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Dreams of Erthe
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8967003" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 46: ELVEN DREAMS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 10</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 5/paladin 5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 10</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Pendleton Azulio, elf sorcerer 10</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Robin the Balladeer, human bard 2</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 4 March 2023</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>Scarlie Besker pulled back on the reins and brought the two mules to a halt. On either side of the wagon, Alewyth, Xandro, and Zander brought their own riding mounts up short as well, for blocking the road before them were seven elves, each mounted on a light warhorse. Six of the elves wore leather armor and carried a longbow over their shoulder, while the seventh wore a hooded robe and had no weapon more deadly than a dagger at his belt. Floating noiselessly beside the wagon, the lantern archon still in service to Wakuren also came to a halt.</p><p></p><p>"Excuse me," called the robed elf, pulling back the hood so the heroes could get a good look at his face. It was a handsome face, nearly impossible to narrow down into a likely age to within a century, but his hair was long and black, worn straight back in the manner so common among his people. "My name is <strong>Pendleton Azulio</strong> and I work directly for <strong>Queen Zarabelia</strong> of the elves of Sylvanholme Forest." At the mention of the Queen's name, Zander Quilson's eyebrows shot up - he, at least, apparently knew of the elven monarch by name! "Are you the group of 'dream-wakers' said to be traveling the continent, rescuing those trapped in their dreams?" asked Pendleton. "You certainly fit the description" - and here he gave Wakuren and Scarlie a hard look without changing the neutral expression on his face - "and if you are, we have need of your services."</p><p></p><p>"We're the ones you're looking for," Wakuren confirmed. "Who is it that's been trapped asleep?"</p><p></p><p>"There are two, actually: one of the Queen's councilors and a craftswoman, both asleep now for several weeks. Will you help us?"</p><p></p><p>Wakuren looked over at the others, mostly to see if they were okay with him speaking on their behalf. He hadn't missed Pendleton looking him over with suspicion, and the half-orc rather liked taking over the leadership role if only to reinforce to these elves that he was a respected member of the "dream-waker" team. "We will," he said. "How far away are the dreamers?"</p><p></p><p>"They're both back at the Sylvanholme Forest," Pendleton replied, confirming Wakuren's suspicions. "But we can <em>teleport</em> you directly there and then <em>teleport</em> you back here once you're done. There is one potential problem, however: while you can take your riding mounts, I'm afraid the wagon is too big to bring along with us. Will that be a problem?" After talking it over among themselves, the group jointly decided to send Scarlie ahead to the next town, where he'd stable the mules and wagon and rent a room for himself until their return. As Wakuren's mule, Perseverance, was one of the two hitched up to the wagon, the half-orc would ride behind Zander on his horse Eddy, while Robin - who had been riding in the back of the wagon - would double up with Xandro on his horse White. Once that was settled, and the heroes grabbed up anything from the back of the wagon they wanted to take with them, Thurloe nodded over to Pendleton. "We're ready," he said.</p><p></p><p>Pendleton had raised his hand to his mouth and was speaking into his ring. "We have located them, Your Majesty. They have agreed to help us. We're ready for teleportation at your convenience."</p><p></p><p>Scarlie gave the rest of the group a hearty wave, snapped the reins, and drove the wagon forward, the elven rangers parting to make room for him. But they kept their horses on the sides of the road, three to either side, and the heroes could see the backs of their saddles each had a strangle little "handle" on it, wrapped in leather. But then the rangers each gave a whistle, and soon, dropping from the skies, came a half-dozen eagles, each landing upon his own master's saddle-perch. Pendleton, in the meantime, rode back away from the group, following in Scarlie's wake for about 60 feet before turning back to face the heroes. Then a yellow circle of glowing light manifested immediately before him, and riding through that circle and alighting on the road came a pair of war horses ridden by female elven paladins, wearing suits of elven mail and each wielding a longsword, already out and ready for battle if this ended up being some sort of a trap. The reason for their caution was evident when following them through the upright <em>teleportation circle</em> came Queen Zarabelia herself, sitting astride a unicorn with a coat of brilliant white. Soon after the unicorn exited the circle it closed up, allowing the group to see Pendleton on his own warhorse once again. While the <em>teleportation circle</em> was up and operating, he had been hidden behind it and all that could be seen in its interior was the Sylvanholme Forest.</p><p></p><p>The paladins glared at the heroes, giving Wakuren a special look of distrust, but Queen Zarabelia seemed not the least bit concerned that one of the "dream-wakers" she sought was a half-orc. "Thank you for agreeing to help us," she said, smiling at the six heroes as a group. "We have tried everything to awaken our two citizens, and not even the Druidic Circle has been successful. Finally, we turned to divination magic to seek the path that would lead to them finally rising from their beds, and the divinations all led to you. I have sent my rangers out to find you, and I am glad to see that they were successful."</p><p></p><p>"Line up here, single-file," commanded one of the paladins, Queen Zarabelia's personal bodyguards and apparently quite used to being instantly obeyed. Under her direction, the six rangers lined up facing the direction Scarlie had taken the wagon, followed by the six heroes on their four mounts (along with the lantern archon), followed directly by the Queen, her paladins, and then Pendleton. Once everyone was lined up to the bodyguard's satisfaction, she turned to her Queen and said, "We are ready, Your Majesty."</p><p></p><p>Queen Zarabelia placed a hand on the side of her unicorn mount's neck and said simply, "Now, <strong>Starblaze</strong>." The unicorn began rotating his head in a circle, almost as if trying to relieve a sore neck, but a beam of energy shot out from the creature's spiraling horn and opened up the <em>teleportation circle</em> in front of the lead ranger. He sent his warhorse dashing through the open circle, and those behind him followed suit. As the heroes got closer to the circle, they could see a forest glade in the open portal's center. There was a brief moment of disorientation as they passed through the circle, but after having done so they found themselves on the far side of the continent, along its southern edge whereas before they had been skirting along its northern reaches, moving from town to town in a clockwise fashion.</p><p></p><p>However, once the group had passed through, there was a commotion from the rear of the line. "Where's the Queen?" demanded one of the paladins. "<em>What have you done with her?</em>"</p><p></p><p>Thurloe whipped his horse Horse around and faced the back of the line, and sure enough: the Queen and her unicorn were not present, although both paladins and Pendleton were there in the grove - and they had followed after the Queen on her unicorn. "Now hold on a blasted minute!" he fumed. "Are you seriously accusing us, who had no idea you were even going to even accost us out of the blue to help out two of your people, of having something to do with this?" It didn't make any sense to the spellsword, but he did notice the paladins had both pulled out their longswords again and were aiming them in the heroes' general direction. He reached over his shoulder and put a hand on the hilt of <em>Spellslicer</em>, pulling it out of its scabbard, since it looked as if they were going to have to fight their way out of this ridiculous situation - but fortunately, it didn't come to that.</p><p></p><p>"Hold up!" came a voice to Thurloe's right. Looking over, he saw an elderly elf standing at the top of a high pavilion; a throne sat perched at his side, and a pair of winding stairs led up to it, with three smaller seats on either side of the throne. This was likely where Queen Zarabelia held court, with space for her six advisers. At the bottom of the structure was a reflecting pool, and before that was a ring of stones reachable at the end of a stone-covered path which began directly underneath a wooden arch. The elf's hair was so blond it looked to be almost white. He stepped forward, then plopped onto the throne, causing the elves in the Queen's retinue to gasp at the outrageous effrontery. "These visitors have nothing to do with the Queen's disappearance," announced <strong>Councilor Vultros Kandalwine</strong>. "I know, for I am the one responsible. Now, before anyone gets any ideas, I'm the only one here who knows Her Majesty's current whereabouts, so think twice before trying to attack me. I guarantee I can <em>teleport</em> away from here faster than you can try to take me down." He turned and looked over at the rows of trees flanking the clearing. "And that goes for the treants, too," he added. With a snort, one of the trees turned and looked over at the councilor, a face suddenly becoming apparent in the wooden bark. On either side of the pavilion, the treants that made up a permanent part of Queen Zarabelia's court woke up to the situation transpiring before them and gave it their full attention.</p><p></p><p>"Just how did you manage to snatch the Queen out from under our noses?" asked Pendleton.</p><p></p><p>"Simplicity itself," scoffed Kandalwine. "I opened up a <em>planar gate</em> directly in front of the unicorn when I saw him appear, then shut it down as soon as he had passed through."</p><p></p><p>"And what do you want for the Queen's safe return?" demanded one of the paladins. It was obvious she was holding back a tremendous fury, for it was her responsibility to keep her Queen safe from harm.</p><p></p><p>If anything, the councilor's smirk grew even wider. "Why, only the <em>sword of temptation</em>," he replied. "Fetch it, and turn it over to me, and I'll return the good Queen to you. But you'd best hurry: I cannot guarantee the Queen's safety indefinitely, especially not in the place to which I've sent her. Talk it over among yourselves and give me your decision - I'll give you two minutes."</p><p></p><p>The line of horses and riders collapsed as the heroes and the Queen's retinue gathered together to discuss their options. "What's this <em>sword of temptation</em>?" Thurloe demanded.</p><p></p><p>"An imperial sword: very powerful, and very dangerous in the wrong hands - it can grant <em>wishes</em>," Pendleton replied. "We cannot allow Kandalwine to get his hands on it." He glared up at the turncoat councilor and spoke in a low voice. "I'm afraid I don't have any spells at hand that would prevent him from being able to <em>teleport</em> away like he threatened to do. However, I can <em>teleport</em> myself and three others up there - perhaps, if we strike fast enough, and don't give him enough time to react--"</p><p></p><p>"But you don't dare kill him," pointed out Alewyth in a whisper. "He's the only one who can tell you where the Queen is being held."</p><p></p><p>"We have the Druidic Circle, and several powerful clerics of Feron," replied Pendleton. "They can cast <em>speak with dead</em>...they also know a ritual that might be able to pry the <em>planar gate</em> back open, if only for a moment or two...."</p><p></p><p>"The six of us could all shoot up at him at once," suggested one of the rangers.</p><p></p><p>"He'd <em>teleport</em> away as soon as he saw you ready your longbows," reasoned Xandro.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Teleporting</em> up there's probably our best course of action," decided Thurloe, facing directly at Pendleton. "You, me, Alewyth, and Wakuren, one on each corner of the throne, if you can get it that precise. I can activate my <em>ring of silence</em> - that might stop him from being able to cast his <em>teleport</em> spell. Alewyth, you bonk him on the head with that hammer of yours. Wakuren, you got any spells on hand that can ruin his day?"</p><p></p><p>"A <em>bestow curse</em> spell," the cleric of Cal replied. "I can try to strike him mute."</p><p></p><p>"Good, good," Thurloe replied. He turned to Zander. "Once we're up there, cast one of those spells with all the wavy tentacles. It'll get us, too, but it's more important we get him as well. I'll hit him up with a <em>vampiric touch</em>," the spellsword added, casting the spell surreptitiously into his readied blade.</p><p></p><p>"What about me and Robin?" asked Xandro.</p><p></p><p>"I dunno - play that song of yours?"</p><p></p><p>"He'd better not just be some illusion or anything," Wakuren muttered, prompting Zander to activate his magic headband and grant himself a moment of <em>true seeing</em>. "Nope, he's the real deal," the elven sorcerer replied. "He's got several spells active on him, though - probably a lot of defenses."</p><p></p><p>"That's to be expected," grumbled Pendleton.</p><p></p><p>"We will not stand idly by," vowed one of the paladin bodyguards. "If nothing else, we will rush up the stairs to deal with him if your stratagems fail." Thurloe thought it unlikely that all of his stratagems would fail, but he merely said, "Fine" to appease her.</p><p></p><p>"What about that <em>sword of temptation</em>?" asked Zander. "Should you at least make a show of fetching it here?"</p><p></p><p>"Only the Queen and <strong>Sharnabet</strong>, the leader of the Druidic Circle, know the whereabouts of the sword," replied Pendleton.</p><p></p><p>"Well?" demanded Kandalwine from his perch on the Queen's throne. "Your time's about up - what have you decided?"</p><p></p><p>"Very well," sighed Pendleton, his voice one of weary resignation. "You give us no choice." But then he called out an arcane syllable and he disappeared, along with Alewyth, Thurloe, and Wakuren. The four of them surrounded the throne, although Pendleton had felt a strange resistance before they reappeared in their new positions; he had yet to realize it, but he had been forced to overcome Kandalwine's previously-cast <em>repulsion</em> spell, intended to keep everyone from getting close to him. But with everyone in place, they struck out as planned: Wakuren touched the Councilor on the shoulder and felt his <em>bestow curse</em> spell flow from his hand into its intended target, although the elf's instinctive reaction was to plunge a <em>dagger of venom</em> he clutched in one hand into the half-orc's side; fortunately, one of the advantages Wakuren's half-breed ancestry provided him was a healthy constitution and the venom had no effect. But at the same time, <em>Sjondra</em> came crashing down upon the side of Kandalwine's head, as Thurloe activated his ring and simultaneously stabbed forward with <em>Spellslicer</em>, sending the <em>vampiric touch</em> spell coursing into the elf's body. And from below the pavilion, Zander Quilson cast an <em>Elobar's black tentacles</em> spell that caused a ring of rubbery appendages to rise up all around the five figures on and around the throne; they waved about but failed to grab anyone.</p><p></p><p>The reason for this failure was simple: another of Kandalwine's spells, prepared while the heroes and elven retinue made their plans, was a <em>globe of invulnerability</em>. As a result of that protective spell, in a 10-foot radius all around the throne, those spells of a lower level of power were temporarily dampened. As a result, Thurloe's <em>silence</em> spell was in effect, but only in a 10-foot-wide ring around the throne, starting at 10 feet out; inside the area of effect of the <em>globe of invulnerability</em>, everyone could hear just fine. Likewise, while the elven Councilor had been successfully cursed into muteness, that particular effect wouldn't take hold until after Kandalwine exited the area around the throne. And there was a "bald spot" in the middle of Zander's <em>Elobar's black tentacles</em> spell that exactly corresponded with the area of effect of the <em>globe of invulnerability</em>.</p><p></p><p>In addition, Kandalwine's <em>repulsion</em> spell had been intended to keep everyone from being able to approach him, but Pendleton's successful overcoming the spell allowed him to continue his <em>teleport</em> spell as planned, and the other three he brought with him were fine in being brought this close to their target. However, Alewyth's mind wasn't powerful enough to overcome the spell's effects, and while she was able to bring <em>Sjondra</em> crashing into the elf's head, she realized if he stepped away she would be unable to give chase. Thurloe and Wakuren didn't suffer the same restrictions; perhaps fueled by a powerful hatred, they had been able to overcome the spell's prohibitions against approaching Kandalwine.</p><p></p><p>As soon as the paladins saw the four <em>teleport</em> up to their target, they raced up the steps as fast as they could go, swords out and eager to taste Kandalwine's blood. But their target was hidden from view by a row of black, waving appendages. From below them, they could hear the sounds of the song of inspirational courage being played - in stereo - by both Xandro and Robin, the two intertwining their chords to reinforce the other. And the rangers all set arrows to longbow and aimed up at the throne, but they too had no way to see their target behind the row of waving tentacles. And on either side of the pavilion, the treants looked on in concern but feared to intervene.</p><p></p><p>Ignoring the pain of his stab wound, Wakuren decided to try to grab hold of Kandalwine; he knew pinning his arms would be useless to try to prevent him from <em>teleporting</em> away, but if he could get his fingers in the elf's mouth, he could prevent him from saying the required arcane phrase to set off the spell. However, the councilor turned his head away at the last moment and Wakuren was left holding the side of the elf's cheek. A beam of light flashed down from above; the lantern archon had flown up and shot its only attack spell at the councilor in an attempt to help subdue him in time, before he could escape. But their various stratagems ended up being in vain after all, as Kandalwine called out a few arcane words and immediately vanished away, <em>teleporting</em> to some unknown place of safety. He took a few blows from the people surrounding him, but neither was enough to knock him out before he was able to cast his spell and escape.</p><p></p><p>"Damn!" cursed Thurloe, turning to Pendleton. "Where would he go?" But the elves were ignoring him; one of the paladins called down to the rangers and issued an order to summon Sharnabet and her Circle to the Queen's Court immediately, and one of the archers leapt back onto his horse and raced off to comply.</p><p></p><p>The Druidic Circle arrived mere minutes later, with an obviously elderly Sharnabet immediately taking control of the scene. She'd apparently been briefed on the recent happenings by the ranger who'd gone to fetch her, for her first question upon her arrival was "Where did the <em>planar gate</em> open?" When the rangers indicated the location, Sharnabet set her druids to task, starting the ritual that might - just might, she warned - be able to crack the passageway between planes open for a few scant seconds. "But then that will be it - there will be no reopening it once it closes the second time," she cautioned.</p><p></p><p>While the druids started their chants and performed their ritual, another cleric stepped up, an elf whose trappings showed she was a devotee to Feron, Goddess of Nature. She passed a scroll over to Alewyth. "A scroll of <em>plane shift</em>," she said. "I was told you might need it to return the Queen from wherever she was sent." Alewyth thanked the cleric and tucked the scroll into her pack for safekeeping.</p><p></p><p>"You've time for a few spells - two at the most," Sharnabet warned, supervising the ritual. Already sparks were manifesting in the air where Kandalwine's <em>planar gate</em> had been opened and closed so soon before. Alewyth responded by casting a <em>magic vestment</em> spell upon herself, following it with a <em>magic circle against evil</em>. Thurloe, wearing his breastplate for once, did without the <em>mage armor</em> and cast a <em>shield</em> spell from his wand and a <em>protection from evil</em> spell from the handful of spells he had prepared that morning. Wakuren boosted his combat prowess with a <em>bear's endurance</em> and a <em>bull's strength</em> spell, sighing at the thought that even with these two spells enhancing him he was still not as powerful as he had been before the powerslug had been removed from him after his recent death. Xandro chose to cast two <em>heroism</em> spells, but rather than using one of them on himself he opted to cast them upon Alewyth and Thurloe, two likely to be at the front of any combat with their unknown foes. Zander Quilson cast a <em>mage armor</em> spell on himself and then splurged for a <em>stoneskin</em>. Pendleton also cast two <em>stoneskin</em> spells, but he opted to grant them to the Queen's paladin bodyguards.</p><p></p><p>"Get ready!" Sharnabet warned as the sparks in the air started taking form into a circle. Then, once it was open, she called out, "Go!" in a voice that brooked no hesitation. The six heroes rushed through - for Robin was determined to go where Xandro did - as did Pendleton and the paladins, but before any of the rangers or druids could follow, the circle had closed back up.</p><p></p><p>Just as Starblaze's <em>teleportation circle</em> had opened up a portal from one side of the continent to the other, this <em>planar gate</em> spilled those who passed through it into another place altogether - although there was little doubt that the travelers were no longer on the Material Plane. While the terrain was recognizable enough - a barren, stone ground with a cliff off to the left, through which a cave opening could be seen several dozen feet ahead - it was the river of shooting flames to the right that spoke of this being another world altogether. The sheet of flames shot up for a good 20 feet or more, and didn't seem to be diminishing any despite there being no sign of any visible fuel.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe was the first one through the <em>planar gate</em> and he instinctively moved away from the flames, closer to the cliff as soon as he found himself in this strange, new world. He had <em>Spellslicer</em> out and ready, but so far there seemed like nobody against whom to wield it. The paladins were through the <em>gate</em> behind the spellsword, and they continued running straight, almost to the cave opening when they spun to the left -towards the cliff - and pointed up at something they could see from their vantage point. Thurloe looked up but could see nothing; he was too close to the cliff-side to be able to see what was at its top. But whatever it was, it set off a blast of fire that engulfed one of the two paladins. Thurloe had seen <em>scorching ray</em> spells before - he'd cast them several times himself - but while this had been but a single blast, it was much more powerful than the spell had ever been able to produce, even with all three rays combined together. The elf screamed in pain as her body blazed for a moment, sheathed in flames, but to her credit she did not fall.</p><p></p><p>However, after having shot the elf with its fire blast, the retriever crawled down over the face of the cliff and Thurloe got a good look at what it was they were facing: it was a spider bigger than a warhorse, seemingly made of gleaming metal with shining gemstones for eyes. Having reached the ground at the bottom of the cliff, it swung a blade-tipped leg at the spellsword and scored a line across his breastplate.</p><p></p><p>Robin exited the <em>planar gate</em> next, already playing the chords to her song of inspirational courage. Xandro was there at her side, his new magical sword out and ready for action. Zander stepped up behind him, saw the retriever, and cast a <em>cone of cold</em> at the arachnoid construct, careful not to catch Thurloe up in the blast. Alewyth was next through the portal, but she felt the burning heat coming off the river of flames to her right and cast a <em>protection from fire</em> spell upon herself - if this were the Elemental Plane of Fire, she knew she'd need the spell active simply to survive for very long.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren was the next one through the portal, and he cast a <em>shield of faith</em> spell upon himself; he'd have liked to have cast it back in the Queen's forest but there had simply not been enough time. Then the lantern archon darted in beside his head, took an immediate assessment of the surrounding area, and floated over to blast the retriever with its beam of light. Then Pendleton was through and he cast a <em>magic missile</em> spell at the eight-legged construct. But everyone save Alewyth could feel the heat burning them from the nearness of the blazing river, and knew they'd need to get closer to the cliff if they were to stop themselves from eventually being burned alive.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe mentally activated a charge from his <em>torc of the titans</em> and used his moment of increased strength to bring <em>Spellslicer</em> crashing down upon the retriever's head. Then the paladins charged it, one on either side of the spellsword, and their own longswords dented up its metallic body. However, the spider-fiend was smart enough to use its next eye-ray in turn - this one casting forth an arc of electricity - at the same elf upon which it had used its ray of fire, and the paladin screamed once in pain as her body crumpled to the ground, her skin charred and blistered from the dual attacks. It then tilted back on its four hindmost legs, allowing its four front legs - with their sharpened blades at the tips - to claw their way at Thurloe and the other paladin. Thurloe dodged both strikes, but then failed to prevent the retriever's massive mandibles from opening wide and catching him up in their serrated embrace.</p><p></p><p>Robin continued her inspirational song but edged away from the river of fire, until she was far enough away she could no longer feel the heat of its blast upon her back. Xandro, realizing his new sword was likely to be ineffective against a metallic body without known stress points, reverted to his <em>frost short sword</em> and stepped up to the retriever to strike it with his blade, for Zander's <em>cone of cold</em> spell had already shown it was not particularly protected against cold damage. In fact, the elven sorcerer, encouraged by the apparent success of his initial attack, moved over to the creature's back half so could attack it with another such spell without getting any of his allies in the field of the frigid blast.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth charged the retriever with <em>Sjondra</em>, the heavy head of the dwarven warhammer giving off a satisfying crashing sound as it beat against the construct's metal body. Wakuren spend a moment to check out the retriever's aura, expecting to see evil and not at all surprised to find it despite its mechanical nature, then channeled Cal's holy energy into his shield and smote it into the retriever's side. Behind him the lantern archon blasted away with its ray, well back from the retriever's reach with its spindly legs.</p><p></p><p>Pendleton blasted the retriever with another <em>magic missile</em> spell; like Zander, he had found something that worked and was sticking with it for as long as he could. But it was Thurloe, with another torc-powered strike of his bastard sword, that took the retriever down, fortunately before it could get another blast from one of its other two gem-eyes. The spellsword wasn't sure what powers the other two gem-eyes might have, but he was in no hurry to find out, either!</p><p></p><p>With the initial threat taken care of, the remaining paladin bent over the charred corpse of her fellow bodyguard, placing her hands over her chest, wielding her sword. "I will return for you once we have brought the Queen to safety," she promised her sword-sister. Robin looked sadly on, still continuing her song because she had no idea if combat was truly over for now or if there were any more of these spider-constructs about.</p><p></p><p>Xandro sheathed his <em>frost short sword</em> and brought <em>Deathwhisper</em> back out; it felt good in his hand. Then he nodded over to Robin, indicating they were going to check out the cave; it was the most obvious place to look for Queen Zarabelia in this forlorn place. Zander ran over to position himself in the middle of the group, casting a <em>haste</em> spell upon everyone. Then Alewyth stepped forward and took a few steps into the cave, since her natural dwarven darkvision would allow her to see fine, despite there seeming to be no illumination within other than what spilled in through the cave opening from the river of fire.</p><p></p><p>The entry cave was empty, save for a few natural flowing steps in the back that led downwards into darkness. Following the steps down, Alewyth soon found herself in a much larger cave about 20 feet lower in elevation that the cave behind her. There were two openings to other caves even lower down, with flowing natural steps leading the way, but up on this level there were two items of note: a closed door set into the back of the cave wall off to Alewyth's left, and in the left corner of this cavern, none other than Starblaze, Queen Zarabelia's trusty unicorn mount.</p><p></p><p>Starblaze, however, was much the worse for wear than the last time the dwarven priestess had seen him. Since coming to this horrid plane, the unicorn had apparently been slain and then raised to an unholy semblance of life as a zombie. It was as a zombie that it slowly started shuffling Alewyth's way, its hooves clomping along the stone floor of the cavern and its exposed, looping intestines making a wet noise as they dragged along the ground. It was with a look of disgust on her face that the dwarf raised her holy symbol of Aerik and sent a blast of holy radiance in the zombie's direction, causing the poor thing to cower in the corner, getting as far away from Alewyth as it could. The priestess realized if she were to approach the unicorn the effect would be broken, so she kept her distance and avoided checking out the closed door, for to do so would bring her too close to Starblaze's current position.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren, the only other member of the group with darkvision, entered the cave behind Alewyth, casting a <em>divine power</em> spell upon himself as he walked down the flowing steps. The lantern archon floated at his shoulder, a glowing ball of energy that provided a bit of light to those who entered the cave behind them. It reached Alewyth, saw the unicorn zombie, and sent a ray of light striking it; as it was not the cause of the turning effect its attack did nothing to free the zombie from its current place of relative immobility. Then Pendleton stepped up beside Alewyth, saw the sad state of Starblaze, and blasted the poor unicorn with a <em>magic missile</em> spell; it looked to have already been slain and there was no point in trying to revive it - best to try to put it out of its misery.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe entered the cave next and peered over at the cave off to the right once he got to the larger cavern where Starblaze stood, cowering from Alewyth's holy symbol. From the light of the lantern archon's glowing body, he could determine the side-cave was empty of inhabitants, but there was a statue of some sort in the back - and it smelled faintly of incense. He figured it was likely a shrine of some sort, dedicated to an evil god or demon lord, but since there was nobody in the cave to fight and it didn't look like there were any other exits from the room, he ignored it and moved on. The female paladin stepped beside him, searching in the dim light for where Queen Zarabelia had been taken. Robin continued playing her tune as she took several cautious steps down to the larger cavern.</p><p></p><p>Xandro entered the cave beside Alewyth and used the <em>Dardolian Lute</em> to send a <em>sound burst</em> blasting at Starblaze. Then Zander entered and went straight down the steps by Thurloe and the paladin, squinting in the dim light down the other set of natural steps before him, then pulled out his <em>everburning torch</em> from his pack - and saw, at the edge of the illumination it provided, a hunched-over, avian body of a general humanoid shape. It was reaching for something off to the side, blocked by the cavern wall, but the elven sorcerer was able to identify the creature as a vrock demon from pictures he had seen in old tomes. "Vrock!" he called to the others, and the outburst caused the demon to swivel its long neck up at the sorcerer, only now noticing there were intruders in its cavern network.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth knew she couldn't approach any closer to Starblaze and she had pretty much neutralized any threat it might have posed, so she moved over by Thurloe and Zander, warned by the call of a vrock demon nearby. She cast a <em>spiritual weapon</em> spell and sent the floating dwarven warhammer that manifested in the air by her head flying down to attack the vrock. Wakuren looked over at the statue in the side-cave and deduced the carving was that of Gareth, God of Betrayal; he also picked up the faint tang of recently-burned incense but thought nothing of it, focusing his attention on the vrock heading up the flowing stone steps to face Thurloe and Alewyth in combat. The half-orc cast a summoning spell and caused an air element dire wolf to manifest behind the vrock. The lupine creature snapped at the vulture-demon with its wind-gust jaws, but the beast failed to get a grasp on the fiend before it had moved up for some front-line combat with its sharp claws and wicked beak.</p><p></p><p>The lantern archon floated over, realizing a vrock demon was a much greater threat than an already-turned unicorn zombie, and it sent its ray of light shooting over at the vulture-demon. Pendleton had the same idea, making a final attack upon Starblaze's animated corpse and causing it to collapse in a limp pile of muscle and bone before going over to help deal with the greater threat. Thurloe stepped back from the advancing fiend and cast a <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> at it, striking the avian in the middle of its massive chest and siphoning away a portion of its strength. Then the paladin charged it, bringing her longsword crashing into the demon's side, before calling out, "My Queen!" - for in charging up to the fiend, she was able to see deeper into the lower cave, where Queen Zarabelia hung by her wrists from manacles attached to chains dangling from the cavern's ceiling, behind a set of floor-to-ceiling bars that set off the back corner of the cave as a makeshift cell.</p><p></p><p>Xandro placed the <em>Dardolian Lute</em> over his shoulder by its strap and pulled out <em>Deathwhisper</em>, eager to put it to use against a fiend from the lower depths. But as eager as the vrock was for physical combat, it moved past the paladin - giving her a shove to get her out of its path - and moved to where it could do the most potential harm with its unholy screech. The sounds emanating from its open beak were horrific, unlike anything the heroes had ever heard before, and several of the heroes (Wakuren, Thurloe, Zander, and Pendleton, but not Alewyth, the dire wolf, or the elven paladin, who managed to overcome the effect) froze up in momentary shock, stunned into temporary immobility. The others were far enough away to be out of range.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth was the first to react as the demon grinned over to see who all had been affected by its shriek, and she allowed <em>Sjondra</em> to prove to the vulture-thing that she was unimpressed with its initial combat salvo. The dwarven warhammer crashed into the side of the vrock's avian head, to be followed by an attack by her <em>spiritual warhammer</em> floating up from behind the demon as it caught up to its designated target. Zander and Wakuren just stood there, stunned, as the wind-wolf clamped its jaws around the demon and tried to pull it to the ground, with no success. The lantern archon moved up and shot the vrock again, as Pendleton blasted the fiend with another <em>magic missile</em> spell. The paladin, spurred on by the sight of her Queen still alive - for there would be no reasoin to chain her by her wrists if she'd already been slain and raised as a zombie, she reasoned - stabbed her blade into the fiend's chest, as Thurloe stood, still dazed by the shriek and unable to assist with his own, larger blade. But Robin's song helped those who had been stunned to stir themselves back into combat, and Xandro managed to sneak past the vrock so he could stab his blade deep into the demon's lower back, grinning at the amount of blood his sudden strike caused to flow from the fresh wound.</p><p></p><p>The vrock knew it was on its last legs and likely had only moments left to live. It could try to <em>teleport</em> away, but to do so would open itself up to attacks by all of those in the vicinity. Instead, it tried to summon forth allies - a group of dretches, individually not very powerful but at least bringing in a great number of other targets for the heroes to fight, hopefully giving the vrock time to slink away and <em>teleport</em> to safety - but the amount of time it took for the demon to even make telepathic contact with its potential allies was enough for it to be cut down by a number of weapons. It died, crumpling to the stone floor where it stood, for by slaying it on its home plane the creature's death was as permanent as it was irreversible.</p><p></p><p>Zander and the paladin raced down the steps to the cage bars. "It looks like her," the sorcerer said, ensuring it wasn't some illusion placed to direct their efforts on a wild goose chase. Alewyth and Wakuren moved to the cage as well, confirming with their darkvision that the figure hanging by her wrists was in fact the Queen - and, better yet, that she was still breathing. "Xandro!" called the dwarven priestess. "We need you over here!"</p><p></p><p>Xandro moved down the flowing stone steps, pulling out his lockpicking tools as he approached the Queen's cell. But the air element dire wolf, summoned to this dismal plane for a set amount of time and eager to get as much combat out of the deal as it could, ran up the steps past Xandro and over to the closed door over by Starblaze's lifeless corpse. As a creature from the Elemental Plane of Air, it was simplicity itself for the lupine form to collapse its body to a thin gust of wind that slipped underneath the door and remanifested to its full form on the other side, where it found itself facing a red-skinned spellcaster wearing a dark robe. He had thick, curving horms rising up from his temples and a pointed tail sticking out from the back of his robes, indicating a fiendish ancestry. This was <strong>Chesselwick</strong>, a tiefling cleric of Gareth and a scheming ally of Councilor Vultros Kandalwine, who, hearing the commotion outside his locked door, had taken the precautions of casting the spells <em>divine power</em> and <em>protection from fire</em> upon himself, in preparation for combat with the interlopers seeking to free Kandalwine's elven Queen hostage.</p><p></p><p>Chesselwick did not, however, expect to be confronted by a horse-sized dire wolf made entirely of gusting winds. Before he could react, the lupine form was upon him, ripping into his flesh with its barely-visible teeth and lugging him to the floor. As he lay there prone, the lantern archon flew over to the door as well, but it didn't have the ability to flow beneath it as the wolf had done, so it hovered in place and patiently waited for somebody to open the door so it could enter.</p><p></p><p>The others, however, were more concerned with Queen Zarabelia. As Xandro used his lockpicks to open the door to the cell, Thurloe decided the rest of the group had what they needed to free the Queen and went to go check out that closed door. "You will be free soon, Your Majesty," apprised the royal bodyguard, as they spilled into the cell and Alewyth helped to support the Queen, aiding her in standing so her weight wasn't all on her wrists. They could still hear the strains of Robin's song of inspirational courage; not knowing what all was going on, the bard continued on with her assigned role.</p><p></p><p>Chesselwick rolled away from the dire wolf, nearly bumping into his own simple cot in the process; this was merely a hideout, not the tiefling's main abode, so it had just the bare minimum in the way of furniture. But as the wolf leaped at him to resume its attacks, the tiefling cast a <em>dismissal</em> spell that instantly returned it to the Elemental Plane of Air. Sighing in relief, the cleric pulled himself to his feet and brushed off his robes.</p><p></p><p>But his reprieve from combat wasn't to last very long, for Zander Quilson blasted open the door to the tiefling's temporary lair and allowed the lantern archon to float in and send a beam of light striking the cleric. The sorcerer followed it up with a <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> spell of his own, which fortunately for Chesselwick went astray, striking the back wall above the tiefling's right shoulder. But then Thurloe and Wakuren came barging into the room, the spellsword making it further into the chamber by dint of his having started that way earlier. Chesselwick cast a <em>slay living</em> spell and channeled it into Thurloe with a touch of his hand, the spell having been <em>maximized</em> after the tiefling had spent the previous night chanting in front of the statue of his god and breathing in the fumes of a stick of <em>incense of meditation</em>. But the attack had nowhere near the effectiveness the tiefling had hoped for: not only did it fail to slay the human outright, but the <em>maximized</em> backup blast of energy hardly seemed to faze him; worse yet, Thurloe retaliated with a torc-enhanced swing of his bastard sword <em>Spellslicer</em>, nearly burying the width of the blade in the tiefling's side before yanking it back out again. Belatedly, Chesselwick realized he'd have been better off using his <em>flame strike</em> spell, but he'd hoped to save that for an attack against a whole group of people at once.... Zander made the whole point moot by blasting the tiefling with a <em>cone of cold</em> spell, careful not to catch Thurloe up in its range of effect (he was getting particularly good at that specifc skill), and the cleric died, his plans unfulfilled.</p><p></p><p>Back in the cell, Pendleton and the paladin supported the Queen so Xandro could pick open the manacles around her wrists; once free, she gave a brave smile and, looking around at the faces surrounding her, asked about her second bodyguard. At that, the paladin's face fell and she said simply, "She died in your service, Majesty. Her body awaits us outside."</p><p></p><p>Wakuren, too late to have participated in combat against the dark-robed cleric, gave the room a quick turnover, for he saw no other exits and it seemed this was the last room in the entire cavern complex. He discovered a magic spoon capable of producing a bland but sustaining gruel, a <em>shroud of disintegration</em>, two unused blocks of <em>incense of meditation</em>, and a small bag of oats (no doubt used to supplement the gruel). Then the two groups gathered back up and returned to the outside of the cave, where the body of the slain paladin had been placed in repose. Wakuren explained the working of <em>Hesperna's lamp</em> and, with the Queen's permission, shunted the monarch and her retinue, as well as the other heroes besides Alewyth, inside the lamp. Then Alewyth picked up the magic lamp and unrolled the <em>scroll of plane shift</em> she'd been given. She read the incantation inscribed therein, the words vanishing from the scroll as she read each one aloud, and when the parchment was once more blank the dwarven priestess of Aerik was gone from the plane of Abyssia, returned to the Material Plane of Erthe - where she found herself standing ankle-deep in a duck pond.</p><p></p><p>The ducks were not particularly impressed with the sudden interruption.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth trudged out of the water, set down <em>Hesperna's lamp</em>, and said the command word which brought her inside the extradimensional space within. After explaining they were back on Erthe but she had no idea where, Pendleton offered to <em>teleport</em> them back to the Queen's Grove. One <em>teleport</em> spell later, the group was once again back at the pavilion where Queen Zarabelia held court.</p><p></p><p>"It has been a trying day," the Queen announced. "I know you were brought here to awaken two of my loyal subjects, but I think a night of rest would be in order for all of us, and I am sure an extra night in their dreams will cause no further harm to my two dreamers. I will have you brought to suitable accommodations, if you have no objections to spending the night and engaging in your dream-waking rituals in the morning?" The five dreamwalkers all admitted that sounded like a fine idea, and were escorted to a series of rooms high in the treetops.</p><p></p><p>"I hope Scarlie won't be worried about us," Alewyth worried.</p><p></p><p>"Scarlie," Thurloe assured her, "will be more than happy at the opportunity to try to drink the nearest alehouse dry."</p><p></p><p>The next morning, after a refreshing night of sleep for their tired bodies (while their minds engaged in their nightly training session with Mogo, their moogle dreamwalking instructor), the heroes were brought to the first of the dream victims, an elder elven craftswoman named <strong>Anelva Bitterroot</strong>. The heroes set up their ritual as usual, placing a dreamstone upon Anelva's brow before sitting around her in a circle, each dreamwalker wearing his or her own dreamstone in place with the leather headbands created for just that purpose by Thurloe's Uncle Marten. Then, with Robin standing guard over their sleeping bodies, the five dreamwalkers all went to sleep and shunted their consciousnesses over to the Dreamlands.</p><p></p><p>Mogo, as usual, was in place in the Corridor of Dreams, hovering before a particular dream-door with his little bat-wings. "In you go, kupo!" he said, opening the door and ushering the heroes in with an extended kittenish paw.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe was the first to enter, and he was shocked to find himself completely submerged underwater with only his last mouthful of air. Instead of wasting energy cursing the little moogle for a lack of warning, Thurloe calmed his emotions, recalled this was just a dream and there was no way he could actually drown, and used his lucid dreaming training to alter his circumstances: whereas before the heavy boots he wore and his bastard sword were dragging him down, with a little imagination and an act of will he was soon "flying" through the water as carefree as an eel. Just in case, he cast a <em>mage armor</em> spell upon himself and looked around, trying to spot the elven woman trapped in this underwater dream.</p><p></p><p>Xandro entered the dream behind Thurloe and likewise instinctively altered the dream so he could fly through the water with ease. Zander was right behind him, and he was the first to spot Anelva, a dark shape in the water just ahead, swimming without a care in the world. But then another shape approached, and it had the unmistakable form of a shark - and a rather large one at that! Anelva, seeing the approaching dire shark, spun about and started heading in the opposite direction, towards the dreamwalkers coming to save her.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth and Wakuren entered the dream and took the lucid dreaming modifications to a new level: instead of merely making it as if they could fly effortlessly through the water, Alewyth reshaped herself into a dwarven mermaid; seeing that, Wakuren followed suit, merging his legs into the powerful tail of a fish. Together, they swam towards Anelva.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe positioned himself between the elven woman and the approaching dire shark, and as a result he became the shark's first target. But as it approached, Thurloe brought his bastard sword out from its scabbard upon his back and fired a <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> at the approaching shark. The ray hit and drained off some of the great aquatic beast's strength, but just how much was unknown. Xandro swam up to Anelva and pulled her to safety behind him, while Zander fired off a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell at the shark. But then the great beast was upon Thurloe, engulfing the spellsword with its massive jaws and imprisoning him inside its mouth. Alewyth was at the sharks' side with a flip of her mermaid's tail, swinging <em>Sjondra</em> into its side, while Wakuren tried casting a <em>water walk</em> spell upon the dire shark, hoping to force it to the top of the water, where they could all breathe easier - and maybe it would start to suffocate, with any luck. But luck was against the half-orc, for the spell failed to manifest as intended; the shark managed to shrug off the spell's effect and it fizzled away to nothingness.</p><p></p><p>Anelva took the opportunity to swim farther away from the shark, while Thurloe used his <em>anklet of translocation</em> to <em>dimension door</em> himself <em>deeper</em> into the shark's belly, thinking he'd have an easier time cutting his way through the fish from the inside than trying to escape through its jaws - and taking the chance of being pierced by its scores of razor-sharp teeth. Xandro, in the meantime, swam to the far side of the dire shark and stabbed it with <em>Deathwhisper</em>, slicing a long gash along its side and causing a trail of blood to come gushing out. He hoped the blood wouldn't draw any further sharks into the combat; with any luck they'd kill this one and awaken Anelva, for experience taught that the most likely way to awaken someone from a dream about being chased by a fearful creature was to slay that fearful creature in the dream.</p><p></p><p>Zander cast another <em>lightning bolt</em> at the dire shark, being careful to aim at its back half, close to the tail, hopefully so Thurloe wouldn't be affected inside its stomach. The shark, no longer feeling anyone inside its mouth, snapped its jaws at Wakuren and alleviated that problem, for the half-orc merman was now imprisoned within its impressive rows of teeth. Alewyth continued her attacks with <em>Sjondra</em> as Wakuren summoned forth a <em>javelin of lightning</em> into his <em>gauntlet of Cal</em> and hurled it at the roof of the shark's mouth. But it was Thurloe's dedicated attempts at cutting his way out of the shark's belly with his bastard sword that finally slew the aquatic terror; no sooner had the spellsword wriggled back out of its interior and into the surrounding water than the water about them started fading away; Anelva, as expected, was waking from her dream.</p><p></p><p>The craftswoman was very surprised to see a group of six strangers in her room, but as Alewyth explained the situation - and it was verified by a member of the Queen's elven retinue who had escorted the group to Anelva's home - she shrugged her shoulders and thanked them for their help. It would take a bit of time for the fact that she'd actually been asleep for nearly a month to sink in.</p><p></p><p>The group, in the meantime, was brought to the second dreamer - a member of Queen Zarabelia's group of advisors. "I hope this one isn't a treacherous backstabber," Thurloe muttered.</p><p></p><p>"I think you will find <strong>Councilor Chrysos Arkaurum</strong> is one of the most trusted members of the Queen's Council," the elven page replied.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, well so was that Kandalwine creep who threw her into a Hell-Plane," remarked the spellsword.</p><p></p><p>"Any word on his whereabouts?" asked Xandro.</p><p></p><p>"He has not been found, but the community has been warned of his treachery, and if he is, as you say, cursed into a state of muteness, that will prevent him from casting any of his spells. We have people searching for him; he won't get very far."</p><p></p><p>Chrysos Arkaurum's dream was much different from that of Anelva Bitterroot, but they were similar in that neither dream showed the dreamer at first. The five heroes entered the dreamscape to find themselves in an underground grotto, filled with phosphorescent fungus that gave off a putrid light. The whole place smelled of death and decay. "I don't like this," Alewyth admitted - she'd spent her childhood in the Underdark city of her birth and preferred her subterranean surroundings to be a bit cleaner.</p><p></p><p>"Hello?" called out Zander. "Chrysos? Call out if you can hear us!"</p><p></p><p>The elf's cries did not garner a response from the dreamer they sought, but there was movement from off to the right as Zander's calls echoed throughout the caverns. A pile of mushrooms and fungi lurched and rippled, rising up from the cavern floor and taking on a vaguely humanoid form - but one that towered over the five heroes, easily ten times their own size. It seemed made of equal parts sludge and compost, with decaying vegetable matter and fungus interspersed throughout its foul body. The monster had a bulging head that throbbed and pulsed as it moved, and a pair of lopsided, vertical eyes opened up from what could only in a charitable sense be described as its face. A long tail dragged behind it, looking like it might fall off at any moment.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, crap," muttered Thurloe. "It's going to be one of <em>those</em> dreams!"</p><p></p><p>And sure enough, it was. They had encountered three such dreams in the past, where they fought a giant monster of some sort that towered above them and could not be defeated no matter how many times they returned to the dream after having been "slain" in the dreamscape and rudely shunted back to wakefulness. They gave it their best shot - several times, in fact - before throwing in the towel and admitting defeat. Chrysos Arkaurum would be the fourth dream victim they were unable to awaken during their first pass through, but they vowed they'd return when they had mastered a bit more of their lucid dreaming skills. Alewyth gave up another of their spare dreamstones, placing this one onto Chrysos's brow and fastening it in place with a band of cloth tied around his head. "According to the ones who have trained us in dream-waking," Alewyth said, using the term the elves had used when they'd first approached them on the road, "leaving the dreamstone in place on his forehead for a few months may aid us in waking him when we try again the next time. We're making our way across the continent, so maybe by the time we get to the Sylvanholme Forest on our travels we'll have better luck."</p><p></p><p>They returned to the pavilion, where Queen Zarabelia sat with her Councilors - four of the normal six, for the seats reserved for Councilors Kandalwine and Arkaurum were vacant. The heroes approached the foot of the pavilion, standing inside the circle of stones (which, Thurloe deduced, had a permanent <em>zone of truth</em> spell cast upon it), and gave their report to the Queen. Alewyth apologized for their failure to awaken Chrysos, but explained about the other three and how they hoped to be able to revive him in the not-too-distant future. And the elves' enhanced lifespan, she realized, worked in their favor, for what was a few extra months compared to the hundreds of years of an elven lifespan?</p><p></p><p>"It is no matter," replied Queen Zarabelia, rising from her throne and walking regally down the stairs to the left, a pair of paladins flanking her. (One was a female elf the heroes had never seen before, so apparently thr slain bodyguard had been allowed to go to her final rest in the celestial realms.) "I have nothing but gratitude for your efforts, not only in awakening Anelva Bitterroot and attempting to do the same to Chrysos Arkaurum, but also in rescuing me from my kidnapping. I have asked my retinue to gather appropriate gifts for you." She nodded off to the side, and a line of elves approached, each bearing an item in his or her hands.</p><p></p><p>"Alewyth Putterpie," Queen Zarabelia intoned, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token." The aide handed over a small brooch to the Queen, who in turn gave it to Alewyth. "I hope you will forgive the wordplay involved in your gift, but given your last name, I could not resist. This is a <em>butterfly brooch</em>" - and indeed, it was a golden pin the size and shape of a butterfly, its surface covered in numerous gems - "and when activated, it will allow you to fly for a short distance, once per day. I hope you will find it useful in your adventuring career."</p><p></p><p>Alewyth took the pin and affixed it to her cloak. "Thank you, Your Majesty," she said, bowing her head. "It is beautiful."</p><p></p><p>Queen Zarabelia turned and took another item from the next aide in line; this was an elaborate scabbard sized for a bastard sword. "Thurloe Pulver." intoned the Queen, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token. It will enhance the keenness of any sword stored within, allowing it to strike with an extra effectiveness three times a day." Thurloe accepted the scabbard with a deep bow and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."</p><p></p><p>"Xandro Silverstrings," intoned the Queen next, taking a small box, like that sized for a ring, and facing the bard. "In grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token." Xandro took the box and opened it; inside was no ring but a small piece of carved antler in the shape of an egg. "This is the <em>dire elk pick</em>, carved from the antler of a megaloceros. When used to strum a stringed instrument, it can summon a dire elk to serve you." Xandro bowed in gratitrude and thanked the Queen.</p><p></p><p>"Wakuren," the Queen intoned, with a slight pause as if unused to people only having a single name, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token." She handed over a left-handed glove of fine workmanship. "I see that you wield a <em>gauntlet of Cal</em> upon your right hand; for your left hand, I hope you will find this <em>glove of storing</em> to be useful. As long as its extradimensional space is empty, it will allow you to snatch an arrow fired at you, which you can choose to toss away or have enter the interior space within. It will hold but a single item within, but you can bring it forth into your hand with the snap of a finger." Wakuren grinned widely at his gift, then quickly closed his mouth once he realized that in doing so he had exposed his fierce-looking orcish tusks. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, bowing deeply at the waist.</p><p></p><p>"Zander Quilson," the Queen called forward next, saying, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept these tokens." An aide passed two items to the Queen, which she in turn passed over to the elven sorcerer: a metal bracelet and a dog's collar. "If you place the collar around your elven dog and wear the bracelet yourself," she explained, "you will be able to transfer vitality between the two of you as needed." Zander appreciated the thoughtfulness of his gift, for he was physically the weakest of the group of five and often relied upon one of the clerics to keep him hale and hearty during combat; this would go a long way to being able to do the same thing himslef without having to rely upon healing potions. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he replied, speaking in the Common tongue since that was the language the Queen had used, for the benefit of those who did not speak Elven.</p><p></p><p>"And now, before you leave, I have a boon to ask of you," Queen Zarabelia said, dismissing the other elves around her with a nod; the two paladin bodyguards looked worried and did not like stepping away out of earshot of the Queen, but they obeyed nonetheless. "You have heard that Councilor Kandalwine sought the <em>sword of temptation</em>," she said in a low voice, so none of her retinue could hear. "It is stored nearby, in a location known only to myself and Sharnabet of the Druidic Circle, and it is guarded by one who does not know what it is she guards. This guardian reports that someone had entered the place she guards and has yet to return; I fear it might be Coucilor Kandalwine or one in his employ. And while I cannot understand how he learned of its location, I would be greatly comforted knowing the sword is still in place and the intruder dealt with. Because of the sword's great power, I would prefer its location not be known to those of the Sylvanholme Forest; with your agreement, I would have Sharnabet take you to the place where the sword is kept without you actually knowing where that might be. Then you can enter, deal with the intruder, ensure the sword's safety, and exit the location; Sharnabet will then return you here to me. I believe your magic lamp would be a suitable means by which you could be brought there and back without knowing the sword's actual location. I will, of course, pay you for this service. What say you?"</p><p></p><p>The five heroes looked among themselves, and then Zander took it upon himself, as the only elf present among their number, to answer the Queen. "It will be our honor, Your Majesty," he replied.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>This was a longer adventure; we started about ten until noon and finished up a bit after four o'clock. I used a Hedorah the Smog Monster figurine from my Godzilla collection as the sludge monster in Chrysos's dream, and then hinted to the players that since there are five of them, there's a good chance they'll meet up with one more "undefeatable" monster before learning to power themselves up into kaiju forms in the Dreamlands, whereupon we might send an entire session using the <em>Giant Monster Rampage</em> rules instead of the D&D ones....</p><p></p><p>The players enjoyed this one; I think the surprise of rushing off to Abyssia with such short notice got them all excited, and they absolutely <em>hate</em> Councilor Vultros Kandalwine. I'll be sure to have them find out what happened to him in our next adventure session.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>T-shirt worn: My black "Chaotic evil means never having to say you're sorry" T-shirt, as it fit Councilor Vultros Kandalwine and the demons of Abyssia so well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8967003, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 46: ELVEN DREAMS[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 10[/INDENT] [INDENT] Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 5/paladin 5[/INDENT] [INDENT] Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 10[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Pendleton Azulio, elf sorcerer 10[/INDENT] [INDENT] Robin the Balladeer, human bard 2[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 4 March 2023 - - - Scarlie Besker pulled back on the reins and brought the two mules to a halt. On either side of the wagon, Alewyth, Xandro, and Zander brought their own riding mounts up short as well, for blocking the road before them were seven elves, each mounted on a light warhorse. Six of the elves wore leather armor and carried a longbow over their shoulder, while the seventh wore a hooded robe and had no weapon more deadly than a dagger at his belt. Floating noiselessly beside the wagon, the lantern archon still in service to Wakuren also came to a halt. "Excuse me," called the robed elf, pulling back the hood so the heroes could get a good look at his face. It was a handsome face, nearly impossible to narrow down into a likely age to within a century, but his hair was long and black, worn straight back in the manner so common among his people. "My name is [B]Pendleton Azulio[/B] and I work directly for [B]Queen Zarabelia[/B] of the elves of Sylvanholme Forest." At the mention of the Queen's name, Zander Quilson's eyebrows shot up - he, at least, apparently knew of the elven monarch by name! "Are you the group of 'dream-wakers' said to be traveling the continent, rescuing those trapped in their dreams?" asked Pendleton. "You certainly fit the description" - and here he gave Wakuren and Scarlie a hard look without changing the neutral expression on his face - "and if you are, we have need of your services." "We're the ones you're looking for," Wakuren confirmed. "Who is it that's been trapped asleep?" "There are two, actually: one of the Queen's councilors and a craftswoman, both asleep now for several weeks. Will you help us?" Wakuren looked over at the others, mostly to see if they were okay with him speaking on their behalf. He hadn't missed Pendleton looking him over with suspicion, and the half-orc rather liked taking over the leadership role if only to reinforce to these elves that he was a respected member of the "dream-waker" team. "We will," he said. "How far away are the dreamers?" "They're both back at the Sylvanholme Forest," Pendleton replied, confirming Wakuren's suspicions. "But we can [I]teleport[/I] you directly there and then [I]teleport[/I] you back here once you're done. There is one potential problem, however: while you can take your riding mounts, I'm afraid the wagon is too big to bring along with us. Will that be a problem?" After talking it over among themselves, the group jointly decided to send Scarlie ahead to the next town, where he'd stable the mules and wagon and rent a room for himself until their return. As Wakuren's mule, Perseverance, was one of the two hitched up to the wagon, the half-orc would ride behind Zander on his horse Eddy, while Robin - who had been riding in the back of the wagon - would double up with Xandro on his horse White. Once that was settled, and the heroes grabbed up anything from the back of the wagon they wanted to take with them, Thurloe nodded over to Pendleton. "We're ready," he said. Pendleton had raised his hand to his mouth and was speaking into his ring. "We have located them, Your Majesty. They have agreed to help us. We're ready for teleportation at your convenience." Scarlie gave the rest of the group a hearty wave, snapped the reins, and drove the wagon forward, the elven rangers parting to make room for him. But they kept their horses on the sides of the road, three to either side, and the heroes could see the backs of their saddles each had a strangle little "handle" on it, wrapped in leather. But then the rangers each gave a whistle, and soon, dropping from the skies, came a half-dozen eagles, each landing upon his own master's saddle-perch. Pendleton, in the meantime, rode back away from the group, following in Scarlie's wake for about 60 feet before turning back to face the heroes. Then a yellow circle of glowing light manifested immediately before him, and riding through that circle and alighting on the road came a pair of war horses ridden by female elven paladins, wearing suits of elven mail and each wielding a longsword, already out and ready for battle if this ended up being some sort of a trap. The reason for their caution was evident when following them through the upright [I]teleportation circle[/I] came Queen Zarabelia herself, sitting astride a unicorn with a coat of brilliant white. Soon after the unicorn exited the circle it closed up, allowing the group to see Pendleton on his own warhorse once again. While the [I]teleportation circle[/I] was up and operating, he had been hidden behind it and all that could be seen in its interior was the Sylvanholme Forest. The paladins glared at the heroes, giving Wakuren a special look of distrust, but Queen Zarabelia seemed not the least bit concerned that one of the "dream-wakers" she sought was a half-orc. "Thank you for agreeing to help us," she said, smiling at the six heroes as a group. "We have tried everything to awaken our two citizens, and not even the Druidic Circle has been successful. Finally, we turned to divination magic to seek the path that would lead to them finally rising from their beds, and the divinations all led to you. I have sent my rangers out to find you, and I am glad to see that they were successful." "Line up here, single-file," commanded one of the paladins, Queen Zarabelia's personal bodyguards and apparently quite used to being instantly obeyed. Under her direction, the six rangers lined up facing the direction Scarlie had taken the wagon, followed by the six heroes on their four mounts (along with the lantern archon), followed directly by the Queen, her paladins, and then Pendleton. Once everyone was lined up to the bodyguard's satisfaction, she turned to her Queen and said, "We are ready, Your Majesty." Queen Zarabelia placed a hand on the side of her unicorn mount's neck and said simply, "Now, [B]Starblaze[/B]." The unicorn began rotating his head in a circle, almost as if trying to relieve a sore neck, but a beam of energy shot out from the creature's spiraling horn and opened up the [I]teleportation circle[/I] in front of the lead ranger. He sent his warhorse dashing through the open circle, and those behind him followed suit. As the heroes got closer to the circle, they could see a forest glade in the open portal's center. There was a brief moment of disorientation as they passed through the circle, but after having done so they found themselves on the far side of the continent, along its southern edge whereas before they had been skirting along its northern reaches, moving from town to town in a clockwise fashion. However, once the group had passed through, there was a commotion from the rear of the line. "Where's the Queen?" demanded one of the paladins. "[I]What have you done with her?[/I]" Thurloe whipped his horse Horse around and faced the back of the line, and sure enough: the Queen and her unicorn were not present, although both paladins and Pendleton were there in the grove - and they had followed after the Queen on her unicorn. "Now hold on a blasted minute!" he fumed. "Are you seriously accusing us, who had no idea you were even going to even accost us out of the blue to help out two of your people, of having something to do with this?" It didn't make any sense to the spellsword, but he did notice the paladins had both pulled out their longswords again and were aiming them in the heroes' general direction. He reached over his shoulder and put a hand on the hilt of [I]Spellslicer[/I], pulling it out of its scabbard, since it looked as if they were going to have to fight their way out of this ridiculous situation - but fortunately, it didn't come to that. "Hold up!" came a voice to Thurloe's right. Looking over, he saw an elderly elf standing at the top of a high pavilion; a throne sat perched at his side, and a pair of winding stairs led up to it, with three smaller seats on either side of the throne. This was likely where Queen Zarabelia held court, with space for her six advisers. At the bottom of the structure was a reflecting pool, and before that was a ring of stones reachable at the end of a stone-covered path which began directly underneath a wooden arch. The elf's hair was so blond it looked to be almost white. He stepped forward, then plopped onto the throne, causing the elves in the Queen's retinue to gasp at the outrageous effrontery. "These visitors have nothing to do with the Queen's disappearance," announced [B]Councilor Vultros Kandalwine[/B]. "I know, for I am the one responsible. Now, before anyone gets any ideas, I'm the only one here who knows Her Majesty's current whereabouts, so think twice before trying to attack me. I guarantee I can [I]teleport[/I] away from here faster than you can try to take me down." He turned and looked over at the rows of trees flanking the clearing. "And that goes for the treants, too," he added. With a snort, one of the trees turned and looked over at the councilor, a face suddenly becoming apparent in the wooden bark. On either side of the pavilion, the treants that made up a permanent part of Queen Zarabelia's court woke up to the situation transpiring before them and gave it their full attention. "Just how did you manage to snatch the Queen out from under our noses?" asked Pendleton. "Simplicity itself," scoffed Kandalwine. "I opened up a [I]planar gate[/I] directly in front of the unicorn when I saw him appear, then shut it down as soon as he had passed through." "And what do you want for the Queen's safe return?" demanded one of the paladins. It was obvious she was holding back a tremendous fury, for it was her responsibility to keep her Queen safe from harm. If anything, the councilor's smirk grew even wider. "Why, only the [I]sword of temptation[/I]," he replied. "Fetch it, and turn it over to me, and I'll return the good Queen to you. But you'd best hurry: I cannot guarantee the Queen's safety indefinitely, especially not in the place to which I've sent her. Talk it over among yourselves and give me your decision - I'll give you two minutes." The line of horses and riders collapsed as the heroes and the Queen's retinue gathered together to discuss their options. "What's this [I]sword of temptation[/I]?" Thurloe demanded. "An imperial sword: very powerful, and very dangerous in the wrong hands - it can grant [I]wishes[/I]," Pendleton replied. "We cannot allow Kandalwine to get his hands on it." He glared up at the turncoat councilor and spoke in a low voice. "I'm afraid I don't have any spells at hand that would prevent him from being able to [I]teleport[/I] away like he threatened to do. However, I can [I]teleport[/I] myself and three others up there - perhaps, if we strike fast enough, and don't give him enough time to react--" "But you don't dare kill him," pointed out Alewyth in a whisper. "He's the only one who can tell you where the Queen is being held." "We have the Druidic Circle, and several powerful clerics of Feron," replied Pendleton. "They can cast [I]speak with dead[/I]...they also know a ritual that might be able to pry the [I]planar gate[/I] back open, if only for a moment or two...." "The six of us could all shoot up at him at once," suggested one of the rangers. "He'd [I]teleport[/I] away as soon as he saw you ready your longbows," reasoned Xandro. "[I]Teleporting[/I] up there's probably our best course of action," decided Thurloe, facing directly at Pendleton. "You, me, Alewyth, and Wakuren, one on each corner of the throne, if you can get it that precise. I can activate my [I]ring of silence[/I] - that might stop him from being able to cast his [I]teleport[/I] spell. Alewyth, you bonk him on the head with that hammer of yours. Wakuren, you got any spells on hand that can ruin his day?" "A [I]bestow curse[/I] spell," the cleric of Cal replied. "I can try to strike him mute." "Good, good," Thurloe replied. He turned to Zander. "Once we're up there, cast one of those spells with all the wavy tentacles. It'll get us, too, but it's more important we get him as well. I'll hit him up with a [I]vampiric touch[/I]," the spellsword added, casting the spell surreptitiously into his readied blade. "What about me and Robin?" asked Xandro. "I dunno - play that song of yours?" "He'd better not just be some illusion or anything," Wakuren muttered, prompting Zander to activate his magic headband and grant himself a moment of [I]true seeing[/I]. "Nope, he's the real deal," the elven sorcerer replied. "He's got several spells active on him, though - probably a lot of defenses." "That's to be expected," grumbled Pendleton. "We will not stand idly by," vowed one of the paladin bodyguards. "If nothing else, we will rush up the stairs to deal with him if your stratagems fail." Thurloe thought it unlikely that all of his stratagems would fail, but he merely said, "Fine" to appease her. "What about that [I]sword of temptation[/I]?" asked Zander. "Should you at least make a show of fetching it here?" "Only the Queen and [B]Sharnabet[/B], the leader of the Druidic Circle, know the whereabouts of the sword," replied Pendleton. "Well?" demanded Kandalwine from his perch on the Queen's throne. "Your time's about up - what have you decided?" "Very well," sighed Pendleton, his voice one of weary resignation. "You give us no choice." But then he called out an arcane syllable and he disappeared, along with Alewyth, Thurloe, and Wakuren. The four of them surrounded the throne, although Pendleton had felt a strange resistance before they reappeared in their new positions; he had yet to realize it, but he had been forced to overcome Kandalwine's previously-cast [I]repulsion[/I] spell, intended to keep everyone from getting close to him. But with everyone in place, they struck out as planned: Wakuren touched the Councilor on the shoulder and felt his [I]bestow curse[/I] spell flow from his hand into its intended target, although the elf's instinctive reaction was to plunge a [I]dagger of venom[/I] he clutched in one hand into the half-orc's side; fortunately, one of the advantages Wakuren's half-breed ancestry provided him was a healthy constitution and the venom had no effect. But at the same time, [I]Sjondra[/I] came crashing down upon the side of Kandalwine's head, as Thurloe activated his ring and simultaneously stabbed forward with [I]Spellslicer[/I], sending the [I]vampiric touch[/I] spell coursing into the elf's body. And from below the pavilion, Zander Quilson cast an [I]Elobar's black tentacles[/I] spell that caused a ring of rubbery appendages to rise up all around the five figures on and around the throne; they waved about but failed to grab anyone. The reason for this failure was simple: another of Kandalwine's spells, prepared while the heroes and elven retinue made their plans, was a [I]globe of invulnerability[/I]. As a result of that protective spell, in a 10-foot radius all around the throne, those spells of a lower level of power were temporarily dampened. As a result, Thurloe's [I]silence[/I] spell was in effect, but only in a 10-foot-wide ring around the throne, starting at 10 feet out; inside the area of effect of the [I]globe of invulnerability[/I], everyone could hear just fine. Likewise, while the elven Councilor had been successfully cursed into muteness, that particular effect wouldn't take hold until after Kandalwine exited the area around the throne. And there was a "bald spot" in the middle of Zander's [I]Elobar's black tentacles[/I] spell that exactly corresponded with the area of effect of the [I]globe of invulnerability[/I]. In addition, Kandalwine's [I]repulsion[/I] spell had been intended to keep everyone from being able to approach him, but Pendleton's successful overcoming the spell allowed him to continue his [I]teleport[/I] spell as planned, and the other three he brought with him were fine in being brought this close to their target. However, Alewyth's mind wasn't powerful enough to overcome the spell's effects, and while she was able to bring [I]Sjondra[/I] crashing into the elf's head, she realized if he stepped away she would be unable to give chase. Thurloe and Wakuren didn't suffer the same restrictions; perhaps fueled by a powerful hatred, they had been able to overcome the spell's prohibitions against approaching Kandalwine. As soon as the paladins saw the four [I]teleport[/I] up to their target, they raced up the steps as fast as they could go, swords out and eager to taste Kandalwine's blood. But their target was hidden from view by a row of black, waving appendages. From below them, they could hear the sounds of the song of inspirational courage being played - in stereo - by both Xandro and Robin, the two intertwining their chords to reinforce the other. And the rangers all set arrows to longbow and aimed up at the throne, but they too had no way to see their target behind the row of waving tentacles. And on either side of the pavilion, the treants looked on in concern but feared to intervene. Ignoring the pain of his stab wound, Wakuren decided to try to grab hold of Kandalwine; he knew pinning his arms would be useless to try to prevent him from [I]teleporting[/I] away, but if he could get his fingers in the elf's mouth, he could prevent him from saying the required arcane phrase to set off the spell. However, the councilor turned his head away at the last moment and Wakuren was left holding the side of the elf's cheek. A beam of light flashed down from above; the lantern archon had flown up and shot its only attack spell at the councilor in an attempt to help subdue him in time, before he could escape. But their various stratagems ended up being in vain after all, as Kandalwine called out a few arcane words and immediately vanished away, [I]teleporting[/I] to some unknown place of safety. He took a few blows from the people surrounding him, but neither was enough to knock him out before he was able to cast his spell and escape. "Damn!" cursed Thurloe, turning to Pendleton. "Where would he go?" But the elves were ignoring him; one of the paladins called down to the rangers and issued an order to summon Sharnabet and her Circle to the Queen's Court immediately, and one of the archers leapt back onto his horse and raced off to comply. The Druidic Circle arrived mere minutes later, with an obviously elderly Sharnabet immediately taking control of the scene. She'd apparently been briefed on the recent happenings by the ranger who'd gone to fetch her, for her first question upon her arrival was "Where did the [I]planar gate[/I] open?" When the rangers indicated the location, Sharnabet set her druids to task, starting the ritual that might - just might, she warned - be able to crack the passageway between planes open for a few scant seconds. "But then that will be it - there will be no reopening it once it closes the second time," she cautioned. While the druids started their chants and performed their ritual, another cleric stepped up, an elf whose trappings showed she was a devotee to Feron, Goddess of Nature. She passed a scroll over to Alewyth. "A scroll of [I]plane shift[/I]," she said. "I was told you might need it to return the Queen from wherever she was sent." Alewyth thanked the cleric and tucked the scroll into her pack for safekeeping. "You've time for a few spells - two at the most," Sharnabet warned, supervising the ritual. Already sparks were manifesting in the air where Kandalwine's [I]planar gate[/I] had been opened and closed so soon before. Alewyth responded by casting a [I]magic vestment[/I] spell upon herself, following it with a [I]magic circle against evil[/I]. Thurloe, wearing his breastplate for once, did without the [I]mage armor[/I] and cast a [I]shield[/I] spell from his wand and a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell from the handful of spells he had prepared that morning. Wakuren boosted his combat prowess with a [I]bear's endurance[/I] and a [I]bull's strength[/I] spell, sighing at the thought that even with these two spells enhancing him he was still not as powerful as he had been before the powerslug had been removed from him after his recent death. Xandro chose to cast two [I]heroism[/I] spells, but rather than using one of them on himself he opted to cast them upon Alewyth and Thurloe, two likely to be at the front of any combat with their unknown foes. Zander Quilson cast a [I]mage armor[/I] spell on himself and then splurged for a [I]stoneskin[/I]. Pendleton also cast two [I]stoneskin[/I] spells, but he opted to grant them to the Queen's paladin bodyguards. "Get ready!" Sharnabet warned as the sparks in the air started taking form into a circle. Then, once it was open, she called out, "Go!" in a voice that brooked no hesitation. The six heroes rushed through - for Robin was determined to go where Xandro did - as did Pendleton and the paladins, but before any of the rangers or druids could follow, the circle had closed back up. Just as Starblaze's [I]teleportation circle[/I] had opened up a portal from one side of the continent to the other, this [I]planar gate[/I] spilled those who passed through it into another place altogether - although there was little doubt that the travelers were no longer on the Material Plane. While the terrain was recognizable enough - a barren, stone ground with a cliff off to the left, through which a cave opening could be seen several dozen feet ahead - it was the river of shooting flames to the right that spoke of this being another world altogether. The sheet of flames shot up for a good 20 feet or more, and didn't seem to be diminishing any despite there being no sign of any visible fuel. Thurloe was the first one through the [I]planar gate[/I] and he instinctively moved away from the flames, closer to the cliff as soon as he found himself in this strange, new world. He had [I]Spellslicer[/I] out and ready, but so far there seemed like nobody against whom to wield it. The paladins were through the [I]gate[/I] behind the spellsword, and they continued running straight, almost to the cave opening when they spun to the left -towards the cliff - and pointed up at something they could see from their vantage point. Thurloe looked up but could see nothing; he was too close to the cliff-side to be able to see what was at its top. But whatever it was, it set off a blast of fire that engulfed one of the two paladins. Thurloe had seen [I]scorching ray[/I] spells before - he'd cast them several times himself - but while this had been but a single blast, it was much more powerful than the spell had ever been able to produce, even with all three rays combined together. The elf screamed in pain as her body blazed for a moment, sheathed in flames, but to her credit she did not fall. However, after having shot the elf with its fire blast, the retriever crawled down over the face of the cliff and Thurloe got a good look at what it was they were facing: it was a spider bigger than a warhorse, seemingly made of gleaming metal with shining gemstones for eyes. Having reached the ground at the bottom of the cliff, it swung a blade-tipped leg at the spellsword and scored a line across his breastplate. Robin exited the [I]planar gate[/I] next, already playing the chords to her song of inspirational courage. Xandro was there at her side, his new magical sword out and ready for action. Zander stepped up behind him, saw the retriever, and cast a [I]cone of cold[/I] at the arachnoid construct, careful not to catch Thurloe up in the blast. Alewyth was next through the portal, but she felt the burning heat coming off the river of flames to her right and cast a [I]protection from fire[/I] spell upon herself - if this were the Elemental Plane of Fire, she knew she'd need the spell active simply to survive for very long. Wakuren was the next one through the portal, and he cast a [I]shield of faith[/I] spell upon himself; he'd have liked to have cast it back in the Queen's forest but there had simply not been enough time. Then the lantern archon darted in beside his head, took an immediate assessment of the surrounding area, and floated over to blast the retriever with its beam of light. Then Pendleton was through and he cast a [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the eight-legged construct. But everyone save Alewyth could feel the heat burning them from the nearness of the blazing river, and knew they'd need to get closer to the cliff if they were to stop themselves from eventually being burned alive. Thurloe mentally activated a charge from his [I]torc of the titans[/I] and used his moment of increased strength to bring [I]Spellslicer[/I] crashing down upon the retriever's head. Then the paladins charged it, one on either side of the spellsword, and their own longswords dented up its metallic body. However, the spider-fiend was smart enough to use its next eye-ray in turn - this one casting forth an arc of electricity - at the same elf upon which it had used its ray of fire, and the paladin screamed once in pain as her body crumpled to the ground, her skin charred and blistered from the dual attacks. It then tilted back on its four hindmost legs, allowing its four front legs - with their sharpened blades at the tips - to claw their way at Thurloe and the other paladin. Thurloe dodged both strikes, but then failed to prevent the retriever's massive mandibles from opening wide and catching him up in their serrated embrace. Robin continued her inspirational song but edged away from the river of fire, until she was far enough away she could no longer feel the heat of its blast upon her back. Xandro, realizing his new sword was likely to be ineffective against a metallic body without known stress points, reverted to his [I]frost short sword[/I] and stepped up to the retriever to strike it with his blade, for Zander's [I]cone of cold[/I] spell had already shown it was not particularly protected against cold damage. In fact, the elven sorcerer, encouraged by the apparent success of his initial attack, moved over to the creature's back half so could attack it with another such spell without getting any of his allies in the field of the frigid blast. Alewyth charged the retriever with [I]Sjondra[/I], the heavy head of the dwarven warhammer giving off a satisfying crashing sound as it beat against the construct's metal body. Wakuren spend a moment to check out the retriever's aura, expecting to see evil and not at all surprised to find it despite its mechanical nature, then channeled Cal's holy energy into his shield and smote it into the retriever's side. Behind him the lantern archon blasted away with its ray, well back from the retriever's reach with its spindly legs. Pendleton blasted the retriever with another [I]magic missile[/I] spell; like Zander, he had found something that worked and was sticking with it for as long as he could. But it was Thurloe, with another torc-powered strike of his bastard sword, that took the retriever down, fortunately before it could get another blast from one of its other two gem-eyes. The spellsword wasn't sure what powers the other two gem-eyes might have, but he was in no hurry to find out, either! With the initial threat taken care of, the remaining paladin bent over the charred corpse of her fellow bodyguard, placing her hands over her chest, wielding her sword. "I will return for you once we have brought the Queen to safety," she promised her sword-sister. Robin looked sadly on, still continuing her song because she had no idea if combat was truly over for now or if there were any more of these spider-constructs about. Xandro sheathed his [I]frost short sword[/I] and brought [I]Deathwhisper[/I] back out; it felt good in his hand. Then he nodded over to Robin, indicating they were going to check out the cave; it was the most obvious place to look for Queen Zarabelia in this forlorn place. Zander ran over to position himself in the middle of the group, casting a [I]haste[/I] spell upon everyone. Then Alewyth stepped forward and took a few steps into the cave, since her natural dwarven darkvision would allow her to see fine, despite there seeming to be no illumination within other than what spilled in through the cave opening from the river of fire. The entry cave was empty, save for a few natural flowing steps in the back that led downwards into darkness. Following the steps down, Alewyth soon found herself in a much larger cave about 20 feet lower in elevation that the cave behind her. There were two openings to other caves even lower down, with flowing natural steps leading the way, but up on this level there were two items of note: a closed door set into the back of the cave wall off to Alewyth's left, and in the left corner of this cavern, none other than Starblaze, Queen Zarabelia's trusty unicorn mount. Starblaze, however, was much the worse for wear than the last time the dwarven priestess had seen him. Since coming to this horrid plane, the unicorn had apparently been slain and then raised to an unholy semblance of life as a zombie. It was as a zombie that it slowly started shuffling Alewyth's way, its hooves clomping along the stone floor of the cavern and its exposed, looping intestines making a wet noise as they dragged along the ground. It was with a look of disgust on her face that the dwarf raised her holy symbol of Aerik and sent a blast of holy radiance in the zombie's direction, causing the poor thing to cower in the corner, getting as far away from Alewyth as it could. The priestess realized if she were to approach the unicorn the effect would be broken, so she kept her distance and avoided checking out the closed door, for to do so would bring her too close to Starblaze's current position. Wakuren, the only other member of the group with darkvision, entered the cave behind Alewyth, casting a [I]divine power[/I] spell upon himself as he walked down the flowing steps. The lantern archon floated at his shoulder, a glowing ball of energy that provided a bit of light to those who entered the cave behind them. It reached Alewyth, saw the unicorn zombie, and sent a ray of light striking it; as it was not the cause of the turning effect its attack did nothing to free the zombie from its current place of relative immobility. Then Pendleton stepped up beside Alewyth, saw the sad state of Starblaze, and blasted the poor unicorn with a [I]magic missile[/I] spell; it looked to have already been slain and there was no point in trying to revive it - best to try to put it out of its misery. Thurloe entered the cave next and peered over at the cave off to the right once he got to the larger cavern where Starblaze stood, cowering from Alewyth's holy symbol. From the light of the lantern archon's glowing body, he could determine the side-cave was empty of inhabitants, but there was a statue of some sort in the back - and it smelled faintly of incense. He figured it was likely a shrine of some sort, dedicated to an evil god or demon lord, but since there was nobody in the cave to fight and it didn't look like there were any other exits from the room, he ignored it and moved on. The female paladin stepped beside him, searching in the dim light for where Queen Zarabelia had been taken. Robin continued playing her tune as she took several cautious steps down to the larger cavern. Xandro entered the cave beside Alewyth and used the [I]Dardolian Lute[/I] to send a [I]sound burst[/I] blasting at Starblaze. Then Zander entered and went straight down the steps by Thurloe and the paladin, squinting in the dim light down the other set of natural steps before him, then pulled out his [I]everburning torch[/I] from his pack - and saw, at the edge of the illumination it provided, a hunched-over, avian body of a general humanoid shape. It was reaching for something off to the side, blocked by the cavern wall, but the elven sorcerer was able to identify the creature as a vrock demon from pictures he had seen in old tomes. "Vrock!" he called to the others, and the outburst caused the demon to swivel its long neck up at the sorcerer, only now noticing there were intruders in its cavern network. Alewyth knew she couldn't approach any closer to Starblaze and she had pretty much neutralized any threat it might have posed, so she moved over by Thurloe and Zander, warned by the call of a vrock demon nearby. She cast a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] spell and sent the floating dwarven warhammer that manifested in the air by her head flying down to attack the vrock. Wakuren looked over at the statue in the side-cave and deduced the carving was that of Gareth, God of Betrayal; he also picked up the faint tang of recently-burned incense but thought nothing of it, focusing his attention on the vrock heading up the flowing stone steps to face Thurloe and Alewyth in combat. The half-orc cast a summoning spell and caused an air element dire wolf to manifest behind the vrock. The lupine creature snapped at the vulture-demon with its wind-gust jaws, but the beast failed to get a grasp on the fiend before it had moved up for some front-line combat with its sharp claws and wicked beak. The lantern archon floated over, realizing a vrock demon was a much greater threat than an already-turned unicorn zombie, and it sent its ray of light shooting over at the vulture-demon. Pendleton had the same idea, making a final attack upon Starblaze's animated corpse and causing it to collapse in a limp pile of muscle and bone before going over to help deal with the greater threat. Thurloe stepped back from the advancing fiend and cast a [I]ray of enfeeblement[/I] at it, striking the avian in the middle of its massive chest and siphoning away a portion of its strength. Then the paladin charged it, bringing her longsword crashing into the demon's side, before calling out, "My Queen!" - for in charging up to the fiend, she was able to see deeper into the lower cave, where Queen Zarabelia hung by her wrists from manacles attached to chains dangling from the cavern's ceiling, behind a set of floor-to-ceiling bars that set off the back corner of the cave as a makeshift cell. Xandro placed the [I]Dardolian Lute[/I] over his shoulder by its strap and pulled out [I]Deathwhisper[/I], eager to put it to use against a fiend from the lower depths. But as eager as the vrock was for physical combat, it moved past the paladin - giving her a shove to get her out of its path - and moved to where it could do the most potential harm with its unholy screech. The sounds emanating from its open beak were horrific, unlike anything the heroes had ever heard before, and several of the heroes (Wakuren, Thurloe, Zander, and Pendleton, but not Alewyth, the dire wolf, or the elven paladin, who managed to overcome the effect) froze up in momentary shock, stunned into temporary immobility. The others were far enough away to be out of range. Alewyth was the first to react as the demon grinned over to see who all had been affected by its shriek, and she allowed [I]Sjondra[/I] to prove to the vulture-thing that she was unimpressed with its initial combat salvo. The dwarven warhammer crashed into the side of the vrock's avian head, to be followed by an attack by her [I]spiritual warhammer[/I] floating up from behind the demon as it caught up to its designated target. Zander and Wakuren just stood there, stunned, as the wind-wolf clamped its jaws around the demon and tried to pull it to the ground, with no success. The lantern archon moved up and shot the vrock again, as Pendleton blasted the fiend with another [I]magic missile[/I] spell. The paladin, spurred on by the sight of her Queen still alive - for there would be no reasoin to chain her by her wrists if she'd already been slain and raised as a zombie, she reasoned - stabbed her blade into the fiend's chest, as Thurloe stood, still dazed by the shriek and unable to assist with his own, larger blade. But Robin's song helped those who had been stunned to stir themselves back into combat, and Xandro managed to sneak past the vrock so he could stab his blade deep into the demon's lower back, grinning at the amount of blood his sudden strike caused to flow from the fresh wound. The vrock knew it was on its last legs and likely had only moments left to live. It could try to [I]teleport[/I] away, but to do so would open itself up to attacks by all of those in the vicinity. Instead, it tried to summon forth allies - a group of dretches, individually not very powerful but at least bringing in a great number of other targets for the heroes to fight, hopefully giving the vrock time to slink away and [I]teleport[/I] to safety - but the amount of time it took for the demon to even make telepathic contact with its potential allies was enough for it to be cut down by a number of weapons. It died, crumpling to the stone floor where it stood, for by slaying it on its home plane the creature's death was as permanent as it was irreversible. Zander and the paladin raced down the steps to the cage bars. "It looks like her," the sorcerer said, ensuring it wasn't some illusion placed to direct their efforts on a wild goose chase. Alewyth and Wakuren moved to the cage as well, confirming with their darkvision that the figure hanging by her wrists was in fact the Queen - and, better yet, that she was still breathing. "Xandro!" called the dwarven priestess. "We need you over here!" Xandro moved down the flowing stone steps, pulling out his lockpicking tools as he approached the Queen's cell. But the air element dire wolf, summoned to this dismal plane for a set amount of time and eager to get as much combat out of the deal as it could, ran up the steps past Xandro and over to the closed door over by Starblaze's lifeless corpse. As a creature from the Elemental Plane of Air, it was simplicity itself for the lupine form to collapse its body to a thin gust of wind that slipped underneath the door and remanifested to its full form on the other side, where it found itself facing a red-skinned spellcaster wearing a dark robe. He had thick, curving horms rising up from his temples and a pointed tail sticking out from the back of his robes, indicating a fiendish ancestry. This was [B]Chesselwick[/B], a tiefling cleric of Gareth and a scheming ally of Councilor Vultros Kandalwine, who, hearing the commotion outside his locked door, had taken the precautions of casting the spells [I]divine power[/I] and [I]protection from fire[/I] upon himself, in preparation for combat with the interlopers seeking to free Kandalwine's elven Queen hostage. Chesselwick did not, however, expect to be confronted by a horse-sized dire wolf made entirely of gusting winds. Before he could react, the lupine form was upon him, ripping into his flesh with its barely-visible teeth and lugging him to the floor. As he lay there prone, the lantern archon flew over to the door as well, but it didn't have the ability to flow beneath it as the wolf had done, so it hovered in place and patiently waited for somebody to open the door so it could enter. The others, however, were more concerned with Queen Zarabelia. As Xandro used his lockpicks to open the door to the cell, Thurloe decided the rest of the group had what they needed to free the Queen and went to go check out that closed door. "You will be free soon, Your Majesty," apprised the royal bodyguard, as they spilled into the cell and Alewyth helped to support the Queen, aiding her in standing so her weight wasn't all on her wrists. They could still hear the strains of Robin's song of inspirational courage; not knowing what all was going on, the bard continued on with her assigned role. Chesselwick rolled away from the dire wolf, nearly bumping into his own simple cot in the process; this was merely a hideout, not the tiefling's main abode, so it had just the bare minimum in the way of furniture. But as the wolf leaped at him to resume its attacks, the tiefling cast a [I]dismissal[/I] spell that instantly returned it to the Elemental Plane of Air. Sighing in relief, the cleric pulled himself to his feet and brushed off his robes. But his reprieve from combat wasn't to last very long, for Zander Quilson blasted open the door to the tiefling's temporary lair and allowed the lantern archon to float in and send a beam of light striking the cleric. The sorcerer followed it up with a [I]ray of enfeeblement[/I] spell of his own, which fortunately for Chesselwick went astray, striking the back wall above the tiefling's right shoulder. But then Thurloe and Wakuren came barging into the room, the spellsword making it further into the chamber by dint of his having started that way earlier. Chesselwick cast a [I]slay living[/I] spell and channeled it into Thurloe with a touch of his hand, the spell having been [I]maximized[/I] after the tiefling had spent the previous night chanting in front of the statue of his god and breathing in the fumes of a stick of [I]incense of meditation[/I]. But the attack had nowhere near the effectiveness the tiefling had hoped for: not only did it fail to slay the human outright, but the [I]maximized[/I] backup blast of energy hardly seemed to faze him; worse yet, Thurloe retaliated with a torc-enhanced swing of his bastard sword [I]Spellslicer[/I], nearly burying the width of the blade in the tiefling's side before yanking it back out again. Belatedly, Chesselwick realized he'd have been better off using his [I]flame strike[/I] spell, but he'd hoped to save that for an attack against a whole group of people at once.... Zander made the whole point moot by blasting the tiefling with a [I]cone of cold[/I] spell, careful not to catch Thurloe up in its range of effect (he was getting particularly good at that specifc skill), and the cleric died, his plans unfulfilled. Back in the cell, Pendleton and the paladin supported the Queen so Xandro could pick open the manacles around her wrists; once free, she gave a brave smile and, looking around at the faces surrounding her, asked about her second bodyguard. At that, the paladin's face fell and she said simply, "She died in your service, Majesty. Her body awaits us outside." Wakuren, too late to have participated in combat against the dark-robed cleric, gave the room a quick turnover, for he saw no other exits and it seemed this was the last room in the entire cavern complex. He discovered a magic spoon capable of producing a bland but sustaining gruel, a [I]shroud of disintegration[/I], two unused blocks of [I]incense of meditation[/I], and a small bag of oats (no doubt used to supplement the gruel). Then the two groups gathered back up and returned to the outside of the cave, where the body of the slain paladin had been placed in repose. Wakuren explained the working of [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I] and, with the Queen's permission, shunted the monarch and her retinue, as well as the other heroes besides Alewyth, inside the lamp. Then Alewyth picked up the magic lamp and unrolled the [I]scroll of plane shift[/I] she'd been given. She read the incantation inscribed therein, the words vanishing from the scroll as she read each one aloud, and when the parchment was once more blank the dwarven priestess of Aerik was gone from the plane of Abyssia, returned to the Material Plane of Erthe - where she found herself standing ankle-deep in a duck pond. The ducks were not particularly impressed with the sudden interruption. Alewyth trudged out of the water, set down [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I], and said the command word which brought her inside the extradimensional space within. After explaining they were back on Erthe but she had no idea where, Pendleton offered to [I]teleport[/I] them back to the Queen's Grove. One [I]teleport[/I] spell later, the group was once again back at the pavilion where Queen Zarabelia held court. "It has been a trying day," the Queen announced. "I know you were brought here to awaken two of my loyal subjects, but I think a night of rest would be in order for all of us, and I am sure an extra night in their dreams will cause no further harm to my two dreamers. I will have you brought to suitable accommodations, if you have no objections to spending the night and engaging in your dream-waking rituals in the morning?" The five dreamwalkers all admitted that sounded like a fine idea, and were escorted to a series of rooms high in the treetops. "I hope Scarlie won't be worried about us," Alewyth worried. "Scarlie," Thurloe assured her, "will be more than happy at the opportunity to try to drink the nearest alehouse dry." The next morning, after a refreshing night of sleep for their tired bodies (while their minds engaged in their nightly training session with Mogo, their moogle dreamwalking instructor), the heroes were brought to the first of the dream victims, an elder elven craftswoman named [B]Anelva Bitterroot[/B]. The heroes set up their ritual as usual, placing a dreamstone upon Anelva's brow before sitting around her in a circle, each dreamwalker wearing his or her own dreamstone in place with the leather headbands created for just that purpose by Thurloe's Uncle Marten. Then, with Robin standing guard over their sleeping bodies, the five dreamwalkers all went to sleep and shunted their consciousnesses over to the Dreamlands. Mogo, as usual, was in place in the Corridor of Dreams, hovering before a particular dream-door with his little bat-wings. "In you go, kupo!" he said, opening the door and ushering the heroes in with an extended kittenish paw. Thurloe was the first to enter, and he was shocked to find himself completely submerged underwater with only his last mouthful of air. Instead of wasting energy cursing the little moogle for a lack of warning, Thurloe calmed his emotions, recalled this was just a dream and there was no way he could actually drown, and used his lucid dreaming training to alter his circumstances: whereas before the heavy boots he wore and his bastard sword were dragging him down, with a little imagination and an act of will he was soon "flying" through the water as carefree as an eel. Just in case, he cast a [I]mage armor[/I] spell upon himself and looked around, trying to spot the elven woman trapped in this underwater dream. Xandro entered the dream behind Thurloe and likewise instinctively altered the dream so he could fly through the water with ease. Zander was right behind him, and he was the first to spot Anelva, a dark shape in the water just ahead, swimming without a care in the world. But then another shape approached, and it had the unmistakable form of a shark - and a rather large one at that! Anelva, seeing the approaching dire shark, spun about and started heading in the opposite direction, towards the dreamwalkers coming to save her. Alewyth and Wakuren entered the dream and took the lucid dreaming modifications to a new level: instead of merely making it as if they could fly effortlessly through the water, Alewyth reshaped herself into a dwarven mermaid; seeing that, Wakuren followed suit, merging his legs into the powerful tail of a fish. Together, they swam towards Anelva. Thurloe positioned himself between the elven woman and the approaching dire shark, and as a result he became the shark's first target. But as it approached, Thurloe brought his bastard sword out from its scabbard upon his back and fired a [I]ray of enfeeblement[/I] at the approaching shark. The ray hit and drained off some of the great aquatic beast's strength, but just how much was unknown. Xandro swam up to Anelva and pulled her to safety behind him, while Zander fired off a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell at the shark. But then the great beast was upon Thurloe, engulfing the spellsword with its massive jaws and imprisoning him inside its mouth. Alewyth was at the sharks' side with a flip of her mermaid's tail, swinging [I]Sjondra[/I] into its side, while Wakuren tried casting a [I]water walk[/I] spell upon the dire shark, hoping to force it to the top of the water, where they could all breathe easier - and maybe it would start to suffocate, with any luck. But luck was against the half-orc, for the spell failed to manifest as intended; the shark managed to shrug off the spell's effect and it fizzled away to nothingness. Anelva took the opportunity to swim farther away from the shark, while Thurloe used his [I]anklet of translocation[/I] to [I]dimension door[/I] himself [I]deeper[/I] into the shark's belly, thinking he'd have an easier time cutting his way through the fish from the inside than trying to escape through its jaws - and taking the chance of being pierced by its scores of razor-sharp teeth. Xandro, in the meantime, swam to the far side of the dire shark and stabbed it with [I]Deathwhisper[/I], slicing a long gash along its side and causing a trail of blood to come gushing out. He hoped the blood wouldn't draw any further sharks into the combat; with any luck they'd kill this one and awaken Anelva, for experience taught that the most likely way to awaken someone from a dream about being chased by a fearful creature was to slay that fearful creature in the dream. Zander cast another [I]lightning bolt[/I] at the dire shark, being careful to aim at its back half, close to the tail, hopefully so Thurloe wouldn't be affected inside its stomach. The shark, no longer feeling anyone inside its mouth, snapped its jaws at Wakuren and alleviated that problem, for the half-orc merman was now imprisoned within its impressive rows of teeth. Alewyth continued her attacks with [I]Sjondra[/I] as Wakuren summoned forth a [I]javelin of lightning[/I] into his [I]gauntlet of Cal[/I] and hurled it at the roof of the shark's mouth. But it was Thurloe's dedicated attempts at cutting his way out of the shark's belly with his bastard sword that finally slew the aquatic terror; no sooner had the spellsword wriggled back out of its interior and into the surrounding water than the water about them started fading away; Anelva, as expected, was waking from her dream. The craftswoman was very surprised to see a group of six strangers in her room, but as Alewyth explained the situation - and it was verified by a member of the Queen's elven retinue who had escorted the group to Anelva's home - she shrugged her shoulders and thanked them for their help. It would take a bit of time for the fact that she'd actually been asleep for nearly a month to sink in. The group, in the meantime, was brought to the second dreamer - a member of Queen Zarabelia's group of advisors. "I hope this one isn't a treacherous backstabber," Thurloe muttered. "I think you will find [B]Councilor Chrysos Arkaurum[/B] is one of the most trusted members of the Queen's Council," the elven page replied. "Yeah, well so was that Kandalwine creep who threw her into a Hell-Plane," remarked the spellsword. "Any word on his whereabouts?" asked Xandro. "He has not been found, but the community has been warned of his treachery, and if he is, as you say, cursed into a state of muteness, that will prevent him from casting any of his spells. We have people searching for him; he won't get very far." Chrysos Arkaurum's dream was much different from that of Anelva Bitterroot, but they were similar in that neither dream showed the dreamer at first. The five heroes entered the dreamscape to find themselves in an underground grotto, filled with phosphorescent fungus that gave off a putrid light. The whole place smelled of death and decay. "I don't like this," Alewyth admitted - she'd spent her childhood in the Underdark city of her birth and preferred her subterranean surroundings to be a bit cleaner. "Hello?" called out Zander. "Chrysos? Call out if you can hear us!" The elf's cries did not garner a response from the dreamer they sought, but there was movement from off to the right as Zander's calls echoed throughout the caverns. A pile of mushrooms and fungi lurched and rippled, rising up from the cavern floor and taking on a vaguely humanoid form - but one that towered over the five heroes, easily ten times their own size. It seemed made of equal parts sludge and compost, with decaying vegetable matter and fungus interspersed throughout its foul body. The monster had a bulging head that throbbed and pulsed as it moved, and a pair of lopsided, vertical eyes opened up from what could only in a charitable sense be described as its face. A long tail dragged behind it, looking like it might fall off at any moment. "Oh, crap," muttered Thurloe. "It's going to be one of [I]those[/I] dreams!" And sure enough, it was. They had encountered three such dreams in the past, where they fought a giant monster of some sort that towered above them and could not be defeated no matter how many times they returned to the dream after having been "slain" in the dreamscape and rudely shunted back to wakefulness. They gave it their best shot - several times, in fact - before throwing in the towel and admitting defeat. Chrysos Arkaurum would be the fourth dream victim they were unable to awaken during their first pass through, but they vowed they'd return when they had mastered a bit more of their lucid dreaming skills. Alewyth gave up another of their spare dreamstones, placing this one onto Chrysos's brow and fastening it in place with a band of cloth tied around his head. "According to the ones who have trained us in dream-waking," Alewyth said, using the term the elves had used when they'd first approached them on the road, "leaving the dreamstone in place on his forehead for a few months may aid us in waking him when we try again the next time. We're making our way across the continent, so maybe by the time we get to the Sylvanholme Forest on our travels we'll have better luck." They returned to the pavilion, where Queen Zarabelia sat with her Councilors - four of the normal six, for the seats reserved for Councilors Kandalwine and Arkaurum were vacant. The heroes approached the foot of the pavilion, standing inside the circle of stones (which, Thurloe deduced, had a permanent [I]zone of truth[/I] spell cast upon it), and gave their report to the Queen. Alewyth apologized for their failure to awaken Chrysos, but explained about the other three and how they hoped to be able to revive him in the not-too-distant future. And the elves' enhanced lifespan, she realized, worked in their favor, for what was a few extra months compared to the hundreds of years of an elven lifespan? "It is no matter," replied Queen Zarabelia, rising from her throne and walking regally down the stairs to the left, a pair of paladins flanking her. (One was a female elf the heroes had never seen before, so apparently thr slain bodyguard had been allowed to go to her final rest in the celestial realms.) "I have nothing but gratitude for your efforts, not only in awakening Anelva Bitterroot and attempting to do the same to Chrysos Arkaurum, but also in rescuing me from my kidnapping. I have asked my retinue to gather appropriate gifts for you." She nodded off to the side, and a line of elves approached, each bearing an item in his or her hands. "Alewyth Putterpie," Queen Zarabelia intoned, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token." The aide handed over a small brooch to the Queen, who in turn gave it to Alewyth. "I hope you will forgive the wordplay involved in your gift, but given your last name, I could not resist. This is a [I]butterfly brooch[/I]" - and indeed, it was a golden pin the size and shape of a butterfly, its surface covered in numerous gems - "and when activated, it will allow you to fly for a short distance, once per day. I hope you will find it useful in your adventuring career." Alewyth took the pin and affixed it to her cloak. "Thank you, Your Majesty," she said, bowing her head. "It is beautiful." Queen Zarabelia turned and took another item from the next aide in line; this was an elaborate scabbard sized for a bastard sword. "Thurloe Pulver." intoned the Queen, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token. It will enhance the keenness of any sword stored within, allowing it to strike with an extra effectiveness three times a day." Thurloe accepted the scabbard with a deep bow and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty." "Xandro Silverstrings," intoned the Queen next, taking a small box, like that sized for a ring, and facing the bard. "In grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token." Xandro took the box and opened it; inside was no ring but a small piece of carved antler in the shape of an egg. "This is the [I]dire elk pick[/I], carved from the antler of a megaloceros. When used to strum a stringed instrument, it can summon a dire elk to serve you." Xandro bowed in gratitrude and thanked the Queen. "Wakuren," the Queen intoned, with a slight pause as if unused to people only having a single name, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept this token." She handed over a left-handed glove of fine workmanship. "I see that you wield a [I]gauntlet of Cal[/I] upon your right hand; for your left hand, I hope you will find this [I]glove of storing[/I] to be useful. As long as its extradimensional space is empty, it will allow you to snatch an arrow fired at you, which you can choose to toss away or have enter the interior space within. It will hold but a single item within, but you can bring it forth into your hand with the snap of a finger." Wakuren grinned widely at his gift, then quickly closed his mouth once he realized that in doing so he had exposed his fierce-looking orcish tusks. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, bowing deeply at the waist. "Zander Quilson," the Queen called forward next, saying, "in grateful appreciation for the services you have provided the elven kingdom of the Sylvanholme Forest, please accept these tokens." An aide passed two items to the Queen, which she in turn passed over to the elven sorcerer: a metal bracelet and a dog's collar. "If you place the collar around your elven dog and wear the bracelet yourself," she explained, "you will be able to transfer vitality between the two of you as needed." Zander appreciated the thoughtfulness of his gift, for he was physically the weakest of the group of five and often relied upon one of the clerics to keep him hale and hearty during combat; this would go a long way to being able to do the same thing himslef without having to rely upon healing potions. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he replied, speaking in the Common tongue since that was the language the Queen had used, for the benefit of those who did not speak Elven. "And now, before you leave, I have a boon to ask of you," Queen Zarabelia said, dismissing the other elves around her with a nod; the two paladin bodyguards looked worried and did not like stepping away out of earshot of the Queen, but they obeyed nonetheless. "You have heard that Councilor Kandalwine sought the [I]sword of temptation[/I]," she said in a low voice, so none of her retinue could hear. "It is stored nearby, in a location known only to myself and Sharnabet of the Druidic Circle, and it is guarded by one who does not know what it is she guards. This guardian reports that someone had entered the place she guards and has yet to return; I fear it might be Coucilor Kandalwine or one in his employ. And while I cannot understand how he learned of its location, I would be greatly comforted knowing the sword is still in place and the intruder dealt with. Because of the sword's great power, I would prefer its location not be known to those of the Sylvanholme Forest; with your agreement, I would have Sharnabet take you to the place where the sword is kept without you actually knowing where that might be. Then you can enter, deal with the intruder, ensure the sword's safety, and exit the location; Sharnabet will then return you here to me. I believe your magic lamp would be a suitable means by which you could be brought there and back without knowing the sword's actual location. I will, of course, pay you for this service. What say you?" The five heroes looked among themselves, and then Zander took it upon himself, as the only elf present among their number, to answer the Queen. "It will be our honor, Your Majesty," he replied. - - - This was a longer adventure; we started about ten until noon and finished up a bit after four o'clock. I used a Hedorah the Smog Monster figurine from my Godzilla collection as the sludge monster in Chrysos's dream, and then hinted to the players that since there are five of them, there's a good chance they'll meet up with one more "undefeatable" monster before learning to power themselves up into kaiju forms in the Dreamlands, whereupon we might send an entire session using the [I]Giant Monster Rampage[/I] rules instead of the D&D ones.... The players enjoyed this one; I think the surprise of rushing off to Abyssia with such short notice got them all excited, and they absolutely [I]hate[/I] Councilor Vultros Kandalwine. I'll be sure to have them find out what happened to him in our next adventure session. - - - T-shirt worn: My black "Chaotic evil means never having to say you're sorry" T-shirt, as it fit Councilor Vultros Kandalwine and the demons of Abyssia so well. [/QUOTE]
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