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
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
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: 6590812" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>Our progress through the ruined house and into the room with the shaft leading down contained no more guardians or surprises and a few moments later, we were staring the shaft; it still had that eerie red glow; suddenly, a thought struck me: </p><p> </p><p>“Umm, John, if I was a powerful spell caster, and I had a shaft going down into my demesne, what would I do?” </p><p> </p><p>The rogue was staring at the shaft in a calculated manner: </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Faden, there is almost certain something unpleasant down that shaft; I’ll be going down there and investigating as soon as I get a few things ready.” </p><p> </p><p>With that, John cast a few more spells on himself, most importantly, one that allowed him to fly with another one that made him unseen; after a little more preparation, he went down the shaft. </p><p> </p><p>A little while later, Longhelim started and then spoke: </p><p> </p><p>“Victor, can you go and get him? It seems John met something he wasn’t expecting and he is pretty helpless down the shaft; oh, and be careful. Whatever it was he set off down there, it drained his strength. That’s why he’s pretty helpless.” </p><p> </p><p>Drudge spoke up at this point: </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t forget to tie a rope around you just in case the same happens to you.” </p><p> </p><p>Victor did as instructed and then went flew down the shaft; he still had the spell from John’s casting in a little while earlier. Moments later, the warrior emerged from the shaft carrying a limp but swearing John. Felix found our ever so important wand and tapped the rogue with it. John sat up and spat: </p><p> </p><p>“There’s some strange rune down there! Almost as soon as I went down the shaft the blasted thing lit up and suddenly I was helpless!” </p><p> </p><p>Curious, I asked: </p><p> </p><p>“Can you describe it?” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes! I won’t forget that thing in a hurry!” was the reply and then John proceeded to do so. </p><p> </p><p>I had my suspicions as to what it was and as soon as he finished I spoke to the others: </p><p> </p><p>“That’s symbol magic! Strong and almost certainly still active down that shaft. Whoever put that there is a powerful mage.” </p><p> </p><p>John snorted and then spat again: </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, yeah; look just put a rope around my waist and lower me down again; I’ll get rid of that scribble and see what’s what down there.” </p><p> </p><p>So, this time we did as instructed and lowered him down. It did slightly negate the point of the invisibility spell but it could not be helped. Some moments later, there was a lot of swearing from the shaft. Obviously, “getting rid of that scribble” was not quite as straightforward as John made out. Then I heard a triumphant shout and the rope slid through our hands as John progressed further down the shaft. </p><p> </p><p>After about sixty feet, it stopped and we knew he must have landed at the bottom of the cave. Longhelim looked attentive again and I presumed that he and John were talking mind to mind; then suddenly, I heard John’s voice in my head this time: </p><p> </p><p>“Quick Faden, why are we down here again?” </p><p> </p><p>“We’re here to see if Longinus is aiding his brother or if he’s come here to defend the city!” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, well he’s down here and wants to know what we’re doing here. I told him that so far as I knew I think we wanted to talk to him; but you’d better all get down here. Longhelim, you’re much better at talking to people like this; personally, I’d prefer to kill him and his friends; oh, yes, just to let you know that he’s got about a dozen more monks with him; some are dressed differently than others.” </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim interrupted at this point: </p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t tell him you would prefer to kill them, did you?” </p><p> </p><p>John sounded shifty in his reply: </p><p> </p><p>“Well, I may not have been as restrained as I usually am…….. after all, I nearly got killed by that damned ghost!” </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim had obviously heard enough: </p><p> </p><p>“We need to get down there now!” </p><p> </p><p>Felix quickly cast a spell on the paladin that allowed him to walk on air; Victor was still able to fly from the priest's earlier spell and he carried me while Longhelim carried Felix and Drudge just walked down the shaft using his magical slippers. </p><p> </p><p>Now that the trap was gone, getting down the shaft did not take a long time and we arrived in the large cave as before; that peculiar magic was still there; the one that help the water above us as if the whole lower complex was in a bubble of air. There was still a fissure filled with lava running through the cave and over which a stone bridge had been built. At the far left of the wall was a strange warding ring etched in silver, keeping something out. It was difficult to make out the details but I hoped that I would be able to work out a few more clues as to just what that was this time. </p><p> </p><p>The area was also full of monks; John had counted correctly, there were about a dozen of them; all of them were on those peculiar poses affected when they were getting ready for combat; beyond the bridge and at the far end was a figure dressed in white, a mask decorated with feathers hiding his face. </p><p> </p><p>It spoke softly: </p><p> </p><p>“So, why are you here?” </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim stood on the ground and shouted out: </p><p> </p><p>“We have come to investigate the reports of a group of monks under the Sunken Prison. We have had a disturbing report that one of the Masters of the Monastery of the Two Winds, Pilus, is flying here with evil intent against Seaquen. We recognized your description, Master Longinus and ask just why is Pilus coming here?” </p><p> </p><p>The figure stood silently for a few moments and then replied: </p><p> </p><p>“Indeed, Pilus is coming; but he comes to offer his help to allies in Seaquen.” </p><p> </p><p>This was a tricky moment; if that was what Pilus had told his brother, then it was going to be difficult to prove that he had lied to him. </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim spoke again: </p><p> </p><p>“We have two credible sources who have stated that Pilus comes to attack the Lyceum. One of these are Lyceum diviners themselves; the other we cannot reveal as it is too sensitive. </p><p> </p><p>We have also been told that your brother has made common cause with Leska herself. Finally, these same sources inform us that an Ostaliner army has embarked on the air ship, ready to assault Seaquen. </p><p>Tell me, Longinus, why are you here?” </p><p> </p><p>The figure was silent but I thought I could detect several starts as if some of those pieces of information had been hidden from him. </p><p> </p><p>This moment stretched for quite some time and then Longhelim continued: </p><p> </p><p>“Well, if what you say is true, then please come with us and meet the Lyceum elders; we need to reassure them that Pilus’s ship is coming to help; no doubt, they will also be able to show you the ship on their magical scrying devices and you will be able to see the Ostaliner army. I am sure your brother has also explained its presence to you. I would dearly like to hear that explanation myself.” </p><p> </p><p>The figure stood still for quite some time but then made to go forward; as soon as he made one step, one of the monks beside him turned and spat: </p><p> </p><p>“Pilus, my master, thought you lacked the courage to undertake the last task! You’re spineless, Longinus! Stand aside and let us deal with these meddlers! We will not allow them to imperil the goal that he has tirelessly sought for such a long time.” </p><p> </p><p>With that, the four monks at the back changed; their skin became gray, their faces lost their features with the exception of large bulbous eyes and they arms elongated as did their fingers. </p><p> </p><p>John shouted: </p><p> </p><p>“They’re doppelgangers!” </p><p> </p><p>It made sense; doppelgangers were peculiar creatures who could imitate any person or humanoid they met. They were mysterious, rare and worked to an agenda only known to themselves. The first thing this quartet did was to produce a flask and drink it; immediately, they became unseen; well, unseen to everyone but me as I had a spell which could discern this magic so I was able to see that immediately afterwards, they drank yet another flask; this one seemed to affect their stability on this plane, making it difficult to distinguish their true form. This was a magic familiar to me; it was defensive and I suspect that our warriors were also fully familiar with it. </p><p> </p><p>The other monks were also acting; they had drawn scrolls and aimed more of the spell which dissolved our boosting and defensive spells. It was a bit of a nuisance. </p><p> </p><p>Longinus cast a spell and sank into the stone floor. </p><p> </p><p>I had had enough and cast a powerful spell which sucked the very marrow from their bones; despite the famed monk discipline and resistance, I could see that my spell had affected; this caused them to draw more of the same scrolls and to cast them on us. They were surprising successful but this also allowed Victor to move forward onto the edge of the bridge and slice a couple of them. They had already been badly weakened by my spell so he was able to fell one of them; the others drew yet more of those scrolls and yet more of our helpful spells were dissolved but by this stage, the other four monks or doppelgangers were moving across the bridge and coming to the attack. </p><p> </p><p>This tactic was spoilt slightly by the impact of a devastating volley of arrows from Drudge who impaled one of the doppelgangers. Another of the monks tried a tactic of trying to push Victor into the lava fissure but with little success; it was going to take something quite extraordinary to barge the fully armoured warrior. </p><p> </p><p>The other three doppelgangers had engaged Longhelim at this point and one of them had even stabbed me before I moved back. Seeing yet more scrolls appear among the other monks, I cast another spell which caused a forest of tentacles to erupt from the ground and wrap themselves around the enemy. I managed to avoid Longhelim and Victor’s nearest opponents were also caught. </p><p> </p><p>The monks struggled mightily but they were held fast. One of the monks was not inside the area but and he flew up and threw something at me; I felt a pain in my arm and saw one of these fighting stars stuck in it. In contrast, I then saw Drudge fire another of his volleys into another of the doppelgangers and it keeled over. </p><p> </p><p>I pulled out the star and then concentrated on my tentacles; the monks were struggling mightily and one of them even managed to wriggle free and fly straight up but he could do little else. In the meantime, Longhelim was dealing with the last free doppelganger and Victor was assaulting the monks from the rear. </p><p> </p><p>In the end, the last two managed to escape from my tentacles but we had dealt with all the others at that point and Longhelim just walked into the air and finished the last one. </p><p> </p><p>I stopped the spell with the black tentacles and we waited for Longinus to appear again. </p><p> </p><p>As previously, something else was tickling the back of my brain, something I was trying to remember but again, my thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Longinus as he rose from the stone ground. </p><p> </p><p>He swayed and whispered: </p><p> </p><p>“…..so tired.” </p><p> </p><p>Then he straightened and spoke to us: </p><p> </p><p>“That was…..troubling. My brother has been acting strange recently. When he relayed his plans to me, he spoke of flying here to protect the Seaquen refugees. I still believe that; I must. However, there are other events I have seen which concern me. </p><p> </p><p>For those reasons, I will grant that he may have ulterior motives for flying here.” </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim looked at him. In the meantime, I went over to examine the strange sigil on the far wall. I thought I had a little better understanding of all things elemental, especially when it came to fire and I wanted to see if I could find out just what it was. </p><p> </p><p>However, I still kept half an ear on the conversation behind me: </p><p> </p><p>I could hear Longhelim: </p><p> </p><p>“……so, why are you here? You were seen and the Lyceum elders are concerned.” </p><p> </p><p>Longinus’s voice had become even more raspy, as if this conversation tired him; I suspected that it was more that he was afraid to tell us what he suspected. </p><p> </p><p>“Pilus sent me here to guard this Portal.” </p><p> </p><p>He indicated the very circle I was examining. So that’s what it was! A portal! </p><p> </p><p>Without turning around, I asked: </p><p> </p><p>“A portal to where?” </p><p> </p><p>“The elemental plane of fire,” was the answer. “That’s the source of this flow of lava. The rest of the magic on the portal is being used as a guide its flow and as a defence from the heat; without it, this house would have melted a long time ago.” </p><p> </p><p>That explanation suddenly struck a chord with what I was trying to remember! Suddenly it all made sense and I realised that we had some unfinished business here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6590812, member: 6692807"] Our progress through the ruined house and into the room with the shaft leading down contained no more guardians or surprises and a few moments later, we were staring the shaft; it still had that eerie red glow; suddenly, a thought struck me: “Umm, John, if I was a powerful spell caster, and I had a shaft going down into my demesne, what would I do?” The rogue was staring at the shaft in a calculated manner: “Yes, Faden, there is almost certain something unpleasant down that shaft; I’ll be going down there and investigating as soon as I get a few things ready.” With that, John cast a few more spells on himself, most importantly, one that allowed him to fly with another one that made him unseen; after a little more preparation, he went down the shaft. A little while later, Longhelim started and then spoke: “Victor, can you go and get him? It seems John met something he wasn’t expecting and he is pretty helpless down the shaft; oh, and be careful. Whatever it was he set off down there, it drained his strength. That’s why he’s pretty helpless.” Drudge spoke up at this point: “Don’t forget to tie a rope around you just in case the same happens to you.” Victor did as instructed and then went flew down the shaft; he still had the spell from John’s casting in a little while earlier. Moments later, the warrior emerged from the shaft carrying a limp but swearing John. Felix found our ever so important wand and tapped the rogue with it. John sat up and spat: “There’s some strange rune down there! Almost as soon as I went down the shaft the blasted thing lit up and suddenly I was helpless!” Curious, I asked: “Can you describe it?” “Oh yes! I won’t forget that thing in a hurry!” was the reply and then John proceeded to do so. I had my suspicions as to what it was and as soon as he finished I spoke to the others: “That’s symbol magic! Strong and almost certainly still active down that shaft. Whoever put that there is a powerful mage.” John snorted and then spat again: “Yeah, yeah; look just put a rope around my waist and lower me down again; I’ll get rid of that scribble and see what’s what down there.” So, this time we did as instructed and lowered him down. It did slightly negate the point of the invisibility spell but it could not be helped. Some moments later, there was a lot of swearing from the shaft. Obviously, “getting rid of that scribble” was not quite as straightforward as John made out. Then I heard a triumphant shout and the rope slid through our hands as John progressed further down the shaft. After about sixty feet, it stopped and we knew he must have landed at the bottom of the cave. Longhelim looked attentive again and I presumed that he and John were talking mind to mind; then suddenly, I heard John’s voice in my head this time: “Quick Faden, why are we down here again?” “We’re here to see if Longinus is aiding his brother or if he’s come here to defend the city!” “Oh, well he’s down here and wants to know what we’re doing here. I told him that so far as I knew I think we wanted to talk to him; but you’d better all get down here. Longhelim, you’re much better at talking to people like this; personally, I’d prefer to kill him and his friends; oh, yes, just to let you know that he’s got about a dozen more monks with him; some are dressed differently than others.” Longhelim interrupted at this point: “You didn’t tell him you would prefer to kill them, did you?” John sounded shifty in his reply: “Well, I may not have been as restrained as I usually am…….. after all, I nearly got killed by that damned ghost!” Longhelim had obviously heard enough: “We need to get down there now!” Felix quickly cast a spell on the paladin that allowed him to walk on air; Victor was still able to fly from the priest's earlier spell and he carried me while Longhelim carried Felix and Drudge just walked down the shaft using his magical slippers. Now that the trap was gone, getting down the shaft did not take a long time and we arrived in the large cave as before; that peculiar magic was still there; the one that help the water above us as if the whole lower complex was in a bubble of air. There was still a fissure filled with lava running through the cave and over which a stone bridge had been built. At the far left of the wall was a strange warding ring etched in silver, keeping something out. It was difficult to make out the details but I hoped that I would be able to work out a few more clues as to just what that was this time. The area was also full of monks; John had counted correctly, there were about a dozen of them; all of them were on those peculiar poses affected when they were getting ready for combat; beyond the bridge and at the far end was a figure dressed in white, a mask decorated with feathers hiding his face. It spoke softly: “So, why are you here?” Longhelim stood on the ground and shouted out: “We have come to investigate the reports of a group of monks under the Sunken Prison. We have had a disturbing report that one of the Masters of the Monastery of the Two Winds, Pilus, is flying here with evil intent against Seaquen. We recognized your description, Master Longinus and ask just why is Pilus coming here?” The figure stood silently for a few moments and then replied: “Indeed, Pilus is coming; but he comes to offer his help to allies in Seaquen.” This was a tricky moment; if that was what Pilus had told his brother, then it was going to be difficult to prove that he had lied to him. Longhelim spoke again: “We have two credible sources who have stated that Pilus comes to attack the Lyceum. One of these are Lyceum diviners themselves; the other we cannot reveal as it is too sensitive. We have also been told that your brother has made common cause with Leska herself. Finally, these same sources inform us that an Ostaliner army has embarked on the air ship, ready to assault Seaquen. Tell me, Longinus, why are you here?” The figure was silent but I thought I could detect several starts as if some of those pieces of information had been hidden from him. This moment stretched for quite some time and then Longhelim continued: “Well, if what you say is true, then please come with us and meet the Lyceum elders; we need to reassure them that Pilus’s ship is coming to help; no doubt, they will also be able to show you the ship on their magical scrying devices and you will be able to see the Ostaliner army. I am sure your brother has also explained its presence to you. I would dearly like to hear that explanation myself.” The figure stood still for quite some time but then made to go forward; as soon as he made one step, one of the monks beside him turned and spat: “Pilus, my master, thought you lacked the courage to undertake the last task! You’re spineless, Longinus! Stand aside and let us deal with these meddlers! We will not allow them to imperil the goal that he has tirelessly sought for such a long time.” With that, the four monks at the back changed; their skin became gray, their faces lost their features with the exception of large bulbous eyes and they arms elongated as did their fingers. John shouted: “They’re doppelgangers!” It made sense; doppelgangers were peculiar creatures who could imitate any person or humanoid they met. They were mysterious, rare and worked to an agenda only known to themselves. The first thing this quartet did was to produce a flask and drink it; immediately, they became unseen; well, unseen to everyone but me as I had a spell which could discern this magic so I was able to see that immediately afterwards, they drank yet another flask; this one seemed to affect their stability on this plane, making it difficult to distinguish their true form. This was a magic familiar to me; it was defensive and I suspect that our warriors were also fully familiar with it. The other monks were also acting; they had drawn scrolls and aimed more of the spell which dissolved our boosting and defensive spells. It was a bit of a nuisance. Longinus cast a spell and sank into the stone floor. I had had enough and cast a powerful spell which sucked the very marrow from their bones; despite the famed monk discipline and resistance, I could see that my spell had affected; this caused them to draw more of the same scrolls and to cast them on us. They were surprising successful but this also allowed Victor to move forward onto the edge of the bridge and slice a couple of them. They had already been badly weakened by my spell so he was able to fell one of them; the others drew yet more of those scrolls and yet more of our helpful spells were dissolved but by this stage, the other four monks or doppelgangers were moving across the bridge and coming to the attack. This tactic was spoilt slightly by the impact of a devastating volley of arrows from Drudge who impaled one of the doppelgangers. Another of the monks tried a tactic of trying to push Victor into the lava fissure but with little success; it was going to take something quite extraordinary to barge the fully armoured warrior. The other three doppelgangers had engaged Longhelim at this point and one of them had even stabbed me before I moved back. Seeing yet more scrolls appear among the other monks, I cast another spell which caused a forest of tentacles to erupt from the ground and wrap themselves around the enemy. I managed to avoid Longhelim and Victor’s nearest opponents were also caught. The monks struggled mightily but they were held fast. One of the monks was not inside the area but and he flew up and threw something at me; I felt a pain in my arm and saw one of these fighting stars stuck in it. In contrast, I then saw Drudge fire another of his volleys into another of the doppelgangers and it keeled over. I pulled out the star and then concentrated on my tentacles; the monks were struggling mightily and one of them even managed to wriggle free and fly straight up but he could do little else. In the meantime, Longhelim was dealing with the last free doppelganger and Victor was assaulting the monks from the rear. In the end, the last two managed to escape from my tentacles but we had dealt with all the others at that point and Longhelim just walked into the air and finished the last one. I stopped the spell with the black tentacles and we waited for Longinus to appear again. As previously, something else was tickling the back of my brain, something I was trying to remember but again, my thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Longinus as he rose from the stone ground. He swayed and whispered: “…..so tired.” Then he straightened and spoke to us: “That was…..troubling. My brother has been acting strange recently. When he relayed his plans to me, he spoke of flying here to protect the Seaquen refugees. I still believe that; I must. However, there are other events I have seen which concern me. For those reasons, I will grant that he may have ulterior motives for flying here.” Longhelim looked at him. In the meantime, I went over to examine the strange sigil on the far wall. I thought I had a little better understanding of all things elemental, especially when it came to fire and I wanted to see if I could find out just what it was. However, I still kept half an ear on the conversation behind me: I could hear Longhelim: “……so, why are you here? You were seen and the Lyceum elders are concerned.” Longinus’s voice had become even more raspy, as if this conversation tired him; I suspected that it was more that he was afraid to tell us what he suspected. “Pilus sent me here to guard this Portal.” He indicated the very circle I was examining. So that’s what it was! A portal! Without turning around, I asked: “A portal to where?” “The elemental plane of fire,” was the answer. “That’s the source of this flow of lava. The rest of the magic on the portal is being used as a guide its flow and as a defence from the heat; without it, this house would have melted a long time ago.” That explanation suddenly struck a chord with what I was trying to remember! Suddenly it all made sense and I realised that we had some unfinished business here. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
Top