised for the help you have given us today!”
“I know nothing of your wars, dweller of the prime plane,” answered the elemental in a voice that was like the wind itself, “but I hope that your kind will now live in peace and freedom. Be well…”
And with that, he disappeared.
The four companions stood side by side, at the base of Karzoug’s great tower. From this vantage point, they could see the city of Xin-Shalast far below. It seemed that the battle was mostly over. They saw the tiny forms of stone, frost, cloud and storm giants roaming the city, and heard their distant voices shouting in victory. Karzoug was dead. His army of lamias and rune giants was defeated. The giants of the Kodar Mountains were free once again!
Navan, Kerista, Ruh and Drithnar looked at each other, without saying a word. They could scarcely believe what had happened. Runelord Karzoug, the dreaded and immensely powerful archmage, was dead. Varisia was safe. It seemed like not so long ago, they had been young and inexperienced, thrust into danger’s path when a band of goblins had attacked the pleasant town of Sandpoint. How far they had come since then…
They had defeated the entire goblin tribe, and had slain their master, the corrupt priestess Nualia, and the demon Malfeshnekor. Drithnar had died, but had been reincarnated by the good will of Gozreh, into the form of a human. He had finally escaped the torment he had lived for his entire life as a half-orc. He had also finally understood Nualia’s true nature, and had been liberated from his obsession for her. And he had found true love in the innocent, compassionate young woman who was Kerista.
The companions had then solved the next mystery that threatened Sandpoint and had slain a dangerous psychopath: Aldern Foxglove, the wife-murdering nobleman-turned-undead who’d harbored a sick obsession for Kerista. They had then saved the city of Magnimar itself from a similar string of murders by exterminating the Skinsaw Cult, and unmasking its leader, the treacherous Justice Ironbriar.
Tragedy had then struck, as the brave rangers of Fort Rannick had almost all been slain by the vicious Kreeg Ogres of Hook Mountain. Navan and Shalelu had barely escaped the slaughter, and with the help of the rest of the group, they rescued Drithnar’s mentor Jakardros and Navan’s brother Kaven, and retook the fort. Alas, there, they were betrayed by Kaven, who had been responsible for allowing the ogres to launch their surprise attack on the fort. They almost died at the hands of the lamia matriarch Lucrecia, the vile seductress who had tricked Kaven into betraying his brothers in arms. The heroes felt a terrible anger toward Kaven, but in his great wisdom, Navan forgave him, and had a blessing placed on him to allow him to remain alive, but to be bound into obeying the law. Through this great compassion, Kaven eventually found redemption.
The companions later destroyed the Kreeg ogres, and their master, the stone giant Barl Breakbones. They learned that a much greater threat than the Kreeg Ogres loomed on the horizon: the foul stone giant Mokmurian was gathering an army of giants that was about to invade Varisia! After saving Sandpoint from a detachment of that army, the companions confronted Mokmurian in his lair, and slew him. As the giant died, they discovered that an even greater enemy was behind his actions: none other than Runelord Karzoug himself, a being straight out of legends! It seemed that the evil archmage was about to return to Varisia after an absence of ten thousand years, and that he intended on conquering it by force.
In Mokmurian’s fortress of Jorgenfist, the heroes befriended several giants, including the frost giant oracle Dwillvir, who first told them that a great evil threatened the various giant clans of the Kodar Mountains. In the ancient library below Jorgenfist, Ruh and Dwillvir found ways of opposing Karzoug and his armies. Ruh led her companions to the dimension of Runeforge, an ancient laboratory where agents of the Runelords wove dark and wondrous magic. After battling the insane denizens who’d been imprisoned there for ten thousand years, the heroes imbued their weapons with the enchantment necessary to reach Karzoug’s inner sanctum, and to vanquish him.
And they had been successful… He was dead…
What a great, perilous adventure it had been! They had almost died many times, yet here they were, all still alive, and now among the most powerful people in all of Varisia!
Their adventure was now at an end. With her magical sight, Ruh knew that the occlusion field was no more. She also sensed that the reality warp in the region was gone: the link between Golarion and Leng had been cut thanks to their victory. They gathered Runelord Karzoug’s mighty magical items, and the little gnome teleported the group down into Lower Xin-Shalast, where they joined the army, to celebrate their great victory and to mourn those who had given their lives to make it all possible.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Epilogue
A few days later, the invaders had secured Xin-Shalast, and had slain or driven away the vast majority of the lamias and Denizens of Leng. Some of them were taken prisoner, but no quarter was shown toward the few rune giants who survived the battle: they were seen as abominations and terrible threats by the giants, and were all killed.
The giant army took control of the city. Many of its warriors were led by Duke Vidarian. But the frost giants of the Ice Moon Clan, as well as many of those who had been freed, now bowed before Gunnidra, for she had become a legend in her own right during the battle of Xin-Shalast, thanks to her incredibly fighting skills.
Once the city was secure, a grand funeral took place, during which the dead were laid to rest. Special honor was given to Dwillvir, who was viewed as a hero by all of the giants of the Kodar Mountains. The companions and the other “little folk” had the chance to say one last good-bye to their fallen comrades: Jakardros, Arak and Targonna.
Thanks to Navan’s amazing talent as a healer, Simri was restored to good health, and she was reunited with Kaven. They were fortunate indeed to have both survived the terrible battle. Navan also acknowledged his brother’s victory over Xanesha, whom he remembered hearing about after he had destroyed the Skinsaw Cult in Magnimar. He had never faced the terrible lamia matriarch in battle himself, but he had always felt, somehow, that he and his companions had been fortunate never to run into her. They might never have survived to eventually destroy Karzoug, had Xanesha decided to face them in her sinister clock tower!
Drithnar shared Shalelu’s pain at the loss of Jakardros. He tried to console her, and himself too, by saying that their old friend was now in a better place, and with the woman he loved. He also swore to uphold Jakardros’s last request: he would reform the Black Arrows!
During this time, everyone noticed that indeed, Leng’s influence was truly gone. The shapes and colors of distant mountains, and the sky itself, looked much more natural now, and the corruption of magic that rendered teleportation spells so unreliable was gone. From now on, the companions would be able to use such magic to travel to Sandpoint, Magnimar, Galduria, or Jorgenfist, and then back to Xin-Shalast.
The four adventurers faced some hard choices now. They were the heroes of Xin-Shalast, and the mighty giants looked to them with respect and awe, for they had done what no-one else could do: they had slain Runelord Karzoug! (or, as Ruh often clarified much to her three friends’ annoyance, they had summoned the being who had slain him!)
Varisia was safe. Xin-Shalast, and the incalculable amount of wealth it contained, was at their disposal. They could have chosen to rule it if they wished. But in their great wisdom and humility, they said that any mortal who laid claim to Xin-Shalast would eventually succumb to the same greed that had rotted away Karzoug’s heart. They knew that if Xin-Shalast were plundered, and its riches were sold in Golarion’s markets, the economy would be completely broken, and huge numbers of people would risk their lives to try and find the city of gold in the deadly Kodar Mountains. The ramifications would be disastrous.
No, instead, they chose to keep Xin-Shalast’s existence a secret. They also knew that most of the common folks of Varisia would never know of their heroic deeds. They would never know how close they had come to all being enslaved by the tyrant from ages past. No, only a few chosen people would know of their true valor and bravery: Mayor Deverin, Father Zantus, Sheriff Hemlock, Brodert Quink, Ameiko, Captain Uriana, Toth Bhreacher, and only a few others.
It’s therefore with the four mighty adventurers’ blessing that the giants took control of the city of Xin-Shalast: they now, at long last, ruled this city where they had once lived as slaves. Thanks to the companions’ influence, the Spared came in contact with the giants, and the foundations for an alliance between the two factions were laid.
Although many of the giants chose to return to their lairs throughout the Kodar Mountains, Duke Vidarian’s family and followers, as well as Gunnidra’s Ice Moon Clan, decided to remain in Xin-Shalast and make it their home. Only a few days after the funerals, a much more joyful event was celebrated: the noble Vidarian and the beautiful Gunnidra were married, thereby sealing the alliance between the two powerful giant clans.
There was a lot of work to do, as the ruined city needed to be rebuilt, but the mighty giants were looking forward to it, now that they worked of their own free will, rather than as slaves.
Dwillvir’s orb was placed in a secure location within the building that Vidarian and Gunnidra chose as their ruling palace. And although, eventually, Sebania returned to Galduria to resume her responsibilities at the academy, she said she would return to Xin-Shalast from time to time, in order to make sure that there was someone on hand to use the orb, should any of the dreaded rune giants ever return.
The four companions also eventually left Xin-Shalast. Now that Karzoug was dead, and that Varisia was safe at least, they felt like a great weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They were free to live as they wished!
Navan, a true wanderer at heart, followed his wanderlust, and chose to travel to new lands. He had seen many wondrous sights in Varisia, and explored several majestic locations of the fallen Thassilonian empire, but now he wondered what the world’s other cultures had to offer. And besides, he’d always dreamed of visiting the great city of Absalom…
Ruh decided to stay in Varisia, and accepted a position at the Stone of the Seers in Magnimar, where she had the chance to perform all of the crazy experiments that her vast intellect could come up with, and also to share her knowledge with the next generation of wizards: she wanted them not only to enjoy magic as she did, but also to have the strong morals that she felt every wizard should adhere to. She thought that magic was a wonderful thing, but that using it came with a great responsibility. Although the Runelords had taken magic to a whole new level, she often said to herself as she watched the silhouette of the Irespan in the distance, they had let their souls become corrupted in their thirst for power, and this was unacceptable. Magic used in this sinful way was an aberration.
Drithnar returned to Sandpoint with Kerista, and he wasted no time in reforming the Black Arrows. Of course, some of the first members of the new order were well known to him: Shalelu, Kaven, Simri, Bakra and Krog. He also tracked down Goldbraid and Selkiar, the two members of Viorian Dekanti’s former guild, the Whispering Blades, and invited them to join the Black Arrows. With the vast amount of wealth at his disposal, and with some funds from Magnimar to back him up, he put things in place for a fortress to be built near Sandpoint. This would be the new Fort Rannick, placed close to Sandpoint, to protect this beautiful town that was so dear to his heart. If those damned stone giants ever got it into their fool heads to attack Sandpoint again, this time, the town would be ready for them!
But the Black Arrows’ mandate wouldn’t only be limited to watching over Sandpoint. No, Drithnar planned to organize roving bands of rangers and warriors, who would patrol the western half of Varisia, root out evil, and protect the innocents. Varisia was safe for now, but he wanted to make sure it stayed safe!
There were still rumors about chaos, war and corruption plaguing the city of Korvosa and all of its holdings. This was unacceptable to Drithnar. More and more, he was starting to consider striking there with this newly formed group of elite warriors. Even though he didn’t like Korvosa too much, it was still part of Varisia, and its inhabitants shouldn’t have to live in such miserable conditions.
He spoke of that plan to Kerista, and asked her to come along. She answered that it sounded like a noble plan, but that she didn’t think it was a wise idea to come. Drithnar was surprised at her answer, but he soon understood the reason… Kerista was expecting their first child!
The mighty ranger reconsidered his priorities, and decided that Korvosa would have to wait. After all, he and his friends had just finished a terribly difficult adventure… it was perhaps too early to start a new one right away. They had earned their rest. He wanted to be home when his son, or daughter, was born. Besides, who knew, perhaps another group of adventurers would arise in Korvosa, just like his own group had done in Sandpoint, and that they would make things right over there as well?
So for the moment, Drithnar and Kerista remained in Sandpoint. They monitored the construction of the fortress that would later be known as Fort Jakardros. In the spring, they invited their closest friends to their wedding at the Sandpoint cathedral, where Father Zantus directed the ceremony.
|
|
Oathday, Rova 19th, 4709
The caravan
A small caravan of three wagons was slowly making its way west, toward the town of Sandpoint. They had left a remote outpost of woodsmen, rangers and Desna-worshipping priests about ten days ago. Despite the offerings they’d made to Desna before leaving, the trip had been arduous, mostly due to the heavy rains that had made the paths muddy. Just yesterday, one of the wagons had gotten deeply stuck in mud, and it had been a difficult and dirty task to get it out of there. Now, all of the travelers were quite eager to reach Sandpoint, wash up and spend a night in a warm, comfortable bed.
But Hallonir Whiteshield didn’t complain. A wandering paladin in his late twenties, he was used to the harsh life of a traveler. He was strongly devoted to the faith of Iomedae, and was looking for brave souls who shared his desire to do good and the bravery to risk their own lives to make the world a better place for everyone. He had recently heard the heroic tales of a group of mighty adventurers who had saved Varisia from the clutches of an evil archmage, and he was now traveling to Sandpoint to request their help with an even greater danger still.
Along the way, Hallonir noticed a few spots that would have been ideal for an ambush; yet the caravan was never attacked. It seemed that the region was indeed quite safe. Once it was perhaps only one or two miles from its destination, the convoy was approached by a group of riders wearing dark cloaks. Their leader, a beautiful elven woman with green hair, hailed them.
“Greetings, travelers,” she said. “I assume that you are headed for Sandpoint?”
“Yes, lady, we bear supplies for the upcoming Swallowtail Festival!” replied the merchant who drove the first wagon.
The elf smiled. “Then we will escort you. We were heading back as well.”
For the last part of its journey, Hallonir rode beside the elven woman. He learned that she was called Shalelu Andosana and was part of the Black Arrows, a group of rangers who protected the region.
“I thought the Black Arrows were no more,” said Hallonir cautiously.
A shadow passed over Shalelu’s eyes. “Most of its members died about two years ago, in a terrible battle. But those who survived picked up the pieces and started the order anew, here, in Sandpoint. We’ve cleared the region of the goblin pests, and of its various bands of brigands. Our leader is Drithnar, perhaps the mightiest ranger in all of Varisia.”
It sounded like Shalelu was merely stating a fact, and not boasting. Glancing at her companions, a handsome young man, a tall blonde woman who looked very fierce, and a dwarven lass with a long gold braid, Hallonir got the impression that they were all hardened veterans. What’s more, their equipment seemed of excellent quality; clearly, this Drithnar must be very wealthy to supply them with such gear. But then again, Hallonir had heard of the ranger Drithnar, and he was one of the reasons he was going to Sandpoint in the first place.
They finally came within sight of Sandpoint: it seemed like a quaint little coastal town. Hallonir had heard that it had come upon hard times in recent years, but that the group of brave adventurers had saved it on several occasions. As they approached the town, the paladin saw what looked like the foundations of a large keep being constructed to the east of it.
Shalelu nodded toward it. “We’re here. This is Sandpoint, and this over there, on the hill, will soon be called Fort Jakardros. We’re headed there, you all have a safe stay in Sandpoint!”
Hallonir watched as Shalelu and the other three riders went up the hill and approached a lone man who sat atop a magnificent black steed. The man had long black hair and a dark cloak. Was this the legendary Drithnar? Hallonir hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should follow Shalelu and speak with Drithnar right away. But finally, he decided to keep following the caravan: he had heard that Drithnar was a fierce warrior and a foul-tempered man at times. What Hallonir had to say would probably be better received by Drithnar’s wife, the gentle paladin Kerista.
The town was abuzz with excitement. There were many people in the streets, putting up decorations everywhere. They were likely preparing for this Swallowtail Festival Hallonir had heard about. The paladin asked around, and learned that Kerista could most likely be found at the town hall. Once he was there, the paladin dismounted and tethered his mighty steed in front of the building.
Inside, he was received by several clerks, and by a woman who introduced herself as Kendra Deverin, the town’s mayor. She seemed kind and wise, but she also bore scars on her face, and there was a look of sadness in her eyes. It seemed that the rumors had been true: Sandpoint had seen some tough times in recent years, and they had left their mark on the town’s leader.
After Hallonir briefly explained the reason he had come to Sandpoint, Mayor Deverin nodded gently, and led him to an office upstairs. Inside, a beautiful dark-haired girl was going through some papers; she looked up and smiled at them.
“Excuse me,” said Hallonir, “I’m looking for Kerista Vigandir.”
“That’s me!” replied Kerista with a twinkle in her eyes. “How can I help you?”
Hallonir was taken aback for a moment. He had not expected the heroic paladin he’d heard about to be so young, or so… cheerful.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” said Mayor Deverin quietly, and she closed the door after leaving the office.
“It’s an honor to meet you, lady Kerista, I’ve heard many tales about your exploits here in Varisia.”
Kerista blushed slightly. “Please, sit down, mister…?”
“Hallonir. Hallonir Whiteshield,” said the paladin, as he sat down. “I come from the distant land of Andoran. Just like you, I am a paladin. I follow the calling of Iomedae.”
“Oh, I like her!”
“Ah… Err… Well, you see, I’ve heard that you and your companions are mighty adventurers, and that you defeated a terribly powerful foe earlier this year.”
“Yes…” said Kerista, hesitantly.
“Well, if it’s not too presumptuous of me… I have come to ask for help. Far to the north and to the east, there is a terrible plight that threatens the very existence of Golarion. It is an evil far worse than any wizard or even any single demon. It is called the Worldwound. It is a scar upon the surface of Golarion, from which pour forth an incalculable number of demons and other spawn of the Abyss. If nothing is done to close this rift in our reality, then I fear that eventually, our world will be overrun by these creatures. Members of my order are being sent all across Golarion, looking for heroes brave and powerful enough to help our crusade against this terrible plight. I humbly come to you, lady Kerista Vigandir, to ask you to help us!”
Kerista lowered her eyes for a moment, apparently deep in thought. Eventually, she looked at Hallonir again. “Your cause is worthy, brave sir Whiteshield. But I am afraid I must decline.”
Hallonir felt disappointment wash over him… Had he come here… for nothing?
Kerista seemed to sense his reaction. “I’m sorry. I truly am. I wish things were different, but… you see…” she stood up, and for the first time, Hallonir realized that she was quite tall and quite powerfully built… but that she was also very, very pregnant. “I don’t think I would be much use in a fight right now,” she said with a grin.
Hallonir wasn’t sure what to say. “Oh, I … err…”
“Your request hasn’t fallen on deaf ears, I assure you. I’ve heard about the Worldwound before, and I’ve thought about going there as well. But my companions and I have been through a lot in the past two years. We need to live a little… “ she stroked her belly, “and I want to be with my little one, at least for the first few years. I’m sure there are other heroes in Golarion who can help you. And in a few years, we’ll join them again in the fight against the darkness!”
Hallonir stood up. “Well, that’s good to hear. Thank you for your time…”
Kerista smiled at him. “Please, good sir, why don’t you stay in Sandpoint for a few days? The Swallowtail Festival is coming up, and it’s our town’s most sacred holiday! I swear it’s an event you won’t want to miss!”
Hallonir followed the gentle young woman downstairs, as she offered to show him around. Despite the importance of his mission, in truth, he was looking forward to visiting this charming little town called Sandpoint.
|
|
I have to admit i kind of liked the first ending better. Very heroic and tradgic at the same time. That would have made a bard estatic to write that ballad.
haha, it's true that it was more original and interesting!
But I was too attached to the PC's, I didn't want them to die. :)So I gave them a second chance. :)
So after a year and a half how do you feel about the RotRL AP?
Did you enjoy running/playing in it?
Oh yes, I enjoyed it greatly! It is an excellent campaign. The adventures are well built, with lots of information that make running them easier for the DM. Also, they are rich in background, story and NPC's, so it comes very naturally as a DM to build more things on top of that.
You can see my detailed comments on this thread.
I have to say i really enjoyed this campaign journal, and i thank you for taking the time to write all of this up for us after your games.
Cant wait for your next one :)
Thank you very much. I would indeed love to write another one like this in the future. In the coming weeks, I will see if I have the time and the energy to make it possible. :)
I'm not sure if you're into the Savage Tide AP as well, but I am keeping a journal of our campaign here if you're interested.
I would indeed love to write another one like this in the future. In the coming weeks, I will see if I have the time and the energy to make it possible. :)
Ave Moonbeam
Any news about time and what about energy? Shall my next read be COTCT or LOF? How many ink shall I order for my printer?
That was an outstanding journal. Simply outstanding. I can't begin to articulate all the wonderful ideas it planted in my head for me to use in the homebrew I just started up.
I have to admit that I had not been too interested in the Rise of the Runelords AP before, but now, even after having read all these spoilers, I would love to run through it.
Marvelous work!
That was an outstanding journal. Simply outstanding. I can't begin to articulate all the wonderful ideas it planted in my head for me to use in the homebrew I just started up.
I have to admit that I had not been too interested in the Rise of the Runelords AP before, but now, even after having read all these spoilers, I would love to run through it.
Marvelous work!
Yeah I completely agree... I probably love so much Paizo even thanks to this CJ... gratz again Moonbeam...
|
Whew! Just finished reading through this whole thing. Quite the campaign you had here, and to think it was just one player and the PC! I’m definitely going to be taking some pointers from this journal for if I ever happen to run my own Rise of the Runelords campaign. I thought you did a really good job bringing the NPC’s to life and making them interesting.
I too was worried about the decline of the adventure path from its high point during the first three books of the campaign. I’m not a big fan of strait, meticulous dungeon crawls, that take many weeks to play through, and will probably try and add more roleplaying like you did for those adventures to make them a little more dynamic.
Seems like the action points really made the difference between victory and repeated TPKs for you in this adventure path.
Great job Moonbeam! I found this to be inspirational.