Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 7275934" data-attributes="member: 23">SESSION 17 July 24th I fear for your lives, brethren, for I have had a vision. I hope that it is a sign of things to come, rather than a view of things that have actually taken place. Perhaps I can prevent the events in the vision from occuring. I must return to Ionia! With that goal in mind, I have urged the party to move through this labyrinth quickly. As I've said before, it is difficult to keep track of time down here, but I am relatively sure that it is the 24th. Today we began the exploration of another wing of the complex. Oghma is a god of three aspects: The head, the heart, and the hands, as represented by academics, music, and physical fitness. The first wing was dedicated to the head. The next wing, the one we started today, was dedicated to the hands, and the last will probably turn out to be dedicated to the heart. The first room we found was a gymnasium. A pair of mats lay on the floor. Blades and Corwin each stepped on one, and illusionary wrestling partners appeared. Corwin disbelieved, and was released, but Blades, stubborn as ever, insisted on fighting the illusion. He was thrown from the mat and knocked unconscious, but he soon came to. A bath and sauna were here as well, but the mist inside was cold, and coalesced into a white cloud with three red eyes and tentacles. It attacked me, but Corwin killed it. He has been much more effective lately--that two handed sword is a dangerous weapon. Next door to the gym was another latrine. A patch of moss (Finis called it "Memory Moss"), apparently stole magic missile from Rinver's memory. The moss attacked us, and we decided to leave it alone. Rinver, interestingly enough, seems to have forgotten everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, including the fight with the Fruk. On the bright side, he is no longer angry at Suleiman, even though we told him all that had transpired. He is a strange man. A curious puzzle confronted us at the next door. The door had no iron straps, or hinges, or any metal of any kind. In fact, rust particles lay all around the door. I suggested that there may be one of the adventurer's most feared adversaries--a rust monster--on the other side. We decided to leave that room alone. Corwin heard murmuring behind another door. As we approached, it sounded as if there were many, many voices behind it. Anticipating a serious fight, I prayed for Prometheus to protect us, and hinder our foes. We charged inside, only to be confronted with a hideous blob of goo, with eyes and mouths floating in its gelatinous mass: a Gibbering Mouther. Blades was terrified, and fled into the hall. Corwin simply stood there, stunned. Finis and I attacked, and it bit me several times, grabbing a hold of me. Finis struck several incredible blows on the beast, quickly killing it. However, Corwin still seemed under the sway of the beasts' confusing voices, and attacked Suleiman in a rage. Suleiman tried valiantly to parry with his little dagger, but to no avail; he took a serious blow. Corwin snapped out of it, and was of course very sorry. We took care of Suleiman's injury, and went to look for Blades. He was soon found in the gymnasium, wandering around aimlessly. He asked us if we had "defeated the dragon". Playing along, we assured him that we had, and returned to the room it had inhabited. The room was completely bare; the gibbering mouther had eaten everything that had once occupied the room, including a chalkboard. The hall went around a corner, and led to a room full of doors, various pieces of equipment--looms, cloth, tools, etc.--and a large basalt statue standing guard. It was quickly decided that we should leave the statue and the contents of the room alone, so we checked out another room. This room was a bar, complete with stools, liquor, and some books on making drinks. One was entitled Bloodstone's Bartending, so we took it back to the gibbering mouther room, and prepared for a fight. Then it happened. As I cast Arms of Flame on Corwin's sword, I saw an image forming in the fire. I saw my sister--now grown to womanhood, and she seemed angry. Then there was some other woman, and an Amazon, a tree standing on water, and Zek K'tri of the Worker Caste. What does it mean? There was also something about Ares, but I cannot remember it all; it was too brief. Could Aresopolis have betrayed the alliance? The Gods help us if their bloodthirsty troops are on the rampage! Finally, there was a terrible image, that will stay with me for all my days: I saw Demopolis burning! Can it be? I pray not, with all my heart! Is this a sending from High Priestess Octavia? Or is it from my sister? Can it be from Prometheus Himself? The last possibility is the most exciting, but also the most frightening--the situation must be dire indeed if he is sending visions to me, a lowly Wanderer! I must pray for more insight. The other members of the Pentachromata must have thought that there was something wrong with me; I must have stood there gazing into the flames for several minutes. I was rattled, but if I want to find out what is going on, I have to get out of here. So, we continued our plan to open the book. Once again, a plate fell out, and this time, a white lizard devil appeared. Finis struck it, and Blades killed it. Now we have the letter B. Our next discovery was a lounge, with weapons on the walls. Corwin took a very finely crafted two-handed sword from the wall. We found yet another book with an alliterative title: Silent Solace. Blades opened it, and a black devil appeared. After two incredible blows from Blades, the creature dissipated. Strangely, no plate fell out of this book. Moving on, we found an room used in creating musical instruments. After a thorough search, we found a basalt ring. Having no more rooms left to explore, except for the ones guarded by the statue in the equipment room, we came up with a plan to lure the rust monster to it, using pieces of ferrous metal. It then occurred to Blades that the basalt ring might control the basalt statue! Finis tested the theory, and it proved correct--he could give it simple commands, and it would obey them. We all hid in the gymnasium, and Rinver turned Finis invisible. Then Finis led the statue to the rust monster's room. He ordered the statue to bash through the door, and it did so (quite easily, I might add). The rust monster, covered with plates and with a small beak, ran into the hall. Finis ordered the statue to attack it, and it did--unfortunately, the rust monster decided to flee in the direction of the gymnasium. Alarmed, we clambered up ropes and onto cabinets, in a desperate attempt to remove ourselves (and our iron equipment) from the path of the rust monster. The statue chased the rust monster into the bath, and then killed it. I must say, that was rather clever of us (and brave of Finis), don't you think? Very little remained in the rust monster's room. Reddish dust was all that remained of a forge and some anvils. We did find a book entitled "Hephaestus' Handbook" on a shelf. Blades found five ingots of mithril in a cabinet! Blades is truly a master armor smith; if he decides to craft a suit of armor from that metal, he will be nearly invulnerable. Our next destination was, once again, the gibbering mouther room, where we lay the book on the floor, walked outside, and ordered the statue to open the book. The creature leaned over, and then suddenly smashed book with its heavy fist. It turned, and walked toward us. We slammed the door shut, and heard the statue's movement stop. Even after we opened the door again, the statue stood motionless. Finis hypothesized that he had lost control of the statue, and that someone else should give it a try. As Finis handed the ring to Suleiman, the statue attacked. It hit Blades, but stopped when ordered to do so by Suleiman. This time, Suleiman told it to simply pick up the book. The statue grabbed the book by the front cover, and a plate fell on the floor. A red devil appeared, and attacked the statue. The devil and the statue fought for a while, but Blades grew impatient, and rushed to the statue's aid. Blades killed the devil, but the statue turned its attention on Blades, despite Suleiman's orders. Fortunately, Blades easily dispatched the statue as well. Now we have the letter H. Now that the statue was destroyed, we decided that it was safe to search the room it had originally guarded. We found a book entitled Goblins, Giants and Giant Kin. Following what had become standard procedure, we defeated its blue devil guardian in the gibbering mouther room, gaining the letter G. Returning to the statue's original room, we searched some closets. I found a secret door in one, leading to a small room with a table, some chairs, and a skeleton. A bottle filled with a foul liquid sat on a shelf, along with a gold goblet and several glasses. There was also a good cloak on the wall, which we took, along with the goblet and glasses. Having passed another busy day in a productive fashion, we are now retiring again, in the map room. I am not sure that I will be able to sleep; the sight of Demopolis burning is carved into my mind. What can it mean? Who wants me to see such a thing? How can I get home quickly? Will the rest of the Pentachromata help me, or am I on my own? I fear my shoulders are too narrow for the burden that may soon be placed upon them. July 25th Finis had a clever suggestion this morning: he said that he could use his stone shape ability to remove the walls around the main doors guarding the Vault of Knowledge, allowing us to simply move the doors out of the way. Blades strongly objected, and we should have listened to him. The idea worked, and with a mighty tug, Corwin pulled the doors down. With a loud crack, the seal on the doors split, and we could see inside. Stepping through, we could see rows and rows of books, and huge scroll tubes. We could also see the three stone golems charging us. One of them breathed a poison gas on us, to which Suleiman and Rinver succumbed. Their movements became sluggish and slow. Another shouted loudly, and the blast struck us painfully. We made a fighting withdrawal, and the golems stopped in the doorway. Corwin took a serious blow, but he is all right now. The three golems apparently represent the three aspects of Oghma. One is a burly wrestler, another seems scholarly, and the third looks like an enlightened artist or musician. We decided to leave them alone, and gather the rest of the plates. We entered the third branch of the complex, representing art and music. The first room contained two statues representing the classical archetypes of theater: comedy and tragedy. As we poked around the room, they attacked us. Unfortunately, Suleiman broke his magical dagger on one of them. The "tragedy" statue hit Corwin, and he became sullen and depressed. Fortunately, they were not very tough, and we soundly defeated them. Suleiman summoned Tanvil again, to help us look around. He reported the smell of fresh water behind a door. We opened it, and found a curious, magical pool. Looking into it apparently showed reflections of ancestors; I recognized some of my own features in the face below the water. Strangely, Corwin's reflection looked not at all human. A nearby plaque names this the "Pool of Ages". The next room was a dance studio, complete with wooden floor and mirrors, both of which had warped with age. We continued on, into an art gallery, where a mimic disguised itself as a vase, a pedestal, and a painting in an attempt to surprise us. It was quickly killed, and we took a look at several of the books lying around. We found Ionian Inkprints and Knights, Knaves, and Knobs. Blades opened the first book, revealing a plate with the letter I, and another black devil. Surprisingly, Corwin killed it with a mighty blow from his newly acquired fine-quality sword. We suspect that we must gain the letters to spell "Oghma the Binder". Therefore, we do not need a K. Nonetheless, we were curious about what might be inside, and Arms of Flame was still in effect on Corwin's blade. So, we opened Knights, Knaves, and Knobs. A glowing sphere appeared and attacked. It struck Blades with a searing beam of light, destroying his ring of strength. Corwin, in another impressive display of his incredible strength, destroyed the glowing sphere. As we have suffered several wounds in the course of today's excitement, and because Finis and I are nearly out of spells, it is time to rest. I wish that we had not tried to sneak into the Vault of Knowledge; with the seal broken, I am not sure that gathering all the letters will still work. Still, it is worth a try; those golems are far too tough for us to face in direct combat. Perhaps we will finish our task tomorrow. Still the image of Demopolis burning fills my thoughts. I feel so helpless. I wonder, where does Rinver want us to take him, once we have gotten what he came for? I hope it is not far off. I was interested in exploring Duncan Keep, but it looks as though that will have to wait for another time--or perhaps another man. It seems as though my destiny lies in Ionia, not in Ailech. I hear my home calling to me; I must answer. July 26th We now have all the letters necessary to spell "Oghma the Binder". Tonight we rest, eagerly awaiting the morning, when we will (hopefully) reach the library. Today was very productive and interesting. After tending to our remaining wounds, we renewed our search. We found another living area, with a book entitled The Terrible Tempest. Of course, we opened the book. A red devil appeared, which Blades handily dispatched. The next room was merely a latrine, but the room after that quite a surprise. Or rather, the person in it was a surprise. A tall, emaciated man, of the race of Githyanki, stood a room full of paintings, finishing a picture of what Suleiman tells me is Limbo. The frightening being greeted us telepathically, telling us that his name was Relmor Zenaroth, and adventurer. Apparently, he took something of value from some friends of his, and is hiding from them. We were quite leery and suspicious of him, so we explored the room beyond. Relmor told us that a living shadow lurked in the room. As we entered, our rocks of continual light dimmed, and the shadow beast attacked. We seemed unable to harm it, so we retreated through the doorway. Suleiman pulled out the wand of illumination we found so long ago, and said "noon" in elvish, filling the room with a blazing light. The creature hid behind the bed, and we ran inside, grabbed everything that was not bolted to the floor, and ran out, shutting the door behind us. The poor creature lost almost all of his furniture in just a few seconds! We found two books: Hibernian Hymns and Revelations of Ramen-Hotep. We also found what I am calling a jar of wizard armor and a hat of difference. The books contained the letters H and R, and of course, devils (green and red). That left us with only an O and an E to find. After explaining to Finis exactly what a Githyanki is, we took our leave of Relmor. Finis then used stone shape to block the door using the stone of the wall, in what turned out to be a futile attempt to keep Relmor inside. Musical Instruments filled the next room. A most curious instrument, with many black and white "keys" caught my eye. It had not weathered the years well, but I tried a key. It worked, much to my surprise. Corwin tried placing his hand on it--and several strings broke. Oh well. Suleiman found a lute that had weathered the years particularly well; perhaps it is magic. A book entitled "Partok's Perfect Performance" lay on a music stand. We don't need a P, so we left it unopened. Backtracking through the room in which the Golems of the theater were defeated, we entered an auditorium. Suleiman and I walked up on to the stage. It was filled with props, and were about to begin a thorough search when we heard footsteps from behind the stage. The continual light rock was extinguished, and I grabbed Suleiman in an attempt to run from the stage. A ghostly figure stepped onto the stage, and suddenly Blades, Corwin, Rinver, and I were compelled to walk up to the stage and begin reciting lines from some play. The spirit let us act for a while, and then beckoned Blades towards him. Finis leaped into action, striking the Ghost soundly. Blades shook himself free from the compulsion and began his attack, while Suleiman readied a spell. The rest of us continued playing our roles. Incredibly, Suleiman's magic missiles shimmered strangely in midair, and knocked the ghost's head right off of its shoulders! Its body searched around on the floor for a while, and Blades continued his attack. Finally, he dispatched the undead, freeing us from our theatrical enslavement. A passage way behind the stage led down to a costume room, where we found two books: Hamlet (this was apparently the play we had been reciting), Orlem's Ovids, and Poetry of the Trees. Of course, Finis wanted the last book. Suleiman took the first, and Blades tucked Orlem's Ovids to open later. We looked around some more, finding that a trap door on the stage led to a dusty equipment room. Suleiman found a magical scarf, but we are unsure what it does. I found a magical make-up kit; I suspect it allows one to disguise oneself. While arguing about where to go next, we noticed that Relmor sat out in the "audience", as if watching us perform. He must have escaped the stone barrier Finis placed in front of the door to his "painting room". We politely left and went to investigate the "cold room". Our curiosity had finally gotten the better of us; we had to know what was inside. A huge, white insect creature was inside! It stood in a circle on the ground of the chamber. As we stood watching our breath, the creature asked us to free it. Blades seemed interested, especially after it promised to do him a favor if he released it. I was suspicious, so I cast detect evil. I was stunned by the incredible evil emanating from the being, and I bid everyone to leave, and quickly! Blades and Corwin were reluctant, but they were finally persuaded. After defeating the devil in Orlem's Ovids to get the letter O, we began our search for the last book. After a great deal of arguing, we decided that Corwin should go into the "memory moss" room and have a look about. It ended up costing him two days' memories, but he handily dispatched the moss. We were thrilled to find the book Eagle Eyes in the room, near some baths. Once again, we went to the gibbering mouther room to slay the black devil in, gaining the letter E. In an impressive display, Corwin parried two of the beast's swings, allowing Blades to dispatch it with impunity. Back in the map room, we had something to eat, and investigated some of the items we had picked up. If you will recall, we found a cloak and a goblet in hidden room, where a skeleton was slumped on a table. The goblet appears to be a goblet of treasure finding; pouring water into it revealed the view of a treasure chest on the ocean floor. Finis drank from it, and got a sense of its direction: South. The cloak is a cloak of protection. It has been another productive day; we now have all the letters! Tomorrow, when we are fully rested and healed, we will attempt entry to the library. I am so excited; I hope that I can sleep! Soon, I will begin my return home. I will be glad to be out of this dark pit.</blockquote>

Verification