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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7592473" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 41: THE NIGHTFORGE</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 12</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Galen Thorne, human paladin 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 13</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 10 April 2019</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>"So how do you intend to get in touch with your former mentor?" asked Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>Orion gave it a moment's thought. "I'll leave him a message," she decided. "The Thieves Guild he belongs to has a system in place - each member has an assigned alley and one of the buildings in that alley has a loose brick. I can stick a note in the alcove hidden behind his brick and put the brick back with the other side facing out, the side with his personal sigil carved on it. That way he'll know to check it."</p><p></p><p>"You still remember which alley is his?" asked Galen. "And which brick?"</p><p></p><p>"And how to write?" piped in Syngaard, sipping his mug of ale.</p><p></p><p>The halfling scowled momentarily but decided not to give the scarred fighter the satisfaction of an acknowledgement to his comment. "Sure," she said, looking at Galen and ignoring Syngaard completely. "I know exactly where it is."</p><p></p><p>"Then what will you write?" asked Daleth. "Should we seek our information via this correspondence method, or simply ask to meet somewhere so we can ask our questions directly?"</p><p></p><p>"Have him meet us here," suggested Skevros. "Tomorrow, so you can all be rested up and those of you with spellcasting abilities can carry a full complement. I would imagine you'd set out directly for the Nightforge once we know where it is, and it would be best if you were fully prepared."</p><p></p><p>"Make it brunch time," added Galen. Orion had already started drafting her letter on a sheet of parchment, and she looked up at the paladin in surprise. "Why brunch time?" she asked.</p><p></p><p>"I like brunch," admitted Galen. "But more importantly, it'll make sure there are no vampires about." Since a recent assassination attempt by a group of vampires allied with the Seekers of Eternity - a splinter group of the larger organization, in fact - the paladin had been wary of vampires. He didn't appreciate enemies who spent their waking hours creeping about when everyone else was sound asleep.</p><p></p><p>"Fine," Orion said, scribbling the rest of her missive. Then she blew on the ink to make sure it was dry, folded the sheet in half, and sealed it with a blob of wax dripped from a burning candle. The finishing touch was her thumbprint pushed into the wax; it wasn't as fancy as a signet ring or anything, but the size of her tiny thumbprint would inform <strong>Rylan</strong> at once that it was the halfling he had trained in the ways of thievery who had left the note. "I'll go drop this off at once," she said.</p><p></p><p>"Then I have no further business for you at this time," said Skevros. "You are dismissed until tomorrow morning - feel free to go about your own business until then." Syngaard gulped down the rest of his ale and slammed the mug down on the table. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, getting up from the table and heading out the front door of the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>. If he was just going to be hanging about, he could do that at Mama Kat's and earn his room and board while doing so.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, the conscripts had assembled back at the closed tavern and Galen had just finished up the remains of the brunch he had brought for the group when there was a sharp rap at the door. "I'll get it!" said Orion, scooting off the chair (which, like all of the other chairs in the building, was built to a human scale), dropping to the floor silently, and padding over to get the door. Opening it, she recognized Rylan immediately - and, after a moment's confusion, also recognized the young woman with him as the black-clad rogue who had been charmed by the vampire assassins. Daleth had dispelled her <em>gaseous form</em> and then his pseudodragon familiar Todd had sent her into unconsciousness with his sleep venom.</p><p></p><p>"Orion Nightsky!" beamed the human rogue. He was dressed in his combat leathers, with a rapier sheathed at his belt. "It has been too long a time! This is my daughter, Nikara - I believe you've already met her. I thought I might bring her along to try to smooth things over." Nikara looked sheepishly at the assembled group.</p><p></p><p>"No need for that; we are already convinced that your daughter was an unwilling pawn in the vampires' attack," Skevros assured the human rogue as he and Nikara entered the tavern at Orion's invitation. The halfling wore a confused expression; she hadn't been aware that Rylan had even <em>had</em> a daughter! But then, her mentor had always kept his personal life just that: personal. Orion ushered the pair over to the main table, where they each took a seat. Karen placed a glass of red wine before each of them, smiled, and silently returned to the back of the tavern. Syngaard was already back there, behind the bar; there was no way he wanted to be within arm's reach of a pair of sneak-thieves, especially not one who'd had the poor taste to go helping a halfling learn about stealing - as if they needed any help on that front!</p><p></p><p>"May I ask the reason for this reunion?" asked Rylan pleasantly. He looked over at Orion and smiled. "Not that it isn't good to see you again, Orion."</p><p></p><p>"I was told to ask you about the Nightforge," Orion answered. She had climbed up onto her own chair, and was in her usual position, sitting on her knees so she'd be tall enough for her elbows to reach the table. Skevros had offered to construct a booster seat for her but the proud halfling had refused to be treated as if her diminuative stature was a hindrance.</p><p></p><p>"The Nightforge?" asked Rylan, clearly not having expected this to be the topic of discussion. "It is used as a training ground for the higher-ranking members of the Guild. Even learning of its existence and finding it is part of the test. Does this mean you intend to continue your training and join the Guild?" He was clearly excited at the possibility.</p><p></p><p>"No," replied Orion. "But we need to get to it - and as soon as possible."</p><p></p><p>"I see. And I suppose you wish me to simply tell you where it is?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, please." Orion gave her former mentor her best smile. "It's important."</p><p></p><p>"It really is," added Skevros. "The suggestion to seek you out was put forth by a celestial being, in the furtherance of the safety and security of our kingdom." He held out his hand to the rogue, showing his ring - which bore the emblem of the kingdom of Durnhill, identifying him as working directly for King Leornic the Third.</p><p></p><p>Rylan smirked down at his former apprentice. "It seems you're working in quite exalted circles since we last parted ways," he said with a smile. "Very well, I'll tell you what it is. But it's only accessible during nights of the full moon."</p><p></p><p>"Like tonight," pointed out Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"Yes - quite a stroke of fortunate timing there," said Rylan. "The Nightforge is the name of both a dungeon complex and the forge at the very end of it. It is used to modify flaming enchantments to weapons." He drew the rapier at his belt to demonstrate; the length of the weapon beyond the hilt was sheathed in black flames. "The <em>nightflame</em> enchantment provides light visible only to the wielder," he explained. "All others see only a dark flame, as so. In addition, once per day it can be used to create a globe of magical darkness around itself that the wielder can see through perfectly. As you might expect, such an enhancement can come in very handy for...certain lines of work." He smiled again and returned the weapon to his belt.</p><p></p><p>Orion pulled her own short sword from its scabbard and held its flaming blade before her for her former mentor to see. "I can quite imagine," she said. Rylan's surprised expression showed his admiration that his former student had appropriated such a powerful weapon on her own.</p><p></p><p>"What else can you tell us about the Nightforge?" asked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"There is also an inscription upon the Nightforge that is supposed to be a prophecy of some kind," replied Rylan. "Let's see: '<em>Sacred Blade of Dragon Fire Made, Trinket Won by Evil's Warden, Weapon Chosen by Daughter of Creation, Shall Become Hearth to Shattered Angel's Heart</em>'."</p><p></p><p>"What the Hell's all that supposed to mean?" grumbled Syngaard from the back of the tavern.</p><p></p><p>"On that front, your guess is as good as mine."</p><p></p><p>"You said the Nightforge is also a dungeon," prompted Galen. "What can you tell us about that?"</p><p></p><p>Rylan paused, as if gathering his thoughts on the subject. "The trials to get to the Nightforge itself differ from person to person. Sometimes it is a long, elaborate dungeon filled with traps; sometimes it's a gauntlet of monsters that must be overcome. Nikara and I each encountered different layouts when we each entered the Nightforge."</p><p></p><p>"So if you come with us," Daleth surmised, "we'd already know two of the possible layouts, and what to expect."</p><p></p><p>"Alas, there you are in error," contradicted Rylan. "Since Nikara and I have already completed the trial, we are honor-bound by the laws of the Guild not to accompany anyone attempting the trial. Furthermore, I can't tell you where exactly the Nightforge can be found..."</p><p></p><p>"But--" interjected Orion.</p><p></p><p>"...although it's certainly not my fault if someone were to 'accidentally' stumble across the entrance by themselves, in an alleyway just off Smiths Street," continued Rylan with a slight smirk. His daughter frowned and gave him an "Are you sure this is a good idea?" look, which he studiously ignored. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"</p><p></p><p>"I believe that was all," said Skevros, standing up and strongly implying that the meeting was at an end. Rylan and Nikara stood and nodded their farewells, no doubt just as uneasy in the company of a paladin and an adviser to the king as Skevros and Galen were to be dealing with a pair of thieves. "Good luck to you, Orion," said Rylan as he walked out the door.</p><p></p><p>"It would seem we must wait until nightfall," said Kaspar when the pair had gone. So that's exactly what the group did, going their own separate ways for the rest of the day and meeting up again at the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> just as the sun was setting. They made their way to Smiths Street, then split up to check out the various alleyways. Not surprisingly, it was Orion who discovered a secret latch low to the ground, hidden between two bricks of the back wall. She leaped off of Carl's back, bent down, and pulled the latch. Immediately, a blue portal opened along the back wall. Leaping back onto Carl's <em>ghost touch saddle</em>, she led the way through the magic door, the others following behind her.</p><p></p><p>The conscripts found themselves before a group of standing stones, under a dark sky full of stars - stars in a completely different pattern of constellations than the ones they were familiar with back home. "We're on another plane," observed Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed you are," said a voice from the middle of the standing stones. The monoliths were arranged in two concentric rings, with the outermost stones reaching 20 feet tall and those in the innermost ring half that tall. Stepping forward from the center of the ring and into the illumination provided by Orion's <em>flaming short sword</em> and the sheath of fire surrounding Kaspar's right hand (courtesy of his <em>tenryutsume</em>) was a humanoid figure; as he got closer, the conscripts could see this was a mechanical man - in fact, it was a kolyrut, an inevitable of the same type they had encountered during their trial in the Azure Glade for the murder of Arcturus.</p><p></p><p>"Greetings," said the kolyrut, a sense of puzzlement apparent in his mechanical voice. "Normally the trial is performed alone. Hmmm...yes, I believe you will be a good test for my pet project. A trial by combat it will be!" That said, he began levitating up to the top of one of the outermost monoliths. "The door to the Nightforge will open when you defeat my reverse-engineered retriever. I am not part of the trial, so attempting to harm me will disqualify you and you shall stay trapped on this plane until you die."</p><p></p><p>"Retriever?" asked Galen, looking around with the <em>sword of Zehkar</em> held tightly in his fist. He'd heard of such things: demonic constructs built in the shape of a spider. But then the ground between the inner ring of monoliths turned a bright blue, and rising up from it was an unmoving statue, arachnoid in build and seemingly created from fitted pieces of shining metal. Fearing poison, Galen grabbed a <em>potion of neutralize poison</em> from his belt and chugged down the contents as the retriever elevated into position. Then he strode willingly into combat, taking two hits from the creature's serrated claws - and, quite surprisingly, a blast of sizzling flames that sprang from one of the beast's jewel-like eyes.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard, standing behind Galen but seeing the damage one eye ray could do (and having no idea how many other eye rays the creature could bring to bear) decided his best combat strategy was to whip out his Dick. Activating the <em>bronze griffon</em>, he threw it forward at the mechanical spider, such that as Dick attained his full size he was right there in the retriever's face, biting with his beak and scratching his claws across the construct's metal body. But best of all, the griffon's body was directly in front of the retriever's eyes, making him the only possible target for any future blasts - which was just as Syngaard wanted it. He had no special attachment to the griffon as a living creature, treating it solely as a combat advantage. He pulled his magical morningstar from his belt as he ran around to the retriever's right flank.</p><p></p><p>At the same time, Kaspar moved around the retriever's left flank and activated John, the beetle-spirit that lived within his <em>amber amulet of vermin</em>. John bit down on pair of mechanical spider-limbs where they connected to the retriever's body. Seeing his allies swarming on all sides of the construct, Daleth cursed his choice of attack spells, as the majority of them covered large areas and would inflict harm upon his companions if he used them against their sole foe. As a temporary measure - and to give himself something to do as he waited for the battleground to arrange itself to his specific requirements - he cast a <em>stoneskin</em> spell upon himself and his familiar. Todd would be sticking close to his master during this combat, that was sure; the pseudodragon's venom would be useless against a mechanical foe.</p><p></p><p>"Come on, Carl!" Orion called, urging her ghost dog into etherealness, then charging straight at - and through - the retriever before them. She looked about at the construct's innards, looking to see if there was room for her to fit inside if she left the <em>ghost touch saddle</em> and became corporeal <em>inside</em> the retriever, where she might be able to disable the thing from within.</p><p></p><p>Galen could discern that the spider-construct before him was not evil, but he got in three powerful attacks with the <em>sword of Zehkar</em> nonetheless, stabbing into joints where the creature's hardened armor was unable to prevent damage. Dick continued his attacks, but was taken out with two claw-slashes and a freezing ray from another of the construct's eyes. He collapsed back into his statuette form, clattering along the Mechanus retriever's armored exoskeleton and landing on the ground.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard wriggled between two close-set monoliths and sent his morningstar crashing down on the retriever's abdomen, denting it rather severely. Inside the beast, Orion saw an avenue of attack and was just about to leap out of the saddle, when the mechanical spider gave a final shudder and collapsed to the ground - outside, the construct had been taken down by the combination of John's piercing mandibles and Kaspar's flurry of blows, striking at the device where it was the most vulnerable to such blows.</p><p></p><p>"Back to the drawing board for your spider-doohicky!" taunted Syngaard to the kolyrut.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, it would seem some recalculations are in order..." mused the inevitable. "In any case, you have defeated your foe; the way to the Nightforge lies open before you." A now-familiar blue light was shining between two of the outer monoliths in the back of the circle. Once again, Orion and Carl led the way through to whatever was on the other side, with the rest of the conscripts following behind her (Syngaard falling behind to go retrieve his Dick before catching up to the others).</p><p></p><p>This time the group was in a stone chamber with a massive anvil in the center; this, undoubtedly, was the Nightforge itself. The words of the prophecy quoted by Rylan earlier that day were visible on the side of the metal anvil by the moonlight streaming into the chamber from an opening in the far wall.</p><p></p><p>"So how does this work, exactly?" asked Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps you just put your weapon on the anvil?" suggested Galen. Orion unsheathed her blade to do just that, when a ghostly figure no taller than Orion materialized beside the Nightforge. Instinctively, Galen sought out the aura of energy surrounding the figure but saw no evil there.</p><p></p><p>"I am pleased to see you made it to the Nightforge, Orion, for it is your birthright as a member of the Nightsky clan," beamed the elderly halfling who had just appeared in the chamber. "I am <strong>Andromeda Nightsky</strong>, creator of the Nightforge and the mother of your grandfather's grandfather." As Orion's mouth hung open in shock, Andromeda turned to face Daleth. "I will require your assistance in creating a binding circle," she said.</p><p></p><p>"For what purpose?" asked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"Osleth said we must bind his spirit into Orion's blade." She then explained the meaning of the prophecy, which referred to Orion's blade: it was sacred to the Flamesnout tribe of kobolds (and thus "Sacred Blade of Dragon Fire Made"); their half-dragon leader was slain by Syngaard ("Sin Guard" becoming "Evil's Warden"); and Orion was a female descendant of the creator of the Nightforge (and thus a "Daughter of Creation"). Andromeda also explained Osleth's unique condition: his spirit shifted between the material plane, Hope Ender's palace in Hell, and (as Osleth explained it) "a worse place of darkness and screaming souls" (likely the osteovox). However, because of the Hope Ender's claim upon his soul, Osleth wasn't as connected to the osteovox as anyone else knowing the Mithral Mage's name and thus he was immune to the Mithral Mage's innate ability to scry or glean information on those whose souls were tied up in the osteovox.</p><p></p><p>"By binding his spirit into Orion's blade," Andromeda explained, "he will be 'trapped' on the material plane and thus spared from returning to Hell or the 'darker place'." She bade Orion to place her <em>flaming short sword</em> upon the Nightforge as Daleth started drawing a circle around it with black powder. Galen frowned as he noticed a slight evil in the incantations Andromeda was performing as she cast an inward-focused <em>magic circle against good</em> spell around the Nightforge, but realized it was necessary to bind a half-celestial - and furthermore, that this was being done by Osleth's own urging. Andromeda then cast a <em>planar binding</em> spell, calling Osleth into being within the circle, beside the Nightforge.</p><p></p><p>Then next hour or so was filled with stupid, confusing ritual nonsense - or at least that's how it seemed to Syngaard, who had long since tired of watching spellcasters do their boring spellcasting stuff. He wished he'd had the foresight to bring along a deck of cards or something to while away the time. But eventually the ritual was complete, Osleth was gone (apparently subsumed into Orion's short sword), and there were a few cracks in the Nightforge, a silent witness to the power of the ritual.</p><p></p><p>"Hey, that thing power up <em>any</em> weapon with <em>flaming</em> powers?" asked the bald fighter, holding up his <em>flaming brilliant energy morningstar</em>. "Cause I got this, and Kaspar's got his ten-ree...his hand thing." Syngaard had never bothered learning to pronounce "tenryutsume" and didn't see now as a particularly good time to start learning.</p><p></p><p>"Alas, no," replied Andromeda. "It will take a while to fix the Nightforge. You...may wish to stay away from the Thieves Guild for a while - they're not likely to be too happy with what's been done here."</p><p></p><p>"Figures," muttered Syngaard to himself. "Stupid halfling ghost saving the <em>nightflame</em> upgrade for the damn halfling...."</p><p></p><p>"Here, my child," Andromeda said, handing the upgraded short sword back to Orion. "I am certain this will serve you well in the days to come."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you, Grandmother," Orion said, realizing there were a whole bunch of unspoken "greats" in Andromeda's relationship to her.</p><p></p><p>"As for the rest of you," the halfling ghost said, turning to face Syngaard and scowling as if she had heard every word of his grumbling, "I am prepared to perform four divinations on your behalf. Decide and ask your questions, and I will answer, and then you must leave."</p><p></p><p>Syngaard blurted out, "Only four? Really? Why only four?" before Daleth could slap a hand over the scarred fighter's mouth in an effort to get him to shut up. "You idiot!" hissed the elven wizard. "You'll use up all our questions!"</p><p></p><p>But Andromeda only laughed at the spectacle. "Yes, only four; yes, really; and because I only have four such divination spells prepared," the halfling explained. "Luckily for you, I won't count those as any of your questions, as they did not require the casting of a divination spell to answer." Syngaard slapped Daleth's hand away from his mouth with a look of irritation at the slender elf.</p><p></p><p>After several minutes of consultation, the group came up with the following four questions:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Q1: "If we can't kill the Mithral Mage, how can we seal him away so he cannot escape?"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A1: "Osleth has a way to destroy him permanently."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Q2: "Where is the Mithral Mage currently, now that he's apparently escaped from Dwarven Hell?"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A2: "He is currently in Ossirna."</p><p></p><p>("Figures," snorted Syngaard at that answer. "The guy's worshiped as a god there. Probably hangin' out with a bunch of hot-lookin' devotees.")</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Q3: "Should we try killing the Mithral Mage right away?"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A3: "You are not yet ready to face his true power."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Q4: "Who are the remaining leaders of the Seekers of Eternity?"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A4: "<strong>The Blood Queen</strong> leads the vampiric sect, while the true leader is <strong>Selvik the Undying</strong>, usurper king of Ossirna, who masquerades as his own grandson Velkis, current king of Ossirna. He is the one who found Alexandros' mistakenly-discarded <em>philosopher's stone</em>. If he had but recognized his own creation, Alexandros would never have become the Mithral Mage."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you, Grandmother," said Orion. By sitting astride Carl's <em>ghost touch saddle</em>, she was able to lean over and give the spirit of her ancestor a solid hug - one Andromeda gave back in full force. "Take care, Granddaughter," the ghost said. "There are dark days ahead, I fear."</p><p></p><p>"Nothing we can't handle!" Orion promised, leading the group back the way they'd come.</p><p></p><p>"Well, that sucked!" griped Syngaard as they returned back to the alley off Smiths Street.</p><p></p><p>"How so?" asked Kaspar. "We learned quite a bit about our enemies, we learned that Osleth has a plan for us to permanently slay the Mithral Mage, and Orion got a significant weapon upgrade!"</p><p></p><p>"And you got to help kill a mechanical spider," pointed out Galen.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, true," agreed Syngaard. "But I'd much rather get paid in coins than words!"</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Logan was quite surprised at how quickly we took down his Mechanus retriever - especially since he'd boosted the creature up to 15 HD and the fact that it was of neutral alignment took away Galen's ability to use smite evil against it. "I'm sorry, it looks like this is going to be a much shorter session than I had expected," he said to us - but we were perfectly okay with tearing down his creation, certainly much more okay than if it had been making quick work of us!</p><p></p><p>Speaking of which, he had an awesome miniature for the retriever: while in the past we've used normal spider minis to represent a retriever (I once made a retriever "costume" out of construction paper and cardstock to "build" a retriever out of a plastic mini, but had to give it new stats because it became Gargantuan if not Colossal based on the plastic spider I used), I got Logan a metal spider model for Christmas and when assembled, it looks just like a D&D retriever - the correct scale and all.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7592473, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 41: THE NIGHTFORGE[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 12 Galen Thorne, human paladin 13 Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 13 Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 13 Syngaard, human fighter 13[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 10 April 2019 - - - "So how do you intend to get in touch with your former mentor?" asked Kaspar. Orion gave it a moment's thought. "I'll leave him a message," she decided. "The Thieves Guild he belongs to has a system in place - each member has an assigned alley and one of the buildings in that alley has a loose brick. I can stick a note in the alcove hidden behind his brick and put the brick back with the other side facing out, the side with his personal sigil carved on it. That way he'll know to check it." "You still remember which alley is his?" asked Galen. "And which brick?" "And how to write?" piped in Syngaard, sipping his mug of ale. The halfling scowled momentarily but decided not to give the scarred fighter the satisfaction of an acknowledgement to his comment. "Sure," she said, looking at Galen and ignoring Syngaard completely. "I know exactly where it is." "Then what will you write?" asked Daleth. "Should we seek our information via this correspondence method, or simply ask to meet somewhere so we can ask our questions directly?" "Have him meet us here," suggested Skevros. "Tomorrow, so you can all be rested up and those of you with spellcasting abilities can carry a full complement. I would imagine you'd set out directly for the Nightforge once we know where it is, and it would be best if you were fully prepared." "Make it brunch time," added Galen. Orion had already started drafting her letter on a sheet of parchment, and she looked up at the paladin in surprise. "Why brunch time?" she asked. "I like brunch," admitted Galen. "But more importantly, it'll make sure there are no vampires about." Since a recent assassination attempt by a group of vampires allied with the Seekers of Eternity - a splinter group of the larger organization, in fact - the paladin had been wary of vampires. He didn't appreciate enemies who spent their waking hours creeping about when everyone else was sound asleep. "Fine," Orion said, scribbling the rest of her missive. Then she blew on the ink to make sure it was dry, folded the sheet in half, and sealed it with a blob of wax dripped from a burning candle. The finishing touch was her thumbprint pushed into the wax; it wasn't as fancy as a signet ring or anything, but the size of her tiny thumbprint would inform [b]Rylan[/b] at once that it was the halfling he had trained in the ways of thievery who had left the note. "I'll go drop this off at once," she said. "Then I have no further business for you at this time," said Skevros. "You are dismissed until tomorrow morning - feel free to go about your own business until then." Syngaard gulped down the rest of his ale and slammed the mug down on the table. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, getting up from the table and heading out the front door of the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i]. If he was just going to be hanging about, he could do that at Mama Kat's and earn his room and board while doing so. The next morning, the conscripts had assembled back at the closed tavern and Galen had just finished up the remains of the brunch he had brought for the group when there was a sharp rap at the door. "I'll get it!" said Orion, scooting off the chair (which, like all of the other chairs in the building, was built to a human scale), dropping to the floor silently, and padding over to get the door. Opening it, she recognized Rylan immediately - and, after a moment's confusion, also recognized the young woman with him as the black-clad rogue who had been charmed by the vampire assassins. Daleth had dispelled her [i]gaseous form[/i] and then his pseudodragon familiar Todd had sent her into unconsciousness with his sleep venom. "Orion Nightsky!" beamed the human rogue. He was dressed in his combat leathers, with a rapier sheathed at his belt. "It has been too long a time! This is my daughter, Nikara - I believe you've already met her. I thought I might bring her along to try to smooth things over." Nikara looked sheepishly at the assembled group. "No need for that; we are already convinced that your daughter was an unwilling pawn in the vampires' attack," Skevros assured the human rogue as he and Nikara entered the tavern at Orion's invitation. The halfling wore a confused expression; she hadn't been aware that Rylan had even [i]had[/i] a daughter! But then, her mentor had always kept his personal life just that: personal. Orion ushered the pair over to the main table, where they each took a seat. Karen placed a glass of red wine before each of them, smiled, and silently returned to the back of the tavern. Syngaard was already back there, behind the bar; there was no way he wanted to be within arm's reach of a pair of sneak-thieves, especially not one who'd had the poor taste to go helping a halfling learn about stealing - as if they needed any help on that front! "May I ask the reason for this reunion?" asked Rylan pleasantly. He looked over at Orion and smiled. "Not that it isn't good to see you again, Orion." "I was told to ask you about the Nightforge," Orion answered. She had climbed up onto her own chair, and was in her usual position, sitting on her knees so she'd be tall enough for her elbows to reach the table. Skevros had offered to construct a booster seat for her but the proud halfling had refused to be treated as if her diminuative stature was a hindrance. "The Nightforge?" asked Rylan, clearly not having expected this to be the topic of discussion. "It is used as a training ground for the higher-ranking members of the Guild. Even learning of its existence and finding it is part of the test. Does this mean you intend to continue your training and join the Guild?" He was clearly excited at the possibility. "No," replied Orion. "But we need to get to it - and as soon as possible." "I see. And I suppose you wish me to simply tell you where it is?" "Yes, please." Orion gave her former mentor her best smile. "It's important." "It really is," added Skevros. "The suggestion to seek you out was put forth by a celestial being, in the furtherance of the safety and security of our kingdom." He held out his hand to the rogue, showing his ring - which bore the emblem of the kingdom of Durnhill, identifying him as working directly for King Leornic the Third. Rylan smirked down at his former apprentice. "It seems you're working in quite exalted circles since we last parted ways," he said with a smile. "Very well, I'll tell you what it is. But it's only accessible during nights of the full moon." "Like tonight," pointed out Daleth. "Yes - quite a stroke of fortunate timing there," said Rylan. "The Nightforge is the name of both a dungeon complex and the forge at the very end of it. It is used to modify flaming enchantments to weapons." He drew the rapier at his belt to demonstrate; the length of the weapon beyond the hilt was sheathed in black flames. "The [i]nightflame[/i] enchantment provides light visible only to the wielder," he explained. "All others see only a dark flame, as so. In addition, once per day it can be used to create a globe of magical darkness around itself that the wielder can see through perfectly. As you might expect, such an enhancement can come in very handy for...certain lines of work." He smiled again and returned the weapon to his belt. Orion pulled her own short sword from its scabbard and held its flaming blade before her for her former mentor to see. "I can quite imagine," she said. Rylan's surprised expression showed his admiration that his former student had appropriated such a powerful weapon on her own. "What else can you tell us about the Nightforge?" asked Daleth. "There is also an inscription upon the Nightforge that is supposed to be a prophecy of some kind," replied Rylan. "Let's see: '[i]Sacred Blade of Dragon Fire Made, Trinket Won by Evil's Warden, Weapon Chosen by Daughter of Creation, Shall Become Hearth to Shattered Angel's Heart[/i]'." "What the Hell's all that supposed to mean?" grumbled Syngaard from the back of the tavern. "On that front, your guess is as good as mine." "You said the Nightforge is also a dungeon," prompted Galen. "What can you tell us about that?" Rylan paused, as if gathering his thoughts on the subject. "The trials to get to the Nightforge itself differ from person to person. Sometimes it is a long, elaborate dungeon filled with traps; sometimes it's a gauntlet of monsters that must be overcome. Nikara and I each encountered different layouts when we each entered the Nightforge." "So if you come with us," Daleth surmised, "we'd already know two of the possible layouts, and what to expect." "Alas, there you are in error," contradicted Rylan. "Since Nikara and I have already completed the trial, we are honor-bound by the laws of the Guild not to accompany anyone attempting the trial. Furthermore, I can't tell you where exactly the Nightforge can be found..." "But--" interjected Orion. "...although it's certainly not my fault if someone were to 'accidentally' stumble across the entrance by themselves, in an alleyway just off Smiths Street," continued Rylan with a slight smirk. His daughter frowned and gave him an "Are you sure this is a good idea?" look, which he studiously ignored. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" "I believe that was all," said Skevros, standing up and strongly implying that the meeting was at an end. Rylan and Nikara stood and nodded their farewells, no doubt just as uneasy in the company of a paladin and an adviser to the king as Skevros and Galen were to be dealing with a pair of thieves. "Good luck to you, Orion," said Rylan as he walked out the door. "It would seem we must wait until nightfall," said Kaspar when the pair had gone. So that's exactly what the group did, going their own separate ways for the rest of the day and meeting up again at the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] just as the sun was setting. They made their way to Smiths Street, then split up to check out the various alleyways. Not surprisingly, it was Orion who discovered a secret latch low to the ground, hidden between two bricks of the back wall. She leaped off of Carl's back, bent down, and pulled the latch. Immediately, a blue portal opened along the back wall. Leaping back onto Carl's [i]ghost touch saddle[/i], she led the way through the magic door, the others following behind her. The conscripts found themselves before a group of standing stones, under a dark sky full of stars - stars in a completely different pattern of constellations than the ones they were familiar with back home. "We're on another plane," observed Daleth. "Indeed you are," said a voice from the middle of the standing stones. The monoliths were arranged in two concentric rings, with the outermost stones reaching 20 feet tall and those in the innermost ring half that tall. Stepping forward from the center of the ring and into the illumination provided by Orion's [i]flaming short sword[/i] and the sheath of fire surrounding Kaspar's right hand (courtesy of his [i]tenryutsume[/i]) was a humanoid figure; as he got closer, the conscripts could see this was a mechanical man - in fact, it was a kolyrut, an inevitable of the same type they had encountered during their trial in the Azure Glade for the murder of Arcturus. "Greetings," said the kolyrut, a sense of puzzlement apparent in his mechanical voice. "Normally the trial is performed alone. Hmmm...yes, I believe you will be a good test for my pet project. A trial by combat it will be!" That said, he began levitating up to the top of one of the outermost monoliths. "The door to the Nightforge will open when you defeat my reverse-engineered retriever. I am not part of the trial, so attempting to harm me will disqualify you and you shall stay trapped on this plane until you die." "Retriever?" asked Galen, looking around with the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i] held tightly in his fist. He'd heard of such things: demonic constructs built in the shape of a spider. But then the ground between the inner ring of monoliths turned a bright blue, and rising up from it was an unmoving statue, arachnoid in build and seemingly created from fitted pieces of shining metal. Fearing poison, Galen grabbed a [i]potion of neutralize poison[/i] from his belt and chugged down the contents as the retriever elevated into position. Then he strode willingly into combat, taking two hits from the creature's serrated claws - and, quite surprisingly, a blast of sizzling flames that sprang from one of the beast's jewel-like eyes. Syngaard, standing behind Galen but seeing the damage one eye ray could do (and having no idea how many other eye rays the creature could bring to bear) decided his best combat strategy was to whip out his Dick. Activating the [i]bronze griffon[/i], he threw it forward at the mechanical spider, such that as Dick attained his full size he was right there in the retriever's face, biting with his beak and scratching his claws across the construct's metal body. But best of all, the griffon's body was directly in front of the retriever's eyes, making him the only possible target for any future blasts - which was just as Syngaard wanted it. He had no special attachment to the griffon as a living creature, treating it solely as a combat advantage. He pulled his magical morningstar from his belt as he ran around to the retriever's right flank. At the same time, Kaspar moved around the retriever's left flank and activated John, the beetle-spirit that lived within his [i]amber amulet of vermin[/i]. John bit down on pair of mechanical spider-limbs where they connected to the retriever's body. Seeing his allies swarming on all sides of the construct, Daleth cursed his choice of attack spells, as the majority of them covered large areas and would inflict harm upon his companions if he used them against their sole foe. As a temporary measure - and to give himself something to do as he waited for the battleground to arrange itself to his specific requirements - he cast a [i]stoneskin[/i] spell upon himself and his familiar. Todd would be sticking close to his master during this combat, that was sure; the pseudodragon's venom would be useless against a mechanical foe. "Come on, Carl!" Orion called, urging her ghost dog into etherealness, then charging straight at - and through - the retriever before them. She looked about at the construct's innards, looking to see if there was room for her to fit inside if she left the [i]ghost touch saddle[/i] and became corporeal [i]inside[/i] the retriever, where she might be able to disable the thing from within. Galen could discern that the spider-construct before him was not evil, but he got in three powerful attacks with the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i] nonetheless, stabbing into joints where the creature's hardened armor was unable to prevent damage. Dick continued his attacks, but was taken out with two claw-slashes and a freezing ray from another of the construct's eyes. He collapsed back into his statuette form, clattering along the Mechanus retriever's armored exoskeleton and landing on the ground. Syngaard wriggled between two close-set monoliths and sent his morningstar crashing down on the retriever's abdomen, denting it rather severely. Inside the beast, Orion saw an avenue of attack and was just about to leap out of the saddle, when the mechanical spider gave a final shudder and collapsed to the ground - outside, the construct had been taken down by the combination of John's piercing mandibles and Kaspar's flurry of blows, striking at the device where it was the most vulnerable to such blows. "Back to the drawing board for your spider-doohicky!" taunted Syngaard to the kolyrut. "Yes, it would seem some recalculations are in order..." mused the inevitable. "In any case, you have defeated your foe; the way to the Nightforge lies open before you." A now-familiar blue light was shining between two of the outer monoliths in the back of the circle. Once again, Orion and Carl led the way through to whatever was on the other side, with the rest of the conscripts following behind her (Syngaard falling behind to go retrieve his Dick before catching up to the others). This time the group was in a stone chamber with a massive anvil in the center; this, undoubtedly, was the Nightforge itself. The words of the prophecy quoted by Rylan earlier that day were visible on the side of the metal anvil by the moonlight streaming into the chamber from an opening in the far wall. "So how does this work, exactly?" asked Syngaard. "Perhaps you just put your weapon on the anvil?" suggested Galen. Orion unsheathed her blade to do just that, when a ghostly figure no taller than Orion materialized beside the Nightforge. Instinctively, Galen sought out the aura of energy surrounding the figure but saw no evil there. "I am pleased to see you made it to the Nightforge, Orion, for it is your birthright as a member of the Nightsky clan," beamed the elderly halfling who had just appeared in the chamber. "I am [b]Andromeda Nightsky[/b], creator of the Nightforge and the mother of your grandfather's grandfather." As Orion's mouth hung open in shock, Andromeda turned to face Daleth. "I will require your assistance in creating a binding circle," she said. "For what purpose?" asked Daleth. "Osleth said we must bind his spirit into Orion's blade." She then explained the meaning of the prophecy, which referred to Orion's blade: it was sacred to the Flamesnout tribe of kobolds (and thus "Sacred Blade of Dragon Fire Made"); their half-dragon leader was slain by Syngaard ("Sin Guard" becoming "Evil's Warden"); and Orion was a female descendant of the creator of the Nightforge (and thus a "Daughter of Creation"). Andromeda also explained Osleth's unique condition: his spirit shifted between the material plane, Hope Ender's palace in Hell, and (as Osleth explained it) "a worse place of darkness and screaming souls" (likely the osteovox). However, because of the Hope Ender's claim upon his soul, Osleth wasn't as connected to the osteovox as anyone else knowing the Mithral Mage's name and thus he was immune to the Mithral Mage's innate ability to scry or glean information on those whose souls were tied up in the osteovox. "By binding his spirit into Orion's blade," Andromeda explained, "he will be 'trapped' on the material plane and thus spared from returning to Hell or the 'darker place'." She bade Orion to place her [i]flaming short sword[/i] upon the Nightforge as Daleth started drawing a circle around it with black powder. Galen frowned as he noticed a slight evil in the incantations Andromeda was performing as she cast an inward-focused [i]magic circle against good[/i] spell around the Nightforge, but realized it was necessary to bind a half-celestial - and furthermore, that this was being done by Osleth's own urging. Andromeda then cast a [i]planar binding[/i] spell, calling Osleth into being within the circle, beside the Nightforge. Then next hour or so was filled with stupid, confusing ritual nonsense - or at least that's how it seemed to Syngaard, who had long since tired of watching spellcasters do their boring spellcasting stuff. He wished he'd had the foresight to bring along a deck of cards or something to while away the time. But eventually the ritual was complete, Osleth was gone (apparently subsumed into Orion's short sword), and there were a few cracks in the Nightforge, a silent witness to the power of the ritual. "Hey, that thing power up [i]any[/i] weapon with [i]flaming[/i] powers?" asked the bald fighter, holding up his [i]flaming brilliant energy morningstar[/i]. "Cause I got this, and Kaspar's got his ten-ree...his hand thing." Syngaard had never bothered learning to pronounce "tenryutsume" and didn't see now as a particularly good time to start learning. "Alas, no," replied Andromeda. "It will take a while to fix the Nightforge. You...may wish to stay away from the Thieves Guild for a while - they're not likely to be too happy with what's been done here." "Figures," muttered Syngaard to himself. "Stupid halfling ghost saving the [i]nightflame[/i] upgrade for the damn halfling...." "Here, my child," Andromeda said, handing the upgraded short sword back to Orion. "I am certain this will serve you well in the days to come." "Thank you, Grandmother," Orion said, realizing there were a whole bunch of unspoken "greats" in Andromeda's relationship to her. "As for the rest of you," the halfling ghost said, turning to face Syngaard and scowling as if she had heard every word of his grumbling, "I am prepared to perform four divinations on your behalf. Decide and ask your questions, and I will answer, and then you must leave." Syngaard blurted out, "Only four? Really? Why only four?" before Daleth could slap a hand over the scarred fighter's mouth in an effort to get him to shut up. "You idiot!" hissed the elven wizard. "You'll use up all our questions!" But Andromeda only laughed at the spectacle. "Yes, only four; yes, really; and because I only have four such divination spells prepared," the halfling explained. "Luckily for you, I won't count those as any of your questions, as they did not require the casting of a divination spell to answer." Syngaard slapped Daleth's hand away from his mouth with a look of irritation at the slender elf. After several minutes of consultation, the group came up with the following four questions: [INDENT]Q1: "If we can't kill the Mithral Mage, how can we seal him away so he cannot escape?" A1: "Osleth has a way to destroy him permanently." Q2: "Where is the Mithral Mage currently, now that he's apparently escaped from Dwarven Hell?" A2: "He is currently in Ossirna."[/INDENT] ("Figures," snorted Syngaard at that answer. "The guy's worshiped as a god there. Probably hangin' out with a bunch of hot-lookin' devotees.") [INDENT]Q3: "Should we try killing the Mithral Mage right away?" A3: "You are not yet ready to face his true power." Q4: "Who are the remaining leaders of the Seekers of Eternity?" A4: "[b]The Blood Queen[/b] leads the vampiric sect, while the true leader is [b]Selvik the Undying[/b], usurper king of Ossirna, who masquerades as his own grandson Velkis, current king of Ossirna. He is the one who found Alexandros' mistakenly-discarded [i]philosopher's stone[/i]. If he had but recognized his own creation, Alexandros would never have become the Mithral Mage."[/INDENT] "Thank you, Grandmother," said Orion. By sitting astride Carl's [i]ghost touch saddle[/i], she was able to lean over and give the spirit of her ancestor a solid hug - one Andromeda gave back in full force. "Take care, Granddaughter," the ghost said. "There are dark days ahead, I fear." "Nothing we can't handle!" Orion promised, leading the group back the way they'd come. "Well, that sucked!" griped Syngaard as they returned back to the alley off Smiths Street. "How so?" asked Kaspar. "We learned quite a bit about our enemies, we learned that Osleth has a plan for us to permanently slay the Mithral Mage, and Orion got a significant weapon upgrade!" "And you got to help kill a mechanical spider," pointed out Galen. "Yeah, true," agreed Syngaard. "But I'd much rather get paid in coins than words!" - - - Logan was quite surprised at how quickly we took down his Mechanus retriever - especially since he'd boosted the creature up to 15 HD and the fact that it was of neutral alignment took away Galen's ability to use smite evil against it. "I'm sorry, it looks like this is going to be a much shorter session than I had expected," he said to us - but we were perfectly okay with tearing down his creation, certainly much more okay than if it had been making quick work of us! Speaking of which, he had an awesome miniature for the retriever: while in the past we've used normal spider minis to represent a retriever (I once made a retriever "costume" out of construction paper and cardstock to "build" a retriever out of a plastic mini, but had to give it new stats because it became Gargantuan if not Colossal based on the plastic spider I used), I got Logan a metal spider model for Christmas and when assembled, it looks just like a D&D retriever - the correct scale and all. [/QUOTE]
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