(Cydra) Great Conflicts

[the Jester]

The Temple of Elemental Good Water, 11 a.m.

Lester blazes with dozens of dweomers, both abjurations and enhancements. He is thickly warded with what remains of his magical might- seriously depleted after the double ambush in Bile Mountain. He stands in a thick cavern illuminated only by the sorcererous light that glows on his breastplate. Before him is the strange column of eyes that he petrified in Bile Mountain, then brought back here to restore to flesh and use as a guardian next to the so-called gibbering garden that he planted from the ruins of the one the party defeated in Thixil Testa.

“All right, you!” calls Lester at the strange thing. “What can you tell me about the Bile Lords?”

The answer comes telepathically: I will tell you nothing.

“What’s to stop me from destroying you, then?” demands the L. “Tell me what I want to know, or I’ll do it!”

I shall tell you nothing, the strange creature snaps telepathically. You are a fool if you think that you can destroy me. If you attempt it, I shall disjoin you.

Lester is taken aback by this threat. “Well, that certainly is persuasive,” he allows. “All right, then- you don’t really seem like you can move, and this place is locked against teleportation. You can sit here and think about it until you’re ready to talk, and in the meantime you’ll be a fine guardian for the Water Temple!”

Fool, sneers the thing. I am the wtcher. My lords will destroy you.

“Why do you work for the Bile Lords anyway?” Lester asks. “You should switch sides. What do they do for you? You have to admit, they’re pretty nasty characters.”

Fool, the wtcher proclaims again.

With a shrug, Lester walks out and around a corner. There he casts pass through earth and stone. As quietly as he can manage, the self-proclaimed god of adventure slips into the rocky floor and glides to the chamber the wtcher is in. Springing up from surprise, he casts another flesh to stone upon the weird thing, and it has time only for a startled telepathic cry before it is once again a statue.

I’ll have to figure out what to do with that thing some time, Lester muses.

***

4 p.m.

“We need allies, if we’re going to take on the Bastion of Order.” Baron Lillamere frowns. “I think we should call in everyone we can think of who has a grudge against Law.”

“That giant wizard guy,” Sybele exclaims. She can’t remember his (or anyone else’s) name, but fortunately, Lillamere knows who she means.

“Mabrack!” he declares. “Yeah, he’s a good bet.”

“And my honey,” she adds.

“Thrush! Yes, he is probably up for a little excitement after the boredom of guarding Brelana for a zee last few months.” Gerontius smiles.

“Perhaps the Eyebrarian would allow us to use the temporally accelerated demiplane,” Orbius says.

“What about Arion?” suggests Alcar. “He is a powerful wizard.”

“He’s probably totally drunk right now,” Sybele chortles.

“Where’s Veil at? Has anyone seen her for a while?” Lester asks.

“Veil,” snorts Alcar.

“Why not some demon princes? They had an arch-devil,” Wankerman points out.

Inoke shakes his head. “Listen to what you’re saying. You want to join up with a demon prince? Just because he’s against Law doesn’t make him on your side, you know. I think that’s a bad idea. In fact, I think your whole attack on the Bastion of Law is a mistake. Think about it: you’re going up against the likes of Marius and Prayzose.”

“We’re not joining up with any demon princes,” Alcar barks.

“We have to attack the Bastion,” Baron Lillamere says to Inoke. “We gave our word.”

“Some of you gave your word, I didn’t,” Inoke says firmly.

Lillamere sighs and nods. “I know.”

“I won’t go on the attack with you,” Inoke says for the umpteenth time.

“I know,” the Baron sighs again. “Listen, tomorrow I’ll superior teleport you to wherever you want to go. What are you going to do?”

Inoke shrugs and looks slightly lost. “I don’t really know. I guess I’ll take a vacation, maybe go home to Besta for a while or something.”

“I can’t do this either,” Horbin states. “Especially now that I’m a Bishop. I can’t directly oppose Prayzose, he’s my High Priest. And this attack is going to be uncomfortably close to opposing Galador Himself.”

“Damn,” swears Gerontius. “Well, at least we will have Alcar as our healer, eh?”

Alcar looks thoughtful. “Actually,” he says, “I was thinking about taking my followers and making a frontal assault while the rest of you try to sneak in.”

“What! No way!” the halfling cries.

“We need a healer,” Chakar states.

“Well, a distraction might-”

“Not having a healer is going to get us all killed,” Sybele moans.

“I thought-”

“We need you, Alcar,” Chakar presses him.

“All right,” the Angel of Food surrenders.

“Well, even without demon princes, maybe we can find some chaotic extraplanar aid,” suggests Orbius. “Perhaps some slaadi will accompany us or something. Or eladrins.”

“We could try my faction, in Sigil,” Wankerman says. “I bet some of the guys would be willing to help us out.”

“Another good idea,” Chakar nods. “And perhaps- the simulacra?”

Silence.

“They hate Marius, after all,” the dwarven monk notes. “And if my understanding is correct, they are quite powerful.”

“Many are more powerful than the real guy himself,” Sybele states.

“We’d better get to work,” Gerontius declares.

***

8 p.m., Sigil

Little Alex is dispatched with a list of useful items that the party would like, and a handsome fee. He also, unexpectedly, brings along his 15 year old sister Liz when the party summons him. He seems to be trying to either set Liz up with one of our heroes romantically, or to engage her in some sort of financially rewarding work with our heroes. (It is a little bit unclear, and perhaps it’s a bit of both.) Nobody bites at that piece of candy, and the party gets right to work.

When Orbius questions the Eyebrarian about using the demiplane, he discovers that it has been raided and trapped by Marius. “Certainly, it is not safe now,” Orbius reports sadly. “That could have simplified things a great deal.”

“It’s a logical target,” Baron Lillamere says grimly. We gave them too much time to prepare for us. Damn it!!

“We should rest for the night,” Gerontius states. “In the morning, we will contact everyone for aid.”

“I like it,” says Lillamere. “Once we’re refreshed and our spells have returned, we’ll be ready.”

“Maybe we can even make a scouting trip,” Lester adds eagerly.

Exhausted from a day full of ambushes, our heroes sleep well that night. They never truly relax, but they sleep.

Next Time: Horbin and Inoke leave! Allies flock to the cause! The Day of the Appointment draws nigh- our heroes must attack!

 

[Krud]

Uh Oh...

I sense a large amount of pain in the future for the PC's. Its not like law didn't see it coming

I like the way things seem to be headed regarding the recruitment of allies for the group. Law plans weeks in advance with intricate scheming, while the Chaotic group is all 'Well, we're going in tomorrow... Hmm better do the ring around and see if any of the boys want to come along...'

It is funny how Chaos' unpredictability works as an advantage sometimes. Law just doesn't know what they will do.

I'm looking forward to your next post Jester

 

[the Jester]

I like the way things seem to be headed regarding the recruitment of allies for the group. Law plans weeks in advance with intricate scheming, while the Chaotic group is all 'Well, we're going in tomorrow... Hmm better do the ring around and see if any of the boys want to come along...'

It is funny how Chaos' unpredictability works as an advantage sometimes. Law just doesn't know what they will do.

I'm looking forward to your next post Jester

Yeah, the whole unpredictability thing does help the Chaos side a lot of the time. The last three or four epic games have all been part of the same day- the day of the attack. Coming very soon- prolly the update after next, if the next one isn't long enough to reach the start of it all on its own.

 

[the Jester]

Prelude to the Bastion of Law

9/7/371 O.L.G., 9 a.m., Sigil

The day in the City of Doors starts with some hard drinking to aid the departure of two friends. Horbin, Lillamere and Inoke go drunkenly through a portal to Gladsheim (since it seems likely that agents of Law might be watching their customary portal in the dwarven merchant’s attic on Tirchond) and then plane shift to Cydra, near Var. Horbin embraces his friends. “Good luck,” he tells Lillamere, and then he uses a miracle to ape a greater teleport to bring him back to his Halls of Healing in Var. Once there, he immediately begins pacing, worrying about his friends. I almost wish I could help them, but I can’t, he agonizes. And I have responsibilities here now, as a Bishop... His thoughts trail off as a clerk hurries up to him, an armful of papers in his hands.

“Your Holiness,” he says, “there are things that require your attention.”

Meanwhile, some fifty miles away, Lillamere asks Inoke, “Where do you want me to send you? I’m using a superior teleport, so your options are pretty much wide open.”

“Well,” Inoke says thoughtfully, “I’m going on vacation... maybe home to Besta... no, wait! You can send me to a place I don’t even know, right?”

“Yeah, with superior teleport I could send you to the place where your boots were made, or to the person who hired you for your first job... what do you have in mind?”

“Send me to the best island!” Inoke grins.

Baron Lillamere chuckles. “Good choice!” he commends. Then the words of magic start to dribble from his tongue, and his hands sketch strange shapes in the air. He touches Inoke and the warmind vanishes. I hope you have a good time, he thinks fondly. And I hope you come back to us after the Bastion!

He sighs. Back to Sigil, to the others. First a plane shift to Gladsheim, then a greater teleport to the portal the bacchae use. Lillamere is still drunk enough to activate the portal- that’s the key to it- and so a moment later he’s back in Sigil, with the rest of the party.

“Now let’s see if we can find some help in our quest,” Chakar says.

We should keep our conversations telepathic, Gerontius sends over the link. It’s more secure.

The halfling has a good point, agrees Sybele, failing to remember her companions’ names (or those of anyone else), as always.*

A short discussion as to what to do first begins. Meanwhile Chakar is asking nearby merchants and others who look likely to know about such things for leads on the Perfect Master Pan Lo, of whom he has heard. One fellow stands forth. He is tall and slender, but his muscles are like whip cords. He bears dragon tattoos on his arms. “I am the Dragon,” he declares. “Why do you seek the Perfect Masters?”

“I am Chakar,” bows the dwarven monk. “I seek to learn from them.”

The Dragon sneers. “I doubt whether you have the necessary discipline.”

“Are you Pan Lo?” Chakar asks with equanimity.

“No,” admits the Dragon.

“Then I have no business with you,” Chakar grunts disdainfully. “I seek Pan Lo.”

The Dragon sneers again, then turns on his heel and stalks away.

The debate on who to seek out first ends when Wankerman points out that there might well be Chaos temples with aid available nearby. A little looking around turns up both a temple of the dead demon prince Orcus and one devoted to the slaad lord Ygorl. Neither one renders much assistance, however. “Well, then, let’s go to my faction house,” urges Wankerman. “I bet there’s a guy or two in there who could help us out!”

The party begins heading through the grimy streets of Sigil, going into a neighborhood full of stink and ash and dirt. The people seem more listless, less caring somehow, in this district. There are fewer creatures from the Upper Planes and more things that relish despair.

Suddenly, a group of four monks steps out from around the corner, directly in our heroes’ path. One of them is the Dragon.

“You have not shown the necessary discipline to study under the Perfect Masters,” he sneers again at Chakar.

“Is Pan Lo with you?” Chakar asks.

“Pan Lo has spoken,” the Dragon states firmly, and Chakar throws a punch. There are a blinding series of moves as the two move lightning fast throw blows, grapples, twists and locks, and then, suddenly, the Dragon is pinned to the ground face down. He grits his teeth.

“Enough,” says one of the other monks. “Chakar, you have been seeking me. Come with me.”

Chakar’s eyes widen as the bald, nondescript man speaks. He releases his hold on the Dragon, who stands smoldering with anger, but only bows. The human begins to walk away. “I will rejoin you as soon as I can,” Chakar tells the party, and then hurries after Pan Lo.

“Well,” Sybele mutters, “that’s great. Another party member out of the picture.”

“Hopefully not,” Wankerman replies worriedly. “We need all the help we can get!”

***

Noon

At the faction house of the Xaositechts, our heroes receive a varied but always interested reception. As friends of Wankerman, they are treated cordially, but the Xaositechts seem to be a little wary of having such high-profile people around. Their spokeswoman ends up being Osmis, a centaur, with whom Wankerman appears to have some sort of history. Things are tense for a few moments, but after some negotiations, she agrees to dispatch another of their number with our heroes against the Bastion of Order. This new addition is named Blaze, and he is a gnomish sorcerer. “After all,” he says, “the Bastion of Order certainly is a thorn in all of our sides!”

In return, our heroes agree to do what they can to find the Blade of the Attractor, a legendary artifact of great import to the Xaositechts.

“As time allows, of course,” Orbius interjects.

“Now what?” wonders Alcar.

“We go back to the Eyebrary and do some divinations,” suggests Orbius. “That will help us find our way.”

There is a general nod of agreement, and so, half an hour later, the party reaches the Eyebrary (as they call it). They update the Eyebrarian on the off chance that Boccob isn’t aware of everything they have been doing anyway. As they talk to it, Baron Lillamere asks, “How much do you know about the Bastion?”

“A small amount,” the Eyebrarian answers.

“What can you tell us about it?”

“You must defile the Pool of Law within it to overthrow the Bastion, as you know,” the Eyebrarian replies. “Each of the Arrows has a small demiplane nested within the Bastion. You can only reach the Pool from within those demiplanes. Physically, the Bastion has four towers and a thick wall surrounding a main building. It is strongly defended, by the most powerful forces of Law and their allies.”

“Allies?” asks Alcar.

“Master Control.”

“Crap,” groans Sybele.

The party watches as Orbius goes into a trance, casting his mind far afield. Twice Orbius contacts other planes, once asking three questions each for Sybele and Gerontius and two each for Chakar (gleaned over the telepathic bond, as he is off with Pan Lo), Lillamere and Alcar; and then he communes to verify the answers. Unfortunately, many of his questions- especially those regarding the Blade of the Attractor- are met with “unknown” responses.

Who am I speaking with? Coila.
Which of your most powerful followers should we contact for aid? Sheva.
Who is the toughest halfling rogue in the multiverse? Smalldick.
Who possesses the Attractor right now? Unknown.
Where is the Attractor right now? Unknown.
What is our quickest path to finding the Attractor? Legend Lore.
Which free-willed simulacra are most likely to aid us? Several.
Which specific sim should we contact for the greatest aid against Law? Adrophillinus.
What’s the best way to contact him and arrange for a friendly meeting? Sending.
What’s the best way to contact the guy I should trade my Libram of Silver Magic to? Travel.
To where? Elysium.
Will Mabrack aid us in our storming of the Bastion of Law? Maybe.
Are any beings of mighty power angry that Lester picked up the adventure domain for himself? Unlikely.

After reporting the answers he has gained so far, Orbius takes questions from everyone else. First, before he begins the party’s round of questions, he determines that he is speaking to Old Grandmother, the head of the Peshan pantheon- and a Lawful god. Crossing his fingers, he proceeds.

For Gerontius, he asks:
Does gating or summoning work in the Bastion? Somewhat.[/i]
How many Arrows of Law are currently at the Bastion? Four.
Is there a back door to the Bastion of Law? No.

For Sybele, he asks:
Are the Bile Lords planning to strike us in the next two weeks? Likely.
Does the cellar of the Bastion of Law have any magical wardings? Yes.
Is the Bastion of Law protected from teleportation within the building from outside? Partially.

For Chakar (remotely), he asks:
What is the weakest point of the Bastion of Law? Top.
I’m a dwarf but I’m also a monk. Should I be drinking beer? Yes & No.

For Lillamere, he asks:
Is ethereal passage possible into the Bastion? Little.
Who is the first Arrow we are likely to encounter? Four.

For Alcar, he asks:
What material is the structure surrounding the Pool of Law in the Bastion of Law made of? Bedrock.
Is there one among the servants of the Bastion of Law who would turn coat? Spy.

“Spy!” Alcar exclaims, upon hearing this.

“Well, maybe things are better than we thought,” remarks Sybele.

After verifying the answers with a commune, Orbius has a few remaining questions. He asks:

Is it possible to get to the Pool of Law through the ether? No.
Is a special key or something similar needed to transport from the demiplanes of the Arrows of Law to the Pool of Law? Yes.
Do each of the Arrows possess this key? Yes.
Are we likely to meet up with Prayzose? Perhaps.
Does Boccob support us in our efforts vs. the Bastion of Law? Yes.

“Wow,” says Sybele, “your god actually cares!”

“Yeah, usually he is pretty disinterested,” Orbius admits.

“It don’t matter to Boccob,” nods Alcar.

“Now what?” asks Wankerman.

“We should scout it out, take a quick look at the scene,” says Lester. “We should know the lay of the land when we get in.”

“When are we going in?” asks Gerontius.

“Tomorrow,” Baron Lillamere declares.

“Maybe we should go back to Bile Mountain,” Lester starts, but Lillamere cuts him off.

“No. We did Bile Mountain for a little while, and now it’s time to keep our words and take down the Bastion. Even if I have to go alone, tomorrow I go.”

“You don’t have to go alone!” Sybele cries.

“Of course not,” Lester grumps.

***

4 p.m., Brelana

Thrush, alerted over the telepathic bond that the party shares, is waiting for them when they arrive. Immediately he presses himself against Sybele and they kiss for a long, lingering moment. “I’ve missed you, honey!” he enthuses, groping her ass.

“All right, all right, break it up, we’ve got work to do,” Lester says as the two of them start to grind against each other a little. Embarrassed (or perhaps just excited), they stop for the moment. Then it’s a greater teleport to the edge of the Field of Battle.

As always, the site of the perennial conflict is frighteningly impressive. Angels and fiends stand side by side against other angels and fiends. Dragons soar overhead. Strange smoking metal constructs line up in neat rows on the Lawful side of the field, while strange, swarming shapechanging things flow crazily forward from the ranks of Chaos over the front ranks of dwarven warriors on the opposite side. Smoke rises in dozens of places, and bodies litter the field. The battle looks desperate in a way that our heroes have somehow never quite seen before, as if both sides have committed all their reserves and the only possible outcome is annihilation of one side or the other.

They stay for a time, watching as the front lines grow bloodier and meaner. Eventually, they hail a strange looking creature that is clearly from the Chaos side of things.

“You there, what’s your name?” asks Blaze.

“Jibber Junior,” the weird looking creature answers. “You can call me JJ.”

“Jibber Junior! We heard that you might be able to help us!”** exclaims Alcar.

“Oh?” JJ replies. “Help you with what?”

The party and JJ talk for a time, during which the group explains that they plan to attack the Bastion on the morrow. JJ seems impressed, and when the party informs him that some of them know his dad, he is further impressed. “All right,” he declares, “I’ll do it! Why not now?”

“We aren’t quite ready,” Sybele says. “We need to finish gathering our forces.”

JJ looks like he’s starting to lose interest.

“We’re attacking tomorrow,” Lillamere assures him.

“All right,” he answers with a shrug.

***

The Xaositecht faction house, Sigil, 7 p.m.

With their chaotic credentials pretty well established, even Osmis doesn’t object to the party’s spending the night in the faction house. While they’re there, Lillamere uses a scroll to issue a sending to Mabrack, imploring his aid in their forthcoming attack on the Bastion. His response is heartening: What do you need? I will help how I can. Law must be defeated.

The party cheers. Lester issues another sending to him: Meet us at the Halls of Healing in Var tomorrow ready to roll! And bring friends.

Mabrack’s response: What do you propose?

Lester sighs and casts another sending to the giant wizard: Destruction of the Bastion of Law! We’ve been planning.

Mabrack’s response: I’ll be there.

Our heroes cheer again! Good news indeed!

Orbius ponders for a few moments. His divinations recommended the simulacrum of Adrophillinus, whom Orbius knows to be a Tirchondian alienist. After considering his approach, he sends to Adrophillinus’ super powered simulacrum, hoping that he has identified it thoroughly enough for his spell to reach it. Adrophillinus, it is I, Orbius Visionary. We seek your aid in return for forbidden knowledge. Will you parlay?

I will parlay, but I am very busy.

Orbius sends again: Meet us at the Crystal Chimes in Sigil, it is the safest, or name alternate location, preferably in Sigil.

Again, his answer is almost instant: No! We will meet at the Writhing Worm on Vacant Avenue, tonight!

That’s on Tirchond, Orbius thinks uneasily, [/i]firmly in the grip of Law. But he’s an alienist, and less likely to listen to reason than he is to take offense... very well, then.[/i]

Another sending, to Arion the Archmage, who replies (obviously very drunkenly) and enthusiastically agrees to meet in the morrow at the Halls of Healing.

One more sending, this time to Marius the Enigmatic, one of the simulacra of Marius that he made before Felenga’s tampering with the great crystal matrix in Darkhold made such things impossible.*** Again, he agrees to meet.

“Tomorrow,” Lillamere breathes. At last. I just hope it’s not too late, that we didn’t give them too much time to prepare. I hope they don’t know we’re coming.

***

9 p.m.

Adrophillinus, unfortunately, proves too unstable to deal with. So then it’s back to the faction house for more divinations. Cast ‘em if you got ‘em, ‘cause it all goes down tomorrow. It is about to be on. There isn’t much time left for advance planning, not that our heroes really do that kind of thing anyway.

Another contact other plane:

Who are we talking to? The Sea Queen.
Is there an entrance to the Bastion through the roof? Sort of.
What means do we need to use to enter from the roof? Force.
What room isn’t protected from teleportation? Several.
What is the most favorable room for us to teleport into? Devil.
If we teleport into the devil’s room, will we immediately face any Arrows? Unknown.
How many Arrows of Law are at the Bastion right now? Six.
How long will all six stay there? Depends.
What’s the best way to get some of them to leave? Wait.
Where will the ceremony of the appointment of the new Arrow take place? Nirvana.
How many Arrows will be at the ceremony? Seven.
What was Veil’s secret when she last contacted us? Spying.
What was the most important thing that she learned? They know.

“Sounds like she got caught, whoever she is,” muses Blaze.

“Well, that’s too bad, but hopefully they got rid of that damned shield,” Alcar shudders. And if not, he thinks, eventually, I will have to destroy it myself.

One last round of divinations occurs, as the party sends Little Alex on a late night, last minute item gathering quest. Again, some of these are for other party members, but most of them (not quite all) are relevant.

Who are we talking to? Sekolah.
Which direction should we go when leaving the devil room? East.
Is the pool above or below the devil room? Neither.
What spell are we most likely to face at the Bastion of Law? Many.
Can the Bastion of Law track us here and now? Yes and no.

Uh oh, thinks Orbius.

How? Spy.
Who is this spy? Unknown.
What’s my mama’s name? Sardra. (This one was asked by JJ.)
Should I trust these guys? Yes. (Also by JJ.)
What’s my favorite color? Orange. (And again, JJ.)
Who is a powerful demon lord that could and would aid us? Graz’zt.
Is Veil alive? Uncertain.
Who is the best cook on Cydra? Chunda Cornbread.

“A spy,” breathes Lillamere. “But who?”

“This is not good news,” opines Gerontius.

***

9/8/371 O.L.G., 8:30 a.m., the Halls of Healing, Var

It will be today that they attack. In just over an hour, our heroes will know the identity of the new Arrow; they will have discovered the terrifying fate of Veil; and the smoke will be rising from Brelana, from the Temple of Elemental Good, from Var, from the halfling shires of Valonia.

Though there is no sign of Arion, Mabrack is there, though, ready to fight, with his dog. Hyliss has been true resurrected by Horbin. Chakar is back, and Pan Lo is with him. (Periodically, Chakar will try to get the drop on him, finally succeeding by getting a page to throw a rotten tomato at him.)

Dozens of spells to ward and strengthen the party are cast. Anything that will last over an hour: Mind blanks, superior invisibility, mass elasticity, mass gaze screed, protection from spells, mass stoneskin and more.

Then they nap, allowing the arcanists and psionic characters to refresh their powers as if they had slept a full night, yet only taking a single hour.

Then, as the party gets ready to cast their final buffs before their assault, the simulacrum of Marius arrives. Though he is unwilling to join them, he does give each of them a small figurine. “These will only work once, but they will give you the ability to spell stowaway on a time stop,” Marius the Enigmatic tells them.

“What’s that mean?” Sybele asks.

“If someone casts a time stop near you, you’ll gain the benefit of it too,” the simulacrum replies. He quickly takes his leave, wishing the party luck.

We’ll need it, thinks Baron Lillamere.

The short-duration spells and powers are cast and initiated. Everyone gathers around, Mabrack reducing his size for easier transport. Everyone grasps two of their companions, and Lillamere gathers as many round as he can and begins casting a spell.

The party superior teleports to the devil room of the Bastion of Law.

Next Time: It’s on!!!!

*This is the result of a Chaos touch.

**From a previous divination.

***This was the in-game justification for the 3.0->3.5 rule set change, which was only really necessary because of the multi-empowered simulacra trick.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Wonderful stuff, Jester, just wonderful.

A nice long update like this sure does hit the spot.

 

[Rikandur Azebol]

Yeah, jester. It's killing time ! ^^

 

[Knightfall]

Excellent update, J. Waiting for the next post with anticipation. - KF72

 

[the Jester]

Assault on the Bastion of Law!

9/8/371 O.L.G., 9:45 a.m., the Bastion of Order

The room is laid with all of the trappings of a diabolic temple. The air near the altar bears the tangy scent of blood, though the inhabitants are far too neat and organized to leave a mess on the block itself. Still, it is clear that a neck could be laid down and head cloven cleanly from body across this sinister piece of stone.

Surrounding the altar, on alert for the imminent attack of our friends (and how would they know, really, given that the party is completely mind blanked? hmmmm....), nine horned devils in smartly-pressed, identical uniforms await the alarm. Their tactics are both simple and brilliant. When the alarms go off in a certain chamber or other, three of them will greater teleport in and make a quick assault- then greater teleport out to the Galadorians waiting to cast various healing spells on them. Meanwhile, three more devils will ‘port in to the alarm chamber and attack. The odds are (or so the devils’ thinking goes) that the intruders won’t be able to tell one of them from the next, and so the nine devils will appear to teleport madly around the battle, always healed of the damage they just took! The fiendish quickening linked to the altar should help them avoid a lag between arriving and attacking. Yes, as soon as the forces of Chaos break into the Bastion and make it to the alarm chamber, the devils will make mincemeat of them!

Of course, the devils might also be called to join a general attack on the enemy. Should they show up in full force, most of the Bastion’s defenders, not to mention the Arrows of Law themselves, are ready to spring the trap. Why, walking into the Bastion is as good as sticking their head in the noose! Yes, all contingencies are covered, reflects one of the devils, and there is no way that the enemy will be able to stand up to the full power of Law.

There is, however, one minor catch, the devil realizes to his chagrin an instant later.

It never occurred to anyone that, somehow, the enemy might arrive by teleporting in right here.

The crackle and spark and smell of ozone that marks Orbius’ chain lightning happens before the devils even realize how wrong things have gone. With a cackle of glee, Gerontius slips his blade into one of the devils’ kidney (or whatever it is that sits in a devil’s body where a kidney does in a human; from the devil’s reaction, it’s clearly a tender organ). Thrush hacks an arm off one of the surprised devils, and then Alcar utters a holy word. The devils vanish, banished back to the Hells from which they came. The steaming arm remains, lying severed on the floor in a pile of hot black fiend-blood.

We’re in! thinks Lillamere excitedly over the link.

***

Elsewhere in the Bastion

They’re here, Prayzose tells the others telepathically. It’s time. Grimly, he pulls on his gauntlets.

I don’t want to fight them, he sighs, but they’re making it inevitable. Unfortunately, if they oppose Law- and if they actually threaten Law- I cannot abide their interference any longer.

For a brief moment, he bows his head in prayer. He is about to be forced into battle with one of Galador’s angels. How can both of them survive with their faiths intact?

***

A cell in the Bastion of Law

Beads of sweat roll down Veil’s brow. She trembles, shackled to the wall. What’s happening to me? she croaks mentally.

Shhh. Trust me. It is for the best.

The voice comes again, as it has for the last few hours. She groans aloud at the pain in her hands. Somehow, she is changing. Here, shackled, her normal ability to alter her shape seems to be... gone. Somehow, she is constrained by this prison. But something is... helping her?

She glances down, and to her surprise she notices that the Shield of Graz’zt is still by her feet. Touching her leg. The hand spiked to the shield’s boss twitches slightly, and her hands twinge.

Glancing back up at them, she realizes suddenly that she has six fingers on each of her hands.


***

The devil room

There are two doors out, and without hesitation Alcar strides to one and throws it open. Instantly, he is slammed by a great whirlwind of silver-green sand and energy. It tries to force him back, but to no avail; he grunts and holds his ground against the strange temporal construct. We fought one of these at least once before, he thinks, long ago, in Bile Mountain. But these ones are stronger!* Another one whirls up to the doorway, where is begins pounding at the Angel of Food, destroying a bestowed mirror image laid upon him by Orbius. Behind him, Alcar can hear Zyltha begin to sing, and he begins striking back with his mace. Hyliss and Thrush attempt to far strike the weird creature- but they both find that their blades sometimes go right through it as if it weren’t there!

Even as the warriors find their abilities to be hampered by the strange whirlwinds’ ability to temporally displace themselves, the newest member of the party, Jibber Junior steps up. His strangely froglike grin stretches across his faced and his pupils dilate as his mind taps inot the power of Chaos with a wild surge and an anarchic surge both. A blast of freezing cold seethes out of him, leaving icicles and a rime of frost all over the Bastion’s defenders. Behind the two whirling constructs, a powerful-looking inevitable dimension doors away, smoking and almost destroyed.

Everyone pours on the blows and magic, but the whirlwind-like constructs seem able to avoid almost everything our heroes throw at them! Disintegrates from Lillamere (shape changed into a planetar) -and Mabrack (shape changed into an elf so as to make for easy transportation and fitting within the Bastion’s halls) go through their temporally displaced forms ineffectively. Weapon after weapon does likewise. A few blows land true, but it is clear that luck is not with our heroes at the moment. Still, those few blows count, and after struggling for a few seconds, our heroes manage to push their way past the doorway. Sybele hustles in and uses her bow, shooting at one of the whirlwinds and finally destroying it in a shower of silver-green sand! An instant later, Alcar uses a miracle to ape a Marius’ deconstruction on the other one. He chuckles at the irony- destroying Marius’ servants with his own spell!

Then, suddenly, six Marii teleport into the room, surrounding our heroes.

Next Time: Things are just getting started!! At last- the Seventh Arrow revealed!!


*For those of you who’ve been with this story for a couple threads, these are chronal repeaters- advanced ones.

 

[Krafus]

Alright, so the big battle has started... Say, when it's over, could you post the stats for the Arrows of Law? No need for complete stats, I'd be happy with name, race/gender, alignment, class(es) and level. (I'm especially curious about Marius).

 

[omrob]

That'd be nice !

This session ended with the 6 Marius's, and we were all a little freaked out....