Post by David on Oct 7, 2015 14:14:55 GMT -5
After having telekinetically forced open the door to the lower levels, Samirah as well as Tasnim and Abdul stepped through the doorway behind. A green glyph sprang to life and suddenly all three were GONE without a trace. Stunned the heroes discussed what they should do next. Finally, after much debate, the group began to descend the stairs to the level below. Halfway down them, a winged lion with the face of a teenager appeared before them. He warned them, "you have breached the wards of the Queen. You must be most careful she is not released!"
Asbah spoke with the young lammasu. He introduced himself as Taephyr and although it was not his duty to guard these ruins, he was aware of the party's actions and appeared to ensure the Queen of the Ghouls not be set free. It would seem that she is an ancient ruler from long before the time of the Lawgiver. The few inscriptions the party has found have been in a very ancient version of Chun...
Taephyr explained that he would be willing to help the group. Since the seal is broken and they cannot fix it, the party must at least ensure that the Queen and her minions are not a threat. Since both of the party's healers have disappeared, however, they are short-handed. Taephyr, however, suggests seeking out a hermit he knows who lives in the area and the group agrees.
They walk a few hours to the hills where Taephyr leads them to a cave. Within they meet Kuren, a Kozakuran man hailing from the island of Wa. Kuren and Asbah have an animated conversation, the sha'ira being familiar with Shou Lung and Koryo, thanks to her father's henchmen. Kuren's Midani is quite poor, though he can completely understand Taephyr -- not that the lammasu speaks Nihon'go, but rather he speaks in tongues so everyone understands him. With the shukenja joining them, the group returns to the ruins an hour before sunset. As they approach, they spy at the base of the buried structure a number of figures. Taephyr scouts invisibly and reports back that a dozen ghouls are waiting in ambush. Most of these creatures appear to be emaciated and ancient humans, though a couple appear to be fresh gnolls...
The heroes approach and the ghouls charge them. Taephyr puts himself in the center of the party, his protection from evil aura keeping the ghouls at bay. Tiberius hacks down two almost immediately. Mahmud, however, is paralyzed when he enters combat and the rest of the party must save him. Several more undead fall and then Tiberius too is paralyzed. The ghouls try to drag the boy away but Kuren calms Tiberius, who then slaughters the ghouls grabbing him. The heroes use the lammasu's aura for cover and all working together, they defeat the undead with Mahmud and Tiberius slaughtering several each.
Taephyr heals the group as well as he can and Asbah calls for a number of buffing spells. The group then enters the ruins and descends to where they met the lammasu and continue on. They encounter an amazingly rich room, the floor completely inlayed with lapis lazuli and the walls covered with reliefs. Mahmud spies what appears to be tracks on the far side of the chamber and the rest of the group stands before the raised dais and throne. That's when two fabulously beautiful women with dark skin, hair, and eyes materialize out of thin air and attack!
Mahmud recognizes the vampire spawn and informs the group. Tiberius manages to hack his quite a bit, though she lands a couple of quite solid punches on him. The vampire spawn falls and Asbah stabs her; she turns to vapor which Taephyr's dust devil nicely sucks up. Tiberius then goes to help Mahmud with his foe and drop it. The boy then (amazingly) stakes her perfectly through the heart, greatly aided by the strength spell Asbah had earlier given him. When Mahmud recovers, he helps the party render the corporeal vampire spawn inert and the group returns to the surface where both the body and the vapor explode into flames in the light of the setting sun, forever destroyed.
Taephyr suggests that the heroes find a safe place to rest the night and recover. Most of the group is quite hurt. They travel after sunset to the ahira grove where they peacefully spend the night...
Status (in the morning):
Mahmud: 13 of 24
Asbah: 30 (full), STONESKIN
___Waaha: 15 (full), STONESKIN
___Jabla Jaleed: 15 (full)
Kuren: 14 of 15, STONESKIN
Tiberius: 14 of 33
Taephyr: 23 (full)
Alexander: 11 (full)
Aziza: 7 (full)
Asbah spoke with the young lammasu. He introduced himself as Taephyr and although it was not his duty to guard these ruins, he was aware of the party's actions and appeared to ensure the Queen of the Ghouls not be set free. It would seem that she is an ancient ruler from long before the time of the Lawgiver. The few inscriptions the party has found have been in a very ancient version of Chun...
Taephyr explained that he would be willing to help the group. Since the seal is broken and they cannot fix it, the party must at least ensure that the Queen and her minions are not a threat. Since both of the party's healers have disappeared, however, they are short-handed. Taephyr, however, suggests seeking out a hermit he knows who lives in the area and the group agrees.
They walk a few hours to the hills where Taephyr leads them to a cave. Within they meet Kuren, a Kozakuran man hailing from the island of Wa. Kuren and Asbah have an animated conversation, the sha'ira being familiar with Shou Lung and Koryo, thanks to her father's henchmen. Kuren's Midani is quite poor, though he can completely understand Taephyr -- not that the lammasu speaks Nihon'go, but rather he speaks in tongues so everyone understands him. With the shukenja joining them, the group returns to the ruins an hour before sunset. As they approach, they spy at the base of the buried structure a number of figures. Taephyr scouts invisibly and reports back that a dozen ghouls are waiting in ambush. Most of these creatures appear to be emaciated and ancient humans, though a couple appear to be fresh gnolls...
The heroes approach and the ghouls charge them. Taephyr puts himself in the center of the party, his protection from evil aura keeping the ghouls at bay. Tiberius hacks down two almost immediately. Mahmud, however, is paralyzed when he enters combat and the rest of the party must save him. Several more undead fall and then Tiberius too is paralyzed. The ghouls try to drag the boy away but Kuren calms Tiberius, who then slaughters the ghouls grabbing him. The heroes use the lammasu's aura for cover and all working together, they defeat the undead with Mahmud and Tiberius slaughtering several each.
Taephyr heals the group as well as he can and Asbah calls for a number of buffing spells. The group then enters the ruins and descends to where they met the lammasu and continue on. They encounter an amazingly rich room, the floor completely inlayed with lapis lazuli and the walls covered with reliefs. Mahmud spies what appears to be tracks on the far side of the chamber and the rest of the group stands before the raised dais and throne. That's when two fabulously beautiful women with dark skin, hair, and eyes materialize out of thin air and attack!
Mahmud recognizes the vampire spawn and informs the group. Tiberius manages to hack his quite a bit, though she lands a couple of quite solid punches on him. The vampire spawn falls and Asbah stabs her; she turns to vapor which Taephyr's dust devil nicely sucks up. Tiberius then goes to help Mahmud with his foe and drop it. The boy then (amazingly) stakes her perfectly through the heart, greatly aided by the strength spell Asbah had earlier given him. When Mahmud recovers, he helps the party render the corporeal vampire spawn inert and the group returns to the surface where both the body and the vapor explode into flames in the light of the setting sun, forever destroyed.
Taephyr suggests that the heroes find a safe place to rest the night and recover. Most of the group is quite hurt. They travel after sunset to the ahira grove where they peacefully spend the night...
Status (in the morning):
Mahmud: 13 of 24
Asbah: 30 (full), STONESKIN
___Waaha: 15 (full), STONESKIN
___Jabla Jaleed: 15 (full)
Kuren: 14 of 15, STONESKIN
Tiberius: 14 of 33
Taephyr: 23 (full)
Alexander: 11 (full)
Aziza: 7 (full)