Into the Icy Darkness: The Great Demon War

[Emperor Valerian]

The start of session #19

I Want a DragonScale Furniture Set!

“Well,” Shaun grumbled, looking at ripples still rolling out from where Klorphaxius had plunged to his doom, “that’s that. Ow,” he held out his arm to Grumki, who had already finished healing Lucius and Elenya. The half-orc found this to be a busy day, as soon his healing magic was exhausted from curing the party’s wounds.

“Dammit, for all that work I’d better be able to get a knife or breastplate or something made from that thing,” Siabrey growled. “How the heck are we going to go out in that deep of water to fetch it?”

“Um.. Siabrey? Massive red dragon corpse in the center of the city?” Tess rolled her eyes. “Get a dagger made there... as a matter of fact, thats where I’m headed!”

Fixed up and healed, the party tramped back into Irulas, altogether satisfied with themselves. Trekking through the damaged parts of the city, they soon came across the massive corpse of Stalatan, smithys and others working to cut away sections of dragon-scale for later making into armor and weapons.

“Hallo, good men!” Siabrey called, and with a grin she recognized one of them men laboring over the beast as one of the smithys from the forge. The man stopped, froze in position, and started to bow. “Wait wait wait,” Siabrey hauled him back up, “My friends and I are interested in what parts of this great beast are recoverable for making into weapons.”

The man, looking a little better now that the Crown Princess had grabbed him and told him not to prostrate himself, pointed all around, toward the massive stacks of scales that had been extracted.

“Well, ‘e’ve got all of d’ese ‘ere,” he said in his guttural Common accent. “The big’uns,” he pointed towards a pile of scales directly from the beasts’ neck and sides, “are best fer armor. D’ese smaller ones ‘ere are good for weapons... and ‘ese tiny ones from near its ‘ead are trinkets.”

“Trinkets, you say?” Siabrey asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked around, and saw Luke was with Grumki, a good hundred feet away, examining the massive claws of the beast. The party could faintly hear comments about Kord being impressed with teh beast’s muscular nature.

Luke and I... well... haven’t... ‘celebrated’ his return yet... and he looks far better now. What better way than before... and according to rumor, dragon’s can be aphrodisiacs... she looked at some of the trinket sized ones, and imagined one of the glistening crimson scales now in the shape of an eagle, strung on a gold chain about Luke’s neck. The perfect symbol for a noble... family crest in dragonscale... conveys taste... and more importantly, more than a little fear. she grinned. I bet many a noble would think HE killed the dragon the scale came from... and it can’t hurt to have all your potential backstabbers think you’re a dragonslayer...

“Can you have that cut in the shape of an eagle... wings outstretched?” Siabrey asked, and the man nodded.

“Why are you wasting such good scales?” Shaun asked as he finished requesting a dagger be made.

“Its a gift... for Luke.” Siabrey glanced over, and saw Elenya had wandered over by Luke and Grumki as well... the two men were prying one of the talons open, so Elenya could sit on a paw.

“You know, Siabrey.... sometimes you are annoying, but there’s many times where you have absolutely beautiful ideas,” Shaun grinned, and requested one of the smaller, darker scales be cut into the shape of a raven.

“While I’m here, I should get a shield made too,” she looked, seeing Luke holding the remains of the Sipner shield they’d acquired long ago. The dragon’s acid had burned it badly... it looked hardly useful. “Can you make a large shield, with an eagle carved into its front?”

“Yes milady, we certainly can,” the man answered.

“I want a shield with a raven carved into it,” Shaun said, not to be outdone. With a grin of challenge towards Siabrey, he then added, “I also want its eyeball.”

“The eyeball, sir?” the smithy asked, confused. Shaun nodded vigorously, and the smithy merely scratched his head.

“I don’t believe you’d find that useful, sir... unless you are a powerful necromancer. Anyways, its extraction would be difficult, for it is nearly as tall as you, good sir. Additionally, keeping it... fresh... might prove a problem,” the man winced. Siabrey groaned an, “eewww,” at his comment.

“Well, if its that way then, I’d like to get a set of plates made from some of the smaller scales... dinner plates,” she grinned. “Something far more useful than eyeballs, wouldn’t you say, Shaun?” she chuckled.

“I want some silverware... except its dragonware,” Shaun said with a grin of his own. “Plates don’t do you much good if you ain’t got forks and knives!” Tess rolled her eyes at the two, and Siabrey decided to head off the potential competition before it got out of hand.

“Point. How about we share the sets?”

“Sounds like a good idea. And also... what if we got a table, made of dragon scale? Wouldn’t that be neat? You could eat dinner on Stalatan’s back... literally!” Shaun laughed, and Siabrey’s eyes went wide at the thought.

“That... that is perfect!” she pointed. “Sir... I want enough of the large scales set aside to make two tabletops, and if you could work with some of the teeth, could you make legs?” she asked.

The smithy once again looked at them oddly, but said cautiously that it was doable. Elated, the two quietly plotted how they would surprise their loves in four weeks, when all the items were finished. Talk spread to other ideas for dragon furniture... dragonscale chairs, dragonscale coffeetables.

Tess put up with the excited talk, until Siabrey brought up the idea of having a bed whose mattress was full of dragon brains.

“It’d be bouncy!” she said excitedly.

“You may be the Crown Princess,” Tess said suddenly, cutting her off, “but you are still freaking wierd! Aren’t I right Elenya!”

“What?” the woman called, still sitting on the dragon’s front paws laughing at some joke Grumki said. When Tess pointed at Shaun and Siabrey, Elenya suddenly nodded. “Yeah! Weirdoes! Both of them!”


Satisfied with their planned acquisitions (the smithys recorded that the items would be purchased from the Imperial Treasury), the party then went back to the palace to tell Alexander the dragon had been flushed out, as well as find Pyrion and tell him they’d held up to their end of the bargain.

When they arrived, they were quickly ushered into the same throne room as the previous day, and once again, Alexander looked relieved to see them. With aplomb, he kicked out the petitioners again, and once again the party found themselves alone with the most powerful man for several thousand miles.

“Majesty... Klorphaxius is dead... his body lies at the bottom of the Inerman River,” Tess said with a slight bow.

“Good. I still don’t know how such a big brute could slip through my spynets...” the Emperor looked off for a bit, before snapped his attention back to the party. “Well, thats good news... and I’m guessing your gnome friend is happy and willing to help now?”

“We hope so, Majesty,” Siabrey said, “speaking of which... any news from the mages, Alex?”

“Um.. I don’t know... what kind of news were you hoping for?”

“Let’s see.. we need to know one, where this staff goes in the Abyss, and two, if there’s any special kind of rituals that need to be performed. Oh, and three, what the hell is down there, and how can we avoid the nastiest of those nasties?” Tess asked, counting off each item on her fingers.

“Well, I can’t help you there... and I haven’t gotten word from the Imperial Council of Mages yet either. Last I heard they’d sent someone to get information a week ago or so, and they’re still waiting.”

“Great,” Orion rolled his eyes. “Bureaucrats late as usual?”

“No,” Alexander said with a smile at the poke at the government, “they’re genuinely worried. None of the delay is procedural or anything. In the meantime, we still have a major threat in the form of the Countess.”

“But without the staff, isn’t she powerless?” If she was taken over by the staff, then she must be losing her powers as we speak... reasoned Tess.

“I only wish, dear Tess. All indications from the Thieves’ Guild in Holstean are that she is still gating in demons... albeit weaker ones at a much slower rate. However, many of her balors are gating themselves and their troops home... so for the moment, she is weakened.”

“So that’s why you’re planning to march out so quickly,” Siabrey said thoughtfully. “How down is she, in terms of troops?”

“Well, if all the balors stayed, she’d still have around 120,000 left to face our 80,000... but most of the balors have left, and those that haven’t left are in the process of leaving. Without the staff, she can’t keep demons as powerful as them in line, and without the staff leading them, they see this as a lost cause. She might have only a quarter of those forces left now.”

“So, if we just wait, till the staff is taken back, will she sit tight?” Shaun asked. “If we take the staff back, maybe we can break its curse on her.”

“Shaun,” the Emperor shook his head sadly. “Without the staff, she’s still brining in demons... she did not involuntarily take on the staff’s power... she willingly took it... even prepared for it, considering it takes years from what they tell me to know the magic to summon even measely little demons. No... she wants evil... which brings me to my problem.”

“They tell me she teleported into Irulas to steal young Lucius here,” the Emperor said gravely. “Is that true?” The party nodded their heads, and Alexander immediately gave a growl of displeasure.

“It is as I feared then... she could teleport back in... and try to retake the staff,” his voice trailed off.

“But the Temple of Pelor is heavily warded!” Siabrey pointed out.

“Considering the power she wielded only a few days ago over a Celestial when she didn’t have the staff, I don’t know if the wards on the Pelor Temple might be enough...” Tess said gloomily. “Is there anything that can be done to stop that from happening?”

“Well,” Alexander rose from the throne, and walked down among them... mostly so he could start pacing uneasily. “...there’s one thing.” He stopped his pace, and turned to face the party.

“We could kill her.”

 

[Emperor Valerian]

Assassination? And a Test

“Kill her?” Tess asked, her mind failing to wrap around the concept. All this time, we’ve been trying to get AWAY from assassins! Now, we’re supposed to become them?

“Um... Alex, I know you have high regard for our combat abilities, but... we aren’t an army,” Siabrey said quietly. “Even if she has only 30,000 left like you say... we are but... 7, if you count the drunken halfling.” The fighter then turned to look at Luke... who was staring off into the distance. She read his eyes, and all they gave off was sadness.

Poor Luke... she thought as she wrapped an arm around him. You always knew it would come to something like this... but never really gave a thought that one day your own mother would have to be killed...

“Well, I have a fermenting idea, if you would like to hear it,” the Emperor offered. After they nodded, he began.

“The army could march on Holstean as a distraction. Like I revealed earlier, I still have connections with the Holstean Thieves’ Guild, which is still operational and no friend of the Countess. Its rather odd, but desperate times make for desperate bedmates. Anyways, I can send word down for them to prepare the way for you... as the army hits the city walls, you’ll get into the palace and take her out.”

“Seems rather loigical to me, save that we can’t just go waltzing up to the front gates of hte Countess’ palace and demand entrance during the midst of a battle,” Siabrey rolled her eyes. “I’d much rather have the staff off-world... or is it off-plane? Either way, I would much rather have her still around and the staff far far away than to leave it in the city with none of us around for several weeks while we march south.”

“Well, if she could teleport here with no issues... whose to say she couldn’t just teleport into the Abyss once we take the staff there?” Shaun asked, causing Tess to give a grunt of acknowledgement.

“That’d really be bad,” Tess said thoughtfully. “Then we’d fight her, on turf she likely knows far better than us, with the staff likely trying to get into our minds to give it back to her!”

“True... but if we can get the staff down there quickly, she might not have enough time to figure out what we’re doing!” Siabrey protested. That staff has hurt so many! We need to get rid of it... NOW!

“Well, what about the wizards? They’re still trying to find locations and whatnot? Let’s see how far away they are from being able to tell us something before we start making snap decisions,” Orion offered. “If they’re close to finding locations, I’d say we’d take the staff down the the Abyss as soon as possible. If they’re not... we give Alexander’s idea consideration.”



Aeron was led into the throne room a few minutes later, several fussing mages following behind. The wizard gave a quick bow to the Emperor, and to the party, before Siabrey cut in with her question.

“So... Aeron? I understand you’ve sent someone to find some information on the staff? Where are they at? Do you expect them back soon?”

“Well,” the wizard gave a huff, before shrugging. “We don’t know. Aeliskir was sent to Sigil some time ago... he was supposed to be back two days ago, but we’ve heard no word...”

Sigil? That must be another world or whatnot... Siabrey mused, before asking another question. “Any idea how late he’s running?”

“Like I said, we haven’t recieved any word. He could arrive in the next second, the next hour, or the next week, or sometime within this year. We simply don’t know,” he said with some apprehension. “I’m worried something might have happened...”

At Aeron’s pronouncement, the entire party groaned.

“How soon is the army moving out?” Tess asked.

“Within two days,” Alexander said. “If you want to follow the assassination route, you’ve got to decide by then... otherwise we might have to leave you behind,” Alex shrugged. “I want her gone off of this world as quickly as possible.”

“Wait...” Shaun said, looking off into space as he thought, “If we decide to sneak into Holstean.. how the heck are we going to get our weapons so close to the Countess? I bet she won’t just let us walk up to her, swords raised...”

“Luke could be the bait,” Tess said aloud, causing Siabrey to clutch him a little closer, and involuntarily shake her head no.

“Tess, I don’t...” she started, before the bard cocked her head to the side in thought.

“Luke, does your mother know you were captured?” Tess said quietly.

Luke... no... no no no... Siabrey’s heart hoped, don’t do this! Please...

“I don’t think so... if she did, she has no way of knowing that I didn’t just escape...” his voice trailed off sadly.

“But what if he’s still affected by evil?” Siabrey asked. “What then? Before I let you guys drag him off like this, you want to make sure... for sure... that he isn’t susceptible to evil like before!” That’ll hold you off... thinking of a test for that!

“Maybe Luke could touch the staff,” Shaun proposed... and almost immediately found his idea shouted down.

“Instead of that,” Tess said finally, “I think we should take him close enough to it that it can get into his head, but far enough away that we can yank him back.”

“Luke... honey?” Siabrey said worriedly, “are you really ready for something like that?” Her voice wavered slightly, and she pulled him a little closer. “You really sure?” Please say you have some reservations! For your own good!

When he gave a very direct nod that he was sure, Siabrey’s face fell.



“Luke? Honey?” Siabrey cuddled next to him for the first time since he’d been taken from her, “I’m... I’m worried,” she whispered quietly. “Worried about you and that staff... if it affected your mother so much, I am dead horrified of what it could...”

“Ssshhh,” he placed a finger over her lips, and gave a wry grin. “You’ll be there to protect me... or haul my silly behind out and away from it if it does talk to me. I’m not worried,” his relaxed face said... his eyes spoke otherwise.

“Love... I am she raised herself up to look into his eyes, “I almost lost you again... those few days were sheer torture for me, Luke! If you’d been gone... I would’ve had no one...” her voice trailed off.

“Rest assured,” he gave her a bravado smile, “nothing like that is going to happen again.”

“Luke... don’t do it,” Siabrey said finally. “Please. For me?”

“Love,” he rolled over to look at her, the smile gone from his face, “If this works... and I don’t go into spasms around evil like I used to, then we have a definite way of getting into the palace... and confronting her!”

“Are you ready for that? To confront, maybe kill your own mother?” Siabrey asked, and Luke suddenly went silent. She saw his eyes were looking through her, to that same far away place he stared at when his mind got hung up on a thought.

“Not yet,” he slowly said several moments later, “but this will help me get closer to that.” The brave smile returned, and he gave her a deep kiss on the lips. Still worried, she returned the favor, and what she hoped was not their last blissful night began in earnest.


The next morning, it took some very persuasive arguments to get the High Priest at the Temple of Pelor to let the party into the room where the staff lay. As they approached the bronzed doors to what had formerly been a baptismal hall, they could see the air outside of the room shimmer from the magical energy pent up inside... the staff, and the numerous protective wards over the area.

The High Priest himself opened the room for them, and upon entering they found themselves assaulted by steam, as the large pool of holy water continued to bubble, boil and ferment. A clear line was draw in chalk on the floor, and the party noticed that while some 20 paladins in full battle armor were in the room as guards, none stood anywhere near the line.

“I shall wait outside.. in case someone’s soul needs to be reclaimed,” the High Priest said grimly, as the party filed inside. The doors were then shut, to prevent the curious public from interrupting and possibly causing more damage than the party might.

“Luke? You ready?” Tess asked, standing just inside from the door, her hands on her harp to fire a paralyzing blast if he fell. Siabrey stood right behind him, her hands tensed and readied. Luke glanced back at her, and when she gave a sad nod, he walked a step forward, and crossed the line.

”Ah... Lord Lucius!” a voice echoed in his head...

Siabrey watched as he took a step forward, and started another before seeming to stop in mid stride. For a split second she caught his eyes glazing over, before he lunged forward, leaping to jump into the pool.

Yet again the fighter thanked her reflexes, honed by years of battle, as she snagged his legs. To do so, she had to cross the line as well, and the same seductive voice entered her head as well.

”So you’ve come back, Princess,” the voice crooned. ”My call has proven tempting, hasn’t it? You know... if you grab the staff.. or if you let him take it... no one will ever hurt Lucius again... no assassins, no other nobles, and not his mother!”

No! You are a vile fiend! I will not listen to you! her mind quailed back, as she struggled to pull Luke back out of the water. He was kicking and twisting with the strength of a madman, and she was only counting progress in inches.

”And if saving your HUSBAND is not enough for you... if you are selfish..., the staff whispered, dripping sweet persuasion, ”then if you pick me up... NO ONE will ever hurt you again! Do you understand what this means!? No hiding your wings! No more being ignored by those you love! You will be protected! Your friends will be protected! By me... dear Princess! Think of it! An Empire, with no threats!”

Before her mind could even weigh the seductive offers, a powerful, wailing shriek tore through the air, piercing deep into her soul. As painful as it was for her to listen to, it was directed at the struggling Luke, who suddenly quit his flailing in the water. Siabrey’s hard tugging suddenly yanked him beyound the small chalk line, and the voices in her head receded.

“Ssshhh.... sh sh sh!” Siabrey whispered to him, as his eyes continued to look straight above, clearly afraid. He didn’t remember when Tess had paralyzed him before, and now he lay on the floor in stark, powerless terror.

“It’ll be ok, honey,” Siabrey whispered into his ear, “Tess paralyzed you for about fifteen minutes... so I could pull you away. You’ll be fine... sh...” She traced a hand around his face lovingly, a smile coming to her lips.

His eyes glazed over... just like Tess’... but his skin didn’t turn red, and his eyes didn’t turn bright white like before! He’s not vulnerable! He’s only as susceptible as a normal person! her mind jumped for joy.

“It’ll be ok hon,” she smiled at him now, “it’ll be ok! You’re fine! Here, watch... I’ll clean your nails while you wait... see?”

The others in the party regarded the fighter oddly.

“Um.. he’s paralyzed. And you’re giddy, and cleaning his nails!” Shaun said in confusion. She happily chirped what she’d noticed, and the party understood her happiness... but even Luke, when he regained movement, said that her cleaning his nails as odd.

“Love,” she kissed him deeply as they lay on the floor of the Temple, not caring who saw, “I don’t care! You’re well Luke!”

 

[skullsmurfer]

Another thrilling update! Somebody give the halfling another drink we are going to hell! Do you have any stats available for Grazzt's Hell staff? Did Lucious lose any attributes as a result of the wish making him more human? Did he lose his sorcerous potency along with the demonic twist of his chromosomes? Thanks i look forward to the next udate!

 

[K_S_Snyder]

Lucius' abilities... I was wondering the same thing. Also in that instance, is he going to be less... sturdy as well? I mean, I guess fighting skills learned are still learned, but what exactly did the demon blood impact, if anything, other than the propensity to lean toward the dark arts?

And the ... cleaning nails thing. Hrmm... that was a bit strange. :\

 

[Emperor Valerian]

Do you have any stats available for Grazzt's Hell staff?

I had only a very basic idea of what the staff could do. Whenever the staff "talked" to someone within 30 feet of it, they had to make a DC 25 Will save to avoid trying to grab it and use it.

Once someone is holding it (like if someone is taking it to the Abyss), they must make a DC25 Will save or start using it. The DC to avoid using the staff increases by 1 for every day they hold it... and for every time a power of the staff is used, the DC goes up by 5.

As for its powers... the staff alone can "gate" in from Graz'zt's three layers of the Abyss 1 balor, 1d3 mariliths, 1d6 glabrezou, 1d6 hezrou, 1d6 succubi, 1d8 bebiliths, 1d4 retrievers, 1d10 vrocks, 8d20 quasits and 15d20 dretches per day (which is how the Countess basically "gated in" such a massive army in the space of about eight weeks).

Additionally, the staff would have muted (ie, -10 DC) powers of Graz'zt himself in someone's hands. If you refer to the Book of Vile Darkness, those are quite nasty.

Did Lucious lose any attributes as a result of the wish making him more human? Did he lose his sorcerous potency along with the demonic twist of his chromosomes?

You'll have to keep reading to find out

And the ... cleaning nails thing. Hrmm... that was a bit strange. :\

Yeah, that was odd... we all looked at Siabrey's player funny for a couple minutes after that.

 

[drag n fly]

Well, what can I saw. Siabrey's wierd Hehe, actually, the reason she acted that way was because Luke was back, in once piece, and NOT EVIL. It's like waking up one day and finding that Santa Claus is real, and he brought you a puppy that never grows old or dies. She isn't used to such happiness, so as a result of her extreme happiness, she began to do something productive as a way to try to deal with it. You know, step back, clean your nails, and try to put things into perspective.

See, contrary to popular belief, everything I do with Siabrey has a REASON behind it that is carefully thought out ahead of time and planned

 

[Emperor Valerian]

See, contrary to popular belief, everything I do with Siabrey has a REASON behind it that is carefully thought out ahead of time and planned

Yeah, umhm

Next series of updates comes tomorrow night. Tonight was my roomates 21st birthday, so we celebrated... so in other words, no updates tonight.

 

[Emperor Valerian]

Recruiting a Team

“So... Luke’s not evil... but we still have a major problem,” Tess mused as the party made their way out of the Temple of Pelor. “There’s still only six of us... seven if you count Geoffrey... though I doubt he can be counted as a full person when he’s that plastered.”

“I remember getting yelled at for using that word,” Luke said musingly, as Siabrey still clung to his arm, grinning happily. The two smooched again, and Tess rolled her eyes.

“My point is,” she said with some exasperation, “we need to get some others to help out if we’re going to go in after the Countess... or drag that thing down to the Abyss. I don’t think seven will...”

“Six,” Shaun said emphatically. “Six. Elenya will not be going with.” Tess raised an eyebrow, and Siabrey giggled.

“If she was here you wouldn’t have said that,” the fighter chuckled.

“Yes I would have... and I’m going to tell her that anyway when I get the chance. Its too much of a risk, considering she’s got four to look after now,” the rogue grunted.

“Oh by the gods, Shaun,” Siabrey gasped, “are you thinking...responsibly?” The mock gasp turned into peals of laughter, which caused Tess to groan that the party wasn’t paying attention.

“Regardless,” she said louder than necessary, to get their attention, “we need to get some backup. The question is... how much? We get too much and we’ll be easy to track, not enough and we’ll be easy to kill...”

“Ten sounds nice and even,” Shaun offered. When Tess pressed as to why he offered that number he shrugged. “Ten fingers and toes?”

“How about instead we compile a list of people we’d like to ask, and split up to ask them, to save time,” Tess said pragmatically. “Now... we have Pyrion of course, Xanny and Alisandra, Hidalas, Harrapias, Quin, Aeron maybe? I mean he’s a powerful wizard,” she shrugged when Siabrey made a face. “Then... Elenya. Thats-“

“You forgot Geoffrey,” Shaun pointed out.

“I don’t count drunken halflings as full fighting bodies,” Tess groaned again.

“Well... let’s see how effective he is when he’s pissed off... I’ll go talk to him... as well as tell Elenya that she’s staying here.”

“I’ve should head by the Tarantor temple to pay my respects and give thanks... considering what happened,” Lucius said slowly. He still looked a little dazed from Tess’ magic. “I can go talk to Hidalas there... Harrapias is probably nearby... those two are close.”

“Pyrion seemed to get along with you, Siabrey... how about you talk to him?” Tess offered, and the fighter groaned.

“Why do I have to talk to the nutcases?”

“Because you are one yourself... you understand them a little better!” Shaun laughed, artfully dodging Siabrey’s swing. “You should talk to Aeron too... he seems to treat you and you alone civilly.”

“Fine,” she huffed.

“I’ll talk to my brother then,” Tess grinned. “He’s probably not up to much right now.”



Tess tapped her foot insistently, as her annoyance grew. He teeth grated, and she undiplomatically covered her ears to hide the noises of her brother and likely some courtesan engaged in very blissful fun.

Damn Quin! she groaned. Always chasing skirts when he has no business doing so! ARGH!

Finally, she banged her fist against the door repeatedly.

“Go... away!” his breathless voice called. “I’m... busy!”

“Quin! I’m giving you one minute to get clothed and come to this door, or I’m going to send in some guardsmen to DRAG you out! One second, Two...” Tess shouted.

When she reached thirty-two, the door opened a crack, and a very unhappy looking Quin poked his head out. There was a smear of lipstick from his own lips down to his jaw.

“Dammit Tess! Always getting in my business, always messing me up, tripping me up, causing me trouble...” he started to rant, until Tess held up her hand and interrupted him.

“Quin! No time for ranting! We’re going to kill the Countess... we need your blade by our side! Would you come along?” she said, trying to keep it short so she could get away from the bad mental images of what she’d likely interrupted.

“Quinnie...” a whiny female voice came from out of view. His disheveled head disappeared for a second, before returning.

“Yes. I’ll go, so long as I get my name memorialized in song so that all the ladies in the realm know I’m a hero and whatnot. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Tess, I have unfinished business!” The door unceremoniously shut in Tess’ face, and within the minute, she could hear the noises starting up again.

“Stupid brother,” she groaned.

(DM’s Note: Quin’s character, when you read his lines... imagine a combination of The Fonze and a player... combined into one. That’s Quin.... Eeeeeeyyyy! )



Siabrey didn’t find Pyrion hard to find... she just had to ask the servants where the strange gnome with an obession over demons had wandered to, and everyone pointed her towards the right direction. She found him in one of the dining halls, where he sat, admiring a large stuffed head of some unknown beast slain by a long dead Emperor.

“Hey, Pyrion? We’re off on a secret mission, and I know I’d sure like those... pistols by my side,” she struggled to remember the name of the weapons she was fascinated by.

“Bah... I’d rather check out your collection of stuffed heads... are there any demon heads on display?” the gnome asked.

We really need his expertise, if he indeed is a demon hunter... THAT’S IT! Siabrey beamed.

“We’re going to be going after the Countess of Holstean, the one who summoned this current infestation of-“

“When are you leaving!?” he’d already leapt out of his seat and was by her side. “Can I keep the heads? I would adore having the head of the woman that summoned thousands of demons mounted on my wall!”

The last comment made Siabrey wince, and wisely she felt Luke might not react to such sentiments well. Thankfully he wasn’t present.

“Um... well, if possible, I suppose,” her voice drifted off. I’ll sort it out later!

The gnome leapt up and down for joy at the news, and stated he’d be ready in no time.

Next on her list of ‘targets’ was Aeron the court wizard. He as well wasn’t hard to persuade to come with, though something he said made her ski crawl.

“Perhaps,” he had leaned up close to her, “defeating this beast might help me become the Chief Court Mage with the help of a certain someone... hmmm?”

Did he just proposition me? Or try and ask for a bribe? Siabrey’s mind swam in confusion. She sputtered out a “maybe,” before ducking out of the room to ask Luke what the correct, formal response would be...



With some trepidation, Shaun walked up to his and Elenya’s quarters in the palace.

She’s going to be so upset with me, he thought mentally. He could see her now launching into a rant about how she wasn’t going to let him waltz into danger. God she loves me so, he gave a wry grin... too bad she’s a hardhead like me...

Gingerly he opened the door, and was greeted with a surprise. Elenya was knitting... he’d never seen her knit before. When she heard the door open she turned around and gave him a brilliant smile. For the first time as well, he noticed her stomach had a slight distension.

“Hello gorgeous,” she chuckled, and held up small tunic that was nearly complete. “I decided while the rest of you were testing Luke, I’d... be productive, I guess,” she set the tunic back down. “I’m guessing by your lack of screaming and terror he passed?”

“With flying colors,” Shaun allowed himself a short grin before becoming serious again. “Elenya, I’ve got something to talk to you about.”

“Going to the Abyss?” she raised an eyebrow. “I know that tone of voice Shaun... you’re running off somewhere, and you’re going to persuade me not to go, right?”

Slightly shocked, Shaun nodded her head, and was rewarded with a weak smile from her. “Well... you were expecting a slight spat over that... well, its not happening this time,” Elenya sighed, sitting back down. “Hon...c’mere,” she tapped the bed next to her, and when Shaun had sat down, she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Shauny, I would really like to go with... I don’t feel confident that you’re safe unless I’m there,” she sighed, her own face growing sad. “But... I’ve got three little ones in me,” she turned to face him, and he could see her eyes were shaking slightly. “I... I can’t run around and zap things and get zapped like before... that dragon’s acid convinced me of that.”

“Elenya,” he pulled her close and hugged her tight, “I’d... I’d rather you come with, but you’re right, you can’t. There’s the little ones,” he rubbed her belly lovingly. “I’ll be fine,” he gave a fake grin.

“Shaun Dice,” she smiled, “you get yourself into and out of the greatest scrapes and escapades of any man alive.” She nuzzled his face, “and I have no doubt you’ll get yourself out of this one... even if I’m not there to save your behind.”

“Oh!” he pulled back in mock horror, “when have you saved my behind?” His look of shock couldn’t hold, and just before she spoke, a giggle broke through.

“Let’s see,” she grinned, and started counting. “First, at my uncle’s inn. Then, in Irulas in the governor’s mansion. Then, in the wizard’s tower, then fighting Zoe’s assassins... then finally, when you were being attacked by Ilia.” Elenya gave a triumphant grin at her memory. “So I tend to be quite useful to-” her voice was cut off as he kissed her deeply. Shaun then pulled back, and gave a laugh, this one more throaty and husky.

“Well then,” he grinned, pushing her further up the bed, “since I’ll probably be gone for a bit while we’re out doing deeds of derry doo... how about some deeds of derry doo right here for the next couple of hours?” He raised an eyebrow as he loomed over her, and she giggled.

“Mmm..” she kissed him deeply, “Derry doo... thats a new one...”



About three hours later, Shaun gently closed the door to Elenya’s room, the huge grin of afterglow written all over his face. His glowing self pride lasted only a few minutes, however, before a rough, cranky voice called out his name.

“Dammit!” Geoffrey growled, his previously merry and boyish face now dour and castled with frowns, “Where the alcohol in this joint! The damn servants won’t let me have anymore!”

“Perhaps thats for the best, Geoffrey,” Shaun said dryly, prompting an angry huff from the halfling.

“That’s definitely not for the best, not in my eyes... they won’t even let me have some wine,” he groaned.

“Thats because you whine enough by yourself,” Shaun commented sourly. “Listen. We’re going to be heading out for the next few days... please behave, ok?”

“Heading out where? Wherever the hell that is, its gotta be better than this place... I’ve never seen such an opulent place suddenly run out of spirits!”

An idea popped into Shaun’s head, and he gave a malicious grin.

“Geoffrey... what if I told you that we were on the way to kill the Countess... the one that paid the same Ilia that hurt you?” Shaun’s grin grew larger, “and what if I told you she had a massive stock of alcohol... and that no one would mind if it got drained... since she’s a traitor and all?”

“Liquor!? Where!? TAKE ME THERE, DAMMIT!” the halfling shouted with glee.

 

[Emperor Valerian]

Towards the Icy Darkness, Lit with Fire and Gore...

The party waited in vain for another day for some news from the Mages’ Council, but their attendant failed to return. On the evening of the second day, Alexander himself advised the party, minus Elenya but augmented by Pyrion, Hidalas (Harrapias had to refuse, as he held a command in Alexander’s army), Quin, Aeron, and Geoffrey. To the party’s disgruntlement, Xanadu and Alisandra were no longer in the city... the poor female silver had been so badly torn by what happened to Pellaron that Xanadu, at Alexander’s insistence, took her back towards their homelands near Obash for a few weeks.

Alexander advised them to head out a few hours ahead of the main army... undoubtedly they would travel faster, so likely by the time they reached Holstean there would be sufficient time to set up arrangements to conduct operations when the army arrived. The party spent their last few hours in Irulas hunting down equipment, and saying goodbyes.

Finally, the column of ten galloped through the army camps and out into the countryside, to face their destiny...


Two weeks later into the three week ride, nothing usual had happened. The land seemed devoid of orcs, though as they gallooped past the fields south of Illyant the stench of death from the weeks old battle burned their nostrils. As the rode by the battlefield’s edge, the bodies of half rotted orcs and gnolls appeared as only a smattering nearby, then merged into what appeared to be a solid covering several hundred yards away.

Siabrey had reined up her horse for a moment as she took in the scene... knowing full well that somewhere in that horrible field lay the broken remains of Empress Zoe. The moment of reminiscence ended only a few seconds later, as she spurred onward.

It was that night, when they were just west of Kulloden, when they first noticed the skies off to the south. For days, a glowering thunderhead had been visible, hanging low on the horizon. Now, it towered over the south, red and blue lightning arcing from its depths.

“Well, there’s Holstean,” Tess sighed as she started to lay down to rest, the lightning distantly reflecting in everyone’s eyes. Siabrey, who took first watch, gave a grunt.

“Go to sleep, Tess...” she said quietly. “Soon it’ll be all over.”

The first watch passed uneventfully, and to Siabrey’s (and Tess’, if the bard had been awake) chagrin, she saw that accompanying Shaun on 2nd watch would be none other than Geoffrey... who was by now very angry and upset that he had not tasted a sip of alcohol in two weeks.

“Take your rest Siabrey,” Shaun said, taking her spot on a log near the party’s camp. “Me and Geoffrey have things under control,” the rogue grinned.

“I’m frightened to death,” Siabrey admitted, crawling into Luke’s bedroll. For several minutes she kept an eye on the halfling, and grunted when his whinings for spirits grew too loud. Finally, she fell asleep on Luke’s shoulder...

...and almost missed the first part of the major surprise of the night.

Geoffrey, ironically, was the first one to stop something was wrong. He was in the midst of yet another rant about no good wine being around, when he walked towards the edge of the firelight of the camp to kick a nice looking rock; a good show of anger. As he approached, however, his eyes spotted something in the distance.

“Boss,” Geoffrey stopped his hissing ranting a nodded with his head, “take a look at this!”

“What?” Shaun whispered, and looked off to where the halfling motioned. There, he saw a pair of hands, both white... seeming to float in the air. Their fingers were long and spindly, and looked to end in sharp points. Between them, there was only darkness.

“Um... should we wake the others?” the halfling asked. “If I fight tonight, I expect some wine or something!”

“I’ll wake them up,” Shaun said quickly, and began rousing the party.



A few minutes later, Grumki was the one that called out the challenge to the now two pair of hands floating in air. When they failed to respond, Grumki decided it was time to fail to be respectful to them.... and promptly holy fire crashed down from above. The hands seemed to artfully dash out of the way of the flames, only being partially singed, but the flames illuminated something horrible.

The hands had arms... also long, white and bony, attached to them. Indeed, each finger on the hands ended in a long, razor sharp claw. But between each pair of hands there was no body... only a swirling, deep mist of darkness. Two more pairs of hands were illuminated in the flash, before all four pair suddenly and viciously slashed forward.

With incredible speed (DM’s Note: Flight speed of 100 feet per round) the creatures slashed directly towards Orion, Siabrey, Tess and Shaun. They lashed out, claws dancing through the air, though ironically only the normally nimble rogue was caught off guard. As one of the claws sank into his side, he felt parts of his memory, his very being sucked away (-3 Wis).

As the beast targeting Tess rushed by, Grumki swung at the creature, delivering a hard blow to its misty area. Only seconds after, chaos reigned over the camp as melee began.

The creature the assaulted Siabrey found the Crown Princess to be not only nimble and quickly, but more heavily armored than expected. Its claws danced through empty air, save one from the creature’s thumb, which slammed into her abdomen. However, her breastplate was in the way, and the claw could not break through its steel covering. Before the beast could attack again, Ik Mataar had slashed into its gullet. The creature spun to deal with this new threat before finishing off his quarry, but Kelir and Siabrey’s washazaki interceded, their flames burning the dark interior of the creature until its hands fell to the ground, burnt and still.

The creature that assaulted Tess found her difficult to strike as well. The bard merely stepped back from the creatures assaults, and as it tumbled through the air, trying to reach her, a horrific, mend bending screech came from her lips. Three massive pulses of sonic force slammed into the beast, and it too collapsed, mutiliated and useless, to the ground.

Orion was not as luck as Tess or Siabrey, and the demon to his front managed to slash his shoulder. The monk felt parts of his soul trying to rip away, but his superb mental training and ability drew his lifeforce back into him. Annoyed by the creature’s actions, Orion unleashed a powerful flurry of blows, that knocked the creature back, breaking both of the white arms and sending it sprawling to the ground, quite dead.

Grumki, seeing Shaun not in good straights, dashed over to the rogue’s side, and jointly the rose rapier and Kord’s warhammer battered the poor creature to ruin. Seeing Shaun’s eyes not looking right, Grumki proceeded to restore Shaun’s stolen memories to him.

“What the heck were those?” Luke asked, kicking the now inert white arm Siabrey’s feet. “They seemed to head straight for specific people... like they were tar-“

“Soul Eaters!” Tess, Grumki, and Hidalas all exclaimed at the same time... all realizing what the creature’s were exactly.

“Soul Eaters... that doesn’t sound good at all...” Geoffrey muttered. “I think I need double whatever spirits you were going to give me.”

“Soul Eaters,” Hidalas explained, “are beings from the Abyss, called by some demonic personage to assassinate, kill, specific people...”

“Well, isn’t that lovely,” Shaun put his hands on his hips in frustration. “Seems like Lucilda knows were coming. Dammit!” he snarled.

“Maybe not... once released, they hit their targets on their own.... they don’t need direction. She could’ve just as easily just let them go to find us,” Tess said aloud. We can at least hope this...

“We just need to be a little more careful, that’s all,” Siabrey said quietly, not sure if she wanted to go back to sleep.


The party spent the next night and next day riding carefully... cautiously... acting very very paranoid. Everyone twig snap was investigated to only find no ambush, every strange bird call assumed to be a signal. Despite this, the party failed to see the rogue hanging in a tree limb above the road that afternoon, until she dropped into their midst.

“Fools,” the woman with soot black hair and dark eyes snarled. Swords were at her throat within milliseconds, and she laughed. “Save those weapons for the Countess. Don’t kill your guide into the city... you won’t last long. If you couldn’t hear me, you probably would’ve easily missed some of the Countess’ other minions,” she hissed.

“Ah... you know us?” Siabrey asked questioningly, her sword still out.

“Yes... you are Princess Siabrey. I am Zhenya, of the Holstean Thieves’ Guild,” she gave a graceful bow that included an indication for the party to get off of the road. Slowly, they obeyed... and she promptly castigated them for not seeing or hearing her even more.

“You must be alert!” she hissed. “If you are not, there’s no way I shall be able to take you into the city!”

“Fine. Not all of us are rogues!” Siabrey complained, and causing the thief to sigh.

“Whatever. The Countess has put most of her forces on the northern walls of the city of Holstean... the walls that also have the Inerman and smaller Balinor rivers to their fronts. Therefore, I shall lead you around to the southern walls of the city. We have one of the gatekeepers in our pay... it shan’t be hard to get in there... once nside, however, you must be ALERT and QUIET,” she hissed those two words especially loud for emphasis.

“We have a series of safehouses near the gates in the city... we shall take you to one. You’ll wait there until the army’s assault has begun, and then you shall go into the sewers towards the palace. Understand?”

“Eeew,” Tess wrinkled her nose involuntarily at the idea of going through more sewers. “I suppose, if there’s no other way,” she said quietly. The rogue looked at her and laughed silently.

“I see we have a pansy here,” Zhenya chuckled.

“Don’t call her that... she’ll mess you up,” Shaun quietly warned his fellow rogue.



Two days later, the party rode to the top of the crest of a hill, and saw a sight that made both Tess and Siabrey stop.

The city of Holstean.

The crimson walls, their stone dug from the nearby Red Quarries, remained the same as when the two had left the city four months before. The same spires rose into the heaven’s from the major temples, and the luster of the red towers still shone.


However, atop all of these there was a light coating of the infamous red snow, and a massive thunderhead hung over the city, unmoving yet yielding no rain. Powerful blue and red arcs of lightning dashed from the cloud to the top towers and spires of the Countess’ palace, its pale pink and red brick now looking like an oozing wound in this city of sores. Siabrey’s memory in particular drifted back to a dinner in that building, where she had unwittingly told her future husband-to-be the facts of life as a way of embarassing him. Tess’ mind reflected back to the first time she’d forced her friend Siabrey to wear a dress... she could plainly see a large, ugly foundry was now in the stead of the foppish tailor’s shop.

Instead of the happy and merry guards that Siabrey and Tess had once greeted long before when they had rode back with a then cold and frightened Lucius in tow, they now saw far more terrifying figures. Skeletons patrolled the upper battlements, in precision formations. Orcs with fiendish horns rising from their heads marshalled on the towers, and Gnolls with bows stood watch on the walls. From this distance, small flicks of dark flying in the air above the palace in all likelihood were gigantic vrocks, winging about, waiting for their mistress’ next order...

“Luke? Love?” Siabrey whispered to the young man beside her who also sat silently, gazing at his former home. “You’re still sure you want this?” Siabrey asked.

It took him several moments to tear his gaze away from his home, and when he looked at her she could see in his eyes his memories... playing with friends on those very battlements, games... and above all, the memory of a mother who was kind... who was loving...

...who was human.

“Yes... yes, I’m ready,” he finally said. “I’ll always be ready so long as you’re by my side,” he added softly so only she could hear.

She gave a sigh. “Let’s go then... and finish this business.”

 

[Emperor Valerian]

Inside a Dark City

It took the party an additional three days travel to move down the opposite side of the river from the city to a position safe to cross. From there, they obtained some boats left by the Guild, crossed the river (here only about two hundred feet across), and came up to the compromised gate.

Once again, memories filled Tess’ and Siabrey’s heads. This was the same gate, so many months ago, that those two, an old cleric named Dingalas, and a roguish man named Rogar had rode out of to the south, in search of goblin heads and then Lord Lucius. It was the same gate that the party took the parched boy back through.

So much has changed since then... Lucius is now a man, Siabrey thought slightly wistfully, her combat reflexes too much to the fore for her to go completely into reminiscence mode.

“This is the Alba Gate,” Zhenya whispered when they were afar off. “Here, don these cloaks. This gate is still manned by a human. The Countess fears the Imperial armies to the north, her spies have gone to track it. She does not expect any army to approach from the south.” The thief gave a slight chuckle. “Then again, she dismissed us thieves as a nuisance to be dealt with later... little does she suspect...” the young woman bared stark white teeth that contrasted with her raven black hair. “Play the part of travellers who want to learn of Graz’zts power. The rest shall fall into place if you follow my lead.”

The party donned thick, drab robes, red and silver with a twisted eagle on the back... the Countess’ personal symbol. Spurring their horses onward, they approached the gate in question. A challenge arose from the only person manning the gate.

“We are friends of Her Majesty!” Zhenya called. There was a noise of cranking, and one of the windows in the gatetower opened. A wizened old man stuck his head out.

“That’ll be 10 gold!” he called, looking around anxiously.

“Let me handle this,” Orion said. Taking ten gold out of his pocket, the monk then leapt up to the window ledge, to hand the gold to the keeper in person. The old man collapsed backward in shock... Orion left the gold at his feet. Once inside the city, Zhenya gave a brief, snappish hiss of a lesson to the party on subtlety.

“We will be taking alleyways and backways! No clanking, no shouting or carousing or screaming!” she hissed. As the party continued, however, Siabrey’s and Hidalas’ armor clanked, despite their best efforts.

Unfortunately they clanked just as a battalion of guards came by, and one orc heard the noise. He came nervously down the alley. None of his comrades saw the fiery arrow that struck him down, and Zhenya quickly grabbed the body and with Shaun’s help, pushed it underneath a pile of refuse on the side of a tavern.

“Dammit!” she hissed directly at the fighter and the cleric, “no noise!”



It was another half hour or slinking through the city before the party was able to reach a rather large cottage a few blocks from the city walls. Zhenya quickly hustled the party inside, and then hustled down some stairs into the cellar.

“Wait here!” she hissed. “No noise!” As quickly as she pushed them down, she disappeared, closing the cellar door behind her. A few minutes of darkness later, the door reopened, and she came back with a few oil lamps.

“The sewers have traps in them... some of our members are currently going through and getting rid of them... we’ll have you wait here until it is safe. Here... I brought some lamps. Obviously, we need you to stay quiet... though as the windows are shuttered up now, you can wander upstairs if you like.”

“How long are we going to be down here?” Siabrey asked. Zhenya gave a shrug.

“A few hours, likely. You might want to catch some sleep... there are a few bedrolls over there if you don’t have any. We’ll fetch you when its time, and lead you to the cistern where you’ll enter the sewer.”



Inside the cellar, the minutes seemed to drag into hours. Tess nervously restrung her harp Fortuna, Orion found a quiet place to meditate, while Shaun opened the last present Elenya had given him before leaving Irulas... a locket that had her picture magically put inside of it.

Siabrey and Luke were busy holding each other, worried and concerned, Hidalas finished a short prayer to Tarantor, while Pyrion cleaned his pistols. Geoffrey, however... whined.

“Its been two weeks since I’ve had a drop of anything good,” he groaned quietly for the fifth time in ten minutes. Tess, who was forced to sit next to him, rolled her eyes. “This halfling can’t survive on water alone!” he grumbled.

“Here! Take a sip!” Tess, annoyed, pulled out her wineskin and thrust it to the halfling. “One sip though! That’s it!” Maybe it’ll shut him up for a few minutes!

The halfling eagerly grabbed the wineskin, and began to guzzle. When Tess tried to grab it from him, he dashed to the far side of the room, and finished it. Handing the empty skin back to her, he gave a hiccup... and was only tipsy.

“That there was some good good wine,” he grinned, and Tess groaned.

Meanwhile, Siabrey grew more and more interested as Pyrion continued to fawn over his weapons.

“Pyrion? How exactly do you use one of your ‘pistols?’” she asked, pulling away from Luke, who was now dozing.

“C’mere,” he grinned, happy someone was showing interest in his trade. He pulled out one of the pistols, and she watched as he pointed its open end towards the ground, and an iron ball fell out into his hand. He then pulled a small level near the bend in the pistol back, and poured a bunch of powder back into the little horn pouch it had come from.

“There, its empty, so you can’t fire it on accident,” he grin. “Here, I’ll show you. First, you’d pour the powder in... here,” he simulated pouring the powder, and then putting an iron ball in. Finally he told her to point it like a crossbow, and pull the trigger. A metallic crack came from the gun as the wheel-lock snapped its flint against the steel.

“Its that simple,” he grinned, “which is why I use these babies.”



It seemed like an eternity later (it was actually about 12 hours) when Zhenya next appeared, and told the party to come upstairs and hustle. She pulled Siabrey, Tess, and Orion aside to give them directions... which all three memorized.

“Most of the traps are cleaned, but we’ve been forced to go a little faster than planned. The army is arriving on the north end of the city, you must go quickly.” She lead the party into the backmost room in the large house... a foul smelling cistern.

“There is your entryway. Its a 15 foot drop, but the landing is soft, if foul smelling,” the rogue gave a wry grin.

“Tess? Noseplugs?” Shaun groaned, and the bard used her musical ability to fashion a few so the party would not choke on the nauseous smell. The bard then used her levitation ability to float down just above the refuse... while the rest of the party was forced to rely on a rope tied to several parts of the house walls. Within a few minutes, they were slogging through the sewers, on their way to an unscheduled palace visit.

Zhenya had told them that the route they would take might take two or three hours. After what seemed a short time underground, the party felt, rather than heard vibrations... rumbles... bangs. The noise grew in level, and as the party passed under other cistens above, the could hear the blasting sounds of bombards at work... Alexander had arrived.

About two hours into their slogging, the party spotted two shiny glints of something up ahead in their dim sunrod light. Siabrey, with her special sight, coudl tell that there were three small magical objects... seemingly floating in midair. A few steps closer revealed a shimmering sheen several feet in front of those objects... rings the party could now see. Tess gave a sigh and chuckle.

“Its a gelatinous cube... the adventurer’s annoyance,” she chuckled, pulling out her harpbow. Several volleys of arrows later, and the cube had collapsed to the ground in many pieces, and the party rushed forward to seize the three rings (Ring of Elemental Resistance, Major, Ring of Blur, and Ring of Speed). In the course of their pillaging, they didn’t notice two other figures until the two rogues were amongst them.

“Gah!” Siabrey yelled at suddenly seeing an unfamiliar face. The two rogue’s growled at the party.

“Not paying attention are you?! We jsut finished clearing the traps up ahead! You need to be more sharp-eyed if you are going to take on the Countess and her minions!” one of them snapped. Tess rolled her eyes at hearing the same lecture twice.

“And you might have taken care of the traps, but these cubes! You left this one... how many more did you leave for us to take out!” she complained.

“Oh, these?” the other rogue laughed. “We call them walking treasure chests! They’re slow, and they have neat things in them. We guessed that if you were going to take on the Countess, you could easily handle these on your own. We didn’t have enough time to deal with both!”

Siabrey groaned, and motioned for the group to trudge onward. As the noises of booms and rumbles grew louder and louder, the party surmised they were getting close and closer to the palace, which was on the northern part of the city. Finally, after a fseries of twists and turns, the party saw they faced a dead end, with light streaming in from above.

According to Zhenya, it was a fifty foot climb up. Then, the party would be in the cistern linked to the Royal Bedroom Chambers of the Countess’ Royal Palace...

==========================================

DM’s Note: Considering what the party was to shortly face, I threw in the gelatinous cube with the three rings as a way to...’give’ them some items they would find useful but they hadn’t bought. Otherwise, at the time, I was afraid for a TPK if a couple dice rolls went bad.

The actual results... well, you’ll have to wait and see for those....