"Return of the Rod of the Seven Parts" - D&D

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 76, “A calling from an unlikely place”, September 28, 1018, 1:30 P.M.

Ebony Shadow returns. She tells the party that she has spoken with the Hengeyokai Elders, and that they will allow the Silver Moon to leave, along with the monster army, Li-Tak's daughters, and the contents of the castle. They want the castle itself, but view the contents as being the rightful property of the girls. They will allow the party to take a maximum of three trips, and are required to use the river as their route.

She also reports that, as Barthrock suggested, she checked on the ship. It appears to be seaworthy, and could be hauled by the giants as a barge.

She then adds that there is one condition to this, namely that they take her with them when they leave. When pressed for the reason she indicates that she has never fit in to this society, but because of the slavers, never had an opportunity to leave before now. She also says that it might be helpful to have somebody teach the girls more of their Hengeyokai heritage. The group decides that Ebony has been trustworthy and open to them, and accepts these terms.

Mojo starts to do some calculations, saying "Let's see, we have to wait for over forty women to pack. It's a good thing that I have an elvan life span, that could take forever."

Cassie and the group check out the library. Looking at the 400 feet of bookcases, 30 feet high, Aradyn comments that "It will take forever to pack all of these up. Inspecting the bookcases, Tokrah discovers that they were not part of the original castle construction, but were put in later, and that the solid oak bookcase is comprised of 150 separate ten-by-eight foot bookcase segments that have been nailed together. He suggests having the bugbears take the sections apart, and each section could then be used as containers to transport the books in. He is sent to get a squadron of Bugbears to begin this task.

The party spends the remainder of the afternoon checking out the castle. They all get together for an elaborate supper, prepared for them by Li-Tak’s daughters. After the meal the group continue to check out the massive building.

Meanwhile, Kim-Sung begins to hear singing in her head, recognizing it as the melodic voice of Finder Wyvernspur. She heads off into a private room of the castle, activates her magical harp, and then begins to communicate with the demigod. Ten minutes later she reduces the harp in size and goes off looking for the rest of the party.

Kim-Sung quickly assembles the party and tells them that she has just heard from Finder Wyvernspur, and that he needs their help. “A demigod needs us?” inquires Fiona. “Demi-yutz is more like it” comments Lono. “Damn it! I told the big guy that we would kick his butt if he screwed this up,” comments Narg, who rants and raves for a few more minutes.

Narg finally calms down, and asks “So Kim, what exactly is going on?" Kim says “I don’t have all the details, but apparently he separated the evil that was Morgarth from Mordenkainen and it then escaped to the Abyss. Finder now has him trapped there, and needs our help to defeat him.” “The Abyss, “ comments Lannon, “My, this gets better every minute.”

“Haven’t we already done enough,” comments Mojo, “This is his screw up. Let him get that other group of his followers to help him.” Kim replies “He can’t. This anti-magic sphere is so powerful that it transcends all planes. He has the Morgarth evil contained within this Anti-Magic Shell’s location on the Abyss. Since he is inside the shell he can only communicate with those who are also inside of the shell that or other planes. That basically means us. He also says that we need to act soon, or else the evil will find a way to escape on its own.”

“And how exactly are we going to get there?” asks Cassie. Kim-Sung answers “Well, you remember that song he taught me on the harp that will draw him to wherever I am. He has now given me an additional chord to that song, which will reverse the spell, and transport me to wherever he is.” “What about the rest of us?” asks Lannon. She replies “The final chord only requires the use of one of my hands. Finder says that if five of you each grab onto a finger of my other hand you will be transported with me.” The group debates the possibility of sending others within the Bags of Holding, but decide not to risk it.

[DM's Note: My primary reference source for the Abyss was the following Internet site: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7117/planes/abyss/abyss1.html ].

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 77, ”A Trip to the Abyss“ , September 28, 1018, 6:15 P.M.

Cassie, Lannon, Mark, Mojo and Narg decide to join Kim on the journey to the abyss. Narg Junior hands Mark with his Nargblade, telling the ranger “Here. In my original history you used this to destroy the Morgarth evil.” “Care to tell us anything else kid?” Lannon asks. The elvan boy shakes his head no, saying, “No, I wouldn’t want to say anything that might change things. You won last time.”

Kim sings the song to enlarge the miniature harp into its full shape. She sits on the instrument’s bench, and begins playing the chords to the rather difficult song. She finally gets to the point of the finale, continuing to play with her right hand, and extends her left. The other five each grab hold of a finger, and she finishes the song. The rest of the Silver Moon Adventurers watch as the six characters and the harp suddenly change form, turning into beings of pure light. The separate sections of light then merge together into a single multi-colored glowing orb, which then disappears down into the floor.

To the six characters, they continue to see what is going on around them. They see the interior of each room in the castle that the beam passes through. It eventually reaches the sub-basement, and approaches the markings carved in the center of the floor. It passes through, beneath which the party now see several glowing boulders as well as a glowing wooden staff, a glowing jeweled scepter, and a glowing glass ball. Cassie accurately concludes that these are the enchanted artifacts that Li-Tak used to create the anti-magic sphere.

They continue to descend down into the earth, quickly travelling for another twenty miles. During this journey, which takes about a turn, they can see several hundred feet in every direction. They see dirt, rocks, and burrowing rodents and insects. At the end of the twenty miles they see ahead of them a glowing blue inverted funnel ahead (similar in appearance to the Wormhole from Star Trek Deep Space Nine). The aperture is apparently where the earth and wizard magic enter the sphere.

They approach this opening, but just as they are passing through it they come to an abrupt stop as the dimensional boundaries dissolve, with their surroundings now changing. They then make a 180-degree turn and head back into the funnel, which is now comprised of red light. They only travel a few feet before it opens up onto another plane. Their orb of light then separates back into their individual forms, and their bodies then solidify, each still holding onto one of Kim’s fingers and her still seated by the harp.

They find themselves standing on a rocky plateau above a extended plane of gray and maroon sand. Interspersed throughout are gray and maroon mixed colored rocks. The rocks vary in texture, however most appear to be porous, like those of a volcanic surface. Behind them they see the aperture where the sphere opens up, measuring approximately twenty-five feet in diameter, and constantly billowing with red cloud-like patterns. The anti-magic sphere itself extends upward from there, creating red-tinted half circle above the plane forty miles in diameter and twenty miles high. The sphere illuminates the entire land below it with bright red-to-yellow tinted light. There is almost no vegetation to be seen; primarily a few scattered scraggly brownish-gray leaf-less trees with bent branches, standing no more than five feet tall, similar to what one might see on mountains above the tree line. The only other vegetation is a occasional patch of weeds, most of which are in a state of dying or decay.

They also see before them the demigod Finder Wyvernspur. He is attired differently than he was during their previous encounter, this time wearing a gray velvet shirt with a trim of fur and jewels on the cuffs and collars and dark woolen pants (the same outfit that he is wearing on the cover of the Forgotten Realms novels Song of the Saurials and Finder’s Bane). He also looks extremely tired. “This can’t be good,” Lannon mutters.

On the ground near Finder are the bodies of five creatures, dead from visible puncture wounds. Two of these creatures have dark red skin and bodies the size of fire giants but with a pair of non-humanoid heads, one of a snake the other of a dog. A four-bladed great axe is still clutched in a death grip by one of these. The other three creatures are slightly smaller, about nine feet tall, with red rubbery skin. Their protruding wide fanged jaws bear some resemblance to orcs. Each has a long pointed blade still in its hand, and it appears that the blades have been grafted onto them.

The group also now notice that each of them is now wearing a round metal medallion pinned onto their clothing near the chest. Each medallion has a white harp in the center of a gray background, the symbol of Finder. Mojo whispers to Narg “So, it this when you’ll go kick his butt?” “Shut up,” Narg answers.

Narg asks Finder “OK, what did you do this time?” “I messed up,” the Demigod replies. “Would you mind telling us exactly how?” asks Cassie. Finder says, “I misjudged the situation. I knew that I had the ability to transform Mordenkainen, and strip him of the Morgath evil that had inhabited his body. What I didn’t anticipate was that the Prince of Hell, a more powerful deity than I am, would object to having his play toy taken away from him.” “Why don’t you start from the beginning,” states Lannon.” Mojo gestures to the bodies on the ground, saying “And tell us what exactly these things are, or were.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 78, ”Finder’s Fallibility“ , September 28, 1018, 6:45 P.M.

The demigod Finder Wyvernspur begins his tale, stating “After I left you we returned to Oerth, to the City of Greyhawk without any problem. The three heroes that you met gathered together several more of Mordenkainen’s associates, as I worked my energies to enter Mordenkainen’s mind to dispel the evil that had been implanted. That part was successful, but rather than the Morgarth evil dissipating, it took on the form of a being comprised of pure evil energy. This was not altogether unexpected, as the accumulation of evil often outlives the bodies of their mage hosts, which is how liches are formed. We had several high priests present for just such a situation, but were not prepared for what followed.

The Prince of Hell decided to intervene, and gated in fifteen devils to prevent the evil from being destroyed. A major battle followed, as six of the devils attacked the clerics and the other Greyhawk Heroes. The other nine devils, and the Morgarth evil, fled to another section of the city. The evil apparently had retained Mordenkainen’s memories, and led the nine devils to the hidden locations of his nine spell books.

Both Bigby and I soon realized that the other six devils fighting us were merely sent as a distraction, and teleported to where the Morgarth evil had gone. This caused them to panic and gate away with the Morgarth being and the books. We were only able to stop one of them. As we slew this devil, and then saw his spirit being pulled back to Hell by his master, I realized that the other devils had all exited in a slightly different manner. I remembered that the Lawful Evil plane of Hell is only directly accessible by the deities themselves, and not their servants. Since the other devils had left under their own power they had to return to Hell via a less direct route, through the Neutral Evil plane of Tantarus.

I plane shifted to Tantarus, where the evil that had been in Mordenkainen, and the eight devils, were in the process of crossing the River Styx. The river is ruled over by Charon, who I had previously befriended. I persuaded Charon to bring their boat to the adjacent Chaotic Evil plane of he Abyss rather than the plane of Hell. I then plane shifted to the Abyss, and threw up an illusion to make the Abyss resemble Hell to the devils until after they had exited the boat. The devils and Morgarth evil were now put them on my home turf, as the Abyss is where I defeated the Demigod Moander and absorbed his power. It is also the only place where my own power would be superior to that of the Prince of Hell, to keep him from intervening.

The Abyss is the realm for all Chaotic Evil deities, their followers, and the afterlife of those whose eternity is destined for these. The plane is home to over thirty deities, of multiple pantheons, as well as all demons. There are over seven hundred different levels in the Abyss, each one stretching for what appears to be an infinite distance. It was the 223rd level, known as Offalmound, which I had Charon bring them to. That was Moander’s home, which was comprised of a retched land of rotting vegetation and decaying bodies.” “How sweet, let’s skip visiting there,” comments Mojo. “Sounds like the place for Narg’s socks,” Cassie states.

Finder continues “Alas, yes, although Offalmound is hardly a place you would ever wish to see, it is also where Moander died and my power is at its strongest. From there I expended nearly all of my power to erect a barrier to prevent these creatures from leaving the Abyss on their own. That meant that the Prince of Hell could now only access them after if their physical bodies were destroyed, to call their spirits back to Hell.

I then notified the Tanar’ri, the Demon Army that polices the Abyss, that there were a group of Lawful Evil monsters trespassing on their Chaotic Evil realm. The Tanar’ri quickly converged on these monsters, soon destroying two of the devils. The other six devils and the Morgarth energy then fled from the Offalmound level. With my barrier erected they could only flee to other layers of the Abyss, so I assumed that it was only a matter of time before they would be caught and destroyed. They however proved very difficult to find, having completely vanished.

I knew that they had fled to an upper rather than lower layer, as several of the Tanar’ri from Palpitaltia, the 241st layer and home to the Bugbear deities Grankhul and Skiggaret, had seen them whisk through there. Other demon observers had witnessed them passing through the 281st layer as well. The Tanar’ri had massed their army, erecting a blockade on the 303rd layer of Sulfanoru, also known as the Smoking Realm. I was informed that as of then the devils and Morgarth evil had not traversed that far.

With that information I was then able to deduce where they had gone, and why I could not locate them. When we had left the Castle of Li-Tak Mordenkainen was under your Feeblemind spell, and was unaware of his surroundings. Apparently the suppressed Morgarth evil was not so hindered and observed exactly how I had traversed the sphere through its energy aperture to bypassed the anti-magic spell. He did the same where the Sphere intersected the Abyss, here on the 298th layer. I again contacted the Tanar’ri, and in addition to the massed troops on Sulfanoru, they set up another blockade of troops on the 297th layer, the one immediately above this one, known as the Sighing Cliffs. I then agreed to come here to flush these creatures out.

“So what exactly is this place?” Lannon asks. Finder answers “This level, and the two layers below are realms controlled by the two deities of the Kara-Tur (Chinese) Pantheon that live in the Abyss. It makes sense that the sphere would be in the section of the Abyss ruled by the oriental gods since it was in the orient on the Prime Material Plane. This layer is known as the Place of Disease, and was the original home of Lu Yueh, the God of Epidemics. Several millennia ago he moved to the 300th layer known as Feng-Tu, to be with the Tou Mu, the Goddess of the North Star. Despite his long absence from this realm it is still infested with fatal diseases. In fact, you would all have already died of fatal maladies if not for the Protection Medallions that I have placed on each of you.” “Note to self, don’t remove the badge,” Mojo mutters. Finder adds “Yes, and when you do return to your home plane the medallion will continue to protect you from all disease.”

“So everything we find here has been killed by disease?” asks Cassie. “For the most part,” Finder answers, “Some of the heartier species like the scraggly trees, weeds, and cockroaches survive here, but that is about all. Most creatures that you encounter on this realm are either oriental dead or oriental undead. There are also a few others, such as yourself and the Tanar’ri, who have been protected from disease by other Abyss deities so that they can survive here.” Cassie asks “Would the disease effect the devils and Morgarth?” Finder answers “The lesser devils will probably eventually succumb, the greater devils are more resistant. Morgarth has now taken on a powerful form that will totally protect him from the diseases.” “I don’t like the sound of that,” Mojo mutters.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 79 “Hold on! You want us to fight a Wizard Balrog?” September 28, 1018, 7:00 P.M.

“So, where exactly is Morgarth?” asks Lannon. Finder replies “Still on this layer, and within this Anti-Magic shell. I found him and the devils at this very spot, just inside the aperture. I was told by the Tanar’ri that that this zone of Anti-Magic on this 298th Layer is controlled by a Demon King and High Priest known as the Overlord. He rules a city of the undead that occupies the center of the zone. I immediately communicated to him the presence of these Lawful Evil creatures, and he dispatched his own troops to deal with them."

Finder then gestures to the bodies on the ground. “The Overlord sent a dozen of his elite troops, comprised of five Kah’Lesar (pointing to a smaller ones) five Molydeus (pointing to one of the bigger two-headed ones) and two Balrog. An extensive battle followed. I chose to stay out of the direct combat, and observed that the Morgarth energy was casting spells from the spell books held by the devils. I communicated this to the demons, who then changed the focus of their attack to the books rather than the devils. Three of the six remaining books were destroyed, which caused the Morgarth energy to panic.

The drawback of the demons focusing on the books is that it left them open to attacks by the devils, and these five demons that you see here and one Balrog soon perished. The fall of a Balrog was what I had been waited for. I then channeled all of the power I could muster into a direct attack on Morgarth, to destroy the energy force that it occupied. The weakened Morgarth then did what I had hoped he would do and absorbed its energy into the body of most powerful creature present, the Balrog. It quickly gained control of the body and then flew away, along with the other three devils. The Overlord’s other Balrog flew after them, attacking a devil and stealing its spell book.

I then conferred with the Balrog and other surviving demons. They were more than a bit upset at the Lawful Evil Morgarth now occupying the body of their colleague, the Balrog’s mate. I pointed out to them one critical fact, which Morgarth is probably only now realizing. Since this is the home plane of the Balrog, if Morgarth is slain while in that body then the evil is forever destroyed, as there is no where else for it to go. End of the line. I agreed to stay and guard this aperture to keep them from seeking to escape as this is the only place where they could exit the sphere without the anti-magic shell temporarily erasing the spells from the spell books. The Balrog and demons returned to report to the Overlord.”

“So where is Morgarth now?” asks Narg. Finder points and replies “Resting in a cave, eight miles in that direction.” He is trying to rest long enough to study the spells from his two remaining spell books. The spells that he cast during the battle were permanently erased, as he used them as Scroll Spells. He obviously would prefer not to have to do that.”

“Do you know what spells are in those books?” asks Cassie. “No,” says Finder, “But I think we can figure it out. Each of Mordenkainen’s nine spell books contained spells of the same magic-user level. Let me think about the spells that he cast from the books during the battle here.” He describes the spells, which the party are able to recognize as being First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth level spells. Finder is fairly certain that the book with the First Level spells was one of the books destroyed, and knows that the Ninth Level book is the one that the Overlord’s Balrog now has. That means that that Morgarth’s two remaining books each contain fourth, fifth or sixth level spells.

The demigod says "You need to stop him before he has rested long enough to memorize those spells.” “So you’re not coming with us?” Kim-Sung asks. Finder replies, “Well, there are only two ways that he can escape this sphere without going through the anti-magic shell. One is through this aperture, which I have already agreed to guard. The only other way would be for him to use the Gate Spell, which is in the spell book that the Overlord now has. My guess is that once he has rested and gotten his spells back he either come here or try to get obtain that book. It is best that I stay here. The battle that took place here was just over an hour ago, and it will be several more hours until he is rested enough to study for spells. I suggest that you get to him before then.

While I cannot accompany you I can, however, offer you some help against him and the three devils.” Finder then explains how he can create for each of them a suit of armor made of energy to protect them, which will absorb damage until the energy is drained. He can also implant into each suit of armor any spell, from any class, up to fifth level. He explains how this armor would appear over their other armor and clothing, extending from the medallion, and would not restrain their freedom of movement or spellcasting ability. Each armor will have its own power level ranging from 60 to 150 points (10d10+50). Each use of the spell power would drain a small amount of that energy (1d6). Each character is asked to decide which spell ability they want, and to think of two words or phrases to sing, one to activate the armor, the other to activate the spell ability.

Cassie’s armor has 125 points, is activated by the word “Aradyn” and has the spell ability of a Cone of Cold triggered by the word “Fire”. Narg’s armor has 107 points, is activated by the words “Cover me”, and creates a Fire Shield triggered by the words “Shield me.” Lannon’s armor has 102 points, is activated by the word “Jewelry”, and creates an Ice Storm triggered by the dwarven word “Garen (Silver)”. Mark’s armor has 116 points, is activated by the phrase “Arm me” and grants a Cure Critical Wounds spell with the phrase “Cure me.” Mojo’s armor has 113 points, is activated by the phrase “I have the power,” and causes a Phantasmal Killer spell to activate by the phrase “Come, Oh My Dark Master.” Kim-Sung’s armor has 101 points and is activated by the phrase “Lo Mein” and casts a Control Temperature with the phrase “Sushi”.

Finder wishes them luck, and the six head off across the rocky terrain. All except for Cassie activate their armor.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 80, “Traveling through the Plane of Disease” , September 28, 1018, 7:15 P.M.

The first few miles of travel are uneventful. The group occasionally see several small groups of oriental peasants walking about, almost in a catatonic stupor. They then spot a black dragon in the distance, approaching the party. As it nears they can see that is some type of undead, with a deteriorating body. It flies near the party, who prepare weapons and spells, but the creature then veers off. About a mile later a group of a dozen oriental ogres rapidly approach the party. They are heavily armored, and bright-red masks cover their faces. They stop about seventy-five feet from the party, then retreat.

As the party near the region with the caves they are approached by a male drow elf. He is, however, unlike any other drow that they have seen before. While his skin is the traditional dark black hue, his hair is dark rather than white, implying that he perhaps has some non-drow blood in him. He is also dressed in bright clothing of red and purple rather than the traditional black. He has a longbow and quiver strapped to his back. As he approaches the party they tell him to halt. Narg skeptically asks “What do you want.”

The drow replies “More to the point, what exactly is it that you want? If it is the devil intruders that you seek then I can be of assistance to you.” “Why would you help us?” Lannon snaps. The drow replies “You do not belong here any more than they do. If they are gone won’t you also then leave as well?” “Yes,” answers Mark. “Then it would be in my best interest to assist you, to rid this plane of all intruders.” “Makes sense” says Cassie. “I don’t trust him,” states Lannon. “Nor do I trust you,” the drow replies, “however it is in both of our best interests to cooperate for the immediate future. I know exactly where the devils now are, and you do not.” “OK, proceed,” states Mojo. Both Narg and Lannon appear very unsure of this arrangement, and keep their weapons within easy reach.

The drow leads them for another quarter mile. During this time they converse with the drow, who ignores a request to introduce himself by name. Mojo asks “You appear to be neither dead or undead. What are you doing here in this land of disease?”. The drow answers “I work directly for Lolth, the goddess of the drow. She rules over the 64th, 65th and 66th layers of the Abyss. She has posted observers on all of the other Abyss layers to look out for her interests. I was chosen as the observer on this layer, as it is perpetually lit, and unlike other drow my eyes are not adversely affected by light.” “Why are you dressed like that?” asks Narg. “The bright clothing?” The drow states, “Since this layer is constantly lit and it would be impossible to hide, even in dark clothing. Dark clothes would therefore only give the appearance that I was attempting to hide, implying that I am weak, which would then make me a target of attacks. By dressing flamboyantly the creatures of this realm perceive me as being unafraid of them, and leave me alone.”

They near the caves. The drow reaches for his bow until Narg tells him “Don’t even think about it.” “Very well, you can fight the devils without my assistance,” the drow states. Mojo defends the drow, stating “He was just trying to help.” Lannon snaps “Yeah, sure he was, weren’t you listening, he’s on Lolth’s payroll.” The drow tells them that he has observed the two lesser devils guarding the cave entrance, with the other two further inside. Narg tells Lannon “Go check it out.” Lannon deactivates his armor, and starts to climb the wall of the hill, approaching the cave from above. He peers down, seeing a red devil and green devil in the shadows about ten feet into the cave. The cave extends further back at least another thirty feet. Lannon returns, and tells this to the others.

Narg decides that a frontal assault would be best, and charges the cave along with Mark and Mojo. Cassie and Kim-Sung follow. Lannon stays the furthest back, not wanting to take his eye off of the drow, who makes no attempt to move towards the cave.

As the three fighters charge at them the two lesser devils turn and fly further into the cave, turning right as the passageway forks. Mojo manages to clip one with his hammer, but not for enough to stop him. The fighters charge after them, followed by the other three party members. The devils fly through a side passage into another part of the cave, as the party reach the fork. By the time the fighters finally get to the side room that the devils flew into it is empty, with one visible exit on the opposite wall. The three fighters charge towards this opening. Cassie and Kim move into this room behind them, and Lannon stays further back, still inside the main corridor.

Lannon hears sound behind him, and looks back, seeing the two devils fly from the left passageway of the fork and back towards the main entrance. He calls to the others, who turn to come back towards him. Just then a Wall of Iron goes up, completely blocking the passageway just beyond the fork. Narg yells, “They doubled around this way”, and charges back to the passage on the opposite side of the room, finding a hallway that curves back. He and the other two fighters charge back that way, only to be stopped by another Wall of Iron, apparently an extension of the first wall, blocking both passageways at the fork. Just then the floor and walls shake. The fighters return to the others, telling them about the second wall.

Cassie decides to cast a Dispel Magic on this wall, just as the floor and walls shake again. “What the hell?” asks Mojo. Cassie uses the spell, with eliminates a section of the wall, as a huge cloud of sand and dust swarms over them. The party discovers that the first twenty feet of the cave have been totally collapsed, trapping them in.

Narg suggests digging out. Kim-Sung, whose family are dwarven miners, evaluates the cave in and states “Even with the exceptional strength that you and Mojo have it would take several hours with the proper tools, which you don’t have.” Mojo and Narg start anyway, using shields for the digging. The others decide to look for another exit.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 81,”A voice in the darkness”, September 28, 1018, 8:30 P.M.

Kim-Sung and Cassie investigate a side passageway further down, leading to a darkened room. As they approach the room they see movement inside. Kim whispers to Cassie “I think there are people there”. Cassie can make out several humanoid shapes, although her infravision does not detect any heat. They enter he room, edging a magical dagger barely out of its sheathe to cast a minimal amount of light. They can make out the dark shapes of five people, the faint light showing them and their possessions to be totally black. “Who is there?” Kim asks, as Cassie prepares to dispel what she perceives to be undead.

“Hello, please do not hurt us. We are not evil,” states one of the creatures. Kim starts to draw the dagger further out to better illuminate the room, and the creatures scurry to hide behind rocks, with the spokesman saying “Please don’t, we are harmed by the light.” Kim again sheathes the dagger, and Cassie asks “What exactly are you.” The spokesperson answers “We are now shadow people, a type of undead similar to a Shade, however we are not evil.” “How did you come to be in the Abyss?” Cassie asks. A second voice speaks up “As punishment. We committed a selfish act, and were banished here for eternity.” Lannon joins the two women, as the leader of the shadow people tells their story.

They tell of being from a desert kingdom, the name of which Cassie recognizes as also being from the Silver Moon’s world, but on a distant continent. They had been a party of adventurers, who were hired by a tribal warrior chief named Abdullah to accompany him on a pilgrimage to a holy shrine. The journey required them to travel through a series of abandoned tunnels that traversed a large mountain.

During the journey they encountered many monsters who had taken up residence inside the mountain, including a sphinx and an evil dragon-lion who they slew. In this creatures small treasure trove was a long-lost artifact, the Staff of Rah. In the days that followed there was much dissention, as Abdullah insisted that the Staff and treasure should be given to the shrine, as this was found on a holy mission dedicated to his gods. The party disagreed, saying that they had been the ones to slay the dragon-lion, and had earned the treasure.

The following day there was an earthquake, which shook the entire mountain. This caused several support beams to break and collapse sections the tunnel. One collapse separated Abdullah from the others, although they could still hear him yelling for them through the wall of stones. The leader states “It was then that we committed the selfish act, as our cleric had been the one carrying the Staff, so we had it with us on our side of the tunnel. Instead of trying to dig Abdullah out we abandoned him there, rationalizing that he could find his way out of the mountain going back the way we had originally came. What we didn’t know was that several sections of the tunnel wall had collapsed, permanently trapping Abdullah in the one small area.

Abdullah prayed to his gods to no avail, and within a few days he perished from a lack of food, water and fresh air. He worshiped the deities of the Egyptian Pantheon, and to the god Horus the Avenger he prayed for vengeance against us. The god granted Abdullah his dying wish, placing a curse upon us. We were still traveling through he tunnels, and never left the mountain alive, as a wall of stone fell and crushed us. Only then did we find out of the curse, for instead of us each going to our anticipated afterlives Horus banished us here, in the form of shadow people. We were here for eternity, trapped in a cave as we had left Abdullah. This land is continually day, and the light causes us extreme pain, which keeps us in this tunnel. As added punishment, we are of a different alignment as the creatures of this realm, who delight in entering this cave and tormenting us.

We have been banished here now for forty-five years. In that time only once before have non-evil aligned people entered this cave. That was a quarter-century ago. We asked for them to rescue us but feared how they would react if we told them our full story, so omitted key parts of it. They must have sensed duplicity from us, for they left us behind, sealing their means of exit to keep us from pursuing them. We vowed that if we ever had another opportunity to escape we should be completely forthcoming, and to let our potential rescuers decide out fate. Cassie asks Lannon and Kim “What do you think?” The two agree that these people should be helped, but then inform the shadow people that “We’re trapped here too, unless you know of another way out.” The shadow people tell them that they do, that they could go the way that the adventurers had left a quarter century before.

Lannon goes to tell Narg, Mark and Mojo to stop digging and to join the others, that they found “somebody who can help us.” The shadow people are introduced to the three fighters. They then lead the party down several narrow passages and to a ramped tunnel going upward in a spiral path. Eventually they reach a section of wall with a tunnel blocked by a large stone. The shadow person spokesman explains “The other party moved this stone to trap us, and our shadow forms were too weak for us to move it.” Narg and Mojo have little difficulty sliding the stone, and then proceed upward, seeing light from the shaft further ahead.

The Silver Moon offer to put the shadow people inside of a Bag of Holding to bring them with. They tell these spirits of Finder Wyvernspur, whose sphere is that of transformation and say that he can perhaps help them. The shadow people go into the bag, stating that they do not require air they could remain there indefinitely. The party proceed upward, soon seeing an exit to the shaft that had been camouflaged with branches from the scraggily trees, the light shining through gaps in the old dead wood.

Lannon carefully moves some branches aside, noticing activity further down the hill near the cave entrance. A large group of nearly two hundred the oriental ogres with red masks appear to be moving away the stones blocking the cave entrance. The party very discreetly exits the shaft, staying low and moving to cover behind rocks to keep from being seen by the ogres. Cassie spots the drow further up the hill, kneeling behind rocks to observe the ogres from a distance. Lannon and Mojo move further up the hill, and signal to the drow. He signals back, and gestures for the party to retreat down the rear side of the hill and away from the ogres. They do so, all joining up at the rear base of the hill.

They ask the drow what has happened. He says that after the four devils exited the cave they climbed on top of the entranceway and jumped until it collapsed. They then flew off in the direction of the center of the anti-magic sphere. Shortly there after the group of ogres arrived with their Ogre Magi leader. The drow overheard them talking about finding and sacrificing the Lawful Good High Priestess, and the group then began to dig. “I guess they mean me,” Cassie comments. “Of course they mean you,” the drow states, adding “The armor that your friends are wearing masks their alignment, but you stand out on this plane like a beacon.” Cassie says “Well, I don’t feel very much like being sacrificed today, let’s leave.”

The seven march off in the direction that the Balrog and devils had flown off. They hike for about a mile-and-a-half across the rocky terrain. Mojo’s keen elvan vision begins to spot gray towers in the far distance, still around ten miles away, and asks the drow about it.

The drow explains how the area of the anti-magic sphere is essentially shaped like a donut, with the center fifteen miles being a city comprised of multi-story buildings made from the stone of this land, where over a million undead now reside, ruled by a Demon High Priest called the Overlord. “And this is where we want to go?” asks Lannon. Before they can travel any further a very bight light flashes in front of them.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 82, “The City of the Overlord”, September 28, 1018, 9:00 P.M.

Suddenly, a doorway comprised of a magical light appears before them. The door frame remains comprised of light, but the door itself suddenly starts to shimmer, then transforms into a window to another place. Beyond the doorway they see a street of polished maroon cobblestones, with several buildings made of the porous gray and maroon stone. They also see multiple skeletal creatures.

Three pair of armed skeletons march through the doorway, standing on either side as an honor guard. A maroon carpet is rolled out, followed by two skeletons sounding trumpets and another carrying a flag. Next are a trio of skeletons attired as oriental priests who walk through single file. The party stands by apprehensively, weapons held but not drawn. The priests stand to the side, and another creature enters. He is about eight feet tall, and has the head of a ram, skeletal ribs, and is attired in an elaborate cloak and fine clothing. Cassie is briefly overcome by a sense of deep evil as the creature approaches, and softly says “The Overlord I presume,” to which the drow simply nods in the affirmative.

The Overlord speaks to the party. He has a deep bellowing voice, which says as a statement rather than a question “You are those who the Usurper of Moander’s Power brought here to destroy the trespassers on my land.” He then continues “These trespassers are now in my city, and their presence threatens to desecrate my temple. I am prepared to bring you to them, but first your high priestess must make assurances that you will not attempt to desecrate my temple.” “Our interest is only is defeating the evil that now occupies the body of the Balrog” Cassie replies.

“Where exactly are they now?” asks Kim. The Overlord answers “They are atop a tower in the center of my city. Directly below my tower, to the East, is my temple. If one drop of non-aligned blood were to touch the temple it’s sacredness would be lost.” Narg states “If we attack them in the tower we have no control over which direction they bleed.” The Overlord replies “I would ask you to draw them from the tower, to the west and away from my temple.”

“Where is the spell book that you took, they want it so we could use that as bait,” states Kim. The Overlord answers “It is safely being guarded in my city. It has great power, and I wish to retain it, however protecting my temple is the top priority. Now, will you promise not to try to desecrate my temple?” Cassie states “Yes, we will not intentionally try to desecrate it, however we have no control over what the lawful evil creatures do.” “Understood,” states the Overlord, “Come, follow my entourage” he states, then pointing to the drow, “except for Ailsheir. He is not welcome in my city.”

The Overlord steps through the gate, followed by his procession in the reverse order that they arrived. The party follows them through the doorway to the undead city, emerging from the other side. As Cassie enters she immediately begins to take damage from the overwhelming aura of evil that permeates this place. She moves back through the gate, to where Ailsheir is standing, and feels fine again.

Cassie enters a second time, again taking damage. The party suggests that she activate her armor, which she reluctantly does, and the damage then ceases. “What happened!” she demands of the Overlord. He replies “You are near my temple, and of the opposite alignment, is it any wonder that you would be so affected? However, the Usurper of Moander’s Power created your armor through the transformation of energies from this plane, which now protects you.”

The gateway collapses, leaving the party in the undead city and the drow standing alone. The drow now activates a teleportation device that Lolth had given him to travel on this Plane, and teleports to the aperture to speak directly with Finder.

The party are standing near an intersection of two streets, between a pair of six-story stone buildings. In addition to the Overlord and his entourage the party also see several hundred skeletons and zombies, all attired in oriental clothing. Also present are a Balrog and an undead zombie giant carrying what appears to be Mordenkaienen’s 9th Level Spell Book.

The Overlord tells the party that they are currently two hundred feet west of the tower with the monsters but cannot see it due to the building immediately beside them which shields them from the monsters’ view. The Overlord says that the giant to do as they command, to bait the monsters with the spell book, but that the giant is not to release the book to anyone including them.

He introduces the Balrog as Neggrazad, the leader of his elite troops, whose commanded the force that fought the monsters at the aperture. This Balrog’s second-in-command and mate was slain, the body that Morgarth now occupies. The Overlord has promised Neggrazad that he can help in this fight, and says that the Balrog will work with the party. Cassie shakes her head, commenting “Who’d have thought I would be in a chaotic evil city, helping to battle alongside a Balrog.” “We’re been in stranger places,” comments Narg. “Name One,” Cassie answers. Narg can’t think of any off hand.

Cassie tells the Overlord “Morgarth wants a specific page from this book. Before we tempt him with this we should probably first remove it, just to be on the safe side.” The Overlord agrees, and the book is scanned. When they find the Gate spell it is carefully cut out, rolled up, and placed in a scroll case. The Overlord gives the case to one of the skeletal priests, who carries it off to the west.

The group checks out the building they are next to. It is forty-five by sixty feet in size, and the first floor is a single room with a fifteen-foot high ceiling. The room has stone pillars each twenty feet from the far wall and fifteen feet from the side walls. There is a stone staircase on the northeastern wall leading to a second floor. Doors are along the east, south and west wall, and shuttered windows are on all four walls.

The group decides that this room would work fine for the battle, as it would keep the enemy contained, and the party could stay hidden until the enemy are in the room. The party and the Balrog set up positions inside the room. The Balrog is commanded to join the spellcasters by the far pillar.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 83, “The Final Battle”, September 28, 1018, 9:30 P.M.

The giant is sent down the street behind the west wall, and out into the intersection of the street running north-south, staying there in sight of the tower until he and the book are seen. The giant is then commanded to enter the building from the west door. The party impatiently wait.

The east door has been locked, but is immediately smashed open by the greater devil, which is another Pit Fiend, the same type of devil that Morgarth used as a bodyguard back at Li-Tak’s Castle (as the DM was determined to get to use this painted-up lead miniature for longer than the prior minute.). It charges into the room, immediately setting its sights on the Balrog. The devil and the demon engage in battle, with Mark, Mojo and Narg assisting the Balrog. Narg gets a severing blow onto one of the devils wings, shearing off a section of it and preventing it from being able to take flight again. Mojo gets in a few hammer hits, doing only minimal damage to the monster. The Balrog is far more successful, getting in several good swipes with his flaming blade, but also receiving multiple hits from the devils flaming spiked whip. Mojo misses his next hammer throw against the greater devil.

The party is then startled as the door on the western wall is suddenly thrown open, and a large centaur wielding a sword and club charges into the room (who Morgarth had gotten using a Summon Monster spell). The centaur charges directly towards the undead giant, striking him with both weapons. Cassie throws her Cone of Cold into the centaur, also hitting the undead giant. Cassie’s next move is a Magic Missile spell into the centaur, who the giant simultaneously strikes with a sword.

A Chain Lightning Spell then enters the room from outside of the western door. The lighting first strikes the undead giant, for considerable damage. The bolts then arch outward, striking the Balrog, Mark and Narg. The two half-elves both successfully save, but each still take thirty-eight points of damage from the lightning. The giant falls, dropping the spell book, which Cassie dives towards. The centaur also charges towards the book, being intercepted by Mark, who strike the centaur with the borrowed Nargblade, killing it.

Kim and Lannon move into position to see exactly who is outside of the door that cast the spell. Despite Cassie’s swan dive towards to spell book that the undead giant dropped, she fails to grab it, as the two lesser devils were invisibly waiting nearby and fly down in front of her. The green devil then strikes Cassie, knocking her away from the book and onto the stone floor as the red devil grabs the book. Mark swings the Nargblade into the red devil, decapitating him, and causing the book to again be dropped. This time Cassie manages to grab it, but the green devil also reaches over and grabs onto it.

The Pit Fiend gets a fatal blow into the Balrog, dropping the demon to the floor. Narg throws up his Fire Shield spell, surrounding himself with a ring of fire to hopefully harm the greater devil . Seeing the Balrog ally fall, Mark pivots around to assist Narg. Both Narg and Mark swing the pair of identical Nargblades into the devil, for considerable damage. The devil then strikes Mark with his whip, knocking the ranger back for considerable damage. Narg uses this opportunity to strike the death blow into the creature, commenting “Not bad. Two Pit Fiends within the same 24 hour period.”

Kim is the first to see that outside of the door on the west wall is another Balrog standing on the street, with a pair of magic books open on the ground before him. She yells this information out to the others. Lannon uses his armor’s Ice Storm power to blanket the entire street in ice. The player finally gets around to looking up the spell, being disappointed that it only causes 3d10 of damage. He rolls up a measly 14, having previously thought it a more lethal spell. The DM points out that it is still a great spell, as it covers a very wide area and effects everyone within that range. In this instance, it is successful in coating the two magic books with a layer of ice to prevent them from being immediately used. The druid Kim decides to enhance this iced over area with a Control Temperature, dropping the temperature on the monster.

Back inside the room, Cassie correctly assumes that the cold will not harm the spell book, and she projects the Cone of Cold out from her armor, across the book she is holding, and into the devil holding it on the other side. This kills the devil, and Cassie moves back to the doorway holding the book.

Mojo has now moved over towards where Lannon and Kim are, and sees the Balrog that Morgarth has possessed. As Lannon creates another Ice Storm Kim again drops the temperature on the Balrog to a combined –140 degrees Fahrenheit. Mojo decides to use his armor’s ability as well. He projects a Phantasmal Killer at Morgarth, which creates in the victim’s mind his greatest nightmare. The DM rolls a pathetic saving throw, so the evil Morgarth sees standing before him the Prince of Hell, who declares him a failure, and then mentally slays him. The Balrog drops.

Narg charges out the door, to decapitate the creature. Narg still has his Fire Shield projected around him as he jumps into the area of sub-zero temperature atop the ice-encrusted demon body. This causes the entire area immediately to immediately fill with steam and fog. Kim ceases the control temperature spells. Despite the poor visibility, Narg manages to decapitate the monster.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 84 “Never Trust a Chaotic Evil Overlord”, September 28, 1018, 10:00 P.M.

The party moves out into the street, and Narg turns off his Fire Shield, the fog soon dissipating. The party works to pry the two ice covered spell books off of the street. Cassie is still holding the other spell book as the Overlord and most of his entourage approach. The Overlord looks towards Cassie, and asks for his book back. Since this was their agreement, she heads towards him to return this book to him, informing the Overlord that the other two spell books are theirs to keep.

The Overlord and most of his entourage now approach the party. The Overlord takes the Spell Book of 9th Level spells. He thanks them for ridding him of their mutual enemies and says that they are free to return to the Usurper of Moander’s Power. The Overlord then casts a spell, creating another dimensional doorway. They see the sphere wall and aperture, with Finder standing in front of it, on the opposite side of the doorway.

Each of he characters then hear Finder Wyvernspur’s melodious voice singing inside of their heads. He sings the following: “I feel that, For all concerned, You would be much wiser, If I grant you, True Sight powers, Through your armor's visor.”

With that, two things suddenly appear different before the party. One is the Overlord himself, as the creature standing before them is now revealed to actually be one of the Overlord’s skeletal priests. The second change is the gateway, the other side of which is now revealed to be a bubbling pit of molten lava.

The members of the Silver Moon exchange glances with each other, but make no sudden moves as a result of this new information. Instead, they continue to engage the ‘Overlord’ in conversation, making no attempt to move towards the door. Cassie comments that “Before we leave we need to get something we left in the building,” and she goes back inside. The others take this as a cue, and follow her. Once inside, Narg asks “Great, now where do we go.” Finders voice again sings in their heads. “The Overlord's Army, Stands to your East, The reason for that is Simple. His primary goal, Now as before, Is to keep you from his Temple”

Mark goes to the door on the south wall, opens it, and looks to the east. He confirms that “An army of tens of thousands of undead is massed on the street and has now started to march in this direction.” “Let’s go,” states Lannon. “How do we get out of here? ” Mojo asks. Finder then sings to them the following song: “Four buildings away, Off to your West, You'll find a path to home. The answer is held, By the Skeletal Priest, The page taken from the Tome.”

“Of course, the Gate spell, we can use that to get away” states Kim-Sung. “Sounds like a plan,” says Narg, and he leads the party to the north wall, smashing the shutter over a window and leading the party out. Once on the street they see the undead army, now about two blocks to the east, moving towards them. This walking wall of skeletons, zombies and demons cover the entire street, and the mob continues back as far as they can see.

The party starts to run westward. The endless wall of undead pick up their pace in the party’s direction.
As they reach the intersection to the road with the skeletal priest who impersonated the Overlord he casts a Hold spell, which they all manage to save from. Cassie throws a Magic Missile spell into this skeleton the party run past.

The cleric recovers from the spell and opens the 9th Level Spell Book, to cast a spell from it, as the other members of his undead entourage charge towards the party. Lannon again uses his armor’s power to blanket the area in another Ice Storm, temporarily stopping the entourage and coating the opened spell book in ice, thus preventing the spell from being cast. The party rushes through the intersection and continue westward.

They soon reaches the building where they were told the skeletal cleric is located. It is a four-story structure with two doors. The first door is smashed open, revealing an empty first floor. “Must be upstairs,” Mojo comments, and charges towards the stone staircase. The party follow, noting that the undead army is continuing to flow in their direction, now only two blocks away.

The party rushes up the first three floor, eventually reaching the top floor. The skeletal cleric is standing along the far wall, along with two allies, a skeletal minotaur and some type of demon. The fighters charge towards them, with the minotaur and demon moving towards them. Lannon turns invisible, and attempts to make his way around towards the cleric. Looking out the windows, the party also see that the undead army has now reached the building and have surrounded it.

Mark gets struck for several blows by the minotaur, and uses his armor’s curing ability to heal himself. Narg and Mojo engage the demon in battle. The skeletal priest casts spells against the party. Cassie throws a Cone of Cold back at the priest, narrowly missing the invisible Lannon, who now goes in for a backstab. Unfortunately for Lannon, the Cone of Cold made his breathe visible, alerting the priest to his presence, and Lannon gets struck. Mojo throws his hammer into the Priest, as Lannon uses his sword to break the strap holding the scroll case, catching it as it falls. Mojo uses his Phantasmal Killer spell once again, which creates for the Priest his greatest fear, namely his own destruction at the hands of the Overlord. The creature collapses in a pile of bones.

Meanwhile, Narg has finally defeated the minotaur, taking a considerable amount of damage in return. Kim-Sung notes that swarms of undead are almost to them, climbing the stairs from the third floor. Lannon tosses an Ice Storm on top of them, knocking the front group of the undead mob back down the stairs. Kim enhances this with another Control Temperature followed by a Cone of Cold from Cassie.

“Get that scroll over to Cassie” Kim yells to Lannon. He does so, as the party hears Finder’s voice again, this time singing: “Casting the Gate can open a door, To a god's powerful servant. Listen and I'll tell you how. The one you should name, Guards the tomb of Li-Tak, Dia-ko-ku's Shen-Ron-Tao”

“What exactly is a Di-ko-ko or a Shen-Ron-Tao?” asks Mojo. “The name of an Oriental Dragon,” Kim states. “We now have to fight a dragon?” Mark asks. “I think it is a good-aligned dragon that the Gate will bring us to” Kim answers. “Why don’t I just use my Plane Shift spell instead.” Cassie comments. “WHAT!” yells Narg, “Do you mean to tell us that you could have gotten us all out when we were back at the other building?” “Sure,” states Cassie, “But I wanted this scroll.” Seeing the undead now helping each other to get past the icy collapsed stairs, Lannon yells “I don’t care which you use, just get us out of here!”

Cassie gathers the six of them together, having them get into the bag of holding. She deactivates the Finder armor and activates her Belt of Shape Change, turning into a parrot. She then cast the Plane Shift, arriving about a third of a mile away from the castle, well above the valley. She flies back to the great hall, transforms back, and lets the others out of the bag of holding. They are no longer wearing the new armor, but each still has the magical medallion.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 85, “Mark’s Fate”, September 28, 1018, 10:30 P.M.

The other members of the Silver Moon party join those who just returned from the Abyss, and are filled in about what has taken place. The two acquired spell books are examined. Each book contains eighteen pages, of which six are blank (having been cast as scrolls), leaving a dozen spells. In addition to the standard spells, each book also contains some new spells. Cassie and Fiona consider these “great finds”.

Mark returns the borrowed Nargblade to Narg Junior. The elvan boy says “I feel funny taking this from you. In my timeline, after you defeated Mordenkainen with it, the party felt that you had earned the right to carry it. It was yours for the next thirty years until your death.” “My death!” Mark exclaims. “I guess I shouldn’t have said anything about that,” the boy comments, “Sorry.” The boy doesn’t say anything further, although Mark is clearly agitated by this revelation. Mojo finally yells “Look kid, you can’t just drop those bombshells and then clam up. Tell us what happened, and we’ll make sure to avoid it this time around.”

The boy replies “Well, I guess it won’t hurt for you to know. Mom always said that if Narg were around it wouldn’t have happened anyway, as he would not have allowed Pamela (a high priestess of Loviatar who has opposed the group before) to survive their prior encounter.” Pamela!, it figures,” says Narg, “You mother was right, with me here to stop her there’s no way she’ll still be kicking around thirty years from now to kill my buddy Mark.”

“So what exactly happened?” asks Cassie. “Or will happen, gee this gets confusing,” states Lannon. The boy begins his story, telling about a wedding to take place on the Island in the year 1048, during which Prince Matthew married one of the next generation of the Silver Moon. The boy explains that “The gathering in one place of the royal family, the Silver Moon, and others who had crossed her was far too tempting a target for the exiled and defeated Priestess Pamela to pass up. She disrupted the ceremony by summoning her goddess Loviatar to the Prime Material Plane to kill all present.

A massive battle followed, during which the good-aligned divine beings of Ilma, a warrior maiden of Ukko; Shatran, ascended hero of Mielikki; Chato, bird spirit of Hotoru; and the Demigod Finder Wyvernspur were each summoned by followers of theirs who were present. Finder eventually managed to open a dimensional portal to a plane where Loviatar would be forever imprisoned. Mark and King Matthan sacrificed themselves knocking her through this portal.” “The wimp Matthan did that? I don’t believe it,” exclaims Mojo. Narg Junior replies “Yes, he died a hero, sacrificing himself while protecting his daughter-in-law whom Loviatar was about to kill.”

The boy continues “At the climax of the battle two dozen heroes lay dead, including my stepfather Mojo. Finder was able to successfully resurrect all of them except for the illusionist-thief Blip and a young fighter named James-Shang. My mother had protected me during this battle, and I felt guilty that she had not been able help fight because of me. I decided that day that I too would become a great fighter and hero. Mark had dropped the Nargblade during the battle, and it was now given to Mojo to hold until the day that I was of an age to properly use it. A statue was erected to honor the four heroes lost that day, placed near the entrance of the Narg Memorial Baseball Park. Later that summer the widowed Queen Jennifer was elected to her third term as the continent’s ruler. Shortly thereafter she and her long-time lover Mojo were wed in a private ceremony.”

Before they can ask the boy any further questions Barthrock arrives to announce his travel plans. Barthrock says that he will bring with him for the first trip up the river approximately half of the bugbear army, to guard the books and other items at the destination point. He has these bugbears rest, while the remainder of the bugbears spend the night under the dwarf Tokrah’s supervision transporting the filled bookcases to the river and loading them on the ship. The three cargo holds are filled with 60% of the library’s contents (ninety bookcases). Also loaded onto the ship for this trip are approximately half of the food supplies of the castle, as well as the tarps, tenting, cots and other supplies of the bugbear army.

September 29, 1018:

Barthrock departs, with the twelve giants hauling the first ship load from the library. Marching on shore alongside are approximately half of the bugbear army. On the ship itself with this trip are three Silver Moon members, Fiona, Lono and Mark, as well as the monk L, druid Dratakke, cleric Davvid and magic-user Kebbark from Barthrock’s team, and finally the cat Henegyokai Ebony Shadow (who is annoyed at Lono’s suggestion that she ride in a pet taxi).

At the castle Tokrah lets his team of bugbears sleep and relax for the day. Chandra, the other member of Barthrock’s team still at the castle, spends the day with Li-Tak’s daughters, assisting them with packing. Hiroshi and Kim-Sung also spend time on the fourth floor with the girls with linguistics lessons as most of the girls have only a very rudimentary knowledge of the common tongue (although they are all fluent in the Kara-Tur language (Chinese) and about half are fluent in the Heian language (Japanese).

The other members of the Silver Moon spend the day exploring the castle, continuing to look for secret doors or concealed treasure, while also making a mental inventory of what they may wish to take with them in the third ship load.

September 30, 1018:

The party members at the castle continue their explorations. Barthrock's group arrive with the ship at their destination, and immediately begin unloading the cargo.