THE HISTORY OF THE COUATL

GUARDIANS OF THE SILVER TREE

ADVENTURE EIGHTEEN

“The Death of Itzcoatl”

Characters:

Count Amren : Ophyrish ranger. Prophet of the Silver Tree.

Captain Alrek: Indorian Dragon-Slayer.

Captain Toki: Indorian Warrior, who died on the Gates of Hell.

Instead of passing through the gates of Hell, the gates passed

through him.

Daragru the Terrible: Drychtnothian Warlord who now worships the

Silver Tree.

Count Dovinyae: Druid who now worships the Silver Tree.

Sir Raloth of Itsitlawikanah: Paladin of the Silver Tree, wielder of

Palex Amir, the sword of Tyr

Samadhi the Uxorious: Founder of the new Twilight Gathering.

Founder of the school of Law Magic.

The Time : 8th Age, 6th Year, 12th through 15th of Xaul. (winter).

The Place: Jungles of Taltecuhtli; Colhuatepec (Capital of Taltecuhtli); Swamp of Chimatl; Chimatl’s Lair

Notes on Taltecuhtli: Taltecuhtli is a dense jungle filled with predators - both animal and plant. This region is ruled by the Matlazinca people. The primary god of the Matlazincas is now the Silver Tree, the god of Good. The Matlazincas rule from Colhuatepec, the largest city in the Taltecuhtli jungle area; it is nearly the size of Alisander in the West. Colhuatepec was ruled by Itzcoatl, a powerful priest who had ruled by divine right for three hundred years. It is now ruled by the Guardians of the Silver Tree.

Standing in the ruins of Colhuatepec, the Guardians of the Silver Tree watched as the people began to build a monument in honor of their new deity. Alrek said he was ready to go after Itzcoatl, the former ruler of this land. Amren asked him to wait. He had a vision telling of the departure of the former Guardians from this world.

A flash of light in the jungles drew their attention. Out of the jungle walked Tho’ef, followed by Sir Raloth and Samadhi. Amren, Dovinyae, Daragru, Alrek, and Toki went out to meet the newcomers. Tho’ef knelt before the five Guardians. Amren told him to rise and asked him why he knelt. He said, “I kneel to honor the Chosen of the Silver Tree, the new Guardians.”

Tho’ef shook their hands, in the manner of Grimhelm, and told them he was going to leave Inzeladun and join Grimhelm in the Seven Heavens. Samadhi reminded Tho’ef of his oath to help them in the upcoming war against Grindill. The new Guardians of the Silver Tree said they would release Tho’ef from that task and take on the oath themselves. Tho’ef, pleased, left the Guardians and entered into the jungle and passed from the knowledge of man.

Alrek again expressed his desire to hunt down Itzcoatl. Sir Raloth and Samadhi agreed to help the Guardians in this venture. They left the city in the capable hands of Neb Rekhis and went into the jungle. Amren prophesied that Itzcoatl would be with Chimatl the black dragon, so they headed for his swamp, which they had discovered previously.

The prophesy was this: “With black obsidian / And the sword of Tyr / The dragon and his king / Can bye felled deep in its weyr” (DM’s Note: a weyr is a name for a dragon lair)

Sir Raloth cast Divination and received the following message from the Silver Tree: “In a pocket in the center / the dragon Chimatl hides a king / Above and below / The gargoyle submerged will sing.”

Reaching the swamp, Alrek decided to scout around on his own. Itzcoatl found him and attacked. Itzcoatl nearly killed the Indorian, but the Guardians, Sir Raloth, and Samadhi came to the rescue, and Itzcoatl teleported out of the area.

Samadhi summoned a griffon, who did not like that at all. The others found alternative means to fly or move quickly through the dank, insect-infested swamp. Daragru summoned a water elemental for his mode of transport. Dovinyae shapechanged into a shark. Once in the center of the swamp, the griffon dumped Samadhi off into the swamp.

Dovinyae cast Part Water and parted the water in the center of the swamp, revealing a submerged city, complete with a gargoyle statue. Touching the statue resulted in musical tones. They determined that when the statue made its tones, a pair of portals opened, one above the statue, one below it.

The Guardians, Sir Raloth, and Samadhi dove into the lower opening into a tunnel filled with water. The tunnel existed in a pocket dimension. Samadhi had cast Protection from water on everyone previously, so they were not terribly concerned. When they finally found a cave filled with air, they were attacked by the dragon, who was perched up on a ledge far above them. The dragon’s acidic breath splashed on the cave floor as the party dove back into the water.

Dovinyae cast Rock to Mud on the overhang where the dragon lay. Chimatl crashed to the floor. The party rushed to attack it. Alrek launched his new attack method, the Gae Bolga. His weapon rammed into the dragon’s head, killing it instantly.

Hearing chanting from a side corridor, the party went to investigate. The found a group of six priests casting Spirit of Power. Their bodies and personalities merged into the Avatar of Mictalantecuhtli, the god of death. Alrek threw his axe and struck the avatar. The avatar of the death god threw his jade rod of thunderbolts at Alrek, hitting him like thunder. Dovinyae lunged for the weapon and grabbed hold of it. It flew back to the death god with Dovinyae still grasping it. Dovinyae managed to guide it around the deity and then used the weapon to strike the god. The battle raged on.

The guardians, except for Daragru and Samadhi, all managed to get down to the god’s level. Daragru and Samadhi remained above casting spells. Itzcoatl appeared and attacked Samadhi, rendering him helpless. Daragru tackled the undead king, nearly knocking it off the cliff down to where the Guardians battled below. The Guardians and Sir Raloth finished off Mictalantecuhtli and rushed to the rescue of the imperiled Daragru and Samadhi. Sir Raloth and his holy sword made short work of the mummy, but without the combined use of obsidian and a holy sword, Itzcoatl would continue to rise again. They figured this out and used obsidian weapons to beat Itzcoatl senseless, then Sir Raloth used Palex Amir to cut out his heart.

All characters were awarded 25,000 exp. for defeating Itzcoatl and his allies

Current Events :

Notes on Itzcoatl: A king who has ruled his people for 300 years. A great Tiquihuah and priest of the pantheon, Itzcoatl was granted eternal life by Mictalantecuhtli for his great deeds in leading the Matlatzinca people in battle. He founded Colhuatepec. The battles honored Huitzilopochtli and the war god interceded on Itzcoatl’s behalf with Mictalantecuhtli. He looks old, but he is well remarked for his incredible strength. 20 hitdice (160 hitpoints), -4 armor class (+3 or better weapon to hit). Itzcoatl only sustains damage from a weapon’s magical bonus (a +4 weapon does 4 points of damage only). The only exception is obsidian weapons, which do full damage, even if non-magical. He is a fifth rank mummy with fifth rank mummy rot powers. He has 20 strength and has the salient powers of Curse of Vengeance, Elemental (Earth) Command, Grapple, Passage, and 75% Magic Resistance. Holy water and holy symbols do nothing to Itzcoatl. He must sacrifice 10 people per day to Mictlantecuhtle to maintain his undead state. After five days of no sacrifices, he falls into an undead “slumber” and can only be awakened if his cult sacrifices 20 people a day for five days in an elaborate ritual. He can only be permanently destroyed if obsidian and a holy sword are used in combination to take out his undead heart.

His three most loyal servants were Quetzalpapalotl, Chimalma, and Tlacaelel. Quetzalpapalotl and Chimalma were two of the six priests who became the Avatar of the death god and so are now dead. Tlacaelel, the former general of Colhuatepec, hid and managed to escape.

Notes on Chimatl; A black dragon who dwells in the swamp found in the jungles of Taltecuhtli. He is 512 years old (Old) and is chaotic evil. He is 120’ long and is an ally of Itzcoatl.