Return to the Tomb of Horrors finally gets a Story Hour!

[James McMurray]

The group, having heard William’s scream, begins to search around for him. Galrond, while checking the corner where William was last seen, is also pulled into the mouth and spat out beside William, naked. After a moment’s discussion, they decide that they cannot avoid all of the traps, and should wait for the party’s return. Galrond does use Limited Wish to create a small wooden holy symbol for William, in case they are attacked.

The party debates things, and agrees to leave to attempt to scry for their missing companions. Using Mage Hand and the Boots of Spider Climbing, they manage to get out with no one bouncing off the ceiling (then plummeting to the floor as the pillars’ magic is dispelled by the Tomb). When they reach the main hallway, they see their friends, and everyone returns to Lopolla to regroup and resupply.

William, with the sale of the jeweled crown, manages to get himself a chain shirt, a Long Sword, a new holy symbol, and a few other items. They also take the next two days to create another pair of Boots of Spider Climbing, which Oskar takes (lending Kargur his Boots of Striding and Springing).

Returning to the room with the Pillars, the group begins to investigate the Throne, as they have previously determined that there is a passageway behind it. Thinking that perhaps the crown and scepters are keys, Oskar places the crown upon his head, whereupon he begins to see as if the room were lit by daylight. He also knows somehow that the only way to remove the crown from his head will be to touch it with the scepter. After a few experiments fail to move the throne, he touches the golden end of the scepter to his head and the crown comes off.

Further discussion leads the party to Mage Hand the glowing gem into the Antimagic aura near the door (to ensure it does not explode or something) and Lo’ser moves into the field to experiment further with the Crown and Scepter. When he attempts to remove it, he instead touches the silver end, and is immediately turned to a pile of dust upon the floor, while the crown and scepter drop to floor with a clang. William gathers his remains (keeping his distance from the items) and Casts Resurrection, returning Lo’ser to life, albeit down a level, and shaken from his experience.

Further experimentation with the scepter (leaving the crown alone for now) manages to lower the throne by touching the scepter to an engraving of the crown upon it. Behind the throne is a small passageway leading up a flight of stairs to two large mithral doors. Upon the steps is a silver key, which the party collects.

A bit of experimentation with the door (resulting in shocked hands for Oskar) manages to open them (the scepter being the key, not either of the keys found earlier). Behind the doors is a room. In each corner of the room stands a large iron statue, which detect as both magical and evil. In the center of the room are a large sarcophagus, two triple-locked (and poison trapped) chests, and a bronze urn with a gold and silver stopper.

William creates walls of stone, blocking off the East and West walls (and therefore also the statues). This will give the group some warning should the things animate and begin to attack. Lo’ser moves forward and investigates the urn. As he steps near it, smoke begins to rise from its top, and he moves forward to open it. A massive efreet billows forth, “You have freed me, what is it you desire?”

Billy warns Lo’ser that efreet are known to be evil, at which the Efreet angrily replies “you would judge me by the actions of my kind!?” Billy rapidly backs down, stating that he respects power. The efreet is slightly mollified, and turns back to Lo’ser. “I do not have much time, you much make your requests. A small hourglass appears in the air beside him, and the sands begin to pour.

“I want to know the path to Acererak” say Lo’ser.

Pointing to the West wall, the efreet replies, “Through that doorway. What else?”

Lo’ser requests a weapon which he may smite Acererak with, and a glowing Dwarven War axe appears at his feet. He then asks for the statues to be gone, whereupon the efreet leaves. As the group batters down the wall pointed to, they see that the statue behind it is gone, and a bit of searching shows a secret door.

Passing through, they find a small passageway, and Lo’ser’s careful progress reveals another secret door. The party turns to go through it, and finds (after a bit of searching) a small room. A keyhole in the floor is the only feature within the room, and when Lo’ser places the golden key into it, he is blown to the ceiling. Moving back (unscathed due to his cat-like reflexes), he tries the silver key, and the floor beneath him moves upwards. As he leaves the room, Acererak’s true crypt is revealed. Within it are the skull and treasure seen via scrying before, as well as Galrond, Lo’ser, and William’s missing equipment.

Billy talks to the skull, but it does not reply. Lo’ser moves cautiously in and retrieves his items. When the skull does not react, the group moves in to retrieve everyone else’s items, and then prepares to grab the Amulet. When it is touched, the air in the room swirls, and a man-sized ghostly figure appears, moving towards Oskar (the one who touched the amulet). Oskar hits it, while it tries to hit Oskar and misses. The party attacks, and it soon falls back, only to reform larger. William turns it, and as it flees through the pedestal containing the skull, Kargur takes a swing at it. His blade passes through the Wraith’s form, and hits the pedestal, sending the skull and Amulet to the floor.

As the skull drops, it rebounds and floats up to chest level. Looking around the room, it lets out a horrendous howl. The party attacks it, but spells and weapons all seem to rebound off of it with no effect. It moves out into the center of the room and turns towards Billy. Opening its mouth, the thing sucks in air, and Billy collapses to the floor, rapidly turning to dust. The gem in the skull’s left eye-socket begins to glitter from the inside, as Billy’s Soul prepares to become food for the demi-lich.

Kargur assails the thing, and manages to hurt it. Lo’ser charges with his new War axe, and as he strike it, the axe shatters into pieces, and a small crack appears upon the skull. The skull turns and swallows Galrond’s soul as well.

The remainder of the party’s attacks are futile, and Oskar grabs the amulet, telling the group to retreat.

The skull turns to Kargur, who has yet again hammered it repeatedly with his Holy Avenger, and draws his soul in. now both eyes and a tooth gleam, evidence that there may be hope for the victims.

William utters a Holy Word, and the power of Heironious works its way into the crack caused by Lo’ser’s axe, shattering the skull into many fragments. The group begins to gather the fallen, when the turned wraith returns, reaching through a wall to drain William’s life force. As William collapses, Lanis, Oskar, and Lo’ser prepare for battle yet again.

They manage to defeat the thing, but not before Lanis’s life force is also snuffed out. Moments later, William rises as a wraith, but Oskar and Lo’ser quickly destroy the thing. They also destroy Lanis’ wraith form the moment it appears.

Lost and unable to return, the two decide to return to the entrance, where Lo’ser will attempt to activate Kargur’s belt.

They gather the dust of their fallen friends, as well as some of the gear, and Lo’ser activates the amulet. Unfortunately, he messes something up, and the two find themselves trapped upon the astral plane, with an angry Glabrezu bearing down upon them. Just as it is about to reach them, Acererak’s bindings drag it back into the area it is forced to guard, and it relies upon its magic to Blight the two, and stun Lo’ser.

Oskar grabs Lo’ser, and they retreat. Although it attempts to call them back with magic, Oskar resists and the two fly to freedom. They travel for quite a while, with Oskar trying to call out to the Solar they met previously (but with no answer). Finally, they meet up with 2 traveling clerics, who direct them to a Silver Pool, and also heal them in exchange for a large diamond and Lo’ser’s Necklace of Fireballs.

Traveling onward, the two skirt around a Githyanki fortress, and turn invisible to avoid a Githzerai raiding party. They finally make it to the color pool and step through, to collapse from exhaustion as the days of travel catch up to them.

Oskar awakens to an owlbear chewing on his stomach, and they manage to kill the beast before passing back out. They spend three days wandering in the forest, and trying to activate the Amulet (frequently causing it to backlash and slam Lo’ser with magical force. They finally succeed and meet up with Amastacia, who remembers the Amulet’s command word and takes them back to retrieve their fallen comrades and treasure.

The group heads to Greyhawk City, where the high priest of Pelor communes and uses divination. Feeling that the group has made definite progress, he takes a few days to Resurrect the fallen party members, who then return to Lopolla to study the Amulet and decide what to do.

Kargur, on his first night back among the living, awakens to see a Glabrezu standing over him. In its small arms it holds the Crown and Scepter it was sent to retrieve. He tries to stand, but the beast gates in 4 Hezrou, whose stench sends him reeling. As he retches and gags, the Glabrezu gathers his gear and the Hezrous tear him apart.

The group finds his mangled corpse the next day, and take him to Greyhawk city again, where he is resurrected.

 

[Schmoe]

Man, it's tough to be an adventurer! Do they get frequent-corpse discounts at the temple?

 

[James McMurray]

They kind of get discounts. The Priest doesn't charge them for the casting, as he prefers services. He does of course make them provide the 5,000gp gem though.

 

[James McMurray]

While waiting for the priest, the group decides to resupply Kargur, as he was found naked in a ransacked room, with only his glove on his hand. They purchase a Breastplate and a Masterwork Shield for him, as well a Handy Haversack and a few more accouterments. The next day, the High Priest of Pelor brings him back from the dead, and the group begins to discuss what they shall do.

The group argues over where to go next. Oskar suggests they perform experiments with the mouths to determine where items go when they enter them. Others wish to attempt to retrieve Kargur’s gear, as they believe it will have been taken to the Demi-Lich’s tomb. Kargur is the one most behind this idea, as he feels ineffectual without his Shield of Command.

To ratify the situation, the group decides to use Oskar’s new spear of Luck to wish for a Shield of Command. They do so, but magic being what it is they do not get the effects they had hoped for. Instead they receive a Shield +1 that is capable of casting Command once per day. Kargur yet again presses to head back to the demi-lich’s tomb, but others disagree, feeling there is no time for the casualties such an act could bring on. In the end, they decide to commune in the hopes of determining their best course of action. And another day slips by as the undead of Shiboleth grow stronger.

The next day’s communing involves the following questions:

1) Is Lo’ser Lawful?
a. No
2) Is Lo’ser Chaotic?
a. Yes
3) Is Lo’ser Evil?
a. No
4) Is Lo’ser Good?
a. Yes
5) Does Heironious approve of us traveling with Lo’ser?
a. Yes
6) Is the first mouth we encountered the gate to the City of Moil?
a. Yes
7) Is the second mouth we encountered the gate to the City of Moil?
a. No
8) Is the third mouth we encountered the gate to the City of Moil?
a. No
9) Will our equipment journey with us through the gate?
a. Yes
10) Can we retrieve Kargur’s Gear without fighting the demi-lich?
a. No
11) Is the Amulet that was found more than simply a clue?
b. No
12) Will William’s magic work in the City of Moil?
c. Partially
13) Should we continue exploring the tomb?
a. No
14) Has the demi-lich returned?
a. Yes
15)
16) Can Galrond have a pony? (This last was asked at Galrond’s insistence, and as nobody could think of a better question, William obliged)?
a. Yes
b.
Armed with their new knowledge, the group returns to the Tomb of Acererak and step into the mouth in the entry hallway, each holding a shard of Acererak’s skull. They appear on the far side moments later, beneath a roiling sky limned with flashes of massive lightning. Before them stretch three bridges, hanging over a sea of black mist. Rising from the mists are several towers, connected by more bridges. Ahead there is a three-way fork on their bridge, and a large rusty iron obelisk covered in writing. The air is bitingly cold, and frost lines everything as their breaths turn to steam in the frigid air.

Galrond looks at Oskar and says “You’ve got magic on you.” A few moments later he says, “I can still see it.” When Oskar’s face stays puzzled, Galrond explains, “Our spells are not being dispelled.” Although it comes as good news, William and Billy are a bit irked that they did not think to ask that question, as they are armed with only instantaneous spells and are thus not at peak effectiveness.

Lo’ser moves forward to check out the obelisk, and finds the following engraved upon it:

The City that Waits was the City of Moil
Where dreams truly died, but bodies yet toil.
In slumber unrelenting, they lie yet in wait.
Biding their time to seal your fate.


Discovery of the Void and my fortress within
Demands exploration of peril again.
Find amid towers degenerate the single key
And resolve the dilemma of problems three.


Beard the Forceful dragon in its windswept lair;
Remove the key from the solid air.
Beneath webs of glowing emerald,
Hangs a riddle-box, ripe to be solved.


The Darkweaver endures the cold in her lair;
Grasp your fate with consummate care.
The lifeless dream that marks the crime
Is The Vestige that guards the sands of time.


Each resolution removes one obstacle
For those who peruse this written oracle.
The Phantom released flies you in fashion
To my inevitable Fortress of Conclusion.


The group debates which way to head, and decides they will move towards the leftmost tower. Lo’ser scouts ahead, and he sees a mural of a sunrise over the entry arch. It is covered in the ever-present frost. Turning right in the entry hall he finds a rubble filled room with a throne in the back. The rear of the throne is embossed with an ice covered sunset scene, and Lo’ser moves on. A little way past this area, he finds an ice-filled hallway that leads to a Wand held clamped atop a pedestal. The pedestal has invisible runes upon it, which he deciphers: “The choice of days empowers the wand, but the choice cannot be made from here.” Taking up the wand, he returns to the group, who decide that perhaps the runes refer to a different tower, so they head down the central pathway.

The runes above the door are not deciphered, and the group moves in. The interior of the Tower is made up of floorless space, dropping down into the black mists below. A slender catwalk moves out to the central spire and then circles it, with three paths leading off. The first leads to a silver archway filled with mists. Atop the archway are three symbols, engraved in Blue, Red, and Black tile. To the left of the arch are three similarly colored handprints, also inlaid in tile. The second path leads to a similar archway, with only a single yellow handprint, while the third archway found has a single blue handprint.

Lo’ser deciphers the runes on the first arch partially, and can tell they read _____ of Health. Kargur says they may mean destroyer of health, so the party avoids that color. Lo’ser touches the red handprint, and the mists in the arch turn to red. He steps through to find himself falling towards the black mists, in midair a couple of hundred feet from the nearest bridge. Reacting quickly and casting Fly, he heads towards the bridge.

He hears screeching coming from below, sounding like fingernails on a chalkboard, and looks down to see a swarm of Black dots hurtling towards him. He redoubles his efforts to reach the bridge.

The party, seeing he has not returned, also steps through and begins to fall. William activates his Hero’s Cloak, and as the Massive feathery wings unfold from his back, he swoops to catch Oskar. Billy touches Kargur and Lanis and Dimension Doors to the bridge, while Galrond casts Fly.

A second group of Black dots appear, but fireballs and Chained Sacrifice spells make very short work of the creatures. Lo’ser scouts again, and finds that they are on the bridge he first went down, near the tower with the Sunset mural. The main body of the group returns to the Tower of Portals and waits in the warmth, while Lo’ser returns to scout the Tower of Morning.

They take a couple of hours to warm up (aided by a Mass Heal from William) and also to identify the Wand of Days. They find that it can call forth the light of the sun, but that it is currently without any charges.

Returning to the first tower they examined, Lanis takes out his bastard sword and activates its flame. As the ice coating melts away from the mural above the archway, everyone watches on. They get the impression that it actually depicts a sunset, but are unsure why. Lanis, Oskar, and Billy slump to the ground asleep, pulled into Orcus’ curse upon the city. William attempts to awaken Billy and although the group determines that it is a curse, they are unable to affect it with a simple remove curse spell. The sleeping bodies are gathered and Lo’ser moves in to investigate the tower.

Before Lo’ser leaves, Galrond touches the circlet upon his head and says, “Heironious, please grant this supplicant your glory.” A crown of arcing lightning bolts shimmers and swirls atop Lo’ser’s head, and he moves out into the ancient city.

Entering the tower, he finds several rubble filled rooms, and thorough searching reveals nothing of interest. He then finds a large library with empty shelves. Moving to explore, he steps around a corner and feels a bone-numbing cold. A corpse on the floor at his feet cracks its way free of a thin layer of ice that covers it, then stands and casts two spells. Lo’ser recognizes the second as Blink.

Lo’ser Magic Missiles the creature, then turns to leave, but the hallway he is in fills with webbing. He forces his way through it, then changes his mind as a Massive Dire Wolf is summoned behind him. Dimension Dooring to another room, he is rapidly found by the wolf and the undead sorcerer, who attack him. He then Dimension Doors even farther to another room and heads for the exit, fleeing back towards the party, chased by the wolf and zombie.

As he reaches the party, they prepare for battle. The wolf fades into mist as it charges, and the Zombie stops to cast two spells. The archway to the tower fills with web, after the zombie’s first spell of haste takes effect.

Galrond casts Mass Haste then tries to break through the webbing and fails, while Kargur takes the fallen Lanis’s sword and begins to burn his way through them. William moves out onto the bridge, but is glued in place by the creature’s magic. Lo’ser, having forgotten the shield spell, casts magic missiles which slide harmlessly off of it.

The creature summons two more wolves, and William places a layered wall of stone between them. The zombie’s blink lets him step right through though, and he begins to drain William’s life force (as well as that of his two summoned wolves. Kargur charges forward, and the group’s combined assaults manage to drop the thing twice, but it keeps standing back up as it drains energy from those around it. Finally Galrond breaks free of the webbing and moves up to cast Polymorph, which turns the thing into a large dirt clod. Lo’ser moves up and kicks the dirt off of the bridge, and it plummets into the mists below.

The party regroups, and Lo’ser decides to scout a different tower this time. He moves back to the fork and heads right, which takes him to a tower whose archway is topped with a jumble of symbols. He cannot decipher them, and moves in. Searching through several rubble-filled rooms he finds absolutely nothing of interest, until he opens a door and comes foot-to-face with a fallen zombie. As his life-force is drained by the proximity to the thing, he blasts it with magic missiles and flees back to the group. This time the thing does not follow, and the party decides to send Kargur and Galrond back with Lo’ser to dispatch the thing.

As the group moves up to where it lays on the ground quiescent, Galrond casts another polymorph, and the thing shifts form into a wood and copper dessert tray. Kargur slams the thing with William’s mace of disruption, knocking off a wheel. After Galrond tells him “I’m not fixing that” he rolls the thing out to the bridge and it too plummets into the depths of the black mists. The party yet again regroups, and Lo’ser decides to investigate the bridge that exited from the Tower of Portals.

It takes him to a tower, but this one is formed of solid steel. Looking in he sees a floor some 120’ below him, with a ladder beside the entryway leading down. On the floor below is a glowing blue pillar of force, with something on it that cannot be made out from this distance. Lo’ser mounts the ladder and heads down, but stops when a booming deep voice greets him. “Hello, how are you doing? I don’t get many visitors here.”

Lo’ser climbs back up the ladder and when the voice asks, “Leaving so soon?” he answers back. “Ummm… Hello. Who are you?”

“I am Al’raktal. And you are?”

“Lo’ser”

“What brings you here?”

“I’m an explorer. What are you doing here?”

The voice laughs, “It seems we’ve gotten a few explorers here lately. I live here temporarily, and I am the Keeper of the Key.”

As the conversation continues, Lo’ser learns that whoever it is he is speaking with works for Acererak to guard a key. He has been here for 50 years. Lo’ser leaves to inform the group.

The party gathers in Heironious’s Guest House and discusses the situation. Galrond, in an attempt to free his friends from the curse, asks Heironious for guidance. As his limited wish takes hold, his eyes fade to black, then flare a brighter gold, and he mouths the words, “The source of all life shall free the sleepers.” As Galrond’s eyes return to their ‘normal’ gold, he sighs deeply. “That’s it. Unless there is dire emergency need, I will not be calling upon Heironious to do things that we could do through other means anymore. It’s just too damned draining.”

The party agrees that this divination probably means the sun, but can not figure out how to bring the sun here, since they are unsure as to how to recharge the wand they found earlier. With little else to do, Kargur, Galrond, and Lo’ser head back to the tower with the voice, leaving William in the Mansion to watch over Billy, Lanis, and Oskar.

As they reach the entryway the voice calls up, “Hello again Lo’ser. I see you brought some friends with you. I certainly hope this does not mean that you are going to attack me? But then again, that seems to be what happens when you hire on as a guard.”

Kargur yells out "No, we have not come here to attack you, but instead to talk. Alas, with this cold, we may not be able to stay long." He calls upon this Holy Order's training to sense out around him for the taint of evil.

Al'raktal replies, "No need to shout youngling, I can hear you just fine. It is a pity you will not be staying long, it tends to get a bit lonely here in the City. I am glad you have not elected to throw your lives away for a key. Although battle tends to alleviate the boredom, it is rarely a long affair, and certainly less entertaining than enlightened conversation amongst intellectuals."

Galrond interjects, "I agree. I am Galrond Glorykin. Pleasure to meet you."

"Los'er tells us that you have been here many years, and know of the curse Orcus has placed upon this city. We feel afraid that some of our fellow, uh, explorers may have accidentally fallen under this curse. Would there be any information you might share as to the curse and how to help our friends? Also, we have encountered certain inhabitants of the city whom wake from blocks of ice when approached and attack us with spells and force. Are these the original city dwellers, or are they newer creatures to this sleeping place

"I'm afraid I told him almost all of my knowledge regarding the curse. Orcus' followers in this city turned their backs on him and were cursed. When a sect of sun worshippers rose up and began to vie with the Demon Lord's clergy for power in the city, he stripped away their sunlight and decreed that if they believed the sun to be their savior, it should be truth. He put them all to sleep and dragged the city here, to where the sun will never shine."

"Those poor fools you have encountered are indeed this city's cursed souls. Or at least, they are the few who have managed to avoid becoming trapped within the Vestige, where most of the souls survive tot his day. I would offer you a bit of advice, should you come upon that thing, flee or it will most assuredly make you a part of it."

"Now then, I have offered up to you some small modicum of my knowledge, what have you to trade for it? Perhaps the tale of what brings you to this accursed place. I highly doubt you stumbled upon these spires and spans by sheer luck, especially given your friend's recognition of my employer's name."

Kargur replies, "Yes, it is actually your employer that we eventually seek. I am Kargur Melasur, and I have been, and shall be, quested upon a long arduous trail. The band I travel with has done and seen much over the years, from demons bursting forth from Temples of Pelor, to mighty chromatic Wyrms in secret lairs of power, to the undead flowing from Temples of St. Cuthbert. We have all see more death than a normal person could imagine in a dozen lives, and now that which employs you has made most of that but memories of better times. And currently, the bastard has my shield..." As he is talking, he sends forth his paladin's senses, but does not detect a source of evil. He also does not see anything within range of his detect evil capabilities.

Al'raktal grunts, a guttural thing most assuredly not from a human throat. It seems more a sign of amusement than of annoyance however. "Well, I can tell you that he whom you seek lies beyond the black spire. Unfortunately you will have to find another route, as I have been tasked with guarding the key."

"It is apparent you have seen many things in your travels," he continues. Indeed some would say that you have seen much more than is usually allotted to one of such a fleeting race. I congratulate you on that." Although it goes unsaid, there is an undertone of danger in the words, which only Kargur's Innuendo detects. The meaning is unclear, but it is certainly a threatening tone. Al'raktal continues much more jovially, "I can see you are upset at Acererak. Whatever has he done to engender such annoyance in you?"

Galrond has spent the time listening and casting about for magical auras. He turns to Kargur and whispers, "There is most definitely several auras out there. Evocation effects layered. I can't tell what they are, but I can't see them and thus I assume they are made of force."

Al'raktal interrupts, "Yes, they are made of force, very astute of you to figure that out. They are the floors of the previous tower, made permanent by Acererak's magics. Now then, where were we? Oh yes, you were about to chronicle your dealings with Acererak.

 

[James McMurray]

Kargur’s (a.k.a. he of the one track mind ) only response is, “He stole my shield.”

Al’raktal says, “And this is your only problem with him?”

Kargur tells him that he has also caused troubles for the group and other people, but that the shield is his primary concern at the moment. After a few more pleasantries, Kargur, Galrond, and Lo’ser bid farewell to Al’raktal. When they return to the party, the group decides that without more information, they would prefer to search more towers and come back later to attack the guardian of the key.

After resting for a night and preparing spells to protect against the cold, the party decides to first search out the tower where the party turned a zombie into a dessert cart. With the group staying a room or two behind Lo’ser, the search begins. Many rubble-filled rooms are searched and found empty. Then, Lo’ser enters a room and does not return. He has found the room of final games, where Moilians from ages past would play the highest stakes card games. The master of the game sat in the chair at the head of the tables, and the loser of the game was forced into the ceiling’s Mirror of Life Trapping. They were generally freed shortly thereafter, with a service pledged to the winner. Unfortunately for Lo’ser, there is no one to free him.

After he fails to return, the party investigates. Entering the seemingly empty room, Kargur looks up and is pulled into the Mirror himself. The rest of the party manages to avoid its snare, and Galrond casts Greater Dispelling, momentarily deactivating it. As the mirror shuts off, Lo’ser and Kargur drop from their cells back into the room, along with two Moilian zombies and a Human female.

“Darash? Latark na’tal?” says the woman, and then moves back tot he corner of the room to draw a shortsword and stand confused. Meanwhile, as the zombies' life draining auras begin to take effect, the party springs into action. They quickly pummel the two into submission with spells and blades. One of the two is disintigrated by Billy, whil the other is turned to dust by William’s Mace of Diruption. The party is a bit weakened, nut no one is seriously hurt.

“Sati. Dal’tok?” says the woman.

Kargur, drawing upon his skills learned in the Middle Circle, activates his tongues ability and asks, “Who are you?” while simultaneously detecting evil. The woman turns up positive for the taint, with a moderate strength aura.

“I am Tsaerext. Who are you?” she replies.

“We are explorers. Do you work for Acererak?”

“Who?”

“Do you work for Orcus?”

“No. I work for myself. May I leave now?”

“Why should we let an evil witch such as yourself go free?”

“Pardon me? I am neither evil nor a witch. Is it your peoples’ custom to accuse others without grounds? How rude.”

Further discussion leads them to believe that she is from the city before the curse. When Kargur tells her that the city is extremely cold because they are in an extremely cold place (the Negative Material plane) she laughs at his obvious logic.

The party decides to take her to her home so that she may get warmer clothing. When they take her outside, they learnt hat a large portion of the city is no longer here. The group discusses amongst them what to do with her, and decide to take her back to the tower of Portals, where it is warmer, and will grant her freedom if she tells them what the portals lead to.

She takes them around the ring of portals and explains that one leads to the outer edge of the city, another to the Tower of Health, still another to the Periphery, and one to the Tower of Discipline, where criminals were held and punished. As they come up to the last of the gates, Tsaerext says, “Ah ha. Moil may have fallen, but surely Kainrath stil stands. Goodbye fools.” With that she activates the portal and the mists which fill it are immediately sucked away. With Moil’s move and the time passed, the gate now points to a spot deep in the heart of the plane of vacuum. Tsaerext, Kargur, Oskar, and Lanis manage to grab the sides, but the remainder of the group are sucked into the gate, and the air leaps from their lungs.

Billy, who had previously cast fly upon himself manages to get back out, and he places a wall of force behind the group to prevent them from travelling deeper into the plane. Oskar attempts to strike Tsaerext’s hands off of the portal to revenge the group against her mistake. His attempt sends him hurtling into the gate. Moments later, Billy puts off saving his friends for a moment to blast her with a silent stilled disintegrate. His lapse causes the death of Lo’ser by suffocation.

With a combination of walls of force for bridges and flying, the party manages to get out and deactivate the gate. William has passed out and Lo’ser is dead, but Kargur revives William, who then Resurrects Lo’ser. However, as Lo'ser has not previously acquired a large enough gemstone, a True Resurection by William is not possible.

 

[Krellic]

Fun! Gotta love your take on this module!

 

[James McMurray]

Thanks! For the most part it has been a straight on conversion. I did change the headmistress to make her someone the party knows, as a recurring villain is more personal than a nameless vampire.

I changed the tomb a bit because I wanted to use my cockroach demons and soul ravger demon instead of snakes and a giant skeleton. I felt they fit in better with Acererak's demonic ties.

Finally, I changed the tower where the key is (the voice they've been talking to) because I didn't want to convert the Brine Dragon when I had a decent alternative from the ELH playtest document available.

The first demilich they faced was a straight-up conversion. The next one or two (haven't decided yet) will be using the template.

Any ideas on what else I could change / augment to make it more enjoyable for my group?

 

[James McMurray]

After spending a few minutes recuperating and discussing what to do, the party elects to return to the tower where Tsaerext was found, and finish exploring it. A few rooms are found to be filled with useless rubble, but the group does find a large bar looking area. All of the tables and chairs have been broken and ruioned except for a single table and chair, which have been pulled up to a large window. Atop the table lies a half gone bottle of absinthe, a mute statement of the person who did this' actions here. Carved into the table are the words "Galen was here." A few members ofthe party recognize Galen's name as the wizard from Brindenford they had previously dealt with, including the sale of Arthax the red dragon. The party realizes with this information where he disappeared to over 20 years ago.

The only other things of interest in the room are humanoid shaped breaks in the frost-covered ground, showing where some 30-odd people had apparently frozen and then left. Under the bar in a hidden compartment a magical chalice is found. It is later identified and has the power to cast neutralise poison on anyt liquids placed in it.

Leaving the room and heading deeper intot eh spire, Lo’ser scouts ahead again. He passes through the shattered central room and into a large chamber against the Southern wall. The only thing in the room besides a few bits of rubble is a humanoid skeleton, encased in a pillar of ice, with only its skull free from frost.

Cautiously examining the room, Lo’ser gives the thing wide berth. However, after his searches turn up nothing he starts to make his way past the thing to the door behind it. As he approaches, the undead beast’s ice shroud shifts and flows as the creature looks up. Its head bursts into black fire. This causes simultaneous "Oh crap"s from Kargur and Billy, who see the flames and remember the skull which caught Cristoph’s soul on fire in the Black Academy.

"Come to feel my cold embrace my precious?" the thing asks in a rasping shrill voice before it charges. Lo’ser, who is generally considered to be one of the fastest men alive, is caught off guard by the thing’s speed and power. Two claw swipes later Lo’ser falls to the ground, dead yet still slowly burning from the black fire of the beast.

The remainder of the party springs into action as a large sleet storm fills the area, cutting visibility to nil. The warrior types move into the sleet storm carefully to avoid slipping on the ice that immediately forms, and Billy and Galrond both attempt dispells, one of which is successful.

As the battle is joined, the party rapidly learns that their weapons, although somewhat effective, seem to barely scratch the thing’s icy coating, which immediately flows to close any breaches near the skeleton within. The spellcasters also learn that their spells are apparently inefective, as one after another bounces off of the beast. William’s attempt at turning fails as well, hampered as it is by their location (the Negative Material Plane is not a good place to attempt to channel positive energy).

Galrond throws up a wall of force, hoping to give the group time to prepare, as he has seen the black fire before too and is unsure what to do about it. The thing dimension doors past it with ease however.

The warriors fare somewhat better, with Kargur, Lanis, and Oskar managing to nick the thing every so often. However, its return assault is fiercely destructive. Although a few good hits are achieved by the party, it is not long before the majority of the group is nearly fallen, despite a Time Stop by Billy and several applications of Heironious’ Crown of Might on the warriors.

As Billy sees William and Kargur drop nearly simultaneously from the creatures icicle claws, he realizes that discretion is the better part of valor and touches Oskar, Galrond’s body, and William’s bodies and teleports back to the Tower of Portals, leaving Lanis behind (as he was out of reach). His parting words were, "We’ll come back for your body," which did not fill Lanis with confidence.

Lanis takes the moment of distraction to attempt to escape, but when he stops to grab Kargur’s fallen sword, he is struck by the thing. As his soul bursts into flames he flees to the sound of the rasping voice crying after him, "I’ll be waiting for you my pretties." Lanis manages to reach the bridge outside of the Spire before the flames claim him.

Meanwhile, Billy has Plane Shifted back to the outskirts of Lopolla, and he and Oskar begin to track down Amastacia in the hopes that she will be able to purchase diamonds for the party.

 

[James McMurray]

They find Amastacia in her quarters above the Lucky Merchant Inn, one of the finer inns on the edge of the Gladiator and Merchant sectors. After explaining what happened, they talk Amastacia into heading off to the jeweler’s district to find some more (and larger) diamonds. She returns the next day, having found just barely enough. She informs the group that the diamond market here has been nearly depleted by them, and that 5,000gp diamonds are completely unavailable. She had to go to 5 different gem cutters to get these. She can get more though, but it will cost 7,500 each, as she will have to enlist the aid of a friend in creating them.

Also, a new mining company opened up somewhere in the city, but the location of its offices is a closely guarded secret, and they are rumored to be having trouble producing. How they expected to produce in a mine in the center of a vast metropolis is anyone’s guess.

The group teleports William’s body to Greyhawk city, where Billy and Oskar meet with Jacob Sunspear, the High Priest of Pelor. Although he is currently not in need of any work, he understands that the business with Acererak is of great importance, so he does call upon Pelor’s power to True Resurrect William Siege. Billy and Oskar’s excellent negotiation skills get them a “rock bottom” price of one Spear +1 of Spell Storing, one Belt of Counterspelling, and a Lawful Keen Dwarven Waraxe +3.

Over the course of the next few days, William revives his fallen comrades. They then begin to prepare for a return assault. With extended spells and polymorphs (into trolls for some of the combatants), the party prepares as well as they can. Their last preparation is in the form of calling to Heironious for an Ally. As William finishes the spell, a 9’ tall winged woman with emerald skin and a sword taller then the dwarves steps through a shimmering portal. “I have heard the call, what is your request.”

“We need your help in fighting a great evil.”

“May I have a few minutes?” When William nods agreement, Shyla the Planetar moves to the far end of the room and drops to the floor in prayer. 15 minutes later she returns. “Heironious has deigned for me to accompany you, but there is the matter of payment. In exchange for my help, you are to return the Gem of Arlig to its rightful owners.”

“What and where is this gem?” William asks.

“It is in the pommel of your friend’s sword.”

Kargur is greatly disheartened at this news, and responds to the group’s questioning looks, “We liberated it a while back from an evil sorcerer. It is what makes my sword a Holy Avenger.”

Seeing the look on his face, Shyla tells him, “We understand your trepidation. There will be no hard feelings if you do not wish to do this.” Kargur’s only reply is “I can’t refuse.”

Shyla, seeing his doubt, tells him “Heironious teaches that True Strength comes from within.”

Kargur’s reply is a bitter sounding, “Then you’ll be going into the fight without your sword?” The Planetar looks saddened, but does not respond.

They agree to return the gem after the battle with the frosty undead, and Gate back to the City of Moil to the antechamber outside the beast’s lair. Almost as soon as they arrive, another large sleet storm appears in the entrance to the thing’s room, blocking all sight. The Planetar summons an Elder Fire elemental to fight this frozen fiend, as does William. William also summons an Astral Deva, knowing that its mace of disruption might be able to get a lucky blow in on the thing.

The Deva, being immune to cold, charges ahead, but stops short of entering the room. The elementals are also sent ahead, while Galrond casts Mass Haste and Greater dispelling at the storm.

This time the battle starts in favor of the party, as their sheer numbers give them the advantage. Billy raises an anti-magic field just in case, but drops it after a few rounds when it no longer seems necessary.

Kargur manages to deal the lion’s share of the damage during this battle, as his sword cries out for revenge. Lanis’ arrows also scream into the thing. Although they hit consistently, do not seem to harm the beast much, bouncing off his icy shell. Oskar too is in the fray, his axe hitting every so often. The summoned creatures attack as well, using their reach to great advantage. None of them seems capable of piercing the thing’s icy shell however.

In less than a minute, the cold aura of the beast and a couple of cones of cold from it destroy one of the summoned creature, but William and the Planetar keep everyone else standing with Mass Heal spells. Although the Winter Wight manages to hit a few of its foes, the protective spells placed upon them prevent all but the Deva from catching on fire. Kargur’s assault is redoubled as he begins to sacrifice his own life force to power his blows.

Galrond, for want of anything better to do, begins to blast the thing with maximized sacrifice spells, but it shrugs them off. Billy also tries spells, which also fail to harm it, until the end.

As the battle rages, Galrond gets a lucky shot with a spell and sends the beast reeling. It redoubles its efforts to set people on fire, as their burning souls feed it, but is still unable. Moments later, blows from Kargur, Oskar, and Lanis send the beast to its knees. Billy sends a massive barrage of ten magic missiles hurtling into the thing, and Heironious shines upon them as they all hit and shatter the creature into a hundred pieces. The party breathes a sigh of relief, and leans against walls to rest.

Shyla steps up to Kargur and holds out her hand. As he places his sword in it, she grabs the gem and twists, popping it free. The grief on Kargur’s face is plain, as he feels Heironious has taken everything from him, first his shield, then his sword. As the Planetar leaves she says again, “True strength comes from within. Although I did not leave my blade behind, you will notice that I did not use it during that battle. You are a warrior, your sword arm is your strength. Not your sword.”

 

[Greybar]

Love it! Only posted so I could throw the "Email Notification" switch so I can read the new ones as soon as they're written!
-john