Uller's Lord of the Iron Fortress

[Uller]

Okay...first a little background...my group consists of myself(20+ years of playing D&D), another experienced player (15+ years of gaming) and 4 players who are fairly new to RPGs. Some of the newbers were talking about what it would be like to play a high level game. So we decided to give them a shot at it. So I'm running Lord of the Iron Fortress as a one-shot that may lead into a longer campaign. As you will see, the first session was disasterous...both because the players are new to the task of creating and playing high level characters, and I made the mistake of not reviewing characters before the game ("What do you mean your best weapon is only +1?!?!?)

For further information, check out my website: Uller's D&D page

 

[Uller]

Session #1 - June 22nd, 2002

June 22, 2002 – When Predators become Prey (and the games people play)…
May 30th, 2472 A.E. - Celegond, King of Kheldralin, has summoned his greatest allies to a council in the hidden city. For the last year, the servants of the great demon, Balefire, have not come out of the Iron Gate in great numbers. The enemy has remained reclusive and secretive, as if he is drawing in his strength for some great effort. Other rumors tell that Balefire has turned his attention elsewhere, perhaps there is a new threat to his domination of Irth, or maybe his master has directed him to forge new and more terrible alliances in order to uncover the secret of Kheldralin’s location.



In any event, this weighs heavy upon the tired King. His advisors have at their disposal powerful magics, yet they have been unable to penetrate the shroud that conceals the motivations of the Enemy. So he has called the council. Representitives from throughout Irth have arrived in Kheldralin to discuss these events and perhaps reveal their meaning.

Among these powerful individuals are the following:

Henrich Ireton, the Lord-General of Gen, renowned for his abilities to command and inspire soldiers to heroic deeds.

Ilde of Larkspur, famous huntress of demons and dragons.

Larkin Blackbow, the half-breed son of the great elven hero Timlaek Blackbow, whose abilities with a bow and natural talent for magic is said to have surpassed the skills of his father.

The mysterious wizard known as Majestic, whose deeds of compassion and self sacrifice have exceeded his skills in the mystic arts.

During the first day of the council, there were many discussions and fine speeches, but no one had any concrete answers. Then a page entered the hall and whispered into the ear of Celegond. The king looked as if he had seen a ghost. “Now? He wants payment now?” he said, incredulously. The page nodded. “Well bring them in!”

The page announced the arrival of Sorvis, Thane of Khrazarim to the council. Into the hall came a troupe of 4 dwarves, all were dressed in the fashion of dwarven nobility – dull grey plate mail armor, encrusted with jewels and inlaid with gold and other prescious metals. Behind them they pulled a small cart, upon which sat a box made of heavy wood and bound by iron bands. The box was finely carved and had upon it the name “Frofnir” in dwarven writing.

“You ask repayment now, Sorvis? So many years have passed since our last meeting that I began to think your mind had grown dim and you had forgotten my debt to you.” said the King.

“Aye, your highness. I am old, but if there is anything we dwarves are known for, it is our ability to recall that which is owed to us. It is my son, Frofnir,” he said gesturing ot the large box on the cart. “He was known among our people as a great worker of metal, the likes of which have not been seen since the days when Thrum walked among us and taught us the ways of metal, stone and wood. I am growing old and it will not be long before I am called to my master’s mead hall. It is my greatest desire that Frofnir take my place when I am gone.” 01

Now the hard façade of the grizzled old dwarf softened. His eyes glistened as painful thoughts invaded his mind. “Three days hence he was murdered in his forge by some unknown beast! We do not know what it was, where it came from, or by what means it entered or departed the forge where he was working. There were no witnesses to the attack, but the creature must have been ferosciously strong…” With that, he revealed a heavy steel sheild, that appeared to have been torn as if it were made from paper. “It tore this in half, and destroyed a number of other items made of steel, stone and heavy wood during the fight.

“When I learned of his death, I called upon the king-priest of Thrum to bring him back. He begged Thrum to answer our call, and he did, but Frofnir’s soul could not be retrieved. It was not anywhere on Irth, nor has it arrived in Morviniir. Without his soul, we cannot raise him. So I ask your aid in returning my son to us as payment in full for your debt to me.”

So Celegond addressed the council and summoned Majestic to his chamber. Majestic explained that many agents of Kireen are aware that souls of master craftsman have been disappearing lately. It is a mystery as to why or where they may be going. There they discussed the situation with Sorvis and called upon the aid of the Galanshil. They could ask it three questions about the soul of Frofnir…

“Where is Frofnir?”
“He toils in the fires of creation in a fortress hidden on the battle plane.”
They were not sure if it meant ‘plain’ or ‘plane’ in it’s answer.

“Who is the master of the fortress?”
“The heir of Hregnir and the child of Angwyrm is master of the Fortress of Iron.”

“Where is the Iron Fortress?”
On the Lost Cube of the battle plane.

Sorvis was visibly taken aback by the name Hregnir. The name was not known to the others. Sorvis explained that in the early days of the Titan War (and even before) there were many clans of dwarves who remembered that Kireen had originally sent Maikshial to destroy the entire race so they had no love for her or the Solars. They credit the Titans and Valthorm with the creation of the world and serve them. Hregnir was the chief on one such clan, and he made some dark deal with the Dragon Queen Angwyrm for her aid in fighting the dwarves who still held their love for Thrum. The dark dwarves were defeated and have since been driven deep under ground. Angwyrm abandoned them (probably because they fulfilled her purposes). Hregnir was believed to have died without an heir and it is said his clan wanders the dark places of the world without a leader…apparently that is not entirely true…

So Celegond asked for volunteers to seek out this Iron Fortress, retrieve the soul of Frofnir, discover who this “heir of Hregnir” is and find out what he is doing.

Henrich, Ilde, Larkin and Majestic all volunteered to go (as good PCs should). Majestic consulted with some other wise men and determined that the location of the Fortress could only be Acheron, the plane of battle. The best way to Acheron is through the city of Rigus, which lies outside of Irth in a place called the Domain of the Outlands. There are many portals to other worlds in the Outlands. The one to Acheron is in Rigus. So the heroes girded themselves for battle and Majestic transported them to Rigus using his powerful magics.

Rigus they found to be a city of law and order. The city was laid out in concentric cirlces with each circle being a grid of streets and alleys. The heroes found themselves in a marketplace. All manner of creatures were there buying, selling and trading strange wares and using a dozen different languages to communicate.

The party was approached by a group of 5 soldiers. The officer in charge introduced himself as Lieutenant Andrezhej of the Mercykillers. He said his task is to record the names and business of visitors to the city and give them passes that can be used to get around without further harrassment. The situation was uneasy. Between Henrich’s haughtiness and Majestic casting a spell to determine the nature of the passes, there was very nearly a fight. But the party eventually submitted to the laws of the city and accepted the passes. Andrezhej detected the chaotic leanings of Ilde and announced that she’d be watched…

So the party moved on in search of the gate (perhaps if they’d been nicer to the Mercykillers, they could have just asked them where it was…). After an hour or so, Ilde spotted a great cat like beast prowling down a side alley away from them. The creature was probably 5 feet tall at the shoulders and about 17 feet from nose to tip of tail and appeared to be covered completely in solid steel plates (or even made out of steel or some other metal). It seemed unaware of the party so they decided to follow.

They had just entered the alley about 60’ behind the thing when Majestic’s familiar (name?) spotted a second creature perched on a roof top above them. Majestic tried to warn the others, but too late. The beast let out a mighty roar that shook the foundations of the buildings around them and wracked their bodies with pain. Majestic called upon a powerful spell that stunned the creature on the roof. Henrich and Ilde charged the one in the alley, but were unable to injure it with their weapons. Now the one in the alley let loose a blast of sound that sent Henrich and Ilde reeling. Ilde covered her head to defend herself and when she looked again, the aging Henrich lay motionless upon the ground.

Larkin began firing madly at the beast in the alley (the one on the roof was still reeling from Majestic’s spell) and struck it with several arrows whose magic allowed them to pierce its metallic hide. But the thing was undaunted. Now it leapt at Ilde. She deftly stepped aside of several blows that would have crushed a lesser warrior, but she was quickly wearing down. Majestic filled the space between her and the beast with an invisible barrier. So Ilde turned to fire arrows at the one on the roof,which was now shaking off whatever it was that Majestic did to it. But only Larkin’s arrows seemed able to harm it.

With an angry growl, the thing leapt down upon Larkin, but to the half-elf’s surprise, it attacked not him, but his bow! The thing’s jaw was built like a great steel trap lined with row upon row of rusty teeth. It clamped mightily upon Larkin’s ebony bow and the ground rocked at the shock of the assault. But the ancient magic in the bow was to strong for the creature and the weapon was unharmed.

At this point, the creature that had felled Henrich had lept upon the roof to get around Majestic’s invisible wall. Majestic filled the air with bolts of electrical energy, but to no avail. He called a storm of fire on one beast, and again, nothing. They just seemed unstoppable. The first beast lept down from the roof upon Ilde. This time, it grabbed the Ranger with its front claws and raked her body over and over with its hind claws. The young woman crumpled in a heap, her blood splashed over the alley walls and ran in a stream into a nearby drain.

Larkin was still pummelling the second beast with arrows and wearing it down, when it lept at him. This time forgetting his bow and going for the half-elf’s body, it did the same as the first did to Ilde, felling the archer. Now both beasts peered up a Majestic (who had wisely gotten himself airbourne with his winged boots). They circled about the alley and roared at him impotently, but could not reach him while he hovered overhead launching every spell at the creatures he could think of to drive them away from his fallen comrads. Shortly the beasts tired of their game and went back to their errend, leaving Majestic to tend to Larkin’s wounds (and to mop up the remains of Ilde and Henrich). Our heroes had been humbled…

 

[cthuluftaghn]

Good battle description. I need to learn to take notes during battles, so I can bring them to life more in my Story Hour.

 

[Cyronax]

Cool stuff! Keep it coming!

C.I.D.

 

[Uller]

Thanks guys. The next game is next weekend. The players are reworking their characters (particularly magic items) to be more effective. So far, I'm seeing a lot of +4 and +5 weapons, better armor and even some Sonic resistantance.

I've created a 10th level cleric NPC just in case they'd like some healing potential.

 

[Uller]

July 14, 2002 – The Search for the Iron Fortress

After their resounding defeat to the steel predators in Rigus, the party decided to return to Kheldralin to rest and regroup. There they learned that whatever was being constructed in the Iron Fortress would be completed in 14 days. So they gathered their gear and set out again for Rigus to seek out the gate to Acheron. This time they were joined by an elven hero named Allyn Gwyvyr. She is a powerful Sorceress and Warrior and wears the Armor of Dainis Mor (see Special Items page). Her personality has been completely consumed by the armor so she essentially is Dainis Mor.

Once again, Majestic cast a powerful spell to get the group to Rigus. They began wondering the streets to look for someone to ask the location of the gate to Acheron. At a busy intersection, Ilde was nearly run over by a massive man that she immediately recognized as a fire giant. He had black skin, red hair and wore heavy plate armor. He was leading a large blue many legged reptilian creature. Upon the back of the creature was another large man with bronze skin who was richly dressed in black flowing robes.

“Out of the way, peons! Don’t you see I’m in a hurry?” the bronze man bellowed.

“Perhaps you if you were more polite, we’d get out of your way quicker!” retorted Henrich.

Fortunately Majestic was quick to step in and calm the situation. “Pardon my friends, your greatness. We will move. But if you would be so kind, we are seeking the way to Acheron. We have business there and we do not know where the gate is.”

With that the bronze man became a bit more patient. “Yes! Yes! The gate is found within the inner circle. Follow this road into the city and you’ll see a set of steps leading down in the main square. You can’t miss it. Now be off with you before I sick my behir on you! I’ve had a shipment of adimantite stolen and I must deal with that.”

So the party moved on and quickly found the the steps which the creature told them of. They were very wide and lead down an arched passage for several hundred feet below the city. At the bottom was a large cave with all manner of passages and rooms branching off in every direction. In the center of the room there was an arch make completely out of the bones of various creatures (mostly humans, dwarves and elves) that stood about 15’ high and 10’ wide. The center of the arch was an energy field that glowed a deep red with a black center that gave it the appearance of a large cat’s eye.

“This must be it,” declared Henrich. “You first,” he said noding to Larkin…

They all stepped through and found themselves being pulled down a fiery tunnel. From the end of the tunnel they could hear the sounds of swords clashing, hammering and of creatures dieing in the din of battle. The sound grew and grew until they though they couldn’t stand it and then it was suddenly quieter as they emerged from the other end of the portal.

Now they found themselves standing upon what appeared to be a vast and very flat plain. The landscape was rusty iron and was cracked with many fissures and rippled from what appeared to be massive impacts. The sky was a twilight grey that dimly lit the area around them. In the distance they could make out the sound of battle and occassionally they could hear a thunderous clang as if two massive metal objects were being slammed together. Hanging in the sky they could make out several cube shaped objects, floating about as if they were large distant clouds.

Majestic declared “Welcome to Acheron! The Battle Plane. We are standing upon a cube much like the ones you see hanging in the sky. Now all we need to do is find the location of ‘The Lost Cube’, whatever that is.”

At that point, a huge spider clambered over the horizon. What they thought was miles and miles away was only a hundred feet or so. The spider was some 40’ for the tip of one leg to the tip of an opposite one. It was jet black with multitudes of green eyes that gleemed with an eery internal fire. Upon the back of this spider was an elf, but an elf unlike any the group had ever seen. She was dressed in silvery chain armor covered by a black tunic. Resting at her side was a finely crafted short sword. Her hair was as white as snow and her skin was sickly pail, almost grey. The only color to it was from the viens that covered her face and hands. Her eyes were pink. From the expression on her face, she was as surprised to see the company as they were to see her. Upon noticing Dainis Mor, the elf’s expression went from mild indifference to one of contempt. Dainis Mor saw the symbol on the elf maid’s tunic, a large black spider surrounded by eight drops of blood, was laid out in a manner very similar to the crest of one of the great elven houses…house Alyndar (see History page) the members of which disappeared long ago (before Dainis was slain by Balestorm).

Many people started going for their weapons, but Majestic again brought peace. “Hold! There is no need for battle, my friends.”

The strange elf paused. She clearly did not wish to fight. “Step aside. I’ve no quarrel with you. I just wish to use the gate.” As she spoke, she did not remove her hand from the hilt of her sword or her eyes from Dainis Mor. Even the spider seemed to be watching the armor clad elven sorceress.

“Very well, my lady,” responded Majestic. “But if you would be so kind, we are seeking out a place called ‘The Lost Cube’. Would you happen to know where it is?”

“Surely. It is not very ‘Lost’. It is Kolyoral, right there,” she said pointing toward a small cube in the sky.

Majestic thanked her and calmly ushered his comrads aside so the massive spider could move towards the gate without stepping on anyone.

As soon as she was gone, Majestic gathered everyone together and transported them all to Kolyoral. He could not get them to the fortress, for he did not know where on the cube it was. So they just landed near a corner that he could easily see.

The landscape of Kolyoral was exactly the same as that which they had just left: flat and a rusty-brown color with rents and fissures. There was no sound of battle here. As they began to get their bearings, Ilde’s keen eyes picked up movement in the twilit sky. Two massive birds were circling overhead. Probably hunting. The party clambered into a nearby fissure in hopes of escaping detection, but it was not to be (Majestic’s pseudodragon failed his hide check, everyone else passed!).

In perfect tandum the two great raptors began to dive toward their hiding place. Larkin began firing arrows at one of the creatures and Majestic sent up a surge of electrical energy at the creatures. Henrich raised his lance to turn asside any attack by the creatures and Dainis took the form of a Formian Myrmarch (one of her favorite forms for fighting). But the creatures came on, turning asside the volley. The first landed on one side of the fissure and attacked Dainis, but she deftly stepped asside of it’s clumsy attempt. Ilde lept at the creature and mercilessly stabbed it. Blood and gore poured from the creature and it fell to the ground.

In the meantime, the second landed on the other side of the party’s position and was fighting with Henrich. It was taking a beating and after seeing it’s mate felled was ready to flee. Larkin tried to finish the creature off with a volley of arrows, but the bird was quicker than he anticipated and it grabbed him with one of its great taloned claws. With the Half-Elf in it’s clutches, it lept into the air in hopes of making its escape and carrying off a (small) meal. But it was not to be. Henrich and Dainis both were able to pierce it with their weapons as it flew overhead. The bird dropped Larkin, faltered and crashed into the metalscape a hundred feet away.

“Well…that was a wonderful welcome,” exclaimed Majestic.

“Maybe it would have been better if your pet weren’t so colorful,” replied Ilde.

So now the party was faced with a dilemma. They had 13 days remaining to find the Fortress. Kolyoral is about 200 miles on a side. To search the entire cube on foot would take weeks…maybe even months. So after a bit of deliberation they decided that Majestic and Dainis could use their magic to transform into flying creatures and search from the air. In the form of a dragon (red is the only kind they are aware of ) they could search an entire cube face in about two days (assuming the fortress is large and can be seen easily from the air). Then Majestic would teleport the party to the next face and they could search it. In this manner, they could cover the entire cube in 12 days and hopefully they could find some clue that will reveal the location of the fortress sooner.

After the first day, they spotted nothing other than a few steel cats like the ones they encountered in Rigus roaming about the cubescape (whether hunting or patrolling they couldn’t tell). Feeling a bit discouraged, they set out again the second day. As they neared the completion of their search, Dainis Mor spotted a colony of Formians (centaur ants) working and living in the corner of the cube. She decided to investigate. Perhaps if she could talk to them, they might know the location of the fortress. So she landed and transformed into a Myrmarch. She approached a small formian (probably a worker) and tried to speak to it. The creature just looked at her, confused for a moment. It waived its antennae around and then suddenly began to back away as if sensing a threat. Other workers and larger formians started to close in on Dainis. It was clear they had no interest in speaking to her so she transformed back into a dragon and flew off.

At about the same time and only about 25 miles from Dainis, Majestic spotted some yellow flames moving around the surface of the cube as well as other flashes of light. He made himself invisible and moved in for a closer look. Three humans were fighting with a group of formians. The bodies of dead and maimed centaur ants were strewn about. All that was left standing was a myrmarch and two warriors. The humans were wreathed in yellow flames that Majestic recognized as being the side effect of a spell that protects from Law. Majestic chose to not intervene and just observe.

The humans, all wearing armor and armed with swords moved to the attack. While the myrmarch and his two remaining troops did their best, they were clearly outmatched and were dispatched in a matter of seconds. At this point, Majestic was watching from the ground about 100’ away. One of the men slowly surveyed the landscape and somehow spotted Majestic. He pointed at the mage and said something in a gutteral language that Majestic did not recognize.

Majest turned himself back into human form and tried to speak, but the men were in no mood for talking. They advanced and began unleashing spells against the wizard. Sensing that he may be over matched, Majestic teleported himself back to the camp. He reported to his comrades what just happened but they decided it was best to leave well enough alone and didn’t go after the rampaging humans.

The next day they teleported to another cube face to begin a new search. 11 days left…

On the first day of searching on this face, Majestic spotted a large cave in a small ‘hill’ (more a ripple in the surface of the cube). As he closed in, he spotted a humanoid and two very large tigers. The humanoid was clad in light chain armor and carrying a bow. Unfortunately for Majestic, the humanoid (possibley a large goblin or hobgoblin) also spotted him. He bent his bow and began to take aim at Majestic, but the mage teleported away. Nothing else was spotted that day.

The next day, after Majestic and Dainis flew off for that day’s searching, the rest of the party was approached by a patrol of Mercykillers similar to the ones they met in Rigus. Henrich greeted them and their leader returned the hail. But as the soldiers approached, the leader paused and scanned the three party members. Once he scanned Ilde, he said “Kill her! She defiles this ground!” and the Mercykillers charged to attack. The leader cast a spell and the party was suddenly surrounded by whirling blades. Ilde and Larkin both tumbled out of the area easily, but Henrich was deep inside. He called forth Bucephalus, his magical flaming steed and tried to ride him out of the blades. Henrich was able to escape, but Bucephalus was cut to ribbons and fell just outside of the spell (not to worry…magical steeds come back in a day good as new).

In the meantime, 3 mercykillers were attacking Ilde and it was all she could do to hold them off. Larkin was firing arrow after arrow into the leader. Henrich pulled himself from the ground and began helping Ilde. Together they were able to slay two of the mercykillers. Larkin felled the leader and Henrich ordered the others to surrender and they did.

Once the mercykillers were disarmed, the group set about to interrogating them. From this, they were told the location of the Iron Fortress and that it’s master has formed an alliance with a powerful devil and some angelic being to construct something unknown to them.

Once Majestic and Dainis returned to camp, Majestic teleported them all to within 10 miles of the fortress. There they rested and prepared for the next day’s assault. 9 days left.

After resting, the party set out for the fortress. It was a large structure, about 120’ on a side and 80’ high. The outside walls were a motley collection of thick iron plates, bolted together in a haphazard manner. There was only one obvious entrance, a darkened archway in the base of the structure offset to the left side of the structure’s “south” wall. Two large steel cats sat stoically in front of the arch. The party came up with a plan for attack…Majestic, Larkin, Ilde and Dainis would approach from the south to lure the cats away from the fortress. Then Henrich, upon Bucephalus, would ride down upon them from behind.

So the four began their approach after casting many spells to protect them and boost their combat abilities. Dainis polymorphed into a Myrmarch. Sure enough, the cats began to move toward them. Each moved up and tried to blast Ilde and Larkin with their damaging roars, but they were prepared this time and had magic to defend themselves. A melee ensued and Henrich rode down just as he planned. His fiery steed plunged out of the sky and Henrich pierced one beast with his lance, badly wounding it. Ilde slew the creature. Larkin had hit the second with several arrows and Majestic finished it with a blast of cold from a spell.

As they were finishing off the last creature, Dainis spotted the figure of a large metal man lurking in the darkness of the archway. It stood in silence waiting. Majestic tried to disintegrate the thing, but to know effect. Henrich charged it but it was ready for him and lashed out first with a mighty arm that ended in a heavy blade. Henrich barely ducked out of the way, getting knocked on the head by the passing blade and struck it with his lance, staggering the thing.

As Henrich rode passed and wheeled about for a second attack, the iron man turned and retreated into the fortress, closing the door behind him. Dainis ran into the entry way and failed to notice the heavy iron portcullis. She dodged out of the way as it fell, but was sealed inside the entry way. Majestic polymorphed into a fire giant and he and Ilde moved up to try to lift the gate. Larkin prepared a shot from his bow and Dainis readied her swords.

The iron creature burst through the door and attacked. Fortunately for Dainis, she had cast a spell that created several false images of herself. These images confused the creature and it attacked one of them, “popping” it. Larkin and Dainis attacked and the creature fell, shaking the ground beneath them.

Ilde and Majestic were able to lift the gate a few moments later.

So now the party stands before the open doors to the Iron Fortress. Inside, they can hear the clanging of many hammers working on metal. A warm breeze blows out of the door and carries the acrid scent of hot metal. No one is wounded very badly, although they have used a few powerful spells. Soon they will find out what evil awaits them inside. They have about 8 days and 8 hours to discover what is being built and put a stop to it.

Next game: August 17th

 

[Uller]

August 17, 2002 – Devils and Angels and Dragons…Oh My!

August 17, 2002 – Devils and Angels and Dragons…Oh My!
[obvious plot hole to accommodate a PC for a guest player]

“Greetings! I trust I’ve not missed the fun.” Turning the companions saw a young (relatively speaking) elf. Approaching them. He was clad in black leather armor covered with silvery studs and outfitted as an archer with a shortbow in his right hand and a shortsword sheathed on his right side. His ruddy-brown hair matched the rusty iron landscape and his gray cloak provided camouflage that could make him nearly invisible in this environment. “I am Erryth, servant of Terylath Silverblade and Hunter of Elhanan. Terylath bade me to seek you out and join you in your endeavor.”

“What can you do for us?” queried Ilde skeptically.

“Well…I can shoot. I can make myself scarce when I’ve a need. And there are few places I can’t get into or out of unseen.”

“That sounds useful. Besides, this task is best left to the elves,” said Dainis. So they all agreed to allow Erryth to join the party.
[/plot hole]

So there they stood…the doors were open and the iron guardian lay in a heap upon the threshold. A warm breeze blew out of the structure and the halls within echoed with the ringing of many hammers. But the sharp ears of Ilde heard another sound…a low guttural growl of many creatures nearby from just inside the fortress. This was a different growl than one from one of the steel cats. Then came the sound of many creatures sniffing…then silence.

Just inside the main door, there was a small alcove with a large passage (10’ wide by 20’ high) branching off diagonally into the fortress to the right. On the left was a set of large double doors. Dainis (still in the form of a formian Myrmarch) approached the doors cautiously with Ilde right behind and slowly opened them. There, standing at the ready for her were two creatures. The first was a massive reptilian beast with light blue scales and 10 long necks, each ending in a head that featured a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. The beast was fitted with a massive collar that was attached to a chain fastened to the back wall of the room. Standing next to and behind the beast was an 18-foot tall humanoid creature. It appeared to be a cloud giant, but had a bestial visage, large curving horns like a ram, one hand was a wicked looking claw and the other was replaced by many tentacles. Its legs were like the hind quarters of a goat and it’s feet were cloven. It was richly dressed and held in its hands a great black morning star that was wreathed in yellow flames.

Dainis did not recognize this creature, but she could feel her armor willing her to charge it and engage it. It knew what it was…the foul offspring of a giant mated with some sort of devil or demon. The hydra had similar infernal features…cloven feet and eyes like wells of loathsome darkness. The giant uttered some obscene words in its morbid language. Dainis and Ilde both felt their life’s blood being sucked from their bodies. Their skin became tight and cracked as if dried by a great heat. But they were strong and it’s wicked enchantment did not prevail over them.

Dainis resisted the urging of her armor, but then of her own will she leapt past the hydra dodging its attacks and struck at the giant. Her rapier slipped through to its thigh, a mere scratch to the giant, but to Dainis the wound was far more grievous. A terrible chill ran through her blade and crept over her entire body, sapping her strength. The hydra moved to block the door, its multitude of heads flailing about biting at Dainis as it moved. Then several of its heads turned toward Ilde who was still just out of reach and each sent a spout of frigid air and mist at her. She ducked behind the door, avoiding most of the blast.

The giant and Dainis continued their fight, with Dainis fighting off attacks from the hydra as well. The giant swung its massive weapon at her but she lithely stepped aside and the club tore a mighty gap in the metal floor, sending an echo crashing throughout the building. He swung over and over, each time she avoided the attack. Again she stabbed at the giant and again she felt that dreadful chill as her vigor drained away.

Majestic said he believed the hydra to be a Lernaean hydra…it’s body is immune to physical damage and the only way to slay it is to cut off its heads. But new heads would quickly replace the old unless the stub of the neck was burned away. Ilde, Erryth, Larkin and Henrich all charged at the beast, hewing at its many necks like scythes at the harvest. Ilde seemed especially adept at this, severing neck after neck. Many heads came off, but many more grew back. Erryth and Larkin tried to burn the stumps with torches, but the thing seemed resistant to fire! Majestic had but one spell prepared that could do the job so he moved into position and waited.

Meanwhile, the giant had become thoroughly frustrated with Dainis. He simply could not land a telling blow on the elf in Myrmarch form. She either dodged his attacks or the thick hide of her formian shape deflected his morningstar. However he sensed that she was now very weak. So he dropped his weapon and leapt at her. He easily took hold and pinning her and choking her. Dainis new that her only hope was to somehow gain some strength, so she tried to turn into a Fire Giant. At first she failed because of the efforts of her attacker, but a second try worked. This distracted and confused the cloud giant but still she could not break free. Her vision was fading as her enemy continued to squeeze and pummel her. Death was near.

At last the other heroes had sliced off all the heads of the hydra. Majestic spoke the arcane words to summon a fire spirit. A small flame appeared in his hand and he hurled it at the still writhing body. A massive ball of fire erupted in the room and spilled out into the hall. A terrible stench of burnt flesh filled everyone’s nostrils and the now headless hydra rose up, took a step and collapsed to the side. Dead.

Larkin and Erryth began firing madly at the giant as it strangled Dainis in hopes of driving it off of her before it was too late. Erryth’s arrows sunk deep into its neck and it knew that it was finished. There would not be time to kill Dainis. So it stood up, backed up and again unclean words flowed from it’s foul mouth. It smiled and pointed at Dainis as fever spread through her body, weakening her further.

Now Erryth and Larkin let fly with another hail of arrows. The giant smiled as the bolts pierced his body. At last he staggered and crumpled to the ground in a heap of lifelessness.

Quickly the companions moved into the room and closed and barred the door. All were exhausted by the fray and Dainis was near death. “We should leave at once to rest and heal,” ordered Henrich as he struggled to catch his breath, his age showing.

“They’ll know we were here,” disagreed Majestic. “The door will be even more heavily guarded next time we try to enter. We should press on and strike while they are unaware.”

But the group had had enough. No one other than Majestic believed they could press on and hope to win the day. So Henrich decided they would go a few miles away and camp. At least they could rest, heal and prepare new magics. Then they would have Majestic transport them back into the fortress, hopefully past any guard.

But it did not work out quite so easily. They had camped for about 8 hours when the saw it: a rather large blue dragon winging its way past them towards the fortress. Unfortunately, they had not taken proper precautions to hide their camp and it easily spotted them as well. They quickly girded themselves for a fight, but the wyrm seemed to not be in the mood for battle. Instead of closing as they expected, it turned and began circling at about 1000’ away. Larkin fired some arrows at it, but all fell short or glanced harmlessly of its hide. It increased the distance of its patrol and continued circling.

“It must be marking our position,” observed Majestic.

“This could be bad,” remarked Erryth. “There is probably more where that one came from,” he continued, pointing out the obvious.

And there were…The party spell casters continued preparing spells while the others stood guard. It was agreed that if the enemy made an assault on their camp, Majestic would teleport everyone to the gate back to Rigus and they would make their escape to that city. After about 30 minutes the attack came. Majestic’s Psuedo Dragon companion and Dainis spotted a second blue dragon closing rapidly. It was about 500 feet away. The others could not see it because it was shrouded by magic that only the eyes of these two could penetrate.

“We better go…now!” called Majestic. Immediately everyone began to circle around the wizard so they could make their escape, but escape would not be so easy. Suddenly a radiant being appeared in the sky, again only visible to Dainis and Majestic’s dragon. It was clad in black robes with bronze skin and long flowing black hair. Its wings were like that of a great bat and it held a trumpet in its hands. A greatsword rested in a sheath strapped to its back. It appeared neither male nor female. From this creature issued a stream of lightning. It struck Dainis and leapt from her onto all of her companions injuring all of them except Erryth who was able to duck out of the way completely.

Then another being appeared in the sky on the other side of the group. This one was taller than the first. It was a creature of terrible shadow and was wreathed in flame. Again only Dainis and the dragon could see it, but the others could only discern the light from it’s fire. It’s wings were smoke the color of pitch and fire ran the length of them. From it issued a stream of fiery bolts that landed amid the party and exploded with a terrible heat. The party scattered to duck for cover. Again most were injured. Dainis was especially weakened. They all scrambled back towards their circle. The dragons were both closing fast. They must go or death would be their prize. At last they linked hands and Majestic called upon his power and they were gone.

Now they found themselves before the gate to Rigus. Immediately Majestic sensed they were being watched. “They know we are here. Quickly! Through the gate!” With that, he lead the others back to the cave in Rigus. Without wasting a moment they all headed for the stair case to get up to the city, but time was against them. Within seconds, the angel and the devil stepped through the gate. There would be no escape. Their choice was to fight or to die.

Majestic turned his magic on that which the fiendish pair were using to hide themselves. He failed to reveal the angel, but the devil was shown to the party. Larkin and Erryth began firing fletched shafts into the fiery thing and Henrich summoned his mount, Bucephalus and moved to where he could charge into glorious battle. Dainis launched a wave of frigid cold at the gate, harming the devil a little, but the angel was completely unscathed. But the devil was clearly beginning to weaken.

At first he stepped forward to attack in his rage and pride…but then reason took hold over his malevolent spirit. He opened a gate to Hell and through it stepped a smaller devil. This one stood about 12 feet tall and was covered in wicked claws and spikes with a long spiked tail. It had in its hand a long terrible spear and appeared gleeful at the prospect of a fight. Then the fiery devil made his exit back through the gate to Acheron.

The fallen angel also realized he was probably now outmatched…but he’d not be denied a little fun of his own. He rose into the air and spread his wings while uttering horrible blasphemies. Erryth was closest to him and he pointed at him and said in a booming voice “I now condemn thee to Hell, child of Elhanan!” Erryth (who could not see the angel) paused for a moment. He knew it was him the voice was addressing and utter dread crept into his heart. In an instant, his entire body was wreathed in blue and red flames. He fell to his knees in agony. There was a flash and a crack of thunder…and he was gone. Nothing at all was left of him other than a pile of ash. With a look of satisfaction as one who has just smashed a fly who had been annoying, him the angel turned and reentered the gate.

The second devil saw his allies abandon him, but it mattered little…it was going to fight and it had little care for the outcome. Everyone braced themselves for a desperate mêlée, but it was not to be….Majestic pointed at it, said some secret words of the ancient language and a thin ray of green light issued from his finger tip and struck the creature in the chest. It was covered by a green light and utterly consumed.

Weary and weak, the group made its way up to the streets of Rigus. Dainis was so fragile at this point from fever and the fight with the giant that if she allowed her magic to wear off she knew she would be completely unable to move. Even now, her armor and gear weighed her down heavily. They would have to find a healer if there was any hope of her being able to help them in a second attempt.

[second big plot hole to make Dainis playable and allow the guest player to continue to participate]
Fortunately, Sorvis (the dwarven Thane who initiated this whole expedition) had sent a team of dwarves to Rigus to help support the party in their endeavor to find and retrieve the soul of his son. Among these was a powerful cleric who was able to completely heal the party and even retrieve the body and soul of Erryth from Hell through the use of very powerful magics. In return, the party had to make a “small” donation to the Temple of Thrum.
[/plot hole]

After about 24 hours they returned to Rigus, healed and strong and none-the-worse-for-the-wear (if not a little wiser and more prepared for the dangers they would have to face). Majestic teleported them straight into the chamber where they had encountered the giant and the hydra only to discover that the enemy raises their dead too! The hydra’s still-headless-body had been dragged over to a corner so it was out of the way, but the giant was lying on its bed, alive and awake! Fortunately it was completely unprepared for a fight. Before it could scarcely move, Erryth and Larkin had again pierced it with several arrows. It toppled out of its resting place as it tried to reach for its weapon, but dropped down dead before it could get a hold of it or defend itself.

“This time, stay dead!” laughed Erryth.

So now they began to explore deeper into the fortress. Down the main passage they proceeded, carefully opening each door to see what lay inside. The second door Erryth opened revealed a torture chamber. A humanoid creature whose body was wrapped in chains was torturing a female humanoid with wings and the tail of a snake. Both her scales and feathers appeared to have once been brightly colored, but were now dulled by blood stains. Fluttering over the scene was a small gray winged female humanoid dressed in robes, apparently supervising the chain wrapped creature’s efforts. Dainis was behind Erryth and saw the chain creature. Her armor immediately knew it to be a devil and overcame her. She charged into the room to attack. Erryth fired an arrow at the winged woman. His arrow hit her as Dainis reached the devil and attacked. Her rapier struck the creature in the back and she ran him completely through, nearly killing him in a single maddened blow.

The woman vanished and the devil backed away and animated all the chains in the room to slow down his attackers, but it was no use. Ilde ran in and finished dropped the creature with a final blow from her sword. Majestic dismissed the robed woman’s invisibility magic and the other began attacking her. Henrich struck her with his long lance. Now she brought down an impenetrable darkness and seemed to be looking for an escape. But there would be none. Larkin could hear her wings fluttering and launched arrows at her as rapidly as he could. Everyone could hear the twang of his bow string singing, the thwack of arrow on flesh and bone of three arrows landing true and the thud of a small lifeless body collapsing to the ground from a height of six or seven feet. Dainis fell upon the devil to “make sure it is dead” and Erryth freed the victim of the cruel duo. They retreated from the darkened room and into the hall so they could see again.

“I am Findula,” she said. She explained that she is a Lillend and a historian of her people. She was sent to investigate the missing souls of some of their forge masters. She was captured and brought here to be tortured (mainly for the pleasure of the two creatures they just fought). She said the master of the fortress is named Imperagon and he is responsible for the missing souls. He is building something but she does not know what.

The group offered to heal Findula in exchange for her help, but she declined. Her ordeal had shaken her and she just wanted to return home. They were ready to let her when Majestic pointed out that the front door is probably very heavily guarded by either those steel cats or far far worse. If they caught her, they would know something was amiss which would endanger the entire group.

So Henrich intimidated Findula into joining them. “You’ll be dead before you take a step from this place and then you will have doomed us all. You’ll stay with us and help us or I’ll slay you now and relieve you of your fear…” Findula grudgingly accepted.

So they continued on exploring the long passage. They found a lounge, lavishly decorated with a tapestry of a great red dragon…probably Angwyrm. Then they opened a door onto a large chamber that appeared to be a large apartment. A red curtain separated the room in half. In the half they could see, a large metal creature (different from the golem at the front door) stood guard in the center and an Ogre Mage (who was dressed in the rags of a slave for some reason) sat on a chair in the middle. Upon noticing the door opening, the ogre stood and began calling to someone behind the curtain and the metal man took up a fighting stance, ready to defend the denizens of the chamber…

They have 6 days and 20 hours remaining.

Next Game: Sept. 22nd