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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 6045883" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 27 - BALAMA'S TREASURE HUNT</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Akari, elven paladin of Hieroneous</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Cal Trop, human cleric of Kord</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Feron Dru, half-elf druid</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Slayer, half-orc barbarian</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Balama Theron, human rogue/wizard</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Hurm Feros, half-orc fighter</p><p></p><p>To say that it was mass confusion was an understatement. It was dark, it was wet, it was difficult to balance on the slippery deck, and there was a giant, snakelike head popping over the side of the vessel and devouring crewmen.</p><p></p><p>It took a few moments for Cal, Feron, and Slayer to get their bearings. One moment they had been battling Kazmira and Gareth in a long-awaited showdown, and the next they were here, on a boat, in the dark, with the screams of crewmen and the roars of an aquatic dinosaur only adding to the confusion. It was stormy, and the boat rocked back and forth with the crashing of the waves against its hull. Akari was no less disoriented; he had been on backup duty at the Guild Headquarters, fully armored in case he was needed to swap out with their new member, Mercutio, and then suddenly he was here on the boat among at least three of his compatriots.</p><p></p><p>"Lizards at the port side!" called out a familiar voice amid the chaos. Port was left - they were pretty sure of that, but which way was the front of the boat? - never mind, there were lizardmen climbing over one side of the boat; that must be the port side. The group met the lizardmen's assault while all sorts of questions raced through their minds: where were they? Why were they here? How did they get here? Never mind for now - such things were just distractions, and they could get you killed. Deal with the questions later, deal with the lizardmen now.</p><p></p><p>Cal and Feron had used up their most powerful spells during their battle with Kazmira and Gareth in her hidden safehouse, which to them had been just a moment ago, but the scaled menaces climbing over the ship's side fell just as easily to mace and scimitar. Akari at least had the advantage of having his <em>Hoardmaster</em> sword in hand upon his arrival; Slayer was cursing the lack of his beloved greatsword, which he had upgraded several times with magical properties since first acquiring it over a year ago, and as far as he knew was still stuck in the side of the mimic he'd been fighting before suddenly showing up here. He made do with a backup longsword from the many weapons strapped to his back.</p><p></p><p>A lizardman came charging across the deck at Slayer, and he prepared to cut it in half with his sword when it was suddenly leapt on from the side and thrown to the pitching deck. Whatever had brought Slayer and his companions to this ship, it had apparently brought Fang along as well, and the dire wolf ripped through the lizardman's thick scales and chewed its entrails until it stopped moving.</p><p></p><p>As the group of confused adventurers fought and slew the horde of lizardmen climbing onto the vessel's decks and kept an eye out for the elasmosaurus which kept sticking his head over the side of the boat and snatching up crewmen, they saw a glowing lizardman hovering over the front of the vessel. He held some sort of dual-pronged staff and had an oddly-shaped, red gemstone hanging on his chest. The creature seemed to be commanding his troops but doing so completely soundlessly.</p><p></p><p>Cal threw a <em>dispel magic</em> at the apparition, and it winked out of existence. The lizardmen continued fighting, but the next time the elasmosaurus popped its head over the deck, it selected one of the scaly invaders as its next morsel. Eventually, though, the waves of fresh lizardmen stopped coming, and those that had made it onto the vessel were dealt with. Not a one of them surrendered, though, nor did they opt to make a break for the easy escape of the pounding sea from which they came. The elasmosaurus had apparently had its fill for now, for it did not return.</p><p></p><p>Feron almost slipped on something that came sliding along the tilted deck; it was a crumpled and decaying body with feathers sticking out in all directions. Yet another mystery about this whole affair to try to resolve later.</p><p></p><p>But for now, it looked like combat was over. Other than the adventuring group that had suddenly arrived on deck and a slew of scattered corpses, there were only two heavily-wounded crewmen and the ship's captain still on board the vessel. And the captain was the one who had called out to warn of the lizardmen's surge onto deck from the port side in a voice that had seemed familiar. It was Balama Theron of the <em>Starchaser</em>, who had worked with the group in getting to the Rana Mor ruins a continent away from Greyhawk City.</p><p></p><p>“Many thanks, friends, for saving me and what’s left of my crew," Balama said. "I apologize for your sudden appearance, but I had no choice in the matter.” She reached into her blouse and pulled out an amulet, looking similar to the dreamcatchers often seen for sale in the marketplace. “When you were with me on the <em>Starchaser</em> in search of the Rana Mor gem, I took the liberty of removing a few strands of hair from each of you while you slept, plus some fur from your wolf and a feather or two from your eagle, and having them woven into this summoning amulet by a witchwoman I know among the Pinutu tribe. It’s a one-shot deal, so all I can say is that it won’t happen again.” With that, she broke the cord tying it around her neck and flicked the amulet overboard.</p><p></p><p>Feron looked down at the remains of Nocturna, her proud eagle companion who had died fighting to protect her, and who Feron had buried after his death so his body's nutrients could be returned to the earth from which it came. Now, his sad, unburied corpse was sliding around the deck as the ship pitched in the storm. The half-elf's face screwed into a snarl and she struck out suddenly with her fist, punching the sea captain in her face and knocking her to the slippery deck.</p><p></p><p>Balama struggled to her feet. “I know you’re all upset with me, and I’m sorry that I didn’t ask for permission ahead of time. I just figured that there was a possibility that I could use a group of powerful adventurers at a moment’s notice, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t use it unless I absolutely had to. But I’d already lost over half of my crew from those damned lizardmen when that dinosaur thing showed up and added to the mix. If I hadn’t summoned you here, I don’t think any of us – me and my crew, I mean – would be alive now. So again, I’m sorry." Feron looked away but said nothing, then turned to apply what healing she could to the two remaining crewmen. Cal applied healing spells to those who needed them, and the group did what they could to aid in the running of the vessel; fortunately, the worst of the storm seemed to have receded with the departure of the reptilian adversaries.</p><p></p><p>“Now then, I imagine you’re probably wondering where we are," said Balama when the ship was safely anchored in a sheltered bay. "Come with me to the map room, and I’ll show you.” She shouted some orders to her two remaining crewmen, then led the way inside. Balama showed the group an ancient map showing an island chain, and explained that there were rumors of an ancient civilization’s ruins on the larger of the islands. Her investigations uncovered rumors of a huge ruby, the size of a man’s fist or bigger, said to have magical healing powers. The islands didn’t show up on any current nautical maps, but she’d figured out their probable location and the ship was just about there – the lizardfolk attacked just as the island was coming into view off the port bow.</p><p></p><p>Balama admitted up front she didn’t have any way to return the group back to Greyhawk City, short of taking the <em>Starchaser</em> back to Thunder Bay and allowing them to use the <em>teleport circle</em> under the local Adventurers Guild headquarters there, but she also stated she was not about to turn back now that she was so close to her destination. She said she was willing to take the group on as augmentee crewmembers and split any treasure they found at the ruins with them equally. There was little real choice about the matter; like it or not, the group was pretty much stuck with her and her mission to go treasure hunting through the long-dead ruins.</p><p></p><p>Feron gathered up Nocturna's remains, said a little prayer over them, and dropped them over the side of the vessel. At least his body was being returned to the natural world, and not left to rot on deck.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, with a full complement of spells and fully healed up, the group's outlook was slightly better. Balama left Hurm Feros, her first mate, in charge of the <em>Starchaser</em> and went ashore with the group. They couldn't help recalling that the lizardman apparition that had apparently commanded the lizardmen in the attack had been wearing a large ruby, and speculated as to whether than might be the huge ruby of the legends. None of them noticed the water naga observing them from the waters of the bay, and then following at a discrete distance.</p><p></p><p>The first encounter they met up on the island was a pair of triple-horned dinosaurs, the male testy and snorting a challenge to the newcomers. But the group avoided them by skirting far around them, and pressed on.</p><p></p><p>After several hours, the group came to the outskirt of the ruins. Most of the stone buildings had been destroyed by the ravages of time, but a multilayered step pyramid still rose up from the ruins, in reasonably good condition given its apparent age. The group headed that way.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately for them, the water naga that had been trailing them was in league with the lizardman tribe that laired in the stone pyramid, and had sent <em>message</em> spells ahead to warn the tribe of the group's approach and their apparent strengths and weaknesses. Thus, there were four lizardmen, plus a trained crocodile and monitor lizard, hidden behind the crumbling walls near the tribe's still-functioning well, ready to spring out in ambush when the word was given. Also hidden behind the well was a black-scaled lizardman half again as high as his companions. Less concerned about hiding his presence was the <strong>Lizard King</strong>, who stood proudly at the pyramid's upper level. This was the same figure that had hovered silently over the <em>Starchaser</em>, with the ruby at his chest and the twin-pronged staff in his hands. One level below him were four smaller lizardmen, each holding what looked to be a long wooden flute. Chained at the base of the pyramid, one on either side of the stairs that reached all the way to the top, were two pitiable human figures, their legs cut off above the knees and their arms severed at the elbow. They mewled in warning with mouths that no longer contained tongues.</p><p></p><p>However, two newer captives, who hung in a cage from a tall tree overlooking a deep pit, were still able to call out warnings in their native tongue. It was not the same tongue that the Banda people had spoken among the Rana Mor ruins, but it was close enough in structure that Balama thought the gist of their warning was to beware the "terrible lizards" inhabiting the pyramid.</p><p></p><p>The battle began with a summoned fiendish deinonychus in the midst of the adventurers. While Slayer and Akari dealt with this threat, Cal and Feron threw some long-range spells at the Lizard King. The hidden lizardmen and their reptilian allies leapt out from their cover and battle on the ground was suddenly fast and furious.</p><p></p><p>While battle raged on the ground, it became apparent that the "flutes" held by the smaller lizardmen were actually blowguns, firing poisoned darts. Cal decided to fight fire with fire and summoned a fire elemental at the top of the pyramid to deal with the enemies up there, to give them something to deal with besides the adventurers. The Lizard King countered with a summoned howler, and the two surrogate beasts had at it, effectively taking each other out of the battle.</p><p></p><p>Balama was holding her own with her cutlass alongside Slayer, Akari, and Fang, while Feron and Cal spread out to the sides and raced over toward the pyramid. The four lizardmen had apparently been given orders to try to take the interlopers alive if possible, but the adventurers were working under no such constraints, and they - and their crocodile and monitor lizard pets - were soon slain. The larger, black-scaled lizardman, <strong>Ssarpok</strong>, was a much bigger threat, and despite the creature's reptilian features Slayer recognized a fellow combatant channeling the inherent power of his internal rage. He wielded a powerful wooden greatclub with teeth and horns wedged into place, which dealt horrific damage upon a successful hit. Slayer channeled his own rage and called "dibs" on the powerful foe. Akari, meanwhile, was forced to deal with <strong>Shenesska</strong>, the water naga that had trailed them since their arrival on the island.</p><p></p><p>The others started climbing the pyramid, dodging poison darts with every step. A flurry of <em>magic missiles</em> from Balama's wand dropped one of the smaller lizardmen, while Feron cast a spell that nearly dropped another one. However, despite the fact that it was still alive (if just barely), the Lizard King finished it off himself - by stabbing it through the back with the twin prongs that now could be clearly seen to be metal blades. The little creature's scales sizzled and burned, taking on a black hue as the body crumbled to dust in mere seconds. However, a black shape was left in its place, and the undead shadow flew across the gap straight at Cal, eager to absorb his vitality. Cal raised his holy symbol of Kord and blasted it into oblivion.</p><p></p><p>The Lizard King, apparently not liking the current odds, called down to the pyramid below in his strange, sibilant language. Almost immediately, the lower section of steps started to sink into the ground with the rumbling of stone on stone.</p><p></p><p>"He's releasing something!" shouted Cal.</p><p></p><p>"Got it!" yelled back Feron, casting a <em>stone shape</em> spell that altered the dimensions of the lowering stone steps, jamming them into place. From the sounds of the carnivorous cries of rage that emanated from below the pyramid's base, it was a good call.</p><p></p><p>The Lizard King was caught in a <em>fire storm</em> spell, and its magical protection from fire only partly shielded it from the spell's damage. The two remaining smaller lizardmen scrambled down the pyramid and grabbed one of the limbless captives, releasing him from his neck-chain. As they scrambled to drag the hapless victim up towards the top, the Lizard King suddenly raced down to meet them. By the time the leader had reached his two underlings, one of them had slit the human's throat, and his life's blood spilled onto the Lizard King's chest, to be absorbed by the ruby. He then turned, with a snarl of triumph on his reptilian features. It was at that point that Cal and Feron saw not only that his wounds were all closing up, but the glowing ruby, which they had assumed hung from a chain on his neck, was actually embedded in his chest, in the place where one would expect his heart would normally lie.</p><p></p><p>Akari and Balama took out the naga and the remaining of the smaller lizardmen on their way up the pyramid, and Slayer eventually trailed behind, finally having bested his black-scaled opponent. This left the Lizard King, although healed of all previous wounds, on his own against five humanoid opponents and a dire wolf; the results were as predictable as they were quick to occur, and the reptilian overlord took his last breath at the apex of his pyramid, his last sight the great vista of the lands he had once ruled as their uncontested master.</p><p></p><p>After the standard post-battle healing, the group decided to check out the pyramid's interior. The basement level held all of the items of interest, the upper levels being living areas and lookout stations. A chained megaraptor was scrambling to get out of the sliding door opening that Feron had jammed with her <em>stone shape</em> spell; it was slain at a distance with ranged spells and arrows. A hatchery held dozens of leathery eggs in the immediate vicinity of a hot spring; they were summarily smashed and ripped open. A treasure room behind a hidden wall held many bricks of solid gold, each stamped with images of feathered serpents, crocodile-headed humans, and multiheaded dinosaurs. A half dozen ceramic jars stood in a row against the far wall of the treasury; the jars were opened one by one, and dealt with appropriately. (One held green slime, apparently as an anti-theft device; it was set aside and abandoned in place. Another held a screaming skull which flew about the room and shot blasts of energy at the intruders; it was eventually brought down with spells and Slayer's longsword.) The rest of the treasure came in the form of chunks of amber, dinosaur teeth and claws carved in the manner of scrimshaw, brightly-colored feathers (several of them one-shot magic items), and historical records written on crumbling scrolls in an odd pictogram language, the latter of which sent Balama squealing in delight, as she apparently knew some scholars that would pay handsomely for such items. Everything was packed away carefully into Feron's <em>handy haversack</em> or otherwise distributed among the adventurers for the journey back to the ship. Before leaving, they released the two natives from the cage dangling from the tree, and slew the second megaraptor confined to the pit below the cage. The grateful natives grabbed up the remaining limbless captive and carted him away into the jungle.</p><p></p><p>After some arguments to and fro, they eventually carved the giant ruby from the Lizard King's chest and took his death-prong. Both detected as strong evil, but rather than leave them here where they could be recovered and put to eventual use, Akari wanted to see them destroyed. (Cal was much more interested in selling them to a collector who wouldn't use them for evil, but Akari's stubborness on the point eventually overcame Cal's.)</p><p></p><p>The trip back to the <em>Starchaser</em> was uneventful, and they raised anchor the following day, after restocking the vessel with provisions for the trip back home. That was going to be a task unto itself, as none of the adventurers knew anything about the proper running of a ship, and would have to receive "on-the-job training" while at sea if any of them wanted to make it back home. Fortunately, Balama estimated that they were less than a month away from Thunder Bay if the weather held.</p><p></p><p>It was going to be a long, hard month.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>This was a pretty fun adventure. I got some great roleplaying from Vicki, who was <em>pissed</em> at the treatment of her former eagle companion, and it was fun hearing the players guess about what the heck was going on. (Dan at one point was half-convinced that they were all dead and in some Hell dimension.) I had to step in and roleplay Akari there at the end, when he and Cal had differing opinions about the proper disposition of evil items, but otherwise Dan played him very well.</p><p></p><p>For the big battle at the end, I actually made a four-tiered step pyramid out of cardboard, 3" by 3" at the top level and two inches wider at each consecutively lower level. The area surrounding the pyramid was one big map on the back of a sheet of desk calendar, so we had an 18" by 22" area to have the combatants run around on.</p><p></p><p>It had also been a highly-anticipated adventure, because my players were desperate to find out why they had suddenly disappeared like that at the end of "Kazmira's Safehouse." And at the end of this session, I told them that it would take about a month for these four PCs (and Fang) to return home (they couldn't just "bink" back without leaving Fang behind, and it was unlikely that Balama and her two surviving crewmen would be able to handle a vessel the size of the <em>Starchaser</em> by themselves). I did promise that their month of hands-on experience would translate to a free 2 ranks in Profession (sailor), but that the next several adventures would be using their other PCs.</p><p></p><p>There was no real way to integrate Mercutio into this adventure, and rather than play a one-shot PC or NPC, Stuart opted to do something else on the day that we played this session.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 6045883, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 27 - BALAMA'S TREASURE HUNT[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Akari, elven paladin of Hieroneous Cal Trop, human cleric of Kord Feron Dru, half-elf druid Slayer, half-orc barbarian[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Balama Theron, human rogue/wizard Hurm Feros, half-orc fighter[/INDENT] To say that it was mass confusion was an understatement. It was dark, it was wet, it was difficult to balance on the slippery deck, and there was a giant, snakelike head popping over the side of the vessel and devouring crewmen. It took a few moments for Cal, Feron, and Slayer to get their bearings. One moment they had been battling Kazmira and Gareth in a long-awaited showdown, and the next they were here, on a boat, in the dark, with the screams of crewmen and the roars of an aquatic dinosaur only adding to the confusion. It was stormy, and the boat rocked back and forth with the crashing of the waves against its hull. Akari was no less disoriented; he had been on backup duty at the Guild Headquarters, fully armored in case he was needed to swap out with their new member, Mercutio, and then suddenly he was here on the boat among at least three of his compatriots. "Lizards at the port side!" called out a familiar voice amid the chaos. Port was left - they were pretty sure of that, but which way was the front of the boat? - never mind, there were lizardmen climbing over one side of the boat; that must be the port side. The group met the lizardmen's assault while all sorts of questions raced through their minds: where were they? Why were they here? How did they get here? Never mind for now - such things were just distractions, and they could get you killed. Deal with the questions later, deal with the lizardmen now. Cal and Feron had used up their most powerful spells during their battle with Kazmira and Gareth in her hidden safehouse, which to them had been just a moment ago, but the scaled menaces climbing over the ship's side fell just as easily to mace and scimitar. Akari at least had the advantage of having his [i]Hoardmaster[/i] sword in hand upon his arrival; Slayer was cursing the lack of his beloved greatsword, which he had upgraded several times with magical properties since first acquiring it over a year ago, and as far as he knew was still stuck in the side of the mimic he'd been fighting before suddenly showing up here. He made do with a backup longsword from the many weapons strapped to his back. A lizardman came charging across the deck at Slayer, and he prepared to cut it in half with his sword when it was suddenly leapt on from the side and thrown to the pitching deck. Whatever had brought Slayer and his companions to this ship, it had apparently brought Fang along as well, and the dire wolf ripped through the lizardman's thick scales and chewed its entrails until it stopped moving. As the group of confused adventurers fought and slew the horde of lizardmen climbing onto the vessel's decks and kept an eye out for the elasmosaurus which kept sticking his head over the side of the boat and snatching up crewmen, they saw a glowing lizardman hovering over the front of the vessel. He held some sort of dual-pronged staff and had an oddly-shaped, red gemstone hanging on his chest. The creature seemed to be commanding his troops but doing so completely soundlessly. Cal threw a [i]dispel magic[/i] at the apparition, and it winked out of existence. The lizardmen continued fighting, but the next time the elasmosaurus popped its head over the deck, it selected one of the scaly invaders as its next morsel. Eventually, though, the waves of fresh lizardmen stopped coming, and those that had made it onto the vessel were dealt with. Not a one of them surrendered, though, nor did they opt to make a break for the easy escape of the pounding sea from which they came. The elasmosaurus had apparently had its fill for now, for it did not return. Feron almost slipped on something that came sliding along the tilted deck; it was a crumpled and decaying body with feathers sticking out in all directions. Yet another mystery about this whole affair to try to resolve later. But for now, it looked like combat was over. Other than the adventuring group that had suddenly arrived on deck and a slew of scattered corpses, there were only two heavily-wounded crewmen and the ship's captain still on board the vessel. And the captain was the one who had called out to warn of the lizardmen's surge onto deck from the port side in a voice that had seemed familiar. It was Balama Theron of the [i]Starchaser[/i], who had worked with the group in getting to the Rana Mor ruins a continent away from Greyhawk City. “Many thanks, friends, for saving me and what’s left of my crew," Balama said. "I apologize for your sudden appearance, but I had no choice in the matter.” She reached into her blouse and pulled out an amulet, looking similar to the dreamcatchers often seen for sale in the marketplace. “When you were with me on the [i]Starchaser[/i] in search of the Rana Mor gem, I took the liberty of removing a few strands of hair from each of you while you slept, plus some fur from your wolf and a feather or two from your eagle, and having them woven into this summoning amulet by a witchwoman I know among the Pinutu tribe. It’s a one-shot deal, so all I can say is that it won’t happen again.” With that, she broke the cord tying it around her neck and flicked the amulet overboard. Feron looked down at the remains of Nocturna, her proud eagle companion who had died fighting to protect her, and who Feron had buried after his death so his body's nutrients could be returned to the earth from which it came. Now, his sad, unburied corpse was sliding around the deck as the ship pitched in the storm. The half-elf's face screwed into a snarl and she struck out suddenly with her fist, punching the sea captain in her face and knocking her to the slippery deck. Balama struggled to her feet. “I know you’re all upset with me, and I’m sorry that I didn’t ask for permission ahead of time. I just figured that there was a possibility that I could use a group of powerful adventurers at a moment’s notice, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t use it unless I absolutely had to. But I’d already lost over half of my crew from those damned lizardmen when that dinosaur thing showed up and added to the mix. If I hadn’t summoned you here, I don’t think any of us – me and my crew, I mean – would be alive now. So again, I’m sorry." Feron looked away but said nothing, then turned to apply what healing she could to the two remaining crewmen. Cal applied healing spells to those who needed them, and the group did what they could to aid in the running of the vessel; fortunately, the worst of the storm seemed to have receded with the departure of the reptilian adversaries. “Now then, I imagine you’re probably wondering where we are," said Balama when the ship was safely anchored in a sheltered bay. "Come with me to the map room, and I’ll show you.” She shouted some orders to her two remaining crewmen, then led the way inside. Balama showed the group an ancient map showing an island chain, and explained that there were rumors of an ancient civilization’s ruins on the larger of the islands. Her investigations uncovered rumors of a huge ruby, the size of a man’s fist or bigger, said to have magical healing powers. The islands didn’t show up on any current nautical maps, but she’d figured out their probable location and the ship was just about there – the lizardfolk attacked just as the island was coming into view off the port bow. Balama admitted up front she didn’t have any way to return the group back to Greyhawk City, short of taking the [i]Starchaser[/i] back to Thunder Bay and allowing them to use the [i]teleport circle[/i] under the local Adventurers Guild headquarters there, but she also stated she was not about to turn back now that she was so close to her destination. She said she was willing to take the group on as augmentee crewmembers and split any treasure they found at the ruins with them equally. There was little real choice about the matter; like it or not, the group was pretty much stuck with her and her mission to go treasure hunting through the long-dead ruins. Feron gathered up Nocturna's remains, said a little prayer over them, and dropped them over the side of the vessel. At least his body was being returned to the natural world, and not left to rot on deck. The next morning, with a full complement of spells and fully healed up, the group's outlook was slightly better. Balama left Hurm Feros, her first mate, in charge of the [i]Starchaser[/i] and went ashore with the group. They couldn't help recalling that the lizardman apparition that had apparently commanded the lizardmen in the attack had been wearing a large ruby, and speculated as to whether than might be the huge ruby of the legends. None of them noticed the water naga observing them from the waters of the bay, and then following at a discrete distance. The first encounter they met up on the island was a pair of triple-horned dinosaurs, the male testy and snorting a challenge to the newcomers. But the group avoided them by skirting far around them, and pressed on. After several hours, the group came to the outskirt of the ruins. Most of the stone buildings had been destroyed by the ravages of time, but a multilayered step pyramid still rose up from the ruins, in reasonably good condition given its apparent age. The group headed that way. Unfortunately for them, the water naga that had been trailing them was in league with the lizardman tribe that laired in the stone pyramid, and had sent [i]message[/i] spells ahead to warn the tribe of the group's approach and their apparent strengths and weaknesses. Thus, there were four lizardmen, plus a trained crocodile and monitor lizard, hidden behind the crumbling walls near the tribe's still-functioning well, ready to spring out in ambush when the word was given. Also hidden behind the well was a black-scaled lizardman half again as high as his companions. Less concerned about hiding his presence was the [b]Lizard King[/b], who stood proudly at the pyramid's upper level. This was the same figure that had hovered silently over the [i]Starchaser[/i], with the ruby at his chest and the twin-pronged staff in his hands. One level below him were four smaller lizardmen, each holding what looked to be a long wooden flute. Chained at the base of the pyramid, one on either side of the stairs that reached all the way to the top, were two pitiable human figures, their legs cut off above the knees and their arms severed at the elbow. They mewled in warning with mouths that no longer contained tongues. However, two newer captives, who hung in a cage from a tall tree overlooking a deep pit, were still able to call out warnings in their native tongue. It was not the same tongue that the Banda people had spoken among the Rana Mor ruins, but it was close enough in structure that Balama thought the gist of their warning was to beware the "terrible lizards" inhabiting the pyramid. The battle began with a summoned fiendish deinonychus in the midst of the adventurers. While Slayer and Akari dealt with this threat, Cal and Feron threw some long-range spells at the Lizard King. The hidden lizardmen and their reptilian allies leapt out from their cover and battle on the ground was suddenly fast and furious. While battle raged on the ground, it became apparent that the "flutes" held by the smaller lizardmen were actually blowguns, firing poisoned darts. Cal decided to fight fire with fire and summoned a fire elemental at the top of the pyramid to deal with the enemies up there, to give them something to deal with besides the adventurers. The Lizard King countered with a summoned howler, and the two surrogate beasts had at it, effectively taking each other out of the battle. Balama was holding her own with her cutlass alongside Slayer, Akari, and Fang, while Feron and Cal spread out to the sides and raced over toward the pyramid. The four lizardmen had apparently been given orders to try to take the interlopers alive if possible, but the adventurers were working under no such constraints, and they - and their crocodile and monitor lizard pets - were soon slain. The larger, black-scaled lizardman, [b]Ssarpok[/b], was a much bigger threat, and despite the creature's reptilian features Slayer recognized a fellow combatant channeling the inherent power of his internal rage. He wielded a powerful wooden greatclub with teeth and horns wedged into place, which dealt horrific damage upon a successful hit. Slayer channeled his own rage and called "dibs" on the powerful foe. Akari, meanwhile, was forced to deal with [b]Shenesska[/b], the water naga that had trailed them since their arrival on the island. The others started climbing the pyramid, dodging poison darts with every step. A flurry of [i]magic missiles[/i] from Balama's wand dropped one of the smaller lizardmen, while Feron cast a spell that nearly dropped another one. However, despite the fact that it was still alive (if just barely), the Lizard King finished it off himself - by stabbing it through the back with the twin prongs that now could be clearly seen to be metal blades. The little creature's scales sizzled and burned, taking on a black hue as the body crumbled to dust in mere seconds. However, a black shape was left in its place, and the undead shadow flew across the gap straight at Cal, eager to absorb his vitality. Cal raised his holy symbol of Kord and blasted it into oblivion. The Lizard King, apparently not liking the current odds, called down to the pyramid below in his strange, sibilant language. Almost immediately, the lower section of steps started to sink into the ground with the rumbling of stone on stone. "He's releasing something!" shouted Cal. "Got it!" yelled back Feron, casting a [i]stone shape[/i] spell that altered the dimensions of the lowering stone steps, jamming them into place. From the sounds of the carnivorous cries of rage that emanated from below the pyramid's base, it was a good call. The Lizard King was caught in a [i]fire storm[/i] spell, and its magical protection from fire only partly shielded it from the spell's damage. The two remaining smaller lizardmen scrambled down the pyramid and grabbed one of the limbless captives, releasing him from his neck-chain. As they scrambled to drag the hapless victim up towards the top, the Lizard King suddenly raced down to meet them. By the time the leader had reached his two underlings, one of them had slit the human's throat, and his life's blood spilled onto the Lizard King's chest, to be absorbed by the ruby. He then turned, with a snarl of triumph on his reptilian features. It was at that point that Cal and Feron saw not only that his wounds were all closing up, but the glowing ruby, which they had assumed hung from a chain on his neck, was actually embedded in his chest, in the place where one would expect his heart would normally lie. Akari and Balama took out the naga and the remaining of the smaller lizardmen on their way up the pyramid, and Slayer eventually trailed behind, finally having bested his black-scaled opponent. This left the Lizard King, although healed of all previous wounds, on his own against five humanoid opponents and a dire wolf; the results were as predictable as they were quick to occur, and the reptilian overlord took his last breath at the apex of his pyramid, his last sight the great vista of the lands he had once ruled as their uncontested master. After the standard post-battle healing, the group decided to check out the pyramid's interior. The basement level held all of the items of interest, the upper levels being living areas and lookout stations. A chained megaraptor was scrambling to get out of the sliding door opening that Feron had jammed with her [i]stone shape[/i] spell; it was slain at a distance with ranged spells and arrows. A hatchery held dozens of leathery eggs in the immediate vicinity of a hot spring; they were summarily smashed and ripped open. A treasure room behind a hidden wall held many bricks of solid gold, each stamped with images of feathered serpents, crocodile-headed humans, and multiheaded dinosaurs. A half dozen ceramic jars stood in a row against the far wall of the treasury; the jars were opened one by one, and dealt with appropriately. (One held green slime, apparently as an anti-theft device; it was set aside and abandoned in place. Another held a screaming skull which flew about the room and shot blasts of energy at the intruders; it was eventually brought down with spells and Slayer's longsword.) The rest of the treasure came in the form of chunks of amber, dinosaur teeth and claws carved in the manner of scrimshaw, brightly-colored feathers (several of them one-shot magic items), and historical records written on crumbling scrolls in an odd pictogram language, the latter of which sent Balama squealing in delight, as she apparently knew some scholars that would pay handsomely for such items. Everything was packed away carefully into Feron's [i]handy haversack[/i] or otherwise distributed among the adventurers for the journey back to the ship. Before leaving, they released the two natives from the cage dangling from the tree, and slew the second megaraptor confined to the pit below the cage. The grateful natives grabbed up the remaining limbless captive and carted him away into the jungle. After some arguments to and fro, they eventually carved the giant ruby from the Lizard King's chest and took his death-prong. Both detected as strong evil, but rather than leave them here where they could be recovered and put to eventual use, Akari wanted to see them destroyed. (Cal was much more interested in selling them to a collector who wouldn't use them for evil, but Akari's stubborness on the point eventually overcame Cal's.) The trip back to the [i]Starchaser[/i] was uneventful, and they raised anchor the following day, after restocking the vessel with provisions for the trip back home. That was going to be a task unto itself, as none of the adventurers knew anything about the proper running of a ship, and would have to receive "on-the-job training" while at sea if any of them wanted to make it back home. Fortunately, Balama estimated that they were less than a month away from Thunder Bay if the weather held. It was going to be a long, hard month. - - - This was a pretty fun adventure. I got some great roleplaying from Vicki, who was [i]pissed[/i] at the treatment of her former eagle companion, and it was fun hearing the players guess about what the heck was going on. (Dan at one point was half-convinced that they were all dead and in some Hell dimension.) I had to step in and roleplay Akari there at the end, when he and Cal had differing opinions about the proper disposition of evil items, but otherwise Dan played him very well. For the big battle at the end, I actually made a four-tiered step pyramid out of cardboard, 3" by 3" at the top level and two inches wider at each consecutively lower level. The area surrounding the pyramid was one big map on the back of a sheet of desk calendar, so we had an 18" by 22" area to have the combatants run around on. It had also been a highly-anticipated adventure, because my players were desperate to find out why they had suddenly disappeared like that at the end of "Kazmira's Safehouse." And at the end of this session, I told them that it would take about a month for these four PCs (and Fang) to return home (they couldn't just "bink" back without leaving Fang behind, and it was unlikely that Balama and her two surviving crewmen would be able to handle a vessel the size of the [i]Starchaser[/i] by themselves). I did promise that their month of hands-on experience would translate to a free 2 ranks in Profession (sailor), but that the next several adventures would be using their other PCs. There was no real way to integrate Mercutio into this adventure, and rather than play a one-shot PC or NPC, Stuart opted to do something else on the day that we played this session. [/QUOTE]
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