Week 31 - Kill ‘em all, and let the gods sort them out

I rushed through the adventure on the night, kind of keen to get it done. This description will be a little rushed, too.

21. The Star Chamber

The red waterfall crashes into a pool of jagged rocks in this large cave at the bottom of its descent. An outlet of slow-moving reddish water that seems almost black gurgles away to the south. The cavern beyond is large and wet, longer in the north-south direction and roughly fifty feet east to west. A pale greenish-yellow light reﬂects off the river and walls downstream, perhaps a hundred feet away to the north—the same light ﬂickers and refracts off tiny crystals in the roof above, almost giving this cavern the feel of being open to the night sky.

Our intrepid heoes proceeded down the chasm, spider climbing and wind walking, avoiding having to make any climb checks. At the base of the cavern is a massive chamber. Jericho investigates, and sees a man absorbed in examining something on his lap, the whole scene lit by a sickly green glow from a strange lantern.

The party approch, and Moreto hails them couteously, but Flash begins spellcasting. Here in Khyber, there is little trust between strangers, and the battle commences. The party overcome and slay Moreto (who transforms into a Spectre at death and level-drains Gauthakan) and his pet Morghs, and loot his stuff.

He had some nice gear which I failed to make use of during the battle. Drat.

Moreto was examining some sort of large circular object made of quartz - an onbect exactly the same size as that undusty curcle in the wraith’s room. Flash begins to examine it with his monocle, but as soon as he touches it, a pair of Djinni materialise and attack.

The party deals with them, and Flash determines uses his facility with magic devices to persuade the object that he is a lawful air elemental. Having done this, he can handle it without harm.

The river leads off further into the trackless depths of Khyber, so the party elect to proceed back up the fissure, and perhaps find a lock for their key. As they pass a particlar rock feature which they did not notice previously, Flash’s attention is drawn to it. Behind it, a hidden flight of stairs leads up.

— † —

22. Entrance to the True Tomb

The walls and ﬂoor of this cave have obviously been partially finished by stoneworkers. More impressive by far are the massive, fifty-foot-tall doors to the north. These dull black doors are carved with both gigantic and tiny runes, some at eye level and others much larger. The metal of the door seems pristine and freshly forged.

At the top of the stairs are a pair of massive doors - stone sheathed in adamantine. They radiate a pwerful aura, which overcomes Jericho who cannot then bring himself to approach them.

The party ponder, for a bit, how to go about openeing the massive doors. No - actually they ponder the total value of the adamantine in which the doors are sheathed. Then they ponder how to get them open. Eventually, they decide to do it the easy way, and have Gauthakan batter a hole in them. It takes a while, but eventually - eventually - the doors are dealt with.

— † —

23. The Rising Path

This chamber contains seven stone columns, each slightly taller than the next, rising slowly from the entrance to a small platform at the far end of the room before a second set of enormous doors. No ﬂoor is visible—in its place is a pit filled at a depth of eighty feet with glowing blue fog. Swirling patterns of wind and lightning dance and howl along the walls and ceiling of the chamber, filling the room with a tumultuous roar.

Each of the seven columns appears slightly different. The closest column’s top is level with the ground in the entrance room to the west. The next column is two feet higher. The third rises up to the ceiling forty feet above. The fourth is three feet higher than the second one, but rotates slowly in place. The fifth column’s upper surface seems to be covered with a thick layer of what looks like tar, and is about one foot higher than the last. The sixth column is two feet higher than the previous one but is made of a lighter colored stone. A larger column, nearly twice the diameter of the others, stands to the left of the main row.

Behind the doors is a puzzle room. A cavernous space with a set of pillars ascending to another set of doors at the far end. Flash, wind-walking, enters the room and is promptly set upon by a pair of greater air elementals whose job it is to make sure people do the room properly, dammit.

These creatures in a matter of seconds nearly kill Flash (reducing him to -8). Frith dismisses the wind-walking spell on Flash, and he gradually drifts down to the distant floor of the room with his ring of Feather Fall, which somehow activates. Jericho leaps down to intercept him.

Meanwhile, Gauthakan engages the elementals. It is a hard fight. Gradually they wear him down, as Jericho intercepts Flash and forces a curative potion down his throat, and they each secure a hold on the nearby wall and begin the labourious task of climbing back up. But Gauthakan is eventually victorious.

After that near-disaster, the party elect to rest and recover their strength, as Frith tends to their many injuries and beseeches his gods for a few Dismissal spells.

— † —

Next day, Jericho with the aid of Flash's Spider Climb spell investigates the chamber. One of the pillars has a circular dpression on top, obviouslyy designed to fit the seal they fond on Moreto's body. He places the seal in its place, and is carried up towards the ceiling whic, it is now obvious, is illusionary in this spot.

24. Icosiol’s Mausoleum

This chamber is modestly sized but has a very high ceiling: nearly sixty feet high. The room is lit by elongated metal lanterns that glow with the colors of the rainbow. A white marble sarcophagus ﬂoats in the air at the far end of the room, ten feet oﬀ the ﬂoor. The sarcophagus bottom is carved with an image of a sleeping Wind Duke, two swords resting on his chest and a winged helmet at his feet.

The walls are carved to depict a funeral procession that winds up in a spiral, showing Wind Dukes, djinni, air elementals, and other elemental servants of Law in mourning as they attend the body of a fallen general. After the ﬁrst spiral, the upper sections show the general’s ascension into a primal vortex of wind and thunder. Many-eyed abominations, frog-like humanoids, and tentacled demons are trampled beneath his feet as he rises into a golden doorway at the end of the fresco.

Jericho moves carefully into the chamber above, and is spotted by the last guardian of the Tomb of Icosiol: a creature of chaos bound to serve and guard, an Occulus demon.

It attacks Jericho with its eye beams, and Jericho is forced to flee. The party arrive in the chamber one by one to engage te monster. first Gauthakan, then Frith, Then Flash and Jericho. They are blasted with eye beams and attacked physically. Frith attempts three times to dismiss the monster, but for naught. Eventually, after another hard fight their combined spells and strenght bring it low.

And finally, there is only the sarcophagus. The true resting place of Icosiol, wandering duke, wind duke of Aaqua, bearer of the Staff of Law.

The party place the seal in its place, and the sarcophagus opens. Within the sarcophagus are treasures:

A shortsword and a longsword, meant to be weilded together.
A ring, granting strange powers to the wearer.
A fragment of the Staff of Law, also known as the Rod of Seven parts

A cutscene ensues:

All four of these objects are magic items of great power. If the PCs claim them, they feel a momentary rush of anger and jealousy, but this rush quickly gives way to a feeling of peace and welcome. The spirit of long-dead Wind Duke Icosiol can feel the impending doom that is the Age of Worms, and understands that the weapons of the Vaati must be used once again to ﬁght against the encroaching dark. His blessing settles over the PCs with a soft sigh and a feeling of contentment and support.

The spirit of the ancient duke also grants other boons: the circlet that the party first found in the whispering cairn is unlocked, its powers greatly increase. And the ancient talisman of the sphere they also found there is reactivated.

The duke grants them a final boon: free passage through his tomb. No trap or guardian remaining will harm them as they leave. Then he departs.

Having, then, looted the ancient tomb and recovering the weapons of the Wind Duke, the party returns to Diamond Lake, where Allustan puts them on the next stage og their journey. Travel to Mageport, the home of his old master, the archmage Manzorian.

And that's it. What will Manzorian have to say? I wonder.

— † —

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