Friday, July 5, 2002
Location: The Gower Cabin - Bear Mountain
Players:
GM: Mark Thomas
Brief recap of events between sessions:
It has been a long stay in the filthy port city of Seaway. The party has spent their time wisely (or not). Their chief reason for waiting here so long was to receive the three ancestral weapons [1] created by the dwarves in exchange for the mithril ingots the party had found. The three weapons were:
As the party wraps up their stay in Seaway, Culia and Micon decide to join the party on thier trip to Gap. The party arranges to travel with a caravan hauling food stuffs southward for mutual protection. They also purchase a fair number of mounts and a variety of minor trade goods to barter with along the way. Nasir carries the Eye.
The party sets out, leading the way for the caravan that follows. Already they can see they will be moving slowly, as the ox-drawn carts of the caravan are ponderous at best. They make camp the first night a scant 10 miles from the walls of Seaway. There is considerable debate about watches and shifts and so forth, but in the end a reasonable plan is agreed upon by all members of the group. The party camps near the caravan, but in a seperate group, neither side completely comfortable with the other yet.
The day passes quietly, as does much of the night. Early in the morning hours one of the magic mouthed coins set out by Thyme goes off. Culia heads to the Leomund's Hut to wake the party while Benik moves towards Micon's position to see what's up. Benik and Micon find Father Bo's mule in the pickets with its throat torn out. One of the caravan guards comes over and says it looks like a jungle cat of some kind. The party reorganizes their gear and goes back to sleep.
Before the party sets out it begins to rain, a steady pounding downpour. The party is soaked and miserable all day, and only makes a few miles headway.
The rain has let up, and the party spends a quiet day on the road. The only excitement is passing a carvan heading towards Seaway. The others report nothing of interest in the road ahead.
The party makes good time once again, and in the afternoon they reach The Last Bridge and the Crossing Inn [2]. The party calls it a day and rents out two large rooms for their use. It happens to be Nyota's birthday, so Thyme, Zippy, and Zeb work on getting him drunk. The rest of the party spends a quieter night in the comfort of a bed.
Thyme is quite hung over from last night's festivities, but the rest of the celebrants seem to be fine. The party spends a cooler than average day on the road and makes good progress.
The party makes reasonable progress in the morning, and Fasheen says they should find one of the campsites cut along the roadway sometime in the afternoon. Shortly after lunch the party sees smoke rising above the jungle canopy. After a brief pause Fasheen claims to hear the clash of steel and a female scream.
The party quickly decides something is amiss. Micon is sent back to warn the group's carvan travelling companions while Zeb and Benik advance along the road and Nyota transforms himself into a hawk and flies ahead with Nasir's hawk, Se'la. Culia (and Micon when he returns) stay with Nasir and the mounts while the rest of the party advances behind the vanguard.
After a 10 minute trot up the road, the party finds a camping area [3] along the left side of the road. Near the road there is a wagon, obviously under repair as it is propped up on a large log. There are goods and cloth scattered around on the ground, and Nyota is kneeling down next to a woman laying on the ground. He calls for help and a healer, and Bo goes to assist while Zeb and Zippy scout the area and Fasheen studies the ground near the wagon.
Bo quickly realizes the woman's wounds are serious and beyond his healing abilities. Nasir is needed, and quickly. Meanwhile Fasheen has discovered a number of Orc tracks around the wagon (more than 5) and the tracks of something else he can't identify.
Thyme casts fly on Bo, who picks up the woman and begins to head back towards Nasir. Meanwhile the other members of the party have located the trail of the Orcs leading eastward into the jungle, and begin to follow them.
Bo reaches Nasir, who applies his powerful healing abilities. The woman awakens and immediately begins asking about her children (speaking Manar). Bo realizes there is serious trouble afoot and flies off to catch up with the party. A short time later he catches the main group as they near the base of a steep hill. As they pause to regroup (and let Thyme catch his breath), they hear the sounds of battle ahead. Bo flies off in typical Bo fashion while the rest of the group advances at a trot (Thyme falls behind at once).
Bo reaches the scene of conflict and is surprised to find close to a dozen Orcs attacking the largest bear Bo has ever seen. The beast stands a full 18 feet tall when upright, and is bleeding from dozens of wounds. Bo also spots two children, cowering near a cave set in a narrow ravine in the hillside. He flies over to the kids and grabs them, one under each arm. They don't like that much and immediately begin to struggle. Ignoring their struggles Bo flies off towards the campsite and the wagon.
The rest of the party rounds the hillside and immediately move to engage the Orcs, who reciprocate. A fierce melee ensues. The party is a bit worried, as the noise is sure to draw more foes from the cave.
Thyme comes panting up, surveys the situation and immediately casts enlarge on the bear. If you've ever seen a 35 foot tall bear, well. Ouch.
The melee continues with the now insanely powerful bear crushing Orcs right and left. Not to be outdone, Thyme also enlarges Benik.
About this time Bo has reached the wagon and discovered Nasir, Culia, and Micon have moved up with the mounts, and are trying to find out what is going on from the woman. Bo drops off the kids who instantly run for their mother. Bo heads back to the fight.
As feared, more orcs come out of the cave, including one particularly fierce one that challenges Benik. The pair close (Benik kills an Orc along the way). As Benik reaches the cave a pair of trolls follow the Orcs out. Behind Benik the rest of the battle winds down as the Orcs fall one by one. The bear takes off after the fleeing Orcs, leaving the party to deal with the Orcs at the cave mouth and the trolls.
They do. Benik discovers his foe has magical protections, and nearly loses his new sword to a swift disarm maneuver. Unfortunately for the trolls, both Nyota and Thyme can see them, and one Magma Geyser and one Lightning Bolt later, both fall. Combined attacks from most of the party take out the last Orc, and the party realizes they are alone.
Nyota (in hawk form) and Bo take off after the bear. Back at the cave the remainder of the combatants prepare to burn the trolls and orcs. Zippy notices a massive battle axe in the clearing. He tries to grab it and almost can't move the thing. Zeb gathers it up for later study.
Bo and Nyota catch up with the bear as it slays the last fleeing Orc. Bo attempts to convey that the woman and children are safe (for some reason the party was convinced the bear had something to do with them). The bear seems to ignore them. Nyota follows a bit longer, Bo heads back to the cave.
Just as the group is finishing their ugly cleanup job, Nasir's hawk dives down and slams into Fasheen, then circles overhead and flies off towards the wagon and campground. The group quickly aborts their initial foray into the cave and make for the wagon. Thyme decides he's had enough running and casts a fly spell.
As Thyme and Bo arrive at the campsite they discover the woman and her children cowering under the wagon. Nasir is laying to one side, unconcious. Culia is also laying nearby, but his neck has been snapped cleanly. The Eye is gone [4]!
Chaos erupts as the party reaches the campsite. Fasheen spots human tracks that turn into a huge serpent trail, then back to human tracks. These begin near Nasir's fallen form, then lead off across the road and quickly vanish into the jungle. Bo casts detect magic upon himself and flies off along the assumed direction of the tracks for about 15 minutes seeking the Eye. Zeb uses a spell to speak with Benik's horse, the only mount that hasn't begun to wander off. It moves off towards the edge of the road and begins to stamp near the place the tracks disappear into the jungle. The rest of the party loiters about, looking for clues, questioning the woman, and searching the campsite, all to no avail.
Zeb, Zippy and Fasheen decide to head off after the Eye and see if they can track it through the jungle. They move off, and between Zeb's hunting skills, Fasheen's tracking skills and Zippy's sharp eye, they actually manage to follow the tracks. Syton, the caravan master, is very upset that his travelling companions are leaving his group and rounds up his caravan and heads out, still shouting at the party as he disappears around the bend in the road.
Meanwhile Bo's search proves fruitless and he flies back to the campsite, while Thyme flies off to pursue the tracking party, leaving Nyota, Benik, and Bo at the campsite with Nasir, who is still unmoving. The group organizes the mounts and makes camp. Shortly after they settle down to wait, a large man stumbles into the clearing, stares at the group, mutters "Who are you?" then collapses. He is bleeding profusely, and Benik quickly heals him.
The woman with the wagon spots the man and rushes over, spitting rapid Manar, and casting heal spells. As he regains conciousness he begins to answer here. None of the group can follow the conversation. Obviously this is the woman's lost husband. The group talks and gets little information from Barouk or his wife Tara. They are, however very grateful that the party helped them recover their children, and Tara looks over Nasir, though she doesn't discover anything new.
The tracking party continues to follow the trail through the jungle, and after a few hours they stop to regroup. They agree that Thyme should return to the main group. Zeb, Zippy and Fasheen continue.
Back at camp, Nyota uses his spirit craft abilities to examine Nasir and is shocked to discover that Nasir's body is uninhabited! No spirit remains. He has never seen anything like this before. The group is very depressed at this point, and as Thyme returns, spirits are low.
Tara tells Nyota and Benik she wants to do a reading of the bones for them. They agree, and gather round the campfire with Tara and Barouk. Tara enters a trance-like state and casts a handful of (finger?) bones onto a leather cloth. She stares for a moment then recites:
I see what the bones speak. A long road ahead, through lands where the road burns and the sky is white. Three stones mark the gate. The way is closed, but the key is at hand. That which is taken, frees. That which remains, is held. Death walks in the shadow of noon. Seek the wisdom of fire and strife. Slay the heart to free the hand. One will fall and rise anew. The bones have spoken, heed what they say.
Thyme asks Barouk to carry a message to Candela in Seaway (since they are headed that way). Benik stands watch as the rest of the group tries to get some rest.
The trackers continue to be lucky. Eventually they strike a river, and lose the trail. They discuss what to do, and eventually Zeb tries detecting evil. He is surprised to find a thin taint of evil in the river! The group concludes the creature that stole the Eye is now travelling in the water. The trackers rest on the river bank with a light source out, hoping the rest of the party will catch up to them.
Back at camp, the rest of the group makes preparations to head out. Thyme casts fly on Bo and Nyota who fly off in search of the trackers. They meet up with them and carry out a fast aerial survey. They find a fork in the river and isolate the branch with the evil taint (southward). They decide to head straight north from this point and find the road.
Benik, Thyme and Nasir's mindless body begin to travel along the road south-eastward, mounts in tow, hoping to find the next inn along the road. Near nightfall they reach Flatstone Bridge and cross to find the Blackwater Inn on the far side. They enter and arrange rooms for themselves and stabling for the party's mounts. They also run into Syton in the tavern. Thyme apologizes for leaving him in the lurch and offers to buy the caravan all their drinks for the night. Syton seems mollified. Thyme and Benik spend the rest of the evening in conversation with a warrior type named Ado, who seems somewhat stand-offish, but eventually warms a bit to the pair.
The trackers get up early and Father Bo uses some scrying magic to locate the Eye. After some effort he manages to get a general idea of where it is. The trackers think about going after it, but in the end decide to try and find the rest of the group. They head north to the road. It's a long day's march, but eventually they hit the road and by noting the signs of passage, realize they need to turn south-east to catch up with their party. They reach the bridge and inn at about 2 in the morning. After talking their way across the bridge and into the inn, they manage to wake up the entire inn by pounding on Thyme and Benik's doors and setting off various alarm spells. Syton, trying to sleep just down the hall, was not amused.
The party rises early and makes arrangements to house Nasir and their mounts for a month. Bo uses his scrying magic again and locates the Eye near the river bank, next to a serpent creature -- it looks like a yuan-ti from the Temple of Setal, how did that get here? The group sets off at a fast pace.
The group travels all day, using fly spells to cross the river when they reach it. Late in the day Nasir's hawk flies down and lands on Fasheen's shoulder. Nyota examines it and observes a tie to Nasir's spirit, but it isn't in the hawk. The party makes camp east of the river they mean to follow the next day.
Bo rises early so he can try to scry the Eye again. He finds it, but as he tries to determine where it is, he feels a powerful evil presence begin to reach for him through the scrying link. Bo quickly breaks the link. He then tries to seek out Nasir's spirit, and receives impressions of Nasir seeking the group in the jungle south of the road.
The group continues along the river, continuing basically southwards. As they advance along the river, Zeb discovers the evil presence in the water is growing. The group believes they must be catching up to the creature.
Mid-morning, Zippy spots a serpent-like trail leaving the river. The group elects to follow it, and shortly encounter a trail in the jungle. The serpent trail leads southward along the trail, and the party follows. Intermixed with the serpent trail are a variety of humanoid tracks. The party believes there may be a village nearby.
After about a half mile the trail opens into a clearing, and the party discovers the remains of a half-dozen skeletal humans, and one very dead yuan-ti. The party searches the area using mundane and magical means, but the Eye is not nearby. Thyme burns the yuan-ti, and as he does so, it transforms into a gray humanoid figure before in shrivels in the flames. What was that?
By now it is mid day, and the party takes a brief rest. After the meal, they elect to continue cautiously down the trail. They continue at a slow pace for about 3 miles, noting the trail is slowly turning eastwards into the hills and mountains. After another hour they are sure they are headed almost directly for a lone peak that stands to the east. The group continues even more cautiously as the tracks and marks on the trail become fresher and more numerous.
Late in the day the party rounds a bend in the hillside and find themselves staring at a pair of huge bronze doors, ajar, leading into the hillside. Each door is inscribed with a cloaked figure holding a mirror and a balance. Bo and Benik recognize this as Umekai, Lord of the Dead. The cliff face holding the doors is smoothly cut and the stone work is impressive. The party thinks it is Dwarven work.
An augury indicates the Eye may be ahead, so the group cautiously advances. They open the door and discover a broad corridor the walls of this place are polished marble, and another pair of large bronze doors stand at the far end of the corridor. The doors open into a large octagonal room. The party advances cautiously into the room, noting doors to the left, right and ahead. As they advance Fasheen (flying) spots motion across the room. A childlike figure in rags crouches there. Fasheen opens fire and the party advances into the room.
As the group advances one of the side doors opens and a group of the child-like figures streak into the room. Fast. Really fast. They are on Zeb, Zippy, Bo and Nyota before they can blink. A brief melee ensues, and though the creatures do some damage, they fall quickly.
The party moves to the side door the creatures came out of and open it. Immediately a huge mound of seething flesh pours out. The party attacks en masse, and begin to hack it to bits. The creature flails about with numerous half rotted limbs that strike like hammers. The party contiues to fight, and Benik finally kills the creature with a massive blow that nearly cuts it in half. The think measures a full 25 feet long!
As the party searches the room beyond, the rear-guard hears footsteps back in the main corridor. Nyota polymorphs into a troll, and completely surprised Nasir, who walks through the door from the main corridor. There is much rejoicing.
After the party regroups and reorganizes a bit Nyota casts a locate object and discovers the Eye is within 150 yards, but below the party. The group advances into the room complex to the other side of the octagonal room in hopes of finding a way down. This leads through a series of rooms into a massive chamber. As the party observes, they see signs of motion in the room, and see a light source at the far end. A dwarf-like creature is standing on a dais/altar, beconing them forward. The party hesitates, as they see several creatures scattered along the edges of the room, but they decide to advance. Nasir advances towards the figure and it speaks:
You speak with the mouth of Magron, what do you seek? Nasir answers "We seek that which was taken from us. We are the seekers of the Eye."
[Ed: Apparently the log-keeper was not impressed with the conversation. To quote: "Blah, blah, you are not worthy... etc." Guess rich backgrounds are lost on this group.]
Combat ensues. The party is overrun by numerous child-like creatures (let's call these Spawn) that streak from under the debris that covers the floor. Several people are also hit from behind by dwarvish sized creatures (let's call these Minions) leaping out of the shadows or entering through one of the many doors in the room. Those fighting Minions feel their life force fade each time they are hit, and the party grows desperate.
After several rounds of combat, that included much bloodshed and woe, an unconcious Nyota, a staggering Zippy, and a large number of fallen foes, the party withdraws, having slain most of the creatures in the room. The remainder have all hidden or fled, and with several party members sorely wounded the group pulls back. Thyme wizard locks the outer doors, and the group moves off to find a safe campsite for the night.
The party rises early the next day, having been fully healed by their plethora of priests during the night. They make their way cautiously back to the temple, and return to the octagonal room. Nasir attempts to locate the Eye by magical means, and finds it roughly in the same place as before. The party decides to check out a side passage, and discover a few trinkets and a locked box. It is here that Zippy discovers he has no lockpicks!
The party continues to to explore the area, discovering another passage that leads to the main altar-containing room, which is now devoid of hostiles. They skirt the edge of the altar room and continue to explore the rooms beyond. They discover a number of chambers that appear to have been living quarters of some kind, and a search reveals another locked strongbox. This one is trapped with an acid-spraying vial, which is somehow set off, harmlessly. The only casualty is Fasheen's blanket.
Zippy tries to pick the locks on the two boxes the party has found with a fishhook, and to everyone's amazement he succeeds! Immediately he concludes the fishhook is magical and carefully stows it away. About this time the faithful Benik, acting as rearguard, yells out "Hey guys!" The party turns and discovers the passage back to the main complex is completely filled with one of those oozing masses of flesh and limbs (let's call these Horrors). It attacks while the party is still fumbling to get organized, and while Benik manages to inflict severe damage, one of the creature's blows exudes a magical energy that blinds Benik! Luckily his next blow kills the creature, and his sight returns in short order. [5]
Zippy's searching uncovers a secret passage leading from the innermost living chamber, so the party enters and finds a series of very narrow passages. They cautiously advance and eventually find a hidden stair leading downward. Eventually they disgorge the party into a corridor lined with many many tombs. Clearly this is a major burial site.
As the party waits at the bottom of the stair for the rest of the group to emerge, the leaders are jumped by several Spawn. They are dispatched with little fuss and muss and the party begins to explore the maze-like tombs. After traveling along hundreds of feet of corridor, and getting confused about where they are, the party is surprised by a group of Minions. Again they are quickly dispatched, though they did do some damage before falling. Eventually they find another set of downward stairs and descend.
As the front of the party reaches the bottom of the stair, one of the special Minions (let's call these Acolytes) appears from nowhere and hurls a lightning bolt at the party. Ouch. That one hurt. The party is surprised and Benik, at the fore, takes a serious pummeling from two Minions who were lurking in the shadows near the door, and a Horror that slithered forth from a passage across the room. He is also blinded once again by the Horror's touch.
Thyme, as usual, targets the enemy spell caster, and is dismayed when his magic missiles bounce off with no effect. Nasir casts rock to mud on the room's floor, and everyone inside (including Benik!) begin to sink into the ooze. Zeb (now at the front), starts to stab the Horror with his magical spear, and is hit in return. This time the creature's touch paralizes Zeb. Meanwhile Zippy is trying to pull Benik from the mud, while Benik is trying to kill the 20' long critter that's whacking him right and left. Simultaneously the Minions and Acolytes sink beneath the muck, Benik drops the Horror, and Thyme levitates Benik from the mud. The group pulls back to the top of the stairs and the priests go to work.
A short while later the party decends the stairs again. After a dispell magic turns the mud back to stone, the party advances down a corridor of tombs and rounds a corner. Ahead they can see a very large chamber. The party cautiously advances along the sides of the corridor, attempting to use the tomb doorways as cover. Too late, they realize they've been seen, and a pack of Spawn come streaking forth.
The party engages the Spawn, who are quickly joined by several Minions and a Horror. Benik becomes a fighting machine and takes out four or five foes very quickly but more are coming. Meanwhile back in the large chamber the party sees movement. Shortly thereafter several party members feel masses of insects land on them and begin to bite and sting. At the same time Nyota does something terribly wrong during spell casting and falls to the ground, unconcious. Benik is blinded about this time, and things are beginning to look ugly for the party.
Never one to back off, Thyme moves foward with the light, illuminating a large chamber containing a massive tomb and a large, ornate, fire pit. Zippy charges up behind Thyme as Zeb tries to get Nyota out of the line of fire. Benik cleans up the last of the creatures in the hallway.
Then the lightning bolts came. Yes, there were more Acolytes in the room, and two of them cast bolts that strike many members of the party. Zippy in particular is hurt. At the same time both Nasir and Thyme feel a magical force wash around them, and neither can move!
Now things look even uglier. Zeb, Bo, Benik and Fasheen charge ahead to try and get their friends out of the line of fire. Bo casts sanctuary on Thyme while Zeb begins to pull Nasir out of the room. The badly wounded Zippy takes on one of the Acolytes while Benik takes another. About now the third lightning bolt hits and the party realizes they're going to die. Bo casts obscurement, while Fasheen tries to take down the Acolytes with arrows (slaying several mirror images in the process).
Bo and Fasheen make a hasty retreat, Nasir and Thyme in tow, leaving Benik and Zippy to deal with the three magic-wielding Acolytes. About this time the pair realize they hear chanting from somewhere, and it's not the two mages they face. Zippy and Benik each slay one Acolyte, Fasheen calls out for a retreat and everyone but Benik follows (Zeb even grabs Nyota on the way). Back in the room Benik finishes off the last Acolyte, and is amazed to see a huge mass of flame jet up from the fire pit as the chanting stops. The fire comes to life and moves towards him. Just as it reaches him it stops, and Benik beats a fast retreat (protection from evil is a wonderful thing).
As Benik reaches the party on the other side of the obscured area, he yells something about a big fire creature and Thyme seals the corridor with a wall of ice. The party drags Nyota upstairs and as Thyme ducks around the corner he sees his wall of ice fall and a massive fire elemental advance along the corridor.
The party retreats in haste, all the way to the surface. The elemental does not seem to follow, and they encounter nothing on the way out. They reach their supposedly safe camp site and settle in for a night's rest. Benik mentions that as he was retreating from the fire elemental he noticed a saddlebag like the ones the party used to hold the Eye, laying on top of the tomb.
After much rest and healing the party is ready to try their hand again. They reenter the complex with the intent of heading back down the secret stair and then down the other side of the lower stairs to reach the massive tomb once again. Their plan is short-circuited when they are crossing the altar-room on the upper floor and Thyme hears motion. The party scans the area, just as several Minions leap from hiding and attack! [6]
As the Minions attack Fasheen opens the door the party intended to go through and discovers a Horror beyond! The creature pours into the room, and attacks, engaging both Zeb and Fasheen. Benik attempts to cast prayer but something dispells his attempt. Zippy at the rear of the party spots another of the Minions that immediately moves to engage him.
Battle ensues and quickly grows very ugly. If the party thought they were in trouble before they know they're in deep now. Another Horror pours out behind the first, and Benik, Zeb, Fasheen and Nasir all engage them. Nyota sprays his foe with magma, while Zippy's foe hammers him with a massive blow that breaks his left arm, causing him to drop his off weapon. Thyme is hit by a spell from an unseen foe and loses his vision. Bo turns and spots a hidden door just in time to see it open up and a pack of Spawn leap forth.
At the front things go from bad to very very very bad. Benik is blinded an all the people fighting the Horrors take hits. Bo tries to cover Nasir, and Zippy flees, covered in insects. His foe takes the opportunity to slash his back open. Meanwhile Thyme, lost in blindness, casts darkness, then levitates himself into the air and hopefully out of harms way. He hears somethign moving around below him.
Nyota and Benik manage to take out one of the Horrors at the front with a combination of magma spray and sword work. The others fare less well. The second Horror manages to hit Fasheen, Benik and Zeb, and all three feel themselves stiffen, unmoving [7].
Realizing the situation is dire, the remaining party members rally. Bo casts sanctuary on himself, Zippy quaffs a healing potion, and Nyota casts armor upon himself. Thyme becomes invisible and Nasir continues to fight. The held warriors continue to take damage. Bo charges towards the side door and the Spawn nearby scatter. Nasir casts a rock to mud spell that manages to snag several creatures, including one previously unseen Acolyte hiding in the background. Zippy advances and reaches Nyota's side.
Zippy begins to pull Zeb away from the melee (very slowly). Nyota, Bo and Nasir continue to fight. Nyota manages to slay one of the Minions. Zippy returns to the battle and manages to kill the remaining Horror. The creatures trapped in the mud sink, and slowly the party whittles away the remaining creatures.
Thyme finally manages to dispell the magical blindness on him, and removes the hold on Zeb in the process (Zeb is still paralized however). The party finishes off the last foes and regroups. Many heals are cast and the party troops back to their campsite. So much for well laid plans.
The party rests for 8 hours or so, and in the evening makes their way back into the temple. They make their way to the secret stair without opposition, and wind their way down. Nasir locates the Eye (in the same place), and the party descends to the lower level again. Benik casts prayer upon the group as they round the last corner leading to the main chamber, then the group advances into the room. Bo makes for the fire pit while Benik heads for the tomb.
The bottom of the fire pit is covered with shining black rocks that are laying in some sort of liquid. Bo decides to eliminate any chance of fire and creates water within (being a priest of Seshai the god of the oceans has some advantages). Nasir tries to cast a rock to mud spell to cut off the far side of the room, and parts of it work, but parts don't. The rest of the party casts various spells and advances towards the tomb.
Suddently Fasheen and Benik are caught in a wall of fire that springs up near the tomb! As the fire wall appears, Bo hears directionless murmuring. Another spell washes over Fasheen and Benik, holding Fasheen in place (oooh that's gotta hurt!). Benik reacts quickly and pulls Fasheen through the wall into a clear space beyond. Unfortunately the greek fire Benik carries in his backpack didn't like the firewall so well, and two flasks burst into flame. Benik is on fire!
Zippy maneuvers around the sarcophagus as Benik and Fasheen deal with the fire. Bo tries to create water on the greek fire, but simply spreads the burning goo. Fasheen, Zippy and Benik retreat from the flames, but Zeb leaps atop the sarcophagus and grabs the bag he finds there. Shortly thereafter he is hit with several magic missiles that appear from nowhere in mid-air. The party is confused but not totally. Bo and Zippy attempt to fire at the source of the missiles as Thyme encircles the area in a wall of ice. Nyota tries to hit the area with magma bolts, and two of three seem to strike something.
Zeb drops off the sarcophagus and heads away from the platform, but is struck again by magic missiles, this time from a different location. Zippy tries to pick the lock on the sarcophagus with his 'magic' fishhook' and breaks it, as Zeb tries to leave the room, and Bo follows. Nasir locates the Eye and discovers that Zeb has it!
Nasir runs to the altar (through the fire wall - ouch!) and retrieves his fallen brother. Zeb and Bo run full speed around the corner (Nyota close behind) and discover a stone wall filling the passage. Bo casts obscurement as Zeb freaks out and hides in a tomb archway.
The party runs around ineffectually in the fog for a bit, and Zeb even hits Zipppy with his spear, then the fog vanishes instantly, dispelled by something. Bo's sanctuary is also destroyed. Zeb is still pretty freaked out by the events and goes charging off the other direction. He gets to the far side of the room just in time to see a wall of stone appear before him. He stops and makes a perfect target for the magic missiles that knock him unconcious.
Thyme casts a lightning bolt on the source of the magic missiles and thinks he hits. Zippy shoots some arrows, but they all seem to bounce off something. Lather, rinse repeat. Nasir heals Zeb, who staggers to his feet. Bo has been running all this time, reaches the wall and leaps through. Illusion!
The opponent becomes visible, a cloaked dwarvish figure, floating above the ground. The party attacks en masse, and appear to do some damage, but the party is thoroughly spooked by this time. Nyota takes a running leap at the stone wall and passes right through. He yells back to the rest of the party that it is an illusion. Bo continues to run.
The party all flee through the now foggy (obscurement) corridor. The party regroups at the room above the lower tomb level and beats a retreat for the surface. They are surprised in the altar room above when Zeb is hit once again hit by magic missiles. The party tries to flee, but a wall of fire springs up in front of the exit. Nasir is hit with magic missiles and gets mad. He snatches Fasheen's scimitar and attacks. Most of the party continues to leave, but Nyota (with magma spray) and Nasir continue to battle the creature. Fasheen turns at the doorway and prepares his bow as his brother Nasir continues to fight. Zeb turns as well and hurls his magical spear at the creature, doing some damage. Nasir is now seriously wounded, but he continues to fight doggedly. Fasheen, Zeb, Nyota and Nasir continue to hammer their foe, and finally Zeb deals it the death blow!
As the party watches, a greenish-blue light slithers out of the fallen remains. Before the party can see what happens they break and run. Everyone meets up back at the camp site. The Eye is in hand!
Benik, Zippy, Nyota and Fasheen decide to head back into the temple to see what they can find. They make their way in without incident, and discover a large burn mark where their foe fell yesterday. They also find a large melt and burn mark on one of the sets of bronze doors leading out of the main passage. They decide to see what lies beyond.
The group explores briefly and uncovers a large storeroom. Within they find two casks of very very well aged brandy. Mmmmm. Brandy. All else within is decayed beyond use. Further exploration takes them through a kitchen complex where they find the dried remains of several Minions and a Horror laying on the floor. They discuss and come to the conclusion that the creatures all died when the main foe was slain yesterday. The group elects to head for the main sarcophagus chamber.
To make a long story short they entered the main chamber, opend the lid and discover the remains of a dwarf clad in rusty chainmail, wearing a ring, helm, and large black amulet. They also discover a scroll case and within a secret chamber beneath the sarcophagus they find a locked chest.
They take off with their loot and about 100 yards from the camp they try to disarm the trap. Ouch. That didn't work. They run for the camp to be cured and just as they arrive the poison wears off. Within the chest they find a nice pile of coinage , several potions, and two scrolls. After suitable detection they discover the black amulet is utterly evil, and several items (ring, helm, scrolls, potions) are magical. There is much rejoicing and drinking of 600 year old brandy.
[1] - Ancestral weapons are forged of mithril and tied to the blood line of a specific person. Their powers only come to the fore when wielded by one of the blood.
[2] - The inns are fortified structures, originally built by the Compact. Each consists of a large walled structure with a roomy interior courtyard and stables. They have a dozen large rooms that can be rented out, baths, and a tavern. Occasionally a travelling craftsman or merchant will rent some space under the broad eaves and set up shop temporarily.
[3] - The Compact regularly cuts back the verge and clears campsites along the road between Seaway and Gap.
[4] - The look on the party's face at this point was priceless. Really.
[5] - Benik was a combat monster this session.
[6] - The Minions and Spawn were incredibly sneaky when hiding and not moving.
[7] - This was the point the GM started thinking "Uh oh! These guys are dead meat!"
[8] - This part of the session took place Sunday AM after several people had left the session.
FINI