Episode 27: 6/26/10

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger 5/rogue/3
Nineve, human knight/8
Xicar, human cleric/8
Sarek, human wizard/8
Haroldur, human wizard 3/cleric 4/mystic theurge 1

After a moment of falling through thick, inky blackness, I somehow fall sideways onto a rough stone floor. Darkness so total I momentarily wonder if I haven’t been struck blind greets me as I collect myself. Dust tickles my nose, and all is silent, other than the occasional crash and clatter as the rest of my companions emerge from the portal. Once we’ve activated a light source, we find ourselves in a small chamber, clearly of familiar Storm King stonework. The chamber is in poor repair; rubble and fallen columns litter the floor. At the far end of the chamber a passage extends into darkness.

Immediately, we break out my world atlas and 31E's scarab to get our bearings. Acording to the GPS beetle, we're in the Carak desert, famous for being the site of a cataclysmic battle between two great (now defunct) civilizations, and about a million miles from anywhere.

We find that the passage continues for about 20’ before ending in a pile of rubble and sand. It would appear that not only are we in the middle of a vast and remote desert, we are also trapped. We roll up our sleeves and start digging.

We've been digging for several hours when suddenly a bright flash and a sound like ripping fabric fills the small chamber. A strange, yet familiar figure stands bewildered near the back of the chamber. His air of authority and menace is nearly palpable, despite his obvious confusion. The winged archon, known to us as Zasalamel, stares at us with naked surprise. “You! How? Where… No matter, the Time Lord is right, you must pay for your crimes!” He readies a gleaming scythe and strides toward us, his purpose abundantly clear.

Nineve provokes Zasalamel, and I sneak up and attack - from the shadows! Then 31E joins in and the crazy archon is in the middle of a circle of pain. Crazy Zasalamel keeps going on about the "Mammoth of Discord" and the "Titan of Chaos", shrieking that we've released the "Chaos Engine" or some such nonsense, but by now we know there's no point in trying to reason with him. Zasalamel sweeps with his scythe and trips 31E, Ninene, and Xicar. I deftly leap over his blade and continue my assault. Xicar recovers and summons a shard of entropy which satisfyingly rips smoking holes in Zasalamel's angelic form. Sarek unleashes a crippling blast of fire on the enemy as Nineve and 31E regain their footing. There is a little more hacking and slashing, but finally Sarek makes Zasalamel do the Magic Missile Dance and he disappears in a cloud of smoke and blood.

We heal up and get back to digging. That evening, Zolara appears.

The Choosing:

Nineve - The Carnival
Sarek - The Eclipse
Ashe - The Owl
Xicar - The Publican
Haroldur - The Queen Mother

The Spread:

The Brass Dwarf The Publican The Demon's Lantern
The Dance The Desert The Lost
The Juggler The Tangled Brier The Midwife

"The Brass Dwarf represents invulnerability and strength. Here, it refers to your recent triumphs. The Dance is the rich and delicate framework whose rules we must all abide by. The Juggler represents those who play with the lives and destinies of others. Misaligned as he is, we see that the Juggler has failed to keep his rhythm, and the tragedy and loss he has caused has been for naught.

"The Publican represents fellowship, camaraderie, and a companion's insight. The Desert is a bleak waste, though the journey through it will lead you closer to your goals. The Tangled Brier is a card of Ancient deeds. it indicates an object or person from long ago will have a great influence on your quest to return home, though that influence may hinder rather than help.

"The Demon's Lantern warns against losing your way - although I fear you will regardless of my warning. However, misaligned as it is, the Demon's Lantern tells us that a guide will arrive to show the way. The Midwife warns of a new discovery that will change everything. Something shall soon be borne into the world that will alter the course of your journey. The Lost is emptiness and madness: For a time, the world will make no sense, until the Midwife's discovery brings a measure of clarity."

The next day we're back at it, and after many hours of digging in the stifling heat of the chamber, we are all weary, dirty, and tired of choking on sand and dust. Our labors have cleared a narrow passage through the rubble, leading to the first real daylight we’ve seen in what seems like weeks. The searing intensity of the light and heat outside gives us pause for a moment, but the urge to see the sky again is nearly overwhelming.

As we emerge from the rubble-strewn opening our eyes slowly adjust to the sudden glare. We realize that we are standing on a windy bluff overlooking the ruins of a great city at the bottom of a wide valley. Dark mountains loom faintly in the distance. If we didn’t know better, we’d swear we have been here before, though it seems like the valley was green and lush then…

The ruins lie within a parched and terrible valley baking under the blazing sun. As far as we can see it protrudes uncannily above the sands as parts of a corpse may protrude from an ill-made grave. The nameless city lies before us, crumbling and inarticulate, its low walls nearly hidden by the sands of uncounted ages. Some distance away, near the center of the brooding ruins, a strange structure, not unlike a metallic ziggurat, rises stark through the sand to tower over the buildings near it. 31E indicates the ziggurat with his remaining arm, and says “Strange that we should emerge so close to a Nexus. I shall show you that the Imperium is indeed thriving. Come, we must present the recovery of the Rod fragment to my superiors.”

I agree that the ziggurat is as good a destination as any, but traveling through the desert in the middle of the day strikes me as a bad plan. The party agrees with me, and we begin arguing with a very gung-ho 31E to convince him that we should wait until nightfall before heading out. The commotion suddenly ceases when, behind us, Lazare clears his throat loudly.

“My friends, I am afraid it is time for us to part ways.” He holds up his hands, “Now there’s no use arguing, I have some pressing business elsewhere, and I am already late through bothering with this fool’s errand into the Whispering Cairn. I thank you all for the parts you had to play in my coming this far, you’ve been really good sports.”

We press him with questions that can be summed up as "Huh?" Lazare won't tell us what his objective was in the Whispering Cairn, only that whatever he was doing doesn't matter any more because he didn't find what he was looking for and he's out of ideas. He tells us that the Rod fragment was a fantastic find and one we've rightly earned; it's just not what he was after. He agrees not to spread the news of its discovery, thankfully. He seems disappointed but in good spirits. At least he's taking this (whatever it is) in stride? I press him about what he was looking for, arguing that since it doesn't matter anymore, there's no harm in telling us. He says he was looking for a metal canister, about the size of a large lantern.

"It was supposed to be well hidden, and I’d thought I’d tracked it down. Ah well, half the fun’s in looking, right?"

“Might I trouble you for the return of my trophy?" He indicates the crystal disc Xicar has been carrying. He hands it over. "Thank you. I doubt we’ll meet again, but then again of course we may meet once more before this is all over. Don’t miss me too terribly; think instead on the treasure you’ve recovered, and your long journey home. You’d best be on your way, or I don’t suppose I, or anyone else, will ever see you again.”

“Good-bye!" He turns to leave, but then turns back to us, as if remembering something. "Before I go, allow me to introduce myself, so that my impending transformation doesn’t unsettle you unduly. In other times, and other guises, I have been known as Kroiphrakil’azzare, the Smiling Gambler, Scourge of the Sphinx Lords, Sage of Diamond Lake, and Chess Master of Brux, at your service!” He bows regally in his soiled and tattered robes, then stands, with arms spread and eyes shut, clearly concentrating for a moment, but nothing seems to be happening.

After a few seconds, he opens his eyes, winks at us slyly, “You are all made of sterner stuff than I had thought. That usually leaves folks a little more, well, awed. Ah well, I should be off.” We look quizzically at this skinny, disheveled man in tattered rags, holding his scrawny arms out majestically, like we should be impressed by this. I think of 31E, Nineve, Zasalamel, and now Lazare, and begin to wonder if I'm going sane in a crazy world. Then Lazare glances down at himself and seems genuinely surprised.

“Oh, bother. It has been a while.” A sudden cloud of smoke or dust conceals Lazare for a moment. When it clears, a massive dragon with gleaming coppery scales and long, flat horns towers above us. Sarek wigs out a little, visibly shaken and muttering "I knew it! I just knew it!" The dragon slyly winks one of its glowing turquoise eyes, and in a surprisingly pleasant voice says, “Fare you well then, you’ve been good sports, and really fare-well!” With that, the magnificent creature springs into the air, flaps its powerful wings, and is soon only a glittering speck in the distant sky.

We stand gaping in awe for a moment. Then, we realize that it's really, oppressively hot out here and go back inside to wait for sundown.

I suggest we rest for the remainder of the day, although with all these new developments I find it difficult to relax. As evening approaches, we gather ourselves and head out into the wastes.

When we draw nigh the nameless ruined city we somehow feel that it is accursed. Fear seems to speak from the age-worn stones and bids us retreat from antique and sinister secrets that none should know.

In and out amongst the shapeless foundations of forgotten structures we wander, finding never a carving or inscription to tell of these men, if men they were, who built this city and dwelt therein so long ago. The antiquity of the city seems unwholesome; there are certain proportions and dimensions in the ruins which seem inhuman, but somehow familiar. Here and there a small sighing sandstorm will gather behind us, blowing over the ancient stones.

The moon shines high and clear over the antique ruins, lighting a dense cloud of sand that seems blown by a strong wind from some point ahead of our group. Glancing about, we see that nowhere else is the sand disturbed by as much as a light breeze. This astonishing discrepancy is soon explained as the forms of emaciated men seem to step out of, or coalesce from, the blowing clouds of sand and lurch toward us, their desiccated faces contorted with inhuman hunger.

Our foes, wights, ghasts, and wraiths, coalesce from the clouds of sand or erupt from the dunes. Sarek controls the battlefield by creating a Wall of Fire between us and our enemies. My intense hatred for undead floods me and I rush forward, slicing through a wraith and banishing it to re-death. Just then, a trio of sand-ghasts claw their way up from the desert floor. Our enemies conjure stinging clouds of burning sand which choke and blind us, but still we fight on. To my shame, I am paralyzed by a ghast's foul touch, but it is destroyed before it manages to carry me off. At length, Xicar smokes the last sand-wight with his lightning gauntlets.

We decide that these abandoned ruins aren't as abandoned as the seem. I cast Pass Without Trace as we continue towards the mysterious ziggurat. Through a group effort of skilled navigation, we manage to avoid further contact with the undead as we move through the ruins.

Dawn breaks as we arrive at the massive ziggurat. The entire thing seems to be built from a strange, silvery-grey metal that we can’t identify, and its metallic surface is covered with strange runes and glyphs. From far away the ziggurat appeared to be completely intact, but from here we can clearly see that nearly half the western side is missing. Twisted metal and support beams jut into the sky around a massive hole in the side of the structure. Far above us is a tall spire, leaning dangerously, appearing ready to fall at any moment. Atop the spire is the remains of a massive crystal, now fractured and broken and glittering in the first rays of sunlight.

Along the base of the structure are the remains of many buildings, apparently built against the ziggurat itself. Many of these ruins are grander and more massive than most of the buildings you have passed this far. There appears to be no entrance to the ziggurat from ground level. Some distance to the west is a towering series of stairs and landings, seemingly leading to the lowest point of the damaged section of the ziggurat. Swirling sand blows along the steps and landings, despite the oppressive stillness of the hot air amidst the timeless ruins.

31E pauses for a moment, as if in thought. “I do not fully understand. The likelihood that these structures would permitted to be built against the sides of the Nexus is very near to zero. Also, I do not understand why this damage was not repaired. Most unsettling.”

31E goes on to say that this "Nexus" should contain a "Starry Mirror", some kind of magical transportation system. 31E is sure this Starry Mirror will be able to transport us back to the "Grand Terminus", or what we refer to as Silverspire, the Imperial ruin-turned-palace in Istivin.

We begin to mount the broken stone stairs which lead up to the ziggarat's entrance. I keep a keen eye out for traps and lead us onward and upward. In the eerie silence, swirling clouds of sand coalesce into sand-wights before our eyes! The battle is joined.

Choking sand whips and swirls around us as we battle the fiends. Nineve is blinded and gropes her way further up the stairs. Haroldur bravely faces one wight single-handedly and destroys it with one touch (of Heal) from the Rod of Seven Parts. The wights alternate between their corporeal forms and the swirling clouds of sand, to their advantage. The struggle is bitter, but in the end, Nineve lands the final blow.

~Ashe

Episode 26: 5/22/10

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger 4/rogue/3
Nineve, human knight/7
Xicar, human cleric/7
Zuko Quartermain, human sorcerer (fire)/7

As soon as she appears, 31E bows to the creature, and drops to one knee. He says something to her in the same crystalline language that makes the peculiar woman smile gently. “I do not know what role you play in this, automaton, but you are welcome.” she says, “As for your companions, we shall see. Either you have destroyed the Shadow Sphinx, or you are here at her behest. Please explain yourselves.”

31E explains that the creature is a Snow Weird, an elemental oracle. He has heard of their kind, who were old when the Imperium was young. Although the Spell Weavers never consulted with the Oracles, they nevertheless held them in great esteem and respect. This one is called Sionsari.

Immediately, we are faced with the challenge of convincing Sionsari that, contrary to appearances, we are not working for Sivit. Without going into too much detail, we explain that we are just looking for a way out. When Sivit proposed a ceasefire we accepted in the hopes of escaping this place with our lives. We're not happy the Shadow Sphinx is here, but defeating her and all her shadar-kai minions is not in our power. This seems to make sense to Sionsari. We can sense that she wants something from us, so we gently coax it out of her by suggesting that the solution to our problem and hers may lie on the same path. After expressing our willingness to help her (Say you got a problem, yo, I'll solve it), she agrees with us. "The Guardian", aka the 40-foot Statue of Doom, has successfully repelled Sivit's minions thus far, but Sionsari is convinced that eventually the shadow-force will get through. She pleads that we remove the objects in Amsophar's tomb to protect them from the shadar-kai. She also discourages us from confronting Sivit directly. Sionsari places her mark on us, which will allow us to pass the Guardian unhindered, in addition to permanently granting us 5 points of cold resistance!

In the course of this conversation we hatch a plan for dealing with Sivit. We heal up and Sionsari offers to let us rest in her chambers. This sounds like a great idea, so we head out to the first (slightly less frigid) chamber for a much-needed nap, only to find 2 orogs and a shadar-kai waiting impatiently for us. They insist we go with them. Naptime will have to wait.

The minions lead us to Sivit. She demands to know about our visit with the Snow Weird. Sivit seems convinced that the oracle has imparted us with some knowledge or supernatural ability to bypass the guardian, and that we can transfer this to her and her shadar-kai. She wants answers, and she wants them RIGHT NOW.

We skillfully manage to convince Sivit that we've actually done her one better - we tell her we persuaded Sionsari to deactivate the Guardian entirely. She is skeptical, but we play on her greed. We offer to go in first to prove the statue is disabled, and then she can follow us into the tomb of magic and riches! It works. We go to the Doom Room.

The wide, rectangular chamber is exactly as we last saw it - littered with the crumpled remains of Orogs and Shadar-Kai warriors. Their bent and twisted forms speak of terrible violence. Directly across from us stands The Guardian: a titanic golden statue of an armoured warrior towering far above. Its legs and the gigantic hammer it wields are splattered with dried gore. Along the walls of the chamber are a series of immense metal doors. Several doors show evidence of hasty attempts to force them open, as well as sprays of blood and body parts.

With Sivit and her armed guards pressing us forward, we now have no choice but to go through with our plan and hope Sionsari's blessing works. We try to appear confident as we are half-shoved past the "safe" point. Suddenly, the colossal golden warrior thunders to life, quickly striding toward us with its hammer at the ready. I experience a moment of embarrassment as I realize my last words are "ShitShitShit!". With a sweeping blow the massive hammer whistles through the air behind us, sending Orogs and Shadar-Kai sprawling and broken!

Sivit shrieks in inarticulate rage as we "Yes!" and high-five each other in a celebration of relief. Sivit begins casting spells, and the shadar-kai attack. We realize we're not out of the woods yet, as Sivit blinds Nineve. We move hastily to the true entrance to Amsophar's tomb - not some gleaming door, but an inconspicuous hole in the ceiling. Xicar AirWalks up with my Trollgut rope/grappling hook, intending to pull us after him. Our planning proves to be unnecessary. Seconds later, the titan meaningfully lowers its weapon, placing the hammer's head on the stone floor before us.

Sivit continues to sling spells, the Shadar-Kai shoot arrows, but none of it matters. I scamper up that statue like a squirrel with Dog and Zuko hard on my heels. 31E grabs Nineve by the cloak and robot-ninja-backflips up onto the safety of the hammer with his blind cargo. As the last of us climb atop the gore streaked weapon, the colossus smoothly raises us toward the opening in the ceiling. The sounds of battle below resume as an unseen force gently lifts us upwards toward a brightly lit chamber far above. The walls of the circular shaft are intricately carved with more scenes depicting the life and triumphs of Amsophar.

The shaft terminates in a small chamber. The sounds of splorching below fade and it's Camp Time. While we're getting situated, Lazare un-ferrets himself for the first time in days. As he babbles excitedly about having made it this far, I realize that he's eaten anything remotely tasty I had in my backpack. Oh, and there's poop. Fabulous.

Lazare seems a) completely unconcerned about the mess he left in my gear, and b) very excited about uncovering some item of incredible power. He won't discuss either issue any further, however. Everyone settles down to sleep and I discover that cleaning up ferret-wizard crap is something I can do while I trance. Hooray for multitasking.

In the morning, Xicar restores Nineve's sight, and we divvy loot before continuing our exploration.

A staircase spirals upward along the chamber’s far wall, climbing nearly out of sight toward a bright light above. Detailed carvings adorn the walls as we climb the spiraling stairs, depicting many grieving figures paying tribute to Amsophar as he is laid to rest. In several scenes important looking figures stoop to drink from a shallow basin at the feet of Amsophar’s sarcophagus.

Finally, after a seemingly endless climb, we reach a small platform far above the floor of the chamber. Floating motionless is a massive block of stone with the likeness of Amsophar lying at rest carved into the top. At the feet of the block of stone is a shallow silver basin, filled with clear, still water.

Strangely, when we look into the basin, we see not ourselves, but the careworn face of a Storm King, and beyond is clear, blue sky, and clouds, instead of the carved stone ceiling of the chamber.

We shrug and drink the water.

A Vision of the Past:

As we drink the cool water of the basin, we become overwhelmed by a sudden rush of alien, yet strangely familiar memories. The chamber around us swirls away into a vortex of lightning and wind, snow and rain, ending in the utter darkness of the nothingness beyond the stars. For what seems an eternity, we float adrift in silence, the cold perpetuity of the infinite weighing upon us.

Slowly we realize that we are standing on a windy bluff overlooking the ruins of a great city at the bottom of a wide valley. Dark mountains loom faintly in the distance. We begin to hear something else, besides the sighing wind. We start to make out sounds, and then words, as we realize that we stand among a host of Storm Kings, splendid in their war gear. Amsophar, bloodied from recent fighting, reaches the end of a rousing speech.

The demon Queen of Chaos has fallen, and the war is won. However, the day is lost, and he bids all who can hear him to play out their part in the coming battle with valor and bravery.

The statuesque Storm Kings raise their weapons and their voices in salute of their leader, and then split up, moving off toward pre-determined positions. From behind us, Icosiel slaps me on the shoulder and grins. “We have won, my friends! The Queen has been banished beyond the Void!” His face falls, “However, we must retreat. We do not have the strength to face the Wolf-Spider this day. It is fitting that the last battle of this war will be fought so close to the walls of Kaddastrey, is it not? Our only retreat is through those ruins. For all we know, they may be crawling with Obyrinth. Our patrols have not returned, so we shall serve as the vanguard.” Icosiel breaks into a run and shouts over his shoulder, “Come, mayhap we may find a few lost friends, and send a few of Miska’s minions back to the Pit!”

We head off on a scouting mission for Icosiel. The ruins of the once beautiful city are choked with rubble and debris. The few buildings that are not completely collapsed, are little more than hollow shells. Despite the destruction, the graceful architecture and delicate stonework are moving in their splendor. As we approach a domed building, we begin to see signs of violence: a blood splatter, a broken sword, burnt stonework. Then a piercing scream splits the air, coming from the direction of the domed building.

As we reach the top of the rubble, we see a disturbing sight: amidst the bloody remains of several Storm King warriors is a foul and terrible creature, it constantly melts and reforms, apparently drawing each shape from an ever darker nightmare. It chaotically shifts through a dozen monstrous forms, each more horrible than the last as it consumes the remains of the armored warriors, incorporating them into its heaving bulk.

We attack the Lovecraftian horror, but it proves to be quite tenacious. Its friends, including some nasty gene-stealers, join the fray. We cut them all down, but it's a tough fight. Nineve keeps taunting the gene-stealers, but then fails a few saves and has a demon baby. We kill it.

As the last creature falls, quickly dissolving into a pool of smoking goo, we hear the sounds of a pitched battle some distance away. As we make our way toward the sounds of battle, the sky grows dark and cloudy and the wind begins to whistle through the ruins.

Rounding a corner, we catch sight of the battle: Icosiel and several of his warriors are defending themselves from a writhing mass of demonic forms. Directing them is a tall, gaunt, horned demon. Unless we do something, Icosiel’s forces will soon be overwhelmed!

We rush in to help, but we accidentally pull the boss! Somehow the gaunt demon is aware of our approach long before it should be. It turns toward us, darkest evil is seemingly concentrated into this creature’s lean and hungry frame. Oddly jointed limbs extend from its gaunt bipedal form, ending in twitching, clawed digits. Its alien face is warped in a perpetual howl, a starved visage where empty white eyes stare out over a long, writhing tongue protruding from a toothy, fleshless maw. The thing's face twists into a mockery of a grin, and it begins to stalk towards us, seemingly content to leave Icosiel to his fate.

We are hosed. We whittle the demon down as best we can, but we're no match for it. Our only hope is to spread out the damage and keep it off Icosiel until he can get in a better position. We actually manage to make some decent progress on the demon, but we can't keep up with it's damage output. Things start to look bleak when Xicar runs out of healing. Just then, Icosiel leaps onto the fiend's back, stabbing through its heart from behind. Then he vaults onto its shoulders and decapitates it with brutal efficiency, pausing a moment to shear the arching, red-tipped horns from the creature’s head.

The heavy rain soon becomes pounding hail, whipped through the ruins by gales of wind. Icosiel shouts over the tempest: “We must hurry! Miska approaches! You’ve fought bravely, but the time for fighting is over, now we run!”

Icosiel sprints through the driving rain, leaping atop piles of rubble and dancing along crumbling ledges. As the hail pounds against the ancient stone and the wind howls, we distinctly hear Icosiel’s joyful laughter as he runs. Momentarily stunned by the fall of the horned demon, the rest of the demonic horde begins to surge toward us. Time to make our exit.

We careen through the ruins with varying levels of grace. Even in our Storm King bodies, we're all a little winded when we finally catch up with Icosiel in a wide plaza. The young Storm King turns toward us, grinning.

Strangely, time seems to slow. Each hailstone and every raindrop seems to hang suspended in the air as a robed figure appears, as though from nowhere behind and above Icosiel. A globe of compete blackness hovers over a strange metal box in the figure’s clawed hand. Slowly, the globe begins to float toward Icosiel, drawing light, hail, and rain into the void of its nothingness. That's no moon! I barely have time to scream "Noooo!".

Icosiel turns, drawing his swords in a single fluid motion. Too late! The sphere strikes him in the chest and he seems to collapse inward, vanishing in an instant. His weapons fall to the pavement, the tip of his longsword brushing the black sphere, as the suspended hail and rain suddenly crashes down once more.

For an instant, we stand in stunned silence. Then, we notice that the sphere is moving towards Xicar. The charismatic people of the party vie for control of the sphere, largely without success. I try to make my way to the robed figure, but striking him is like cutting through cobwebs. The demon horde descends on us and soon we are forced to give up on strategy and focus on survival. Gene-stealers surround and impregnate Zuko. We kill or chase off most of the demon horde, but in the midst of the madness, Xicar gets eaten by the sphere!!! We don't even have time to react to the loss before a particularly brilliant bolt of lightning momentarily blinds us.

As our vision clears we see Amsophar standing triumphant over the crumpled remains of the robed figure, the smoking swords in his hands. He picks up the strange box, closing it with a snap that we somehow hear clearly over the raging storm. As he does so, the black sphere vanishes as though it had never been.

Amsophar leaps down from his perch, and approaches Icosiel’s remains. He collects his friend’s remaining possessions as the storm suddenly dies down. Amsophar takes a moment to lament Icosiel’s fall, and then turns to our diminished group. “Take these, and guard them forever. They are all that remains of my comrade, and I would not have them lost to the whims of fate.” Suddenly, he seems to realize that the storm has stopped, he looks around, clearly frightened. “Flee! Flee now! Miska is upon us!”

Across the square a monstrous, shadowy form of horror stalks into view. As our vision fades we see Amsophar draw his weapons and advance toward a creature that can only be described as an enormous armored spider with two sleek and terrible wolf heads flanked by four heavily muscled human-like arms. Our vision goes black, we blink, and find ourselves kneeling over the silver basin in Amsophar’s tomb.

Lazare, 31E and Dog are standing over us worriedly. They're very relieved that we've "snapped out of it" and demand to know what happened. Xicar is with us. We're all human(oid) again. We give them the short version: we went on a vision quest.

After a few moments, our focus shifts from ourselves back to Amsophar's sarcophagus. It is now open. With new understanding and respect for this being and his belongings, we take a golden box from the tomb. In it we find a fragment, Amsophar's Ring, and his Circlet. Oh god it's naptime.

We rest and level up. Now that we're refreshed, we can focus on what to do next. The fragment we found is indeed a powerful artifact - it's obviously a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts! But somehow, Lazare is crestfallen! He sulks around, clearly disappointed. I guess he was expecting something else?

Our first order of business is figuring out how we'll get out of here. Xicar has the idea to put the crystal disc in the pool of water...which suddenly turns into an inky black hole! I think it looks a lot like the portal we took to get here. I stick my hand in, and it feels like the portal, too. I glance around at my companions, wearing a mischievous half-grin. Before they can argue, I dive in, taking Dog and all of Amsophar's stuff with me. The party dives in after me.

~Ashe

Episode 24: 12/19/09

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger 4/rogue/3
Nineve, human knight/7
Xicar, human cleric/7
Haroldur, human wizard 3/cleric 4
Sarek, human wizard 7

We spend a day or so resting and recuperating before heading down the elevator to wherever it goes (if it goes anywhere).

Amazingly, despite the obvious age of the ruin, the elevator works perfectly. There is a smooth, gentle falling motion and a slight feeling of weightlessness, accompanied by a soft "whoosh" as we are whisked to the bottom of the shaft. The doors open with a slight hiss into a large rectangular chamber.

Immediately, we freeze. 2 large crystalline creatures, which appear to be ice elementals, stand guard at the far end of the room. They aren't attacking us yet, but it's obvious they've seen us. They are holding their hands up in an authoritative gesture that obviously means "Come no further".

Around this time I notice that everyone is fixated on what may be our icy doom except Xicar, who is staring, open-mouthed at a featureless spot in the middle of the ceiling. I nudge him with my elbow - this is hardly the time for daydreaming. He rubs his puny man-arm where I bumped him, then points and says "Look, don't you see it? The hole?"

No, I do not. I see a featureless ceiling and two very large, very aggressive looking crystal monsters about 40 feet away. A quick pow-wow with everyone else reveals that I didn't just fail my spot check (like that EVER happens!), there's really nothing there. Xicar sounds delusional, but he's so adamant about the "hole in the ceiling", I can't just dismiss it. I notice he's still clutching Lazare's crystal artifact... Maybe it's having psychotic effects on him? I get him to hand the disc over.

Suddenly, I see it, too. Or more accurately, I see it and Xicar doesn't anymore. There is indeed a perfectly circular hole in the ceiling, the interior of which appears to be lined with the starry night sky! It's really quite beautiful. We pass the disc around so everyone can have a look. We've gotta go up there.

Unfortunately, we can't get to the hole in the ceiling from where we are. Our attempts to communicate with the ice elementals fail, with us addressing them in every language we know and them responding with tinkly, squeaky, cracking noises. Finally, it occurs to someone to ask 31E if he can translate. He informs us that he is fluent in over six million forms of communication. Fortunately for us, Aquan is one of those forms.

Figuring out HOW to talk to the ice elementals took a lot longer than our actual conversation with them. Essentially, they are the guardians of this chamber, they will be forced to attack us if we come any closer, and no, it doesn't matter that we have Icosiel's stuff or the weird crystal disc that lets us see the hole in the ceiling. Turn back or die, yadda yadda yadda.

We charge forward. Xicar dismisses one of the elementals immediately, which really helps. The remaining elemental spits ice at us and generally makes things difficult as we slip and slide along the iced-over floor. It cuts and slams us with its cold, crystal fists, but we eventually destroy the creature. It explodes into a refreshing, cleansing mist of snow. Behind an alcove at the far end of the chamber, Xicar the Wanderer finds some:

Boots of the Mountain King!

We heal up and go check out the hole in the ceiling. Standing under it and looking up, we are each lifted up through the starry tunnel into a small, wondrous chamber, as if by a magical breeze. The top of this beautiful chamber is covered with stars, much like the passage leading to it. The air is comfortably warm, with the slightest breeze on which wafts a light scent of roses. The chamber is made to look and feel like a strange and beautiful garden at night. Here and there the walls are carved with love poetry and romantic scenes. After a bit of translation, we come to the conclusion that this chamber is a loving monument to Amsophar's courtesan. It's quite touching, but not what we're looking for. We have to move on.

Out of ideas, we retrace our steps back to the arrow-shaped room where we were attacked by the wind warriors. It's still a mess. However, this time I look a little more closely and find a hidden door, which leads to a narrow passageway. We head down the corridor and into a dark, sunken room.

The room is full of ogres and shadar-kai. They appear to have recently emerged from a corroded hole in a large iron plate on the floor of the chamber, and seem pretty surprised to see us. We start to fight, but suddenly, everyone freezes as we all hear a loud click. The passage we came through seals shut, and torrents of freezing water begin pouring into the room. Almost instantly it becomes apparent that death by drowning is a more pressing threat than the ogres and shadar-kai.

The raging waters finally pull us into the swirling vortex at the center of the chamber, dragging us down into cold, wet darkness. The roar of the crashing water fills our ears as we fight the current and the freezing water takes our breath away.

It seems we've been flushed into some kind of magical sewer? I don't have any time to figure it out. The water is still crashing down from above, forcing me under the surface. I swim hard against the churning water and pop up in what appears to be a giant tunnel. The freezing river's current carries me on a wild ride, and I twist and dodge as best I can to avoid being smashed against the rocks and debris. Suddenly, I'm holding my breath and swimming for my life as the water forces me into an airless, black tunnel. After what seems like an eternity, I reach the end of the tunnel. I gasp for air and try once again to avoid being pummeled to bits on the rocks as the rushing current carries me downstream at a breakneck pace. The roar of the water is getting louder, and I realize to my horror that I am being carried towards a waterfall. I brace myself. At once, there is a feeling of weightlessness as the torrent pours over a ledge and into blackness...

Slowly, I become aware of a noise, like distant thunder. It is getting closer, louder and louder until I have to see what it could be. I open my eyes and find myself alone in the darkness, lying atop slick, hard stone. The roar of falling water is deafening, and cold spray stings my exposed skin. Memories of my recent terrifying and disorienting experience with the waterfall rush back to me. After a moment, I manage to regain my feet. Nothing appears to be broken, so far; but where is everybody? More alarmingly, WHERE IS MY STUFF?? I do a quick check and realize I am missing both swords, along with my backpack (and everything in it!). This day just keeps getting better.

I pick myself up and start casting about. My companions (or their remains) must be around here somewhere. My keen senses help me somewhat and I locate Haroldur and my backpack almost immediately. I check my backpack - Lazare is still in there, apparently asleep! At any rate, he's definitely alive. We wander around in the darkness searching for whatever we can find. We come upon a battered-looking shadar-kai here and there, but they assume defensive postures and back away wearily - probably doing the same thing we are.

Eventually, we manage to locate all of our companions and most of our stuff! I'm still missing my short sword, and Haroldur can't find his mace, but we all emerge from that disaster more or less intact. Xicar the Wanderer even manages to find some extra Gloves of Lightning lying about.

Reunited, we make camp and get bit of a rest. After some discussion, we decide to follow the direction of the river and head downstream. As we proceed, we hear voices ahead and become aware of more shadar-kai in the next chamber. We burst in and they attack us immediately. The roguish shadar-kai set a frenetic pace, but we keep up and soon manage to overwhelm them. At one point, an umber hulk appears and joins the fray! I guess it decides this room is too dangerous, because after a few minutes it turns and burrows into the wall. None of us are inclined to go after it.

One or two shadar-kai escape, but we wipe out most of what appears to be a scouting party. They have set up camp around a large gaping hole in the ground. Ropes, pitons and other climbing equipment are set up in and around the hole. The shadar-kai must've just climbed up from there recently. We search the camp, and Xicar the Wanderer finds some Gloves of Repulsion (for Sarek!), but nothing else of use or value.

We stare down into the Pitch Black Hole.

~Ashe

Episode 23:12/5/09

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/4-3
Nineve, human knight/7
Xicar, human cleric/7
Haroldur, human wizard 3/cleric 4
Sarek, human wizard 7

With Balabar and his henchmen taken care of, we attempt to formulate a plan. Diamond Lake is a desperate town of refugees, and we just their leader and most of his cronies. Tyrant though he was, Balabar Smenk was maintaining some kind of order, and his death will create a power vacuum that could throw the remaining survivors into anarchy and chaos. And of course, we can't have that.

There is also the minor problem of the dragon. And the fact that we haven't found Lazare (or 31E) yet. However, while we were being poisoned by Balabar, he told us that the cart of offerings to the dragon is always delivered near the Whispering Cairn, and the dragon seems to be hanging out there for some reason. Lazare was also rumored to be at the Whispering Cairn, so it looks like we can kill two birds with one stone here. Yay, us.

After some debate, we decide to leave Tamklar in charge of Diamond Lake while we take the Harkness across the lake to the Whispering Cairn in search of Lazare (and probably the dragon). We also encourage Tamklar to evacuate Diamond Lake as soon as possible. The dragon hasn't been back since the initial attack, and we suspect that it may have been after Lazare, anyway. Even if the dragon does attack them as they evacuate, their only other option at this point is starvation. It's worth the risk to make a break for civilization.

We spend several days getting the survivors in order, fixing the Harkness, and making preparations. A day or so after our showdown with Balabar, we are shocked to see Kullen, wounded but healing, limping into town. Things are tense at first, but he makes it clear that he had no personal grudge against us, nor any special loyalty to Balabar Smenk. Now that Smenk is dead, he has no further beef with us. We accept his apology, and he offers his assistance with the current predicament. We send him to Tamklar, who has taken charge of Diamond Lake and is preparing for the evacuation.

At last our preparations are complete and we are ready to leave for the Whispering Cairn. Tamklar is particularly somber and it's obvious he thinks we're going to die. As we're saying our goodbyes, he suddenly remembers Mossad gave him a package for us before we left the Cabal. It turns out to be a bag of holding (type 1)! On the Harkness, we dump it out and get:

3 scrolls of sending (Keep in touch!)
1 potion of Lesser Restoration (You never know...)
1 scroll of Raise Dead (Just in case.)
1 scroll of Restoration (Hope you won't need this.)
5 potions of Cure Serious Wounds (One for each of you.)

We sail across the lake. In transit, we find Balabar's stash:

zircon ring
800 gp
bronze statuette of a knight
2800 sp
copper horn
adamantine armband w/filigree
2 gold bars worth 200 gp total
copper & silver anklet
onyx sphere w/trees

The trip across goes uneventfully and we disembark into the early December countryside. As we enter the valley containing the Cairn, the air is warmer and misty. We round a bend and see it: a vast red-gold dragon, fast asleep in front of the entrance to the Cairn. A low thrumming comes from its jaws and nostrils, along with wisps of smoke, but its fires are low in slumber. Beneath it, under its limbs and huge coiled tail and all around lay a strange assortment of things; some precious, some little more than trash. This part of the valley is thick with the dragon's scent, and the air is filled with smoke, like fog from the blasted and smoldering hillsides.

We exchange some meaningful glances and silently decide to try to sneak past it without waking it. Unfortunately, as we approach, a thin and piercing ray of red shines from under the dragon's eye. We dive behind a nearby rock. Unhurried, it lifts its massive head and turns its piercing gaze in our direction.

It bids us emerge from our hiding place behind the rock, and since it knows we're there, there's no reason not to. We have a completely unnerving but surprisingly civil conversation with the massive, murderous dragon. The dragon recognizes our scent and claims we meddled in it's affairs in the mountains (Oops.) It seems that Lazare stole something from the dragon while it was out razing Blackwall Keep. The dragon knows Lazare is hiding in the Cairn, and demands in a nonchalant but unquestionable way that we "chase the little worm out of his hole", presumably in exchange for not eating us on the spot. Haroldur brilliantly talks us through, and we enter the Cairn.

It looks like our friend the GRW spent some time blasting and clawing at the entrance. The walls are black with soot and crumbling in places where the rock has been completely baked and shattered. A little inside the destroyed entrance to the Cairn, we find several deceased deranged Imperium cultist bodies, like we've encountered before with 31E in this area. The front end of the tomb is largely like we left it. We advance to the back, the true antechamber to the tomb, and the door that required 31E's key plate to open it. The door is near the end of its closing sequence. We quickly deduce that Lazare and 31E must be in Icosiel's proper tomb, so we go on through, lest we get get sealed out forever!

Inside, things look unchanged, but the previously-docile Wind Warriors impede our progress. We are forced to fight them. This is a very tough fight that nearly claims our lives, but we make it through.

Strangely, the black portal we noticed last time appears to be active. Lazare and 31E must've gone through it. It is labeled "Amsophar". We're badly hurt and we don't know what's on the other side of the portal, so we take a moment to heal up. As we're preparing, Zolara appears.

The Choosing:

Nineve - The Rakshasaa
Haroldur - The Inquisitor
Sarek - The Foreign Trader
Ashe - The Hidden Truth
Xicar - The Wanderer

The Spread:

The Inquisitor The Locksmith The Idiot
The Snakebite The Juggler The Courtesan
The Tyrant The Beating The Eclipse

"Again, the Inquisitor appears, representing you 5 and your unswerving dedication to your purpose. To stand against the Inquisitor is to court disaster. The Snakebite represents recent deception or trickery, perhaps betrayal. The Tyrant, although still a grave threat, is now behind you, although his part may not be fully played out yet.

The Locksmith represents the keys needed to unlock one's destiny or long-hidden secrets. The Juggler here does not represent anything in particular, although I suspect you are soon to meet him in person. The Beating warns of unexpected and overwhelming attack, though not necessarily ambush.

The Idiot represents one who feigns ignorance to disguise one's true gifts. Here, the Courtesan represents two women of power - it would be wisest to be as polite as possible when dealing with them. Aligned as she is, the Courtesan represents a grave danger if the situation is mishandled. The Eclipse is darkness. Beware the dark and those who dwell within it."

Healed up and armed with new knowledge, we step through the portal to Amsophar, or hopefully, his tomb. The blackness is so deep, it is almost viscous. Stepping through it, one gets the dizzying impression of of traversing vast gulfs, a staggering distance, in just a single step. Aside from being a little unnerving, however, we all emerge from the portal unchanged and unharmed.

We step from the inky blackness of the gate into a long, wide stone hallway. Ahead, a pair of brightly lit alcoves illuminates the corridor. A faint breeze brings with it sibilant whispers that sound almost like sighing breath. It is odd, but the effect is almost lifelike. If I didn’t know better, I would think we’d been transported back to the entrance of the Whispering Cairn. Although the effects of vast gulfs of time are evident in the uneven flooring and cracks along the walls, these halls are in far better repair than ruins outside of Diamond Lake. The walls are covered with strange runes and intricate reliefs. Translation of the runes indicates that the reliefs are scenes from Amsophar's life. Farther down the corridor, we encounter an alcove.

A statue of an armored Storm King, left hand resting on a sword, right held up to shield his eyes, stands at the far end of the alcove. The marble statue has sparkling blue gems for eyes and various details made of gold. A beam of bright light shines onto the statue from above, causing the gems to glitter and the stone to glow softly. The walls are carved with delicate reliefs of servants and warriors bowing and saluting. Incorporated into the statue is a removable metal plate, marked with runes that translate as "Wind".

Further down the corridor, we find three more alcoves, almost identical to the first, except for the metal plate. They read "Thunder", "Lightning", and "Ice". We take the plates and move on.

The runes in the next hallway spell out various accolades for Amsophar. However, here and there are phrases that are missing a key word. Immediately after this, the 10 foot wide corridor we've been walking through is crossed by what appears to be another 10 foot wide hallway. My rogue-sense is tingling - this smells like a trap! I insists my companions hang back while I check it out.

As soon as I cross the threshold into the other "hallway" (it's actually just a small room placed perpendicular to the main corridor), a forceful wind blows me clear across the "trap room" and plasters me onto the far wall. There, vents in this side of the room leak a noxious dex-damaging gas! While I'm taking dex damage, I notice our friend Lazare, lying in a heap in the noxious gas. He's obviously been paralyzed by it. After a few seconds, the gust of wind of wind abates and I can move again. I grab Lazare's immobile form, get out my trusty troll-gut rope (with hand grappling hook!), and run back towards my companions, who are still in the safety of the main hallway. I toss the troll hand to my companions and it grabs Nineve. Literally seconds after it stopped, the wind kicks back in. There's no way I would have had time to run back to safety on my own. I can see how Lazare became trapped!

Eventually, my companions manage to pull me and my paralyzed baggage through the gale-force winds and back to safety.

We use a potion of Lesser Restoration on Lazare, who is conscious but very weak. He revives a little and we ask him to explain himself. Why did he abduct 31E? What's he doing in this tomb? What did he steal from the dragon?

Lazare explains that the thing he took from the dragon was a crystal disc. It was the first artifact he found as an adventurer (back in his younger days). He and his companions were set upon by the GRW, and he traded it to the dragon in exchange for their lives. Not surprisingly, the dragon betrayed them and only Lazare escaped. He's been trying to retrieve the artifact ever since. When the dragon finally left his lair (to raze Blackwall Keep), Lazare took advantage of the distraction to reclaim his property.

After years of research, Lazare has deduced that the crystal disc is some sort of key to Amsophar's tomb. He also discovered, partly with our help, that Icosiel's tomb in the Whispering Cairn was linked to Amsophar's tomb. Once he retrieved the artifact, he knew he had to go to the Cairn to see if he is correct.

Lazare also insists that he didn't abduct 31E. He simply went to the Cabal and asked the robot if he'd like to accompany him on his explorations of the Whispering Cairn (and beyond!). As this is part of 31E's programmed directives, he readily agreed. They left the Cabal perhaps without consulting all the proper authorities, as they both deduced that Marten wouldn't be willing to let 31E go.

They made it this far, but Lazare's explorations were cut short by his encounter with the trap. 31E managed to escape somehow, and Lazare doesn't know where he is.

In turn, we tell him about the dragon attack, the fall of Blackwall Keep, and the destruction of Diamond Lake. He seemed genuinely unaware of these activities, and looks more crestfallen with each new bit of terrible news. Nevertheless, it's good to be united with an old friend, and we all agree that it's very lucky for Lazare that we came along when we did!

Lazare must have been stuck in that trap for quite a while - he looks emaciated and very much worse for the wear. We offer him food and drink while we try to figure out the puzzle before us.

After several hours of study, we deduce the missing words in the text and discover these words can be arranged to make the sentence, "Amsophar made war that we might live in peace". Cautiously, I approach the "windy passage", which is still gusting intermittently, and speak what I hope are the key words. Immediately, the wind abates, and we advance unmolested.

As we're celebrating our victory over the trap, 31E emerges from around the next crossing. Apparently he made it past the first trap, only to be claimed by the second. Of course, we're thrilled to see him. We repair him and he attaches the new leg (he was very surprised we managed to find one!).

While 31E is putting himself back together, we mention that we think we know what his mechanical scarab is for. We tell him about the ones we saw in Jakardos's lab back in Blackwall Keep. 31E is skeptical, but we convince him to try it. Fortunately, I was thinking ahead, so I just happen to have an accurate atlas of like, the entire known world! We roll it out and set the scarab on the map. It whirs and clicks and skitters in a straight line for the Whispering Cairn, where it sits, fluttering its mechanical wings intermittently. This seems to ring some bells for 31E, because he makes a strange face (as much as a construct CAN make a face), and says "Of course. The scarab is currently programmed to display my original mission objective." He picks it up and fiddles with it a little, explaining that he can alter the scarab's function to display our current location. He sets it back down and we all gasp as it skitters completely across the map, coming to rest in an unknown mountain range thousands of miles from Caledon.

That's... a bit of a shock. But, there's no sense in worrying about it now; we have a Storm King tomb to explore! At this point, Lazare, who looks really exhausted, apologizes for not being much use to us. He hands the hard-won crystal disc to Xicar, and then quite unexpectedly polymorphs into a ferret and crawls into my backpack. Will wonders never cease? We take the opportunity to rest and regroup a bit before venturing forth.

We descend an elegant staircase and enter a large central room. The octagonal chamber is lit by six floating lanterns that hover around a central statue of some strange metal. The statue depicts Amsophar clad in armor and lounging in a throne. One hand rests lazily on the pommel of a sword, while the other is stretched out languidly along the back of the throne, casually pointing across the chamber, seemingly at nothing in particular. A thick, swirling fog obscures the ceiling far above. A series of 4 intricate reliefs decorate the walls of this magnificent chamber. Numerous small items: coins, jewelry, statuettes, and other small objects litter the statue’s rune-carved pedestal.

As we approach, thick mist swirls upon the reliefs, animating them strangely. I take rubbings of everything:

Relief #1: This relief shows Amsophar at a great battle fighting twisted creatures of chaos against impossible odds.

Relief #2: This relief shows Amsophar avenging the death of Icosiel, striking down a terrible robed figure wielding an orb that seems to destroy anything it touches.

Relief #3: This relief shows Amsophar wielding a long rod or staff against a tremendous form of writhing darkness and horror. Amsophar triumphs, but his staff shatters into 7 pieces, and he collapses to his knees.

Relief #4: This panel shows Amsophar being struck down by a hideous creature with the body of a great spider and the head of a wolf. The creature appears to sneak up behind him and strike while Amsophar is recovering from an earlier battle.

We eventually discover that with a bit of elbow grease, the statue rotates counter-clockwise. Each rotation seems to point the sword at a doorway. We rotate it one click, and the stone panel of the relevant door slides into the ceiling revealing a small chamber beyond. Simultaneously, a booming voice erupts from the statue and Order's Wrath washes harmlessly over the party. Then, the mist on the ceiling coalesces into 4 Belkars that descend on us menacingly...

We brace for impact and Sarek kicks things off with a fireball. With 31E's help, we destroy the Belkars. Xicar the Wanderer checks the rubble and finds:

an emerald worth 1000 gp!

At the back of the small chamber we discovered, we see a serious of identical runes. One is missing. It matches the "Wind" plate we have, so we place it in the empty slot. Nothing happens.

We rotate the statue another click. This the floor of this small chamber is 20 feet below the level of the main room. It has what looks like a small passageway at the bottom, on the far wall. I volunteer to check it for traps. I borrow Nineve's ring of Featherfall and jump down... only to fall UP! Apparently, I've triggered a Reverse Gravity trap! I fall up 80 feet (luckily taking no damage, thanks to Nineve)! Eventually my companions drop a rope up to me and pull me down out of the trap.

We rotate the state again and find another small chamber with a missing rune. We slot in the "Thunder" plate and nothing nasty happens to us.

We rotate the statue another click and reveal a tubular elevator down. We're not quite ready to leave the main chamber yet, so we decide to come back to this one.

The next rotation reveals just an empty room. I step inside to look for a secret door or something, and the panel slams shut! Yelling through the wall, Nineve tells me that as the door closed, the statue rotated forward two clicks! They can't move it back - they'll have to go all the way around again. About this time I realize the ceiling in my little death chamber is getting lower and lower...

Everybody struggles to turn the statue back around in time. A fair bit of fumbling occurs. When the door opens again, I have to roll out into the central chamber - I was flat on my belly with about 5 inches from floor to ceiling! Casting a sardonic gaze over the three puny men, I advise my companions against the "Ceiling Trap of Doom" weight-loss plan.

The next two chambers are more rune puzzles. We slot in the appropriate runes and move on.

The last chamber is a hole. Just a hole straight down. There is a little bit of debate, but Nineve's unnatural fear of elevators wins out and we descend down the pit instead. At the bottom, the pit opens up into a beautiful arrow-shaped room. Elegant marble columns and statuary grace the chamber, along with a bunch of Wind Warriors who promptly try to kill us. We fight our way tooth and nail through the whole mess of them, covering the previously-pristine chamber with blood (ours) and bits of ceramic armor (theirs). Xicar the Wanderer pokes through the debris and finds some Oil of Greater Magic Weapon +5! Then, we use my trusty troll gut grappling hook rope to get the hell outta Dodge.

~Ashe

Episode 22: 11/14/09

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/4-3
Nineve, human knight/7
Xicar, human cleric/7
Haroldur, human wizard 3/cleric 4
Sarek, human wizard 7

We burn Akasha on the cart she rode in on. Mossad takes one last look at her garlic-stuffed, disembodied head before tossing it on the pyre. That evening, Mossad mostly keeps to himself as Arrad pals around with the Legionnaires. We camp for the night in the relative safety of our fortifications.

In the morning, Mossad pokes through the ashes and fishes out a ring, which he tosses to Sarek. He puts the ashes in some urns, and then gives us each one. We scatter Akasha's remains to the four winds while Mossad says a prayer for the departed foe. Afterwards we break camp and head back to the Cabal; a journey of about a week. Along the way, we gain from our experiences and receive some special training from Arrad! As we travel, we finally get around to giving Mossad and Arrad our full report on the Blackwall Keep mission.

We settle in to life at the Cabal, but rumors of trouble in Diamond Lake pique our interest. We soon decide that the time is right for us to go after 31E. We remember that we'll need a Repair spell to attach the new leg to 31E, but those are hard to come by. After a bit of research we learn of a shop, called Stonebones, which might sell such a thing.

We make our way to the Cogs, a bustling foreigner's marketplace that is out of the way and off the radar for most of Istivin's inhabitants. We locate the curio shop and are somewhat surprised to find it is run by Stonebones, a Xorn. He is hesitant to deal with us at first, and things get off to a rocky start when Sarek spots a suspicious-looking amalgam of body parts in the Xorn's workshop. Officially, this is something we should definitely investigate, but it's clear that Stonebones won't deal with us if we give him any trouble. Things get a little heated, but we decide to turn a blind eye here for the sake of rescuing 31E. Stonebones is still uncertain about us, but the "irresistible aroma" of our gems gets the better of him and he agrees to sell us some Repair scrolls. While Stonebones is rummaging around for the scrolls, I spot a disembodied troll hand in a small cage among the jumbled piles of trinkets and treasures. I've been casually looking for just such a thing, in the hopes of combining it with my troll gut rope to make a troll hand grappling hook! I must have it. It costs me a few "delicious" rubies from my personal stash, but I eventually convince Stonebones to let me have it. Thrilled, I attach the hand to the rope and it flips me off immediately. I love it!

That evening, back at the Cabal, we are stunned to be summoned to meet with the Canoness. None of us has met with her since we were inducted as Greycloaks. No one meets with her!

Canoness Embiril Ilustani receives us in her large and richly appointed office. A cheery blaze in the hearth casts dancing shadows about the chamber. Draped in luxuriously embroidered silks and velvets, the elderly Canoness is still more graceful and charming than most women half her age (whatever that may be). Her eyes seem to shift color constantly. She chats with us in a relaxed manner that speaks of her absolute supremacy.

She informs us that since Ironbriar's imprisonment, Marten has been appointed as an Interim Justice for the district. This doesn't surprise me at all, since I've always thought Marten was a power-hungry snake. However, his appointment has elevated the Cabal's status and influence somewhat. Canoness Ilustani goes on to say that due to Marten's new post, the Ruby Temple has a more direct influence over Ironbriar's fate. She asks us to submit a recommendation on this matter. This type of thing is quite a bit above our pay grade, and we're all rather stunned, but of course we agree. After a few more minutes of small talk, she replaces our Greycloaks with Traveling Greycloaks, in recognition of our service to the Cabal. We are deeply honored to be rewarded by the Canoness herself, but we leave her chambers uneasy with the weight of our task to provide a recommendation.

Legally, Ironbriar has earned death as a punishment for his crimes ten times over. However, it seems evident that he was under Akasha's direct control for many months, and was merely carrying out her wishes when he committed his crimes. On the other hand, as Sarek repeatedly points out, it was Ironbriar who actually, physically performed these acts. But if a person is not in control of their own mind, if their will is not their own, can they be held completely and solely responsible for their actions? We weighed the arguments and it was obvious that we were getting nowhere. We decided to seek out help.

We approach Hezzrak and ask him to cast Commune. In the end, though, we decide we can't trust Hezzrak's Commune because we don't know who he's communing with! It doesn't help that when asked, the imp becomes evasive on that point... We ask him to cast Augury for us as well, but both courses of action (leniency and death) return a divination of "Weal and Woe". Those damned Divination spells never clear anything up! Desperate, we consult with Advocat and find there are some precedents for leniency in these types of cases. At length, we turn in our well-written missive to Mossad recommending leniency for Ironbriar based on evidence, the circumstances surrounding this case, and the historical precedents.

As we prepare to leave for Diamond Lake, we find Tamklar ready to depart with us. No caravans have come from the Diamond Lake area in weeks, and he is anxious to see for himself what has happened in his home region. We're happy to have him along.

A day or two into our journey by carriage, Zolara appears and offers us a reading:

The Choosing:

Nineve - The Avalanche
Sarek - The Juggler
Ashe - The Crows
Xicar - The Cricket

The Spread:

The Paladin The Keep The Dance
The Beating The Avalanche The Joke
The Juggler The Tyrant The Tangled Brier

"Regarding the past, The Paladin is strength through adversity - he does not back down under any circumstances, much like you all. The Beating shows an attack from all sides. You may have survived, but something was lost, perhaps trust. Misaligned, The Juggler has faltered in the past, and a great disaster followed.

In the present, The Keep represents all of you, your quiet strength that cannot by shaken by any force. The Avalanche shows me the chaos and suffering that arises from an unthinking crowd, though it may be averted. The Tyrant is a blight on those ruled. In this case, I see a true dragon, though his rule is felt through the actions of another - one you are familiar with, I think.

The Dance represents the rich and delicate framework in which we all exist. Knowing your place and seeing the patterns will allow you to remain in perfect step. The Joke shows us a terror overcome through trickery or wit - not force. The Tangled Brier is a card of past deeds - it tells of a lost object or person who may still influence the present day."

In a few days we arrive at the outskirts of town. We are "greeted" by a gang of thugs in tattered red cloaks who try to extort us for a "toll". Nineve convinces them that they should look elsewhere if it's easy money they're after.

We round a corner and gasp as we catch sight of what used to be Diamond Lake. It's been largely leveled. We interrupt a town gathering of sorts that appears to be some kind of lottery. Officiating it all is Balabar Smenk. Dressed in faded, tatty finery with a tin crown on his head, he is a far cry from the smooth and powerful crime boss he once was. The town is crawling with his lackeys - the thugs in the tattered red cloaks. After some quick inquiries, we find out what happened.

A huge red dragon attacked Diamond Lake. (We deduce that it was probably the same dragon that leveled Blackwall Keep). The dragon still holds the town. In the wake of the destruction, Balabar stepped in to fill the power vacuum, acting as the dragon's envoy. He and his lackeys hang out on the Harkness, and collect what valuables can be had from the scavenging survivors. About once a week Balabar sends an "offering" of goods and people to the dragon, as payment/incentive for not continuing to raze the town. The people who are to be fed to the dragon are selected through a lottery, which is currently in progress.

Some of the citizens of Diamond Lake recognize us, and beg us to save them once again from their cruel fate. However, our presence is enough to distract Balabar for the moment. He focuses on us and leaves the lottery unsettled for the time being. An excited and desperate-sounding Balabar invites us to dine with him that evening. We wearily accept. Balabar rushes off to make preparations, and in the meantime, we make some inquiries. We are looking for Lazare. We determine that he left town a few days before the dragon attack, and may have been heading to the Whispering Cairn...

A few hours later, we meet Balabar for dinner on board the Harkness. Smenk goes on and on about the fine spread he has assembled for this repast, and from the state of the town, it must have been hard to come by indeed. We enjoy the relative delicacies he has prepared and discuss the Diamond Lake situation. Balabar approached the dragon immediately after the attack and proposed their current arrangement. The dragon's demands were that no one may leave Diamond Lake, and offerings of beautiful maidens and precious objects must be made to it at regular intervals to appease its hunger and increase its hoard. Balabar was able to keep the definitions for "beautiful maidens" and "precious objects" vague enough to satisfy these requirements with what is actually left in Diamond Lake - scraggy peasants and twisted scrap metal. Balabar is aware that he can't keep up this arrangement forever - eventually he'll run out of townsfolk - and the strain of this knowledge has taken a toll on his sanity. From atop a makeshift throne surrounded by piles of junk, he chats glibly about living like a king surrounded by finery, all without a hint of sarcasm.

Balabar talks and talks and we realize he is stalling. It soon becomes evident that he has poisoned us. He really must be crazy! We start to feel foggy and drowsy, but we manage to shake off the effects. By this time Balabar has become increasingly nervous. He realizes the poison has failed and jumps up suddenly. Before we can react, he fires a loaded crossbow at Sarek, pinning him to his chair!
Nineve fires back with a blast from her pew-pew gauntlets and the battle is on!

My old friend Kullen, the albino half-orc with a grudge against elves appears from the shadows. He calls me "Pinky" and cuts into me with his axe! Fortunately, I immediately answer with a cut of Searing Light from Captain Lorring's sword. Xicar throws down Order's Wrath, which dazes Balabar (who turns out to be BalaBARD!) Enemies pour in as the dinner party suddenly becomes a pitched battle. Balabard recovers, turns invisible, and flees.

We take a few seconds to heal up and collect ourselves and then give chase. We run around on the lashed-together decks of various boats that serve as a makeshift village on the water, fighting our way through thugs and pirates. Balabar hits me with a spell and I become confused. The rest of the battle is a blur as I alternate between staring off into space singing the Hamster Dance song and accidentally attacking my dog. My companions finish off the thugs and we continue on our chase, which has now progressed to the docks. Xicar gets shoved off the dock and narrowly avoids falling into the gar-infested waters.

We have a very tough slog through Balabar's minions - thugs, pirates and the like, before we finally manage to catch up with him at the end of the dock. He is standing next to a large, violently shaking container, looking smug. As we approach, he says "Oh, now you've made him angry. You won't like him when he's angry!" and unleashes his trained dire ape, ManBearPig, on us!

Nineve and I are on that monkey like a rat on a Cheeto. The men keep Balabard occupied while we hack ManBearPig to pieces before it can become a problem. Without his meat-shield, the mighty Balabar Smenk is easy pickings. Killing him is so easy it almost feels like an accident. Looks like we solved his dragon problem after all...

~Ashe

Episode 12: 10/11/08

The Party:

Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/2-3

Haroldur, human cleric/5

Nineve Floret, human knight/5

Sarek, human wizard/5

We're just finishing up with Filge's pets when suddenly we hear the elevator returning from upstairs! We scramble into a defensive formation. The doors open to reveal four more cultists. Fortunately, we have the tactical advantage. We corner them in the elevator and cut through them like a knife through butter. At the end of the skirmish, we hear horses and a commotion upstairs. Nineve and Haroldur head up to investigate and hold off any over-zealous authorities while Sarek and I examine the altar for evidence.

Using Improved Sift, I see a vision of Filge and a buxom shrouded female in the midst of what appears to be a reanimation ceremony. A loud crash (sounds like us) breaks Filge's concentration and the spell goes awry amidst much cursing and calamity. On the altar, we find diamonds and the remains of diamonds (about half are intact), along with a partially-charred scroll of Raise Dead. We net:

2100 gp in diamonds

I put everything into an evidence bag and we join Nineve and Haroldur upstairs.

Nineve has skillfully convinced the mounted city guardsmen of the truth - that we are here on business with the church of Wee Jas, and have captured the Sawfish Boys for assisting with illegal necromancy. We notice that Kinto is missing from our group of captives, but the other three are still there. The guards take our prisoners into custody and we are escorted back to the Ruby Temple with only moderate hassling. We check in with Mossad, heal up, and go straight to bed!

First thing in the morning, we're summoned to Marten's office. I'm pleasantly surprised to find my favorite uncle, Justice Ironbriar of the city guard, is also there. Unfortunately, my bright mood evaporates as it becomes clear he is not visiting, but in fact here under rather unpleasant circumstances. He inquires about our involvement in the deaths of Captain Tevlis and his two (secretly treacherous) guards, and a challenging conversation ensues.

The interview does NOT go well. We are implicated in the deaths, and Uncle Ironbriar, who could never be accused of nepotism, demands our arrest. Just when I think this can't get any worse, Marten uses his considerable political clout and refuses to allow us to be taken into custody, assuring the Justice we'll be secure in the custody of the church. Suddenly, the city jail is looking like a better option...

Uncle Ironbriar leaves and Marten lays into us, suspending our Keeper status! After a thorough dressing-down, we leave and meet with Mossad. He explains that he's still in our corner, and will try to get to the bottom of this complex situation. I hand over our bag of evidence to Mossad and thank him for his support. We go have breakfast in the mess and return to our quarters - only to find our things have been relocated to the acolytes' quarters! We trudge down to the common sleeping area and begin our new, mundane tasks as acolytes. Yay.

Our first task: The Potter's Field.
Cremation and entombment cost money that is rarely spent of the poor, Instead they are buried in the potter's field, left to decompose, and the graves are eventually re-used, over and over. However, it takes skill and careful cataloging to prevent disturbing previous graves that have not had time to rest sufficiently. We spend all day in the archives going over the complicated plans so we can find an appropriate resting place for this week's batch of deceased peasants. We give the burial orders, but a few days later we hear there were some problems with the plots we ordered for a few of our charges...

Next up: The Drowned Son
The eldest son of a well-respected family loyal to the Cabal has drowned in the river - they desperately want him raised as they feel he perished before his time. They cannot afford the Commune spell, nor the cost to raise him, but they are insistent. They have been loyal parishioners of the Cabal for years, and we are keenly aware that mishandling this situation could cost the Cabal valuable members. We almost feel like Keepers again as we make our way to the somber house. Through sensitivity and patient understanding, by the end of the afternoon we convince the family to let their son go.

Then, we're back to playing corpse-jenga with: Cataloging Catacomb 7A
As is to be expected, the catacombs of Whitewall become overcrowded from time to time. When this happens, acolytes are sent into older catacombs to catalog the remains therein and determine where there is room to inter additional remains. This week, that's us. We get to brush up on our Profession: Gravekeeper skills and spend several days carefully cataloging, reorganizing, and cleaning this section of the catacombs in preparation for future use.

During our "adventures in acolytism" in the Temple one day, we hear Marten curse and then stagger backwards through a doorway, clutching a fresh, bleeding wound in his shoulder. Naturally, we're intrigued. Resisting the urge to start chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!", we sidle in closer for a better look. Moments later 31E hobbles into view, eyes red and weapon bloody! Marten sees us and demands we deal with our "rogue construct". 31E matter-of-factly informs Marten that he cannot give him the key-plate under any circumstances, and demands to be taken to the Exarch at the Grand Terminus immediately. It's a tense situation, but we tread carefully and manage to talk sense into both Marten and 31E. Marten reluctantly agrees to allow 31E to retain the key-plate, and 31E agrees to cooperate with Marten and the Cabal's clergy (on the condition that said cooperation will not violate his programmed directives). We all gain 1 influence point.

The next day we're back at it with: The Sickly Girl
A young girl is very ill and near death. We visit the home to discuss arrangements with her family and ease their grief, but while we're there, I happen to notice that she's suffering from Red Ache, the same disease that almost claimed Tamclar's wife. I bring this to everyone's attention, and suddenly our focus shifts from easing her passage to bringing her back from the brink of death! We give her family detailed instructions on how to tend to her, and with some magical assistance and our careful ministrations, in a week or two the girl recovers and the family members all become loyal followers of Wee Jas!

A few days later we are assigned to investigate: Missing Gravediggers
We receive word that several gravediggers have gone missing in Whitewall this morning. Gravediggers vanish from time to time in the Whitewall, so this isn't terribly unusual. Occasionally, gravediggers turn to tomb-robbing and attempt to make off with their ill-gotten gains! We're sent to get to the bottom of it.

When we arrive at the scene, we quickly rule out skulduggery. It looks like the workers were digging a grave when the floor collapsed beneath them. They must have breached the vault of an old crypt, not listed in the records. It appears they may have fallen in. We tie a rope to a piton anchored to the secure part of the floor and descend into the pit. We find a shovel on the floor directly under the hole, and at the other end of the room, two dazed-looking gravediggers. They don't seem to notice us, which is odd. Just as we're trying to figure out what's wrong with them, my heightened hearing detects an incoherent babbling off in the distance. It's so distracting! I'm forced to stare off blankly into middle distance while the rest of the party addresses the gravediggers.

Luckily, I snap back to reality just in time to brutally lay into an Allep. After it is dispatched, we turn our attentions towards the skeletons which start to pour into the chamber. We've got a lot on our hands, suddenly. Honestly, it's the most excitement we've had in weeks. It becomes too much for Sarek to bear. Crackling with unspent magical energy, he fireballs the place without warning, which takes care of the skeleton problem but also immolates the hapless gravediggers, unfortunately. We climb out of the vault, seal it up temporarily, and report back to the Cabal.

That evening Mossad asks to speak with us. Marten is still very irritated with us, but Moussad hates to see our skills going to waste on mundane tasks. He recommends we leave town for a while to let Marten and the general political climate cool off a bit. We agree and make preparations to leave while Mossad works on finding a reason for us to be gone.

Meanwhile, Sarek and Haroldur have also noticed some of their inconsequential personal items are missing. We're a bit concerned when we realize that someone is stealing from us. Our thoughts turn to the usual suspect - Hezzrak. We lure him out of invisibility with a game of chess, but we quickly become convinced that he's not the one behind the thefts. Sarek cleverly convinces him to help us find the culprit.

The next day, it's back to business as usual as we're tasked with cataloging the remains found in the newly discovered crypt. We toil for days and produce a accurate and beautifully detailed record of the entire area. Around this time, Sarek receives a Sending from Lazare:

"A friend, Jakardos, may have insight that can aid you in solving the mysteries of 31E37 and the Cairn. Go to Blackwall Keep."

We relay this message to Mossad. He thinks Blackwall Keep is a perfect destination - a potentially dangerous journey, but remote enough so that the trip there and back will give things time to calm down in Istivin. He tells us he'll look into this possibility.

A few days later, Mossad approaches us with a plan! Blackwall Keep is on the frontier of orc and goblin country. Because of this, detail on the Keep is dangerous and maintaining a sufficient garrison is always a concern. In fact, garrisoning Blackwall Keep is so dangerous, violent, convicted criminals are frequently offered the option to serve at Blackwall instead of going to prison - if they are still alive at the end of a two-year tour of duty, they are freed. Some choose to stay on at Blackwall and become part of the elite group of rangers which manage and run the Keep. It happens that a group of such criminals is to be dispatched to Blakcwall Keep presently, and Mossad has arranged that we are to be their escort.

Additionally, it would seem that Tamclar, who has been studying in the Temple, is running into some difficulty. Mossad has observed that our favorite dwarf seems to be struggling to balance Our Lady's tenets with the deep-seated cultural and ideological ways of his people. Noting that Tamclar is the type that prefers deeds over words, Mossad suggests that he shoud take a break from his scholastic endeavors and accompany us on our journey to the Keep. Perhaps he can find his way more easily in a forest than in a library...

We set off the next day, with Tamclar and our company of criminal scum. They're unarmed and shackled together, but there are about 50 of them. About half an hour outside of town they make their first attempt at a mutiny. Fortunately, we're able to intimidate them into submission - for now. This will no doubt prove to be an interesting journey. I lead us through the woods and we find a place to camp for the night. Just after dinner, Zolara appears to us and offers us a reading:

The Choosing:

Sarek: the Midwife
Haroldur: the Owl
Nineve: the Mute Hag
Ashe: the Queen Mother

The Spread:

The Foreign Trader-----The Dance-----The Unicorn
The Eclipse-------------The Forge------The Keep
The Joke---------------The Midwife----The Winged Serpent

~Ashe

Episode 9: 8/2/08

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/2-2
Haroldur, human cleric/4
Nineve Floret, human knight/4
Sarek, human wizard/4

While we're standing there, sharing a sombre moment over the incredibly foul-smelling ghoul corpse of Ulavant, we suddenly realize we haven't contacted the Cabal since we captured Tares! We elect to inform them of our progress. Also... we're standing in a room filled with dead Seekers-turned-Ghouls, whose remains, such that they are, need to be returned to the Ruby Temple for proper interment. None of us fancies the idea of riding overland for a week on a cart with the rotting corpses of a Seeker squad. We're going to need a collection team. Sarek sends:

"Found Alastor and Ulavant. Ulavant killed, he was a ghoul.
Alastor gravely wounded, need instructions.
Need your blessing to raise dead to help finish orders."

He is answered:

"Good news about Alastor! I expect to hear your full report regarding Ulavant upon your return. What of Ulavant's Seekers? Did you find their remains?"

Sarek replies:

"Seekers were with Ulavant and were corrupted by dark magic.
All were ghouls and were destroyed. We have bodies.
What are your instructions for bodies?"

The reply:

"Will send legionaires to Diamond Lake for the remains of the Seekers. You know the rules regarding the remains of the deceased. We'll talk later."

Meanwhile, we divide the loot we've accumulated so far.
Afterwards, I investigate the large door at the far end of the chamber, and find it to be impassably locked. There is a plate bearing an ornate rune on the center of the door that looks like it must be key to opening it. I take a rubbing of the plate, as well as the available text on the walls of the chamber. In particular, there is a repeating rune which appears to be a name of some sort. Sarek and I can't quite translate it. I am sure to get a few very good examples of that.

I also find Ulavant's belongings hidden near the door. Of interest is his journal. It is obvious he couldn't translate the runes, either, but glancing through it, his story becomes clear. His team came here, convinced they would find a portal linking to another, more important, and completely undisturbed tomb. However, without a way to open this door, and with no one manning the entrance to this closed chamber, they were trapped. Hunger got to them, and they eventually degenerated into picking off unwary team members in the night and cannibalizing them. However, after a time even this plan gave out, and they gradually starved to death, only to rise as hungry undead as a result of their cannibalism. Through his madness, moments of lucid thought are evident - these pages depict a pious man in anguish over the horror of his situation. I shudder inwardly at his long, grim fate.

Anxious to turn my thoughts elsewhere, I head back to the entrance and, after several minutes of yelling, 31E finally hears me and opens the door. I show him the various rubbings, but he can't read them, either. However, when I show him the rubbing of the plate on the locked door, he says it looks a lot like a metal plate he was sent here with. He produces it, and I compare the plate to the rubbing and determine they're a match. It must be the key!

Back with the party, we decide to rest and formulate a plan. We stack the corpses of the Seekers on the pressure plate, keeping the door to the chamber open. Then, Sarek somehow convinces me to gather bombardier beetle corpses so he can raise them as zombies. This done, we return to the goo room and rest.

In the morning, Sarek and Nineve have clearly contracted ghoul fever. However, with their help, the much-improved Alastor and I finally decipher the name-rune: "Icosiel". Then, we head back to the door. When 31E puts his metal plate on the depression in the door, the portal splits in half and opens into a large, spheroid chamber.

Floating warriors clad in ceramic armor approach us, and after some confusion, they lead us on a tour of the chamber, pausing in front of a series of animated reliefs which show us the story of Icosiel and the history of their race.

The first panel depicts the Storm King race living a peaceful, idyllic existence, until monstrous creatures of darkness and terror begin to encroach upon their perfect world.

In the second panel, Storm Kings clad for war (including Zosiel) are saluting Icosiel, who has become a respected warrior and a hero to his people.

The 3rd panel depicts a major battle, where a great Storm King warrior wields the Rod of Law against the leader of the Army of Chaos. However, this use of the Rod destroys both the Storm King warrior and his opponent, and shatters the Rod into seven pieces.

In the last panel, seven Storm King leaders are each receiving a fragment of the Rod of Law amidst much ceremony. Icosiel and others look on.

Above the inactive portal is another name-rune. I can't read it, but I recognize the symbol from the story - this is the name of one of the Storm Kings who received a part of the Rod. If Ulavant's theory was correct, perhaps this portal, when active, would lead to his tomb! However, it certainly isn't doing anything (or leading anywhere) at the moment. I take a rubbing of the rune in hopes that we can somehow translate it later.

At length, we join the waiting wind-warriors at the center of the spherical room, on a platform. Stepping into the center, we are borne gently upward on a column of wind and light to a smaller chamber above. This is clearly Icosiel's burial chamber. Reliefs depicting the high points of his illustrious life adorn the walls.

As I climb the short flight of stairs to his sarcophagus, Icosiel's statue, depicting him lying in state on the lid, turns to me and instructs in Elven, "Say my name". Baffled, I blurt out, "Icosiel", and a pale blue light washes over the room. When it subsides, a seam has become clearly visible in the sarcophagus. After some discussion, we reverently lift the lid. Inside, we discover:

Icosiel's silver diadem (Circlet of Wisdom +2)
2 curved black horns with red tips (demon horns)
a pewter box inscribed with writhing alien letter forms
Lightning Sword of Icosiel (broken, but repaired somewhat)
a matching +1 shortsword

The pewter box appears to be welded shut, and it's scurrying scrawl makes us somehow uneasy. I ask Hezzrack if he can read it... he takes one look and flies backwards, refusing to look at it anymore. When pressed, the imp says that he can't quite read the writing because "it's so old", but he just knows it's very, very bad. It occurs to me that something that is too much for Hezzrack is probably extremely dangerous. Haroldur wants to leave the box here, but I convince him that since we've breached the tomb, this place is no longer secure. We can't have this thing falling into the wrong hands. We agree to take it back with us to the Ruby Temple. With a pensive glance around at my companions - the impulsive Nineve, headstrong Haroldur, sinister Sarek... I tuck the box in among my belongings for safe-keeping.

We return one last time to the goo chamber, and I take extra samples of it for analysis. We decide to head back to Diamond Lake. It takes some time, but we finally haul everything (including the bodies of Ulavant's team) up to the Cairn entrance. Fortunately, I thought ahead and purchased a cart and 2 mules to help us transport the bodies back to Diamond Lake! On the way to the cart, Hezzrack warns us that people are coming...

A haggard group of wild-eyed humans bursts out of the underbrush! As soon as the "leader" opens his mouth, it's clear they are completely insane. However, they seem to be fixated on 31E...

The battle is joined, but suddenly, some of the attackers morph into aberrations called "faceless stalkers". Spells and swords fly, and during the vicious fight, Haroldur and I fall. Just as things are looking grim, Kullen the half-orc erupts from the bushes and attacks the leader of the lunatic band! He bisects the madman, and a hail of crossbow bolts from the bushes rain down upon the aberrations. With their assistance, the battle is won.

As they are looting the corpses (which happens immediately), Kullen explains that "the boss" wants us watched, but he didn't say anything about watching us die. We thank him and his boys for their assistance. Surveying the mercenary crew, I decide I don't want them to feel I owe them anything. I pay the thugs a platinum piece each - except for one bright soul who proudly insists he won't work for less than 10 gold. I pay him in his preferred coinage. Kullen refuses my offer of payment, nodding to the loot he scavenged off the leader's corpse. As he leaves, he tosses us the madman's necklace, the:

Sihedron amulet

Haroldur and Nineve do the rites and bury the corpses, while I examine the remains of the faceless stalkers - no bodies, just a smoking, greasy black spot on the earth! I kick some dirt and debris over the residue, repulsed by the unnaturalness of it.

Our return trip to Diamond Lake is uneventful. Along the way Hezzrack fashions a crown out of leaves and twigs and proclaims himself "King of the Cart", a title no one contests.

Back in Diamond Lake, the poor quarter has developed into "Little Kolbenberg", and people gossip about us and treat us like celebrities - apparently, we've become local heroes. We make our way to the Grey Convent and lodge there. Also, we advise 31E to lay low, as the townsfolk would certainly find him very conspicuous.

In the morning, Sarek and Nineve visit the church of St. Cuthbert for healing, as they are still suffering badly from their disease. They are pressed into hard labor, and return at sundown. Meanwhile, I visit with Lazare and pick up some new chess skills. Alastor and Brolan are reunited, and set immediately to their notes. At dusk, Haroldur gives a mediocre sermon at the convent, to a small crowd.

The next morning, Sarek and Nineve are late to work at St. Cuthbert's, and no doubt pay for it with their hides. I decide to spend the day working at the Convent, and Haroldur leaves to drum up more people for his evening sermon. In town, a guard captain is erecting a makeshift gallows to execute four hobos he claims were "plotting to kill the mayor"! Haroldur investigates and concludes that the hobos are innocent and the guard captain is under some kind of magical compulsion. He starts bombastically preaching in their favor, sparking a public debate, and word of the commotion spreads through town like wildfire.

The rest of us converge on the source of the disturbance, and suddenly realize we haven't seen Hezzrack in a while... It's not a huge leap of logic to conclude that he must be behind this. Sarek starts provoking the invisible imp by calling him his "familiar", which of course elicits the usual tirade. Before things get too out of hand, I announce to Hezzrack (who is still invisible) that i spent all day yesterday learning new chess moves from Lazare, and I'll meet him back at the convent for a game, if he's interested. After a brief moment of consideration, he says "Deal!", and I lure him back to the convent while Haroldur, Sarek, and Nineve sort out the mess.

Hezzrack plays chess with me and 31E all day. In the evening, the party and I decide we need to have tighter control of Hezzrack's antics. After a heated debate over what to do, we decide to draw up a contract with him. He agrees to all the terms, though I suspect he's just vowing to be more subtle with his mischief. Devils will be devils.

The next day, Sarek and Nineve have recovered and are released from service to the church of St. Cuthbert. We visit Lazare, Alastor and Brolan, who have had time to compare notes. They tell us that they're sure the Rod depicted in the story is in fact none other than the Rod of Law, also known as the Rod of Seven Parts. This artifact is reputed to be so powerful, that throughout history, wars have been fought and kingdoms sacrificed for just a fragment of it. They also confirm my suspicion that the portal we found likely leads to the tomb of a Storm King leader who received a fragment of the Rod... and it's almost certainly completely undisturbed and may even contain the fragment! All this discussion seems to have jogged 31E's memory, and he recalls that he was sent to the Cairn initially to find this fragment or clues leading to it. Of course, the scholars are very excited by all of this.

They also tell us that to repair 31E, we'll probably need to find an artificer, but no one is sure of how we can replace his lost limbs, as he is quite advanced.

Through all of this, I get the impression that Lazare knows more than he's letting on, but I don't press him on it. After all, he's in the business of being in the know, and I imagine he won't share whatever that knowledge is on anyone else's terms.

Later that day, the Legionnaires arrive to collect the bodies of the Seekers and escort us back to Istivin, the capitol. Alastor and Brolan accompany us, along with Tamclar and his family. As we're packing to leave, Zolara appears to us and offers us a reading:

The Choosing:
Ashe - The Twin
Sarek - The Betrayal
Haroldur - The Empty Throne
Nineve - The Tyrant

The Spread:

The Winged Serpent -------The Survivor ---------- The Publican
The Empty Throne -------The Rabbit Prince -------The Crows
The Desert -----------------The Courtesan --------The Sickness

~Ashe