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Menexenus's Age of Worms Campaign Journal
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<blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 3403511" data-attributes="member: 8951"><p><strong>Session 23: No Rest for the Weary</strong></p><p></p><p><em>6th of Richfest</em>. The party had holed up in the doppelgangers' octagonal room to rest and prepare spells for their final assault on the doppelganger lair. Thorash did all the healing he could at dusk of the previous day, including reviving Alexander. The party decided to wait until dawn, so that Alexander, Alees, and Killick would all have spell power before venturing out again. After the party memorized at dawn, they left the octagonal room and investigated their surroundings. First they looked through the charred remains of the map room. They found a secret door open on the south side of the room, but everything in the room had been charred and burned by the fireball. After spending a bit of time looking, no useful information was found to be recoverable.</p><p></p><p> Next the party traversed the (now empty) maze of mirrors and found a door at the end leading into a large chamber. Along one wall was a large, complicated-looking apparatus made mostly of glass tubes. Many of the tubes had been broken, and there was a great deal of glass on the floor. The tubes looked like they used to be connected to a strange-looking metal helmet and that the helmet would be placed on the head of someone who might have been strapped down onto the metal table. Thorash cast Detect Magic on the apparatus and found that it glowed faintly with Transmutation and Divination magic. He also discovered a receptacle that seemed to be a focus of the machine where a small object about the size of a large gem might be placed.</p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Killick noticed 2 booted foot prints that seemed to be traversing the room leaving small shards of glass along the floor. Alees moved to the far side of the room to investigate a stage-like area containing a throne on the far wall resting on a dais. As Alees moved to ascend the 3 short stairs that lead up to the throne area, a 10x10 pit trap opened under her feet. However, due to her roguish reflexes, she was able to jump away at the last second and avoid damage. She looked down into the pit and saw spikes 40 feet down at the bottom. Alees and Killick decided to forego use of the stairs and climb up onto the stage in the middle. They made their way to the throne. Killick found more footprints around the throne. Alees found a small button beneath the right arm of the throne. When she pushed it, it opened a secret door to the left of the throne.</p><p> </p><p> The door opened into a nicely appointed sleeping chamber. Alees searched the room thoroughly. She found that the desk was empty of anything valuable or informative. The generally disheveled condition of the room forced her to conclude that the room had been recently ransacked. She found a closet full of nice clothing. She checked all the pockets of the outfits and discovered that someone else had already done the same job. She kept all the clothes that she thought might be valuable. Alexander picked out all the items of clothing that he thought he could eventually make magic items out of. Alees thought she could sell the rest for about 500 gp. There were two other noteworthy items in the room - a large rug and a large gilded full-length mirror. The rug seemed to change patterns as Alees watched. Alees cast Detect Magic on the whole room and found that the rug and the mirror were magical. The rug radiated Illusion magic and the mirror radiated Divination magic. Alees tossed the clothes and the rug into one of the party's magical Haversacks. When she tried to move the mirror, though, she found that it was very heavy - about 250 pounds. She reluctantly concluded that they might have to leave it behind.</p><p></p><p> Despite the general lack of valuable information in the room, Alees's efforts were not for nothing. As she leaned over to move the mirror, she noticed a piece of paper that seemed to have been accidentally left behind lying under the bed. It read: "I have a task for you, Telakin. Meet me at the sewer junction beneath the Cold Forge and I will give you the details. There are some troublesome small minds that must be removed."</p><p></p><p> At this point, Alexander - who had not been feeling well all day - doubled over in pain. His complexion suddenly looked very greenish. Killick performed a healing check on Alexander and noticed something tiny writhing under his skin. Killick realized that he had also been feeling a little under the weather and wondered if he might be suffering from the same ailment. He checked himself out and found the same little writhing things under his skin. He sliced his arm open to find out what it was and pulled a small green worm out of his flesh. It writhed around between his fingers for a few moments, then went limp, and then liquefied. Killick recognized the green worms as the same ones the party had seen in the glass jar that Smenk had given them and the same ones that the Spawn of Kyuss had been dripping with in the basement of Blackwall Keep. Killick surmised that both he and Alexander had become infected somehow, although he couldn't think of how this might have happened. Using his skills with the healing arts, Killick concluded that both he and Alexander had only days to live unless this affliction was cured somehow. He also suspected that, if the affliction were allowed to run its course, both he and Alexander would turn into Spawn of Kyuss after their deaths. Killick's examination also convinced him that their condition was not communicable until they died and became undead.</p><p></p><p> Alexander insisted that the party leave and find help immediately. Although Alexander wanted to leave the party behind, he was reminded that his flying ability was needed to safely traverse the Sodden Hold. So he waited to ferry each party member from the well to the front room of the Sodden Hold. Then he grabbed Killick and flew him directly to Eligos's house. Alees headed for her church to ask for assistance. Thorash said he would do the same. Tarric and Katawan decided to follow Alees. After about an hour, Alees made her way through winding streets of the city to the temple of Fharlangn. She was greeted as a member of the faith, but when she described her party-members' ailment, the clerics of the temple seemed to be at a loss as to how they might help. They recommended quarantining the two until the disease had run its course. They also offered that their rates for casting higher level curative spells were very competitive and that Alees was eligible for a small discount if she chose to bring her friends back to the church for spellcasting.</p><p></p><p> Alees, Tarric, and Katawan headed back to the Crooked House (the inn where they had been staying). As soon as they walked in the door, Tarquin the gnome proprietor informed them that Eligos wished to speak with them immediately. Although craving a warm, soft bed, the half-party continued on to Eligos's house in the Garden District. They were quickly admitted through the front door by Pollard, Eligos's elven man-servant, and escorted to a sitting room where Eligos sat at the head of the table. Thorash, Alexander, and Killick were also seated along the table, and a young lady with short blonde hair wearing a leather explorer's outfit was slouching against the chair across from Eligos with her booted feet propped up on the table. This young woman turned to look at the incoming adventureres, sat up, and said, "Looks like the gang's all here. Let's get started." Eligos welcomed the newcomers and gestured for them to take a seat.</p><p></p><p> As she was moving towards her chair, Alees glanced back at Alexander. She noticed something strange - something different about him. Alexander didn't look ill any more, but it was more than just that. Finally, she realized what it was. As she sat down, she said, "Alexander, you've got your ear back!" Alexander had been missing his right ear ever since his encounter with the Brown Mold in the Whispering Cairn, but now it had apparently grown back.</p><p></p><p> Alexander responded with a gesture toward the far end of the table where the young lady was sitting, "Yes, Celeste has been very helpful. Not only did she restore my ear, but she also restored my health. Killick and I are free of Kyuss's disease, thanks to her." Celeste accepted the gratitude implicit in Alexander's statement with a quick nod.</p><p></p><p> Now that everyone was seated, Eligos brought the assembly quickly to business. He explained that, although they do not work for the same people, Celeste was a trusted colleague of his who he found was often working towards the same goals. At times like these, he continued, they found it convenient to share information and work together. Eligos said that through his investigations of the cult of Kyuss, he had found mention of an unholy document known as the Apostolic Scrolls. These scrolls were used by the faithful of Kyuss to summon what was known as an "Apostle of Kyuss". This "apostle" would be a giant worm whose usual abilities would be to swallow people whole, digest them in its stomach acid, and belch them forth as animated skeletons. However, when summoned by a cleric of Kyuss using the Apostolic Scrolls, the worm would become even more powerful than usual. Instead of belching forth skeletons, it would be able to belch forth much more dangerous Spawn of Kyuss. Eligos's research told him that Apostles of Kyuss were usually summoned as part of larger rites that might accomplish even greater evil than just the presence of the worm itself. His divinations had revealed that there is a copy of the Apostolic Scrolls in town and that it was currently in use under the Greyhawk Arena (where the Champions' Games were currently taking place). Eligos believed that whatever the Apostle of Kyuss was being summoned for would likely take place the next day during the final day of the Champions' Games, and he begged the party to do what it could to prevent the summoning/release of the Apostle.</p><p></p><p> Celeste said that she had been hired to investigate the disappearance of the daughter of a wealthy merchant which took place several months ago. Killick asked if the missing daughter might be Ilya Starmane, the haughty elf girl that the party released from the Sodden Hold, but it turned out that the girl in question was a human girl named Lahaka. Celeste said that, before her disappearance, Lahaka had been seen in the company of a man named Loris Raknian. Raknian is a man in his 40s who had once been a gladiator who fought in the Arena. He had been a very popular gladiator who earned a great deal of wealth during his career. So when he retired about 20 years ago, he had enough wealth to purchase the rights to run the Arena from Greyhawk's Ruling Oligarchy. It was at this time that Raknian introduced the Champions' Games, as a way to generate interest and bring in larger crowds. For the past 20 years, the Oligarchy had been quite pleased with the increased revenue that Raknian's games had brought to the city. Consequently, Raknian enjoyed a great deal of political protection in Greyhawk, making it difficult to confront him directly. The Directors seemed willing to turn a blind eye to his more nefarious dealings, such as the occasional disappearances of his much younger love-interests. Celeste confided that Raknian is foul character - a hulking brute with a violent temper. She said that her investigations had uncovered that Raknian had been dabbling in the black arts for some time. Apparently, he had a burning desire to somehow return to the glory of his youth as a powerful gladiator, and he seemed willing to make deals with any power willing to restore his youth and physical prowess.</p><p> </p><p> Celeste said she learned that Raknian was receiving a very important shipment a couple months ago, but at the time she didn't know what it was. After consulting with Eligos, she now believed that Raknian was tied up with the cult of Kyuss and that the special shipment that had been received in the dead of night under heavy guard was in fact the copy of the Apostolic Scrolls. Earlier this week, she had snuck into the catacombs under the Arena. She went down some stairs to a sub-level and spotted an unusual undead dripping with green worms. She quickly retreated and, not having seen such an undead before, she came to confer with Eligos. Apparently, Eligos had just met with the party and was in the process of researching the green worm they had brought him. That had been the lynchpin that had finally tied everything together.</p><p></p><p> Eligos emphasized again that his divinations told him that the release of the Apostle of Kyuss would happen tomorrow during the finale of the Champions' Games when the crowds jammed into the Arena would be at their largest. Eligos pleaded with the party again to take up the challenge of preventing whatever Raknian and the cult of Kyuss had planned. Most of the party seemed willing, but Alees asked Eligos what was in it for her. Eligos seemed displeased with this question, but he responded that if the Apostle of Kyuss was released, there may not be a Greyhawk any more. So if she wished to continue to have a large city full of pockets to pick and merchants willing to buy looted swag, she had better fight to protect it. With Alees's concerns silenced, the party officially accepted the mission.</p><p></p><p> Celeste said she was willing to join the party and help them, but she emphasized that she was more of the sneaky type than the stand-up fighter type. She said she would prefer to turn invisible and aid the party behind the scenes with her powerful magic. </p><p> </p><p> She gave the party 2 choices. They could try to infiltrate the Arena's sublevels during the games themselves (when the sublevels would be least guarded) either using teleportation magic or using illusions to sneak their way in. The other alternative was trying to get into the sub-levels via the sewers. Celeste confided that one couldn't be a successful sneaky type in Greyhawk without having good contacts with people in the Sewerworkers Guild. She said that she was convinced that they could get into the Arena's substructure through a ghoul/ghast warren that had recently been discovered but not cleared out yet by the Sewerworkers. The first option might be tricky logistically and left the group with very little time to accomplish their mission. The second option gave the group more time, but would force the group to face unnecessary challenges on the way to their real mission. The party opted for the second option.</p><p></p><p> Since Celeste did not plan to do much fighting, she offered the party the use of her weapon. She opened the palm of her gloved hand, and a heavy mace suddenly appeared. She told the party that it could do extra damage against evil-doers and, on a lucky hit, it could turn undead creatures to dust. Eligos also ponied up some items that he was willing to loan the party. He took off a belt and handed it to Tarric, saying that wearing the belt would make him stronger. He took off a ring and handed it to Alexander saying that the ring would increase his spell casting ability. He pulled a pearl out of his pocket and said that it would allow anyone to re-cast a mid-level spell. Alexander took it. Eligos then unlocked a chest and pulled out a rod. He said that this single-use item would negate any magical effect automatically. He said that the item was very expensive, so he requested that the party not use it unless absolutely necessary. But he said one never knew when such an item might make a big difference. Finally, he pledged to try to procure a wand of healing on the black market over night.</p><p></p><p> <em>7th of Richfest</em>. In the morning, Eligos handed the party a Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds with 38 charges. He said it was the best he could do on short notice. The party elected to give the wand to Celeste who could use it invisibly to aid the party. The party made its way down into the sewers, and with Celeste's guidance, quickly found the undead lair. It turned out that the lair was filled with ghasts, not ghouls. 4 of the 6 party members were sickened by the ghasts' foul stench. However, Thorash was able to command many of them to attack their comrades, making the combat much simpler. Killick had the honor of dropping the ghast leader, while Alees had fun using Celeste's mace to disintegrate the first ghast she struck. The party found a pile of ancient bones that the ghasts seemed to be using for sustenance.</p><p></p><p> The party continued on rather than waiting for the sickness to wear off. After some tight twists and turns, the party came to a larger natural cavern with a large open pipe on the far wall draining sewage into a pool on the floor. Around the pipe drain hung large masses of yellow goo. Suddenly, the goo began moving toward the party!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Menexenus, post: 3403511, member: 8951"] [b]Session 23: No Rest for the Weary[/b] [I]6th of Richfest[/I]. The party had holed up in the doppelgangers' octagonal room to rest and prepare spells for their final assault on the doppelganger lair. Thorash did all the healing he could at dusk of the previous day, including reviving Alexander. The party decided to wait until dawn, so that Alexander, Alees, and Killick would all have spell power before venturing out again. After the party memorized at dawn, they left the octagonal room and investigated their surroundings. First they looked through the charred remains of the map room. They found a secret door open on the south side of the room, but everything in the room had been charred and burned by the fireball. After spending a bit of time looking, no useful information was found to be recoverable. Next the party traversed the (now empty) maze of mirrors and found a door at the end leading into a large chamber. Along one wall was a large, complicated-looking apparatus made mostly of glass tubes. Many of the tubes had been broken, and there was a great deal of glass on the floor. The tubes looked like they used to be connected to a strange-looking metal helmet and that the helmet would be placed on the head of someone who might have been strapped down onto the metal table. Thorash cast Detect Magic on the apparatus and found that it glowed faintly with Transmutation and Divination magic. He also discovered a receptacle that seemed to be a focus of the machine where a small object about the size of a large gem might be placed. Meanwhile, Killick noticed 2 booted foot prints that seemed to be traversing the room leaving small shards of glass along the floor. Alees moved to the far side of the room to investigate a stage-like area containing a throne on the far wall resting on a dais. As Alees moved to ascend the 3 short stairs that lead up to the throne area, a 10x10 pit trap opened under her feet. However, due to her roguish reflexes, she was able to jump away at the last second and avoid damage. She looked down into the pit and saw spikes 40 feet down at the bottom. Alees and Killick decided to forego use of the stairs and climb up onto the stage in the middle. They made their way to the throne. Killick found more footprints around the throne. Alees found a small button beneath the right arm of the throne. When she pushed it, it opened a secret door to the left of the throne. The door opened into a nicely appointed sleeping chamber. Alees searched the room thoroughly. She found that the desk was empty of anything valuable or informative. The generally disheveled condition of the room forced her to conclude that the room had been recently ransacked. She found a closet full of nice clothing. She checked all the pockets of the outfits and discovered that someone else had already done the same job. She kept all the clothes that she thought might be valuable. Alexander picked out all the items of clothing that he thought he could eventually make magic items out of. Alees thought she could sell the rest for about 500 gp. There were two other noteworthy items in the room - a large rug and a large gilded full-length mirror. The rug seemed to change patterns as Alees watched. Alees cast Detect Magic on the whole room and found that the rug and the mirror were magical. The rug radiated Illusion magic and the mirror radiated Divination magic. Alees tossed the clothes and the rug into one of the party's magical Haversacks. When she tried to move the mirror, though, she found that it was very heavy - about 250 pounds. She reluctantly concluded that they might have to leave it behind. Despite the general lack of valuable information in the room, Alees's efforts were not for nothing. As she leaned over to move the mirror, she noticed a piece of paper that seemed to have been accidentally left behind lying under the bed. It read: "I have a task for you, Telakin. Meet me at the sewer junction beneath the Cold Forge and I will give you the details. There are some troublesome small minds that must be removed." At this point, Alexander - who had not been feeling well all day - doubled over in pain. His complexion suddenly looked very greenish. Killick performed a healing check on Alexander and noticed something tiny writhing under his skin. Killick realized that he had also been feeling a little under the weather and wondered if he might be suffering from the same ailment. He checked himself out and found the same little writhing things under his skin. He sliced his arm open to find out what it was and pulled a small green worm out of his flesh. It writhed around between his fingers for a few moments, then went limp, and then liquefied. Killick recognized the green worms as the same ones the party had seen in the glass jar that Smenk had given them and the same ones that the Spawn of Kyuss had been dripping with in the basement of Blackwall Keep. Killick surmised that both he and Alexander had become infected somehow, although he couldn't think of how this might have happened. Using his skills with the healing arts, Killick concluded that both he and Alexander had only days to live unless this affliction was cured somehow. He also suspected that, if the affliction were allowed to run its course, both he and Alexander would turn into Spawn of Kyuss after their deaths. Killick's examination also convinced him that their condition was not communicable until they died and became undead. Alexander insisted that the party leave and find help immediately. Although Alexander wanted to leave the party behind, he was reminded that his flying ability was needed to safely traverse the Sodden Hold. So he waited to ferry each party member from the well to the front room of the Sodden Hold. Then he grabbed Killick and flew him directly to Eligos's house. Alees headed for her church to ask for assistance. Thorash said he would do the same. Tarric and Katawan decided to follow Alees. After about an hour, Alees made her way through winding streets of the city to the temple of Fharlangn. She was greeted as a member of the faith, but when she described her party-members' ailment, the clerics of the temple seemed to be at a loss as to how they might help. They recommended quarantining the two until the disease had run its course. They also offered that their rates for casting higher level curative spells were very competitive and that Alees was eligible for a small discount if she chose to bring her friends back to the church for spellcasting. Alees, Tarric, and Katawan headed back to the Crooked House (the inn where they had been staying). As soon as they walked in the door, Tarquin the gnome proprietor informed them that Eligos wished to speak with them immediately. Although craving a warm, soft bed, the half-party continued on to Eligos's house in the Garden District. They were quickly admitted through the front door by Pollard, Eligos's elven man-servant, and escorted to a sitting room where Eligos sat at the head of the table. Thorash, Alexander, and Killick were also seated along the table, and a young lady with short blonde hair wearing a leather explorer's outfit was slouching against the chair across from Eligos with her booted feet propped up on the table. This young woman turned to look at the incoming adventureres, sat up, and said, "Looks like the gang's all here. Let's get started." Eligos welcomed the newcomers and gestured for them to take a seat. As she was moving towards her chair, Alees glanced back at Alexander. She noticed something strange - something different about him. Alexander didn't look ill any more, but it was more than just that. Finally, she realized what it was. As she sat down, she said, "Alexander, you've got your ear back!" Alexander had been missing his right ear ever since his encounter with the Brown Mold in the Whispering Cairn, but now it had apparently grown back. Alexander responded with a gesture toward the far end of the table where the young lady was sitting, "Yes, Celeste has been very helpful. Not only did she restore my ear, but she also restored my health. Killick and I are free of Kyuss's disease, thanks to her." Celeste accepted the gratitude implicit in Alexander's statement with a quick nod. Now that everyone was seated, Eligos brought the assembly quickly to business. He explained that, although they do not work for the same people, Celeste was a trusted colleague of his who he found was often working towards the same goals. At times like these, he continued, they found it convenient to share information and work together. Eligos said that through his investigations of the cult of Kyuss, he had found mention of an unholy document known as the Apostolic Scrolls. These scrolls were used by the faithful of Kyuss to summon what was known as an "Apostle of Kyuss". This "apostle" would be a giant worm whose usual abilities would be to swallow people whole, digest them in its stomach acid, and belch them forth as animated skeletons. However, when summoned by a cleric of Kyuss using the Apostolic Scrolls, the worm would become even more powerful than usual. Instead of belching forth skeletons, it would be able to belch forth much more dangerous Spawn of Kyuss. Eligos's research told him that Apostles of Kyuss were usually summoned as part of larger rites that might accomplish even greater evil than just the presence of the worm itself. His divinations had revealed that there is a copy of the Apostolic Scrolls in town and that it was currently in use under the Greyhawk Arena (where the Champions' Games were currently taking place). Eligos believed that whatever the Apostle of Kyuss was being summoned for would likely take place the next day during the final day of the Champions' Games, and he begged the party to do what it could to prevent the summoning/release of the Apostle. Celeste said that she had been hired to investigate the disappearance of the daughter of a wealthy merchant which took place several months ago. Killick asked if the missing daughter might be Ilya Starmane, the haughty elf girl that the party released from the Sodden Hold, but it turned out that the girl in question was a human girl named Lahaka. Celeste said that, before her disappearance, Lahaka had been seen in the company of a man named Loris Raknian. Raknian is a man in his 40s who had once been a gladiator who fought in the Arena. He had been a very popular gladiator who earned a great deal of wealth during his career. So when he retired about 20 years ago, he had enough wealth to purchase the rights to run the Arena from Greyhawk's Ruling Oligarchy. It was at this time that Raknian introduced the Champions' Games, as a way to generate interest and bring in larger crowds. For the past 20 years, the Oligarchy had been quite pleased with the increased revenue that Raknian's games had brought to the city. Consequently, Raknian enjoyed a great deal of political protection in Greyhawk, making it difficult to confront him directly. The Directors seemed willing to turn a blind eye to his more nefarious dealings, such as the occasional disappearances of his much younger love-interests. Celeste confided that Raknian is foul character - a hulking brute with a violent temper. She said that her investigations had uncovered that Raknian had been dabbling in the black arts for some time. Apparently, he had a burning desire to somehow return to the glory of his youth as a powerful gladiator, and he seemed willing to make deals with any power willing to restore his youth and physical prowess. Celeste said she learned that Raknian was receiving a very important shipment a couple months ago, but at the time she didn't know what it was. After consulting with Eligos, she now believed that Raknian was tied up with the cult of Kyuss and that the special shipment that had been received in the dead of night under heavy guard was in fact the copy of the Apostolic Scrolls. Earlier this week, she had snuck into the catacombs under the Arena. She went down some stairs to a sub-level and spotted an unusual undead dripping with green worms. She quickly retreated and, not having seen such an undead before, she came to confer with Eligos. Apparently, Eligos had just met with the party and was in the process of researching the green worm they had brought him. That had been the lynchpin that had finally tied everything together. Eligos emphasized again that his divinations told him that the release of the Apostle of Kyuss would happen tomorrow during the finale of the Champions' Games when the crowds jammed into the Arena would be at their largest. Eligos pleaded with the party again to take up the challenge of preventing whatever Raknian and the cult of Kyuss had planned. Most of the party seemed willing, but Alees asked Eligos what was in it for her. Eligos seemed displeased with this question, but he responded that if the Apostle of Kyuss was released, there may not be a Greyhawk any more. So if she wished to continue to have a large city full of pockets to pick and merchants willing to buy looted swag, she had better fight to protect it. With Alees's concerns silenced, the party officially accepted the mission. Celeste said she was willing to join the party and help them, but she emphasized that she was more of the sneaky type than the stand-up fighter type. She said she would prefer to turn invisible and aid the party behind the scenes with her powerful magic. She gave the party 2 choices. They could try to infiltrate the Arena's sublevels during the games themselves (when the sublevels would be least guarded) either using teleportation magic or using illusions to sneak their way in. The other alternative was trying to get into the sub-levels via the sewers. Celeste confided that one couldn't be a successful sneaky type in Greyhawk without having good contacts with people in the Sewerworkers Guild. She said that she was convinced that they could get into the Arena's substructure through a ghoul/ghast warren that had recently been discovered but not cleared out yet by the Sewerworkers. The first option might be tricky logistically and left the group with very little time to accomplish their mission. The second option gave the group more time, but would force the group to face unnecessary challenges on the way to their real mission. The party opted for the second option. Since Celeste did not plan to do much fighting, she offered the party the use of her weapon. She opened the palm of her gloved hand, and a heavy mace suddenly appeared. She told the party that it could do extra damage against evil-doers and, on a lucky hit, it could turn undead creatures to dust. Eligos also ponied up some items that he was willing to loan the party. He took off a belt and handed it to Tarric, saying that wearing the belt would make him stronger. He took off a ring and handed it to Alexander saying that the ring would increase his spell casting ability. He pulled a pearl out of his pocket and said that it would allow anyone to re-cast a mid-level spell. Alexander took it. Eligos then unlocked a chest and pulled out a rod. He said that this single-use item would negate any magical effect automatically. He said that the item was very expensive, so he requested that the party not use it unless absolutely necessary. But he said one never knew when such an item might make a big difference. Finally, he pledged to try to procure a wand of healing on the black market over night. [I]7th of Richfest[/I]. In the morning, Eligos handed the party a Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds with 38 charges. He said it was the best he could do on short notice. The party elected to give the wand to Celeste who could use it invisibly to aid the party. The party made its way down into the sewers, and with Celeste's guidance, quickly found the undead lair. It turned out that the lair was filled with ghasts, not ghouls. 4 of the 6 party members were sickened by the ghasts' foul stench. However, Thorash was able to command many of them to attack their comrades, making the combat much simpler. Killick had the honor of dropping the ghast leader, while Alees had fun using Celeste's mace to disintegrate the first ghast she struck. The party found a pile of ancient bones that the ghasts seemed to be using for sustenance. The party continued on rather than waiting for the sickness to wear off. After some tight twists and turns, the party came to a larger natural cavern with a large open pipe on the far wall draining sewage into a pool on the floor. Around the pipe drain hung large masses of yellow goo. Suddenly, the goo began moving toward the party! [/QUOTE]
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