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Raiders of the Overreach
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8475977" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 46: THE GATE OF SVUSBAN</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 15</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 14/psychic warrior 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 15</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 15</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 1 December 2021</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>It was a month of relative inactivity - at least not the frantic activity to which the adventurers had become accustomed. They had decided they'd go after the Gate of Svusban next and that meant traveling into the Desolate Wastes. But entering the Desolate Wastes was not something one did lightly, or without preparation.</p><p></p><p>To help provide such preparation, <strong>Nuriel</strong> was summoned to speak to the adventurers and the Greenvale scholars who were helping them prepare to purge the world of the remaining Writhing Gates. Nuriel was an astral deva, one of the most powerful types of celestials engaged in the never-ending war against the fiends of the Lower Depths. She was the commander of the Desolate Watch, a group the five former slaves had met up with and aided once before in the past, and she was more than happy to provide the assembled group with everything she knew about the Desolate Wastes.</p><p></p><p>"The lands now known as the Desolate Wastes is a vast desert, but it was once a lush land like the surrounding areas. However, centuries ago, the area was blessed with divine power to damage evil fiends on contact. This divine power was also infused with necromantic energies, to heal and create undead creatures filled with an innate hatred for the fiends from the Lower Planes - this is the genesis of the Undying Crusade. Of course, these necromantic energies are harmful to all living creatures to a lesser extent, such that to enter the Desolate Wastes without proper countermeasures will have detrimental effects upon you. I will thus leave you with a set of instructions for your crafters to be able to create <em>necromantic attunement wards</em> of whatever fashion they desire - the items can be crafted in the form of a ring, necklace, bracer...even as an <em>ioun stone</em>, should you so desire."</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok turned to Utred at his side. "Tell you later," the dwarf hissed, knowing full well the lizardfolk had no idea what an <em>ioun stone</em> was.</p><p></p><p>"As you may well know, the Baator's Breath Mountains are the location of the various breaches to the Hell dimensions. To the south, the armies of Ashfall keep the devils at bay; to the north, we have the Desolate Wastes to do the same thing. A <em>compulsion</em> effect causes newly-formed undead - including those whose life energies were drained by the sands of the Wastes themselves - to join the Undying Crusade. A <em>desecrate</em> effect further empowers the undead, keeping them in the fight as needed. Finally, a <em>dimensional lock</em> component, affecting all those who touch the sands, prevents the fiends from leaping from plane to plane or teleporting away."</p><p></p><p>"Um, excuse me," Cramer asked, holding his hand up hesitantly (for he felt self-conscious interrupting a member of the celestial host). "We won't have any problems teleporting to the Gate of Svusban, will we? Because it lies in the middle of the Desolate Wastes."</p><p></p><p>"Teleporting in will not be a problem," Nuriel reassured the gnome. "Teleporting back out, though, will not be possible."</p><p></p><p>Now that their cleric had opened the gate (so to speak) about interrupting Nuriel's briefing, Marlo felt confident enough to ask a question of her own. "Why is the Writhing Gate out in the middle of the Desolate Wastes in the first place?" she asked. "That doesn't seem like a very safe place to have placed it."</p><p></p><p>"Ah, but originally the Gate of Svusban was underground, like most of the other Writhing Gates," explained Nuriel. "The explosion of divine and necromantic energies that created the Desolate Wastes of the surrounding land completely destroyed the stone above that particular Writhing Gate. That had not been part of the plan, merely a coincidental a side effect. So yes, you'll be able to <em>scry</em> upon your target and <em>teleport</em> directly there."</p><p></p><p>Cramer was ready to go right then and there but the unfortunate reality that it would take weeks to craft five <em>necromantic attunement wards</em> to their individual specifications forced him into unhappy patience. It wasn't like he had any choice about the matter, either, for without the protective devices they wouldn't last long in the Wastes...and none of the five particularly wished to become an undead member of the Undying Crusade.</p><p></p><p>But weeks later, when the individual protective items had been crafted to the adventurers' specifications, the five were eager to set out. "Pre-combat prep spells," commanded Cramer as he cast the spells <em>longstrider</em>, <em>spell resistance</em>, <em>moment of prescience</em>, and <em>spell turning</em> upon himself, one right after the other. He then pulled out one of his wands and cast an <em>owl's wisdom</em> spell upon each of the five.</p><p></p><p>"What does that do?" Jhasspok asked Utred, his go-to source of information.</p><p></p><p>"Makes you wiser, toughens up your mind," replied the dwarven barbarian.</p><p></p><p>"Good idea," nodded the lizardfolk, approving of the choice of spell being cast upon him.</p><p></p><p>"See? It's workin' already," commented Utred.</p><p></p><p>Marlo cast a <em>magic circle against evil</em> on herself and a <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell upon the entire group. "Jhasspok, would you like a <em>stoneskin</em> spell?" she asked.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, please, Marlo," replied the lizardfolk, his eyes focused steadfastly upon her midsection - specifically, the pocket of her robes where he knew Marlo's toad familiar Truffles sat. Due to the numerous tentacles growing out of the toad in all directions since their excursion into the Far Realm, Jhasspok's curiosity about how best to eat the pseudonatural toad without it turning to flames in his mouth had only grown over the months. He wondered how much Truffles' tentacles would taste like those of a mind flayer - would their smaller size have an effect on their taste?</p><p></p><p>"Okay, then, we're all ready!" Marlo declared after having cast the proffered <em>stoneskin</em> spell on Jhasspok. She turned to the <em>crystal ball</em> on display, where a sunborn drow wizard with bright red hair had concentrated on the Gate of Svusban. "Is that it?" she asked, peering at a familiar ring of collapsed tentacles amid a field of sand. As usual, there were ten illithid shapes seated one before each tentacle, with one obvious leader - this one held some sort of scythe before him - and nine other "lackeys" (or so the sorceress liked to think of them), these nine not moving at all. It was entirely possible, Marlo knew, that those nine were petrified in place like the ones in the Writhing Gate the five had used as slaves to raid the surface world for the benefit of their Overreach drow masters.</p><p></p><p>"Gather up," Marlo commanded and the other four all closed in, touching a hand to her <em>robe of eyes</em>. (Jhasspok's clawed hand got uncomfortably close to the pocket where Truffles sat and the sorceress slapped it for good measure; the lizardfolk decided now was not a good time for a quick snatch-and-grab.) Then, with the vocalization of an arcane spell-phrase, the five adventurers disappeared and teleported directly behind the tentacle where the scythe-wielding illithid was seated. Marlo used her <em>boots of levitation</em> to shoot 30 feet into the air, where she could better get a view of the surrounding area and make sure there were no other creatures in the vicinity. Of course, she didn't stop to think that when she flew 30 feet up into the air the area of effect of her 10-foot-radius <em>magic circle against evil</em> was yanked away from the rest of her group....</p><p></p><p>But despite having teleported in behind the one illithid Marlo had figured might have a chance of spotting them, she had failed to take into consideration there might be a completely different reason for the total immobility of the other nine mind flayers. In this case, it wasn't because they had been turned to stone, with only their minds generating part of the power to operate the Writhing Gate; rather, it was because these nine mind flayers were themselves each undead - mummies, in fact. The ones across from the circle from their leader <strong>Saint Svusban</strong> saw the heroes' arrival and Marlo's immediate flight straight up into the sky. As mummies, they focused their gazes upon the collected heroes, but their living minds - in some cases no doubt due to the <em>owl's wisdom</em> spells Cramer had cast upon them with his wand - were strong enough to overcome the panic many felt in the presence of undead mummies.</p><p></p><p><Crap!> Khari called over the link. <We're not fighting one mind flayer - we're fighting ten!></p><p></p><p>Another telepathic voice entered the minds of the five heroes at that point. It was Saint Svusban, the leader of the Writhing Gate named after him. <I thought we had an agreement,> he said directly into their minds. At the confused thoughts he picked up as a result, he added, <Aren't you part of the Undying Crusade?></p><p></p><p><No, we're not a bunch of undead monstrosities!> sputtered Cramer indignantly.</p><p></p><p><Then in that case, I offer you the chance to retreat. You do not belong here.></p><p></p><p>Jhasspok ignored all of the mental chatter and did what he had come here to do - slay the defenders of the Writhing Gate (however many that might be) so Utred could carve up the Elder God's tentacles with his <em>Null Axe</em> and prevent the Gate from ever working again. The lizardfolk ran forward, battleaxe in hand, and sent it crashing down upon the illithid mummy seated to the left of Saint Svusban. It was a pretty hearty blow, cutting deep into the undead thing's flesh...but at the cost of experiencing a few blows from Saint Svusban's magic scythe, whose blade was some sort of sharpened crystal. Marlo's <em>stoneskin</em> spell deflected a great deal of the damage but the lizardfolk was bleeding in two places at the end of his initial attack.</p><p></p><p>But then Cramer, noticing the placement of the ten illithids in a nice, symmetrical ring, used his <em>moment of prescience</em> to ensure he overcame the inherent illithid spell resistance as he cast a <em>blade barrier</em> spell such that the "wall" of force blades took the shape of a circle cutting through each of the undead mind flayers. <Heh heh heh,> he chuckled over the telepathic link, <I'm going to have to rename that spell the <em>chum wall!</em>> It was an apt name, too, for of the ten targets only two of them managed to leap out of the way of the manifesting blades of force energy in time, those two leaping to the center of the Writhing Gate as the other eight were chopped to pieces, with bits of undead flesh being tossed in all directions.</p><p></p><p>Khari Hammerslammer had no desire to enter the blades just so he could get in some combat himself. He stepped to the side and positioned himself between two of the limp tentacles of the Writhing Gate, knowing full well if any of the undead mind flayers tried to escape Cramer's spell it would be by exiting between the tentacles. He readied his warhammer in hand for any that might try heading out his way. Utred, seeing the logic of his fellow dwarf's strategy, stepped a few paces in the other direction and readied his own greataxe. He had the <em>Null Axe</em> out of what he called his "<em>weapon locker</em>," knowing full well that once he touched the sands of the Desolate Waste he'd no longer be able to access any of the weapons contained within its extradimensional storage space. It was wrapped in its <em>antimagic</em> covering and strapped to his weapon-belt with a length of rope, tied in a manner as to allow it to be easily yanked free.</p><p></p><p>Two of the illithid mummies escaped the ring of blades in the manner Utred and Khari had anticipated, but they were on the far side of the gate of Svusban and thus out of range. These two backed off and refrained from immediate combat, secure in the knowledge the necromantic sands would restore their wounds in short time, allowing them to re-enter combat as a full-strength ready reserve force. Five others stumbled out of the <em>blade barrier</em>, staggering through the cutting blades and ending up on the outside of the Writhing Gate, making their way to the heroes who had attacked them. The two inside Cramer's "<em>chum wall</em>" held their ground, looking about them for a way out of the whirling blades. Only Saint Svusban held his ground, taking the damage from the flying blades as he contemplated his next move. And sure enough, the necromantic effects of the sands of the Desolate Wastes did their thing, slowly healing up the wounds of the undead guardians.</p><p></p><p>From her aerial vantage point, Marlo cast a <em>maximized empowered scorching ray</em> spell down at Saint Svusban and the two closest illithid mummies to him. One of the mummies burst immediately into flame and was destroyed, while the other two were burned by the attack but not totally engulfed. Marlo could tell Saint Svusban was not even a mummy, for he moved faster than the others and was not affected as much by the power of the flames. He was in fact a corpse creature, drained of life by the Desolate Wastes and reanimated as an undead version of himself with all of the abilities he had while still alive, only now not needing to eat, breathe, or sleep.</p><p></p><p>And now Saint Svusban made his move. Stepping out of the effects of the <em>blade barrier</em> spell into the ring with the other two mind flayer guardians, he turned and sent a <em>mind blast</em> through the ring of blades and crashing into the minds of four of the heroes, for Khari was too far away from the others to have fit inside the cone of optimal impact. As far as "optical impact" went, though, Svusban was in for a big disappointment for the <em>mind blast</em>, which in theory could have stunned 80% of his attackers into temporary immobility, had no effect whatsoever. All four of the heroes steeled their minds against the mental onslaught and felt the <em>mind blast</em> wash over them to no effect.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok finished off the mummy he'd attacked initially; it had taken too much of a bruising from the <em>blade barrier</em> to be in any shape to defend itself against the reptile's axe-blade. Cramer cast a <em>searing light</em> spell at another approaching illithid mummy, causing it to stagger at the magical onslaught and then fall apart to nothingness. Khari's warhammer and Utred's greataxe cut down two more of the mummies, leaving only a few to stagger up and try ineffectually to hit the heroes. But at least the sands were healing them back up, if slower than might have been desired.</p><p></p><p>Marlo cast a <em>maximized fireball</em> spell down at the trio inside the <em>blade barrier</em> spell, since they made such a nice grouping in there. Svusban reacted to the pain of the spell's burns with a psionic <em>body adjustment</em> spell, realigning the cells of his body to better overcome the damage he had sustained.</p><p></p><p>Another illithid mummy walked up from around the Writhing Gate and Jhasspok didn't hesitate to cut it down as well. There were no longer any mummies within immediate view and the lizardfolk decided he'd go clockwise around the Writhing Gate to see if there were any others he might slay. <Hold up!> called Cramer as he cast a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell on Utred. <I have a spell I want to cast on your battleaxe that will be particularly deadly to the mummies!></p><p></p><p>Khari likewise saw no enemies within reach, but that didn't mean he couldn't get to some he knew were nearby. Using the power of his <em>earthglide warhammer</em> to burrow beneath the sands, he popped up behind one of the mummies in the center of the <em>blade barrier</em> spell and sent his weapon-head crashing into the back of the undead thing's head. Utred channeled his inner rage as he activated his <em>winged boots</em>, flying above the <em>blade barrier</em> spell and dropping down low enough to send his greataxe into the head of the other illithid mummy within the ring. Their return attacks were rather feeble, neither one striking their respective dwarven foes. And already the wounds they'd received at the hands of the dwarven-crafted weapons were starting to heal up by contact with the necromantically-charged sands of the Desolate Wastes.</p><p></p><p>Marlo slew the mummy Khari had been fighting with another <em>maximized empowered scorching ray</em> spell, but the ray she had sent to Utred's foe missed entirely. Saint Svusban cast a psionic <em>lion's charge</em> spell and charged Khari with his <em>unholy deep crystal scythe of speed</em>...missing with each of his four swings. (It didn't help that the dwarf's dodges from the incoming blows were aided by his ability to sink partially into the sands at full speed.) One tentacle attack did strike true, though, but the illithid didn't get a good enough grip to try to pry open his skull and remove the dwarf's brain, as he would have loved to do back when he was living and required such fare for sustenance.</p><p></p><p>Cramer cast a <em>disrupting weapon</em> spell on Jhasspok's axe and then gave him the mental go-ahead to start running after the "ready reserve" mummies. Jhasspok needed no further encouragement, kicking up sand behind him with each stride. He brought his battleaxe back for a powerful swing and let fly with every ounce of strength he had. And the blow was a powerful one, but it did no more damage than would have been expected had the lizardfolk not waited around for Cramer's spell. (Afterwards, when Jhasspok reported there had been no discernable difference, the little gnome had opined the undead must have been more powerful than the types the spell was able to affect. Jhasspok took him at his word - for the lizard knew nothing about the intricate workings of magic - but decided next time he probably wouldn't wait around for a spell of questionable effectiveness; he'd rather rely upon the power behind his own limbs.)</p><p></p><p>Khari ran over and finished off the remaining illithid mummy within the still-active <em>blade barrier</em> spell, while Utred took care of Saint Svusban in a most unusual fashion. Dropping his greataxe at his side, he rushed at the spindly illithid, pinning his arms to his side and running forward to force the mind flayer back into one of the seats before a withered tentacle of the Elder God Uboros. Of course, that put them both well within the effects of the numerous whirling blades slashing through the air, but the dwarf just laughed as the spinning knives and swords slashed both him and his pinned foe. "Whaddaya think, mind flayer?" he taunted Saint Svusban, who struggled to free himself to no avail. "Who d'ya think can last longer, you or me?"</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok felled the first reserve mummy with a second blow from his battleaxe and then spun to face the second. It was brought down mere moments later with a series of brutal attacks. Then Jhasspok whipped about again, facing the Writhing Gate - whose tentacles had stopped writhing weeks ago when they'd allowed the neothelid into the <em>planar gate</em> to the Far Realm so it could devour the Dying One from within. Calling over the link to see if there were any more mummies to be slain and told only Saint Svusban remained and he was safely inside the <em>blade barrier</em> spell, the lizardfolk sat back on his tail and pulled a dried dung beetle from the pouch at his waist. He was hungry after his workout and he had earned a snack and a respite.</p><p></p><p>Marlo could only catch the occasional glimpse of Saint Svusban between the whirling blades, but it was enough to send a wave of <em>magic missile</em> spells down at him - <em>maximized</em> versions at that. Between two waves of that and Utred keeping the mind flayer corpse creature inside the ring of blades, Saint Svusban was slain before he could make any further attacks of his own. Cramer, upon being notified over the mental link that the last illithid guardian had been slain, dismissed the <em>blade barrier</em> spell now that the only one being carved up by it was Utred. The dwarf dropped the illithid's limp corpse to the ground and started looking to his own numerous wounds. Cramer was quick to cast healing spells his way, and at the other heroes in need of his healing touch.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok took the opportunity to sever Saint Svusban's head from his neck with a quick blow of his axe. He held it up to Cramer; it was still mostly intact but its four facial tentacles had been hacked to pieces by the whirling blades of force energy. Still...</p><p></p><p>"I think it's still usable," Cramer pronounced and began the casting of a <em>speak with dead</em> spell. Utred, in the meantime, removed the <em>Null Axe</em> from its packaging and started slicing off the dead tentacles that made up the Writhing Gate. As each was severed near ground level, the far end dropped back into the Far Realm and the portal sealed back up, ensuring the Gate of Svusban could be used no more.</p><p></p><p>"We've got seven questions to ask him," Cramer told the others. "What do we want to know?"</p><p></p><p>After some quick discussions, the first question was, "What death wish must be present on a ship that will take us to the unchartable isle?" This was a follow-up question from an answer they'd received from the severed head of the previous illithid "Saint" they'd interrogated in such a fashion.</p><p></p><p><Those that don't want to ever return,> came the mental answer.</p><p></p><p>"Who guards the Gate of Radravossk?" was the next question; <Those who sought eternity> was the reply. The heroes took that to mean members of the Seekers of Eternity, or at least those from one of its many sects.</p><p></p><p>The third question was the verification of a guess. "Is the Gate of Rylethek underwater?" Cramer asked, and gained affirmation that such was indeed the case.</p><p></p><p>"Who guards the Gate of Rylethek besides Saint Rylethek himself?" was the fourth question; <The other nine cultists and any others they deem necessary> was the answer - not very helpful.</p><p></p><p>Marlo had a good question: "Who is the most powerful of the remaining illithid Saints?" <Zarbugak the Mad,> replied the severed head of Saint Svusban. That prompted a logical sixth question: "What makes him the most powerful?" and the answer was merely, <He embraced the Far Realm.></p><p></p><p>"Last question," intoned Cramer. "What are the defenses of the Gate of Sardegon?" <Unknown,> replied Svusban, <for the previous guardians were defeated.></p><p></p><p>"Well then," said Cramer, tossing the severed head aside. It was in such bad condition Jhasspok wasn't even the least bit tempted to eat it. "It looks like we have a bit of a walk ahead of us. Which way did the scholars say we should head again?"</p><p></p><p>"That way," replied Marlo, pointing to the northwest as she finished transcribing the last words in her notebook; she wanted to be able to go over these questions and answers as needed. "We've probably got several days of travel ahead of us."</p><p></p><p>"Better get a start on, then," replied Utred and headed off in that direction.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>This was a fun adventure to run through, and Dan has permanently added "<em>chum wall</em>" to his personal lexicon. This was our last adventure as 15th-level characters (we leveled up after the adventure concluded) and our first gaming session in this campaign in six weeks, due to a slew of scheduling difficulties. I think we were all glad to be slinging dice again.</p><p></p><p>Cramer's <em>disrupting weapon</em> spell only failed because the illithid mummies had one more HD than we did. Jhasspok's still not impressed.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8475977, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 46: THE GATE OF SVUSBAN[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 15[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 9[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 14/psychic warrior 1[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 15[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 15[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 1 December 2021 - - - It was a month of relative inactivity - at least not the frantic activity to which the adventurers had become accustomed. They had decided they'd go after the Gate of Svusban next and that meant traveling into the Desolate Wastes. But entering the Desolate Wastes was not something one did lightly, or without preparation. To help provide such preparation, [B]Nuriel[/B] was summoned to speak to the adventurers and the Greenvale scholars who were helping them prepare to purge the world of the remaining Writhing Gates. Nuriel was an astral deva, one of the most powerful types of celestials engaged in the never-ending war against the fiends of the Lower Depths. She was the commander of the Desolate Watch, a group the five former slaves had met up with and aided once before in the past, and she was more than happy to provide the assembled group with everything she knew about the Desolate Wastes. "The lands now known as the Desolate Wastes is a vast desert, but it was once a lush land like the surrounding areas. However, centuries ago, the area was blessed with divine power to damage evil fiends on contact. This divine power was also infused with necromantic energies, to heal and create undead creatures filled with an innate hatred for the fiends from the Lower Planes - this is the genesis of the Undying Crusade. Of course, these necromantic energies are harmful to all living creatures to a lesser extent, such that to enter the Desolate Wastes without proper countermeasures will have detrimental effects upon you. I will thus leave you with a set of instructions for your crafters to be able to create [I]necromantic attunement wards[/I] of whatever fashion they desire - the items can be crafted in the form of a ring, necklace, bracer...even as an [I]ioun stone[/I], should you so desire." Jhasspok turned to Utred at his side. "Tell you later," the dwarf hissed, knowing full well the lizardfolk had no idea what an [I]ioun stone[/I] was. "As you may well know, the Baator's Breath Mountains are the location of the various breaches to the Hell dimensions. To the south, the armies of Ashfall keep the devils at bay; to the north, we have the Desolate Wastes to do the same thing. A [I]compulsion[/I] effect causes newly-formed undead - including those whose life energies were drained by the sands of the Wastes themselves - to join the Undying Crusade. A [I]desecrate[/I] effect further empowers the undead, keeping them in the fight as needed. Finally, a [I]dimensional lock[/I] component, affecting all those who touch the sands, prevents the fiends from leaping from plane to plane or teleporting away." "Um, excuse me," Cramer asked, holding his hand up hesitantly (for he felt self-conscious interrupting a member of the celestial host). "We won't have any problems teleporting to the Gate of Svusban, will we? Because it lies in the middle of the Desolate Wastes." "Teleporting in will not be a problem," Nuriel reassured the gnome. "Teleporting back out, though, will not be possible." Now that their cleric had opened the gate (so to speak) about interrupting Nuriel's briefing, Marlo felt confident enough to ask a question of her own. "Why is the Writhing Gate out in the middle of the Desolate Wastes in the first place?" she asked. "That doesn't seem like a very safe place to have placed it." "Ah, but originally the Gate of Svusban was underground, like most of the other Writhing Gates," explained Nuriel. "The explosion of divine and necromantic energies that created the Desolate Wastes of the surrounding land completely destroyed the stone above that particular Writhing Gate. That had not been part of the plan, merely a coincidental a side effect. So yes, you'll be able to [I]scry[/I] upon your target and [I]teleport[/I] directly there." Cramer was ready to go right then and there but the unfortunate reality that it would take weeks to craft five [I]necromantic attunement wards[/I] to their individual specifications forced him into unhappy patience. It wasn't like he had any choice about the matter, either, for without the protective devices they wouldn't last long in the Wastes...and none of the five particularly wished to become an undead member of the Undying Crusade. But weeks later, when the individual protective items had been crafted to the adventurers' specifications, the five were eager to set out. "Pre-combat prep spells," commanded Cramer as he cast the spells [I]longstrider[/I], [I]spell resistance[/I], [I]moment of prescience[/I], and [I]spell turning[/I] upon himself, one right after the other. He then pulled out one of his wands and cast an [I]owl's wisdom[/I] spell upon each of the five. "What does that do?" Jhasspok asked Utred, his go-to source of information. "Makes you wiser, toughens up your mind," replied the dwarven barbarian. "Good idea," nodded the lizardfolk, approving of the choice of spell being cast upon him. "See? It's workin' already," commented Utred. Marlo cast a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] on herself and a [I]Rary's telepathic bond[/I] spell upon the entire group. "Jhasspok, would you like a [I]stoneskin[/I] spell?" she asked. "Yes, please, Marlo," replied the lizardfolk, his eyes focused steadfastly upon her midsection - specifically, the pocket of her robes where he knew Marlo's toad familiar Truffles sat. Due to the numerous tentacles growing out of the toad in all directions since their excursion into the Far Realm, Jhasspok's curiosity about how best to eat the pseudonatural toad without it turning to flames in his mouth had only grown over the months. He wondered how much Truffles' tentacles would taste like those of a mind flayer - would their smaller size have an effect on their taste? "Okay, then, we're all ready!" Marlo declared after having cast the proffered [I]stoneskin[/I] spell on Jhasspok. She turned to the [I]crystal ball[/I] on display, where a sunborn drow wizard with bright red hair had concentrated on the Gate of Svusban. "Is that it?" she asked, peering at a familiar ring of collapsed tentacles amid a field of sand. As usual, there were ten illithid shapes seated one before each tentacle, with one obvious leader - this one held some sort of scythe before him - and nine other "lackeys" (or so the sorceress liked to think of them), these nine not moving at all. It was entirely possible, Marlo knew, that those nine were petrified in place like the ones in the Writhing Gate the five had used as slaves to raid the surface world for the benefit of their Overreach drow masters. "Gather up," Marlo commanded and the other four all closed in, touching a hand to her [I]robe of eyes[/I]. (Jhasspok's clawed hand got uncomfortably close to the pocket where Truffles sat and the sorceress slapped it for good measure; the lizardfolk decided now was not a good time for a quick snatch-and-grab.) Then, with the vocalization of an arcane spell-phrase, the five adventurers disappeared and teleported directly behind the tentacle where the scythe-wielding illithid was seated. Marlo used her [I]boots of levitation[/I] to shoot 30 feet into the air, where she could better get a view of the surrounding area and make sure there were no other creatures in the vicinity. Of course, she didn't stop to think that when she flew 30 feet up into the air the area of effect of her 10-foot-radius [I]magic circle against evil[/I] was yanked away from the rest of her group.... But despite having teleported in behind the one illithid Marlo had figured might have a chance of spotting them, she had failed to take into consideration there might be a completely different reason for the total immobility of the other nine mind flayers. In this case, it wasn't because they had been turned to stone, with only their minds generating part of the power to operate the Writhing Gate; rather, it was because these nine mind flayers were themselves each undead - mummies, in fact. The ones across from the circle from their leader [B]Saint Svusban[/B] saw the heroes' arrival and Marlo's immediate flight straight up into the sky. As mummies, they focused their gazes upon the collected heroes, but their living minds - in some cases no doubt due to the [I]owl's wisdom[/I] spells Cramer had cast upon them with his wand - were strong enough to overcome the panic many felt in the presence of undead mummies. <Crap!> Khari called over the link. <We're not fighting one mind flayer - we're fighting ten!> Another telepathic voice entered the minds of the five heroes at that point. It was Saint Svusban, the leader of the Writhing Gate named after him. <I thought we had an agreement,> he said directly into their minds. At the confused thoughts he picked up as a result, he added, <Aren't you part of the Undying Crusade?> <No, we're not a bunch of undead monstrosities!> sputtered Cramer indignantly. <Then in that case, I offer you the chance to retreat. You do not belong here.> Jhasspok ignored all of the mental chatter and did what he had come here to do - slay the defenders of the Writhing Gate (however many that might be) so Utred could carve up the Elder God's tentacles with his [I]Null Axe[/I] and prevent the Gate from ever working again. The lizardfolk ran forward, battleaxe in hand, and sent it crashing down upon the illithid mummy seated to the left of Saint Svusban. It was a pretty hearty blow, cutting deep into the undead thing's flesh...but at the cost of experiencing a few blows from Saint Svusban's magic scythe, whose blade was some sort of sharpened crystal. Marlo's [I]stoneskin[/I] spell deflected a great deal of the damage but the lizardfolk was bleeding in two places at the end of his initial attack. But then Cramer, noticing the placement of the ten illithids in a nice, symmetrical ring, used his [I]moment of prescience[/I] to ensure he overcame the inherent illithid spell resistance as he cast a [I]blade barrier[/I] spell such that the "wall" of force blades took the shape of a circle cutting through each of the undead mind flayers. <Heh heh heh,> he chuckled over the telepathic link, <I'm going to have to rename that spell the [I]chum wall![/I]> It was an apt name, too, for of the ten targets only two of them managed to leap out of the way of the manifesting blades of force energy in time, those two leaping to the center of the Writhing Gate as the other eight were chopped to pieces, with bits of undead flesh being tossed in all directions. Khari Hammerslammer had no desire to enter the blades just so he could get in some combat himself. He stepped to the side and positioned himself between two of the limp tentacles of the Writhing Gate, knowing full well if any of the undead mind flayers tried to escape Cramer's spell it would be by exiting between the tentacles. He readied his warhammer in hand for any that might try heading out his way. Utred, seeing the logic of his fellow dwarf's strategy, stepped a few paces in the other direction and readied his own greataxe. He had the [I]Null Axe[/I] out of what he called his "[I]weapon locker[/I]," knowing full well that once he touched the sands of the Desolate Waste he'd no longer be able to access any of the weapons contained within its extradimensional storage space. It was wrapped in its [I]antimagic[/I] covering and strapped to his weapon-belt with a length of rope, tied in a manner as to allow it to be easily yanked free. Two of the illithid mummies escaped the ring of blades in the manner Utred and Khari had anticipated, but they were on the far side of the gate of Svusban and thus out of range. These two backed off and refrained from immediate combat, secure in the knowledge the necromantic sands would restore their wounds in short time, allowing them to re-enter combat as a full-strength ready reserve force. Five others stumbled out of the [I]blade barrier[/I], staggering through the cutting blades and ending up on the outside of the Writhing Gate, making their way to the heroes who had attacked them. The two inside Cramer's "[I]chum wall[/I]" held their ground, looking about them for a way out of the whirling blades. Only Saint Svusban held his ground, taking the damage from the flying blades as he contemplated his next move. And sure enough, the necromantic effects of the sands of the Desolate Wastes did their thing, slowly healing up the wounds of the undead guardians. From her aerial vantage point, Marlo cast a [I]maximized empowered scorching ray[/I] spell down at Saint Svusban and the two closest illithid mummies to him. One of the mummies burst immediately into flame and was destroyed, while the other two were burned by the attack but not totally engulfed. Marlo could tell Saint Svusban was not even a mummy, for he moved faster than the others and was not affected as much by the power of the flames. He was in fact a corpse creature, drained of life by the Desolate Wastes and reanimated as an undead version of himself with all of the abilities he had while still alive, only now not needing to eat, breathe, or sleep. And now Saint Svusban made his move. Stepping out of the effects of the [I]blade barrier[/I] spell into the ring with the other two mind flayer guardians, he turned and sent a [I]mind blast[/I] through the ring of blades and crashing into the minds of four of the heroes, for Khari was too far away from the others to have fit inside the cone of optimal impact. As far as "optical impact" went, though, Svusban was in for a big disappointment for the [I]mind blast[/I], which in theory could have stunned 80% of his attackers into temporary immobility, had no effect whatsoever. All four of the heroes steeled their minds against the mental onslaught and felt the [I]mind blast[/I] wash over them to no effect. Jhasspok finished off the mummy he'd attacked initially; it had taken too much of a bruising from the [I]blade barrier[/I] to be in any shape to defend itself against the reptile's axe-blade. Cramer cast a [I]searing light[/I] spell at another approaching illithid mummy, causing it to stagger at the magical onslaught and then fall apart to nothingness. Khari's warhammer and Utred's greataxe cut down two more of the mummies, leaving only a few to stagger up and try ineffectually to hit the heroes. But at least the sands were healing them back up, if slower than might have been desired. Marlo cast a [I]maximized fireball[/I] spell down at the trio inside the [I]blade barrier[/I] spell, since they made such a nice grouping in there. Svusban reacted to the pain of the spell's burns with a psionic [I]body adjustment[/I] spell, realigning the cells of his body to better overcome the damage he had sustained. Another illithid mummy walked up from around the Writhing Gate and Jhasspok didn't hesitate to cut it down as well. There were no longer any mummies within immediate view and the lizardfolk decided he'd go clockwise around the Writhing Gate to see if there were any others he might slay. <Hold up!> called Cramer as he cast a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell on Utred. <I have a spell I want to cast on your battleaxe that will be particularly deadly to the mummies!> Khari likewise saw no enemies within reach, but that didn't mean he couldn't get to some he knew were nearby. Using the power of his [I]earthglide warhammer[/I] to burrow beneath the sands, he popped up behind one of the mummies in the center of the [I]blade barrier[/I] spell and sent his weapon-head crashing into the back of the undead thing's head. Utred channeled his inner rage as he activated his [I]winged boots[/I], flying above the [I]blade barrier[/I] spell and dropping down low enough to send his greataxe into the head of the other illithid mummy within the ring. Their return attacks were rather feeble, neither one striking their respective dwarven foes. And already the wounds they'd received at the hands of the dwarven-crafted weapons were starting to heal up by contact with the necromantically-charged sands of the Desolate Wastes. Marlo slew the mummy Khari had been fighting with another [I]maximized empowered scorching ray[/I] spell, but the ray she had sent to Utred's foe missed entirely. Saint Svusban cast a psionic [I]lion's charge[/I] spell and charged Khari with his [I]unholy deep crystal scythe of speed[/I]...missing with each of his four swings. (It didn't help that the dwarf's dodges from the incoming blows were aided by his ability to sink partially into the sands at full speed.) One tentacle attack did strike true, though, but the illithid didn't get a good enough grip to try to pry open his skull and remove the dwarf's brain, as he would have loved to do back when he was living and required such fare for sustenance. Cramer cast a [I]disrupting weapon[/I] spell on Jhasspok's axe and then gave him the mental go-ahead to start running after the "ready reserve" mummies. Jhasspok needed no further encouragement, kicking up sand behind him with each stride. He brought his battleaxe back for a powerful swing and let fly with every ounce of strength he had. And the blow was a powerful one, but it did no more damage than would have been expected had the lizardfolk not waited around for Cramer's spell. (Afterwards, when Jhasspok reported there had been no discernable difference, the little gnome had opined the undead must have been more powerful than the types the spell was able to affect. Jhasspok took him at his word - for the lizard knew nothing about the intricate workings of magic - but decided next time he probably wouldn't wait around for a spell of questionable effectiveness; he'd rather rely upon the power behind his own limbs.) Khari ran over and finished off the remaining illithid mummy within the still-active [I]blade barrier[/I] spell, while Utred took care of Saint Svusban in a most unusual fashion. Dropping his greataxe at his side, he rushed at the spindly illithid, pinning his arms to his side and running forward to force the mind flayer back into one of the seats before a withered tentacle of the Elder God Uboros. Of course, that put them both well within the effects of the numerous whirling blades slashing through the air, but the dwarf just laughed as the spinning knives and swords slashed both him and his pinned foe. "Whaddaya think, mind flayer?" he taunted Saint Svusban, who struggled to free himself to no avail. "Who d'ya think can last longer, you or me?" Jhasspok felled the first reserve mummy with a second blow from his battleaxe and then spun to face the second. It was brought down mere moments later with a series of brutal attacks. Then Jhasspok whipped about again, facing the Writhing Gate - whose tentacles had stopped writhing weeks ago when they'd allowed the neothelid into the [I]planar gate[/I] to the Far Realm so it could devour the Dying One from within. Calling over the link to see if there were any more mummies to be slain and told only Saint Svusban remained and he was safely inside the [I]blade barrier[/I] spell, the lizardfolk sat back on his tail and pulled a dried dung beetle from the pouch at his waist. He was hungry after his workout and he had earned a snack and a respite. Marlo could only catch the occasional glimpse of Saint Svusban between the whirling blades, but it was enough to send a wave of [I]magic missile[/I] spells down at him - [I]maximized[/I] versions at that. Between two waves of that and Utred keeping the mind flayer corpse creature inside the ring of blades, Saint Svusban was slain before he could make any further attacks of his own. Cramer, upon being notified over the mental link that the last illithid guardian had been slain, dismissed the [I]blade barrier[/I] spell now that the only one being carved up by it was Utred. The dwarf dropped the illithid's limp corpse to the ground and started looking to his own numerous wounds. Cramer was quick to cast healing spells his way, and at the other heroes in need of his healing touch. Jhasspok took the opportunity to sever Saint Svusban's head from his neck with a quick blow of his axe. He held it up to Cramer; it was still mostly intact but its four facial tentacles had been hacked to pieces by the whirling blades of force energy. Still... "I think it's still usable," Cramer pronounced and began the casting of a [I]speak with dead[/I] spell. Utred, in the meantime, removed the [I]Null Axe[/I] from its packaging and started slicing off the dead tentacles that made up the Writhing Gate. As each was severed near ground level, the far end dropped back into the Far Realm and the portal sealed back up, ensuring the Gate of Svusban could be used no more. "We've got seven questions to ask him," Cramer told the others. "What do we want to know?" After some quick discussions, the first question was, "What death wish must be present on a ship that will take us to the unchartable isle?" This was a follow-up question from an answer they'd received from the severed head of the previous illithid "Saint" they'd interrogated in such a fashion. <Those that don't want to ever return,> came the mental answer. "Who guards the Gate of Radravossk?" was the next question; <Those who sought eternity> was the reply. The heroes took that to mean members of the Seekers of Eternity, or at least those from one of its many sects. The third question was the verification of a guess. "Is the Gate of Rylethek underwater?" Cramer asked, and gained affirmation that such was indeed the case. "Who guards the Gate of Rylethek besides Saint Rylethek himself?" was the fourth question; <The other nine cultists and any others they deem necessary> was the answer - not very helpful. Marlo had a good question: "Who is the most powerful of the remaining illithid Saints?" <Zarbugak the Mad,> replied the severed head of Saint Svusban. That prompted a logical sixth question: "What makes him the most powerful?" and the answer was merely, <He embraced the Far Realm.> "Last question," intoned Cramer. "What are the defenses of the Gate of Sardegon?" <Unknown,> replied Svusban, <for the previous guardians were defeated.> "Well then," said Cramer, tossing the severed head aside. It was in such bad condition Jhasspok wasn't even the least bit tempted to eat it. "It looks like we have a bit of a walk ahead of us. Which way did the scholars say we should head again?" "That way," replied Marlo, pointing to the northwest as she finished transcribing the last words in her notebook; she wanted to be able to go over these questions and answers as needed. "We've probably got several days of travel ahead of us." "Better get a start on, then," replied Utred and headed off in that direction. - - - This was a fun adventure to run through, and Dan has permanently added "[I]chum wall[/I]" to his personal lexicon. This was our last adventure as 15th-level characters (we leveled up after the adventure concluded) and our first gaming session in this campaign in six weeks, due to a slew of scheduling difficulties. I think we were all glad to be slinging dice again. Cramer's [I]disrupting weapon[/I] spell only failed because the illithid mummies had one more HD than we did. Jhasspok's still not impressed. [/QUOTE]
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