Session 26 – More Trouble in Sandpoint

Eliatris, Aneka, and myself return to Sandpoint. Aneka returns to her home, but I promise to contact her later. Eliatris and I head off to meet with Devin and the mayor. When we arrive, we find Ash had arrived ahead of us. Devin informs us that an earthquake occurred at about the time we defeated Mokmurian. The earthquake left Sandpoint’s Garrison in ruins after a sinkhole opened beneath it. From that hole, the sounds of howling dogs can be heard. A pair of guards had been sent to investigate, but they never returned. Devin listened to the howls from the edge of the hole, and easily identified the sound as belonging to Yeth hounds, creatures we encountered below Thistletop.

In addition, Devin tells us that he has spoken to Voon, and gathered more information and a map of ancient Thassilon. Xin was an Azlanti in ancient times, and was exiled by his people for a belief that working with the lesser races could be good. He went on to establish the kingdom of Thassilon in the land where Varisia now stands. Thassilon was carved into 7 pieces, each led by a Runelord. Xin’s intentions were good, but the Runelords turned against him.

While Ash was in Magnimar, she apparently purchased a pair of magical gloves that allow her to see through doors to the area beyond. She uses these to check on the double doors before we pass through. Beyond the doors is a short hallway that leads to the chamber with a smaller shrine and water basins. As we enter the chamber, suddenly the sounds of baying echo off the walls. In a moment of great embarrassment, I am flooded with memories of the haunted mansion, and I flee in panic. I scramble up the rubble, and race past the gathered crowd to seek a hiding place. After a few minutes, I calm down, and slowly return to the sinkhole. The people gathered there stare at me quizzically. I shrug and announce I really had to pee, then descend once more into the catacombs.

I catch back up to the others with a sheepish grin, and we continue past the room with the basins and down the familiar corridors. The next chamber has the red marble statue of a woman somehow both strikingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Now having a better understanding of the history of this place, we are able to identify the woman as Alaznist, the Runelord of Wrath. We continue through he empty passageways and chambers until we come to a descending spiral staircase. Previously, this way had been blocked, but the earthquake seems to have shaken loose the rubble here and we can now see a path through.

The staircase is thick with webbing, which I cut down with my flaming sword. Deep scratches along the walls and the lack of any mold or mildew suggest that the area has recently been cleared, with the webbing serving as some sort of deterrent. At the bottom of the stairs is a closed in landing. I quickly search the walls, but cannot find anything out of place. Ash, however, uses her gloves to pierce the wall and quickly locates a door leading west. After a thorough examination of the wall here, we find the release, and open the door. Beyond we discover a collapsed passageway in which someone carved out a narrow tunnel.

We pass through the tunnel and enter a large antechamber filled with a deep fog. I put on the lenses I picked up from Mokmurian that allow me to see through fog. Ash can also see but not very far. The others cannot see at all. I look around to discover a passage leading north, a pair of double doors to the south and a large room with a shrine to Lamashtu to the west. The drawing of a three-eyed jackal head adorns the doors to the south. As we venture further into the antechamber, we suddenly hear a deep, gravelly voice similar to Karzoug’s. The following exchange takes place:

Voice: “Who are you?”
Devin: “We are your doom.”
Voice: “What happened to Thassalon?”
Me: Thassalon has fallen. Who are you?”
Voice: “I am Xalisia. Answer my questions, and I may help you. What happened to Thassalon?”
Me: “Varisia stands in it’s place.”
Xalisia: “What is the seat of it’s power?”
Ash: “Why do you want to know?”
Xalisia: “Why does anyone want knowledge?”
Me: “What will you do with the information?”
Xalisia: “What would you do with knowledge?”
Me: “Defeat Karzoug.”
Xalisia: *laughs* “Come in and we will speak more.”

The voice then fades away, and we are left somewhat confused. I decide to investigate the passage leading north. The fog continues to fill the area, but I manage to make it to the end, which tapers off to rubble. Something appears amiss, however, and I determine there may be a door at the end of the corridor. I call to Ash, who was busy examining various writings upon the wall, and she makes her way over. Using her gloves and general knowledge of door wrangling, she discovers the door, and manages to open it. I attempt to walk in, but for some unknown reason turn left and walk into the rubble instead. After a bit of confusion, and walking into things, I finally manage to make my way into the small chamber beyond the door only to discover we need to open another door. We do so, and beyond is a lit circular chamber with a pool of glowing water. Ash sees more writing on the wall, and, using the spell Comprehend Languages, is able to determine that most of the writing is about Lamashtu. She notes, however, that there is some writing here that stands out:

If magic bright is your desire, to old Runefor e must you retire!
For only there does wizards’ art receive its due and proper START.

Devin enters the room, and stares into the pool’s water. He sees vision of monstrous babies being born in this pool, and quickly retreats. As there are no other exits, we leave and head back towards the antechamber. We then decide to check out the area with the shrine. Since Devin and Eliatris can’t see through the fog, we make sure to stick close together as we move forward, with me leading the way. The chamber where the shrine is held is menacing, with four black stone pillars supporting the roof forty feet above. The floor between the pillars depicts a three-eyed jackal, which glows with a soft light, illuminating the room. Alcoves to the north and south contain statues of jackal-headed pregnant women, each clutching a pair of kukris crossed over their chests. Suddenly, we hear a guttural voice utter an incantation as a monstrously large creature suddenly appears, and we begin to float in space, the gravity of the room having suddenly shifted.

Fortunately, we came prepared. Devin was already Airwalking, and Eliatris activates her Boots of Levitation. Ash and I drink potions of fly. The four of us work together, and though the beast is formidable, we defeat him with little damage to ourselves. As the monster falls to it’s death, Xalisia contacts us again.

Xalisia: “Impressive. Who wields powerful magic today?”
Me: “The wizards of Twilight Academy. What further tests do you have for us today?”
Xalisia: “None. Unless you seek further knowledge.” *pause* “Is the Hellstorm Flume operational?”
Ash: “If you explain how it’s used, we can check.”
-no answer-
Devin: “What is your relationship with the Runelords?”
Xalisia: “Servant for one, spy for another, traitor to all, betrayed by all. What God do you serve?”
Devin: “Iomedae. What God do you serve?”
Xalisia: “Mother of Monsters.”
Ash: “How do we get into Runeforge?”
Xalisia: “The map and key are hidden in the walls. Come explore!”

Xalisia once again goes silent, so we tend to our wounds, then determine our next course. While we debate, Ash takes a look around, and discovers more writing of interest:

Each stone the grace of seven lords, one part of key each ruler hoards;
If offered spells and proper prayer, take seven keys and climb the stair.

A passageway leads south from here, but we decide to examine what is behind the double doors in the antechamber first. Carefully making our way back through the fog, we open those doors to reveal a corridor the ends in rubble. We carefully examine the walls, and discover a door to the right, and two to the left. The first door opens into an oval chamber with the image of a jackal on the far wall. Beneath it is written another stanza:

On eastern shores of steaming mirror, at end of day when dusk is nearer,
Where seven faces silent wait encircled guards at Runeforge gate.

The second door opens to rubble, and the third reveals a chamber similar to the first, but with a more collapsed wall to the south. I try to clear the rubble a bit, but only succeed in causing further collapse that traps Ash. I quickly dig her out, and we decide to move on from here.  We head back to the shrine and turn south down the widened corridor. Here, the walls are splattered with blood, and the remains of flesh. Among the carnage we find a lone signet inscribed with the symbol of Sandpoint, which Devin takes to show Sheriff Hemlock. We continue forward, and the sounds of braying once again echo off the walls, this time much louder. The next chamber we enter appears to have once been three separate chambers, but age and ruin have merged them into one. Shields and weapons lay scattered about, presumably the gear from the guards sent to investigate. Floating down from above, a pack of six yeth hounds descend upon us. These black-furred creatures are more powerful than the last group of Yeth hounds we faced, but they still prove little match for us, and we quickly dispatch them. Before continuing, Ash decides to examine the walls, and locates another stanza of the rhyme Xalisia has left for us:

On frozen mountain Xin awaits, his regal voice the yawning gates
Keys turn twice in Sihedron – occulted Runeforge waits within.

Beyond this chamber is a long passageway that curves back to the north and leads into a square chamber. As I enter the room, I hear a voice in my head that warns me my companions are plotting against me, and intend to sacrifice me to Lamashtu. I shake my head, and rid myself of the ridiculous notion, and push forward towards the doors at the far end. Ash stops to examine the wall, and sure enough discovers another stanza:

And now you’ve come and joined the forge upon rare lore your mind can gorge –
and when you slough the mortal way in Runeforge long your work shall stay.

Ash unlocks the door, but for some reason can’t open it. Devin steps up and opens it instead. Beyond is a chamber decorated with flowing script and runes. On the far side slumps the body of a human, a corporal of the Sandpoint guards, his limbs broken in a dozen places. A low table to the right is covered with vials of liquid, and sitting in an inkwell is a quill made from a peacock’s feather. Devin examines the quill and determines it is a Revelation Quill, a highly valuable item. We take up the corporal’s body and begin to head back, believing we have done all that we can here.

On our way back through the Yeth Hounds’ lair, however, Xalisia finally makes his appearance. He announces, “Time for talk has come to an end, my sucklings. Now fall to the power of the Scribbler!” then casts a spell of Confusion. We shake off the effects of this spell, and prepare for battle while a pair of Babau demons move in. Ash moves forward to engage Xalisia, while I and Eliatris remain behind to handle the demons. Devin tries to follow Ash, but has difficulty navigating the fog. After I dispatch my demon, I swallow a potion and grow to twice my normal size before closing in on “the Scribbler”. With a few swings of my trusty hammer, and some help from my companions, I destroy him. With his defeat, we have once again saved Sandpoint from the evils lurking below, and we head back out to the surface. Sheriff Hemlock grieves for his lost soldiers, but we head off to try and unravel the rhymes of the Scribbler’s writings.

Session 27 – The Seven Faces of Sin

With the meaning of the Scribbler’s writings unclear, we sought out others who might be more knowledgeable of the area. Devin went to the House of Blue Stones to speak with Sabyl Sorn. Ash headed for the lighthouse to seek out Brodert. Eliatris went to Savah’s Armory, and I went to the Rusty Tavern. We reunited later outside the Sheriff’s office to share what we learned.

Eliatris spoke to Savah Bevanky, and though her armory is now in good shape she remains concerned about the Scarnetti’s continued meddling in Sandpoint’s affairs. Regarding the poem she knows little. Having come from a southern land, she can only offer the suggestion of heading north.

Ash went to visit Brodert only to find he was not at home. She soon discovered him at the Curious Goblin having yet another “discussion” with Chask regarding the plausibility of Thassilonian lore. Ash asks both of them several questions regarding local geography, and the Runeforge, but the most they seem to be able to offer is a child’s geography book.

Devin visits Sabyl Sorn, and asks her questions regarding he poem. She states that she knows the answer, but rather than tell him, she insists that he meditate on it. During his meditation, Devin sees a vision of seven stone heads in a circle. Unfortunately, the vision does not reveal a location.

At the Rusty Tavern, I spoke to Ameiko and made better progress. She has traveled quite a bit, and though she knows nothing about seven statues or faces, she does know that the coldest mountains in the area are the Kodar Mountains where Lake Stormunder resides, getting its name from plentiful hotsprings.

Given what we have learned, we decide to travel to Lake Stormunder. Devin casts a spell on us that allows us to walk swiftly, and we are able to get there within a day rather than the several days traditional means would have required. When we arrive at Lake Stormunder, we quickly scout the surrounding area. To the east of the lake is themountain Rimeskull, getting its name not only from the cold climate of the mountains but also the carving of an ancient face at the top. A staircase rises up the mountain to the face’s mouth which opens into a large cave opening. Near the base of the stairs stands a circle of seven-foot-tall stone heads, each carved in the likeness of one of the seven Runelords. We study the statues and quickly determine which is which. After studying the Scribbler’s writing once more, we determine that we need to cast a spell from the correct school on each statue to reveal a key. Given what we know of the Runelords, and what they represent, we quickly determine that each sin also opposes a virtue. Those virtues then correspond to a particular school of magic. Here’s what we determined:

• Alaznist, Runelord of Wrath – Kindness – Evocation
• Belimarius, Runelord of Envy – Charity – Abjuration
• Karzoug, Runelord of Greed – Generosity – Transmutation
• Krune, Runelord of Sloth – Zeal – Conjuration
• Sorshen, Runelord of Lust – Love – Enchantment
• Xanderghul, Runelord of Pride – Humility – Illusion
• Zutha, Runelord of Gluttony – Temperance – Necromancy

While we are examining the statues, I see a weird looking hare hopping around through the snow. It appears to have a horn, and is watching us. While the others begin casting a spell upon the statue of Alaznist, I approach the bunny. As I move closer, the bunny suddenly launches itself at me. I try to block the attack with my hand, and the horn nearly impales it, but I manage to catch the creature without taking too much damage. Before I can examine the creature further, Ash and Eliatris fire their ranged weapons at it, pummeling it to death. I stand there, somewhat stunned by what just happened while the others continue working on the statues.

We have procured three of the keys when a dark shadow overtakes the circle of statues, and a biting cold cuts through us. I look up to see a large white dragon bearing down on us, breathing a cone of cold as it flies past. We run for cover, but not before the blast of cold cuts through our core. Watching the dragon fly away in preparation for another strafing run, I am reminded of stories I heard as a child about a white dragon named Arkrhyst, also known as Freezemaw, who was thought to have been slain years ago. Watching this ancient dragon soar about, I wonder if perhaps he survived after all.

Regardless of who the dragon is, we have more keys to find, and we need to take cover before the dragon reappears. I run behind one of the statues while the others continue to cast their spells and gather the keys. We gather a few more and need to collect only two more of the keys before Arkrhyst returns. Rather than strafe us again, he decides to land on Eliatris, pinning her to the ground. I move up and throw a bead from my necklace at him, hoping the fireball will somehow drive him away, but the fire just splashes over him and does little to no damage. Devin brings holy fire down upon the wyrm, and grab a potion from my bag that allows me to enlarge. The dragon seems unimpressed.

“You dare disturb my stones?” Arkrhyst bellows.

I charge the dragon, but miss wildly and the creature picks me up with his mouth and takes off for the sky. As the creature climbs into the sky, I act quickly and drink a potion that allows me to fly. Unfortunately, I acted too quickly and Arkrhyst was able to dispel it. Once he reaches an apparently acceptable height, he lets go of me. I drop through the air aimed straight for Eliatris. Somehow I am able to wriggle my way slightly off course so that I don’t fully land her, but enough damage is done to kill our Paladin. Luckily, Devin is nearby and he quickly rushes over and breathes new life into her with his divine magic.

Ash rushes over to us, and uses a wand to cast Fly on me once again. I grab Eliatris and Devin and fly off towards the base of the stairs before ducking into cover once more. When I look to the sky, the dragon is nowhere to be seen. I wait a moment, then begin flying up the side of the mountain to the mouth of the cave. The others fly in staggered formation behind me. I reach the entrance first and enter the cave cautiously. The room within the mouth is a carved out section, about 60 feet wide by 30-40 feet deep. At the back of the room, the natural entrance to the corridors beyond stands open.

Eliatris flies in past me, and is immediately attacked as the dragon suddenly appears as if from thin air. Eliatris takes a strong hit, but is able to keep her feet. Devin shouts from below to run and he will create a wall of stone to stop the dragon’s advance. I run past the dragon, but his tail hits me and I stumble the rest of the way. Ash flies in from behind but is able to skirt around the edges to avoid the dragon’s reach. I run down the corridor, eager to escape the dragon’s clutches, but the others are cut off by a wall of ice. I turn back and hammer at the ice to create an opening, but before the others can escape through, a second wall appears. I smash an opening through the second wall, and beyond I see the lifeless form of our Paladin on the floor. In my weakened condition, it is too dangerous to pass through the area of cold left open by my handiwork once, let alone twice, so instead I pull out the rope of climbing from my pack and command it to attach itself to Eliatris before pulling her through. Devin and Ash quickly jump through behind her as the dragon roars in frustration behind a wall of stone and two walls of ice. We then hear the sound of digging as Arkrhyst seemingly begins burrowing through the wall.

Knowing we can’t afford to continue the fight, and not knowing anything about the corridors beyond, Ash pulls out  scroll and uses it to create a portal to a safe room. We pile in, pulling Eliatris with us. The room is strange, and Ash explains that we are in a pocket within the Plane of Shadow, and asks Devin to cast Light on one of her sling bullets. She then tosses the bullet out through the door, explaining that the light will prevent the dragon from seeing the doorway to our room. We won’t be able to leave while the light spell is active, but it will end before we need to leave so we are safe, for now.

Ash, Devin and I heal up and get some much needed rest. Afterwards, the three of us discuss our next course of action. Devin suggests he can bring Eliatris back to life, but he needs a valuable diamond first. We all agree that a dragon’s hoard is likely to have such an item, so Ash agrees to fly out and investigate. Devin remains in the pocket with Eliatris while Ash and I step out. I stand guard at the entrance to the pocket while Ash flies off. Several long minutes pass by while I await her return, but return she does with the necessary item. We step back into the pocket, and Devin brings our fallen Paladin back to life.

With the group reforged once more, we exit the pocket dimension, and venture forth. Ash uses her wand to cast fly on all of us as she tells us the path beyond the statues descends swiftly and dangerously. We fly down the path and descend into the darkness below. At the base of the pit is a cavern glittering with sheets of ice. Seven pillars measuring twenty feet in height stand in a circle around an eighth pillar twice as tall. Each pillar is engraved with ancient runes and glyphs. Off to the side of these is a huge mound of treasure. Arkrhyst is nowhere to be seen, but the threat of his reappearance gets us moving with speed. We quickly decipher which pillar represents which sin, and insert the seven keys, after which the central pillar glows and ripples with a light that connects all the pillars together and creates a portal into a long tunnel. Devin then casts Detect Magic and examines the hoard. Each of us grabs an item before plunging into the portal. I grab a large shield, Ash gets a potion, Eliatris picks up a chime, and Devin takes a scroll.

Session 28 – Into the Runeforge

We step through the portal and enter a long ten-foot-wide hallway. We travel along the corridor for a time, until it finally lets out at a domed chamber featuring seven additional exits, a large pool of bubbling liquid in a dais in the center, and twenty-five foot high statues of the Runelords. Six of the other corridors are featureless hallways that seem to lead off to nowhere. The seventh, attached to the Runelord of Envy ends shortly at a staircase leading down. The walls of this tunnel are scorched and stained suggested a magical battle has taken place here. Floating in the air above us is a faceless creature with four forearms, each splitting at the elbow to form eight hands. In the center of each palm is an eye. We prepare for battle, but the creature does not seem hostile. Instead, it speaks, despite the apparent lack of a mouth;

“Would you defeat the Runelord Karzoug?”

I glance over at the others before giving a response, but Eliatris wastes no time getting out an answer;

“That is why we are here.”

The creature responds:

“Your world balances on the edge of a knife. Come here if you need resurrection.”

He then goes silent, and the tension is released. Whatever his moral code, he clearly means us no harm, so we set about the process of determining which path to take. Ash points out that that the Scribbler was an enemy of Karzoug and the caverns beneath Sandpoint where we encountered him were protected with Illusory magic. The school of Illusion is associated with the sin of Pride, and that is the most likely place where we will find the tools we need to defeat Karzoug.

So we enter the corridor of the Runelord of Pride, and travel the length of it until the walls change from stone to mirrored glass. The effect is mildly dizzying as we see infinite reflections of ourselves within the mirrors. The hall comes to end at a t-junction. Ash is the first to arrive, and she steps out into the junction. A look of alarm crosses her face a moment later, and she cries out “Evil Twins!”. Always eager to destroy evil, Eliatris steps up and prepares for battle. I follow close behind her, and when I step out into the hall I discover what Ash meant as a pair of duplicates of myself step out from the mirrors at the end of each hall to join the duplicates of Eliatris and Ash. I yell back towards Devin “Do not enter this hallway!” and then prepare for battle.

At this point, the hallway becomes a mass of confusion as myself and my duplicates each drink potions to enlarge ourselves, and the triple Ashes go invisible. The various Eliatris’s advance for battle, and all the while the mirrors reflect the scene making it appear as though a hundred people are preparing for battle within the confines of this relatively small corridor.The duplicate Eliatris’s prove the least threatening as their most damaging abilities stem from fighting evil. However, the large Gulnyrs prove most fearsome while the invisible Ashes take turns using their sneak attack ability to pester us. Our own Eliatris is the first casualty as she is dropped by her own image and then pounced on for the finishing blow. As she dies, her duplicates disappear. Meanwhile, I manage to dispatch one of my duplicates, but I am severely injured in the process and the pestering from the Ash duplicates is taking a toll. Devin creates a wall of stone on one side of the junction, which buys us some time, but with another hit from a sling bullet, I am dropped. Devin uses his divine magic to bring me back to life, but the good news is my duplicates are now gone. The bad news is I’m only barely alive, and another couple hits from those invisible duplicates would likely put me down again. I do manage to kill one of the,  but as the other retreats, Devin decides he’s had enough and puts an end to the life of our own Ash. Devin and I then grab the bodies of our fallen comrades and retreat back to the main chamber where our floating friend brings Ash back to life and we gather much needed rest. After the necessary rest, Eliatris is brought back, but this time as a half-orc instead of a half-elf. The change is interesting, but she’s not the first half-orc in our party so we roll with it.

We head back down the Passageway of Pride and stop at the junction. Not knowing whether the magic of the mirror has ended, we decide to send Eliatris out knowing that her doubles are the least threatening. Sure enough, her double appears (though only one this time due to the wall of stone). The “evil Eliatris” charges to attack, and we dispatch her without causing further doubles to appear. I then give Eliatries my hammer, and she moves up to the mirror and destroys it before calling the rest of us forward. We push ahead, and move into a large cathedral of ivory. Immense chandeliers hang from the ceiling of this mirrored chamber, and in the center is a raised dais of polished wood upon which stands a giant peacock the size of a wyvern. It’s eyes appear intelligent, but they do not follow our movement. As we step into the room, a man suddenly appears, immaculately dressed, and addresses us:

“The master is in his study. He is not to be disturbed. Please keep your screaming to a minimum while you are punished for daring to venture this close to his magnificence.”

His voice echoes strangely, as if multiple voices were speaking instead of just one. Eliatris strides forward. Sensing that this man is a user of magic, I slide to the left, away from the group to remove the threat of area spells being launched at us. A second man appears, identical to the first, and casts a spell at Eliatris. The first taunts me, then assaults me with visions of the Foxglove Manor, my worst fears re-imagined. Having braced myself for a magical assault, I shake off the effects and charge forward, but as I swipe my hammer through him, he disappears with a laugh. Devin and Ash wade in behind us, but I keep my focus on the battle as more clones, or images or whatever, appear. In total, six men appear and disappear throughout the battle. I shake off the effects of spell after spell as we take them down one at a time. Only in the end, when they are growing desperate do they finally find a way past my defenses with Magic Missile and Scorching Ray. Ultimately, it proves too little too late, as we strike down the last of these clones. As I look around at the aftermath, I realize Devin was cut down trying to reach Ash. Luckily, Eliatris was able to rescue Ash from unconsciousness before she bled out, but we had to bring Devin back to the pool for resurrection.  First, though, the rest of us examine the area. I check out the dais, but find nothing of interest beyond the fact that the peacock is nothing more than an illusion. Ash, however, is more successful, as she locates a secret door at the back of the room.

Beyond the door is a small study where we find a man, deceased at least two years, who appears exactly as the ones we just fought. Eliatris studies the body and determines he died of old age in spite of appearing to be young. In his hands he holds a book, which we take with us. We pass through the next door, which opens into a hallway that leads to a library ruined by fire and force. We investigated a couple of connected rooms, but found them only to be filled with many clones like the ones we fought, but these were not alive. As we approach the final door, a woman suddenly pops into existence, seemingly from out of nowhere. She has dark skin, and gaudy, if clearly ancient, clothing. She is unconscious, so we decide to bring her back to the pool where we get some rest while this woman and Devin get back to health. While there, Ash takes some time to read it. Having studied the language so much, Ash has learned Thassilonian, and is able to read the book fairly easily without magical assistance. Apparently, the man we found was Vraxeris, an apprentice of the Runelord Xanderghul, and he had found a way to create many clones of himself. She then read us passages which referred to the Runeforge. From these passages we learn that Vraxeris and another apprentice, Delvahine of Sorshen, were working together against Karzoug’s rise to power. They had discovered a way to defeat Karzoug with the combined powers of Xanderghul and Sorshen. We would need to collect items from each of their wings and then somehow use the pool to infuse them with the correct power. Then, we’d have to find a way back to Golarion, which may be through the Wrath wing. Armed with this new information, I head back down the halls of Pride and gather a shard of the broken mirror. Upon my return, I discover that our floating friend informed the others that a white dragon followed us through the portal and went down one of the corridors, indicating the one we marked for Lust.

Session 29 – The Return of Freezemaw

After our rest, the young woman awakens and introduces herself as “Dottie”. She has a bubbly personality, and instantly takes a liking to Eliatris. She is an Azlanti wizard who entered the Runeforge in the early stages, before things changed. As time went on, and the denizens of the forge turned on each other, she used magic to hide herself until someone of good alignment happened by. She has been in hibernation since. She agrees to help us on our quest to stop Karzoug.

Not wanting to be caught unawares, we decide to follow the dragon down the corridor of the Runelord of Lust. After what seems like an eternity, we come to the end of the long corridor where we hear the sounds of combat up ahead. It sounds like our quarry has run into the remnants of whatever force still remained in this section of the Runeforge. We push ahead, and enter a large chamber with a very high ceiling. This cathedral features several tall columns carved in the shape of a beautiful naked woman. Several cages hang from the ceiling, almost like bird cages for human-sized creatures. Locked in combat are the denizens of the place, a few stone giants, a pair of shining children, five winged women of unknown origin, possibly demonic, and one woman of stunning beauty who appears to be in charge. All of those who remain alive are fighting against Freezemaw. As we enter the room, Freezemaw roars out for aid, and offers to let us live in return. Meanwhile, the woman in charge of the defenders issues a similar request, offering basically whatever we want. I look at the fearsome white dragon, remember being dropped on Eliatris, drown out the noise and charge the beast. The combat from there is a blur as I wade in with my hammer. Freezemaw breathes his cone of cold on the Shining Children, and their screams echo into nothingness as they pass into the next life. We pound on the dragon, and finally it is Ash with an alchemical sling bullet who gets the last shot that finally fells the beast.

Afterwards, we turn our attention towards the defenders, my guard still up against possible treachery. They show no inclination to attack, however, which may be primarily due to having lost several of their numbers and expended much of their magical energies. The woman in charge introduces herself as Delvahine, and announces she has no quarrel with us so long as we leave her alone. I inform her we need an item to help stop the rise of Karzoug. She agrees to give us something we can use, but requires something else in return first. She asks that Devin be allowed to spend an hour with her and the other women alone. After some debate, we all agree to the deal, and Devin enters the pavilion at the center of the cathedral. What happens there is best left to the imagination, but he does eventually exit, looking rather haggard and weak, with an item we can use to forge a weapon against Karzoug. We head back to the pool where Eliatris restores Devin back to relative normalcy, but we do discover a message carved into his back — “Need key to operate runewell.”

After resting for some time, we decide to check out the corridor of the Runelord of Envy. The walls of this much shorter corridor are decorated with murals mostly destroyed in what appears to have been a magical battle. As we near the top of a staircase, we are suddenly stopped by the appearance of a large, disembodied mouth that stretches across the ceiling. It shouts at us:

“Stop! These are the Abjurant Halls of Eager Striving. Know that your powers will be crushed and you shall die! You are not worthy!”

Undaunted, we push forward, and head down the wide staircase to a large, partially caved-in chamber. We find scattered, sooty remains of several humanoids, and the room flickers with sporadic flames. In the center of the room, a silver rod pulses with static discharge, and a hum fills the room. One of the exits to this room is collapsed, so we push through to the southern exit. Unfortunately, before all of us are completely out of the blast radius, the rod lets off a blast of magical energy that hits both Ash and Devin, rendering some of their magical items inert while destroying a couple of others. Ash removes her armor and other magical items, then heads back into the room to disable the rod before it unleashes another blast. After disabling it, she pulls it out of the ground, and takes it with her.

As she finishes up with her project, I move into the next chamber, a room that smells of mustard and vinegar. Suddenly, a yellowish-brown substance lurches at me, smacking me in the face. I back-pedal, accidentally stepping on one of Ash’s potions. The creature, and ooze of some kind, follows me and grabs hold. I drink a potion to enlarge but am unable to escape it’s grasp. In spite of it’s grip, I lash out with one of my axes, and Eliatris joins in as well. The creature splits in two, but eventually we put the strange creature down, and I come out of it relatively unscathed. We then push forward into the chamber the ooze emerged from, and search around. I find a hidden panel along one wall, and open it to reveal a small collection of potions and a lever. We gather the potions, and I try pulling the lever but nothing happens. Ash takes a look at it, and is able to fix it. I pull it again, and this time it sounds an alarm. I replace it, and we head back out of the odorous chamber.

We pass back through the main chamber and into another on the opposite side. This time we come to a room lit with decorative lanterns, and a tiled path leading to a mirrored surface. The surface appears to be a liquid of unknown substance, but when Dottie comes around the corner and sees it, she identifies it as something called ethillion, indicating that it is used in the forging of weapons. Given our current goals, it seems prudent to procure some, so we gather as much as we can in the empty flasks we have and head back out to the runewell, having explored all there is to see in this section.

Not knowing where else to go, we decide to return to the Runelord of Pride’s area in order to check out the last door that remained unopened from our previous exploration. We pass through the study, and into the burnt out library. Ash uses her gloves to peer through the door, and sees a bedroom with a bed and an armoire. We open the door, and from under the covers, several creatures stir. Six women, each a perfect copy of Delvahine, emerge from the sheets and hiss at us, moving into position to attack. Eliatris backs out of the room as two of the Delvahines begin casting. We gather in the library area as some of the clones rush out. In addition, multiple babau demons appear. Despite being outnumbered, however, we are able to dispatch our enemies with relative ease. We check out the bedroom, and find nothing further of interest. We then return to the runewell to determine our next course.

Session 30 — The Mean Man of Silver

After getting some rest, we decide to travel down the path of Greed. At the end of the long corridor, we arrive at a blank wall with a large iron door studded with colorful gemstones on the right-hand wall. The door does not appear to have a latch, but a depression in the center contains a keyhole. I immediately sense something is wrong, but after a quick study of the surrounding wall I can find no evidence of any other pathways.

Ash decides to check the door as I step back, using her magical gloves to see what lies beyond the door. As soon as she contacts the door, however, the somewhat expected trap is sprung as the door flies out, crushing Ash against the opposite wall. While the door is open, I am able to peer behind and note the pistons and a small chamber housing gears and counterweights with no evidence of anything beyond. Ash proves to be ok, if not a bit shaken up.

We check the surrounding walls again, and this time Ash discovers a secret door in the end wall. I sheepishly shrug an apology, then open the door to reveal a corridor filled with silver and gold runes. The far end of the corridor is filled with green mist and silver motes of light. Dottie recognizes the mist, and informs us it has the power to transform intruders into goldfish. She then steps forward and casts a Gust of Wind spell to temporarily displace the mist so that we may pass. We quickly rush through the corridor and emerge into a chamber tiled in ivory and containing a large fountain of water featuring an icy sculpture of a whale blowing water from it’s blowhole. Frolicking in the water are four small creatures that vaguely resemble the quasit we ran into below Sandpoint, but more blueish.

“Oh look! Another group of fleshies has come to slobber in our pool!” One of the creatures gleefully cries out. While initially annoying, they don’t seem overly hostile so we decide not to provoke them. They do continue to hurl insults, but just as we are about to leave, one of them says, “Oooh, be careful going that way or the mean silver man will get you.”

We ask them about the so-called Silver Man, but they offer up little beyond the fact that a man of silver keeps coming along and killing them. We decide to press on, taking the exit in the western wall. The corridor leads to another chamber, this one featuring another fountain, this time with a large stone statue of a wizard. I enter the room, and the statue immediately comes to life and attacks. We make quick work of the golem, but as it crumbles to the floor, we hear the sounds of more approaching from either direction.

I take up a position at one of the entrances while the rest wait at the other. As the golems step into view, we launch our attack. I have a little trouble with mine as my hammer gets embedded in it’s chest, but I grab one of my maul-axes and take the creature down. Behind me, Ash and Eliatris make quick work of theirs as well. A final golem approaches from my direction, and we take the thing down together.

Moving past this room, we come to another corridor, this one with three doors on the left and one on the right. Ash checks them, but there on no traps on them. Opening the doors to each room we discover storage rooms filled with raw materials such as linen, metal pipes and even some wood. I search around in one of the rooms and find a platinum rod, but when I remove it from the room it turns into rusted metal and crumbles in my hand.

Finding nothing further of interest, we continue on into the next chamber, containing another fountain where one of the golems no doubt used to live. The door on the far end, however, is made of wood as is the surrounding wall. Curious, I investigate the door and its surrounds, but find nothing peculiar. Ash then uses her gloves on the door to reveal a long chamber beyond filled with rows of thick worktables cluttered with books, scrolls, rope and various other items of the ilk. A dead dog with hind metal legs lies on one of the tables, and a scattering of cages contain a few other animals.

As we open the door, a silver-skinned figure floats into view. When he sees us, he announces, “I am Ordikon, and these are my belongings. Thieves are not tolerated.” He then casts a spell to make intangible copies of himself as we pile into the room. Ordikon fires a green ray at Devin, but the sturdy cleric takes the hit and keeps moving. I charge forward, and take out one of the images. Ordikon floats further up and casts a spray of colors at us. Eliatris disappears in a blink. Furious at the loss of a companion, I drink a potion to become large and attack. Devin and Dottie hit him with spells to minimal effect. Ordikon then creates a Wall of Force between me and him. I smash it down in three rounds, but he uses another spell to disappear before I can get to him. Having seen this trick before, we know he cannot be too far away.

We take a short rest as Dottie examined the books, then takes them after declaring they would be worth some money. We examine the northern door using Ash’s gloves which reveal a wide chamber filled with ten gleaming golden statues and a large beast that resembles a minotaur on steroids. We open the door, and the creature greets us, challenging us to free him. He states that he is bound here, and that if we were to free him, he would let us pass. We make an attempt to dispel the magic binding him, but it fails so we decide to just kill him instead. Dottie expresses some concern that he may be too powerful, but that has never stopped us before so we plunge ahead, with Dottie leading the charge. She throws a Shout spell at him while I charge in. Unfortunately, he manages to dispel my enlargement, then grabs me. I escape using my Ring of Blinking, but my attacks prove largely ineffectual from there. Devin’s attacks are far more effective, however, and after a few blasts of his divine energy, I am able to move in an deliver a killing blow.

We then advance through the next door where Ordikon was waiting. He blasts us with a fireball, but we charge ahead. He is floating above a pool of deep blue liquid decorated with flashes of lightning and gouts of flame. Ash uses her wand to give us the ability to fly, so I charge over the pool. Negative energy from the pool washes over me, but my strong fortitude and semi-ethereal nature provide all the protection I need. Ordikon, though, still had a few tricks as he reversed gravity in the room forcing the pool of liquid to “fall” to the ceiling, flooding over me. I take some damage, but continue on. He then reverses the gravity a second time, and after that I know I can’t take much more so I fly beyond the pool to engage him. He uses another dimension door to escape the room, but before he can close the door I charge through and deliver a final blow, much to his surprise.

We gather up what loot we find, then return to the hub to determine how to locate our missing companion.

Session 31 — The Court of Pestilence

After resting at the hub, Devin casts scry to locate Eliatris. The spell shows him an image of Eliatris sitting on a fallen stump in the middle of a festering swamp. The corpse of some distorted creature lies nearby and at least a dozen disease-riddled humanoids shuffle around the Paladin. Devin describes the scene, but only Dottie displays any recognition. She happily informs us that it must be the Plaguemere in Abaddon. The creatures standing around her are known as Petitioners who are waiting to be slaughtered by the “hunters”.

With a shrug, we prepare ourselves, and Devin casts plane shift to bring us to this forsaken land to rescue our Paladin. Upon arrival, we land upon a cobbled-together structure built from bones and flesh. The structure is weak, and easily collapses under our weight. Lying upon our backs from within the structure, we hear guttural growls from outside cut through a persistent buzzing sound that seems to come from all around. Nearby, a river of blood flows by, seemingly originating from a towering throne, miles tall, that stands tall over the surrounding landscape.

I quickly rise to my feat as the growling creatures emerge, dog-like and barking at our invasive arrival. Five of the creatures appear from out of the swamp, howling in an effort to draw us in. I move up to attack the two nearest creatures, claiming a solid blow. After a brief exchange, I slay one of the beasts, but they are proving more dangerous than I expected so I activate my ring of blinking. The others are assaulted by the remaining three, but Dottie casts forcecage to trap them. Once I finish off the other creature we quickly make our escape.

Dottie uses a sending spell to contact Eliatris and get a general idea of her whereabouts. She gives us general directions based on her position as it relates to the giant statue we see in the distance. Devin casts wind walk, and we begin making our way along the river. In the distance ahead, there is a city with lines of these hunted and a huge sluice gate controlling the flow of the red river. Once we arrive at the statue, we begin to head in the general direction Eliatris explained she was in. Using a staff in Dottie’s possession, we cast locate object a number of times until we finally locate her (and her helmet). Upon our arrival, we see that she is surrounded not only by a horde of the hunted, but also what Dottie would later describe them as leukodaemons, bird-like creatures with horse heads native to this realm.

While we re-materialize, Eliatris takes out one of the creatures, but her resources are nearly tapped out and she is knocked unconscious just as we are finally able to join the fray. Ash snipes at one with her sling-staff while I rush the other as it breathes a cloud of flies upon us. Devin rushes to our fallen companion, healing her with his divine magic. Ash cries out a warning that “something large” is coming. Indeed, we can now all hear the loud crashing thuds of a large creature stomping through the trees.

Moving quickly, we finish off the remaining two leukodeamons, then huddle together so that Devin can plane shift us back to the runeforge just as a gargantuan creature emerges from the swamp breathing something foul in our direction just as we disappear.

We arrive back in the runeforge in an unfamiliar location, huddled together upon a cross-shaped bridge spanning a dark pit of dizzying depths. At each of the four ends of the bridge, iron doors bar the way. In between each door is a large statue, each depicting different beings. Each statue is named, and three of them appear to be offering some kind of food or drink while the fourth bares an open mouth exposing file-sharp teeth. The statues are named thusly:

• Inib (grapes, bread)
• Gorryan (cheese, meat)
• Aanstrin (confections)
• Xerriock

We decide to investigate what is behind each door using Ash’s Reconnaissance Gloves. The first door she checks out is to the left of the statue holding some cheese. She finds no traps, then uses her gloves and reports the door is cold to the touch. Beyond the door is a pair of large crystal pylons with black sheet of energy draped between them. Lightning forks off the pylons into alcoves to the left and right.

The next door reveals a room littered with corpses covered in blue robes, their organs clearly having been removed. The third door conceals a hallway stretching off beyond view. The sides of the hall way contain a number of alcoves in which lie sarcophagi. Behind the last door lies a circular chamber with a door at the far end and ten skull carvings which appear to have actual flesh in their teeth.

Dottie and I begin to feel ill, and all of us are rather worn out from our rescue of Eliatris. After a brief discussion, we decide the round chamber is the most likely path back towards the hub. Fearful of what lies beyond, we decide that I can use my Ring of Blinking to pass through the doorway first. Unfortunately, this results in a shock of energy and two wraiths emerge from the walls to attack me. Knowing Devin can easily vanquish these creatures I risk getting shocked again and pass back through the door. After a second shock, two more wraiths appear, but as expected Devin blasts them with his divine energy and they are destroyed.

Changing strategy, Eliatris and I open the door, and this time there is no shock or emerging wraiths. I peer into the room, sensing space behind the faces. Ash turns into a gaseous cloud and enters the room. Several mummies then emerge from behind the faces, and both Ash and myself become paralyzed with fear. Dottie acts quickly, putting up a wall of force to block off three of the mummies. Devin blasts the other two mummies with his magic while Eliatris moves in to attack.

While battling these mummies, a more powerful mummy emerges and attacks. By this time, I have shaken off my paralysis and entered the fray. After a brief battle which leaves our enemies crumpled on the floor, we leave the room via the far door, which proves to lead back to the hub. We quickly head back there to rest. Devin and Eliatris do what they can for myself and Dottie. Both of us contracted some kind of diseases while on Abaddon, but most of the healing will have to wait until after we have rested.

Session 32 — A Glutton for Death

We rest for what passes as a night in the hub, and in the morning Eliatris and Devin combine their efforts to rid Dottie and I of our diseases and cure everyone of any further ailments. Devin determines that I had contracted both Demon Fever and Blinding Sickness while in Abaddon. Once cured, we make our way back along the path towards the section of the Runeforge we now know to be assigned to Gluttony. We reach the door at the end of the long path, open it and find the two mummies we had left behind shambling about.

Eliatris charges the first, landing a solid blow, then Devin follows that up with a blast of divine energy which drops the same mummy. The second mummy and I exchange a couple of blows before it too drops lifeless to the floor. We then proceed to the cross-bridge beyond, and assess our options. Dottie makes our decision for us as she opens the door to the electrical room. Inside, the black sheet of energy crackles between ten-foot tall purple crystals. The room is shockingly cold, and the walls are iron-plated. The same rune is drawn on each plate, an upside down ‘U’.

Dottie considers the scene and determines that the energy in this chamber must be connected to the Negative Energy Plane. This, she decides, is why the wraiths appeared when I attempted to cross through the door earlier. Fortunately, she does not believe it is a portal. Ash suggests the iron may be containing the energy or somehow directing its flow. Dottie moves in to the room, and attempts to scratch the surface of one of the crystals with a dagger. The crystal proves too strong for such mundane attempts to damage it, so I decide that a much stronger attempt should be made. I move in, lift my hammer and strike the crystal a mighty blow. A crack begins to appear, and so I hammer away a few more times until the crystal explodes in a shower of sparks and shards. With it’s destruction, the coldness in the room immediately went away, but also a large bat-like creature suddenly appears where the sheet of black energy had been.

A battle ensues in which the creature trades channeled energy with Devin, and Dottie tries several spells but is unable to pierce it’s spell resistance. In the end, it makes little difference as the combined assault of myself, Ash and Eliatris bring the creature down. We then search the room and the two alcoves. In one, I find a hidden cache containing scrolls of Plane Shift and Binding as well as a forked rod attuned to the Runeforge that is likely a component for the Plane Shift spells. There are also some books that seem to detail how to infuse a complex with negative energy.

Leaving this chamber, we move to the next door, across from the circular room with the mummies. Opening this door reveals the gruesome sight of six corpses scattered about the room missing various limbs and organs. Each corpse wears a uniform Dottie recognizes as priests of Zutha, the Runelord of Gluttony. Two additional doors exit this room, one each to the left and right. Ash checks the doors with her magical gloves, but both reveal hallways heading deeper into the complex. We choose the one on the left and are not terribly surprised to discover both paths lead to the same place.

The next room appears to be a research room complete with an alchemist lab, jars of preserved body parts, and a variety of books. Dottie quickly examines the books and determines them to contain information about the undead. Two more doors, again to the left and right, leave this chamber. This time, we choose the door on the right, and opening it reveals a U-shaped chamber with a number of alcoves containing urns. I decide that for once, I will be optimistic, and approach the urn to inspect with the assumption that I will find it empty. This proves false, however, asjust as I’m about to lift the top off, a mummy lurches out of the urn and attacks. It’s aura of despair catches me in a moment of weakness and causes me to become paralyzed with sadness.

While I contemplate the folly of my ways, my companions move to attack, or at least Eliatris and Devin do. I cannot see Ash or Dottie at this point. Eliatris moves past me to engage the mummy I unwittingly unleashed while Devin moves around to the other side of the u-shape. More mummies emerge from urns to attack Eliatris, and after some blows are exchanged, I finally break free of my despair and aid Eliatris in her battle. I go into a rage and smash the nearest mummy, but Eliatris is laid low by another just as she dispatches it.

Mummy rot sets in, dropping me into a catatonic state. A few moments later, I am awakened by a potion, force-fed by an invisible Ash. I rise up and seek out the nearest mummy, reaching it moments after it strikes Dottie down. Rampaging around the room, I lay waste to the remaining mummies, but with Eliatris, Devin, and Dottie all down, Ash and I decide to gather them up and retreat back to the hub. Dottie is reincarnated as a Bugbear by our floating friend, and with some potions we manage to revive the other two. We then rest for a while, heal up and head back to Gluttony, eager to finish off whatever evils lay within.

Upon our return we make our way to the alchemical  laboratory. All the doors exiting this hall are closed once again, indicating there must still be someone about. We head over to the door on the left, opposite the mummy room, and open it. Inside, the walls are lined with bookshelves containing various tomes, scrolls, and liquid-filled jars containing humanoid organs and flesh. A corpse lays upon a table in the middle of the room, and a sickly figure stands over it.

The creature looks up at us and smiles. “I am Xyoddin Xerriock”, he announces. “Master Aziven says I can eat you.” Xyoddin then pounces to the attack, moving far quicker than any of us expected. His eyes fixate on Devin who he manages to corner, leaving himself open to attack from other directions. After a few swift strikes from myself, Ash and Eliatris the creature collapses.

Dottie examines the books, finding them filled with information about how to create undead. Included in one of the books are instructions to hide the Runelord of Glulttony wherein his followers were to split his phylactery into three sections then later use them to bring Zutha back to life.

Remembering that Xyoddin referenced a master, we decide to keep searching around. We head back to the central chamber with the cross-bridge and head through the last door. This door leads to a wide corridor lined with alcoves containing bottles of wine. At the far lies a golden sarcophagus adorned with images of handsome man holding grapes and wine over his chest. Nearby is a statue resembling a woman with the lower torso of a serpent and a sihedron rune for a head. Devin recognizes this as the likeness of Lissala, goddess of runes.

I approach the sarcophagus and unsurprisingly, the statue attacks. The statue, which is really a clay statue, and I exchange some heavy blows but I ultimately prove the victor despite some rather nasty wounds. Devin expends a fair amount of his healing abilities to repair the damage.

After scouring the room and collecting the bottles of wine, we head back to the cross-bridge and decide to investigate the pit below. Ash casts fly on all of us and we head down only to discover it completely empty aside from the hundreds of empty sarcophagi lining the walls.

We fly back up and decide to head back to the room with the urns. The door is closed, so Ash checks it with her gloves. A mummy appears to be waiting on the other side. We don’t know if this is the “master” or not, but we decide to make a plan. I stand next to the door prepared to open it while Dottie readies a fireball. The others step away, out of the line of fire.

I open the door, but before Dottie can unleash her magic, the mummy lurches out and attacks me. I give it two solid blows and drop the creature before anyone else can react. As the creature dies, I notice its eyes were glowing a strange red. I mention this to Dottie and she suspects someone was using this creature as a vessel for remove viewing.

We step into the room beyond and begin searching around. I come across a secret door hidden behind one of the urns. Opening this door reveals a small room, really just a closet, that ends in another door. Opening that door reveals an even smaller room with no obvious exits. I enter, search the walls and find another secret door. Thinking cautiously, we decide to check what’s on the other side with Ash’s gloves. The room beyond is spacious and contains work tables and tools for working with corpses. Sitting with his back to us a robed figure. We decide this must be the master, and employ the same strategy as before.

This time, I open the door and Dottie is able to unleash her fireball. However, the blast splashes harmlessly upon an invisible barrier. I make a mental note not to bother with strategy again. The man sighs and turns to regard us. Upon seeing his weathered visage, we immediately realize we are dealing with a lich. The lich introduces himself as Azaven, and asks us about the outside world. Eliatris engages him, but her answers are unsatisfactory so he orders a large creature hidden behind an illusory wall to attack us. The creature floats above the floor, and its chest contains a ghostly forms who appear to be trying to escape. It is a frightful creature, but as usual we dispatch it with relative ease. Dottie then casts enlarge person on me and I proceed to hammer at the wall.

 

While the others wait for me to pound through the wall of force, Azaven summons a shadow creature to harass Ash who is flying around. I take a moment to swing my hammer at the creature, nearly killing it, before resuming my work on the wall. The others manage to finish it off. Finally, I break through the wall, but Azaven was waiting. He points at Devin and says “die!” while unleashing a finger of death spell. Devin is unable to resist the magical blast and he instantly crumbles to the floor.

Dottie then tries to use dispel magic on him, but it has no effect. The rest of us attack. Azaven responds with a prismatic spray spell that turns Eliatris to stone and electrifies Dottie. Ash managed to stay hidden and I merely shrugged off the effects. Using my ring of blinking to help avoid getting hit, and my stubborn will to live, I avoid the same fate as my companions and continue to pound on the lich necromancer. After dealing a heavy amount of damage upon him, Azaven decided to retreat using dimension door.

Ash and I decide to retreat rather than pursue him. We gather up our fallen comrades and head back to the hub where we get some rest before Ash uses one of the scrolls of plane shift to bring us back to Magnimar. There, we find a cleric to help resurrect Dottie and Devin. We also come across an arcanist named Zacartas who offers to help restore Eliatris in exchange for allowing him to join us on our attempt to clear the Runeforge. We are only too eager to agree.

Thinking it might be time to find some more recruits, Eliatris and Dottie remain in Magnimar to seek out additional help for stopping the rise of Alaznist. The rest of us, including Zac, prepare to finish off Azaven.

Session 33 — A Glutton for Death, part 2

Devin casts plane shift to return us to the entrance to the Ravenous Crypts. Devin peeks into the room with the crystals and notes that the one I smashed earlier has begun to regrow. I dutifully smash the new formation into smithereens. Ash proceeds to the door leading to the room with the blue-robed corpses, and “looks” through it with her gloves. She hears the strange sound of bone grinding on bone and notes that the corpses are no longer visible.

I open the door, and a hideous creation of bones and skulls steps into view. Zac immediately identifies the creature as a bone golem, citing that most magic will not affect it. I charge in and smash the creature with my hammer, but am then immediately imprisoned in some kind of strange bone prison the creature shot out of its arm. While the others move into the room to engage the creature, I attempt to use my ring of blinking to escape the cage to no avail. The cage somehow moves with me as I attempt to escape it. Meanwhile, six shadowy figures emerge from the walls to join the fight. Devin’s divine energy destroys them, and while I smash my way out of the cage, the others take down the golem.

We push into the next room where three wraiths emerge from the walls to attack. One of them deals me some strength damage, but between my hammer and Devin’s divine energy, we make quick work of them. We then move into the room where we previously located the secret door and open it. Ash moves in to “look” through the second secret door, but all she can see is darkness. Zac borrows the gloves and looks through himself since he can see in the dark.

Upon inspecting Azaven’s work room, he spies a creature he names a Devourer. It is an undead creature likely summoned from another plane. By his description, it is the same kind of creature we had encountered the last time we were here. Despite Zac’s warnings, we prepare to proceed into the room.

I open the door, and it hits me with a ray of enfeeblement. Zac uses an ability similar to dimension door to “step” to the far side of the room then blasts the creature with scorching ray which nearly destroys it. I step forward and with a swing of my hammer finish the job.

From behind us, the lich Azaven suddenly appears from behind an illusory wall that was previously not so illusory. He then targets me with a chain lightning spell which hits me and all of my companions. Then, a pair of spectres appear at the far side of the room next to Zac, and attack him. Zac turns pale and appears on the cusp of dying in his first adventure with us. Thinking quickly, he “steps” back to between Ash and myself then casts a wall of force to block Azaven from us.

I then move into the room and attack the spectres. Azaven, using a mage hand, continues to harass us so the rest of the group follows me in and gets around the corner to avoid further attacks from him. We then finish off the spectres and Devin heals us up. Zac then casts enlarge person on me, and drops the wall of force. Azaven charges into the room. He casts his own wall to block me from him, but Zac quickly removes that obstacle with a disintegrate spell.

Devin begins channeling his divine energy while Ash pesters Azaven with her sling bullets. Azaven attempts a prismatic spray, but Zac manages to counter it, and the spell fizzles out. Zac then casts dispel magic on him, reducing some of his defenses. I smash the lich with my hammer, but before I can do further damage, he disappears in a blink. Frustrated, I begin smashing anything I can find in the room, including any wall space I suspect of hiding a secret door.

Meanwhile, Zac and Ash work together to locate the actual secret door in the floor, and open it up to reveal a room filled with dancing purple energy. Zac sticks his head down the opening, but before he can examine the room he is forced to counter a finger of death spell cast by Azaven. He quickly pulls back out then casts a fireball into the hole. Ash then decides to take a look herself and gets struck by another finger of death, but fortunately she survives the attack.

My patience for this dance has exhausted, so I wiggle my way down the small opening and confront the lich. The purple energy washes over me, but I ignore the damage it inflicts and attack. The lich then turns gaseous and disappears into one of three sarcophagi. I quickly follow and open the lid, at which point my quarry casts fear upon me. Overcome by panic, I leap from the room and sprint for the hub.

Later, when my companions catch up to me, I sheepishly apologize, but they inform me that they finished off the lich and destroyed his phylactery using a pit of acid Zac created. They also managed to retrieve many of his items, including several spell books that Zac seems particularly interested in.

We decide to get some rest and prepare for our next foray into a wing of the runeforge.

Session 34 — The Cleansing of Sloth

We return to Magnimar, where the priests of Iomedae have set us up with a resting area from which we can easily plane shift back and forth from the Runeforge at Eliatris’s urging. Ash and Devin head out to meet with her while Zac remains behind to study his new spellbooks. I take a stroll to a nearby tavern known as the Blue Bunyip and indulge in a few drinks before returning to the cathedral for a night’s rest. By morning, Devin and Ash have managed to recruit two new adventurers eager to aid us. A half-orc named Takar proclaims himself a kineticist. I have no idea what this means. Ash, meanwhile, found an interested Chelaxian named Roy who appears to like playing with flasks of potent magic. He also carries a strange monkey on his shoulders whom he named Ed. I am not sure whether I am inspired by this pair or not, but we prepare to return to Runeforge nonetheless.

Zacartas gathers us together in a circle, chants the words to the spell, and we soon find ourselves back at the hub. Choosing randomly between the two remaining wings, we head down the passage towards sloth. We open the door at the end of the long corridor and find ourselves in arguably the most disgusting place any of us has ever been. Rivers of slime flow along channels in the floor, passing beneath metal bridges connecting nearby walkways, then disappearing beneath the walls. The air permeates with a noxious stench, assaulting our senses, while the slim-encrusted walls make more than one of us nearly gag.

Ash immediately pulls forth one of her wands and offers to cast fly on anyone who wants it. Zac casts the same spell on me which will last longer while Ash uses her wand on the others. I move off to explore the area, and am mildly surprised by slimy centipedes and other insects crawling along the wall. Distancing myself from them, I continue down one of the corridors. The others eventually follow, and we make our way to a large chamber with four standing platforms connected by walkways. The platform at the far end holds three large levers. Roy and Zac head over to investigate them.

While Zac is using some spell to wipe the slime from one lever’s slime-encrusted plaque without touching it, a pair of figures rise up out of the slime and attack them. Zac instantly “steps” across the room to get out of harm’s reach and then disappears altogether while I charge over to engage the new threat. Before I get there, however, the two creatures disappear back into the slime and almost immediately reappear behind me near the rest of my companions.

One of the creatures grabs Takar and begins to pull him into the slime. Zac cries out that these are Omox Demons, then hits one with a scorching ray which has minimal effect. I charge and smack the same one with my hammer, and Devin casts freedom of movement on Takar to help him wriggle out of the demon’s clutches. Ash flies out of the way and begins to pelt them wither her sling bullets.

The demons slip back and cast stinking cloud on some of us, but then Takar casts some kind of spell that appears to blast the target with metal shards. Zac, meanwhile, switches tactics and hits the demons with a blast of ice. Another blast from each and the demons are down. Once we are confident the danger has passed, Zac returns to the far platform and finishes cleaning off he plaques above the levers. They are written in Thassilonian, but apparently Zac can read that. He announces that the levers are labeled “Access Control”, “Portal Control, ” and “Warning! Cleaning Cycle”. Roy seems to think the cleaning one will open up the grates in the ceiling and pour something into the room.

We decide to head back to the entrance to heal up and consider our options, then make our way down another corridor into another chamber. This chamber contains an area where multiple channels intersect to form a sort of whirlpool of slime. We follow the corridor beyond this point to an area that seems to sit on the other side of the chamber with the platforms. Here we discover inter-dimensional portals where the slime is pouring out from. We quickly return to the room with the levers where I pull on the one marked “Portal Control”. There is the sound of crackling energy, and then the flow of slime slowly trickles to an end. I then pull the lever marked “Access Control” which opens several portcullises.

Wary of the final lever, Roy hands me a necklace that will help me breathe should the situation call for it. The others than head off for the entrance, and I pull the lever. A deluge of water cascades down from the grates in the ceiling. I turn away to avoid the splash, and when I turn back a large water elemental is standing in the middle of the room.

The elemental starts towards me as I stand there staring dumbly at the creature then it suddenly veers off and begins to clean the walls. I furrow my brows, shrug my shoulders and head back to the entrance to inform the party of what happened. We then continue exploring, moving past a now open portcullis in the chamber with the whirlpool.

Beyond this portcullis is a large room filled with slime. I move into the room, and suddenly two strange-looking creatures rise up out of the slime and attack. I attack back, and after a few exchanges, I defeat the creatures with little help from my comrades. Zac informs us these creatures are some kind of qlippoth, which he explains ancient beings thought to be extinct. Their appearance here could be a sign that they are still around, or that these two could have been trapped here when it was created. I shrug and move on.

Beyond that chamber is a set of double doors. Opening those doors reveals a chamber which smells even worse than the others, which until now seemed impossible. A small walkway overlooks a pool of filthy, foamy water below. The pool is fed by a large pipe at the far end of the room, which in turn is fed by a flow of slime through the air from four more pipes in the corners. Floating above the central pipe is a fat man in a throne. He appears mildly annoyed at our presence as he declares, “I am Jordimandus, Runekeeper of Sloth!”

Devin casts flame strike, but the spell gets absorbed by the rod he wields. I charge in, but am stopped as tentacles reach out from one of the pipes to block my path. I engage with the creature. Zac moves up and enlarges me with one of his spells, but Jordimandus casts dispel magic on me and dismisses fly.

A mud elemental then rises up from the pool below to engage us. Roy throws bombs at it while Takar move sup to throw a spell at Jordimandus. Like Devin’s, though, his spell is absorbed. I destroy the creature with the tentacles, then watch as the mud elemental falls dead. I did not see what killed him, but a second one quickly rises to take it’s place. Then a qlippoth appears leaving Roy, Ash, and Devin paralyzed with disgust.

The battle became even more intense as an air elemental suddenly appears and takes up Jordimandus in a whirlwind, disrupting whatever spell he was about to cast. I attack the qlippoth, quickly putting an end to it while Zac uses a dispel magic to get rid of a second one I failed to notice. More creatures attack from the corner pipes, but we quickly put an end to them as well as the second mud elemental.

Jordimandus somehow manages to dispel the elemental, but with his minions now taken care of we can focus more solely on him. He attempts to cast a spell at me, but Zac manages to counter it. Jordimandus took offense to this, and cast another spell at Zac who was unable to dispel a second time and was immediately turned to dust. We quickly finish off Jordimandus from there, then root through his belongings. Among them, we discover a recipe for imbuing weapons with the power to defeat Karzoug. We hold on to it for later use, then quickly leave the foul-smelling area behind and return to Magnimar to rest and heal, being sure to pick up Zac’s ashes on the way out.

Session 35 — The Marble Halls of Wrath

We pick up another expensive diamond to resurrect Zac, and do some additional selling and buying of equipment before making our way back to the Runeforge. Before heading towards the halls of wrath, we check out the list of items we need for imbuing weapons and quickly return to the area of Greed to collect water from the fountain. The water mephits seem to have multiplied in our absence, but they are happy to see us and do not interfere with our task.

We return to the hub, and begin our long march down towards the halls of wrath. The long corridor turns from regular stone to marble as we approach the opening at the end. There is no door blocking our path, but instead the hall opens into a large rectangular chamber. At the far end is a thirty-foot high ledge upon which stands an iron statue wielding a bow. The far wall is also covered in a massive mural depicting a woman with crimson hair riding a red dragon and wielding a burning ranseur. I study the chamber in awe of the work that must have gone into creating it, and the wealth required to use so much marble.

Ash retrieves a wand from her belongings, and casts fly upon herself. This apparently invoked locomotion in the statue as it immediately grinds to life and unleashes a burning arrow in our direction. Zac calls out that this is an iron golem, which is immune to most magic. We advance into the room as the golem continues to fire upon us, his arrows changing energy type each time. I also note that it appears to fire upon whomever is closest to him at the time. I cautiously make my way across the room, careful not to accidentally set off any traps. Zac, however, uses his magic to step across the room to directly below the golem. This proves foolhardy as the golem flies out from his ledge and aims his shots downward. He quickly retreats back to where he started before moving forward to cast fly on me.

Meanwhile, Ash, Roy and Takar are launching their attacks as we advance across the room. Armed with the ability to fly, I charge the iron creation and smash it. The blow causes shards of iron to cast off in all directions. One such shard caught my ear, temporarily deafening me. With the iron golem destroyed, I continue up to the ledge, landing there then fishing out a potion of healing to cure the wounds I suffered. The others soon follow, some flying, others using our rope of climbing to reach the ledge. Together, we continue through the next hall to a smaller chamber where we discover a pair of circles engraved in the floor. The closer of the two is red, while the further is blue.

Zac takes a look at the circles and is able to identify them as circles of teleportation, but he cannot determine where they lead. After some deliberation, we decide on an order of entry. I volunteer to go first, and step into the red circle. Nothing happens. I peer quizzically back at Zac who shrugs and suggests it may be an arrival circle. I then step to the blue one and am immediately teleported to another chamber. The chamber I find myself in is small, but a narrow and very short passage leads to a much larger chamber where I recognize a few strange creatures as similar to the sinspawn we fought below Sandpoint. These ones, however, are wielding axes. Beyond them, a half-dozen women wearing warrior garb and wielding greatswords glare angrily in my direction.

I immediately remove myself from the teleportation circle and take cover behind one of the walls near the exit. The sinspawn approach and surround me, forcing me to draw one my of maulaxes and fight in close quarters. Takar arrives next, and two of the sinspawn move to attack him, but it’s the bombardment of magic missiles from the warriors that poses the true threat. Takar gets hit hard and tries to retreat to a back corner, but this proves only mildly effective as he gets bombarded a second time. Roy appears next and quickly moves to the side before drawing out some of his potion bombs and tossing them at the sinspawns. Devin arrives next, and quickly moves behind Roy. Takar takes the opportunity to meld into the wall and soon emerges next to Devin pleading for healing.

One of the sinspawn attempts to taunt me, which proves a fatal mistake as I focus all of my energy on him and destroy him with a few hits. Roy throws some more bombs at the others, killing a few more, and leaving only a couple remaining. Ash then arrives, and moves over to join the others. Takar casts a spell to place a wall of magma between us and the women warriors. It provides some measure of cover, but not enough. Grouped up as we are, the nice ladies from the other room take the opportunity to launch fireballs at us. This destroys the remaining sinspawn, but also leaves us significantly weakened. The battle appears somewhat grim until Zac arrives, diagnoses the situation, and casts black tentacles upon the floor where the ladies are standing. As the name implies, black tentacles suddenly appear writhing and grasping up from the floor, and take hold of the women. Their strong grip render the warriors entangled and unable to free themselves or cast any more spells.

Ash casts freedom of movement on me. I then use my ring of blinking to pass through the wall and bypass the wall of magma before wading into the black tentacles and finishing off the warriors one at a time with my hammer. Ash takes a moment to inspect the blue departure circle, which was inactive. She determines a way to activate it, and does so to give us a means of escape should we need it.

The main chamber here contains a number of practice dummies plus a pair of chambers to either side housing additional teleportation circles. Unable to determine which leads where we randomly choose the right side and enter the circle in the same order. I arrive first in the next chamber, this one filled with four large vats of some disgusting fluid. Of more immediate concern though are the nine warrior women who immediately cast magic missiles at me. Fortunately, the combination of my ring of blinking  and inherent spell resistance mitigates the damage a bit, so I move forward to engage two of the women with confidence. Takar arrives next and immediately melds into the stone, hoping to avoid another one of their volleys. They strike at me again, but again the damage is less than it should be. Roy arrives next, and Takar re-emerges to blast one of the women with one of his spells. The women retaliate with some fireballs.

The two engaged with me press forward, forcing me back, but I manage to take one down as Devin appears. The other women cast another round of fireballs, and this time Takar is taken down. Devin appears significantly wounded as well. He chooses to heal Takar first, then makes his escape through the departure circle just as Roy finished activating it. Ash arrives next, but she is quickly put down by a volley of magic missiles. Finally, Zac arrives and places a wall of force to block off five of the warriors. Takar goes back into the wall and Roy goes invisible. Zac then shoots forth his own magic missile, killing one of the warriors, and knocking another down. Takar emerges from the stone and finishes off the prone one. I overrun my final opponent, then finish her off as she attempts to stand up.

Devin reappears and helps heal those of us who are still standing. Zac consults one of the spellbooks he picked up in the runeforge then casts a spell to bring Ash back to life, at least temporarily. He then steps to the far side of the room where the women launch scorching rays at him. Luckily, he had the rod of absorption we picked up from Jordimandus and it absorbed the spell power from them. He then cast magic missile back at them, knocking most of them down. Unfortunately, he failed to drop the wall he had created before they could rise back up and hit him with some fireballs. Realizing his error, he drops the wall, then steps back the other side. I charge up to challenge two of the warriors in melee. Takar creates a wall of magma beneath the feet of the other three, forcing them to move off. Ash, Takar, and Zac each then take turns killing one warrior each while I take care of the two I engaged.

We study the room a bit, and determine that the vats and the oozing contents were used to create the sinspawn. The room otherwise provides little of interest. We then return to the previous hall and prepare for the next. Once again, we step through one at a time. This time, I am not greeted with an immediate threat. Instead, I step into a chamber made from polished granite. Spidery glyphs cover the ceiling which is covered with a mural of the same crimson-haired woman from earlier, but this time she is standing atop a burning tower of stone. The room is lit by glowing swords and ranseurs set into the walls, except for one side which is blocked by a wall of black billowing smoke. I step off the circle and wait for the others to arrive, which they do in short order.

Zac looks at the smoke, then casts detect magic, quickly determining it to be a magical creation. He then casts dispel magic upon it, and the smoke disappears to reveal a large hall beyond. Crimson stone pillars rise sixty feet to the ceiling, running down the length of the hall on either side. At the center of the room, a huge seven-pointed star made of silver is engraved into the floor and surrounded by a circle of low-burning flame. Floating high above the circle is a woman wielding a flaming ranseur. She screams “For fury and hellfire!” and prepares for battle.

Session 36, part 1 — The Lady of Fire and Fury

Roy steps up into the room while Ash retreats to examine the departure circle. In a brief flash of light, a pair of Vrock demons appear, and charge forward to attack. They breathe some kind of spore cloud which infects myself, Zac and Devin. Meanwhile, the floating lady casts a spell and creates a duplicate of herself floating a bit in front of and below her. Zac casts enlarge person on me, then attempts to hit the woman with dispel magic. It doesn’t appear to work, however.

There is a crackle of energy from behind us, and I turn to see another dwarf suddenly appear. I recognize him from my days in Janderhoff as a warpriest of Nethys named Thord Stonehammer. I grin, remembering his fighting prowess from our time spent in various taverns. He hails me, and I respond by screaming a battle cry and smashing the vrock in front of me, destroying it utterly. Takar creates a column of flame beneath the lady, but it does nothing to impact her or her duplicate. Roy throws a pair of bombs at the other Vrock, killing it. Ash goes invisible as a cloud of cloying blackness rises up around us. I move up to escape the cloud, but am stopped in my approach by an invisible creature which smacks me pretty hard. I peer into the area where it must be and see the vague outline of what appears to be a miniature stirge.

Roy and Ash suddenly appear further into the room, behind one of the pillars on the right. It looks as though they used a dimension door spell. The lady casts again, and this time the gravity in my space reverses. Thord, who had also moved up, and I are lifted from the floor and “fall” to the ceiling which happens to be teeming with flames. Roy throws a bomb at the duplicate, but it doesn’t seem to affect it. In retaliation, the lady casts another spell and a spectral sword appears, moving quickly to attack Roy. Zac attempts to dispel the image, but fails to do so.

Using the fly spell that had been cast on me earlier, I charge forward to attack the image. Unfortunately, my attack proves as useless as Roy and Zac’s efforts. Thord, standing on the ceiling, creates a spectral sword of his own and moves it to attack the lady, but it fails to get to her, blocked by what I know identify as a wall of force. The stirge-looking creature moves toward Takar, who had been moving up the left side, and suddenly appears in his true form as a Glabrezu and attacks. The lady’s duplicate casts prismatic spray at myself and Thord, but it has little effect.

Seeing an opportunity to smack something, I fly at the Glabrezu and smack it with my hammer. Zac, still suffering the effects of the spores, casts stoneskin upon himself to prevent further damage, then consults one of his spellbooks. Takar melds into the stone column, and the Glabrezu teleports to the other side of the room to engage Devin and Zac. I turn as Devin finishes casting a harm spell, causing the Glabrezu to cry out in agony. He then quickly retreats. Zac follows suit, stepping to the other side, then uses a disintegrate spell to bring down the wall of force before crying out “She’s vulnerable!”

I charge after her, and swing at her taking away one of her mirror images. Thord sends his spectral sword after her, but she ignores it and closes to attack me. Her sword passes through me three times as I blink. The Glabrezu attacks Devin, who further retreats from the room. Zac then casts dispel magic upon the lady, this time causing her to fall to the floor, and probably removing some other spells as well. I fly down after her and engage her in combat. Thord casts some kind of spell on her, but its effects are not visible. Roy throws a bomb at the demon, but then slips and falls attempting to throw a second. The lady calls for her Glabrezu to attack me. It moves around a column and approaches, then casts power word stun on me, leaving me temporarily immobilized. It then dies from its many gaping wounds.

Takar creates wall of magma beneath the lady’s feet, but she moves up and attacks me with a vampiric touch, damaging me and healing herself before exiting the magma completely. Zac, recognizing the danger I am in, casts another wall of force between she and I, splitting the room nearly in two. He then steps to the other side to avoid retaliation. Takar, alone on her side of the room, melds into a nearby column. Thord casts another spell, this time on the companions nearest him. Devin rushes up to heal me just as I recover from the stun spell. Suddenly, I realize there are two Ashes running around. One of them uses dimension door to take herself and Roy to the other side of the wall while the other remains crouched behind a column.

Zac then steps back to the other side and casts a spell that creates the sound of shattering bone within the lady. He follows that up with an acid pit below her feet, but she quickly steps back to avoid it. Takar steps out of the column again, and she casts prismatic spray at him, Roy and Ash. It appears to have a relatively minor effect, damaging only Takar a little bit. Takar strikes back with a spell of his own, entangling her with shards of dirt and rock. Roy then throws a bomb at her, finishing her off. We take a moment to recover from the battle and heal up. We then search her for items, which includes a key for the runeforge. We examine the list of material we need, and determine that we must burn things in the fire created in this room. We do so, then return to the hub.

We examine the forge, and quickly determine how to make it work. We then decide that we will imbue my hammer, Thords amulet, Devin’s scimitar, and Ash’s staff-sling. I mix the ingredients, and dip my hammer into the forge, calling upon the power to defeat abjuration, which opposes the school I most closely resemble, evocation. I feel the hammer become infused with the ability to destroy abjurists. Devin steps up next, and calls upon the runeforge to imbue his weapon with the power to defeat transmutation, Karzoug’s school. Suddenly, the statue of Karzoug comes to life, and speaks.

“You. Again. I can’t help but be inspired by your optimism, but alas, your weapons will never reach Xin-Shalast. Your fate is death, here in Runeforge.”

The statue then turns and attacks Ash. Zac calls out that it is a stone golem and casts enlarge person on me. I step up, but miss terribly with my swing. Zac then casts enlarge person on Thord, who steps up and delivers a series of powerful blows. Takar casts his favorite spell, which sends shards of metal flying at the golem. I take another three swings, but all of them miss again. Roy then throws bombs at the golem, destroying it. I stare at my hammer, feeling betrayed.

Thord then imbues his amulet, infusing it with the power to defeat transmutation. Ash follows with her staff, gaining the ability to defeat enchantment. We then return to Magnimar to prepare our plan to seek out Xin-Shalast and Karzoug.

The adventure continues in “Spires of Xin-Shalast“.