Week 55 - A clerical dispute; and: Flash makes more new friends

Everyone is epic. Level 21. Wishes and miracles are being routinely tossed about, it seems, and Gauthakan has an AC of 45+ with a 40+ to-hit bonus. It’s save-or-die time every combat, and we can all smell the impending apocalypse. Even the Canberra weather is getting into the act - bushfires and lightning strikes setting the mood. In any a few more sessions, either our party will have defeated a God, or else unstoppable writhing doom will be spreading across Eberron.

On a lighter note, Dave’s Rogue/Heir of Sibberys rejoins the party as the cohort of his Artificer. It’s time to start reweaving those loose ends.

And so, it’s time to leave the Tabernacle of Worms, empty now but for a faint aura of evil and decay. Fearsome things, no doubt, will come to make their homes here - but none so fearsome as what lives here no longer.

But as the party prepare to leave, there’s a BAMF! and an old friend teleports in - Jericho, who left prior to the party in Alhaster to make his fortune in house Orien. “Manzorian wants to see you right away”. In a moment they have linked hands with the Heir of Sybberis, who Greater Teleports them right into Manzorian’s study.

Yup. Sometimes in-story justification for player choices really is that easy.

Manzorian looks haggard with worry, and yet clearly is overjoyed to see them. The ghost of Balakarde, he explains, had been in to see him, and delivered the incredible news that Dragotha was dead at the hands of the party. And yet while seemingly a setback for evil, this event was predicted in the prophecies of the Age of Worms. Kyuss is right on track to bodily entering Ebberon.

The new Spire of Long Shadows in Alhaster has been completed at an incredible pace. Even now, the prison of Kyuss, the monolith, sits at its peak - placed there no more than two days ago. The city is in chaos. The sky is locked closed with clouds that circle the spire, throwing the city into gloom. Strange clots and pockets of opaque greenish mist have appeared all over the city, from out of which come undead openly walking the streets an terrorising the people. The city is in a panic - people barricading streets, or huddling in their cellars (the very worst place, if you think about it). Prince Zeech, Lashonna, and the Blessed Angels are nowhere to be found.

Quite simply, the eve of the age of worms is nigh, and Kyuss may emerge from his prison any hour. The party must slay him - now, before he is fully the God he strives to become.

There are, however, a couple of things to be kept in mind.

Firstly - many ancient artifacts of might have reemerged into the world, heralded by prophecy. But there are many prophecies, and not all are to be relied upon. For instance: Edward the Mad prophecied:

But Edward the Mad was a lesser prophet, and not a terribly accurate one. The Hand of Vecna is now no doubt with Vol, after the party failed to retrieve it from Darl Querthos in the Library of Last Resort. There are other artifacts, though. The circlet of Zosiel finally awakens fully, and the spirit of the ancient wind-duke himself now wards the wearer. Manzorian gives back their fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts. On loan, mind you. And there is their Talisman of the Sphere. Manzorian gives to the party a teleport key to a place where a Sphere of Annihilation might be found - an ancient place known only as the Tomb of Horrors. But he cautions the party: a Sphere of Annihilation is easy to deal with if you know you will be facing one. The party should wait until the last moment before retrieving it.

Secondly - there is no doubt that the spire is being fed by some sort of portal to Mabar somewhere in the city. The party should first concentrate on shutting that portal down.

Forgot to tell the guys about this last bit.

Finally - Manzorian himself and his college are taking a hand. They will move to the etheral plane and create a Dimensional Lock, affecting only the creatures of Kyuss.

Jericho will accompany them, of course. And Manzorian gives to Flash - apprentice to his old student Allustan - a gift whose cost perhaps only a fellow wizard can truly appreciate: three scrolls of Wish.

And that’s it. The party rest - even though there is a delay, no point going in if they are not ready to fight - and discuss where to teleport in to. They agree to teleport to the temple of Dol Dorn, as the temple district seems relatively clear of wandering undead.

BAMF! Smoke in the air, and an almost palpable sense of fear, panic, and doom. The drop in on the priest of Dol Dorn, whom Frith knows from when they were last in Alhaster. He is in a pretty dreadful state, but has nothing much to tell them beyond what they already know - except that the entire city is covered by a desecrate effect except this small temple district. He manages to drive home that it has all been very sudden - everything started going pear-shaped only two days ago.

Frith speaks to him, urging him “Dude, you have to protect the people, you have to offer sanctuary here!”. The priest replies:

And so they ring the bells. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen - people begin streaming in in fearful clots. Eventually a good two hundred or so assemble in the plaza between the temples. The priest addresses them:

Some of the people seem convinced, some not. But then the priest of The Mockery strides out, with a retinue of soldiers.

At which point, Flash the epic Beguiler simply casts Dominate Person. The two priests begin debating the matter, but in such a way as hostilities dissipate. Politely and boringly.

In any case: another priest shows up - this time from the scarlet spire. She offers sanctuary in the spire in return for suitable offerings, and is accompanied by a shame-faced clot of minions. Flash drops another Dominate Person on her. Meanwhile, both Flash and Mend are attempting to gain the attention of the crowd.

The party decide that moving the plebs into the enormous temple of The Mockery sounds best, so they begin doing so. But all this fresh meat has attracted some attention. It seems that the divine auras around these temples don’t block the undead, they simply make them uncomfortable. With a little motivation, they’ll cross the line. A dozen knights of Kyuss circle the small plaza and begin killing civilians. And its on.

Gauthakan moves to engage a few of the knights, but unbeknownst to him, every Kyuss knight has a special gift from Kyuss, and these are no exception: the kyuss worms in their eyesockets ignore armour. Gauthkan is swiftly reduced to a mindless idiot, and in a few seconds will rise as a Kyuss spawn. But the spellcasters are on the job: Frith begins Greater Turning the knights, and someone drops a Restoration into Gauthakan before the fell transformation takes effect. A macabre race begins: some of the knights begin to engage the party, but others continue killing the townspeople. Jericho engages three of the monsters, all his efforts devoted to weaving and dodging their blows and those of the eye worm thingos, while Frith and Flash with divine and arcane power slay knight after night.

Eventually the party are victorious. While many townsfolk lie dead, many more are safely within the dubious protection of the Temple of The Mockery, and - for the first time in days - know that there is hope for them.

And from the spire and the gyre of power above it - a howl of anger.

With this group of townsfolk suitably saved, the party turn their attention back to the problem of locating the source of negative energy. Inquiring after secret underground complexes and the like, they learn from the dominated priestess of the Scarlet Spire that one of the tombs in the graveyard has a secret entrance behind it, bricked up long ago when an Augury revealed that great woe would result if it were opened.

Sounds about right.

But, there is a snag: one of the clots of opaque greenish mist is centered more-or-less right over that particular tomb. Not a worry! The party makes for this tomb, and the clot of mist is summarily dealt with with the ring of Zosiel the wind-duke, which functions as a Ring of air elemental command and has a Wind Wall effect. I think.

So they have no trouble whatever spotting the Broodfiend responsible for the mist, which takes to the air and attacks. There are some nasty moments when it breathes an immense cone of powerful acid, but it is dealt with relatively swiftly - aside from its breath, it is little threat to this particular party.

The fiend gone, and its magical mist dissipating, the crypt with the bricked-up back wall stands before them.

Well! A good old-fashioned dungeon awaits, and everyone is feeling pretty good. What lies beneath? I hope the party deal with whatever is down there before they run out of time, and Kyuss emerges to wreath the world in wormy doom. As always - till next time.