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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7786253" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 55: THE FOUR PILLARS OF JAKURA</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 17</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Galen Thorne, human paladin 17</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 17</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 17</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 17</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 6 August 2019</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>"You have ample time," suggested Alexandros - or the good part of him that had been abandoned by the real Alexandros when he attained lichdom. "It would be to your respective advantages to spend the subjective week examining the tomes and gaining those powers for yourselves."</p><p></p><p>"You're sure we wouldn't be wasting a week that could be put to better use taking down the gods of Jakura?" asked Kaspar, holding the <em>Manual of Gainful Exercise</em> and flipping idly through it. Galen had likewise been paging through another magical book, the legend "<em>Tome of Understanding</em>" inscribed on its front cover. These two magical tomes had been part of the treasure from the black dragon they'd slain as their last mission prior to their own deaths.</p><p></p><p>"Wasting? Absolutely not - and it could very well help give you the edge you need to overcome the spirits of the Jakuran gods hiding the location of the illithid brain sliver holding this place together. Besides, I will need about that long to manipulate the osteovox in such a way as to bring the four elemental essences together in a single place, so you may take them down all at once."</p><p></p><p>"If you're sure..." remarked Galen, sitting down at one of the back tables of the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> (or the copy of it that existed in the osteovox demiplane) and making himself comfortable. He turned to the beginning of the book and started reading it intently from the beginning. Kaspar took a seat beside him and began examining his own magical tome.</p><p></p><p>Daleth, never one for patience, complained, "A whole week? And what are the rest of us to do during this time?"</p><p></p><p>Syngaard looked questioningly over at Orion. The two didn't normally get along but faced with a week of inaction they were willing to set aside their differences - especially if it meant an opportunity to knock the haughty elven wizard down a peg or two. Orion nodded silently to the scarred fighter and pulled a deck of cards from her <em>bag of holding</em>.</p><p></p><p>"You know how to play poker, Wizard-Pants?" asked Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"Poker? Certainly not."</p><p></p><p>"Don't worry," smiled Orion, climbing up into a chair and shuffling the deck. "We can teach you the basics, and I'm sure someone with your superior intellect will pick up the game in no time...."</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>A week later Galen and Kaspar had finished their magical studies and just as the Mithral Mage had told them, the books vanished upon being completed. "Back on the Material Plane," Alexandros explained, "the physical copies of the books you just read will have likewise disappeared. These are basically somewhat elaborate, specifically-tailored <em>wish</em> spells, granting you the benefits of the magical effects bound in the writings. How do you feel?"</p><p></p><p>Kaspar flexed his hands, his forearms, and his biceps in turn. "Stronger," he admitted.</p><p></p><p>"Me too - but not in a physical sense," added Galen. "I feel...I feel as if the channels of divine magic have been broadened in my mind, if that makes any sense. I feel as if I shall be able to channel more spell energy through my body than ever before."</p><p></p><p>"I have no doubt that that is true," said Alexandros.</p><p></p><p>"So, you get your stuff done?" Syngaard asked the Mithral Mage. "Get them gods all together for us so we can cut 'em down?"</p><p></p><p>"I believe so, yes," replied the silver-robed wizard.</p><p></p><p>"So, what can we expect?" Daleth asked. He looked over to Orion with a frown, as she was putting the deck of cards away. He was finally starting to get the hang of this poker game, he thought, and might have soon been able to win back some of the money he'd lost to these two over the course of the past week. But time enough for that later on - right now they had more important things to worry about!</p><p></p><p>"About the Jakuran elemental gods?" asked Alexandros. "It is difficult to say. Over the millennia - 30 subjective millennia in here, a thousand years back on the Material Plane - they have taken many different forms. Most often they are serpentine dragons; on other occasions they are animated suits of elemental armor or simply humanoid elementals. There is no telling what form they may choose to appear in."</p><p></p><p>"That's real useful," scoffed Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"However," continued Alexandros, "within the mindscape of the osteovox, the magical bindings of the place tend to take on 'physical' forms, manifesting as objects or even creatures. As such, when you face the Jakuren gods your goal should be to destroy the manifestation of the seals that bind them. The gods will be compelled to protect the seals and it might be easier to destroy the seals after defeating the gods."</p><p></p><p>"Got any idea what these seals might look like?" Syngaard asked.</p><p></p><p>"They could look like anything, really," admitted Alexandros, causing Syngaard to snort in disgust.</p><p></p><p>"I don't know about slaying gods," remarked Galen. "It doesn't feel right."</p><p></p><p>"Ah, but these gods are already dead," replied the Mithral Mage. "Dying again within the osteovox will only cause them to reform the next subjective day."</p><p></p><p>"Day? Not a week?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"These are gods, not liches," Alexandros reminded her.</p><p></p><p>"What else should we know?" asked Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"Although the magic binding the god-essences is evil, the gods themselves are not. As you prepare your spells before going into combat, you can hold off on the <em>protection from evil</em> and <em>magic circle against evil</em> spells you often cast - they will be wasted in this battle and you can no doubt put other spells to better use in their place."</p><p></p><p>"Once these two get all spelled up," asked Syngaard, pointing a thumb in the direction of Daleth and Galen, "we gonna be able to go pop in the four gods all quick-like? 'Cause some of them spells got durations we don't want running out during the fight."</p><p></p><p>"Once your spellcasting is complete, I can send you directly to them," Alexandros reassured him.</p><p></p><p>"We oughta assign ourselves targets ahead of time," suggested Syngaard. "I fought a fire elemental last week to get into this place, so I'll take out the fire god. I'll want some sorta fire protection spell from one of you two. Orion, you got fire protection with that bracelet of yours, right? Then maybe you oughta be on fire god detail with me." Orion nodded her agreement.</p><p></p><p>"Wizard-Pants, you like that <em>fly</em> spell, maybe you oughta take out the air god," Syngaard continued. "I imagine the earth god'll be a big brute going hand-to-hand; Kaspar, that sounds like a good one for you to take down. Daleth, you maybe wanna cast one of them <em>stoneskin</em> spells on our monk, here?" Daleth nodded his agreement.</p><p></p><p>"That leaves the water god," pointed out Galen. "I guess I'll take him. My <em>elemental bane greatsword</em> should be able to take out any of the four."</p><p></p><p>"Wait - my <em>nightflame short sword</em> ought to do extra damage to a water-based elemental, even a god," suggested the halfling. "Maybe I should go after the water god."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, good idea," Syngaard agreed. "Okay, you swap with Galen. Galen, can you protect the two of us from fire?"</p><p></p><p>"Easily," replied the paladin. "I shall prepare two <em>resist fire</em> spells."</p><p></p><p>"Anybody finishes up with their elemental god, go find another one to help take down," Syngaard finished. "I guess that'll have to do, far as plannin' goes." Daleth and Galen began preparing their spells, Daleth by examining the pages of his spellbook and Galen by praying to his patron god Hieroneous, God of Valor.</p><p></p><p>"Grab them cards back up," suggested Syngaard to Orion. "C'mere, Kaspar - you can take Wizard-Pants' spot. You know it'll take these two the better part of an hour to get their spells all lined up."</p><p></p><p>But the next hour came soon enough for Syngaard; unlike Daleth, the elven monk seemed almost impossible to bluff at poker! Orion put the cards away for the second time that day as Daleth and Galen, their preparations complete, began casting spells on the group. The paladin covered himself in a <em>divine favor</em> spell and placed a <em>bless weapon</em> spell upon his greatsword rather than on the <em>sword of Zehkar</em>, seeing that he'd likely be using the <em>elemental bane greatsword</em> as his primary weapon in this fight. He and Syngaard each received a <em>resist fire</em> spell as well, to protect them from their designated foe.</p><p></p><p>Daleth cast <em>stoneskin</em> spells upon himself, Kaspar, and Orion (the latter from a spell scroll she provided him) and then further augmented himself with <em>fly</em> and <em>spell turning</em> spells. "Ready!" he called upon completing the words to his final spell. Orion, sitting in the <em>ghost touch saddle</em> of her faithful riding dog, bent over to activate Carl's collar, infusing the ghost-dog with the effects of a <em>false life</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>"Then exit through the front door - and good luck!" called Alexandros.</p><p></p><p>The five conscripts stepped through the front door of the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> and found themselves standing in a misty plain, the ground coated in a gray mist the same color as the sky. Eighty feet ahead of them stood a four-headed hydra, each head a different color: from left to right, red, black, silver, and blue.</p><p></p><p>"Red's fire," Syngaard said quietly to the others. "Blue's gotta be water. So black's probably earth and silver's air? Like the silver lining in a cloud?"</p><p></p><p>"Or silver's earth, where the metal comes from, and black's air, like a thundercloud," pointed out Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, maybe," Syngaard admitted.</p><p></p><p>The heads turned to regard the party. The blue head spoke, his words somehow coming out as both the Common tongue used in Durnhill and the Jakuran language simultaneously without being incomprehensible. "They are here to free us," it said to the others.</p><p></p><p>"That is true," admitted Kaspar, taking a tentative step forward. "We have been told that to do so, we must kill your spirit-forms. Do you have any advice for us?"</p><p></p><p>"Be swift and do not fail," replied the red hydra head. "We will be compelled to fight back, to the best of our abilities."</p><p></p><p>Of course, Kaspar was all about being swift. In seconds, he went from standing perfectly still to racing forward at full sprint and closing the gap between him and the hydra, sending his <em>tenryutsume</em> crashing into the jaw of the black hydra-head - correctly assuming it to be the Earth god's representation.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard was irritated at having to fight a hydra - all of their plans about assigning specific people against specific gods was pretty much out the window, with all four gods being, in effect, the same creature! That was only bound to make things more difficult for the conscripts. Still, he had to play the hand he had been dealt, so he whipped out his Dick, gave it a good rub, and leaped upon the griffon's broad back as it manifested before the scarred fighter. Then he urged him forward, holding out his morningstar for a bash across the red hydra's head once Dick closed the distance between them.</p><p></p><p>But before Syngaard could get in his swing, the red hydra head demonstrated that it was, in fact, the manifestation of the Jakuran elemental fire god by breathing forth a cone of flames from its open mouth. The flames engulfed Syngaard, Dick, and Kaspar - the only ones thus far to have engaged the hydra and thus the only ones within range of its breath weapon. Syngaard was somewhat protected by the spell Galen had cast upon him and Kaspar's monk training also allowed him to lessen the severity of the attack, but Dick had no such advantages and the fur and feathers on his underside took a severe burning. He cried out in pain from the attack, wings flapping to keep him and his rider airborne.</p><p></p><p>The black hydra head lined itself up and sent a long stream of acid hitting Kaspar, Galen, Orion, and Carl in turn. Of the four, only Galen was seriously affected; the monk and rogue each managed to duck and avoid most of the effects and Carl's incorporeal nature allowed the physical attack to pass right through his body.</p><p></p><p>Daleth flew forward and tried something: knowing each hydra head was effectively a separate elemental god, he targeted them each as a separate entity with a <em>chain lightning</em> spell. He chose the black earth-head as his primary, sending arcs of electricity to strike the other three heads and the hydra's body as well - for the elven wizard had correctly surmised the shared body of the hydra served as the seal binding the gods to the osteovox. The silver hydra head took this attack in stride, causing Daleth to surmise - and pass the information to the others over the <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> - that the silver head was the Jakuran elemental god of air and apparently immune to electricity.</p><p></p><p>Galen wasn't sure if Burt could be summoned to this demiplane of osteovox; while the dire lion lived on the outer plane of the Beastlands and transitioned to the mortal world just fine, not only was this a different plane but the paladin he served was quite dead, his physical body lying under the effects of a <em>gentle repose</em> spell back in the real <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>. But it was worth a shot: calling across the planes for his bonded mount, Galen felt the initial mental contact of reply and suddenly Burt was standing there before him. However, the entire demiplane shuddered at the intrusion of a good-aligned, living creature. A golden light wreathed the dire lion's body, an effect that had never been present before. As Galen leaped upon his mount's back, it seemed to him as if the glow were slowly dimming; he made a mental note to dismiss Burt from the demiplane before the glow dissipated entirely.</p><p></p><p>But in the meantime: glorious battle awaited! Burt raced up to the hydra, eager to sink his large fangs into the reptile's flesh, but the red hydra head snaked out as Burt approached and sunk its teeth into the lion's broad shoulder.</p><p></p><p>Orion mentally activated her <em>ring of invisibility</em> and sent Carl forward into battle. Before getting within striking range of the four serpentine heads, though, she leapt from the <em>ghost touch saddle</em> and raced around the hydra to get into a flanking position. The heads all seemed to be focused on the conscripts currently battling the hydra, so she supposed - and fervently hoped - that their god-vision didn't include seeing through <em>invisibility</em> spells.</p><p></p><p>The hydra's silver head looked up at Daleth and responded to his spell attack with a line of lightning blasting straight into the wizard's chest. Part of the attack was absorbed by Daleth's <em>Stormsea cloak</em>, but eneough energy got through to rattle the wizard's teeth. He bobbled a bit in midair but maintained his elevation.</p><p></p><p>Then the blue hydra head spewed forth its own breath weapon, a cone of frosty cold at those enemies assembled before it. Burt and Kaspar were able to successfully evade the cold blast but once again Galen took the full force of the attack. Carl, standing ethereally within the cone's area of effect, was completely unaffected; in fact, he yawned impressively as if this was failing to hold his interest.</p><p></p><p><Attack the main body!> called out Daleth over the link. <I think it's the seal keeping the gods grounded here!> Kaspar was eager to comply, dodging under the snaking heads and delivering a flurry of blows at the hydra's breastbone, the first of his rapid-strike attacks imbued with the full power of his <em>quivering palm</em>. Alas, he failed to slay the beast in one fell blow, but the power of his <em>tenryutsume</em> managed to deal the creature quite a bit of damage nonetheless. As further evidence that the body served as the seal keeping the elemental gods tied to the osteovox plane, Kaspar could feel the holy energy of Tenryu's weapon affecting the reptilian body, despite Alexandros having warned the conscripts that the elemental gods themselves were not of an evil nature.</p><p></p><p><The body itself is evil!> Kaspar called to the others, while avoiding a snap of a hydra-head's jaws.</p><p></p><p>Mirroring his week-earlier attack upon the black dragon, Syngaard leaped from his griffon and landed upon the hydra's back, just behind the point where the four serpentine necks grew from the body. He let the momentum of his leap flow through his right arm, causing his morningstar to crash down into the hydra's body and punch through the creature's thick scales. Dick likewise mirrored his previous move against the black dragon, positioning himself immediately before the black hydra head, ready to selflessly block any further acid spews it might want to send out against the conscripts.</p><p></p><p>The red head lashed out suddenly with the speed of a striking cobra and caught Kaspar in the shoulder before he could successfully dodge out of the way. The monk stifled a cry of pain - and then another of anguish, for from his vantage point he could see the hydra body regenerating the damage he'd inflicted upon it with his <em>tenryutsume</em>. <The body regenerates!> he warned the others as he extracted himself from the red hydra head's jaws.</p><p></p><p>The black hydra head attacked the griffon hovering before it, catching Dick in its teeth and biting him in half. Dick immediately reverted to statuette form and clattered to the ground, buried in the layer of thick mist covering the floor of this wide chamber.</p><p></p><p>Daleth cast a <em>disintegrate</em> spell at the hydra's body, trying to destroy the seal that would free the elemental gods in one fell swoop. The beam of the spell hit but the hydra-body resisted the worst of the intended effects; damage was inflicted but not enough to discorporate it entirely.</p><p></p><p>Deciding to go for an all-out attack on the hydra's body, Galen swapped his <em>elemental bane greatsword</em> for the <em>sword of Zehkar</em>, realizing the hydra's body was in no was an elemental creature as were the Jakuran gods. He channeled a <em>smite evil</em> attack through his trusty longsword, sending the power of Hieroneous into the dread beast. Burt likewise clawed and bit at the hydra, concentrating on the creature's right front leg. The silver head struck at Galen in retaliation, catching the paladin in its powerful jaws.</p><p></p><p>Orion, in the meantime, had approached the creature unseen and decided her best bet was to attack the creature's unprotected belly; at her size, she was the best person on the team for such a maneuver. Stabbing up with all her might from beneath it, she felt the <em>nightflame short sword</em> pierce the reptilian hide and slide deep into its guts; the halfling was rewarded for her efforts by a gush of blood raining down upon her.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard found out all at once that the back of a hydra offered in no way any further protection than the back of an ancient black dragon, when the blue hydra head snaked around and bit him. He slammed at the offending head with his shield to get it to let go of him, almost losing his balance in the process. At the creature's front, Kaspar attacked again with a rapid-fire series of punches aimed at the hydra's breastbone, reapplying the damage the beast had healed up from his earlier attacks. He hoped that with several of the conscripts attacking the body at once they could overcome its rapid healing.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard did just that, turning his back on the blue hydra head that had been snapping at him to concentrate on taking out the body. He pounded down at the reptilian body beneath him like a carpenter hammering in nails, and each strike of his morningstar sent blood flying up in an arc when he raised his weapon for the next strike. Finally, the hydra's body - heads and all - just dissipated into nothingness, it finally having been overcome by the joint attacks of the conscripts assaulting it from all directions.</p><p></p><p>But that left Syngaard in midair, having been standing on the back of a creature that was suddenly no longer present. Worse yet, Orion was standing directly below him, her <em>nightflame short sword</em> pointed up in his direction. With an unsuccessfully-repressed bleat of terror, Syngaard activated his <em>boots of levitation</em> at the last possible moment and hovered in the air, the point of the halfling's flaming blade less than an inch from his codpiece. "Watch it there!" he gasped as Orion quickly lowered her blade and stepped to the side, allowing the scarred fighter to deactivate his magical boots and drop back to the ground. His legs were wobbly, and not from the combat with the four-headed hydra!</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, the Jakuran gods were back just as quickly as they'd vanished. This time, though, they were in their full serpentine dragon forms, as four distinct entities. "Finally, we are free," the Jakuran gods exulted, their words once again coming out in two languages simultaneously (not that any of the conscripts understood the Jakuran language). "Although we must wait till this phylactery is fully destroyed before we can be reborn in the lands of Jakura, we thank you for the boon you have done for us." The world around them shuddered again and Galen looked over to his dire lion. The glow around Burt was nearly gone. "Thank you," Galen said, stepping down from Burt's back. "But return now back to your home, until I call for you again." Burt roared in gratitude and disappeared from view.</p><p></p><p>"What of the final god?" asked Daleth, dropping down from the air and landing in the mist, while Syngaard groped around blindly on his hands and knees, looking for his <em>figurine of wondrous power</em>. "And the illithid brain sliver?" the elf added. "What can you tell us of that?"</p><p></p><p>"The god of honor usually takes the form of an armored samurai, although he is larger than mortals," replied the Jakuran earth god.</p><p></p><p>"And beware the brain sliver," added the Jakuran fire god. "It is more mobile than you might expect."</p><p></p><p>"Hmm," mused Daleth, rubbing his chin. "A brain golem, perhaps, or perhaps an intellect devourer...."</p><p></p><p>"What's he on about?" asked Syngaard, pocketing his recovered <em>bronze griffon</em>. Kaspar just shrugged his shoulders; he'd never heard of the creatures Daleth was muttering about, either. The monk absently channeled the chi through his body, directing it to close up the wounds he'd received from the hydra's teeth.</p><p></p><p>Oh well, thought Syngaard. He supposed Wizard-Pants would let them know before they were sent out to deal with these last two obstacles in their path. But in the meantime, even ghosts needed to heal their wounds and that likely meant going back to the copy of the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> that existed in this pocket dimension. "C'mon, Wizard-Pants," the bald fighter said, "you can tell us all about it back at the tavern, over a couple hands of poker. I think it's your deal." Syngaard smiled to himself at the thought of winning even more money off the silly elf, who might be a literal wizard at spellcasting but still knew bugger-all about bluffing at cards.</p><p></p><p>"Very well," agreed Daleth, likewise smiling to himself - for he well understood that no matter how much money as he might lose here in this pocket dimension, his real money was still with him in his <em>bag of holding</em> alongside his corpse back on the material plane. All Syngard and Orion were doing here was fleecing him from "ghost money" - the ghostly representations of the real thing back in the mortal world, just as their own bodies here were merely copies of their real bodies back on their home plane - so these two card sharks were merely giving the elven wizard a chance to learn the intricacies of the game without any danger of his losing anything of true value. "I accept," he said.</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>I have to admit, none of us expected the four Jakuran elemental gods to be four separate heads on a single hydra! And we even have a four-headed hydra mini, an orange plastic figure I bought at a local Michael's store some years ago. Logan even gave the body and each head of the hydra a separate initiative, using the hydra initiative card for the body and the appropriate elemental initiative card for each of the heads. That was an excellent approach, ensuring we didn't get dog-piled on with four breath weapons in a row all at once.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7786253, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 55: THE FOUR PILLARS OF JAKURA[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 17 Galen Thorne, human paladin 17 Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 17 Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 17 Syngaard, human fighter 17[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 6 August 2019 - - - "You have ample time," suggested Alexandros - or the good part of him that had been abandoned by the real Alexandros when he attained lichdom. "It would be to your respective advantages to spend the subjective week examining the tomes and gaining those powers for yourselves." "You're sure we wouldn't be wasting a week that could be put to better use taking down the gods of Jakura?" asked Kaspar, holding the [i]Manual of Gainful Exercise[/i] and flipping idly through it. Galen had likewise been paging through another magical book, the legend "[i]Tome of Understanding[/i]" inscribed on its front cover. These two magical tomes had been part of the treasure from the black dragon they'd slain as their last mission prior to their own deaths. "Wasting? Absolutely not - and it could very well help give you the edge you need to overcome the spirits of the Jakuran gods hiding the location of the illithid brain sliver holding this place together. Besides, I will need about that long to manipulate the osteovox in such a way as to bring the four elemental essences together in a single place, so you may take them down all at once." "If you're sure..." remarked Galen, sitting down at one of the back tables of the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] (or the copy of it that existed in the osteovox demiplane) and making himself comfortable. He turned to the beginning of the book and started reading it intently from the beginning. Kaspar took a seat beside him and began examining his own magical tome. Daleth, never one for patience, complained, "A whole week? And what are the rest of us to do during this time?" Syngaard looked questioningly over at Orion. The two didn't normally get along but faced with a week of inaction they were willing to set aside their differences - especially if it meant an opportunity to knock the haughty elven wizard down a peg or two. Orion nodded silently to the scarred fighter and pulled a deck of cards from her [i]bag of holding[/i]. "You know how to play poker, Wizard-Pants?" asked Syngaard. "Poker? Certainly not." "Don't worry," smiled Orion, climbing up into a chair and shuffling the deck. "We can teach you the basics, and I'm sure someone with your superior intellect will pick up the game in no time...." - - - A week later Galen and Kaspar had finished their magical studies and just as the Mithral Mage had told them, the books vanished upon being completed. "Back on the Material Plane," Alexandros explained, "the physical copies of the books you just read will have likewise disappeared. These are basically somewhat elaborate, specifically-tailored [i]wish[/i] spells, granting you the benefits of the magical effects bound in the writings. How do you feel?" Kaspar flexed his hands, his forearms, and his biceps in turn. "Stronger," he admitted. "Me too - but not in a physical sense," added Galen. "I feel...I feel as if the channels of divine magic have been broadened in my mind, if that makes any sense. I feel as if I shall be able to channel more spell energy through my body than ever before." "I have no doubt that that is true," said Alexandros. "So, you get your stuff done?" Syngaard asked the Mithral Mage. "Get them gods all together for us so we can cut 'em down?" "I believe so, yes," replied the silver-robed wizard. "So, what can we expect?" Daleth asked. He looked over to Orion with a frown, as she was putting the deck of cards away. He was finally starting to get the hang of this poker game, he thought, and might have soon been able to win back some of the money he'd lost to these two over the course of the past week. But time enough for that later on - right now they had more important things to worry about! "About the Jakuran elemental gods?" asked Alexandros. "It is difficult to say. Over the millennia - 30 subjective millennia in here, a thousand years back on the Material Plane - they have taken many different forms. Most often they are serpentine dragons; on other occasions they are animated suits of elemental armor or simply humanoid elementals. There is no telling what form they may choose to appear in." "That's real useful," scoffed Syngaard. "However," continued Alexandros, "within the mindscape of the osteovox, the magical bindings of the place tend to take on 'physical' forms, manifesting as objects or even creatures. As such, when you face the Jakuren gods your goal should be to destroy the manifestation of the seals that bind them. The gods will be compelled to protect the seals and it might be easier to destroy the seals after defeating the gods." "Got any idea what these seals might look like?" Syngaard asked. "They could look like anything, really," admitted Alexandros, causing Syngaard to snort in disgust. "I don't know about slaying gods," remarked Galen. "It doesn't feel right." "Ah, but these gods are already dead," replied the Mithral Mage. "Dying again within the osteovox will only cause them to reform the next subjective day." "Day? Not a week?" asked Orion. "These are gods, not liches," Alexandros reminded her. "What else should we know?" asked Kaspar. "Although the magic binding the god-essences is evil, the gods themselves are not. As you prepare your spells before going into combat, you can hold off on the [i]protection from evil[/i] and [i]magic circle against evil[/i] spells you often cast - they will be wasted in this battle and you can no doubt put other spells to better use in their place." "Once these two get all spelled up," asked Syngaard, pointing a thumb in the direction of Daleth and Galen, "we gonna be able to go pop in the four gods all quick-like? 'Cause some of them spells got durations we don't want running out during the fight." "Once your spellcasting is complete, I can send you directly to them," Alexandros reassured him. "We oughta assign ourselves targets ahead of time," suggested Syngaard. "I fought a fire elemental last week to get into this place, so I'll take out the fire god. I'll want some sorta fire protection spell from one of you two. Orion, you got fire protection with that bracelet of yours, right? Then maybe you oughta be on fire god detail with me." Orion nodded her agreement. "Wizard-Pants, you like that [i]fly[/i] spell, maybe you oughta take out the air god," Syngaard continued. "I imagine the earth god'll be a big brute going hand-to-hand; Kaspar, that sounds like a good one for you to take down. Daleth, you maybe wanna cast one of them [i]stoneskin[/i] spells on our monk, here?" Daleth nodded his agreement. "That leaves the water god," pointed out Galen. "I guess I'll take him. My [i]elemental bane greatsword[/i] should be able to take out any of the four." "Wait - my [i]nightflame short sword[/i] ought to do extra damage to a water-based elemental, even a god," suggested the halfling. "Maybe I should go after the water god." "Yeah, good idea," Syngaard agreed. "Okay, you swap with Galen. Galen, can you protect the two of us from fire?" "Easily," replied the paladin. "I shall prepare two [i]resist fire[/i] spells." "Anybody finishes up with their elemental god, go find another one to help take down," Syngaard finished. "I guess that'll have to do, far as plannin' goes." Daleth and Galen began preparing their spells, Daleth by examining the pages of his spellbook and Galen by praying to his patron god Hieroneous, God of Valor. "Grab them cards back up," suggested Syngaard to Orion. "C'mere, Kaspar - you can take Wizard-Pants' spot. You know it'll take these two the better part of an hour to get their spells all lined up." But the next hour came soon enough for Syngaard; unlike Daleth, the elven monk seemed almost impossible to bluff at poker! Orion put the cards away for the second time that day as Daleth and Galen, their preparations complete, began casting spells on the group. The paladin covered himself in a [i]divine favor[/i] spell and placed a [i]bless weapon[/i] spell upon his greatsword rather than on the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i], seeing that he'd likely be using the [i]elemental bane greatsword[/i] as his primary weapon in this fight. He and Syngaard each received a [i]resist fire[/i] spell as well, to protect them from their designated foe. Daleth cast [i]stoneskin[/i] spells upon himself, Kaspar, and Orion (the latter from a spell scroll she provided him) and then further augmented himself with [i]fly[/i] and [i]spell turning[/i] spells. "Ready!" he called upon completing the words to his final spell. Orion, sitting in the [i]ghost touch saddle[/i] of her faithful riding dog, bent over to activate Carl's collar, infusing the ghost-dog with the effects of a [i]false life[/i] spell. "Then exit through the front door - and good luck!" called Alexandros. The five conscripts stepped through the front door of the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] and found themselves standing in a misty plain, the ground coated in a gray mist the same color as the sky. Eighty feet ahead of them stood a four-headed hydra, each head a different color: from left to right, red, black, silver, and blue. "Red's fire," Syngaard said quietly to the others. "Blue's gotta be water. So black's probably earth and silver's air? Like the silver lining in a cloud?" "Or silver's earth, where the metal comes from, and black's air, like a thundercloud," pointed out Orion. "Yeah, maybe," Syngaard admitted. The heads turned to regard the party. The blue head spoke, his words somehow coming out as both the Common tongue used in Durnhill and the Jakuran language simultaneously without being incomprehensible. "They are here to free us," it said to the others. "That is true," admitted Kaspar, taking a tentative step forward. "We have been told that to do so, we must kill your spirit-forms. Do you have any advice for us?" "Be swift and do not fail," replied the red hydra head. "We will be compelled to fight back, to the best of our abilities." Of course, Kaspar was all about being swift. In seconds, he went from standing perfectly still to racing forward at full sprint and closing the gap between him and the hydra, sending his [i]tenryutsume[/i] crashing into the jaw of the black hydra-head - correctly assuming it to be the Earth god's representation. Syngaard was irritated at having to fight a hydra - all of their plans about assigning specific people against specific gods was pretty much out the window, with all four gods being, in effect, the same creature! That was only bound to make things more difficult for the conscripts. Still, he had to play the hand he had been dealt, so he whipped out his Dick, gave it a good rub, and leaped upon the griffon's broad back as it manifested before the scarred fighter. Then he urged him forward, holding out his morningstar for a bash across the red hydra's head once Dick closed the distance between them. But before Syngaard could get in his swing, the red hydra head demonstrated that it was, in fact, the manifestation of the Jakuran elemental fire god by breathing forth a cone of flames from its open mouth. The flames engulfed Syngaard, Dick, and Kaspar - the only ones thus far to have engaged the hydra and thus the only ones within range of its breath weapon. Syngaard was somewhat protected by the spell Galen had cast upon him and Kaspar's monk training also allowed him to lessen the severity of the attack, but Dick had no such advantages and the fur and feathers on his underside took a severe burning. He cried out in pain from the attack, wings flapping to keep him and his rider airborne. The black hydra head lined itself up and sent a long stream of acid hitting Kaspar, Galen, Orion, and Carl in turn. Of the four, only Galen was seriously affected; the monk and rogue each managed to duck and avoid most of the effects and Carl's incorporeal nature allowed the physical attack to pass right through his body. Daleth flew forward and tried something: knowing each hydra head was effectively a separate elemental god, he targeted them each as a separate entity with a [i]chain lightning[/i] spell. He chose the black earth-head as his primary, sending arcs of electricity to strike the other three heads and the hydra's body as well - for the elven wizard had correctly surmised the shared body of the hydra served as the seal binding the gods to the osteovox. The silver hydra head took this attack in stride, causing Daleth to surmise - and pass the information to the others over the [i]Rary's telepathic bond[/i] - that the silver head was the Jakuran elemental god of air and apparently immune to electricity. Galen wasn't sure if Burt could be summoned to this demiplane of osteovox; while the dire lion lived on the outer plane of the Beastlands and transitioned to the mortal world just fine, not only was this a different plane but the paladin he served was quite dead, his physical body lying under the effects of a [i]gentle repose[/i] spell back in the real [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i]. But it was worth a shot: calling across the planes for his bonded mount, Galen felt the initial mental contact of reply and suddenly Burt was standing there before him. However, the entire demiplane shuddered at the intrusion of a good-aligned, living creature. A golden light wreathed the dire lion's body, an effect that had never been present before. As Galen leaped upon his mount's back, it seemed to him as if the glow were slowly dimming; he made a mental note to dismiss Burt from the demiplane before the glow dissipated entirely. But in the meantime: glorious battle awaited! Burt raced up to the hydra, eager to sink his large fangs into the reptile's flesh, but the red hydra head snaked out as Burt approached and sunk its teeth into the lion's broad shoulder. Orion mentally activated her [i]ring of invisibility[/i] and sent Carl forward into battle. Before getting within striking range of the four serpentine heads, though, she leapt from the [i]ghost touch saddle[/i] and raced around the hydra to get into a flanking position. The heads all seemed to be focused on the conscripts currently battling the hydra, so she supposed - and fervently hoped - that their god-vision didn't include seeing through [i]invisibility[/i] spells. The hydra's silver head looked up at Daleth and responded to his spell attack with a line of lightning blasting straight into the wizard's chest. Part of the attack was absorbed by Daleth's [i]Stormsea cloak[/i], but eneough energy got through to rattle the wizard's teeth. He bobbled a bit in midair but maintained his elevation. Then the blue hydra head spewed forth its own breath weapon, a cone of frosty cold at those enemies assembled before it. Burt and Kaspar were able to successfully evade the cold blast but once again Galen took the full force of the attack. Carl, standing ethereally within the cone's area of effect, was completely unaffected; in fact, he yawned impressively as if this was failing to hold his interest. <Attack the main body!> called out Daleth over the link. <I think it's the seal keeping the gods grounded here!> Kaspar was eager to comply, dodging under the snaking heads and delivering a flurry of blows at the hydra's breastbone, the first of his rapid-strike attacks imbued with the full power of his [i]quivering palm[/i]. Alas, he failed to slay the beast in one fell blow, but the power of his [i]tenryutsume[/i] managed to deal the creature quite a bit of damage nonetheless. As further evidence that the body served as the seal keeping the elemental gods tied to the osteovox plane, Kaspar could feel the holy energy of Tenryu's weapon affecting the reptilian body, despite Alexandros having warned the conscripts that the elemental gods themselves were not of an evil nature. <The body itself is evil!> Kaspar called to the others, while avoiding a snap of a hydra-head's jaws. Mirroring his week-earlier attack upon the black dragon, Syngaard leaped from his griffon and landed upon the hydra's back, just behind the point where the four serpentine necks grew from the body. He let the momentum of his leap flow through his right arm, causing his morningstar to crash down into the hydra's body and punch through the creature's thick scales. Dick likewise mirrored his previous move against the black dragon, positioning himself immediately before the black hydra head, ready to selflessly block any further acid spews it might want to send out against the conscripts. The red head lashed out suddenly with the speed of a striking cobra and caught Kaspar in the shoulder before he could successfully dodge out of the way. The monk stifled a cry of pain - and then another of anguish, for from his vantage point he could see the hydra body regenerating the damage he'd inflicted upon it with his [i]tenryutsume[/i]. <The body regenerates!> he warned the others as he extracted himself from the red hydra head's jaws. The black hydra head attacked the griffon hovering before it, catching Dick in its teeth and biting him in half. Dick immediately reverted to statuette form and clattered to the ground, buried in the layer of thick mist covering the floor of this wide chamber. Daleth cast a [i]disintegrate[/i] spell at the hydra's body, trying to destroy the seal that would free the elemental gods in one fell swoop. The beam of the spell hit but the hydra-body resisted the worst of the intended effects; damage was inflicted but not enough to discorporate it entirely. Deciding to go for an all-out attack on the hydra's body, Galen swapped his [i]elemental bane greatsword[/i] for the [i]sword of Zehkar[/i], realizing the hydra's body was in no was an elemental creature as were the Jakuran gods. He channeled a [i]smite evil[/i] attack through his trusty longsword, sending the power of Hieroneous into the dread beast. Burt likewise clawed and bit at the hydra, concentrating on the creature's right front leg. The silver head struck at Galen in retaliation, catching the paladin in its powerful jaws. Orion, in the meantime, had approached the creature unseen and decided her best bet was to attack the creature's unprotected belly; at her size, she was the best person on the team for such a maneuver. Stabbing up with all her might from beneath it, she felt the [i]nightflame short sword[/i] pierce the reptilian hide and slide deep into its guts; the halfling was rewarded for her efforts by a gush of blood raining down upon her. Syngaard found out all at once that the back of a hydra offered in no way any further protection than the back of an ancient black dragon, when the blue hydra head snaked around and bit him. He slammed at the offending head with his shield to get it to let go of him, almost losing his balance in the process. At the creature's front, Kaspar attacked again with a rapid-fire series of punches aimed at the hydra's breastbone, reapplying the damage the beast had healed up from his earlier attacks. He hoped that with several of the conscripts attacking the body at once they could overcome its rapid healing. Syngaard did just that, turning his back on the blue hydra head that had been snapping at him to concentrate on taking out the body. He pounded down at the reptilian body beneath him like a carpenter hammering in nails, and each strike of his morningstar sent blood flying up in an arc when he raised his weapon for the next strike. Finally, the hydra's body - heads and all - just dissipated into nothingness, it finally having been overcome by the joint attacks of the conscripts assaulting it from all directions. But that left Syngaard in midair, having been standing on the back of a creature that was suddenly no longer present. Worse yet, Orion was standing directly below him, her [i]nightflame short sword[/i] pointed up in his direction. With an unsuccessfully-repressed bleat of terror, Syngaard activated his [i]boots of levitation[/i] at the last possible moment and hovered in the air, the point of the halfling's flaming blade less than an inch from his codpiece. "Watch it there!" he gasped as Orion quickly lowered her blade and stepped to the side, allowing the scarred fighter to deactivate his magical boots and drop back to the ground. His legs were wobbly, and not from the combat with the four-headed hydra! Suddenly, the Jakuran gods were back just as quickly as they'd vanished. This time, though, they were in their full serpentine dragon forms, as four distinct entities. "Finally, we are free," the Jakuran gods exulted, their words once again coming out in two languages simultaneously (not that any of the conscripts understood the Jakuran language). "Although we must wait till this phylactery is fully destroyed before we can be reborn in the lands of Jakura, we thank you for the boon you have done for us." The world around them shuddered again and Galen looked over to his dire lion. The glow around Burt was nearly gone. "Thank you," Galen said, stepping down from Burt's back. "But return now back to your home, until I call for you again." Burt roared in gratitude and disappeared from view. "What of the final god?" asked Daleth, dropping down from the air and landing in the mist, while Syngaard groped around blindly on his hands and knees, looking for his [i]figurine of wondrous power[/i]. "And the illithid brain sliver?" the elf added. "What can you tell us of that?" "The god of honor usually takes the form of an armored samurai, although he is larger than mortals," replied the Jakuran earth god. "And beware the brain sliver," added the Jakuran fire god. "It is more mobile than you might expect." "Hmm," mused Daleth, rubbing his chin. "A brain golem, perhaps, or perhaps an intellect devourer...." "What's he on about?" asked Syngaard, pocketing his recovered [i]bronze griffon[/i]. Kaspar just shrugged his shoulders; he'd never heard of the creatures Daleth was muttering about, either. The monk absently channeled the chi through his body, directing it to close up the wounds he'd received from the hydra's teeth. Oh well, thought Syngaard. He supposed Wizard-Pants would let them know before they were sent out to deal with these last two obstacles in their path. But in the meantime, even ghosts needed to heal their wounds and that likely meant going back to the copy of the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] that existed in this pocket dimension. "C'mon, Wizard-Pants," the bald fighter said, "you can tell us all about it back at the tavern, over a couple hands of poker. I think it's your deal." Syngaard smiled to himself at the thought of winning even more money off the silly elf, who might be a literal wizard at spellcasting but still knew bugger-all about bluffing at cards. "Very well," agreed Daleth, likewise smiling to himself - for he well understood that no matter how much money as he might lose here in this pocket dimension, his real money was still with him in his [i]bag of holding[/i] alongside his corpse back on the material plane. All Syngard and Orion were doing here was fleecing him from "ghost money" - the ghostly representations of the real thing back in the mortal world, just as their own bodies here were merely copies of their real bodies back on their home plane - so these two card sharks were merely giving the elven wizard a chance to learn the intricacies of the game without any danger of his losing anything of true value. "I accept," he said. - - - I have to admit, none of us expected the four Jakuran elemental gods to be four separate heads on a single hydra! And we even have a four-headed hydra mini, an orange plastic figure I bought at a local Michael's store some years ago. Logan even gave the body and each head of the hydra a separate initiative, using the hydra initiative card for the body and the appropriate elemental initiative card for each of the heads. That was an excellent approach, ensuring we didn't get dog-piled on with four breath weapons in a row all at once. [/QUOTE]
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