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Raiders of the Overreach
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8513527" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 50: MYSTERIES OF THE ISLE OF FIVE GODS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 17</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 11</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 16/psychic warrior 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 17</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 17</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 12 January 2022</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>Skevros was not entirely pleased to see the group of five foreign adventurers enter the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>, given these were the idiots responsible for having freed the Mithral Mage from Dwarven Hell. Still, his own group of adventurers - the Durnhill Conscripts - had by this time seemingly taken care of the Mithral Mage on a permanent basis, so he was willing to at least hear what they had to say.</p><p></p><p>"Yes?" he asked as they entered the room. He waved away Karen, who had stepped forward to see if any of them needed any drinks; he wanted this conversation to be short and sweet and the offer of beverages would only draw out their visit.</p><p></p><p>"We met with a cleric of Boccob named Khier, over in the Azure Glade," replied Cramer Appleknocker. "He suggested we visit you, to see what all you can tell us about Jakura."</p><p></p><p>Skevros briefly considered bringing <strong>Mikito</strong> into the conversation as she was from that far-eastern land, but again the thought of getting rid of these five as quickly as possible was foremost in his mind. "And what exact would you like to know about Jakura?" asked the king's adviser.</p><p></p><p>"We were told you had a quick means of getting us there," added Marlo.</p><p></p><p>That finally brought a smile to the adviser's frowning face; he was perfectly willing to aid these bunglers in heading over to the other side of the world. "Ah, I see," he answered. "Yes, there is a specific boulder that the Seekers of Eternity had set up as a teleport trap of sorts; the mere act of touching it sends you to the 'Forest of Ghosts' in Jakura, so named because the locals there believe the people who randomly show up there on occasion - as a result of the teleport trap - are in fact ghosts." He gave them directions on where to find the specific boulder.</p><p></p><p>"Seems easy enough," grunted Utred. "And once we're there, do you know where the Jakuran Writhing Gate might be located?"</p><p></p><p>"It's the Gate of Sardegon," Marlo added helpfully.</p><p></p><p>"Ah, no, actually - I'm afraid my knowledge of these Writhing Gates is somewhat lacking. I can tell you, however, that since Jakura is on the other side of the world it is night there when it's day here, and vice versa."</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok's reptilian brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Is that normal?" he asked Utred.</p><p></p><p>"It's magic," replied Utred, knowing perfectly well it was not but also knowing that was the one answer he could give the lizardfolk to ensure there were no additional questions about it. And he was right; Jhasspok shrugged and considered the matter sufficiently explained.</p><p></p><p>"Are we going to head out right away?" asked Khari. "Or rest up and get a fresh start in the morning?"</p><p></p><p>"The latter, I think," answered Cramer. "I think we'd best head into any potential Writhing Gate situation with a full bevy of spells at the ready." He looked back at Skevros. "Hey, I noticed there are rooms on the floor above," he began but Skevros cut him off.</p><p></p><p>"There are currently no vacancies," the red-clad wizard informed them. But then he took pity on the group and directed them to a reputable inn not far away.</p><p></p><p>The inn was nothing spectacular, but at least they allowed Jhasspok entry with sufficient vouching on the part of the others that he was intelligent enough not to damage the furniture or shred the bedding. Just to be sure, the lizardfolk slept in the corner of his room on the floor; he'd grown up sleeping on solid stone floors in the Underdark so it was no particular hardship for him. And in the morning the group took off for the boulder that would <em>teleport</em> them halfway across the world.</p><p></p><p>"This looks like it," Utred said when they had arrived. "I'll go first, if you like."</p><p></p><p>"Hold up - prep spells first," said Marlo, grabbing hold of the barbarian's shoulder before he took off. The sorceress cast a <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell on everyone and a <em>stoneskin</em> spell on Jhasspok, while Cramer cast his traditional <em>longstrider</em> and <em>moment of prescience</em> spells on himself. Then, declaring himself ready, he suggested everyone touch the boulder at the same time. "Best if we stay together," he said.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Perhaps because of the great distances involved, each of the five adventurers ended up alone in the Forest of Ghosts. And sure enough, just as Skevros had said it was night out despite it being a bright, sunny morning back on the other side of the world. Still, the moon was out and most of the former slaves had their <em>slave-light cloaks</em> active and shedding illumination.</p><p></p><p>There was the sound of running water ahead and each of the five headed toward it. Sure enough, in a clearing in the forest a small, curved bridge spanned the small stream and upon it stood two women in tight-fitting robes, each carrying what looked to be a paper lantern.</p><p></p><p>Utred was the first to step into the clearing and he faced the two women, <em>flaming Elderwood greataxe</em> in hand. He could tell they were casting some sort of spell - he might not be a spellcaster himself but at this point he certainly knew the signs of a spell being cast - and their voices were soft, their language almost musical. The dwarf got no sense of danger from them, so he started walking in their direction, more out of curiosity than any desire to fight them. And then he found out what spell they had been casting, as their musical language abruptly switched over to the Common tongue he was used to hearing over on the other side of the world. "We are here to greet the Champions of the Dark and bring them to our temple," they said.</p><p></p><p><Guys!> Utred called over the link. <Head over to a bridge over the stream! We got a welcoming committee of some sort!></p><p></p><p>The others made their way through the strangest forest they'd ever seen - with trees that seemed to be made of straight pipes - and found their way to the bridge.</p><p></p><p>"We greet you," the women said when all five had been assembled. "I am <strong>Tsune</strong>," said one and "I am <strong>Kitsu</strong>" said the other. They explained divinations had warned them the five would be arriving tonight in the Forest of Ghosts and they would be instrumental in the reincarnation of their gods. They then bid the group to follow them to their temple. "There we can commune with the god-eggs," said Tsune. "They will surely inform you of whatever roles you will play in their rebirth."</p><p></p><p>But as they approached the temple the women gasped in unison. "An <em>alarm</em> spell has been triggered!" Kitsu explained. "The temple is under attack!"</p><p></p><p>Hurrying their pace as best they could - Marlo frowned at the impracticality of the tightness of the kimonos the women wore, which permitted them to take very tiny steps indeed - the group made it to the grounds in time to see eight hulking figures slaughtering the temple's defenses. "Oni!" cried Kitsu, aghast. The attackers were humanoid in build but each about 10 feet tall, with skin tones ranging from light blue to light green and curved horns growing out of their skulls. They wielded enormous swords with but a single slicing edge and used them to devastating effect, cutting down the temple guards with practiced ease. Already the ground was littered with half a dozen armored defenders; only five remained to fend off the eight giants.</p><p></p><p>Utred took off in a flash, barreling straight for the closest of these "oni," this one fighting a priestess of some sort who wielded a much smaller version of the giant's blade. She was holding her own, but mainly by dodging the oni's attacks, stabbing in with a quick attack of her own only when the opportunity arose. Utred got in a deep cut with his greataxe before the oni was aware of his presence, for his back had been turned to the charging dwarf. But the giant quickly shifted position so he could see both of his foes at once. "Korobokuru!" he snorted, but Utred had no idea what that even meant.</p><p></p><p>Kitsu and Tsune stopped at the edge of the temple grounds to cast spells into the melee. Unfortunately, their <em>rebuke</em> spells were only effective against but a single oni, but that one froze up, stunned into stopping his attack against the priestess he'd been trying to slay, allowing her to aid one of her sisters still under attack by this horde of invaders.</p><p></p><p>Khari charged the same oni Utred was fighting, changing the odds to three against one. His warhammer slammed into the oni's knee, causing him to scream in pain at the sound of shattering bone. Behind the dwarf, Cramer cast a <em>bless</em> spell on the assembled group, to include the priestesses he could see fighting the oni. The oni brought his katana crashing down upon Khari, but the dwarven fighter deflected the blow with his shield, grunting at the effort for the oni had a considerable amount of strength behind the blow. As for the oni, he could see these korobokuru would be much fiercer opponents than the hengeyokai who dwelled in this place and practically ignored her to concentrate on the dwarves. All around him, his oni brothers slew their opponents with practiced ease, leaving but one of the original temple guardians, as well as the five adventurers, Tsune, and Kitsu. The guardian broke ranks to report to the two shrine maidens who had met up with the newcomers at the bridge.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok charged at the wounded oni fighting his dwarven friends, taking a hit from his oversized sword in the process - but Marlo's <em>stoneskin</em> spell absorbed most of that damage and the lizardfolk's battleaxe went slicing through the oni's armor to cut a gouge in his flesh.</p><p></p><p>Marlo decided to try out a new spell she'd just learned and an <em>incendiary cloud</em> spell encompassed the stunned oni and two of its brethren, their hengeyokai combatants having already been slain. Their flesh puckered and blistered under the heat of the spell.</p><p></p><p>Utred polished off the oni he'd been fighting and he crashed to the ground, their first kill. The shrine maidens, seeing the heroes' obviously superior combat skills, called out to them, "We will set the bodies ablaze as you kill them - otherwise they will regenerate and return to life!" And they poured oil upon the corpse of the oni Utred had just slain, setting it ablaze with their lanterns and stepping back before they were caught in the blaze.</p><p></p><p>Khari charged at another oni, dipping beneath the ground as he did so to ensure the giant wouldn't know from which way he'd be coming. Popping up from undisturbed earth, he brought his warhammer crashing down into the small of the oni's back, forcing a roar of pain from the ogre mage. Cramer picked a different oni and decided to do likewise, charging him with his <em>flaming Elderwood heavy mace</em>. That caused Jhasspok's scaled brow to furrow in puzzlement once again, for he knew the little gnome was capable of powerful magic and was unsure why he'd try to hold his own against a foe easily three times his own height.</p><p></p><p>Running low on temple defenders, the oni started converging on those who were still up and fighting. Cramer and Khari each found themselves fighting off two oni at once, but their childhood training fighting against giants much larger than themselves came in good stead, allowing them to effortlessly dodge the incoming strikes with the massive, curved swords.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok raced across the field and leaped into combat with one of the oni attacking Cramer, worried about the little gnome finding himself in hand-to-hand combat - definitely not his preferred element. Once again his battleaxe drew blood.</p><p></p><p>The two mobile oni caught in Marlo's <em>incendiary cloud</em> spell ran out of its confines and congratulated themselves in having escaped a particularly horrible fate, but then Marlo put that horrible fate right back on the table by controlling the cloud's movement to chase right after them, engulfing them in a cloud of burning cinders once again. And the oni stunned into immobility by the shrine maidens' spell hadn't left the spell's effect at all, but continued burning up.</p><p></p><p>And Marlo wasn't done with the others just yet. She picked an oni and slew him outright with an <em>empowered maximized scorching ray</em> spell, certain his burning corpse wouldn't be regenerating any time soon, if what the shrine maidens had said about burning their corpses had been on track.</p><p></p><p>Utred charged one of the oni attacking Khari, cutting a deep gash across his chest. Then Khari's warhammer crushed the ogre mage's ribs and he fell to the ground, dead. The dwarves whooped in delight and looked around for the next nearest foe.</p><p></p><p>Cramer backed up out of combat range and cast a <em>searing light</em> spell at one of the oni but failed to overcome its inherent resistance to spells and the dweomer fizzled away to nothingness. He tried again immediately with a <em>quickened searing light</em> spell with the same result; the sounds of gnomish cursing could then be heard across the battlefield. If the shrine maidens understood the specifics of what he said - a surety, given their <em>tongues</em> spell was still active - they had the decorum not to notice.</p><p></p><p>One of the oni took a moment to look around at the specific locations of the forces arrayed against him and moved into the position where he could do the most harm. However, in doing so he came within striking distance of Jhasspox's battleaxe and the lizardfolk cut him down before he could do whatever it was he was going to do. But then another oni came to the same conclusion and stepped into position nearby, casting forth a <em>cone of cold</em> that encompassed all of the temple defenders. Another ogre mage vanished from sight, engulfed by an <em>invisibility</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok rushed up to attack the oni who had just cast the <em>cone of cold</em> spell on everyone, not sure if that was something they could all do or just this one; this one had demonstrated an ability to cast the spell, though, so Jhasspok opted to go for him first. His battleaxe made contact with his target but failed to bring him down.</p><p></p><p>Marlo followed suit - in a way - with the cold-blasting oni's tactics, taking a moment to scrutinize the battlefield and seeing a point where a <em>fireball</em> spell could encompass three of the oni at once. She cast the spell, tweaking it to make it both <em>empowered</em> and <em>maximized</em> and grinned as all three oni fell to the ground, dead. But then she was distracted by a movement above her, the numerous orbs on her <em>robe of eyes</em> allowing her to see in all directions. At the edge of her enhanced vision, a pair of female oni flew into her magical awareness and then right back out again, as they made a bee-line toward a distant mountain. The sorceress could tell they were both invisible and unable to be seen by any of the others, but an <em>invisibility</em> spell was useless against the magic eyes on her garment.</p><p></p><p>Of course, by this time there was but a single ogre mage left of the original eight who had attacked the temple, and he didn't last very long against Utred's rage-enhanced attacks with his greataxe. Tsune and Kitsu set fire to those whose bodies weren't already blazing from one of Marlo's spells. Then they signaled for the heroes to follow them and ran (in their tiny steps) into the temple proper. Sure enough, a quick search revealed the five god-eggs had been stolen and the master of the temple was missing; both the eggs and the master had likely been taken by the pair of invisible female oni Marlo had spotted. "The male oni were merely a distraction!" Kitsu sighed as realization sunk in.</p><p></p><p>"Do you know where the females would go?" Cramer asked the shrine maidens.</p><p></p><p>"They are known to lair in the mountains," Tsune replied.</p><p></p><p>"That's the way they were headed," Marlo confirmed.</p><p></p><p>"Then that must be your task," Kitsu said. "Tsune and I will remain behind to tend to the wounded and see about raising those who have been slain, while you five go after the female oni and retrieve the god-eggs and the master of the temple!"</p><p></p><p>"Gather up," Marlo told the others. "I can cast a <em>greater teleport</em> that'll get us to the mountain they were headed for. After that, we'll just have to look around to find them." Everyone converged on Marlo, reaching out to make sure all five were touching, and the sorceress cast her spell. In an instant, they were on a winding ledge leading up to the top of the mountain. The ledge widened in some areas and narrowed in others, but from what they could see it seemed to stay wide enough that falling off the side of the mountain wouldn't likely be an issue.</p><p></p><p><We'll wanna spread out a bit so we can't all be taken at once by another <em>cone of cold</em>,> advised Utred as Cramer crawled up to his customary place atop the dwarven barbarian's backpack. Marlo had bent down upon arrival and was fastening one end of a silk rope to an ankle, then tied the other end to Utred's belt. "Off you go," she said, levitating up as high as she could go while the barbarian started racing up just above the sloping path around the side of the mountain peak, using his <em>winged boots</em> to increase his already considerable speed. The climb led him in a clockwise direction, with Marlo being towed behind and above, looking down in all directions at once.</p><p></p><p>Khari decided to take a shortcut through the interior of the mountain, using his <em>earthglide warhammer</em> to burrow through the solid stone and pop back out around the corner, back onto the ledge again. However, he popped out of the stone much sooner than he had expected, inadvertently discovering a hidden cave interior, with two entrances to the ledge outside, both hidden by <em>illusory wall</em> spells. (Utred had flown right past the nearest illusion, and Marlo was already too high in the air to have been able to see it with her magical robe-enhanced vision.) With his dwarven darkvision, Khari could see perfectly well the two oni sisters, one with blue skin and one with skin as dark as the night sky, standing at either hidden entrance. The dwarf made a frantic report of his findings over the telepathic link.</p><p></p><p><Back! Go back the way we came!> called Cramer, giving directions to Utred while he sat upon the barbarian's backpack. <I can cast a <em>holy aura</em> spell on us now that we've found them, but we all need to be together!> He brought the words to the spell to the forefront of his mind, ready to begin the prayer as soon as everyone was in place.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok couldn't see the <em>illusory wall</em> as anything but solid stone but he trusted his dwarven fighter friend and raced through it, surprised to see himself inside a cave facing a black-skinned ogre mage not 15 feet away. He charged at her, swinging his battleaxe into her side, and <strong>Maru</strong> gave a grunt of pain at the attack.</p><p></p><p>Marlo <em>levitated</em> back down to ground level and then skittered over the rock of the mountain, using her <em>ring of spider climbing</em> to do so. Maru backed off, throwing a <em>fireball</em> spell that encompassed Jhasspok, Marlo, and Khari. At the other end of the cavern, the blue-skinned <strong>Meru</strong> ran through the other <em>illusory wall</em> and out into the open air. From her vantage point higher up the winding ledge, she could see Utred and Cramer and cast a <em>slow</em> spell at the two of them. Fortunately, neither was affected.</p><p></p><p>Utred ignored the spell-attack and flew through the southern entrance, following behind Jhasspok and Marlo. While the dwarf brought his greataxe swinging into Maru's flesh, Cramer cast the <em>holy aura</em> spell on the assembled group, instantly increasing all of their combat capabilities considerably. Khari took immediate advantage of his upgraded status by knocking Maru into unconsciousness with a mighty blow from his warhammer. Her unmoving body was already beginning to regenerate the damage it had taken, but the dwarf judged she'd be out long enough for them to be able to concentrate their attacks on the blue oni; once both were down they could worry about setting them ablaze to prevent their return to mobility.</p><p></p><p>Seeing Maru down, Jhasspok raced out of the obscured cave entrance and back down the ledge. He turned the corner and saw Meru up ahead on the path along the mountain side and began sprinting in her direction, realizing she was too far away for him to be able to reach her before she could use a <em>cone of cold</em> (or who knew what other type of magic?) against him. She opted to go with a <em>charm person</em> spell, finding it quite appropriate to send this hulking lizard-man against those who had come after her and her sister after their theft at the temple. But surprisingly - to both Meru and Jhasspok - the lizardfolk was able to shrug the spell's effects away, concentrated as he was on reaching the female oni before she could take him out of the fight. She frowned as the reptile kept charging up the ledge towards her, then opted to fly 40 feet in the air, well out of his range.</p><p></p><p>Cramer cast a <em>mass heal</em> on everyone still in the cave; Jhasspok missed out again by dint of being too far away. Then Marlo decided to take care of Maru once and for all, setting her body ablaze with a <em>scorching ray</em> spell. Utred reactivated his <em>winged boots</em> and flew down the length of the cavern, passing a set of five eggs (each slightly bigger than a human head) and the body of an elderly man propped up against the back wall at the far end of the oblong chamber. Cramer clung precariously onto the barbarian's backpack, holding on for dear life. The two popped through the far <em>illusory wall</em> spell shielding the entrance from view and then Cramer - alerted over the telepathic link by Jhasspok about the oni's current position - found her above them and cast a <em>destruction</em> spell at her. The magic did its work and the oni plummeted back to the ground, her blue-skinned body getting battered by the rocks of the mountain side as she fell.</p><p></p><p><Got her!> Cramer announced over the telepathic link.</p><p></p><p>Marlo had been following Utred's path through the cavern when she saw the eggs and the temple's master, an aged fox hengeyokai. She raced to the old man and felt no pulse at his neck; his body was already cold to the touch. Then she turned her gaze to the five eggs, lined up against the back wall. <The eggs are in here!> she informed the others and opened the <em>bag of holding</em> she kept in a pouch at her belt, thinking it the best way to transport the god-eggs back to the temple.</p><p></p><p>But the god-eggs had other thoughts. <strong><KEEP YOUR DISTANCE, UNCLEAN THING!></strong> boomed a voice over the telepathic link that for once had more than Jhasspok crying out in surprise. <strong><WE WILL NOT BE TOUCHED BY THOSE REEKING WITH THE TAINT OF THE DESTROYER!></strong> After a brief discussion, Khari gently lifted each egg into the <em>bag of holding</em> and then carried the bag until the group got back to the temple. (Nobody wanted to let Jhasspok anywhere near the god-eggs, fearing he'd eat them. They also wouldn't let him carry the body of the temple's leader, for the same reason.) So with Cramer back on the ground, Utred lifting the body of the aged temple master, and Khari holding the <em>bag of holding</em>, Marlo cast another <em>greater teleport</em> spell and the group was once more back on the temple grounds.</p><p></p><p>Tsune and Kitsu had been busy with the bodies of those slain by the oni fighters but dropped everything at the approach of the five prophesied strangers from the Forest of Ghosts. They gasped in relief as Khari opened up the <em>bag of holding</em> and reverently pulled each of the five god-eggs out, handing them to the shrine maidens. They were restored back to the place they'd been held, awaiting the reincarnation of the five gods of Jakura.</p><p></p><p>As for the body of the slain temple master, a <em>speak with dead</em> spell revealed he did not wish to return to the land of the living, feeling he had lived out his allotted span. He asked that two items be passed to the five heroes as a thanks for their assistance in seeing to the return of the god-eggs: a set of <em>prayer beads of positive channeling</em> and a <em>tail-band of raptor strikes</em>. The first item was given to Cramer; it allowed him to spontaneously convert his more powerful spells into <em>heal</em> and <em>mass heal</em> spells. The second item was obviously of no use to anyone but Jhasspok and it allowed him to make a frenzied attack when charging into battle.</p><p></p><p>But the group received one more gift before they left: a telepathic message from the nascent gods whose spirits resided in the eggs the heroes had rescued. <strong><THAT WHICH YOU SEEK, THE GATE OF SARDEGON, IS SEALED BENEATH THE PALACE OF THE EMPEROR.></strong></p><p></p><p>"Well then," Cramer said to the others. "I guess we're off to see the Emperor of Jakura!"</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>This was an unusual session in that Joe stayed home at his house - he'd gotten behind in his homework and as a result Dan ran Utred as well as his own Cramer. Which, if nothing else, prevented Joe from being incessantly called "Unclean Thing" - a term we applied to Vicki as often as possible once Marlo had been chided by the god-eggs. But we're playing again today in our other campaign, so we'll all be sure to call Joe "Unclean Thing" as well to make up for it. (They're still getting off pretty easy, considering Marlo got a permanent +6 Charisma boost and Utred got a permanent +6 Constitution boost for agreeing to serve the Undying One, said ability score increases remaining behind after we'd gotten the Undying One killed.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8513527, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 50: MYSTERIES OF THE ISLE OF FIVE GODS[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 17[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 11[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 16/psychic warrior 1[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 17[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 17[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 12 January 2022 - - - Skevros was not entirely pleased to see the group of five foreign adventurers enter the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I], given these were the idiots responsible for having freed the Mithral Mage from Dwarven Hell. Still, his own group of adventurers - the Durnhill Conscripts - had by this time seemingly taken care of the Mithral Mage on a permanent basis, so he was willing to at least hear what they had to say. "Yes?" he asked as they entered the room. He waved away Karen, who had stepped forward to see if any of them needed any drinks; he wanted this conversation to be short and sweet and the offer of beverages would only draw out their visit. "We met with a cleric of Boccob named Khier, over in the Azure Glade," replied Cramer Appleknocker. "He suggested we visit you, to see what all you can tell us about Jakura." Skevros briefly considered bringing [B]Mikito[/B] into the conversation as she was from that far-eastern land, but again the thought of getting rid of these five as quickly as possible was foremost in his mind. "And what exact would you like to know about Jakura?" asked the king's adviser. "We were told you had a quick means of getting us there," added Marlo. That finally brought a smile to the adviser's frowning face; he was perfectly willing to aid these bunglers in heading over to the other side of the world. "Ah, I see," he answered. "Yes, there is a specific boulder that the Seekers of Eternity had set up as a teleport trap of sorts; the mere act of touching it sends you to the 'Forest of Ghosts' in Jakura, so named because the locals there believe the people who randomly show up there on occasion - as a result of the teleport trap - are in fact ghosts." He gave them directions on where to find the specific boulder. "Seems easy enough," grunted Utred. "And once we're there, do you know where the Jakuran Writhing Gate might be located?" "It's the Gate of Sardegon," Marlo added helpfully. "Ah, no, actually - I'm afraid my knowledge of these Writhing Gates is somewhat lacking. I can tell you, however, that since Jakura is on the other side of the world it is night there when it's day here, and vice versa." Jhasspok's reptilian brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Is that normal?" he asked Utred. "It's magic," replied Utred, knowing perfectly well it was not but also knowing that was the one answer he could give the lizardfolk to ensure there were no additional questions about it. And he was right; Jhasspok shrugged and considered the matter sufficiently explained. "Are we going to head out right away?" asked Khari. "Or rest up and get a fresh start in the morning?" "The latter, I think," answered Cramer. "I think we'd best head into any potential Writhing Gate situation with a full bevy of spells at the ready." He looked back at Skevros. "Hey, I noticed there are rooms on the floor above," he began but Skevros cut him off. "There are currently no vacancies," the red-clad wizard informed them. But then he took pity on the group and directed them to a reputable inn not far away. The inn was nothing spectacular, but at least they allowed Jhasspok entry with sufficient vouching on the part of the others that he was intelligent enough not to damage the furniture or shred the bedding. Just to be sure, the lizardfolk slept in the corner of his room on the floor; he'd grown up sleeping on solid stone floors in the Underdark so it was no particular hardship for him. And in the morning the group took off for the boulder that would [I]teleport[/I] them halfway across the world. "This looks like it," Utred said when they had arrived. "I'll go first, if you like." "Hold up - prep spells first," said Marlo, grabbing hold of the barbarian's shoulder before he took off. The sorceress cast a [I]Rary's telepathic bond[/I] spell on everyone and a [I]stoneskin[/I] spell on Jhasspok, while Cramer cast his traditional [I]longstrider[/I] and [I]moment of prescience[/I] spells on himself. Then, declaring himself ready, he suggested everyone touch the boulder at the same time. "Best if we stay together," he said. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Perhaps because of the great distances involved, each of the five adventurers ended up alone in the Forest of Ghosts. And sure enough, just as Skevros had said it was night out despite it being a bright, sunny morning back on the other side of the world. Still, the moon was out and most of the former slaves had their [I]slave-light cloaks[/I] active and shedding illumination. There was the sound of running water ahead and each of the five headed toward it. Sure enough, in a clearing in the forest a small, curved bridge spanned the small stream and upon it stood two women in tight-fitting robes, each carrying what looked to be a paper lantern. Utred was the first to step into the clearing and he faced the two women, [I]flaming Elderwood greataxe[/I] in hand. He could tell they were casting some sort of spell - he might not be a spellcaster himself but at this point he certainly knew the signs of a spell being cast - and their voices were soft, their language almost musical. The dwarf got no sense of danger from them, so he started walking in their direction, more out of curiosity than any desire to fight them. And then he found out what spell they had been casting, as their musical language abruptly switched over to the Common tongue he was used to hearing over on the other side of the world. "We are here to greet the Champions of the Dark and bring them to our temple," they said. <Guys!> Utred called over the link. <Head over to a bridge over the stream! We got a welcoming committee of some sort!> The others made their way through the strangest forest they'd ever seen - with trees that seemed to be made of straight pipes - and found their way to the bridge. "We greet you," the women said when all five had been assembled. "I am [B]Tsune[/B]," said one and "I am [B]Kitsu[/B]" said the other. They explained divinations had warned them the five would be arriving tonight in the Forest of Ghosts and they would be instrumental in the reincarnation of their gods. They then bid the group to follow them to their temple. "There we can commune with the god-eggs," said Tsune. "They will surely inform you of whatever roles you will play in their rebirth." But as they approached the temple the women gasped in unison. "An [I]alarm[/I] spell has been triggered!" Kitsu explained. "The temple is under attack!" Hurrying their pace as best they could - Marlo frowned at the impracticality of the tightness of the kimonos the women wore, which permitted them to take very tiny steps indeed - the group made it to the grounds in time to see eight hulking figures slaughtering the temple's defenses. "Oni!" cried Kitsu, aghast. The attackers were humanoid in build but each about 10 feet tall, with skin tones ranging from light blue to light green and curved horns growing out of their skulls. They wielded enormous swords with but a single slicing edge and used them to devastating effect, cutting down the temple guards with practiced ease. Already the ground was littered with half a dozen armored defenders; only five remained to fend off the eight giants. Utred took off in a flash, barreling straight for the closest of these "oni," this one fighting a priestess of some sort who wielded a much smaller version of the giant's blade. She was holding her own, but mainly by dodging the oni's attacks, stabbing in with a quick attack of her own only when the opportunity arose. Utred got in a deep cut with his greataxe before the oni was aware of his presence, for his back had been turned to the charging dwarf. But the giant quickly shifted position so he could see both of his foes at once. "Korobokuru!" he snorted, but Utred had no idea what that even meant. Kitsu and Tsune stopped at the edge of the temple grounds to cast spells into the melee. Unfortunately, their [I]rebuke[/I] spells were only effective against but a single oni, but that one froze up, stunned into stopping his attack against the priestess he'd been trying to slay, allowing her to aid one of her sisters still under attack by this horde of invaders. Khari charged the same oni Utred was fighting, changing the odds to three against one. His warhammer slammed into the oni's knee, causing him to scream in pain at the sound of shattering bone. Behind the dwarf, Cramer cast a [I]bless[/I] spell on the assembled group, to include the priestesses he could see fighting the oni. The oni brought his katana crashing down upon Khari, but the dwarven fighter deflected the blow with his shield, grunting at the effort for the oni had a considerable amount of strength behind the blow. As for the oni, he could see these korobokuru would be much fiercer opponents than the hengeyokai who dwelled in this place and practically ignored her to concentrate on the dwarves. All around him, his oni brothers slew their opponents with practiced ease, leaving but one of the original temple guardians, as well as the five adventurers, Tsune, and Kitsu. The guardian broke ranks to report to the two shrine maidens who had met up with the newcomers at the bridge. Jhasspok charged at the wounded oni fighting his dwarven friends, taking a hit from his oversized sword in the process - but Marlo's [I]stoneskin[/I] spell absorbed most of that damage and the lizardfolk's battleaxe went slicing through the oni's armor to cut a gouge in his flesh. Marlo decided to try out a new spell she'd just learned and an [I]incendiary cloud[/I] spell encompassed the stunned oni and two of its brethren, their hengeyokai combatants having already been slain. Their flesh puckered and blistered under the heat of the spell. Utred polished off the oni he'd been fighting and he crashed to the ground, their first kill. The shrine maidens, seeing the heroes' obviously superior combat skills, called out to them, "We will set the bodies ablaze as you kill them - otherwise they will regenerate and return to life!" And they poured oil upon the corpse of the oni Utred had just slain, setting it ablaze with their lanterns and stepping back before they were caught in the blaze. Khari charged at another oni, dipping beneath the ground as he did so to ensure the giant wouldn't know from which way he'd be coming. Popping up from undisturbed earth, he brought his warhammer crashing down into the small of the oni's back, forcing a roar of pain from the ogre mage. Cramer picked a different oni and decided to do likewise, charging him with his [I]flaming Elderwood heavy mace[/I]. That caused Jhasspok's scaled brow to furrow in puzzlement once again, for he knew the little gnome was capable of powerful magic and was unsure why he'd try to hold his own against a foe easily three times his own height. Running low on temple defenders, the oni started converging on those who were still up and fighting. Cramer and Khari each found themselves fighting off two oni at once, but their childhood training fighting against giants much larger than themselves came in good stead, allowing them to effortlessly dodge the incoming strikes with the massive, curved swords. Jhasspok raced across the field and leaped into combat with one of the oni attacking Cramer, worried about the little gnome finding himself in hand-to-hand combat - definitely not his preferred element. Once again his battleaxe drew blood. The two mobile oni caught in Marlo's [I]incendiary cloud[/I] spell ran out of its confines and congratulated themselves in having escaped a particularly horrible fate, but then Marlo put that horrible fate right back on the table by controlling the cloud's movement to chase right after them, engulfing them in a cloud of burning cinders once again. And the oni stunned into immobility by the shrine maidens' spell hadn't left the spell's effect at all, but continued burning up. And Marlo wasn't done with the others just yet. She picked an oni and slew him outright with an [I]empowered maximized scorching ray[/I] spell, certain his burning corpse wouldn't be regenerating any time soon, if what the shrine maidens had said about burning their corpses had been on track. Utred charged one of the oni attacking Khari, cutting a deep gash across his chest. Then Khari's warhammer crushed the ogre mage's ribs and he fell to the ground, dead. The dwarves whooped in delight and looked around for the next nearest foe. Cramer backed up out of combat range and cast a [I]searing light[/I] spell at one of the oni but failed to overcome its inherent resistance to spells and the dweomer fizzled away to nothingness. He tried again immediately with a [I]quickened searing light[/I] spell with the same result; the sounds of gnomish cursing could then be heard across the battlefield. If the shrine maidens understood the specifics of what he said - a surety, given their [I]tongues[/I] spell was still active - they had the decorum not to notice. One of the oni took a moment to look around at the specific locations of the forces arrayed against him and moved into the position where he could do the most harm. However, in doing so he came within striking distance of Jhasspox's battleaxe and the lizardfolk cut him down before he could do whatever it was he was going to do. But then another oni came to the same conclusion and stepped into position nearby, casting forth a [I]cone of cold[/I] that encompassed all of the temple defenders. Another ogre mage vanished from sight, engulfed by an [I]invisibility[/I] spell. Jhasspok rushed up to attack the oni who had just cast the [I]cone of cold[/I] spell on everyone, not sure if that was something they could all do or just this one; this one had demonstrated an ability to cast the spell, though, so Jhasspok opted to go for him first. His battleaxe made contact with his target but failed to bring him down. Marlo followed suit - in a way - with the cold-blasting oni's tactics, taking a moment to scrutinize the battlefield and seeing a point where a [I]fireball[/I] spell could encompass three of the oni at once. She cast the spell, tweaking it to make it both [I]empowered[/I] and [I]maximized[/I] and grinned as all three oni fell to the ground, dead. But then she was distracted by a movement above her, the numerous orbs on her [I]robe of eyes[/I] allowing her to see in all directions. At the edge of her enhanced vision, a pair of female oni flew into her magical awareness and then right back out again, as they made a bee-line toward a distant mountain. The sorceress could tell they were both invisible and unable to be seen by any of the others, but an [I]invisibility[/I] spell was useless against the magic eyes on her garment. Of course, by this time there was but a single ogre mage left of the original eight who had attacked the temple, and he didn't last very long against Utred's rage-enhanced attacks with his greataxe. Tsune and Kitsu set fire to those whose bodies weren't already blazing from one of Marlo's spells. Then they signaled for the heroes to follow them and ran (in their tiny steps) into the temple proper. Sure enough, a quick search revealed the five god-eggs had been stolen and the master of the temple was missing; both the eggs and the master had likely been taken by the pair of invisible female oni Marlo had spotted. "The male oni were merely a distraction!" Kitsu sighed as realization sunk in. "Do you know where the females would go?" Cramer asked the shrine maidens. "They are known to lair in the mountains," Tsune replied. "That's the way they were headed," Marlo confirmed. "Then that must be your task," Kitsu said. "Tsune and I will remain behind to tend to the wounded and see about raising those who have been slain, while you five go after the female oni and retrieve the god-eggs and the master of the temple!" "Gather up," Marlo told the others. "I can cast a [I]greater teleport[/I] that'll get us to the mountain they were headed for. After that, we'll just have to look around to find them." Everyone converged on Marlo, reaching out to make sure all five were touching, and the sorceress cast her spell. In an instant, they were on a winding ledge leading up to the top of the mountain. The ledge widened in some areas and narrowed in others, but from what they could see it seemed to stay wide enough that falling off the side of the mountain wouldn't likely be an issue. <We'll wanna spread out a bit so we can't all be taken at once by another [I]cone of cold[/I],> advised Utred as Cramer crawled up to his customary place atop the dwarven barbarian's backpack. Marlo had bent down upon arrival and was fastening one end of a silk rope to an ankle, then tied the other end to Utred's belt. "Off you go," she said, levitating up as high as she could go while the barbarian started racing up just above the sloping path around the side of the mountain peak, using his [I]winged boots[/I] to increase his already considerable speed. The climb led him in a clockwise direction, with Marlo being towed behind and above, looking down in all directions at once. Khari decided to take a shortcut through the interior of the mountain, using his [I]earthglide warhammer[/I] to burrow through the solid stone and pop back out around the corner, back onto the ledge again. However, he popped out of the stone much sooner than he had expected, inadvertently discovering a hidden cave interior, with two entrances to the ledge outside, both hidden by [I]illusory wall[/I] spells. (Utred had flown right past the nearest illusion, and Marlo was already too high in the air to have been able to see it with her magical robe-enhanced vision.) With his dwarven darkvision, Khari could see perfectly well the two oni sisters, one with blue skin and one with skin as dark as the night sky, standing at either hidden entrance. The dwarf made a frantic report of his findings over the telepathic link. <Back! Go back the way we came!> called Cramer, giving directions to Utred while he sat upon the barbarian's backpack. <I can cast a [I]holy aura[/I] spell on us now that we've found them, but we all need to be together!> He brought the words to the spell to the forefront of his mind, ready to begin the prayer as soon as everyone was in place. Jhasspok couldn't see the [I]illusory wall[/I] as anything but solid stone but he trusted his dwarven fighter friend and raced through it, surprised to see himself inside a cave facing a black-skinned ogre mage not 15 feet away. He charged at her, swinging his battleaxe into her side, and [B]Maru[/B] gave a grunt of pain at the attack. Marlo [I]levitated[/I] back down to ground level and then skittered over the rock of the mountain, using her [I]ring of spider climbing[/I] to do so. Maru backed off, throwing a [I]fireball[/I] spell that encompassed Jhasspok, Marlo, and Khari. At the other end of the cavern, the blue-skinned [B]Meru[/B] ran through the other [I]illusory wall[/I] and out into the open air. From her vantage point higher up the winding ledge, she could see Utred and Cramer and cast a [I]slow[/I] spell at the two of them. Fortunately, neither was affected. Utred ignored the spell-attack and flew through the southern entrance, following behind Jhasspok and Marlo. While the dwarf brought his greataxe swinging into Maru's flesh, Cramer cast the [I]holy aura[/I] spell on the assembled group, instantly increasing all of their combat capabilities considerably. Khari took immediate advantage of his upgraded status by knocking Maru into unconsciousness with a mighty blow from his warhammer. Her unmoving body was already beginning to regenerate the damage it had taken, but the dwarf judged she'd be out long enough for them to be able to concentrate their attacks on the blue oni; once both were down they could worry about setting them ablaze to prevent their return to mobility. Seeing Maru down, Jhasspok raced out of the obscured cave entrance and back down the ledge. He turned the corner and saw Meru up ahead on the path along the mountain side and began sprinting in her direction, realizing she was too far away for him to be able to reach her before she could use a [I]cone of cold[/I] (or who knew what other type of magic?) against him. She opted to go with a [I]charm person[/I] spell, finding it quite appropriate to send this hulking lizard-man against those who had come after her and her sister after their theft at the temple. But surprisingly - to both Meru and Jhasspok - the lizardfolk was able to shrug the spell's effects away, concentrated as he was on reaching the female oni before she could take him out of the fight. She frowned as the reptile kept charging up the ledge towards her, then opted to fly 40 feet in the air, well out of his range. Cramer cast a [I]mass heal[/I] on everyone still in the cave; Jhasspok missed out again by dint of being too far away. Then Marlo decided to take care of Maru once and for all, setting her body ablaze with a [I]scorching ray[/I] spell. Utred reactivated his [I]winged boots[/I] and flew down the length of the cavern, passing a set of five eggs (each slightly bigger than a human head) and the body of an elderly man propped up against the back wall at the far end of the oblong chamber. Cramer clung precariously onto the barbarian's backpack, holding on for dear life. The two popped through the far [I]illusory wall[/I] spell shielding the entrance from view and then Cramer - alerted over the telepathic link by Jhasspok about the oni's current position - found her above them and cast a [I]destruction[/I] spell at her. The magic did its work and the oni plummeted back to the ground, her blue-skinned body getting battered by the rocks of the mountain side as she fell. <Got her!> Cramer announced over the telepathic link. Marlo had been following Utred's path through the cavern when she saw the eggs and the temple's master, an aged fox hengeyokai. She raced to the old man and felt no pulse at his neck; his body was already cold to the touch. Then she turned her gaze to the five eggs, lined up against the back wall. <The eggs are in here!> she informed the others and opened the [I]bag of holding[/I] she kept in a pouch at her belt, thinking it the best way to transport the god-eggs back to the temple. But the god-eggs had other thoughts. [B]<KEEP YOUR DISTANCE, UNCLEAN THING!>[/B] boomed a voice over the telepathic link that for once had more than Jhasspok crying out in surprise. [B]<WE WILL NOT BE TOUCHED BY THOSE REEKING WITH THE TAINT OF THE DESTROYER!>[/B] After a brief discussion, Khari gently lifted each egg into the [I]bag of holding[/I] and then carried the bag until the group got back to the temple. (Nobody wanted to let Jhasspok anywhere near the god-eggs, fearing he'd eat them. They also wouldn't let him carry the body of the temple's leader, for the same reason.) So with Cramer back on the ground, Utred lifting the body of the aged temple master, and Khari holding the [I]bag of holding[/I], Marlo cast another [I]greater teleport[/I] spell and the group was once more back on the temple grounds. Tsune and Kitsu had been busy with the bodies of those slain by the oni fighters but dropped everything at the approach of the five prophesied strangers from the Forest of Ghosts. They gasped in relief as Khari opened up the [I]bag of holding[/I] and reverently pulled each of the five god-eggs out, handing them to the shrine maidens. They were restored back to the place they'd been held, awaiting the reincarnation of the five gods of Jakura. As for the body of the slain temple master, a [I]speak with dead[/I] spell revealed he did not wish to return to the land of the living, feeling he had lived out his allotted span. He asked that two items be passed to the five heroes as a thanks for their assistance in seeing to the return of the god-eggs: a set of [I]prayer beads of positive channeling[/I] and a [I]tail-band of raptor strikes[/I]. The first item was given to Cramer; it allowed him to spontaneously convert his more powerful spells into [I]heal[/I] and [I]mass heal[/I] spells. The second item was obviously of no use to anyone but Jhasspok and it allowed him to make a frenzied attack when charging into battle. But the group received one more gift before they left: a telepathic message from the nascent gods whose spirits resided in the eggs the heroes had rescued. [B]<THAT WHICH YOU SEEK, THE GATE OF SARDEGON, IS SEALED BENEATH THE PALACE OF THE EMPEROR.>[/B] "Well then," Cramer said to the others. "I guess we're off to see the Emperor of Jakura!" - - - This was an unusual session in that Joe stayed home at his house - he'd gotten behind in his homework and as a result Dan ran Utred as well as his own Cramer. Which, if nothing else, prevented Joe from being incessantly called "Unclean Thing" - a term we applied to Vicki as often as possible once Marlo had been chided by the god-eggs. But we're playing again today in our other campaign, so we'll all be sure to call Joe "Unclean Thing" as well to make up for it. (They're still getting off pretty easy, considering Marlo got a permanent +6 Charisma boost and Utred got a permanent +6 Constitution boost for agreeing to serve the Undying One, said ability score increases remaining behind after we'd gotten the Undying One killed.) [/QUOTE]
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