Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 5966024" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>Once we entered, I could see that there in addition to the pallets there were also arms racks with various weapons as well as several exits; finally, towards the far wall, there was another open vent which John was dealing with. Again, he managed to find the valve and close it. As previously, there had been a curtain of steam in that part of the cave but once the vent was closed, the steam dissipated and another door was revealed. </p><p></p><p>John, kneeling next to it, said: “Longhelim, I want to take a look at this door. Keep a watch on the other corridors”.</p><p></p><p>Interesting; he was giving orders without even thinking about it when he was engaged in his expertise. It was to everyone else’s credit that they just took position near the other exits in case the other hobgoblins appeared. Judging by the number of pallets, at least a pair was still unaccounted for. </p><p></p><p>With a grunt, John pushed the door and it opened. He called everyone else: </p><p></p><p>“Short corridor, small fortified doors. These look like jail cells. Longhelim, please keep watch while I go and see what I can find out.”</p><p></p><p>With that, Longhelim moved to the door while John disappeared inside the corridor. Everyone else still kept watch on the other exits. </p><p></p><p>A little time later, I could hear a brief conversation but obviously with someone new. The voice was strange, crackly, and almost reminded me of a tone I was hoping not to hear for a long time: the crackling of the flame from the Fire Forest of Innenotdar. I was intensely curious but I was also aware that we were in the middle of a potentially very dangerous environment so I waited until we were all called over from our watch. </p><p></p><p>Once Longhelim summoned us, I turned and stared. The paladin was next to a humanoid figure; it was very difficult to make it out; because it was made of fire; or one could say that it was fire in the shape of a humanoid. With the exception that it was obviously something from the Elemental Plane of Fire, I did not have the slightest idea of what it was and I had some scholarship of the elemental planes; for the sake of convenience, I decided to think of it as a fire elemental of some sort.</p><p></p><p>As I was staring, the being turned and spoke into the corridor, probably at John: </p><p></p><p>“There is another prisoner in one of the jail cells; a human woman. She has been badly beaten,” it crackled, in Common, conveniently. </p><p></p><p>I approached again and just looked at this flaming being, trying to understand where it had come from, what it was doing here, why it was here. A hundred other questions sped through my mind. </p><p></p><p>Then, there was shout from the corridor beyond Longhelim and suddenly all the questions were swept from my head. John appeared from another cell, partly dragging, partly carrying another still form, wrapped in his cloak; there was no mistaking that short, white blond hair. It was Torrent! We had found her! I was so relieved! I had been feeling dreadfully guilty. I was aware that although our expedition was absolutely vital and saving lives on the surface, the longer we delayed the search for Torrent, the more likely it was that she was dead or being taken somewhere away from Seaquen. </p><p></p><p>Instead, we had found her, here in the tunnels. </p><p></p><p>My interest in the fire being was lost momentarily while we all crowded around Torrent. We could see that behind John’s cloak, she had been stripped of all her clothing, badly beaten and her face had not been spared. She was unconscious, knocked out. Felix immediately administered some healing and she began to stir. She opened her eyes, looked at us blearily and smiled through a blood encrusted mouth, muttering: </p><p></p><p>“I knew you’d find me”.</p><p></p><p>Then she sat up, groaned and looked around her, still groggy. </p><p></p><p>At this point, our first guest spoke in his unsettling crackle:</p><p></p><p>“I don’t know who you are but I hope you are from Seaquen. My name is Jibrand and I am from the Plane of Fire. I have been taken prisoner by the druid Toma and his lackey, the wizard Ivellios. Toma is a powerful elf who has been given strange powers by the Elder Elementals of the demi-plane of Vule. This demi-plane is beyond a portal that can be found in the steam room through that exit.”</p><p></p><p>He pointed at one of the southern exits. </p><p></p><p>“It is likely that Ivellios is also down there, in the steam room. Toma will be on Vule.”</p><p></p><p>He looked at us and we returned his gaze. I cleared my throat and then said: </p><p></p><p>“I am still a little puzzled. Toma the druid, Ivellios the wizard, the demi-plane of Vule, whatever that may be; the steam room. Very good, but what does this have to do with Seaquen, Torrent and finally us?”</p><p></p><p>Jibrand looked at me again and I could have sworn as if the flames flickered a little quicker as if he was frustrated. Then they calmed down again. </p><p></p><p>“Ah. I thought you had come down here for us. I see that I will have to begin at the beginning.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, a good place to start” a soft mutter from Victor.</p><p></p><p>Jibrand continued:</p><p></p><p>“Vule is that strangest of places. It is where the Elemental Plane of Water and the Elemental Plane of Fire meet. It is also a demi plane in its own right. As these two elements collide against each other, they produce a huge amount of heat and a great deal of it is manifested through steam. Long ago, someone or something built a machine which can trap this steam and guide it to the surface, thus creating the heating for the houses above. </p><p></p><p>Toma and Ivellios have used your friend Torrent as an unwitting pawn to turn off this machine. It is normally inside a room that is defended by very powerful magic but only against evil beings. Those who are known to be good can enter this chamber unhindered and they used magical influence to command you friend Torrent to do their bidding and switch it off. It is imperative that the machine be switched back on and that Toma be stopped. He plans a war on the world using armies of elementals; he is already using his powers to cause the temperature above to freeze; soon, he and his armies will march and the destruction of your city will begin!”</p><p></p><p>This was all quite dramatic and I had no doubt that Jibrand fully believed this but I had my doubts; not least because if it was as easy as this, why was this Toma the first person to lead an army of elementals into the prime material plane but I stopped thinking to continue to listen to the flaming humanoid. </p><p></p><p>“Toma has been given a certain mastery of the elemental planes and he has been favoured by the great Elder Elementals; but at this stage, he can still be stopped. Although he is powerful, he is arrogant and contemptuous of anyone trying to oppose him. It has been a long time since he has faced a worthy foe. I can guide you through Vule to meet him.</p><p></p><p>First, you need to go to the room with the machine which is through there. Beware Ivellios!”</p><p></p><p>Again, he pointed dramatically down one of the exits at the far end of the cave.</p><p></p><p>With the speech over, a few of my questions had been answered; I agreed with Jibrand about one thing: this Toma had to be stopped; that meant that we would have to go to Vule looking for him since, when we turned the machine on again, he would just come out of the demi plane and get someone to turn it off, as soon as we left; meaning we would have to return and…... That would get very irritating, very quickly. </p><p></p><p>So, with a quick consultation amongst ourselves, we decided to head down the exit which led to the steam room as Jibrand called it. </p><p></p><p>Before we did so, we managed to find some armour and wapons for Torrent; it was certainly nothing like her usual equipment but at least it was serviceable and she now had a weapon, namely one of the shorts words from the hobgoblins. She even managed to grab a shield from somewhere. There were several arms racks here. </p><p></p><p>It was a short corridor which led to another opening which had several exits leading out of it. We did not have any chance to study it though as in the middle room, amongst several tables and stools stood the figure of an elf. He was surrounded by a strange greenish flame, almost as if he was on fire himself, obviously some sort of defensive spell. It was powerful magic. </p><p></p><p>A contemptuous, nasal voice rang out: </p><p></p><p>“You think you have reached this room because you are strong? Because you have rescued your little friend? You know nothing! You are nothing! You have witnessed but the least aspect of my power. You are the dust beneath my feet and now you will die by my spells of fire.”</p><p></p><p>With that, he released an incredibly powerful spell of fire with devastating accuracy. It resembled a ball of flame and burst all around us with everyone being badly burned. Thankfully, I had my spell of fire protection but that was not enough to stop such a conflagration completely. It felt as if my blood boiled and when it lifted, I could see that everyone else was horribly charred and suffering from the same effects. </p><p></p><p>Despite this unearthly magic, we reacted. Drudge immediately shot an arrow towards him but it bounced off his magical defences. Then Victor moved forward but could not quite reach him; John turned invisible and I managed to put my spell of speed up on everyone with the exception of John, whom I could not see. </p><p></p><p>Then Ivellios cast another spell, the same as that cast at us by the tiefling wizard in the swamp, which resembled an enormous, sticky spider’s web; it caught everyone in it. However, not everything went to plan for Ivellios: first, with a great show of strength, Victor tore himself away from the spell, moved and struck the elf with his falchion; as he did so, there was a flash of cold blue light from the shielding surrounding him and some of this flame licked out at Victor, obviously causing some hurt; despite this, the blow did make Ivellios lose a little of his sneer. If Victor caught someone with that blade of his, they certainly noticed it. Then Jibrand moved next to me and using his flame, burnt part of the stuff away from my body; finally, Felix acted as if the spell was not even there. He moved normally through the sticky mess, managing to reach Victor and touching him, providing some much needed healing I assumed. The warrior had been badly hurt by the initial ball of flame. </p><p></p><p>Ivellios grinned ferally and pointed a finger at the warrior. Two rays of flame shot out of his finger; one missed and burst harmlessly against the wall. The other hit Victor squarely in his chest. Despite this, Victor struck him again and Ivellios frowned and cast another spell. Another ball of fire enveloped most of the group and this time Felix fell over and burst into flame. Ivellios gaped at this in disbelief. It was obvious he had never seen this before. </p><p></p><p>At this point, things became even more desperate. Appearing out of thin air – obviously negating an invisibility spell – another hobgoblin appeared, as he stuck two short swords into Victor’s neck; the warrior toppled over immediately, again bursting into flame. This new antagonist was wearing a fine set of leather, a cloak and numerous pouches and purses on his body. All the equipment looked very well kept and, by its colour, was obviously designed to allow him to move in darkness; it seemed to almost absorb light. Even his sword blades had been blackened and his face was covered in black paint. He also had a collection of potion bottles on his belt. </p><p></p><p>I managed to cast a spell at him which also caught Ivellios. It was a shimmering cloud full of little silver particles which could blind; the elf ignored it but the hobgoblin was affected. Longhelim finally reached the hobgoblin and hit him; he had been unable to reach Ivellios. He, in the meantime, had cast a spell at me but several missiles of force suddenly veered and instead of hitting me, were absorbed by the magical brooch I had taken from the body of the Inquisitor we had defeated just outside the Fire Forest. I was unharmed! Unfortunately, I was also running out of spells. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim moved towards Ivellios but the latter cast another spells, this one producing a curtain of flames which enveloped the warrior and caused him to collapse on the floor, yet another person bursting into flames. That left myself, John and Drudge as well as Torrent. The priestess, although newly recovered, moved to the wizard and engaged him, despite her ill fitting armour and unnatural pallor.</p><p></p><p>It was time for me to move forward. I had no spells; I drew my staff and advanced to the hobgoblin. He had to be dealt with. The blindness only lasted for a short period of time. As I neared, I noticed that his sword blades were covered with some sort of paste. I swung at him but staff fighting was not among my strengths. Then Longhelim stirred and rose, striking the enemy with his sword. This time, the hobgoblin finally collapsed. Mentally, I thanked the invisible John and his divine abilities. Then both Longhelim and I advanced towards the elven wizard. </p><p></p><p>Ivellios, now looking a little desperate, retreated and drew something out of a pouch on his belt. Suddenly, a huge whip appeared in thin air and began to draw back. We were within its reach it struck me; at this point everything went black. </p><p></p><p>I groaned and stirred. Everything hurt, right down to the tips of my toes. I was barely conscious and looking around, I saw that no one else was much better off. Both Victor and Longhelim looked as if they had just walked through a curtain of fire and although Victor had been healed, the wounds around his neck were still visible. I was stunned that he was still alive! When I saw those short swords going into his neck, I couldn’t believe that anyone could survive wounds like that. Yet, here he was, groggy, half burnt, bloody but alive. </p><p></p><p>As we did more healing, I was told that as the whip wrapped itself around me, John had healed Longhelim who managed to strike Ivellios. Apparently, the elf had no answer to that and collapsed to the ground, undone by the “dust beneath his feet”. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly, as we were beginning to search the opening, two more hobgoblins charged us with bellows of rage but both Victor and Longhelim stepped forward and swiftly dealt with them. Good thing too as I had no spells whatsoever at my disposal. </p><p></p><p>Once that brief unpleasantness was over, we looked around. We could see that there were several exits out of this open area; Jibrand pointed at one of them and said that that one led to the demi plane of Vule. Another led to an area that was blocked by a multitude of pipes, rusty with age and disuse. Nearby was a scattering of old tools but lying amongst them was a hammer that seemed to be unaffected by the wear of age. It shone out like a beacon among them. </p><p></p><p>Another tunnel led for a brief distance and then the rock turned green; a little further on, the rhythmic crashing of waves could be heard so we turned back. </p><p></p><p>We examined the steam machine room. Through a grate which was also the floor, a long way below, we could see a fiery wall of magma encroaching into the edge of water. Where the two met, steam erupted in great upward gouts. It was these that were meant to be captured by the machine and directed into the pipe system. </p><p></p><p>Thankfully, Torrent was able to turn the machine back on. </p><p></p><p>We also found a trap door which led upwards but after examination, we left it alone. Caution won over curiosity. We were in no shape to defend ourselves against anything at this time; so taking as much as we could, we retraced our steps out of the tunnels and in the darkness of the night, walked to the Lyceum. Jibrand said he would wait for us below. </p><p></p><p>I was very happy as amongst the pieces we had found on the elven wizard’s body, was his book of magical formulae, which I hoped would prove to be a very fertile base from which I could develop my own magic. </p><p></p><p> I wasn’t sure but as we walked back, I thought I could already detect a change in the temperature outside.</p><p></p><p>At the Lyceum, we met with Simeon and reported our activities to him so far. He did not say anything but he looked amazed. Then he ordered two of his students to bring various healing salves and potions which enabled us to rest without being woken up by the pain. </p><p></p><p>Even in our state, it was difficult not to notice the amount of people who suddenly had something to do in the Lyceum, despite it being very late at night. The corridors became very crowded with people who wanted to look at us. Some of them at least had some sort of pretence but many of them just crowded outside the door and gaped. I didn’t even want to think of the rumours that would be flying around the Lyceum by morning. </p><p></p><p>As we rested, I had several brainstorms and revelations. I saw how Ivellios had cast various spells, understood what he had done and even during that night, I had to get up and finish a couple of formulae in my spell book. It was as if what I had seen Ivellios doing were the last pieces of a puzzle. I felt stronger and my magic felt stronger; it was baptism of fire in many ways but it had been worth it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 5966024, member: 6692807"] Once we entered, I could see that there in addition to the pallets there were also arms racks with various weapons as well as several exits; finally, towards the far wall, there was another open vent which John was dealing with. Again, he managed to find the valve and close it. As previously, there had been a curtain of steam in that part of the cave but once the vent was closed, the steam dissipated and another door was revealed. John, kneeling next to it, said: “Longhelim, I want to take a look at this door. Keep a watch on the other corridors”. Interesting; he was giving orders without even thinking about it when he was engaged in his expertise. It was to everyone else’s credit that they just took position near the other exits in case the other hobgoblins appeared. Judging by the number of pallets, at least a pair was still unaccounted for. With a grunt, John pushed the door and it opened. He called everyone else: “Short corridor, small fortified doors. These look like jail cells. Longhelim, please keep watch while I go and see what I can find out.” With that, Longhelim moved to the door while John disappeared inside the corridor. Everyone else still kept watch on the other exits. A little time later, I could hear a brief conversation but obviously with someone new. The voice was strange, crackly, and almost reminded me of a tone I was hoping not to hear for a long time: the crackling of the flame from the Fire Forest of Innenotdar. I was intensely curious but I was also aware that we were in the middle of a potentially very dangerous environment so I waited until we were all called over from our watch. Once Longhelim summoned us, I turned and stared. The paladin was next to a humanoid figure; it was very difficult to make it out; because it was made of fire; or one could say that it was fire in the shape of a humanoid. With the exception that it was obviously something from the Elemental Plane of Fire, I did not have the slightest idea of what it was and I had some scholarship of the elemental planes; for the sake of convenience, I decided to think of it as a fire elemental of some sort. As I was staring, the being turned and spoke into the corridor, probably at John: “There is another prisoner in one of the jail cells; a human woman. She has been badly beaten,” it crackled, in Common, conveniently. I approached again and just looked at this flaming being, trying to understand where it had come from, what it was doing here, why it was here. A hundred other questions sped through my mind. Then, there was shout from the corridor beyond Longhelim and suddenly all the questions were swept from my head. John appeared from another cell, partly dragging, partly carrying another still form, wrapped in his cloak; there was no mistaking that short, white blond hair. It was Torrent! We had found her! I was so relieved! I had been feeling dreadfully guilty. I was aware that although our expedition was absolutely vital and saving lives on the surface, the longer we delayed the search for Torrent, the more likely it was that she was dead or being taken somewhere away from Seaquen. Instead, we had found her, here in the tunnels. My interest in the fire being was lost momentarily while we all crowded around Torrent. We could see that behind John’s cloak, she had been stripped of all her clothing, badly beaten and her face had not been spared. She was unconscious, knocked out. Felix immediately administered some healing and she began to stir. She opened her eyes, looked at us blearily and smiled through a blood encrusted mouth, muttering: “I knew you’d find me”. Then she sat up, groaned and looked around her, still groggy. At this point, our first guest spoke in his unsettling crackle: “I don’t know who you are but I hope you are from Seaquen. My name is Jibrand and I am from the Plane of Fire. I have been taken prisoner by the druid Toma and his lackey, the wizard Ivellios. Toma is a powerful elf who has been given strange powers by the Elder Elementals of the demi-plane of Vule. This demi-plane is beyond a portal that can be found in the steam room through that exit.” He pointed at one of the southern exits. “It is likely that Ivellios is also down there, in the steam room. Toma will be on Vule.” He looked at us and we returned his gaze. I cleared my throat and then said: “I am still a little puzzled. Toma the druid, Ivellios the wizard, the demi-plane of Vule, whatever that may be; the steam room. Very good, but what does this have to do with Seaquen, Torrent and finally us?” Jibrand looked at me again and I could have sworn as if the flames flickered a little quicker as if he was frustrated. Then they calmed down again. “Ah. I thought you had come down here for us. I see that I will have to begin at the beginning.” “Yes, a good place to start” a soft mutter from Victor. Jibrand continued: “Vule is that strangest of places. It is where the Elemental Plane of Water and the Elemental Plane of Fire meet. It is also a demi plane in its own right. As these two elements collide against each other, they produce a huge amount of heat and a great deal of it is manifested through steam. Long ago, someone or something built a machine which can trap this steam and guide it to the surface, thus creating the heating for the houses above. Toma and Ivellios have used your friend Torrent as an unwitting pawn to turn off this machine. It is normally inside a room that is defended by very powerful magic but only against evil beings. Those who are known to be good can enter this chamber unhindered and they used magical influence to command you friend Torrent to do their bidding and switch it off. It is imperative that the machine be switched back on and that Toma be stopped. He plans a war on the world using armies of elementals; he is already using his powers to cause the temperature above to freeze; soon, he and his armies will march and the destruction of your city will begin!” This was all quite dramatic and I had no doubt that Jibrand fully believed this but I had my doubts; not least because if it was as easy as this, why was this Toma the first person to lead an army of elementals into the prime material plane but I stopped thinking to continue to listen to the flaming humanoid. “Toma has been given a certain mastery of the elemental planes and he has been favoured by the great Elder Elementals; but at this stage, he can still be stopped. Although he is powerful, he is arrogant and contemptuous of anyone trying to oppose him. It has been a long time since he has faced a worthy foe. I can guide you through Vule to meet him. First, you need to go to the room with the machine which is through there. Beware Ivellios!” Again, he pointed dramatically down one of the exits at the far end of the cave. With the speech over, a few of my questions had been answered; I agreed with Jibrand about one thing: this Toma had to be stopped; that meant that we would have to go to Vule looking for him since, when we turned the machine on again, he would just come out of the demi plane and get someone to turn it off, as soon as we left; meaning we would have to return and…... That would get very irritating, very quickly. So, with a quick consultation amongst ourselves, we decided to head down the exit which led to the steam room as Jibrand called it. Before we did so, we managed to find some armour and wapons for Torrent; it was certainly nothing like her usual equipment but at least it was serviceable and she now had a weapon, namely one of the shorts words from the hobgoblins. She even managed to grab a shield from somewhere. There were several arms racks here. It was a short corridor which led to another opening which had several exits leading out of it. We did not have any chance to study it though as in the middle room, amongst several tables and stools stood the figure of an elf. He was surrounded by a strange greenish flame, almost as if he was on fire himself, obviously some sort of defensive spell. It was powerful magic. A contemptuous, nasal voice rang out: “You think you have reached this room because you are strong? Because you have rescued your little friend? You know nothing! You are nothing! You have witnessed but the least aspect of my power. You are the dust beneath my feet and now you will die by my spells of fire.” With that, he released an incredibly powerful spell of fire with devastating accuracy. It resembled a ball of flame and burst all around us with everyone being badly burned. Thankfully, I had my spell of fire protection but that was not enough to stop such a conflagration completely. It felt as if my blood boiled and when it lifted, I could see that everyone else was horribly charred and suffering from the same effects. Despite this unearthly magic, we reacted. Drudge immediately shot an arrow towards him but it bounced off his magical defences. Then Victor moved forward but could not quite reach him; John turned invisible and I managed to put my spell of speed up on everyone with the exception of John, whom I could not see. Then Ivellios cast another spell, the same as that cast at us by the tiefling wizard in the swamp, which resembled an enormous, sticky spider’s web; it caught everyone in it. However, not everything went to plan for Ivellios: first, with a great show of strength, Victor tore himself away from the spell, moved and struck the elf with his falchion; as he did so, there was a flash of cold blue light from the shielding surrounding him and some of this flame licked out at Victor, obviously causing some hurt; despite this, the blow did make Ivellios lose a little of his sneer. If Victor caught someone with that blade of his, they certainly noticed it. Then Jibrand moved next to me and using his flame, burnt part of the stuff away from my body; finally, Felix acted as if the spell was not even there. He moved normally through the sticky mess, managing to reach Victor and touching him, providing some much needed healing I assumed. The warrior had been badly hurt by the initial ball of flame. Ivellios grinned ferally and pointed a finger at the warrior. Two rays of flame shot out of his finger; one missed and burst harmlessly against the wall. The other hit Victor squarely in his chest. Despite this, Victor struck him again and Ivellios frowned and cast another spell. Another ball of fire enveloped most of the group and this time Felix fell over and burst into flame. Ivellios gaped at this in disbelief. It was obvious he had never seen this before. At this point, things became even more desperate. Appearing out of thin air – obviously negating an invisibility spell – another hobgoblin appeared, as he stuck two short swords into Victor’s neck; the warrior toppled over immediately, again bursting into flame. This new antagonist was wearing a fine set of leather, a cloak and numerous pouches and purses on his body. All the equipment looked very well kept and, by its colour, was obviously designed to allow him to move in darkness; it seemed to almost absorb light. Even his sword blades had been blackened and his face was covered in black paint. He also had a collection of potion bottles on his belt. I managed to cast a spell at him which also caught Ivellios. It was a shimmering cloud full of little silver particles which could blind; the elf ignored it but the hobgoblin was affected. Longhelim finally reached the hobgoblin and hit him; he had been unable to reach Ivellios. He, in the meantime, had cast a spell at me but several missiles of force suddenly veered and instead of hitting me, were absorbed by the magical brooch I had taken from the body of the Inquisitor we had defeated just outside the Fire Forest. I was unharmed! Unfortunately, I was also running out of spells. Longhelim moved towards Ivellios but the latter cast another spells, this one producing a curtain of flames which enveloped the warrior and caused him to collapse on the floor, yet another person bursting into flames. That left myself, John and Drudge as well as Torrent. The priestess, although newly recovered, moved to the wizard and engaged him, despite her ill fitting armour and unnatural pallor. It was time for me to move forward. I had no spells; I drew my staff and advanced to the hobgoblin. He had to be dealt with. The blindness only lasted for a short period of time. As I neared, I noticed that his sword blades were covered with some sort of paste. I swung at him but staff fighting was not among my strengths. Then Longhelim stirred and rose, striking the enemy with his sword. This time, the hobgoblin finally collapsed. Mentally, I thanked the invisible John and his divine abilities. Then both Longhelim and I advanced towards the elven wizard. Ivellios, now looking a little desperate, retreated and drew something out of a pouch on his belt. Suddenly, a huge whip appeared in thin air and began to draw back. We were within its reach it struck me; at this point everything went black. I groaned and stirred. Everything hurt, right down to the tips of my toes. I was barely conscious and looking around, I saw that no one else was much better off. Both Victor and Longhelim looked as if they had just walked through a curtain of fire and although Victor had been healed, the wounds around his neck were still visible. I was stunned that he was still alive! When I saw those short swords going into his neck, I couldn’t believe that anyone could survive wounds like that. Yet, here he was, groggy, half burnt, bloody but alive. As we did more healing, I was told that as the whip wrapped itself around me, John had healed Longhelim who managed to strike Ivellios. Apparently, the elf had no answer to that and collapsed to the ground, undone by the “dust beneath his feet”. Suddenly, as we were beginning to search the opening, two more hobgoblins charged us with bellows of rage but both Victor and Longhelim stepped forward and swiftly dealt with them. Good thing too as I had no spells whatsoever at my disposal. Once that brief unpleasantness was over, we looked around. We could see that there were several exits out of this open area; Jibrand pointed at one of them and said that that one led to the demi plane of Vule. Another led to an area that was blocked by a multitude of pipes, rusty with age and disuse. Nearby was a scattering of old tools but lying amongst them was a hammer that seemed to be unaffected by the wear of age. It shone out like a beacon among them. Another tunnel led for a brief distance and then the rock turned green; a little further on, the rhythmic crashing of waves could be heard so we turned back. We examined the steam machine room. Through a grate which was also the floor, a long way below, we could see a fiery wall of magma encroaching into the edge of water. Where the two met, steam erupted in great upward gouts. It was these that were meant to be captured by the machine and directed into the pipe system. Thankfully, Torrent was able to turn the machine back on. We also found a trap door which led upwards but after examination, we left it alone. Caution won over curiosity. We were in no shape to defend ourselves against anything at this time; so taking as much as we could, we retraced our steps out of the tunnels and in the darkness of the night, walked to the Lyceum. Jibrand said he would wait for us below. I was very happy as amongst the pieces we had found on the elven wizard’s body, was his book of magical formulae, which I hoped would prove to be a very fertile base from which I could develop my own magic. I wasn’t sure but as we walked back, I thought I could already detect a change in the temperature outside. At the Lyceum, we met with Simeon and reported our activities to him so far. He did not say anything but he looked amazed. Then he ordered two of his students to bring various healing salves and potions which enabled us to rest without being woken up by the pain. Even in our state, it was difficult not to notice the amount of people who suddenly had something to do in the Lyceum, despite it being very late at night. The corridors became very crowded with people who wanted to look at us. Some of them at least had some sort of pretence but many of them just crowded outside the door and gaped. I didn’t even want to think of the rumours that would be flying around the Lyceum by morning. As we rested, I had several brainstorms and revelations. I saw how Ivellios had cast various spells, understood what he had done and even during that night, I had to get up and finish a couple of formulae in my spell book. It was as if what I had seen Ivellios doing were the last pieces of a puzzle. I felt stronger and my magic felt stronger; it was baptism of fire in many ways but it had been worth it. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
Top