The Log of Patrick Logopolis

SESSION 25

September 11

Dearest Brethren,

Praise to the light-bringer! I hope that you received the third portion of my log. The first was sent from Caer Dorban, the second from Duma Faifni, and the third was sent from Anarchopolis. I now begin the fourth section, starting with our last day in Anarchopolis.

While Kyros served us our last breakfast, we discussed how best to distribute our new magical equipment. I took the Ionian magic shield, and because Daito seems to be catching on to the Ionian tongue very quickly (he seems to have learned it almost overnight!), I took the helm of comprehend languages as well. Kellindel took the ioun stone which increases the wearer's abilities, and Daito took the strength stone. Finis took the boots of speed. We couldn't decide who could best use the ring of fire resistance, so Suleiman took it.

Daito, Gorca, Suleiman, and myself went to the Academy and temple of Prometheus. On the way, we passed a large display in the Agora; it seems that many ornthra dealers have chosen to hawk their wares today. If only we knew how to ride them!

We found Leander at the temple, in prayer. I joined him until he finished, and he informed us that he had arranged for a meeting with a Synod contact. I asked him to have my log sent to Demopolis, and he gladly agreed. Leander is to be praised for his assistance; he has been very helpful. I am sure that Prometheus will reward his devotion to his duties.

Leander led us to a run-down section of town. The meeting was to take place in a shop called the One-Eyed Parrot. Judging by the run down exterior, lack of customers, and lack of merchandise on the inside, we surmised that this was in fact a front for a "fence"--a broker of stolen goods.

Once inside, we immediately noticed four men pretending to look at the rotting silk and rusted cooking implements. They were obviously hired thugs, kept on call in case trouble should arise. We ignored them, and introduced ourselves to Solon, the well-dressed man behind the counter. He was very evasive in his answers, but he said that he knew my sister, and that she left on a ship for Leinster. Suleiman was using his necklace of ESP, and later told me that Solon was lying; my sister headed for the Isutian colony on the southeast coast of Ionia.

He said that he would be willing to take a message for her, and I began to give him one, when a voice called from behind a curtain "The numbers don't lie!". Solon walked behind the curtain, and the voice of unkown origin continued, saying something about a high probability of something-or-other. Suleiman wandered toward the door, and was blocked by the four thugs that had been pretending to browse the store.

Suddenly there was a loud, angry snorting sound, and a giant bull, seemingly clad in metal plates, appeared before us! Gas spewed from is flaring nostrils, and Leander shouted "Gorgon!". We braced ourselves for combat, and the Gorgon unleashed its noxious breath. I was unaffected, but Gorca and Daito were frozen in place. Strangely, they did not turn to stone--and this was the only clue I needed. It was an illusion; upon realizing this, the beast disappeared, replaced by a dark, shadow form. I announced that it was an illusion, but Daito did not seem persuaded. Gorca, Leander, and I struck the shadow, and Leander delivered the final blow. I jumped over the counter and ran behind the curtain, entering a small room. A door on the opposite side had just shut. Not wishing to run into what was likely a trap, I returned, and we stirred Daito from his frozen state.

The four thugs wisely retreated. Suleiman said that the spell used against us was a shadow monster; I suspect that the Pythagorean Cult of Numbers was involved. Their control over numbers is known to give them strange powers. A sheet of paper in the back room, filled with formulas that were on the edge of my understanding, verified my suspicion.

With no other interesting clues, we headed to the Hejazian district to get lunch, before returning to the temple. Suleiman's lecture went very well; he hardly needed any assistance from me. The various scholars practically begged him to stay and tell them more over dinner, but he declined so that we could make it to our ship, the Kozimo, on time. We briefly met with Ator, who said that he did not have any suggestions for Suleiman and his dilemma (regarding Utgard Loki). However, he said High Priestess Octavia may have some ideas.

Interestingly, Ator said that my name keeps coming up in connection with the temple to be established in Libertopolis. It would be a great honor to have a role in such an event, but can I leave the Pentachromata? I hope that Prometheus may provide me with some guidance on this subject.
Our business in the temple having been completed, we said our farewells, particularly to Leander. If I am placed in charge of the temple at Libertopolis, I would like him to be my second. He has proven his dedication.

We returned to the Syrinx, finding Kellindel, Finis, Urym, and Kwame all looking very refreshed. It seems that they spent the day in a park, enjoying the sunshine. Kellindel's falcon apparently reduced the park's population of pigeons significantly.

Kellindel has made what seems to me to be a very shrewd decision; he has forgiven the debt of the Obol protection agency. They do not have to pay him for the all the stolen gems. However, he did ask them to convert his existing wealth into convenient gems, and he asked that they continue to pursue the thieves. Dimitri was very pleased with this arrangement, and even offered Kellindel and his friends the service of the Obol, whenever they are in Anarchopolis.

Dimitri provided us with an escort to the harbor, where we handed over our Obol medallions, and boarded the Kozimo. The crew is short a few hands, so we assisted them in moving the ship out of port and onto the open sea. I must admit, I am sad to see Anarchopolis sinking below the horizon. It was the closest thing to my home in Demopolis that I had felt in a long time.

The evening has been amazingly quiet; there is nothing to do but ponder where we have been, and where we are going. I have never been to Urbs Deorum, and I do not know what to expect there. Our small schooner is making good time, and the captain expects to be there in a week, if all goes well. Let us hope that all goes well.

September 12th
So far, so good. There have been a few ships about, but nothing of interest has occurred. Playing with Kwame is one of the few activities that relieves the tedium of sailing. Hesperos, a crewman, seems to be especially interested in Kwame. He says that he had a dog when he was younger. Kwame is growing quite rapidly now; Suleiman is barely large enough to handle him safely (not that he would intentionally harm any of us).

September 13th
The empty hills of northen Ionia have become dotted with occasional shrubs, and we have passed a few fishing villages. The fisherman usually wave to us in a friendly manner. The weather continues to be warm and humid, but not terribly uncomfortable (especially since we removed all of our armor).

September 14th
Today we were stopped by a frantic fisherman, who warned us that a horrible creature was terrorizing ships traveling west. It flies, has several heads, and breathes fire. It sounds as though it might be a chimera. We have taken the warning seriously, posting a watchman and staying closer to the shore. The captain suggested that we could try to avoid the chimera by going further north, but that would take us dangerously close to harpy-infested islands. We will stay on our original course. Fortunately, the moon is full, so we can keep watch at night, as well.

September 15th
We had been under way for several hours when Lysurgis spotted the chimera. The terrible beast had a lion's head, a goat's head, and a lizard's head. We opened fire with ranged weapons as I prayed, and the chimera flew straight for us. Finis tried to dampen the boat with a precipitation spell, so that it would be less flammable, and the sailors pulled the sail down. The creature landed on the boat, knocking several of us off of our feet. Kellindel bravely stood against the chimera, dealing it several terrible blows, but the dragon head reared back and covered the deck with flame. Most of the sailors jumped into the water and out of danger, but Little Corwin went up in a puff of smoke.

Suleiman tried to use a wand on the chimera, but the wand didn't seem to work. He then cast a magic missile, but it seems that the strange working of Ionian magic caused it go awry--the spell struck me instead! Fortunately, I was not badly wounded.

We pressed our attack, with Kellindel leading the way. Despite its massive size, it could not last long against Kellindel. The chimera soon fell dead into the ocean. The crew, which had reached the shore by now, cheered and returned to the boat. Unfortunately, it seems that Lysurgis, the sailor who had spotted the chimera had been killed. We buried him at sea, and made for the shore to effect some repairs on the hull. Thanks to the precipitation spell, the fire damage seems minimal, and Finis repaired much of the hull with a shape wood spell.

The triumphant Pentachromata went in search of the chimera's lair, and we soon found a road leading inland. Did you think killing the chimera was impressive? Wait until you read this.

We traveled a short distance down the road and came upon a single man, standing in the middle of the road, with a longsword at his side. He said that he was Nyceas, which meant nothing to us. Gorca informed us that he was a bandit, and the son of Aphrodite! Of course, he told us that if we gave him all our wealth, he would let us go; we noted that he had several armed men standing in the woods. Hoping that we could bluff our way out of fighting a demigod, I said that if he gave us his long sword, we'd let him go. He didn't seem to care for that, and seemed to charm Daito simply by speaking to him.

Suleiman asked for a moment to discuss it, and we gathered around to discuss it. I informed them, quietly, that I was about to cast a spell, and that they should all attack as soon as I began. We whirled about, and Nyceas and his forces seemed stunned for a moment.

The results of our attack were devastating. The charm Nyceas had placed on Daito didn't extend any protection to the men in the woods, who stepped forward with slings. Daito charged into a group on one side of the road, gave a great shout, and proceeded to kill them very quickly. Finis trapped the other group of men with slings on the other side of the road with a spike growth, and Suleiman began raining arrows down upon them.

Four men in bronze armor charged down the road toward us, and Kellindel froze two of them in place with a hold person. He and Gorca made short work of the two that were free to move, and knocked the other two unconscious.

Meanwhile, Urym and I squared off against Nyceas. Once again, Nyceas used his enchanting voice to remove Urym from the fight, and we circled each other. Fortunately, his swings bounced harmlessly off of my armor and shield, but I could not keep him away for long.

Kellindel and Gorca soon came to my aid, and Nyceas soon saw that he had made a serious miscalculation. By this time, Daito had turned five of the men with slings into a grisly pile of body parts, and Suleiman had picked off the other group with his bow. The four armored men were dead or unconscious. It was Nyceas versus all of us.

Fortunately for Nyceas, his godlike powers kept us from all attacking him; some of us just could not bring ourselves to swing at him, unless he was attacking us directly. Kellindel, however, felt no such restriction, and dealt Nyceas two terrible wounds.

It was clear that Nyceas was defeated, and I offered him an opportunity to surrender. He accepted, but said "First, the payback", and then struck Kellindel with his sword. The blow was strong, but Kellindel shrugged it off. Nyceas then backed away, turned, and ran off.

We recovered some bronze from the bandits and returned to the boat. By this time, all the repairs were complete and we were ready to resume our journey. The crew seemed very impressed with our exploits. I suppose we could have killed Nyceas without too much effort, but incurring the wrath of Aphrodite does not sound very appealing. Perhaps Nyceas will think twice before his next robbery.

September 16th
The ship has taken a more southernly tack; we must be getting close to Urbs Deorum. The fishing boats have reappeared, as we leave the area terrorized by the chimera. The captain anticipates our arrival in two days, at the most.

September 17th
While Kellindel was allowing his falcon to stretch its wings this afternoon, we spotted several flying creatures in the distance, coming from the large mountain range that has appeared. At first we were alarmed, and Kellindel recalled his falcon. Then I realized that they were Aarakocra, and posed no threat to us at all. I waved to them, and one flipped a wing in a sort of greeting. We left them to their fishing, and they left us to our sailing. Other than this, the day has been quiet. I think that it may be getting a little more humid.

September 18th
Finally, we have reached Urbs Deorum. Neither the city nor our greeting are what I expected. The city itself is large, and is surrounded by a colossal wall. The harbor is crammed with ships, as this is, of course, the headquarters of the Emathian navy. Statues, temples, and inns to house the large numbers of pilgrims seem almost as numerous as the people themselves. An aquaduct is under construction by Zek k'tri workers--they scale the vertical supports while carrying huge blocks of stone!

We docked the ship, gathered our belongings, and disembarked. Hesperos, who has grown so fond of Kwame, asked us to look him up should we ever return to Anarchopolis. He says that he knows someone that trains Ornthras, and may be able to train Kwame. We told him that we might take him up on the offer.

As Gorca led us to the temple of Hephaestus, a bell chimed the time, reminding us briefly of Tesplyn's Grove. Gorca entered the temple alone, in order to prepare them for our arrival (and probably our unusual appearance). As we waited outside, I began to feel a little uncomfortable; something here seems awry, but I cannot put my finger on it. Gorca returned and said that we would speak to the head journeyman, Actinos, in one hour. We took advantage of the hour to find an Inn, called the Pilgrim, and quickly eat a light dinner (which consisted of fish stew, except for Gorca and Suleiman, who ate scallops).

Upon our return to the temple of Hephaestus, we were escorted into Actinos' office, where he sat on a large chair, set slightly above our own. The manner in which he looked down upon us was meant to unsettle us; it worked on Gorca, who seemed mildly annoyed.

I told him of my vision, of what had happened to the Hammer, and of our misssion. I refrained from telling him about my sister, as I do not trust this man, and I cannot predict his reaction. He asked us if we knew anything about an Amazon named Narissa. Of course, that was the mysterious Amazon who had inquired about the Arboria before us at the harbormaster in Anarchopolis.

He looked at us, in a disdainful but calculating manner, and we waited. He finally said that he would tell us why the priests of Hephaestus wanted to talk to the the priests of Prometheus--if we paid a price. At this point, we could hear Gorca's teeth grinding. He gave us a choice of tasks to perform. Two artifacts have been stolen from their temple. The first, a golem called the Golden Forger, was stolen hundreds of years ago by a cyclops, and placed on an island. Gorca stood up in anger, and objected that many adventurers have tried to recover it, but none have succeeded. Actinos ignored him and continued.

Our second option is to proceed on to the Isutian colony and recover the Hammer of Hephaestus. We asked if he had any information that would help us recover it, and he said yes--but he will not give it to us until we recover the Golden Forger. Basically, this man was forcing us to recover the Golden Forger. We said that we would return in the morning with an answer.

Gorca led us on a brief tour of the temple. Suleiman seemed particularly interested in the sacred forge, from which the Hammer of Hephaestus was stolen. Apparently, they found two priests inside, their throats slit, a thread of red hair near a forge, and the rack, on which the hammer lay, empty.

There were no signs of intrusion, but Suleiman was determined to continue investigating. He climbed to the roof, where the forges vented their gases, but all possible entrances were sealed shut by metal bars and grates. There seemed to be no way the hammer could have been stolen.
Finally, we returned to the inn. Urym went out to collect information--with strict instructions not to get drunk and tell everyone that we are fabulously wealth. Suleiman talked to the barkeeper and found that in two days, the city will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first Emathian victory over the Taygete League. It is not likely that we will be around to see the celebration, as we will probably be headed south to the Isutian colony, or west to the island of the Cyclops.

Urym returned and informed us that no one in this town seemed interested in gossip or chat. Everyone is busy with business or religious work. Upon his return, we began discussing our options. Actinos has left us few; it seems that we must try to recover the Golden Forger.

September 19th
After eating more fish stew for breakfast, we headed to the temple of Hephaestus. There was no choice; we had to find and return the golem.
Actinos immediately sent us to a fast ship called the Wings of Hermes. He must have known we would accept; we were underway quickly. The crew of this ship is sullen and unfriendly. They would likely abandon us in a second. This could be our most difficult trial yet.

To make matters worse, I think the weather may be getting rough soon. It is a bad omen.

September 20th
The sky grew even more overcast in the morning, and the rain began to pour down in the afternoon. We heard a strange, roaring sound in the distance. The crew attributed it to sea lions. I assumed that they meant the creatures which resembled seals or walruses, but they said they are strange creatures, with a lion's head and forelegs, and a fish's tail. So far, there is no sign of the creatures. The crew seems hopeful that we will reach the island without encountering them.

September 21st
We have sighted the island, and pulled up close to it. A giant temple stands atop its rocky summit. Soon we will row in close, jump from the boat, and walk ashore. We must leave the chest behind, so I am making a last log entry, should this be my downfall. I have convinced Daito to put on our extra suit of Githyanki splint mail, so he is better protected. I hope that Prometheus' wisdom lights our path.
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SESSION 26

What a disaster! We have returned to the boat, with the golem intact. Unfortunately, Kellindel and Gorca are not intact; they were killed on the island.

Our initial landing was very successful. We waded onto the beach, and were quickly attacked by six incredibly ugly cyclopskins. Their leader wielded a magic shield and hammer, but he was soon dispatched, thanks to a sunscorch and Gorca's hammer. The rest fell to Kellindel's flashing blades very quickly.

The temple stood a hundred yards up the hill, and we began our climb toward it. Suleiman summoned Tanvil, and sent him ahead to explore. He did not return, so we charged up the hill, cast prayer and bless at the entrance, and ran inside the temple.
There was no sign of Tanvil; only a small scattering of bloody fur lay in the middle of the temple. We surmised that the temple's guardians must have killed Tanvil, and set about exploring cautiously.

We could see a set of stairs leading down at the back of the temple, and statues of the gods, their features distorted into cruel mockeries of the Olympians, lined the walls. Suleiman walked to the spot that seemed to mark Tanvil's final stand, and was suddenly attacked by several margoyles!

They battered him brutally, but we came to his aid quickly; he used the ring of jumping to leap away. He used the wand of flame's burning hands power on one of the margoyles, and it actually worked. Apparently, we are far enough away from Ionia to be beyond Hecate's control of magic. Gorca, using the magical hammer of striking taken from the cyclopskin, killed two of the margoyles. Finis killed the other one.

There was still no sign of Tanvil, but we continued our search. Several bones seemed to jut out from a ledge that ran around the temple, near the ceiling. Suleiman cast levitate to investigate, and was surprised to see several young margoyles in a nest. We dispatched the foul beasts with arrows, and searched the area.

A large assortment of magic items was stashed on the ledge; a flask, four javelins, a discus made of gray metal, and, miraculously, Tanvil's statue! The javelins have the symbol of Artemis on them, and I suspect that they may be very powerful weapons. None of us can use them well, so we are holding them for an emergency.

We proceeded to the staircase, and descended slowly. After about forty feet, it opened onto a room. Kellindel and I approached the entrance, but two tentacles lashed out at us from the floor! They missed, and we withdrew beyond their range.

I tossed a continual light rock into the room, and a grisly sight greeted us. The floor was covered with bones and armor, and an imposing column of stone glared at us with a single eye. Suleiman, who was growing weary of the island's annoying defenders, told us to step back. He checked his ring of fire resistance to make sure that he was wearing it, and cast a huge fireball into the room. The reverberation echoed for some time, but we did not wait for the sound to fade. Suleiman stepped up to examine the result--the column had abandoned its stone facade; it was obvious that it was some kind of monster. He blasted it with a magic missile, and it fell over, dead. Our encyclopedia suggests that it may have been a Stone Roper.

A brief search of the room turned up nothing, except for a single sword. It was stuck in the back of the stone roper--perhaps a previous interloper's desperate last stab. Suleiman picked it up, and it instantly began to speak aloud! It spoke in Isutian and Bengali--only I could understand it, as I am wearing the helm. It said that its name was Dacla Iman, and it continually asked us who we were. None of us speak Isutian or Bengali, so Suleiman shrugged and strapped it across his back. It seems to be one of those rare Khopesh swords.

I picked up the continual light rock, and tossed it down a hallway which led out of the room. We were surprised to see it hit a huge door and fall to the ground. The door is at least twenty feet tall, and a riddle was inscribed on it. It said

"What are these Olympians together worth?
Goddess of Victory I
The Sun God III..."

The list of titles, each with a corresponding number, continued. We came up with the following names, which I will write with their number:

Nike I
Apollo III
Demeter V
Hades I
Artemis VI
Athena V
Gaia I

After a brief, intense discussion, Kellindel and I found the answer to the riddle: Nothing. Match the number to the corresponding letters in the names, and you will see.

We prepared ourselves for a fight; I prayed and blessed the group, as they drew their weapons and Urym sang an inspiring tune. As soon as I had pronounced the word "nothing", the doors slowly swung open, revealing a strange scene.

The floor of the room was littered with skeletons, armor and weapons, but all the metal had taken on a gray, dull look. A statue of gold--obviously the golem known as the Golden Forger--stood in the middle of the room. Two shapes moved among the bones and metal--small, dark bear-like creatures, which froze upon seeing us.

They stood there, glaring at us, and began to take on the color of the stone under their feet. We were not sure what was happening, so we waited for them to charge us. We should have attacked when we had a chance. They leaped at us, tearing at our armor. Suleiman sent magic missiles flying at one, but they dissipated without having any effect. As one clawed at Kellindel's elven chain, the armor turned gray and crumbled to dust--leaving Kellindel unprotected! He swung valiantly at the beast, and struck it down. The other creature struck Daito, destroying the magical Githyanki splint mail and the magic shield. It seemed to gain strength from the magic armor, and inexplicably gave up on Daito and turned to attack Kellindel. With two terrible blows, it knocked Kellindel to the ground, dead. Daito tried to hold it off, but it knocked him down, destroying his shield. I dragged Daito away and Gorca stepped up to hold the line. I cast Fury of Prometheus--which had no effect! Gorca was the next to fall. In desperation, Suleiman used the wand of flame to encircle the beast with a wall of fire. Unfortunately, Gorca was also trapped inside, but there was nothing else to do. The creature seemed to be affected by the magical flames--it was badly burnt, and then died trying to jump out of the flames. Just to make sure they were dead, we beat the creatures into a bloody pulp, and tried to rouse Daito. With a little curative magic, Daito was back on his feet.

The loss of Gorca and Kellindel lay heavily upon us, but we had to attend to the task of getting the Golden Forger to the boat. Gorca would have been able to activate and control the golem, but as he was no longer with us, we searched for another way to move the massive gold figure. Finis used stone shape to create several rollers, and we carefully tipped the golem onto them. Rolling the statue to the stairs was easy (especially since I donned the Gauntlets of Hephaestus, that Kellindel had been wearing). Getting him up the stairs was difficult. We tied a rope around it, and used the rollers to slowly, painfully tug the heavy golem up the stairs. Fortunately, the stairs were not very steep; it took us quite a while, but we got it up the stairs.

We surveyed the island, to make sure that all was as we left it. Strangely, we could see a lone man, clinging to piece of wood, floating near the beach. He seemed to be the survivor of a shipwreck. Suleiman donned Finis' boots of speed, and the cloak of elvenkind, and ran down to the beach. After getting a closer look at the man, he emerged from the rocks and helped him onto the shore. The man has introduced himself as Thadeus McGrue; he is a Cimbrian, and he speaks only Cimbrian. He recalls only that he was on a ship called the Clover. Thadeus is quite secretive, to the point of being annoying--he is something of a caudex. Still, he helped us move the golem after we gave him some water; I suppose we could keep him around until he gets "back on his feet", so to speak.

Our next task was moving the statue down to the beach. While we carefully, methodically rolled it down the hill, Daito shot a flaming arrow into the air--a signal to our boat that we were ready to leave. The crew cautiously rowed the boat near to the shore, and helped us move the Golden Forger onto the boat. It took the rest of the afternoon, but we were successful.

I have wrapped Gorca and Kellindel in bandages, so as to preserve their bodies. I intend to ask Actinos to resurrect them--we are not pawns to be used to further his ends; I will not allow members of the Pentachromata to be sacrificed for Hephaestus!

Upon reading over what I have just written, I realized that Kellindel was never officially inducted into the Pentachromata. Because he has died in our defense, I think he has earned a full membership. Even if he cannot be resurrected, we can make him a posthumous member. The very idea of being sent out here to this desolate rock, only because Actinos is too selfish to give us a little information, infuriates me.

I am so angry that I am having difficulty sleeping; I must calm down. Perhaps a night of rest will settle my temper.

September 22nd
The ship continues sailing east to Urbs Deorum. Thadeus is still evasive in his answers to our questions. This only serves to irritate me further. I am tired of being toyed with! It seems that it will take more than rest to satisfy my anger. We shall see what answers Actinos has for us when we return.

Kellindel's falcon is very distraught over his death. Finis has managed to calm it down, but it is still not eating enough.

September 23rd
My anger has been partially reduced; in some ways, things look better than they did yesterday. In other ways, the future looks grim indeed. I have some understanding why Prometheus sent for me.

We arrived at Urbs Deorum late in the evening. The priests of Hephaestus seemed reluctant to let us in, especially with the corpses of Kellindel and Gorca slung over our shoulders. We were finally taken to the door of Actinos' office and asked to wait. The door opened shortly, and Actinos asked us to come in.

Angrily, I dumped Kellindel's body on his desk, and Suleiman dumped Gorca's body next to Kellindel's. Actinos was, naturally, shocked. I demanded that he answer our questions, now that we had returned the Forger, and that he resurrect Kellindel and Gorca, who had both died in service to this temple.

Actinos was angry at first, but when he heard that we had retrieved the Golden Forger, he became much more accommodating. He then revealed the secret he had been holding from us. Prepare yourself! This is shocking indeed.

The Hammer of Hephaestus, a mighty artifact used to forge magical weapons, was stolen from the temple of Hephaestus in Urbs Deorum several weeks ago. This much we knew. Actinos dispatched a group of priests to Anarchopolis in the hope of catching the thieves, but they were, of course, killed before they even docked their boat. Actinos has evidence--specifically, pieces of rock found in the room from which the Hammer of Hephaestus was taken--suggesting that the thief came from the Red Mountains, to the east. In fact, a casting of stone tell revealed that the thief came from the Mountain of Lament--the mountain to which Prometheus was bound for millennia! He now suspects that the thief has gone to Tephut-Reh, a port in the Isutian Colony to the south.

An Amazon, Narissa, has also been in pursuit of the thief. She gave Actinos a girdle of cyclopean strength in exchange for the same information Actinos has given us. He does not know why the Amazon is after the thief, but he said that he suspects the thief is from the Taygete League. This makes me wonder whether the thief is my sister Damara after all--but if my sister is capable of throwing in with the Synod, perhaps she could sink even lower. I do not need to tell you how dangerous the Hammer of Hephaestus would be in the hands of the Taygete League. Still, I wonder why the thief visited the Mountain of Lament.

Actinos has agreed to resurrect Kellindel, if I will accept a geas cast upon me. The geas will require me to retrieve the Hammer of Hephaestus and return it to the temple. I find this arrangement to be more than fair--especially as I was planning to do this anyway. I suppose that Actinos, in a way, is getting a bad deal. For some reason, I do not feel the least bit guilty.

The geas and resurrection will take place tomorrow morning. Actinos has refused to resurrect Gorca, saying that he died in service to Hephaestus, and that he knew the risks when he got involved. Before going to bed (once again, we are staying at the Pilgrim), we looked up the armor-destroying creatures on the island. Nelbar's Encyclopedia says that they are called Zorba. I will have to remember to avoid zorba in the future, at all costs.

September 24th
With freshly cooked rabbit in my stomach, and the stars shining clearly above, I can happily say that this has been a pleasant day of travel. The day began at the temple of Hephaestus, where Actinos placed a geas upon me. I do not feel very different, and I suppose that I will not unless I deviate from my appointed task.

Once the geas had been cast, Actinos resurrected Kellindel, who was both surprised and grateful. He seemed amazed that I had accepted a geas in exchange for his life. We happily informed him that he was now an official member of the Pentachromata, and then filled him in on the details of the past few days.

The priests of Hephaestus have arranged a guide for us, to take us to the Mountain of Lament, so that we may find out what the thief was doing there. Our guide is named Epiderus; he has two ornthras as pack animals.

Our next task was to purchase sufficient supplies. We bought several days' worth of rations, as well as some rope and other assorted items. Perhaps most importantly, we bought new patches, with the symbol of the Pentachromata, to sew onto our sleeves. Kellindel seems to be very humbled and excited by it all, and he even paid for it all with one of his diamonds.

We left Urbs Deorum while the day was still young, exiting through the imposing East Gate. The road led south, then southeast. It was clear that this road was not used often. It was not long before we reached the foothills of the Red Mountains, and began our slow ascent. Thadeus (who decided to go with us, as he doesn't speak Ionian and apparently doesn't have anything better to do) has had some trouble keeping up with us, but he has been quiet for most of the day. Nonetheless, we managed to locate some herbs to soothe the pain in his legs.

Kellindel surprised us by bringing a rabbit his falcon had caught to the camp. He and Urym cooked it with great skill; we were all impressed. I hope that the rest of our trip to the Mountain of Lament goes so smoothly!

September 25th
The road into the mountains has become a trail, and the angle of ascent has increased sharply. Fortunately, the hot, humid air of Urbs Deorum is being replaced by the cool, dry (albeit thin) mountain air. A few Aarakocra have been spotted circling overhead, but they have not attempted to communicate with us.

We can still see the ocean from our campsite. It is somewhat reassuring, for some reason.

September 26th
Our path today led us into a canyon--and a trap. It seems that the Synod is trying to stop us from reaching the mountain. While walking through the canyon, Daito noticed movement in the rocks above. Epiderus suggested that it was probably nothing, but something in his tone seemed wrong. He began to walk further ahead.

Suleiman and Thadeus began scaling the canyon wall, when Epiderus suddenly broke into a run. Kellindel froze him in place with a hold person, and Epiderus fell to the ground, breaking his arm. Two men appeared on the cliff above, dropping large rocks on Thadeus and Suleiman. Both fell, and Thadeus was badly jarred.

It was then clear that we had walked into a trap; twelve men with slings stood on the top of one canyon wall, and four cyclopskins with polearms marched up the trail toward us.

Suleiman, who had recovered from his fall by now, took a great risk and cast fireball on the slingmen. The spell went awry, of course, due to the interference of Hecate, but in our favor this time--two fireballs shot from his finger, exploding in the midst of the slingmen. When the roar faded from our ears, there was little left of that group of attackers.

I turned on the advancing cyclopskins and set them alight with a produce fire spell. One fell to the spell, while Kellindel killed two more, and Daito finished off the last one.

We were out of danger for the moment, so we turned to Epiderus, who still lay frozen on the ground. I set his arm, and healed some of the damage done to him. We disarmed and bound him, and Kellindel released him from the spell. A quick interrogation revealed that he had been hired by two men from Anarchopolis--apparently one was a member of the Cult of Pythagoras; the identity of the other is uncertain. Thadeus searched through Epiderus' belongings, finding a coded message. Epiderus said that the message was supposed to be left under a rock, notifying our pursuers that we did not suspect him, and that we were continuing forward.

We forced Epiderus to leave a false note, saying that we had defeated the ambush, but we did not suspect him yet (Suleiman used the necklace of ESP to make sure he did not try to trick us). Perhaps we can lure anyone still following us into a trap of our own.

Our camp has been made; Epiderus sleeps under our watchful eyes. Kellindel and I are now retiring, so that Urym and Daito can take watch.

September 28th
Yes, I have skipped September 27th; I was unable to write yesterday, as I spent most of the day in Urbs Deorum without my paper and ink. Daito and Finis were in desperate need of powerful healing magic, which could only be obtained in Urbs Deorum.

Finis and Suleiman were just about finished with their watch yesterday morning when the attack began. Finis and Daito woke us up as a spell went off, centered on the campsite. Kellindel and I were affected, and ended up wandering around in a daze through the rest of the combat; it was some kind of confusion spell. I had to piece together what happened from what Suleiman and Finis told me after the spell wore off.

A man appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and attacked Finis. Finis raised his staff to defend himself, but the man cut off Finis' arm! To make matters worse, a gorgon (the metallic bull kind, not the medusa kind) came charging down a hill toward us. Most of the party was able to disbelieve in the illusion, and Suleiman set out to find the spellcaster.

It did not take long to locate him; unfortunately, the spellcaster saw Suleiman as well. He tossed what appeared to be a small ball of fur in his direction, and it grew into a large crocodile! Suleiman used the ring of jumping to leap over the crocodile, and land next to the surprised spellcaster. Suleiman managed to strike him once, but the spellcaster disappeared, without even casting a spell. The wizard had left a small bag behind, so Suleiman grabbed it, leaped over the crocodile again, and ran to assist the rest of the party.

Things were not going well; Daito was squaring off against the man with the deadly sword. Finis had turned into a snake and slithered away after having his arm cut off, but had managed to get behind the warrior and turn into a huge, one-pawed bear. The warrior sliced off one of Daito's legs, turned, and was about to take off one of Finis' legs when Suleiman cast a hold person. Miraculously, it worked, freezing the swordsman in place.

Soon afterwards, Kellindel and I recovered from the effects of the confusion spell, to find the party in terrible condition. Finis was missing an arm, and Daito a leg. The crocodile had disappeared, and a ball of fur appeared in the bag Suleiman had picked up. Suleiman's magic sword began speaking again, and I translated using the helm of comprehend languages. It was saying an evil sword was nearby. Suleiman pointed Dacla Iman at the (still held) warrior's sword of sharpness, and it confirmed Suleiman's suspicion. With one mighty swing, Suleiman destroyed the sword of sharpness. We also found a magic ring, bracers, and a spoon on the warrior. Kellindel knocked the warrior unconscious, and we tied him to a boulder. His identity was now obvious; he was Solon, the man from the "shop" in Anarchopolis, who had been Leander's Synod contact.
We decided that our quest was hopeless without Daito's sword, and Finis' spells, so we took drastic action: I summoned a Fiery Pegasus, Finis turned into a bird and hopped on my shoulder, and I slung Daito over my other shoulder, careful not to let him get burned. We flew to Urbs Deorum as fast as the Pegasus would carry us.

As we flew, a group of Aarakocra formed a formation around us. I explained our situation to one of them. He seemed to understand, but he did not speak, or was not capable of speaking, well enough to reply. I could have understood whatever he said, thanks to the helm of comprehend languages, but he chose not to speak. The continued to guard us all the way to Urbs Deorum, where I gave them a friendly wave, and they returned to the mountains.

It was shortly after lunch when I brought the Pegasus roaring down in front of the temple of Hephaestus (inadvertently frightening a few onlookers). Strangely, the priests didn't seem to know who we were at first, but they eventually let us in. Much to my surprise, Actinos offered to cast regenerate on them at no charge--perhaps he finally saw that the recovery of the Hammer of Hephaestus depended on the success of the Pentachromata. He did tell me that he expected the Gauntlets of Hephaestus to be returned once we had found the Hammer. Finis, Daito, and I spent the night at the Pilgrim again, and set out on another Fiery Pegasus first thing in the morning.

Back in the mountains, the party had experimented with the magical items taken from the Synod attackers, and determined their uses. They turned out to be bracers of defense, a ring of protection, and a spoon of sustenance. Suleiman was able to determine the use of the bag with fuzz in it; apparently, the user may throw the ball, and it will turn into some kind of animal which obeys the caster. He has determined that it is able to be come both a crocodile and a war ornthra, and possibly other creatures as well. Every time it is used, the ball of fur reappears in the bag after the creature disappears.

They interrogated Solon for much of the day; he claimed that his attacks on us were a favor for Damara. He tried to bribe the party to release him, but that, of course, did not work. They left him tied to the rock as they awaited my return.

Indeed, we did return, around noon today, September 27th. After we explained to each other what had happened in our absence, we discussed the fate of Solon. Thadeus came up with the novel idea of drugging him with local plants and leaving him tied, a knife at his feet. After a brief search, we found the appropriate plants, drugged him, and resumed our march to the Mountain of Lament.

Epiderus has led us ever higher and deeper into the mountains; the sea is only occasionally visible now, and it grows colder as we ascend. The winds make it even more uncomfortable. Still, we are making good progress.

September 29th
The sea was lost from view completely today. The winds have slowed, and an eerie quiet has settled over the trail. Thadeus seems to be getting used to the marching.

September 30th
Another quiet day.

September 31st
The silence was abruptly broken at dusk, when the sound of strange howling filled the air. Epiderus and I think that it must be the sound of death dogs, the children of Cerebus. Their two heads make haunting, two-tone howls. I've never encountered such creatures before; we will try to give them a wide berth.

October 1st
We have reached and ascended the holy mountain, and we have suspicions about why the thieves came here. I hope that we are capable of stopping this foul plot!

The mountain was first visible as we rounded a corner on the trail. While the rest of the Red Mountains are, of course, red, the Mountain of Lament is made of gray stone. In fact, it looks more like a huge pillar than a mountain.

After reaching the base of the mountain, and after I had finished my prayers at this most holy site, we began to search for a way to reach the top. We walked around it, hoping to find a trail or staircase. Kellindel spotted a human corpse in some shrubs, and we began to look around. Our search soon uncovered six more bodies, and a death dog. The large, two-headed dog was orangish in color, and, like the corpses, had no cuts or bruises, suggesting that poison or magic might be the cause of death.

Kellindel's keen eyes continued to scan the area, and he soon deduced that two groups had been here. One headed north, and consisted of sandal prints and strange, unidentifiable prints, that looked like an army of peg-legged men. The other group headed south, and consisted of boots and pawprints. Both sets of tracks were around two weeks old.

Further inspection of the corpses led us to suspect that they may have been slaves. I decided that we needed more information, so I cast speak with dead upon one of the corpses. The spirit revealed that he was killed by a gas cloud, and that he was brought here by his masters, the priests of Ares.

Further searching revealed a narrow path, leading to the top of the mountain. After hours of climbing, we reached the top. A shocking scene awaited us there. Two huge chains were attached to the stone. One chain ended in a massive manacle--big enough for all of the Pentachromata to stand inside! The other chain ended only in a melted link. I prayed again, and we began our search.

We soon found three Zek K'tri, which were obviously the creatures that made the strange peg-like tracks below. They had been killed by sword blows, although it is not clear why a battle occurred here.

It was also not clear why the manacle had been taken, but Suleiman soon came up with an idea--with the Hammer of Hephaestus, the manacle could be forged into a terrible weapon. Actually, considering how huge the manacle is, it could be made into many terrible weapons, and several suits of impenetrable armor. Obviously, such arms and armor would be used for evil purposes. The thieves must be stopped

On the way back down the mountain, it was decided that we would follow the tracks to the north, as they head towards Urbs Deorum and the ocean. The thieves probably had a ship waiting. We know that the thief who stole the Hammer of Hephaestus went first to Anarchopolis, and then to Tephut-reh. It is likely that those who stole the manacle also went to Tephut-reh. Therefore, we will go to Tephut-reh as quickly as possible.
Finis and Urym have decided that they will go to Aresopolis to investigate the other set of tracks, as well as pick up whatever other information they can. I am curious about how the priests of Ares are involved, exactly. Finis can, of course, change into a bird and fly, and Urym will wear the boots of speed, so they will travel quickly. Hopefully, they will catch up with us in Urbs Deorum; if not, we will head on to Tephut-Reh and hope that we can find them later.

It is dark already, so we will make camp here tonight.
------------------

SESSION 27

October 2nd
This morning, just as Suleiman and Daito finished their watch, they heard the call of horns to the south. As they woke us up, we could hear the strange double-bark of the death dogs. We donned our armor, and quickly made our way down the trail.

Not long after, we heard the sound of a horn blast to the east, surprisingly close. We continued to run north, but then we spotted a group of soldiers in the valley below. They had their backs to us, facing south. Their armor had the symbol of Ares--a sword crossed with a spear. Some held swords, some held spears, and others held slings. They continued to wait, looking southward in anticipation.

Soon there was another horn blast, and we told Epiderus and Thadeus to lead the ornthras away, further down the trail, where they would be safer. The rest of us quietly crept southward, to get a closer look.

A large woman sprinted into the valley, pursued by men with swords, led by hounds. I quickly surmised that this must be Narissa, the Amazon that we had heard about, and that had been in my vision. We decided that we should attempt a rescue.

The valley floor was about six hundred feet down; I summoned a fiery pegasus, climbed onto its back, and compelled it to dive into the valley. As the floor rose up at me, I could see that more pursuers were coming from the south--men on chariots, pulled by ornthras, and accompanied by Zek K'tri! They began casting spells at me, so I shouted for Narissa to climb aboard quickly, but at the same time, one of the priests managed to dispel the fiery pegasus. Fortunately, I did not have far to fall; it was more embarrassing than painful.

Narissa helped me to my feet, thanked me for trying, and we prepared to face the charge. I cast sanctuary on myself, and the priests of Ares worked their warriors into a rage with a Frenzy of Ares spell. They also tried to protect them with a Warcry, but I countered it with a prayer. Then they were upon us; a death dog knocked Narissa on her back, but she threw it off of her and began cutting through their ranks. Most of the soldiers and dogs ignored me, thanks to the sanctuary spell.

Fortunately, the rest of the Pentachromata came to my aid. Kellindel cast a flurry of hold person spells, freezing many of the soldiers around us in place. Suleiman took a great risk, attempting to cast a fireball. The strange forces of Ionian magic worked in our favor this time; a thick cloud of smoke blanketed the area around the chariot-mounted priests, and then the fireball exploded. Suleiman then tossed the fuzzball toward the combat, and it turned into a giant crocodile. Unfortunately, the fuzzball did not reach the bottom before the transformation was complete, and the crocodile tumbled clumsily down the mountain. But the crocodile was not badly injured. It slowly walked into the fray, and swallowed an unsuspecting swordsman in single gulp.

The Zek K'tri bounded up the mountain in huge leaps, and were soon slashing at Daito. With a mighty shout, Daito swung at the giant insect. He did not kill it with the blow, but the creature lost its balance and went crashing down the mountain to its death. At that moment, one of the priests of Ares emerged from the cloud of smoke, on foot, holding a black Spear of Ares. Suleiman was the intended target, and I shouted a warning. I cast a heat metal on the priests and one of the nearby swordsman, and they quickly dropped their weapons, but the priest with the spear prepared to throw.

Suleiman once again took a great risk, and prepared to cast a magic missile. This time, however, it did not work as planned--just as had happened in the monastery of Oghma, a rip in space appeared, and a Fruk stepped through, looking very unhappy. The priest of Ares threw the spear at Suleiman, but missed, and Suleiman cleverly pretended that he had summoned the demon, and directed it to attack the priests.

Meanwhile, Narissa and I were holding off the remaining swordsmen; Narissa soon finished off the death dogs. I cast a sunscorch on one of the priests, and he fell to the ground. Another priest tried to cast silence on us, but I dodged the spell, and Narissa and I quickly left the area of effect. It was then that a powerful warrior waded into the combat, and attacked with a magical scourge. He struck me, and the pain was incredible. I fell to the ground, unable to do anything but think about how much it hurt. Narissa tried her best to keep the warriors away from me.

The head priest of Ares seemed to have believed Suleiman's ruse, as his eyes grew wide and he swore profusely. He tried desperately to dispel the Fruk. Fortunately for everyone, it worked, and the Fruk disappeared.

By this time, two more Zek K'tri had bounded up the mountain to attack Daito and Kellindel. The fight was furious, but Daito ended it quickly. He gave another mighty shout, and struck one of the insects incredibly hard, knocking it up and over the cliff's edge. He then turned to the other insect and lopped its head off in a single swing. This left Kellindel free to take aim at the head priest with his bow. For the first time, he pulled out his magic arrows (which he had gained from the deck of many things), and let one fly.

At the same time as Kellindel fired, the priest was pulling out a flask or potion of some sort, and was prepared to throw it. The arrow struck him before he had a chance, and much to our surprise, the arrow exploded in a large cloud of fire and smoke. Then the flask exploded even more impressively--it must have been oil of fiery burning. The head priest was no more.

It was obvious at this point that the tide had turned; the remaining priest turned to run, along with most of the men with slings. The warriors affected by the Frenzy of Ares, however, were too battle-crazed to cease their attacks; between Narissa, the hungry crocodile, and Kellindel's arrows they were eventually reduced to the man with the magical scourge. Kellindel fired two more of the magical arrows into him. One created a brief, painful surge of cold, and the other created a loud, stunning boom.

Narissa allowed me to square off with the injured scourge-wielding warrior, while she killed the fighters still under the effects of Kellindel's hold person spells. I struck him twice, but a single blow from the scourge paralyzed me again. Narissa, however, took pity on me, and killed him quickly.

And that is how the Pentachromata defeated more than forty soldiers, priests, and Zek K'tri from the forces of Aresopolis. Venimus, vidimus, nates calce concidimus.
We quickly searched the corpses, recovering the magical scourge, a magic pearl on a chain around the head priest's neck, a potion, and a scroll with Restoration, Heal, and Raise Dead on it. There may have been more, but staying around the scene of the battle did not seem like a good idea. We resumed our northward travel, with Narissa and I on the valley floor, and the rest of the party on the cliff trail.

It was clear that it would only become more difficult to reach the trail from the valley floor, as the trail went higher. Prometheus allowed me to share Narissa's knowledge of climbing using teaching and learning (although she was understandably reluctant to allow me to touch her head), and we scaled the valley wall.

Once we were all together again, we made good time down the trail. After a while, Narissa asked for some water, and said that she wanted to speak to me alone. I agreed, and while she washed the blood from herself, I explained who we were, and how I had come to know her name.

She said that she is in pursuit of Kolete, a priestess of Hecate who slew her sister. Narissa has chased Kolete through the magic lands, and all the way to these mountains, and then the priests of Ares began chasing her. Apparently, Kolete has red hair--could there be some confusion about my sister and Kolete? Or are they working together? I am confident that Prometheus will reveal all in time. In any case, Narissa has agreed to join forces with us, as we seek a common goal. It is good that she cannot understand the crude comments about her that Thadeus has made in Cimbrian; she would probably break his neck.

We distributed the magical items (I took the pearl, which I suspect may be a pearl of wisdom, and the scroll, Kellindel took the potion of speed) and returned to our northward march. Just to make sure we were far away from the battleground, we continued our march a little longer than normal before making camp. Several flocks of migrating birds have flown overhead. It makes me think about Finis and Urym; I hope that they are all right.

October 3rd
We were awakened by Suleiman and Daito this morning, as they pointed in horror at a giant one-eyed creature stomping toward us--a cyclops! Everyone drew weapons and attacked, knowing that the giant would give us no quarter.

The giant dodged a sunscorch, and struck Daito with his spear, sending Daito sprawling on the ground. Narissa slashed viciously at it, but it stood its ground, even as Kellindel's magic arrows (some of which return to their quiver after being fired) struck it. One of the arrows sent lightning coursing up and down its body, and the other created that loud, booming noise. The giant was about to swing again when suddenly it cried out, turned its head to look behind it, and fell forward, dead. Suleiman had crept behind the giant and stabbed it in the back with Dacla Iman, the Isutian sword.

Dacla Iman spoke, saying that it was good to be in combat again, but of course, we could not reply to it. Suleiman has been trying to pick up on Isutian by listening to the sword talk; as intelligent as he is, he probably will have mastered the language by the time we get to Tephut-reh.

The rest of our day was spent in quiet travel.

October 4th
You probably won't believe this, but Kellindel has died again. I am not sure how we could possibly succeed without his sword arm, so we are going to try to have him resurrected again.

The day started well. We were all surprised to see Kwame, our "pet" hippogriff, fly for the first time. He has been stretching his wings and hopping around a great deal, but today, he really flapped his wings and flew around. Epiderus and Suleiman had a long conversation about proper care of of avian creatures. It seems that Suleiman has his work cut out for him, if he is to raise this creature to be a large, healthy hippogriff.

We spent the day marching and keeping an eye on Kwame, to make sure that he did not lose control or get carried away with his newfound ability to fly. Our rest tonight was interrupted by four attacking trolls. Ionian trolls seem to be more reddish in color than the trolls we faced in Aragon. I used a continual light stone to light them up, and we attacked them with ranged weapons and spells, then closed to melee. The fight was surprisingly difficult, but we eventually won, and Suleiman put all the trolls to the torch.

At this point, the group fell into arguing about what to do next. I needed to rest to recover my spells, and Narissa had no interest in hunting down trolls. Kellindel, however, had found the trolls' tracks, and insisted on tracking them to their lair, as he might not be able to find them again in the morning (which puzzles me, because it is much easier to track in the day, and it was only a few hours before sunrise). Daito and Thadeus agreed to go with him, and they walked down the trail, using the continual light rock to see.

So they set out, the three of them, as the rest of us slept. Thadeus changed his mind quickly, and returned to the camp. Not long afterward, Kellindel and Daito were spotted by five trolls. They tried to run, but Daito, encumbered by his armor, could not keep up with Kellindel. They were eventually forced to stop and face them. We tried to assist them, but arrived too late. Kellindel drank the potion recovered from the head priest of Ares (which turned out to be a potion of speed), but even that was not enough to save him. We were eventually victorious (and Thadeus surprised us all with some very well-placed stones from his sling), but Kellindel was killed. We were far too weak, of course, to face any more trolls, so we decided that the lair would have to wait until morning. I do not think that all of Kellindel's gems will be enough to resurrect him, but perhaps we can trade some magic as well.

October 5th
After healing our remaining wounds, we walked back down the trail and spotted the troll lair, a cave higher up the mountain. Our cautious approach proved useless, as there were no more trolls inside. The grisly remains of their victims and their victims' possessions were spread about; they had even converted a chariot into a kind of chair or bench. Despite the stench, we searched until we found four gems, a small clay pot, a pair of sandals with wings, and a silver band with a shell on it--the symbol of Poseidon.

We took the items and resumed our march to Urbs Deorum. Our travel back has gone much more quickly, as we are going downhill. Urbs Deorum was in sight this afternoon, and we were soon passing through the large East Gate. A pair of guards stopped us to ask what we were doing with Kellindel's corpse, when suddenly, Thadeus was caught trying to pick someone's pocket. The guards started to haul him off (I was tempted to let them take him away), but we intervened, saying that he was our slave, and that he was obviously a barbarian. The guards seemed sympathetic, and for ten gold, they let him go, with a warning to keep our slave under control in the future. We agreed and, as the guards walked off, took turns cuffing him on the head for his incredible stupidity.

The guards had asked us to put Kellindel on a cart, and cover him with a shroud. We did so, and wheeled him to the temple of Apollo, hoping that his affinity with archers would give our request some extra weight. Narissa went to arrange passage to Tephut-Reh on a ship, and we entered the temple.

A very friendly priest named Stavros seemed to take a liking to Suleiman, and they negotiated in private for a while. We had decided that the magic arrows might be valuable to these priests, but Suleiman said that they were not enough. In the end, we gave them the magic arrows, three sticks of incense of meditation, a gem worth a thousand gold, and the scroll of heal, raise dead, and restoration. It was a steep price, but resurrection is a powerful spell.

Suleiman stayed to chat with Stavros for a while; he was interested in our adventures, and Kellindel's role in particular. The rest of us went to the Pilgrim, where we met Narissa, and told her of our success. She has arranged passage on a ship called the Thessalian, commanded by captain Pericles.

We were expecting to meet Finis and Urym at the Pilgrim, but they are not here. I pray that their journey is short and safe; may Prometheus grant them the wisdom they need to succeed!

October 6th
The ocean moves beneath us yet again, and we are traveling south. Unfortunately, Daito has had to return to his master; his allotted month with us has nearly expired. We said goodbye to him at the docks, and Kellindel (having been resurrected at the temple of Apollo early in the morning) gave him a gem to pay for his passage. Kellindel seems very sullen lately; it seems to me that he should be happy to be alive. Then again, I suppose being killed twice is very sobering.

We also took on an unexpected passenger; an old man named Aphetis asked if he could journey with us on the small galley. He did not have any gold, so Kellindel paid for his passage. He says that he is a carpenter (or was a carpenter; he is too old and frail now), and he is going to visit his son, a merchant, in Tephut-Reh.

The crew seems very pleasant, and they sing merry tunes as they work. It is too bad Urym is not around to hear them; I think that he would enjoy learning some new songs. The captain has graciously given us his cabin, and here inside it I lay, as finish today's entry. Let us consider our departure from Urbs Deorum a new beginning; we shall put the many disasters of the past behind us, and resolve to accomplish our mission.

October 7th
Yet another day spent in cheerful travel.

October 8th
The Thessalian is hugging the coast, and from the ship we can see more flocks of migrating birds. It seems that winter is coming upon the world. Nonetheless, we will be warm here in Ionia.

October 9th
What an exciting day it has been! In the afternoon, Suleiman spotted a golden shape moving toward us through the water. As it came closer, we could see gold hair rippling behind it. I suggested that it might be a Sea Lion, and we prepared for a fight. I conjured forth a watery fist, and the Pentachromata readied their bows and slings.

We were all surprised when a mermaid emerged from the water, and asked for our help. Of course, I was somewhat embarrassed; I tried to turn the threatening watery fist into a friendly wave, with little success. Fortunately, she seemed to understand that we were not really hostile.

She introduced herself as Parthanene. She has friends--members of the race known as Locatha--who have been attacked recently by a terrible giant octopus. Suleiman asked if it was the Kraken (he seems to have some kind of obsession about the Kraken), but Parthanene said it was not that terrible.

We consulted Pericles and Narissa. Pericles said he did not mind helping out a mermaid, and Narissa said she would tolerate a brief diversion from her pursuit of Kolete. As a reward, Parthanene offered us a magic pearl, which bestows great swimming skill on the owner.

The crew took down the sail and rigging, and retreated below deck, to avoid the wrath of the Octopus. Soon, the shy Locatha appeared and began to move our ship toward the area the octopus was last spotted. The sun soon set, and I cast water breathing on the entire party, so that we would all survive if pulled under the ocean's surface by a tentacle.

Suddenly Parthanene announced "It is coming!", and she and the Locatha disappeared beneath the waves. We waited nervously for the attack to come. The octopus wasted no time; soon tentacles were writhing across the deck toward us.

I prayed for protection, and the fight began. Suleiman, Thadeus and Kellindel were quickly seized by the grasping limbs. Narissa, armed with the magical javelins (you will recall they came from the island of the cyclops, where we recovered the golden forger, and had the name of the huntress on them) said "Artemis" and threw one at a tentacle. The effect was devastating; the javelin seemed to fly from her hand of its own accord, and it severed the large tentacle instantly.

Suleiman spoke a few words and disappeared from the tentacle's grasp, only to reappear on the deck--he has recently learned dimension door, and it seems to work very well. Narissa freed Thadeus from a tentacle with another javelin, when I was grabbed. Suleiman summoned a group of six vicious barracuda with a spell, and sent them against the Octopus, before being grabbed by another tentacle. Thadeus quickly severed the writhing limb that held him, and Narissa freed me. We watched the barracuda go to work.

At the same time, Kellindel had been pulled under the water by a tentacle, and was trying his best to stay away from the octopus' large beak. Fortunately, the barracuda proved exceedingly hungry. We could not see what was going on, but the large amounts of blood and tentacle quickly filling the water by the boat suggested that the octopus was getting the worst of it. Soon Kellindel surfaced, and the water filled with a black, inky substance, as the octopus tried to make its escape. The barracuda proved too fast and too hungry; they made short work of the octopus and disappeared.

Parthanene and the Locatha returned as soon as the barracuda were gone. Of course, they were ecstatic. The mermaid gave Suleiman the magic pearl--and a kiss (he certainly has a way with women)--and told him that he was welcome to come visit her whenever he wanted. With a wink, she and the Locatha disappeared.

We shook Suleiman from his giddy daze and took to investigating our magic items. The pearl allows the wearer to swim as fast as a dolphin. Suleiman cannot swim, so he is keeping it. The ring from the troll cave, with the seashell on it, also allows the wearer to swim quickly, as well as hold his breath for a long time. Kellindel cannot swim either , so we gave him the ring.

Suleiman rubbed some of the oil from the clay pot on his toe and finger, and was shocked to see them disappear! They were not merely invisible, they were gone! We waited nervously, hoping that they would return. Fortunately, he felt no pain. Suleiman's finger and toe returned after about an hour. Narissa suggested that it must be oil of etherealness. She asked if she could have it, so that she could chase Kolete no matter where she tries to hide. One does not argue with an Amazon; she kept the pot.

I put on the winged sandals and, of course, they granted me the ability to fly. I was somewhat reluctant to give up my old, trusty sandals that had carried me so far, but these are far more useful.

The crew emerged from below deck and we were soon underway again. The night has been quiet so far, except for the crew's happy singing. Captain Pericles says that we have several days left before Tephut-Reh.

October 10th
Nothing much of interest today.

October 11th
Uneventful.

October 12th
We were joined by a group of dolphins today; the captain and crew have taken it as a sign of good fortune. I hope that it bodes well for the Pentachromata as well.

October 13th
Uneventful.

October 14th
The ship is headed more west than south now; we will be there soon. Tephut-Reh is perhaps as little as a day away. We are all in good shape and good spirits. I wonder what awaits us in this Isutian port.
__________________________________
The story is almost over....

SESSION 28

October 15th
Late in the afternoon, we reached the city of Tephut-Reh. I must warn any travelers, the heat here is almost overwhelming. Because we (correctly) anticipated running into trouble, I have been wearing my splint mail, resulting in even more discomfort. Nonetheless, we have gained a few clues.

The harbor was filled with a wide variety of ships, from junks to reed barges. Most importantly, the Arboria was moored to a dock, listing slightly to one side. It looked abandoned. A large temple (of what god I do not know) stood upon a hill above the town, and the activity on the docks reminded me of the frenetic pace of Anarchopolis.

We disembarked, bidding farewell to Pericles and his happy crew, as well as to Aphetis, the old man who had come here to visit his grandson. Kellindel immediately made an interesting suggestion: We should attempt to find a potion shop, and equip everyone with potions of extra-healing. A few quick inquiries (Most inhabitants of Tephut-Reh speak Ionian, and often several other languages) revealed that a wizard named Phirip owned a potion shop in town. It was a good idea, but we wanted to check out the Arboria first.

On the way to the Arboria, we passed several strange, hump-backed creatures Suleiman calls "camels". They are quite bizarre. Also, a prostitute asked us if we required her services; we sent her quickly on her way. Among the Isutians, it is apparently normal for both men and women to wear cosmetics, especially around the eyes.

The Arboria is a huge galley, sitting abandoned on the end of a long row of docks. As we approached, Suleiman picked out a marker on the mast in the secret language of thieves. It said "under the third". We walked up to the bow and shouted "Ahoy!", but received no answer. I cast find traps, and climbed aboard. Kellindel climbed up after me, and together we decided that the deck was safe. Kellindel pointed out that the ship seemed to have gone through a sever storm recently.

Narissa climbed up, followed by Suleiman and Thadeus. Thadeus kept watch while the rest of us began to make a more thorough search. We quickly found some numbered belaying pins on the mast. Suleiman pulled out the third one, revealing a paper note inside. It read:

Red kite falcon in Demopolis is sometimes found hiding
down below at the treeline. The nest or house must be
of items favored Horus. But friend, beware training of
the falcon is devil's tricks and illusions.

Suleiman stayed on the deck trying to decode it, while Kellindel, Narissa, and I began to search below the deck. Suleiman quickly surmised that the true message is every third word: "Falcon is hiding at the house of Horus. Beware the devil's illusions." I am told that Horus is an Isutian god of revenge, and the son of Osirus.

A brief search turned up little of interest. We found only two storage rooms and two officer's quarters. Kellindel, however, spotted an illusionary wall. After successfully resisting the effects of the illusion, he reported that four undead awaited us on the other side. I concentrated, dispelling the image of the wall in my mind, and then succeeded in destroying three of the undead in the name of Prometheus.

Narissa stepped through the wall to finish off the last one, and then things got more complicated. Undead came streaming through several doors beyond the illusionary wall. I managed to destroy five, and Kellindel waded into the fray, striking down several more.

Suddenly a strange woman, naked but with what appeared to be dirty white wings, appeared behind me, and suggested that I climb the mast. I resisted, and the woman waved both a wand and a rope threateningly in my direction.

While Narissa dealt with the undead, Kellindel and I turned our attention to the woman. Her wand changed into a dagger, and she flung the rope at Kellindel. Kellindel nimbly jumped aside, and suddenly Suleiman appeared behind the woman. Wielding the Isutian khopesh Dacla Iman, he surprised the winged female, stabbing her from behind. The woman disappeared instantly, and Dacla Iman announced that she was an outer-planar creature, and must be destroyed.

The woman reappeared behind Suleiman, who deftly jumped away from her rope and dagger. Narissa and Kellindel had made short work of the zombies, and I killed the last one, leaving us all free to concentrate on the outer-planar creature.

She disappeared yet again, and reappeared on the poop deck, just above us. She asked Thadeus to climb the mast, which he did. I charged up the stairs and swung my warhammer as I ran under her, but missed. She counterattacked, and managed to catch me in her magic rope. I was unable to move. Narissa tried to attack the woman, but was poisoned by the magic wand-dagger.

Suddenly a blade thrust up through the deck below the woman's feet. In an incredible strike, Suleiman had stood below her and stabbed her with Dacla Iman. She screamed and faded away. The rope fell apart, and I immediately cast slow poison on Narissa (who was in a great deal of pain due to the poison). Suleiman used Dacla Iman to destroy the woman's poisonous magic dagger, and after some contemplation, decided that the woman had been an Erinye, a lesser devil.

We coaxed Thadeus down from the mast and renewed our search. Some people had gathered on the dock after our fight, but we ignored them. After searching more storage rooms, we found the captain's quarters. According the log, the Arboria left Anarchopolis on September 7th. His log was confusing, but seemed to suggest that at some point crew members disappeared, only to reappear later--perhaps as undead? The captain was imprisoned, and there was clearly some kind of disaster (probably the storm that damaged the ship). Someone named Minos apparently killed the captain after he discovered the nature of the cargo they were carrying. The final piece of information we gleaned from the log was that Damara and Kolete are, in fact, not the same person. We did not think that they were, but the possibility had existed (after all, what are the odds of there being two red-haired Ionians both conspiring to transport magical artifacts?).

The cargo hold was empty, except for some rats, a dead Zek K'tri, and a circular burn mark on the floor--probably from the manacle. A feeling of gloom pervaded the area, and we were all growing uncomfortable. Doors leading from the cargo hold revealed two cabins full of corpses, lined up against the walls, as if they were on display. A third door revealed a gathering room, and what seemed to have been the Erinye's nest.

The sun was beginning to set, and there was some kind of moaning noise coming from below decks. We decided that we had enough information for now. We had to find the House of Horus, and a potion shop. So, the Pentachromata climbed down from the ship and waked into the city of Tephut-Reh. The city is incredibly crowded, with a great diversity of people. It reminds me of Anarchopolis, although the population here is predominantly Isutian.

As I mentioned before, Kellindel had obtained directions to Phirip's potion shop, and we followed them as best we could. It became obvious that we were being followed. Ten Ionian soldiers, with the symbol of Ares (the sword and spear) on their chests were close behind, and making no efforts to hide their pursuit. Five more joined the group, and we stopped to ask a pair of town guards what to do. They said that the servants of Ares were of no concern to them, unless they started hurting citizens of Tephut-Reh. The guards do not seem very interested in keeping order; I wonder if the Pharaoh in Isutia would approve of the way this colony is run.

There was little to do but proceed on our way. We found Phirip's Potion Shop, despite the confusing, winding streets. Kellindel and Suleiman went in, while the rest of us stood guard. The followers of Ares grew in numbers, and grinned evilly at us, but kept their distance. After what seemed like an eternity, Suleiman and Kellindel emerged from the shop, carrying six potions and looking somewhat upset. It seems that the shop owner (who was not Phirip, but Geth--Phirip apparently died recently) spotted a large group of priests of Ares--roughly thirty--behind his shop.

We quickly set off in search of an inn, but our pursuers seemed to be blocking certain alleys, forcing us to go to a battleground of their choosing. Narissa suggested that we could try to take to the rooftops, so we ducked into an alley and scampered up as quickly as possible. Suleiman turned invisible (some of his spells, notably hold person and invisibility, seem to work flawlessly here), and we quietly made our way to safety.

A group of children (who were fascinated by Suleiman's invisibility) led us to an inn called the Inn of 101 Delights. It was a very unsavory place, but we were sure that the priests of Ares would not think to look for us here. Kwame immediately leaped up onto the bar, knocking over the dinners of several patrons, and squawked loudly. It looked like there might be a fight, but Suleiman brought Kwame under control, and we compensated the unfortunate diners. They became much more civil after that, and even told Suleiman that the House of Horus is an inn. We will investigate it in the morning.

Despite the noise downstairs, I will try to get some sleep. Kellindel and Suleiman managed to procure a potion of super-heroism and five potions of extra-healing (although two of the potions are suspect, as they look and smell differently). We will be well equipped for whatever trouble comes tomorrow.

October 16th
The moment of truth is nearly at hand; just one more night's rest, and we will launch our assault on Kolete and her forces. We are currently in what was once a wizard's enclave. Wizards are strange folk, and this wizard was no different. Unfortunately, he left so many guardians (or perhaps they are all interlopers) that we must rest to recover from our wounds before beginning our attack.

The Inn of 101 Delights was very loud, filled with all sorts of unsavory revelry, but we managed to rest well enough. It is strange to wake up without Finis singing to the sun. After ordering breakfast (including a huge, diverse meal for Kwame), we made our way into the streets of Tephut-Reh once again. The priests of Ares were nowhere to be seen this time. Our first goal was to put Kwame in a kennel temporarily, so that we might be a little less conspicuous and more mobile. Having finished that task, we searched for the House of Horus. It was over near the docks, and it did not take long to locate. Before entering, we first walked around the building, checking for signs of ambush, or any other clues. Suleiman pointed out a thief symbol marking the building as belonging to the Synod.

Proceeding with great caution, we entered the establishment, and immediately noticed that it was almost completely empty. The Isutian innkeeper stood at the bar, pretending to keep busy. We asked him about a room, mentioning the falcon (by cleverly referring to Kellindel's falcon, Glide). We couldn't think of a way to mention the "devil's illusions", but it turned out that didn't matter.

The innkeeper gave Suleiman a key, and told us to look in the second urn in room 3. We did so, and found a handle inside the urn. Of course, we pulled the handle, and a floor panel shifted, revealing steps leading down into a room lit by a lamp. A pleasant smell wafted up toward us, and we walked down into the room.

A woman--with red hair--sat at a desk, with her back to us, writing. On a pile of pillows sat a huge humanoid, seemingly made of a grayish stone, and wearing the headdress and cloak. The huge stone man was petting a cat that looked tiny by comparison. It was amazing that he did not accidentally crush the feline.

The woman noticed our presence, and turned around--it was my sister, Damara! How she has changed these past few years! I have not seen her since she left to be trained by the Sisters of Magic in the few forms of magic available to those who do not worship Hecate, around 1081. Of course, she is a fully grown, beautiful woman now. She has changed so much!

Damara was very happy to see me, although I was somewhat reserved, as I did not yet know with what forces her loyalties lay. Nonetheless, I gave her a hug, and was about to introduce the group, when Suleiman interrupted me. He seems particularly taken by Damara, and he introduced himself very gracefully. I then introduced the rest of the Pentachromata, and she introduced the stone man as T'charm, an obsidisman. It appears that he wears a cloak of displacement. I tried to give a quick summary of our adventures and our reason for pursuing her.

She then began her explanation of events. She joined the Synod after leaving the Sisters of Magic, because the Synod does not let gender get in the way of her progress. I must admit, in many Ionian towns and cities, it is much harder for a woman to pursue her goals. Still, I do not see why she could not have worked for anyone in Anarchopolis; most businesses there happily place higher priority on profits than on satisfying their gender preferences. Damara says that she does not (knowingly) do evil, but I wonder if her definition of evil would be commonly accepted. Anyway, Kolete contracted with the Synod to carry a cargo--the Hammer and the Manacle--to Tephut-Reh, and the Synod put Damara in charge. It seems that everything went terribly wrong. Many of the ship's crew members disappeared, then reappeared as zombies, doing Kolete's bidding. Damara wisely hid from Kolete, and escaped upon reaching Tephut-Reh. Kolete is accompanied by several allies, including Minos, whom Damara suspects is not human. He may even be the one who sank the ship carrying the priests of Hephaestus to Anarchopolis.

Damara is obviously angry about the whole affair, and she wants revenge. She quickly added that she wants to stop their foul plot, but I think she is mostly interested in revenge. In any case, she is on our side. We asked her about Solon, and whether she sent him after us. She apologized, and was thankful that we merely drugged him and left him in the mountains, rather than killing him. According to Damara, Kolete is headed for Irem, the City of Pillars, one of the ruined Damned Cities of the Arachnith, deep inside the Magic Lands. They have a large head start on us, but Damara knows of a wizard named Setem-Nefer who may be able to get us to Irem quickly--perhaps via teleportation.

Suleiman and T'charm the Obsidisman went to take Kwame out of the kennel, to be placed in the care of the Synod. Damara suggested that the priests of Ares might try to get Kwame otherwise. I'm not sure that I trust the Synod, but I suppose our hippogriff will be safer with them than elsewhere. Damara also dispatched another servant to get some supplies for us--arrows, sling bullets, food, oil, torches, and a tent.

Upon the return of Suleiman and T'charm, we set out on foot for the wizard's enclave. The area outside the city is surrounded with irrigated fields. The heat was overwhelming; travelers should be prepared to carry plenty of water through this area. The irrigated fields continue a way into the countryside, then abruptly end in rocky desert.

It did not take long to run out of water. Fortunately, a rider from the city came carrying supplies on his ornthra in midmorning. We had not thought to ask for water, but the rider had a little for us. After distributing the supplies, we continued our walk to the home of Setem-Nefer.

A short time later we reached the white stone structure. Two huge pylons stood on either side of the gate, covered with hieroglyphs. Eerie quiet reigned, but we broke it by pounding loudly on the large gate. T'charm announced that a creature on top of a pylon was looking at us, and we all looked up to see a sphinx as it flew down and landed nearby.

The creature claimed that it controlled the surrounding territory now, and demanded tribute. We refused, and, of course, it attacked. T'charm swung at it with a massive maul, and Suleiman's magic missile went off without a problem. They managed to bring it down, but not before it dealt several fearsome blows to Kellindel.

Using the sandals of flying, I went up to check its nest at the top of the pylon. Among the bones and refuse I found a crystal flask and a scarab with the words "see the way" on it. I opened the flask, and a blue mist quickly emerged. I shut it before much of the gas could escape.

I flew down the other side of the wall and opened the gate. T'charm raised the large portcullis behind it. A large building filled the middle of the complex. Birds, antelope, and small lizards wandered freely through what was once a well-tended garden. The front door was wooden, and sheathed in copper. The knocker appeared to be a large spider.

It was clear that the wizard was either no longer here, or had for some reason lost interest in maintaining his complex. It seemed prudent to enter via some entrance other than the front door. We turned to the left and walked around the building, finding two more doors and a pool of water, surrounded by fruit trees. One door had open windows, and a quick look inside revealed nothing of interest--just a large table, some chairs, faded frescoes, and leaves that had blown inside.

We filled our waterskins at the fountain, and Suleiman tried some of the water. He was surprised to feel even more nimble than he was before--and proved it by doing several impressive somersaults and flips. Damara was impressed, and drank some as well. If anything, she seems even more captivating and beautiful than she was before. Thadeus was excited by these results, and tried drinking as well. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect--he seems even more annoying than he was before (naturally, none of us drank after Thadeus). Oh well.

The other exterior door was locked, and Suleiman found signs of a trap, possibly on the handle. Damara tried to pick the lock, but broke her lockpick. T'charm, who was growing tired of waiting, simply smashed the door in.

Several ju-ju zombies awaited us inside, arrayed around some kind of spider-god shrine. I tried to turn them, but surprisingly, I could not. Fortunately, T'charm and Narissa made short work of them, while I smashed the shrine. The room appeared to have been a barracks at one time. A door in the room revealed a pantry full of spoiled food, and a hallway led out of the room. We followed the hallway to a sarcophagus which, much to our surprise, began to open. A corpse wrapped in bandages--what the Isutians call a "mummy"-- emerged, paralyzing several of us with fright. Narissa, however, was unaffected, and she struck it. It struck her as well, and she cried out as she contracted that dreaded disease, mummy rot. T'charm came to his senses, and destroyed the undead. Fortunately for Narissa, Prometheus cured the disease.

Suleiman tried a nearby door, and was surprised to find a beautiful Isutian woman inside, rising to her feet. She stared at him, and he seemed to relax. It has been a long time, but I have seen a vampire's charming gaze before, and we attacked. T'charm dealt her a heavy blow, but she threw some dust onto a nearby brazier. T'charm and Suleiman instantly fell to the ground, asleep. Narissa squared off against the fiend, but the vampiress struck her, draining some of the very life from her body. In desperation and anger, I called upon the fury of Prometheus, and destroyed the vampire.

T'charm and Suleiman awoke after ten minutes, and we searched the room using Dacla Iman's ability to detect magic. The sword quickly pointed out a rod, and what seemed to be a very large bag of holding. We immediately placed the chest and other assorted items in the bag, so that they would not encumber us so. Damara experimented with the rod, and found it to be a rod of splendor--it creates the illusion that she is dressed regally.

Thadeus listened to a nearby door, and heard the sound of bubbling. It was locked, but Suleiman picked the lock, and T'charm led the way inside. The smell of preservative chemicals was overwhelming. A large stone slab lay in the middle of the room. This was apparently some kind of laboratory or embalming room.

A soft moaning sound came from a shelf, and we all turned to see a horrible, grisly sight: A severed head sat on a bronze plate, covered in grubs and maggots. The head spoke aloud, asking for help. He called himself Imshar, and he was once a servant of Setem Nefer. Setem Nefer took his body and used it to make some kind of golem. The wizard is apparently no longer human; he is some kind of man-spider. Most importantly, Imshar says Setem Nefer had a portal that could be used to travel great distances. He offered to lead us to the portal, if we would kill him in exchange. The offer was very fair, so we agreed. Imshar said that several powerful golems guard the great hall (into which the front door opens), so he said that he would lead us to the library, and his own room, to get several items which might be helpful.

We exited the building, making our way to the opposite wing of the complex, where we found another fountain. This one was overflowing, and a large three-headed monster arose from it to attack us. The creature had a crocodile's body, and each head served a different purpose. One had fangs, another fangs with venom, and the third spat poison. I immediately cast slow poison on T'charm, and he attacked it. Suleiman activated his magic fuzzball, but it only turned into a rat this time. Nonetheless, the rat swam bravely to attack the monster.

The creature poisoned T'charm, but the slow poison protected him, and he angrily dispatched it. Once we had recovered our wits, Imshur told us to go through the nearby stables (which held the rotting remains of a chariot) into a hallway. From the hallway we could see the doors to Setem Nefer's library and Imshur's room.

T'charm opened the door to Imshur's room, and was instantly attacked by a bizarre creature, with a crocodile's head, a man's body, and a burning Ank in one hand. T'charm killed it, but Kellindel's weapons could not affect it (Takarm's maul is magical). Imshur sighed and explained that the man's body had been his. Inside Imshur's desk we found a ewer containing oil of sharpness, oil of slipperiness, and oil of disenchantment. They can apparently be called forth on command. Also, a scroll of restoration lay inside a drawer. I immediately used it on Narissa, so that she could regain some of the life force drained by the Vampire. She was not fully restored, but she was grateful nonetheless. I was concerned that I might not be able to make a scroll of such power work!

The library door was locked, but Suleiman once again succeeded in picking the lock. T'charm pushed the door open, and we proceeded cautiously. Many books on dark, evil magic, as well as spider-gods, were contained on the book shelves. Of course, books on many other topics were there as well. A large book rested in a stand, encased in glass. The title was impossible to read; it was magically blurred. Imshur directed us to a cabinet containing several scrolls with powerful spells. Suleiman took the wizard scrolls (which included summon earth elemental, anti-magic shell, monster summoning of the fourth circle, and stone to flesh). I took a scroll containing raise dead and restoration. I was going to use the scroll to restore Narissa fully, but it was very risky--I could easily make a mess of such a powerful spell. So, I lit the candle of invocation, to improve my odds, and it worked--barely. I could feel the power slipping away, but the candle made the difference. Thank Prometheus! Narissa was restored. I also used the spell temporarily granted to me by the candle to cast cure serious wounds on T'charm.

Next we had to get past the golems in the main entrance hall. We walked over to the wing of the building we had explored first, and stood behind the door that led into the entrance hall (There are three doors leading into the hall: The front door, the left wing door, and the right wing door). I cast Arms of Flame onto Kellindel's weapons, and we charged inside.

Those of us who went in, that is, myself, T'charm, and Kellindel, were struck by a field of what appeared to be lightning; we felt an incredible pain--and it would not go away. Four large skeletons, coated in copper, stepped out from the wall, and more lightning coursed across their bodies. We prepared to face them despite our pain, while Suleiman, Damara, and Thadeus raced around to try the front door--perhaps it did not have a similar protection on it.

T'charm drew his maul back and took a mighty swing at a skeleton, smashing the undead in one incredible blow. Lightning played across the head of his giant hammer, but the wooden handle insulated him. Narissa was not so lucky; she struck a skeleton, but was shocked in return as the energy traveled down her blades.

Meanwhile, Suleiman, Damara, and Thadeus had charged in through the front door, but that door was also trapped. A confusion spell took effect on them, but only Thadeus was unable to resist its effects. He became enraged, and struck Suleiman. Damara knocked him unconscious with a skilled blow to the head.

The rest of us were faring even worse. Narissa was so badly hurt by both the skeletons' swings and her own that I had to cover for her as she retreated and drank her potion of extra-healing. My warhammer has a wooden shaft, so I could strike the skeletons without fear of being shocked, but they struck at me fiercely in return. Despite the pain and our injuries, we reduced the skeletons down to one, and that skeleton was dispatched by a flurry of magic missiles from Suleiman and Damara. It seems that all of their magic works flawlessly around the wizard's enclave.

We discovered symbols above each door leading into the main hall--these glyphs had caused the pain and confusion. We were uncertain what the third glyph did, but we destroyed them all anyway. It seemed like a good time to stop and recover from our wounds, but Thadeus awoke and hit Suleiman again. Narissa tackled him, and we tied him up until the confusion could wear off.

I was almost out of spells, and we were all in bad shape, so we decided to rest for a little while. There was a door in the main hall which led to the wizard's inner chamber, but we decided to block it with rubble, so that we could rest safely. As T'charm placed the first boulder in front of the door, it began to open slowly. Kellindel and Thadeus were siezed by supernatural fear, and ran straight out of the building (Thadeus hid behind the front gate, and I think Kellindel hid behind some trees). While the rest of us were not so terrified, we nonetheless took to our feet, and Suleiman used the wand of fire to place a wall of fire in front of the doorway. Suleiman lagged behind us a little as we ran outside, and once again used the wand, this time to cast a fireball into the passage behind him as he ran. We emerged from the building near the magical fountain, and Suleiman was close behind.

The creature that was once Setem Nefer exited quickly after Suleiman. It had climbed on the ceiling to evade the wall of fire, but had taken the full brunt of Suleiman's fireball. The burned creature was horrible to behold. It was some kind of combination of a man and a spider, wrapped in bandages. Narissa, Suleiman, and myself turned to face it (the others were all badly wounded, or unprepared for a combat). Suleiman launched a magic missile at it, and it dodged a sunscorch. Narissa landed several blows, but it counterattacked viciously. Using its many limbs, it hit both Narissa and me, causing our skin to bubble with some strange skin disease. Suleiman cast levitate on it, and it floated up into the air, but not before spitting a spider out of its mouth at Narissa! The spider bit her, but she seemed all right.

I cast cure disease on both myself and Narissa. The man-spider was not done with us yet, and it shot a line of sticky web-like material at the roof of the building. It was pulling itself down toward the ground, despite the levitate spell. Suleiman was growing tired of the monster, so he sent another fireball at it. The creature exploded in a disgusting mess, and we finally relaxed.

With the creature that was once Setem-Nefer dispatched, we decided to investigate the room containing the portal. We picked up Imshur's severed head (which we had left on the ground before fighting the skeletal golems), and he directed us through the door we had tried to barricade.

The room was very impressive. On a pedestal resembling an upside-down spider there sat a crystal ball. Dacla Iman also pointed out a magic sword, a robe, and a rod. Kellindel took the magical sword, and it glowed in his hand. Thadeus took the robe, which turned out to be a robe of arachnids, granting the wearer the ability to climb walls and ceilings, as well as throw webs. Most importantly, a large circle of stone stood against a wall. Hieroglyphs ran all the way around the ring, although it did not appear to lead anywhere except into the impassable stones of the wall.

Imshur told us the command words: "In the name of Setem Nefer, I command the portals to be opened!"; the user must simply visualize the place he or she wishes to go, and the portal will take the user there. It can be closed by saying, of course, "In the name of Setem Nefer, I command the portals to be closed!". He is not sure if the portal will stay open on the other side.

Imshur, having fulfilled his end of the bargain, asked us to destroy him by immolating him in flames. We obliged, although I was briefly tempted to try using the candle to gain the ability to cast regenerate on him. However, I think that the spell would not work on a being so obviously ensorcelled. In any case, Imshur was happy to be destroyed, and gave us the blessings of Thoth.

I could not get the crystal ball to work, but Damara had no trouble with it at all. I suppose only wizards can work such devices. After some experimentation, she called me over, telling me to look into it. At first she concentrated on Suleiman, and we could see him. Then the ball grew foggy, and she concentrated again. We could see our mother! She was preparing for bed, looking sadly at a drawing of us as children. She blew out a candle, and lay down to sleep.

I was almost brought to tears; I have not seen my mother in so long! Then the image changed again. A red-haired woman worked over a forge on a strange metal, shaping it into armor--it was Kolete!

At this point, we fell into arguing about what to do next. My impatient sister wanted to charge through the portal immediately, without resting or recovering spells. I, of course, argued that we could not defeat Kolete wounded and devoid of all healing magic! Fortunately, patience and wisdom prevailed--we will wait until tomorrow to attack.

We made our camp; it was still early, so we prepared lunch. Suleiman, Damara, and T'charm went to investigate the book with the unreadable cover, and came back a short while later. Suleiman is very upset. It seems that, as soon as they lifted the glass cover on the book, a glowing tentacled being--similar to the one we fought in the monastery of Oghmain that it was cold, but this one was dark--appeared, and attacked. It used a magic beam to destroy Suleiman's ring of jumping and, most terribly, his magic sword--Dacla Iman. T'charm destroyed it with his maul, and they took the book and returned to camp (the cover remains unreadable, so we're not reading the inside, either). Naturally, Suleiman is angry at having lost his sword; he even snapped at Damara and I as we argued (again) over whether we should attack now or tomorrow. I understand how he feels, but I think Damara was hurt. She and Suleiman seem to be fond of each other; Damara could certainly do much worse than to marry a good and powerful wizard like Suleiman. I hope that her anger does not cloud her judgment. Oh well; amantium irae amoris integratio!

After eating lunch, I lit a block of incense of meditation, and began to pray. I will need all of my spells to be at full effectiveness tomorrow. I have prayed all afternoon, and into the night. Finally, I feel that the incense has worked its magic. I hope that Prometheus hears and answers my prayers!

Damara says that Kolete caught her spying with the crystal ball. That could make our task more difficult. The rest of the Pentachromata have been resting and trying to prepare for tomorrow's ordeal. Kellindel had a few healing spells remaining. I hope that they are enough. May Prometheus protect us!

October 17th
I am still alive, so you might surmise that we were victorious. But I think that I will keep you in suspense for a while. I may take at least a little dramatic license, may I not? Besides, we are apparently stranded here, in the middle of the Magic Lands. I have nothing better to do.

Our wounds were, for the most part, gone when we woke up this morning. We immediately proceeded to the portal, and asked Narissa to envision the city of Irem (she had been there before, when pursuing Kolete through the magic lands). She did so, and spoke the command words, but nothing happened. Suleiman hypothesized that only wizards could use the device, and he read Narissa's mind to get a picture of the city. He said "In the name of Setem Nefer, I command the portals to be opened!", and an inky blackness filled the space inside the circle of stone.

We stepped through the portal, with Suleiman walking through last. As soon as he was safely through the portal closed behind him, trapping us in the Magic Lands. The only way out now was on foot. Suleiman says that teleportation was one of Dacla Iman's powers. If the sword had not been destroyed, we could have used it to go anywhere we wanted. Well, actually, we could have taken only six hundred pounds of us wherever we wanted (the sword was limited).

There was no time to ponder our fate; we had a duty to perform. The entire area was covered with sand and gray stone. The moon Faeros ominously hung directly overhead. We stood atop a tall plateau, overlooking the ancient accursed city of Irem. It was truly a bizarre sight. Columns of stone ringed the city, jutting from the ground at strange, impossible angles. The columns surrounded a huge hole--perhaps pit would be a better word--with what appeared to be a web strung over it. The web was dotted with circular buildings, which were apparently the homes in which the Arachnith lived. The lines of the web seemed to overlap each other in ways that defied comprehension; they appeared to be straight lines, but you could not follow them straight to the edge of the pit. It seems that this whole city defies the geometric laws of Euclid. I began to get a dull headache just from looking at it.

Far below, at the very bottom of the web, a reddish-orange glow emanated from the windows and door of a spherical chamber. We surmised that the light must be coming from Kolete's forge. But how could we get down to it? No path seemed to lead directly down to the center.

It occurred to me that we had found the scarab which had the words "see the way" inscribed upon it. I suggested that we might read them aloud, and see what happened. Everyone agreed, so I held the scarab and said "see the way". The area was filled with magical energy, as a confusion spell took effect upon us. Only T'charm and Kellindel were unable to resist its effects. Kellindel merely stood in a stupor, but T'charm had a look of sudden understanding on his face. It seems that the scarab of insanity had indeed made him temporarily insane--and thus able to comprehend the organization of the confusing city layout.

Once the spell's effects on Kellindel wore off, T'charm led us down into the web. The web is, in fact, not made of spider's silk at all. Instead, the strands are stone, and inscribed with runes. As a precaution, Suleiman turned invisible, and we made our way down. Incredibly, we seemed to be going away from the center of the pit, but then again, we didn't seem to be going to anywhere in particular. The stone paths were narrow enough to be difficult to walk upon; I hovered below the group using the sandals of flying, prepared to catch anyone that might fall.

The air was suddenly filled with mad laughter, and we looked toward the building containing Kolete's forge. A man stood outside--we presumed that it was Minos, one of Kolete's minions. He took a step forward, and his skin melted away, leaving a black, slimy, winged creature. It leaped into the air and flew toward us.

There were several of the empty spherical buildings about, so we jumped inside the nearest one for cover (and to avoid fighting on the narrow pathways). Once inside, I cast prayer, and we used a scroll of protection from gases (we were relatively certain that Minos was the one that used a cloud of gas to kill the passengers and crew on the Hammer, the ship that sank in the harbor of Anarchopolis). Our weapons drawn, we awaited the beast's attack.

It landed and, as we thought, breathed a cloud of noxious yellow gas at us . The scroll provided a protective sphere around us, and we were unaffected. Suleiman, Damara, and Narissa were nowhere to be seen--they had disappeared after we entered the building (well, Suleiman was already invisible). Only Thadeus, Kellindel, T'charm, and myself stood against the beast.

A fierce melee ensued. Fire sprung from the creatures fingertips, burning Kellindel, but I cast cure moderate wounds on Kellindel. Thanks to the incense of meditation, the spell had full effect. Kellindel and T'charm both smashed the creature with powerful blows, but the creature retaliated by grabbing T'charm, holding him close to its body. Minos was apparently covered in acid, and even Takarm's stone-like skin could not resist.

Then the sphere of protection, which was holding back the poisonous gas, began to shimmer, and we knew that it would fall quickly. I cast dispel magic, attempting to dissipate the magical gas cloud, but instead, it simply dispelled the protective sphere (which didn't really matter; the protective sphere was about to collapse anyway). The gas rushed in, choking us. Thadeus fell to the ground, killed instantly, as did Kellindel's falcon, Glide. The rest of us suffered a great deal of pain, but survived.

We withdrew from the cloud, onto the path outside. Kellindel, in an impressive leap, jumped to the top of the doorway, and swung at Minos from above. T'charm continued to swing his maul at the monster, as I provided healing magic. In a powerful blow, T'charm struck the monster square in the face, and it quickly dissolved; the corpse ate a hole straight through the floor of the sphere. Suleiman is not certain, but he believes Minos may have been a Kelubar-Demodan.

The cloud of gas remained, and we waited for it to dissipate before reentering the spherical dwelling. It took only a few minutes; inside, we found Thadeus and Glide on the floor, dead. There was no sign of Narissa or Damara, but Suleiman made his (invisible) presence known, saying that he had stayed out of the fight to save his invisibility for the final battle against Kolete. We had no time to do anything for Thadeus (and there was nothing at all we could do for Glide), so I put on the robe of arachnid, and we followed T'charm down the path to the forge.

After barely one hundred yards of progress, we saw a woman appear on a ledge outside the front door of the sphere containing the forge. It was obviously Kolete, and she was preparing a spell! We charged forward, and as I flew I tried to use the robe's web ability to trap her. She jumped inside the doorway, dodging the effect, and the webs fell uselessly around the building. We could do nothing but wait for her spell to go off.

Much to our surprise, Suleiman appeared in midair above Kolete, and fell directly onto her, interrupting her spell. He had very cleverly cast dimension door! Suleiman had bravely placed himself directly in harm's way, as there was also a large man in magical armor inside the building, directly behind him (but not visible to us). Suleiman later told us that he had recognized the spell Kolete had been casting: chain lightning!

Kellindel stayed on the path, trying to cast hold person on Kolete. He tried several times, but it simply did not work. We were surprised to hear Damara and Narissa as they attacked Kolete. We could not see them--they had somehow turned themselves invisible, and they remained invisible, even though they were attacking. Suleiman was left to deal with the large armored man, who we found was called Brasidas. I tried to help by casting Fury of Prometheus on Brasidas, but it did no good--he seemed immune to the spell's effects.

Damara gave Suleiman some help by creating an illusionary double of him, while Suleiman used his magic fuzzball--this time, it turned into a large, angry bull, and charged at Brasidas. Unfortunately, Brasidas proved to be immovable; the bull could not budge him.

It did not take long for T'charm to reach Brasidas; the two of them squared off, leaving Suleiman temporarily safe. Brasidas swung his blade at T'charm, striking him. T'charm cried out surprisingly loudly, and Brasidas laughed and announced "I'm draining your power!".

Meanwhile, Damara had turned Suleiman invisible once again, using dust of disappearance (this was how they stayed invisible). Kolete was taking quite a beating. She fired magic missiles at an invisible target--probably Narissa--and I scorched Kolete with the second strike from the Fury of Prometheus. Despite the fact that the spell operated at maximum effect, she remained standing. Damara and Suleiman backstabbed her, and someone struck her with a gout of flame, but still she stood. I poured as much healing magic into T'charm as I could--thank Prometheus that I had the forethought to use the incense of meditation!

By this time, Kellindel had given up trying to hold Kolete, and had quaffed a potion. He seemed to stand taller, and with great confidence, he strode forward and helped T'charm against Brasidas. Suleiman cast shocking grasp, and struck Kolete, who staggered back. The invisibility on Damara and Narissa had worn off, but they pressed the attack. Suleiman briefly tried to aid Kellindel and T'charm by using his wand of illumination in an attempt to blind Brasidas, but Brasidas looked away and was unaffected. Suleiman returned his attention to Kolete, and with a final swing, struck her down. Narissa and Damara made sure that she was dead before joining the fight against Brasidas.

Brasidas was an impressive opponent. He was tall, strong, and very powerful, especially after draining life from T'charm. Nonetheless, T'charm and Kellindel had struck him several times. Brasidas had been unable to drain any more life from either of them, but he was still standing tall. T'charm was gravely wounded, and I my ability to channel healing magic was nearly exhausted. So, I switched places with T'charm, holding off Brasidas while T'charm drank a potion of extra-healing. Rotating injured party members out of the front line is a skill that we have finally learned after many painful fights.

But the switch proved unnecessary. For the past several minutes, after Kellindel had imbibed the potion, it was clear that he was holding back. He seemed to be studying Brasidas' moves. Kellindel occasionally struck out, but he seemed to be experimenting, perhaps even toying with Brasidas. As I changed places with T'charm, Kellindel made his move.

In a brilliant whirl of blades, Kellindel feinted to the left, then thrust his magical long sword at an opening in Brasidas' defense. The sword slipped cleanly between two plates in his armor--Kellindel's aim was remarkable; the armor was nearly impenetrable. Aided by the power of the Gauntlets of Hephaestus, Kellindel buried the blade deep inside Brasidas. The giant man looked surprised then toppled over backwards as Kellindel withdrew his sword. I have never seen such an incredible blow struck before; I doubt that I ever will again.

We stared at Kellindel, stunned, and then came to our senses. Brasidas was stripped of his armor, and we made sure that he was dead before beginning a search of the area. T'charm smashed Brasidas' sword, an evil lifestealer. We also found a magical periapt, an amulet, a ring, and (finally!), the Hammer of Hephaestus.

More importantly, we finally found out what Kolete had planned to do with the rest of the metal from the Manacle of Prometheus from the Mountain of Lament. Of course, she had made the suit of armor which Brasidas wore, but she was also working on making eight large "spider golems": nearly invincible metal golems in the shape of spiders. With such terrible creations, and an army provided by the Taygete League, Kolete could have done terrible damage to any nation or polis in Ionia. No doubt the Taygetan army gathering on the border of the Magic Lands (mentioned by High Priest Ator) was intended to join forces with Kolete and her minions, and march on Emathia or Amazonia.

If you will recall, we had found a scroll of raise dead in Setem Nefer's complex. I hoped to use it on Thadeus, but we could not tell which building we had left him in. The confusing maze of paths was simply too complicated. So, I cast locate object, and flew around the city, searching for the odd purple potion from Phirip's Potion Shop which we had given to him. After a few minutes of flying about, I located him, and used the scroll to raise him. When he woke up, he said only "Dammit!", and I could not help but laugh. I flew him back down to the forge.

Once we returned, Damara attempted to cast detect magic to locate any other items that might be useful. The whole area, however, seemed to be under the influence of the strange forces of Wild Magic, and the spell went awry--instead, we were all affected by a heal spell!

After a final search of the area, we placed all of the pieces of the manacle in our large, recently acquired bag of holding. There was nothing to do but begin the long, slow march out of the Magic Lands, around Silva, and north to Anarchopolis. The Magic Lands are a frightening place; I have new respect for Narissa, who says she traveled through this area alone! Shadows seemed to flit all around, and I feel as though we were being watched constantly. My advice to travelers in the Magic Lands: If at all possible, don't go there. I wish we had not lost Dacla Iman; Suleiman could simply teleport to Setem Nefer's enclave, open a gate to our camp, and we could instantly return to safety!

Nevertheless, I am happy to be alive, and happy to have completed our mission successfully! I am so proud to have companions so stalwart and skilled. I am sure that Prometheus will bless their good souls!

That gives me an idea, actually. I shall have to consider it longer. Perhaps I should sleep on it. Praise to Prometheus for his wisdom and guidance!

October 18th
Once we were a safe distance away from the city of Irem, Damara tried once again to cast detect magic on our newly acquired amulet, periapt, and some other items recovered from Kolete. The amulet and periapt are magical, as were a ring, wand, and sword that Kolete possessed. Kellindel took the short sword, and Suleiman took the ring.

As soon as Suleiman placed the ring upon his finger, a cloud of smoke appeared, and a large, muscular man appeared, from the waist up--a Djinni! He announced that he was Ephrem Allyek-Bi, and that Suleiman was his new master. Suleiman had a choice: Ephrem could serve Suleiman (by carrying things and fighting for him), or grant him a wish. Once the wish was granted, Ephrem would be free to return to his home in the elemental plane of air.

Suleiman said that he wanted time to think about this, so Ephrem withdrew inside the ring, and we continued our journey. Thadeus and T'charm said they saw a large winged creature fly overhead last night during their watch; today we saw a huge reptile skeleton sprawled across the sand. I wonder if they are the same kind of creature.

While strange flashes of light illuminated the sky to the south, Suleiman summoned the Djinni once again, and said that he had decided upon a wish. He wished for Dacla Iman to be restored. The Djinni, thankful for being freed, said that Suleiman was welcome in his castle in the Elemental Plane of Air at any time.

With Dacla Iman once again fully functional, Suleiman swung the khopesh through the air, slicing a black tear that hovered in front of us. He stepped through, the tear repaired itself, and soon, the inky black disc appeared. In just a few paces, we were once again inside Setem Nefer's enclave.

Now that we are safe again, our plan is to rest here for a day. Damara has sent T'charm to retrieve Kwame, and they should be back in the morning. Suleiman, who was much more cheerful because Dacla Iman was restored, apologized to Damara for snapping at her the other day. He had to use all the charm at his disposal, but she eventually forgave him. We have spent the rest of the night in quiet celebration. Tomorrow, we can return the Hammer to the temple of Hephaestus in Anarchopolis. Yes, I am returning it to Anarchopolis, rather than Urbs Deorum, because I do not believe that Actinos, that priest of Hephaestus, deserves it.

Fortunately, the geas spell cast by Actinos did not stipulate to which temple I must return the Hammer of Hephaestus. Actinos, displaying great hubris, obviously could not even conceive of the notion that any temple of Hephaestus, other than his own, would be deserving of the Hammer of Hephaestus.

Speaking of the Hephaestus, Kellindel has grown especially fond of, and impressed with, the magical gauntlets which were given to him by Hassad, the high priest of Hephaestus in Anarchopolis. He has been much more effective in combat ever since donning the gauntlets, although much of that is doubtless due to all the practice he has had with his swords since joining the Pentachromata. Kellindel plans to ask Hessad if he may keep the gauntlets, and tell everyone he meets that it is the power of Hephaestus that makes him so strong. He has also asked me a great deal about Prometheus, and Ionian worship in general. I explained to him that in Ionia, most people do not worship one god exclusively; they worship whatever gods whose favors they desire at the moment. So it is perfectly all right for him to worship Hephaestus and Prometheus, and continue worshipping Meilikki.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day, hopefully full of merriment. We had better get some rest!

October 19th
Once again, the Pentachromata rest under the protection of the Obol protection agency, viewing the city from our villa in the Syrinx district of Anarchopolis. It has been a busy but beautiful day.

After cleaning ourselves and our clothes in the fountains of Setem Nefer's complex, we returned to the magic portal. Suleiman said the magic words, and moments later, we were standing in front of the temple of Hephaestus in Anarchopolis (and we were very pleased to be out of the intolerably hot sun of Tephut-Reh).

Standing in front of the rest of the Pentachromata, I held the Hammer of Hephaestus before me, and we marched into the temple together. The look on the face of the priests was priceless; at first, they asked who we were. Then they saw the Hammer, and ran to get Hassad.

Hassad was delighted. We gave him a very brief explanation of how we came to find it. He clearly wanted to know more, but Kellindel took advantage of his cheerful mood to make his case for keeping the gauntlets. Kellindel pointed out that we returned both the Golden Forger and the Hammer of Hephaestus to the priests of Hephaestus, and that Kellindel had become a worshipper of Hephaestus. Hassad listened thoughtfully to these and other well-spoken arguments made by Kellindel. I also added my support to Kellindel's cause, and Hassad was eventually swayed. Kellindel may keep the powerful Gauntlets of Hephaestus!

Of course, Hessad wanted to know more about our journey (as well as the fate of Gorca, the priest that traveled with us until his death on the island of the cyclops). I suddenly had an idea. I explained that I would have to tell my fellow priests of Prometheus all that had happened. Instead of telling the story twice, I suggested that the priests of Hephaestus could come to the Academy at the temple of Prometheus, and we would fill a conference hall with our stories and celebration. Hassad suggested a more neutral meeting ground, so we arranged to rent a dining hall for the evening.

The temple of Prometheus was our next destination. Leander was very happy to see us, and he led us to High Priest Ator. We opened our new, larger bag of holding, to present to him the pieces into which the Manacle of Prometheus had been fashioned. Suddenly, the bag fell apart, spilling out the pieces of metal, as well as our wooden chest and everything else we had placed inside it. All of our gold and gems had been changed to worthless paste! It seems that it was a bag of transmuting. Fortunately, Kellindel keeps his stash of diamonds in his backpack, so we are not destitute.

Ator wanted to know how we came to find the strange armor and spider golems. I gave him a brief explanation, but told him that the entire story would be revealed at a banquet tonight. He seemed a little wary (understandably, he has a hard time overcoming the distrust between our priesthood and others, especially the priests of Hephaestus), but he agreed.

Ator had a surprise for us, as well: It seems that Finis and Urym safely returned from their trip to Aresopolis, and were waiting for us in the Syrinx! We thanked him, promised to meet him at the dinner celebration, and made our way up the hill to the Syrinx. The Obol guards recognized us (they had been expecting us), and let us in. It was a most happy reunion. Finis and Urym looked a little tired, but they are in good health.

They told us that they made it safely to the extinct volcano whose crater houses Aresopolis. Using the magical disguise kit, they managed to gain some valuable information: Ares himself ordered his priests to seize the manacle, so that Aresopolis could make powerful weapons out of it! I wonder if Aresopolis planned to use these weapons on the Taygete League, or the other poleis of Emathia.

Finis and Urym also found out about the Taygetan witch Kolete and the creature which was Minos. They made their way to Urbs Deorum as quickly as they could, but the rest of us had left two days earlier. They met with Daito in the Pilgrim (the inn in which we had rested), and traveled with him back to Anarchopolis. Daito, who explained to Urym and Finis how we had met up with Narissa and where we had gone, has since left to return to his master in Nobunaga.

It was quite a large group, with all of us together--Kellindel, Damara, T'charm, Finis, Urym, Thadeus, Narissa, Suleiman and myself. After all the stories had been told, we were free until dinner, and we took the opportunity to give many of our unidentified magical items to Damara, so that she could have contacts at the Synod take a look at them. We should have the results tomorrow.

We also used our afternoon to visit the local oracle. Suleiman wanted to know if it would be beneficial (and safe) for him to read the large book (whose cover, you will recall, was magically rendered illegible) we found in Setem Nefer's complex. He made a very generous donation, and the oracle confidently informed him that the book would be very beneficial for him. He has taken a brief look at it--apparently it teaches the reader a great deal about magic. Suleiman is very excited about it.

The banquet was excellent. Not only were the food and drink delightful (much better than our rations and create food and water), but the company was entertaining. We took turns telling our story before the attentive priests of Hephaestus and Prometheus. We even received a round of applause at the end! There was some discomfort, as the priests of Hephaestus and Prometheus are still somewhat distrustful of each other, but for the most part, everyone got along wonderfully. I hope that this can be the beginning of a new friendship between our two churches (and our gods?).

The celebration continued long into the night. Finally, we excused ourselves and made our way back to the Syrinx. Despite our victory, our journey is not done. We must travel to Demopolis, to return the pieces of the Manacle of Prometheus to the main temple. Also, I must present my log to High Priestess Octavia, and see if she can do anything about Suleiman's problem. I can hardly keep my eyes open; I hope that my handwriting is legible. I suppose that I do not need to continue keeping this log, but it is a hard habit to break by now. I must at least continue it until I present it to Octavia.

October 20th
On this fine day, we set out from Anarchopolis to Demopolis. Traveling with us is a large group of priests (mostly of Prometheus, but a few of Hephaestus) and other friends of the church. We ride on carts pulled by Ornthras, and I must say that it is much faster than traveling on foot, as we usually do.

Before leaving this morning, Damara brought us the items we wanted to identify. What a treasure trove! We have a short sword of giant slaying, an amulet of proof against undead, a periapt of proof against poison, a rod of splendor, a rod of cancellation, a wand of enemy detection, a scarab of insanity, a pearl of wisdom, and a bag of tricks (the bag with the fuzzball that turns into animals). Of those, I had already claimed the pearl of wisdom; I had no interest in the rest of it.

We are carrying an important and potentially dangerous religious artifact (the remains of the manacle), yet the atmosphere is one of celebration. Singing, dancing, and story-telling make the day pass quickly. It is good to see everyone in such high spirits.

October 21st
Leander and I discussed the prospect of starting a new temple in Libertopolis. He seemed excited that I wanted him to assist me. I wonder if I would make a good high priest. Am I worthy of such a position? I will pray about this--and give thanks for our success!

October 22nd
Yet another day has passed in happy travel. Other people traveling down the road look at us jealously--they probably wish that they could travel with such a merry bunch!

October 23rd
Kellindel has been upset for several days over the death of his falcon, Glide. Today, he seems to have cheered up a little. Perhaps one day he will find a new falcon to befriend.

October 24th
Another uneventful day of happy travel.

October 25th
After further discussion, Leander and I have decided to accept positions at the new temple in Libertopolis. This will, of course, mean an end to my adventuring career--perhaps it will only be temporary! I know that the other members of the Pentachromata will understand. Who will keep a log for me? Someone must keep track of their travels, or I will die of curiosity!

October 26th
Nothing exciting happened today. We are almost to Demopolis! I have discussed an idea (one to which I referred briefly at the end of my October 17th log) with Leander--a sort of parting gift to my adventuring companions. Leander thinks it is a good idea. I hope that Octavia goes along with it!

October 27th
We are not far from Demopolis now. Finis says that the holy festival of Samhain will start within a few days. He wants to go all the way back to Midhe (in Aragon) to celebrate it. In order to do that, he will have to get Suleiman to teleport him--there is no possible way for him to reach Aragon by ship, and march to Midhe, in time for the ceremonies. I am afraid that he and the rest of the Pentachromata will have to get going very soon. Suleiman has mentioned that he may stay around for a while to train Kwame, read the magic book from Setem Nefer's enclave, and (with my happy approval) woo my sister, Damara. The two of them seem to be getting along very well.

October 28th
Sadly, the end of my adventuring career is almost over. We arrived in Demopolis late this morning. It seems that we were expected; a ceremonial greeting awaited our entourage at the temple. High Priestess Octavia was very dignified, but she could not conceal her excitement. There was much praise for all of the Pentachromata.

I decided that now was the appropriate time to ask for a boon from Octavia--the parting gift I mentioned earlier. I believe that, due to the strength of their friendship with me, and the importance of their deeds to Prometheus, Finis, Kellindel, and Suleiman have earned the right to read from the Tome of Prometheus. I believe Suleiman has an especially strong claim, as I promised him that I would find a way to help him get out of his enslavement to Utgar Loki in Ionia.

I pointed this out to Octavia, who was aware of some of their deeds because of the first log (sent from Duma Faifni) and the second log (sent from Anarchopolis). Despite the strength of my arguments, she had to consider the request for a while; it is no small thing for non-clergy to read from the book. My companions, however, have come a long way from their early religious beliefs. I remember, when we first met Suleiman, how he proclaimed that Shai'allah was the only god, and insisted (politely) that all others are pretenders. I believe he now has a great deal of respect for Prometheus. Kellindel actually prays to Prometheus on occasion now! Finis and I have not discussed religious matters much, but I know he respects Prometheus.

Octavia thought about the request for a while, and then agreed. Finis was quite insistent that he did not have time--he wanted Suleiman to teleport him to Midhe as quickly as possible, so that he could attend the festival of Samhain. I entreated him to wait just a little longer, and led them into the inner chamber. My heart stirred at the sight of the holy book. How long has it been since I have seen it? More than a year?

Finis volunteered to read first. He opened the book and began to read. Soon, he shut the book and turned around, looking quite satisfied--it seems that Prometheus told him something very useful. Kellindel was next. After reading his entry several times, he asked for a piece of paper and a quill, so that he could make a copy of the entry. It seems that Prometheus revealed an astrological date at which to awaken the "Ancient One", and "the Heirophant". The entry suggests that following the instructions will save his forest (which, you will recall, is in danger of being overrun by the forces of an evil wizard).

Suleiman was last. I prayed that Prometheus would help me to fulfill my promise, so that he might be free from Utgar Loki. My prayer was answered. Apparently he must go to Hejaz, to the city of Qaybar, then cross the Pillars of Wickedness (the magical storm which separates Hejaz and Isutia), and defeat a powerful wizard. This will not be easy, but if anyone can succeed, it is Suleiman.

Octavia shut the book, and the members of the Pentachromata expressed their thanks. I announced that I would stay here, to prepare for the construction of a new temple in Libertopolis. They were very happy for me, and congratulated me. We were all sad that we would have to part ways, but these things are a part of life. Fortunately, Suleiman will be staying with me for some time. He will be quite busy, but I must introduce him to my parents--and I wonder if he can explain that Hejazian numbering system to me! I could write an excellent set of treatises on the subject, I am sure. I expect to see the rest of the Pentachromata from time to time, thanks to the teleportation powers of Dacla Iman. They will always be welcome here.

High Priestess Octavia and I have discussed what to do with the material that once made up the Manacle of Prometheus. She suggested that we wait until spells can be cast to determine what Prometheus would like us to do. It has occurred to me that there is nothing to stop Aresopolis from trying to take the other Manacle, as well as the chains, and forge terrible weapons. I think it might be a good idea to keep both manacles here, in the temple. Another alternative is to start a temple, or perhaps an outpost, at the Mountain of Lament. I will look into this further.

October 29th
I have said my farewells to Finis, Kellindel, Thadeus, and Urym. Early this morning, Suleiman teleported them to Setem Nefer's dwelling (Finis had to turn into a bird to avoid the 600 pound limit of the sword). He then used his necklace of ESP to read Finis' mind, in order to obtain a mental picture of the location in Midhe. Suleiman said the magic words, and they stepped through the black disc, and onto another continent. Suleiman will return here to Demopolis soon--perhaps tomorrow.

I will stay here through the mild Ionian winter, and then begin construction of the new temple in the spring. Suleiman will go to join the rest of the Pentachromata, and my adventures will be over. Or will they? There are many things left for me to do; I even have unfinished business in Aragon. I often think of Balstead, the youth we met in Duma Faifni. I wonder how he is doing. And who was it that summoned the demon which chased us out of our inn, in that same city? I suppose that there are many things left for me to do, but for now, I must concentrate on my new duties.

I have traveled from Demopolis, to Anarchopolis, to Alcyone in Aragon, to Connaught. In the small Connaught town of Mag Tara I met Taelsyn, Blades Trueblood, Torin, and Finis Conwell. We traveled into Ailech, where Taelsyn died, and we were joined by Suleiman Matar al-Qazim. From there we journeyed to Thorindel, and then back into Connaught, where Torin was killed, and were joined by Corwin Macbennan. I then had a vision sent by Prometheus, and we made haste to the coast of Connaught, where Blades left us, and we were joined by Kellindel Falconhands. From the coast we sailed to Anarchopolis, then to Urbs Deorum, where we met Thadeus, to Tephut-Reh, to the Magic Lands and the cursed city of Irem, back to Anarchopolis, and then to Demopolis.

What an incredible distance I have traveled! I have seen friends die and met new friends. I have learned much about the world around us, and passed that knowledge on to our priesthood, and from them to the world. I have done all for the glory of the great teacher, Prometheus, who has led me to knowledge, and through me, taught others as well. Now, I have a new task to perform--a new temple to construct! And so, my journey, and my log, ends. It has been the greatest of pleasures to make this record, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading it. I now pass my quill and paper on to another, whose adventures will surely be even more exciting. I hope that you have learned a little more about this grand world called Ermoon--a world of which its creator should be very proud.
Praise to the light-bringer!

THE END

And that's it. I was a bit disappointed by the low amounts of responses this thread got, but I do hope the few lurkers who read it did enjoy it

Thank you to [MENTION=9893]UtilityMaximizer[/MENTION] for allowing me to post this but most importantly writing it in the first place.

This game log is epic and Patrick is awesome. I read it years ago and it inspired me to get back into D&D when 3e came out. Perhaps I'll start playing again with 5e. I really enjoyed the classic D&D magic items that were employed.

_Lord_Of_Crows said:

This game log is epic and Patrick is awesome. I read it years ago and it inspired me to get back into D&D when 3e came out. Perhaps I'll start playing again with 5e. I really enjoyed the classic D&D magic items that were employed.

Click to expand...

Ah - that single post made all the time I spent posting these worthwhile!

The magical items in 5e are very "2nd ed flavored" so they will please you I think! 5e is easy to learn and is faster to play and easier to run than 3e.

I've been so busy running my 5E podcast that I forgot to follow up on this whole thing! Thanks, Ancalagon, for posting this again! It brings back a lot of memories. I learned a lot being a player in that campaign, and I like to think I'm putting it to good use now.

If anyone is curious, my podcast is an actual-play 5E D&D podcast, called "Tales from the Glass-Guarded World", available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and all the other usual places. You can follow it on Twitter as @TFTGGW.

That old campaign continued after I left, actually, but I don't think anyone continued to keep a log.