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Menexenus's Age of Worms Campaign Journal
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<blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 4065682" data-attributes="member: 8951"><p><strong>Session 54: Ascending to the 3rd Level</strong></p><p></p><p><em>9th of Fireseek</em>: Alexander returned the following day with a newly recharged Brooch of Shielding for Killick, two Heward's Handy Haversacks for Tarric and Katawan, a darkwood shield for Alees (to replace her dragonscale shield while it was being enchanted), a wand of healing for the party, and lots of gold pieces for everyone. He reported that he had paid for Dourala to be reincarnated and that afterward he had let her go with his apologies for her rough treatment at the party's hands. Out of curiosity, the party asked what form she had returned to life in. Alexander reluctantly admitted that she had returned in the form of a goblin. In spite of the seriousness of the previous showdown between party members (or perhaps because of it) most of the party laughed out loud when they heard this news. Alees couldn't help pointing out that the gods were demonstrating her true nature by bringing her back in that form. All were relieved that this issue was now resolved and the party could get back to work without the previous tension hanging over their heads.</p><p></p><p> The party prepared to re-enter the pyramid and open the silver door. However, Thorash informed the party that he would remain outside the pyramid. The party shot each other worried glances. Thorash had been acting strangely since his reincarnation as a human. Alees asked why he would not be going in with them. Thorash explained that he felt that he was close to a breakthrough on finding a way to divine the contents of the magical container bottles that the party had recovered. The party tried to convince him that securing the White Eye was far more important, but Thorash had retained his dwarven stubbornness. He insisted that if the party needed him, they could return to him. When it was apparent that Thorash's mind could not be changed, Killick volunteered to remain with Thorash while the rest of the party went in to explore the pyramid. Thorash protested that he didn't need a baby-sitter, but Killick said that he had wanted to spend a bit more time with Grimlock to ensure that there were no lingering effects of the mummy rot the dog had contracted a few days earlier. Besides, Killick argued, if any of the monsters in the bottles were accidentally released, Thorash might need a hand.</p><p></p><p> So Tarric, Alexander, Katawan, and Alees marched out onto the newly-built rock causeway spanning the pool of acid, put the silver key into the lock, and opened the doors. Beyond the doors, was a medium sized room at the far side of which were two parallel sets of stairs leading up about 20 feet before ending in an unseen large room above. Along the walls of both staircases were intricately carved bas-relief figures of powerful looking individuals. Alees scanned these figures with Detect Magic and found only a lingering residue of ancient magic that had long since dissipated. However, as she examined the room, she heard movement at the top of the stairs - something that sounded like footsteps. She communicated this silently to the party. The party spent some time casting preparatory spells. Then Tarric and Katawan both ran up the stairs together, one on each stair case. At the top, they were greeted by 4 of the greenish-black skinned undead that they had encountered before in an armory near the vampire's lair. Their muscular bodies were covered in nothing but a loin-cloth and they all charged forward with shortspears. Their actions were unnaturally swift and their skin was covered by a protective layer of stone that glittered faintly in the light.</p><p></p><p> Although most of the party had a hard time overcoming these creatures' numerous defenses, Alexander found that they were vulnerable to his magic missiles. After casting the Maximized and Quickened versions that he had memorized, he pulled out his trusty wand of magic missiles. The opponents fought with unusually sound tactics for undead. They sprang past Tarric and Katawan and tried to flank Alexander. One at a time, each of them cast an area effect spell of evil black energy that seemed to harm Alexander and Tarric more than Katawan and Alees. (Katawan was largely resistant to their magic anyway.) One by one, the opponents fell, despite their attempts to fight intelligently and cooperatively. Although none of the party members had fallen, they had taken a significant amount of damage. They left the pyramid to get healing from Thorash, who complied half-heartedly and disinterestedly.</p><p> </p><p> With their cuts and bruises healed, the four party members re-entered the pyramid and ascended the staircase. There was a pair of oak doors on the far side of the room at the top. Alees checked it for traps, found that it was not trapped, and opened the doors, seeing a 10 foot wide corridor leading in both directions. She carefully studied the ground for traps and after about a half an hour, declared that the corridor was secure. Around a corner at the left end of the corridor was a set of steel double doors covered in frost. Around a corner at the right end of the corridor was a set of steel doors that were glowing red with heat. Alexander suggested that he could open either set of doors without touching them using his Chime of Opening. The party chose the hot doors, so Alexander moved into position and activated the magic item. As the glowing doors opened, a wave of heat traveled down the hallway and the party observed a room filled with fire whose floor was covered in slow-moving viscous molten lava. Some of the flames in the room suddenly resolved themselves into a hulking figure with enormous fists that strode out of the room quickly and pounded Alexander, catching his robes alight. Horrified, Alexander retreated to the far end of the hallway, taking another pounding as he left. Alees and Tarric stepped forward to block the progress of the huge, hunched over fire-being. Katawan guarded Alexander farther down the hall. Tarric and Alees found that their swords did little damage to the being of living flame, but once again, Alexander's magic missiles were quite effective. Katawan sprang back and forth at the creature, flying over Alees's head with his winged boots to strike at it. The creature, frustrated at not being able to get past Alees and Tarric, punched at them furiously, causing tremendous damage and catching Alees's clothes on fire. However, after many magic missiles, the creature was eventually brought low by the jolt of electricity from Alees's short sword. The flames that had composed its body simply rose to the ceiling, and, finding no fuel, simply winked out of existence.</p><p></p><p> This time the party was even more damaged than it was after the first fight. They retreated once more to seek Thorash's healing abilities. Thorash treated all of their burns successfully, but he informed the party that he had no more healing power available for the rest of the day, so he hoped they would leave him alone now, at long last. He returned to examining the bottles in a huff. By this time, Killick had become bored watching Thorash look at bottles. He had been unsuccessful at engaging Thorash in conversation that might illuminate his recent strange behavior. So he and Grimlock accompanied the other four as they returned to the pyramid. </p><p></p><p>The party had hoped that the room full of lava might have cooled a bit while they were gone, now that the fire elemental inhabiting the room had been destroyed. However, the room seemed just as impossibly hot as it had been before. They could still make out a pair of double doors on the far side of the room, so Alexander used his Chime of Opening again. Those doors swung open to reveal an oppulent sitting room. Surprisingly, the furniture in that room did not immediately combust. The party surmised that something must be protecting the objects in that room from the heat. Katawan flew quickly through the lava room into the sitting room. He confirmed that the sitting room was somehow at a comfortable temperature despite the proximity of the lava. He reported that there were two skeletons standing at attention against the left hand wall, flanking a fountain that no longer functioned. The skeletons did not seem to register Katawan's presence in any way. There was another set of double doors on the far side of this room as well. Alexander activiated his Chime once more to open those doors. The next room contained 8 beds of very fine craftsmanship. Katawan stepped inside. He saw two wooden chests up against opposite walls, as well as 4 more skeletons standing at attention, one in each corner. Again, the skeletons did not seem to register Katawan's presence. Again, there was another set of double doors across from the set that had just been opened. However, this time the doors were far more imposing, being made of some dark black metal alloy with an eye-catching opalescent sheen. Alexander tried using his Chime repeatedly to open this new set of doors. After almost 10 attempts he gave up, deciding that his best simply would not be good enough. He gathered the party together and offered to teleport them to the far side of the lava room. He informed Killick that Grimlock would have to wait. Not wanting to leave his trusty wardog behind, Killick insisted that the rest should go on without him, and he would use his own spell power to get across, if need be.</p><p></p><p> Alexander, Tarric, and Alees teleported next to Katawan. Alees immediately looted the two chests in the room, finding magical implements in one and tattered vestments in the other. With the looting done, she moved forward to check the door for traps. Before she did so, she heard a strange sound coming from the doors. They almost sounded as if they were breathing! She reported this to Alexander who guessed that some living creature might be magically trapped within them as a guardian. The party prepared itself for battle. Alees touched the doors and suddenly a hulking fiend appeared in the room with them. Tarric recognized it as a denizen of the Abyss, one of the many vile creatures that the Order of Holy Shielding had trained him to fight. He relished the opportunity to dispatch such an embodiment of evil. The stench of brimstone that accompanied the vile creature caused Alexander to wretch uncontrollably. He wanted to get away from the stench but could not do so without entering the lava. Between heaves, he called to Killick across the lava for a spell that would neutralize poisons. Finding itself surrounded, the otherworldly opponent cast a spell identical to the one cast by the black-skinned undead in the earlier fight. However, it was of limited effectiveness. Meanwhile, Tarric hacked into the creature expertly with his holy bastard sword and Alees flanked it, stabbing it repeatedly in the guts. In less than 10 seconds, the battle was over and the creature lay dead on the ground. Killick had cast a spell to protect himself from the flames and another to allow himself to walk on the walls to avoid contact with the lava. He had not even made it across the lava room before the enemy creature had been killed. </p><p></p><p> Alees got to work trying to use her lockpicking skills to open the door that Alexander's magic could not. After a number of minutes, her efforts finally met with success. She could not help but marvel at the skill of the locksmiths who had helped construct the doors in this temple. Now that the doors were open, the party saw another long narrow hallway, one end of which was to the party's immediate left. Alees turned right and proceeded down the hallway, taking care to ensure that the floor was safe. Minutes later she gave the all-clear and the rest of the party moved forward. They saw that in the middle of the hallway was a single staircase going up and at the other end of the hallway was a bricked up opening about the same size as the double door they had just come through. The party listened at the base of the stairs, heard nothing, and ascended them carefully, Alees leading the way looking for traps. At the top of the stairs was a narrow landing with two opposing doors, one painted with the form of a man in robes on a mountaintop speaking to a throng of worshippers far below him. The other door was unpainted. Killick decided to bash open the unpainted door. The door did not give way. He ordered his dog to attempt the same. This time the door did give way. (As it did so, Alees could not help but notice that the door had not been locked in the first place.) </p><p></p><p> The room beyond the door seemed to be a room for priests to prepare themselves prior to leading a worship service. This room was guarded by two more of the black-skinned undead encountered before. A fight broke out immediately. These undead did not carry spears like the previous ones had. Instead they fought with their bodies, in a style similar to Katawan's. The party concentrated its attacks on the nearest enemy and destroyed it quickly. The second one unhinged its jaw and let out a horrific scream. The party braced itself, but the scream seemed to have no ill-effects. Katawan moved up to the creature, preparing to strike it. However, he heard a strange repetitive thud noise coming from the next room. So he opened the door that was next to him and saw a sparse worship hall with a giant black-framed mirror on the far wall. However, more importantly, he saw a bandaged undead creature on the far side of the room along with 2 massive gem-studded skeletons that appeared to be made of metal rather than bone. They had seen him and were moving towards the door. Katawan quickly closed the door again and informed his friends that they were about to have company.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Menexenus, post: 4065682, member: 8951"] [b]Session 54: Ascending to the 3rd Level[/b] [I]9th of Fireseek[/I]: Alexander returned the following day with a newly recharged Brooch of Shielding for Killick, two Heward's Handy Haversacks for Tarric and Katawan, a darkwood shield for Alees (to replace her dragonscale shield while it was being enchanted), a wand of healing for the party, and lots of gold pieces for everyone. He reported that he had paid for Dourala to be reincarnated and that afterward he had let her go with his apologies for her rough treatment at the party's hands. Out of curiosity, the party asked what form she had returned to life in. Alexander reluctantly admitted that she had returned in the form of a goblin. In spite of the seriousness of the previous showdown between party members (or perhaps because of it) most of the party laughed out loud when they heard this news. Alees couldn't help pointing out that the gods were demonstrating her true nature by bringing her back in that form. All were relieved that this issue was now resolved and the party could get back to work without the previous tension hanging over their heads. The party prepared to re-enter the pyramid and open the silver door. However, Thorash informed the party that he would remain outside the pyramid. The party shot each other worried glances. Thorash had been acting strangely since his reincarnation as a human. Alees asked why he would not be going in with them. Thorash explained that he felt that he was close to a breakthrough on finding a way to divine the contents of the magical container bottles that the party had recovered. The party tried to convince him that securing the White Eye was far more important, but Thorash had retained his dwarven stubbornness. He insisted that if the party needed him, they could return to him. When it was apparent that Thorash's mind could not be changed, Killick volunteered to remain with Thorash while the rest of the party went in to explore the pyramid. Thorash protested that he didn't need a baby-sitter, but Killick said that he had wanted to spend a bit more time with Grimlock to ensure that there were no lingering effects of the mummy rot the dog had contracted a few days earlier. Besides, Killick argued, if any of the monsters in the bottles were accidentally released, Thorash might need a hand. So Tarric, Alexander, Katawan, and Alees marched out onto the newly-built rock causeway spanning the pool of acid, put the silver key into the lock, and opened the doors. Beyond the doors, was a medium sized room at the far side of which were two parallel sets of stairs leading up about 20 feet before ending in an unseen large room above. Along the walls of both staircases were intricately carved bas-relief figures of powerful looking individuals. Alees scanned these figures with Detect Magic and found only a lingering residue of ancient magic that had long since dissipated. However, as she examined the room, she heard movement at the top of the stairs - something that sounded like footsteps. She communicated this silently to the party. The party spent some time casting preparatory spells. Then Tarric and Katawan both ran up the stairs together, one on each stair case. At the top, they were greeted by 4 of the greenish-black skinned undead that they had encountered before in an armory near the vampire's lair. Their muscular bodies were covered in nothing but a loin-cloth and they all charged forward with shortspears. Their actions were unnaturally swift and their skin was covered by a protective layer of stone that glittered faintly in the light. Although most of the party had a hard time overcoming these creatures' numerous defenses, Alexander found that they were vulnerable to his magic missiles. After casting the Maximized and Quickened versions that he had memorized, he pulled out his trusty wand of magic missiles. The opponents fought with unusually sound tactics for undead. They sprang past Tarric and Katawan and tried to flank Alexander. One at a time, each of them cast an area effect spell of evil black energy that seemed to harm Alexander and Tarric more than Katawan and Alees. (Katawan was largely resistant to their magic anyway.) One by one, the opponents fell, despite their attempts to fight intelligently and cooperatively. Although none of the party members had fallen, they had taken a significant amount of damage. They left the pyramid to get healing from Thorash, who complied half-heartedly and disinterestedly. With their cuts and bruises healed, the four party members re-entered the pyramid and ascended the staircase. There was a pair of oak doors on the far side of the room at the top. Alees checked it for traps, found that it was not trapped, and opened the doors, seeing a 10 foot wide corridor leading in both directions. She carefully studied the ground for traps and after about a half an hour, declared that the corridor was secure. Around a corner at the left end of the corridor was a set of steel double doors covered in frost. Around a corner at the right end of the corridor was a set of steel doors that were glowing red with heat. Alexander suggested that he could open either set of doors without touching them using his Chime of Opening. The party chose the hot doors, so Alexander moved into position and activated the magic item. As the glowing doors opened, a wave of heat traveled down the hallway and the party observed a room filled with fire whose floor was covered in slow-moving viscous molten lava. Some of the flames in the room suddenly resolved themselves into a hulking figure with enormous fists that strode out of the room quickly and pounded Alexander, catching his robes alight. Horrified, Alexander retreated to the far end of the hallway, taking another pounding as he left. Alees and Tarric stepped forward to block the progress of the huge, hunched over fire-being. Katawan guarded Alexander farther down the hall. Tarric and Alees found that their swords did little damage to the being of living flame, but once again, Alexander's magic missiles were quite effective. Katawan sprang back and forth at the creature, flying over Alees's head with his winged boots to strike at it. The creature, frustrated at not being able to get past Alees and Tarric, punched at them furiously, causing tremendous damage and catching Alees's clothes on fire. However, after many magic missiles, the creature was eventually brought low by the jolt of electricity from Alees's short sword. The flames that had composed its body simply rose to the ceiling, and, finding no fuel, simply winked out of existence. This time the party was even more damaged than it was after the first fight. They retreated once more to seek Thorash's healing abilities. Thorash treated all of their burns successfully, but he informed the party that he had no more healing power available for the rest of the day, so he hoped they would leave him alone now, at long last. He returned to examining the bottles in a huff. By this time, Killick had become bored watching Thorash look at bottles. He had been unsuccessful at engaging Thorash in conversation that might illuminate his recent strange behavior. So he and Grimlock accompanied the other four as they returned to the pyramid. The party had hoped that the room full of lava might have cooled a bit while they were gone, now that the fire elemental inhabiting the room had been destroyed. However, the room seemed just as impossibly hot as it had been before. They could still make out a pair of double doors on the far side of the room, so Alexander used his Chime of Opening again. Those doors swung open to reveal an oppulent sitting room. Surprisingly, the furniture in that room did not immediately combust. The party surmised that something must be protecting the objects in that room from the heat. Katawan flew quickly through the lava room into the sitting room. He confirmed that the sitting room was somehow at a comfortable temperature despite the proximity of the lava. He reported that there were two skeletons standing at attention against the left hand wall, flanking a fountain that no longer functioned. The skeletons did not seem to register Katawan's presence in any way. There was another set of double doors on the far side of this room as well. Alexander activiated his Chime once more to open those doors. The next room contained 8 beds of very fine craftsmanship. Katawan stepped inside. He saw two wooden chests up against opposite walls, as well as 4 more skeletons standing at attention, one in each corner. Again, the skeletons did not seem to register Katawan's presence. Again, there was another set of double doors across from the set that had just been opened. However, this time the doors were far more imposing, being made of some dark black metal alloy with an eye-catching opalescent sheen. Alexander tried using his Chime repeatedly to open this new set of doors. After almost 10 attempts he gave up, deciding that his best simply would not be good enough. He gathered the party together and offered to teleport them to the far side of the lava room. He informed Killick that Grimlock would have to wait. Not wanting to leave his trusty wardog behind, Killick insisted that the rest should go on without him, and he would use his own spell power to get across, if need be. Alexander, Tarric, and Alees teleported next to Katawan. Alees immediately looted the two chests in the room, finding magical implements in one and tattered vestments in the other. With the looting done, she moved forward to check the door for traps. Before she did so, she heard a strange sound coming from the doors. They almost sounded as if they were breathing! She reported this to Alexander who guessed that some living creature might be magically trapped within them as a guardian. The party prepared itself for battle. Alees touched the doors and suddenly a hulking fiend appeared in the room with them. Tarric recognized it as a denizen of the Abyss, one of the many vile creatures that the Order of Holy Shielding had trained him to fight. He relished the opportunity to dispatch such an embodiment of evil. The stench of brimstone that accompanied the vile creature caused Alexander to wretch uncontrollably. He wanted to get away from the stench but could not do so without entering the lava. Between heaves, he called to Killick across the lava for a spell that would neutralize poisons. Finding itself surrounded, the otherworldly opponent cast a spell identical to the one cast by the black-skinned undead in the earlier fight. However, it was of limited effectiveness. Meanwhile, Tarric hacked into the creature expertly with his holy bastard sword and Alees flanked it, stabbing it repeatedly in the guts. In less than 10 seconds, the battle was over and the creature lay dead on the ground. Killick had cast a spell to protect himself from the flames and another to allow himself to walk on the walls to avoid contact with the lava. He had not even made it across the lava room before the enemy creature had been killed. Alees got to work trying to use her lockpicking skills to open the door that Alexander's magic could not. After a number of minutes, her efforts finally met with success. She could not help but marvel at the skill of the locksmiths who had helped construct the doors in this temple. Now that the doors were open, the party saw another long narrow hallway, one end of which was to the party's immediate left. Alees turned right and proceeded down the hallway, taking care to ensure that the floor was safe. Minutes later she gave the all-clear and the rest of the party moved forward. They saw that in the middle of the hallway was a single staircase going up and at the other end of the hallway was a bricked up opening about the same size as the double door they had just come through. The party listened at the base of the stairs, heard nothing, and ascended them carefully, Alees leading the way looking for traps. At the top of the stairs was a narrow landing with two opposing doors, one painted with the form of a man in robes on a mountaintop speaking to a throng of worshippers far below him. The other door was unpainted. Killick decided to bash open the unpainted door. The door did not give way. He ordered his dog to attempt the same. This time the door did give way. (As it did so, Alees could not help but notice that the door had not been locked in the first place.) The room beyond the door seemed to be a room for priests to prepare themselves prior to leading a worship service. This room was guarded by two more of the black-skinned undead encountered before. A fight broke out immediately. These undead did not carry spears like the previous ones had. Instead they fought with their bodies, in a style similar to Katawan's. The party concentrated its attacks on the nearest enemy and destroyed it quickly. The second one unhinged its jaw and let out a horrific scream. The party braced itself, but the scream seemed to have no ill-effects. Katawan moved up to the creature, preparing to strike it. However, he heard a strange repetitive thud noise coming from the next room. So he opened the door that was next to him and saw a sparse worship hall with a giant black-framed mirror on the far wall. However, more importantly, he saw a bandaged undead creature on the far side of the room along with 2 massive gem-studded skeletons that appeared to be made of metal rather than bone. They had seen him and were moving towards the door. Katawan quickly closed the door again and informed his friends that they were about to have company. [/QUOTE]
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