The Ingaran Adventures
Episode 42
“The Sigil Hearth”
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Lord
Issic: Half Human, Half Gold
Dragon Warrior
Lady India: A gypsy Bard/Shadow Dancer
Lord Phaidon: A Tamer of the Beasts
Uisdean: An Awakened Panther
Cthaat: A young warrioress
Anathek Dar: Priest of Olanigan
Xorkilanthat: Anathek's aid.
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The Time: Autumn, Drauj 5, 6th year, 8th
Age
The Place: Talishar – The main occupation
of Talishar's residents is fishing. There are a small handful of hunters as
well, and a few farmers have cleared land to the south for small crops, although
the forest is so thick and fertile, it is a constant struggle to fight off the
encroaching woods that seek to reclaim the cleared spaces.
Phaidon asked, "Now, what?" Drabat was
in jail, what else was there?
"Good idea. Let us find out about these 'Graven Ones'. My friend
should be able to lead us to where Drabat put into shore across the lake."
"Excellent." She asked Uisdean, the
panther, if he could lead them there. Uisdean indicated that he didn't follow
the guy across the lake, but he should be able to pick up his trail.
"Good enough," said
"Of, course," said the panther. He started around the lake,
looking for scents as he went.
Phaidon took a deep breath and smiled. He thought to himself, "It
is good to be back in the woods."
The trail then led into dense coniferous woods along a narrow, ill-used
trail. Six miles through these woods they came to a single, dark-stone keep,
with a small courtyard bailey surrounded by a 15 foot high stone wall. A slate-shingle
roof topped the two story keep. From inside the walls of this fortress came
cries of surprise and shouts of dismay. A purple glow extended over the wall.
Phaidon overheard the spellcaster's voice, and recognized
that the spells Chains of Vengeance and Wall of Fire had been
cast.
"Someone is casting spells in there," said Phaidon. "Powerful
spells. One of them was a fire wall and the other was chains
of vengeance, I believe."
Issic snorted. "Interesting that this is going on so close to the
town with no one making any kind of fuss about it"
"It is six miles out, in heavy woods," pointed out
Phaidon nodded. "Well, let us get in there and see what all
the ruckus is about." Phaidon ran after
Within the courtyard, a strange sight greeted them. Fully one half of
the bailey had become deep mud, with three men and women struggling to get out
of it, and three times that number seemingly bathing in the mud. A twenty foot
high wall of violet fire cut off the rest of the courtyard from view.
Looking closer, they noticed two of the three trying to get out were covered
in tattoos and had leathery skin. One of those three noticed the newcomers.
She yelled, "She's gone mad! You've got to stop her! She's behind the
Wall of Fire!"
"Who is behind the wall?" roared Issic.
"Tyrestina!" was the answer to Issic's
query.
"Fire is your specialty, Issic," said Phaidon. "Can you
see who is on the other side?"
Issic shrugged. He flew over the mud and pulled one of the three out
of the mud and set her down next to
Issic and Uisdean saw shimmering sphere, and within that sphere stood
a human woman with long black hair. Covered in tattoos and symbols, she held
a bright red wand and laughed maniacally. Three terrible, spine-covered, sulfur
breathing beasts stood outside the sphere, pawing at the ground, and a huge
hulking brute with gray leathery skin and six eyes crouched protectively next
to it. Near her, struggling in vain to free themselves from chains made of fire,
two rune covered men in robes lay on the ground.
Anathek said, "When the enemy is unknown, then attack the strategy
of the enemy!" He cast air walk and moved across the mud, running over
the heads of the bathers. Touching down on the far side, Anathek reached into
the wall of fire, yelling, "Olanigan! Use my hands! Rip this magic from
the unknown asunder!" He cast dispel magic, but the wall stood
against his will, burning his hands.
The panther yelled, "There is a crazy woman in a sphere on the other
side of the wall!" The panther roared and screeched at the assembled mob
on the other side, trying to draw the fiendish boars away from the lady so the
others wouldn't have to worry about them. The boars roared back, trying to
climb up the wall to get to the tasty-looking panther.
Issic picked up a rock and threw at the woman as he flew through the wall
of fire. The fire licked around him, but his dragon heritage protected him
from the fire-bath. The stone passed through the magical sphere and bounced
off the tattooed woman. The woman, Tyrestina,
cold screamed at Issic, a shrill shriek that made Issic shiver with cold,
ice forming on his heated scales.
The gray render reached up on the wall and smacked Uisdean, nearly knocking
the panther off the wall to the grasp of the fiendish boars.
Phaidon grabbed the mud-covered, nearly nude woman that Issic dropped
off and demanded, "What is going on here?"
"She's gone mad! You've got to stop her! She's behind the Wall
of Fire!"
"Why should we trust you?"
The tattooed woman threw up her hands in frustration, splattering mud
all around her.
Phaidon saw
Cthaat Angartha drew out her sword, but she wasn't sure who the bad guys
were. What if the "crazed woman" was the good guy, defending herself
from the others? She apparently hadn't killed anyone. She tried to peer into
the windows of the keep. Not seeing anyone, but hearing the combat on the other
side of the wall of fire, she followed Phaidon and
Anathek, standing in the blistering heat of the fire wall, ignoring the
blackening of his skin, cast dispel chaos on the woman. Nothing happened.
The spell fizzled on the globe surrounding the woman.
Uisdean jumped past the render to attack the woman. The render turned
around and chomped its jaws at the panther, catching a piece of skin, drawing
blood, as it passed. The panther ignored the pain and landed on the ground,
pouncing up and at the woman. She ducked around the panther and laughed again.
Issic landed next to the woman and swung his thundering human bane
mace of mighty cleaving repeatedly. She put up her arms and the red wand
to defend herself from the brutal beating, but Issic
was unrelenting. She tried to scream that she hadn't killed anyone, begged
the half-dragon not to kill her, but the mace screamed for her blood and so
Issic continued to bash her with the horrible weapon, knocking her down to her
knees, breaking her bones. She stopped laughing when her arm broke under the
savage attack. Issic smashed her hips in with a back-handed swing, and she
fell to her side, one hand held out to stop the blows. Issic growled and brought
the mace down on that upraised hand, splintering hand and arm, knocking it aside.
Through bloodied lips she tried to apologize, begged for mercy, she hadn't killed
anyone, just made them bathe in mud, even kept her summoned beasts on her side
of the wall. Unforgiving, Issic lifted up the mighty mace and crashed it down
square on her pretty skull, caving it in, reveling in the resulting splash of
blood, brains and bits of bone. Issic roared in victory as thunder rolled.
At her death, the wall of fire vanished, and the chains of fire
that wrapped around the two men puffed out of existence.
Phaidon, on the wall, unleashed a volley of arrows at the gray render.
It responded with an angry roar, trying to get to the ranger.
When the wall of fire went down, Xorkilanthat saw the battle with the
fiendish boars and the grey render. He ran and jumped, using the heads of the
men and women bathing in the mud as stepping stones. He knocked three unconscious,
and broke one woman's neck as he jumped from head to head. Finally on the other
side, Xorkilanthat attacked one of the fiendish boars with his heavy Drychtnothian
war-blade.
Anathek, seeing his companion bravely running into the battle, pulled
out his battle axe, and, with a wild cry attacked the giant render, running
up through the air. Uisdean and
Issic, invigorated by the brutal killing of the woman, brought the mace
to bear against the nearest fiendish boar, smashing its body against the keep
wall. It slumped to the ground with a dead thump, leaving a bloody smear on
the wall. Issic looked around for anything else that wanted a taste of the death-dealer
that he was.
Anathek swung his battle axe in wide arcs, slaying a fiendish boar as
Phaidon shot the render with arrows. The render finally fell dead to the ground.
"The blood of a beast is not worthy of sacrificing to Olanigan, but
it's good practice," muttered Anathek.
The people who had been bathing in the mud climbed out, wondering at their
actions. They pulled out the three unconscious ones, and the poor girl with
the broken neck. One man in particular crawled, covered in mud, to the dead
girl and cradled her in his arms, crying. Others came out of the keep to help
the mud covered ones. One of the men Xorkilanthat ran on had a black eye from
the ranger's heel, and one of the women had a broken nose and a split lip.
She had looked up at the last second when Xorkilanthat's
foot came down.
Anathek Dar looked the mud-covered men and women over casually. As a
Drychtnothian, brutality didn't phase him in the slightest.
He was impressed by the beauty of the mud-covered nude women. Even the dead
one looked pretty good, at least for a dead person. Anathek turned his back
on the rescue efforts. There was a dead witch to loot, after all.
Walking to the ruined body of the tattooed witch, he said, in a dry voice,
"Ah, the spoils of war." Rogue arcane spell casters should
be killed. He reached down for the red wand.
Phaidon said, "Be careful of that wand, it might be cursed or something."
Anathek stood back and motioned for Xorkilanthat to loot the ruined body. The
ranger, also inured to death, nodded and started stripping the body of its belongings,
cleaning off the gore as he did so with his cloak. He set aside a mirror, a
ring, and the red wand. He noted that the tattoos on the woman were similar
to the symbols on Drabat's dagger.
An elderly woman comes out of the keep. She was in gray robes and had
runes covering her flesh as well as her wooden staff. She was also terrified.
She and her graven ones had been through an ordeal, but she did not know who
these brutal new-comers were. She saw the women helping her hurt graven ones,
but she also had seen one of the men run over those helpless in the mud, jumping
on their heads, and the demonic one she saw brutally slaughter the crazed Tyrestina.
She drew a breath, calming her nerves. She saw Phaidon and decided he had a
nice face. She approached him.
"I am Erepoth," she said, "Leader
of the graven ones. Thank you for your help."
Phaidon said, "Glad we could help, Erepoth.
What has been happening here?"
"A horrible disease, I am afraid. I am worried, however, that more
are infected with this horrible malady, which seems to turn otherwise good hearted
people into near fiends."
Issic, covered in Tyrestina's gore, walked over and said, "What exactly
has transpired here? Who was that? Why was she here?"
"She was one of our graven ones, half dragon. She was one of the
good ones."
Phaidon asked, "Why do you folk cover your bodies in runes like that?"
"We transform ourselves into living magic items," she said.
"Living magic items? Interesting. What
has befallen the good people to cause these actions?"
"Yes," growled Issic. "You call this a malady. What is
that cause?"
"Long ago," she began, nervously. She hated to admit the half-dragon
unnerved her. "At least seven centuries, there was an evil cult devoted
to the demon god, Ochremeschk. The cult's central
temple was once located in the area around Talishar. They committed horrible
atrocities in their god's name, sacrificing hundreds and hundreds of innocent
victims, this area ran red with their spilt blood. The temple was a haven for
demons and fiends and monsters of all evil description. But a great hero named
Kwarum the Light defeated the cult and sealed the
temple. He brought the horror to an end. Nevertheless, this dark disease we
have seen today is clearly demonic in origin. It must, somehow, be related.
Although this is almost too terrifying to consider, perhaps the
Issic asked, "So what was it that this girl was trying to accomplish
with this outburst?"
"I don't know what she was trying to accomplish. She was mad."
Phaidon asked, "Do you know who Tyrestina
has been interacting with the most lately and how often? Do you know where
the
"I don't know who she was interacting with. All of us I guess. She
sometimes hangs around Hilandir and Tosh."
Issic asked, "Did she say anything or just start killing people?"
Erepoth realized Issic thought the girl had
been killing people. "She just started doing this out of nowhere. She
cast a mass suggestion, telling the others in the bailey to get ready
for a bath and to take one. They started taking off their clothes. Then she
cast a transmute rock to mud and created the mud bath you see. She cast
the wall of fire, then the globe of invulnerability around herself to keep us
from stopping her. Finally she cast three summoning spells to bring
the three fiendish boars, and used one of her graven images to bring the gray
render. Two of our men tried to climb the wall to get around the wall of
fire, and she chained them in the fire chains. She didn't actually kill
anyone."
Phaidon asked, "Do you know someone named Drabat Finch?"
Erepoth said, "One of the townsfolk, a
fisherman. Nice fellow. Very friendly. Was... involved,
shall we say, with Tyrestina. He will be upset to
learn of this."
"I think he was infected somehow. He murdered people in Talishar."
"Oh, by the gods."
"He was seen talking to her near here earlier today. We subdued
him before we journeyed here."
"Unfortunate, this."
Anathek stood up from the grisly remains of Tyrestina
and said, "Kwarem The Light is a legendary hero
that founded The Twilight Gathering. The Twilight Gathering has recently be
restarted by Kwarum's great grandson, the only surviving
relative of any member of the Twilight Gathering, my mentor, Samadhi, Light
Reborn, the Law Mage ruling Itsitlawikanah, in the citadel of law."
Erepoth wrinkled her brow. She offered, "I
do remember our library having some books that might offer more information
on the demon god and its worship here. I seem to recall a prophecy about flowers
and the merging of lineages."
Phaidon said, "That is a good idea. We would also like to talk to
Hilandir and Tosh. We definitely
want to check out your library and the pertinent books. Want me to come with
you?"
Phaidon asked, "Does someone else want to talk to Hilandir
and Tosh while
The old graven one said, "For our thanks, we offer you an item image
of your choosing as a reward for your help."
"Item image?" asked Phaidon.
"We scribe a tattoo onto your flesh in the presence of one of your
magic items, and you can store the magic item in the tattoo, and call it forth
as a free action. It is permanent and there is no limit to how often you can
call forth and restore the magic item."
"That would be handy."
"What happens if that item is lost?" asked Issic.
"If the item is lost, then you command the tattoo to store it."
Phaidon said, "I would like a tattoo of my bow. But, for now I will
check out the library with
"That is an interesting ability," said Anathek. He returned
to examining the mirror and ring of the dead woman. "I think Samadhi the
Gatherer of the reborn light might be of service here.
I think I still have some pull with him. Might I come at a later time? I think we could benefit each other greatly in an alliance.
For this day, a friendship is to be made between your people and mine."
The old graven one said, "We are allied, warrior. We shall be friends.
Accept what we have to offer." At that moment, seven naked graven ones,
young females, came out of the keep, freshly washed of mud, to do the item images
promised.
"Aahh, the spoils of war," said Anathek,
grinning, admiring beautiful naked women. "Accepted it
is!" He smiled broadly. A naked girl came and took Anathek away,
asking what he would like carved. And where.
Other women took away Cthaat and Issic. Erepoth
relaxed. It was a small price to pay, she thought. They may be able to uncover
the source of the madness. It may also quench their thirst for blood. She
looked down at the looted and ruined body of her young pupil, Tyrestina.
Those bastards took everything she owned. She would pay them their "reward"
now. Later, she would find a way to avenge this. She couldn't do it now.
Such bloodshed and vengeance is what the demon god fed upon, and she would not
provide food for a demon. Let these fools do it.
She put the thoughts of vengeance out of her mind. She did not want to
succumb to the malady. She hadn't ever used her magic for revenge before, indeed
had never killed anyone before. She closed her eyes and balled her hands into
fists. Damn Nadam, she thought. Damn him! She had requested from Alisander
many times a real lord for Talishar, someone who could police this area. The
reeve did alright for the town, but out here, nothing. What that Dalby monster
had done a few months ago was bad enough; at least she had been able to chase
him off. Without a lord for Talishar, did she have any legal recourse to have
this half-dragon and his brutes arrested and tried? Would she have to take
matters into her own hands? The old woman looked at her wrinkled hands, hands
that had never taken a life, and she cried.
Uisdean watched the graven one sadly. He could not be part of this anymore.
He liked
"I would like to stay behind and help protect this place if you would
like the help. I cannot be a part of them anymore."
She was surprised that the panther could talk, but she had heard of such
things in tales before. She nodded, accepting the offer. "Do you wish
to be graven, as we are?"
"I do not know magic, just the woods. I will give you my services
as protector and scout if you will on occasion give me a tattoo."
"As you wish, but we can train you in magic if you wish it."
"I would prefer to keep to my knowledge of the woods and use you
for your magic and vice versa."
"As you wish."
"I would like to bathe," said the panther. "I do not feel
clean."
The old graven one nodded and motioned for a girl to come over. The pretty
girl stopped what she was doing and approached. With another motion made by
the graven one, the girl nodded and slipped off her clothes.
"Please, allow this one to bathe you," said Erepoth.
Uisdean smiled and followed after the naked girl, as she led him to the
keep to be bathed.
After several hours of research, as the others were getting their item
images carved,
"'The
"'Like anything else, you must go to the temple's heart to find the
true source of its power.'
"'To get from head to heart, or at least on your way, make the demon
smile and use the key to open the invisible lock.'
"'To reach the heart, you must partake of the three sacraments of
Ochremeshk. Such is distasteful to all good and noble,
but one soul is a small price to pay.'
"'Blood flows through the temple, carrying both knowledge and life
- for demonspawn and their hellish brethren.'
"'Chaos and evil for Ochremeshk
are words that are also the key with three uses.'"
Issic, Anathek, and Xorkilanthat nodded. Cthaat said, "That is good
work."
Phaidon said, "I do not like the part about partaking of the three
sacraments."
"Did anyone talk to Hilandir and Tosh while we were
in the library?" asked Phaidon. No one had.
"I wonder if Alexander can use the power of Athena to protect himself
from the sacraments?" asked Phaidon.
"I don't know," said
Each character received 2000 exp.
Current Adventures in Inzeladun | The Ingaran Adventures Episode 41 | Inzeladun Updates
Cthaat
Angartha, the female human guard who had trouble climbing the wall, Warrior
1: CR -; medium humanoid (5'2"); HD 1d8+4+3; hp
12; Initiative: +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 14 (flatfooted 14, touch
10); Attack +3 (1d8+2 longsword or 1d10+2 halberd); AL NG; SV Fort +6, Ref +0,
Will +0; Str 15, Dex 11, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 13
Skills: Sense Motive +2, Intimidate +5, Jump +2
Feats: Improved Initiative, Endurance
Equipment: Scale mail, Halberd, Longsword
Tyrestina, female human Graven One,
Sorcerer 10/Graven One 6: CR 16;
medium humanoid (5'6"); HD 10d4+6d6+16; hp 58; Initiative: +4; Spd 30 ft;
AC 19 (AC 37 from the spells she has cast); Attack +9/+4 (1d6+1 masterwork staff);
SA Tattoos of power; unholy (all attacks, even spells, inflict an additional
+2d6 damage to good characters), defense (+3 natural AC bonus), wounding (all
attacks, even spells, cause wounds that bleed for 1 hp/damage per round), graven
image (five-headed hydra); AL CE; SV Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +7; Str 12, Dex 16,
Con 14, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 13
Skills: Alchemy +21, Concentration +21, Diplomacy +9, Hide
+12, Knowledge (arcana) +21, Spellcraft +21, Spot +8
Feats: Craft Rod, Craft Wand, Dodge, Etch Object Rune, Forge
Ring, Item Image, Scribe Scroll, Toughness
Equipment: Bracers of Armor +3, ring of protection +3, wand
of flaming corrosion (28 charges), book rod (stored in an item image), flesh
runes of wall of stone, fireball (10d6 DC 17), true seeing, and
electrical deluge (10d6, DC 19), etched object rune (on dagger) of teleport,
etched object rune (on dagger) of telekinesis, potion of cure moderate
wounds, masterwork quarterstaff, two daggers, 133 gp,
two 50 gp gold rings.
Spells Prepared (4/5/5/5/4/3/2): 0-detect magic, mage hand, ray
of frost, read magic; 1st – acidic curse, magic missile (2),
mage armor, shield; 2nd – cat's grace, endurance, mark of
fire, mark of frost, web; 3rd – dispel magic, foil tracer,
haste, lightning bolt, sleet storm; 4th – charm monster, ice
storm, improved invisibility, stoneskin; 5th
– cone of cold, cross of lightning, wall of force; 6th – coma,
disintegrate
Notes: By the time the characters arrive, Tyrestina will already have cast mage armor, shield, cat's
grace, endurance, see invisibility, mark of fire, dragonskin
(red), haste, stoneskin, and greater mark of
air. Her dexterity is now 22 (+2 AC, +2 to reflex saves), her constitution
is now 15 (+16 hit points, +1 fortitude save), and her AC is now 37 (including
+4 from the Haste. She has 9 rounds of haste left).