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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 6039118" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 22 - THE SOUNDGARDEN</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Akari, elven paladin of Hieroneous</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Delphyne Babelberi, human witch (wizard)</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Rale Bodkin, human rogue</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Slayer, half-orc barbarian</p><p></p><p>This is the second short adventure ("Side Trek," really) that I created to take advantage of the party being temporarily stranded on a cloud island. As such, it took place immediately after the events of "Cannibal in the Clouds," and together the two mini-adventures completed one short gaming session.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>Exiting the cloud cave of the cannibalistic silver dragon Aelon, the four adventurers saw an unexpected sight: a giant bee, flying straight toward them. They readied weapons, but the bee slowed to a stop and hovered directly in front of them. Then, amazingly, it spoke.</p><p></p><p>“<strong>Zuzzazozz</strong>,” it droned. “Zuzzazozz I be. You be?”</p><p></p><p>After introductions were made (and weapons lowered, if not stashed), Zuzzazozz continued. "Mizztrezz raizzed me, bade me tend the oazzizz. Then zznake-bird-women came. Now Mizztrezz no longer comezz. Alive izz alive, and dead izz dead. Not-dead izz not-dead. Mizztrezz is not-dead. You make Mizztrezz dead, yezz?”</p><p></p><p>After some further questions, it appeared that Zuzzazozz had been <em>awakened</em> by a cloud giantess who had created an oasis at the very top of the cloud island, and charged her giant bee companion to tend to the gardens contained therein. Then, the "snake-bird-women" - which Akari believed were probably lillends, for they at least fit the physical description - slew the giantess and apparently raised her as an undead creature. Zuzzazozz, believing undead to be abominations to the natural order of things (the bee had attained several druid levels over its lifetime), wanted the party to slay the animated remains of its former mistress.</p><p></p><p>That much understood, the group agreed to follow the giant bee to the top of the cloud-mountain, and it took them around back where there was a less steep slope more suitable for those unable to fly. As they approached the top, they began to hear what sounded like wind chimes coming from ahead, and the harmonious tones of a harp being played by a master of the craft.</p><p></p><p>"Great, I'm standing on a cloud and listening to harp music," muttered Rale. "I didn't die when I wasn't looking, did I?"</p><p></p><p>But sure enough, the sounds they had heard were exactly what they had appeared to be. As the group crested the top of the cloud, an enormous, open-air pavilion stood before them, its marble roof supported by pillars at least 20 feet high. A large number of wind chimes hung from the ceiling, adding their music to that of the harp being played by a white-haired giantess with pale blue skin seated on a marble bench at the rear of the pavilion. She seemed oblivious to the party's presence.</p><p></p><p>Not so oblivious were the two beings flanking her. Each had the upper torso of a beautiful human woman, with a serpentine lower body and brightly-plumed wings sprouting from her shoulders. “Greetings,” said the one on the left. I am <strong>Harmonia</strong>...”</p><p></p><p>“...And I am <strong>Melodia</strong>,” finished the one on the left. “Welcome to the Soundgarden. You can be of great service to us.”</p><p></p><p>With that, they focused their conversation back to themselves. “The mongrel orc is a walking arsenal,” said Harmonia casually. “His weapons would make a welcome addition to our chimes.”</p><p></p><p>“As would the armor of the paladin,” replied Melodia. “As for the human cow and the leather-clad bull skulking in the back, they look to have little beyond their own bones to contribute. But we will make do with what they provide....”</p><p></p><p>A quick confirmation of his ability to detect evil told Akari that both lillends and the cloud giantess were as evil as he had expected. He sprang forward, ready to strike with <em>Hoardmaster</em>. Slayer, likewise, gripped his greatsword and allowed the rage he felt to fuel his strikes. The lillends, for their part, spent their first moments of combat in summoning reinforcements: Harmonia summoned four air mephits to attack the newcomers, while Melodia commanded the giantess to attack. She rose up from the oversized marble bench and picked up an equally oversized morningstar. Amazingly, the harp played on without her. The winds from the mephits stirred the wind chimes of the Soundgarden into overdrive, the cacophanous clattering of what the group saw now to be composed of human bones, bits of armor, and various weapons, all hanging in a specific pattern from the ceiling of the pavilion, making it difficult to concentrate on casting spells.</p><p></p><p>Despite the audio assault, Delphyne's <em>magic missiles</em> made quick work of one of the mephits. Akari and Slayer ganged up on the cloud giantess and hit her repeatedly, but they didn't seem to do as much damage as it seemed they should have - in fact, despite staggering her back with the force of their combined blows, her skin seemed unblemished, uncut, and unbloodied. Rale took a moment of concentration and seemed to see through the cloud giantess to the bones beneath. "She's just a skeleton!" he yelled out to the others, before moving in to attack one of the lillends.</p><p></p><p>That explained why their swords weren't having that much of an effect, but it came too late to be of any use to Akari, who took a vicious swipe to the side of the head from the massive morningstar and crumpled to the ground in a heap, dead. Slayer dropped his greatsword and pulled a mace from the arsenal at his belt and had a much easier time taking down the skeleton. Then he moved on to the second lillend and gave her the full force of his barbaric fury. She staggered under his blows, while the other one was fending off both Rale's sword and Delphyne's spells. The three remaining mephits were little more than nuisances to the three adventurers, who ignored them in the face of the greater threat the lillends represented.</p><p></p><p>And eventually, the lillends fell to the combined might of weapon and spells. The mephits, no longer being commanded by their slain mistresses, fled the scene, and the clatter of the gruesome wind chimes slowed down now that they weren't being constantly swirled around by gusts of wind. Soon enough, all that could be heard was the magical harp, which had continued to play during the combat. And to that was soon mingled the sounds of a giant bee's wings, as Zuzzazozz approached. "Mizztrezz izz dead," he asserted. "Thizz izz good. Dead izz better than not-dead." (By this time, the group had come to understand that "not-dead" was the bee's term for "undead.")</p><p></p><p>Zuzzazozz offerred to restore Akari to life, an offer which was greatfully accepted by the group. In a strange and intricate ritual that involved spellcasting with both front legs and antennae, and which involved pouring bee nectar down the dead elf's throat, Akari was raised from the dead, the horrid wounds on his face closing up and leaving only a copious amount of drying blood on the side of his head as evidence that anything had ever happened to him. Despite their offers to help Zuzzazozz raise the cloud giantess if they could, the giant bee turned them down. She had been dead for too long, and all that was left of her body was her skeleton; there was little that Zuzzazozz could do, other than remember her as she had been, and let her harp continue to play the music she had enjoyed so much in life.</p><p></p><p>The party returned to Prism Keep, now knowing that there was nothing else on the cloud island to harm them. They slept soundly overnight in the Archmage's castle, and in the morning found him healthy and hale. He thanked them profusely for their assistance in clearing out the Keep of the monsters that had settled in during his helplessness, and in slaying his traitorous apprentice, Irinia. Along those lines, he offered an apprenticeship to Delphyne, should she ever find the desire to study with him in the Keep, an offer which the young witch politely declined for the present. He gave them a trunk full of riches, both magical and mundane, as tokens of his appreciation. Finally, observing their Guild rings, he asked to see one up close. Slayer passed his over to the elderly Archmage, and he he nodded sagely, apparently impressed with its workmanship. Then he passed a wand over it, mumbled a few arcane syllables, and gave it back. "An impressive teleport device," Alarius stated. "I've made a little upgrade: if you say my name while activating the ring, you will be teleported directly to the front door of Prism Keep instead of your normal location." Delphyne and Rale passed their rings over for similar augmentation, while Akari had to do without, having used his Guild ring to teleport a securely bound Kazmira back to Guild headquarters for a sizable reward.</p><p></p><p>Alarius steered Prism Keep off of the cloud island upon which it had foundered and back to the town where the party had left their horses and Old Clem. After they disembarked, they found that Old Clem had rung up quite a bar tab in their absence. They paid what he owed, gathered up their horses, and were soon on their way back to Greyhawk City.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 6039118, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 22 - THE SOUNDGARDEN[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Akari, elven paladin of Hieroneous Delphyne Babelberi, human witch (wizard) Rale Bodkin, human rogue Slayer, half-orc barbarian[/INDENT] This is the second short adventure ("Side Trek," really) that I created to take advantage of the party being temporarily stranded on a cloud island. As such, it took place immediately after the events of "Cannibal in the Clouds," and together the two mini-adventures completed one short gaming session. - - - Exiting the cloud cave of the cannibalistic silver dragon Aelon, the four adventurers saw an unexpected sight: a giant bee, flying straight toward them. They readied weapons, but the bee slowed to a stop and hovered directly in front of them. Then, amazingly, it spoke. “[b]Zuzzazozz[/b],” it droned. “Zuzzazozz I be. You be?” After introductions were made (and weapons lowered, if not stashed), Zuzzazozz continued. "Mizztrezz raizzed me, bade me tend the oazzizz. Then zznake-bird-women came. Now Mizztrezz no longer comezz. Alive izz alive, and dead izz dead. Not-dead izz not-dead. Mizztrezz is not-dead. You make Mizztrezz dead, yezz?” After some further questions, it appeared that Zuzzazozz had been [i]awakened[/i] by a cloud giantess who had created an oasis at the very top of the cloud island, and charged her giant bee companion to tend to the gardens contained therein. Then, the "snake-bird-women" - which Akari believed were probably lillends, for they at least fit the physical description - slew the giantess and apparently raised her as an undead creature. Zuzzazozz, believing undead to be abominations to the natural order of things (the bee had attained several druid levels over its lifetime), wanted the party to slay the animated remains of its former mistress. That much understood, the group agreed to follow the giant bee to the top of the cloud-mountain, and it took them around back where there was a less steep slope more suitable for those unable to fly. As they approached the top, they began to hear what sounded like wind chimes coming from ahead, and the harmonious tones of a harp being played by a master of the craft. "Great, I'm standing on a cloud and listening to harp music," muttered Rale. "I didn't die when I wasn't looking, did I?" But sure enough, the sounds they had heard were exactly what they had appeared to be. As the group crested the top of the cloud, an enormous, open-air pavilion stood before them, its marble roof supported by pillars at least 20 feet high. A large number of wind chimes hung from the ceiling, adding their music to that of the harp being played by a white-haired giantess with pale blue skin seated on a marble bench at the rear of the pavilion. She seemed oblivious to the party's presence. Not so oblivious were the two beings flanking her. Each had the upper torso of a beautiful human woman, with a serpentine lower body and brightly-plumed wings sprouting from her shoulders. “Greetings,” said the one on the left. I am [b]Harmonia[/b]...” “...And I am [b]Melodia[/b],” finished the one on the left. “Welcome to the Soundgarden. You can be of great service to us.” With that, they focused their conversation back to themselves. “The mongrel orc is a walking arsenal,” said Harmonia casually. “His weapons would make a welcome addition to our chimes.” “As would the armor of the paladin,” replied Melodia. “As for the human cow and the leather-clad bull skulking in the back, they look to have little beyond their own bones to contribute. But we will make do with what they provide....” A quick confirmation of his ability to detect evil told Akari that both lillends and the cloud giantess were as evil as he had expected. He sprang forward, ready to strike with [i]Hoardmaster[/i]. Slayer, likewise, gripped his greatsword and allowed the rage he felt to fuel his strikes. The lillends, for their part, spent their first moments of combat in summoning reinforcements: Harmonia summoned four air mephits to attack the newcomers, while Melodia commanded the giantess to attack. She rose up from the oversized marble bench and picked up an equally oversized morningstar. Amazingly, the harp played on without her. The winds from the mephits stirred the wind chimes of the Soundgarden into overdrive, the cacophanous clattering of what the group saw now to be composed of human bones, bits of armor, and various weapons, all hanging in a specific pattern from the ceiling of the pavilion, making it difficult to concentrate on casting spells. Despite the audio assault, Delphyne's [i]magic missiles[/i] made quick work of one of the mephits. Akari and Slayer ganged up on the cloud giantess and hit her repeatedly, but they didn't seem to do as much damage as it seemed they should have - in fact, despite staggering her back with the force of their combined blows, her skin seemed unblemished, uncut, and unbloodied. Rale took a moment of concentration and seemed to see through the cloud giantess to the bones beneath. "She's just a skeleton!" he yelled out to the others, before moving in to attack one of the lillends. That explained why their swords weren't having that much of an effect, but it came too late to be of any use to Akari, who took a vicious swipe to the side of the head from the massive morningstar and crumpled to the ground in a heap, dead. Slayer dropped his greatsword and pulled a mace from the arsenal at his belt and had a much easier time taking down the skeleton. Then he moved on to the second lillend and gave her the full force of his barbaric fury. She staggered under his blows, while the other one was fending off both Rale's sword and Delphyne's spells. The three remaining mephits were little more than nuisances to the three adventurers, who ignored them in the face of the greater threat the lillends represented. And eventually, the lillends fell to the combined might of weapon and spells. The mephits, no longer being commanded by their slain mistresses, fled the scene, and the clatter of the gruesome wind chimes slowed down now that they weren't being constantly swirled around by gusts of wind. Soon enough, all that could be heard was the magical harp, which had continued to play during the combat. And to that was soon mingled the sounds of a giant bee's wings, as Zuzzazozz approached. "Mizztrezz izz dead," he asserted. "Thizz izz good. Dead izz better than not-dead." (By this time, the group had come to understand that "not-dead" was the bee's term for "undead.") Zuzzazozz offerred to restore Akari to life, an offer which was greatfully accepted by the group. In a strange and intricate ritual that involved spellcasting with both front legs and antennae, and which involved pouring bee nectar down the dead elf's throat, Akari was raised from the dead, the horrid wounds on his face closing up and leaving only a copious amount of drying blood on the side of his head as evidence that anything had ever happened to him. Despite their offers to help Zuzzazozz raise the cloud giantess if they could, the giant bee turned them down. She had been dead for too long, and all that was left of her body was her skeleton; there was little that Zuzzazozz could do, other than remember her as she had been, and let her harp continue to play the music she had enjoyed so much in life. The party returned to Prism Keep, now knowing that there was nothing else on the cloud island to harm them. They slept soundly overnight in the Archmage's castle, and in the morning found him healthy and hale. He thanked them profusely for their assistance in clearing out the Keep of the monsters that had settled in during his helplessness, and in slaying his traitorous apprentice, Irinia. Along those lines, he offered an apprenticeship to Delphyne, should she ever find the desire to study with him in the Keep, an offer which the young witch politely declined for the present. He gave them a trunk full of riches, both magical and mundane, as tokens of his appreciation. Finally, observing their Guild rings, he asked to see one up close. Slayer passed his over to the elderly Archmage, and he he nodded sagely, apparently impressed with its workmanship. Then he passed a wand over it, mumbled a few arcane syllables, and gave it back. "An impressive teleport device," Alarius stated. "I've made a little upgrade: if you say my name while activating the ring, you will be teleported directly to the front door of Prism Keep instead of your normal location." Delphyne and Rale passed their rings over for similar augmentation, while Akari had to do without, having used his Guild ring to teleport a securely bound Kazmira back to Guild headquarters for a sizable reward. Alarius steered Prism Keep off of the cloud island upon which it had foundered and back to the town where the party had left their horses and Old Clem. After they disembarked, they found that Old Clem had rung up quite a bar tab in their absence. They paid what he owed, gathered up their horses, and were soon on their way back to Greyhawk City. [/QUOTE]
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