Endur's Return to TOEE part 2

[Endur]

Lylamwyn examines some of the books found in Choranth's room.

• "The Boundless Blue" by Gaunt Hohn. The first chapter seems to be the most well-read:
"…The Elemental Plane of Air is an infinite vista of brilliant blue sky clearer and sweeter than any expanse of Material air. It's so pristine that a body's vision (whether standard, lowlight, or darkvision) extends twice as far as normal.
"Getting to the Boundless Blue isn't as difficult as reaching some of the other Inner Planes. With so many folk interested in travelling here, a great many routes have been established over the years.
"First off, a number of portals are known to exist between the Elemental Plane of Air and the rest of the multiverse. With the exception of those found in Sigil, these are often in remote and difficult-to-reach places. Sometimes, however, even a prime world'll have a portal to one of the cities that floats through this plane.…"

• "On Coming Forth By Day", a compilation recopied and bound by Choranth herself:
This tome has been compiled over countless generations by the priests of Death, and contains a description of the following clerical spells: animate dead, cause fear, create greater undead, create undead, death knell, death ward, destruction, slay living, and wail of the banshee.
Also found within its pages are the procedures for creating a scarab of protection and for performing a dread ritual entitled, "Embalm the Undying Servant." This involves three days of torturous removal of the internal organs and the warping of the flesh of a living creature, and results in a hideous undead guardian forever bound to the place of its creation.

• A small book, bound in plain black leather with no title. It is cool to the touch, and contains excerpts such as the following:
"…All are equal in Nerull's cold realm. Every living thing is an affront to the Reaper, and every death brings a dark spark of joy to his long-dead heart. Those who pray to Nerull to appease him only attract his attention and their own doom. Those who kill in his name shall be rewarded.…
"…The mistress Beltar commands you to mine and explore caves in pursuit of foes and riches. Fear is not acceptable in the face of adversity, and only hatred is allowed for those who stand in your way.…
"…Destroy anyone who would take what is yours away from you. Covet that which you do not own. Blessed is he who can take something from a rival. Maim those you cannot destroy, and cause fear in the hearts that you cannot maim. Bloodshed for its own sake is reason enough, and if you can shed the blood of a hated enemy, so much the better. When Erythnul's gift of blood rage comes upon you, be sure to use it well.…
"…The suffering of the world is meat and bread to Incabulos. Sickness, famine, and other curses bring him power. Some feel the Black Rider can be warded off or appeased by prayers; but this only delays the inevitable. The world of dreams is his battleground, and he wages war against minds just as he rots bodies.…
"…The best way to protect what you know is to shield it in a lie. Speech is deadlier than any weapon; the greatest and smallest fall with a well-spoken untruth. As Syrul taught in the days of old, give your word to advance your cause, and break it when it is no longer of use. Trust is for fools, and betraying a fool is the greatest gift and lesson you can give them. Honesty and straightforwardness are for the dull-witted.…
"…Light must be snuffed, perfection decayed, order dissolved, and minds fragmented."

 

[Dalamar]

Lylamwyn (Knowledge Arcana 17+17=34) thinks the floating Sphere in Choranth's room might be a Spirit Sphere

"And here I thought it was one of those thingies you hang over a baby's bed..."

 

[Manzanita]

Torn

"We have scored a great victory today against the forces of evil. Alas, there is so much more to be done. I will attempt to destroy this evil sphere, but then, I must go back and try to find the halfling. It is my fault she is lost again in this hell-hole. We must find her. Her fate will be most unkind if she is again taken by the cultists."

Torn will then take a deep breath, focus her energies around her holy symbol, and attempt to turn the sphere.

OOC: Turning check 1d20+0, as 8th lvl cleric. If successful, turn 2d6+8 (incl. improved turning feat) HD of undead or evil floating spheres :\

 

[Endur]

Torn calls upon Heironeous to destroy the Evil Sphere. After mentally opposing the Sphere for over thirty seconds, she successfully channels sufficient holy energy to affect the evil sphere.

The Spirit Sphere explodes against the ceiling. Small bones go flying into the ceiling as the mystical energy dissipitates. Those in the room see what almost looks like a Spectral Bear before the sphere fades away. In the hallway outside, the Skeletal Dire Bear falls apart and becomes a stack of bones.

(Turn check 7+2 knowledge religion= 9 fails; Turn check 6+2=8 fails; Turn check 9+2 = 11 fails; Turn check 4+2=6 fails; Turn check 3+2=5 fails; Turn check 20+2=22, level 7+ 1 improved turning +4 turn check result=12 hit dice, turn damage 7+8=15, Spirit Sphere is destroyed. Torn used six uses of her turn undead ability.)

 

[Manzanita]

Torn wipes her forehead. "Whew. That was tough." Torn takes the magical shield from the bald cultist and the magical sword with the circle on the handle. "I must go back and try to find Olive now. I'd appreciate some help, since she probably won't come to me."

OOC: Thanks for noting my knowledge(religion) there, Endur. I'd forgotten.

 

[Endur]

Craven responds to Torn that he would gladly help, but that he does not think Olive would come to him either. Olive always seemed to avoid Craven, almost as if she was afraid of him.

Toriah offers to go looking by himself. As a lone goblin wandering the caves, he is unlikely to attract attention and he might be able to search better for Olive.

 

[Thanee]

Lenya

“I will help, of course. I already tried to find her, but she probably hid too well and was too afraid to come out. She won't survive down here on her own.”

 

[Endur]

Lenya, Torn, and Toriah go searching for Olive.

Meanwhile, Craven smashes the evil bowl and trumpet with his warhammer. Then Craven recruits Raner to assist him in smashing the evil altar with his warhammer.

As Craven brings his hammer down upon the altar, Lylamwyn recalls reading texts of how Gods punish those who defile their temples. Sometimes Gods punish the infidels individually with horrible curses, other times Gods sent earthquakes or other calamities to punish everyone in the temple or even the land for miles about.

 

[Endur]

The Night Sky is Full of Stars.

The wind blows through the Tower windows, rustling the curtains and the hair of the woman who is looking out the 8th floor.

She moves away from the windows, but it is obvious that the wind blows freely through the room.

The room is richly decorated, as an audience chamber to impress its guests.

You have never seen her face before, but from the insignia about the room, her clothes, and her bearing, it is obvious who she is.

She is the reclusive Lady Jolene of Samprastadar, the wealthy Supreme Mistress of the Celestial Order of Veluna. Before Prince Thrommel disappeared twenty years ago, she was betrothed to Prince Thrommel of Furyondy and had been destined to become Queen of Furyondy, Veluna, Verbobonc, and other lands. For over twenty years, she has been the most powerful noble in Veluna, but she is bound by the dictates of the church, for the Church of Rao controls all matters of state in Veluna.

A knight in full plate armor enters the room. “My Lady, if it pleases you, the prisoner is ready to confess.”

The Lady replies, ”Nothing about this will please me, but now is as good a time as any. Send for Erdso, and then bring the prisoner.”

A few minutes later, a scribe in simple robes enters the room and kneels by the throne that dominates the chamber.

The Lady then takes her seat on the throne.

The original knight then returns to the room followed by two knights escorting a prisoner. Although the prisoner may once have been human, it is clearly a monster of some sort. Sallow, greenish-yellow skin, black finger nails, corruption and disease manifest across a body that is skin and bones.

The Lady speaks, ”Erdso, record this audience.
“Creature, you may begin your confession. Confession will save your soul from eternal damnation, lies will avail you naught.”

The creature opens it mouth to speak, you can see irregular black teeth and yellow gums. “Your majesty is most merciful. I will not speak any lies.
“I have committed sins against the Gods. I have sacrificed to evil gods and sought power over my fellows.
“I fought at the battle of Emridy Meadows twenty years ago on the wrong side. I was the first to flee from the forces of Furyondy and Veluna. The Prince pursued me, and I ambushed him. I took him prisoner. After years of torture, I murdered him. I danced upon his grave.”

”Silence! I will hear no more of your foul lies! A creature like you could never have defeated the greatest hero there ever was, whether you used guile, poison, or spell!”
“Return the creature to his cell.”

The two knights roughly remove the protesting creature from the audience chamber.

The lady addresses the remaining knight. “The creature confessed to terrible crimes. Normally we would turn such over to the Church for execution. But this creature is deluded; it could not have slain Prince Thrommel. It might be innocent of all the crimes it confessed to. So we will not turn him over to the church. Instead, it will remain a prisoner.
“Furthermore, the creature’s lies might cause alarm amongst the public. The claim that Prince Thrommel is dead, even from a discredited source, would cause political turmoil. Such a claim might even cause Prince Thrommel to be declared legally dead.
“My judgment is this: the creature will remain a prisoner. Furthermore, the creature will be prevented from repeating its lies to anyone outside this room. Erdso, you will destroy all records of this meeting or this prisoner. You are dismissed.”

 

[Endur]

Belaver tells Lenya, Toriah, and Torn that Neshi can find Olive. Neshi leads Belaver, Lenya, Toriah, and Torn past the place where the party fought the Gnolls back to the secret door to the dwarven temple. Neshi barks at the secret door leading outside Mount Stalagos from the dwaven temple. Olive has appearently fled from the Mountain. While trying to decide what to do next, the Mountain shakes violently, and the group of four goes back to the Air Temple to rejoin the others.

In the altar room, it only took a few quick seconds for Craven and Raner to shatter the Altar of the Air Temple with several powerful blows from their hammers.

Winds Howled and the Mountain Shook for twenty seconds after the altar was destroyed.

The ceiling collapsed, dropping tons of stone into the altar room. (Dmg: Lylamwyn: 39, Kerwyn: 35, Raner: 41, Craven: 40). Lylamwyn and Kerwyn are almost buried alive in the falling stone. Craven used his wand of cure light wounds in the nick of time to prevent Kerywn and Lylamwyn from bleeding to death. Even so, only Kerwyn and Lylamwyn's stout dwarven bodies kept them breathing long enough for Craven to reach them. (The party used another 29 charges from wands of cure light wounds to heal everyone fully).


After the party regroups, Lenya can no longer detect any functioning spells in the rubble-strewn altar room and Craven can no longer detect evil in the altar room. The Sword that Torn carries no longer feels lighter than normal when held aloft nor does it feel like it carries a current of electricity (it is now a normal +2 longsword).