Ormazd's Campaign Log

Lumi, human knight, steps in for a moment:

Our party retired to the conference room, over which Alain's magic eyes watched while we made camp. We were exhausted after battling all the statues, undead, and other creatures of Korstull. The night passed uneventfully and we returned well-rested to the banquet hall to get details from Lord Gorquith. We also overheard some clanking and banging noises which seemed to come from inside the walls.

Gorquith spoke of a cache of magical healing supplies in a room behind the door left of the pulpit in the main chapel. He had spoken with an imp, Pilmat, who told him of devils occupying the chapel area and gave us fair warning. With this knowledge we decided to seek out the healing supplies. Gorquith's promise of more information about the treasures and traps of Korstull were too tempting to pass up.

Before we left the banquet hall, however, in barged the wraith along with several flaming skeleton creatures and sergeants wielding crossbows and axes. Being fairly surprised by the group, Fiona and I were the first attacked. Skeletons approached us, wielding swords flickering with black flame. Merrick and I took the right flank as Alain and Fiona took the left. Though able to ensconce many of the creatures in darkness, Alain was early knocked unconscious while surrounded by enemies. Merrick provided him some relief and he was then able to teleport a safe distance away to recover his strength. Alain then managed to shroud several of the monsters with a biting fog, at one point knocking the wraith prone and preventing him from striking Fiona with his enormous, flaming, curved sword. Merrick also dealt significant damage to the creatures, hurling lightning bolts and zapping about the room. Fiona fought the wraith head on. Her small size and nimble footwork allowed her to flit about, backstabbing and distracting it. I dealt with three undead monsters, which repeatedly dazed me and prevented me from successfully deflecting their many blows. As the fight wore on, the skeletons exploded upon destruction, raining fiery and boney shrapnel upon us. After taking many injuries from flaming swords and exploding enemies, I was knocked unconscious. Soon thereafter I felt a cool, healing power and regained my senses. I struggled to my feet only to find myself still surrounded by enemies. The wraith had disappeared and my companions had dispatched several of the creatures on the other side of the room. They soon came to my aid, helping me to fend off the remaining skeletons. The wraith had fled, but we were too weakened and dazed to give good chase. Gorquith, who had remained oozing silently on his seat during the entire battle, remarked what a good show we'd made. Helpful as always.

After a short rest to gather our strength, we headed back to the grand entrance, recovering our very nice doorstop-mace along the way. Entering the hall we encountered the gnome paladin Grellfin and his halfling companion, Ernest. Grellfin remarked that he was following boot tracks that led to the room we'd just left and we told him of the skeletons and wraith we'd encountered. He had not seen a wraith, he said, but his party had seen (and fled from) other undead and great hornet beasts(?). At least one of his companions had met his end. He also said that the rest of his party were trying to repair the water pump system which would make the doors and lifts work once again. That must have been the clanking we heard earlier. Once those fellows get the lift working we'll be able to get up to the vault. Presumably that's where all the best stuff is, and hopefully that blasted Torch.

We parted ways with the gnome and halfing, wishing them luck on their task. Approaching the stone doors to the chapel, we noticed the door frame was rimmed with symbols of the gods. Fiona checked for traps and tried the door but it would not budge. There seemed to be no lock to pick. The only option seemed to be bashing it down. So I flung myself against the stone door until the bar on the other side cracked enough for us to get through. Once we were through the door, we saw that the hinges had been on our side the whole time. I wonder why Fiona hadn't noticed that when she checked for traps, mechanics, and locks?

The door led us into a corridor lined with great reliefs of what appeared to be the gods. Eleven in total, the reliefs had been defaced and defiled. Curses had been gouged into the stone, and their faces and figures marred. Merrick wandered into the hall, his face alight. He headed straight toward what had been a depiction of Kord. Noticing a collection box at the base of the statue, he dropped in a platinum piece and his face spoke of some relief. I felt a sense of religious fervor wash over me and sought out the relief of Avandra, but could not find her. I followed Fiona, who I knew was also a follower of Avandra, to the base of a figure she identified. I dropped in 100 gold pieces and felt my own relief. I knew that Avandra had blessed me. Fiona dropped in her coins as well, but seemed still moved to show more devotion. She moved onto another statue and made another offering there, before she met her own relief. Alain seemed wholly unmoved by the hall of gods. He must've been checking out the grafitti for clues.

The door at the end of the hall was cracked open a bit, and as we came close Alain noticed a little face peek through and then disappear. He recognized it as an imp and exclaimed that it must be Pilmat, the imp Gorquith spoke of. We chased after the imp, calling his name. Entering the next room, we saw the burnt remains and ashes of many pews and a pulpit at the other side of the room. Behind the pulpit were two curtained doorways. Finally, Pilmat answered our summons and appeared in the midst of us. At the same time, many other devils and frightening creatures filled the hall. And here we stand, on the verge of another mighty battle.

An aside from the DM:

The fight with the devils in Korstull was one of the most frustrating and unenjoyable battles I have run in a long time. I modified the devils to the newer damage levels but left the more-or-less as-written as far as powers, etc. Unfortunately, they were heavily outgunned, being mostly several levels below that of the PCs. There was very little drama or interest on the players' part to talk to the devils, even though Van's backstory is particularly anti-devil. Kazyk's appearance was a nice touch and generated some interest, but he stood not much chance of doing much to the party.

Also annoying were the many auras and reaction powers of the devils. This is something I should have noted and edited before the fight, so it's at least as much my fault as anyone else's, but trying to remember the various effects of the auras (every one of the devils in the fight has one!) and their differing sizes, not to mention reactions, left me confused and angry when I remembered, too late, to respond to a hit or movement.

Not one to complain, I am bringing this up only as a warning to other DMs: do away all but one of the auras, limit devils' reactions, and bump up their power for more drama. Also, edit or disregard the tactics that ask for the devils to use their Wall of Ice spells to separate the PCs. None of them have this power.

O

Skipping ahead a bit and returning to Fiona:

after clearing out the devils -- though the one named Kazyk got away -- and picking up some loot, we found the scroll... but Van wanted to use it to resurrect himself (he is a revenant) instead of giving it to Gorquith. and while Gorquith was going to tell us (or so he said) how to get past all the traps to get to the Torch, we decided that taking this opportunity for Van was more important. besides, Gorquith was probably evil (his pet jester was a nasty little follower of Asmodeus) and he only told us about the devils and where to find the scrolls and stuff because he wanted one. it's not like His Ooziness even lifted a finger (so to speak) when we were fighting for our lives, and he could have been helpful because when we broke the news to him, he definitely had a trick or two for us. Van even cried a little for the guy, but thinks we've at least put his soul to rest. we're not even sure the scroll's going to work for Van, but he seemed pretty upset after looking in a mirror in one of the rooms we explored, so i hope it does and he can feel better about himself.

Fiona:
the ritual to change van back into a living being was going to take merrick 4 hours, so we settled in to wait. i didn't want to miss a thing so i parked myself nearby but i was so excited it was hard to sit still. which turned out to be okay because 2 cloaked devily creatures appeared, with shadow swords. they attacked merrick and lumi -- merrick was so close to finishing the ritual, he couldn't stop to defend himself properly and was hurt bad right away. lumi immediately took up a position to defend both merrick and van, but the devils (plus 2 more) appeared and disappeared making it hard to give them what for. and the stupid wraith that's been dogging our steps chose that moment to show up again! in a clever move to help merrick complete the ritual, alain put a globe around him, protecting him from further attacks. the damn creatures were really hard to hurt -- i know i gave one of them everything i had and it hardly seemed to matter! karuna and alain were hitting several creatures at once, but we definitely noticed the difference with merrick out of the fight. alain even got behind me in what karuna called the ancient "Crouching Wizard Hidden Halfling" move. finally we drove the wraith and the 2 remaining devils off (wish we could have killed that damn thing), merrick finished the ritual, and it worked! it was amazing to see van's ickyness fade and everyone was so pleased to see him weeping with joy (he looks fierce, but he's really a softie). once he'd regained his composure, and really, we all needed a breather, we continued investigating. we'd untrapped a door and were moving down yet another hallway when a battered halfling (i forget his name) came running towards us yelling for help. we followed him back to a room where the party of halflings and gnomes were battling several skeletons (some of them not human) and mages. the room had a pyramid platform with a glowing rune circle and machinery in the center. unfortunately we weren't in time to save everyone, though we did get all the bad guys. maybe nothing else will need killing for the next 5 minutes so we can sort things out and take a body count.

Van:
I can't even begin to describe how it feels to be alive again. It's like waking from a dreamless sleep; No, more like taking a warm bath after two months of hard travel. It's indescribable. To no longer feel like a monster. To no longer be a monster.

And the memories! They aren't flooding back, as I had hoped they might, but more return every day. I can smell the dank of Idvard's empty keep. I remember the worn, weathered texture of the terrible scepter that ended it all.

And most of all, Zofia. Beautiful, wicked, wonderful Zofi: Her nightblack tresses and pale skin, contrasted in candlelight.

She's out there, somewhere. Hell, I guess. And, unless Kazyk was lying, she's suffering, all because of me. I don't know how I will get there, but I will, and I'll get her out. I owe her that much. If that I could make the trade again, my life for hers, but I know now that a devil's bargain is worse than death, and having been dead, I can assure you that that is no small statement.

But now, when I sleep, I dream of strange, uneasy things: of a grey realm, surrounded by multicolored dragons and dragon kin, on two legs, four, and sometimes more.

---

While the gnome/halfling mechanic troupe worked on fixing the castle's elaborate system of pumps and machinery, we decided to check out the bottom of the lift shaft. Apparently once the pressure built up the lift would become operational once more.

We approached the lift, and to no-one's surprise, the door was shut tight. The knight Lumi struggled to pull it open, but could not find purchase. When the pint-sized Merrick offered to assist, we all had a good chuckle--and then he managed to jimmy the door open while Lumi gaped.

The comedy was short lived, however, as barbed (no, toothed) tentacles reached out from the darkness of the elevator and wrapped around the smiling halfling. The lift was inhabited by some sort of foul, shrieking creature with a gaping maw in its chest (which, along with the aforementioned tentacles, made for quite a sight). Quarters were tight as we entered the lift--dodging the thing's flailing limbs--and battered it with steel and spells.

Lumi was grabbed, and felt her life-force being drained away, but broke free before it got out of hand. Finally, Fiona shot the thing through the gullet and it fell dead--or re-dead, as we realized that it, like many of the denizens of this accursed place, had been turned undead by some dark malevolence.

The walls thrummed as the machinery inside them built up pressure. In the center of the lift there was a control lever, which could be slid into eight possible positions labeled A to H.

We dragged the corpse back to the tinkers, and made final preparations to ride the lift upward. Earlier, Fiona, with a subtlety only she can muster, had filched a scrap of paper from a halfling upon which was inscribed "D G A", and part of another letter, which we determined must be related to the lift controls. And so, as we all gathered in the lift, under the assumption that it would lead us to different floors (a poor assumption, as it turned out), we decided to start by shifting it to D, then G, and so on, and assuming everything went well, just wing it from there.

Things did not go well. What we didn't know is that the lift advanced in stages, ascending for a short while and then stopping before ascending again. Between each rise, there was a short interval which, perhaps, a rider with the proper sequence of letters might avoid the traps. However, we didn't expect the lift to begin moving again so soon and weren't able to shift it properly, regardless of having the first few bits of the sequence.

We were paralyzed by a strange force. Followed by a horrible metallic grinding noise (spikes protruding beneath us). Then, as that effect wore off, fire elementals appeared from above, bathing us in flame. We fought them bravely and fiddled with the control lever, hoping to get lucky, and succeeded in doing so, extinguishing the fire.

The lift advanced again, and another horrid, incorporeal creature attacked us. It lashed out at everyone nearby and Lumi valiantly defended them, striking it again and again. One of the halflings--not ours, theirs--was horribly killed by the thing. Karuna was pummeled, but gained his resolve and spent the rest of the fight nimbly deflecting its attacks. Van unleashed powerful bolts of pure force which cut through its ghostly defenses. Finally Lumi finished it off.

At the next stop, a shower of spears sent everyone diving to the floor. And visible above us, a translucent wall of force apparently blocked all passage. Hoping that one setting or another would turn off the wall, Van clunked the control level from one notch to the next, and fortunately hit the right setting to prevent the floor of the lift from dropping out.

Then the lift became translucent and hazy, as if made of clouds, which revealed the spikes far below. Shimmering light surrounded us as we rose up and up toward that oh-so-impenetrable wall of force. Some of the group began making preparations to evacuate/hang off of the bottom of the lift while Van tried another setting. As a last ditch effort, Fiona shoved him aside, and mustering all of her thieving and trap-disabling experience, dismantled the control lever, wedged it in the mechanism and used it as an improvised pressure point to somehow break the wall of force, allowing the lift (and everyone on/under it) to rise unscathed. Not far above, across the span of the shaft there loomed a shimmering silver curtain, which Merrick identified as a passage to or through the Astral plane.

The lift went up, through the shimmering surface, and came to a stop revealing two doors. We had survived the ordeal!

Fiona:

ugh, that was the worst ride ever! not sure where my head was -- must've been thinking about Donuts again and sad that i couldn't have any... then of course when i finally did get back into the game, van just "hurried" off like there was no tomorrow. which, i suppose, in our line of work is always possible. the whole being-alive-again-thing must've gone to his head. or the heat. or the banging and clanging coming from the other door. anyway, as he moved down the hall, a glyph glowed red and fire exploded from it, bathing him in flames. which of course did almost nothing to him. but while he was standing there (posing? nah...), crossbow bolts were fired and a huge skeletal soldier appeared at the end of the passage with some of his buddies. the next glyph van passed was yellow and sprayed him with acid, and after that was a green one which poisoned him and slowed him down (finally). merrick attacked and called up a wind to carry lumi into the fray, taking her past a grey glyph which i think sucked some life from her(?). towards the end of the fight, i stepped back into an adjacent room to fire arrows without letting the enemy return the favor, and saw van walking towards a super beautiful woman. so now the question is: who's the hottie?!

God I love that elevator.

Down with Griaat

Van and the beautiful woman walk away from us through a door at the far end of the room. beyond them we can see and hear a roaring fire.

a man enters the room we're in through the same door saying, "Fools! you've come to your doom!" His skin is decayed, he's wearing a bear mask and claws are strapped to his hands. He has a spectral cat which charges Fiona and 3 bearded devils come out from around the pillars, along with the wraith (Griaat calls him Reddingot) who attacks Merrick. Inquisitor calls up a wall of flame, while Merrick counters with lightning. Alain settles darkness over part of the room which dazes our enemies and the kitty vanishes. The inquisitor also calls down darkness along with cold. Fiona picks his pocket but finds only lacy undergarments and scraps of bad poetry. when lumi gets the final blow on the inquisitor, the kitty and the devils disappear. the wraith remains -- lumi, karuna and fiona fight him in the darkness until finally it retreats and Karuna succumbs to his wounds.

within the next room is the giant column of fire twisted with black evil which we saw when we approached the castle. there is a wagon (sled?) and the far wall has a giant window overlooking the canyon, which is filled with ragesian soldiers. when merrick enters the room he takes damage from its energy.

the plaque under the dragon bones is made of a golden dragon scale and reads:
Syana the celestial
defender of Ycengled
noble foe

grellfin flintflindercandle runs in to (finally) see if we need help, and says they've been Exploring (looting) and found some areas where we can rest.

The party (minus the now dead Karuna and the missing Van) investigate an opulent bedroom and find a shrine with small fires burning around a tall flame. There are also several mirrors, looking through them, you can see into other rooms. movement in one mirror catches our attention - we see a humanoid in helmet and ragesian armor with a sword out coming from the entryway. We then find another bedroom with torture devices.

Rest (not in the torture room).

alain investigates the shrine - apparently, it can cast planar sending 1/day ("can we *69 it?)
merrick investigates the mirrors - he sees the Ragesian knight searching lower level
fiona and alain trap the hallway - they reset the glyph traps in hallway coming from the elevator
alain raises karuna from the dead! there was no coffee or donuts in the afterlife (bummer).

Continuing to explore, we find an intricately carved door - crown with torch going through it. The lock needs a magical ward removed as well as a mechanical component - Alain and fiona work together again. There is a puff of dust and a breath of cool air when we open it. in the throne room, everything is studded with gems, gold, and wealth everywhere. there is a magical mural on ceiling, and a man lying in the fetal position on the floor wearing frayed robes (ragesian inquisitor), sleeping and mumbling. We find 2 more bodies in the room, dessicated, against the wall, wearing ragesian leather armor (decorative). We tie up the sleeping man, who shows no signs of waking, though we even try slapping him around a bit.

There is another stone door behind the throne - it opens to a bedroom with a door to the left and right (one is a bathroom and closet). the bed looks slept in, empty torch sconce next to the bed, heavily bloodstained sheets. the other door leads to TREASURE!! potions, scrolls, round of cheese w/ a slice cut out of it - emanates necrotic energy (don't eat the cheese!), suit of armor made of gold dragon scales, +1 longsword, crystal ball, painting (the woman i love the most) - may change into another picture, music box - dancing nymphs circled by 8 diamonds, 3 of which are soulgems.

alain casts ritual for history of the sleeping man : 4 scenes of significance -- birth; 1st put on mask of inquisitor; praised by Coaltongue; coming out of bedroom into throneroom, passing guards, figure comes out (half elf - we guess it is Rhuarc) and slits a guard's throat with scimitar. with the half elf are 2 dark-skinned elf females, one wraps a whip around the inquisitor's neck and kisses him, and as he loses consciousness, he sees the other female (with white hair) kill the other guard. rhuarc was known to wield a black scimitar named Shaalguenyaver (bright shadow), and killed Coaltongue.

karuna walks into the room with the pillar of flame, he's protected from fire but not from necrotic damage. the sled seats 8 or 9, floating a few inches off the ground, has a sun with a face - the mouth is slightly open where something diamond-shaped can be inserted, rigging for pulling, however we don't have anything to hitch to it, and the valley is full of a couple thousand ragesian soldiers. scorched footprints appear to go into the pillar.

Suddenly, Ernest the halfling is standing under the dragon bones - a dark, tentacled creature bursts out of his body, the trillith Deception! tentacles and shadow flames fill up the skeleton and bring it to life.

alain determines that killing deception will de-animate the dragon and bubbles it, immobilizing her temporarily. deception whips tentacles and creates an area of fire, dominates various party members, and at one point takes Fiona's form. dragon uses a stunning roar, Alain perishes, and the party finally tries to get away. fiona is just about dead, wrapped in deception's tentacles. Karuna and merrick take their chances running (and flying) into the pillar of fire, hoping it is actually a portal and that they are following van to the other side.

A shadowy elven woman is standing on the deck of a ship cruising high above the blasted landscape of the nine hells. Suddenly, there's a burst of flame, and a beautiful human woman appears, accompanied by a dazed-looking tiefling.

The beautiful woman, her cunning eyes shining, approaches the captain, some kind of githyanki merchant. She talks with him, laughing, her dark curls bouncing and shimmering in the light. She reaches into her purse, presenting an empty hand. Yet the gith smiles and nods as if he's never seen such a generous payment, and goes back to his work.

The elf looks on dispassionately. Does not want to get involved.

Suddenly there's a burst of fire and more people appear on the deck. A halfling, a human, an eladrin: An adventuring party. They're hurt, and confused. They seem to recognize the tiefling.

The beautiful lady screams, spewing a vitriolic tirade at the adventurers who just arrived. They can't talk her down. She's possessive of the tiefling, but who knows what sinister plans she has for him.

Even the elf shows a bit of surprise when the human woman's fingers and limbs begin to elongate and wings unfurl from her shoulders--a passion devil! She continues to berate the party even as more infernal minions arrive on her orders and begin tearing up the boat.

The tiefling snaps out of it. He begins an impassioned plea with the devil woman as the rest of the people on board battle her minions--except for the captain, who quickly assesses the situation and vanishes into a portal.

The ship begins to list and descend, while the deck erupts into chaos. Chain devils restrain and pummel the heroes while their infernal allies wreck up the place.

Something the tiefling says makes the devil woman fly away. Apparently this is all his fault. Apologies don't cut it as the devils thrash the heroes even more brutally. Spells flash and swords clash.

The boat is really plummeting now, and almost tips over. The tiefling leaps to the controls. His allies, and the poor elf bystander, are getting creamed, but winning, slowly.

Eventually the last of the devils are driven off, but the ground was approaching rapidly. The halfling summons a hippogriff mount and the eladrin clings on awkwardly. The human is lifted by the halfling's magic. The tiefling rouses the unconscious elven bystander, and they prepare for impact.

Crunch.

The ship lands less than gracefully on the shore of a dismal lake in the middle of nowhere. The heat is oppressive and the landscape is bleak and scorched.

The elven bystander is pissed and full of questions. Her quest may be jeopardized. The adventurers aren't too happy either. No one knows what to do. And then some more devils show up.

It's a group of slavers, come for their souls. Time to fight.

Well that's new.