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The Westgate Campaign Chronicles - serial
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<blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 7913144" data-attributes="member: 7015827"><p>Before beginning the ritual to activate the portal, the party decided to return to the room with the magical gem, in order to examine it further and, if appropriate, take it with them. Knowing that the gem radiated intense cold, Brok-Tul had prayed for a spell to protect him from the elements the night before. Rahnee passed her bag of holding to him, so he would be able to place the gem in the container once obtained and thereby nullify its cold effect. Aerikoth asked for some additional time to examine the gem, casting a spell in order to divine its magical nature. After casting the spell, he stared intently at the gem, his eyes narrowed, his right hand hovering over it as he focused his attention.</p><p></p><p>Exhaling as he ended his concentration on the gem, Aerikoth confirmed to the others that it was indeed a phylactery, albeit an unusual one. The wizard determined that the magic inside it would allow whatever spirit was held within it to reconstitute itself fully, at any distance, if the gem were broken. Brok-Tul, only half-listening to the mage’s words, hefted his maul and declared his intent to destroy the phylactery, but was halted by Veran and Aerikoth, who warned the half-orc that destroying it might result in a fully-restored lich appearing shortly afterwards. (<em>The half-orc regularly courts disaster with his impulsive behavior. I hope he properly appreciated his companions saving him from himself. But given later developments, I doubt it. --R</em>). Belle, partly as a question, stated that breaking the gem would fully restore the lich, yet destroying him would cause his essence to return to the gem. Aerikoth thought that at least part of Ashnakzeroth’s essence currently remained within the gem, since the creature was not yet fully reconstituted, still evidently needing Aerikoth’s blood to empower its physical form.</p><p></p><p>Brok-Tul, somewhat confused, then asked if they should just take the gem with them. In his usual dry voice, Aerikoth said that they could instead destroy the gem presently and do battle with a fully reconstituted lich that was believed to be a god back in the days of early Netheril. Brok-Tul commented that in his old line of work, that was known as "Plan A", prompting Veran to say that he would prefer to hear "Plan B."</p><p></p><p>Aerikoth continued, saying that if they defeated the creature after going through the portal, that would result in it being trapped in the phylactery for weeks or perhaps months, giving them time to contain it or find a way to completely destroy it. Rahnee and Brok-Tul favored giving the gem afterwards to the dwarves, as a form of just revenge for Ashnakzeroth’s previous enslavement of their clanmates. His spell protecting him, Brok-Tul reached out and seized the gem, triggering a flash of blue light and intense cold, then placed it in the bag of holding.</p><p></p><p>Somewhat grimly, the companions returned to the nearby ritual chamber and prepared to do what was necessary to activate the portal. Brok-Tul, having a stoneskin spell cast on him, was unable to donate blood to the cause. Despite some needling from Belle, Melissa also declined to give her blood, saying that she doubted she would have enough energy left to complete the ritual if she did so. Brok-Tul had the idea of summoning a wolf with a spell in order to do the bleeding for the companions. Aerikoth confirmed, however, that humanoid blood was needed for the ritual, according to the runic pillars.</p><p></p><p>Rahnee was the first to go, stripping off her bracers and rolling back her shirt cuff before slicing her forearm with a dagger. She bled for both herself and Brok-Tul, who called upon Helm to heal her after she was finished. Veran went next, pausing afterwards to take a long drink from his canteen while Brok-Tul tended to his wound. Grimacing, Belle went last, Brok-Tul bandaging her arm when done.</p><p></p><p>Once all of the blood had pooled on the altar, Melissa directed the others to stand away as she attempted to energize it. Brok-Tul expressed his faith in her to be strong and for them all to do the right thing, as she entered into a trancelike state. Crying, “Come to me, power of the Master! Do my bidding, once more!” she cast a beam of energy at the altar. Soon afterwards, a black, swirling cloud appeared over it and then disappeared in a burst of golden energy. Turning away from the altar, the companions started downstairs, to see if the ritual had succeeded in opening the portal. Veran stayed behind briefly to meditate on the situation. (<em>Brother Veran must have struggled mightily to reconcile the needs of the situation with his training and sense of what is just. Participating in an ancient, evil blood magic ritual left more than just an external scar, I would think. --C</em>)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Carlo-One, post: 7913144, member: 7015827"] Before beginning the ritual to activate the portal, the party decided to return to the room with the magical gem, in order to examine it further and, if appropriate, take it with them. Knowing that the gem radiated intense cold, Brok-Tul had prayed for a spell to protect him from the elements the night before. Rahnee passed her bag of holding to him, so he would be able to place the gem in the container once obtained and thereby nullify its cold effect. Aerikoth asked for some additional time to examine the gem, casting a spell in order to divine its magical nature. After casting the spell, he stared intently at the gem, his eyes narrowed, his right hand hovering over it as he focused his attention. Exhaling as he ended his concentration on the gem, Aerikoth confirmed to the others that it was indeed a phylactery, albeit an unusual one. The wizard determined that the magic inside it would allow whatever spirit was held within it to reconstitute itself fully, at any distance, if the gem were broken. Brok-Tul, only half-listening to the mage’s words, hefted his maul and declared his intent to destroy the phylactery, but was halted by Veran and Aerikoth, who warned the half-orc that destroying it might result in a fully-restored lich appearing shortly afterwards. ([I]The half-orc regularly courts disaster with his impulsive behavior. I hope he properly appreciated his companions saving him from himself. But given later developments, I doubt it. --R[/I]). Belle, partly as a question, stated that breaking the gem would fully restore the lich, yet destroying him would cause his essence to return to the gem. Aerikoth thought that at least part of Ashnakzeroth’s essence currently remained within the gem, since the creature was not yet fully reconstituted, still evidently needing Aerikoth’s blood to empower its physical form. Brok-Tul, somewhat confused, then asked if they should just take the gem with them. In his usual dry voice, Aerikoth said that they could instead destroy the gem presently and do battle with a fully reconstituted lich that was believed to be a god back in the days of early Netheril. Brok-Tul commented that in his old line of work, that was known as "Plan A", prompting Veran to say that he would prefer to hear "Plan B." Aerikoth continued, saying that if they defeated the creature after going through the portal, that would result in it being trapped in the phylactery for weeks or perhaps months, giving them time to contain it or find a way to completely destroy it. Rahnee and Brok-Tul favored giving the gem afterwards to the dwarves, as a form of just revenge for Ashnakzeroth’s previous enslavement of their clanmates. His spell protecting him, Brok-Tul reached out and seized the gem, triggering a flash of blue light and intense cold, then placed it in the bag of holding. Somewhat grimly, the companions returned to the nearby ritual chamber and prepared to do what was necessary to activate the portal. Brok-Tul, having a stoneskin spell cast on him, was unable to donate blood to the cause. Despite some needling from Belle, Melissa also declined to give her blood, saying that she doubted she would have enough energy left to complete the ritual if she did so. Brok-Tul had the idea of summoning a wolf with a spell in order to do the bleeding for the companions. Aerikoth confirmed, however, that humanoid blood was needed for the ritual, according to the runic pillars. Rahnee was the first to go, stripping off her bracers and rolling back her shirt cuff before slicing her forearm with a dagger. She bled for both herself and Brok-Tul, who called upon Helm to heal her after she was finished. Veran went next, pausing afterwards to take a long drink from his canteen while Brok-Tul tended to his wound. Grimacing, Belle went last, Brok-Tul bandaging her arm when done. Once all of the blood had pooled on the altar, Melissa directed the others to stand away as she attempted to energize it. Brok-Tul expressed his faith in her to be strong and for them all to do the right thing, as she entered into a trancelike state. Crying, “Come to me, power of the Master! Do my bidding, once more!” she cast a beam of energy at the altar. Soon afterwards, a black, swirling cloud appeared over it and then disappeared in a burst of golden energy. Turning away from the altar, the companions started downstairs, to see if the ritual had succeeded in opening the portal. Veran stayed behind briefly to meditate on the situation. ([I]Brother Veran must have struggled mightily to reconcile the needs of the situation with his training and sense of what is just. Participating in an ancient, evil blood magic ritual left more than just an external scar, I would think. --C[/I]) [/QUOTE]
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