The Cabal of Eight Pt.44: Betrayed at Last!

Nighttime – the four mages stumbled into camp, beat-up and dirty. Gornix (played by Gil) was nursing a gut wound. On their way out from the treasure vault, they had backtracked to a few rooms that they had missed. Gornix had been gored by an animated obsidian rhino statue. Szoosha (played by Isis) and Fauna (played by Jenn) had been trampled but their shield items had saved them from everything but a dirty floor. Excor (played by Cris) emerged relatively unscathed from that encounter.

The porter and Arcan the wanderer were waiting for them with a hot dinner. Behind them, there was the carriage and three other wagons painted with the college arms with draft animals. They had found two more wagons hidden around the area.  In answer to an innocent “how long have we been here” he answered that “tomorrow will be the first of Late Summer”. The four mages also found that the pair hadn’t heard from the others since their departure days ago. Soon after eating, they settled in to sleep and the night passed peacefully.

Come morning the four mages began to patrol the perimeter hoping to get a bead on their lost companions. Fauna used her cabal medallion to try to contact the others but she got nothing. As they rounded the eastern portion of their clockwise run, Gornix tried his medallion. He got a static obscured reply with a faint voice that seemed to sound from a great distance. They continued south and as they came to the southeast corner, Szoo spotted a large red dune and a young swordtail dragon slithering over the crest towards them.

Excor got the drop on the beast and snared it with his Shadow Ribbons spell. From there on the fight was a slaughter until Gornix knocked it out of the ribbons with his Force Ram fortunately in the process killing the dragon. It had even managed to resist about half of the spells they had slung at it but the mages had attained a plateau of power that was beyond the unfortunate creature.

They wandered west then north, Szoo used his medallion and got a stronger signal. The words, “Yeeeargh! We’re comin’ through! WATCH OUT!” blasted into his head. At that moment, Gornix found a half-buried stone door and wanted desperately to get it open. Excor used his medallion to try to contact them. He was able to find out that they were fleeing a cave-in down a long hall that slanted steeply upward towards a stone door. However, they were all out of spells.

They backed off from the door and Gornix smashed the stone doors in with a well-placed Force Ram spell. Suddenly, through the door, their companions ran up and out one after the other. Belrae in dirty purple robes a green frog on his torn breast, Riahm his tattered half-brown half-green cloak flying behind him, Jirek in his shabby robes nursing a broken arm,  and Xanto the Wasp and his apprentice Bumble followed by two large wasps each hauling a large sack of booty.

Out of breath Belrae turned a finger towards the Wasp and shouted “we were almost KILLED because of THAT GUY!”.

The Wasp: “What me? No. I was looking out for all of our welfare, what would this little venture of yours be without the wealth I collected? We are all now very rich, celebrate my friends, we have all survived!”

Just then, a blast of sand, pebbles, and dust engulfed them from the open passageway. Later the four adventurers led their companions back to camp. They later prepared for dinner and were ready to ship out come dawn.

As they ate they talked excitedly amongst themselves with the Wasp being mildly ostracized, his apprentice next to him. She was somewhat reticent to talk to Fauna when the druidess tried to strike up a conversation. Gornix left the group for a quiet rock a ways outside of camp, a place where he could “see the stars”.

He sat lotus style on the pale stone in an area of hardened red waste and gazed at the endless Elysian field above. Studying the stars he used his astrological knowledge trying to divine whether their passage home would be a safe one. He also gathered some mana points and stored them in the crystal that topped his staff, just in case.

Seeming about to make an announcement the Wasp stood up, the two bags of loot just behind him and Bumble.

The Wasp: “Well, my friends though I regret to leave this little party despite the undue treatment, Adieu!” He waived his hand and both bags and Bumble all teleported away.

Cris: “F@#k’in Wasp! I should ‘a grabbed Bumble!”

Excor had tried to beat the Wasp to the punch and made a snatch for his arm. Unfortunately, he had been just a hair too slow. Cris was right though. With his roll, he could have easily grabbed Bumble leaving the Wasp in a precarious position when he arrived back in town sans pupil. Her father would have killed him. However, Excor went right for Xanto and thus missed, not by much, but missed all the same. The mages were disappointed the villain had flown. The missing loot just added insult to injury.

Paradoxically the players actually seemed quite relieved that Xanto the Wasp had finally betrayed them even as they griped about it.

About one week later, the mages arrived back in Ezmer sans Arcan. He had parted company just before they hit the headland. As they pulled the wagons to the city gates, they saw the city bulwarks singed and blackened. In places, they were nearly completely demolished. Dozens possibly more Wher dragons laid in several rows and clumps, most dead some still twitching and being speared by the legion of guardsmen cleaning up the battlefield.

Fauna: “What the hell happened here!?”

Isis: “Yeah, geesh!”

Cris: “Oh yeah, it’s a Dragon Summer. They converge on the Ezmerian Headlands to mate.”

The crowded corner of Silver Circle street and Western Avenue was bustling with wagons, carriages, pedestrians, and horse riders. A group of agile street urchins weaved through them all before disappearing. Szoosha ineffectually watched the scene coursing around the street level of the Red Helm tavern from the window above in the cabal clubroom.

Fauna, Gornix, and Excor were sitting around the table dividing the loot that they had won. Each of the four had received a gold ring and necklace with a bee motif as well as a gold dagger as their share. Fauna claimed the gold skullcap that granted a +4 bonus to I.Q. when worn. Gornix took the bracers that granted +2 STR. Szoo claimed a gold ring that granted the Fearsome Form I spell and a constant +5 bonus to resist poisons. Excor took the ring that granted the Verminous Might (Winged Flight) spell and a necklace that granted the Sting spell 3 times per day (after a roll-off between the players).

Excor pulled the small silver chest from the portable hole and found it empty; it had a felt lining that had an indentation in it that fit the Amber Bee. They left the lotus mirror, an intelligent item, hidden in the cabal room, as none of them wanted it. They hung the lotus maces that they had captured on the walls of the tiny chamber as trophies.

After that had been accomplished, Excor pulled forth the first large chest that Gornix had holed up from the lotus vaults. The chest was oak banded with black iron. In place of a lock, there was a polished gold skull with a large ruby, citrine, and emerald in the eye sockets and nasal cavity. The jaw was jointed. Showing restraint Gornix “clairvoyanced” the lock finding out that the gems were buttons and to unlock it, the correct two must be pressed. However, the wrong combo would unleash a blast of toxic Grey Lotus spore.

Suddenly the mechanism unlocked and the top popped open as Fauna pushed the yellow then green gems without prompting. They admonished her lightly and then turned their attentions to the contents.

Within were a high quality nega-steel bottle with an aquamarine stopper carved into a flower that contained three doses of water charged with anti-magic energy. There was also a phoenix feather cape (Level 7 item, fire proof, Charm Against Evil (constant), Temporal Jump (1 x day), Seal of Health (10 charges)), a copper armlet with a large emerald carved into a lotus (level 8 item, grants a +1 I.Q. to wearer), 10 platinum talons, an alligator hide sack filled with gold bee husks (approximately 10 lbs. of gold), and a Drake hide sack filled with 100 pieces of tiger’s eye.

They each took 2 platinum talons leaving 2 for the cabal coffers. Finding that the locking mechanism could reset itself they closed it intending to leave it in the cabal room. Excor then withdrew the second chest.

It was another large iron-banded oak chest. Its locking mechanism was a solid gold faceplate inscribed with a honeycomb pattern where four of the cells had holes and three were buttons. Each button was inscribed with a black wasp, a gold bee, and a gold lotus. They argued a little back and forth about which two buttons to push after Gornix used his clairvoyance to confirm that was what they had to do.

Isis: “I got this! Um, the people there had a religion centered around gold bees and lotuses so…”

Szoo pushed the gold bee and then the gold lotus buttons. The chest popped open. The naga released a held breath.

Within the chest were a pair of highest quality leather gloves with amber buttons (level 7, +8 to sleight of hand, Quickness (constant), Counterspell: Curse: Affliction by touch 1 x day), a highest quality mirror-polished mithral priestess figurine (level 8, a command word grants a +9 to diplomacy and Owl’s Wisdom (1D4 + 3) 2 x day), and a highest quality stiletto with a clear quartz pommel stone, a blue-dragon-hide grip and decorative runes along the starmetal blade (level 14, +1D6 acid damage, keen weapon (18-20 critical)). There were also 10 talons of ice-steel, a silk sack filled with 100 pieces of obsidian, and a superior quality silk sack filled with 100 emeralds.

From that hoard, each mage got as their share 25 emeralds, 25 pieces of obsidian, 2 ice steel talons, and 25 pieces of tiger’s eye. Szoosha took the phoenix feather cape (after a player roll-off), Excor the armlet (after a roll-off between Cris and Gil), Fauna the gloves (after a roll-off between Jenn and Gil), and Gornix took the stiletto. They left the cabal coffers with 2 ice steel talons and the priestess figurine.

The following day the mages decided to finish off their reading of Vordan’s Tome. They picked up at the fourth section. The section began with a brilliant full-page illuminated gold lotus illustration. The section goes on to discuss the gold lotus giving a location where it could be found describing the location as “southern ruins alongside a billabong overseen by a warlord’s red edifice by a river at the foot of a bloody spire far southeast of the old black temple”.

Cris: “Well, there it is. Guess that’s next?”

They read on. Several gold gilded pages made up the meat of the section. They described the spell of legend Alchemical Gold but it was incomplete. The pages following those were from an old accounting ledger with pictures of various types of gold coins.

The fifth section was composed entirely of more entries from Vordan’s diary. All lamented or cursed something. The most interesting parts were of Vordan lamenting the loss of his ladylove to a lying, handsome, & corrupt official followed by several bad poems, revenge fantasies, and laughable schemata to win her back. There was a potion formula however of Allure and the spell Eatables to Maggots.

The sixth section consisted of several pages of reproductions of familial heraldry, only some of which were recognizable as those still in use. Vordan’s personal arms occupied a page. A black, white, grey, green-eyed Karkadann head on an orange lozenge like a longshield with an open book at helm and crossed green-leaved branches at bottom composed the wizard’s arms. Following were some more accounting pages with an address in the Market District. They also found the Luminescent Sigil and Harmless Beam spells. A large illustration of a key was on the page with the latter.

The seventh section was a beautifully illustrated catalog of mystic lotus types. Its final page was about the gold lotus and mentioning, “The royal jelly of that certain bee is required to grow them”. The section ended abruptly however cutting off the text. A few almost incoherent poems in a loose and sloppy hand occupied the margins. The section also talked about the refinement and use of the mystic lotus in alchemy. When using this section to identify lotus flowers the reader would get a +3 to identify and a +2 skill bonus when using alchemy.

The eighth and final section was simply a fusion of three sections taken from Vordan the Magnificent’s autobiography. The three sections concerned a torrid love story, a wizard’s duel in which Vordan lost, and the laments of an aged shop-keep. There were also three amateurish sketches of an alley shop front, an old man, and a small room with a chair in front of a strange circular window. There they found the spells Alarm, Amulet of Power, and Tele-Location.

They had heard that the twin swans had left on a ship with their brothers in arms in pursuit of a Creschan vessel, something to do with Creschan Fire. They had also heard that their former benefactor Virtra Wefa had poisoned herself along with her grim servant when faced with arrest by the black and white swan knights.

Later that week they tried to track down the Wasp at his house behind the Nezorik family mansion. He wasn’t home. So Szoo and Excor deposited the animated armor in the portable hole in his living room and left.

The mages found that Bumble became scarce at the next few meetings. Also the two ‘leaders’ were becoming ever more secretive as they seemed to get closer to Draega Skullshine the publican. However, Jirek was still chummy with them.

As the Dragon Summer ended, the mages prepared for fall. Fauna readied to make certain necessary political maneuvers involving the Brothers of the Rope. The other three were gearing up their operation for the rat fights, which would go into high swing come winter.

End of the Campaign (played between June 2016 and June 2017).

The Cabal of Eight Pt.43: The Final Room

The sound of stone grinding against stone filled the mages’ ears as the solid black-stone door slid the monster in the final chamberdown into the floor stopping with the finality of a thud. That door would never close again. A large central fire lighted the oblong octagonal chamber before them. The walls were of the same dull black stone as the rest of the place and floors were polished white marble tile. The ceiling was flat and very high.

Directly to the south was an elevated platform with white stone steps leading up to its top where sat a small silver box with wood panels. Supporting the western and eastern walls were a pair of thick but plain black pillars. Against the southerly diagonal walls, one to the east and the other to the west sat large iron-banded oak chests.

Gornix (played by Gil) immediately prepared to run in to one of the large chests and Excor (played by Cris) was eyeballing the small silver box.

The GM (me): *Exasperated Sigh* “Make a spot check.”

Gil: *Roll*Roll* “Nope. I go to the first chest.”

Fauna (played by Jenn) and Szoosha (played by Isis) stopped the Salt-Lotus Wizard from blindly charging into the newly opened chamber. They pointed out the giant lion-like creature lying at the center of the room, the firelight being at the tip of its tail. Its three heads were rousing but still groggy. In a rumbling voice that they felt more than heard, the central head spoke. However, the mages did not speak its language nor did they want to “waste” any spells trying to understand what it had said.

Cris: “It has three heads!? And it can TALK!?”

Fauna immediately charged in casting Lightning Bolt. The bolt struck the beast with no effect. Gornix on the other hand, moved in cautiously to the side and using his Dark Secret wizard ability was able to let the others know that it was immune to electricity. He also gave them a pointer on how to take it out which was mostly an educated guess. Meanwhile, Excor cast Shadow Ribbons and amazingly bound the monster. The creature struggled against the shadows. All three of its heads roaring a horrific bone quaking roar of rage and confusion but the mages were unshaken. Szoo cast Elemental Half-Plate Armor (fire) on himself.

While the players all yelled at Jenn that the monster was immune to electricity, Fauna cast Lightning Bolt on it yet again. Gornix cast Amplify Magic his spell easily penetrating the monster’s resistance. Excor cast Slow on it, his magic also penetrating its resistance easily. The beast spat a fireball from its central head catching Fauna, Excor, and Gornix in the ensuing blast of swirling flames. Fauna stumbled but was saved by her Mage Armor, which was dispersed. Gornix took half damage having forgotten to engage his Shield and Excor’s Mage Armor absorbed the damage but was greatly weakened (not many Hit Points left). He had used an item to don it just before Gornix had opened the vault door. Szoo summoned his flaming naginata and charged in.

Gornix cast Force Ram at the creature crunching in some of its ribs wounding it horribly. Excor cast Paralyze II at it, his magic again easily penetrating its resistance to magic. Szoo put all his strength behind his blow as he rammed his weapon into its battered and bleeding side. However, the flame born weapon couldn’t penetrate its hide.

Gornix slung another Force Ram at the creature dealing it a crushing deathblow. The beast’s massive corpse slowly faded into nothingness. The battle was over. The mages assessed the damage, only Gornix had been wounded in that fight but he dismissed it as “nothing”. They spread out inspecting but not touching the chests and box.

Fauna checked the stairs leading to the top of the platform for traps, seeing none she ascended to the box.

Fauna (eagerly): “Should I open this chest guys?”

In response, Excor stepped out of the room and prepared to duck behind the stone jamb. Fauna took her time inspecting the box and the platform upon which it was resting. She found that the box had already been opened a long time ago and it was definitely trapped. She figured that it sat on a pressurized crevice that if it were removed would unleash poisonous gas from a hidden reservoir. Gornix tried to sense magic on it but was unable to get anything so instead he got a little frustrated.

Consequently, he cast Breath without Air on himself. Fauna backed off to the bottom of the stairs. Szoo left the room and ducked behind the doorjamb opposite Excor. He tried to identify the box but it was just a box. Therefore, he attempted to disarm the trap. Fauna retreated to the others. He failed to disarm it. Suddenly, a large several inches thick blue-steel door started to slide down over the lone entrance. Thinking quick, Excor tossed Gornix the Portable Hole. A second later, the door slammed down sealing the room airtight. A vast amount of gas billowed from the square hole the box had formerly concealed.

Gornix was now at the center of the room with the hole in his hands. He tossed the silver box in as the billowing gas snuffed out the last vestiges of his vision. The gas was sickly green and very thick. It blotted out all light blinding all normal vision. He was in pitch black even though he tried to light his way with his staff.

Cris: “Man! You’re totally blind in there! Be careful!”

Gornix carefully felt his way slowly around the room to the first chest. He holed it up suddenly feeling and hearing a huge torrent of gas blasting into the room causing his ears to pop with the pressure.

Gil: “Aw man, I’m glad I got breath, breathe without air on me!”

He slowly moved across the room to the other chest. Almost tripping at about the center of the room, he was able to maintain his balance. He edged ever closer but had a little bit of a struggle to feel out the second chest. The gas chilled his skin. He could feel it billowing through his hair and between his fingers. Eventually he found the second chest and holed it up as well. Once again, he triggered the trap concealed by the chest and again a huge ice-cold gust of gas hissed into the room. Consequently, Gornix felt the building pressure in his lungs now and the gas was leaving a sticky residue over his skin, in his hair, and on his clothes.

So, he moved quickly towards the metal door keeping his hand on the wall after he felt past the pillars. He made it easily to the now freezing blue-steel and used Ghost Step to exit the gas-filled chamber.

Fauna: “I wonder if there were any concealed doors in there?”

Szoo: “Oh yeah, we never checked!”

Gornix: “Well I don’t think anybody is going to be able to go back in there ever again.”

He “prestidigitized” himself clean. Fortunately, the toxin did not seem to be a contact poison.

Excor (shrugging): “Whatever let’s get outta here! And give me back my hole.”

Jenn and Isis burst out into hysterical fits of maniacal laughter. Gil just clinched his eyes shut and put his hand over his face. Cris flipped the two women the bird.

To Be Concluded…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.42: The Lotus Vaults Pt.2

The shattered remains of the door lay before Gornix (played by Gil) revealing a long hallway to the The Lotus Vaults and all its doorssouth. As the others, Fauna (played by Jenn), Szoosha (played by Isis), and Excor (played by Cris) moved slowly and carefully down the newly opened passage, Gornix peeked back through the eastern archway. He found another passage going southward. He sneered with doubt and followed the rest of the group catching up to take over lead position.

The group approached the dimly lit chamber at the end of the hallway (9 on the map). The small room flickered with firefly light from its southeast corner. Against the northwest corner and occupying all of that 5 ft.-square space was a large piece of semi-transparent yellow-orange amber. Caught within they could see an ancient warrior in scale mail, a horned open helm on his head , his axe raised, his sharpened teeth bared in an eternally frozen bestial rage.

This feature made them wary of the room and Gornix took a little time to search the floor. He found a small, hastily scrawled magic circle. It was still carrying a charge and he was sure that it summoned something when crossed. He just did not know what. Excor heedless, portable-holed the amber encased barbarian.

Excor: “What? It’ll go great in my tower! … When I have it built.”

Gornix was determined to move on and with the barrier of the amber husk gone; he began to lead the group. Of course, he accidentally stepped directly over the magic circle activating it.

Three Lightning Bugs sprang into existence with a magic flash identical to the one that they had faced not long before. The fight was brief. Gornix turned the tide early with a cone of fire that killed two and Szoo and Excor pummeled the last to death with a fire ray and Chrono-Missile. That taken care of they proceeded to the end of the short passage.

There they found a rusty iron door with a magic rune carefully inscribed upon its face to the north (D8). Its key lock mechanism was jammed and badly rusted. Gornix used his knowledge of Magical Script to identify the rune and its purpose. He knew that if the door was attacked in any way that it would summon a giant inferior water elemental.

Cris: “aw man! If we activate that thing we’re all dead! DEAD! Look at where we’re at! A giant water elemental will fill this place up, engulf us, we’ll all drown!”

They stood there puzzled for a little while and very wary of the door. The players even checked their sheets to see who could swim. Only Fauna had the skill.

Gil: “There is definitely something worth it behind that door.”

They searched the old iron door for the depression that would allow the Amber Bee to open it as it had others previously. However, they found that it did not have this. Gornix and Excor decided to do a synergized check for traps. They scoured the surface of the door and its edges for any sign at all.

They found nothing aside from the rune. So Excor tried using the Knock spell from his platinum key. However, the door was firmly jammed shut and simply couldn’t be opened without the use of force. In response, Gornix had the bright idea to just “ghost step through”.

Gil: “Wait, wait, wait! Mini-portal spell to see what’s happening first.”

Through the small portal, they could see nothing but darkness. Therefore, Szoo shoved his flaming naginata through it allowing them to see inside via the flame light. The chamber beyond was another octagonal chamber and very plain with a flat ceiling each of its walls lined with dark and very dusty wooden shelves (10). They could see several jars of what appeared to be seeds and maybe some preserved honey.

Excited by this sudden treasure trove Excor and Gornix ghost stepped into the chamber. Excor cast illuminate. They proceeded to loot the place shoving everything into the portable hole. The group managed to snatch a single jar of grey lotus honey, 2 jars of golden lotus honey, 1 jar of yellow lotus honey, and 1 of purple. They also found 3 jars of lotus seeds with grey, blue, and black respectively. With that they also found 4 jars of pure lotus pollen; purple, red, blue, and yellow. The pair also found an ancient rotting scroll case hidden amongst the shelves and holed that up without opening it. They exited via ghost step.

They backtracked with Gornix in the lead. He slowly moved towards the next chamber at the end of the hall just above the amber warrior room the passage opening to the east. This chamber (11 on the map) was lit by several firefly ambers in the wall niches and seemed very plain save for the white tiled floor. Other than that, the room was completely empty. He was sure that there were no traps in here so he lead them through noticing however that there were weapon nicks everywhere along the walls and even on the floor.

The group moved through into the next connecting chamber through a tall deep archway. There may have been a door ages ago but there was no trace left. The room before them was enormous and very brightly lit as if by the sun itself. All four of the mages were gazing in wonder from the archway.

Within the room had a domed ceiling its apex at 35 ft. tiled with a mosaic of a sparsely clouded blue sky. The floor tiled with polished white marble, the thick black pillars were lotus themed, and gold leafed with chevron patterns. They could see what looked like a miniature sun orbiting around the inside of the dome cascading the room with pure daylight. At the center of the room was a barren planter sunk into the floor. However growing in that was a 20 ft. tall woody lotus flower of a kind unknown to any of them. Its large brown petals were shriveled and leather like, and its woody bole was wart covered and twisted.

In the south wall were a recess and a door cut from the same black stone. Standing in the north where the room opened into a natural cavern was a golden statue of a bee about the half the height of a man. Within that portion of the area, there was a small waterfall to the east pouring down a wall of uncut natural stone into a large curbed basin or cistern. They could smell the strong scent of fresh, clean moisture and the musk of old damp wood.

What concerned them and impeded their progress was the giant brown lotus. They were hesitant to trespass on its territory. Therefore, Fauna used her wilderness lore to surmise that the plant was indeed dead, she thought. Gornix however knew through his monster lore that the Lotus was not dead but dormant and was some sort of mutation caused by the nexus. He guessed that they must have been near the nexus that fueled this place. Gornix cast Breath without Air on himself and made sure his shield item was activated. They stood at the archway looking in. None of them wanted to be the first.

Gornix: “I have Breath without Air and Shield so f@#k it!”

Fauna: “Wait! Let me Commune with Nature first!”

Before the brash Gornix moved in towards the giant lotus, the druidess was able to discern that the plant was indeed an unnatural monster and was very much alive. She also was able to locate the rest of the cabal whom were still alive and close. In addition, the monstrous plant was growing directly on top of the nexus point. Gornix stepped in. With the painful creaking of wood, the monster plant turned and opened its petals like jaws.

Fauna cast Lightning Bolt from the arch dealing little damage. Excor cast Mage Armor on himself. Szoo hurled fire at the creature singing it a little bit. The mouth of the giant lotus turned towards Excor and Gornix unleashing a blast of woody seeds as projectiles. Excor dodged while Gornix attempted but failed losing his Shield.

Fauna lobbed another Lightning Bolt again dealing a little damage. Szoo again hurled fire at the creature barely singing it. Suddenly the soil in the planter erupted and a root like a tentacle whipped at Gornix. The White Lotus Wizard used his battle magic to intercept its attack with Force Ram. His spell smashed into the bole shattering bark and splitting the tentacle.

Excor cast Lightning Bolt at the creature dealing a little damage. Szoo hurled more fire dealing some damage this time but the plant had still not caught fire. Another root-tentacle erupted from the soil and snapped Excor wrapping around his waist and grappling him in a crushing noose. Gornix successfully cast Amplify Magic at it.

Another root exploded from the dark soil narrowly missing Szoo.

Fauna cast another Lightning Bolt this time the magic amplified she shattered bark and split wood nearly killing the creature. Gornix followed up with Force Ram smashing the monster into splinters. After they were sure it was dead, they spread out to explore the gigantic day lit chamber.

Excor wandered over to the gold bee statue. Formed by pressing and welding hundreds maybe thousands of dead gold bee husks together it was impressive. After searching it, he found an old note rolled and stuffed into a small crevice. He read it after casting Comprehend Languages. It read:

I have faith that you have found my note be that only you, my love, would in our little place. I am confident that we will soon be together as you have the bee to guide you. Though I still fear for you as the barbarians near the temple after trampling the capital. But I still pray that my yearning will be ended and we will be together finally at the glorious spire.

The signature had long since disintegrated and just after finishing the note the ancient parchment crumbled to dust in his hands.

Gornix: “Hey, what was that?”

Excor: “Aw nuthin’”

Excor bagged the gold bee statue. Meanwhile Gornix turned his attentions to the dead lotus. Inspecting the stump, he found the control obelisk within as the plant had grown over and around it encapsulating it. After all were satisfied that they couldn’t and probably shouldn’t bag the miniature sun, mostly Excor objected, they turned their collective attentions southward towards the black door.

This recessed door was of the same solid black stone from which most of this place had been chiseled (D9). It was 5 ft. wide and close to 12 ft. tall. Carved on the dull surface a couchant lion with a flame burring over its head. There was a small niche in the shape of the Amber Bee just below that.

Excor unwilling to open the door himself tossed the Amber Bee to Gornix who unhesitatingly opened it.

Gornix: “All right! This is it!”

To Be Continued…

The Cabal of Eight Pt.41: The Lotus Vaults Pt.1

Our four adventurers, Excor (played by Cris), Fauna (played by Jenn), Gornix (played by Gil), and Szoosha (played by Isis), stumbled into camp to the northeast of the ruins. They were dirty and somewhat worn by their foray into the black tombs beneath. Here they found Arcan the wanderer and the last of Bumble’s attendants whom prepared some food for them. Arcan and the driver were a little dismayed at Fauna’s frog mount though. The mages sat and ate for only a half hour and then immediately left again. Szoo and Gornix wanted to check out the hill.

Before they vacated the comforts of their campsite however, Szoosha used his cabal medallion to try to get a hold of the others.

Szoo [gripping the medallion and “concentrating”]: “Where are you?”

“Underground”, was all that he got in response. Disappointed at that the four mages disembarked for the hill. Before that, Fauna made sure to have Arcan care for her “froggy”. Arcan seemed to be able to keep it under control so she left her “steed” with him with no further worries.

Excor [to Gornix]: “Didn’t you fly over that already?”

Gornix: “Yeah. But it was a fly by, so I didn’t get a good look.”

Thanks to Gornix’s magic (Mass Nature’s Ability: Winged Flight) it was not long before they found themselves crowning the strange hill between the broken black pillars. They had guessed that a Leyline Nexus Point was around here somewhere, maybe at or under this hill. Therefore, Szoo used his Geomancy skill to try to suss it out but to no avail. The only thing he could glean was that they were very close to a source of great mystical power and that was all.

They all stood around the low and badly weathered black stone alter at the center of the small plateau. A layer of dirt and tangles of dead grasses covered the ground concealing a floor of solid smooth black stone. Gornix, in his continuing search for hidden compartments and secret doors, noticed a small depression in the top of the altar near its top edge. He turned to Excor but Excor wasn’t there. He had stayed on the ground still at the base of the hill.

Gornix: “Hey! We need the bee! Get up here!”

Excor: “Hell no! I don’t wanna be up there!”

The other two began yelling at Excor to come up and bring the Amber Bee. Eventually he relented and used his Gold Ring of Winged Flight and flew up, handed the bee to Gornix, and backed off hovering a good distance away. A little nervous from Excor’s performance of nervosa Gornix cautiously fitted the Amber Bee into the depression.

They all jumped when the ground began to rumble but were relieved when the round altar began to slide back revealing a hidden spiral stone-stair. It took a little while for Gornix to convince the rest of them to accompany him down yet again into the breach.

Gornix: “C’mon! Let’s adventure for the treasure … and stuff!”

Isis: “You had me at stuff!”

So they elected Gornix to lead them down. The Salt Lotus Wizard lit his oil lamp and tied it to his sash instead of using a spell to light his staff for light. On the way down, he checked every step before he stepped on it by “jabbing” it with his staff.

After several minutes of winding slowly down the spiral step they ultimately set foot into the bottom octagonal chamber (1 on the map). The walls were of dull black stone carved from the living rock. The ceiling was 12 ft. above their heads its dome tiled with a pale blue glaze a golden orb at the apex. Amber fireflies burned eerily in their niches. There were doors to the south and west. The western door was solid gold painted with lotuses of all the known colors wrought in crushed gems (D2). It was apparent that the door was locked. The eastern door was identical to the west (D1).

After some time spent inspecting every nook and cranny as best they could the four mages were at a sort of impasse. Gornix however unilaterally decided to force ram the western door. His magic smashed in the door, the opposite way that it actually opened.

Excor: “Man you knew that door opened in!”

Gornix: “Oh! I forgot about that.”

Excor: “We can’t shut it now!”

Gil: “I got trigger happy. C’mon guys! I couldn’t help it.”

Szoo: “Well, if there’s anything down here they know we’re here now!”

Gornix wanted to inspect the southern door but the others wanted to keep moving due to the racket he caused. He didn’t argue.

Behind the mangled door, they found a short hallway that turned south to steps down with amber fireflies flickering in the niches. Just before the steps, lying across the floor was a corpse. Upon inspection, they found that in life it had been a warrior perhaps centuries ago. Excor judging by the remnants of armor on the body and the sharpened teeth still in the skull guessed that it had been an ancient Westlander warrior.

Excor was an expert on Westlander culture though he was Ivoran nobility. He often tried to adopt the ways of the Westlands but his foppishness and refinement always seemed to surface. Gornix did a necrology check to make sure it wasn’t an undead creature lying in ambush. It wasn’t.

Cris [to Gil with a scowl]: “You have the necrology skill!? I’ll be watching you.”

Gornix led them into the lower chamber past the steps. This chamber was another octagonal cell with black walls and amber fireflies burning in their niches to the west. The ceiling was a gleaming gold tiled dome. On the northeast and southeastern walls were colorful mosaics of priests and priestesses among lotuses with gold bees flying all about them. To the south was a solid gold door painted with powdered gems representing all the known colors of the lotus blossom (D3) with a latch and no lock. To the east was a plain black iron door with no apparent lock (D3A).

Gornix pondered it for a second then decided to open the plain iron door. Excor cast Shield on himself. Behind was only a short dark passageway that ended at yet another plain unlocked iron door. Somewhat disappointed whereas the others were relieved Gornix cast Mini-Portal on the gold door (D3) in order to see what was behind it. He could see the end of a long hallway a firefly lighting the area behind the door (H2) and could also see that the floor was glistening as if it were mirror-polished or maybe greased. Though he wasn’t sure. The floor slanted down to the east. However, despite that he did still want to open that door.

He agonized for ages about maybe using his Ring of Levitation in order to prevent contact with the strange floor. Gil kept flipping through his notes, his spell sheets, and wavering between “I’m doing it” and “Let’s not but I can’t stop being curious”.

Cris: “Well do it or don’t do it!”

Ultimately, Gornix decided to go through the short passage behind the iron door. He led the adventuring party into another octagonal chamber where the amber fireflies burned in niches to the south and the ceiling dome was bare black stone (4). To the north was a solid gold door with a honeycomb and bee motif with an obviously hastily scrawled ward on it (D5). It also appeared locked. To the south was an iron door identical to the one from which they had just emerged. On closer inspection, the door to the south had severe rust damage to the bottom half to the point that the edge was ragged and brittle.

They stared intently for several minutes at the golden door and its sloppy rune. Excor identified the runic marking and told the group that should the door be touched in any way that the rune would summon a Lightning Bug. Gornix pried in closer and saw that there was an indention in the door where the locking mechanism was. He questioned whether using the Amber Bee to open it would set it off. So of course, he stuck the gem in the notch and hoped for the best.

The door opened and in a flash of mystical light, a Lightning Bug appeared to block their way. The Lightning Bug was a wasp-like creature the size of a man. Its body was black and yellow with the yellow stripes having a lightning bolt pattern on its abdomen. The cold metallic green compound eyes reflected their wide-eyed faces back at them.

Szoosha moved in and slashed unsuccessfully at it with his flaming naginata. Excor cast Slow on the monster but to no effect. Gornix cast Chrono-Missile at it. It moved in a flash as it tried to dodge but instead put itself into harm’s way. The missiles hit it hard cracking its flamboyant exoskeleton. Fauna tried to stab at it with her dagger but fumbled the strike.

Szoo slashed at it again but again missed. Excor cast Shadow Ribbons and easily ensnared the monstrous vermin. Gornix unleashed more Chrono-Missiles blasting a hole in its side. It struggled desperately to free itself of the shadow wrappings buzzing madly. Fauna stabbed it with her dagger getting a raw smelling light brown fluid on the blade.

Szoosha stepped into his blow and ran the creature through killing it in a burst of flame that reduced it to blackened ash.

Gornix undaunted by the fresh stench of cremated wasp-monster walked over to the iron door to the south and inspected it for traps. Finding nothing, he opened and peered into the hallway behind it (H2). Against the eastern wall of the hallway was a forest of long iron spikes that still seemed to be razor tipped. Tangled in a slowly disintegrating heap were a score of human bones.

Gornix [shrugging]: “Oh. We’re going north.”

He led them into a short passage lit by fireflies in the niches that turned eastward to a long stone stair down the other end of which was also lit by firefly gems and visible. The passage at that point angled south onto more downward steps and into darkness. They noticed a faintly glowing magic circle scribed into the floor that had been behind the gold door. They couldn’t identify it so they just “stepped around it”. This time they tramped quickly not testing every step.

However, when they were about halfway between the lighted portions of the long step in the middle of the stair the magic circle they had stepped over and another at the other end sparked to life briefly throwing out an intense a red glow. After the light faded a fire as high as a man and with the faint shape of one, stood at the top of the stairs, and at the bottom swarmed three large unnaturally colored bees.

Szoosha being a Fire Elementalist tried to rebuke the fire elemental. He failed. The bees buzzed in and attacked. One struck Gornix’s shield dispersing it. Another aimed its dagger-like stinger at Fauna who parried it with her dagger. The third jabbed at Szoo and struck home as he opened himself up to the blow while trying to avoid it (Natural 1 parry). Luckily, Szoo was immune to the bee’s poison and the bee was now dying but still able to use heretofore unseen other attacks. Gornix activated his Shield. Excor cast Chrono-Missile at the “lead bee” blasting it to bits. Fauna stabbed at a second bee dealing a killing blow. The fire elemental advanced on Szoo getting close enough to singe the naga’s scales.

The bee that had stung Szoo spat what looked like a Sting spell at him but the magic had no effect on the naga. Szoo turned and successfully rebuked the fire elemental forcing it under his control. With the battle won Szoo decided to let the fire elemental lead for a while.

They turned onto the now lit southward stair and then onto the level paved floor of a short passage leading into a large octagonal chamber (H3). On either side of them were firefly niches. They emerged led by the living fire into the large chamber at the end.

This octagonal chamber had a gold-leafed dome ceiling with the apex at 25 ft. There was a thick black stone column in each of the four corners with a lotus blossom motif and gold leaf chevron patterns ringing them. To the west, a stone stair sank into the floor and to the east stood three badly rusted and battle-damaged suits of full plate armor. Each bore weapon, one had great sword, the second a great axe, the last a great mace.

In the south rested a 3 ft. high dais serving as the pedestal of a 15 ft. tall white marble statue of a four-armed goddess with gold insect wings and a pair of golden horns. Two of her arms reached towards the heavens the other two extended palms up. A solid gold beehive vessel rested in her large right palm and in the other an amber scroll case. At her feet were the remains of ancient sacrifices and libations, bits of clay, glass, seeds, old wax, cinders, and bits of bone.

Cris: “Aw man, those armors are going to come alive and kill us!”

Excor rushed to the first suit of armor, the one with the great sword in its hands, and whipped out the portable hole draping it over and safely storing the thing inside. Immediately the suits of armor became animate, their rusty joints squealing like dying boars. Excor hastily rolled the portable hole back up and stuffed it in his robes.

Gornix cast shadow ribbons on one but it was too strong. It tore the ribbons of shadow that shattered like glass and then evaporated into nothing. Szoosha remembered that his ruby-studded copper bracers contained the armor bane spell and so he touched the axe wielding armor damaging it badly but not disintegrating it. The fire elemental touched the same target with its fiery touch but to no effect. The axe wielding armor hacked at Excor dispersing his shield. Fauna cast a lightning bolt at the mace wielder to little effect.

Jenn: “But I thought that metal couldn’t reduce electricity damage.”

Cris: “Yeah, but there’s nobody in there!”

An animated armor smashed its mace into the semi-solid fire elemental causing its flame to weaken and dim.

Gornix cast energy tentacle summoning forth a bolt of magical energy that he could use as an appendage. He tried to grapple the axe wielding armor but it was able to break free. Szoo reached out and grabbed the axe wielder disintegrating it to a pile of reddish flakes and dust. Fauna pulled her dagger and stabbed at the last animated armor to little effect. Excor activated his gold turquoise ring that cast a circle of protection around him. The mace wielding armor smashed the fire elemental with its weapon causing the living fire to poof out of existence.

Gornix maintained his energy tentacle and tried once again to ensnare and entangle the last animated armor but again it easily broke free. Szoo smashed his fist into it smashing it into a cascade of rust. It crumpled into a scattered reddish mess on the floor.

After the fight, Excor used far hand to grab the amber scroll case, as he was wary of traps. Casting comprehend languages on the scroll he found within he found it was simply a prayer scroll to a long forgotten deity in whose statue’s palm it had lain for centuries. Gornix far handed the gold beehive for the same reason. Fauna identified the gold lotus honey that remained within (1 dose). They stowed away their loot and moved on with Gornix in the lead.

He guided them down the stairs that sank into the next lower chamber (6). The room was pitch dark and much colder than the previous as chilly as the black tombs. They passed between two thick columns of black stone and as they passed between two large solid-gold braziers bejeweled with emeralds, the ancient things burst to life as white flames erupted forth and lit the room with a pale flickering firelight but leaving the corners dark and deepening the shadows behind the pillars.

The blue ceramics tiled the floor and at the center of the room, a faded white stain in an odd shape marred the tiles. To the west lay a solid gold door with a honeycomb and bee motif with no lock but a latch (D6).

Gornix eagerly moved into the center of the room to inspect the white stain. He saw that it had an uncanny resemblance to a human in fetal position. He realized what it was.

Gil: “Aw f@#k!”

Szoo caught movement out of the corner of his eye somewhere in the shadows at the edges of the room. The naga pointed out the direction and Excor and Gornix were able to spot a young priestess ducking behind the northernmost pillar.

Isis [at Jenn]: “Hey sis ya gonna talk to her?”

Jenn: “Hell no I know there’s nothing living down here.”

Excor cast illuminate casting the whole room in a bright light. The young priestess suddenly became transparent in the full light and her features withered and shriveled into that of an ancient corpse.

The battle was brief but energetic. The Lotus Wizard had identified the priestess as a wraith and the white spot her likely resting spot her body having disappeared over time. Gornix caused a magic explosion on a fumbled spell that wounded himself, Szoo, and Excor. Fauna slung lightning bolts and ultimately after their victory Gornix was out of spells and down a K.O. point. The creature dropped an agate, gold necklace fashioned after a lotus blossom, and a gold light mace with the head fashioned after a lotus flower.

Gornix carefully inspected the gold door and found that it was trapped and more by luck than skill, he disarmed it and opened the door. They moved into a smaller plain room with lotus motif pillars at each corner and amber fireflies in the niches (7). At the center of the room squatted a superior quality scrying pool, long since dry, of rose marble. They opted to move through the open archway to the south after Excor snatched the scrying pool up in the portable hole.

In the next chamber (8 on the map), amber fireflies burned in the niches their strange little lights glinting off the gold leafed dome ceiling. To the south were a sturdy carven wooden door (D7) and an open archway to the east.

The wooden door fascinated Gornix. Upon it was finely carved a scene of humans gathering honey from honeycombs surrounded by lotus blossoms. A heavy black iron key lock that appeared rusted shut even if they had the key to open it secured the door. Excor tried to use his magic key on it but found that the knock spell just wouldn’t work on it.

Szoo: “Ooh! Ooh! Let me BURN IT!”

Gil: “Naw. I know what tool to use … force ram!”

To Be Continued…

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.40: The Black Tombs Pt.4

Szoosha (played by Isis) was in the lead with his flaming polearm held up for light, Excor (played by The mummy haunted black tombsCris) followed with his lantern. He had just opened the door (D3 on the map) using the Amber Bee to allow egress into yet another mausoleum (13 on the map). His intelligence restored due to a potion he had stashed in his robes. They had all just awoken from a fitful sleep in a burial chamber (9) and decided to penetrate the last area. Gornix (played by Gil) followed Excor his intelligence still average. Fauna (played by Jenn) took up the rear.

They carefully tramped into the pitch dark onto the faintly moist dirt floor. Again, there were body niches carved in the walls floor to ceiling. Szoo turned north and slid only a few feet along the cool dark soil before he suddenly stopped. He was face-to-face with a black lotus mummy. Thick black ooze dribbled and bubbled from its mouth and nose. It was wearing a gold necklace with the image of a black enamel lotus dangling from its neck, and a gold ring set with an obsidian stone on its right hand.

Immediately the creature exhaled a thick black mist and the unfortunate naga inhaling at the same moment in a silent scream instantly dropped dead. Consequently, that was when the rest of the group saw that behind the black lotus mummy were warriors armed with sickle-swords and bronze pectoral plates. Behind this rabble was another more skeletal mummy that appeared to them as a priest. It had a polished bronze open helm, a gold bee necklace, and a gold bee and tiger eye ring on its left hand also armed with a sickle sword.

The black lotus mummy stabbed at Excor with its dagger the crusty blade gashing him badly. The two warrior mummies advanced on Excor as well. The first took a swing and critically injured the mage. The second did the same cutting him down with a single irresistible swing. He lay bleeding and unconscious on the black ground. Gornix quickly cast Neutralize Poison on Szoo saving the naga’s life. The priest mummy moved around toward the rear at Fauna. As she poured a healing potion down Excor’s throat she shouted, what she hoped was the password at the priest mummy. It was the password she had memorized “just in case” from the previous day.

The mummies stopped suddenly and backed off somewhat. Excor conscious but still near death slung down another healing potion. They decided to in Cris’ words: “walk around and see what we can get into”. However, they were going to try not to anger the mummies who kept following and observing them.

Gil: “Wait. Why don’t we just take these guys out?”

Cris: “Hell no! I almost died fighting them and he [indicating Isis] died!”

Gil: ‘Well walking around this place is just as dangerous!”

Cris: “I got natural 20’d two times, everything else is irrelevant! TWO TIMES! Whatever you got to say is irrelevant!”

With the mummy squad following them, the mages continued north then northwest around the corner. There they found another solid bronze door (D5) in the north wall. Excor read the magic runes scribed on the face of the door. The door was sealed with the Wizard’s Lock spell and warded. If the door was even touched, it would strike the interloper with a level 6 bolt of acid. He found no indentation for the Amber Bee.

Gornix cast mini-portal in order to try to see what was behind. He saw that behind the door was a short hallway lit eerily by a pair of amber fireflies in their niches that continued north then cut east around a blind corner. They tried to convince Fauna to touch the Amber Bee to the door she wisely refused. Gornix used clairvoyance to try to find a way to open the door but he got nothing.

Excor: “Let me see the map … why don’t we Ghost Step through right here so we don’t have to touch the door?”

Isis (to Cris & Gil): “Problem is only you two can cast Ghost Form!”

Fauna: “Don’t sweat it, I got Gaseous Form.”

They turned and made sure the mummies weren’t going to try something though they were looking askance at the mages. All at once, Excor and Gornix ghost stepped through the wall into the hallway. Fauna cast Gaseous Form on Szoo, and herself. They passed under the door. They moved quickly down the hallway and around the corner to end at yet another door. It was another solid bronze door with a gold bee and honeycomb motif (D6). Fortunately, they found a depression that fit the Amber Bee.

Behind the door was a vaulted tomb where a single black sarcophagus dominating the room (14 on the map). The flagged floor littered with a layer of detritus from the plaster that had at one time adorned the tomb with a mural that covered all of its walls and ceiling. A glowing amber firefly in the niche behind the coffin lighted the ancient tomb.

Excor did a clairvoyance for what the mural had appeared as before its long ago disintegration. The mural had been a panorama of a surrounding red land littered with gold beehives and fields of lotus blossoms. Above the four-armed goddess with golden horns and golden wings dominated a deep blue sky. In the distance, a natural red spire emerged from the horizon.

They readied to pry open the sarcophagus and thus Gornix and Excor cast Breathe Without Air on themselves. The other two drifted outside of the vault as the spell affecting them would soon dissipate.

As soon as the two mages were able to pry the lid loose a blast of powdered hematite blasted them in the faces, fortunately they weren’t blinded, and filled the tomb with a poisonous dust cloud for a few seconds. Those two backed off to join Fauna and Szoo at the doorway.

Inside of the black sarcophagus was a dead mummy adorned with a gold bee necklace, 3 gold rings, a gold skullcap, a pair of gold bracers with a honeycomb motif and a large emerald in each eye socket. Erring on the side of caution Gornix lifted the loot from the coffin using his Mage Hand spell. Excor was able to sense magic from two of the rings, the skullcap, and the bracers. Gornix then decided to inspect the hallway and tomb for any secret compartments or doors.

Meanwhile, Excor took to identifying the magic items. The gold skullcap was a level 10 item and granted a +4 bonus to I.Q. and so immediately Excor went and “slapped” that onto Gornix’s head restoring him to near his natural intelligence level. On the other hand the gold honeycomb bracers were level 6 items that granted the wearer a +2 to Strength (STR). The gold bee necklace cast the spell Sting 3 times a day at level three. The first gold ring was a level 5 item that granted a constant +5 bonus to Resist Poison and granted the spell Fearsome Form I once a day. The second ring was a level 11 item that granted the spell Verminous Might three times daily.

They began to debate about where to go since they didn’t want to face the mummy squad outside the door and eventually they began to argue, loudly. That is until the door to the hallway opened. Gornix cast Breathe Without Air on himself. Excor activated Shield from his Jet Amulet. Szoo cast Elemental Half-Plate Armor (Fire) on himself.

Szoo moved back readying if anything should charge him. However, Gornix moved up and readied a Lifeblast spell for the first mummy through the door. A warrior mummy moved in and the Salt-Lotus Wizard blasted it to dust. Fauna readied to Throw Fire at anything coming through the door. The priest mummy shambled through his mere presence sending waves of fear through Szoo and Excor who visibly cowered. Fauna unleashed a stream of flames aimed at the priest but she missed scorching a wall.

The priest mummy swung its sickle sword but missed Gornix by a hair. The second warrior mummy stepped through the entrance and was going to swing his sickle sword at Gornix but Gornix used his Battle Magic to cast the Force Ram spell in a simultaneous attack. The Salt-Lotus Wizard also blasted that warrior mummy to dust preventing its attack against him. The black lotus mummy stepped in and spat out a blast of black dust that filled the hall. Fauna, Szoo, and Excor dropped to the ground. It appeared that Szoo was only sleeping but Excor and Fauna seemed dead.

Gornix cast Mass Neutralize Poison, Szoo shocked awake. Fauna and Excor gasped and rolled on the ground sputtering. The priest struck again at Gornix whom clinched the monster’s blade with his scimitar. The black lotus mummy moved in and stabbed Gornix in the side with its dagger. Gornix tried to cast Force Ram while his sword was in a clinch but failed. The priest broke the clinch even though Gornix tried to keep it tied up. The black lotus mummy stabbed Gornix again in the side blood gushed down his side pooling at his feet.

The priest mummy swung its sword once more at Gornix narrowly missing.

Fauna crawled to her feet as she downed a healing potion. From the ground, Szoo, almost reflexively, cast an energy ray at the black lotus mummy but the magic went wild and a blast of fire twice as powerful as intended exploded the poisonous undead thing into a cloud of ash. Excor stayed on the ground and cast a Close Wounds spell on himself. The priest swung again at Gornix but again missed. Gornix cast Force Ram at it but the magic got away from him and went wild. It only did half damage when it hit the thing though it badly damaged it. It was Gornix’s last spell for the day that wouldn’t sap his life force (drain K.O. points per spell cast).

Fauna cast Gaseous Form on herself. Szoo unleashed another ray of fire at the creature catching it afire. From the ground near the mummy’s feet Excor cast Life Blast at it blowing its upper torso to bits. The battle was over. They all exhaled a great sigh of relief then looted what remained of the corpses.

In all they collected 2 copper rings, 2 copper necklaces, a gold necklace, an obsidian lotus figurine, and a gold ring with an obsidian lotus gem. They determined that the obsidian gem ring was a level 12 magic ring that granted a constant effect of Breath Without Air.

Jenn (scowling at me): “That’s funny.”

Isis: “Oh yeah VERY funny!”

From the priest mummy they took a bronze open faced helmet, a gold bee & tiger eye ring (level 8 item, Sting spell 3 times a day), and a gold bee necklace. Before they backtracked back to the entrance and exited the tombs the mages went back to the room filled with amphorae (7 on the map) where Gornix threw 10 amphorae in to Excor’s portable hole. The players laughed about that last phrase for a little while.

Gil: “Come on guys.”

Gil (turning to Isis who was laughing aloud): “You’re being so … juvenile.”

They emerged at noon squinting blinded by the direct sunlight and nearly stunned by the blast of dry heat on their skin. Excor tried the cabal medallion on a hunch and he was able to get a brief static-garbled message.

“…You’re Out!? … How … We’re STUCK … he took … gold …”

Cris (turning to me, the GM): “Damn Wasp! He left ‘em in there didn’t he?”

I just shrugged and couldn’t help but smile.

To Be Continued…

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.39: The Black Tombs Pt.3

Gornix (played by Gil) led the group into a small room with white plaster walls painted with depictions of salt lotuses (room 11 on the map). To the east was a solid gold door emblazoned with lotus blossoms, gold bees and honeycombs (D8 on the map). The others saw the rune scribed on the door, which held it closed via the Wizard’s Lock spell. He cast Illuminate, inspected the paintings, finding that each blossom concealed a small hole. He suspected an acid spray trap triggered by trying to open the gold door.

Excor (played by Cris) was weak and still reduced to K.O. points from casting too many spells too quickly. He was not in a good mood and not feeling particularly brave.

Gil: “C’mon man! This is IT!”

Cris: “We’re not even close! Look at ‘em!” He made a dismissive motion at me (the GM). I have to say I was wearing it on my face. They were about only halfway through this thing or maybe almost two-thirds if you count the surface map.

The cabal mages made careful observations about the golden door and determined that only attempting to damage or pry the door would set off the trap, they hoped. Therefore, against his better judgment, Excor put his head to the cold metal door to see if he could hear anything on the other side at all, he couldn’t. So Szoo (played by Isis) gave it a try. Consequently, the naga did hear something that sounded like stone grating against stone.

Excor used the Amber Bee to open the door guessing that wouldn’t set the trap off. Holding his breath, he was the first to enter the burial chamber on the other side (room 12 on the map). As soon as he was through, he was face-to-face with a mummy. It was sitting up from its freshly opened sarcophagus.

The creature was wrapped in linen bandages carefully interlaced in a strange pattern each length bearing the faded black markings of an unknown language. At its side in the sarcophagus was a gold mace with a head fashioned to resemble a lotus blossom. At its other side were two sealed clay jars. It appeared to be confused at the sight of them and the Amber Bee in Excor’s hand. Being essentially near death and out of magic, Excor bluffed.

Excor: “We’re a part of the cleaning crew! Here to clean the tomb!”

The creature still seemed unsure as to whether or not to attack the mage. Seeing this Gornix pushed his way into the tomb and using a little Social Aptitude he managed to convince the creature that they were indeed neophytes and here to ensure the security of the tomb. The creature seemed to accept this but was keeping a suspicious eye socket on them at all times as they moved slowly and carefully around the burial chamber.

The chamber was long with a vaulted low ceiling and interior of white plaster. The sarcophagus dominated the center of the room but behind it stood a statue that barely fit. The statue was of ivory and had the form of a young woman with a pair of golden horns on her raven-haired head with four arms and a pair of solid gold wings. Meanwhile the white marble sarcophagus lid had a relief of a young priest in repose carved atop it.

Excor, wanting to get at the grave goods in the sarcophagus tried to bluff a hand into the stone coffin with the monster.

Excor: “Here um, let me um, clean that dust off those jars!”

Consequently it immediately knew something was wrong. The creature held up a boney hand bandaged in loose and decaying strips of filthy linen and coughed a strange hollow stream of sounds.

Immediately Gornix cast Comprehend Languages and understood that the creature had asked for a password. The Salt Lotus Wizard whispered this to Excor who cast Clairvoyance. As a result he spoke the first stream of alien syllables that entered his head. The mummy nodded and laid back as it pulled the heavy lid of its coffin back into place.

Breathing a sigh of relief the group proceeded to scour the room for secret compartments, hidden doors, cabinets, or for “anything out of the ordinary.” Eventually finding nothing, their attentions again shifted to the white marble sarcophagus and its occupant.

Excor: “Man, I don’t know. If I cast too many spells I could Kay-Oh myself!”

Gornix: “C’mon! This guy’s important! Look at all this!”

Excor: *Sigh* “Well, if you got a plan then.”

Gornix cast Mini-Portal on one side of the coffin. They had already elected Fauna (played by Jenn) to stick her hand inside to see if she could grab anything. This due to her DEX (dexterity) score being the highest in the group.

Fauna: “Does anyone have anything to keep the lid closed if he wakes up?”

None of them did.

So with more than a few reservations Fauna cautiously extended her hand and then arm into the mini-portal into the black of the sarcophagus interior up to her shoulder. She felt around blindly for a moment and then grabbed a handful of dusty bandages. Suddenly her wrist was snatched and her arm wrenched. She was within the vice grip of strong skeletal fingers.

Szoo readied to throw some magic fire if/when the mummy opened its sarcophagus. Excor cast Ghost Form on Fauna freeing her from the monster’s iron grip. He suffered more K.O. point drain from casting the spell. With one arm, the mummy tossed the heavy marble lid aside and sat straight up. Szoosha cast her fire spell but lost control of the magic. As a result the spell went wild and its magicks unleashed a black fire that engulfed Excor and Gornix burning away some of their intelligence. Gornix was rendered as a normal schlep, Excor was monosyllabic. Fauna sank back to the rear. Gornix couldn’t get his spell off as his lowered intelligence made it more difficult to cast the spell.

Excor activated the Shield spell on his magic amulet. Szoo summoned and struck out with his flaming naginata slashing a smoking black gash into the mummy’s side. Fauna moved back in casting Throw Flames dealing some damage to the monster lighting it aflame. However, it magically extinguished the flames with a wave of its hand. Gornix tossed a healing potion Excor’s way. Instead of drinking it, Excor cast Life Blast at the mummy dealing some damage. The singed and smoking mummy swung its lotus-blossom mace at Szoo but he parried the blow with his polearm. Gornix attempted and failed yet again to cast a spell. The monster cast its spell filling the chamber entirely with golden fire burning Szoo bad. Gornix avoided by pure luck (Nat 20 save), and Excor’s Shield spell was blasted away.

The mummies wrappings whipped from it and struck at the mages like tentacles missing Excor twice, being parried by Gornix, but entangling Szoo.

Fauna readied with a Throw Flames spell should the mummy approach. Szoo struggled to get free of the bandage tentacle. Gornix cast Slow at the creature but it shook off the effects with no problem. The mummy used its wrapping to move Szoo out of the way as climbed out of its box stepping to Excor. Excor moved back to the entrance and cast Slow. However, the spell went wild and he wound up affecting Fauna instead causing her to lose her ready attack.

Fauna activated her Shield item. Szoo broke free of the wrapping. Gornix successfully cast Amplify Magic on the mummy. The monster healed itself of some of the damage it had suffered. Excor tried to cast Shadow Ribbons but his reduced intelligence made that impossible.

Gornix cast Slow on the mummy but again it resisted his magic. It swung its mace at the Salt Lotus Wizard and missed. Excor drank the healing potion he still had in his hand.

The mummy healed itself again. However, the mages efforts had worn heavily on it. It’s wrapping-tentacles whipped again striking out at the mages. Excor avoided one but was grappled and enwrapped but another. Szoosha parried another and Gornix was snared by a fourth after a failed dodge.

The mummy brained the bound and helpless Excor injuring him badly. Fauna cast Throw Flames completely engulfing the monster. Her flames quickly consumed it.

Before its ashes were even cold, they ransacked the chamber and the sarcophagus. Hence, they took a jar filled with gold dust, the other with 1 dose of Gold Lotus Honey. Excor identified the Gold Lotus Mace. It was a solid gold light mace and a +2 magic weapon. He tossed the gold dust jar into the portable hole he carried. After, he rolled it back up and stuffed it in his robes.

Cris: “I need to rest.”

Gil: “Awe c’mon Cris! We can do this!”

Cris: “No! No! I have one K.O. point left! AND I’m down on Hit Points!”

Eventually Cris relented and the group pushed on with Gornix in the lead, back into the crypts (room 8). They explored its northern portion discovering a solid bronze door. It was wizard locked and warded (D7). Excor used the Pass Door spell on his Platinum Key to gain entry. The chamber was plastered white with a single niche to the north in the wall from which an amber firefly burned. Six large stone sarcophagi dominated the floor (room 9 on the map).

As a matter of course, they proceeded to open each sarcophagus and found and fought three undead mummies. They defeated them one at a time with little difficulty. They looted a pair of gold bracers, a gold ring, a gold pectoral plate, and a gold sickle sword from each. Finally, Excor tossed those in “the hole” as well. Afterwards they barricaded the door with a coffin lid and decided to rest for as long as they could. Before they went to sleep, they tried to contact the others but the cabal medallions could only pick up static or silence.

To Be Continued…

 

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.38: The Black Tombs Pt.2

The group of mages walked slowly down the steps with the black-scale Naga Szoosha (played by the path of the group through the tombsIsis) in the lead. The chamber before them was vacuous and pitch-dark. Szoosha slithered down onto the flags and proceeded five feet into the dark chamber. Suddenly magical torch light burst into existence from both of the torch sconces mounted on the large round pillars to either side of him.

Isis: “Well that’s not GOOD!”

The large chamber (#3 on the map) was octagonal in shape and its walls were of the now familiar dull black stone. Above the ceiling was a deep dome with a blue sky and white clouds painted on it. The small niches in this chamber housed the decaying remnants of several skulls stacked in each. Polished bronze doors glittered dully recessed in the west and east walls. Each of these bore a gold bee and honeycomb motif (D3 & D4 on the map). Directly to the south was a 5 ft. tall dais with an ivory throne atop it.

The throne was carved into the semblance of naga skeletons twisting and intertwining creating the form of the chair. Sitting on that white throne was a skeletal corpse with some shreds of dry yellow skin still clinging to its bones. Its deep purple priestly robes were still intact, appeared free of dust, and not faded by time. An amulet wrought in gold dangled on its hollow chest and clutched in a skeletal claw was a gold chalice with a wide shallow bowl. It had a gold bee motif and was bejeweled with tiger-eye and emeralds.

The rest of the group consisting of Fauna (played by Jenn), Excor (played by Cris), and Gornix (played by Gil) approached Szoo’s position. Excor immediately began eyeballing the chalice.

Cris: “Pff! Hell yeah I’m checkin’ out that chalice!” He turned to Isis, “Well Naga! Lead the group. C’mon!”

Isis (indicating the skeleton in purple robes): “That guy is FREAKING me OUT!”

After a little more prodding Szoosha slid past the pillars and immediately the skeleton sprang to life. Its head darted up and glared at the black-scale with red pinpoints of fire floating in its hollow sockets.

The Crypt Thing: “What!? More!? After all this time!? More trespassers for the grave, haw haw!”

It lifted the chalice to its mandible and gulped though no liquid came from the vessel. The undead creature wiped its desiccated jaws on its sleeve.

Gornix using his Dark Secret ability identified the creature as a Crypt Thing (Monster Magnus Vol.I) and shouted a few pointers to the group. He also noted that normally they cannot speak. Excor pulled his copper spike and shot a bolt at the monster but his spell hit the Mage Armor spell emanating from its robes. Szoo cast a ray of fire at the creature again hitting its Mage Armor. The creature stood and raised its arms shouting, “Be gone!” but all of the mages were able to resist its power. It seemed at a loss for words when Fauna lobbed a Lightning Bolt at it. The bolt struck the armor as well.

Gornix unleashed a barrage of Chrono-Missiles on the Crypt Thing’s Mage Armor. Excor tried to cast Slow on it but the creature resisted his magic easily. Szoo charged forward and summoning his flaming naginata struck a lucky blow nearly bringing down the creature’s magic armor. The monster shot a Bolt of Energy (Frost) at Szoo. Fortunately, the naga took very little damage due to swift reflexes and hard scales. Fauna lobbed another Lightning Bolt at it finally blasting away its Mage Armor.

Not losing anytime, Gornix unleashed a Life Blast spell on the creature completely blasting its bones to dust. The robes, chalice, and amulet fell into a neat pile on the dais.

Pooling their resources, the group immediately identified the items at hand. The amulet was a level 5 item that granted Levitation & Propulsion at a 20 ft Spd/20 ft max Height at will. The purple robes were a level 5 item that granted constant Mage Armor to the wearer once per day. The gold chalice was a level 18 item and was a Bottomless Chalice of Strong Mead. A single drink could grant Close Wounds (max 3/day), or Neutralize Poisons after two (max 2/day), or Inspiration (Spellcraft) after three drinks (max 1/day). Of course even after the spells were used it could still give endless mead but to only living lips.

Gornix searched around the throne and found several ancient discarded booze bottles of various types. The players joked that the Crypt Thing had been an alcoholic priest in its previous life and tricked into taking up its position as tomb guardian with the chalice. They were not totally off base in their assumptions.

Excor on a hunch decided to recheck the Lotus Mirror they had taken a few rooms back (from 16). Using his last Identify spell, he found that they had misidentified it earlier. The mirror was actually a level 11 intelligent item that granted Demonic Resiliency and Vision of the Slayer to its wielder.

Finally, the group realized that they were all exhausted and both Excor and Gornix were out of spells. Szoo and Fauna were nearing zero spells per day as well. So they decided to rest determined to spend the night in the entrance vestibule (1 on the map). They agreed on the watches and Szoo stayed up for the first.

For some reason about half way through his watch, Szoosha decided to walk back up the spiral staircase and take a gander outside. It was the wee hours and all was dark but seemingly peaceful under the moonlight. The fresh air was a badly needed relief. However, just as Szoo was beginning to enjoy the open air again he heard several roars echoing in the distance. The mating calls of Wher dragons. He beat it back down below and warned Excor when he woke him for second watch.

Excor decided to go into meditation for his watch gaining his rest while still being able to keep an ear out. The strange sound of crying stirred him from his deep thought. It seemed at first to come from a great distance then it gradually came closer and closer until he could see it creeping into the room from the shadows. The ghostly creature appeared as a priestly youth in fine silk robes until it wandered into his lamplight. Then Excor saw its features shrivel into a hideous corpse.

Excor: “WRAITH!”

Gornix, Fauna, and Szoo leapt up shocked from a badly needed deep sleep. The wraith moaned as it hovered before them. However, the intense waves of sad hopelessness it emitted did not overwhelm them. Gornix cast Life Blast at it but the magic went wild blasting outward in all directions damaging the wraith and restoring some vitality to the others. Excor took a defensive position should the thing try to touch him. Szoo did the same. Fauna cast Lightning Bolt on it to no effect.

The wraith floated towards Fauna trying to touch her with its shriveled claw-like hand. The druidess dodged its boney grip. Gornix cast Life Blast again this time blasting the thing wholly from existence. The remainder of the night was quiet.

Come morn the group set out to open the eastern door (D4) in the large chamber. They found easy access as Excor used the Amber Bee to open it. Behind the door, they found a smaller octagonal chamber (4 on the map) again with smooth black lusterless walls with a domed ceiling covered in gold leaf. Dominating the room was a man-size statue of a cobra in finely wrought iron. The group gawked in awe for a few seconds until they got suspicious. Szoo was able to sense strong magic on the statue.

The mages proceeded with caution but as soon as the last one was inside the room, the iron cobra animated and attacked. Fauna tried to cast Sleep on the creature but it had no effect. Excor cast Shadow Ribbons on it in an effort to immobilize it but it easily dodged. Szoosha hit it with a fire ray in an effort to “melt it”. Gornix cast Portable Hole and used the hole to hole it up. He then dispelled the hole. The fight was over.

Szoo took the lead and the group moved rapidly into the next room (5 on the map). This chamber was a small octagonal chamber with unadorned walls and flat ceiling. At its center was a masterly crafted ivory font with a series of horned women with four arms and insect-wings cavorting around the base in gold relief. It had long been dry. They searched the font for a little while and finding nothing they continued.

They found themselves in a room dominated by a raised slab fit for a body (6). All around were shards or pottery and rotten wood. From that room Szoo led them south into a larger room crowded with sealed terra cotta amphorae (7).

Cris (to Isis): “Slow down!”

Excor moved ahead with his oil lamp held high. As soon as he raised it as he turned, its light revealed three mummies shuffling in through the western entrance to the room. The four mages battled the mummies for a full round finally gaining the upper hand by the 2nd. By this time two more warrior-type mummies and a priest-type appeared. The priest and a summoned swarm of scarab beetles lasted until the 4th round having nearly pushed the cabal mages back into room 6.

After the battle Fauna revealed that she was badly injured in the fight so the group let her drink from the chalice. Meanwhile, Szoo pried open an amphora discovering what looked like fresh wet innards that shriveled and dried before his eyes and crumbled into dust. He swore he had seen a heart among the tripe and it had been beating before it disintegrated.

Undaunted Szoo turned and made sure everyone was ready to get on the move again and so immediately led the group into the next chamber. This they found was another mausoleum with body niches in the walls from floor to ceiling (8 on the map). Szoo immediately guided the group along the southern route through the dirt-floored mausoleum into yet another small octagonal room (10).

This small chamber had glowing firefly amber pieces glowing in its niches and a gold leafed dome ceiling that glittered ominously in the strange light. Embedded in the floor at rooms center was a solid gold plate depicting lotus blossoms each set with a different colored gem. After careful inspection, Gornix declared this a trap. He was positive that if pried the gems would unleash a spray of poisonous gas or acid. He was certain of it. Regardless Szoosha pushed on into the hallway.

Cris (to Isis): “Hey! You’re moving too fast!

As soon as Szoo turned the corner in the hallway, he ran face to face with two mummies standing abreast blocking the passage. Behind them was another strange looking mummy. That one had thick black ooze dripping from its mouth and nose. It had a gold necklace with the image of a black enamel lotus dangling from its neck and on its right hand, a gold ring set with an obsidian stone.

Gornix cast Life Blast at the first mummy somewhat damaging it. He then quickened Breathe Without Air on himself. Szoo summoned his flaming polearm and chopped at the first mummy smashing it down. Excor cast Life Blast at the second mummy damaging it. Fauna, being at the rear, readied should she be able to do anything. The third black lotus mummy exhaled a blast of black gas right into Szoo’s face. In a single violent convulsion, the naga flopped to the floor apparently dead. The second mummy tried to slam its fists into Gornix so he used his Battle Magic feat to simul the creature with the Life Blast spell blasting it into oblivion.

Gornix again cast Life Blast finishing off the black lotus mummy. Excor cast Neutralize Poison on Szoo fortunately being in time to save the black-scale’s life. At least, in time to prevent the poison from killing him. Fauna grabbed one of Szoosha’s healing potions and dumped it down the naga’s throat. After a brief fit of gasping for air Szoosha half rose and then quickly drank down his last remaining healing potion to regain full health.

Gornix: “Maybe I should lead for now.”

Szoo (out of breath): “Yeah, yeah, You lead for a little while.”

To Be Continued…

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.37: The Black Tombs

The four mages wound their way down the spiral stair their way lit only by Gornix’s (played by Gil) light sphere spell. Szoosha (played by Isis) the Black Scale Naga led the way. Excor (played by Cris) followed behind Gornix and taking up the rear was Fauna (played by Jenn) the druid. Szoo halted the group as they neared the bottom. They could all see a fairly bright but warm yellow light spattering across the landing through a narrow archway.

The walls were all of smooth black stone that reflected light poorly. The atmosphere was heavy and would have been overbearingly stale had the air not been freshened by having been opened for some time above. A tomb like must, a grave stench lay underneath the fresher drafts ever-present and eerily moist like a low fog. After staying stark still and listening intently for any sounds at all, for what seemed like ages, the mages decided to move into the strangely lit room.

The walls of the octagonal room (1 on map) were of the same smooth but powder-dull black stone as the spiral stairwell. It had a domed ceiling with an apex at 20 ft. There were small niches in each of the diagonal walls in which rested small egg-shaped pieces of amber containing a single firefly at the center. It was from these that the eerie light emanated. To the west, the walls opened into a large hallway, which sank 5 ft. via steps to a lower landing, also lit with weird light.

Excor admired the amber fireflies and noticed that they rested in small indentations in the black stone.

Excor (mostly to himself): “I just might grab me one of these ambers.”

Meanwhile Gornix was busy inspecting a suspect wall. Soon he found a secret door but before tripping the mechanism to open it he “poked it” with his staff to make sure that it wasn’t trapped. Behind it, he found another set of steps about 5 ft. wide headed down into more firefly glow.

Excor was inspecting a piece of amber with full intention of pocketing it. However, his Indiana Jones routine was interrupted when he was certain that all of the ambers were booby-trapped (he rolled a Natural 1 trap detection).

Gornix: “Hey Szoo! Lead us down there.”

Jenn (to the GM): “Hey. My frog is still with me.”

The GM (me): “Down here? Seriously!?”

Jenn: “Hell yeah! He’s my cool @$$ mount. And he’s medium size, it’s in the book. But I’m gonna leave him in this room so he doesn’t die.”

As the rest of the group began to move down into the secret stairway, Gornix loitered. When the others were out of sight, he snatched up a firefly and tucked it away under his cloak. He noticed that the gem stopped glowing when he had picked it up. He followed the group down taking up the rear.

After 5ft., the steps led to a landing lit by two more pieces of amber in niches. The steps continued west down five more feet into a short hallway. They stopped at a solid bronze door with a honeycomb and bee motif (D2 on map). Szoo could feel the magic radiating from the door and spotted the magical script engraved upon its surface. In response, the group cooperatively read the mystic script.

The door had the spell Mass Sting on it, if touched the door would fill the hallway with a spray of magical stings. As a result, Excor used his Platinum Key to Passdoor finding only an impenetrable darkness on the other side. He stepped back through and then spotted a depression where the latch and locking mechanism would normally be. He found that the amber bee fit into it and unlocked the magically sealed door. The group moved into the darkness and realized as Gornix’s globe illuminated that walls that they were in a dirt-floored mausoleum with body niches along the walls to the ceiling.

As they bickered as to which way to go, north or south, Excor spotted something shuffling in the dark. At his warning Szoo summoned his fire naginata. The fire light of the magical weapon revealed four mummies within 10 ft. of the group.

Each mummy was armed with a bronze sickle sword and wearing a bronze pectoral plate embossed with a lotus and bee symbol. The battle was short but intense. The mages used a combination of fire magic and the Lifeblast spell to eliminate their undead foes. Szoo and Excor took some punch and slam damage with Szoo contracting Mummy Rot.

Fauna cured Szoo’s disease and Gornix used Lifeblast to heal him. Excor, meanwhile, was searching the mummified corpses in the body niches for “something of value”. He found only a handful of copper rings and a couple of old copper necklaces.

Cris: “I’ll take ‘em.”

They maneuvered their way to the other side of the mausoleum coming to an iron-barred door (D9 on the map). The lock mechanism was corroded shut. Even if they had the long lost key, it couldn’t open the door. The badly rusted iron bars were still impossibly solid. They could see a short hall behind it lit by another piece of fire amber in a niche at its end. In the same niche behind the amber firefly was a figurine in rose marble of a bee from which they could all sense a powerful magical aura. They could see open passages to the north and south.

The players spent 15 minutes at that door trying to think of a way through it until…

Gil (slapping his forehead): “I have Ghost Step! WTF are we thinking!”

Both Excor and Gornix ghost through the bars and Fauna and Szoo follow in Gaseous Form. From there Cris, Isis, and Gil argued for several more minutes as to which way to go from there “up or down”, “north or south”, or “left and right” respectively. Eventually they decided to go north with Excor leading the way.

He stepped up to the doorway and saw that it entered a small vaulted tomb dominated by a large central stone sarcophagus (16 on the map). With Gornix just behind him, Excor decided to use the Energy Tentacle spell to open the sarcophagus. As soon as the heavy lid moved it unleashed a blast of poisonous gas that filled the tomb and small passageway. Fortunately, Fauna and Szoo were still in gaseous form and unaffected. However, the gas poisoned Gornix and Excor.

Gornix resisted the primary effects of the poison. However the secondary toxic effect still left him rigid of limb. Excor suffered the full effects and was very near death and total paralysis. The mages cast Neutralize Poison on each other.

Lying within the tomb was a rapidly decaying corpse, which at first shriveled into a mummy, then began to disintegrate into bones then into dust. Among the remains, the group scrounged a silver necklace, a copper ring, and a pair of bronze bracers all lotus themed. They also found a silver mirror with a lotus design on its reverse. When they identified the item, they found that it was indeed magic and granted a +3 bonus to Sense Motive. Szoosha and Fauna regained their solid forms.

Gornix cast Mass Breathe Without Air and they proceeded to loot the tomb to the south (17 on the map). They found much the same except that instead of a mirror they found an amber wand. When they identified that item, they found that it added a +6 to damage to any damage inducing spell cast through it.

They ghosted back through the bars and before they turned to leave the area and backtrack, Gornix cast Mage Hand to snatch up the bee figurine. Behind the bars spikes as long as spears shot from the ceiling of the short hall biting into the floor. The trap would’ve killed anyone stuck in there. Gornix was disappointed to find that the figurine’s magical aura was gone. It had been just a part of the trap.

Soon they back where they started (in 1). Szoo began to slither carefully down the wide stair leading west. As the others started to follow, they all picked up a whiff of rotting meat. On the rather large landing (2 on the map) they found the blasted remains of two mummies scattered across the stone-flagged floor and the rotting corpse of a young torchbearer. On the young man’s corpse, they found an Acton bearing the arms of the Bardic College.

The wide steps continued down to the south leading into a large unlit lower chamber.

To Be Continued…

 

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The Cabal of Eight Pt.36: Serpent Haunted Ruins

The group circled around the corpse of a large serpent. Fauna (played by Jenn), Szoosha (played Serpent haunted ruins indeedby Isis), Excor (played by Cris), Gornix (played by Gil), Belrae the cabal leader, Riahm his right hand man, Ilna aka Bumble, and Jirek the scribe all stood around it. Xanto the Wasp poked his head from the carriage then uninterested, went back to his book. Just outside their perimeter stood and squatted two statues their faces frozen in petrified horror. They were the last remaining crossbowman and the last driver, victims of the serpent-monster’s supernatural glare.

The serpentine corpse’s scales were a dull magenta. It had an evilly curving beak and a pair of bat-like wings on its back. Gornix the Salt-Lotus Wizard leaned in and studied the corpse a little while longer than the others did.

Gil (to the GM): “Man! What is this thing called!?”

The GM (me): “A cockatrice, it’s in the new Monster Magnus.” I was referring to the as of yet unpublished Volume 2.

Finally, after a brief description the players had a laugh, as fundamentally the creature was a snake with a rooster’s head. It had been killed on first watch when it appeared and petrified the unfortunate hirelings.

Gornix (leaning towards the carriage): “Hey WASP! You talk a big game. Let’s see what you can do for these two!” He gestured towards the two statues.

Of course, Xanto couldn’t resist so he blithely stepped from the carriage. Gornix went further and tried, mostly in vain, to humiliate the elder mage by snidely inviting him to “de-petrify” the hirelings. Therefore, the Wasp pulled out a Flesh to Stone potion and did just that with a twist of the wrist pouring the arcane libation over the driver statue. Unfortunately, he had only the one bottle.

Xanto: “But! The crossbowman will be fine as long as he doesn’t tip over. But by all means be MY guest mageling.” He motioned towards the last statue. Embarrassed, Gornix just gave a shrug.

Come morning as the red and pink horizon began to burn ever-brighter gold, Arcan cooked up the last of the remaining food for breakfast, salt pork and hard tack in lard. They also split Szoo’s 45 days’ worth of rations amongst themselves to make sure nobody starved.

The sun was directly overhead beating down upon the barren red mars-scape of the Red Waste as the cabal’s carriage rolled towards the ruins that jutted up from the red plane like bleached ribs. Just behind the pillars of the ruins, they could see a steep rise, a low hill with the remains of black columns atop it. Around the area, they saw large thickets of dense pale green broad-leafed woody bushes. Also they noticed that surrounding the ruins was a deep gorge, at least 20 ft. deep with a mostly bush-concealed bottom. Below they could smell the brackish scent of moisture and hear the trickling of water.

Eager to get adventuring the party disembarked en masse leaving Arcan and the revived driver to find a concealed location to park and set camp. The rest of the adventuring party searched around the area finding another wagon laden with supplies but deserted. Marked with the arms of the Bardic College of Ezmer, it had been hidden in the bushes in a small clearing to the northwest. Excor grilled Belrae and Riahm whom told him it was indeed a college wagon but not one left behind on their previous expedition.

Excor: “Uhg. We have company. The college seekers came back lookin’ for somethin’.”

As a matter of caution, the cabal decided to circle the rim of the gap as a group. After circumnavigating the place, they determined that the best way across the chasm was most likely in the front (south on the map). However, Riahm and the other NPCs disagreed and wanted to try to find another way across that they had pointed at during the circumnavigation. The nearly hidden path they had used during the college adventure.

So the PCs and NPCs (led by the Wasp) split with the NPC party heading west from the wagons as Belrae and Riahm said they had the sure way. The reason the PCs did not follow them or argue the point was to put some distance between themselves and the Wasp.

The player group stood at the precipice at the southernmost point of the ruins. The sides of the cliff were shear on both sides and seemed a little “crumbly” in many places with most of the face composed of compacted dirt and clay with gravel and the occasional large rock. Simply put, climbing would’ve been suicide for most of them, maybe not for Fauna though.

Cris: “Well, yeah! We’re a bunch of damn wizards!”

While the others planned and argued about how to cross the gorge Fauna found a small depression on the cliff that allowed egress down onto a very narrow ledge in the face. It was a fissure carved by ages of rare rainfall. Of course, she began to climb down without alerting the others. So unnoticed she moved carefully and somewhat clumsily down. Without a rope.

Jenn: “Druid-style!”

She slipped and fell all the way to the bottom landing in knee-deep mud with about a foot of water on top. Completely hidden from those on cliffs edge by a canopy of leaves she got to her feet. Gornix noticed that the druid was suddenly gone. Szoo had heard the tumbling gravel and the splash. The next thing that the three mages atop the cliff could see was Fauna backing out into an area where they could see her in deeper water surrounded by four giant frogs.

Though the unnaturally sized animals were unexpected Gornix, Excor, and Szoo managed to collectively kill two of them. Fauna put the other two under her mystical control. The druidess then used her new giant frog mount to take her to the top of the other side. Gornix cast Mass Nature’s Ability: Winged Flight allowing him and the other two to get across.

They all landed on a paved area covered with several inches of dirt and debris. What they were standing on was an elevated solid stone foundation that set about 10 ft. above the actual cliff. Those that had flown had barely made the miscalculated journey before the spell expired. Before them was a depressed area that sank about 5 ft. via steps and had a dry fountain at its center. On a hunch, Excor pulled out the Amber Bee, Bumble’s paperweight, and noticed that it was vibrating in pulses. They proceeded.

The fountain was certainly dry but the thick layer of dirt and stone debris had been carefully cleaned from its basin revealing a tiled mosaic. The fountain mosaic portrayed gold lotuses and beehives in gold, brown, white, turquoise, and dark blue tiles.

Fauna: “Well. We’re in the right place.”

Excor: “Too bad we can’t ask Belrae if they didn’t clean this out when they were out here.”

Szoo: “We have the medallions.”

Fauna: “Oh yeah.”

Cris: “Okay. You use the once a day charge on yours then.”

Isis: “Um. No?”

Gornix began to work his way carefully up the steps at the far north side of the fountain courtyard when he suddenly stopped. He had spotted something, as did Fauna.

Fauna: “Guys watch it we have company!”

Gornix: “They’re Nagas!”

Excor moved towards Gornix and activated his Shield. Fauna cast a Lightning Bolt at a warrior Naga crouching behind the other side of a nearby column. The warrior wore a peaked bronze helm, a bronze pectoral plate, and was armed with an Eagle Rake polearm. The lightning bolt had injured him. Gornix made it to the top of the steps and spotted a shaman just about 20 feet from him to the west. He cast Cloud Memory but the Shield from the shaman’s fetish that hung around his neck absorbed it. Another naga wearing only a bronze pectoral plate stepped out from behind a pillar and whipped his bullwhip at the second of Fauna’s frogs scoring its soft hide. A serpent creature slithered from out of nowhere towards Excor.

Excor: “STOP that Shaman!”

The shaman tried to cast a spell but failed (it was Mass Animal Form). Staying on the higher ground the warrior moved to where Szoo would be in his reach. Szoo hit the Shaman with a fire ray again hitting his Shield.

Excor cast Energy Tentacle at the long-snouted dull earth-colored serpent. It dodged easily moving closer to him. It struck suddenly wiping out his Shield. Fauna cast Wizard’s Trick at the Shaman; the fetish around his neck stopped her spell via the Shield spell. However, it fell apart and dropped from his neck. Gornix again tried to cast Cloud Memory on the Shaman who barely was able to resist its magic. The whip baring naga snapped at Fauna’s second frog again laying more of its soft skin wide open. The Shaman again tried to cast Animal Form Mass the players held their collective breath but he failed. The warrior used his rake to slaughter Fauna’s second frog. Szoo summoned his flaming naginata but stayed put.

Gornix turned and seeing that the warrior was bearing down on Szoo cast Paralyze I at him but the naga warrior was able to resist. The serpent reared and struck at Fauna. She parried its needle fangs with her dagger. Gornix slung Chrono-Missiles at the Shaman wounding him.

Gornix cast Chrono-Missiles at the serpent blasting a large section of its dull brown scales away exposing raw bleeding muscle. The warrior slithered down into the courtyard and swung his Eagle Rake at Fauna who parried his blow with her dagger. Szoosha used his polearm to strike at the Shaman’s throat but stopped short holding the burning blade to his throat.

Szoo: “Don’t you move!”

The serpent reared again and struck at Excor sinking its fangs into his arm. He took the full dose of its venom. It significantly weakened and horribly injured him. Excor took a step back and was able to cast Slow on the creature. The naga with the whip slithered down towards Fauna and tried to entangle her with his bullwhip but missed. Fauna tried to cast Lightning Bolt at the warrior but he took an attack of opportunity narrowly missing her. She failed the casting still distracted by the crack of the whip.

Gornix moved to a pillar for some cover. Szoo singed the shaman’s neck with his weapon holding him hostage. Excor pulled his copper spike and shot a bolt of electricity at the serpent killing it. The naga with the whip cried out in sorrow as he watched his pet die and seeing his shaman at the enemy’s mercy threw down his whip and surrendered. Fauna shouted threats to the warrior but was not at all intimidating in the delivery. However, seeing his shaman with a flaming blade to his throat, he too surrendered.

The mages grilled the nagas, they appeared to be Scael naga though of the lower classes. Their scales were a pale green scattered with black, brown, and pale yellow. A pair of corrupt college officials, a high-ranking curator and a seeker, had hired them as mercenaries. They were paid to protect them and guard the ruins while they were within. The mercs pointed to the northeast and said that a newly unburied passageway lies not more than 50 ft. away. The mages let the nagas slink away with their lives but not their weaponry.

The cabal mages moved into the large courtyard further north. It was dirt floored but they were positive paving lay under a thick layer of the earth. They all touched down from the 15 ft. height of the previous foundation; Fauna on her frog and the others using their wings from another Nature’s Ability spell from Gornix. By a large copse of dense bushes, they spotted a number of white rabbits tied to a stone near a pile of iron shackles. Fauna stooped down to talk to them.

They had been slaves brought to dig out the passage to the east transformed by the shaman after they completed their work. All Fauna could do for them was to free them.

Fauna: “I knew we should’ve killed those guys when we had the chance!”

Cris: “Says you! They would’ve killed me!” Excor cast Close Wounds on himself.

Fauna investigated the marble statue entangled half-hidden in the copse. The head recently hacked from the shoulders.

Over this courtyard towered a stony conical knoll with a black foundation and broken black pillars crowning it. The steep wide white steps that led up from the courtyard to the top were badly damaged ceasing to exist halfway up. The mages discounted going up the hill, as they’d have to climb or fly. They didn’t want to waste any more spells or risk the climb. They found some steps going up from the courtyard between two foundations headed east.

Gornix cast Alter Self to give himself winged flight and on a hunch flew up the hill to “check out” the black pillars. However, he didn’t see anything special. He had failed to spot the egg-shaped hollow in the black stone altar up there. He flew back down to rejoin his fellows as they moved up the steps to the east and onto another detritus strewn foundation. This one however had an open passage and steps leading down at its center. Freshly unburied piles of dirt and stones surrounded it along with the discarded tools. Gornix elected Szoo to take lead.

Szoo: “Fine! I’ll LEAD then!”

Excor used his medallion to communicate with Belrae. The other party had found another entrance and was heading down also. Gornix cast Magic Globe and Illuminate in tandem a glowing globe of light appeared before him under his mental control. With Szoo in the lead, they began their descent below the ruins and the broken black pillars.

To Be Continued…

 

The Cabal of Eight Pt.35: The Black Pillars

The group had traveled with no incident from the city of Ezmer. The train of two wagons and Helpful map for a wagon tripcarriage rolled along the Trade Road West out of the Ezmerian Headland. Under the experienced guide of Arcan the Wanderer, they were seeking the Black Pillars. All the while Excor (played by Cris) kept his eyes peeled for any shenanigans coming from the Wasp.

Cris (to the other players): “All of us, each of us, need to make spot checks constantly on the Wasp.”

Their first stop was within a few miles of the Necropolis. A driver was killed during the night, torn apart by some animal. The footprints into camp and around the corpse resembled a lion. However, Fauna (played by Jenn) couldn’t identify the creature though it seemed similar to a lion it had walked two feet as much as four. Unlike a lion it had not killed to eat, it seemed to have just killed the man then left the campsite. They buried the mutilated body after breakfast. Arcan took some time to get his bearings in guiding the adventuring party to the pass into the Mezrin Valley.

Around noon, they stopped the caravan to allow the horses to rest. As they munched on their rations, Xanto the Wasp regaled Belrae and Riahm with tales of his adventures. The thin villain claimed that he had slain a dragon rescuing his companions, a gaggle of sloppy, blundering dragonslayers in the process. Excor and Fauna shot him suspicious narrow-eyed glances. Soon enough the caravan moved on along the narrow path south.

Mountains rose to the immediate west and dense clumps of trees and thickets began to multiply in the distance. A few miles northeast snaked the Dragon’s Tail River. The road was a mix of yellow and white with large patches of mundane earth brown. The wagons came to a stop at Arcan’s signal. It was again time to camp.

On first watch, a scorpion stung a footman and on the second, a thunderstorm moved in dumping hot rain onto the brave adventurers. At first, the rain released the sweet scent of the prairie from the arid soil. It was fresh, a mix of rich clay and the mild reek of straw and yellowed grass. However, shortly after their departure, the desert freshness was gone and the atmosphere in the carriage cab was stifling. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Trees, yellow and scrub pine, approached the road in clumps and patches. After a few hours, they began to encroach upon the road itself and soon the travelers were rolling through a thin wood. Shortly after they spaces between trees again began to increase and sun drenched glades started to break the wood apart more and more frequently. Another day passed as they traveled on. When they broke through the last clump of trees The mountains and low hills were close poised on either side of the road .  It was the pass into the valley.

Arcan guided the wagons slowly and carefully off the bend of the trade road as it turned west. The terrain flattened out though high purple mountains could be seen to the north and west with a distant ridge of hills rising in the south. The ground became lush with long pale green grass. Soon they surrounded on all sides by the tall grass. When they stood to see over the tops of the blades, they saw a seemingly endless shimmering sea of pale green. Arcan found a small clearing approved by Fauna for their campsite.

During the night, a pack of four dragonsauri attacked the camp during Gornix’s (played by Gil) and Szoo’s (played by Isis) watch. The mages managed to kill two while the other two were spooked away. They only lost a single footman who was dragged away by an unseen fifth during the fray. The only trace left of him, a long ragged red trail of blood leading deep into the tall grasses. Belrae had been wounded but healed himself after.

Morning. Arcan said he estimated about a day or two through the tall grasses when asked by Excor how much further the Red Waste was. The billabongs and hidden mires aside from the dragonsauri would be the worst risks now.

By around 3 pm they broke the grass and a light hot rain started as they rode out onto the Red Waste. The drizzle awakened an alien scent, a bitter smell with only the scant metallic hint of dead soil underneath it. Before them sprawled the Red Lowlands in every direction.  It seemed lusher with the harsh and fibrous flora of the desert than would be hinted at by the name the Red Waste. The sand was not even that red being more of a rocky reddish brown. Arcan assured them that the red waste was closer to the center of the Red Lowlands.

Arcan the Wanderer: “You’ll know when we’re within it. It’s unmistakable.”

The great purple moon appeared on the horizon as the sun slowly melted into an orange and red sea in the West. The ever-diminishing Wuhzigvir Mountains were sinking into the eastern horizon. Excor and Arcan were on the lead wagon along with a crossbowman and a footman. The carriage following the lead contained the cabal along with a driver and a crossbowman. Bringing up the rear the last heavily laden supply wagon had a crossbowman, driver, and the last of the footmen. The adventurers were shouting back and forth while the wagons slowed about where to set camp when a giant winged silhouette swooped out of the purpling blue of evening. It was a dragon.

The creature swooped down and blasted the last wagon with its fiery breath killing the horses and all aboard. The remaining drivers and Arcan spurred their horses on hoping in vain to try to outrun the dragon.The dragon had bronze colored scales and glowing jewel-like eyes, it was a Wher.

Fauna readied a spell in case the dragon should target the carriage. Excor pulled his Lightning Spike and activated his Jet Amulet of Shield. Gornix cast Amplify Magic on the dragon successfully enchanting the creature despite its resistance. The carriage driver spurred his horses on and turned away from the lead wagon. The wher swooped in again with its gnarled claws at the lead horse on the last supply wagon. Arcan tried to drive the animal to avoid the dragon’s talons but failed. It got the horse. He was able to maintain control of the wagon. Szoo cast Elemental Half-Plate Armor (Fire) on himself.

Fauna cast Wind Rush at the dragon to try to push it to the ground but it had no effect. Excor shot a bolt of electricity from his spike also without effect. Gornix cast Force Ram nailing the dragon badly injuring it. The Wher unleashed its breath at eh carriage but Szoo was able to divert the draconic flames harmlessly away. Arcan tried to turn the supply wagon in a directin directly opposite the carriage but instead flipped the wagon and crashed throwing him and Excor to the ground. The footman and crossbowman were killed.

The rough ride as the driver tried to outrun the dragon caused Gornix to fail in casting another spell. The wher with a mighty flap of its wings landed with a crash onto the roof of the carriage. Its claws pierced the ceiling visible from the inside of the cab. Gornix cast Force Ram through his wizard’s staff. He tapped the creature’s side as he leaned form a window crushing its ribs. They heard a sickening sound like a water-filled drum hit with a sledgehammer.

The dragon used its tail to batter at the carriage door causing splinters to fly but the wood held.

Excor stood up and dusted himself off. He survived the crash without injury due to his shield amulet. The carriage was a few hundred feet away. Gornix again channeled the same spell through his wizard’s staff but the dragon was able to resist his magic this time around. Distracted by the chaos of the fight Fauna found it impossible to cast Lightning Bolt. However, Szoo summoned his flaming naginata and dealt the deathblow causing the creature to unlatch its claws from the roof of the carriage and lurch into the air before it came crashing back down.

The carriage came to a stop and Gornix immediately jumped out. Fauna followed and they both raced to “harvest” the dragon’s corpse. Szoo saw that the Wasp had been gripping a medallion under his robes and had one of Bumble’s hands clasped tight. When he let go of the medallion Szoo could see that its gem seemed to be amber that contained a piece of what looked like mushroom.

Bumble ordered the driver to circle around and scoop up any crash survivors. Meanwhile Excor and Arcan inspected the wreck. One horse was fine. They gathered some essential supplies and waited for the carriage. Arcan was dirty and bloody but his wounds were mostly superficial. After an hour, the group left in search of a safe campsite far enough away from the dragon-corpse to avoid monstrous scavengers. Szoo bummed a jar of Hill-lander whiskey from Gornix so he could preserve the Wher eye he had cut out.

Come morning they left their campsite and a few more of their number behind after breakfast. They were now short of supplies, especially water, but were close to their goal. Arcan had wedged himself between the driver and the crossbowman.

The land had become increasingly desolate as they traveled on at an alarming rate. Any vegetation seemed to recede and shrivel away to nothing. Before they knew it, the land was flat and mostly barren save for the numerous rocks and gravel of varying size. The earth here was as red as blood. At the advice of Arcan they made a wide berth around a large and dense area of woody bushes that were very out of place against the barren prairieland. By evening, they could see the Black Pillars in the distance. Fauna cast Commune with Nature. In the direction of the Black Pillars, her spell was blocked.

With one more day of travel to go they set camp and settled in for the night.

To Be Continued…