Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3438072" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 21</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><em>Here's another entry from Devo. Enjoy! sniffles</em></strong></p><p></p><p><em>"I came back to see everything in my lab split into pairs. A line of chalk divided the table into two halves, the contents of each perfectly mirrored the other with the same tools, components, and materials laid out on each. The doors, the chair, the bookshelf, the window -- everything was cut down the exact center with chalk, each side a mirror of the other. Stark lay on one side of the table, and on the other half lay... Stark. In the day that I had been gone, he had split the lab in two and constructed another version of himself. I approached, worried that he had somehow managed to create a living homunculus. My concern was in vain, however. As I came close, the Stark on the right stood up and ran over to the Stark on the left, picking him up so they could stand side-by-side. I laughed at him, shaking my head. 'Perfectly symmetrical artifice never solved anything,' I told him ." </em> </p><p>. An Excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 </p><p>---------------------------</p><p>"When we caught up with the others, they were, naturally, in trouble. </p><p></p><p>Getting ST across the pit had been a simple exercise in teleportation -- two of my favorite wands [ref: CJ-V5-72, CJ-V6-24] are geared towards just that. I told him to enter the portal, as CA would most assuredly be in trouble. He talked back, saying something about not leaving me behind, but I assured him that I would be just behind him. XL jumped in, good man that he was, and then ST went through. I told RO to follow, then hopped back across the pit and right into the portal. HU came in right behind me. </p><p></p><p>The corridor we came into was narrow, with steps that descended steeply downward. There was light, even before HU arrived, as CN was running round and round in a lower chamber, a light spell placed upon his spear. He had just shouted something out to ST, who hadn't had a chance to fully descend the stairs, and he sounded a bit panicked. I hustled forward, asking to know what was going on. </p><p></p><p>CN spoke rapidly of a large chamber up ahead, filled with mummies. CA and GW were in that room, but the connecting hallway had been sealed off when a stone slab slid down from the ceiling. There was no way to get to them. </p><p></p><p>Enter the artificer. I had arrived just in time, again, to save my companions. They never seem terribly appreciative, but I've gotten used to having them around, so I rushed forward to deal with the block. At the bottom of my stairs was a rectangular chamber in the center of which was a long reed boat. Four plinths surrounded the boat, each bearing an alabaster jar topped with a carved animal head. I knew from the condition of the boat that it was magical. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to stop and examine it. A pity. </p><p></p><p>Beyond the chamber was another stairway down, this one sealed off at the end by a broad stone wall. I could tell right away that the stone had been recessed up into the ceiling until just recently, some mechanism causing it to fall into place to trap those on the other side. I tapped it hard, once, to measure it's thickness. My extensive knowledge of all things architectural served me well, and I estimated that it would be just narrow enough. </p><p></p><p>I pulled a patch from my vestments [ref: CJ-V7-18] and it instantly took the shape of a scroll. HU stood behind me to provide light, and I read the words of magic. </p><p></p><p>A vortex appeared in the center of the wall, stone swirling and sliding away as though disappearing down a drain. When it stopped, there was a perfectly round bore all the way through the wall. I crouched down to look through, and saw a vast pillared chamber lit by a single source of moving light. Shadows battled one another, and the sound of fighting echoed through to us. </p><p></p><p>I was about to move through when CN and GX pushed past and scrambled through the opening. XL saw me off balance, and took advantage of the opening, sliding through, himself. ST insisted that he go first, so I backed up to let him go. Not nearly as agile as the other two, nor as petite, he found himself wedged in the opening. </p><p></p><p>I could hear fighting and screaming from the far chamber, and decided that I could wait no longer. Raising my gorgon cane, I activated the wand inside [ref: CJ-V5-72] to teleport across. It failed. Strange. </p><p></p><p>It must have had something to do with this place. That's the third wand to lock up on me since I'd been here. </p><p></p><p>With titanic effort, ST finally got through the opening. I turned to HU and RO and told them to find any who were wounded and heal them, then crawled through. I stepped immediately into a fight. </p><p></p><p>The side walls of the chamber I had just entered into lead away from the opening at an angle, giving the whole room something of a triangular shape. A row of pillars extended from the door straight back towards the far wall, with at least one more row of pillars visible in the shadows to either side. The far wall was almost one hundred feet away, where another -- much larger -- sarcophagus lay. It's lid was open for obvious reasons. </p><p></p><p>Standing in the center of the room was a walking, battling corpse; a figure easily twelve feet tall with the body of a man but the head of a hawk. He was wrapped head to foot in burial bandages, over which were ceremonial accoutrements and a small amount of jewelry. The evil, red glow of his eyes was matched by the deep red glow coming from the giant dragonshard hanging from a chain around his neck. He wielded a massive, two-handed weapon. It's top was a long, hooked sword; it's bottom a large axe blade perpendicular to the haft. The way the creature spun and moved the weapon, though, it was hard to say which was the top and which the bottom. </p><p></p><p>CA stood weapon-to-weapon with the monster, a look of extreme concentration on his face as he tried to ward off the creature's blows. XL was there too, having just entered the fight. CA looked badly hurt, but it was obvious that both he, XL, and GW had done some damage to the mummy. Most of CA's attacks had landed near or below the creature's waist. GW's were much closer to it's knees. </p><p></p><p>I couldn't see GW, but CN shouted that she had fallen deeper into the room, behind one of the pillars. CN and GX were there, now, fighting another, smaller, mummy. ST battled a third mummy to one side, keeping the creature off of CA's flank. </p><p></p><p>I knew CA could handle himself, so I turned my attention to ST's opponent. Drawing a wand of brass [ref: CJ-V5-48], I unleashed a stream of electricity at ST's opponent, which left a satisfying scorch across it's right side. We were connected now by a river of near-invisible current -- a current that would carry my next attack unfailingly to that same location. </p><p></p><p>CN let us know that GW was still alive, and that he was drawing his opponent away from her. XL shifted to one side to take the attack to the giant mummy, the infusion I'd placed on his weapon earlier serving him well. CA was there beside him, fighting defensively, but still fighting. HU and RO, as ordered, had come in behind CA to try to heal him. Good men. (Well, "good halfling", and "good construct". The sentiment stands fine on it's own, however, without a long exposition detailing the physiological differences between the phrases "man", "halfling", and "construct", even if in a normal sense, a construct would never be considered a man.) </p><p></p><p>ST and his mummy exchanged blows. I decided at that moment to talk to ST about getting hit so often. He really needed to find a way to keep people from bashing him every time he gets into a fight. He relies too much on his adamantine plating, I think, and that's not a good thing. Now was not the time for such a discussion, though, so I concentrated on the task at hand. </p><p></p><p>Bringing another wand to bear [ref: CJ-V5-64] I called forth it's magic and two bright streams of fire leapt from the wand to strike ST's mummy. The creature exploded outward, a violent expulsion of long-desiccated flesh, bone, and wrapping. Of course! The embalming process must have left them vulnerable to fire. I turned to the giant mummy with a grin both wicked and dashing. Had he been a living foe, I am sure he would have cowered at the sight of me. </p><p></p><p>Such is not the way things work when one is hundreds of feet underground in tombs both ancient and evil. I took a single step towards the king mummy and the aura of despair I had somewhat sensed coming from the creature hit me of a sudden like heat from a blast furnace. Such suffering! I kept hold of myself, naturally. Nothing can break the mind of a Cannith artificer. I had mastered the ability to control my emotions long ago, and my training held up even when pitted against this foul abomination. With a knowing smile, I raised my wand and let twin streams of fire be my retort. Like an arrow shot from the bow of a champion marksman, each beam lanced out and struck the creature directly in the heart. </p><p></p><p>Well, it would have hit it in the heart, if it weren't for that pesky dragonshard. The magic was absorbed harmlessly into the medallion hanging around the creature's neck. A fascinating bit of artifice, that, but rather unfortunate in our present situation. </p><p></p><p>Come to think of it, his heart was probably up in one of those jars, too, and no where near the center of his chest. I will keep to my first description, though, as it makes for far more dashing a tale. </p><p></p><p>"I told you magic wouldn't work against him!" shouted GW from across the room. "But I didn't hear you!" I cleverly rebutted. </p><p></p><p>I looked over to see that GW had been having a rough time with her fight. The mummy she had been battling had reached out with the long weapon he carried (one that matched the king mummy's weapon in all but size) and tripped her. He had smashed her into unconsciousness twice. CN had been there the first time to help, and RO was there now, healing her wounds. She stood, drinking another potion, and seemed somewhat upset. CN had drawn the creature away, and was clinging to the wall again, trying to get some distance from the mummy coming after him. I casually arced a stream of lightning across the room at the creature from a wand [ref: CJ-V5-48], destroying it utterly. </p><p></p><p>XL and CA had done a fair job of keeping the king mummy busy, but they had paid for it. CA withdrew from the fight to take a couple of healing potions before stepping back in. XL looked about ready to drop, himself. ST turned his energy bolts against the creature just as the mummy was beginning to realize that it was outmatched. </p><p></p><p>He wasn't out of the fight yet, though. With a rapid sequence of attacks, the mummy drove CA to the ground. I was standing close to HU, who looked ready to run in and heal CA. Rather than let that happen, I ordered HU to wait, and activated the wand [ref: CJ-V6-24] that would cause CA and I to swap places. HU immediately applied a healing potion to the fallen elf. I stepped back from the mummy. Quickly. </p><p></p><p>The creature wasn't interested in fighting me, though. He must have seen what I did to his longtime companions. Rather than face the righteous wrath of House Cannith, he backed away into the pillars. ST moved up to protect me while RO dispensed healing magics on GW. </p><p></p><p>XL cautiously pursued the creature, driving him farther back but using the pillars as cover against the creatures counter-attacks. ST slid this way and that, finding whatever opening he could to blast the mummy with his bolts. </p><p></p><p>GW, now feeling much refreshed, came after the king with a vengeance. She charged, swinging as hard as she could. He repelled her attack and countered with his own, but RO's healing had brought her to near full fighting force. She swung again, a broad overhand strike that carried with it all of her little goblin rage and all of her little goblin might. She struck, and struck true. The mummy collapsed, cut in half at the waist. With it's magic dispersed, the creature's form disintegrated before our eyes, turning to dust and ragged bandages. The dragonshard lay on top, glowing a dull red. </p><p></p><p>It had been a titanic battle, but we had persevered. Without IR, we had been hard-pressed to keep ourselves healthy enough to continue. RO's presence helped some, and, of course, HU and I played no small role. I will have to come up with some way of keeping this group healthy for longer stretches of time. </p><p></p><p>With the known dangers out of the way, we began searching the room. The king had no treasure with him, excepting the dragonshard itself. GW wanted to take the mummy's weapons and wrappings, which CN allowed so long as they went to a museum. I found a secret compartment behind the king's sarcophagus, which lead to a winding staircase that went up and up, but ended in a blank stone wall. We could find no other exit. </p><p></p><p>ST and XL suggested digging through the wall, to see what was on the other side. I convinced them that this could be dangerous, though. What if the lake were on the other side? Reluctantly, sullenly, they agreed that maybe digging through wasn't such a clever idea. </p><p></p><p>We spent another couple of hours looking the place over. Each of the pillars and every wall were covered in some sort of cryptographic language. The imagery was quite interesting, especially to GW and CN. Pictographs described a kingdom ruled by a large, hawk-headed man, with goblins and hobgoblins giving obeisance at his feet. GW dated the site as being some time during or just after the Age of Demons. Quite a long time back. </p><p></p><p>She insisted that it must have been the goblins that overthrew the empire. I corrected her, saying that it was probably the Dhakaani empire that came next, ruled by hobgoblins. She would hear none of that. GW is convinced that before the Dhakaani empire came into power, there was an empire of goblins. She seemed rather adamant about that, so I let it go. Imagine, an empire of goblins. It makes me smile. She mentioned that she had seen proof of just such an empire, but that it had since been destroyed. </p><p></p><p>I thought to tell her of the Dhakaani artifacts that we had, but she was distracted by a new mural. </p><p></p><p>After searching the main chamber, we returned to the boat chamber to look over the artifacts there. They were extremely interesting, but CN did not want them taken from this sacred place. Pictures along the walls showed the hawk-king flying on a reed boat very similar to this one, and it occurred to me that it might be our only way out. CN had been extremely helpful, however, and I still did not want him to tell his tribe of our presence. That means we had to leave the boat where it was. </p><p></p><p>When we were done studying the tomb, we left in the only way we could. I pulled another patch from my clothing [ref: CJ-V7-18] and produced a door which we opened with the Lost Key [ref: PJ-V6-54]. It took us to the keep in Argonnessen (which I am starting to develop theories about) and then we returned from there to my tower in Sharn. It took very little convincing to bring CN with us. </p><p></p><p>It's beginning to bother me, the number of times I save the lives of someone within the DC -- or the DC as a whole -- without so much as a simple "thank you" from any of them. Ah, well. I'm not in this for the glory. Still, a little appreciation wouldn't kill them. </p><p></p><p>Finally at home again, I went immediately to clean up. GX was sniffing around the house, so I gave CN some suggestions on places he could stay that would house the two of them. I invited everyone else to stay the evening if they wanted. Instead, GW took CN and GX out to see the city. This was CN's first time in Sharn. By his account, it was his first time anywhere other than Gatherhold, actually. </p><p></p><p>We had a pile of magical gear from the two DG groups that had died within the tomb, and I began to sort through it and get it cleaned up. I contemplated how best to identify the items, as the infusion that does so takes an inordinate amount of time to finish. Then I remembered a book I had read last year about a device that could do just that; a monocle that one could use to study magic items. Searching through my library, I found the book and enough information to make the item. It was relatively inexpensive! Putting the list of materials together, I handed it off to one of my house staff to fetch from the Cannith Holdings after dinner. S1 started putting it together the next day. </p><p></p><p>The DC went their own way for the next day or so. ST, HU, and I went shopping, securing supplies for the house and my laboratory. I checked in with the House, and was told that the construction of the Golden Dragon could wait no longer. The launch party would commence in just two days. When I got home again, I told the DC and they were all excited to go. I'm not the only one who was interested in meeting some of Sharn's social elite! </p><p></p><p>I spent the rest of the afternoon in the library, identifying items. There were some very interesting pieces here! the most powerful was a dagger devoted to the Keeper. It would capture the living soul of any creature it killed, sending it to a special vault that was directly under His control. Scary stuff. </p><p></p><p>The next day, ST and I had a short discussion about his inability to dodge blows. He explained in painful detail how he was built for durability, not dexterity. In the end, I decided to use some of the materials I had laying about the lab to enchant his composite plating. If he couldn't get himself out of the way, then I would do it for him. </p><p></p><p>That same day, S1 finished the monocle he had been working on, and I identified the last of the gear. The DC came together again, and we divvied up the loot." </p><p></p><p>. An Excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 </p><p></p><p><em>"...wands, over thirty of which I constructed and charged myself. They are of essential use in not only my explorations into ancient crypts and wards, but also into the investigations I have conducted in and around Sharn on behalf of the Blackened Book, Morgrave University, the Sharn Watch, and, most importantly, House Cannith. I have learned to rely heavily on these wands to deal with enemy and ally alike, harming the first, but aiding and restoring the second. With the proper tools, there is nothing I cannot do..." </em> </p><p>. An Excerpt from the letter, "A Petition Into the Prestigious Order of Wand Adepts, House Cannith" by Artemis Heuw Cannith</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3438072, member: 30035"] [b]The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 21[/b] [B][I]Here's another entry from Devo. Enjoy! sniffles[/I][/B] [I]"I came back to see everything in my lab split into pairs. A line of chalk divided the table into two halves, the contents of each perfectly mirrored the other with the same tools, components, and materials laid out on each. The doors, the chair, the bookshelf, the window -- everything was cut down the exact center with chalk, each side a mirror of the other. Stark lay on one side of the table, and on the other half lay... Stark. In the day that I had been gone, he had split the lab in two and constructed another version of himself. I approached, worried that he had somehow managed to create a living homunculus. My concern was in vain, however. As I came close, the Stark on the right stood up and ran over to the Stark on the left, picking him up so they could stand side-by-side. I laughed at him, shaking my head. 'Perfectly symmetrical artifice never solved anything,' I told him ." [/I] . An Excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 --------------------------- "When we caught up with the others, they were, naturally, in trouble. Getting ST across the pit had been a simple exercise in teleportation -- two of my favorite wands [ref: CJ-V5-72, CJ-V6-24] are geared towards just that. I told him to enter the portal, as CA would most assuredly be in trouble. He talked back, saying something about not leaving me behind, but I assured him that I would be just behind him. XL jumped in, good man that he was, and then ST went through. I told RO to follow, then hopped back across the pit and right into the portal. HU came in right behind me. The corridor we came into was narrow, with steps that descended steeply downward. There was light, even before HU arrived, as CN was running round and round in a lower chamber, a light spell placed upon his spear. He had just shouted something out to ST, who hadn't had a chance to fully descend the stairs, and he sounded a bit panicked. I hustled forward, asking to know what was going on. CN spoke rapidly of a large chamber up ahead, filled with mummies. CA and GW were in that room, but the connecting hallway had been sealed off when a stone slab slid down from the ceiling. There was no way to get to them. Enter the artificer. I had arrived just in time, again, to save my companions. They never seem terribly appreciative, but I've gotten used to having them around, so I rushed forward to deal with the block. At the bottom of my stairs was a rectangular chamber in the center of which was a long reed boat. Four plinths surrounded the boat, each bearing an alabaster jar topped with a carved animal head. I knew from the condition of the boat that it was magical. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to stop and examine it. A pity. Beyond the chamber was another stairway down, this one sealed off at the end by a broad stone wall. I could tell right away that the stone had been recessed up into the ceiling until just recently, some mechanism causing it to fall into place to trap those on the other side. I tapped it hard, once, to measure it's thickness. My extensive knowledge of all things architectural served me well, and I estimated that it would be just narrow enough. I pulled a patch from my vestments [ref: CJ-V7-18] and it instantly took the shape of a scroll. HU stood behind me to provide light, and I read the words of magic. A vortex appeared in the center of the wall, stone swirling and sliding away as though disappearing down a drain. When it stopped, there was a perfectly round bore all the way through the wall. I crouched down to look through, and saw a vast pillared chamber lit by a single source of moving light. Shadows battled one another, and the sound of fighting echoed through to us. I was about to move through when CN and GX pushed past and scrambled through the opening. XL saw me off balance, and took advantage of the opening, sliding through, himself. ST insisted that he go first, so I backed up to let him go. Not nearly as agile as the other two, nor as petite, he found himself wedged in the opening. I could hear fighting and screaming from the far chamber, and decided that I could wait no longer. Raising my gorgon cane, I activated the wand inside [ref: CJ-V5-72] to teleport across. It failed. Strange. It must have had something to do with this place. That's the third wand to lock up on me since I'd been here. With titanic effort, ST finally got through the opening. I turned to HU and RO and told them to find any who were wounded and heal them, then crawled through. I stepped immediately into a fight. The side walls of the chamber I had just entered into lead away from the opening at an angle, giving the whole room something of a triangular shape. A row of pillars extended from the door straight back towards the far wall, with at least one more row of pillars visible in the shadows to either side. The far wall was almost one hundred feet away, where another -- much larger -- sarcophagus lay. It's lid was open for obvious reasons. Standing in the center of the room was a walking, battling corpse; a figure easily twelve feet tall with the body of a man but the head of a hawk. He was wrapped head to foot in burial bandages, over which were ceremonial accoutrements and a small amount of jewelry. The evil, red glow of his eyes was matched by the deep red glow coming from the giant dragonshard hanging from a chain around his neck. He wielded a massive, two-handed weapon. It's top was a long, hooked sword; it's bottom a large axe blade perpendicular to the haft. The way the creature spun and moved the weapon, though, it was hard to say which was the top and which the bottom. CA stood weapon-to-weapon with the monster, a look of extreme concentration on his face as he tried to ward off the creature's blows. XL was there too, having just entered the fight. CA looked badly hurt, but it was obvious that both he, XL, and GW had done some damage to the mummy. Most of CA's attacks had landed near or below the creature's waist. GW's were much closer to it's knees. I couldn't see GW, but CN shouted that she had fallen deeper into the room, behind one of the pillars. CN and GX were there, now, fighting another, smaller, mummy. ST battled a third mummy to one side, keeping the creature off of CA's flank. I knew CA could handle himself, so I turned my attention to ST's opponent. Drawing a wand of brass [ref: CJ-V5-48], I unleashed a stream of electricity at ST's opponent, which left a satisfying scorch across it's right side. We were connected now by a river of near-invisible current -- a current that would carry my next attack unfailingly to that same location. CN let us know that GW was still alive, and that he was drawing his opponent away from her. XL shifted to one side to take the attack to the giant mummy, the infusion I'd placed on his weapon earlier serving him well. CA was there beside him, fighting defensively, but still fighting. HU and RO, as ordered, had come in behind CA to try to heal him. Good men. (Well, "good halfling", and "good construct". The sentiment stands fine on it's own, however, without a long exposition detailing the physiological differences between the phrases "man", "halfling", and "construct", even if in a normal sense, a construct would never be considered a man.) ST and his mummy exchanged blows. I decided at that moment to talk to ST about getting hit so often. He really needed to find a way to keep people from bashing him every time he gets into a fight. He relies too much on his adamantine plating, I think, and that's not a good thing. Now was not the time for such a discussion, though, so I concentrated on the task at hand. Bringing another wand to bear [ref: CJ-V5-64] I called forth it's magic and two bright streams of fire leapt from the wand to strike ST's mummy. The creature exploded outward, a violent expulsion of long-desiccated flesh, bone, and wrapping. Of course! The embalming process must have left them vulnerable to fire. I turned to the giant mummy with a grin both wicked and dashing. Had he been a living foe, I am sure he would have cowered at the sight of me. Such is not the way things work when one is hundreds of feet underground in tombs both ancient and evil. I took a single step towards the king mummy and the aura of despair I had somewhat sensed coming from the creature hit me of a sudden like heat from a blast furnace. Such suffering! I kept hold of myself, naturally. Nothing can break the mind of a Cannith artificer. I had mastered the ability to control my emotions long ago, and my training held up even when pitted against this foul abomination. With a knowing smile, I raised my wand and let twin streams of fire be my retort. Like an arrow shot from the bow of a champion marksman, each beam lanced out and struck the creature directly in the heart. Well, it would have hit it in the heart, if it weren't for that pesky dragonshard. The magic was absorbed harmlessly into the medallion hanging around the creature's neck. A fascinating bit of artifice, that, but rather unfortunate in our present situation. Come to think of it, his heart was probably up in one of those jars, too, and no where near the center of his chest. I will keep to my first description, though, as it makes for far more dashing a tale. "I told you magic wouldn't work against him!" shouted GW from across the room. "But I didn't hear you!" I cleverly rebutted. I looked over to see that GW had been having a rough time with her fight. The mummy she had been battling had reached out with the long weapon he carried (one that matched the king mummy's weapon in all but size) and tripped her. He had smashed her into unconsciousness twice. CN had been there the first time to help, and RO was there now, healing her wounds. She stood, drinking another potion, and seemed somewhat upset. CN had drawn the creature away, and was clinging to the wall again, trying to get some distance from the mummy coming after him. I casually arced a stream of lightning across the room at the creature from a wand [ref: CJ-V5-48], destroying it utterly. XL and CA had done a fair job of keeping the king mummy busy, but they had paid for it. CA withdrew from the fight to take a couple of healing potions before stepping back in. XL looked about ready to drop, himself. ST turned his energy bolts against the creature just as the mummy was beginning to realize that it was outmatched. He wasn't out of the fight yet, though. With a rapid sequence of attacks, the mummy drove CA to the ground. I was standing close to HU, who looked ready to run in and heal CA. Rather than let that happen, I ordered HU to wait, and activated the wand [ref: CJ-V6-24] that would cause CA and I to swap places. HU immediately applied a healing potion to the fallen elf. I stepped back from the mummy. Quickly. The creature wasn't interested in fighting me, though. He must have seen what I did to his longtime companions. Rather than face the righteous wrath of House Cannith, he backed away into the pillars. ST moved up to protect me while RO dispensed healing magics on GW. XL cautiously pursued the creature, driving him farther back but using the pillars as cover against the creatures counter-attacks. ST slid this way and that, finding whatever opening he could to blast the mummy with his bolts. GW, now feeling much refreshed, came after the king with a vengeance. She charged, swinging as hard as she could. He repelled her attack and countered with his own, but RO's healing had brought her to near full fighting force. She swung again, a broad overhand strike that carried with it all of her little goblin rage and all of her little goblin might. She struck, and struck true. The mummy collapsed, cut in half at the waist. With it's magic dispersed, the creature's form disintegrated before our eyes, turning to dust and ragged bandages. The dragonshard lay on top, glowing a dull red. It had been a titanic battle, but we had persevered. Without IR, we had been hard-pressed to keep ourselves healthy enough to continue. RO's presence helped some, and, of course, HU and I played no small role. I will have to come up with some way of keeping this group healthy for longer stretches of time. With the known dangers out of the way, we began searching the room. The king had no treasure with him, excepting the dragonshard itself. GW wanted to take the mummy's weapons and wrappings, which CN allowed so long as they went to a museum. I found a secret compartment behind the king's sarcophagus, which lead to a winding staircase that went up and up, but ended in a blank stone wall. We could find no other exit. ST and XL suggested digging through the wall, to see what was on the other side. I convinced them that this could be dangerous, though. What if the lake were on the other side? Reluctantly, sullenly, they agreed that maybe digging through wasn't such a clever idea. We spent another couple of hours looking the place over. Each of the pillars and every wall were covered in some sort of cryptographic language. The imagery was quite interesting, especially to GW and CN. Pictographs described a kingdom ruled by a large, hawk-headed man, with goblins and hobgoblins giving obeisance at his feet. GW dated the site as being some time during or just after the Age of Demons. Quite a long time back. She insisted that it must have been the goblins that overthrew the empire. I corrected her, saying that it was probably the Dhakaani empire that came next, ruled by hobgoblins. She would hear none of that. GW is convinced that before the Dhakaani empire came into power, there was an empire of goblins. She seemed rather adamant about that, so I let it go. Imagine, an empire of goblins. It makes me smile. She mentioned that she had seen proof of just such an empire, but that it had since been destroyed. I thought to tell her of the Dhakaani artifacts that we had, but she was distracted by a new mural. After searching the main chamber, we returned to the boat chamber to look over the artifacts there. They were extremely interesting, but CN did not want them taken from this sacred place. Pictures along the walls showed the hawk-king flying on a reed boat very similar to this one, and it occurred to me that it might be our only way out. CN had been extremely helpful, however, and I still did not want him to tell his tribe of our presence. That means we had to leave the boat where it was. When we were done studying the tomb, we left in the only way we could. I pulled another patch from my clothing [ref: CJ-V7-18] and produced a door which we opened with the Lost Key [ref: PJ-V6-54]. It took us to the keep in Argonnessen (which I am starting to develop theories about) and then we returned from there to my tower in Sharn. It took very little convincing to bring CN with us. It's beginning to bother me, the number of times I save the lives of someone within the DC -- or the DC as a whole -- without so much as a simple "thank you" from any of them. Ah, well. I'm not in this for the glory. Still, a little appreciation wouldn't kill them. Finally at home again, I went immediately to clean up. GX was sniffing around the house, so I gave CN some suggestions on places he could stay that would house the two of them. I invited everyone else to stay the evening if they wanted. Instead, GW took CN and GX out to see the city. This was CN's first time in Sharn. By his account, it was his first time anywhere other than Gatherhold, actually. We had a pile of magical gear from the two DG groups that had died within the tomb, and I began to sort through it and get it cleaned up. I contemplated how best to identify the items, as the infusion that does so takes an inordinate amount of time to finish. Then I remembered a book I had read last year about a device that could do just that; a monocle that one could use to study magic items. Searching through my library, I found the book and enough information to make the item. It was relatively inexpensive! Putting the list of materials together, I handed it off to one of my house staff to fetch from the Cannith Holdings after dinner. S1 started putting it together the next day. The DC went their own way for the next day or so. ST, HU, and I went shopping, securing supplies for the house and my laboratory. I checked in with the House, and was told that the construction of the Golden Dragon could wait no longer. The launch party would commence in just two days. When I got home again, I told the DC and they were all excited to go. I'm not the only one who was interested in meeting some of Sharn's social elite! I spent the rest of the afternoon in the library, identifying items. There were some very interesting pieces here! the most powerful was a dagger devoted to the Keeper. It would capture the living soul of any creature it killed, sending it to a special vault that was directly under His control. Scary stuff. The next day, ST and I had a short discussion about his inability to dodge blows. He explained in painful detail how he was built for durability, not dexterity. In the end, I decided to use some of the materials I had laying about the lab to enchant his composite plating. If he couldn't get himself out of the way, then I would do it for him. That same day, S1 finished the monocle he had been working on, and I identified the last of the gear. The DC came together again, and we divvied up the loot." . An Excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 [I]"...wands, over thirty of which I constructed and charged myself. They are of essential use in not only my explorations into ancient crypts and wards, but also into the investigations I have conducted in and around Sharn on behalf of the Blackened Book, Morgrave University, the Sharn Watch, and, most importantly, House Cannith. I have learned to rely heavily on these wands to deal with enemy and ally alike, harming the first, but aiding and restoring the second. With the proper tools, there is nothing I cannot do..." [/I] . An Excerpt from the letter, "A Petition Into the Prestigious Order of Wand Adepts, House Cannith" by Artemis Heuw Cannith [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith
Top