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JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
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<blockquote data-quote="gfunk" data-source="post: 2813667" data-attributes="member: 1813"><p>REVELATIONS </p><p></p><p>Faust stared at the ruined portal, and smiled ruefully.</p><p>“That sneaky bastard,” he said, shaking his head. In the time between when he had left Moreto and returned the Seal to the others, the true ghoul had apparently smashed the doorway from the other side, trapping the League in Icosiol’s tomb…wherever that happened to be. The psion shrugged, and sat down on the floor of the corridor with his back to the wall. He should go and warn the others, but his mental abilities were exhausted, and he wasn’t about to go traipsing through this death trap defenseless. No, he would be better off staying put, meditating for a few hours, and then trying to get some rest. The others would have no choice but to come this way if they decided to leave.</p><p></p><p>Several hours later, he awoke with a start. He was usually not one to dream, but he had just had a particularly nasty one. In it he had seen a handsome man with dark, shoulder-length hair, dressed in the garb of a nobleman. He had stood at the head of a large banquet table, crowded with many guests of equal noble bearing, but his team mates were also present. The table had been set with a sumptuous feast, with a large, covered tray bearing the main course. With a flourish, the nobleman had removed the lid, and there, trussed and cooked, complete with an apple in his mouth, was Faust. The psion wasn’t sure what the dream meant, if anything, and he didn’t dwell on it. He supposed exhaustion was playing tricks on his already spent psyche. </p><p></p><p>Faust stood, gathered his belongings, and began making his way back into the tomb on foot, rather than by dimensional travel. His companions had not come upon him during the night, and so must still be on their search…unless they were dead. He remembered Giovanni had mentioned something about a gatehouse located off the temple chamber where they had encountered the spider. That was as good a place to start as any. As he walked, he focused an image in his mind, and between one step and the next, his body morphed into that of a grey render. The vicious creature’s form was far stronger and more hardy than his natural form, and he didn’t care to take any chances while he was alone. </p><p></p><p>Flycatcher was dozing lightly, when a slight noise brought him to full wakefulness. What had it been? The scrape of a claw on stone? The shadow spider retreated further into the shadows and peered down the long hallway which led to the upper levels. There, lumbering down the passage with no attempt at stealth, was a hulking, grey-skinned creature, with a large, fang-filled maw, six insectile eyes, and long arms tipped with claws that dragged the ground. In an instant Flycatcher had wreathed himself in shadows and closed the sixty feet between the creature and himself.</p><p></p><p>“I know not what manner of beast you are,” the spider spoke in common as he loomed over the creature, “and you may have a mind as primitive as your body, but if you comprehend my words, heed them now. I offer you one chance to turn and leave my abode.”</p><p>The thing’s six eyes blinked in unison and it cocked its head quizzically, much like a hound will do when it is confused. However, Flycatcher was very observant, and he caught just the barest hint of a smile on the creature’s drooling lips.</p><p></p><p>Faust knew his bluff had been called when the spider suddenly lunged for him. Stepping back quickly, the psion manifested a current of fiery energy from the middle of his brow. The beam struck the arachnid in the thorax, and though it reeled in pain, it come steadily on, its huge bulk squeezed in the narrow passage. It’s claws snapped at the air as Faust shuffled back again. Then, it surged towards him, claws wide as if to embrace him. Faust darted forward, locking his massive jaws onto Flycatcher’s arm. The spider squealed in pain again, its body still being scorched by the energy current. Frantically, Flycatcher flailed at the render, seizing Faust with two of his claws and lifting the psion off the ground so he could rip at him with his mandibles. Struggling to maintain his concentration despite the ferocity of the attack, Faust continued to poor his mental energy into the current, melting large holes in Flycatcher’s body. Again and again the shadow spider tore at him, but his attacks became weaker, until finally, he dropped the render to the floor and curled into a crisped ball. Faust breathed heavily, finally letting the energy current subside. He looked down at his injuries, decided they were not life-threatening, and stepped past the spider, continuing down the corridor. </p><p>“Did not know who you were screwing with,” he muttered to himself.</p><p></p><p>Reaching the temple chamber, Faust considered his options. The doors to his left would lead him to the gatehouse, but the blue, steel doors in front of him would take him eventually back to the falls. However, Giovanni had told him about the golems that had been released in the room before he and Shay fled. Faust wondered if they were still there. Cautiously, he moved up the short flight of stairs to the door, and cracked it open. Immediately, three pairs of stone eyes turned towards him as the golems moved towards the door. Quickly, the psion slammed the door shut, and hurried back down the stairs, and towards the doors on the opposite side of the room. He heaved a sigh of relief when it did not appear that the golems were following.</p><p></p><p>When he opened the second set of doors he saw the unstable looking rock bridge which spanned the river of blood. The gatehouse stood silent and apparently empty on the far side, the bodies of the slain xorns lying on the beach in front of it. Not willing to risk the bridge, Faust Dimension-doored to the gates. The entrance was made of flaking, rusting iron, with hinges on the other side and a series of glyphs and protective amulets inset in the iron. Some of the amulets looked almost like feathers, while others seemed more like mill wheels or perhaps latches or levers. The thick rust made it difficult to say what the engravings really were meant to be. Some of them seemed to be smudged with black dirt or ashes. In any event, it did not appear that the doors had been recently opened. Faust surmised that his friends did not come this way after all. Willing his body to morph once more, he returned to the form of a pseudo-dragon, and Dimension-doored back to the cave where they had encountered Moreto. He would start his search from there.</p><p></p><p>Hawk rubbed his bleary eyes as the fuzzy image above him coalesced into the stony visage of Grubber.</p><p>“Not you again,” the civilar groaned. </p><p>“Retrieving your soul is becoming something of a habit,” the goliath said good-naturedly. “Have a care, though. Even Kelemvor’s patience can be tested.”</p><p>As Grubber helped Hawk to a sitting position, and began healing his body now that his soul was intact, the others quickly brought the paladin up to speed on their current situation. Hawk glanced up at the point in the ceiling that Drasek had identified as false, though to him, it appeared as solid as the rest of the stone around it.</p><p></p><p>“Our plan is as simple as it is dangerous,” Giovanni added. “First, I recommend you allow Drasek to hold the Seal. Then, I will Dimension Door with him, Grubber and Grim to the top of that large column, directly beneath the hole. From there, I will transport the four of us just inside the hole, and hope that location is a stable one. As quickly as I am able, I’ll return for you, Storm and Shay.” </p><p>Hawk agreed the plan was dicey, at best, but their options were limited. Enabling all of them to fly again would expend resources, and even then, they could only enter the hole one-by-one, which could be potentially suicidal. He had to agree that the warlock’s plan seemed best.</p><p></p><p>The team prepared themselves, with the spellcasters, both divine and arcane, layering one defensive dweomer after another on themselves and the warriors. When all was ready, Havok joined hands with Drasek, Grim and Grubber, and then stepped into the Astral Plane. </p><p></p><p>They were coming. Augerric could sense it. The oculus demon had heard and witnessed most of the trespassers’ battle with the guardians the day before. He also knew they had encamped just beyond the entrance to the Rising Path, fools that they were. Had he not been bound by his Oath to the tomb he would have swept down upon them in the night and slaughtered them at his leisure. Instead, he was forced to bide his time, making his own preparations for when they felt bold enough to come to him. That time was now.</p><p></p><p>The chamber was modestly sized, but had a very high, vaulted ceiling, nearly sixty feet at its apex. The room was lit by elongated metal lanterns that glowed with the colors of the rainbow. A white, marble sarcophagus floated in the air at the far end of the room, ten feet off the floor. The sarcophagus bottom was carved with an image of a sleeping Wind Duke, two swords resting on his chest and a winged helmet at his feet.</p><p>The walls of the chamber were carved to depict a funeral procession that wound up in a spiral, showing Wind Dukes, djinni, air elementals and other elemental servants of Law in mourning as they attended the body of a fallen general. After the first spiral, the upper sections showed the general’s ascension into a primal vortex of wind and thunder. Many-eyed abominations, frog-like humanoids, and tentacled demons were trampled beneath his feet as he rose into a golden doorway at the end of the fresco.</p><p></p><p>Havok and his three companions barely had time to register the quiet grandeur of the room, as disaster struck as soon as they appeared. Unfortunately, the hole in the ceiling of the ante-chamber below opened into a small alcove in this upper room. The warlock had not anticipated this when he shifted the group here from the column below, and Grim and Grubber both rematerialized inside a solid wall! Instantaneously, they were shunted completely across the chamber, where they stood momentarily stunned before a raised dais. As if this weren’t enough, Havok’s ability to ‘see the unseen’ revealed the creature that stood, cloaked in invisibility, upon that dais, directly above his friends. Some obscure wisp of planar knowledge in the back of Havok’s mind named the fiend: an oculus demon. It stood roughly six feet in height, but sported a large pair of bat-like wings which made it look even more imposing. The most shocking thing about it were the literally hundreds of eyes that blinked in unison, and covered its entire body, from the tips of its horns, to the bottoms of its feet. A wickedly hooked sword was clutched in both its taloned hands, and a multitude of identical images of the demon danced about it…a spell-like effect that Havok was well acquainted with. </p><p></p><p>Though he longed to stay and defend his friends, Havok knew that he could be of most use by bringing in reinforcements. Darting towards the hole in the floor, he shouted over his shoulder, “Behind you, on the dais! It’s a demon! Bless your weapon, if you can, and use cold iron if you have it!” Then he dropped through the floor, trusting in the Feather Fall ring he had borrowed from Grubber to slow his fall. However, no sooner had he begun his descent, than he was battered by a blast of lightning from the maelstrom raging across the ceiling of the antechamber. Fortunately, Grubber had once more protected the team from electricity, and he weathered the worst of the damage. Slowly, he drifted towards the top of the large column below. </p><p></p><p>Augerric smiled at the futile warning the human had given his companions. Much good would it do them. The demon’s augmented sight showed his every magical dweomer the pitiful mortals had cloaked themselves in. The goliath in particular was heavily draped in magic, and the robe of Celestial Brilliance he wore annoyed Augerric. With a thought, he dropped a dispelling field over the brute, smirking as charm after charm winked out, but unfortunately not the damnable light. As he struck with his spell, he became instantly visible, but before the dumbfounded creatures could do more than gape open-mouthed, three of his eyes fired lancing beams of black light at each of them. Augerric began to laugh as the pathetic goliath began to heave and retch.</p><p></p><p>As Havok landed atop the column, he instantly transported himself to stand beside Hawk, Shay and Storm. </p><p>“We’ve got trouble.”</p><p></p><p>Grim shook off the draining, nauseating effects of the eye-bolt, and deliberately pulled a flask from his pouch, while at the same time drawing out an axe he had found long ago, and kept purely for aesthetic reasons. One didn’t come across cold iron that often. Working quickly, he emptied the contents of the flask onto the blade of the axe, and began rubbing the oil into the metal.</p><p></p><p>Augerric paid little heed to the dwarf. It was the human on the far side of the room that now captured his attention. Obviously this one had at least a modicum of intelligence, and had recognized the nature of the demon’s eye beams, for he was placing another dweomer upon himself, one that warded him from the effects of negative energy. No matter. He would deal with that shortly. For the moment, he would content himself with harrying the two nearby who remained susceptible to his powers. Twice more he blasted the goliath, smiling again when he saw the look of abject fear that came into the doomed mortal’s eyes. Just for good measure, he shot the dwarf as well, then, willing himself invisibly once more, he glided silently across the room to stand right next to the human.</p><p></p><p>Grubber felt panic overwhelm him. He had to leave this place now or he would surely die. He was convinced of it. Shoving Grim aside, he took off at a full run across the chamber, reaching the hole in a few strides. Not hesitating, he dropped through, plummeting towards the column forty feet below, lightning blasting him as he fell.</p><p></p><p>“Trouble you say?” Shay said, raising one eyebrow as he watched the goliath tumble from the ceiling, wreathed in electricity, and fall prone atop the column. </p><p>“Exactly,” Havok answered. “Let’s go.” They grasped hands, and vanished, reappearing next to the fallen Grubber. </p><p></p><p>Drasek knew they were in trouble. Already their initial strike force had been cut in half, and they couldn’t even see their enemy. Quickly, he began another prayer, one which would purge all invisibility effects within thirty feet of him. He was shocked and stunned to see the demon revealed not two feet from him. Grim saw the demon as well, and he hurled himself across the chamber, raising his blessed weapon and slashing at the fiend, but was rewarded only by one of the multiple images of the creature winking out of existence. </p><p></p><p>Augerric ignored the dwarf. Instead, he dropped a second dispelling field over the human, watching hungrily as his defenses began to collapse, including his Death Ward. Immediately, the demon blasted the inquisitor with three eye bolts, chuckling as the man clutched his abdomen and doubled over. </p><p></p><p>As swiftly as it came, Grubber’s terror departed, leaving behind a feeling of deep shame. Rising to his feet, he joined hands with the other three atop the column as they were whisked into the tomb. </p><p></p><p>“Two can play that game, pit-spawn!” Drasek gasped between heaving. He chanted a prayer that sounded more like a curse and dropped his own dispelling field over the demon. To his satisfaction, all of the illusory images vanished.</p><p></p><p>Grim’s opportunity was at hand. With only one target to deal with, he swung his axe with all his might, slamming it into the demon’s flank. Augerric howled as the cold iron, blessed axe bit into his flesh and burned like acid. Enraged, the fiend focused his ire first on the inquisitor who had made him an easy target. Slashing with his unholy weapon, he gashed Drasek’s armor, slicing deep between his ribs. The paladin felt one of his lungs collapse, and his breath came in ragged gasps. Three blasts from the demon’s unblinking eyes hammered him into unconsciousness, and he sagged to the floor.</p><p></p><p>As Drasek dropped, Hawk stepped in to fill his space, “Shay, help Drasek!” the civilar called, parrying a blow from the demon at the same time. As the momentum of Augerric’s strike momentarily over-balanced the fiend, Hawk slipped his own blade past, calling on Helm’s wrath to smite his foe, while at the same time unleashing a surge of holy power. Augerric reeled from the blow, but was abruptly thrown forward again as a blast of eldritch power from Havok buffeted him from behind. Again Grim picked the perfect moment to strike, sweeping his axe low this time, tangling Augerric’s feet, and putting the demon flat on his back. Before Augerric could raise his blade to defend himself, the mineral warrior struck in two swift chops, his weapon opening horrific gashes in the demon’s vulnerable hide. </p><p></p><p>Augerric was still furious, but he was also starting to feel a glimmer of something unfamiliar…fear. The dwarf, goliath, and aasimar stood above him on three sides. He was surrounded and on the ground. He had to regain his feet and heal his wounds. Reflexively, he lashed out at the dwarf with three of his eye bolts, and was rewarded with the sounds of the hated little creature vomiting. Quickly, he heaved himself to his feet, but as he did so, the goliath and the aasimar struck. Their blows were largely ineffective due to the unholy fortitude that was his birthright, but little by little his life’s blood was being drained from him. Again the aasimar struck, but then Augerric quickly stepped behind the goliath, placing the brute between himself and his other assailants. Concentrating, he summoned his magic, then reached out to touch the goliath, siphoning life force out of him much as a vampire would. The demon’s wounds began to close.</p><p></p><p>Shay knelt beside the fallen form of Drasek. Quickly, he poured a healing elixir into the inquisitor’s slack mouth. Drasek coughed and sputtered, opening his eyes as the potion took effect. He sat up hurriedly, assessing the situation around him. “My thanks Shay,” he said, patting the rogue on the shoulder. “I’ll take it from here.” Just as the demon began draining Grubber’s life energy, Drasek began his own spell. At its completion, an ephemeral hammer of pure white light, flashed into existence, and drove into Augerric’s chest, forcing the demon away from the goliath. As he staggered back, Grim shoved past Grubber, lowering his shoulder and bowling the fiend completely over again. The demon half raised one arm in a feeble attempt to ward off the dwarf, but Grim’s axe cleaved through Augerric’s limb, and into his skull.</p><p></p><p>Shay pulled a coil of rope from his pack, and spoke a word. Of its own volition, the rope began snaking upwards, wrapping around the floating sarcophagus, and knotting off. Quickly, the rogue scaled the rope and perched atop the marble casket. The carving on the top depicted the same image on the underside, but its hands were empty, and protruded out of the top, seemingly carved as if to hold something. Shay relayed his findings to the others, and then relinquished his position to Drasek. The inquisitor drew out the Seal once more, and placed it within the Wind Duke’s hands. </p><p></p><p>Instantly, the sarcophagus sank slowly to the floor, at which time the top faded away, leaving the Seal suspended in mid-air. Within was dust and bone fragments, the remains of the Wind Duke general, Icosiol. However, four items rested among the debris. Two were swords, one a short sword of mithral, its pommel a single huge star sapphire that glittered with electrical energy, and the other a long sword, its hilt set with six pale sapphires the size of grapes. A heavy platinum ring lay along side the swords, set with four, large, pale blue sapphires and carved with crisp runes of Law. Finally, what appeared to be the sundered haft of a weapon, some fifteen inches in length, and jagged at one end, lay near the foot of the sarcophagus. Giovanni’s sense of magic told him that all of the items were powerful, but the weapon fragment was potent beyond measure. Reverently, Drasek removed each of the items, wrapping them carefully in his cloak before stowing them. As he did so, a momentary rush of anger and jealousy swept over the group, but it was quickly replaced by a feeling of peace and welcome. Drasek knew that Icosiol himself had blessed them, and gifted them with these relics from the past, to use in whatever way they saw fit in their coming trials. Atop Grubber’s brow, the diadem of the Wind Duke Zosiel flared brightly, and the goliath felt its power increase, imbuing him with even greater wisdom and insight. </p><p></p><p>“Well,” Drasek said as the team stood just inside the hidden passage overlooking the falling river of blood, “our search is over, and we can finally leave this place and its spirits in peace.”</p><p>“Not yet,” Giovanni said, his tone dark. “There is still the matter of Flycatcher. He has the Talisman, and I’m not leaving here without it, nor without repaying him in full.”</p><p>“What do you suggest?” Hawk asked. “Did he instruct you were to find him?”</p><p>“No,” the warlock answered, “but I imagine he’ll be somewhere near the temple. However, I would prefer that we start at the gatehouse. It may be that his lair is within, and if so, we can take reclaim the Talisman.” </p><p>All were in agreement, and while Drasek would transport himself, Hawk, Shay, Grubber and Storm, Giovanni and Grim would follow behind by flight via the wings that Grubber’s Celestial Aspect prayer granted them. </p><p></p><p>It was during this return flight that the warlock and the dwarf came upon Faust. </p><p>“I’ve been looking for you,” the psion said without preamble.</p><p>“Why?” Giovanni asked. “I thought you were going to watch over Moreto. Why are you back so soon?”</p><p>“It would seem,” Faust began, “that our paladins’ intuitions were correct, though I would never tell them so, and that Moreto was not entirely trust worthy. You see…he sort of…destroyed to Portal.”</p><p>Grim cursed roundly. “I told ya! We should’a killed him when we had the chance!”</p><p>“Yes, well, you know what they say about hindsight and all that,” the psion said unperturbed. “Not to worry, though. Both and I Drasek are capable of Teleportation, so escaping should present no major obstacle.”</p><p>“That will have to wait,” Giovanni said. “We were just on our way to find Flycatcher.”</p><p>“Oh…” Faust said, dropping his eyes.</p><p>“Oh…what?” the warlock asked, his own eyes narrowing.</p><p>“I…umm,” Faust hesitated. “Well, it was self-defense! He had me cornered, and I was on my own! I didn’t know if he had already killed the rest of you, so…I…sort of….killed him.”</p><p>“You what?” Giovanni shouted, aghast. “Did you find the Talisman?”</p><p>“No,” Faust admitted. “He wasn’t carrying anything, and believe me, I looked. I don’t know what you’re so upset about. You said you planned on killing him anyway.”</p><p>Giovanni took a moment, then drew in a deep breath. “I meant AFTER I had retrieved the Talisman. Look, we were just on our way to meet the others at the gatehouse. You had better hope that was where the spider laired.”</p><p></p><p>Some time later, Giovanni stood before four sets of smashed double doors, each set situated directly behind the other, with a blank wall behind the last set. The gatehouse was a dead end.</p><p>“Well?” the warlock asked Faust accusingly. Faust turned to Grubber. </p><p>“I’m no expert,” the psion said, “but I’ve heard that some priests are capable of locating hidden or lost objects that they are familiar with.”</p><p>“That is true,” Grubber nodded, “provided that the object is within a certain distance. If you will give me a few minutes to mediate, I can pray for the requisite spell.”</p><p></p><p>Several minutes later, the goliath shook his head. “It is not nearby.”</p><p>Giovanni cursed, his fingers massaging his temples. </p><p>“I have another idea,” Faust offered.</p><p>“Great,” the warlock snapped. “I can’t wait to hear it.”</p><p>“Flycatcher was a shadow spider,” the psion said, ignoring Giovanni’s sarcasm. “So it stands to reason that his lair might lie on his home plane…the Plane of Shadow. I happen to know that this particular plane overlies our own, and locations there mirror the same locations here, though in a somewhat altered way. I can take us to the Shadow Plane, but the travel is imprecise. We will not arrive in this same spot. Once there, we must Teleport to the Shadow equivalent of this location.”</p><p>The others stared at him with mouths open. He simply shrugged. “It’s either that, or just admit the loss of the Talisman.”</p><p>Giovanni’s jaw tightened. “Let’s do it.”</p><p></p><p>They found themselves upon a vast, monotone plain, the sky overhead a uniform shade of gray. The land around them was blasted, and twisted, and seemed to be some sort of ancient battlefield. Gnarled trees stood alone here and there, and tattered banners rustled in a chilled breeze. A feeling of oppression overlay everything.</p><p>“Let’s keep moving,” Giovanni said. “I don’t want to attract the attention of any natives.”</p><p></p><p>Drasek could only Teleport some of the group, and so, reluctantly, Shay, Giovanni, Storm and Hawk climbed inside Shay’s extra dimensional bag, holding their breaths as the sack was sealed. Drasek then joined hands with Faust, Grim and Grubber, who in turn carried the sack, and focused in his mind an image of the temple in Icosiol’s tomb before invoking his Teleportation.</p><p></p><p>The room they appeared in was undoubtedly the temple, but it appeared nothing like its counterpart on the Prime. The large chandeliers lay in ruins on the floor, and all the doors hung askew on their hinges. The carvings on the walls had all been ruined by huge gouges, as if by large claws. Draped from wall to wall, and ceiling to floor, were vast sheets of webs, wispy and ethereal in the half-light. There was no question that they had found Flycatcher’s lair. Dried husks of unknown creatures littered the floor, half cocooned in webs. In one corner, however, Giovanni’s percipience detected the tell-tale emanations of magic. The Talisman was indeed there, along with numerous items of jewelry and coins, but the magic of the artifact was much stronger than the warlock remembered. Perhaps it had been affected by Icosiol’s blessing as well?</p><p></p><p>They did not tarry on the Shadow Plane any longer than necessary. When they had reclaimed the Talisman, Faust transported them back to the Prime, this time aiming for Daggerford. However, as the psion had previously mentioned, planar travel was an inexact science at best, and the group found themselves in the midst of a dense forest. </p><p></p><p>By this time, they were all weary, and decided to rest for the evening before continuing on. Their night passed uneventfully, full of the wild sounds of the forest. In the morning, Drasek gathered them together again, as he had on the Plane of Shadow, and Teleported once more, this time appearing in the middle of Daggerford’s town square.</p><p></p><p>Delfen Ondabar greeted his friends warmly. He had set up a temporary residence in an abandoned cottage, and had been busy recovering what he could of his research and lore. He was ecstatic when he heard of the team’s discoveries, and overawed when he beheld the actual relics.</p><p>“It is just as I guessed,” he whispered as he examined the shattered haft. “This is indeed a fragment of the Shattered Scepter of Calim! Unless I miss my guess, this is the largest piece. Ah, alas! Legend has it that each smaller fragment can guide the bearer to the next largest one. This one, being the largest, cannot help us to find the others. Still, it is a potent item in its own right. It is supposed to be capable of healing any injury or malady simply by touch. And these,” he said, picking up the swords, “These are the Lightning Sword and the Sword of Calim…Icosiol’s personal weapons! And his ring! With it, he could command the service of any creature of Air. Amazing!”</p><p></p><p>In time, the team reached the conclusion that, though powerful, the swords and the ring were of little practical use to them. Their own weapons were of comparable power. However, the monetary value of such relics would provide them with much needed capital to equip themselves for their future endeavors. Ondabar eagerly offered to purchase the items, paying the adventurers well over one-hundred thousand gold coins. The shard of the Scepter, however, they decided to keep, with Drasek offering to bear it.</p><p></p><p>“And now my friends,” Ondabar said, “I must bid you goodbye. You have grown beyond this old man, and I’m afraid I can be of no further use to you, save in one final way. I would have you journey to the town of Longsaddle, east of Neverwinter. There, you must seek my former master, Malchor Harpell. Bring to him all you have gathered, and all that you have learned. He is an archmage of vast power and knowledge. If anyone can guide you in the days to come, it is he. Go with my blessing. You have made a jaded old wizard proud, and renewed my hope for this world.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gfunk, post: 2813667, member: 1813"] REVELATIONS Faust stared at the ruined portal, and smiled ruefully. “That sneaky bastard,” he said, shaking his head. In the time between when he had left Moreto and returned the Seal to the others, the true ghoul had apparently smashed the doorway from the other side, trapping the League in Icosiol’s tomb…wherever that happened to be. The psion shrugged, and sat down on the floor of the corridor with his back to the wall. He should go and warn the others, but his mental abilities were exhausted, and he wasn’t about to go traipsing through this death trap defenseless. No, he would be better off staying put, meditating for a few hours, and then trying to get some rest. The others would have no choice but to come this way if they decided to leave. Several hours later, he awoke with a start. He was usually not one to dream, but he had just had a particularly nasty one. In it he had seen a handsome man with dark, shoulder-length hair, dressed in the garb of a nobleman. He had stood at the head of a large banquet table, crowded with many guests of equal noble bearing, but his team mates were also present. The table had been set with a sumptuous feast, with a large, covered tray bearing the main course. With a flourish, the nobleman had removed the lid, and there, trussed and cooked, complete with an apple in his mouth, was Faust. The psion wasn’t sure what the dream meant, if anything, and he didn’t dwell on it. He supposed exhaustion was playing tricks on his already spent psyche. Faust stood, gathered his belongings, and began making his way back into the tomb on foot, rather than by dimensional travel. His companions had not come upon him during the night, and so must still be on their search…unless they were dead. He remembered Giovanni had mentioned something about a gatehouse located off the temple chamber where they had encountered the spider. That was as good a place to start as any. As he walked, he focused an image in his mind, and between one step and the next, his body morphed into that of a grey render. The vicious creature’s form was far stronger and more hardy than his natural form, and he didn’t care to take any chances while he was alone. Flycatcher was dozing lightly, when a slight noise brought him to full wakefulness. What had it been? The scrape of a claw on stone? The shadow spider retreated further into the shadows and peered down the long hallway which led to the upper levels. There, lumbering down the passage with no attempt at stealth, was a hulking, grey-skinned creature, with a large, fang-filled maw, six insectile eyes, and long arms tipped with claws that dragged the ground. In an instant Flycatcher had wreathed himself in shadows and closed the sixty feet between the creature and himself. “I know not what manner of beast you are,” the spider spoke in common as he loomed over the creature, “and you may have a mind as primitive as your body, but if you comprehend my words, heed them now. I offer you one chance to turn and leave my abode.” The thing’s six eyes blinked in unison and it cocked its head quizzically, much like a hound will do when it is confused. However, Flycatcher was very observant, and he caught just the barest hint of a smile on the creature’s drooling lips. Faust knew his bluff had been called when the spider suddenly lunged for him. Stepping back quickly, the psion manifested a current of fiery energy from the middle of his brow. The beam struck the arachnid in the thorax, and though it reeled in pain, it come steadily on, its huge bulk squeezed in the narrow passage. It’s claws snapped at the air as Faust shuffled back again. Then, it surged towards him, claws wide as if to embrace him. Faust darted forward, locking his massive jaws onto Flycatcher’s arm. The spider squealed in pain again, its body still being scorched by the energy current. Frantically, Flycatcher flailed at the render, seizing Faust with two of his claws and lifting the psion off the ground so he could rip at him with his mandibles. Struggling to maintain his concentration despite the ferocity of the attack, Faust continued to poor his mental energy into the current, melting large holes in Flycatcher’s body. Again and again the shadow spider tore at him, but his attacks became weaker, until finally, he dropped the render to the floor and curled into a crisped ball. Faust breathed heavily, finally letting the energy current subside. He looked down at his injuries, decided they were not life-threatening, and stepped past the spider, continuing down the corridor. “Did not know who you were screwing with,” he muttered to himself. Reaching the temple chamber, Faust considered his options. The doors to his left would lead him to the gatehouse, but the blue, steel doors in front of him would take him eventually back to the falls. However, Giovanni had told him about the golems that had been released in the room before he and Shay fled. Faust wondered if they were still there. Cautiously, he moved up the short flight of stairs to the door, and cracked it open. Immediately, three pairs of stone eyes turned towards him as the golems moved towards the door. Quickly, the psion slammed the door shut, and hurried back down the stairs, and towards the doors on the opposite side of the room. He heaved a sigh of relief when it did not appear that the golems were following. When he opened the second set of doors he saw the unstable looking rock bridge which spanned the river of blood. The gatehouse stood silent and apparently empty on the far side, the bodies of the slain xorns lying on the beach in front of it. Not willing to risk the bridge, Faust Dimension-doored to the gates. The entrance was made of flaking, rusting iron, with hinges on the other side and a series of glyphs and protective amulets inset in the iron. Some of the amulets looked almost like feathers, while others seemed more like mill wheels or perhaps latches or levers. The thick rust made it difficult to say what the engravings really were meant to be. Some of them seemed to be smudged with black dirt or ashes. In any event, it did not appear that the doors had been recently opened. Faust surmised that his friends did not come this way after all. Willing his body to morph once more, he returned to the form of a pseudo-dragon, and Dimension-doored back to the cave where they had encountered Moreto. He would start his search from there. Hawk rubbed his bleary eyes as the fuzzy image above him coalesced into the stony visage of Grubber. “Not you again,” the civilar groaned. “Retrieving your soul is becoming something of a habit,” the goliath said good-naturedly. “Have a care, though. Even Kelemvor’s patience can be tested.” As Grubber helped Hawk to a sitting position, and began healing his body now that his soul was intact, the others quickly brought the paladin up to speed on their current situation. Hawk glanced up at the point in the ceiling that Drasek had identified as false, though to him, it appeared as solid as the rest of the stone around it. “Our plan is as simple as it is dangerous,” Giovanni added. “First, I recommend you allow Drasek to hold the Seal. Then, I will Dimension Door with him, Grubber and Grim to the top of that large column, directly beneath the hole. From there, I will transport the four of us just inside the hole, and hope that location is a stable one. As quickly as I am able, I’ll return for you, Storm and Shay.” Hawk agreed the plan was dicey, at best, but their options were limited. Enabling all of them to fly again would expend resources, and even then, they could only enter the hole one-by-one, which could be potentially suicidal. He had to agree that the warlock’s plan seemed best. The team prepared themselves, with the spellcasters, both divine and arcane, layering one defensive dweomer after another on themselves and the warriors. When all was ready, Havok joined hands with Drasek, Grim and Grubber, and then stepped into the Astral Plane. They were coming. Augerric could sense it. The oculus demon had heard and witnessed most of the trespassers’ battle with the guardians the day before. He also knew they had encamped just beyond the entrance to the Rising Path, fools that they were. Had he not been bound by his Oath to the tomb he would have swept down upon them in the night and slaughtered them at his leisure. Instead, he was forced to bide his time, making his own preparations for when they felt bold enough to come to him. That time was now. The chamber was modestly sized, but had a very high, vaulted ceiling, nearly sixty feet at its apex. The room was lit by elongated metal lanterns that glowed with the colors of the rainbow. A white, marble sarcophagus floated in the air at the far end of the room, ten feet off the floor. The sarcophagus bottom was carved with an image of a sleeping Wind Duke, two swords resting on his chest and a winged helmet at his feet. The walls of the chamber were carved to depict a funeral procession that wound up in a spiral, showing Wind Dukes, djinni, air elementals and other elemental servants of Law in mourning as they attended the body of a fallen general. After the first spiral, the upper sections showed the general’s ascension into a primal vortex of wind and thunder. Many-eyed abominations, frog-like humanoids, and tentacled demons were trampled beneath his feet as he rose into a golden doorway at the end of the fresco. Havok and his three companions barely had time to register the quiet grandeur of the room, as disaster struck as soon as they appeared. Unfortunately, the hole in the ceiling of the ante-chamber below opened into a small alcove in this upper room. The warlock had not anticipated this when he shifted the group here from the column below, and Grim and Grubber both rematerialized inside a solid wall! Instantaneously, they were shunted completely across the chamber, where they stood momentarily stunned before a raised dais. As if this weren’t enough, Havok’s ability to ‘see the unseen’ revealed the creature that stood, cloaked in invisibility, upon that dais, directly above his friends. Some obscure wisp of planar knowledge in the back of Havok’s mind named the fiend: an oculus demon. It stood roughly six feet in height, but sported a large pair of bat-like wings which made it look even more imposing. The most shocking thing about it were the literally hundreds of eyes that blinked in unison, and covered its entire body, from the tips of its horns, to the bottoms of its feet. A wickedly hooked sword was clutched in both its taloned hands, and a multitude of identical images of the demon danced about it…a spell-like effect that Havok was well acquainted with. Though he longed to stay and defend his friends, Havok knew that he could be of most use by bringing in reinforcements. Darting towards the hole in the floor, he shouted over his shoulder, “Behind you, on the dais! It’s a demon! Bless your weapon, if you can, and use cold iron if you have it!” Then he dropped through the floor, trusting in the Feather Fall ring he had borrowed from Grubber to slow his fall. However, no sooner had he begun his descent, than he was battered by a blast of lightning from the maelstrom raging across the ceiling of the antechamber. Fortunately, Grubber had once more protected the team from electricity, and he weathered the worst of the damage. Slowly, he drifted towards the top of the large column below. Augerric smiled at the futile warning the human had given his companions. Much good would it do them. The demon’s augmented sight showed his every magical dweomer the pitiful mortals had cloaked themselves in. The goliath in particular was heavily draped in magic, and the robe of Celestial Brilliance he wore annoyed Augerric. With a thought, he dropped a dispelling field over the brute, smirking as charm after charm winked out, but unfortunately not the damnable light. As he struck with his spell, he became instantly visible, but before the dumbfounded creatures could do more than gape open-mouthed, three of his eyes fired lancing beams of black light at each of them. Augerric began to laugh as the pathetic goliath began to heave and retch. As Havok landed atop the column, he instantly transported himself to stand beside Hawk, Shay and Storm. “We’ve got trouble.” Grim shook off the draining, nauseating effects of the eye-bolt, and deliberately pulled a flask from his pouch, while at the same time drawing out an axe he had found long ago, and kept purely for aesthetic reasons. One didn’t come across cold iron that often. Working quickly, he emptied the contents of the flask onto the blade of the axe, and began rubbing the oil into the metal. Augerric paid little heed to the dwarf. It was the human on the far side of the room that now captured his attention. Obviously this one had at least a modicum of intelligence, and had recognized the nature of the demon’s eye beams, for he was placing another dweomer upon himself, one that warded him from the effects of negative energy. No matter. He would deal with that shortly. For the moment, he would content himself with harrying the two nearby who remained susceptible to his powers. Twice more he blasted the goliath, smiling again when he saw the look of abject fear that came into the doomed mortal’s eyes. Just for good measure, he shot the dwarf as well, then, willing himself invisibly once more, he glided silently across the room to stand right next to the human. Grubber felt panic overwhelm him. He had to leave this place now or he would surely die. He was convinced of it. Shoving Grim aside, he took off at a full run across the chamber, reaching the hole in a few strides. Not hesitating, he dropped through, plummeting towards the column forty feet below, lightning blasting him as he fell. “Trouble you say?” Shay said, raising one eyebrow as he watched the goliath tumble from the ceiling, wreathed in electricity, and fall prone atop the column. “Exactly,” Havok answered. “Let’s go.” They grasped hands, and vanished, reappearing next to the fallen Grubber. Drasek knew they were in trouble. Already their initial strike force had been cut in half, and they couldn’t even see their enemy. Quickly, he began another prayer, one which would purge all invisibility effects within thirty feet of him. He was shocked and stunned to see the demon revealed not two feet from him. Grim saw the demon as well, and he hurled himself across the chamber, raising his blessed weapon and slashing at the fiend, but was rewarded only by one of the multiple images of the creature winking out of existence. Augerric ignored the dwarf. Instead, he dropped a second dispelling field over the human, watching hungrily as his defenses began to collapse, including his Death Ward. Immediately, the demon blasted the inquisitor with three eye bolts, chuckling as the man clutched his abdomen and doubled over. As swiftly as it came, Grubber’s terror departed, leaving behind a feeling of deep shame. Rising to his feet, he joined hands with the other three atop the column as they were whisked into the tomb. “Two can play that game, pit-spawn!” Drasek gasped between heaving. He chanted a prayer that sounded more like a curse and dropped his own dispelling field over the demon. To his satisfaction, all of the illusory images vanished. Grim’s opportunity was at hand. With only one target to deal with, he swung his axe with all his might, slamming it into the demon’s flank. Augerric howled as the cold iron, blessed axe bit into his flesh and burned like acid. Enraged, the fiend focused his ire first on the inquisitor who had made him an easy target. Slashing with his unholy weapon, he gashed Drasek’s armor, slicing deep between his ribs. The paladin felt one of his lungs collapse, and his breath came in ragged gasps. Three blasts from the demon’s unblinking eyes hammered him into unconsciousness, and he sagged to the floor. As Drasek dropped, Hawk stepped in to fill his space, “Shay, help Drasek!” the civilar called, parrying a blow from the demon at the same time. As the momentum of Augerric’s strike momentarily over-balanced the fiend, Hawk slipped his own blade past, calling on Helm’s wrath to smite his foe, while at the same time unleashing a surge of holy power. Augerric reeled from the blow, but was abruptly thrown forward again as a blast of eldritch power from Havok buffeted him from behind. Again Grim picked the perfect moment to strike, sweeping his axe low this time, tangling Augerric’s feet, and putting the demon flat on his back. Before Augerric could raise his blade to defend himself, the mineral warrior struck in two swift chops, his weapon opening horrific gashes in the demon’s vulnerable hide. Augerric was still furious, but he was also starting to feel a glimmer of something unfamiliar…fear. The dwarf, goliath, and aasimar stood above him on three sides. He was surrounded and on the ground. He had to regain his feet and heal his wounds. Reflexively, he lashed out at the dwarf with three of his eye bolts, and was rewarded with the sounds of the hated little creature vomiting. Quickly, he heaved himself to his feet, but as he did so, the goliath and the aasimar struck. Their blows were largely ineffective due to the unholy fortitude that was his birthright, but little by little his life’s blood was being drained from him. Again the aasimar struck, but then Augerric quickly stepped behind the goliath, placing the brute between himself and his other assailants. Concentrating, he summoned his magic, then reached out to touch the goliath, siphoning life force out of him much as a vampire would. The demon’s wounds began to close. Shay knelt beside the fallen form of Drasek. Quickly, he poured a healing elixir into the inquisitor’s slack mouth. Drasek coughed and sputtered, opening his eyes as the potion took effect. He sat up hurriedly, assessing the situation around him. “My thanks Shay,” he said, patting the rogue on the shoulder. “I’ll take it from here.” Just as the demon began draining Grubber’s life energy, Drasek began his own spell. At its completion, an ephemeral hammer of pure white light, flashed into existence, and drove into Augerric’s chest, forcing the demon away from the goliath. As he staggered back, Grim shoved past Grubber, lowering his shoulder and bowling the fiend completely over again. The demon half raised one arm in a feeble attempt to ward off the dwarf, but Grim’s axe cleaved through Augerric’s limb, and into his skull. Shay pulled a coil of rope from his pack, and spoke a word. Of its own volition, the rope began snaking upwards, wrapping around the floating sarcophagus, and knotting off. Quickly, the rogue scaled the rope and perched atop the marble casket. The carving on the top depicted the same image on the underside, but its hands were empty, and protruded out of the top, seemingly carved as if to hold something. Shay relayed his findings to the others, and then relinquished his position to Drasek. The inquisitor drew out the Seal once more, and placed it within the Wind Duke’s hands. Instantly, the sarcophagus sank slowly to the floor, at which time the top faded away, leaving the Seal suspended in mid-air. Within was dust and bone fragments, the remains of the Wind Duke general, Icosiol. However, four items rested among the debris. Two were swords, one a short sword of mithral, its pommel a single huge star sapphire that glittered with electrical energy, and the other a long sword, its hilt set with six pale sapphires the size of grapes. A heavy platinum ring lay along side the swords, set with four, large, pale blue sapphires and carved with crisp runes of Law. Finally, what appeared to be the sundered haft of a weapon, some fifteen inches in length, and jagged at one end, lay near the foot of the sarcophagus. Giovanni’s sense of magic told him that all of the items were powerful, but the weapon fragment was potent beyond measure. Reverently, Drasek removed each of the items, wrapping them carefully in his cloak before stowing them. As he did so, a momentary rush of anger and jealousy swept over the group, but it was quickly replaced by a feeling of peace and welcome. Drasek knew that Icosiol himself had blessed them, and gifted them with these relics from the past, to use in whatever way they saw fit in their coming trials. Atop Grubber’s brow, the diadem of the Wind Duke Zosiel flared brightly, and the goliath felt its power increase, imbuing him with even greater wisdom and insight. “Well,” Drasek said as the team stood just inside the hidden passage overlooking the falling river of blood, “our search is over, and we can finally leave this place and its spirits in peace.” “Not yet,” Giovanni said, his tone dark. “There is still the matter of Flycatcher. He has the Talisman, and I’m not leaving here without it, nor without repaying him in full.” “What do you suggest?” Hawk asked. “Did he instruct you were to find him?” “No,” the warlock answered, “but I imagine he’ll be somewhere near the temple. However, I would prefer that we start at the gatehouse. It may be that his lair is within, and if so, we can take reclaim the Talisman.” All were in agreement, and while Drasek would transport himself, Hawk, Shay, Grubber and Storm, Giovanni and Grim would follow behind by flight via the wings that Grubber’s Celestial Aspect prayer granted them. It was during this return flight that the warlock and the dwarf came upon Faust. “I’ve been looking for you,” the psion said without preamble. “Why?” Giovanni asked. “I thought you were going to watch over Moreto. Why are you back so soon?” “It would seem,” Faust began, “that our paladins’ intuitions were correct, though I would never tell them so, and that Moreto was not entirely trust worthy. You see…he sort of…destroyed to Portal.” Grim cursed roundly. “I told ya! We should’a killed him when we had the chance!” “Yes, well, you know what they say about hindsight and all that,” the psion said unperturbed. “Not to worry, though. Both and I Drasek are capable of Teleportation, so escaping should present no major obstacle.” “That will have to wait,” Giovanni said. “We were just on our way to find Flycatcher.” “Oh…” Faust said, dropping his eyes. “Oh…what?” the warlock asked, his own eyes narrowing. “I…umm,” Faust hesitated. “Well, it was self-defense! He had me cornered, and I was on my own! I didn’t know if he had already killed the rest of you, so…I…sort of….killed him.” “You what?” Giovanni shouted, aghast. “Did you find the Talisman?” “No,” Faust admitted. “He wasn’t carrying anything, and believe me, I looked. I don’t know what you’re so upset about. You said you planned on killing him anyway.” Giovanni took a moment, then drew in a deep breath. “I meant AFTER I had retrieved the Talisman. Look, we were just on our way to meet the others at the gatehouse. You had better hope that was where the spider laired.” Some time later, Giovanni stood before four sets of smashed double doors, each set situated directly behind the other, with a blank wall behind the last set. The gatehouse was a dead end. “Well?” the warlock asked Faust accusingly. Faust turned to Grubber. “I’m no expert,” the psion said, “but I’ve heard that some priests are capable of locating hidden or lost objects that they are familiar with.” “That is true,” Grubber nodded, “provided that the object is within a certain distance. If you will give me a few minutes to mediate, I can pray for the requisite spell.” Several minutes later, the goliath shook his head. “It is not nearby.” Giovanni cursed, his fingers massaging his temples. “I have another idea,” Faust offered. “Great,” the warlock snapped. “I can’t wait to hear it.” “Flycatcher was a shadow spider,” the psion said, ignoring Giovanni’s sarcasm. “So it stands to reason that his lair might lie on his home plane…the Plane of Shadow. I happen to know that this particular plane overlies our own, and locations there mirror the same locations here, though in a somewhat altered way. I can take us to the Shadow Plane, but the travel is imprecise. We will not arrive in this same spot. Once there, we must Teleport to the Shadow equivalent of this location.” The others stared at him with mouths open. He simply shrugged. “It’s either that, or just admit the loss of the Talisman.” Giovanni’s jaw tightened. “Let’s do it.” They found themselves upon a vast, monotone plain, the sky overhead a uniform shade of gray. The land around them was blasted, and twisted, and seemed to be some sort of ancient battlefield. Gnarled trees stood alone here and there, and tattered banners rustled in a chilled breeze. A feeling of oppression overlay everything. “Let’s keep moving,” Giovanni said. “I don’t want to attract the attention of any natives.” Drasek could only Teleport some of the group, and so, reluctantly, Shay, Giovanni, Storm and Hawk climbed inside Shay’s extra dimensional bag, holding their breaths as the sack was sealed. Drasek then joined hands with Faust, Grim and Grubber, who in turn carried the sack, and focused in his mind an image of the temple in Icosiol’s tomb before invoking his Teleportation. The room they appeared in was undoubtedly the temple, but it appeared nothing like its counterpart on the Prime. The large chandeliers lay in ruins on the floor, and all the doors hung askew on their hinges. The carvings on the walls had all been ruined by huge gouges, as if by large claws. Draped from wall to wall, and ceiling to floor, were vast sheets of webs, wispy and ethereal in the half-light. There was no question that they had found Flycatcher’s lair. Dried husks of unknown creatures littered the floor, half cocooned in webs. In one corner, however, Giovanni’s percipience detected the tell-tale emanations of magic. The Talisman was indeed there, along with numerous items of jewelry and coins, but the magic of the artifact was much stronger than the warlock remembered. Perhaps it had been affected by Icosiol’s blessing as well? They did not tarry on the Shadow Plane any longer than necessary. When they had reclaimed the Talisman, Faust transported them back to the Prime, this time aiming for Daggerford. However, as the psion had previously mentioned, planar travel was an inexact science at best, and the group found themselves in the midst of a dense forest. By this time, they were all weary, and decided to rest for the evening before continuing on. Their night passed uneventfully, full of the wild sounds of the forest. In the morning, Drasek gathered them together again, as he had on the Plane of Shadow, and Teleported once more, this time appearing in the middle of Daggerford’s town square. Delfen Ondabar greeted his friends warmly. He had set up a temporary residence in an abandoned cottage, and had been busy recovering what he could of his research and lore. He was ecstatic when he heard of the team’s discoveries, and overawed when he beheld the actual relics. “It is just as I guessed,” he whispered as he examined the shattered haft. “This is indeed a fragment of the Shattered Scepter of Calim! Unless I miss my guess, this is the largest piece. Ah, alas! Legend has it that each smaller fragment can guide the bearer to the next largest one. This one, being the largest, cannot help us to find the others. Still, it is a potent item in its own right. It is supposed to be capable of healing any injury or malady simply by touch. And these,” he said, picking up the swords, “These are the Lightning Sword and the Sword of Calim…Icosiol’s personal weapons! And his ring! With it, he could command the service of any creature of Air. Amazing!” In time, the team reached the conclusion that, though powerful, the swords and the ring were of little practical use to them. Their own weapons were of comparable power. However, the monetary value of such relics would provide them with much needed capital to equip themselves for their future endeavors. Ondabar eagerly offered to purchase the items, paying the adventurers well over one-hundred thousand gold coins. The shard of the Scepter, however, they decided to keep, with Drasek offering to bear it. “And now my friends,” Ondabar said, “I must bid you goodbye. You have grown beyond this old man, and I’m afraid I can be of no further use to you, save in one final way. I would have you journey to the town of Longsaddle, east of Neverwinter. There, you must seek my former master, Malchor Harpell. Bring to him all you have gathered, and all that you have learned. He is an archmage of vast power and knowledge. If anyone can guide you in the days to come, it is he. Go with my blessing. You have made a jaded old wizard proud, and renewed my hope for this world.” [/QUOTE]
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JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
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