Ok, here's how it went down. It was a hell of a fight!
It turns out that Raven *does* know Tleyan. She wrote it in her character diary and level-up notes, but skipped the adding to her character sheet part...
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The party sees the black armored undead forces entering the streets. For a moment they're not sure what's going on.
A Tleyan voice calls out to them, one of the Witch-Queen's Warlock-Consorts, the psychic warrior bodyguards of the Witch-Queens. He only see's Raven's "Take-20 on a Disguise Roll" Witch-Queen, and wants to get her out of harm's way. She ducks into the building the Warlock is calling her from, and he asks that she stay safe while he goes and checks the roof to see if they can make a flight to the ziggurat (Warlock Consorts have breastplates enchanted to allow flight). While he goes to the roof to take a look, the party whispers frantically, only to be interrupted by an explosion - the ceiling cracks, and the charred body of the Warlock falls down the stairs, as the roof is hit by some sort of spell.
The party decides to run like hell to the Ziggurat. The streets are for the moment clear of Evil Troops, so the Witch Queen and her invisible companions make a break for it. Blood Totems stalk the streets, manifesting powers upon the flying war mages, and hurling pieces of rubble at the troops in the streets. Dodging several spells and hiding from one pitched street battle, the party eventually makes it to the plaza in front of the Ziggurat, where Evil troops have taken cover and are pelting spells upon the defenders.
Warlock Consorts are commanding troops of barbaric jungle tribesmen, the Witch Queens' worshippers. They hold the doors as Tleyans flee to the safety of the Ziggurat. Raven is swept up by a Warlock Consort who has commanded the doors be closed, and the trio manages to get inside as the doors close, invisibly aiding the Consorts hauling the doors shut as Astral Constructs cover them.
(Ok, end of one game - Keska's player can't make the next game, but Adamante's player does make it).
Raven, trailed by her invisible partners, looks for a place to discuss the next step of the infiltration. In the chaos within the Ziggurat, Keska goes missing. She finds a store-room of clay urns and dried herbs, but before she can start talking, a Warlock Consort named Nomek, an adversary of Keska's, appears - apparently recognizing Raven. Raven senses something not quite right about Nomek, and in the next moment, as Nomek babbles about waning power and current events not being amenable to his agenda, his form changes to that of the missing Adamante, who pitches forwards unconscious. Whatever the Necklace was doing in Tleyzu disguised as Nomek will have to wait until later...
Using his magical snakeskin cowl, Adamante takes the form of Nomek. Kyan invokes a Locate Object, and amazingly beats the 17th level Witch-Queen Anaxaphaal in a caster vs. caster roll. Kyan senses the Obsidian Needle at the top of the ziggurat.
The group makes their way up, and Raven makes a series of incredible intimidate and bluff rolls, getting past check points and distracting Consorts with active "Detect Magic/Psionics" powers so her invisible cleric companion can sneak up the Ziggurat's tiers. Her rolls eventually get a bit too good, and while covering for a failed Bluff roll by "Nomek" she is put in command of a group of barbarian thralls who are manning strange psionic cannons that fire obsidian discs at incredible speeds. She directs the gunners to fire upon the Reaver Blackheart, a potent enemy she sees stalking the streets below. She makes up an excuse and abandons her command to make her way up to another tier of the Ziggurat, this time failing to roll her Intimidate (Raven had been hitting 31's and 28's Intimidate and Bluff rolls as she made her way up the Zig, really shining in this infiltration game). She is forced to Charm the senior guard who guards the staircase up to the penultimate level of the Ziggurat, who then offers to escort her to Anaxaphaal to relay her "vital information". They stride behind the senior Witch-Queens arrayed on the penultimate tier who are busy manifesting powers in the defense of the ziggurat.
As they make their way, Raven hears these highest ranker of the Tleyan Matriarchy discuss the imminent arrival of their 'new ally who cost them dearly'. Just as Raven steps onto the stairs leading to Anaxaphaal's chamber, she sees down below in the city a building burst in a cloud of rubble and dust, and from it arise the blue, thorn-skinned bulk of Valmuuresh, the greatest of the Blue Dragons. He roars and takes to the air, incinerating a flying group of war mages in a burst of lightning.
(The players look at one another... No one is sure exactly what's going on, but they seem to have the feeling that they've been played for fools, though they're not exactly sure how.)
Anaxaphaal's guards are hesitant to allow a Witch-Queen they're not familiar with up into the High Witch-Queen's chamber, but the presence of Nomek and ANOTHER crazy Intimidate roll (with some GREAT roleplaying by Raven's character as an indignant Witch-Queen) convince them to allow her up to 'await the High One's pleasure'.
Once they're in the room the hammer falls.
They are in a 40' by 40' room, each wall of which lets out onto a balcony. One end of the room houses a stone box sealed by a slab - which Kyan's Locate Object spell homes in on as the resting place of the Obsidian Needle, their goal.
On one balcony, protected by an ectoplasmic wall from outside attackers, is Anaxaphaal and her second in command, Namira. Anaxaphaal is a *17th level* psionic lich, though the party only suspect that she's something other than normal, since the concept of a psionic lich is foreign to them. Namira is a 12th level Shaper. Their backs are to the party.
It's initiative time.
Adamante turns, draws his concealed rapier, and skewers the senior guard Axuur with a critical hit, taking out over two-thirds of his hit points. The electrified glass rapier slides into his chest and out beneath his shoulder blade. He staggers back, stepping away from the sudden attack.
Kyan has saved a block of Incense of Meditation for this day, and his spells are full of divine potence. He seals off the balcony with a maximized Blade Barrier. Unfortunately, the Witch-Queens can still see through it.
Adamante is in no time Dominated by Anaxaphaal, and ordered to kill his friends (not for the first time in his career, I might add... You'd think they'd plan around this). Namira manifests Schism upon herself.
Raven, clad in her disguise with only a Ring of Protection for... protection, tries to Charm a Consort. The Consort shrugs it off. The Consort in turn manifests Displacementm and his image begins to flicker about...
Vartosh, the Consort that Raven had Charmed a level before, goes down before Adamante's blade. Raven is next...
Raven manages to Charm Adamante, and issues new orders to him... and so an opposed Charisma vs. Charisma battle ensues. Luckily, Raven bumped her Charisma up to 20 just before this infiltration, so she has a one point edge... And it's enough - she barely manages to get the upperhand in the battle for Adamante.
By now both of the Consorts have Displacement up, and proceed to nickel and dime Raven and Adamante.
Kyan drops a maximized Flame Strike on Namira and Anaxaphaal, and both fail to resist its effects. Anaxaphaal, who is many things but not fast, goes last in the round, and dimension slides to safety. She then proceeds to heal herself and set up defensive powers.
Namira, meanwhile, attempts to give Raven a Crisis of Breath, and then dimension slides to the roof of the ziggurat, and prepares to manifest some Astral Constructs with her schismed mind.
Meanwhile, Kyan has problems. He's been swinging on the Consorts, but the displacement is proving very effective. Suddenly he feels four hammer-like blows rain down upon him from behind, and for a moment he is lifted and pulled apart by unseen claws. He is grievously hurt by this unseen assailant, and what's worse, he sees two Astral Constructs appear on the balcony, ten feet tall ectoplasmic forms with swirling weapon-arms. They appear as stern idealized Consorts, and begin to close in, targeting Raven - who Namira apparently has a mad-on for.
More blows fall on Kyan, and Raven is forced to duck in and heal him with her bardic magic. Adamante's deadly blade is having a hard time finding its mark against the displaced Consorts, but he is suffering a series of minor wounds. He retreats, activates his ring of invisibility, and steps aside to quaff a potion of healing.
(Admittedly, Adamante being victim of two Charm-like effects perhaps should have produced different results. I let is play fast and loose after Raven won the Charisma roll in order for Adamante's player to have fun. Kyan the Cleric now swears Adamante will have an eternal Protection from Evil cast upon him whenever an adventure rears its head)
Things are dire. Kyan is hit again and again by the four blows from his invisible and incredibly powerful assailant. He can't move due to the Consorts and the Astral Constructs and a desire to protect the unarmored Raven. He connects against his invisible foe, but his holy sword does not blaze with divine light - his foe is not Evil.
Raven casts an area effect Dispel Magic, and rolls well.
One Astral Construct dissipates, one Consort loses his displacement, and the unseen attacker becomes visible: a huge, towering four armed ape with green and red striped fur. It's mouth is muzzled, and its four claws are metal-shod. It's a beast from the Tleyan arenas, under the Witch Queens domination. Kyan hacks at it, trading blows. He is bleeding freely now, and soon his Divine Power and its extra hit points will fade, leaving him unconscious.
Adamante leaps forward and kills the undisplaced Consort. Raven again casts a dispel magic, and this time the four-armed ape loses its psionically enhanced Constitution score, and it falls down, dying.
For a moment, there is a breathing space. Raven has retreated to one of the balconies, thinking to get to a safe spot. Unfortunatelt, she sees Namira perched on the corner of the roof, preparing to send down more Astral Constructs. Raven sings forth a Hold Person, and Namira remarkably fails her Will save. Still, her mind is free, and a Construct materializes. Raven runs, as she is still wounded from the melee.
Kyan, in the last few rounds of round of combat, had used his only Ethereal Jaunt spell to fuel a Heal. He took some nasty hits from the ape, but still stands - barely. He invokes Spell Resistance, and then opens the slab, triggering a fiery psionic trap. Adamante catches the brunt, but it rolls off of Kyan's warded body.
Raven runs past, announcing Namira's presence as a Construct appears and strides after her.
Kyan now sees the Obsidian Needle in the box. He grabs it, and feels it leech away his entire being.... He struggles to assert himself, and succeeds with a massive 31 Will save roll.
They've got what they've come for. Raven quaffs a potion of flight and speeds off. Adamante activates his Owl Feather armor and flies across the floor toward a balcony. Kyan is last out, now followed by two Constructs.
Everyone is hurt, badly.
And then Anaxaphaal reappears in a blur of rainbow light.
More after lunch!
