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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2196641" data-attributes="member: 1210">The Void Master emerges with its pet.  In what little light is not greedily devoured by the dark plane around them our heroes can see only a shape of utter blackness, standing twice as high as a man, with wide wings composed of pure darkness.  A rustling sound comes from it; it seems to be moving, but it is so dark that nobody can tell what it is doing.“I am Pyrthl,” it breathes.  “What is it that you want?”Orbius steps forward and bows.  Trying not to let his teeth chatter- it’s growing cold- he says, “I am Orbius Visionary, Eye of Boccob.  I come seeking lore that only you Void Masters seem to have.”  He explains in brief about the worm gates, and the party’s idea to redirect them to Mechanus.“I could help you,” Pyrthl mutters.  “But first, you must aid me.”“What do you need?” Orbius inquires. “There is a wand of terrible power, once wielded by a mighty demon prince who has since been destroyed.  I seek it.  You will retrieve it for me.”Orbius’ face drains of color.  Orcus.  He means Orcus.  He wants us to get him the wand of Orcus!  We don’t know anything about these guys, but I don’t think we want them to have the wand of Orcus.  But I had better speak carefully for now- we don’t need to add to our list of enemies, it’s big enough already.“We will return when we have gotten the wand for you,” Orbius says with another bow.  The party greater teleports back to the phantom flyer.“This trip was a bad idea,” complains Gerontius.  “Are we going to attack these guys?”“We can’t- we need some information that only they have.”“Then why are we here?”“To get that information.””That they will only give us if we get them this wand.””Right.”“We aren’t doing that, I’ll tell you one thing,” Horbin says.  He shakes his head.  “Who are these guys?  Working with undead, according to our divinations they have a balor in there... they’re bad news.  No way do we want them to get than wand!”“No, it’s good that we came,” Inoke insists.  “Now at least we know what they want us to do.  But is there any point to us staying here if we aren’t going to do this guys’s bidding?”“You should slay them all!” exclaims his mace.“Oh, shut up, stick.  I can’t believe you go around talking to a stick!” grumbles Lillamere.  Inoke shrugs.“We don’t know that they’ve done anything wrong,” Horbin argues.  “Even though they look to me like they’re probably evil, that might very well just be the influence of the plane.  They are creatures of negative energy, after all- at least if they’re native to this place.  We can’t very well attack them for being a product of their environment if they aren’t doing anything wrong.”“We don’t know what they’re doing,” answers Gerontius.  “They could be up to something totally nefarious.”“Maybe, but it could be totally innocent as well.”  Horbin sighs.  “We have to treat them as though they are innocent until we see evidence to the contrarty.”“This sucks, we aren’t even doing anything.”  Sybele pouts.  “Let’s go back to Var.”“I think you’re right,” Orbius sighs.  ***Back in Var, our heroes discuss seeking out the Wand of Orcus, and Orbius even attempts to divine about it (to no avail).  Then they turn fully from seeking it. “Well, what next, then?” asks Sybele.  “We have quite a lot on our list.”“We still need to deal with Asmodeus,” Lillamere remarks.  “Otherwise he’s going to deal with us.  It’s just a matter of time.”“Err, yeah, um, what else we got?”“I was thinking we should kill Lithos,” says Horbin.”Who’s Lithos?” asks Veil.“The dragon of the swamp,” the cleric replies.  “Another of Dorhaus’ ancient evils.  Nobody even knows if she is still alive in her swamp, but all the tales hold her as a foul beast indeed.  Nobody has seen her in centuries though.”“She definitely sounds like a worthy opponent.”  Inoke smiles.***Orbius’ divinations inform our heroes that Lithos is bound, leaving them in a quandry again.  Furthermore, she was bound by the Delphin at the time centuries ago.  “Do we wake it up, or let it lie?” wonders Lillamere.“If we don’t wake it up, someone will sometime,” Horbin declares.  In the end, the party decides to awaken it.  They go to the huge mound of swamp that has grown up above Lithos and cast an earthquake.  The dragon awakens, tearing its way free of the swamp, and out heroes destroy it utterly in six seconds.  It doesn’t have a chance.”Well, that was anticlimactic, for one of Dorhaus’ ancient evils,” remarks Veil.“We are probably the single most powerful group of individuals in the world,” Horbin reminds her.  “Whoever these ancient evils contended with, they didn’t have to deal with a group like us.”“How often does a party as powerful as us come along, do you think?” wonders Baron Lillamere of House Drelvin.  “Once every century, maybe less?”“We will be legends,” says Veil.“No doubt distorted,” comments Chakar.“I hope they get everyone’s names right,” Sybele remarks.***The conjunction is nearly complete.  Asmodeus begins planting the trail that will lead his enemies to disaster.  From Cydra to Erath he will confound and destroy his foes.  Oh yes.One of his ministers strides in and falls to a knee before him, quaking.  The Lord of the Ninth frowns in displeasure.  “What is it?” he demands.“My lord...” The infernal minister’s forehead is actually touching the ground.  “Bel is dead.”Silence for a beat.  “Tiamat has reclaimed Avernus.”  The minister swallows thickly.  “She is holding games in honor of her overthrow of... she refers to Bel as a usurper.”Asmodeus’ face betrays nothing, but rage burns in his breast.  “How did Bel die?” he hisses.“It was... my lord... it was Albin, Grimdim, Jared and their group... they...”“Silence.”  Fierce gladness burns in his heart.  Bel was a tool, nothing more, and simply an expedient one.  He could not have lasted long in his role.  His death, while premature, is not critical.  But Tiamat... I would not have expected her to return to power!  Very interesting...He raises the rod he always bears.  “Leave me,” he commands.  “I will summon you to serve me later.”  The minister scurries away, and Asmodeus broods. My two problems, he thinks, can annihilate each other.Next Time: Things start getting hot!  Glaisig returns with an offer for our heroes!  And is that a simulacrum I see?</blockquote>

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