Age of Worms Storyhour [Updated December 26, 2006]

[Spatterlight]

Session 12
September 29, 2006

Weary, wounded, and all but depleted of magic, the group retreated from the caves of the grimlocks.

Moving back out to the central area, the group held a brief counsel and formed a plan to escape the Dourstone Mines. It was decided that Scorch would climb the lift shaft and lower it back down for all. The gladiator stripped out of his armor and put on Natasha's ring of feather falling. Carefully, he picked his way up the two hundred foot shaft, using one of the corners to help brace him. Sweating and cursing, he pulled himself up into the cavern that held the lift. Peering out into shadowy darkness, he could see no one waiting in ambush. After a brief pause to catch his breath, he lowered the lift back down for the others.

With glacial slowness, the group hoisted themselves back up and made their way to the barricade. Natasha listened for a moment, hearing the distant sounds of miners at work, but nothing untoward. In addition, the ranger found that the barricade had been broken and there had been no attempt to hide this damage. With no one in sight, the group put on dark robes from the temple of Hextor and began to make their way to the surface disguised as cultists. Soon enough they encountered several miners, but Max's silver tongue and gold coins convinced them that they had seen nothing unusual.

Once near the entrance of the caves, the final potion of the group's plan was enacted. Using the last of her magics, Aiyda turned herself invisible and summoned another unseen servant. Cloaking this one in a dark robe as well, she quickly soaked it in lantern oil. With a flick of a tindertwig, she lit the cloak on fire and marched it out into the center of the mine yards. A great commotion arose as the fiery thing danced and fluttered about. Seeing that the guards and miners were distracted by this strangeness, the rest of the group escaped unnoticed into the surrounding forest. Spying her friends vanish into the tree line, the bard beat a hasty retreat, the servant collapsing sputtering to the ground.

Meeting up in the woods, the group decided to visit the graveyards where the servants of Wee Jas were known to congregate. Here it was hoped that that the slain Doctor Voo could be brought back to land of the living. It was now deep in the night, but knowing the nocturnal nature of the priests of the Green Lady, the group was soon rattling the gates of the boneyard. A pale figure cloaked in black robes glided from behind an ancient mausoleum. Intoning grim warnings to leave this place, other robed figures appeared from the shadows and soon the group was surrounded. Aiyda spoke for her brother, pleading for the followers of the Witch Goddess to revive their fellow servant.

The figures were silent for a moment, than the group was told to wait as one figure departed for the graveyard. One hour later, a pale woman dressed in the regalia of a high priestess of Wee Jas ventured from the shadows of tombstones, a procession of dead men shuffling before her. The zombies parted for their strange mistress and she spoke to the group in a low, rasping voice. "What you ask has not been done for many years. The Great Green Lady requires sacrifice for this immense task." Scorch brightened at this and was about to offer Sergi, who had grown fidgety during the wait, but she continued before he could make a deal. "Each of you will be required to give up a dearly held procession. Such is the will of the Witch Goddess!" Pinning each of the group with her intense gaze, she called out the things that were to be given: Scorch was to give up his enchanted greataxe, Natasha her ring of feather falling, Max his beloved mystical goggles, and so on. As the last of the tribute was given, the undead stumbled forth and bore the body of Doctor Voo into the boneyard. The high priestess told the group to return the next day and the task would be done. Silently, the group returned to the observatory, each falling into a deep exhausted slumber.

The next morning, some of the group set out to sell the loot that had been recovered from the Temple of Hextor. Aiyda and Max set out early in the morning while Natasha and Scorch decided to spend the day in their bedroom. Soon Sergi, unable to tolerate the noise emanating from the room above, set out for town as well. The bard and halfling sold some of the trinkets, buying several potions and other pieces of equipment. However, they could not find what they truly sought: a healing wand. After asking around, they were pointed toward the garrison at the center of town. The garrison, which housed soldiers from Greyhawk City that guarded the mines, also had a temple of Heironeous the Invincible. It was here that duo was joined by Sergi.

While Max and Aiyda worked out a deal to secure a healing wand, Sergi struck up a conversation with several of the servants of the Invincible. The sorcerer off-handedly mentioned that he and his friends were dealing with an evil cult and the acolytes immediately grew grave and their questions pointed. The Smenk family was known to consort with all manner of vile characters and was rumored to be guilty of terrible acts to further their own ends. Sergi was taken into the garrison for further questions and Aiyda and Max offered nothing more than a wave, for the sorcerer was getting on their nerves.

Sergi was taken into a room with in the church and was interrogated at length by a young and attractive paladin named Melinde. After several hours of questioning, during which he spoke at length of interests and goals but nothing evil, he asked a query of his own. Coming out of the temple beaming, he told the group later that he had secured a date with the holy warrior.

The rest of the day was relatively quiet, the group waiting for nightfall to visit the graveyard and meet up with the revived Doctor Voo. Several hours after dusk, the group ventured to the graveyard and once again was confronted with enigmatic worshippers of Wee Jas. The high priestess moved from the boneyard, a procession of the moldering dead trailing her and carrying Doctor Voo. The priestess made a broad gesture and Doctor Voo, who looked weak was but very much alive, was set to his feet. Aiyda and Scorch rushed to his side to support him as the followers of the Witch Goddess drifted back into the shadows. Before she went, the high priestess gave Doctor Voo a look and something passed between them. The cleric nodded once to the priestess and then closed his weary eyes, the high priestess vanishing into the darkness.

They were halfway back to the observatory when the priest opened his eyes again and spoke in his deep gravely voice, "A change has been set upon me by the Green Lady. I have strayed far from the path, mon, but now I'm brought back to the fold." Everyone looked at the priest with concern as he continued, "No longer will I heal with a touch. Only the touch of the grave will come from my hand." Doctor Voo went onto explain that his ways had always been counter to the doctrine of the followers of Wee Jas, causing much friction with them. However, after his death and resurrection, his Goddess had touched him directly and he would commit his small heresies no more. No longer would he heal when he could harm. The undead would be his servants, rather than fleeing from him. And so, he would further the will of his goddess.

The group returned to the observatory and was soon asleep, still weary from the battles the day before. However, there was no peace that night, as in the predawn hours, the group was awoken to the sounds of rummaging and a single thought searing into their brains:

WHERE IS THE FRAGMENT?​

Startled aware, the group found their lair had been invaded by strange monsters. Red skinned creatures, their legs those of a goat and beards made of serpents, stalked the observatory, endlessly thought-shouting their question. A wickedly barbed halberd, its ends clean and razor sharp, were clutched in their claws. There were two of these things in total. Accompanying them were a mob of the pink abominations that the group had encountered in the Whispering Cairn.

Natasha sprung from her sleep, kicking the slumbering Scorch awake as one of the red creatures was rooting though one of their closets. The duo rolled out of bed, grabbing nearby weapons, and were swarmed by the mindless pink things. Max, who had unbeknownst to Scorch and Natasha had taken to sleeping in their chamber, jumped to his feet, his rapier in hand and began to skewer the fat things. Meanwhile, one of the red creatures stalked though the bedroom, obviously looking for something. Not finding it, he immediately began to climb the stairs to the upper chamber.

Doctor Voo and Aiyda had settled in the upper chamber and were already fighting a battle of their own. From the shadows, came a tittering giggle familiar to the bard. The songstress dodged a surprise blow as the imp that had vexed her in the Whispering Cairn tried to jab her with its stinger. The bearded devil strode up the stairs, its halberd flashing at the cleric and bard, and they desperately attempted to repel the invader with magic.

In the chamber below, after a rough start, Max, Scorch and Natasha made quick work of the pink things. Scorch's silver blade once more proved useful and Natasha and Max worked as a team, striking the monsters with telling blows. Soon the pink creatures had been vanquished, each disappearing in a puff of acrid smoke. The bearded devil that was stabbing at the bard and cleric suddenly vanished and reappeared before Scorch, its beard hissing and spitting. Max and Natasha attempted to reason with the thing, but as soon as it found that they had no idea of what it was searching for, it flew into a frenzy and attempted to gut the gladiator.

As Scorch stabbed at the creature and held its attention, Natasha swung around nimbly to flank the thing. Aiyda and Doctor Voo, no longer menaced by the bearded devil, ran to help the others. Aiyda used her bardic magics to make her brother impossible to see and the cleric ran down the stairs, darting about invisibly and healing the beleaguered fighters. The fury of the group upon it, the bearded devil was cut soon cut down.

While the main of the group was battling these invaders, Sergi was having difficulties of his own. The sorcerer had taken to bedding down in the main dining room, where the murmuring approvals of Filge's zombies lulled him to sleep every night. He awoke with a start as the second of the bearded devils ransacked several of the guest chambers. The sorcerer attempted to blast the creature with his most potent killing spells, but found the creature was seemingly immune to all magics. The creature charged over and began to grapple him to the ground, eventually forcing him to submission while the devil tore open Sergi's pack.

The devil suddenly let the sorcerer go as the rest of the group charged down the stairs, ready to assist the sorcerer. A brief melee broke out at they desperately tried to kill the devil, but he flew into a rage and felled the group one by one. Soon only Doctor Voo, still invisible, was left standing. Using the last of his magics, the priest healed Scorch, hoping he could finish this.

The gladiator wobbled to his feet, his silver shortsword wavering in front of him, and called out a challenge. The bearded devil glared at him and then vanished into thin air.

 

[Sergi Alix Smenk]

hay, where's the update? people need to know about the hot date i went on.

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 13
November 17, 2006

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Scorch's eyes fluttered open and his gaze slid down the hall to the entrance of the observatory. With a groan, he wobbled to his feet and shambled toward the source of his aggravation.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"All right, all right!", The gladiator leaned near the door, each movement reopening wounds from the night's slaughter, "Who the hell is it?!" A cheerful female voice responded, "This is Melinde, Champion of Heironeous! I am here for my date with Sergi Smenk!" A moment passed, Scorch trying to comprehend what madness had landed on his doorstep. Sergi with a date? With a girl? This he had to see.

The gladiator kicked a heavy chair away from the door and flung it open. Standing outside was a pretty young woman dressed in full armor and prepared for battle. She gasped as she saw the shirtless Scorch, "What happened to you?!" Scotch ogled her for a moment, "What kind of date are you ..." He paused and looked down on his battered and filthy body, "Oh, this? Yeah, we got ambushed by a bunch of demon things last night. Well, you might as well come in."

Scorch closed the door and shouted down the hallway, "Hey Sergi! Your quote/unquote date is here!" Turning to the paladin, "Come on into the main room. Gotta warn you though, it is a slaughterhouse in there. And we have some brown-nosing zombies in there too. Ask Sergi about them, it's a great ice breaker." With Melinde nervously gripping the sword on her belt, the gladiator turned and lumbered back down the hall.

While Scorch was talking to the paladin, Sergi quickly making himself presentable. Using minor magics, the sorcerer quickly cleaned himself and mended several tears in his clothing. He had just finished as Scorch and Melinde entered the main room of the observatory. Sergi fluttered across the room, his hands gesturing wildly, "My dear, please excuse the deplorable conditions of my humble home. We should talk outside in the fresh air! ..."

Melinde smiled, "I have seen worse and I am just glad you all survived. Otherwise, your noble friends would not be able to accompany us on our date this afternoon. I thought we could go cleanse the evil cults you said infested the Dourstone Mines."

By now, the rest of the group had filtered into the main room and gave each other puzzled looks. Sergi gaped at the paladin for a moment, words failing him, and she continued.

"It is all set! My brothers and sisters have secured the mines and wait for us even now. But, we cannot have you walking around in such condition!" Reaching into her pack, she withdrew a wand, "Mr. Sheckles, the wand of healing that you ordered has arrived early. Shall we put it to good use and get everyone ready to fight evil?"

The group agreed and was healed quickly. Moving through town purposefully, they stopped only briefly to pick up some last minute supplies. The streets and taverns of Diamond Lake were much busier than normal this afternoon, idle miners from the closed Dourstone Mine taking advantage of their unexpected day off.

Arriving at the Dourstone Mines, they found it as Melinde said. She briefly met with several of her order and then the group descended into the mines. Soon they were lowering themselves into the area that held the temples of Erythnul, Hextor, and Vecna. Having only partially explored the caves devoted to Erythnul, the group chose to investigate these first.

The group retraced their steps and soon entered the first of the great caverns. On their original sortie into the caves, the group was ambushed here by several grimlocks here. Once again, several figures could be seen lurking. With a mighty cry, Scorch charged forward to attack, only to find that as he closed the distance to the enemy, the lights of group went dim and all was shadows.

In this eldritch darkness, the grimlocks swarmed out and this time their appeared to be a leader among them: a raging grimlock warrior with two daggers. Scorch met this one head-on and found that the creature was an expert with the blades, stabbing him repeatedly. Meanwhile, the others in the group made short work of the blind humanoids, easily cutting them down. The grimlock leader, sensing his warriors had fallen, fled the battle, the shadowy darkness going with him.

Unwilling to follow the retreating grimlock, the group mended their wounds and continued on. Moving carefully through the caves, they soon found themselves in the large cavern with a precipitous drop to more caves below. The cliff face here was covered in arcane shadows and it was difficult to see the far side of the cavern. Deciding to work their way to the cave floor sixty feet below, a hasty plan was devised. Natasha would clamber down the cliff face while Scorch and Melinde lowered Doctor Voo to the floor using rope. Then Melinde would be lowered by Scorch. The others in the group, Aiyda, Sergi, and Max, would do their best to climb down the rope or use the iron spikes that studded the cliff face.

As Natasha climbed down the rocky cliff, using only the iron spikes, she came under attack. Once more, arrows shot from the darkness, first striking the ranger then the dangling Doctor Voo. Sergi scrambled down, but about halfway lost his grip and tumbled to the hard floor below. Doctor Voo cut the rope when he was still approximately ten feet off the floor and was sent sprawling. The rope slackening, Melinde secured herself and with Scorch's help was lowered down the cliff, with Aiyda and Max following her. Eventually, Scorch climbed down as well.

In the meantime, Natasha was climbing the far wall, eventually coming up to a stone outcropping below the ledge a trio of grimlock archers was using as a firing platform. One swooped down to meet the ranger in melee, but was quickly dispatched by her sword and hammer. The other two grimlocks were cut down with a barrage of arrows, bolts, and magic from the rest of the group. Max delivered the killing blow on the last of the blind humanoids, using a halfling trick shot to strike a grimlock that was cowering behind cover.

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 14
December 1, 2006

Natasha was the first to hear it, but soon it was evident to all: the rhythmic beating of a war drum.

The group exchanged nervous glances as they looted the corpses of the fallen grimlock snipers. Conferring quickly, they decided to explore a lower cavern before venturing to a higher one. Picking their way down the cavern, they soon came upon a vast chamber, the edges of which were strewn with moldering bones. The war drum boomed here, echoing weirdly through the caves. Glancing upwards, the cavern vaulted into shadows, although a rope bridge could be seen.

From these shadows, a great beast suddenly sprang forth, landing on the cavern floor with a grace unusual for something its size. The creature was clearly a dragon, its crimson scales glittering and its strange eyes surveying the group. Rising to its full height, which was as tall as an ogre, the dragon spoke in a deep rasping voice, "Agree to serve me and you can keep your worthless lives. Defy me and I will slaughter you here." The dragon spread its wings and waited for an answer.

Several of the group pulled back, unsure of what to do, as the dragon was clearly a powerful foe. Scorch, however, felt no need to hesitate as he remembered a passage from the works of Enesto Voritad, a great dragon slayer: If the color of the dragon is in the rainbow, kill it. If it is your coin pouch, befriend it. With a mighty shout, the gladiator charged in, the dragon biting at him as he closed. Its eyes narrowing in anger, the dragon vented its fury on him. In a whirl of claw, fang, wing, and tail, the creature beat the gladiator to an inch of his life. Bloodied, but still standing, Scorch firmly held his ground to allow the others to get into place.

Following Scorch's lead, Melinde charged the dragon as well. Aiyda cast a spell, linking the minds of several of the group on a subconscious level, allowing them to coordinate their attacks with uncanny precision. Natasha sprung around the great creature, hoping to gain some advantage by flanking the dragon. Doctor Voo moved forward to bring the blessing of the Witch Goddess to the failing gladiator. Sergi cast multiple spells, blasting it with magic and also draining it of its strength with an ebon beam. Max flung a bag of tanglefoot at the dragon, which caught it squarely, binding it with a rapidly hardening alchemical substance.

The dragon, furious at the assault, breathed a tremendous gout of fire at the group, catching most of them. The group survived this fiery assault and attacked, but one by one the members of the group fell before the might of the dragon. Soon only Natasha and Max still stood and the dragon raged against the halfling.

Using every halfling trick he knew, Max managed to duck, jump, and roll with almost all of the great dragon's attacks. After leaping out of the way of the creature's mighty tail swipe, the intrepid halfling pressed his attack, striking at the dragon's knee. The dragon roared in pain, faltering to one side, and gave Natasha the opening she desperately needed. With sword and hammer, the ranger brought the dragon down.

Somewhere, the war drum went silent.

When no more attacks came, the group healed themselves and decided to continue exploring the caves. Climbing back to the upper cavern, they soon crossed the rope bridge they had spied from below. Once across the bridge, they soon found themselves in another set of caves. Dimly, to one side, they could make out the glitter of coins and several humanoid shuffling about in them.

It all came together for Scorch at that moment. Muttering under his breath, "Those bastards are stealing my dragon horde!", he starting walking toward them. Raising his sword, he shouted, "Hey. Hey! Yeah you! Get the hell away from there!" As the gladiator approached, the creatures swung around and he could see they were more grimlocks. The blind humanoids swarmed toward the group, while one in the back pulled two daggers from his belt. Scorch recognized this one, as he had been stabbed multiple times previously by the grimlock, and called out to him. Recognizing the voice of the gladiator, the grimlock smiled and charged Scorch.

Any element of surprise lost, the group met the grimlocks head-on. Scorch hacked at the dagger-wielding grimlock, hoping to make short work of him. But as before, he proved far tougher than his appearance dictated. Scorch cursed as the flashing blades of the grimlock easily cut through his defenses again and again.

Meanwhile, the others in the group fought the swarming grimlock warriors. Natasha darted forward, spotting a grimlock wielding a greataxe, and met him with sword and hammer. Aiyda sang a song of hope and Doctor Voo crushed the grimlocks with his flail. Sergi blasted the creatures with fans of flame and bolts of magic, as Melinde hacked her way into the line of blind humanoids. Max, moving with difficulty over the rough stone floor, made his was to assist Natasha, stabbing grimlocks as he went.

Faced with the full fury of the group, the grimlocks began to fall. The dagger wielding grimlock was slain by the combined force of Scorch and Melinde, with arcane assistance from Sergi. The others in the group made short work of the grimlocks, but not before Natasha was dropped by the greataxe-wielding grimlock.

Scorch was about to turn his fury on this grimlock, when another of the humanoids materialized. Unlike his unseeing brethren, this strange grimlock had almost comically large eyes. He immediately began to strike out at the group, cutting a bloody swath through them.

The others in the group desperately fought the grimlock with strange eyes while Scorch turned to fight the greataxe-wielding grimlock, which was now menacing Max. The gladiator surged forward, slicing with his broadsword, and scoring a hit on the humanoid. The grimlock, foaming at the mouth and screaming in its guttural tongue, brought down his greataxe in a vicious arc.

The mighty blow split bone and steel with equal ease and Scorch fell, dead before he hit the ground.

The others in the group rallied against the remaining grimlocks, with the one that killed Scorch the first to fall. The eyed grimlock, however, proved far more difficult to slay. Calling out to his bloody god, the grimlock brought down the fury of Erythnul on the group and mended his own wounds. Max was eventually able to use a tanglefoot bag to glue the creature to the floor, where the remainder of the group managed to fell the powerful grimlock priest after a prolonged battle.

 

[Spatterlight]

Interlude

The gladiator opened his eyes, seeing only a swirling white mist. Although he felt no pain, he put his hand to head, "Aww man, not again." Staggering to his feet, he found himself in a featureless place of endless glimmering mists. "Dead. Again." He absently ran his hand across his shoulder and chest where the mortal wound had been struck, "Gods-damned greataxes."

For a moment, he drifted back to the last time he had been here. He had been warned that the ettin gladiator known as Bi-Tor would be his match and gave no quarter. But he had been at the height of his popularity and strength and took the challenge on despite the long odds. The match was prolonged and extremely bloody, but in the end, he had been defeated by Bi-Tor, who in a fit of bloodlust decapitated the fallen Scorch. It remains one of the ettin's more popular fights.

Of course, his father, a wealthy gladiator, had him returned to life shortly after the battle. But there had been money and power back in those days and there was precious little of either now. So, the gladiator waited in the strange mists.

He did not wait long. Suddenly there was a flash and he stood before three mighty celestials, their forms wrapped in robes of light. Their eyes were pools of righteous fire and they peered down on the gladiator. In a voice that boomed throughout the mists, one spoke:

"John Murin!"

The gladiator was taken back as the celestial spoke his true name. He had been Scorch for so long he almost forgotten it.

"You have fallen in battle on the mortal plane. Our brothers and sisters call for your return to life there."

Scorch pumped his fist, exclaiming, "Yes! Max must have pulled some strings for me!"

Another of the angels spoke, its eyes blazing with fire:

"He is not worthy to return! His sins are too grievous and he is too weak for the trials ahead." The angel produced a scroll with dense script, which trailed off into infinity.

"Damn it, you have been keeping a list?" Scorch looked down for a moment and then back to the angels, "Come on. I have been trying. I am actually doing something with my life. I have been fighting evil monsters and cults. You guys hate those guys right? What with all this talk of worms eating the world and such. I'm your man!" He paused for a moment, "And I actually have someone to live for ..."

The gladiator was cut-off, as the final angel intoned, "It is foretold that his blood will slay the Worms."

For a moment there was a great silence, the celestials peering down on the gladiator. Then a decision was made.

"John Murin. We shall return you to the mortal plane ..."

Scorch gave them a thumbs-up, "You made the right decision."

The celestials continued, "But know this. Your blood will slay the Worms. But it will not be by your hand the task is done."

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 15
December 8, 2006

Scorch woke with a start, strong hands holding him down. He could hear a cry and many voices, then the deep voice of Doctor Voo cutting through all, "Don't be moving, mon. The job not be done." Calling out to the Green Lady, the cleric of Wee Jas used the last of his healing spells to close over the worst of the many wounds suffered in the battle with the grimlocks.

With the help of Natasha and Doctor Voo, Scorch got to his feet and looked around. He was still in the cave where the battle had been fought, but now the bodies of the grimlocks were gone. All of the group were alive and although a bit ragged, looked mostly hale. Glancing over to where the treasure pile had been, he could see his companions had already been to work. The piles of coin and other items had been laid out and organized. But there seemed to be less than he had seen before.

"We used some of the coin and gems we found to bring you back!" Natasha clung to Scorch's arm as he walked some of the cramps in his legs out, "Everybody agreed it was the best way to go!" Sergi began to say something, but was silenced by a withering glance from his sister. Melinde looked over, "The faithful of Heironeous keep a scroll of life on hand for such emergencies. I returned to the surface to retrieve it, but I fear it was not all I brought back." She looked down for a moment, "The situation above has changed. The sheriff has established control of the mines and has removed my brothers and sisters. There is still a great deal of confusion and I was able to slip back into the mines. But I fear that we shall not be able to return to the mines if we leave. Whatever needs to be done in this den of evil, must be done now."

The group quickly conferred and agreed to rest in the cave before tackling the only remaining temple, that of Vecna. The rest of the day and night passed quietly, the group doing their best to prepare for the difficult task ahead. The hours passed slowly in the caves, but eventually the silence was broken by a strange chanting that echoed through the caverns. It was quiet at first, the words indecipherable, but soon it began to reach a crescendo and the one word of the chant became evident:

OVERGOD! OVERGOD! OVERGOD!

Grabbing their weapons, the group ran toward the central chamber where the three temples came together, chasing the sound. As they closed on the heavy stone door that sealed the caves of Erythnul, they could all hear the thundering chant beyond. Taking a moment, they prepared themselves for battle, casting defensive spells and drinking potions. As the last of the preparations were made, the signal was given and Scorch shoved the heavy door open.

The chant faltered as the group barged into the main chamber. At the far end of the vast chamber a great number of creatures were congregated, their cowled heads turning to spy the interlopers. On the ground, a flock of strange bird-like humanoids were gathered, their beady inhuman eyes gazing at the group. They drew their shortswords and squawked and crowed in their tongue. Above them, on a raised stone platform, stood four cloaked human cultists and two other figures. The first was Ragnolin Dourstone, the dwarven mine owner who while rather gruff, was well-regarded and thought to be a decent man. Next to him was a robed figure that had no face.

The dwarf seemed rather haughty and was about to call to the group, when the Faceless Man next to him suddenly shoved him off the stone platform. Ragnolin, a look of astonishment on his face at the betrayal, fell into a large pool of dark water at the base of the platform. As the mine owner sank beneath the surface of the deep pool, the Faceless Man called out in a loud voice, "The sacrifice has been made! Kill the invaders! Clear the way for the Overgod!"

Scorch, Merlinda, and Nastasha surged forward and formed a defensive line in the chamber, steeling themselves for the onslaught of bird-men. Aiyda sung a song of hope and life as Doctor Voo called out to the Witch Goddess and threw silver shavings to the ground, erecting a powerful ward against evil around him and those close by. Sergi blasted the Faceless Man with bolts of force, but the robed figure completed an incantation and the bolts splattered harmless off his newly erected defensive spell. Max, his rapier in hand, darted between the legs of the group, looking for opportunities to stab his feathery foes.

Aiyda called out, "Watch out! These bird-men are kenku and are all sneaks. They work best in groups. Don't let them gang up on you!" The kenku hit like a wave; all black feathers, dark cloaks, glittering talon, and sharp blades. Scorch and Melinda began to hack the creatures down, as Max and Natasha flitted about the swarm, striking and stabbing, taking the lives of the bird-men with every stroke. Aiyda once again linked the minds of the group with a spell, allowing them to coordinate their attacks with ease.

Still on the platform, the four cultists hastily cast defensive enchantments and girded themselves for battle. The Faceless Man called up foul beasts from the infernal planes, bringing a truly massive centipede and a black-furred ape with glowing red eyes to threaten the group. The summoned creatures charged in, but were suddenly stopped as Doctor Voo's ward repelled them.

Taking few wounds, the group quickly dispatched the kenku. The Faceless Man, seeing the first line of defense faltering, struck at the group with a bolt of lightening he cast from a crumbling scroll. The four cultists finished preparations for battle than descended to the floor of the chamber, hastened by a dome of silence erected on the platform by Aiyda.

Scorch and Melinda hacked at the summoned monsters, cutting down the fiendish ape first. Melinda went to strike down the great centipede, which in its dim fury had continued to try to attack Sergi and Doctor Voo, both of whom were protected by the priest's ward. In the meantime, Natasha and Max had run forward, bringing their blades to bare on two of the cultists who barred the way to the Faceless Man.

Scorch charged forward to fight two of the robed cultists who had broken off from the main group, slaying one and sending the other running. As he did so, the summoned centipede vanished behind him, only to be replaced by another fresh from the lower planes. Sergi sent a beam of ebon light hurling at this one, easily overcoming its resistance to magic and sapping it of its strength.

The battle raged on as Scorch raised his blade and began to chase down the fleeing cultist. As he approached the cultist, who had taken shelter near the dark pool, the water in the pool began to boil and hiss. Suddenly, dank water geysered from the pool and a huge misshapen form sprung from its depths. The thing was the size of an ogre and had six arms. Three of them ended in twisted claws, but the others were useless lumps of flesh. Opening its malformed maw, it revealed several rows of broken fangs and gave a guttural roar.

The Faceless Man shrieked, "THE OVERGOD HAS COME!"

Scorch struck before the creature could recover from the aftershocks of its summoning. Taking his bastard sword, he drove it into the creature with all the force he could muster. The blade sank deep and the creature roared with pain, but its inhuman frame took the blow as if it was nothing. Venting its rage on the gladiator, it bit deeply and raked him with its terrible claws. Scorch staggered back, his wounds nearly fatal.

The others in the group rallied at the sight of this new terror. Doctor Voo and Aiyda moved forward, healing those they could reach. Sergi sapped the Overgod's strength with another ebon beam. Natasha and Max, working as a team, neatly dispatched the three remain cultists, while Melinde hacked at the second giant centipede.

Scorch backed away from the Overgod, his shield deflecting blows from the beast. He staggered back toward Natasha and Max for help, hoping that Doctor Voo could reach him and heal his grievous wounds. The cleric was approaching when the Faceless Man took advantage of the situation. Drawing forth another scroll, he unleashed a powerful lightening bolt that tore through the tightly clustered group.

Scorch fell to ground, dead once more, his corpse charred nearly beyond recognition.

The Overgod roared in victory and lumbered over to the others in the group, its claws and teeth rending flesh and steel with ease. One by one, the others fell beneath the fury of the Overgod and soon only Sergi and Melinde stood to face the monster. Depleted of spells, the sorcerer stabbed feebly at the creature with his shortspear as Melinde slashed at it. However, when the Overgod went to attack Melinde, the sorcerer felt something snap within him. With a savage stab with his spear, he ran the creature through and it toppled over, its malformed limbs twitching.

For a moment, there was stunned silence. Then the sorcerer gave a mighty whoop and screamed at the top of his lungs, "I KILLED THE OVERGOD!"

The Faceless Man, not anticipating this turn of events, grabbed a vial from one of the dead cultists and drank it down. His form grew misty and soon he was nothing more than a wisp of smoke. Moving slowly away, he escaped up the elevator tunnel that led to the mines and the surface. Although the group attempted to stop him, they had no magics that could do so and soon he was out of sight.

The battle over, the group healed themselves as best they could and mourned the loss of Scorch. As no new threats appeared, the group stayed in the temple overnight, helping themselves to the many treasures of the temple of Vecna. The following day, the group returned to the surface. As they emerged from the mines, they found they had lost all sense of time, for while they expected early morning, it was in fact late at night.

A call came from the darkness and suddenly lights began to flare on the mine yard. "Well, it's about time. We have been waiting for you." A figure approached and continued, "Now, why don't you make this easy on all of us and throw down your weapons and let us take you in?" As their eyes adjusted, they could see it was the sheriff and he had brought a handful of his best men. Although not threatening the group, they had their longswords out and they glittered in the light. For a moment, there was a terse silence and a decision was made.

The group went on the offensive, unwilling to submit to the corrupt sheriff, as he was known to be in the service of Balabar Smenk. The battle was short and brutal, but the group easily overwhelmed the sheriff and his men. As the brief melee concluded, the sound of clapping drew the group's attention. From the shadows of the mine yard, two figures strode forward: Chaum Gansworth and Balabar Smenk.

Chuam gave a broad smile as he clapped, "Well done! Well done!" He strode forward, "You have done much better than I expected." He shook his head, "But there has been a change of plans. With Ragnolin dead, his mines are ours for the taking. Balabar and I have come to a mutually satisfactory agreement. Your services will no longer be need..." A long silver blade suddenly sprung from Chaum's chest and he slid to the ground, clutching it. He garbled something unintelligible and looked up at Balabar, who wiped off the killing blade on his cloak, with eyes that glittered with hate. "Now don't look at me like that Chaum." He then vicious kicked the dying man, "It's just business."

He looked at the group, "Well then, where does that leave us?" He snapped his fingers and suddenly figures darted from the shadows, forming a line in front of him. "As you can see, I have not been idle. I too have gathered a band of adventurers." He made a broad gesture to the gathered figures in front of him.

One of the adventurers was clearly a warrior and held a massive greataxe at the ready. Another was heavy armored and adorned with all manner of skulls. Her holy symbol and the scythe she held clearly marked her as a priestess of Nerull, the dark god of death. Another was a slight and pretty woman with mean eyes, while another woman held a short sword and mace. The last two were male and one was clearly a spell caster of some sort, as he was dressed in red robes and held a staff. The last was a halfling who held a bow.

The group stood silent for a moment, gazing at these dark reflections of themselves, when Balabar spoke, "All of you have been a thorn in my side for too long. This ends tonight." He leveled his rapier at the group, "Kill them all!"

Aiyda reacted first, shattering the greataxe of the warrior with a spell, as she had had enough of these deadly weapons. Melinde charged the vile cleric of Nerull and met her in melee. Sergi blasted his opponents with bolts of force and huge gouts of fire. Natasha sprung forward, stabbing with her short sword and smashing with her hammer. Doctor Voo waded in as well, crushing the enemy with his flail. Max darted forward, trying to engage the halfling, but found that he was too fast. At first Max was hopeful the halfling had some charmed boots that allowed such rapid speed, but was disappointed to note that he was barefoot.

Meanwhile, the pretty woman began to sing, strengthening her allies. The warrior pulled a crossbow and began to fire at the group, but without his greataxe, seemed to have lost his strength in battle. The cleric of Nerull called out to her dark god, but was quickly silenced by Melinde and Natasha. The halfling sprinted around at uncanny speeds, peppering the group with deadly arrows. The woman with the hammer and sword darted through the melee and delivered a few vicious strikes before being cut down. The mage cast baleful spells at the group, but his magics felled none of the group.

In the meantime, Balabar drank a potion and soared into the air. After a moment, he dove down, stabbing with uncanny precession as he flew by. Each stroke struck at the heart, sending both Melinde and Aiyda to the ground nearly dead. It was only the timely intervention of Doctor Voo that healed the near mortal wounds and got the two back on their feet.

The battle was swift and while Balabar delivered several near fatal blows, the group rallied against their doppelgangers. Soon, the only two of the enemy adventurers still alive were the mage and halfling. Seeing their fellows cut down, these two fled into the night. Balabar, still in flight but now bereft of allies, began to speed off through the air. A hail of arrows and bolts followed him and it was Natasha who scored the killing blow.

Balabar crashed to ground, dead by the hands of his children.

 

[Spatterlight]

Epilogue

Following the death of Balabar Smenk outside the Dourstone Mines, Melinde and the followers of Heironeous called a town meeting to allow the group to show their findings. Based on what they had seen and found, it was clear the both Ragnolin Dourstone and Balabar Smenk had been involved in the Ebon Triad cult that had wormed its way into the town and mines. Furthermore, Melinde spoke at length of the corruption of the slain sheriff, although on this matter, she appeared to be preaching to the choir, as many of the townsfolk had suffered his depredations.

At the news of the deaths of the three hated mine owners and the cleansing of the vile cult from the town, a great cheer went up. There was much talk on what would become of the mines that were the lifeblood of Diamond Lake. Neither Chaum Gansworth nor Ragnolin Dourstone had any heirs and neither of the Smenk siblings had any interest in running the mines. So in accordance with Natasha's philosophy of equality for all and Sergi's searing hatred for anything mine related, the siblings turned over the mines to the people of Diamond Lake. Truly a new day had dawned on the town of Diamond Lake.

Several days following the death of Balabar, Melinde invited the group to the temple of Temple of Heironeous at the garrison for a victory party. Here they were presented with Greyhawk medals of valor for their valiant deeds. All but Doctor Voo was present for the ceremony, as the priest had been summoned by the followers of Wee Jas to their temple in the Cairn Hills.

However, all the events of the day were not as joyous. After spending as much time with Sergi as she could, the paladin revealed that their relationship could go no further, as she had been reassigned to Blackwall Keep. The keep was been subject to escalating assaults by lizardfolk raiders and a paladin of her skill was needed to reinforce the garrison there. After saying her goodbyes to Sergi and the rest of the group, she left Diamond Lake to travel to her new post.

Scorch was buried the day after the battle with Ebon Triad at the cemetery just outside the town proper. The ceremony was a simple affair and Doctor Voo presided. Except for his few friends in the group and Melinde, no other mourners attended the brief service. The stone over the gladiator was unadorned and simply read: "John Murin". Following the ceremony, all but Max returned to town. The halfling leaned on Scorch's tombstone, staring at the fresh earth and thinking of the times the two had spent together. Struggling to keep back tears, he quietly took a burnt piece of parchment from the pocket of his vest.

He had found it on the inside of Scorch's armor when he had been preparing his old friend for burial. The folded scrap of parchment had been singed badly, but the single word of "Max" could still be seen on the outside. The halfling unfolded it once more and saw the simple, careful writing of Scorch:

-- Max,

If you found this, I am dead. I got a good idea that my ride in the world is going to be a short one, so I got two things I want you to finish.

First, make sure Natasha turns out okay. She is strong, but she will need help and somebody to talk too. Stick with this or I will haunt you till your last day. Second, get my sister Jenny on this business with the cults. She still runs under the name Zephyr in the gladiator circles. You will need her help on this and she has always been the strongest of my blood. When you get a hold of her, I want you to give her my mace and shortsword. You know which ones. She will need them.

Sorry.

-- John
​

The halfling folded the note and slipped it back into his pocket. Wiping an errant tear with the back of his sleeve, he patted Scorch's tombstone and walked off towards town in silence.

 

[Spatterlight]

Well, this is going to be the last update for a while. Our group generally rotates between campaigns after we run through a module or two. I hope you all have enjoyed the story hour so far.

 

[WampusCat43]

Very well written. Always good to see another DM's take on the story (we're currently battling through A Gathering of Winds).

If you're interested in some of the "stuff" I put together for the various episodes so far, send me a PM. Good luck!