Aftermath II - Free Agents

[Rybaer]

Welcome the my little campaign world called Aftermath. This is the continuation of my previous thread which has started to bump up against the recommended 200 post limit. As a quirk of good fortune, the story had just arrived at a critical juncture when the characters had completed their duties and obligations to thier home city of New Selmar and had, essentially, become free agents.

Click here to view year one of Aftermath.


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Aftermath campaign summary (the short, short version):

Our five heroes, Amblin the monk, Boaz the fighter, Nigel the ranger, Rurik the cleric, and Zalman the wizard, become acknowledged as full adults in the war-battered community of New Selmar. After two decades of war, they no longer have contact with any other community in the region. As a group, they are charged with venturing out in search of knowledge and to make trade contacts with other cities.

When Rurik's head is changed into a lion's, they follow the master wizard Sangelais' suggestion that they seek the mage Shadykin in Ironwood Forest for a cure. En route, they narrowly escape an orc cavalry charge by crossing a river and getting a hand from a friendly treant. In return, they do the treant a favor by finding the source of corrupted water deep in its forest - a baby green dragon that has laired next to a fresh spring. From here, they venture onward and rescue a halfling named Kisty from a band of goblins. She offers little explanation about why she's out here all alone, but does tell them she hails from Water Break - a modest sized port city. They convince her to show them the way back there in exchange for the rescue.

Shadykin's school is found abandoned. Well, almost. While exploring the ruins, they have to deal with a polymorphing witch and her pets (a couple rust monsters and beholderkin) as well as a pair of half-fiend ogres. After that, they find themselves trapped within a custom-made pocket world inside the massive Golden Dome on the property. What should be an idyllic paradise is actually suffering from faulty controls due to the lack of upkeep over the last twenty years in the absence of its creator. Digger, Shadykin's badger familiar, clues them in to trying to fix the problem.

The descent into a foul pit of corruption in the center of the Dome leads them to fights against a horde of fiendish bunnies, a pair of giant metallic snapping turtles, a handful of floating jellyfish and accompanying cloud of flying piranha, lethal flowers, and ultimately a giant mechanical spider perched on a barbed-wire web. They fix the Dome, but the process is ugly and painful. With the help of a powerful cleric acquaintance, they learn that Shadykin is trapped in a stasis bubble on the premises. They travel to the demi-plane of time and undo the effect. Shadykin tells them of his battle against a wizard of the Black Hand at the beginning of the war that left him trapped. He also graces each with a powerful and useful magic item and cures Rurik of his lion-head.

They travel a short distance from Shadykin's, following word of a tiny village. They arrive to find many bodies and only one young boy alive. He tells them of a raid, and they follow the tracks back to an ancient tomb in the woods. Turns out that some village hunters had distrubed the resting place of an ancient gnoll king - a skilled ranger, no less. They duke it out with the URG's (undead gnoll rangers) and rescue the remaining villagers, though Boaz perishes in the process.

One of those rescued was a visitor from a small elvish community to the east - on their way to Water Break. He leads them to the village where they are received warmly. A magic item recovered from a nearby iron mine transforms Zalman into a female elf (wizard apprentice), transforms the apprentice into Zalman, and transforms the elder wizard into a squirrel. The item also points itself unerringly back to the mine. They follow it in search of clues to a cure and find the place overrun with kobolds. Eventually, they make it through the maze of traps and reach the lair of an arrogant amethyst half-dragon named Thrindlemond who puts them through a series of "trials". No one appreciates this. Later, he undoes the transformations and tells them that he used the device to lure them in here for his trials. He believes, as do "others" that they might be part of a prophecy that also involves the evil wizards of the Black Hand. No one really buys it, but he teleports them to speak with another about the prophecy...conveniently in a town just a couple days from Water Break.

They meet this other chap who runs a traveling puppet show with odd religious overtones. He tells them more of the prophecy, but not to worry too much about it. They oblige him and depart for Water Break. Kisty stays behind, not wanting to deal with "certain family issues" in the city.

The next day, the group encounters an odd mix of bandits that have raided a wagon. Four are dead and one teenaged girl is about to be raped. The group charges in and rumbles with the bandits. Most are killed, though the leader - a dark elf named Shadow, they later learn - escapes. A patrol of lancers arrives a bit later and tells them of the bandits and Shadow. There is a bounty for each of the bandits killed that they can claim in Water Break. While traveling with the lancers the next day, they offer an assist on the slaying of a pair of hill giants.

Water Break, the largest city any of them had ever seen, seems to be heavily under the influence of a group called the Red Cult or Church of the Small. They have outlawed most forms of magic use and require strict registration of magic items within the city. The group grudgingly complies. In the city, Amblin meets a group of monks and accepts an offer to duel - an odd affair called the Duel of the Bat, which is performed while hanging upside down by a series of adjustable ropes.

They visit the Duke's court the next morning and tell their tale and collect the bounty. That night, while Amblin and Nigel are out at a party with some local ladies, Rurik and Zalman are attacked at the inn by thugs and Zalman is kidnapped while Rurik lay helplessly paralyzed. Zalman awakes in a dark cell and finds another chained up with him. This turns out to be Misty, Kisty's twin sister and leader of the Thieves' Guild, who uses a drug-hazed charade to dupe Zalman into telling her where Kisty really is. Zalman is knocked out and left stripped of clothes and possessions in an alley.

Everyone reassembles and they race back to High Hill to warn Kisty that she could be in danger. At the inn, they find that a group of thugs arrived a bit earlier. Things stay cool until our heroes' room is firebombed in the middle of the night. A fight ensues and the thugs are vanquished. The Shadow, however, sneak attacks Nigel and nearly kills him. Kisty, by good fortune, intervenes just in time and distracts the Shadow. They almost catch the dark elf, but under the pinning hold of Amblin he magically disappears.

Kisty reveals how Misty had hired the Shadow to steal a book from the dwarves of Mt. Goldforge. The Shadow mistook Kisty for Misty and gave her the book instead. She was en route to return it to the dwaraves when she was captured by goblins, the very ones that the group rescued her from. The book is very ancient and refers to a city called Kladish.

They spend the next month resting and recovering in the local (exiled) mage guild, which Zalman is now an associate member of. They still need to establish trade contacts, so they make a quick trip into Water Break and find a helpful merchant. He suggests they try to get use of the Duke's griffons so that the contracts necessary for a full caravan to New Selmar can be arranged in time to make the trip happen this year before the weather turns foul. As the Duke's court is over for the day, they leave the city north to visit the Countess Lohna, an elvish noble Nigel met in Water Break who gave them an open invitation to visit.

Lohna, they learn, is unable to go into direct sun "as a result of one of the magical diseases that swept the area of the last two years." So, she joins them later that evening when she awakens. She is a very pleasant lady and wonderful hostess. Later that evening, after most had retired to bed, a halfling wizard with a pair of summoned girallons assault the house. The group fights them off and eventually kills the wizard, but are unable to learn who he is or what provoked the attack.

They don't expect the Duke to give them use of his griffon riders, but are pleasantly surprised when he makes them a deal. (The idea of being able to get weapons and armor from the legendary Mt. Goldforge from the deal tips him in favor of the idea.) If they'll help harvest this year's griffon eggs, then the riders will shuttle them out to New Selmar, Mt. Goldforge, and back. This they do, though they have a rough time with a pair of wyverns on the way out. On the way back, eggs in hand, they realize they have pursuers. Zalman tries to shoo off an eagle he thinks is spying on them...turns out to be a polymorphed wizard. The ensuing duel, three thousand feet in the air, ends in a stalemate, and the group makes it back to Lohna’s and then immediately back to Water Break. Here, Rurik is given an anonymous note begging for rescue from Kladish...seems some dwarves are trapped there.

They leave with the griffon riders and the merchant the next morning. During the week spent flying home, Rurik falls ill and cannot be magically cured. The stop in New Selmar is brief and they are congratulated and then released from duty to the city. Bommer, a halfling scout, joins the group. Rurik is now unconscious, so they hurry on to Mt. Goldforge and the high clerics there. The clerics determine that he's under a Quest, cast by a servant of Moradin. He is revived and the links between the stolen book, a mysterious visitor in the night, and the anonymous note are put together. Kladish, a dwarvish city lost over 5,000 years ago, apparently is near Water Break and within are dwarves in need of rescue. Also, someone else is very interested in finding that city or something inside it. They return to Water Break and then hurry up the coast in search of the remains of the ancient city.


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More wacky adventure goodness to come. (Not to mention a lot more character deaths...)

 

[Rybaer]

Session #12.1 – Into the Ruins


Much as the group desperately wanted to leave Water Break the evening they returned, they realized that they needed horses before they made the trip north in search of the ruins of Kladish. It was already pushing evening and it was unlikely they’d be able to find a horse dealer until tomorrow. So, the group quietly slipped out of the Duke’s keep and made straight for a slightly upscale Inn located in the now quiet temple district. They were blessed with an uneventful night.

The next morning, they tracked down a horse dealer just outside the city walls and bought a couple mounts of dubious quality. Halfway to noon, the group reached Lohna’s estate in Vineyard Pass and stopped in for a brief hello. Lohna, of course, was sleeping, but the head servant Linnea greeted them warmly. Amblin picked up his dog, which had been left here during their griffon-riding trip. Nigel asked Linnea to give his greetings to Lohna when she awoke.

The rest of the day, the group rode (or jogged) hard north along the coastline, retracing their steps from the griffon egg expedition. They encountered no problems and camped in one of Zalman’s conjured shelters for the night.

The second day out, the pace slowed as the ground became more broken and treacherous. Fissures were common along the cliff wall. Everyone also had their eyes peeled for signs of Kladish and the “twin spires” that Rurik’s message had referenced. An hour or two before nightfall, they finally spotted the twin spires – two tall island spikes of rock that jutted out from the ocean. Rurik’s message referenced two entrances, one at water level and one higher up. The higher up one was supposedly a dangerous entrance due to a creature living there.

Zalman polymorphed into a gargoyle and flew up and down the cliff face, searching for the entrances. The one at water level was relatively easy to find, but he could tell that passage could be risky. The waves crashed hard against the cliff wall and there were only a couple feet of clearance into the cave that went back into darkness. The second, higher, cave was much less daunting on first glance, so Zalman flew in for a closer look. It didn’t take long before he spotted a distressing artifact lying among the stones of the cave – a reddish-brown scale the size of a small plate. He snatched this up and flew back up to his companions.

He described what he saw of the two entrances and then brought out the scale for show and tell. Zalman, a student of monster lore, was almost certain that it was a red dragon’s scale…and this was no infant dragon like the green that they’d slain in the Ironwood Forest a couple months earlier. The scale alone was sufficient to discourage everyone from trying to enter Kladish through the upper cave. They discussed for some time how best to tackle entrance to the lower one.

Eventually, Zalman returned on his own (still polymorphed), to see what was further back in the cave. Skimming just above the waves, he flew back about twenty feet before the ceiling rose up and it emptied into a watery cavern. Most of it appeared natural, but there was a small man-made cutout to one side with a passage well above the waterline leading away.

Bommer climbed down the cliff face using his Slippers of Spider Climb while most of the others climbed down a rope. From the end of the rope, Zalman then shuttled them into the cave one at a time. It was a lengthy ordeal, but eventually everyone managed to get in. Hooty was left topside with instructions to watch the horses and keep an eye on the “dragon’s cave.”

When all were assembled on the landing, they proceeded down the single corridor. The passage was quite large with high ceilings. The stonework, in Rurik’s dwarven opinion, was excellent, even if it was ancient. The smell was less impressive. There was the distinct scent of decaying flesh mixed with the smell of the sea.

The passage opened up into a small chamber with three heavy stone doors leading off in different directions. The door to the left was open, while the other two were closed shut. Nigel noted large humanoid footprints in the sandy muck on the floor, possibly ogre. A couple checked out the room through the open doorway and found several long spears propped up against one wall. They had signs of fairly fresh gore on some of their tips. A small, rank-smelling pool of water sat in the middle of the room. As there was nothing else of interest, they left and moved on to the next door.

Bommer, clinging to the walls and ceiling with his Spider Climb ability, inspected the door for traps. Finding nothing, they swung the remarkably functional door open and were assaulted with an overpowering blast of rancid air. Several in the group vomited while the others hazarded a peek in. It was a square room with a large stone-slab table in the center. There were the severed heads of several seals sitting beside a rusty cleaver. Entrails and other refuse were piled carelessly in a corner. They quickly shut the door and backed away.

Bommer gave the third and final door leading out of the chamber a quick inspection and proclaimed it fit for opening. The problem was, it seemed to be blocked from the other side. With Nigel, Rurik and Amblin all working together, they managed to push it about a foot and a half wide. The sound of stone sliding across stone echoed loudly from the other side and everyone made certain they had weapons at hand should any undesirables have come to check on the commotion.

Nigel poked his head through the cracked door and saw nothing but more hallway and a stairway leading up. It was also quite dark. He slipped in and the others quickly followed. The thing blocking the door was a stone barrel – empty, but still quite heavy. They rolled it a bit further from the door so they would have more maneuvering room in case they had to make a hasty escape.

Bommer scouted ahead, again Spider Climbing along the ceiling. The stairs were unusually large, making each step a bit awkward for everyone. Odd, they thought, for a dwarven city to have such construction. At the top of the stairs, the passage leveled off again for a short distance and then opened into a small room. As Bommer entered, his hands sank into something soft and squishy on the ceiling and he jerked back. When better lighting was brought in, they could all see that some manner of fungus had grown across the entire ceiling in this room. Bommer wiped it off his hands and did not note any harmful effect from it. He decided to Spider Climb closer to the floor and closer to the light sources from here on out.

The room at the top of the stairs was empty. A passageway branched off both left and right. The one to the right led to another tall staircase. The passage to the left reached an open door and a larger chamber beyond. They chose to explore that direction first.

The door to this room, again made of stone, appeared to have been broken at some point in ancient history. It was propped up against the doorframe, but was sufficiently out of the way for everyone to easily enter the room beyond. The room itself was about forty feet in diameter and had a high, domed ceiling. A massive statue dominated the center of the room and four smaller statues were arranged around the periphery. All of the statues appeared to have once depicted humanoid beings, but had been melted or warped well beyond recognition.

The most notable feature of the room, however, was the double doors in the opposite wall. Two opaque crystal doors of a deep violet hue rose some fifteen feet high. Six symbols were arranged in a circle that spanned both doors. From the top clockwise: A triangle over a circle; three waves in a hexagon; a hammer and anvil (Moradin’s symbol, Rurik noted with glee); a white bone on a black rectangular field; a six-pointed star; and a battleaxe and horn.

“That one there must be Moradin,” Rurik said. “I’m surprised that he is not placed at the top of the progression, though.”

“What gods do the other symbols belong to, then?” someone asked.

“I have no idea,” Rurik answered honestly. As far as his education into religious matters went, the dwarves only worshipped Moradin. They might recognize the other gods of the humans and other races, but they were not given positions of equal or greater respect than the All-Father.

Rurik reached out toward the door, curious about the crystal construction. As his fingers brushed the surface, he felt a bit of a charge pass from his own body and into the doors. Both began to glow softly with an internal light and silently swing open before him. A wide staircase led downward before him into dark silence.


Next session: The guardians of the tomb and the Salien Hunter.

 

[Amblin]

Dog/God u decide

Amblin in: Seeing as Rybaer did mention my puppy I will tell ya'll more about him. Fiist off he is with us in the ruins. I asked Zman to fly up and get him, which he did. His name is Moltar, he's a lava dog. right now he's about 4 to 6 month so more puppy then dog, but none the less he cost me a fate point to train. So if I can keep him alive perhaps in the future he will be of use. Mostly right now I just have him guard Zman towards the back of the group. He's a Rot/lab mix named after a big dumb Rot/lab mix my roommate had 6 or 7 years ago. I'm hoping MoltarII will end up a little brighter, if he lives. That's a BIG if cause if you know anything about dogs 4 to 6 month is that gangly, puppy don't know where my feet are phase. Plus the "hey that smell good I'm going to go play with it". Those to features plus the types of critters we're fighting now don't mix well. For now I'll say he's still with me. More then I can say for others, and looking more like a lava dog then ever. As for Kladish went I saw those 6 symbols and Rurik knew of only the one. That makes 5 dead Gods. Add to that are new friends in the church of the small (thats pure sarcasm by the way) I'm starting to think religions are passing fancies of minds. If Gods can be forgotton what ever power they have is in the minds of there followers. Not to say there isn't great power in that, but it's the minds with the power, not the Gods. Which brings me to a greater understanding of the church of the Small. So I don't hate them and I don't fear them... yet. Small minds seeking Great power is something to be watched. With that Ambin out.

 

[Amill]

Testing

Rybaer does seem to be moving along nicely in getting this story posted. Eventually I might get to start posting on good ol Amill
laters...

 

[Rybaer]

Just to put things into a mechanical perspective...


By the time the characters enter the ruins of Kladish, this is their approximate composition:

Amblin - human monk 8
Bommer - halfling ranger 1/rogue 6
Nigel - elf ranger 6/ arcane archer 2
Rurik - dwarvish cleric (Moradin) 8
Zalman - human conjurer 7


The levels should be pretty close. I forget exactly when some of the guys started hitting 9th. You might notice the lack of a big beefy fighter. Amblin relies on spring attack in melee and Nigel prefers (and excels at) his bow. That leaves Rurik pretty much alone as the group's tank, along with anything Zalman can get summoned. This one missing component to an otherwise very balanced group will be noted and lamented repeatedly in the not too distant future.

Amill, a human psychic warrior, will be joining the group in a while to help fill in this gap.

 

[Rybaer]

Session #12.2 – Temple of Nur


The crystal doors swung wide and revealed a broad staircase leading down into darkness. For lack of a better direction to head, Rurik started down and the other fell in behind him. The stairs emptied out in a massive chamber with columns lining either side of its length. When Rurik reached the last step, strips of blue crystal embedded in each column spontaneously illuminated, giving the room a soft glow. The crystal doors closed of their own accord behind them.

Aside from the illumination, everything else about the place gave them a sense of desolation. There was no sound other than their footfalls. Rurik walked slowly in, absorbing every detail and openly admiring the craftsmanship. Further in, they realized that there were two doors leading off to the left and right and another hallway leading out the far end. There also appeared to be a couple bodies lying on the floor at the far end of the room. These they inspected first and found them to be so far gone that little was left but scoured bones and wisps of clothing. The two could have been dwarves, but even that was difficult to discern.

The doors on either side of the room each bore a different symbol that was meaningless to them. They carefully inspected and opened one and found that it led to a crypt of sorts. Several massive stone sarcophagi, each ten feet long by five wide and tall, filled alcoves. There were no names or identifying marks aside from intricate geometrical designs engraved in their stone caps. Someone half jokingly suggested opening one but Rurik’s scowl quickly put an end to that.

The hall on the far end led to a T intersection. On the wall before them were a variety of symbols arranged in a family-tree fashion. Several they recognized from the crypt doors in the previous chamber. Another, about halfway down the lineage, they recognized as being on the cover of the book that the Shadow had stolen from Mt. Goldforge. The clan crest for Khazad Steelmaker, perhaps?

Both side passages immediately doubled back, so they picked the left one and proceeded around a corner and down yet another flight of stairs. The next level emptied onto a landing with wide hallways leading to left and right and another pair of staircases leading further down. They peeked down the next staircase and found that it led to a temple of sorts. Rows of stone benches were lined up before a massive stone altar. Upon the wall behind the altar was the symbol of a bone in a black rectangular field, like the one seen on the crystal doors – only this one had been seemingly desecrated.

Two doors led out the back of the temple. Through one, they found the old remnants of what they believed to be a preparation chamber for the dead. Assorted vials, jars, and containers lined shelves and tools of unusual design were strewn about. Everything was covered in the dust of millennia. Through the second door, they found a room that had been utterly devastated. Whatever had once been in here was charred as if some mighty explosion had occurred.

The group retreated back to the landing outside the temple and followed the hallway around the right side of the temple. Lining one side of the hall were more stone doors, each adorned with symbols that matched up with one or more of those seen on the previous level. They poked their heads in a couple doors and found rows of stone sarcophagi stacked two high in tighter alcoves in the walls. These seemed to have been slightly less important people than those in the crypts upstairs. Again, they left the crypts undisturbed but did check each room on the off chance that there would be a hint as to the whereabouts of those in need of rescue.

The hall wrapped around the back of the temple and a quick check of the hallway around the left side of the temple revealed just another passage with more crypts. Behind the temple, however, was another hallway leading to and down another staircase. Just as they were about to continue onward, Nigel, with his acute elven senses, noted that there was a secret door near the intersection. Bommer inspected it and found the opening mechanism and no sign of traps. The group debated the merits of checking beyond the secret door or continuing down the stairs, eventually settling on the latter.

As they descended the next staircase, they could tell that the air was becoming a bit more damp and smelled slightly of seawater. At the bottom of the long staircase they found that the last three steps were underwater. They judged it to be waist deep for most except for Bommer who would have to be carried to continue. At the edge of the water, Rurik again triggered the activation of strips of glowing blue crystal embedded in columns lining the long chamber. The room appeared to be little more than an ornate and very large hall. At the far end was a pair of massive stone doors.

While the crypts and temples had thus far been quiet, everyone was a little bit on edge. They felt like they were being watched. No one was very keen on walking through the calm water for fear of something underneath the surface striking at him before he could see it. Rurik was set on following the course to the end, though, so everyone followed. Rurik led the way, literally walking on water thanks to his magic ring. (If ever Rurik truly had a “divine” moment, this was it…walking on water in an ancient dwarven temple.)

As they crossed the room, they did note that there were some very tiny fish swimming in the water. To their relief, nothing attacked them from under the water as they crossed to the double doors. Bommer inspected the doors and proclaimed them untrapped and unlocked. They pushed them open and found a relatively small twenty-foot square chamber leading to another set of violet crystal doors with the same circle of six holy symbols upon them. The only oddity about the room was the forty-foot high ceiling.

(DM note: A couple of them did notice that there were pieces of crystal affixed to the ceiling, and Bommer even spent the time to climb up and check them out. They were evenly spaced shards, the length of shortswords and razor sharp. He knew it was a trap, though he couldn’t figure out the trigger mechanism. Luckily for the group, they avoided it. Anyone not a cleric of this pantheon trying to open the crystal doors would have triggered a reverse gravity field in the 20’ room between the doors, thereby falling forty feet upward onto the spikes. Now, with the water having seeped into the chamber, it would have immediately flooded the “pit.” For some, they would have been able to take advantage of the water to swim back out. For others, they may very well have drowned.)

Suspecting a trap, everyone vacated the room aside from Bommer and Rurik. Rurik touched the crystal doors and again felt a small discharge of divine energy from his body and the doors swung open. The room beyond was wider and taller than most of the previous ones. Blue crystal strips along the walls lit up to give it a dim glow. On the far side of the room, rising just above the water line, was a large dais upon which sat mounds of gold, gems, weapons, collectibles, and other artifacts beyond counting. To either side of the dais, a hallway led out of the room.

Still walking on water, Rurik led everyone into the room. The doors silently shut behind them. Though it didn’t really need to be said, Rurik reminded everyone to touch nothing in here. The dwarf stepped up on the dais while the others followed at a distance. Rurik looked down both the side halls and could see several large and ornate sarcophagi in each. “Burial chamber for the kings?” he wondered silently to himself.

While surveying the contents of the treasure hoard, Rurik caught a glimpse of movement though one of the side passages. As he looked up, three ghosts floated silently across the water and onto the dais next to him. Three more from the other chamber joined them. To everyone’s surprise, though, they were not dwarves but minotaurs. The transparent visages were each dressed in fine but alien attire. Everyone tensed as they approached their friend, but no one dared attack.

One of the ghosts initiated a form of telepathic contact with Rurik.

“It has been time beyond time since one of your kind has set foot in this chamber,” the minotaur said. “Who are you and why are you here?”

“I am Rurik,” he mentally replied. “I seek some of my people who are trapped here. May I ask who you are?”

“I am King Truvar,” the minotaur replied. “These are other Kings from before and after my time.”

Rurik bowed humbly before them. “Do you know anything of the dwarves trapped here? Where we might find them?”

“No,” the King replied. “We guard only this chamber itself and our perceptions extend little further.”

Rurik risked probing further into the history of Kladish and the minotaur was willing to answer some of his questions. Kladish, it explained, was the outpost of the Tauren Empire on this world. For several hundred years it flourished until their mortal enemies, the Salien Empire, attacked and destroyed the city. When Rurik asked what the other gods represented on the door were, the King acted somewhat surprised and disturbed. He did, however, give Rurik a brief run-down: Tol, the all-power; Uminor, of water and trade; Moraein, of earth and craft; Nur, of the dead; Hebli, of sun and magic; and Zuchur, of war and valor.

“Aside from Moraein,” Rurik said, “these gods have become lost to my people. Perhaps you could tell me more of them.”

“Perhaps,” the King said. “It seems odd to us that such knowledge could become lost, but time is a powerful force for change. First, we would ask a favor of you and possibly your companions.”

“What?” Rurik asked.

“While we protect this inner chamber, we have been aware of a disturbance in the temple since the fall of the city. We believe that a Salien Hunter, likely a dead one, haunts the rest of the others entombed here. If you could remove this nuisance, it would allow us the peaceful rest we so crave after these eons.”

“I can but try,” Rurik said, not really sure what a Salien Hunter was or whether they were up to the challenge.

“Should you complete this task, we will recount more of our lost lore for you,” the King said. “Furthermore, we could offer a reward, possibly even Dulurdains. While they are sacred objects, our city and people are forever lost and they serve us little buried here.”

Rurik was staggered. Dulurdains were legend among the dwarven people. Reportedly, they were magic artifacts of remarkable powers. Few were ever believed to have existed, and those were lost in ancient times.

“May we rest here before taking on this challenge,” Rurik asked.

“Yes,” the King replied, “but do not touch anything.” And with that, the six ghosts evaporated.

Rurik recounted to the others most of his conversation with the ghosts, but refrained from telling them about the Dulurdains for the time being.

“So, just what is this Salien Hunter thing they want us to destroy?” Nigel asked.

“No idea,” Rurik said. “Some leftover from the invaders that destroyed the city, apparently.”

“And this thing is supposedly in this temple somewhere?”

“Yup.”

“Then why didn’t we see it on the way down?” Amblin asked. “We pretty much checked out everything on the way down.”

“Could be behind that secret door we skipped past,” Bommer suggested.

“Frankly, I don’t like the sound of it,” Amblin said. “Undead nasties.”

Nigel, who had a particularly dislike for undead, had to agree. “We’re here to rescue dwarves. I’m not so sure about fighting this thing for the benefit of a few long-deceased minotaurs.”

“Maybe this thing is involved the keeping the dwarves trapped here,” Bommer suggested.

“Well, the kings said it’d be okay if we rested here until we were ready,” Rurik said. “We just aren’t allowed to touch anything.”

“Yeah,” Nigel said. “We could use some rest. We’ll discuss it again when we’re ready to leave.”

No one had noticed that Zalman remained remarkably quiet during the conversation. When Rurik had mentioned the Salien Hunter and the Salien Empire, he alone recognized the names for what they truly were. Having studied the Planes and ancient history a bit, he knew perfectly well that the Saliens had once been the most feared and destructive force ever known. They were also known as Mind Flayers. And this one, supposedly, had been dead and residing in this tomb for over five thousand years. He wasn’t sure that the others were ready to deal with that kind of information just yet. He knew damn well that he wasn’t.



Next session: The undead mind flayer.

 

[Amblin]

Giant dwarves?

Amblin in: Here we are trying to rescue dwarves, and all we find are dead giants. We took a wrong turn some where. Maybe at Mt Gfordge for all I know. Then my friend is attacked/approached by minotaur ghosts and nobody knows what to do. That was very tense for me in that he didn't look to be in pain, but... Then there was the whole "kill this guy for us and we'll be nice to you" thing. I'm not here to fight for minotaurs. I want to free some dwarves so I can leave. I don't like this place, at all, not a bit, want to go home now. Then again no home to go to. Alright one undead mind thing and on with the dwarf rescue. I'll leave Moltar to guard the treasure, we'll kill this thing and move on. so simple am I, at this point, so sorry I'll be, soon. For now Amblin out.

 

[Rurik]

Soo much to deal with

First of all... I helped get everyone into the water level cave entrance with my Ring of Water Walking.

Now we're in...

I am just starting my God-given quest to save these traped worshipers. I am really feeling empowered.

When we come across the doors that open to my touch, I start to feel like this truely is my destiny. Of course I have to warn everyone else about touching anything...this is a sacred place.

When we found the holy symbol decicrated, I was enraged. Who would dare do this to an aly to Moradin. I decided to make sure I fixed it before we left this place.

I was also taken-aback at the fact that minotaurs were buried here. As far as we new, minotaurs are savage killing beasts. No idea why they would be held in regard. After a short "conversation" I realized these were not ordinary minotaurs. I decided to treat them with the respect of a follower of Moradin.

 

[Zalman]

Session #12.1 – Into the Ruins
As I recall we used Rurik's ring of water walking to get people into the cave. As a polymorphed gargoyle I was no where near strong enough to carry people into the cave. (small point, no worries)

I was very worried that we would eventually come across a red dragon. The size of the scale that I found led me to belive that it was adult or older. Not a good prospect, we were of insufficient strength to take on anything of that magnitude. It is our friendship with Rurik that kept us going. At first I made good friends with Rurik because he was the one that kept us - me - alive. It has grown into a true friendship.


Session #12.2 – Temple of Nur
Rurik never filled us in that the Minotaur ghosts we saw were kings. They were simply described as "care takers." I think he knew that if he had said that we were in the crypt of dead Minotaurian Kings we would have questioned if we were in Kladish at all. This was a dwarven city, right? ...right?

Mindflayer... The ability to assault the mind and the sensabilities of everyone. The situation earlier where Amblin pushed someone into a hole because he was "confused" would be the best we could hope for. A very powerful mindflayer, undead, lurking, probably already very aware of our presence. I don't like it. Not one bit...

 

[Rybaer]

Session #12.3 – The Salien Hunter


After resting up and studying/praying, Zalman finally decided it was for the best to tell the others what he knew of the Salien Empire – of the Mind Flayers. If they weren’t happy in the first place about facing some unknown undead creature stalking the crypts, they most certainly weren’t any longer. Talk turned from whether they should take on the ghostly minotaurs’ task or just flee the temple and find the dwarves. They came to the consensus that they would do everything they could to avoid facing the Salien Hunter, moving quickly through the temple and checking what was through the secret door they had passed earlier. If they encountered the Hunter after all, they’d either face it down or flee, circumstances permitting. Believing the treasure vault/hall of the kings to be the safest place down here, Amblin ordered his dog to stay put.

Rurik led the group back through the crystal doors and up to the temple level. The complex seemed just as quiet as before, but now they could put a name to their sense of unease. As they reached the top of the stairs on the temple level, the whispers in their heads began.

“I see you…”

“You cannot hide from me…”

“One of you is already under my control. Can you tell which companion will stab your back?”

“Do you still control your own thoughts?”

The voice seemed to be speaking to them individually, whispering taunts and threats in their minds. With the first couple whispers, nothing was said, but eventually they each started sharing what the voice was telling them so the others would know. Paranoia began to run a bit higher for they could neither see nor hear anyone around them.

They hurried toward the secret door and Bommer set about opening it. Meanwhile, Amblin walked a short distance to peer down one of the halls running alongside the temple. He saw nothing, but in the distance could hear a rapidly building shuffling sound. At a guess, he thought it sounded like a small horde of tiny creatures charging down the hall in their direction. (He was right about this…it was about 100 undead rats.)

Amblin informed the others of the impending company. Working under immense pressure, Bommer finally go the secret door open and pulled it open, revealing a very tight spiral staircase leading up.

“Do we go up?” Bommer asked.

“Go! Yes, go!” Everyone else shouted. Just then, an overlooked secret door just a short way down the hall began to open and the wave of undead rats started to round the corner on them.

The mind flayer had continued to taunt them throughout all of this, whispering little words to create doubt and fear. Bommer had, in fact, fallen under the foul creature’s sway and was given very specific instructions: “Do not let the cleric touch the door at the top of the stairs. Tell him that it is trapped.”

Bommer had slipped into the stairwell and started climbing up the walls to allow the others to get in and past him. Amblin, by far the fastest of the group and scared half to death of what was coming up behind them, led the way. Rurik came in next while Nigel and Zalman were still out in the hallway when the mind flayer stepped out from behind the other secret door. Neither got a good look before it hammered them with a mind blast. Zalman resisted the agonizing pain in his head but Nigel crumpled. The wizard, fortunately, was physically strong enough to haul the elf under one arm and throw him into the stairwell, pulling the door shut behind him.

Rurik took Nigel off Zalman’s hands while the wizard turned back to the door. His immovable staff would be useless in keeping it closed due to the way it swung, but he had another idea. He hastily cast an Enlarge spell on the stone door, swelling it just enough to jam it tightly shut in its frame. Feeling a bit more secure, Rurik and Zalman helped Nigel up the stairs to the sound of the undead mind flayer and horde of rats scrapping uselessly at the door.

“How long will that hold em?” Rurik asked.

“Couple minutes,” Zalman replied. The pounding at the door became louder and more determined. “Maybe less.”

Amblin had reached the top of the rather long spiral staircase well ahead of any of the others. It stopped at a dead end wall. Having some experience with these things, he immediately suspected there was a secret door. Finding how to open it, however, was much more Bommer or Nigel’s forte. Time was pressing, though, so he started running his fingers over the cracks looking for some sort of mechanism. Instead, he set off an Acid Fog trap. Thick clouds of green gas poured out of the wall and filled the stairwell behind him. The gas burned his skin and almost blinded him. He tried to race back down the stairs to get clear of the gas but found it nearly as difficult to move through the thick gas as it would be to run through water.

Finally, he escaped the front edge of the caustic fog and hurried down the stairs to warn the others. Zalman ran up a few more steps and summoned a Wind Wall to contain the Acid Fog. Rurik healed the substantial burns that Amblin had sustained. The problem now, though, was what to do next. They were trapped on a very narrow spiral staircase with an undead mind flayer behind, a cloud of acid fog ahead, and Nigel was still a stunned sack of drooling elf.


Next session: Almost escaping is a far cry from actually escaping...