The Journal of Galak, Cleric of Girru
I have finally found my way to Gaxmoor. Alas, I find myself arriving too late to take part in the main attack, and must content myself with what remaining takings may still occour. The cleansing of the city with holy fire must take a different course to that which I imagined.
The leaders of the attacking force are gathered in the central Palace. According to my instincts, I sought them out and spoke of my own abilities as a Cleric of Girru. I spoke first to Sigurd, asking him if he would consider taking me along with any further action that may take place in the near future. I explained to him that I had heard of his actions and wished to ally my life with his. He seems a man of destiny, and having met him and his companions my opinion that they are going to achieve great things has been confirmed.
Let me write of the actions of this day. I have seen greater treasures this day than ever before in my life! But more of that later...
Sigurd introduced me to the other members of the group - Xyzzy the Sorceror, Lilliana, Aos and another new face, a woman named Maryse Lithine that said she was a diplomat. She seems very friendly, but I wonder at her ulterior motives. Sigurd had been informed that there were several powerful points of resistance still in the city, and that we had been asked to sort them out.
The first was a building nearby. There had been reports of demons inside, and so we approached with caution. Sigurd strode forwards and opened the doors. Within seconds, a small horde of minor demons and three gnolls had attacked him!
At this point I began to appreciate how the reputation of this group had been earned. Sigurd tore into his opponents, dropping several of them with powerful blows. Xyzzy threw a fireball, killing more of them and Aos, who up until then I had discounted as a noble fop, showed incredible skill with the rapier to kill two of the gnolls. I myself summoned a fire elemental, but once it arrived I realised my error. These creatures were resistant to fire! I sent it on upstairs, where the gnolls had come from, and we pursued them.
Upstairs were more dretches and two much larger demons, one carrying a huge black sword, the other a mace with the head made of a single ruby! We engaged them in more prolonged combat, with Sigurd and another Xyzzy fireball destroying most of the dretches with ease, although Xyzzy caught both Aos and Sigurd in the blast. I attempted to dismiss one of these creatures, but it's innate resistance to magic prevented me. I focused my will and blasted it with searing light, wounding it.
But the fight belonged to Aos and Sigurd. They took one demon on each, and fought them both to a standstill. With the aid of my magical attacks, Aos dropped the first, and soon after the second was overwhelmed by our combined attacks. We took their weapons and a set of magical bracers, and Aos proved his worth yet again, finding a large chest of coins in the downstairs room.
The question of rest was raised, but we decided to press on. Reports had come in that soldiers had been sent into the old prison building, but that none had returned. We decided ourselves to follow up this lead, as we still had plenty left in us.
Again, we explored swiftly, finding nothing on the upper levels. Downstairs was the torture chamber, and the group readied itself for combat. In a small chamber off to one side, Aos killed a small viper that when dead, transformed into a hybrid snake man, which Maryse said was called a yuan-ti. We proceeded down the corridor, my shield giving light via a prayer of daylight.
As I entered the room at the end of the corridor, I was imprisoned by a net! Several figures dropped from the ceiling, and the fight began. I was quickly dragged from the room by Maryse and freed, and whilst that was happening the rest of the party dealt with our enemies. The yuan-ti attempted to turn both Sigurd and Xyzzy into rabbits (the preferred food of snakes), but Sigurd managed to resist their spells. Xyzzy was not so fortunate. However, his time as a rabbit was cut short as his cohort Lilliana managed to dispel the magic and return him to human form. His revenge was incredible.
He first blasted the monsters with a cone of cold, and hit the survivors with yet another fireball, and finally a quickened magic missile! The one remaining creature was struck down swiftly by Sigurd. Again there was some treasure to be found, and the bodies were swiftly looted.
The final area that had been brought to our attention was that of the High Priest's house, where the Demoness commander of some of the Gaxmoor forces had last been seen. Fearing to encounter her, we were concerned for our safety, but it was felt that we could easily flee the scene if we found ourselves outmatched.
Making our way into the house, we were approached by the ghost of it's owner, the High Priest! We parleyed with him, and he spoke of how he had been tricked by the Demoness into returning Gaxmoor to this plane. He desired her destruction above all else...and warned us that she was close to regaining the staff that was a part of the city and would give her great power.
Aos managed to persuade him to give us some aid in destroying her. The Priest told us of a secret area that contained a staff of life and some celestial armour. After a short discussion, it was agreed that I could wear the armour. I was amazed by the generosity of the group, but it seemed that I was the best candidate. This armour is light to the touch, incredibly strong and will allow me to fly once a day! Truly a great gift.
The other treasure was divided up and identified by Wizards on our side. We rest tonight, and tomorrow we go to kill the Demoness, deep underground in the labyrinthe of Gaxmoor...
