The Reckoning – Chapter 2
OOC Notes:
Experience: for 25th level, 5,200. For 26th level, 3,600. For 27th level, 2,800. The spread is due to a couple characters not leveling up holding back for something. Readers, please see the end of this entry for more OOC notes. I don’t want to ruin the events of today’s adventure but there are important notes there.
This Week’s Adventure:
We again took to the air in what was essentially a random direction, heading southwest towards the lower end of the mountain range we were over. So far we’d spent a lot of time flying around but accomplished fairly little. Slowly we were all coming to the same realization, though the sheer oddity of it was making it slow to be said. Someone finally said it -
“We need to ask for directions.”
This turned out to be more difficult than it sounded. Forget the fact that we would have to compel some kind of cooperation from a local resident and then hope they were being honest – we couldn’t even get close enough to any to begin to ask. Any creature of any intelligence at all would make itself very scarce when we got anywhere near it. Valanthe and I were considering using stealth to arrange a more personal conversation when we saw a flight of horned demons in the distance. They were of note in that they were not running away screaming in fear like most creatures we’d seen. They were watching us. And they were doing so from a brazenly close distance. They were within our striking range, and they clearly knew that. But some of them were being put out in front, probably to see what we would do. We attempted to get closer to contact them but they would simply back away, and we eventually continued on our way, unsatisfied.
There is an old adage: It’s better to be lucky than smart. It’s a philosophy we’ve proven sound again and again. And it held true today. In the far distance, I caught sight of a glint of something unusual. We veered in that direction and fifteen minutes later found ourselves nearing a battle.
At first we could just hear horns and start to see smoke. Then we could make out a city, its black minarets carved from the black rock of the mountains. The battle was raging at the city walls, with demonic forces on both sides. Surprisingly, most of the forces were not, technically, demonic. I expected demons, but most of what I saw was humanoids – fiendish orcs, ogres, pyrohydras, and an assortment of larger creatures. And of course lots of dretches so at least something was actually a demon. The defenders were of the same general makeup, but there were a good number of fiendish gnomes.
The mere concept was difficult to grasp. But there they were. Gnomes. Fiendish ones. The notion boggled the mind.
The attackers were gaining ground, but there were devastating arcane blasts coming from one of the minarets, particularly targeting flying attackers. The attackers seemed to be under Graz’zt’s banner, but the defenders banner was unknown – a tiger’s head with jade eyes. Our initial hope that we had stumbled into Fraz’s stronghold faded quickly. Still, we hoped someone here would be able to provide us with some sense of direction. We spotted a pair of marilith commanders in the back and descended towards them. Only moments later, a claw of shadow erupted from each of their chests and snapped their necks. It was irksome. It became apparent that anything that showed itself as a leader in the attackers was quickly and personally targeted.
A lash of arcane energy struck out from the minaret onto the battlefield, and a large gate rose up out of the ground. The doors blew open unleashing a howling wind, bitter cold and snow. The paraelemental plane of ice could be seen through the gate, and the attackers were being frozen in place (or to death) by the ice and sleet pouring out.
So the question was do we join the fight or not. If Graz’zt was attacking, it was likely this place had something to do with Fraz, but we didn’t know what. There was some question as to whether we should help the defenders but that seemed to be unwise. Turning on Graz’zt would not be in our long-term interests here. It took some debate but we finally decided to get involved. The first order of business was to close that gate.
The gate was notable for the range – we’d never seen a gate opened from so far away. And it was quite large. But it was still magic, and Aethramyr was able to dispel it. The doors shut and the howl of the wind stopped as the attackers renewed their assault. But our intervention was not unnoticed. A rakshasa appeared on the field wearing jewel-encrusted chitinous armor. He cast something, and a two-foot pit of inky black came hurling towards Bolo. He was able to barely twist out of the way but it began circling back towards him. [OOC: Yes Virginia, action points can save your life.]
We were surprised at the arcane power of this being and moved quickly. I sent a volley of arrows towards him, expecting some defense to spring into being and send them back at me. I was somewhat surprised when that didn’t happen. All the arrows hit home, and the rakshasa exploded into a pile of snow and ice.
“Simulacrum. Wonder how many of those he has lying around. Obviously he’s projecting his full power through it though,” said Scorch dryly.
We shrugged collectively and moved through the attackers toward the wall. The attackers didn’t know what to make of us, but since we weren’t attacking *them*, they were willing to let us be. Bolo used an earthquake to breach the wall while I idly picked off anyone foolish enough to look out over the wall, and once the breach was made, the attackers swarmed into the city.
As the troops surged forward, we looked for anyone who seemed even remotely in charge. Despite the lack of high level commanders, the army was performing well and still being coordinated by some unseen means. It could just be the level of training and discipline that Graz’zt extracts from his minions. We did settle on a bone devil who was commanding a small platoon. Just as we started talking to him though, a new problem showed up.
Rain. Acid rain. Burning, caustic acid, with a surprising intensity. The power was enough to draw a nod from Scorch, who quipped “Transvalent. Powerful, but it can’t possibly last long at this intensity.” Bolo shifted from red dragon to black, and spread his wings over us so we could continue our conversation.
“Who’s city is this?” we asked.
“This is the city of Karugoza, one of Fraz’s chief lieutenants. They process slaves here for sale in other layers as a source of income. For a hundred gold, you can buy a human.” Once he mentioned it, we suddenly realized that dotted among the warring sides were escaped slaves fleeing for their lives. Many had been killed by the acid but there were plenty of others who found cover and resumed their flight once the rain stopped.
Dravot bowed his head and uttered a brief prayer. The slaves all throughout the city were covered in a glowing yellow light, and when it faded, the slaves were gone, returned to the Prime.
The bone devil looked at him with unmasked exasperation. “There go the spoils of war,” he sighed.
“So where will we find Fraz?” we asked.
“I have no idea. We’re here on a tactical mission – our objective is to make things costly for Fraz, not face him. Of course we had planned on adding some of that capital to our own war chest,” he frowned.
“Will this lieutenant know where Fraz is?” I asked.
“I would assume so,” the devil said.
“Excellent! Let’s go ask him where Fraz is,” I said to the group.
Everyone nodded happily and we turned to enter the city. Not being one to repeat mistakes we asked over our shoulder “So where will we find him?”
The devil gestured “Well his simulacrum are all around, but you’ll know him when you find him – he’s the one immune to elemental effects. I would say that if you started destroying the palace down that road there, you’ll probably get some kind of reaction out of him.”
We smiled at that, and thanked him and went on our way. I’m quite sure he had no idea what to make of us.
The palace was easy enough to find. And it was really no stronger than the walls of the city. An earthquake collapsed on corner, and the “reaction” wasn’t far behind. Another armored rakshasha appeared, and it quickly met the same fate as the first one. Then another, which was also quickly eliminated.
Then a massive door to the inner palace creaked open, and a huge meaty hand appeared. In it was a gnome.
Yes, a fiendish gnome.
The hand flung the gnome in our general direction. Bolo, whether overcome by instinct or just unsure of the threat, snapped up the gnome in his draconic jaws.
“Wait a second,” said Aethramyr. “Why a gnome?”
The hand reappeared, with another gnome. It flung this one towards us as well. Curiosity overcame us, and we just watched as the gnome flew in a high arc, then smashed into the ground and rolled within a few paces of us. An excellent shot really, leading me to conclude that perhaps this kind of thing was practiced around here.
The gnome in question rolled over slowly and with great effort, and groaned. “My legs. I can’t feel my legs.” Then he whimpered a bit.
We just looked at him, puzzled.
“Ugh. Oh…. This hurts. Ok. Wait. Just a second. Almost…” and he groaned and turned towards us. “Ok. There. Now, WHAT DO YOU WANT?” he said with a sob at the end.
Ah. A messenger. Excellent. “We want to know where Fraz is,” Valanthe said. “If your master tells us, we will go away. If not, we will continue to cause havoc here, and probably kill him.”
“Oh. Ok. Well… oh no.” He had a sudden realization, then steeled himself. “Ok. I’m ready. Throw me back.”
Dravot, either out of charity or because he wasn’t sure the gnome would survive the return trip, healed the gnome a bit. Then Bolo picked him up in a claw and flung him back to the door. Unseen to those inside, Valanthe followed the gnome, as he crawled and scraped his way back in the door while the meaty hand held it open.
Inside she saw some ogres, a ready supply of more gnomes, and two rakshasa. They looked at the gnome with contempt as he tried to crawl towards them then collapsed. One looked up “I have retrieved the information from his mind. They seek Fraz Erb Luu.”
The other rakshasa nodded. “They could have said so sooner. They killed three of the master’s simulacrum. The first was expected, the second considered. The third one was just rude.” The other one nodded in agreement.
“Are we alone?” the first asked.
“Yes. I am sure of it. The master is very concerned about their assassin. But she is not here. I am sure of it.”
Valanthe suppressed a giggle. She observed one of the cats have a mental conference with some unseen third party, then he spoke. “The Rajah has made his decision. I shall go speak with them. Should they decide to be… rude, and it’s quite possible they will, it falls to you to deliver a message using less dignified means,” he said, looking at the gnome.
“Oh god not again,” the gnome squeaked.
The ogre opened the door and Valanthe followed the rakshasa out. His paws were raised as he approached us. We waved him closer.
“My master, the Hollow Rajah bids me speak with you. According to the tool you sent back to us, you seek the location of Fraz Erb Luu. Is this true?”
“Yes it is,” said Dravot.
“Clearly you understand the difficult position of my master should you fail to destroy Fraz Erb Luu. His situation will become more tenuous. Already this has been costly. We will have to abandon this city. I know you don’t really care. Your assassin’s knife is probably at my master’s throat even as we speak. Your magekiller is well known to our kind.”
They were very scared of Valanthe. Not that this was unwise but it seemed particularly focused.
I said “The way I see it, your master has two choices. He can tell us what we want to know, and risk problems in the future if we fail, or he can refuse, and guarantee the attention of our assassin right now.”
Dravot had a keen observation. “Wisdom suggests that you should tell us yourself, so that your master can deny it later if need be.”
The rakshasa nodded, surprised at the guile from a mere human. “You are wise to appreciate the subtleties of the situation. Very well. Which Fraz Erb Luu do you seek?
We looked at him blankly. Because we didn’t know.
“Erm, both?”
He nodded, unsurprised at our unfeigned ignorance. “You can find the Enraged Fraz Erb Luu in the city of Zoragmelok, down river from this city. The other, more refined Fraz Erb Luu is in the Great Temple of Krantis, a thousand miles west of Zoragmelok, where his cultists dwell.”
“Thank you,” I smiled. And we turned around and left. Valanthe couldn’t resist brushing the flat of her blade against the back of the raksasha’s neck before withdrawing.
Scorch has heard of Zoragmelok – full of horrific things and illusions of entire neighborhoods. That Fraz was certainly much closer and therefore the obvious choice.
I hate obvious choices. So did everyone else. There was no disagreement – we set out for the Great Temple.
The Great Temple was over 1,500 miles away. Even at dragon speeds, it was taking quite a while. Bolo’s shapechange spell was due to run out soon, and so he and Scorch switched places and we continued on with Scorch as the dragon. There was some grumbling at the notion of doing such manual labor but there was no help for it so he acquiesced.
It took hours to get there, and on the way we saw an ocean of some kind. And it wasn’t even blood, or pus or anything disgusting. Eventually we started flying over dense jungle, and that slowly gave way to signs of scattered temple structures under the canopy. On a plateau was a huge central dome. And then we saw another battle in the jungle. This one was less focused on physical violence and more concentrated on arcane exchanges. After studying it for a while, I determined there were actually two armies attacking from opposite sides. That more than the banners said it was Demagorgon’s forces. Both armies were covering ground fast and were almost racing to get to the central dome first.
Fortunately they weren’t faster than us. We began casting spells as we grew closer and then Scorch dove hard on the dome and smashed through. It was unsubtle but we saw little point in sneaking about.
The interior was nearly covered in cultists and their sacrifice victims. Some grand ceremony was underway and it was obviously complex. Most of the sacrifices were already dead. At the center of the dome was Fraz, standing over an altar with Vynoxa bound on it. He had a dagger in one hand and the theerpart in the other.
He looked up with genuine surprise. “Er, I wasn’t expecting you for a while. This could have been timed better. You were supposed to kill “me” first.” He pointed in the general direction we had come, his meaning clear. “This is really inconvenient. I don’t suppose you could come back later? Say in about an hour? Thanks! Oh and if you could destroy some of those attacking demons on your way out, that’d be great.”
We didn’t really need to answer that, but I did. “We’ve been following your plans for so long that I think you can see your way clear to forgiving us this one deviation.”
Fraz sighed heavily “Oh well.” Fraz shuddered and grew six feet, dropping the dagger that was now a small needle. He now looked more like his other self rather than what we had been used to seeing. And the battle began.
I fired the first volley, then Dravot opened by disenchanting Fraz. Aethramyr closed in and did what he does best. Fraz was now bleeding from deep wounds and it was a fine start. Scorch tried to make Fraz dance, and Fraz obligingly started shuffling his feet a little bit before stopping abruptly and winking at Scorch and shaking his head. By then Valanthe had come in behind Fraz and opened up a few gashes of her own which were joined by a second volley of arrows from me.
Fraz hissed at the pounding and lashed out at blinding speed. He slashed at Aethramyr, trying to disenchant Shatterspike (which failed) while disenchanting me with a quickened spell. It removed most of my own spells but those cast by Scorch and Dravot were intact.
Fraz was thinking fast and acting faster but he was without support and clearly unprepared for us. Aethramyr was building up to his full fury and smote the demon prince several times. [OOC note: Aethramyr was pacing himself and didn’t do a full suite of smites. He did 385 which is not a record but still quite respectable. I’ll note here that everyone was making full use of the action points we were gifted, enhancing rolls and so on. Aethramyr and I both invoked our hero ability and had +10 on all stats which had a potent impact.]
Valanthe moved in again, and Shadowcut struck deep. There was a sudden popping and Fraz’s body burst outward, echoed by a blue ripple of magic that tried to disenchant everything it touched. As it went, the very plane itself shuddered, and began reverting back to the white sandstuff that was the primal matter of the abyss. The disenchantment passed over some areas where powerful beings held the local area intact, but for the most part it blasted outward to beyond even my range of vision.
As abrupt as the physical change was, there were other changes just as potent. The seething rage scratching at the edge of our minds was gone. The blocks on teleportation and flight were lifted. When we came here, I was convince we’d have to weed through layers of deception until the actual Fraz was dead, and there was nothing that would convince me that we had killed the actual one. But I had to admit, the plane had spoken. It was no longer under Fraz’s control, and this more than anything made me think we had succeeded.
“That’s it?” I asked. “That can’t be it.” Still I couldn’t deny the evidence around me. If it was a ruse, it was a masterful one. Even I was becoming convinced.
The theerpart dropped quietly to the ground. The sand in the area began turning black and vile. We isolated it in a container, but not without a disturbing discovery. The theerpart – an object that was immune to all manner of things and magic – had been altered. There were tiny cracks where none had been. Minute isometril seals had been set into the stone with seals of Fraz, Orcus and Hextor. And we were sure that Vynoxa’s sacrifice would have injected her soul into the stone, to alter it in some way. The consequences of that alteration were unknown but we were sure it was something that would be most undesirable. Vynoxa was likely still bound to this ritual, and were she to be killed, it would still have disastrous effects. Scorch put her into stasis, and stashed her in his magic chest. She would have to be protected for now until we could undo the taint on the theerparts.
Dravot was the first to make the observation. “If the plane is no longer held by Fraz’s will, then the other Fraz must be destroyed as well.”
Bolo and Scorch agreed. But where was the staff? Oh no…
Since there were fewer restrictions, we were able to bring more tools to bear and faster transportation. Scrying and teleportation quickly brought us to Zoragmelok. Or more properly, the site of Zoragmelok. The city was gone – nothing but white sand remained, except for a black staff shaped like a twisted human in agony or supplication. It was likely that every remaining demonic army on the plane was racing here to find this staff. Seeking to avoid that confrontation, and since we had no other business here, we decided that it was time to be going.
Scorch opened a gate and we went to the Prime. The journey was like pushing through a torrent of a freezing river. We finally appeared, and we were surrounded.
Around us were six inevitables. Each one had a poleaxe leveled at us. Behind each inevitable were two judges, but they were different. Each had a similar poleaxe rather than a staff.
There is much to be said for being fast to react. It can, often, make the difference between life and death. Eventually one becomes so fast that rather than reacting immediately, you have the luxury of waiting, knowing you can still act quickly enough to save your life. So it was here. The last time we encountered inevitables, they tried to kill us, but rather than attack, we just twitched slightly and waited. It was only a fraction of a second before the axes were raised and pointed away from us, and for most people it would have been no time at all. But we were not most people, and I think we might have destroyed half of them before the axes were raised had we acted.
The inevitables and judges moved aside and we saw the Gambler who was walking purposefully towards us, his hand extended. “I’ll be taking that,” he said, moving towards Fraz’s staff.
I stepped in front of him, offended and determined. “And what if we do not chose to give it to you?”
There was a quick mental exchange on our link, questioning why I was doing this. Valanthe quickly said “I’d like to hear the answer to that question too.” I wasn’t the only one who was slightly offended.
The Gambler stopped, and lowered his hand, and his expression softened. “I’m sorry,” he apologized genuinely. “May I have the staff please?”
“Better,” I said. “What do you intend to do with it?”
His patience held firm, which was a good thing. If these beings were going to ask for our help, they were going to be polite about it. I, for one, was not going to be treated like an underling. It’s an offensive thing in elven society to ask for help and then not appreciate it. “We will destroy it. I give you my word that within a minute of taking it, it will be destroyed.”
“A fine answer,” I said, and stepped aside.
“And what about a little… compensation?” Valanthe asked. Old habits die hard.
The Gambler was unperturbed, and knowing Valanthe as he does I would have been surprised had he been. “The compensation is freedom from reprisals from other demon lords.”
Valanthe shrugged, that not being quite what she was hoping for. We each seek rewards and only the manner of compensation differs. I insist on some courtesy and gratitude. Valanthe prefers thanks she can spend. I certainly won’t fault her for that.
“You have secured Vynoxa?” the Gambler asked. Scorch nodded. “Good. Do not kill her. She is still linked to the theerpart and they are all corrupted. It would be bad. We will begin work on repairing the parts but in the meantime she must not be harmed.”
“I’ll make sure she is out of circulation for a while,” Scorch shrugged.
“If you hadn’t guessed already, you should know that the rules have now changed. Thanks to the new cooperation of a certain diety who has generally not been speaking to us until recently,” the Gambler emphasized his words at Scorch making it clear that Boccob was the god in question. Scorch was indifferent – Boccob may hold sway over magic and mages but mages, and Scorch in particular, were not the worshipping type. “The interdiction has been strengthened. Loopholes have been closed. Meltorannan has been given freer reign to enforce violations.”
The consequences of the new accord were already apparent. Hopefully it would cut down on some of the problems with the first interdiction.
“Well, what about Vynoxa then?” Scorch asked.
She was a clear violation, but one that they were willing to tolerate. (The mere fact that they were capable of making exceptions now was noteworthy.) The Gambler said quietly “Bury her. Bury her deep. Then bury the shovel. Make sure she’s not found.”
Scorch nodded. He’d make sure there was no way to find her until we were ready.
“We have a further request if you’re interested,” the Gambler said, remembering to ask. “Given the new cooperation of A CERTAIN DEITY we can now remove the major issue that has troubled us. This deity has finally been convinced Orcus is part of the problem and in two weeks we will now wipe Rauxes clean.” His eyes glowed slightly at the thought of removing this thorn in the side.
“We could send a human army. Or we could ask you.”
More OOC Notes:
We are approaching the endgame. The Savage Sword of Meepo’s To-Do List ™ has been growing shorter and this week we saw the elimination of a major item. It is Wizardru’s expectation that the duration of the campaign is on the order of a handful of sessions. I mention this here so that the readers can set their expectations and understand the scope of the events taking place. The end is near please do not be sad. Yes, we are all slightly saddened, but this campaign has been running for around five and a half years, and I believe is the most successful campaign that any of us have ever had the pleasure of being in. I hope you enjoy the final installments as much as we will enjoy playing them. And we will continue to play in existing other campaigns as well as a new one.
