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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cloudgatherer" data-source="post: 181021" data-attributes="member: 66">Round One with the Dark WizardThe party interrogates Noto, their former halfling Mithral Blade leader, yet learn next to nothing.  Himoust, their elven attacker, is quite the conversationalist.  He provides the party with the location of the Dark Wizard's hideout, the one he knows, and a layout of the first room.  The party discusses the information, but the words of magic reach Star's ears, but the party only finds frozen, broken rope.  Himoust had good reason to be comfortable with the party, he was able to easily escape his rope binding despite the gag... slightly dismayed, the party decided to sleep on it after failing to find the pair of Mithral Blades.The feeling gripped Star in the middle of the night.  Now that Tarmus had left the party, Star now wore both medallion pieces once again.  The amulets told him someone had activated their search power, a 3-mile radius that tells the wearer the direction and estmated distance the probing medallion piece is located.While rousing the party from their slumber, Star pondered the location he sensed from his medallion pieces.  Having lived outside of Aenith for months, he concluded the feeling originated from the Great Library."We've got to go! Whoever is looking for medallions is in the Great Library," Star exclaimed to the party as he set out the door.  Remus and Canthor exchanged glances, donned equipment, and set out after the rogue.Arriving at the library, Remus tried the door.  It doesn't budge, magic is holding it tight.   Moving to the side window, Star enters the building and looks about.  Three armed men adeptly creep around the bookcases, searching for someone or something as quietly as they can.  As Star studies the men, obviously hired, well-trained mercenaries, the shuffle of someone in metal armor moves swiftly on the second floor.  The movement, heard by everyone on the ground floor, including Star, attracted the attention of the intruders and they ran up the stairs.Star could hear many footsteps running up the stairs and on the second floor.  Someone in heavier metal armor was being pursued by assailants in chainmail.  Star motioned to Canthor and Remus, and the armored pair stumbled their way through the window and up the stairs after the footsteps.As the trio ascended the stairs, Canthor called upon Bryle's power and sent a message to Katrina, stating he was in the library, the strange men in the library, and asking where she was."Get up here and help me!" Katrina's voice echoed in Katrina's head and the party's ears.  She was on the roof!  As the party emerged onto the roof, the sound of steel on steel rang out as Katrina fended off the first of many sword thrusts on against her.  Four men had a longsword and shortsword in each hand, while the remaining six men held longbows on her.Star wasted no time.  Arrows flew from his bow, finding their marks on the bowmen.  Canthor stepped forward, calling upon his gods power, while Remus brandished his sword to render his foes into unconsciousness.As the party engaged the assailants, a fireball rang out among the attackers.  Confused, but glad for the help, Star contiued firing.  Mysteriously, one of Katrina's attackers fell off the edge of the library roof, and landed on the soft ground below.  Moving to press her attack, Katrina moves to strike, but bumps into an invisible form.The battle is over in the next few breaths.  Bolts of energy flew out of thin air to strike the attackers.  A small figure in a gold cloak ermerged from magical invisibility.Rax is a strange kobold indeed.  He introduced himself to the party and Katrina, and informed them he was told to help them.  Apparently, he got some information from Tarmus as to their whereabouts.  His distinguishing characteristic is his gold robe, kobold stature, and a gold gem embedded in his forehead.Introductions were cut short as Katrina looked into the city.  She told the party she placed her medallion piece with Olon for safekeeping, given Canthor and Remus had likely told the Dark Wizard of its location.  A fireball exploded upon the Temple of the Spirit.  He is here, in Aenith.The party, along with Rax and Katrina proceed to the temple.  A barrier of magic protects the temple from harm, but it could not save the dead people lying outside, casualties of the attack.  After a couple more fireballs, all is silent and Star feels a probing from within the temple.  Star probes back, and only feel's a medallion piece within the temple as Olon emerges.  His explanation is obvious, the Dark Wizard came for another medallion piece, yet failed.  He thought Katrina had it, but it was safely tucked away in the Temple of the Spirit.A few days pass and the party prepares.  The Dark Wizard must go down (DM:  About damn time).  Potions of see invisible are purchased, a couple items are made or bought, and the party flies to Ralanov to find the Dark Wizard.  They have no luck with a medallion search, and proceed to Saven, the location of where the Dark Wizard has a hideout, according to Himoust.Star breaks a cardinal rule of dealing with wizards:  never let them know you are coming.  He uses the medallion search power once again, and finds a pair of medallions where Himoust stated the Dark Wizard's hideout would indeed be located.  The party moves into position, and begins to cast their combat spells.  It is only a matter of a few breaths before the battle begins.The people of Saven are going about their business this fine day as fireballs start to rain down upon the party.  The Dark Wizard was using a classic wizard offense:  improved invisibility, fly, and rain of death.  The party, which now included Rax, accompanied by Katrina, had purchased potions of see invisible, but their range was limited.Rax drank his potion, turned invisible and shortly ascended into the air.  Meanwhile, each time a fireball rang out, Star and Katrina fired into the air, but their efforts were met without success.  Meanwhile, Canthor took cover under his near-indestructible tower shield, while Remus got onto the roof of Rama's Courier Service, the supposed location of the Dark Wizard's hideout.The battle was going badly for our heroes.  They seemed incapable of penetrating the Dark Wizard's magical defenses.  Finally, Rax managed to dispel his invisibility.  Startled, but undaunted, the Dark Wizard continued his assault.  He called upon his most destructive spells now....Finally Rax managed to get his hands upon the Dark Wizard.  At 40 feet above the air Rax and the Dark Wizard struggled.  If they could bring him to the ground, if Remus could get his sword on him...Remus called for Canthor to grab on, and the two started to ascend using the immovable rods.  At 40 feet, even with the struggling wizard and the invisible Rax (who had assumed the form of a gold dragon), Canthor cast a spell:  anti-magic field.  It proved to be a mistake.  The four people fell to the ground, Rax reverting to his kobold form and releasing the Dark Wizard.  The Dark Wizard was quick to get up, move out of the field, and flee the scene via teleport.Angry, Remus searches for the entry to the hideout, but it is Rax who finds it.  Proceeding down the stairway, the party comes to the room described by Himoust, a comfortable meeting room complete with a closet, food, tables, chairs, paintings.  Remus steals the paintings, Canthor hangs back with Katrina, who warns the party they should not stay long....Rax flies down the next corridor, into the next room.  A dining table stretches out across the room, and a glowing stone sits in the middle and lights the room.  Rax pulls a patch from his robe, and a pair of dogs emerge.  He orders them to retreive the glowing stone, and they do so.  He then hears footsteps from the next room infront of him.  Changing to windform, he flies past a startled Dark Wizard, without his mask and weilding a wand, and proceeds to cast wall of iron:  sealing him off.The tactic does not hold long, as he hears footsteps from another room, again in front of him.  He changes to wind form and again rushes down the hallway.  The room in front of him this time was completely dark save for the light being given off by a golden blade:  the Summersword.  Rax placed his hand upon the blade (today was the day to take shiny things!) and uttered his dimension door spell to take him back outside just as a fireball was streaking at him.Rax appeared among the party, who had heeded his advice and went outside to wait for the kobold.  Assuming wind form once again, the party fled as a small army of city guards descended upon the well-burnt neighborhood....</blockquote>

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