Session 20
Into the Ethereal (or why Balors can’t go shopping in Hillsfar)
As his companions waited anxiously, Joachim took full advantage of his transition into the Ethereal Plane. He began moving around swiftly on the tower floor moving through floors and walls alike – for no material barrier could prevent the passage of a traveler in this misty, fog-bound dimension. Though he did not see any more foes in the immediate vicinity, the Inquisitor noted two interesting routes that the party could take. The first was clearly a passage leading to another of the towers, while the second seemed to end at a wall of pure fire.
Returning to his friends, Joachim recounted his observations. “Though one of the passages I found while in the Ethereal clearly leads to another tower, there is yet another passage that seems to go nowhere. Given the general layout of this tower, this second passage doesn’t seem to lead to any visible structure.”
“Well I think it’s patently obvious that this second passage leads to Irae T’ssaren. The question is, do we go kill her first or go the other way and continue to toy with her minions?” asked Entropy.
After a brief discussion, it was decided that the remainder of the party (minus Hor’ahun, of course, who was still banished to his home plane of Limbo) would go towards the wall of fire.
Along the way to the second passage, the party entered a room filled with many macabre elements. The furniture in the room seemed to be supported by drow statues of some sort. Though they looked like disgusting sculptures at first, closer analysis revealed that they were actually undead drow serving as supports. In disgust, Noir brandished her holy symbol and channeled positive energy into the room, destroying all of the zombies in a burst of radiance.
On the wall, the companions saw their quarry for the first time. It depicted a drow woman, identified by Joachim as Kiaransalee, standing in front of an albino drow. Clearly matching the description of Irae T’ssaren, the albino seemed to have a ruby or red crystal in place of one of her eyes. Another interesting feature of the room was a text detailing the worship of Kiaransalee.
Leafing through the tome, Joachim was sure that it could be a valuable source of information, “I’m not sure if this book contains any descriptions of the Great Revenance, but it will be a valuable resource nonetheless.”
The party pressed on to the passage that Joachim had viewed from the Ethereal, complete with wall of fire at the end. While Noir and Entropy held back, Joachim flew forward on his carpet. As he approached the fire wall he began to feel the tremendous heat emanating from it. All of a sudden, without warning, a giant fist ripped through the wall, attempting to flatten the Inquisitor. Thanks to his displacer cloak, Joachim’s foe barely missed. Immediately emerging from the fire wall was the largest iron golem the party had ever seen. Shaped like a drow, it looked like it could punch holes in adamantine walls if necessary. To prevent himself from burns, Joachim dispelled the wall of fire. It was quite a fortuitous occurrence, for the wall served to heal the golem as well as damage foes.
Knowing that her spells were worthless against such a creature, Entropy stood back as Noir charged. The Paladin carved a deep gash into the golem, followed by additional strikes from Joachim. In response, the giant construct belched forth a cloud of poisonous gas. Created specifically for this golem, the gas was of exceptional potency, killing its target within seconds. Fortunately, each of the companions were protected by one of Hor’ahun’s abjurations. Forming a barrier around a person, this abjuration weakened the inertial force of blows – giving the recipient considerable protection. Because of this barrier, the gas could not immediately enter the lungs of Joachim and Noir and quickly dispersed before it could do any lasting damage.
The golem turned its wrath upon the Paladin, nearly knocking her across the room with its mighty strength. For the next several seconds the duo inflicted serious damage on the golem, but the constructed was dishing out even more pain on them. Entropy watched the battle in fascination until Noir knocked the Sorcerer out of her stupor, “You know Entropy, just because you can’t cast spells on this thing, doesn’t mean you can’t help us! A protection spell or two would be nice!”
Entropy frowned, there was no way in the Nine Hells that she was going to waltz up to that iron beast simply to help her companions. Instead she projected a quasi-real image of herself behind them using material from the Plane of Shadow. Able to channel spells through the illusion, Entropy rendered the Paladin invisible.
Apparently tired of taking damage from its two foes, the golem grabbed Noir with one hand (despite her invisibility) and began crushing her. Almost effortlessly, it fended off the Inquisitor with its free arm.
Ultimately, the party prevailed but was considerably humbled by the experience. Out of breath, Noir stared at the iron remnants of the construct, “Hopefully that’s the only one of those in this wretched tower. I would hate to run into this thing when it was being supported by other creatures.”
The party continued forward until they entered a massive cavern containing a tower which stretched up further than they could see. Her eyes attuned to the ethereal plane, Entropy noticed something else, “There appears to be a mirror image of this tower in the Ethereal Plane. My guess is that the one in front of us is probably a decoy of some sort.”
A heated conversation began as the companions decided what course to take next. Without Hor’ahun, they decided, it would be difficult for them to take on the more powerful foes they would undoubtedly face. Knowing full well that the Githzerai was banished for at least a day, they had a long time to wait before they could return. Herein lied another problem, for Irae T’ssaren surely knew of their incursion. Right now they had the element of surprise on their side but with an entire day to prepare, the albino drow would have shored up her fortifications considerably.
Ultimately, it was decided that the party scout the tower ahead of them prior to departing home to Hillsfar. Her shadow image still present, Entropy moved it around the tower but could find no obvious point of entry. Suddenly, each party member cringed as they felt an alien presence in their mind. Well-versed in Spellcraft, both Joachim and Entropy knew that someone was attempting to tamper with their minds. Although the enchantment was powerful, all three managed to resist its effects.
With a sense of urgency, Noir moved up to the tower and touched its cold, black surface. As she did a crackling bolt of negative energy appeared out of nowhere and struck her. She felt the familiar feeling of energy drain as the bolt dissipated. Immediately after this effect, a hole appeared in the tower revealing the interior. Without hesitation, the Paladin and Inquisitor strode through while Entropy’s image remained outside. To everyone’s surprise, the hole promptly sealed, splitting the party.
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Appearing before Noir and Joachim were four drow. Three of them appeared to be clerics of Kiaransalee while the fourth looked like a ghost of some sort. One of the drow stepped forward and spoke in Common, “Foolish humans, how dare you defile this sacred ground! You have been a thorn in the side of Lady Kiarasalee, but no longer! We are your doom!”
Each of the drow had obviously prepared themselves for this battle as their entire bodies seemed to be wreathed in flame. As the lead cleric finished her proclamation, Joachim began casting a spell without hesitation. A familiar column of holy fire plunged directly on top of his foes. Two of the drow were immolated from the mighty spell. Seeing that the odds had significantly evened, Noir charged the remaining two. As she did so, however, the ghostly figure caught her in the foot with a Spiked Chain and promptly pulled her off balance.
Seeing that they had gravely underestimated their foes, the remaining drow cleric pulled a scroll from her belt and read it. A wall of razor sharp blades appeared around Noir and Joachim, filling up the whole room except for the corners. Although they managed to avoid damage, the spell had effectively split the party yet again.
Outside, Entropy was attempting to gain entrance to the tower. Seeing what had befallen Noir, the Sorcerer had no desire to touch the structure. Instead she cast a powerful transmutation spell from her staff that tried to punch a hole in the wall. Though the staff was mighty, the abjuration surrounding the tower was stronger as the spell had no effect.
Back inside, Joachim finished off the final drow with another Flame Strike, while Noir engaged the ghostly drow. Although their weapons simply passed through the ghostly figure several times, they eventually prevailed as the undead disappeared, cursing them as it left.
After re-joining with Entropy (the Sorcerer teleported into the tower), the party agreed that it was time to leave and re-think their position. Using his Word of Recall, Joachim sent the entire group back to the City of Hillsfar – their base of operations.
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Joachim, Entropy, and Noir spent the next night in the Wizard’s Guild. Certain that Irae would strike at them, they wanted to spend their time in a secure location and not even a cleric as crazy as T’ssaren would dare provoke the wrath of an entire arcane Guild.
As expected, the night passed uneventfully.
Before gating Hor’ahun back from Limbo, each party member had some business to attend to. While Entropy remained in the Guild to barter for material components for her spells, the other two left. Noir entered the Temple District where she was finally able to relax among her fellow warriors in the Temple of Tempus, the god of war. Joachim made his way to the Merchant District eager to sell the numerous magic items the party had accumulated during their travels.
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Staring into her scrying device, the albino drow began to concentrate. The Great Revenance was nearly complete, she knew, but foes as powerful as these humans could seriously hamper her efforts. When Irae had learned of their entrance into the upper levels of the tower, she was certain that her minions could slay them. However, instead of hearing good news of the invaders' destruction she was angered by a seemingly endless parade of her minion’s corpses. Though it was well within her power to resurrect them, she could only bring back a choice few – and their equipment would probably be inferior as those blasted humans had “appropriated” her minion’s powerful items.
In truth, Irae was rather relieved when she learned that the party had decided to teleport out of her tower. Fools! They had a tremendous advantage and, had they reached Irae T’ssaren herself, the cleric was certain that they could have destroyed her. But fortunately they had given her the luxury of time and allowed her to better prepare herself.
Though she had never met any of them, reliable descriptions by her minions gave Irae an excellent idea of the intruders’ identities. She first tried to scry upon the arcane spellcaster in the group, this so-called Entropy. Despite Irae's efforts, she could not penetrate the powerful shield that the Alienist had erected – precisely to curtail such attempts to spy on her. Moving to another party member, Irae was pleased to see the Inquisitor praying for his spells. Watching him for a little longer, she clearly identified the handful of spells Joachim cast upon himself before exiting the Guild.
Irae turned to the massive bear-faced creature next to her, “This cleric is your target. He is currently en route to the Merchant District in Hillsfar. Give him the message and kill him if you can. Beware! He is powerful foe. If you cannot defeat him in battle, then bring destruction to the city itself so that the he will be blamed.”
Nodding, the demon teleported away.
“Yes,” Irae decided, “those fools have squandered their one and only opportunity to defeat me. If they dare return, I will be ready for them.” She blissfully thought of flailing the skin of her foes while they were still alive.
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Walking through the streets of Hillsfar, Joachim observed the daily activity of the city’s inhabitants. “Each of them goes about their daily routine, unaware of the great danger that approaches them,” he thought, “I pray to Tyr that he gives me the strength to crush this foul cult once and for all.”
Engrossed in thought, the Inquisitor didn’t immediately notice the twelve foot tall, red-skinned demon that teleported several feet in front of him. However, he could not miss the screams of the terrified city-folk as they ran in all directions to escape.
“Human! I have been sent by Irae T’ssaren. She is mildly impressed by your accomplishments so she requests that you cease your foolish attack before she is forced to slay you! However, if you were to show me a sign of your obeisance, I might not kill you right away . . .”
Seeing the Balor before him, the Inquisitor’s faith momentarily wavered as he realized that he would not have the help of his companions to combat this powerful foe. However, he knew he could only give one response, “Prepare to return to the Abyss, fiend!”
As he drew his sword, the Balor dispelled the few abjurations that Joachim had cast upon himself that day. In response, the Inquisitor tried to stun the demon with a blast of divine energy. This potent spell would have had the desired effect on the demon if Irae had not increased its power significantly with an array of her spells. As it stood, the Balor laughed off the attempt and, with a word, sent an evil shockwave in all directions. Though the Inquisitor was merely dazed by the effect, many innocent citizens were slain outright as the powerful spell extinguished their souls.
Joachim looked upon the scene in horror. Though he could probably battle the demon for a long time, he could not afford to risk the lives and property of the citizens of Hillsfar. Hoping to end this affair quickly, the Inquisitor released a wave of holy energy at the Balor. This time the demon could not resist as it was forced to return to its home plane.
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Though he had managed to quell the threat quickly, Joachim still had significant political fallout to face. Not only had the Balor slain many innocents, but its very presence sent a wave of panic throughout the city – aggravating the already tense situation caused by the impeding war to the south. The Inquisitor was summoned by Hythal, the local head of the Tyrite clergy in Hillsfar as well as by Gropdar the Shaper, the monarch of the city-state.
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Rejoined by Hor’ahun, whom Joachim gated back from Limbo, the Inquisitor explained his actions to the group. Knowing the good intentions of the cleric, the party realized that he had done an admirable job, but they too understood the political reality. They had to work fast to quell public unrest and discontent lest they be banished from the city they called home.
“I have received summons from both Hythal and Lord Gropdar,” Joachim lamented. “I can take care of Hythal, he is my superior only by virtue of his position in this city. However, I would greatly appreciate if you could accompany me to Lord Gropdar and speak on my behalf.”
Entropy listened to the conversation with a morbid fascination. What fools the party spent their lives defending! One Balor appears in the marketplace and they are ready to hang their saviors!
Though the Alienist despised the rigid orthodoxy of Tyr, she certainly felt sorry for her friend. She understood the depth of Joachim’s self-control – if she had been in his position, half the city would probably either be dead or wandering through the Gray Waste of Hades.
However, today the Sorcerer was able to acquire a material component, a jade circlet, for the most powerful spell she had learned to date. The pinnacle of transmutation magic, this spell allowed the caster to change into any being in the multiverse short of the gods themselves.
Yes, Entropy decided, she would vindicate Joachim’s actions and teach the Tyrites a lesson they would never forget!
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The Inquisitor’s conversation with Justice Hythal, head of the Hillsfar clergy, went as expected.
“High Inquisitor, I readily recognize your many noble deeds, however you cannot bring the very spawn of the Abyss into our city,” Hythal ranted.
“I told you, I didn’t bring it in! It was sent to destroy me by a powerful foe. And I can assure you that the safety of the populace was foremost in my mind,” countered the Inquisitor.
“If you plan on bringing any more of these ‘visitors’ to Hillsfar, then perhaps . . .”
The Justice stopped in mid-sentence as a loud commotion was heard outside the room. Almost immediately, an acolyte opened the office door without even knocking. In a church known for its rigid and orthodox tenets, such a breach of protocol was not tolerated. But before he could reprimand the junior cleric, the young man addressed Hythal, “Milord, p-p-pardon the interruption. Someone is h-h-ere to see you . . .”
Behind the acolyte came a commanding voice, “Move out of the way fool! I have a message to deliver to Hythal from the lord of justice himself!”
The cleric scampered off as an angelic figure burst into the room. Bearing beautiful white wings, this elven like creature bore a gleaming silver trumpet. Both clerics readily recognized the figure as a Trumpet Archon – a celestial messenger and herald.
Dropping to one knee, Hythal bowed before the creature, “My apologies for any inconvenience my lord. Please enlighten me with the wisdom of Tyr.” The Justice cast a baleful glance at Joachim who had not assumed a similar position of humility.
Joachim had seen such celestials before. Once, several years ago, Tyr had sent a Trumpet Archon to inform the Inquisitor that he had erred in slaying a good Storm Giant. The Archon promised great punishment if the cleric did not atone immediately. That was certainly a defining moment in Joachim’s life and the image of the magnificent archon was forever burned in his memory. But something seemed most odd about this one . . .
Ignoring the Inquisitor, the Trumpet Archon addressed the kneeling Justice, “Fool! How dare you denigrate the noble Joachim Dethick! He has selflessly served Tyr for years, performing great deeds and spreading justice in ways that acolytes only dream of!”
Flabbergasted at being so rebuked, Hythal tried to respond, “B-b-but my Lord, I wasn’t . . .”
“SILENCE!! When a messenger comes from your god, you had best listen! Tyr’s judgment is final and irrevocable. The god of justice demands that you show proper respect to the High Inquisitor. Tomorrow you will announce the creation of a new holiday to honor him. Am I making myself clear? If Joachim’s name is not heralded throughout the streets of Hillsfar by sundown tomorrow, I will bring Tyr’s wrath down upon you!”
Barely maintaining his composure, Hythal managed to stammer out an affirmation.
Shaking his head, Joachim finally realized who this “Archon” must be. He realized however, that the ruse had gone too far and he had best play along. Curtly bowing to the archon, Joachim spoke a few sentences in Celestial.
For a moment, a look of confusion appeared on the Trumpet Archon’s face, but he quickly nodded and left.
Rising to his feet the Justice apologized to Joachim profusely, “I am most sorry High Inquisitor. I did not mean to deny your many accomplishments. I stand rebuked before the lord of justice and will do as the archon instructed. Tyr must hold you in very high esteem to send an archon to protect your reputation. I have only one question though . . .”
Trying to prevent himself from breaking out into laughter, Joachim managed to contain himself, “Oh? And what is that?”
“Don’t Trumpet Archons usually blow their horn prior to delivering their message?”
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Exiting the Temple, the “Archon” rendered himself invisible and skulked off into an alleyway. Here, Entropy returned to her original form. She was satisfied that Joachim’s pristine reputation would be preserved and she had even helped him out in the process.
“This is too much fun,” the Alienist thought, “I can literally turn into anything. The spell certainly has a long duration, perhaps I can mess around a little more.” Still invisible, nobody noticed the sorcerer’s shape morph into a 12-foot tall, red-skinned monstrosity. The “balor” flew off.
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Ruvic had closed down his magic shop, as did everyone else in the district. The sight of that demonspawn had sent the entire city into a state of panic as all citizens rushed to return to their homes and barricade themselves in. In fact, Ruvic was reinforcing his door when he heard a knock.
“Idiot!! Don't you know that a demon is running through the streets? Get to safety before he kills you,” Ruvic yelled at his potential customer.
When the knocking continued, Ruvic opened his peephole to repeat his warning. He nearly fainted from shock however, when he saw the very creature he had described! Red-skinned and massively clawed, the thing could probably rip down his door with one swipe.
“Ah . . . excuse me my good sir. Before I returned to the Abyss I was hoping to procure a magic item or two. You see such shops are rather rare in the 54th layer and I understand you have a reputation as a fair an honest businessman,” the thing calmly spoke in Common.
The shock was too much for Ruvic, he tried to flee but instead crashed to the floor as he fainted in shock.
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As Entropy left the magic shop, she flew invisibly above the city of Hillsfar thinking of what mischief she could come up with next. While thinking of her accomplishment in the Temple of Tyr, it struck her! Why not use this spell to get her own affairs in order?
Changing forms again, Entropy’s wings expanded greatly as did her fangs, which began to drip vile, green poison. To the untrained eye, her appearance had become even more gruesome. In reality, she had changed into one of the greatest denizens of the Nine Hells . . . the dreaded Pit Fiend.
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With the aid of her powerful wings, the Pit Fiend quickly flew away from Hillsfar. Within minutes, she approached three towers that were under construction. The Fiend looked upon her structures with pride – work was proceeding nicely but it could always go faster.
Entropy the Pit Fiend spotted a group of workers, obviously taking a lunch break, and landed among them. Screams of horror and shock reverberated through the camp as the workers nearly ran over each other trying to escape.
After some time, a dark elf approached in the distance – it was Entropy’s loyal cohort and leader of the project, Eclavdra.
Instantly recognizing the awesome power of the Fiend, she spoke in a respectful tone, “To what do we owe the . . . honor . . . of this visit?”
“I have been called by the powerful Sorcerer Entropy, the Blessed of the Moonsea, and I am now her servant. I take it that you are Eclavdra?”
“That I am,” Eclavdra had no reason to trust this creature, especially considering the near death she had suffered from her organization’s many enemies. She reached out to Entropy telepathically. The Sorcerer has seen it fit to cast a domination spell upon her cohort allowing them to maintain telepathic communication. “Mistress, an outsider of great power at our camp claims to have been sent by you, is this true?”
Hearing the message in her mind, the Fiend responded, “Why yes Eclavdra. Make sure you treat the dear with respect, he has a bad habit of tearing off limbs when he is upset.”
Convinced of the veracity of the Pit Fiend’s claim Eclavdra regarded it carefully, “How may I serve you?”
“Bring me the head foreman of this construction project.”
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Kaspar nearly had to be dragged to meet the Pit Fiend. Eclavdra briefly considered knocking him unconscious, but she knew that would defeat the purpose of the meeting. After significant coaxing and threats, she finally convinced the foreman to approach the Fiend.
Kaspar was in a state of shock when he finally met the 12 foot monstrosity, “Mi – mi – mi – milord, how c-c-c-c-an . . .”
The Fiend quickly cut him off, “You may dispense with the pleasantries human, I am here to put your project back on schedule.”
Feeling a sense of impending doom, Kaspar attempted to convince the Fiend that the project was, indeed, scheduled to be completed on time.
However, the devil was not impressed, “Mistress Entropy does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.”
Finally dredging up some courage, Kaspar responded, “I assure you mi-mi-milord, my m-m-men are working as hard as the c-c-c-an.”
The Pit Fiend smiled and, as it did so, potent venom dripped from its fangs, “Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them. This project must be completed in three tendays, so commands the Blessed!”
The foreman was finally shocked to his senses, “But that’s not possible!”
“Then perhaps you can tell the Mistress when she arrives!”
“M-m-m-mistress Entropy is coming here?”
“That is correct human, and she is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress.”
Fearing for his life, Kaspar just wanted to get away from this Fiend as quickly as possible, “Then we s-s-s-hall redouble our efforts!”
Unfolding its massive wings, the Fiend began to ascend, “I hope so, for your sake fool. The Blessed is not as forgiving as I am.”
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As she left the utterly shocked foreman, Entropy nearly squealed with delight. After all the years of adventuring, she forgotten how fun life could really be.
<addendum>
This session of SH is dedicated to George Lucas.
Into the Ethereal (or why Balors can’t go shopping in Hillsfar)
As his companions waited anxiously, Joachim took full advantage of his transition into the Ethereal Plane. He began moving around swiftly on the tower floor moving through floors and walls alike – for no material barrier could prevent the passage of a traveler in this misty, fog-bound dimension. Though he did not see any more foes in the immediate vicinity, the Inquisitor noted two interesting routes that the party could take. The first was clearly a passage leading to another of the towers, while the second seemed to end at a wall of pure fire.
Returning to his friends, Joachim recounted his observations. “Though one of the passages I found while in the Ethereal clearly leads to another tower, there is yet another passage that seems to go nowhere. Given the general layout of this tower, this second passage doesn’t seem to lead to any visible structure.”
“Well I think it’s patently obvious that this second passage leads to Irae T’ssaren. The question is, do we go kill her first or go the other way and continue to toy with her minions?” asked Entropy.
After a brief discussion, it was decided that the remainder of the party (minus Hor’ahun, of course, who was still banished to his home plane of Limbo) would go towards the wall of fire.
Along the way to the second passage, the party entered a room filled with many macabre elements. The furniture in the room seemed to be supported by drow statues of some sort. Though they looked like disgusting sculptures at first, closer analysis revealed that they were actually undead drow serving as supports. In disgust, Noir brandished her holy symbol and channeled positive energy into the room, destroying all of the zombies in a burst of radiance.
On the wall, the companions saw their quarry for the first time. It depicted a drow woman, identified by Joachim as Kiaransalee, standing in front of an albino drow. Clearly matching the description of Irae T’ssaren, the albino seemed to have a ruby or red crystal in place of one of her eyes. Another interesting feature of the room was a text detailing the worship of Kiaransalee.
Leafing through the tome, Joachim was sure that it could be a valuable source of information, “I’m not sure if this book contains any descriptions of the Great Revenance, but it will be a valuable resource nonetheless.”
The party pressed on to the passage that Joachim had viewed from the Ethereal, complete with wall of fire at the end. While Noir and Entropy held back, Joachim flew forward on his carpet. As he approached the fire wall he began to feel the tremendous heat emanating from it. All of a sudden, without warning, a giant fist ripped through the wall, attempting to flatten the Inquisitor. Thanks to his displacer cloak, Joachim’s foe barely missed. Immediately emerging from the fire wall was the largest iron golem the party had ever seen. Shaped like a drow, it looked like it could punch holes in adamantine walls if necessary. To prevent himself from burns, Joachim dispelled the wall of fire. It was quite a fortuitous occurrence, for the wall served to heal the golem as well as damage foes.
Knowing that her spells were worthless against such a creature, Entropy stood back as Noir charged. The Paladin carved a deep gash into the golem, followed by additional strikes from Joachim. In response, the giant construct belched forth a cloud of poisonous gas. Created specifically for this golem, the gas was of exceptional potency, killing its target within seconds. Fortunately, each of the companions were protected by one of Hor’ahun’s abjurations. Forming a barrier around a person, this abjuration weakened the inertial force of blows – giving the recipient considerable protection. Because of this barrier, the gas could not immediately enter the lungs of Joachim and Noir and quickly dispersed before it could do any lasting damage.
The golem turned its wrath upon the Paladin, nearly knocking her across the room with its mighty strength. For the next several seconds the duo inflicted serious damage on the golem, but the constructed was dishing out even more pain on them. Entropy watched the battle in fascination until Noir knocked the Sorcerer out of her stupor, “You know Entropy, just because you can’t cast spells on this thing, doesn’t mean you can’t help us! A protection spell or two would be nice!”
Entropy frowned, there was no way in the Nine Hells that she was going to waltz up to that iron beast simply to help her companions. Instead she projected a quasi-real image of herself behind them using material from the Plane of Shadow. Able to channel spells through the illusion, Entropy rendered the Paladin invisible.
Apparently tired of taking damage from its two foes, the golem grabbed Noir with one hand (despite her invisibility) and began crushing her. Almost effortlessly, it fended off the Inquisitor with its free arm.
Ultimately, the party prevailed but was considerably humbled by the experience. Out of breath, Noir stared at the iron remnants of the construct, “Hopefully that’s the only one of those in this wretched tower. I would hate to run into this thing when it was being supported by other creatures.”
The party continued forward until they entered a massive cavern containing a tower which stretched up further than they could see. Her eyes attuned to the ethereal plane, Entropy noticed something else, “There appears to be a mirror image of this tower in the Ethereal Plane. My guess is that the one in front of us is probably a decoy of some sort.”
A heated conversation began as the companions decided what course to take next. Without Hor’ahun, they decided, it would be difficult for them to take on the more powerful foes they would undoubtedly face. Knowing full well that the Githzerai was banished for at least a day, they had a long time to wait before they could return. Herein lied another problem, for Irae T’ssaren surely knew of their incursion. Right now they had the element of surprise on their side but with an entire day to prepare, the albino drow would have shored up her fortifications considerably.
Ultimately, it was decided that the party scout the tower ahead of them prior to departing home to Hillsfar. Her shadow image still present, Entropy moved it around the tower but could find no obvious point of entry. Suddenly, each party member cringed as they felt an alien presence in their mind. Well-versed in Spellcraft, both Joachim and Entropy knew that someone was attempting to tamper with their minds. Although the enchantment was powerful, all three managed to resist its effects.
With a sense of urgency, Noir moved up to the tower and touched its cold, black surface. As she did a crackling bolt of negative energy appeared out of nowhere and struck her. She felt the familiar feeling of energy drain as the bolt dissipated. Immediately after this effect, a hole appeared in the tower revealing the interior. Without hesitation, the Paladin and Inquisitor strode through while Entropy’s image remained outside. To everyone’s surprise, the hole promptly sealed, splitting the party.
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Appearing before Noir and Joachim were four drow. Three of them appeared to be clerics of Kiaransalee while the fourth looked like a ghost of some sort. One of the drow stepped forward and spoke in Common, “Foolish humans, how dare you defile this sacred ground! You have been a thorn in the side of Lady Kiarasalee, but no longer! We are your doom!”
Each of the drow had obviously prepared themselves for this battle as their entire bodies seemed to be wreathed in flame. As the lead cleric finished her proclamation, Joachim began casting a spell without hesitation. A familiar column of holy fire plunged directly on top of his foes. Two of the drow were immolated from the mighty spell. Seeing that the odds had significantly evened, Noir charged the remaining two. As she did so, however, the ghostly figure caught her in the foot with a Spiked Chain and promptly pulled her off balance.
Seeing that they had gravely underestimated their foes, the remaining drow cleric pulled a scroll from her belt and read it. A wall of razor sharp blades appeared around Noir and Joachim, filling up the whole room except for the corners. Although they managed to avoid damage, the spell had effectively split the party yet again.
Outside, Entropy was attempting to gain entrance to the tower. Seeing what had befallen Noir, the Sorcerer had no desire to touch the structure. Instead she cast a powerful transmutation spell from her staff that tried to punch a hole in the wall. Though the staff was mighty, the abjuration surrounding the tower was stronger as the spell had no effect.
Back inside, Joachim finished off the final drow with another Flame Strike, while Noir engaged the ghostly drow. Although their weapons simply passed through the ghostly figure several times, they eventually prevailed as the undead disappeared, cursing them as it left.
After re-joining with Entropy (the Sorcerer teleported into the tower), the party agreed that it was time to leave and re-think their position. Using his Word of Recall, Joachim sent the entire group back to the City of Hillsfar – their base of operations.
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Joachim, Entropy, and Noir spent the next night in the Wizard’s Guild. Certain that Irae would strike at them, they wanted to spend their time in a secure location and not even a cleric as crazy as T’ssaren would dare provoke the wrath of an entire arcane Guild.
As expected, the night passed uneventfully.
Before gating Hor’ahun back from Limbo, each party member had some business to attend to. While Entropy remained in the Guild to barter for material components for her spells, the other two left. Noir entered the Temple District where she was finally able to relax among her fellow warriors in the Temple of Tempus, the god of war. Joachim made his way to the Merchant District eager to sell the numerous magic items the party had accumulated during their travels.
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Staring into her scrying device, the albino drow began to concentrate. The Great Revenance was nearly complete, she knew, but foes as powerful as these humans could seriously hamper her efforts. When Irae had learned of their entrance into the upper levels of the tower, she was certain that her minions could slay them. However, instead of hearing good news of the invaders' destruction she was angered by a seemingly endless parade of her minion’s corpses. Though it was well within her power to resurrect them, she could only bring back a choice few – and their equipment would probably be inferior as those blasted humans had “appropriated” her minion’s powerful items.
In truth, Irae was rather relieved when she learned that the party had decided to teleport out of her tower. Fools! They had a tremendous advantage and, had they reached Irae T’ssaren herself, the cleric was certain that they could have destroyed her. But fortunately they had given her the luxury of time and allowed her to better prepare herself.
Though she had never met any of them, reliable descriptions by her minions gave Irae an excellent idea of the intruders’ identities. She first tried to scry upon the arcane spellcaster in the group, this so-called Entropy. Despite Irae's efforts, she could not penetrate the powerful shield that the Alienist had erected – precisely to curtail such attempts to spy on her. Moving to another party member, Irae was pleased to see the Inquisitor praying for his spells. Watching him for a little longer, she clearly identified the handful of spells Joachim cast upon himself before exiting the Guild.
Irae turned to the massive bear-faced creature next to her, “This cleric is your target. He is currently en route to the Merchant District in Hillsfar. Give him the message and kill him if you can. Beware! He is powerful foe. If you cannot defeat him in battle, then bring destruction to the city itself so that the he will be blamed.”
Nodding, the demon teleported away.
“Yes,” Irae decided, “those fools have squandered their one and only opportunity to defeat me. If they dare return, I will be ready for them.” She blissfully thought of flailing the skin of her foes while they were still alive.
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Walking through the streets of Hillsfar, Joachim observed the daily activity of the city’s inhabitants. “Each of them goes about their daily routine, unaware of the great danger that approaches them,” he thought, “I pray to Tyr that he gives me the strength to crush this foul cult once and for all.”
Engrossed in thought, the Inquisitor didn’t immediately notice the twelve foot tall, red-skinned demon that teleported several feet in front of him. However, he could not miss the screams of the terrified city-folk as they ran in all directions to escape.
“Human! I have been sent by Irae T’ssaren. She is mildly impressed by your accomplishments so she requests that you cease your foolish attack before she is forced to slay you! However, if you were to show me a sign of your obeisance, I might not kill you right away . . .”
Seeing the Balor before him, the Inquisitor’s faith momentarily wavered as he realized that he would not have the help of his companions to combat this powerful foe. However, he knew he could only give one response, “Prepare to return to the Abyss, fiend!”
As he drew his sword, the Balor dispelled the few abjurations that Joachim had cast upon himself that day. In response, the Inquisitor tried to stun the demon with a blast of divine energy. This potent spell would have had the desired effect on the demon if Irae had not increased its power significantly with an array of her spells. As it stood, the Balor laughed off the attempt and, with a word, sent an evil shockwave in all directions. Though the Inquisitor was merely dazed by the effect, many innocent citizens were slain outright as the powerful spell extinguished their souls.
Joachim looked upon the scene in horror. Though he could probably battle the demon for a long time, he could not afford to risk the lives and property of the citizens of Hillsfar. Hoping to end this affair quickly, the Inquisitor released a wave of holy energy at the Balor. This time the demon could not resist as it was forced to return to its home plane.
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Though he had managed to quell the threat quickly, Joachim still had significant political fallout to face. Not only had the Balor slain many innocents, but its very presence sent a wave of panic throughout the city – aggravating the already tense situation caused by the impeding war to the south. The Inquisitor was summoned by Hythal, the local head of the Tyrite clergy in Hillsfar as well as by Gropdar the Shaper, the monarch of the city-state.
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Rejoined by Hor’ahun, whom Joachim gated back from Limbo, the Inquisitor explained his actions to the group. Knowing the good intentions of the cleric, the party realized that he had done an admirable job, but they too understood the political reality. They had to work fast to quell public unrest and discontent lest they be banished from the city they called home.
“I have received summons from both Hythal and Lord Gropdar,” Joachim lamented. “I can take care of Hythal, he is my superior only by virtue of his position in this city. However, I would greatly appreciate if you could accompany me to Lord Gropdar and speak on my behalf.”
Entropy listened to the conversation with a morbid fascination. What fools the party spent their lives defending! One Balor appears in the marketplace and they are ready to hang their saviors!
Though the Alienist despised the rigid orthodoxy of Tyr, she certainly felt sorry for her friend. She understood the depth of Joachim’s self-control – if she had been in his position, half the city would probably either be dead or wandering through the Gray Waste of Hades.
However, today the Sorcerer was able to acquire a material component, a jade circlet, for the most powerful spell she had learned to date. The pinnacle of transmutation magic, this spell allowed the caster to change into any being in the multiverse short of the gods themselves.
Yes, Entropy decided, she would vindicate Joachim’s actions and teach the Tyrites a lesson they would never forget!
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The Inquisitor’s conversation with Justice Hythal, head of the Hillsfar clergy, went as expected.
“High Inquisitor, I readily recognize your many noble deeds, however you cannot bring the very spawn of the Abyss into our city,” Hythal ranted.
“I told you, I didn’t bring it in! It was sent to destroy me by a powerful foe. And I can assure you that the safety of the populace was foremost in my mind,” countered the Inquisitor.
“If you plan on bringing any more of these ‘visitors’ to Hillsfar, then perhaps . . .”
The Justice stopped in mid-sentence as a loud commotion was heard outside the room. Almost immediately, an acolyte opened the office door without even knocking. In a church known for its rigid and orthodox tenets, such a breach of protocol was not tolerated. But before he could reprimand the junior cleric, the young man addressed Hythal, “Milord, p-p-pardon the interruption. Someone is h-h-ere to see you . . .”
Behind the acolyte came a commanding voice, “Move out of the way fool! I have a message to deliver to Hythal from the lord of justice himself!”
The cleric scampered off as an angelic figure burst into the room. Bearing beautiful white wings, this elven like creature bore a gleaming silver trumpet. Both clerics readily recognized the figure as a Trumpet Archon – a celestial messenger and herald.
Dropping to one knee, Hythal bowed before the creature, “My apologies for any inconvenience my lord. Please enlighten me with the wisdom of Tyr.” The Justice cast a baleful glance at Joachim who had not assumed a similar position of humility.
Joachim had seen such celestials before. Once, several years ago, Tyr had sent a Trumpet Archon to inform the Inquisitor that he had erred in slaying a good Storm Giant. The Archon promised great punishment if the cleric did not atone immediately. That was certainly a defining moment in Joachim’s life and the image of the magnificent archon was forever burned in his memory. But something seemed most odd about this one . . .
Ignoring the Inquisitor, the Trumpet Archon addressed the kneeling Justice, “Fool! How dare you denigrate the noble Joachim Dethick! He has selflessly served Tyr for years, performing great deeds and spreading justice in ways that acolytes only dream of!”
Flabbergasted at being so rebuked, Hythal tried to respond, “B-b-but my Lord, I wasn’t . . .”
“SILENCE!! When a messenger comes from your god, you had best listen! Tyr’s judgment is final and irrevocable. The god of justice demands that you show proper respect to the High Inquisitor. Tomorrow you will announce the creation of a new holiday to honor him. Am I making myself clear? If Joachim’s name is not heralded throughout the streets of Hillsfar by sundown tomorrow, I will bring Tyr’s wrath down upon you!”
Barely maintaining his composure, Hythal managed to stammer out an affirmation.
Shaking his head, Joachim finally realized who this “Archon” must be. He realized however, that the ruse had gone too far and he had best play along. Curtly bowing to the archon, Joachim spoke a few sentences in Celestial.
For a moment, a look of confusion appeared on the Trumpet Archon’s face, but he quickly nodded and left.
Rising to his feet the Justice apologized to Joachim profusely, “I am most sorry High Inquisitor. I did not mean to deny your many accomplishments. I stand rebuked before the lord of justice and will do as the archon instructed. Tyr must hold you in very high esteem to send an archon to protect your reputation. I have only one question though . . .”
Trying to prevent himself from breaking out into laughter, Joachim managed to contain himself, “Oh? And what is that?”
“Don’t Trumpet Archons usually blow their horn prior to delivering their message?”
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Exiting the Temple, the “Archon” rendered himself invisible and skulked off into an alleyway. Here, Entropy returned to her original form. She was satisfied that Joachim’s pristine reputation would be preserved and she had even helped him out in the process.
“This is too much fun,” the Alienist thought, “I can literally turn into anything. The spell certainly has a long duration, perhaps I can mess around a little more.” Still invisible, nobody noticed the sorcerer’s shape morph into a 12-foot tall, red-skinned monstrosity. The “balor” flew off.
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Ruvic had closed down his magic shop, as did everyone else in the district. The sight of that demonspawn had sent the entire city into a state of panic as all citizens rushed to return to their homes and barricade themselves in. In fact, Ruvic was reinforcing his door when he heard a knock.
“Idiot!! Don't you know that a demon is running through the streets? Get to safety before he kills you,” Ruvic yelled at his potential customer.
When the knocking continued, Ruvic opened his peephole to repeat his warning. He nearly fainted from shock however, when he saw the very creature he had described! Red-skinned and massively clawed, the thing could probably rip down his door with one swipe.
“Ah . . . excuse me my good sir. Before I returned to the Abyss I was hoping to procure a magic item or two. You see such shops are rather rare in the 54th layer and I understand you have a reputation as a fair an honest businessman,” the thing calmly spoke in Common.
The shock was too much for Ruvic, he tried to flee but instead crashed to the floor as he fainted in shock.
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As Entropy left the magic shop, she flew invisibly above the city of Hillsfar thinking of what mischief she could come up with next. While thinking of her accomplishment in the Temple of Tyr, it struck her! Why not use this spell to get her own affairs in order?
Changing forms again, Entropy’s wings expanded greatly as did her fangs, which began to drip vile, green poison. To the untrained eye, her appearance had become even more gruesome. In reality, she had changed into one of the greatest denizens of the Nine Hells . . . the dreaded Pit Fiend.
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With the aid of her powerful wings, the Pit Fiend quickly flew away from Hillsfar. Within minutes, she approached three towers that were under construction. The Fiend looked upon her structures with pride – work was proceeding nicely but it could always go faster.
Entropy the Pit Fiend spotted a group of workers, obviously taking a lunch break, and landed among them. Screams of horror and shock reverberated through the camp as the workers nearly ran over each other trying to escape.
After some time, a dark elf approached in the distance – it was Entropy’s loyal cohort and leader of the project, Eclavdra.
Instantly recognizing the awesome power of the Fiend, she spoke in a respectful tone, “To what do we owe the . . . honor . . . of this visit?”
“I have been called by the powerful Sorcerer Entropy, the Blessed of the Moonsea, and I am now her servant. I take it that you are Eclavdra?”
“That I am,” Eclavdra had no reason to trust this creature, especially considering the near death she had suffered from her organization’s many enemies. She reached out to Entropy telepathically. The Sorcerer has seen it fit to cast a domination spell upon her cohort allowing them to maintain telepathic communication. “Mistress, an outsider of great power at our camp claims to have been sent by you, is this true?”
Hearing the message in her mind, the Fiend responded, “Why yes Eclavdra. Make sure you treat the dear with respect, he has a bad habit of tearing off limbs when he is upset.”
Convinced of the veracity of the Pit Fiend’s claim Eclavdra regarded it carefully, “How may I serve you?”
“Bring me the head foreman of this construction project.”
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Kaspar nearly had to be dragged to meet the Pit Fiend. Eclavdra briefly considered knocking him unconscious, but she knew that would defeat the purpose of the meeting. After significant coaxing and threats, she finally convinced the foreman to approach the Fiend.
Kaspar was in a state of shock when he finally met the 12 foot monstrosity, “Mi – mi – mi – milord, how c-c-c-c-an . . .”
The Fiend quickly cut him off, “You may dispense with the pleasantries human, I am here to put your project back on schedule.”
Feeling a sense of impending doom, Kaspar attempted to convince the Fiend that the project was, indeed, scheduled to be completed on time.
However, the devil was not impressed, “Mistress Entropy does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.”
Finally dredging up some courage, Kaspar responded, “I assure you mi-mi-milord, my m-m-men are working as hard as the c-c-c-an.”
The Pit Fiend smiled and, as it did so, potent venom dripped from its fangs, “Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them. This project must be completed in three tendays, so commands the Blessed!”
The foreman was finally shocked to his senses, “But that’s not possible!”
“Then perhaps you can tell the Mistress when she arrives!”
“M-m-m-mistress Entropy is coming here?”
“That is correct human, and she is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress.”
Fearing for his life, Kaspar just wanted to get away from this Fiend as quickly as possible, “Then we s-s-s-hall redouble our efforts!”
Unfolding its massive wings, the Fiend began to ascend, “I hope so, for your sake fool. The Blessed is not as forgiving as I am.”
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As she left the utterly shocked foreman, Entropy nearly squealed with delight. After all the years of adventuring, she forgotten how fun life could really be.
<addendum>
This session of SH is dedicated to George Lucas.
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