CHRONICLE VAULT 20080221, FROM THE LIBRARY OF RHAVUS THE FIEND-SAGE ...
Readying 10, 595 CY
Slightly disorientated from the deluge of information from the noble salamander Antyress Redpike, and certainly still nursing wounds from the fight against the black dragon, the heroes decided to rest in the chamber of pillars. The knowledge that they were in the tomb of a fallen Wind Duke of Aaqa weighed heavily on their minds and they were determined more than ever to find Allustan.
The elf monk Kaspar kept a silent vigil during the rest period as he always did. As the rest of the party awoke, Argo spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A gigantic spider phased into existence behind Kaspar, grasped him in its front legs, then winked out of existence! Everyone saw the elf monk get taken by the creature, and Duke was able to identify the means of transportation as passing into the Plane of Shadow. Whatever this creature was that took Kaspar it came and went from this other plane of existence.
With little information to go on, the heroes continued to follow the trail of Allustan the Sage hoping that the elf monk's location would be revealed. They passed through a chamber that contained beautiful but strange purple chandeliers and wisely chose not to bother them. They passage leading out sloped downward at a steep angle, descending deeper into the earth beneath the Plains of Pesh.
The chamber at the bottom held three doors - two on either side of the entrance and one in the middle at the end of a short flight of stairs. In the middle of the room the heroes found Kaspar, unconscious and hanging from a strand of purple spider silk. As they approached cautiously the massive spider emerged from the Plane of Shadow.
The spider called itself Flycatcher, and told the companions that in order to free their friend they would need to do something. Beligerent as always, Klaus demanded to know what the spider was talking about. Flycatcher explained that a short time ago a thief came up from the River of Blood and stole the "amulet." If the heroes would kill the thief and return with this item Flycatcher would release Kaspar. The giant spider directed them to the door on the left and then to follow the River of Blood to its end to find the thief. Seeing little other choice the heroes agreed.
Flycatcher returned to the Plane of Shadow, taking Kaspar with him. Argo identified Allustan's footsteps as continuing through the chamber to the center door, and Klaus decided he wanted to find out what was in there. As he approached, Flycatcher's voice demanded that the dwarf not continue. Klaus ignored the voice and tried to open the door. A bolt of lightning struck out from the trap, which he shook off. He tried again and got the same result. A third time produced a third lightning bolt, at which point the dwarf rogue realized that the door seemed to require a special "amulet" sized key. He stalked off with the rest of his companions to the door on the left to the sound of Flycatcher's whispered laughter.
Through the door was a mostly natural cavern, through which a strange river of blood-red water flowed swiftly. A natural bridge of slick stone crossed the river to the other side, where the banks were not so steep. Kong crossed easily enough, along with Argo. Duke started to cross, lost his footing but caught himself before falling and decided a rope would be helpful. He tossed one end of the rope to Argo and tied the other end around his waist. About halfway through the dwarf wizard hit a slick spot and tumbled headfirst into the river. The rocks at the bottom gave him a bit of a jarring, but with the help of Argo and Kong holding the other end of the rope he clambered up to the shore. Klaus walked easily across the river.
The companions were now faced with a difficult situation. Kong could hear that the river continued a short distance down the cavern before coming to a waterfall. None of them were equipped with the water travel capabilities necessary to swim, so Duke suggested he cast fly on himself and spider climb on everyone else to navigate the tunnel. For lack of a better idea they decided on this, but realized they would have to rest so that the wizard could prepare the necessary spells. They rested in the cavern.
After the rest period, Duke cast the requisite spells and they were off. The dwarf wizard, under the effects of the fly spell, had to go ahead of the rest of the party - his spell wore off sooner and gave him a faster movement than the others. He flew ahead and found that the River of Blood did indeed come to a waterfall in a narrow tunnel, which he followed down roughly one hundred and fifty feet to a small lake of blood, which tumbled again over another waterfall down about seventy feet. From there the blood water pooled and exited via some unknown underground exit in a large chamber at the bottom.
As he stood in the chamber alone, Duke caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was a humanoid shape that ducked into one of the crevices of the cave. He lit a light spell but did not get a good look at the person. He decided (wisely) to wait until the rest of his companions arrived before investigating further.
After an hour Argo, Klaus, and Kong arrived climbing along the ceiling. Duke pointed out the stranger in the corner, who stepped forward and lit a strange lamp. The lamp shed green light, and illuminated everyone with glowing faerie fire. The man was of average height and wore a heavy cloak and a greatsword on his back. He approached cautiously.
Duke asked him who he was the man replied that he was Moreto, Marquis of Ravenstone from the White Kingdom. No one had ever heard of this place, and Moreto indicated it was a nation of his own people deep beneath the surface - a kingdom of true ghouls. He shed little other light on the subject other than this. Kong point-blank asked him if he was the one who stole the "amulet" from the spider Flycatcher. At this, Moreto laughed.
He asked if Flycatcher sent them to kill him, and when they confirmed this he replied with a counter-offer - help him kill Flycatcher and he would give them the "amulet" and whatever treasure the shadow spider had accumulated. Moreto explained that the spider was an obstacle in his path towards the surface world, and that the two had reached something of a standstill.
The heroes were unsure of who to trust, and rightfully so. On one hand they had an obviously psychotic shadow spider holding their friend hostage. On the other they had a sinister true ghoul with dubious goals wanting to escape. After much debate they decided to side with Moreto and return up the River of Blood and kill Flycatcher. Unfortunately, Duke needed another rest period in order to get everyone up (though Moreto had his own means - a cloak of the bat).
During the rest period Moreto probed the heroes for information on the surface world. He didn't get much information, but he did reveal that he had uncovered whispered legends amongst his own people about a dark time of writhing decay. He was sent by the ruling body of the White Kingdom to the surface world to determine the validity of these prophecies. The heroes let some information slip about Kyuss and the Age of Worms, which Moreto was greatly interested in - but the conversation ended there. Perhaps for the best.
After the rest period, all of the heroes used the power of the spider climb spell to clambor up the sides of the slick tunnel while Moreto flew up. It was about an hour before the heroes reached the top, and there as they approached Flycatcher's chamber the true ghoul asked about tactics. Still not trusting their new-found ally, the companions were vague, talking of "charging" and "staying prepared." This seemed to worry Moreto.
Eventually they reached the door across the ledge, and Moreto positioned himself amidst the party near the rear. Kong kicked down the door, and the true ghoul's strange green lantern illuminated Flycatcher despite him not being on this plane. The barbarian gave a mighty yell and charged, and managed to hit the shadow spider on the Plane of Shadow. Klaus moved into a flanking position on the other side of Flycatcher and Argo drew his daggers. Moreto drew his flaming greatsword and approached as well.
After the initial attack, the shadow spider phased into this plane and flew into a berserker rage upon spotting Moreto. Flycatcher was not to be reasoned with as he brought all of his attacks to bear against his opponents. However, given the element of surprise and a good deal of luck, the heroes managed to drop the shadow spider with the barest hint of a threat. The spider curled up, dead, and Moreto stabbed the creature repeatededly for good measure. He helped very little during the battle.
Afterwards, Moreto thanked the heroes and held up his end of the bargain. He tossed to the ground the "amulet" which they discovered was actually a disc of blue crystal about six inches in diameter engraved with runes. Moreto then took his leave and the companions watched him go.
After a thorough search Klaus found the unconscious Kaspar in the adjoining chamber. They dragged him out as they tried to figure out what to do. When Klaus picked up the seal left by the true ghoul he was suddenly surrounded by four djinni, who demanded he put down the Seal of Law. The dwarf did, and the djinni disappeared after a minute. Curious to see what would happen, Argo picked up the seal - and found himself surrounded by four invisible stalkers, which disappeared when he dropped the object. Duke decided to try his luck, and was suddenly surrounded by four greater air elementals that disappeared after he dropped it. Kong thought it best not to try his luck.
The conversation then turned as to how to get the seal to the door, which was the way that Allustan had went. Eventually they settled on a Tenser's floating disc to carry the seal to the doorway, which worked. The chamber beyond was a shrine of some sort dedicated to the Wind Duke general Icosiol, with a single exit that Allustan had taken. It was unlocked so Klaus opened it.
On the other side was a strange sight indeed. A large metal spike protruded from the ceiling and terminated at the apex of a ball of electrical energy. Inside this globe was the unconscious form of Allustan. Their goal finally within their grasp, Klaus boldly stepped forward - and quickly dodged the bolt of lightning that shot out from the metal spike. Every six seconds another bolt of lightning shot out, but luckily Klaus was very nimble and was under Duke's elemental protection spell. His ducking and dodging brought him back to the entrance.
The heroes decided to attack the metal spike, with Duke volunteering since no one else had enough ranged firepower to damage the thing. It took the better part of an hour, but through judicious use of the acid splash spell the dwarf wizard finally destroyed the metal spike. The lightning globe shattered, sending Allustan tumbling to the ground. Everyone rushed forward and found that the sage was bleeding profusely.
Argo shared a healing potion with Allustan, who awoke in a shock. He greeted the heroes warmly and asked what they were doing here. When confronted with confused looks, the sage explained that he had just found this chamber with the metal spike not a few minutes ago. Duke recognized the signs of a temporal stasis spell and informed Allustan that he was stuck in the globe for at least a week based on what they had heard in Diamond Lake.
Allustan was slightly confused but recovered quickly. When they told him about Eligos' findings and that they were sent to find Malakara the Mad Mage, the sage's countenance grew dark. He admitted that Malakara was probably the best course of action, but that the elderly wizard had a chaotic temperance. Neither Eligos nor Allustan had spoken or had any dealings with the Mad Mage for quite some time, but he told him where to find the reclusive man. Along the barren southern shore of the Nyr Dyv (the Lake of Unknown Depths) there was a peninsula called Point Hollow. There a raging storm of metal encircled Malakara's crystal tower. It was roughly 150 miles up the coast from Elmshire.
Duke gave Allustan Eligos' notes along with a copy of the Apostolic Scrolls, and the sage encouraged the heroes to finish exploring Icosiol's tomb. If the Age of Worms were really approaching it would be helpful to have as many tools at their disposal as they could, and certainly even just a portion of the Rod of Seven Parts could be helpful. He told them that he would return to Diamond Lake and study up on what Eligos had sent, after which the heroes could bring it to Malakara.
It was at that point that Duke brought up the dragon. Allustan was visibly upset when they told him that the black dragon had attacked Diamond Lake searching for the sage, and that the sage's home was one of those that were destroyed. Many of the townsfolk had died but the heroes drove the dragon away at the entrance to the Whispering Cairn. Allustan recovered quickly and told the companions to meet him at the inn back in Diamond Lake once they were complete. The sage also informed them the command word for the Seal of Law so that they could handle it without summoning angry elementals.
The heroes were seemingly at an impass. Klaus felt pretty confident in his searching skills, and hadn't found anything unusual or hidden so far in the tomb. The one area so far as yet unsearched was the River of Blood's cascading waterfalls. They decided to take a quick pass over the area and see what they could find. Duke took the Seal of Law.
Lo and behold, behind the second waterfall, the Seal of Law illuminated a secret door in the rock face which opened mysteriously when they approached. Beyond was a long narrow passage, and it ended at a set of massive adamantine-laid granite double doors. Like before the Seal of Law glowed brightly when brought forth and the doors swung open. The chamber beyond the doors was unlike any they had seen before.
The ceiling was easily sixty feet high and lit by elongated metal lanterns that glowed with the colors of the rainbow. A white marble sarcophagus floated in the air at the end of the room, ten feet off the floor, and the heroes could make out the image of Icosiol, Wind Duke of Aaqa, upon the sarcophagus' bottom. The walls of the chamber were carved to depict a funeral procession that wound up in a spiral, showing Wind Dukes, djinni, air elementsl, and other elemental servants of law in mourning as they attended the body of a fallen general. After the first spiral, the upper sections showed the general's ascension into a primal vortex of wind and thunder.
The heroes approached with reverence to the sarcophagus, knowing that they were standing before the final resting place of the bearer of the Staff of Law. With Kong's help, Argo scrambled up to the top and found a spot to fit the Seal of Law. Snapping it into place, the sarcophagus slowly floated to the ground and opened gently. Inside were the moldering physical remains of Icosiol along with his most prized possessions.
The swords born by the Wind Duke were known as the sword of Aaqa and the lightning sword. When Argo picked them up, he felt a momentary rush of anger, then contentment and a sense of wonder. The weapons resized to fit his halfling hands.
Also amongst Icosiol's possessions was the ring of the wind dukes, which Duke claimed. The final artifact in the sarcophagus was perhaps the most valuable. It was the seventh segment to the fabled Rod of Seven Parts, a weapon and a tool of great power. They took the fragment, for its powers alone would be helpful to their goal.
The heroes exited the tomb of Icosiol on Readying 10. A cold wind and flurries greeted their arrival, with their next goal in mind - to meet with Malakara the Mad Mage.
Session Updates
Alright, start as usual around 7 pm tomorrow. Nothing else to update here.
Quest Cards Completed
* Return to Allustan with Eligos' Notes
* Rescue Allustan
Quest Cards In Progress
* What's Ilthane Up To?
* Speak with Malakara the Mad Mage
* Recover Rod of Seven Parts (Optional)
XP Recap
10th-level Character 12,000 XP
11th-level Characters 8,000 XP
'Till next, Game On!
"Weird" Dave Olson
Dragonfyre Gaming Association
weird.dave.dfga@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Age of Worms Campaign Update 2/7/2008
CHRONICLE VAULT 20080207, FROM THE LIBRARY OF RHAVUS THE FIEND-SAGE ...
Readying 7, 595 CY
The Champion's Game of the City of Greyhawk ended on Fireseek 22, with the Kings of the Road being declared the champions. This year's games did nto go as smoothly as previous years, however, what with the appearance of the Apostle of Kyuss - an ulgurstasta of immense proportions - during the final match. But the heroes prevailed and were treated like - well, like kings.
Following the discovery of Eligos' murdered body on Fireseek 23, the heroes felt that things were not quite over as far as Kyuss and the Age of Worms was concerned. But for the time being the Free City treated them celebrities. Lord Mayor Nerof Gasgal invited them to dinner on Fireseek 24, where he secretly thanked the companions for bringing him the list of officials who had been replaced by dopplegangers. With their well-earned money, the heroes hit the town hard, shopping for new magical toys to upgrade or replace existing ones.
But the death of Eligos gnawed at them, and the knowledge that their actions may have brought upon the sage's death weighed heavily upon all of them. Duke suggested that they pool their resources together and pay to have Eligos resurrected. It was agreed, and they brought the high-ranking priest of Pelor to where the city was storing the sage's body. On Fireseek 26, Eligos the Sage was brought back to the world of the living.
He was disoriented to be sure, but when asked about the note he was writing he was quick to explain. Both Eligos and Allustan were once apprentices to the same master, the legendary wizard Malakara the Mad. Most of the heroes had heard this name, though usually in conjunction with fantastic stories of magic and adventure that have surely become exaggerated tales over the years. Nonetheless, the Mad Mage should be alerted to this information about the Age of Worms - it is possible he even knows more about what's going on.
Unfortunately, Eligos and Malakara had a bit of a falling out, the details of which the sage was not willing to go into. But Allustan was always on better terms with the old wizard, and he should know of the Mad Mage's current location. Eligos returned home to recuperate, and then told the heroes that they should probably get out of town quickly. He was, and made arrangements to leave Greyhawk the next day.
The heroes did their best to keep a low profile while they waited for orders to be fulfilled. Kong had a custom suit of magical armor made, Argo ordered a pair of magical daggers to augment his already impressive skills, and Kaspar kept mostly to himself. Duke worked on scribing scrolls while Klaus busied himself with finding the Thieves' Guild of the city. He was unsuccessful.
All of the equipment was ready to go by Readying 2 and they prepared to leave the very same day. With Duke's caravan, it was agreed that Klaus and Kaspar would ride with the dwarf wizard while Argo rode his dire badger companion Bacon and Kong rode a horse. Then the barbarian saw something catch his eye on the way to the stables. It was a yak, and the image of the proud Kong sitting astride such a powerful beast was one that he couldn't pass up. He offered the keeper of the yak several hundred gold for the beast, which the peasant man was only to happy to take.
So, caravan, badger, and yak left the Free City of Greyhawk on Readying 2 bound for Diamond Lake, the home of Allustan. It was a four day journey, and the mid-winter winds whipped furiously about them. The region around Greyhawk and the Cairn Hills did not get much snow, but they saw a few flakes here and there along the road. Mainly it was just the biting wind.
On Readying 6 the heroes arrived in Diamond Lake, and immediately they knew something was wrong. Not a soul could they see on the roads of the mining town, and a few of the buildings seemed destroyed - almost melted. As they rode through the main street, a few of the townsfolk rushed up to greet them. They asked if they had seen the dragon that attacked the town just a few days ago. It was black dragon, who was demanding Allustan be brought before him. The sage's home was destroyed, along with a few adjacent buildings, and many people were killed before someone finally mentioned that Allustan was last seen a few miles away in one of the many old caves that dotted the area. Called the Whispering Cairn by the locals, it was a site that the sage had been spending quite a bit of time at recently. The black dragon flew away to that location, leaving the citizens of Diamond Lake to cower in fear.
The heroes immediately set out for the Whispering Cairn. It was possible that this dragon was Ilthane herself, perhaps seeking Allustan for his involvement in the destruction of the clutch of eggs in the Twisted Branch tribe. It was a short journey to the site, and they left their mounts a distance away as they approached the entrance to the Whispering Cairn on foot.
It was Kaspar's sharp elven eyesight that caught the first bit of movement beyond the cave entrance. The companions prepared themselves by scattering and taking up defensible positions. Their prudence was rewarded when a large black dragon swooped down and landed on the cairn entrance. It was definitely not Ilthane, they surmised, but the dragon did demand to know what the heroes were doing.
Klaus antagonized the dragon foolishly, perhaps thinking ... well, to be honest no one really knows what he was thinking. His rude actions prompted the dragon to spit a line of acid at him, which carried some sort of poisonous taint along with the flesh-eating acid. The black dragon landed, and melee was engaged with the beast.
It was a tough battle against a tough foe. The dragon brought all of its considerable combat skills to bare against the companions, managing to knock down Kong, Argo, and Duke at separate times. Feeling that his fists were useless against their foe, Kaspar stayed back for most of the fight, running in with lightning speed when he saw one of his party members fall.
Eventually, the black dragon was wounded to the point where he did not want to fight anymore, and uttered a curse against the heroes. "Ilthane and Dragotha take you!" he spat as he flapped his wings and flew away, keeping low to the hills so as to thwart any more spells or arrows.
The heroes were successful, but the fight drained them almost completely. Curiosity got the best of them, however, and they decided to venture into the Whispering Cairn to see how far they could get. The first chamber inside was well-traveled, but Argo was able to pick up Allustan's trail. They followed it to an opaque blackness filling a doorway. Duke identified it as some sort of portal, and Argo verified it was safe. Walking through it was like passing through a wall of mud, but they all emerged through the viscous portal unscathed.
The other side was a hallway where screaming winds kept up a strange piping sound as it passed over holes in the wall. Despite the wind Argo was still able to follow Allustan's tracks, which led into a large chamber containing many pillars. Upon the pillars and walls were runes, runes of a long-dead language that Duke could barely make out. It was based off of Auran, the language of the wind elementals, but was far older. He was able to pick out a few phrases - "glorious Icosiol", "Incomparable Army", and "Battle of Pesh" were all he could read. Everyone started to wonder exactly where they were.
Allustan's tracks continued on to a small intersection with three doors and a statue of a large armored man holding a sword and scales of balance. The sage's footprints led right, but the door from the left door suddenly burst open. Everyone prepared for the worst as two being emerged. The first was a huge fire elemental, crackling with the life, and the second was a large and distinguished looking salamander.
The salamander carried a long spear but was not holding it threateningly. In fact, the normally evil creature from the Elemental Plane of Fire seemed to be in a chatty mood! He introduced himself as Antyress Redpike, Earl of Coalchester of the Coalchester Salamanders, charged with guarding the tomb of Icosiol for all eternity. He invited the heroes into his chamber, which they discovered was layered with red hot coals, and asked if they knew where they were. When Kaspar ventured a guess of the Cairn Hills, Redpike laughed. He called the heroes "young whippersnappers" and led them back to the chamber of pillars so that he could properly tell his tale.
Thousands of years ago, the Earl of Coalchester explained, the forces of Chaos clashed with the forces of Law. On one side was the Queen of Chaos and her champion, Miska the Wolf-Spider, and on the other were the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, charged with upholding law for all eternity. Their conflict raged for time immemorial, until finally they met for a final confrontation on the Prime Material Plane. There, on the Plains of Pesh, the Wind Dukes fought the Queen of Chaos and Miska. The leader of the Wind Dukes was the mighty general Icosiol, who wielded the famous Staff of Law. It was with this powerful artifact that he pierced Miska the Wolf-Spider, defeating the forces of Chaos but killing Icosiol and splintering the item into seven parts. The multiverse knows this now as the Rod of Seven Parts.
After the battle, the Wind Dukes knew their time was fading. And so they built many tombs for their fallen heroes. Icosiol was buried under the Plains of Pesh themselves, and the Wind Dukes extracted an oath from the Elemental Prince of Fire to protect the mighty general's burial site. The noble salamander family of Coalchester was selected to serve as guard.
And thus has it been for many centuries. It was a lot for the companions to take in, and they decided to rest for a period before continuing on. Antyress Redpike did mention seeing a bearded human cross his path a few days ago, confirming Argo's tracking skills. The noble salamander returned to his chamber and the heroes bedded down in the room of pillars, thinking on what they had learned.
Session Updates
Hey, this one is almost on time. Getting better, huh? At any rate, next session is on Feb 14 - Valentine's Day. If someone has something else going on, let me know. Otherwise it's game as usual.
Quest Cards In Progress
* What's Ilthane Up To?
* Return to Allustan with Eligos' Notes
* Rescue Allustan
XP Recap
10th-level Characters 6,000
11th-level Characters 3,050
'Till next, Game On!
"Weird" Dave Olson
Dragonfyre Gaming Association
weird.dave.dfga@gmail.com
Readying 7, 595 CY
The Champion's Game of the City of Greyhawk ended on Fireseek 22, with the Kings of the Road being declared the champions. This year's games did nto go as smoothly as previous years, however, what with the appearance of the Apostle of Kyuss - an ulgurstasta of immense proportions - during the final match. But the heroes prevailed and were treated like - well, like kings.
Following the discovery of Eligos' murdered body on Fireseek 23, the heroes felt that things were not quite over as far as Kyuss and the Age of Worms was concerned. But for the time being the Free City treated them celebrities. Lord Mayor Nerof Gasgal invited them to dinner on Fireseek 24, where he secretly thanked the companions for bringing him the list of officials who had been replaced by dopplegangers. With their well-earned money, the heroes hit the town hard, shopping for new magical toys to upgrade or replace existing ones.
But the death of Eligos gnawed at them, and the knowledge that their actions may have brought upon the sage's death weighed heavily upon all of them. Duke suggested that they pool their resources together and pay to have Eligos resurrected. It was agreed, and they brought the high-ranking priest of Pelor to where the city was storing the sage's body. On Fireseek 26, Eligos the Sage was brought back to the world of the living.
He was disoriented to be sure, but when asked about the note he was writing he was quick to explain. Both Eligos and Allustan were once apprentices to the same master, the legendary wizard Malakara the Mad. Most of the heroes had heard this name, though usually in conjunction with fantastic stories of magic and adventure that have surely become exaggerated tales over the years. Nonetheless, the Mad Mage should be alerted to this information about the Age of Worms - it is possible he even knows more about what's going on.
Unfortunately, Eligos and Malakara had a bit of a falling out, the details of which the sage was not willing to go into. But Allustan was always on better terms with the old wizard, and he should know of the Mad Mage's current location. Eligos returned home to recuperate, and then told the heroes that they should probably get out of town quickly. He was, and made arrangements to leave Greyhawk the next day.
The heroes did their best to keep a low profile while they waited for orders to be fulfilled. Kong had a custom suit of magical armor made, Argo ordered a pair of magical daggers to augment his already impressive skills, and Kaspar kept mostly to himself. Duke worked on scribing scrolls while Klaus busied himself with finding the Thieves' Guild of the city. He was unsuccessful.
All of the equipment was ready to go by Readying 2 and they prepared to leave the very same day. With Duke's caravan, it was agreed that Klaus and Kaspar would ride with the dwarf wizard while Argo rode his dire badger companion Bacon and Kong rode a horse. Then the barbarian saw something catch his eye on the way to the stables. It was a yak, and the image of the proud Kong sitting astride such a powerful beast was one that he couldn't pass up. He offered the keeper of the yak several hundred gold for the beast, which the peasant man was only to happy to take.
So, caravan, badger, and yak left the Free City of Greyhawk on Readying 2 bound for Diamond Lake, the home of Allustan. It was a four day journey, and the mid-winter winds whipped furiously about them. The region around Greyhawk and the Cairn Hills did not get much snow, but they saw a few flakes here and there along the road. Mainly it was just the biting wind.
On Readying 6 the heroes arrived in Diamond Lake, and immediately they knew something was wrong. Not a soul could they see on the roads of the mining town, and a few of the buildings seemed destroyed - almost melted. As they rode through the main street, a few of the townsfolk rushed up to greet them. They asked if they had seen the dragon that attacked the town just a few days ago. It was black dragon, who was demanding Allustan be brought before him. The sage's home was destroyed, along with a few adjacent buildings, and many people were killed before someone finally mentioned that Allustan was last seen a few miles away in one of the many old caves that dotted the area. Called the Whispering Cairn by the locals, it was a site that the sage had been spending quite a bit of time at recently. The black dragon flew away to that location, leaving the citizens of Diamond Lake to cower in fear.
The heroes immediately set out for the Whispering Cairn. It was possible that this dragon was Ilthane herself, perhaps seeking Allustan for his involvement in the destruction of the clutch of eggs in the Twisted Branch tribe. It was a short journey to the site, and they left their mounts a distance away as they approached the entrance to the Whispering Cairn on foot.
It was Kaspar's sharp elven eyesight that caught the first bit of movement beyond the cave entrance. The companions prepared themselves by scattering and taking up defensible positions. Their prudence was rewarded when a large black dragon swooped down and landed on the cairn entrance. It was definitely not Ilthane, they surmised, but the dragon did demand to know what the heroes were doing.
Klaus antagonized the dragon foolishly, perhaps thinking ... well, to be honest no one really knows what he was thinking. His rude actions prompted the dragon to spit a line of acid at him, which carried some sort of poisonous taint along with the flesh-eating acid. The black dragon landed, and melee was engaged with the beast.
It was a tough battle against a tough foe. The dragon brought all of its considerable combat skills to bare against the companions, managing to knock down Kong, Argo, and Duke at separate times. Feeling that his fists were useless against their foe, Kaspar stayed back for most of the fight, running in with lightning speed when he saw one of his party members fall.
Eventually, the black dragon was wounded to the point where he did not want to fight anymore, and uttered a curse against the heroes. "Ilthane and Dragotha take you!" he spat as he flapped his wings and flew away, keeping low to the hills so as to thwart any more spells or arrows.
The heroes were successful, but the fight drained them almost completely. Curiosity got the best of them, however, and they decided to venture into the Whispering Cairn to see how far they could get. The first chamber inside was well-traveled, but Argo was able to pick up Allustan's trail. They followed it to an opaque blackness filling a doorway. Duke identified it as some sort of portal, and Argo verified it was safe. Walking through it was like passing through a wall of mud, but they all emerged through the viscous portal unscathed.
The other side was a hallway where screaming winds kept up a strange piping sound as it passed over holes in the wall. Despite the wind Argo was still able to follow Allustan's tracks, which led into a large chamber containing many pillars. Upon the pillars and walls were runes, runes of a long-dead language that Duke could barely make out. It was based off of Auran, the language of the wind elementals, but was far older. He was able to pick out a few phrases - "glorious Icosiol", "Incomparable Army", and "Battle of Pesh" were all he could read. Everyone started to wonder exactly where they were.
Allustan's tracks continued on to a small intersection with three doors and a statue of a large armored man holding a sword and scales of balance. The sage's footprints led right, but the door from the left door suddenly burst open. Everyone prepared for the worst as two being emerged. The first was a huge fire elemental, crackling with the life, and the second was a large and distinguished looking salamander.
The salamander carried a long spear but was not holding it threateningly. In fact, the normally evil creature from the Elemental Plane of Fire seemed to be in a chatty mood! He introduced himself as Antyress Redpike, Earl of Coalchester of the Coalchester Salamanders, charged with guarding the tomb of Icosiol for all eternity. He invited the heroes into his chamber, which they discovered was layered with red hot coals, and asked if they knew where they were. When Kaspar ventured a guess of the Cairn Hills, Redpike laughed. He called the heroes "young whippersnappers" and led them back to the chamber of pillars so that he could properly tell his tale.
Thousands of years ago, the Earl of Coalchester explained, the forces of Chaos clashed with the forces of Law. On one side was the Queen of Chaos and her champion, Miska the Wolf-Spider, and on the other were the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, charged with upholding law for all eternity. Their conflict raged for time immemorial, until finally they met for a final confrontation on the Prime Material Plane. There, on the Plains of Pesh, the Wind Dukes fought the Queen of Chaos and Miska. The leader of the Wind Dukes was the mighty general Icosiol, who wielded the famous Staff of Law. It was with this powerful artifact that he pierced Miska the Wolf-Spider, defeating the forces of Chaos but killing Icosiol and splintering the item into seven parts. The multiverse knows this now as the Rod of Seven Parts.
After the battle, the Wind Dukes knew their time was fading. And so they built many tombs for their fallen heroes. Icosiol was buried under the Plains of Pesh themselves, and the Wind Dukes extracted an oath from the Elemental Prince of Fire to protect the mighty general's burial site. The noble salamander family of Coalchester was selected to serve as guard.
And thus has it been for many centuries. It was a lot for the companions to take in, and they decided to rest for a period before continuing on. Antyress Redpike did mention seeing a bearded human cross his path a few days ago, confirming Argo's tracking skills. The noble salamander returned to his chamber and the heroes bedded down in the room of pillars, thinking on what they had learned.
Session Updates
Hey, this one is almost on time. Getting better, huh? At any rate, next session is on Feb 14 - Valentine's Day. If someone has something else going on, let me know. Otherwise it's game as usual.
Quest Cards In Progress
* What's Ilthane Up To?
* Return to Allustan with Eligos' Notes
* Rescue Allustan
XP Recap
10th-level Characters 6,000
11th-level Characters 3,050
'Till next, Game On!
"Weird" Dave Olson
Dragonfyre Gaming Association
weird.dave.dfga@gmail.com
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Age of Worms Campaign Update 1/31/2008
CHRONICLE VAULT 20080131, FROM THE LIBRARY OF RHAVUS THE FIEND-SAGE ...
Fireseek 23, 595 CY
Tragedy stood before the heroes-turned-gladiators, along with many unanswered questions. On Fireseek 20 the halfling rogue Shanks died from a magical glyph guarding a secret door, and then was reincarnated on Fireseek 21 into a human woman. Sadly, her hours on Oerth were numbered and she met her end in the gullet of Madtooth the Hungry during that day's Champion's Game match. But the Kings of the Road were ultimately victorious over the strange and dangerous froghemoth, but sadness still clung at their hearts.
As they recovered in the Coenoby after their match, contemplating their next move, a bedraggled figure stumbled into the cave. It was a dwarf, sopping wet, who claimed to have fled a warren of ghouls in the undercity of Greyhawk by removing a large stone plug from a small pool deeper into the Coenoby cavern system. He introduced himself as Klaus Kopperthumb of the Flinty Hills, and asked if there was a way to get outside the city from this cave system. The heroes exchanged glances, and Duke made a proposition - if Klaus would join the Kings of the Road for the final match of the Champion's Games, they would share a portion of the loot and help the dwarf get out of the city (since that seemed to be what he wanted). Klaus agreed, and was filled in with what the heroes had learned up to this point.
The first thing Klaus suggested was to check out the secret passage Shanks had found, since people don't booby trap wine cellars with slay living spells unless there's something to hide. With the dwarf rogue in the lead, the companions (all of them this time) headed up stairs and to the wine cellar. Argo kept a watchful eye out, but it seemed as though the guards were enjoying their last night on duty and were not particularly attentive. They made it to the cellar and secret door without incident.
Descending the staircase they came upon a square room containing three coffins propped up against the far wall. The entire area reeked of death and decay, which became all the more potent as four worm-ridden spawns of Kyuss lurched out of the shadows. They charged forward, but the heroes were better prepared for them. Argo cut down one with lightning flashes of his daggers, Kaspar and Klaus worked on another together, Kong managed to cleave two with his greatsword, and Duke polished off the last one. No one was infected with the tiny green worms, especially the barbarian whom had a babau slime spell cast on him that helped immensely.
A side passage from this chamber contained a small hole descending into the sewers below, which it seemed whomever lived here used as a garbage. The other side passage was a narrow hallway, and they took a left at a fork in the path that led to a strange room. It held what appeared to be an ancient pump system, though neither Duke nor Klaus (the dwarves) had any clue as to how it worked. But there was a pipe that exited the room, which was just large enough for a halfling to fit through. A halfling like Argo, who - with the help of Kong - hopped up into the pipe and crawled along its length.
There was a definite greenish glow at the end, which wasn't too far down, and upon reaching the end the halfling ranger was shocked and dismayed at what confronted him. It was a huge, bloated, pulsating, yellow grub or worm, encased in a slight greenish shell. Argo found that the greenish shell surrounding the thing - which he correctly guessed was an ulgurstasta that Eligos had warned them about - prevented him from continuing into the room itself, so he decided to head back (hastily). He related all of this to his companions, who grew more determined to find whatever lived down here and stop it.
Going back down the passage and taking the only remaining path they came upon a large chamber. It contained what appeared to be practice dummies and rusty training equipment, which seemed odd. But Kaspar remembered that the church of Kord, god of strength, used to control the Free City Arena, and these types of training chambers were not uncommon amongst that god's faithful. There was a single door leading on, and Klaus checked it for traps and found nothing. Cautiously they continued.
The chamber beyond had a palpable evil feel to it, with a single pedestal in the center of the room. On the pedestal was a partially unrolled ornate scroll, encased in a greenish shell, from which an emerald beam emanated out to the double doors across the room. Standing behind the pedestal, apparently once in meditation, was a grotesque humanoid, with flaccid pale skin, patchy hair, and a holy symbol around his neck - the holy symbol of Kyuss, demigod of worms and undead. He pulled out a morningstar and laughed gutturally and stepped forward, at which point the heroes noticed his legs were those of a goat. The goat-man apparently knew of the companions, as he called them out by name and laughed at them for attempting to stop the Age of Worms. The five companions then descended upon the tielfling cleric of Kyuss with extreme ferocity, beating him to within an inch of his life after mere moments.
The cleric of Kyuss then fell to his knees and dropped his weapon, calling out for mercy. Kong would give none, however, and chopped his head off with a well-timed critical strike. The headless corpse collapsed to the ground. Duke rushed over to the pedestal and correctly identified the object as the Apostolic Scroll, sold to Loris Raknian by the mind flayer Xyrzog several weeks before. But the greenish shell prevented anyone from touching or moving the artifact. Klaus opened the double doors and revealed the yellowish grub-like worm Argo had seen also encased in the greenish shell. This was the Apostle of Kyuss, summoned by the Apostolic Scrolls, and the heroes knew they were going to be in trouble. But try as they might they could not break the shell.
Duke was able to read a bit of the partially unrolled scroll (it was written in an old dialect of Common), and it told of how the Age of Worms could be started by the Apostle of Kyuss devouring a champion. Clearly this ulgurstasta was going to be unleashed during the final match of Champion's Game, where last year's champins (Auric's Band) would be facing the Kings of the Road. But would this be stopped with the death of the Kyuss cleric? This was a question that did not have an answer, so the heroes decided to try and reason with Auric's Band once they returned.
The only other door from the altar chamber was apparently the Kyuss cleric's personal quarters. Inside they found his personal possessions, along with a zombie. Not a worm-ridden zombie, just a regular zombie standing by a table with two empty goblets and a empty bottle of wine. Argo approached and found the zombie to be non-responsive, and noted that she (it was a female human zombie) had died of strangulation. The marks were still around her neck, and a strange indentation of a coiling snake was imprinted on the neck as well. Kong remembered seeing Loris Raknian with a ring of coiling snakes, and Kaspar put the pieces together after a moment. This zombie was Ekaym Smallcask's sister, murdered by Loris Raknian! Why the cleric of Kyuss was keeping her in his personal chambers was a thought best left unthunk.
The discussion turned towards transporting the zombie and presenting her to Ekaym. Eventually, Kong decided to put the non-responsive zombie woman in his bag of holding until they met back up with their manager, and against the advice of Klaus this is exactly what happened. The heroes returned to the Coenoby, disturbed and more than a little frightened of what might happen. They immediately confronted Auric's Band, which consisted of the warrior Auric and the wizard Khellek, and explained that unless they not fight on Fireseek 22 a giant worm was going to eat them. Of course the two champions laughed at the heroes, seeing their story as a poorly fabricated lie to cheat them out of a win. Klaus was insistent to the point of being beligerent.
After many minutes of arguing, Khellek finally agreed to one thing. At the beginning of the match, both teams would walk - not charge - to the center of the Free City Arena. Assuming nothing happened by then, they would then proceed with the match as normal. A small concession, but one that the companions finally agreed upon. Auric seemed particularly eager to face Kong in the next day's match, and the two had a small pose-off (the winner of which was not determined).
Duke also wrote three letters explaining the situation - one to Eligos, one to the Wizards' Guild, and one to the Guild of Translators. Perhaps one of them could muster some sort of resistance at the games, but there was precious little time - Ekaym would have to deliver to the messages the following day before the match.
The Kings of the Road returned to their section of the Coenoby and rested fretfully the night. The next day was Fireseek 22, the last of the Champion's Games, and a day that shall remain in memory for the City of Greyhawk for many years to come.
Ekaym took Duke's letters and promised to try and deliver them. At noon the two teams were brought up to the arena floor. The Free City Arena was packed with people - this was clearly the most populated day of the games. It was announced that Loris Raknian was running late, but that the match would begin as soon as he arrived. It was fifteen minutes later when the master of the arena finally arrived, seemingly out of breath, and announced in a grandiose voice the start of the final game. The two teams walked carefully forward, and just before they reached the center something happened.
The ground shook with the force of a small earthquake, and the crowds fell to a murmuring hush. Moments later the ground shook again, knocking Auric's Band to their feet, as a large bulge appeared in the center of the arena. Another moment later the bulge burst forth, and the ulgurstasta - the Apostle of Kyuss itself - heaved upwards with a soul-piercing shriek. Loris Raknian stood triumphant in his personal box in the eastern stands, announcing that the Age of Worms was upon us! He pointed to the arena floor, calling out the champions as the food of the Apostle of Kyuss!
The ulgurstasta crawled forward towards the fallen Auric's Band, and the companions went into action. Duke cast haste, but not before the Apostle of Kyuss grabbed Auric and swallowed him in one gulp. Kong shouted as he raged up, and charged forward, cutting the monstrous undead worm deep. But he found himself on the receiving end of the creature's chomping bit and swallowing gullet. Inside the necrotic acid at away at the mighty barbarian's very health, draining him and pulverizing him.
Outside, Kaspar took a few more shots at the distant Loris Raknian while Argo and Duke prepared to assault the Apostle of Kyuss. Khellek's band of flesh golems wailed on the undead monster but to little effect. Klaus ran for the stands, eager to confront Raknian on his own turf. Duke cast an empowered lightning bolt at the ulgurstasta and Argo carved a chunk out of its hide. This seemed to anger the thing, for at that moment it raised up on its multitude of hind legs and breathed a cone of necrotic acid at the remaining heroes.
Argo and Kaspar managed to avoid most of the blast, but Duke was not so lucky. Amongst the bile spat up was a pile of Kyuss spawn, along with Kong and Auric (both still alive but wounded). Duke went to work dispatching the spawn while the rest of the party tried to stop the worm.
Klaus managed to make his way up the wall of the arena and into the stands, where he attracted the attention of Loris Raknian. The Champion's Game organizer drew a wicked bastard sword and ran forward, cutting the dwarf rogue deep. It was then that Klaus knew he was outmatched, and decided to try and play up to the arrogant man's ego. Klaus fell to his knees and pledged his service to Raknian and Kyuss, who exulted at this turn of events. The two watched the ulgurstasta attack the heroes and Auric's Band, all the while the crafty dwarf rogue looking for a weakness.
Back in the arena, things were not going so well. Kong went down, and Kaspar dragged him out of harm's way and dropped a potion down his throat. Argo and Duke kept the Apostle of Kyuss busy as the barbarian recovered. With a (semi-) united front, the Kings of the Road finally defeated the unholy ulgurstasta, which crashed to the ground.
Raknian was stunned, and this was the moment Klaus had been waiting for. He brought his battle axe in quick and low, cutting the man deep, but instead of a retaliatory strike he found his opponent running away. Klaus gave chase, followed by Kaspar, but they failed to catch Raknian before he disappeared behind a secret door. The elven monk ran as fast as he could through the crowds to fetch a cleric, and returned minutes later with a few in tow.
Auric and Khellek conceded the battle to the heroes, considering the circumstances, and it was announced that the Kings of the Road were the final winners of the Champion's Games! What crowd was left cheered at this, and the trophies were passed out. Ekaym Smallcask thanked the heroes for their help and turned over the profits, which were a tidy sum for Argo and Duke. He then left to return to his home in Cauldron, many miles to the south.
The Kings of the Road, exhausted, left the Free City Arena champions. Not only of the gladiator games, but champions of good and justice. Something gnawed at them, however, something just outside of reach. The first thing they did was to visit Eligos the sage and see if he had learned any more of the Age of Worms. They returned to his home to find tragedy - the sage and his elven servant were dead, murdered. They found an unfinished note addressed to Allustan, requesting that the sage consult with "their former master."
Duke summed up the situation with one phrase - "I don't think we're done yet."
Session Update
Wow, sorry about the lateness of this post. Shoulda gone up a week ago. So much to write though, and I know I missed some details. But most of them are there, I think.
Quest Cards Completed
* Investigate Loris Raknian and the Apostolic Scrolls
* Find Ekaym Smallcask's Sister
Quest Cards In Progress
* What's Ilthane Up To?
* Speak with Allustan about Eligos' Research
XP Recap
9th level Characters 12,000 XP
10th level Characters 10,000 XP
'Till next, Game On!
"Weird" Dave Olson
Dragonfyre Gaming Association
weird.dave.dfga@gmail.com
Fireseek 23, 595 CY
Tragedy stood before the heroes-turned-gladiators, along with many unanswered questions. On Fireseek 20 the halfling rogue Shanks died from a magical glyph guarding a secret door, and then was reincarnated on Fireseek 21 into a human woman. Sadly, her hours on Oerth were numbered and she met her end in the gullet of Madtooth the Hungry during that day's Champion's Game match. But the Kings of the Road were ultimately victorious over the strange and dangerous froghemoth, but sadness still clung at their hearts.
As they recovered in the Coenoby after their match, contemplating their next move, a bedraggled figure stumbled into the cave. It was a dwarf, sopping wet, who claimed to have fled a warren of ghouls in the undercity of Greyhawk by removing a large stone plug from a small pool deeper into the Coenoby cavern system. He introduced himself as Klaus Kopperthumb of the Flinty Hills, and asked if there was a way to get outside the city from this cave system. The heroes exchanged glances, and Duke made a proposition - if Klaus would join the Kings of the Road for the final match of the Champion's Games, they would share a portion of the loot and help the dwarf get out of the city (since that seemed to be what he wanted). Klaus agreed, and was filled in with what the heroes had learned up to this point.
The first thing Klaus suggested was to check out the secret passage Shanks had found, since people don't booby trap wine cellars with slay living spells unless there's something to hide. With the dwarf rogue in the lead, the companions (all of them this time) headed up stairs and to the wine cellar. Argo kept a watchful eye out, but it seemed as though the guards were enjoying their last night on duty and were not particularly attentive. They made it to the cellar and secret door without incident.
Descending the staircase they came upon a square room containing three coffins propped up against the far wall. The entire area reeked of death and decay, which became all the more potent as four worm-ridden spawns of Kyuss lurched out of the shadows. They charged forward, but the heroes were better prepared for them. Argo cut down one with lightning flashes of his daggers, Kaspar and Klaus worked on another together, Kong managed to cleave two with his greatsword, and Duke polished off the last one. No one was infected with the tiny green worms, especially the barbarian whom had a babau slime spell cast on him that helped immensely.
A side passage from this chamber contained a small hole descending into the sewers below, which it seemed whomever lived here used as a garbage. The other side passage was a narrow hallway, and they took a left at a fork in the path that led to a strange room. It held what appeared to be an ancient pump system, though neither Duke nor Klaus (the dwarves) had any clue as to how it worked. But there was a pipe that exited the room, which was just large enough for a halfling to fit through. A halfling like Argo, who - with the help of Kong - hopped up into the pipe and crawled along its length.
There was a definite greenish glow at the end, which wasn't too far down, and upon reaching the end the halfling ranger was shocked and dismayed at what confronted him. It was a huge, bloated, pulsating, yellow grub or worm, encased in a slight greenish shell. Argo found that the greenish shell surrounding the thing - which he correctly guessed was an ulgurstasta that Eligos had warned them about - prevented him from continuing into the room itself, so he decided to head back (hastily). He related all of this to his companions, who grew more determined to find whatever lived down here and stop it.
Going back down the passage and taking the only remaining path they came upon a large chamber. It contained what appeared to be practice dummies and rusty training equipment, which seemed odd. But Kaspar remembered that the church of Kord, god of strength, used to control the Free City Arena, and these types of training chambers were not uncommon amongst that god's faithful. There was a single door leading on, and Klaus checked it for traps and found nothing. Cautiously they continued.
The chamber beyond had a palpable evil feel to it, with a single pedestal in the center of the room. On the pedestal was a partially unrolled ornate scroll, encased in a greenish shell, from which an emerald beam emanated out to the double doors across the room. Standing behind the pedestal, apparently once in meditation, was a grotesque humanoid, with flaccid pale skin, patchy hair, and a holy symbol around his neck - the holy symbol of Kyuss, demigod of worms and undead. He pulled out a morningstar and laughed gutturally and stepped forward, at which point the heroes noticed his legs were those of a goat. The goat-man apparently knew of the companions, as he called them out by name and laughed at them for attempting to stop the Age of Worms. The five companions then descended upon the tielfling cleric of Kyuss with extreme ferocity, beating him to within an inch of his life after mere moments.
The cleric of Kyuss then fell to his knees and dropped his weapon, calling out for mercy. Kong would give none, however, and chopped his head off with a well-timed critical strike. The headless corpse collapsed to the ground. Duke rushed over to the pedestal and correctly identified the object as the Apostolic Scroll, sold to Loris Raknian by the mind flayer Xyrzog several weeks before. But the greenish shell prevented anyone from touching or moving the artifact. Klaus opened the double doors and revealed the yellowish grub-like worm Argo had seen also encased in the greenish shell. This was the Apostle of Kyuss, summoned by the Apostolic Scrolls, and the heroes knew they were going to be in trouble. But try as they might they could not break the shell.
Duke was able to read a bit of the partially unrolled scroll (it was written in an old dialect of Common), and it told of how the Age of Worms could be started by the Apostle of Kyuss devouring a champion. Clearly this ulgurstasta was going to be unleashed during the final match of Champion's Game, where last year's champins (Auric's Band) would be facing the Kings of the Road. But would this be stopped with the death of the Kyuss cleric? This was a question that did not have an answer, so the heroes decided to try and reason with Auric's Band once they returned.
The only other door from the altar chamber was apparently the Kyuss cleric's personal quarters. Inside they found his personal possessions, along with a zombie. Not a worm-ridden zombie, just a regular zombie standing by a table with two empty goblets and a empty bottle of wine. Argo approached and found the zombie to be non-responsive, and noted that she (it was a female human zombie) had died of strangulation. The marks were still around her neck, and a strange indentation of a coiling snake was imprinted on the neck as well. Kong remembered seeing Loris Raknian with a ring of coiling snakes, and Kaspar put the pieces together after a moment. This zombie was Ekaym Smallcask's sister, murdered by Loris Raknian! Why the cleric of Kyuss was keeping her in his personal chambers was a thought best left unthunk.
The discussion turned towards transporting the zombie and presenting her to Ekaym. Eventually, Kong decided to put the non-responsive zombie woman in his bag of holding until they met back up with their manager, and against the advice of Klaus this is exactly what happened. The heroes returned to the Coenoby, disturbed and more than a little frightened of what might happen. They immediately confronted Auric's Band, which consisted of the warrior Auric and the wizard Khellek, and explained that unless they not fight on Fireseek 22 a giant worm was going to eat them. Of course the two champions laughed at the heroes, seeing their story as a poorly fabricated lie to cheat them out of a win. Klaus was insistent to the point of being beligerent.
After many minutes of arguing, Khellek finally agreed to one thing. At the beginning of the match, both teams would walk - not charge - to the center of the Free City Arena. Assuming nothing happened by then, they would then proceed with the match as normal. A small concession, but one that the companions finally agreed upon. Auric seemed particularly eager to face Kong in the next day's match, and the two had a small pose-off (the winner of which was not determined).
Duke also wrote three letters explaining the situation - one to Eligos, one to the Wizards' Guild, and one to the Guild of Translators. Perhaps one of them could muster some sort of resistance at the games, but there was precious little time - Ekaym would have to deliver to the messages the following day before the match.
The Kings of the Road returned to their section of the Coenoby and rested fretfully the night. The next day was Fireseek 22, the last of the Champion's Games, and a day that shall remain in memory for the City of Greyhawk for many years to come.
Ekaym took Duke's letters and promised to try and deliver them. At noon the two teams were brought up to the arena floor. The Free City Arena was packed with people - this was clearly the most populated day of the games. It was announced that Loris Raknian was running late, but that the match would begin as soon as he arrived. It was fifteen minutes later when the master of the arena finally arrived, seemingly out of breath, and announced in a grandiose voice the start of the final game. The two teams walked carefully forward, and just before they reached the center something happened.
The ground shook with the force of a small earthquake, and the crowds fell to a murmuring hush. Moments later the ground shook again, knocking Auric's Band to their feet, as a large bulge appeared in the center of the arena. Another moment later the bulge burst forth, and the ulgurstasta - the Apostle of Kyuss itself - heaved upwards with a soul-piercing shriek. Loris Raknian stood triumphant in his personal box in the eastern stands, announcing that the Age of Worms was upon us! He pointed to the arena floor, calling out the champions as the food of the Apostle of Kyuss!
The ulgurstasta crawled forward towards the fallen Auric's Band, and the companions went into action. Duke cast haste, but not before the Apostle of Kyuss grabbed Auric and swallowed him in one gulp. Kong shouted as he raged up, and charged forward, cutting the monstrous undead worm deep. But he found himself on the receiving end of the creature's chomping bit and swallowing gullet. Inside the necrotic acid at away at the mighty barbarian's very health, draining him and pulverizing him.
Outside, Kaspar took a few more shots at the distant Loris Raknian while Argo and Duke prepared to assault the Apostle of Kyuss. Khellek's band of flesh golems wailed on the undead monster but to little effect. Klaus ran for the stands, eager to confront Raknian on his own turf. Duke cast an empowered lightning bolt at the ulgurstasta and Argo carved a chunk out of its hide. This seemed to anger the thing, for at that moment it raised up on its multitude of hind legs and breathed a cone of necrotic acid at the remaining heroes.
Argo and Kaspar managed to avoid most of the blast, but Duke was not so lucky. Amongst the bile spat up was a pile of Kyuss spawn, along with Kong and Auric (both still alive but wounded). Duke went to work dispatching the spawn while the rest of the party tried to stop the worm.
Klaus managed to make his way up the wall of the arena and into the stands, where he attracted the attention of Loris Raknian. The Champion's Game organizer drew a wicked bastard sword and ran forward, cutting the dwarf rogue deep. It was then that Klaus knew he was outmatched, and decided to try and play up to the arrogant man's ego. Klaus fell to his knees and pledged his service to Raknian and Kyuss, who exulted at this turn of events. The two watched the ulgurstasta attack the heroes and Auric's Band, all the while the crafty dwarf rogue looking for a weakness.
Back in the arena, things were not going so well. Kong went down, and Kaspar dragged him out of harm's way and dropped a potion down his throat. Argo and Duke kept the Apostle of Kyuss busy as the barbarian recovered. With a (semi-) united front, the Kings of the Road finally defeated the unholy ulgurstasta, which crashed to the ground.
Raknian was stunned, and this was the moment Klaus had been waiting for. He brought his battle axe in quick and low, cutting the man deep, but instead of a retaliatory strike he found his opponent running away. Klaus gave chase, followed by Kaspar, but they failed to catch Raknian before he disappeared behind a secret door. The elven monk ran as fast as he could through the crowds to fetch a cleric, and returned minutes later with a few in tow.
Auric and Khellek conceded the battle to the heroes, considering the circumstances, and it was announced that the Kings of the Road were the final winners of the Champion's Games! What crowd was left cheered at this, and the trophies were passed out. Ekaym Smallcask thanked the heroes for their help and turned over the profits, which were a tidy sum for Argo and Duke. He then left to return to his home in Cauldron, many miles to the south.
The Kings of the Road, exhausted, left the Free City Arena champions. Not only of the gladiator games, but champions of good and justice. Something gnawed at them, however, something just outside of reach. The first thing they did was to visit Eligos the sage and see if he had learned any more of the Age of Worms. They returned to his home to find tragedy - the sage and his elven servant were dead, murdered. They found an unfinished note addressed to Allustan, requesting that the sage consult with "their former master."
Duke summed up the situation with one phrase - "I don't think we're done yet."
Session Update
Wow, sorry about the lateness of this post. Shoulda gone up a week ago. So much to write though, and I know I missed some details. But most of them are there, I think.
Quest Cards Completed
* Investigate Loris Raknian and the Apostolic Scrolls
* Find Ekaym Smallcask's Sister
Quest Cards In Progress
* What's Ilthane Up To?
* Speak with Allustan about Eligos' Research
XP Recap
9th level Characters 12,000 XP
10th level Characters 10,000 XP
'Till next, Game On!
"Weird" Dave Olson
Dragonfyre Gaming Association
weird.dave.dfga@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)