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The Durnhill Conscripts
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7440478" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 18: THE HALLS OF REDEMPTION</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Galen Thorne, human paladin 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 6</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 6 June 2018</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Once again Logan did up handouts for each of the players, informing them of a particular dream they were having (or, in the case of the elves, what they heard while they were in their nightly reverie). As a reminder, Syngaard generally sleeps in a brothel across town while the others each have a room directly over their headquarters, the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Syngaard raced down the silent city streets with all of his adventuring gear, headed toward the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>. As he ran, he recalled the last time he did this the group had been waylaid by dwarven assassins, but that had been in the middle of the night and the sun was already rising this morning - he should be able to see anybody skulking about in ambush on the rooftops. However, his cross-city race was uneventful, other than the strange looks he got from the few shopkeepers opening up their places of business who were surprised to see a heavily-scarred adventurer running down the street in full gear so early in the morning.</p><p></p><p>The tavern was closed as he approached, but the silver ring he wore unlocked the door as he approached and the <em>everburning torches</em> lit in their sconces once he entered the taproom. Karen was standing there in the back, behind the bar, of course - as an illusion covering an <em>unseen servant</em> spell, she had no existence other than to serve the needs of Skevros and his secret band of adventurers. But besides her, the bald fighter was alone; Skevros was no doubt in the extradimensional quarters he kept in the back stockroom and the others were likely all upstairs in their bunks. Syngaard figured he should probably go check on them, but after his run he didn't feel like handling the stairs just yet. Instead, he plopped into a chair and called for a morning mead. Karen wordlessly complied.</p><p></p><p>Upstairs, in the building's second floor, everyone had converged to Orion's room after they had heard her scream. Syngaard was still halfway across town when she told everyone she was all right and that she had just had a bad dream; Galen admitted he'd likewise had a very vivid dream that had felt like a sending from the centuries-slain paladin Zehkar who now resided in his sword. "Let's get cleaned up and meet downstairs," he suggested. "We can go over our dreams together, with Skevros, and he can summon Syngaard to meet us."</p><p></p><p>But when they clomped down the back stairs and entered the tavern from the front door some minutes later, Syngaard was already there. "You're up early," commented Orion, now dressed in her full combat leathers and mithral breastplate. Behind her, Carl padded to his customary corner and laid his head on his front paws.</p><p></p><p>"Had another of them funny dreams," the bald fighter replied. "Figured I'd head on over, like last time."</p><p></p><p>"I'll get Skevros," offered Kaspar, heading to the back. Returning several minutes later with the king's adviser, he took a seat around the table the group had assigned as their briefing area.</p><p></p><p>"Now then, what's this about strange dreams?" Skevros asked the group.</p><p></p><p>Orion went first, explaining her dream in full and then asking their leader what he thought it meant. "Well, there's an obvious correlation between the five stones the child was playing with and the five severed heads you brought back to me from your last outing." Indeed, the five severed heads of the Hextorites aligned with the Seekers of Eternity had been placed behind the bar for safe keeping the night before. "The water becoming osteovox is also a factor. And I must say, the fact that there was a pebble lodged into one of the links of the chain binding the skeleton - and that its magic rune had gone out - seems to me to be a warning. I believe our osteovox investigations - at least those involving severed heads - are weakening the bindings keeping the Mithral Mage at bay. I don't believe it would be prudent to subject the remaining five severed heads to the ritual."</p><p></p><p>"Agreed," said Galen. "My dream seemed to be a sending from Zehkar, concerning a set of trials. And it confirmed that Zehkar and the Mithral Mage were brothers."</p><p></p><p>"What about yours?" asked Orion, looking over at Syngaard. The fighter fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable with sharing his dreams with his fellow adventurers. After some coaxing, he gave an abbreviated synopsis of it, leaving out the woman entirely and the part about his heart being broken. "There was a bloody key hanging from a tree, and a drop of blood running down the bark, with branches wilting and stuff. When it got to the roots it split in two and I was supposed to keep them both safe, no matter what. Just a stupid dream," he muttered into his mead.</p><p></p><p>"Still, it has some interesting imagery," mused Skevros. "A line of blood - a bloodline - and a tree, perhaps a reference to a family tree given the familial ties between Zehkar and the Mithral Mage."</p><p></p><p>"So we have to keep the Mithral Mage and Zehkar safe?" asked Galen. "That doesn't make any sense."</p><p></p><p>"No, it's unlikely the split drop of blood refers to them," Skevros admitted. "But that's the thing about dreams: nothing's ever very straightforward. Much like many divinations, I'm afraid. But I did learn some things from repeated readings of 'The Curse of the Mithral Mage.' Apparently Zehkar was blessed by the gods with mild prophetic ability. The Mithral Mage - real name still unknown, I'm afraid - was Zehkar's younger brother, and was born with incurable illness and frailty. He wasn't expected to reach adulthood. He studied arcane magic in order to cure himself since the gods would not. He befriended Hirek - the Scarlet Sage - and together they founded a guild of alchemy devoted to finding or creating an <em>elixir of life</em>. This is, no doubt, the origin of the Seekers of Eternity. In any case, the Mithral Mage became obsessed with mithral, believing it to be the key to immortality. When he showed Hirek the results of his horrific experiments on unwilling victims, Hirek sought out Zehkar to warn him of his brother's evil."</p><p></p><p>Galen's gaze focused inward as he recalled his dream of that morning. Skevros continued, "Zehkar was unwilling to believe his brother capable of such evil until years later, when he and his friends stumbled upon an entire village turned to mithral. Overcome with guilt at his inaction, Zehkar sought redemption before he faced off against his brother to end his evil. From Serenity's notes and Galen's dream, I believe he went to the Halls of Redemption.</p><p></p><p>"The Mithral Mage's last words spoken to his brother before his own death were, 'You have chosen this fate, not me,' spoken as Zekhar stabbed him through the heart. The Mithral Mage immediately rose from the dead as a lich, turned Zehkar to mithral, and teleported them both away.</p><p></p><p>"Hirek was able to divine Zehkar's location to one of the Mithral Mage's lairs, and knowing it to be warded against good and law he summoned a demon to find and retrieve Zehkar's mithral form. She returned empty-handed, claiming there was only a stone statue with a sword."</p><p></p><p>"Serenity!" gasped Galen.</p><p></p><p>"That would be my supposition, yes," agreed Skevros. "The Mithral Mage then returned, forcing Hirek and group to flee. Further attempts to divine Zehkar's whereabouts were blocked. Hirek and his group hunted down the Mithral Mage, destroying his body and what they thought was his phylactery. However, the Mithral Mage returned with a vengeance, turning another entire village to mithral.</p><p></p><p>"After ten more attempts at destroying him, with ten more villages destroyed as little more than a message of their failure, Hirek finally divined the true nature of the lich's phylactery at great cost to himself. Knowing that the Mithral Mage was incapable of being destroyed in their own lifetimes, they devised a most dire plan. The final chapter of the book is written by Hirek, not Osleth, due to Osleth's sacrifice in order to bind the Hope Ender. Hirek, Tenryu, and the Hope Ender faced off against the Mithral Mage one final time. A tremor was felt around the world as the Northchill Mountains belched forth the armies of Hell."</p><p></p><p>"Northchill Mountains?" echoed Daleth. "I presume those were what we now know as the Baator's Breath Mountains?"</p><p></p><p>"One would expect. In any case, for nine months the Mithral Mage fled from the Hope Ender's armies until finally he was captured and dragged back to Hell, never to be seen again," finished Skevros.</p><p></p><p>"Although we have spoken with him recently, via the elven druid's skull and the osteovox," added Daleth. "Interesting."</p><p></p><p>"And this brings us back to the mission at hand," said Skevros. "We still need to know what happened to Serenity. According to her notes and diary, she set out to the city Hirek founded in order to ask his ghost the location of the Halls of Redemption. Rather than have you chasing in her footsteps, let us assume she was successful - I think we'd be best served for you to go directly to the Halls of Redemption."</p><p></p><p>"Great!" replied Syngaard, eager for some action after all this hashing over dreams and diaries and journals. "We know where this place is at?"</p><p></p><p>"It is my belief that Zehkar can guide Galen to the proper location."</p><p></p><p>"I think he can," replied Galen, his hand on the hilt of the <em>sword of Zehkar</em>. "I'm getting a strong feeling that the Halls are in the southern part of the Azure Glade."</p><p></p><p>"Not there again," griped Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"Ah, that would be your transportation!" said Skevros, looking over at the front door, having heard something that neither of the sharp-eared elves had heard. "I have taken the liberty of summoning Anuja and her wagon to drive you there."</p><p></p><p>"I'll go saddle up Seneca," Galen said, leaping from his seat and heading to the adjacent stables where his warhorse was housed.</p><p></p><p>The first day of travel was uneventful. On the second day, well inside the boundaries of the Azure Glade judging by all of the blue-hued vegetation, Galen noticed a patch of trees and vegetation of a more normal green color. "Hold up!" he called, signaling with his fist as he spun Seneca around from his vanguard. Behind him, Anuja brought the horse-drawn wagon to a halt.</p><p></p><p>"Do you see that?" the young paladin asked.</p><p></p><p>"See what?" asked Orion, bringing Carl up to a halt beside the wagon and looking to where Galen was pointing. The others, in the back of the wagon, likewise looked but saw nothing unusual.</p><p></p><p>"That patch of green vegetation," Galen answered, pointing directly at what he could see clearly as a spot of green poking up among all of the blue leaves. It formed a path through the rest of the forest to the side of the road.</p><p></p><p>"You hit your head or something?" asked Syngaard. Nobody else could see it.</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps this is your sword's way of directing your attention," suggested Kaspar. "I would advise we follow it, see where it leads."</p><p></p><p>"Agreed. Onward, Seneca!" Orion followed on Carl and Anuja wheeled the wagon behind. Together, they reached a clearing in the woods that got Galen all kinds of excited. "There!" he cried. "Do you see it?" He pointed at the ruins of an outdoor amphitheater, its marble structure partially crumbled from the many years since its construction.</p><p></p><p>"Just a depression in the ground," observed Daleth - for the amphitheater was invisible to all but the paladin. On a whim, Syngaard stepped beside Galen and placed a hand on the hilt of the <em>sword of Zehkar</em> buckled at the paladin's side. Instantly, the hidden amphitheater came into view.</p><p></p><p>"Oh yeah, it's here," Syngaard agreed. "Come touch his sword." Leaving Anuja with the wagon and the two horses, the conscripts each touched the <em>sword of Zehkar</em>; as each did, the ruins became visible to them as well. The marble structure was surrounded by a field of green grass, not normally found within the confines of the Azure Glade.</p><p></p><p>"The Halls of Redemption, one would suppose," remarked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"There's writing along the back wall," observed Kaspar as he moved closer to make out what it said. But it was written in a script unknown to the group. "Celestial," Kaspar suggested.</p><p></p><p>Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, Galen found out that while he couldn't read Celestial, Zehkar could. "'Announce yourself, and your purpose,'" he translated. Then, in a louder voice, he called, "I am Galen Thorne, and I am here to fight against evil!"</p><p></p><p>At his announcement, two figures walked through the back wall beneath the inscription. Each was built like a heavily armored human, but there was nobody inside - just the animated suits of armor themselves. "Prove yourself worthy to enter the halls," one said, to be followed by the other's dire warning: "Do not hold back for we shall not either." The two constructs then took on combat stances and one of them said, "Combatant Galen acknowledged."</p><p></p><p>Orion, not sure of whether or not she should attack these constructs, opted to ready herself to attack if either approached her or Carl. But their defensive stances did not alter; they were apparently programmed not to initiate hostilities. Daleth opted to play for time by casting a <em>mage armor</em> spell upon himself - he certainly wasn't going to be the first to attack!</p><p></p><p>Syngaard had no such compunctions against initiating combat with a couple of empty suits of armor. He ran up to the closest and bashed the side of its helmet in with his magic morningstar. Galen, already in front of the guardians since he had been translating the inscription, delivered two decent blows against the same guardian Syngaard struck. Through their combat experience, both Galen and Syngaard realized their blows weren't entirely as effective as they should have been.</p><p></p><p>But now, having been struck in combat, the guardians whirred to life. Both focused solely on Galen - perhaps because he had been the only one to announce himself? - and the paladin tried keeping the blows striking his shield; of the four, only one made it past his defenses.</p><p></p><p>"I am Kaspar Hardstrike, and I fight in defense of my friends!" announced the elven monk before joining the fray, sending an iron-hard fist smashing into the partially damaged construct. "Combatant Kaspar acknowledged," replied the animated guardian, apparently not at all concerned about the damage the monk had just dealt it.</p><p></p><p>Deciding to go with the flow, Orion called out, "I am Orion Nightsky and I will aid my companions!" as she sent Carl forward so she could slash at the other guardian with her <em>flaming short sword</em>. Daleth followed suit, calling out "I am Daleth Stormsea and I fight beside my friends!" Using his <em>metamagic rod</em>, he sent an <em>empowered scorching ray</em> at the construct Orion was fighting.</p><p></p><p>"Combatant Orion acknowledged," said one construct.</p><p></p><p>"Combatant Daleth acknowledged," said the other.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard wasn't in the mood for exchanging pleasantries with the enemies he was fighting; instead, he brought his morningstar down with every ounce of strength he possessed. It became instantly immobilized, encased in a golden glow; whether it had been destroyed or not was questionable, but it was certainly out of the fight.</p><p></p><p>Galen, seeing Syngaard's success, opted to do likewise with the second guardian. However, it moved out of immediate danger when the paladin brought his longsword crashing down, and it cast a spell upon itself as it did so. Galen thought the effects looked the same as the <em>divine favor</em> spell he had used himself on occasion - were these paladin constructs? He'd never heard of such a thing.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar moved up to strike the remaining guardian, reminding Syngaard to introduce himself before the battle was over. "What for?" the fighter asked. "They don't seem to attack you if they don't acknowledge your presence."</p><p></p><p>"They also might not let you into the Halls of Redemption," the monk chided, striking out with his fist at the construct. Orion flanked the guardian with the monk, striking at what looked like a weak link in its armor that would have been devastating had she been fighting a living foe.</p><p></p><p>"Fine," grumbled Syngaard, moving up to the sole remaining guardian. "The name's Syngaard. I'm here to kill those in our way."</p><p></p><p>"Combatant Syngaard acknowledged," replied the construct as a series of <em>magic missiles</em> struck it, courtesy of the group's elven wizard. Those were its last words, as together Galen and Syngaard pounded it with their weapons until it too became immobile and encased in a golden glow. Immediately a doorway appeared in the back wall of the amphitheater from which the guardians had first emerged.</p><p></p><p>"We're in," said Galen, leading the way through the doorway. The others followed him into an ornate room bisected by a lush, red carpet leading to a pair of thronelike chairs in the back of the room, one of them having fallen into decay. Statues and mirrors decorated alcoves along both side walls, but of immediate notice was the dead body on the floor before one of the thrones. It lay wrapped in what looked like a leathery cloak. Blackish bloodstains were scattered about the whole place as if many battles had taken place here over the years.</p><p></p><p>"This whole place is evil!" cried Galen suddenly, using his paladin vision to detect for evil in the auras of those people and items around him.</p><p></p><p>"Surely not the whole area," reasoned Kaspar. "I thought this was built by celestials."</p><p></p><p>"No, you're right," acknowledged Galen, using his enhanced vision to scan the whole room. "It's not the whole place, just the bloodstains that are scattered about. And the woman in the back."</p><p></p><p>"Surely that's not Serenity?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"If it is, she's not nearly as evil as she used to be," the paladin told her. He'd gotten splitting headaches in the past whenever he tried to sense the aura of the succubus. "Look: another inscription in Celestial," Galen pointed at the back wall, behind the thrones. Walking closer, to make out the carved writing, and using his sword Zehkar as a translator, he read, "'Only those who can defeat their inner demons can truly find redemption.'"</p><p></p><p>"Watch out for the mirrors!" Galen called suddenly. "I've heard of these: you look into one, and your reflection steps out to try to kill you." Everyone made a great effort to keep from looking at one of the side mirrors, Orion going so far as unfolding a white handkerchief and tying it around Carl's eyes. The riding dog dropped down on its belly and rested its head on its front paws.</p><p></p><p>Leaving Carl behind, Orion stepped forward with the rest of the group to check out the corpse on the floor. What had at first looked to be a cape or cloak was revealed instead to be a leathery wing, much like that of a bat - or a succubus. As Galen reached over and turned the corpse onto its back, an ominous slamming noise from the front of the room let the conscripts know they were now sealed into the Halls of Redemption. Orion ran back to check out the doors, but there were no keyholes or locks to try to pick.</p><p></p><p>"It's Serenity, all right," confirmed Galen, looking at the face of the dead body before him.</p><p></p><p>"But which one?" asked Daleth. "The original, or the mirror clone?"</p><p></p><p>"A good question," confirmed Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"I'm gonna go sit on the thrones, see what happens," decided Syngaard. "Maybe I can command the doors to open up or somethin'." But the plan was impossible to implement, if only because of a strong compulsion effect preventing anyone from approaching the thrones too closely. "Well that bites," complained the fighter.</p><p></p><p>"It would seem we're going to have to activate the mirrors and confront our own inner demons," observed Galen.</p><p></p><p>"Let's do this smart, though," suggested Syngaard. "Instead of all five of us at once, howzabout we activate one at a time and pound 'em with overwhelming odds?"</p><p></p><p>"That hardly seems sporting," observed Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"We ain't here to be sporting," countered Syngaard. "We're here to kill our inner demons. And nobody said nothin' about no fair fight."</p><p></p><p>"I'll go first," offered Kaspar, approaching the nearest mirror. He was surprised by what he saw in the mirror: rather than an evil version of himself, he saw a female figure, wearing robes similar to his own, but all black. He recognized her as the woman he had fought in his Trial of Strength when he had won the right to wield the <em>tenryutsume</em>. But this female monk also wore the <em>tenryutsume</em>, and as she stepped out of the mirror Kaspar could see it was made of blue metal, and she wore it on her left hand rather than on her right, as he did. Kaspar immediately fled past Galen, who had the <em>sword of Zehkar</em> out and ready to strike; the monk hoped he could get the mirror clone to chase after him (surely she would be focused solely on slaying him above all others?) and the paladin could get in a good strike against her. The plan worked perfectly, as Kaspar's "inner demon" disregarded the threat of Galen in her determination to slay her male counterpart, and the paladin dealt her a powerful blow with his longsword. However, she survived the attack and raced up to Kaspar, striking him a shocking blow with her own <em>tenryutsume</em>.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard stepped forward, throwing his <em>returning javelin</em> at the black-clad monk, scoring another solid hit - she didn't even try to swat it away like that other monk chick Syngaard had fought outside Kaspar's monastery! "Remember she's a human!" called out Kaspar as he struck his counterpart, hinting that the scarred fighter might do well to use his <em>human bane scimitar</em> against her. Syngaard caught the javelin as it returned to his hand, stashed it in his shield hand, and pulled out his scimitar.</p><p></p><p>Galen struck at the monk with his longsword but missed; in the meantime, Daleth, feeling the others had a good handle on defeating Kaspar's inner demon, decided to go check out his own. Stepping in front of another mirror, he focused his gaze upon his own counterpart. This one actually looked like the elf, but it had considerably more magic items - it rode upon a <em>carpet of flying</em>, for one thing - and his elegant, flowing robes told of the vast riches this evil counterpart had gathered by not being sidelined on boring library excursions. Daleth stepped back, preparing a <em>magic missile</em> spell. Orion saw Daleth's inner demon ready to exit the mirror and moved over to aid the elf.</p><p></p><p>As it exited, the carpet-riding wizard was struck by Daleth's <em>empowered magic missile</em> spell and one of Orion's throwing daggers. He demonstrated how similar he was to the real elf wizard, though, by completely missing with his own <em>empowered scorching ray</em> spell. Both versions of Daleth shook their heads in disbelief.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar and his counterpart exchanged flurries of blows, their twin <em>tenryutsume</em> sending sparks of electricity with each attack. While the monk kept her occupied, Syngaard got within range and cut her down with his <em>human bane scimitar</em>, proving once and for all that the "original" was not needed to strike the final blow against the "duplicate." Across the room, Orion threw another dagger at Daleth's evil twin; Galen rushed up and swung his longsword above his head as the <em>carpet of flying</em> went past him, but the paladin's weapon failed to connect. Like true mirror images, each Daleth pulled out a <em>wand of magic missiles</em> and shot at each other; naturally, each struck true. But then Kaspar leaped up with a flying kick that sent the evil elf image crashing to the ground. Daleth rushed up, eager to grab the <em>carpet of flying</em> for himself, and was dismayed to see it was attached to the feet of his counterpart, even in death. Apparently slaying one's inner demon in the Halls of Redemption was no quick path to riches!</p><p></p><p>"You're next, Syngaard!" Galen called out. With a shrug, the bald fighter walked over to the nearest mirror and looked at what he expected would be his own reflection. Instead, all the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood up and the blood drained from his face as he looked at the red-headed woman standing before him in the glass.</p><p></p><p>"Mezz," he whispered inaudibly, then took immediate action. Racing up to the mirror, he blocked it with his body and spun around, his scimitar raised in a defensive position, warning the rest of the party away without saying a single word.</p><p></p><p>"What are you up to?" demanded Galen, confused. "We don't have time for this, Syngaard!"</p><p></p><p>"I got this," Syngaard countered. "You go deal with the other images."</p><p></p><p>Exasperated by the fighter's stupidity, Orion decided she'd go next. She stepped up to a mirror alcove and was dismayed to see not only an "evil Orion" there in the glass, but an "evil Carl" as well - for her own riding dog was resting behind her, well within the field of view of the mirror's reflection.</p><p></p><p>The evil halfling leaped from the mirror, stabbing Orion with her own <em>flaming short sword</em> - but fortunately, although the blade bit deep, the bracelet the halfling had taken from the female human assassin who had tried killing Maria Quillbender prevented the sword's flames from doing her any additional harm. It then proved to be equally effective against a hell hound's bite, for the evil mirror version of Carl breathed fire from its slavering mouth.</p><p></p><p>Galen, also perplexed by Syngaard's bone-headedness, saw Orion in need of assistance and moved to aid her. Unfortunately, while he got in a good blow on the evil halfling rogue, to do so he brought himself in full view of the mirror from which she had emerged; a blackguard version of Galen stepped partially out, smiting the paladin with an ebon sword.</p><p></p><p>Daleth removed Carl's blindfold and urged him to help his mistress, before sending a <em>magic missile</em> barrage that finished off the evil halfling. Carl bounded to his feet and raced at the hell hound threatening Orion. Kaspar was already there, striking at the hellish canine with the glowing, red eyes.</p><p></p><p>One mirror alcove away, Syngaard grimaced in pain as the blade of a <em>human bane dagger</em> pierced through the mirror and into his back. He could feel rivulets of blood leaking from the wound, but decided he could take another few hits like that before he needed to do anything about it. In the meantime, he kept up his defensive posture, ensuring none of his friends were coming to his aid against his own mirror foe.</p><p></p><p>Orion struck at Carl's hellish counterpart, while her riding dog snapped ineffectively at the hell hound with his teeth. A sudden blast of flames erupted from the canine beast's mouth, engulfing both Galen and Orion. As the smoke cleared, Orion was unscathed while the paladin had suffered only minor burns. He went to retaliate but missed with his longsword; all he had accomplished was to give his mirror duplicate room to step fully from the mirror.</p><p></p><p>Figuring "Evil Galen" was the bigger threat, Daleth hit him with an <em>empowered magic missile</em>, causing the blackguard to stagger. Kaspar followed his fellow elf's lead, striking at the black-armored warrior with a hardened fist.</p><p></p><p>As his companions flailed around trying to take out Galen's counterpart and the hell hound, Syngaard spun around in place and faced his mirror duplicate, standing practically in front of the glass and thus not giving her room to step fully out. She stabbed at him with the <em>human bane dagger</em>; as her dagger emerged from the glass Syngaard tried striking it from her hand with the hilt of his own weapon, but he wasn't used to fighting in such cramped conditions and was unable to force her to drop the blade. But then she struck at him again and in a surprise move, Syngaard let his own weapon drop to the floor and he struck out with both hands, grabbing the woman's wrist and arm below it, pinning it in place as it emerged from the mirror. And there the two stood, face to face, the woman's snarling in a grimace of hatred as she tried to free her hand, while Syngaard, refusing to let go, wore an expression of awe and sadness.</p><p></p><p>It took several failed strikes and many unfailing <em>magic missiles</em>, but eventually the others defeated Galen's evil counterpart and the hell hound version of Carl; their enemies' bodies sprawled on the floor before them, the group's attention went back to the spectacle of Syngaard standing before his mirror, gripping the wrist of the woman who had yet to step fully out into the room.</p><p></p><p>"Whoever you think that is, she's not real!" Galen called, trying to use reason on the stubborn fighter. But Syngaard was having none of it. "Go away!" he called. "I've got everything under control!" The blood dripping from the back of his armor belied his statement, however.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar pulled a shuriken from his robes and assessed the shot for a moment, visualizing every needed movement. Then he struck out, releasing the bladed weapon at the end of his arm's arc. The throwing star whirled across the room, finding its target in the soft flesh of the arm sticking out of the mirror - the arm that Syngaard held in a deathlike grip. The woman barely seemed affected by the shuriken sticking out from her arm, whereas Syngaard gave a roar of rage as it struck. "Leave us alone!" he demanded.</p><p></p><p>Seeing little other option, Daleth cast a <em>color spray</em> spell at the scarred fighter, hoping to stun him into submission. Surprisingly, Syngaard shrugged off its intended effects without even seeming to notice.</p><p></p><p>Orion had long since given up trying to figure out the workings of Syngaard's mind; she mounted Carl and rode her dog back to the throne, to see if she could approach it now that her inner demon had been slain. She was able to walk all the way up to the throne in good condition but still couldn't actually sit on it; the halfling thought she could see the shimmering outline of a figure already sitting there. "Zehkar, is that you?" she asked, and was surprised to get a response.</p><p></p><p>"No, I am not Zehkar - I am the watcher of these Halls. Your friend seems to be struggling."</p><p></p><p>"He's not really my friend," Orion replied. "More like a barely-tolerated co-worker."</p><p></p><p>As the others approached him from behind, Syngaard was forced to release his hold upon the mirror woman so he could turn and face them. Rather than pick up his discarded scimitar, he grabbed the morningstar from his belt. "Keep back!" he warned his companions, as the woman in the mirror took the opportunity to stab at Syngaard's exposed back again. He winced in pain but said nothing.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not healing those wounds, you know," Galen threatened.</p><p></p><p>"Nobody asked you to," Syngaard snarled back, absently wondering if he'd be able to reach the healing potions at his belt in time if it came to that.</p><p></p><p>Daleth, frowning at the fighter's stubborn behavior, tried a <em>glitterdust</em> spell on him. This time, Syngaard was unable to counter its effects using only his own willpower; a wall of blackness descended over his eyesight. "No!" he cried in panic, and Kaspar grabbed him and pulled him away from the mirror. Spun about, Syngaard had no idea which way he was facing - so he struck out blindly with his morningstar at nothing while his red-headed mirror counterpart stepped through the glass and stabbed him again with her dagger.</p><p></p><p>But now that she was out in the open, she faced Kaspar, Galen, and Daleth as well as Syngaard. The first two struck out with fist and blade, while the wizard cast another <em>magic missile</em> at the red-headed woman, eliciting a groan of pain from her lips. Stumbling around in his blindness, Syngaard remembered the dream from that morning, especially the part about "breaking his heart."</p><p></p><p>"Hold off!" Syngaard begged his friends. "I'm okay now! I know what I have to do!" Galen looked suspiciously at the scarred fighter, but Syngaard continued in all earnestness, "Tell me where she is, I've got to be the one to kill her." The paladin grabbed Syngaard's shoulder and spun him around until he was facing his nemesis; the others had broken off their attacks upon hearing the fighter's pleas. Plus, nobody was exactly sure about how this place worked; not everybody had slain their own mirror counterpart, but was it necessary for the last one to be slain by the original? Nobody knew.</p><p></p><p>Grateful in hindsight for the blindness that prevented him from seeing his inner demon, Syngaard swung his morningstar for all he was worth. He felt the collision of worked steel and solid flesh as the weapon hit its mark; the woman fell to the floor, lifeless. "I'm sorry, Mezz," whispered Syngaard, too quietly for the others to hear. Then his legs gave out and he sat on the floor in a sudden heap, waiting for the spell to run its course and restore his vision.</p><p></p><p>In a sudden flash of light - one that went unnoticed by the group's bald fighter - the angelic figure seated upon the throne revealed itself. "I have never seen a battle so intense," he said, "though Syngaard's struggle is why it is recommended that those who come here do not do so alone." With a wave if his hand the bodies, including Serenity's, disappeared, thankfully before Syngaard's magical blindness wore off. He wouldn't have wanted to see the woman's corpse in that condition.</p><p></p><p>"None of you require redemption, so I offer you each your choice of Knowledge or Power," said the celestial being on the throne. "One question to be answered truthfully to those who seek Knowledge; a trinket or enchantment to aid those who seek Power."</p><p></p><p>"Power," replied Syngaard without hesitation from his seat on the floor. With but a glance, the celestial agent increased the enchantment on the fighter's morningstar.</p><p></p><p>Daleth replied, "Knowledge." </p><p></p><p>"Then ask your question."</p><p></p><p>The elf thought it over. "In a recent interrogation with the spirit of the Mithral Mage, it referred to us by nicknames, although some are questionable as to who was meant. What is the meaning of the nickname the Mithral Mage gave me?" The group had assumed Daleth was "the Father of Hirek's Key," if only by process of elimination - all of the other nicknames seemed to point directly at one or another of the conscripts, leaving Daleth with the one that didn't seem to fit anyone else in particular.</p><p></p><p>With a sad smile the angel responded, "Alas, you are the Dimwit, for though your have great intelligence, your wit is often lacking."</p><p></p><p>Syngaard chuckled unkindly from the floor. "Case in point: I just got a free weapon upgrade, while you spent your wish being called a dimwit. Nice one, elf boy." Daleth just scowled at the fighter he'd blinded, angry with Syngaard for being so crass and for himself at the truth of the fighter's words.</p><p></p><p>"I'll go with Power," said Orion, seeing how poorly Knowledge had worked for Daleth. The angel made a gesture with his hand, and a small sack appeared in the halfling's hand. She tipped it over, and a seemingly endless cascade of daggers came pouring out in a rush, to clink onto the floor before disappearing. She quickly turned the bag right-side-up, but he angel reassured her, "You will never run out. That is an infinite supply of throwing daggers." Orion gasped at the priceless treasure she held in her hands. "Thank you!" she cried.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar was unsure of which way to go, for Knowledge was the path to true power...and yet, the two who had chosen Power had not regretted it. "Power," he finally decided, and from his <em>tenryutsume</em> sprang forth flames that covered his hand and forearm without burning him. From that point on, when desired, it would deal both fire and electrical damage to those struck by Kaspar's right fist. The elf bowed in acknowledgement of the gift he had received.</p><p></p><p>Galen was likewise tempted, but he went with Knowledge. "What must we do to stop the Mithral Mage's goals?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>After some contemplation the angel replied, "Step one: stop using osteovox. Step two: defeat the Seekers of Eternity. Step three: protect Hirek's bloodline. Step four: kill the Hope Ender. There may be other opportunities unseen at this time, but those four must be done." Galen nodded in determination, although there were still further questions he had: how best to defeat the Hope Ender, a pit fiend, one of the most powerful types of devil in existence? And who made up Hirek's bloodline? But these were questions they'd have to seek the answers to later.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard began blinking rapidly as his vision started clearing up, the <em>glitterdust</em> spell having run its course. With a wave of his hand, the angel caused the doors to the Halls of Redemption to open. As the party turned to leave, the angel gave them one final message. "Free the one who found redemption, free her from the Seekers of Eternity."</p><p></p><p>Orion sighed. "We're still no closer to finding Serenity," she said.</p><p></p><p>"We'll find her," Galen promised. "And this time, she shouldn't give me a splitting headache if I try to read her aura!"</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>This was our longest session, lasting from our normal start time of about 6:30 PM and not finishing up until nearly 10:00; it's a good thing that school's out for the summer and Harry doesn't have to get up early in the morning anymore! Of course, I was partially to blame, in that Syngaard steadfastly refused to fight his mirror counterpart until forced to do so, for reasons that make absolute sense to me (although I had Dan crawling the walls trying to figure out just what I thought I was doing). But all will be made clear, probably at the start of the next session, when Syngaard will have to explain himself to Skevros and the others - using the back-story I had created for him at the very beginning.</p><p></p><p>And it seems Serenity is now a non-evil succubus. That's an interesting turn of events. We still have no idea as to her whereabouts, though - we'll have to try to hit up Skevros for some more divinations.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7440478, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 18: THE HALLS OF REDEMPTION[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 4 Galen Thorne, human paladin 6 Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 6 Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 6 Syngaard, human fighter 6[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 6 June 2018 - - - Once again Logan did up handouts for each of the players, informing them of a particular dream they were having (or, in the case of the elves, what they heard while they were in their nightly reverie). As a reminder, Syngaard generally sleeps in a brothel across town while the others each have a room directly over their headquarters, the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i]. - - - Syngaard raced down the silent city streets with all of his adventuring gear, headed toward the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i]. As he ran, he recalled the last time he did this the group had been waylaid by dwarven assassins, but that had been in the middle of the night and the sun was already rising this morning - he should be able to see anybody skulking about in ambush on the rooftops. However, his cross-city race was uneventful, other than the strange looks he got from the few shopkeepers opening up their places of business who were surprised to see a heavily-scarred adventurer running down the street in full gear so early in the morning. The tavern was closed as he approached, but the silver ring he wore unlocked the door as he approached and the [i]everburning torches[/i] lit in their sconces once he entered the taproom. Karen was standing there in the back, behind the bar, of course - as an illusion covering an [i]unseen servant[/i] spell, she had no existence other than to serve the needs of Skevros and his secret band of adventurers. But besides her, the bald fighter was alone; Skevros was no doubt in the extradimensional quarters he kept in the back stockroom and the others were likely all upstairs in their bunks. Syngaard figured he should probably go check on them, but after his run he didn't feel like handling the stairs just yet. Instead, he plopped into a chair and called for a morning mead. Karen wordlessly complied. Upstairs, in the building's second floor, everyone had converged to Orion's room after they had heard her scream. Syngaard was still halfway across town when she told everyone she was all right and that she had just had a bad dream; Galen admitted he'd likewise had a very vivid dream that had felt like a sending from the centuries-slain paladin Zehkar who now resided in his sword. "Let's get cleaned up and meet downstairs," he suggested. "We can go over our dreams together, with Skevros, and he can summon Syngaard to meet us." But when they clomped down the back stairs and entered the tavern from the front door some minutes later, Syngaard was already there. "You're up early," commented Orion, now dressed in her full combat leathers and mithral breastplate. Behind her, Carl padded to his customary corner and laid his head on his front paws. "Had another of them funny dreams," the bald fighter replied. "Figured I'd head on over, like last time." "I'll get Skevros," offered Kaspar, heading to the back. Returning several minutes later with the king's adviser, he took a seat around the table the group had assigned as their briefing area. "Now then, what's this about strange dreams?" Skevros asked the group. Orion went first, explaining her dream in full and then asking their leader what he thought it meant. "Well, there's an obvious correlation between the five stones the child was playing with and the five severed heads you brought back to me from your last outing." Indeed, the five severed heads of the Hextorites aligned with the Seekers of Eternity had been placed behind the bar for safe keeping the night before. "The water becoming osteovox is also a factor. And I must say, the fact that there was a pebble lodged into one of the links of the chain binding the skeleton - and that its magic rune had gone out - seems to me to be a warning. I believe our osteovox investigations - at least those involving severed heads - are weakening the bindings keeping the Mithral Mage at bay. I don't believe it would be prudent to subject the remaining five severed heads to the ritual." "Agreed," said Galen. "My dream seemed to be a sending from Zehkar, concerning a set of trials. And it confirmed that Zehkar and the Mithral Mage were brothers." "What about yours?" asked Orion, looking over at Syngaard. The fighter fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable with sharing his dreams with his fellow adventurers. After some coaxing, he gave an abbreviated synopsis of it, leaving out the woman entirely and the part about his heart being broken. "There was a bloody key hanging from a tree, and a drop of blood running down the bark, with branches wilting and stuff. When it got to the roots it split in two and I was supposed to keep them both safe, no matter what. Just a stupid dream," he muttered into his mead. "Still, it has some interesting imagery," mused Skevros. "A line of blood - a bloodline - and a tree, perhaps a reference to a family tree given the familial ties between Zehkar and the Mithral Mage." "So we have to keep the Mithral Mage and Zehkar safe?" asked Galen. "That doesn't make any sense." "No, it's unlikely the split drop of blood refers to them," Skevros admitted. "But that's the thing about dreams: nothing's ever very straightforward. Much like many divinations, I'm afraid. But I did learn some things from repeated readings of 'The Curse of the Mithral Mage.' Apparently Zehkar was blessed by the gods with mild prophetic ability. The Mithral Mage - real name still unknown, I'm afraid - was Zehkar's younger brother, and was born with incurable illness and frailty. He wasn't expected to reach adulthood. He studied arcane magic in order to cure himself since the gods would not. He befriended Hirek - the Scarlet Sage - and together they founded a guild of alchemy devoted to finding or creating an [i]elixir of life[/i]. This is, no doubt, the origin of the Seekers of Eternity. In any case, the Mithral Mage became obsessed with mithral, believing it to be the key to immortality. When he showed Hirek the results of his horrific experiments on unwilling victims, Hirek sought out Zehkar to warn him of his brother's evil." Galen's gaze focused inward as he recalled his dream of that morning. Skevros continued, "Zehkar was unwilling to believe his brother capable of such evil until years later, when he and his friends stumbled upon an entire village turned to mithral. Overcome with guilt at his inaction, Zehkar sought redemption before he faced off against his brother to end his evil. From Serenity's notes and Galen's dream, I believe he went to the Halls of Redemption. "The Mithral Mage's last words spoken to his brother before his own death were, 'You have chosen this fate, not me,' spoken as Zekhar stabbed him through the heart. The Mithral Mage immediately rose from the dead as a lich, turned Zehkar to mithral, and teleported them both away. "Hirek was able to divine Zehkar's location to one of the Mithral Mage's lairs, and knowing it to be warded against good and law he summoned a demon to find and retrieve Zehkar's mithral form. She returned empty-handed, claiming there was only a stone statue with a sword." "Serenity!" gasped Galen. "That would be my supposition, yes," agreed Skevros. "The Mithral Mage then returned, forcing Hirek and group to flee. Further attempts to divine Zehkar's whereabouts were blocked. Hirek and his group hunted down the Mithral Mage, destroying his body and what they thought was his phylactery. However, the Mithral Mage returned with a vengeance, turning another entire village to mithral. "After ten more attempts at destroying him, with ten more villages destroyed as little more than a message of their failure, Hirek finally divined the true nature of the lich's phylactery at great cost to himself. Knowing that the Mithral Mage was incapable of being destroyed in their own lifetimes, they devised a most dire plan. The final chapter of the book is written by Hirek, not Osleth, due to Osleth's sacrifice in order to bind the Hope Ender. Hirek, Tenryu, and the Hope Ender faced off against the Mithral Mage one final time. A tremor was felt around the world as the Northchill Mountains belched forth the armies of Hell." "Northchill Mountains?" echoed Daleth. "I presume those were what we now know as the Baator's Breath Mountains?" "One would expect. In any case, for nine months the Mithral Mage fled from the Hope Ender's armies until finally he was captured and dragged back to Hell, never to be seen again," finished Skevros. "Although we have spoken with him recently, via the elven druid's skull and the osteovox," added Daleth. "Interesting." "And this brings us back to the mission at hand," said Skevros. "We still need to know what happened to Serenity. According to her notes and diary, she set out to the city Hirek founded in order to ask his ghost the location of the Halls of Redemption. Rather than have you chasing in her footsteps, let us assume she was successful - I think we'd be best served for you to go directly to the Halls of Redemption." "Great!" replied Syngaard, eager for some action after all this hashing over dreams and diaries and journals. "We know where this place is at?" "It is my belief that Zehkar can guide Galen to the proper location." "I think he can," replied Galen, his hand on the hilt of the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i]. "I'm getting a strong feeling that the Halls are in the southern part of the Azure Glade." "Not there again," griped Syngaard. "Ah, that would be your transportation!" said Skevros, looking over at the front door, having heard something that neither of the sharp-eared elves had heard. "I have taken the liberty of summoning Anuja and her wagon to drive you there." "I'll go saddle up Seneca," Galen said, leaping from his seat and heading to the adjacent stables where his warhorse was housed. The first day of travel was uneventful. On the second day, well inside the boundaries of the Azure Glade judging by all of the blue-hued vegetation, Galen noticed a patch of trees and vegetation of a more normal green color. "Hold up!" he called, signaling with his fist as he spun Seneca around from his vanguard. Behind him, Anuja brought the horse-drawn wagon to a halt. "Do you see that?" the young paladin asked. "See what?" asked Orion, bringing Carl up to a halt beside the wagon and looking to where Galen was pointing. The others, in the back of the wagon, likewise looked but saw nothing unusual. "That patch of green vegetation," Galen answered, pointing directly at what he could see clearly as a spot of green poking up among all of the blue leaves. It formed a path through the rest of the forest to the side of the road. "You hit your head or something?" asked Syngaard. Nobody else could see it. "Perhaps this is your sword's way of directing your attention," suggested Kaspar. "I would advise we follow it, see where it leads." "Agreed. Onward, Seneca!" Orion followed on Carl and Anuja wheeled the wagon behind. Together, they reached a clearing in the woods that got Galen all kinds of excited. "There!" he cried. "Do you see it?" He pointed at the ruins of an outdoor amphitheater, its marble structure partially crumbled from the many years since its construction. "Just a depression in the ground," observed Daleth - for the amphitheater was invisible to all but the paladin. On a whim, Syngaard stepped beside Galen and placed a hand on the hilt of the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i] buckled at the paladin's side. Instantly, the hidden amphitheater came into view. "Oh yeah, it's here," Syngaard agreed. "Come touch his sword." Leaving Anuja with the wagon and the two horses, the conscripts each touched the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i]; as each did, the ruins became visible to them as well. The marble structure was surrounded by a field of green grass, not normally found within the confines of the Azure Glade. "The Halls of Redemption, one would suppose," remarked Daleth. "There's writing along the back wall," observed Kaspar as he moved closer to make out what it said. But it was written in a script unknown to the group. "Celestial," Kaspar suggested. Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, Galen found out that while he couldn't read Celestial, Zehkar could. "'Announce yourself, and your purpose,'" he translated. Then, in a louder voice, he called, "I am Galen Thorne, and I am here to fight against evil!" At his announcement, two figures walked through the back wall beneath the inscription. Each was built like a heavily armored human, but there was nobody inside - just the animated suits of armor themselves. "Prove yourself worthy to enter the halls," one said, to be followed by the other's dire warning: "Do not hold back for we shall not either." The two constructs then took on combat stances and one of them said, "Combatant Galen acknowledged." Orion, not sure of whether or not she should attack these constructs, opted to ready herself to attack if either approached her or Carl. But their defensive stances did not alter; they were apparently programmed not to initiate hostilities. Daleth opted to play for time by casting a [i]mage armor[/i] spell upon himself - he certainly wasn't going to be the first to attack! Syngaard had no such compunctions against initiating combat with a couple of empty suits of armor. He ran up to the closest and bashed the side of its helmet in with his magic morningstar. Galen, already in front of the guardians since he had been translating the inscription, delivered two decent blows against the same guardian Syngaard struck. Through their combat experience, both Galen and Syngaard realized their blows weren't entirely as effective as they should have been. But now, having been struck in combat, the guardians whirred to life. Both focused solely on Galen - perhaps because he had been the only one to announce himself? - and the paladin tried keeping the blows striking his shield; of the four, only one made it past his defenses. "I am Kaspar Hardstrike, and I fight in defense of my friends!" announced the elven monk before joining the fray, sending an iron-hard fist smashing into the partially damaged construct. "Combatant Kaspar acknowledged," replied the animated guardian, apparently not at all concerned about the damage the monk had just dealt it. Deciding to go with the flow, Orion called out, "I am Orion Nightsky and I will aid my companions!" as she sent Carl forward so she could slash at the other guardian with her [i]flaming short sword[/i]. Daleth followed suit, calling out "I am Daleth Stormsea and I fight beside my friends!" Using his [i]metamagic rod[/i], he sent an [i]empowered scorching ray[/i] at the construct Orion was fighting. "Combatant Orion acknowledged," said one construct. "Combatant Daleth acknowledged," said the other. Syngaard wasn't in the mood for exchanging pleasantries with the enemies he was fighting; instead, he brought his morningstar down with every ounce of strength he possessed. It became instantly immobilized, encased in a golden glow; whether it had been destroyed or not was questionable, but it was certainly out of the fight. Galen, seeing Syngaard's success, opted to do likewise with the second guardian. However, it moved out of immediate danger when the paladin brought his longsword crashing down, and it cast a spell upon itself as it did so. Galen thought the effects looked the same as the [i]divine favor[/i] spell he had used himself on occasion - were these paladin constructs? He'd never heard of such a thing. Kaspar moved up to strike the remaining guardian, reminding Syngaard to introduce himself before the battle was over. "What for?" the fighter asked. "They don't seem to attack you if they don't acknowledge your presence." "They also might not let you into the Halls of Redemption," the monk chided, striking out with his fist at the construct. Orion flanked the guardian with the monk, striking at what looked like a weak link in its armor that would have been devastating had she been fighting a living foe. "Fine," grumbled Syngaard, moving up to the sole remaining guardian. "The name's Syngaard. I'm here to kill those in our way." "Combatant Syngaard acknowledged," replied the construct as a series of [i]magic missiles[/i] struck it, courtesy of the group's elven wizard. Those were its last words, as together Galen and Syngaard pounded it with their weapons until it too became immobile and encased in a golden glow. Immediately a doorway appeared in the back wall of the amphitheater from which the guardians had first emerged. "We're in," said Galen, leading the way through the doorway. The others followed him into an ornate room bisected by a lush, red carpet leading to a pair of thronelike chairs in the back of the room, one of them having fallen into decay. Statues and mirrors decorated alcoves along both side walls, but of immediate notice was the dead body on the floor before one of the thrones. It lay wrapped in what looked like a leathery cloak. Blackish bloodstains were scattered about the whole place as if many battles had taken place here over the years. "This whole place is evil!" cried Galen suddenly, using his paladin vision to detect for evil in the auras of those people and items around him. "Surely not the whole area," reasoned Kaspar. "I thought this was built by celestials." "No, you're right," acknowledged Galen, using his enhanced vision to scan the whole room. "It's not the whole place, just the bloodstains that are scattered about. And the woman in the back." "Surely that's not Serenity?" asked Orion. "If it is, she's not nearly as evil as she used to be," the paladin told her. He'd gotten splitting headaches in the past whenever he tried to sense the aura of the succubus. "Look: another inscription in Celestial," Galen pointed at the back wall, behind the thrones. Walking closer, to make out the carved writing, and using his sword Zehkar as a translator, he read, "'Only those who can defeat their inner demons can truly find redemption.'" "Watch out for the mirrors!" Galen called suddenly. "I've heard of these: you look into one, and your reflection steps out to try to kill you." Everyone made a great effort to keep from looking at one of the side mirrors, Orion going so far as unfolding a white handkerchief and tying it around Carl's eyes. The riding dog dropped down on its belly and rested its head on its front paws. Leaving Carl behind, Orion stepped forward with the rest of the group to check out the corpse on the floor. What had at first looked to be a cape or cloak was revealed instead to be a leathery wing, much like that of a bat - or a succubus. As Galen reached over and turned the corpse onto its back, an ominous slamming noise from the front of the room let the conscripts know they were now sealed into the Halls of Redemption. Orion ran back to check out the doors, but there were no keyholes or locks to try to pick. "It's Serenity, all right," confirmed Galen, looking at the face of the dead body before him. "But which one?" asked Daleth. "The original, or the mirror clone?" "A good question," confirmed Kaspar. "I'm gonna go sit on the thrones, see what happens," decided Syngaard. "Maybe I can command the doors to open up or somethin'." But the plan was impossible to implement, if only because of a strong compulsion effect preventing anyone from approaching the thrones too closely. "Well that bites," complained the fighter. "It would seem we're going to have to activate the mirrors and confront our own inner demons," observed Galen. "Let's do this smart, though," suggested Syngaard. "Instead of all five of us at once, howzabout we activate one at a time and pound 'em with overwhelming odds?" "That hardly seems sporting," observed Kaspar. "We ain't here to be sporting," countered Syngaard. "We're here to kill our inner demons. And nobody said nothin' about no fair fight." "I'll go first," offered Kaspar, approaching the nearest mirror. He was surprised by what he saw in the mirror: rather than an evil version of himself, he saw a female figure, wearing robes similar to his own, but all black. He recognized her as the woman he had fought in his Trial of Strength when he had won the right to wield the [i]tenryutsume[/i]. But this female monk also wore the [i]tenryutsume[/i], and as she stepped out of the mirror Kaspar could see it was made of blue metal, and she wore it on her left hand rather than on her right, as he did. Kaspar immediately fled past Galen, who had the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i] out and ready to strike; the monk hoped he could get the mirror clone to chase after him (surely she would be focused solely on slaying him above all others?) and the paladin could get in a good strike against her. The plan worked perfectly, as Kaspar's "inner demon" disregarded the threat of Galen in her determination to slay her male counterpart, and the paladin dealt her a powerful blow with his longsword. However, she survived the attack and raced up to Kaspar, striking him a shocking blow with her own [i]tenryutsume[/i]. Syngaard stepped forward, throwing his [i]returning javelin[/i] at the black-clad monk, scoring another solid hit - she didn't even try to swat it away like that other monk chick Syngaard had fought outside Kaspar's monastery! "Remember she's a human!" called out Kaspar as he struck his counterpart, hinting that the scarred fighter might do well to use his [i]human bane scimitar[/i] against her. Syngaard caught the javelin as it returned to his hand, stashed it in his shield hand, and pulled out his scimitar. Galen struck at the monk with his longsword but missed; in the meantime, Daleth, feeling the others had a good handle on defeating Kaspar's inner demon, decided to go check out his own. Stepping in front of another mirror, he focused his gaze upon his own counterpart. This one actually looked like the elf, but it had considerably more magic items - it rode upon a [i]carpet of flying[/i], for one thing - and his elegant, flowing robes told of the vast riches this evil counterpart had gathered by not being sidelined on boring library excursions. Daleth stepped back, preparing a [i]magic missile[/i] spell. Orion saw Daleth's inner demon ready to exit the mirror and moved over to aid the elf. As it exited, the carpet-riding wizard was struck by Daleth's [i]empowered magic missile[/i] spell and one of Orion's throwing daggers. He demonstrated how similar he was to the real elf wizard, though, by completely missing with his own [i]empowered scorching ray[/i] spell. Both versions of Daleth shook their heads in disbelief. Kaspar and his counterpart exchanged flurries of blows, their twin [i]tenryutsume[/i] sending sparks of electricity with each attack. While the monk kept her occupied, Syngaard got within range and cut her down with his [i]human bane scimitar[/i], proving once and for all that the "original" was not needed to strike the final blow against the "duplicate." Across the room, Orion threw another dagger at Daleth's evil twin; Galen rushed up and swung his longsword above his head as the [i]carpet of flying[/i] went past him, but the paladin's weapon failed to connect. Like true mirror images, each Daleth pulled out a [i]wand of magic missiles[/i] and shot at each other; naturally, each struck true. But then Kaspar leaped up with a flying kick that sent the evil elf image crashing to the ground. Daleth rushed up, eager to grab the [i]carpet of flying[/i] for himself, and was dismayed to see it was attached to the feet of his counterpart, even in death. Apparently slaying one's inner demon in the Halls of Redemption was no quick path to riches! "You're next, Syngaard!" Galen called out. With a shrug, the bald fighter walked over to the nearest mirror and looked at what he expected would be his own reflection. Instead, all the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood up and the blood drained from his face as he looked at the red-headed woman standing before him in the glass. "Mezz," he whispered inaudibly, then took immediate action. Racing up to the mirror, he blocked it with his body and spun around, his scimitar raised in a defensive position, warning the rest of the party away without saying a single word. "What are you up to?" demanded Galen, confused. "We don't have time for this, Syngaard!" "I got this," Syngaard countered. "You go deal with the other images." Exasperated by the fighter's stupidity, Orion decided she'd go next. She stepped up to a mirror alcove and was dismayed to see not only an "evil Orion" there in the glass, but an "evil Carl" as well - for her own riding dog was resting behind her, well within the field of view of the mirror's reflection. The evil halfling leaped from the mirror, stabbing Orion with her own [i]flaming short sword[/i] - but fortunately, although the blade bit deep, the bracelet the halfling had taken from the female human assassin who had tried killing Maria Quillbender prevented the sword's flames from doing her any additional harm. It then proved to be equally effective against a hell hound's bite, for the evil mirror version of Carl breathed fire from its slavering mouth. Galen, also perplexed by Syngaard's bone-headedness, saw Orion in need of assistance and moved to aid her. Unfortunately, while he got in a good blow on the evil halfling rogue, to do so he brought himself in full view of the mirror from which she had emerged; a blackguard version of Galen stepped partially out, smiting the paladin with an ebon sword. Daleth removed Carl's blindfold and urged him to help his mistress, before sending a [i]magic missile[/i] barrage that finished off the evil halfling. Carl bounded to his feet and raced at the hell hound threatening Orion. Kaspar was already there, striking at the hellish canine with the glowing, red eyes. One mirror alcove away, Syngaard grimaced in pain as the blade of a [i]human bane dagger[/i] pierced through the mirror and into his back. He could feel rivulets of blood leaking from the wound, but decided he could take another few hits like that before he needed to do anything about it. In the meantime, he kept up his defensive posture, ensuring none of his friends were coming to his aid against his own mirror foe. Orion struck at Carl's hellish counterpart, while her riding dog snapped ineffectively at the hell hound with his teeth. A sudden blast of flames erupted from the canine beast's mouth, engulfing both Galen and Orion. As the smoke cleared, Orion was unscathed while the paladin had suffered only minor burns. He went to retaliate but missed with his longsword; all he had accomplished was to give his mirror duplicate room to step fully from the mirror. Figuring "Evil Galen" was the bigger threat, Daleth hit him with an [i]empowered magic missile[/i], causing the blackguard to stagger. Kaspar followed his fellow elf's lead, striking at the black-armored warrior with a hardened fist. As his companions flailed around trying to take out Galen's counterpart and the hell hound, Syngaard spun around in place and faced his mirror duplicate, standing practically in front of the glass and thus not giving her room to step fully out. She stabbed at him with the [i]human bane dagger[/i]; as her dagger emerged from the glass Syngaard tried striking it from her hand with the hilt of his own weapon, but he wasn't used to fighting in such cramped conditions and was unable to force her to drop the blade. But then she struck at him again and in a surprise move, Syngaard let his own weapon drop to the floor and he struck out with both hands, grabbing the woman's wrist and arm below it, pinning it in place as it emerged from the mirror. And there the two stood, face to face, the woman's snarling in a grimace of hatred as she tried to free her hand, while Syngaard, refusing to let go, wore an expression of awe and sadness. It took several failed strikes and many unfailing [i]magic missiles[/i], but eventually the others defeated Galen's evil counterpart and the hell hound version of Carl; their enemies' bodies sprawled on the floor before them, the group's attention went back to the spectacle of Syngaard standing before his mirror, gripping the wrist of the woman who had yet to step fully out into the room. "Whoever you think that is, she's not real!" Galen called, trying to use reason on the stubborn fighter. But Syngaard was having none of it. "Go away!" he called. "I've got everything under control!" The blood dripping from the back of his armor belied his statement, however. Kaspar pulled a shuriken from his robes and assessed the shot for a moment, visualizing every needed movement. Then he struck out, releasing the bladed weapon at the end of his arm's arc. The throwing star whirled across the room, finding its target in the soft flesh of the arm sticking out of the mirror - the arm that Syngaard held in a deathlike grip. The woman barely seemed affected by the shuriken sticking out from her arm, whereas Syngaard gave a roar of rage as it struck. "Leave us alone!" he demanded. Seeing little other option, Daleth cast a [i]color spray[/i] spell at the scarred fighter, hoping to stun him into submission. Surprisingly, Syngaard shrugged off its intended effects without even seeming to notice. Orion had long since given up trying to figure out the workings of Syngaard's mind; she mounted Carl and rode her dog back to the throne, to see if she could approach it now that her inner demon had been slain. She was able to walk all the way up to the throne in good condition but still couldn't actually sit on it; the halfling thought she could see the shimmering outline of a figure already sitting there. "Zehkar, is that you?" she asked, and was surprised to get a response. "No, I am not Zehkar - I am the watcher of these Halls. Your friend seems to be struggling." "He's not really my friend," Orion replied. "More like a barely-tolerated co-worker." As the others approached him from behind, Syngaard was forced to release his hold upon the mirror woman so he could turn and face them. Rather than pick up his discarded scimitar, he grabbed the morningstar from his belt. "Keep back!" he warned his companions, as the woman in the mirror took the opportunity to stab at Syngaard's exposed back again. He winced in pain but said nothing. "I'm not healing those wounds, you know," Galen threatened. "Nobody asked you to," Syngaard snarled back, absently wondering if he'd be able to reach the healing potions at his belt in time if it came to that. Daleth, frowning at the fighter's stubborn behavior, tried a [i]glitterdust[/i] spell on him. This time, Syngaard was unable to counter its effects using only his own willpower; a wall of blackness descended over his eyesight. "No!" he cried in panic, and Kaspar grabbed him and pulled him away from the mirror. Spun about, Syngaard had no idea which way he was facing - so he struck out blindly with his morningstar at nothing while his red-headed mirror counterpart stepped through the glass and stabbed him again with her dagger. But now that she was out in the open, she faced Kaspar, Galen, and Daleth as well as Syngaard. The first two struck out with fist and blade, while the wizard cast another [i]magic missile[/i] at the red-headed woman, eliciting a groan of pain from her lips. Stumbling around in his blindness, Syngaard remembered the dream from that morning, especially the part about "breaking his heart." "Hold off!" Syngaard begged his friends. "I'm okay now! I know what I have to do!" Galen looked suspiciously at the scarred fighter, but Syngaard continued in all earnestness, "Tell me where she is, I've got to be the one to kill her." The paladin grabbed Syngaard's shoulder and spun him around until he was facing his nemesis; the others had broken off their attacks upon hearing the fighter's pleas. Plus, nobody was exactly sure about how this place worked; not everybody had slain their own mirror counterpart, but was it necessary for the last one to be slain by the original? Nobody knew. Grateful in hindsight for the blindness that prevented him from seeing his inner demon, Syngaard swung his morningstar for all he was worth. He felt the collision of worked steel and solid flesh as the weapon hit its mark; the woman fell to the floor, lifeless. "I'm sorry, Mezz," whispered Syngaard, too quietly for the others to hear. Then his legs gave out and he sat on the floor in a sudden heap, waiting for the spell to run its course and restore his vision. In a sudden flash of light - one that went unnoticed by the group's bald fighter - the angelic figure seated upon the throne revealed itself. "I have never seen a battle so intense," he said, "though Syngaard's struggle is why it is recommended that those who come here do not do so alone." With a wave if his hand the bodies, including Serenity's, disappeared, thankfully before Syngaard's magical blindness wore off. He wouldn't have wanted to see the woman's corpse in that condition. "None of you require redemption, so I offer you each your choice of Knowledge or Power," said the celestial being on the throne. "One question to be answered truthfully to those who seek Knowledge; a trinket or enchantment to aid those who seek Power." "Power," replied Syngaard without hesitation from his seat on the floor. With but a glance, the celestial agent increased the enchantment on the fighter's morningstar. Daleth replied, "Knowledge." "Then ask your question." The elf thought it over. "In a recent interrogation with the spirit of the Mithral Mage, it referred to us by nicknames, although some are questionable as to who was meant. What is the meaning of the nickname the Mithral Mage gave me?" The group had assumed Daleth was "the Father of Hirek's Key," if only by process of elimination - all of the other nicknames seemed to point directly at one or another of the conscripts, leaving Daleth with the one that didn't seem to fit anyone else in particular. With a sad smile the angel responded, "Alas, you are the Dimwit, for though your have great intelligence, your wit is often lacking." Syngaard chuckled unkindly from the floor. "Case in point: I just got a free weapon upgrade, while you spent your wish being called a dimwit. Nice one, elf boy." Daleth just scowled at the fighter he'd blinded, angry with Syngaard for being so crass and for himself at the truth of the fighter's words. "I'll go with Power," said Orion, seeing how poorly Knowledge had worked for Daleth. The angel made a gesture with his hand, and a small sack appeared in the halfling's hand. She tipped it over, and a seemingly endless cascade of daggers came pouring out in a rush, to clink onto the floor before disappearing. She quickly turned the bag right-side-up, but he angel reassured her, "You will never run out. That is an infinite supply of throwing daggers." Orion gasped at the priceless treasure she held in her hands. "Thank you!" she cried. Kaspar was unsure of which way to go, for Knowledge was the path to true power...and yet, the two who had chosen Power had not regretted it. "Power," he finally decided, and from his [i]tenryutsume[/i] sprang forth flames that covered his hand and forearm without burning him. From that point on, when desired, it would deal both fire and electrical damage to those struck by Kaspar's right fist. The elf bowed in acknowledgement of the gift he had received. Galen was likewise tempted, but he went with Knowledge. "What must we do to stop the Mithral Mage's goals?" he asked. After some contemplation the angel replied, "Step one: stop using osteovox. Step two: defeat the Seekers of Eternity. Step three: protect Hirek's bloodline. Step four: kill the Hope Ender. There may be other opportunities unseen at this time, but those four must be done." Galen nodded in determination, although there were still further questions he had: how best to defeat the Hope Ender, a pit fiend, one of the most powerful types of devil in existence? And who made up Hirek's bloodline? But these were questions they'd have to seek the answers to later. Syngaard began blinking rapidly as his vision started clearing up, the [i]glitterdust[/i] spell having run its course. With a wave of his hand, the angel caused the doors to the Halls of Redemption to open. As the party turned to leave, the angel gave them one final message. "Free the one who found redemption, free her from the Seekers of Eternity." Orion sighed. "We're still no closer to finding Serenity," she said. "We'll find her," Galen promised. "And this time, she shouldn't give me a splitting headache if I try to read her aura!" - - - This was our longest session, lasting from our normal start time of about 6:30 PM and not finishing up until nearly 10:00; it's a good thing that school's out for the summer and Harry doesn't have to get up early in the morning anymore! Of course, I was partially to blame, in that Syngaard steadfastly refused to fight his mirror counterpart until forced to do so, for reasons that make absolute sense to me (although I had Dan crawling the walls trying to figure out just what I thought I was doing). But all will be made clear, probably at the start of the next session, when Syngaard will have to explain himself to Skevros and the others - using the back-story I had created for him at the very beginning. And it seems Serenity is now a non-evil succubus. That's an interesting turn of events. We still have no idea as to her whereabouts, though - we'll have to try to hit up Skevros for some more divinations. [/QUOTE]
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