ADVENTURE 16: DEAD TO RAISE AND HELL TO PAY
PC Roster:
Game Session Date: 11 March 2026
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The group rode into the town of Elsewhere, and this time it was for real. There was someone waiting there for them, just as the false "Father Solaire" had been there in the illusory Elsewhere, but this time it was Lady Aurora Sunbeam, Amris's arcane mentor - and it was really her, not another simulacrum covered in illusions. "Father Solaire wishes to speak to you," she said, and escorted them to the town's sole temple, which shared allegiances with the various gods worshiped by the citizens living there. The three wizards traveling with the scouts said their farewells and returned to the homes they hadn't seen for many days.
If there had been any lingering doubt that the celestial being standing before them at the temple was really a solar, the fact he immediately began casting healing spells upon the wounded planar scouts banished such thoughts forthwith. He listened to their tales of how they rescued the three wizardly artisans from the formian nest and brought back the corpse of the mayor, already dead when they encountered him. They also filled him in on Timaeus Summerfrost's attempts to destroy the mayor's physical body before he could be restored to life.
"It is for this reason I wished you here at the temple, with me," Father Solaire said. "I would prefer it if you were to stay the night here, in the temple, guarding over the mayor's body, lest there be any further attempts to destroy his mortal frame. In the morning, I will be able to restore life to him." The group collectively agreed.
The party greeted the morning with a surprise heroes' feast spell cast by Father Solaire. "Eat, restore your strength," admonished the solar. As the group tucked in to the spread - none with more gusto than Gonkle, who stuffed his face with food almost faster than he could chew - Father Solaire explained the intricacies of returning life back to the mayor's body. "As you know," he began, "Elsewhere is protected against several different types of magic. Teleportation spells do not function within the confines of the town, and scrying spells are likewise ineffective. While it is possible to cast short-lived summoning spells inside the town's borders, longer-duration calling spells are blocked. You can think of the raise dead spell as a sort of calling spell - we're effectively calling the mayor's spirit back into his body. The raise dead spell normally takes a mere minute to cast - outside of Elsewhere, that is. Within the confines of the town, it would normally be impossible - but there is a ritual I know of that will permit such a spell to be cast. Unfortunately, it takes a full hour to perform this ritual, and the raise dead spell is intertwined in the ritual - once I begin, I cannot stop for any reason."
"And that's where we come in," surmised Avoroth.
"Indeed. I wish you here by my side, within the temple, as I perform the ritual that will return the mayor to life. Do this for me, and I will exempt you from further scouting duties for the rest of the year - until Elsewhere leaves Mechanus for parts unknown."
"Deal!" Amris readily agreed. Not having to perform scouting duties would give her more time to study her spellcraft.
"Why don't you simply perform the raise dead spell outside of Elsewhere?" asked Avoroth. "It'll only take a minute that way."
"But it will expose the mayor's body to attempts at its destruction, as you experienced last night. He's much safer here, in the temple, with you guarding him while I perform the ritual. We will have the whole place sealed up, so no one can get in." Avoroth just shrugged; it was no matter to him. "And I'm sure, if we meet with success, the mayor will wish to bestow a reward of his own for your efforts," added the solar.
"Very well," agreed Wilbur. "Give us a moment to prepare, and you can begin your ritual." He cast a greater magic fang spell upon Tamaskan, while Amris cast a mage armor spell on herself and Avoroth cloaked himself in a magic circle against chaos spell. Gonkle spent the time going to each set of double doors in the temple - there were three such entrances, to the east, west, and south - and making sure they were all securely barred from the inside. Once everyone was satisfied, they chose their positions and nodded to Father Solaire that it was safe to begin the ritual.
The mayor's body was laid out flat on the floor of the raised platform in the front of the temple, where the cleric gave his sermon. Standing behind him was Father Solaire, beginning the ritual by chanting in the Celestial tongue. Amris stood at the bottom of one of the small sets of steps leading up to the raised platform, facing the western set of doors. Avoroth stood in the southwestern corner, where he could keep an eye on both the east and south doors - and he was slightly behind the south set of doors, so if anyone burst their way in through that way, they wouldn't be able to see him. Wilbur and Tamaskan flanked the east door, while Gonkle stood directly in front of the mayor's corpse, but on the lower level, before the wooden pews. He had his falchion out and was ready to put it to good use against anyone trying to stop the solar's ritual.
Pivot, Amris's celestial owl familiar, was outside the temple, keeping a wary eye out against anyone approaching the building. There were signs posted that the temple was closed that morning for a private service, and that would be enough to keep the local townspeople out - but it was outsiders they wished to keep at bay, and friendly signs weren't likely to do that job very well.
About ten minutes into the ritual, the doorknobs on the temple doors to the east and south started rattling, as if someone were trying to open them. But they were both locked and barred, so it wasn't going to be easy for the intruders to force their way in. Amris called out to her familiar through their empathic link, but Pivot was stationed in a tree to the northwest of the building and hadn't seen anyone approach. The elf witch cast a magic circle against evil spell on herself while she waited for her familiar to report in.
It didn't take long. <Mummy at the south doors,> Pivot informed his mistress. Then, a few moments later, after he'd flown around the temple in a wide circle, he added, <Mummy at the east door as well. And they both seem to have...wisps of black smoke or something seeping out of their wrappings, and then getting absorbed back in. Very strange.>
Amris relayed the information to the others. Wilbur cast a shillelagh spell upon his quarterstaff and told Tamaskan to get ready, but the dire fell fox could hear the pounding at the east doors and see them start to buckle under the strength of the mummy's blows. Avoroth left his corner position and walked to the middle of a row of pews about halfway along the small temple, where he could keep an eye on both sets of doors the mummies were trying to breach. He held Boccob's holy symbol in his hand, ready to try to rebuke whichever one made it into the temple first, and cast an owl's wisdom spell on himself, to increase the power of his few attack spells and make them harder to resist. Gonkle refused to leave his station, figuring he'd be the last line of defense to keep the mummies away from Father Solaire and the mayor. Amris faced the south door, wand of magic missiles at the ready.
The pounding increased, as the mummies weren't the least bit concerned about stealth. Wilbur, looking back and forth between both sets of doors, determined the southern pair was the closest to being breached, so he cast a warp wood spell on them, causing the wood to expand and be further wedged into place. If nothing else, he figured, he'd hopefully delayed that set of doors from being smashed in for a little bit longer. Tamaskan started to seem a bit uneasy, Wilbur thought when he looked down at his fiery companion, but then he realized most animals were uneasy in the presence of undead. He shared their feelings; the undead were an abomination, a slap in the face of the natural order of life and death. He gripped his magic-enhanced quarterstaff the tighter and got ready to fight off the undead thing trying to break through the eastern doors before him, wishing he had prepared a second warp wood spell that morning. But he was glad the heroes' feast spell prevented him from feeling any of the fear mummies normally inflicted upon their foes; the shadow druid would not be hampered on that front, at least.
A sudden thought struck Amris, and she turned to Father Solaire, still deep in his Celestial chanting. "Do you need to be able to see the mayor's body for your ritual to work?" she asked him quietly. Upon receiving a terse nod indicating he did not, the witch cast an invisibility sphere spell upon the mayor's body, encompassing her, Father Solaire, and Gonkle in the radius of the spell. Each of them faded from view, and would remain invisible as long as they stood next to the mayor's corpse. Should she or Gonkle need to leave the immediate vicinity, they'd return to visibility, as they would if they attacked while still invisible, but as long as Father Solaire remained at the mayor's side, the two of them would remain invisible to those outside the spell's area of effect. She hoped mummies had no way to see invisible people or objects; if not, they'd have a hard time destroying the mayor's body if they couldn't see exactly where it was!
She looked over at the solar and was surprised she could still see him and the mayor - and Gonkle! - but after a moment's panic she recalled those under the invisibility sphere effects could see each other normally; it was, after all, her first use of the spell and she wasn't entirely sure of its exact effects under field testing. She told Gonkle about the spell she'd just cast, and the fiendish orc, realizing he was no longer needed right there by the mayor, repositioned himself in the southeastern corner of the temple, where he could charge at whichever mummy burst into the building first. In the meantime, Avoroth took the opportunity to cast a bless spell upon the assembled group.
Wilbur and Tamaskan were both facing the eastern set of double doors when they suddenly burst asunder, showering them with wooden splinters. But they both attacked at once, the shadow druid slamming his quarterstaff upon the mummy's head and Tamaskan setting him ablaze with a touch of her flaming tail. Amris stepped out of the range of the invisibility sphere spell and fired off a shot from her wand of magic missiles - that way, she reasoned, the mummy would have no reason to suspect there were invisible people there in the temple; better if the undead intruder could see perfectly well for itself the witch was responsible for the blast of force energy. Wilbur and Tamaskan kept up their attacks, although the dire fell fox instantly regretted trying to bite the mummy on the leg, for it was dry and brittle and tasted of undeath.
Avoroth cast a spiritual weapon spell and sent a quarterstaff-shaped field of force energy flying to strike the mummy; the cleric figured he only had the strength to attempt to rebuke undead twice per day, and opted to reserve it when he might be able to affect both at once. Gonkle resisted the urge to join in the melee, realizing someone would be needed to handle the mummy at the southern door if and when it broke its way in.
The mummy at the east doors swung a balled first at Wilbur, striking him a mighty blow. But the shadow druid was able to avoid the horrific effects of mummy rot, the mystical disease borne by all such undead, just as Tamaskan had managed to avoid being affected when she bit the mummy's leg.
Gonkle finally got his opportunity to shine when the mummy at the south doors broke its way into the temple, the doors collapsing inward as it forced its way. Gonkle was there in a heartbeat, slicing through tightly-wound bandages and the desiccated undead flesh beneath with his falchion's enchanted blade. Amris continued her magic missile barrage on the eastern mummy, while Wilbur took a step back and cast a flame blade spell on the end of his quarterstaff. These things didn't seem to appreciate fire all that much, so he'd do what he could to hasten their burning demise. Tamaskan, having learned how awful undead mummies tasted, avoided biting the mummy again and focused upon setting other parts of it alight with her flaming tail.
Holding his holy symbol of Boccob before him, Avoroth allowed negative energy to flow through it, in an attempt to cause the two mummies to stop their attacks, or perhaps even to obey his own orders. But the attempt at rebuking the undead went completely unnoticed by the pair of mummies, much to the cleric's chagrin. (He recalled he'd had a similar lack of success when he'd tried rebuking skeletons back on Avernus, over a year ago.) Gonkle proved his falchion was a much more effective ploy as he continued to carve up the mummy to the south.
The burning mummy continued attacking Wilbur - to no avail - until its withered body collapsed onto the temple floor. However, in its place stood the "wispy black smoke" Pivot had noticed from outside; only it was now revealed as the semi-humanoid shape of a wraith. The other mummy - now engaged in a physical melee with Gonkle - likewise "shed" its wispy smoke as the wraith that had been hiding inside it from the sunlight of the Mechanus day felt safe to emerge into the temple proper, where direct sunlight was no longer a factor. Gonkle now found himself fighting two completely different forms of undead: a physical mummy and an insubstantial wraith, both determined to slay him. The fiendish orc didn't mind, though - the greater the foes, the greater the victory upon vanquishing them!
Amris, seeing the orc being double-teamed, switched targets and fired her next magic missile at the newly-arrived wraith, knowing incorporeal creatures were a lot harder to hit, but that the force energy of the spell in her wand was guaranteed to strike true. Wilbur and Tamaskan started attacking the eastern wraith, to limited effect.
Avoroth saw an opportunity now to potentially affect three undead beings, and fired off another rebuke undead attempt. It was no more effective than his previous tries, and the cleric swore aloud and just about swore off ever trying to rebuke undead in the future - apparently, it just wasn't his strong suit! Worse, he realized that by using up his daily store of negative energy in fruitless attempts at rebuking undead, he'd given up any chance of being able to use his Boccob's book of knowledge to spontaneously cast healing spells, for it was that daily negative energy the book was converting. The sudden realization made the cleric no happier, but he was pleased to be able to at least redirect his spiritual weapon spell to the eastern wraith, sure in the knowledge if the quarterstaff-shaped force energy from his spell hit, it would inflict some damage upon the incorporeal foe.
Gonkle and the sole remaining mummy continued trading blows - the orc might be of limited intellect, but he at least realized a mummy could be hit with a physical object (like, say, a falchion) much easier than the same object could affect a ghostlike wraith. But the wraith attacked Gonkle with abandon, passing its hand through the orc's body but failing to siphon off any of his vitality.
Amris shot another magic missile at the southern wraith, as Wilbur and Tamaskan kept up their own attacks against the one that entered through the eastern doors to the temple. Avoroth moved up - climbing over the pews to do so - and used his wand of cure light wounds to deliver a shot of healing energy to the southern wraith while his spiritual weapon spell continued its attack upon the other one. Gonkle finally finished off his mummy foe and brought his falchion's blade cleaving into the wraith beside it, the magic of the weapon dealing enough damage to its insubstantial form to dissipate it into nothingness. One strike, and he had polished off two undead foes!
There was now only a single wraith left attacking the planar scouts in the temple, and it had as of yet tried to find the invisible mayor, even though Father Soliare's strong voice could be heard echoing throughout the temple as he continued the chants of his ritual. The wraith went for Wilbur, who managed to dodge back out of the way to avoid being hit. Amris used another charge of her wand to send another magic missile striking the wraith, weakening it enough that Tamaskan was able to provide the final blow with her fiery tail, which managed to burn off enough of the wraith's insubstantial ecto-body for it to dissolve into nothingness, just like the one slain by Gonkle moments before. Then, with no further enemies attacking, the group did what they could to block off the doors with pews and continued their vigil. They were in luck, as there were no further attacks upon the temple and Father Solaire was able to finish his ritual, at the end of which the erstwhile Mayor of Elsewhere gasped and sat up, once more among the ranks of the living.
Father Solaire filled in the mayor of all that had transpired since his kidnapping by the formian forces. The mayor was grateful to be alive, although when he was asked why Timaeus Summerfrost wanted to prevent him from being returned to life, the name meant nothing to him until the group mentioned he was the one "renovating" the temple some weeks ago. Then the mayor visibly paled as he gasped aloud.
"So you know this individual?" asked Avoroth.
"Sadly, yes," admitted the mayor, and began his explanations. It turned out he had once been a planar scout in the service of Elsewhere's defense, when his group had the misfortune of encountering a balor demon in the Grey Wastes. Thinking his life was over, he opened his eyes to a bizarre sight: the sky was a rusty orange; the ground was a misty gray - the same as the large cloud dominating the sky - and both gray masses seemed to seethe and shift about like a kaleidoscope. Standing in the center of both looked to be a bell tower made of the same misty gray stuff as the ground and the "cloud." He went to investigate, only to find the robed figure of the man now known to be Timaeus Summerfrost inside, who was furious at the mayor's intrusion.
The sheer power behind the figure's rage was terrifying. When Timaeus demanded to know how the mayor had got there, all he could do was stammer and back away. He was barely able to flee as the figure shouted a warning at him, "If you won't serve me, at least make sure you never get in my way!"
The next thing the mayor knew, he was lying in the dirt just outside Elsewhere. He thought the entire encounter must have been a dream - perhaps he had been knocked unconscious by the balor as he teleported back. For the rest of his life, he told himself that's all it was, just a dream, although his paranoia told him he certainly didn't want that figure to find out who he was. For that reason, he abandoned his real name, never wanting his nightmare to be able to find him.
Then, of course, he voted with Father Solaire to not install the planar shield when Elsewhere was positioned on Avernus, the first layer of Hell, only find his greatest nightmare standing in the church installing it anyway. With a single glance in his direction, he knew just how horribly he had messed up. "My only hope now," admitted the erstwhile mayor, "is as long as I don't put myself in a position of power that might accidentally conflict with Timaeus' plans, he might leave me alone."
"So you're abandoning your position as mayor?" asked Amris in astonishment.
"The mayor serves for life," he replied. "Once I was slain by the formians, I was no longer the mayor. If I want the job back - and I certainly do not! - I'd have to run for the position against whoever else wished to become the next mayor. But count me out! Let somebody else do it - I've had enough!" Avoroth and Wilbur frowned at each other, neither one thinking too highly of the man's cowardice; they'd faced Timaeus twice - well, an astral projection and a simulacrum of him, in any case - and still lived to tell the tale. But the shadow druid's feelings towards the man changed a bit in his favor when the former mayor insisted upon paying the planar scouts for their work in rescuing his body and transporting him back to Elsewhere to be raised from the dead by Father Solaire.
Avoroth decided his feelings for the mayor hadn't changed a bit - but he was more than willing to take the man's offered reward.
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As a reward for rescuing the formian's hostages and returning the mayor's body to Elsewhere, Father Solaire granted the PCs the rest of Elsewhere's duration on Mechanus as free time - as in they were no longer required to perform scouting duties, as the immediate environs of Mechanus had been more of less explored and deemed to be harmless. That gave the PCs each time to further their own interests, whether it be increased spellcraft studies (as in the case of Amris) or animating the dead body of Wilbur's slain horse, Blackie, as a skeletal riding mount (as in the case of Avoroth, who renamed the creature Alabaster). Wilbur will "inherit" Avoroth's living fiendish mount, Victor, as druids tend not to like associating with undead creatures that much.
PC Roster:
Amris Goodwitch, celestial elf witch (wizard) 6
Avoroth Bleakborn, fiendish human cleric 6
Gonkle Bu'Onk, fiendish orc fighter 6
Wilbur Von Schattenwalde, shadow human druid 6
Avoroth Bleakborn, fiendish human cleric 6
Gonkle Bu'Onk, fiendish orc fighter 6
Wilbur Von Schattenwalde, shadow human druid 6
Game Session Date: 11 March 2026
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The group rode into the town of Elsewhere, and this time it was for real. There was someone waiting there for them, just as the false "Father Solaire" had been there in the illusory Elsewhere, but this time it was Lady Aurora Sunbeam, Amris's arcane mentor - and it was really her, not another simulacrum covered in illusions. "Father Solaire wishes to speak to you," she said, and escorted them to the town's sole temple, which shared allegiances with the various gods worshiped by the citizens living there. The three wizards traveling with the scouts said their farewells and returned to the homes they hadn't seen for many days.
If there had been any lingering doubt that the celestial being standing before them at the temple was really a solar, the fact he immediately began casting healing spells upon the wounded planar scouts banished such thoughts forthwith. He listened to their tales of how they rescued the three wizardly artisans from the formian nest and brought back the corpse of the mayor, already dead when they encountered him. They also filled him in on Timaeus Summerfrost's attempts to destroy the mayor's physical body before he could be restored to life.
"It is for this reason I wished you here at the temple, with me," Father Solaire said. "I would prefer it if you were to stay the night here, in the temple, guarding over the mayor's body, lest there be any further attempts to destroy his mortal frame. In the morning, I will be able to restore life to him." The group collectively agreed.
The party greeted the morning with a surprise heroes' feast spell cast by Father Solaire. "Eat, restore your strength," admonished the solar. As the group tucked in to the spread - none with more gusto than Gonkle, who stuffed his face with food almost faster than he could chew - Father Solaire explained the intricacies of returning life back to the mayor's body. "As you know," he began, "Elsewhere is protected against several different types of magic. Teleportation spells do not function within the confines of the town, and scrying spells are likewise ineffective. While it is possible to cast short-lived summoning spells inside the town's borders, longer-duration calling spells are blocked. You can think of the raise dead spell as a sort of calling spell - we're effectively calling the mayor's spirit back into his body. The raise dead spell normally takes a mere minute to cast - outside of Elsewhere, that is. Within the confines of the town, it would normally be impossible - but there is a ritual I know of that will permit such a spell to be cast. Unfortunately, it takes a full hour to perform this ritual, and the raise dead spell is intertwined in the ritual - once I begin, I cannot stop for any reason."
"And that's where we come in," surmised Avoroth.
"Indeed. I wish you here by my side, within the temple, as I perform the ritual that will return the mayor to life. Do this for me, and I will exempt you from further scouting duties for the rest of the year - until Elsewhere leaves Mechanus for parts unknown."
"Deal!" Amris readily agreed. Not having to perform scouting duties would give her more time to study her spellcraft.
"Why don't you simply perform the raise dead spell outside of Elsewhere?" asked Avoroth. "It'll only take a minute that way."
"But it will expose the mayor's body to attempts at its destruction, as you experienced last night. He's much safer here, in the temple, with you guarding him while I perform the ritual. We will have the whole place sealed up, so no one can get in." Avoroth just shrugged; it was no matter to him. "And I'm sure, if we meet with success, the mayor will wish to bestow a reward of his own for your efforts," added the solar.
"Very well," agreed Wilbur. "Give us a moment to prepare, and you can begin your ritual." He cast a greater magic fang spell upon Tamaskan, while Amris cast a mage armor spell on herself and Avoroth cloaked himself in a magic circle against chaos spell. Gonkle spent the time going to each set of double doors in the temple - there were three such entrances, to the east, west, and south - and making sure they were all securely barred from the inside. Once everyone was satisfied, they chose their positions and nodded to Father Solaire that it was safe to begin the ritual.
The mayor's body was laid out flat on the floor of the raised platform in the front of the temple, where the cleric gave his sermon. Standing behind him was Father Solaire, beginning the ritual by chanting in the Celestial tongue. Amris stood at the bottom of one of the small sets of steps leading up to the raised platform, facing the western set of doors. Avoroth stood in the southwestern corner, where he could keep an eye on both the east and south doors - and he was slightly behind the south set of doors, so if anyone burst their way in through that way, they wouldn't be able to see him. Wilbur and Tamaskan flanked the east door, while Gonkle stood directly in front of the mayor's corpse, but on the lower level, before the wooden pews. He had his falchion out and was ready to put it to good use against anyone trying to stop the solar's ritual.
Pivot, Amris's celestial owl familiar, was outside the temple, keeping a wary eye out against anyone approaching the building. There were signs posted that the temple was closed that morning for a private service, and that would be enough to keep the local townspeople out - but it was outsiders they wished to keep at bay, and friendly signs weren't likely to do that job very well.
About ten minutes into the ritual, the doorknobs on the temple doors to the east and south started rattling, as if someone were trying to open them. But they were both locked and barred, so it wasn't going to be easy for the intruders to force their way in. Amris called out to her familiar through their empathic link, but Pivot was stationed in a tree to the northwest of the building and hadn't seen anyone approach. The elf witch cast a magic circle against evil spell on herself while she waited for her familiar to report in.
It didn't take long. <Mummy at the south doors,> Pivot informed his mistress. Then, a few moments later, after he'd flown around the temple in a wide circle, he added, <Mummy at the east door as well. And they both seem to have...wisps of black smoke or something seeping out of their wrappings, and then getting absorbed back in. Very strange.>
Amris relayed the information to the others. Wilbur cast a shillelagh spell upon his quarterstaff and told Tamaskan to get ready, but the dire fell fox could hear the pounding at the east doors and see them start to buckle under the strength of the mummy's blows. Avoroth left his corner position and walked to the middle of a row of pews about halfway along the small temple, where he could keep an eye on both sets of doors the mummies were trying to breach. He held Boccob's holy symbol in his hand, ready to try to rebuke whichever one made it into the temple first, and cast an owl's wisdom spell on himself, to increase the power of his few attack spells and make them harder to resist. Gonkle refused to leave his station, figuring he'd be the last line of defense to keep the mummies away from Father Solaire and the mayor. Amris faced the south door, wand of magic missiles at the ready.
The pounding increased, as the mummies weren't the least bit concerned about stealth. Wilbur, looking back and forth between both sets of doors, determined the southern pair was the closest to being breached, so he cast a warp wood spell on them, causing the wood to expand and be further wedged into place. If nothing else, he figured, he'd hopefully delayed that set of doors from being smashed in for a little bit longer. Tamaskan started to seem a bit uneasy, Wilbur thought when he looked down at his fiery companion, but then he realized most animals were uneasy in the presence of undead. He shared their feelings; the undead were an abomination, a slap in the face of the natural order of life and death. He gripped his magic-enhanced quarterstaff the tighter and got ready to fight off the undead thing trying to break through the eastern doors before him, wishing he had prepared a second warp wood spell that morning. But he was glad the heroes' feast spell prevented him from feeling any of the fear mummies normally inflicted upon their foes; the shadow druid would not be hampered on that front, at least.
A sudden thought struck Amris, and she turned to Father Solaire, still deep in his Celestial chanting. "Do you need to be able to see the mayor's body for your ritual to work?" she asked him quietly. Upon receiving a terse nod indicating he did not, the witch cast an invisibility sphere spell upon the mayor's body, encompassing her, Father Solaire, and Gonkle in the radius of the spell. Each of them faded from view, and would remain invisible as long as they stood next to the mayor's corpse. Should she or Gonkle need to leave the immediate vicinity, they'd return to visibility, as they would if they attacked while still invisible, but as long as Father Solaire remained at the mayor's side, the two of them would remain invisible to those outside the spell's area of effect. She hoped mummies had no way to see invisible people or objects; if not, they'd have a hard time destroying the mayor's body if they couldn't see exactly where it was!
She looked over at the solar and was surprised she could still see him and the mayor - and Gonkle! - but after a moment's panic she recalled those under the invisibility sphere effects could see each other normally; it was, after all, her first use of the spell and she wasn't entirely sure of its exact effects under field testing. She told Gonkle about the spell she'd just cast, and the fiendish orc, realizing he was no longer needed right there by the mayor, repositioned himself in the southeastern corner of the temple, where he could charge at whichever mummy burst into the building first. In the meantime, Avoroth took the opportunity to cast a bless spell upon the assembled group.
Wilbur and Tamaskan were both facing the eastern set of double doors when they suddenly burst asunder, showering them with wooden splinters. But they both attacked at once, the shadow druid slamming his quarterstaff upon the mummy's head and Tamaskan setting him ablaze with a touch of her flaming tail. Amris stepped out of the range of the invisibility sphere spell and fired off a shot from her wand of magic missiles - that way, she reasoned, the mummy would have no reason to suspect there were invisible people there in the temple; better if the undead intruder could see perfectly well for itself the witch was responsible for the blast of force energy. Wilbur and Tamaskan kept up their attacks, although the dire fell fox instantly regretted trying to bite the mummy on the leg, for it was dry and brittle and tasted of undeath.
Avoroth cast a spiritual weapon spell and sent a quarterstaff-shaped field of force energy flying to strike the mummy; the cleric figured he only had the strength to attempt to rebuke undead twice per day, and opted to reserve it when he might be able to affect both at once. Gonkle resisted the urge to join in the melee, realizing someone would be needed to handle the mummy at the southern door if and when it broke its way in.
The mummy at the east doors swung a balled first at Wilbur, striking him a mighty blow. But the shadow druid was able to avoid the horrific effects of mummy rot, the mystical disease borne by all such undead, just as Tamaskan had managed to avoid being affected when she bit the mummy's leg.
Gonkle finally got his opportunity to shine when the mummy at the south doors broke its way into the temple, the doors collapsing inward as it forced its way. Gonkle was there in a heartbeat, slicing through tightly-wound bandages and the desiccated undead flesh beneath with his falchion's enchanted blade. Amris continued her magic missile barrage on the eastern mummy, while Wilbur took a step back and cast a flame blade spell on the end of his quarterstaff. These things didn't seem to appreciate fire all that much, so he'd do what he could to hasten their burning demise. Tamaskan, having learned how awful undead mummies tasted, avoided biting the mummy again and focused upon setting other parts of it alight with her flaming tail.
Holding his holy symbol of Boccob before him, Avoroth allowed negative energy to flow through it, in an attempt to cause the two mummies to stop their attacks, or perhaps even to obey his own orders. But the attempt at rebuking the undead went completely unnoticed by the pair of mummies, much to the cleric's chagrin. (He recalled he'd had a similar lack of success when he'd tried rebuking skeletons back on Avernus, over a year ago.) Gonkle proved his falchion was a much more effective ploy as he continued to carve up the mummy to the south.
The burning mummy continued attacking Wilbur - to no avail - until its withered body collapsed onto the temple floor. However, in its place stood the "wispy black smoke" Pivot had noticed from outside; only it was now revealed as the semi-humanoid shape of a wraith. The other mummy - now engaged in a physical melee with Gonkle - likewise "shed" its wispy smoke as the wraith that had been hiding inside it from the sunlight of the Mechanus day felt safe to emerge into the temple proper, where direct sunlight was no longer a factor. Gonkle now found himself fighting two completely different forms of undead: a physical mummy and an insubstantial wraith, both determined to slay him. The fiendish orc didn't mind, though - the greater the foes, the greater the victory upon vanquishing them!
Amris, seeing the orc being double-teamed, switched targets and fired her next magic missile at the newly-arrived wraith, knowing incorporeal creatures were a lot harder to hit, but that the force energy of the spell in her wand was guaranteed to strike true. Wilbur and Tamaskan started attacking the eastern wraith, to limited effect.
Avoroth saw an opportunity now to potentially affect three undead beings, and fired off another rebuke undead attempt. It was no more effective than his previous tries, and the cleric swore aloud and just about swore off ever trying to rebuke undead in the future - apparently, it just wasn't his strong suit! Worse, he realized that by using up his daily store of negative energy in fruitless attempts at rebuking undead, he'd given up any chance of being able to use his Boccob's book of knowledge to spontaneously cast healing spells, for it was that daily negative energy the book was converting. The sudden realization made the cleric no happier, but he was pleased to be able to at least redirect his spiritual weapon spell to the eastern wraith, sure in the knowledge if the quarterstaff-shaped force energy from his spell hit, it would inflict some damage upon the incorporeal foe.
Gonkle and the sole remaining mummy continued trading blows - the orc might be of limited intellect, but he at least realized a mummy could be hit with a physical object (like, say, a falchion) much easier than the same object could affect a ghostlike wraith. But the wraith attacked Gonkle with abandon, passing its hand through the orc's body but failing to siphon off any of his vitality.
Amris shot another magic missile at the southern wraith, as Wilbur and Tamaskan kept up their own attacks against the one that entered through the eastern doors to the temple. Avoroth moved up - climbing over the pews to do so - and used his wand of cure light wounds to deliver a shot of healing energy to the southern wraith while his spiritual weapon spell continued its attack upon the other one. Gonkle finally finished off his mummy foe and brought his falchion's blade cleaving into the wraith beside it, the magic of the weapon dealing enough damage to its insubstantial form to dissipate it into nothingness. One strike, and he had polished off two undead foes!
There was now only a single wraith left attacking the planar scouts in the temple, and it had as of yet tried to find the invisible mayor, even though Father Soliare's strong voice could be heard echoing throughout the temple as he continued the chants of his ritual. The wraith went for Wilbur, who managed to dodge back out of the way to avoid being hit. Amris used another charge of her wand to send another magic missile striking the wraith, weakening it enough that Tamaskan was able to provide the final blow with her fiery tail, which managed to burn off enough of the wraith's insubstantial ecto-body for it to dissolve into nothingness, just like the one slain by Gonkle moments before. Then, with no further enemies attacking, the group did what they could to block off the doors with pews and continued their vigil. They were in luck, as there were no further attacks upon the temple and Father Solaire was able to finish his ritual, at the end of which the erstwhile Mayor of Elsewhere gasped and sat up, once more among the ranks of the living.
Father Solaire filled in the mayor of all that had transpired since his kidnapping by the formian forces. The mayor was grateful to be alive, although when he was asked why Timaeus Summerfrost wanted to prevent him from being returned to life, the name meant nothing to him until the group mentioned he was the one "renovating" the temple some weeks ago. Then the mayor visibly paled as he gasped aloud.
"So you know this individual?" asked Avoroth.
"Sadly, yes," admitted the mayor, and began his explanations. It turned out he had once been a planar scout in the service of Elsewhere's defense, when his group had the misfortune of encountering a balor demon in the Grey Wastes. Thinking his life was over, he opened his eyes to a bizarre sight: the sky was a rusty orange; the ground was a misty gray - the same as the large cloud dominating the sky - and both gray masses seemed to seethe and shift about like a kaleidoscope. Standing in the center of both looked to be a bell tower made of the same misty gray stuff as the ground and the "cloud." He went to investigate, only to find the robed figure of the man now known to be Timaeus Summerfrost inside, who was furious at the mayor's intrusion.
The sheer power behind the figure's rage was terrifying. When Timaeus demanded to know how the mayor had got there, all he could do was stammer and back away. He was barely able to flee as the figure shouted a warning at him, "If you won't serve me, at least make sure you never get in my way!"
The next thing the mayor knew, he was lying in the dirt just outside Elsewhere. He thought the entire encounter must have been a dream - perhaps he had been knocked unconscious by the balor as he teleported back. For the rest of his life, he told himself that's all it was, just a dream, although his paranoia told him he certainly didn't want that figure to find out who he was. For that reason, he abandoned his real name, never wanting his nightmare to be able to find him.
Then, of course, he voted with Father Solaire to not install the planar shield when Elsewhere was positioned on Avernus, the first layer of Hell, only find his greatest nightmare standing in the church installing it anyway. With a single glance in his direction, he knew just how horribly he had messed up. "My only hope now," admitted the erstwhile mayor, "is as long as I don't put myself in a position of power that might accidentally conflict with Timaeus' plans, he might leave me alone."
"So you're abandoning your position as mayor?" asked Amris in astonishment.
"The mayor serves for life," he replied. "Once I was slain by the formians, I was no longer the mayor. If I want the job back - and I certainly do not! - I'd have to run for the position against whoever else wished to become the next mayor. But count me out! Let somebody else do it - I've had enough!" Avoroth and Wilbur frowned at each other, neither one thinking too highly of the man's cowardice; they'd faced Timaeus twice - well, an astral projection and a simulacrum of him, in any case - and still lived to tell the tale. But the shadow druid's feelings towards the man changed a bit in his favor when the former mayor insisted upon paying the planar scouts for their work in rescuing his body and transporting him back to Elsewhere to be raised from the dead by Father Solaire.
Avoroth decided his feelings for the mayor hadn't changed a bit - but he was more than willing to take the man's offered reward.
- - -
As a reward for rescuing the formian's hostages and returning the mayor's body to Elsewhere, Father Solaire granted the PCs the rest of Elsewhere's duration on Mechanus as free time - as in they were no longer required to perform scouting duties, as the immediate environs of Mechanus had been more of less explored and deemed to be harmless. That gave the PCs each time to further their own interests, whether it be increased spellcraft studies (as in the case of Amris) or animating the dead body of Wilbur's slain horse, Blackie, as a skeletal riding mount (as in the case of Avoroth, who renamed the creature Alabaster). Wilbur will "inherit" Avoroth's living fiendish mount, Victor, as druids tend not to like associating with undead creatures that much.
