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Raiders of the Overreach
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7996745" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 22: FROM THE FIRES OF DEMISE</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 2/fighter 3</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 8</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 20 May 2020</p><p></p><p>- - -</p><p></p><p>"I, <strong>Dragon King Ixenilowan</strong>, formally welcome you to my kingdom," declared the ancient red dragon whose bulk took up a good chunk of the room he occupied, which served not only as the equivalent of a throne room but also - judging from the coins scattered loosely all about the floor, several layers deep - his personal treasury. It seemed a perfectly safe arrangement: who would dare to steal even a single coin from the ruler of the kingdom when he towered there above you? And the double doors leading into the room had impressive-looking security measures; it would likely be very difficult, if not impossible, to break into the place when it wasn't occupied.</p><p></p><p>The five adventurers standing before the Dragon King, of course, had already met him - but that was when he was in the human form he often wore when traveling about his kingdom. He also likely had to assume human form to enter and exit his combination throne room and treasury, thought Cramer, for even with the double doors there was no way the ancient red dragon could otherwise get his impressive bulk in or out of the room.</p><p></p><p>Marlo, wearing her <em>circlet of persuasion</em>, did the formal talking for the group. Dragon King Ixenilowan listened impassively as she told him of the drow of the Overreach, the rise of the Mortal Queen, and their plans to invade the surface world to wipe out the Greenvale drow and make slaves of those in the surrounding areas. As she spoke, the other four arena slaves stood silently beside her, nervous not only at the impressive bulk of the dragon looming over them but also at the two heavily-armored figures flanking them, each with a massive halberd at the ready if the slaves tried anything. The blades on the guards' weapons looked sharp enough to take off a head in one blow, not that the Dragon King couldn't easily dispatch the five arena slaves all by himself. It was unnerving, nonetheless.</p><p></p><p>When Marlo finished her speech, Dragon King Ixenilowan looked down at her, his expression one of boredom. "This sounds like a problem for the other kingdoms," he observed. "I doubt even this Mortal Queen would dare attempt making slaves of those of <em>my</em> kingdom." Marlo's face showed a flash of disappointment before she could clamp down on it, not wanting to insult the ancient red dragon - there was no telling what his reaction might be, she realized.</p><p></p><p>"However..." the red dragon added, causing Marlo's eyebrows to arch upwards in wary hope, "there is a matter you could undertake for me. Do me this favor and the might of Dracovania will be added to your cause."</p><p></p><p>"What would you have us do, Your Majesty?" Marlo asked.</p><p></p><p>"I have a half-human son, <strong>Mablikskriiod</strong>. The prince wishes to rule the kingdom but is painfully aware I have centuries of life ahead of me and he will never rule unless I die before my time. Thus, Mablikskriiod seeks to form an army of the survivors of the fallen kingdom of Baraxis to overthrow me. I, naturally, will not allow this to happen but I would prefer not to have to slay my own blood personally."</p><p></p><p>"So...you wish us to kill your son for you, Your Majesty?" hazarded Cramer. That's certainly what it sounded like to him.</p><p></p><p>"We can do that," piped up Utred. Killing people was pretty much what he did best; he never really was all that good at the family butter-making trade.</p><p></p><p>"That is my wish," confirmed Dragon King Ixenilowan. "Slay my son Mablikskriiod and my kingdom will aid Greenvale against the impending invasion forces from the Overreach."</p><p></p><p>That was certainly an alliance Greenvale could use - Marlo could only envision how helpful an ancient red dragon could be on the battlefield! She opened her mouth to voice her agreement but Utred got there before her. "Deal!" he enthused. "You want us to bring you back his head for proof or anything?"</p><p></p><p>"That will not be necessary," replied Dragon King Ixenilowan, reaching down in the pile of coins beside him and pulling out a red gemstone. He held it out before him. "This is a <em>status stone</em>, keyed to my son," he said. The heroes could see it pulsed with red light at the speed of a normal heartbeat. "When he is slain, the light from the stone will be extinguished and I will know you have held up your end of the bargain."</p><p></p><p>Khari had a practical question. "Does your son have any bodyguards?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>"He has half a dozen or so soldiers forming his inner circle," replied the dragon. "They will likely be with him, yes. I will have a guard escort you to a <em>teleportation circle</em> that will take you to the eastern border of my kingdom. From there, you will need to seek him out somewhere in the fallen kingdom, where he seeks to gather his army." Cramer had unfolded his map and found an area labeled "The Fallen Kingdom" - it lay east of Dracovania and was close to the village where Marlo had been raised.</p><p></p><p>"Very well, Your Majesty," agreed Marlo on behalf of the entire team. "We will be off on your mission at once!" She nodded and curtsied, knowing full well a Dragon King would expect such honors.</p><p></p><p>Dragon King Ixenilowan cleared his throat suddenly and announced, "You have forgotten to pay the Audience Tax."</p><p></p><p>"The...?" began Marlo, looking up in mid-curtsy, not sure if she had heard correctly. Surely the red dragon wasn't expecting them to pay him for the privilege of seeing him and being given a task to perform before he'd agree to fight off enemy forces who would mean harm to those of his own kingdom?</p><p></p><p>But Jhasspok caught on that money was being requested. He reached into the satchel strapped to his side and pulled out a square piece of slate bearing the scratched symbol of House Jalamir. "Do you accept slave tokens?" he asked. In his naivety, he forgot to address the Dragon King as "Your Majesty" - but then Utred hadn't and the lizardfolk took many of his social cues from the dwarven barbarian.</p><p></p><p>"Let me see that," demanded Dragon King Ixenilowan, holding out a draconic hand nearly the size of Jhasspok's entire body. He peered down at it as Jhasspok handed the slave token over, examining it closely and pinching it between his claws. Holding it on end, he used its pointed edge to scratch between two of his scales. "How many of these do you have?" he asked. Jhasspok opened his satchel and showed the red dragon, as Utred pulled another small sack of them from his own pocket.</p><p></p><p>"I will accept all of your slave tokens as the Audience Tax," announced Dragon King Ixenilowan as if doing the five arena slaves an incredibly generous favor. The five heroes emptied their pockets and pouches of all of their slave tokens, dumping them onto the coins already piled at their feet. Then, with a nod and a wave, Dragon King Ixenilowan bent to examine his new riches while the guards escorted the heroes back outside the castle and over to their wagon. Then one of them led the horse and wagon over to the <em>teleportation circle</em> the Dragon King had mentioned.</p><p></p><p>"Once it's been activated, you can just lead your horse into the circle," the escorting guard told them. Then, getting the thumbs-up signal from the castle wizard overseeing the platform, he said, "Go on ahead, then." Cramer gave the horse a snap of the reins and it went forward, pulling the wagon with the five heroes behind it. In the wink of an eye, the assembly was <em>teleported</em> across the miles onto a road very much like the one they had first taken to get to Dracovania.</p><p></p><p>"Good thinking about the slave tokens," remarked Cramer to Jhasspok. "They aren't any use to us anywhere but back in Overreach, and with any luck we won't be needing to spend much time there any more."</p><p></p><p>"I know how money works," replied the lizardfolk with just a hint of pride in his voice. It was a concept he'd been struggling with and was pleased to have apparently mastered. But then he turned to Utred, to ask a question that had been puzzling him. "How can a dragon have a son who's half human?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>"Well, you know he can turn himself into a human when he wants to, right? So he gets some woman pregnant when he's a human, and when she has the kid he's born with some dragon in him - maybe a tail, maybe red scales, maybe a dragon's head. Who knows? He ought to be easy enough for us to recognize, in any case," the barbarian said, already thinking ahead to identifying and killing the Dragon Prince.</p><p></p><p>"I recognize where we are!" enthused Marlo suddenly, looking around. "We're right about...here!" She pointed to a spot on Cramer's map with her finger. "Trail's Ridge, where I grew up, isn't far from here!"</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok looked over at the human woman sitting in the front seat next to Cramer, who was steering the wagon. Noting her short stature - the sorcerer was just shy of five feet - he asked Utred, "If we go back to her village, will she finish the rest of her growing up?" He wasn't sure, of course, but most of the humans he'd seen in his five years of life had been significantly taller than Marlo. He supposed it was possible her growth had stopped for some reason when she was separated from her village - who could tell with these mammals?</p><p></p><p>"Nah, I think that one's done growing," Utred replied.</p><p></p><p>"Maybe she has some dwarf in her," Jhasspok hazarded and didn't understand what was so funny when Utred and Khari began stifling snickers.</p><p></p><p>"What's so funny back there?" asked Cramer. But before he could get an answer Marlo touched him on the shoulder and pointed off into the distance. "Look!" she said. A plume of smoke was rising up from a small village off to the southeast. "That's Trail's Ridge!"</p><p></p><p>Cramer brought the horse to a fast trot and the group collectively got ready for potential battle. As they approached the village they could see only one building was actually on fire; Marlo identified it as the communal church. Trail's Ridge was too small to house separate temples to the various gods; one building made do for the whole pantheon.</p><p></p><p>Shrieks and screams could be heard before the heroes made it into the village proper and as they did enter they saw people fleeing in all directions. Getting closer, it became apparent they were fleeing from several figures wearing red dragonhide armor and wielding weapons, who were trying to round up the human villagers. Cramer cast a <em>detect evil</em> spell and wasn't at all surprised to see the armored figures triggered his magically-enhanced vision.</p><p></p><p>Without a word, Khari dropped off the side of the wagon and sank into the earth. With his <em>earthglide warhammer</em> in hand, it was simple enough for him to rush forward underground, popping up behind the fence of an animal pen attached to a tavern. He ducked low, staying out of sight as he saw two of the soldiers in red dragonhide standing before him, ordering the villagers to surrender and line up peacefully to be examined for their fitness to serve. Marlo cast <em>expeditious retreat</em> on her toad familiar Truffles, anticipating the possibility of later sending him out to deliver a touch spell or two (probably <em>vampiric touch</em>, although the sorcerer wasn't really thinking that far ahead just yet). She was distracted as she recognized several faces among those fleeing the soldiers.</p><p></p><p>One of the two men who seemed to be in charge noted the arrival of the wagon and the armed and armored individuals approaching on it. "We got armed company!" he called out to his companions and readied his weapons: a longsword and a whip whose length seemed composed solely of flames. Another man approached him, clad in the same red dragonhide plate mail and wielding identical weapons.</p><p></p><p>Cramer tried the diplomatic approach at first, calling out, "Are you seeking mercenaries? How much is the pay?" He wouldn't mind at all if these Dragon Knights thought they'd be willing accomplices to their schemes - it would likely get them close to Mablikskriiod.</p><p></p><p>"We're seeking loyal troops who would overthrow the Dragon King - a despot who has held his lands under a reign of terror for far too long! Are you up for such a mission?"</p><p></p><p>"I've heard dragons keep amazing amounts of treasure," the gnome replied in way of answering. "We'd be more than happy to join you in your task, if it means sharing in the rewards!" He studiously ignored the screaming villagers who still fled for their lives from the other armored knights seeking to force them to join their ranks, pretending to believe the obvious fiction the forces who'd be overthrowing the Dragon King would be volunteers. "Are you the leader, then? Do we work for you?"</p><p></p><p>"The leader's Prince Mablikskriiod," the Dragon Knight Slaver replied, pointing a thumb over his shoulder toward the burning church building. "He's investigating a hidden chamber below the church." This was news to Marlo, who had been in the church building many times and had not been aware there was a secret chamber below it. But as Cramer brought the horse to a stop - allegedly so the heroes could climb down and join their new bosses - he cast a <em>shield of faith</em> spell on Utred, knowing that keeping their toughest combatant in the fight for as long as possible could only aid them in their task.</p><p></p><p>But Utred wasn't one to muck about with any foolish "diplomatic approach" - not when there were heads to roll! As soon as his boots hit the ground he was sprinting at the two Dragon Knight Slavers with his greataxe out and ready. The closest one had time to send his whip cracking forth to burn a line of pain across the barbarian's face as he charged, but all that did was make Utred angrier. Jhasspok leaped down from the wagon and followed his barbarian friend, stoking his own rage at these slavers. His parallel approach brought him a whip from the other Dragon Knight Slaver and his own subsequent hiss of pain, but then his battleaxe was swinging down upon the same opponent Utred had targeted.</p><p></p><p>There were four other Dragon Knights in the area, these armed with spears and swords, and one of them charged at Jhasspok, leading with his spear. While they were slowed by their heavy armor, the lizardfolk's attention had been on the man he'd attacked and the newcomer's spear scored a hit in Jhasspok's side. Blood flowed freely down his scaled body.</p><p></p><p>But then Khari popped up from the ground, bringing his warhammer crashing down upon the Dragon Knight Slaver Utred and Jhasspok had already focused their own attacks upon - the dwarven fighter figured he'd therefore be the easiest to bring down. Marlo, in the meantime, cast an <em>empowered magic missile</em> spell at the knight who'd just stabbed Jhasspok.</p><p></p><p>As one, the two Dragon Knight Slavers spun about and attacked Utred and Jhasspok with both their longswords and their <em>life-flame whips</em>. Of the two weapons, the whips were by far the more powerful, for they not only had a greater reach but caused pain by their merest touch. Fortunately, Cramer cast a <em>sound burst</em> spell centered directly behind the pair that caused one of them to drop his weapons as he froze up, stunned; the spell caught another approaching Dragon Knight in its area of effect and the same thing happened to him. The other Dragon Knight Slaver fought on, thrashing out at Jhasspok with his weapons.</p><p></p><p>Utred didn't waste a moment in cutting down the frozen Dragon Knight Slaver standing stunned before him; one slice of his greataxe was all it took for the armored human to go crashing to the ground, his skull nearly split into two straight through his helmet. Jhasspok spun and attacked the spearman who'd just stabbed him, suspecting he'd fall easier than the Dragon Knight Slaver also attacking him. The lizardfolk's axe cut into the spearman's arm, dealing little damage as it was deflected off his armor, but it was just enough distraction to allow Jhasspok to rip out the man's throat with his teeth.</p><p></p><p>But by now two of the other Dragon Knights were upon Jhasspok, stabbing at him with their spears. He was hard-pressed to keep their darting spears away from him, especially once they managed to get him pinned between them as they attacked from opposite directions. But Khari stepped up, clobbering one in the head with his warhammer and dropping him at once, then, swinging his weapon to crush the ribs of the other one attacking Jhasspok. He, too, fell to the ground, dropping his weapons on the way down. Khari crushed his head for good measure.</p><p></p><p>Marlo <em>empowered</em> another <em>magic missile</em> spell and sent it flying at the sole remaining Dragon Knight Slaver and while it hit him it didn't prevent the human from knocking Jhasspok out with another dual strike of his longsword and his whip of flames. Jhasspok's blood pooled at his sides from his multiple wounds.</p><p></p><p>Cramer leaped down from the wagon and raced over to aid the fallen lizardfolk, taking a whip-strike in doing so. But then he cast a <em>cure critical wounds</em> spell on Jhasspok, closing up the reptile's wounds and bringing him to fast wakefulness. Jhasspok leaped back up to his feet and brought his battleaxe crashing into the torso of one of the Dragon Knights, bringing him down just as Utred did the same to the Dragon Knight Slaver who'd almost killed the lizardfolk earlier.</p><p></p><p>Only one Dragon Knight remained and he was quickly brought down; the arena slaves noted he apparently didn't even dare think of fleeing the battle to save his life or surrendering peacefully to an overwhelming force, choosing instead to die in battle. Whoever this Mablikskriiod was, he either engendered a fierce amount of loyalty or he was someone you didn't dare cross! The heroes picked up weapons from their falling foes as Marlo looked over at the church, noting the flames were finally petering out.</p><p></p><p>Entering the church, the group - led by Utred, who was itching to meet this Mablikskriiod in battle - found a dug-out hole in the wooden floor of the church, where the wood had been burned away. It was wide enough to allow two of them to drop down the six feet or so to the top of a pile of dirt, from which they could climb down to a hidden level below the church.</p><p></p><p>Utred activated his <em>hat of disguise</em>, taking on the appearance of one of the Dragon Knights. Cramer activated his <em>ring of invisibility</em>, fading from view, and Marlo thought that a wise precaution so she cast <em>invisibility</em> spells upon herself, Khari, and Jhasspok. Then the five descended into the chamber before them.</p><p></p><p>Looking over at Utred, one of the two Royal Guards standing beside Mablikskriiod demanded a report. Utred saw the weapon-tips of the spears they each held was sheathed in flames. Mablikskriiod held a book out before him, looking between its open pages and the <em>magic circle</em> inscribed in the stone floor of a chamber just around the corner.</p><p></p><p>Utred, doing his best to disguise his voice a little, replied, "The others have rounded up about a dozen men who look like they could be of some use in a battle." He left it at that, thinking that was likely what the Dragon Prince would be most interested in and that any further embellishment was likely to expose the charade; best to keep it simple and hope for the best. While the Royal Guard's attention was focused on Utred, Cramer surreptitiously cast an <em>aid</em> spell on Khari; they were both far enough back that the cleric was reasonably sure his words wouldn't be heard by the enemy.</p><p></p><p>Marlo whispered her plans to the others so they'd know to keep back (unfortunately, the others were just as <em>invisible</em> to Marlo as they were to their foes) and then stepped forward, casting a <em>color spray</em> at the trio of enemies before her. She popped back into the visible spectrum as she did so and was pleased to see both Mablikskriiod and one of his Royal Guard were stunned into immobility by her spell. The other one, though, grabbed his <em>flaming spear</em> and moved as if to attack this upstart human woman who'd appeared out of nowhere.</p><p></p><p>But before he could do so, Khari slammed the Royal Guardsman standing stunned before him with his warhammer - popping back into visibility as he did so - and then earth glided through the corner of the wall into a side corridor, leaving the stunned man he'd just walloped as a human shield before him. Utred stepped forward and attacked the stunned guard with his greataxe, although as he was still wearing his <em>hat of disguise</em> he appeared to be wielding a longsword.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok, however, had no patience for underlings and jumped straight at the main target, bringing his battleaxe cutting deep into Mablikskriiod's side. The Dragon Prince staggered under the blow and returned to full alertness, possibly having been jostled out of his stunning by the savage attack. But Cramer gave him no respite, casting a <em>spiritual weapon</em> spell and sending it to attack the Dragon Prince while Marlo sent an <em>empowered magic missile</em> spell flying his way as well.</p><p></p><p>The stunned Royal Guardsman was just snapping out of it as his counterpart started saying a few words that Khari and Utred (and Cramer, wearing his <em>helm of comprehend languages</em>) recognized as Dwarven: "To seek eternity." The <em>magic circle</em> started glowing as a result and the Royal Guard hurriedly pushed Dragon Prince Mablikskriiod into the circle, following him at once. But Jhasspok was still in contact with the Dragon Prince - a humanoid being who looked like nothing so much as a wingless red dragon squeezed into a vaguely human shape; he had a dragon's head and a red-scaled tail as thick as Jhasspok's own stuck out from beneath his red dragonhide armor - so when the two fleeing figures were <em>teleported</em> to apparent safety, the lizardfolk went right along with them.</p><p></p><p>Back in the chambers beneath the church of Trail's Ridge, Khari slammed the remaining member of the Royal Guard with his hammer (smack in the face, breaking his nose and removing a half dozen or more of his teeth in the process) and Utred finished him off with a blow of his greataxe. Then Utred ran into the side chamber with the <em>teleportation circle</em>; it was now empty but fortunately the effect was still in place, for as soon as he stepped across the threshold of the circle he was <em>teleported</em> to the far end of the one-way magic effect.</p><p></p><p>The room he appeared in had apparently once been about the same size and shape as the one he'd just departed; now the entire back fourth of the room was askew by about five feet as if somebody had just wrenched it violently to the left. There was a <em>magic circle</em> inscribed on the stone floor in this room but it didn't glow - nor was it a true circle anymore, merely two arcs of a circle pulled asunder.</p><p></p><p>But the dwarven barbarian was not alone in the room, for there on the ground lay Dragon Prince Mablikskriiod in a pool of blood and standing over him was Jhasspok, his reptilian muzzle covered in the Prince's blood after having just ripped out his throat. The Royal Guardsman at his side seemed to be in shock as he looked down upon his fallen liege, then he raised his <em>flaming spear</em> as if to avenge his master - only to have Cramer's <em>spiritual quarterstaff</em> smack him in the face as the little gnome and Marlo materialized in the room, having stepped into the <em>teleportation circle</em> at the far end.</p><p></p><p>Looking down at the dead half-dragon, the Royal Guardsman dropped his weapon and raised his hands in surrender.</p><p></p><p>Back in the underground chamber, Khari looked all around him and saw he was alone. Wandering into the chamber where he'd seen Utred go, he called out a tentative "Guys?" before crossing the threshold of the circle and appearing among his companions once again.</p><p></p><p>But now that everyone was back together, getting back to Trail's Ridge was going to be a challenge. Cramer called out "To seek eternity" in Dwarven, hoping against hope the <em>teleportation</em> effect might still work if at least one of the circles was still functioning. No such luck. "It looks like we're stuck here," lamented the gnome.</p><p></p><p>"Where's 'here'?" asked Marlo, looking around. The room was unlit save by some scant illumination seeping over a pile of rocks to the west, where it looked like the ceiling of a tunnel had collapsed some time ago - possibly during the same earthquake the sorcerer theorized might have shifted the back of the room over, destroying the <em>magic circle</em> in the process.</p><p></p><p>"I'll go see," offered Jhasspok, crawling over the rubble. The corridor had been a short one, and twenty feet later he was back outside in the open, having exited a cave in the side of a stone cliff. Before him, for as far as he could see, was sand: nothing but sand, a desolate desert environment. Jhasspok crawled back through the rubble-strewn passageway and report what he'd seen to the others.</p><p></p><p>"So we have no idea where we are or how to get back," summarized Marlo.</p><p></p><p>"What about this one?" demanded Utred, looking over at the Royal Guard. "You: you got any idea where this <em>teleport circle</em> thing took us?"</p><p></p><p>"I-- I have no idea," stammered their prisoner.</p><p></p><p>"Then you are of no use to us," declared Jhasspok, bringing his battleaxe crashing across the man's throat, killing him instantly. Marlo stifled a scream of horror at the lizardfolk's sudden and savage attack. "We will need meat if we are to cross a desert," replied Jhasspok. He looked down at the dead guard at his feet. "Meat is meat," he reminded the others.</p><p></p><p>"I guess we can say goodbye to the horse and wagon," Marlo said wistfully. Then she brightened and pulled the <em>bag of holding</em> out of her belt-pouch. "But at least we still have all of our goods with us!"</p><p></p><p>"Good thing," agreed Utred. That at least was something.</p><p></p><p>But then there was movement behind them and the heroes were startled to see the Dragon Prince rising back up. "She calls to me," he said mysteriously, shambling toward the rubble-strewn corridor and reaching a hand to the desert. He started climbing over the fallen rocks when Jhasspok dragged him back by the ankles, dropped him to the stone floor before him, and cut off his feet.</p><p></p><p>Still he tried crawling to the desert. Jhasspok wasn't having any of that: when he killed someone, he expected them to stay dead! He chopped Mablikskriiod into pieces, ensuring he was incapable of moving. But the bloody mess he left behind encouraged Marlo to move at great speed and she soon found herself standing at the foot of the great wasteland spread out before her. The others joined her.</p><p></p><p>"We have to cross that?" asked Khari. He didn't seem to enjoy the prospect.</p><p></p><p>Cramer was frowning; besides the obvious heat of the desert, the cleric could sense a strange chill as well - one that was almost necromantic in origin, he considered. "There's some sort of reanimating effect in place here, I'd wager," he told the others. "Strong enough for the Dragon Prince to rise up as a zombie after he was dead." Hearing that, Jhasspok returned back into the chamber they'd left to go chop up the body of the Royal Guardsman - just in case.</p><p></p><p>Marlo, however, looked up the cliff face behind her. Then, activating her <em>boots of levitation</em>, she rose straight up in the air, rising higher and higher until she could see over the top of the cliff. The air, she noted, had cooled significantly as she rose - much faster than normal. But the sight she saw beyond the top of the cliff made her nod her head in agreement with what she'd been thinking. She lowered herself back down to the others.</p><p></p><p>"Well?" asked Cramer.</p><p></p><p>"Tundra," Marlo replied. "Pine trees, patches of snow." She gestured for Cramer to open the map he carried. "I think we're somewhere in here, on the eastern edge of the map," she guessed, pointing to an area marked "The Desolate Wastes." "The lands at the top of the cliff are probably part of the Giants' Tundra." This was an area just north of the Desolate Wastes; the border between the two was indicated by a line of cliffs that led to the eastern edge of the map. It all fit with what she'd seen.</p><p></p><p>"So, our choice is to head out into a desert where if we die we'll turn into zombies or something, or we take turns being <em>levitated</em> up the cliff and into a snow-filled land ruled by frost giants," surmised Utred.</p><p></p><p>"That's about the gist of it, yes," agreed Marlo.</p><p></p><p>Utred hefted his greataxe. "I choose giants," he said.</p><p></p><p>"Giants," agreed Khari, his grip firm upon his warhammer.</p><p></p><p>"I'd say giants it is," observed Cramer.</p><p></p><p>- - -</p><p></p><p>Logan found a Draconic language generator on-line somewhere and informs us "Ixenilowan" is Draconic for "the fires of demise." He used a Pathfinder "Village Square" Flip-Map to represent Trail's Ridge (this is like the fourth or fifth time we've used that particular map in our various campaigns - we're certainly getting our money's worth from that one!), then some D&D Tiles to create the chambers below the church, and for the "earthquake-damaged" <em>teleportation circle</em> room he drew that one up on a sheet of paper with 1" grid lines. That's another noted difference in our respective DMing styles: with weeks between our gaming sessions in the campaign I DM, I tend to go more heavily on the homemade maps, whereas Logan's campaign meets weekly as a default and he thus leans more heavily on Dungeon Tiles and Flip-Maps for speed of preparation. He's gotten to be quite an expert with the Dungeon Tiles, too, often stacking them on top of each other for multi-tiered complexes or covering areas in separate rubble pieces to alter the design of the area. He's also become quite adept at incorporating details on the maps or tiles into the adventure as needed.</p><p></p><p>So it's off to the tundra next session, in an adventure Logan informs us will be named "Out of the Fire, Into the Freezer." I don't think Jhasspok's going to like the tundra very much - he'll probably like fighting frost giants just to help him stay warm!</p><p></p><p>Incidentally, we're moving our gaming night to Thursday starting next week. It's the last season of "Agents of SHIELD" and it's been moved to Wednesday evenings, so we're bumping game night by a day to accommodate. (Finally fed up with the ridiculous cost of cable TV, we gave up cable in February and are now a digital antenna family - which means no more using OnDemand to catch a show we missed when it originally aired.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7996745, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 22: FROM THE FIRES OF DEMISE[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 2/fighter 3[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 8[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 20 May 2020 - - - "I, [B]Dragon King Ixenilowan[/B], formally welcome you to my kingdom," declared the ancient red dragon whose bulk took up a good chunk of the room he occupied, which served not only as the equivalent of a throne room but also - judging from the coins scattered loosely all about the floor, several layers deep - his personal treasury. It seemed a perfectly safe arrangement: who would dare to steal even a single coin from the ruler of the kingdom when he towered there above you? And the double doors leading into the room had impressive-looking security measures; it would likely be very difficult, if not impossible, to break into the place when it wasn't occupied. The five adventurers standing before the Dragon King, of course, had already met him - but that was when he was in the human form he often wore when traveling about his kingdom. He also likely had to assume human form to enter and exit his combination throne room and treasury, thought Cramer, for even with the double doors there was no way the ancient red dragon could otherwise get his impressive bulk in or out of the room. Marlo, wearing her [I]circlet of persuasion[/I], did the formal talking for the group. Dragon King Ixenilowan listened impassively as she told him of the drow of the Overreach, the rise of the Mortal Queen, and their plans to invade the surface world to wipe out the Greenvale drow and make slaves of those in the surrounding areas. As she spoke, the other four arena slaves stood silently beside her, nervous not only at the impressive bulk of the dragon looming over them but also at the two heavily-armored figures flanking them, each with a massive halberd at the ready if the slaves tried anything. The blades on the guards' weapons looked sharp enough to take off a head in one blow, not that the Dragon King couldn't easily dispatch the five arena slaves all by himself. It was unnerving, nonetheless. When Marlo finished her speech, Dragon King Ixenilowan looked down at her, his expression one of boredom. "This sounds like a problem for the other kingdoms," he observed. "I doubt even this Mortal Queen would dare attempt making slaves of those of [I]my[/I] kingdom." Marlo's face showed a flash of disappointment before she could clamp down on it, not wanting to insult the ancient red dragon - there was no telling what his reaction might be, she realized. "However..." the red dragon added, causing Marlo's eyebrows to arch upwards in wary hope, "there is a matter you could undertake for me. Do me this favor and the might of Dracovania will be added to your cause." "What would you have us do, Your Majesty?" Marlo asked. "I have a half-human son, [B]Mablikskriiod[/B]. The prince wishes to rule the kingdom but is painfully aware I have centuries of life ahead of me and he will never rule unless I die before my time. Thus, Mablikskriiod seeks to form an army of the survivors of the fallen kingdom of Baraxis to overthrow me. I, naturally, will not allow this to happen but I would prefer not to have to slay my own blood personally." "So...you wish us to kill your son for you, Your Majesty?" hazarded Cramer. That's certainly what it sounded like to him. "We can do that," piped up Utred. Killing people was pretty much what he did best; he never really was all that good at the family butter-making trade. "That is my wish," confirmed Dragon King Ixenilowan. "Slay my son Mablikskriiod and my kingdom will aid Greenvale against the impending invasion forces from the Overreach." That was certainly an alliance Greenvale could use - Marlo could only envision how helpful an ancient red dragon could be on the battlefield! She opened her mouth to voice her agreement but Utred got there before her. "Deal!" he enthused. "You want us to bring you back his head for proof or anything?" "That will not be necessary," replied Dragon King Ixenilowan, reaching down in the pile of coins beside him and pulling out a red gemstone. He held it out before him. "This is a [I]status stone[/I], keyed to my son," he said. The heroes could see it pulsed with red light at the speed of a normal heartbeat. "When he is slain, the light from the stone will be extinguished and I will know you have held up your end of the bargain." Khari had a practical question. "Does your son have any bodyguards?" he asked. "He has half a dozen or so soldiers forming his inner circle," replied the dragon. "They will likely be with him, yes. I will have a guard escort you to a [I]teleportation circle[/I] that will take you to the eastern border of my kingdom. From there, you will need to seek him out somewhere in the fallen kingdom, where he seeks to gather his army." Cramer had unfolded his map and found an area labeled "The Fallen Kingdom" - it lay east of Dracovania and was close to the village where Marlo had been raised. "Very well, Your Majesty," agreed Marlo on behalf of the entire team. "We will be off on your mission at once!" She nodded and curtsied, knowing full well a Dragon King would expect such honors. Dragon King Ixenilowan cleared his throat suddenly and announced, "You have forgotten to pay the Audience Tax." "The...?" began Marlo, looking up in mid-curtsy, not sure if she had heard correctly. Surely the red dragon wasn't expecting them to pay him for the privilege of seeing him and being given a task to perform before he'd agree to fight off enemy forces who would mean harm to those of his own kingdom? But Jhasspok caught on that money was being requested. He reached into the satchel strapped to his side and pulled out a square piece of slate bearing the scratched symbol of House Jalamir. "Do you accept slave tokens?" he asked. In his naivety, he forgot to address the Dragon King as "Your Majesty" - but then Utred hadn't and the lizardfolk took many of his social cues from the dwarven barbarian. "Let me see that," demanded Dragon King Ixenilowan, holding out a draconic hand nearly the size of Jhasspok's entire body. He peered down at it as Jhasspok handed the slave token over, examining it closely and pinching it between his claws. Holding it on end, he used its pointed edge to scratch between two of his scales. "How many of these do you have?" he asked. Jhasspok opened his satchel and showed the red dragon, as Utred pulled another small sack of them from his own pocket. "I will accept all of your slave tokens as the Audience Tax," announced Dragon King Ixenilowan as if doing the five arena slaves an incredibly generous favor. The five heroes emptied their pockets and pouches of all of their slave tokens, dumping them onto the coins already piled at their feet. Then, with a nod and a wave, Dragon King Ixenilowan bent to examine his new riches while the guards escorted the heroes back outside the castle and over to their wagon. Then one of them led the horse and wagon over to the [I]teleportation circle[/I] the Dragon King had mentioned. "Once it's been activated, you can just lead your horse into the circle," the escorting guard told them. Then, getting the thumbs-up signal from the castle wizard overseeing the platform, he said, "Go on ahead, then." Cramer gave the horse a snap of the reins and it went forward, pulling the wagon with the five heroes behind it. In the wink of an eye, the assembly was [I]teleported[/I] across the miles onto a road very much like the one they had first taken to get to Dracovania. "Good thinking about the slave tokens," remarked Cramer to Jhasspok. "They aren't any use to us anywhere but back in Overreach, and with any luck we won't be needing to spend much time there any more." "I know how money works," replied the lizardfolk with just a hint of pride in his voice. It was a concept he'd been struggling with and was pleased to have apparently mastered. But then he turned to Utred, to ask a question that had been puzzling him. "How can a dragon have a son who's half human?" he asked. "Well, you know he can turn himself into a human when he wants to, right? So he gets some woman pregnant when he's a human, and when she has the kid he's born with some dragon in him - maybe a tail, maybe red scales, maybe a dragon's head. Who knows? He ought to be easy enough for us to recognize, in any case," the barbarian said, already thinking ahead to identifying and killing the Dragon Prince. "I recognize where we are!" enthused Marlo suddenly, looking around. "We're right about...here!" She pointed to a spot on Cramer's map with her finger. "Trail's Ridge, where I grew up, isn't far from here!" Jhasspok looked over at the human woman sitting in the front seat next to Cramer, who was steering the wagon. Noting her short stature - the sorcerer was just shy of five feet - he asked Utred, "If we go back to her village, will she finish the rest of her growing up?" He wasn't sure, of course, but most of the humans he'd seen in his five years of life had been significantly taller than Marlo. He supposed it was possible her growth had stopped for some reason when she was separated from her village - who could tell with these mammals? "Nah, I think that one's done growing," Utred replied. "Maybe she has some dwarf in her," Jhasspok hazarded and didn't understand what was so funny when Utred and Khari began stifling snickers. "What's so funny back there?" asked Cramer. But before he could get an answer Marlo touched him on the shoulder and pointed off into the distance. "Look!" she said. A plume of smoke was rising up from a small village off to the southeast. "That's Trail's Ridge!" Cramer brought the horse to a fast trot and the group collectively got ready for potential battle. As they approached the village they could see only one building was actually on fire; Marlo identified it as the communal church. Trail's Ridge was too small to house separate temples to the various gods; one building made do for the whole pantheon. Shrieks and screams could be heard before the heroes made it into the village proper and as they did enter they saw people fleeing in all directions. Getting closer, it became apparent they were fleeing from several figures wearing red dragonhide armor and wielding weapons, who were trying to round up the human villagers. Cramer cast a [I]detect evil[/I] spell and wasn't at all surprised to see the armored figures triggered his magically-enhanced vision. Without a word, Khari dropped off the side of the wagon and sank into the earth. With his [I]earthglide warhammer[/I] in hand, it was simple enough for him to rush forward underground, popping up behind the fence of an animal pen attached to a tavern. He ducked low, staying out of sight as he saw two of the soldiers in red dragonhide standing before him, ordering the villagers to surrender and line up peacefully to be examined for their fitness to serve. Marlo cast [I]expeditious retreat[/I] on her toad familiar Truffles, anticipating the possibility of later sending him out to deliver a touch spell or two (probably [I]vampiric touch[/I], although the sorcerer wasn't really thinking that far ahead just yet). She was distracted as she recognized several faces among those fleeing the soldiers. One of the two men who seemed to be in charge noted the arrival of the wagon and the armed and armored individuals approaching on it. "We got armed company!" he called out to his companions and readied his weapons: a longsword and a whip whose length seemed composed solely of flames. Another man approached him, clad in the same red dragonhide plate mail and wielding identical weapons. Cramer tried the diplomatic approach at first, calling out, "Are you seeking mercenaries? How much is the pay?" He wouldn't mind at all if these Dragon Knights thought they'd be willing accomplices to their schemes - it would likely get them close to Mablikskriiod. "We're seeking loyal troops who would overthrow the Dragon King - a despot who has held his lands under a reign of terror for far too long! Are you up for such a mission?" "I've heard dragons keep amazing amounts of treasure," the gnome replied in way of answering. "We'd be more than happy to join you in your task, if it means sharing in the rewards!" He studiously ignored the screaming villagers who still fled for their lives from the other armored knights seeking to force them to join their ranks, pretending to believe the obvious fiction the forces who'd be overthrowing the Dragon King would be volunteers. "Are you the leader, then? Do we work for you?" "The leader's Prince Mablikskriiod," the Dragon Knight Slaver replied, pointing a thumb over his shoulder toward the burning church building. "He's investigating a hidden chamber below the church." This was news to Marlo, who had been in the church building many times and had not been aware there was a secret chamber below it. But as Cramer brought the horse to a stop - allegedly so the heroes could climb down and join their new bosses - he cast a [I]shield of faith[/I] spell on Utred, knowing that keeping their toughest combatant in the fight for as long as possible could only aid them in their task. But Utred wasn't one to muck about with any foolish "diplomatic approach" - not when there were heads to roll! As soon as his boots hit the ground he was sprinting at the two Dragon Knight Slavers with his greataxe out and ready. The closest one had time to send his whip cracking forth to burn a line of pain across the barbarian's face as he charged, but all that did was make Utred angrier. Jhasspok leaped down from the wagon and followed his barbarian friend, stoking his own rage at these slavers. His parallel approach brought him a whip from the other Dragon Knight Slaver and his own subsequent hiss of pain, but then his battleaxe was swinging down upon the same opponent Utred had targeted. There were four other Dragon Knights in the area, these armed with spears and swords, and one of them charged at Jhasspok, leading with his spear. While they were slowed by their heavy armor, the lizardfolk's attention had been on the man he'd attacked and the newcomer's spear scored a hit in Jhasspok's side. Blood flowed freely down his scaled body. But then Khari popped up from the ground, bringing his warhammer crashing down upon the Dragon Knight Slaver Utred and Jhasspok had already focused their own attacks upon - the dwarven fighter figured he'd therefore be the easiest to bring down. Marlo, in the meantime, cast an [I]empowered magic missile[/I] spell at the knight who'd just stabbed Jhasspok. As one, the two Dragon Knight Slavers spun about and attacked Utred and Jhasspok with both their longswords and their [I]life-flame whips[/I]. Of the two weapons, the whips were by far the more powerful, for they not only had a greater reach but caused pain by their merest touch. Fortunately, Cramer cast a [I]sound burst[/I] spell centered directly behind the pair that caused one of them to drop his weapons as he froze up, stunned; the spell caught another approaching Dragon Knight in its area of effect and the same thing happened to him. The other Dragon Knight Slaver fought on, thrashing out at Jhasspok with his weapons. Utred didn't waste a moment in cutting down the frozen Dragon Knight Slaver standing stunned before him; one slice of his greataxe was all it took for the armored human to go crashing to the ground, his skull nearly split into two straight through his helmet. Jhasspok spun and attacked the spearman who'd just stabbed him, suspecting he'd fall easier than the Dragon Knight Slaver also attacking him. The lizardfolk's axe cut into the spearman's arm, dealing little damage as it was deflected off his armor, but it was just enough distraction to allow Jhasspok to rip out the man's throat with his teeth. But by now two of the other Dragon Knights were upon Jhasspok, stabbing at him with their spears. He was hard-pressed to keep their darting spears away from him, especially once they managed to get him pinned between them as they attacked from opposite directions. But Khari stepped up, clobbering one in the head with his warhammer and dropping him at once, then, swinging his weapon to crush the ribs of the other one attacking Jhasspok. He, too, fell to the ground, dropping his weapons on the way down. Khari crushed his head for good measure. Marlo [I]empowered[/I] another [I]magic missile[/I] spell and sent it flying at the sole remaining Dragon Knight Slaver and while it hit him it didn't prevent the human from knocking Jhasspok out with another dual strike of his longsword and his whip of flames. Jhasspok's blood pooled at his sides from his multiple wounds. Cramer leaped down from the wagon and raced over to aid the fallen lizardfolk, taking a whip-strike in doing so. But then he cast a [I]cure critical wounds[/I] spell on Jhasspok, closing up the reptile's wounds and bringing him to fast wakefulness. Jhasspok leaped back up to his feet and brought his battleaxe crashing into the torso of one of the Dragon Knights, bringing him down just as Utred did the same to the Dragon Knight Slaver who'd almost killed the lizardfolk earlier. Only one Dragon Knight remained and he was quickly brought down; the arena slaves noted he apparently didn't even dare think of fleeing the battle to save his life or surrendering peacefully to an overwhelming force, choosing instead to die in battle. Whoever this Mablikskriiod was, he either engendered a fierce amount of loyalty or he was someone you didn't dare cross! The heroes picked up weapons from their falling foes as Marlo looked over at the church, noting the flames were finally petering out. Entering the church, the group - led by Utred, who was itching to meet this Mablikskriiod in battle - found a dug-out hole in the wooden floor of the church, where the wood had been burned away. It was wide enough to allow two of them to drop down the six feet or so to the top of a pile of dirt, from which they could climb down to a hidden level below the church. Utred activated his [I]hat of disguise[/I], taking on the appearance of one of the Dragon Knights. Cramer activated his [I]ring of invisibility[/I], fading from view, and Marlo thought that a wise precaution so she cast [I]invisibility[/I] spells upon herself, Khari, and Jhasspok. Then the five descended into the chamber before them. Looking over at Utred, one of the two Royal Guards standing beside Mablikskriiod demanded a report. Utred saw the weapon-tips of the spears they each held was sheathed in flames. Mablikskriiod held a book out before him, looking between its open pages and the [I]magic circle[/I] inscribed in the stone floor of a chamber just around the corner. Utred, doing his best to disguise his voice a little, replied, "The others have rounded up about a dozen men who look like they could be of some use in a battle." He left it at that, thinking that was likely what the Dragon Prince would be most interested in and that any further embellishment was likely to expose the charade; best to keep it simple and hope for the best. While the Royal Guard's attention was focused on Utred, Cramer surreptitiously cast an [I]aid[/I] spell on Khari; they were both far enough back that the cleric was reasonably sure his words wouldn't be heard by the enemy. Marlo whispered her plans to the others so they'd know to keep back (unfortunately, the others were just as [I]invisible[/I] to Marlo as they were to their foes) and then stepped forward, casting a [I]color spray[/I] at the trio of enemies before her. She popped back into the visible spectrum as she did so and was pleased to see both Mablikskriiod and one of his Royal Guard were stunned into immobility by her spell. The other one, though, grabbed his [I]flaming spear[/I] and moved as if to attack this upstart human woman who'd appeared out of nowhere. But before he could do so, Khari slammed the Royal Guardsman standing stunned before him with his warhammer - popping back into visibility as he did so - and then earth glided through the corner of the wall into a side corridor, leaving the stunned man he'd just walloped as a human shield before him. Utred stepped forward and attacked the stunned guard with his greataxe, although as he was still wearing his [I]hat of disguise[/I] he appeared to be wielding a longsword. Jhasspok, however, had no patience for underlings and jumped straight at the main target, bringing his battleaxe cutting deep into Mablikskriiod's side. The Dragon Prince staggered under the blow and returned to full alertness, possibly having been jostled out of his stunning by the savage attack. But Cramer gave him no respite, casting a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] spell and sending it to attack the Dragon Prince while Marlo sent an [I]empowered magic missile[/I] spell flying his way as well. The stunned Royal Guardsman was just snapping out of it as his counterpart started saying a few words that Khari and Utred (and Cramer, wearing his [I]helm of comprehend languages[/I]) recognized as Dwarven: "To seek eternity." The [I]magic circle[/I] started glowing as a result and the Royal Guard hurriedly pushed Dragon Prince Mablikskriiod into the circle, following him at once. But Jhasspok was still in contact with the Dragon Prince - a humanoid being who looked like nothing so much as a wingless red dragon squeezed into a vaguely human shape; he had a dragon's head and a red-scaled tail as thick as Jhasspok's own stuck out from beneath his red dragonhide armor - so when the two fleeing figures were [I]teleported[/I] to apparent safety, the lizardfolk went right along with them. Back in the chambers beneath the church of Trail's Ridge, Khari slammed the remaining member of the Royal Guard with his hammer (smack in the face, breaking his nose and removing a half dozen or more of his teeth in the process) and Utred finished him off with a blow of his greataxe. Then Utred ran into the side chamber with the [I]teleportation circle[/I]; it was now empty but fortunately the effect was still in place, for as soon as he stepped across the threshold of the circle he was [I]teleported[/I] to the far end of the one-way magic effect. The room he appeared in had apparently once been about the same size and shape as the one he'd just departed; now the entire back fourth of the room was askew by about five feet as if somebody had just wrenched it violently to the left. There was a [I]magic circle[/I] inscribed on the stone floor in this room but it didn't glow - nor was it a true circle anymore, merely two arcs of a circle pulled asunder. But the dwarven barbarian was not alone in the room, for there on the ground lay Dragon Prince Mablikskriiod in a pool of blood and standing over him was Jhasspok, his reptilian muzzle covered in the Prince's blood after having just ripped out his throat. The Royal Guardsman at his side seemed to be in shock as he looked down upon his fallen liege, then he raised his [I]flaming spear[/I] as if to avenge his master - only to have Cramer's [I]spiritual quarterstaff[/I] smack him in the face as the little gnome and Marlo materialized in the room, having stepped into the [I]teleportation circle[/I] at the far end. Looking down at the dead half-dragon, the Royal Guardsman dropped his weapon and raised his hands in surrender. Back in the underground chamber, Khari looked all around him and saw he was alone. Wandering into the chamber where he'd seen Utred go, he called out a tentative "Guys?" before crossing the threshold of the circle and appearing among his companions once again. But now that everyone was back together, getting back to Trail's Ridge was going to be a challenge. Cramer called out "To seek eternity" in Dwarven, hoping against hope the [I]teleportation[/I] effect might still work if at least one of the circles was still functioning. No such luck. "It looks like we're stuck here," lamented the gnome. "Where's 'here'?" asked Marlo, looking around. The room was unlit save by some scant illumination seeping over a pile of rocks to the west, where it looked like the ceiling of a tunnel had collapsed some time ago - possibly during the same earthquake the sorcerer theorized might have shifted the back of the room over, destroying the [I]magic circle[/I] in the process. "I'll go see," offered Jhasspok, crawling over the rubble. The corridor had been a short one, and twenty feet later he was back outside in the open, having exited a cave in the side of a stone cliff. Before him, for as far as he could see, was sand: nothing but sand, a desolate desert environment. Jhasspok crawled back through the rubble-strewn passageway and report what he'd seen to the others. "So we have no idea where we are or how to get back," summarized Marlo. "What about this one?" demanded Utred, looking over at the Royal Guard. "You: you got any idea where this [I]teleport circle[/I] thing took us?" "I-- I have no idea," stammered their prisoner. "Then you are of no use to us," declared Jhasspok, bringing his battleaxe crashing across the man's throat, killing him instantly. Marlo stifled a scream of horror at the lizardfolk's sudden and savage attack. "We will need meat if we are to cross a desert," replied Jhasspok. He looked down at the dead guard at his feet. "Meat is meat," he reminded the others. "I guess we can say goodbye to the horse and wagon," Marlo said wistfully. Then she brightened and pulled the [I]bag of holding[/I] out of her belt-pouch. "But at least we still have all of our goods with us!" "Good thing," agreed Utred. That at least was something. But then there was movement behind them and the heroes were startled to see the Dragon Prince rising back up. "She calls to me," he said mysteriously, shambling toward the rubble-strewn corridor and reaching a hand to the desert. He started climbing over the fallen rocks when Jhasspok dragged him back by the ankles, dropped him to the stone floor before him, and cut off his feet. Still he tried crawling to the desert. Jhasspok wasn't having any of that: when he killed someone, he expected them to stay dead! He chopped Mablikskriiod into pieces, ensuring he was incapable of moving. But the bloody mess he left behind encouraged Marlo to move at great speed and she soon found herself standing at the foot of the great wasteland spread out before her. The others joined her. "We have to cross that?" asked Khari. He didn't seem to enjoy the prospect. Cramer was frowning; besides the obvious heat of the desert, the cleric could sense a strange chill as well - one that was almost necromantic in origin, he considered. "There's some sort of reanimating effect in place here, I'd wager," he told the others. "Strong enough for the Dragon Prince to rise up as a zombie after he was dead." Hearing that, Jhasspok returned back into the chamber they'd left to go chop up the body of the Royal Guardsman - just in case. Marlo, however, looked up the cliff face behind her. Then, activating her [I]boots of levitation[/I], she rose straight up in the air, rising higher and higher until she could see over the top of the cliff. The air, she noted, had cooled significantly as she rose - much faster than normal. But the sight she saw beyond the top of the cliff made her nod her head in agreement with what she'd been thinking. She lowered herself back down to the others. "Well?" asked Cramer. "Tundra," Marlo replied. "Pine trees, patches of snow." She gestured for Cramer to open the map he carried. "I think we're somewhere in here, on the eastern edge of the map," she guessed, pointing to an area marked "The Desolate Wastes." "The lands at the top of the cliff are probably part of the Giants' Tundra." This was an area just north of the Desolate Wastes; the border between the two was indicated by a line of cliffs that led to the eastern edge of the map. It all fit with what she'd seen. "So, our choice is to head out into a desert where if we die we'll turn into zombies or something, or we take turns being [I]levitated[/I] up the cliff and into a snow-filled land ruled by frost giants," surmised Utred. "That's about the gist of it, yes," agreed Marlo. Utred hefted his greataxe. "I choose giants," he said. "Giants," agreed Khari, his grip firm upon his warhammer. "I'd say giants it is," observed Cramer. - - - Logan found a Draconic language generator on-line somewhere and informs us "Ixenilowan" is Draconic for "the fires of demise." He used a Pathfinder "Village Square" Flip-Map to represent Trail's Ridge (this is like the fourth or fifth time we've used that particular map in our various campaigns - we're certainly getting our money's worth from that one!), then some D&D Tiles to create the chambers below the church, and for the "earthquake-damaged" [I]teleportation circle[/I] room he drew that one up on a sheet of paper with 1" grid lines. That's another noted difference in our respective DMing styles: with weeks between our gaming sessions in the campaign I DM, I tend to go more heavily on the homemade maps, whereas Logan's campaign meets weekly as a default and he thus leans more heavily on Dungeon Tiles and Flip-Maps for speed of preparation. He's gotten to be quite an expert with the Dungeon Tiles, too, often stacking them on top of each other for multi-tiered complexes or covering areas in separate rubble pieces to alter the design of the area. He's also become quite adept at incorporating details on the maps or tiles into the adventure as needed. So it's off to the tundra next session, in an adventure Logan informs us will be named "Out of the Fire, Into the Freezer." I don't think Jhasspok's going to like the tundra very much - he'll probably like fighting frost giants just to help him stay warm! Incidentally, we're moving our gaming night to Thursday starting next week. It's the last season of "Agents of SHIELD" and it's been moved to Wednesday evenings, so we're bumping game night by a day to accommodate. (Finally fed up with the ridiculous cost of cable TV, we gave up cable in February and are now a digital antenna family - which means no more using OnDemand to catch a show we missed when it originally aired.) 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