Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 4391007" data-attributes="member: 8951">Sessions 63 - 64: The Worm Nagas' Gaze2nd of Coldeven.  Although Killick heard Katawan's cries for help, he sensed that his opponent was near death.  And Killick the Wormhunter could not abide the thought of leaving one of Kyuss's minions alive unless absolutely necessary.  Soon thereafter, Killick's opponent fell as predicted, but he did not realize that there was another Worm Naga directly behind the one he had defeated, waiting to take its place.  At this point, he withdrew from the tunnel to find out what was going on.  As he emerged into the vertical shaft that led downward from the middle of the great worship chamber of Kyuss's ziggurat, he flapped his wings and took stock of the situation both above and below him.  Below he saw Katawan clinging to a rocky outcropping on the side of the shaft.  Katawan's magical Winged Boots had apparently been disabled.  Above he saw Alees, Alexander, and Norvell staring mutely and insensibly at the top of the shaft.  Of course, there were also Nagas pointing their heads out of two tunnels across from his, and he knew that a third naga was pursuing him and would soon emerge in the mouth of the tunnel from which he had just emerged.  He asked Katawan to report, but Katawan also seemed mute and insensible, just like the rest of his partymates.  For a moment, Killick was unsure which of his partymates to assist first.  But just then he heard Grimlock's bark from up above.  Then he heard Tarric calling out to Alexander, asking what was going on.  Killick yelled up to Tarric, telling him to lead Alees, Alexander, and Norvell away from the shaft and warned him not to look within it himself.  Then he commanded Grimlock to stay back.  Meanwhile, Killick dove down to retrieve Katawan.  Killick had to really exert himself to fly up to the top of the shaft carrying Katawan, all the while dodging spells cast by the nagas.  But he made it without incident, and the party congregated in the ziggurat's antechamber, out of sight of the shaft and its denizens.  They waited for a few minutes to see if the nagas would follow them, but they did not.    When they were convinced it was safe, Tarric and Killick conferred with one another about how best to proceed.  Tarric informed Killick about a brief encounter he had just had at the party's campsite with a large winged fiend who seemed to want to make a deal with the party.  To bring Tarric up to speed, Killick surmised that the rest of their partymates had succumbed to some kind of magical gaze attack that he had felt coming from the nagas' eyes.  After consulting his knowledge of spells and spellcraft, he decided that the effects were similar to those of a powerful spell called Feeblemind.  If the effects were identical to the spell's effects, the party members' symptoms of idiocy would be permanent unless powerful curative magic were used to remove them.  Neither Tarric nor Killick were able to cast what was needed.  Somehow, they would have to return to civilization to bring back scrolls or spellcasters that could help.  For a while, they were stumped about how they might do this.  Eventually, though, Killick remembered his Ebon Steed.  It would allow him to teleport to a different plane, from which he could then teleport back to Magepoint.  He realized that there would be some error in the process - he wouldn't end up exactly in Magepoint, but he would be a lot closer than he was now!    Now that they knew how they would get back, they started collecting things to sell in order to pay for the necessary scrolls.  (Since they had just recently been back to Magepoint, they had already sold all the enemy swag they had found in the previous combat.)  Luckily, they found that Alexander had a great deal of unspent gold in his Bag of Holding.  Next, they had to consider where the party would make camp now that their previous campsite had been discovered by the winged fiend that had confronted Tarric.  They decided to go a few miles south of the city and camp in some inhospitable swampy terrain until Killick returned.  After helping to set up this camp, Killick grabbed Alexander's Bag of Holding, mounted his Ebon Steed, and teleported away to the Astral Plane.  From there, he teleported back to Oerth with the intention of teleporting back to Magepoint.  However, when he returned, he found himself over a body of water with no land in sight in any direction.  Killick reasoned that this body of water must be the Nyr Dyv, and since Magepoint is on the south shore of that lake, Killick flew his steed south.  After hours of flight, he reached the coast, found a friendly local, got directions, and - many hours of riding later - finally made it to Magepoint very late at night.  He went to the temple of Boccob and asked for Bourafane, the cleric the party had dealt with before when the party needed to safegard the Pyramid of Tyranny (and get Alexander's statue turned back to flesh).  A few minutes later, a bleary eyed Bourafane greeted Killick and asked how he could be of service.  Killick explained the party's dire situation and said that he would like to confer with Celeste.  Bourafane said he could help.  He cast a spell, and after a few moments, he told Killick that she was on her way.      About 20 minutes later, Celeste arrived at the temple of Boccob.  Killick described the party's situation to her and described what kind of spells were needed in order to snap his partymates out of their stupor.  Celeste said that she could cast one of the necessary spells and volunteered to cast them in order to help the party.  Celeste had been there when Tenser had shown the party the picture of Kuluth Mar on the wall of his office, so she was confident she could teleport there, but she could only get herself there.  She could not include Killick in her spell.  Killick was not confident that he could get back to Kuluth Mar the way he had come.  He estimated (based on riding time) that the Ebon Steed had returned him to Oerth about 200 miles away from Magepoint.  He had been able to use his knowledge of the geography of the region as well as the information provided by helpful local residents to find his way.  He would not have those advantages if he suddenly found himself in the vast Amedio Jungle 200 miles away from his intended destination in a random direction; he would be hopelessly lost with very little chance of ever finding the ziggurat.  So, after some discussion, Killick decided to buy 2 scrolls of Heal and 1 scroll of Greater Teleport from the temple of Boccob (which Bourafane was happy to sell at standard market price).  Celeste would use the scroll of Greater Teleport to get them both there together, she would cast the necessary Heal spells on his partymates, and then the party would have 2 Heal scrolls as backups should the same thing happen to the party again.  But first, Celeste would have to rest and re-memorize spells.     3rd of Coldeven.  The next morning, after prayers and breakfast, Celeste and Killick gathered in Tenser's office.  She warned Killick that she was not as adept at arcane spells as she was with divine spells, so there was some risk of failure when she attempted to cast Greater Teleport from the scroll Killick had bought.  Killick reassured her that the party had the funds to purchase another one, if need be.  She unrolled the scroll parchment, concentrated on the picture of Kuluth Mar on the wall, and cast the spell.  Suddenly, the lifelike portrait dissolved and turned into the real scene.  Celeste's casting had been successful; they were at the scenic overlook that the party had used as their original campsite.  Killick sprouted wings and the two flew together toward the new campsite in the swamp.  There they found Tarric and Grimlock guarding their still senseless partymates.  One-by-one Celeste cast Heal on them, causing them to snap out of their stupor.  After she was done, she put her finger to her lips once again and said, "Remember: I was never here."  Then she teleported herself away.    The party strategized about how best to proceed.  Alexander took his Bag of Holding back and gave Norvell the two Heal scrolls.  Alexander reasoned that his ability to teleport the party away from the jungle back to civilization was crucial.  Consequently, he gave his cohort strict instructions that the Heal scrolls were only to be used on him (Alexander) unless he specifically told Norvell otherwise.  Additionally, he instructed Norvell that only one of the two of them could be in combat at any one time.  With these safegards in place, the party returned to the ziggurat to eliminate the remaining Worm Nagas and discover who or what resided at the bottom of that long shaft.  Again, the entire party was magically warded from the effects of death magic, which shielded them from the nagas' most potent spells.  The party members also did whatever they could to shield themselves (to the extent possible) from the nagas' gaze attacks.  Using these tactics, the party was able to finish off the remaining four nagas in the tunnels near the top of the shaft without much difficulty.  This time only Killick succumbed to the nagas' gaze.  Although Alexander was tempted to leave Killick (at least temporarily) in the state of idiocy, once the battle was over, he relented and ordered Norvell to use one of the scrolls on him to restore his intellect.    The bottom of the shaft was hard to see because of the greenish vapors rising from the bottom.  Norvell cast Daylight on Alexander and he descended slowly.  About 125 feet below the level of the top, Alexander spotted another series of naga tunnels.  Alexander let loose with his standard volley of Maximized Empowered Scorching Rays and Quickened Magic Missiles, and a second combat was under way.  Again the party members did what they could to shield their eyes from the nagas' gaze.  However, this time the party noticed that the nagas seemed to be better prepared than the original group had been.  Not only were some of them resistant to fire which the nagas above had not been, but they were now using Dispel Magic to try to eliminate the party's Deathwards so that they could bring their more deadly spells to bear on the party.  They were also using Bestow Curse and Ray of Exhaustion in tandem as a one-two punch that resulted in enormous losses of party members' physical Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution all at once.  Tarric's tactic was to enter one of the tunnels, cover his eyes, and use his Blindfighting abilities in close combat with the nagas.  Katawan's tactic was to pummel them with his fists of fury until a Dispel Magic spell knocked out his Winged Boots again, at which point he used his Slow Fall ability to descend to the bottom of the shaft.  Alees's tactic was to shoot at the nagas from range with the Rainbow Crossbow and occasionally close with one of them in order to feint it and do sneak attack damage.  After a short time, the party spotted the source of the nagas' better preparation and change in tactics; the Wormcaller that had fled the battle in the cathedral above was assisting the nagas in one of the tunnels.  This was of particular interest to Killick, because this particular Wormcaller still wore Killick's Gauntlet of Rust.  Killick used the power of the Ring of the Wind Dukes to transform himself into a bolt of lightning so that he could get past the naga blocking his way to the Wormcaller.  Then they exchanged a few Flamestrikes which did little damage to either of them.  Killick resorted to his Undead Bane quarterstaff which he found much more effective.  However, by mistake, he caught a glimpse of the Worm Naga's eyes and all reason left him (for the second time that day).  Now Killick swung his quarterstaff at the Wormcaller in an insensible panic, simply trying to escape.  Luckily, by this point in the battle, Killick was getting assistance from a number of his partymates fighting the naga on the other side.  It wasn't long before all the enemies were defeated and the party regrouped.  Unfortunately, by the end of the battle, Alees, Tarric, and Alexander had also been turned into idiots by the nagas' gaze, and Tarric had dropped his sword and shield to the bottom of the shaft.    As instructed, Norvell used the last scroll on Alexander to return him to his senses.  Katawan described what he had seen in at the bottom of the shaft - swarms of writhing worms that seemed to know he was despite the Greater Invisibility spell that had been active on him at the time.  Since Alexander still had some Fireballs memorized that he hadn't used, he decided to fly down and launch Fireballs into the room at the bottom of the shaft in an effort to clear it of the worm infestation that Katawan had described.  After one Maximized fireball, Alexander saw a blackened layer of worms on top, but he saw that there was still writhing beneath.  He shot another normal Fireball in, and still he was not certain that the mass of worms in the room had been completely neutralized.  Katawan volunteered to help with his Necklace of Fireballs (his favorite magic item).  He tossed in the most powerful bead that he had remaining on the necklace, and finally the room was still.  Alexander and Katawan flew back to the rest of the party at the top of the shaft.      Killick, Tarric, and Alees were still Feebleminded and in need of Heal spells.  Alexander wanted to teleport back to Magepoint immediately.  Katawan asked to be allowed to spend some time to explore the naga tunnels looking for a lair or some treasure of some kind.  Alexander allowed him one hour.  When an hour was up, Katawan returned with the last Wormcaller's swag (including Killick's Gauntlet of Rust) as well as Tarric's intelligent longsword Branwhite and his magical shield.  (Miraculously, these had been shielded from the flames of the multiple fireballs by the mass of worms that had swarmed atop them.)  He reported that the naga tunnels were like a 3-dimensional maze.  He had not found a lair, but he was not confident that he had been through all the tunnels yet.  Alexander decided that the party could look for more swag later, preferably after the party was back up to full fighting strength.  The party teleported back to Magepoint.    Once there, the party sought out Celeste, but she was unavailable.  She had apparently left town rather suddenly on a mission.  Consequently, Alexander paid to have clerics of the temple of Boccob cast Heal on the Feebleminded party members.  The party reimbursed him for these costs out of the proceeds of the sale of the Wormcaller's armor.     4th of Coldeven.  The party teleported back to Kuluth Mar - this time to a point inside the ziggurat directly above the shaft, rather than to some campsite outside the obsidian ring.  Although some wanted to search more for the naga's lair, the party decided to continue downward to explore the bottom level.  The party emerged from the bottom of the shaft into a room of worked stone.  The floor was covered with crispy worms.  Alees found the sight of all the burned worms on the floor repulsive and refused to step on them, hovering just above them.  She quickly checked the walls for secret doors, finding none.  The room had three exits: one open passageway leading into another room, one set of double doors, and another passage way leading into a large natural cavern.  The party chose to open the double doors first.  Alees certified that the doors were neither trapped nor locked.  However, she reported hearing running water on the far side.  She flew back and allowed Killick to step forward to open the doors.  They opened easily.      Inside, Killick saw a green fountain bubbling with liquid.  This fountain was flanked by three wormcallers who all beckoned at him to step forward.  In thickly accented Common (that had probably been learned phonetically), they croaked in unison, "Come. Drink."  Despite his hatred of all minions of Kyuss, Killick thought this sounded like an excellent idea!  (Now that he thought about it, he *did* feel a tad parched...)  Alees ran forward to attack the nearest foe, knicking it slightly with her sword.  All three of them turned on her in unison, launching ribbons of powerful black energy at her.  All three ribbons struck her, and she feel to the ground unconscious.  Katawan, Alexander, and Norvell repositioned and cast buff spells.  Tarric entered the room and attacked the nearest Wormcaller; Grimlock moved forward and did the same.  Despite Killick's thirst, he decided to move Alees back to the healer Norvell before taking a drink from the fountain.  He pulled Alees's pale and unconscious form back to Norvell.  As he released her next to the party's cleric, he said absent-mindedly, "Alees needs your help.  I need to go drink the water now."  Norvell looked at Killick strangely for a moment, but then Alexander gave him an order and he was unable to inquire further about Killick's strange behavior.  As the melee swirled around him, Killick moved past friends and enemies alike, walking towards the fountain in a strangely unguarded fashion, and then drank deeply of the water which came burbling up from the top.  Only after 3 full swallows did Killick realize that the water he was drinking was full of worms!  He could feel the worms eating away at his stomach!  He dropped to his knees and did his best to retch some of them out, but he could still feel most of them inside him, squirming and biting.  He had to get them out, but he also saw the Wormcallers shooting those ribbons of black energy at his wardog.  His duty to his animal companion came first.  He moved next to Grimlock and cast a spell that would protect them both from the black ribbons, whincing all the while from the stomach pain.  Then he cast Remove Disease on himself.  This killed the worms in his stomach, but it also killed the one that he carried around with him inside his head.      By this time, the battle was coming to an end; the party had easily gotten the upper hand against these three minions of Kyuss.  When it was finished, Killick asked the party to wait for him to go back up to the surface and find another worm that would be suitable for him to host, so that he could regain his Wormhunter powers.  They agreed to wait for him, but they told him to hurry - they didn't want their preparatory spells to run out.  He flew up as quickly as he could and returned about a minute and a half later.  Killick asked, "So, shall we check out the cavern next?"</blockquote>

Verification