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(Epic Cydra) Empires of Chaos
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4492835" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p><strong>The Calling Out</strong></p><p></p><p>Our heroes do not relax their collective guard for an instant. Though no more monsters appear immediately, the party is still alert for trouble. They examine one of the hallways that they fought in; it is devastated from the terrific forces unleashed in the combat that just took place. All of the doors out of it- and there are several- are sheathed in <em>walls of force.</em></p><p></p><p>“Interesting,” muses Baron Lillamere.</p><p></p><p>“They’re probably trying to protect something,” Alcar says.</p><p></p><p>“Or keep something <em>out,</em> maybe,” suggests Lillamere.</p><p></p><p>Alcar tries to bust through by main strength, but the <em>wall of force</em> rebuffs him. Lillamere casts <em>xorn movement</em> from a scroll, then uses his powers as an argent savant to <em>unravel</em> the <em>wall of force.</em> He pokes his head through- a large cavern, clearly shaped by the bile oozes. He steps cautiously the rest of the way through the cave.</p><p></p><p>The bile ooze lurking there sprays a terrific splash of acid over him. He screams, staggering back.</p><p></p><p>Bennng comes up through the ground beneath Lillamere. The baron doesn’t have enough time to react as the xorn’s huge maw crunches down around his waist. The force is terrific, and Lillamere is stunned as it shakes him bodily.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately for him, the ooze’s caustic spray also dissolves the door; the rest of the party immediately see the situation.</p><p></p><p>Gerontius backpedals. “You know what to do!” he calls to Inoke and Alcar.*</p><p></p><p>“I think I’ll let you handle this one,” Inoke says to the angel.</p><p></p><p>“My job, huh?” Alcar smiles and invokes a <em>miracle,</em> creating a <em>polar ray</em>, and following it up with a bevy of different quickened attack powers. Jibber Junior, unexpectedly, follows him into the breach, unleashing an <em>energy stun,</em> laughing.</p><p></p><p>“Oh hell,” sighs Inoke, and <em>expands</em> to huge size before lumbering into the fray.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>At the bottom of the multiverse, on the Negative Energy Plane, the Fortress of Conclusion strains to contain the incredible forces flowing through it, drawn to the Wand of Orcus like iron filings to a magnet. The entire plane is vibrating, ringing like a bell, in a sense. Never before have such forces been agitated to such a fever pitch. Near the borders of the plane of Water, huge slabs of crystallized salt shatter and begin disintegrating as the anti-winds silently howl, tearing down everything they touch. Elsewhere in the nowhere, a long line of powerful incorporeal undead are torn apart by the very vibrations. Anywhere that standing portals exist, the forces at work tear them to pieces as geometries shift. </p><p></p><p>Within the Fortress of Conclusion itself, the party of planar adventurers clings together, trying not to be torn apart from each other and whipped out into the blackness of the Void as the walls of the Fortress slowly begin to decay and the negative energy without begins to breach within. Zarthos falls, spinning towards the edge- only to be snatched up at the last moment like Kerthrelle. Both of them are nearly spun free from the Fortress by the tremendous forces roaring all around them.</p><p></p><p>At the center of it all, drawing those forces like a lightning rod, is the Wand of Orcus. Withering power radiates, stronger and stronger from it, causing the very air to ripple. Merely to look at it makes the heroes’ eyes tear, their vision blur. To approach it is to risk death. </p><p></p><p>“We have to get out of here!” shouts Kerthrelle.</p><p></p><p>“We can’t just leave that here!” Lady Janis shouts back.</p><p></p><p>Behind the Wand, in the raging storm of negative energy, a face seems almost to be coalescing.</p><p></p><p>Zarthos staggers forward towards the apparatus holding the Wand of Orcus in place. The tempest of power flings him away helplessly. He struggles to his feet. “I think it’s time to go,” he calls to his friends.</p><p></p><p>“Not with that in there!” Lady Janis cries again. She rushes forward with a bellow, lowering her head and putting all of her strength into it. Pushing her way through the resistance, she reaches the apparatus and swings <em>Fiendbane</em> at it with all her might, but her blade rebounds harmlessly. It sizzles and emits foul, blue-black smoke where it hit the device. </p><p></p><p>With a strangled cry, she drops her blade and thrusts her hand at the Wand of Orcus, grasping it. In the single instant she has before the Wand slays her, she rips it free and casts it down.</p><p></p><p>Lady Janis of Aris dies, her soul consumed. Yet there is no more noble sacrifice that anyone could have made, ever.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Beyond the veil of existence, the echo that is all that remains of Acererak howls silently, helplessly, as the opening that was starting to dilate at the bottom of the multiverse is abruptly severed shut.</p><p></p><p><em>So close!</em> the dark spirit rages. <em>I was so close! Only seconds more, and I would have been free again- and I would have been able to achieve my apotheosis, able to become the entire plane and all undead!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Now something terrible is happening. The Negative Energy Plane cannot remain as it was. It is moving, its orbit changing, and the few portals to it that I might reach will not go with it. Until now, I had hope that I might somehow return. Now, the plane itself may disintegrate, or change so much that I cannot even recognize it. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Now- now there is no hope for me!</em></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Inside Bile Mountain, the party spends a few moments healing wounds and tending sore spots before they continue looking for their real enemies- the Bile Lords. Since it seems logical that the areas sealed by <em>walls of force</em> hold something valuable or interesting, the party starts checking them out. A couple only hold rubble and debris, but after <em>disintegrating</em> another of the <em>walls of force</em>, the party finds a chamber that is a little bit more interesting.</p><p></p><p>Dominating the chamber are huge and disturbing paintings on each wall. They seem to depict some sort of mad, yellow-red eye at the center of a web of mystical runes and glyphs. A great deal of rubble is strewn about the chamber. Some of it appears to be the remains of large stone furnishings, such as a bed and a chair. Little blue beetles crawl over the rubble and even on the painted walls. </p><p></p><p>“Well, this is certainly interesting,” Chakar says. He motions for some of the more arcane-oriented members of the group to examine things. </p><p></p><p>After a few moments, Lillamere, Alcar and Blaze all come to a startling conclusion. Despite how locked down Bile Mountain is against such things, the runes and magic symbols in the chamber seem to involve divinations. After some deeper examination, they determine that whoever made the runes and glyphs can probably use them to divine inside the room.</p><p></p><p><em>That should be okay, though,</em> Lillamere sends across the telepathic link that the party shares. We’re all [/i]mind blanked,<em> right?</em></p><p></p><p>“Hell no,” Alcar snorts. “I want these bastards to see me coming.”</p><p></p><p>“Crap, here, I’ll cast one on you,” Lillamere offers.</p><p></p><p>“Were you not listening?” Alcar retorts. “In fact...” He turns to face one of the eyes, and glares directly at it. “YOU COWARDS!!” he hollers. “Yeah, I’m talking to YOU!! Come on out and fight us! We ain’t scared of you! In fact, I think you’re scared of us! We killed you once, we’ll do it again!! I EAT COLE SLAW, BITCHES!! Bring it on!! I’M WAITING FOR YOU!!!!” Spittle flies from his mouth as the angel rants. “We’re going to kill all of you, and your damn King of Bile, <em>and</em> your damn Queen of Guts!! SO QUIT WASTING OUR TIME AND GET DOWN HERE!!!”**</p><p></p><p>“Whoops,” says Blaze.</p><p></p><p>Alcar turns to his friends with fire in his eyes. “You probably ought to get ready.”</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Alcar’s Diplomacy!</p><p></p><p></p><p>*The bile oozes do lots of equipment-destruction and stunning, so the party used Alcar because he was immune to acid and Inoke (with <em>iron body</em> he could be immune to con damage and stunning) to destroy them back.</p><p></p><p>**In my campaign, some characters gain Wyrd over time. Wyrd reduces the severity of critical hits and fumbles on you, and you can spend a Wyrd to have fate step in and lend a hand. Well, since this was the end game, Alcar did just that. Only he turned it up to 11. In the end, this shortened the entire <em>Beyond Bile Mountain</em> adventure considerably, probably by as much as 12 sessions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4492835, member: 1210"] [b]The Calling Out[/b] Our heroes do not relax their collective guard for an instant. Though no more monsters appear immediately, the party is still alert for trouble. They examine one of the hallways that they fought in; it is devastated from the terrific forces unleashed in the combat that just took place. All of the doors out of it- and there are several- are sheathed in [i]walls of force.[/i] “Interesting,” muses Baron Lillamere. “They’re probably trying to protect something,” Alcar says. “Or keep something [i]out,[/i] maybe,” suggests Lillamere. Alcar tries to bust through by main strength, but the [i]wall of force[/i] rebuffs him. Lillamere casts [i]xorn movement[/i] from a scroll, then uses his powers as an argent savant to [i]unravel[/i] the [i]wall of force.[/i] He pokes his head through- a large cavern, clearly shaped by the bile oozes. He steps cautiously the rest of the way through the cave. The bile ooze lurking there sprays a terrific splash of acid over him. He screams, staggering back. Bennng comes up through the ground beneath Lillamere. The baron doesn’t have enough time to react as the xorn’s huge maw crunches down around his waist. The force is terrific, and Lillamere is stunned as it shakes him bodily. Fortunately for him, the ooze’s caustic spray also dissolves the door; the rest of the party immediately see the situation. Gerontius backpedals. “You know what to do!” he calls to Inoke and Alcar.* “I think I’ll let you handle this one,” Inoke says to the angel. “My job, huh?” Alcar smiles and invokes a [i]miracle,[/i] creating a [i]polar ray[/i], and following it up with a bevy of different quickened attack powers. Jibber Junior, unexpectedly, follows him into the breach, unleashing an [i]energy stun,[/i] laughing. “Oh hell,” sighs Inoke, and [i]expands[/i] to huge size before lumbering into the fray. *** At the bottom of the multiverse, on the Negative Energy Plane, the Fortress of Conclusion strains to contain the incredible forces flowing through it, drawn to the Wand of Orcus like iron filings to a magnet. The entire plane is vibrating, ringing like a bell, in a sense. Never before have such forces been agitated to such a fever pitch. Near the borders of the plane of Water, huge slabs of crystallized salt shatter and begin disintegrating as the anti-winds silently howl, tearing down everything they touch. Elsewhere in the nowhere, a long line of powerful incorporeal undead are torn apart by the very vibrations. Anywhere that standing portals exist, the forces at work tear them to pieces as geometries shift. Within the Fortress of Conclusion itself, the party of planar adventurers clings together, trying not to be torn apart from each other and whipped out into the blackness of the Void as the walls of the Fortress slowly begin to decay and the negative energy without begins to breach within. Zarthos falls, spinning towards the edge- only to be snatched up at the last moment like Kerthrelle. Both of them are nearly spun free from the Fortress by the tremendous forces roaring all around them. At the center of it all, drawing those forces like a lightning rod, is the Wand of Orcus. Withering power radiates, stronger and stronger from it, causing the very air to ripple. Merely to look at it makes the heroes’ eyes tear, their vision blur. To approach it is to risk death. “We have to get out of here!” shouts Kerthrelle. “We can’t just leave that here!” Lady Janis shouts back. Behind the Wand, in the raging storm of negative energy, a face seems almost to be coalescing. Zarthos staggers forward towards the apparatus holding the Wand of Orcus in place. The tempest of power flings him away helplessly. He struggles to his feet. “I think it’s time to go,” he calls to his friends. “Not with that in there!” Lady Janis cries again. She rushes forward with a bellow, lowering her head and putting all of her strength into it. Pushing her way through the resistance, she reaches the apparatus and swings [i]Fiendbane[/i] at it with all her might, but her blade rebounds harmlessly. It sizzles and emits foul, blue-black smoke where it hit the device. With a strangled cry, she drops her blade and thrusts her hand at the Wand of Orcus, grasping it. In the single instant she has before the Wand slays her, she rips it free and casts it down. Lady Janis of Aris dies, her soul consumed. Yet there is no more noble sacrifice that anyone could have made, ever. *** Beyond the veil of existence, the echo that is all that remains of Acererak howls silently, helplessly, as the opening that was starting to dilate at the bottom of the multiverse is abruptly severed shut. [i]So close![/i] the dark spirit rages. [i]I was so close! Only seconds more, and I would have been free again- and I would have been able to achieve my apotheosis, able to become the entire plane and all undead! Now something terrible is happening. The Negative Energy Plane cannot remain as it was. It is moving, its orbit changing, and the few portals to it that I might reach will not go with it. Until now, I had hope that I might somehow return. Now, the plane itself may disintegrate, or change so much that I cannot even recognize it. Now- now there is no hope for me![/i] *** Inside Bile Mountain, the party spends a few moments healing wounds and tending sore spots before they continue looking for their real enemies- the Bile Lords. Since it seems logical that the areas sealed by [i]walls of force[/i] hold something valuable or interesting, the party starts checking them out. A couple only hold rubble and debris, but after [i]disintegrating[/i] another of the [i]walls of force[/i], the party finds a chamber that is a little bit more interesting. Dominating the chamber are huge and disturbing paintings on each wall. They seem to depict some sort of mad, yellow-red eye at the center of a web of mystical runes and glyphs. A great deal of rubble is strewn about the chamber. Some of it appears to be the remains of large stone furnishings, such as a bed and a chair. Little blue beetles crawl over the rubble and even on the painted walls. “Well, this is certainly interesting,” Chakar says. He motions for some of the more arcane-oriented members of the group to examine things. After a few moments, Lillamere, Alcar and Blaze all come to a startling conclusion. Despite how locked down Bile Mountain is against such things, the runes and magic symbols in the chamber seem to involve divinations. After some deeper examination, they determine that whoever made the runes and glyphs can probably use them to divine inside the room. [i]That should be okay, though,[/i] Lillamere sends across the telepathic link that the party shares. We’re all [/i]mind blanked,[i] right?[/i] “Hell no,” Alcar snorts. “I want these bastards to see me coming.” “Crap, here, I’ll cast one on you,” Lillamere offers. “Were you not listening?” Alcar retorts. “In fact...” He turns to face one of the eyes, and glares directly at it. “YOU COWARDS!!” he hollers. “Yeah, I’m talking to YOU!! Come on out and fight us! We ain’t scared of you! In fact, I think you’re scared of us! We killed you once, we’ll do it again!! I EAT COLE SLAW, BITCHES!! Bring it on!! I’M WAITING FOR YOU!!!!” Spittle flies from his mouth as the angel rants. “We’re going to kill all of you, and your damn King of Bile, [i]and[/i] your damn Queen of Guts!! SO QUIT WASTING OUR TIME AND GET DOWN HERE!!!”** “Whoops,” says Blaze. Alcar turns to his friends with fire in his eyes. “You probably ought to get ready.” [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Alcar’s Diplomacy! *The bile oozes do lots of equipment-destruction and stunning, so the party used Alcar because he was immune to acid and Inoke (with [i]iron body[/i] he could be immune to con damage and stunning) to destroy them back. **In my campaign, some characters gain Wyrd over time. Wyrd reduces the severity of critical hits and fumbles on you, and you can spend a Wyrd to have fate step in and lend a hand. Well, since this was the end game, Alcar did just that. Only he turned it up to 11. In the end, this shortened the entire [i]Beyond Bile Mountain[/i] adventure considerably, probably by as much as 12 sessions. [/QUOTE]
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