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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rybaer" data-source="post: 176463" data-attributes="member: 118">Session #12.5 - Gifts from the Ghosts The loss of Zalman hit the group hard.  They had all watched as the mind flayer sucked his brain out by way of his nose.  Rurik was particularly distraught as this entire trip down into the ruins was for his personal holy mission - if any should fall in battle while fulfilling it, the dwarf felt it should have been him. Now that the mind flayer was no longer a threat, they figured that returning back to the lower levels of the temple to rest and recover was probably the safest course of action.  Rurik closed the secret door and then they carefully bore Zalman's body back down the stairwell and to the hall of the dead minotaur kings.  They laid him down on the dais and draped a blanket over his body so as not to have to look at the mess that was left of his face. The six ghosts of the minotaur kings manifested before them.  This time, however, King Truvar addressed the entire group telepathically rather than just Rurik. "You have destroyed the Salien Hunter," he stated.  "We can feel its presence gone from this place.  For this, cleric of Moraein, we are in your debt." "I'm glad we could serve," Rurik said.  "However, it came with a high price.  One of my long time friends was killed by the creature."  The kings appeared to silently converse with one another for a minute. "Please follow me, Rurik," the King said as it floated past the piles of gold and treasure toward the back of the dais.  It waived its hand and a concealed passage opened before them.  Beyond was a small room with a few shelves bearing a variety of arms, armor, and other items.  On one shelf were several books and a stack of scroll cases.  In one corner was a pair of ornately carved wooden chests.  Rurik knew at a glance that the items in this room were of inestimable value...that the treasure in the previous room was merely mundane by comparison. "Rurik," the King said.  "Take this scroll.  With it, you may be able to save your fallen friend."  Rurik took the indicated scroll from the stack.  "Its magic was saved against the day that a hero of the Empire fell in battle before his time was up.  The Empire is millennia gone; yet your friend has performed a great service in its defense.  The other kings and I feel it is acceptable to use it on him." Rurik returned to the others and pulled back the blanket from Rurik.  Carefully withdrawing the scroll from its case, he began to cast the powerful spell.  Everyone else watched on in awed silence.  Returning someone from beyond death was beyond their personal experience, literally the stuff of legend.  A palpable divine energy permeated the room as the casting continued.  Finally, after several minutes, Rurik completed the invocation and watched Zalman eagerly.  The hole in the wizard's face closed and healed over and the color in his skin returned to normal.  Then, with a sudden jolt, Zalman sat bolt upright and started breathing again. "What happened?" Zalman asked.  He had a pretty good idea, as his last memory was of his face in the maw of a mind flayer, but he was pretty certain this wasn't the afterlife. "You died, Zalman," Rurik said.  "The minotaurs gave us the means by which to bring you back, in thanks for your effort to purge this temple of the mind flayer.  You feeling okay now?" "Yeah, I guess so," Zalman said as he took stock of his condition.  While he was physically fine, he was having difficulty coming to terms with the whole 'death' thing.  He was going to have to spend some significant time dealing with certain issues when he could find some quiet time to himself. The minotaur king telepathically spoke up again.  "As I told Rurik when we asked for his assistance in destroying the Salien Hunter, we will offer each of you a reward for your services.  You may each have either one item of your choice from the piles out here, 10,000 gold coins, or one of the Dulurdains.  While ordinarily we wouldn't offer these artifacts to outsiders, our Empire is millennia gone and hoarding them here no longer serves us.  These we will part with only to those who are willing to vow to uphold the ideals of the Tauren Pantheon." "What are these Dulurdains?  And what is all this about the Tauren Pantheon?" Rurik explained to the others that in dwarven legend the Dulurdains were powerful magic items.  Artifacts, really.  The making of vows to a bunch of gods they knew little or nothing about was a much greater sticking point for everyone.  After a bit of discussion with the dead king, however, they eventually sorted it out that they would merely be expected to behave honorably and uphold the universal ideas of good.  And, most importantly, they were not defile or act against the Tauren Pantheon.  Everyone finally accepted these terms. King Truvar then led all of them to the secret room in the back of the chamber and pointed out each of the Dulurdains.  There were ten in all:  A coat of gold chainmail, a jet black cloak with a silver raven clasp, a longbow made of a pearly white material, a greatsword with a yellow crystal blade, a two-dimensional longsword, a pair of bulky metal/leather boots, a massive flail whose spikes were stylized minotaur heads, a shortsword with a blue crystal blade, lizard skin gloves, a platinum crown with several blue sapphires, and a dwarven war axe with silver haft and white blade. "Can you tell us what magical properties they have?" someone asked the King. "Regrettably, no," the King said.  "Part of the Dulurdains' nature is that they are closely linked with the wielder.  The more confident and powerful the user, the more potent the item becomes." "What if we pick something that doesn't suit us?  Could we pick again?" "A Dulurdain is semi-sentient, in a manner of speaking," the King said.  "It will not accept a wielder who is not in line with its purpose and goals.  If the item accepts you, it will reveal its powers.  If it rejects you, you will know it and then may choose a different item." The group poured over the items, guessing at their purpose and powers.  It was a difficult decision for some, an easy one for others.  Ultimately, though, everyone's first choice of Dulurdain accepted its new owner. (DM notes:  These items were something of a Christmas gift from the DM to the players.  Of course, they had to get through the mind flayer to earn them.  I wanted each player to have something of a signature magic item...something that wasn't a stock item from the DM Guide.  Essentially, the item gains a new ability at every even character level of the wielder or improves upon a previous property.)  The item chose by each player, along with the abilities they can presently access, are as follows:Nigel – the longbow Star Slayer, made from the horn of an Astral Dreadnought.  Effectively a +4 mighty longbow.  Powers: +2 enhancement bonus, Shock, and can cast See Invisible on self 1/day.Amblin – the boots Far Stride.  Powers: One kick per round is at +2 enhancement bonus, Stomp (as psi power) 2/day, Spider Climb at will, Endurance feat, Expeditious Retreat 3/day, and Shockwave 2/day (enhanced version of Stomp power).Bommer – the cloak Raven’s Cloak.  Powers: +5 circumstance bonus to Hide, Darkvision 60’, and Polymorph into a raven 1/day.Rurik – the dwarven war axe Sleet.  Powers: +2 enhancement bonus, Keen, and Frost.Zalman – the crown Clarity.  Powers: Detect Magic at will, low light vision 60’, Comprehend Languages, Tongues, See Invisible at will.While everyone became familiar with their new gear, the minotaur king spoke with Rurik about the gods of the pantheon other than Moraein.  The king then sealed up the back room, wished everyone well, and then faded away once again.  The group spent the balance of the day resting and recovering from the ordeal with the mind flayer.  To the best of their knowledge, there was only one direction to continue exploring from the areas they had already seen.  When everyone was ready, they would resume their search for the trapped dwarves.Next session:  The upstairs neighbors.</blockquote>

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