Post by David on Mar 28, 2016 13:53:01 GMT -5
The heroes (Taarna, Brock, Esmerelda with Drusilla, Cymoril with Tar'jar, Tolus, and Mikhail with Hannok, Claire Voyant, Icon the Assassin, and Katan) witness the invocation of the Rain of Colorless Fire in Tovag Baragu and flee as the awesome energies begin to consume the entirety of the ancient stone circle. While racing to the edge of the menhirs where they can safely teleport to safety, the various members of the group begin to succumb to the arcane energies involved. Claire's heart explodes mid-stride, though Taarna scoops up her body. Tar'jar, meanwhile, is carrying both Icon and Katan who, though charmed by Hannok, have not recovered from their defeat. As the heroes reach the mists engulfing Urdukankar, Brock's condition worsens from nausea to severe diarrhea.
Stepping out of the protection of the ancient Baklunish stone circle, Esmerelda uses the memories she obtained from the Suloise to create a dimensional fold back to Xodast's estate in Suendrako. The heroes rush through, appearing into a quiet, deserted, idyllic courtyard in the most beautiful portion of the Suel capitol. As they arrive, the heroes realize that Esmerelda and Hannok have contracted hunnefer rot from their moments within the clouds of the Invoked Devastation, so Cymoril and Hannok cure them. A lone woman in silver robes wanders through the courtyard, commenting casually that they are "visitors from far away" and that "it looks like rain" in the clear, near-sunset sky. She then heals several of them, commenting that "time heals all wounds." Taarna realizes that the blind priestess seems to be able to "see" everyone, save Mikhail. When the Scion of House Taraak points this out, the woman reacts quite strongly and timeheals the young druid. She then cryptically adds, "Don't unwrite what is written, or you may be unwritten yourselves," slipping away.
The heroes follow an adjoining creek to Xodast's mansion only to be attacked by a dozen su-monsters. During the fight, Mikhail tries to use his animal telepathy to calm the monsters, but that only enrages them, forcing the druid to timeshift to safety. Meanwhile, Taarna, Tar'jar, and Cymoril hack through the creatures with the help of Brock and Katan. In the melee, unfortunately, Icon the Assassin's head explodes from a psychic crush. The heroes heal a bit and then speak with Katan about how to enter Xodast's home. He recites a line of Suloise poetry and teleports away.
Cymoril, Tar'jar, and Taarna discuss the exact wording while the rest of the heroes hop into the two bags of holding. By the time the heroes are ready and recite the poetry, they are too late. The heroes are now in a huge gallery with various trophies as well as two massive dinning tables. Lying dead near one is Katan. Cymoril and Taarna both note four nearly-invisible figures hiding against the walls while the ranger also notices that one chair is actually alive. Taarna notes the traffic pattern of the room and figures out where the secret door out is, revealing a magically unlit corridor of obsidian.
The heroes carefully proceed only to see themselves in a mirror of opposition. Suddenly there are copies of everyone except Tolus, Mikhail, and Hannok. The heroes use teamwork to carefully battle their opposite selves and together they're victorious. Taarna then spirit tracks and finds the secret door out of the hallway which Tar'jar shatters, revealing a spiral staircase downward. As they descend, several of the heroes become further debilitated from the energies of Tovag Baragu -- Tar'jar becomes weak, all of Drusilla completely molts, and Esmerelda's hair and skin begin to sluff off.
Past another door, the group enters a huge room full of minor knicknacks with narrow walkways between huge class cases. Taarna leads the party to the far archway, but Brock points out that it is magically trapped. Within the room, cataloging the treasures, is the blonde woman from the Obelisk of Lendor. She sees the party and mirror images herself. Esmerelda simply holds them all. Taarna scoops up her body and tosses it through the arch, triggering the magical ward that summons a gray slaad executioner. The creature unleashes ball lightning that damages most of the party and shatters many of the display cases, which in turn summons both a guardian daemon and a barbed devil. Battle ensues though Tolus, Esmerelda, and Mikhail manage to slip by to the room beyond while Taarna, Cymoril, and Tar'jar fight the summoned creatures.
Tolus sees Xodast resting on a divan, protected by her winged cat familiar as well as an iron golem and two steel statues. Using his amazing speed, the ranger attacks the near-helpless arch-mage. The metal men make a move to intervene, but Mikhail drops a wall of fire on them to isolate the various fights, destroying the steel statues but actually strengthening the golem. Esmerelda moves to engage the metal monstrosity, trusting in her mirror images to buy enough time for the heroes to win. Mikhail casts rock to mud on the far side of the room, trying to bury the archmage in the floor. About this point, Brock and Hannok join the fight in Xodast's chamber, just as an assassin uses a magic rope to bind Tolus, buying Xodast enough time to cast a spell off a scroll -- the lot disappear into subjective reality, though because of Mikhail's gift, the druid pops back almost immediately.
This is about when Taarna, Tar'jar, and Cymoril arrive, having bested the other-worldly foes. The three fighters battle and defeat the golem after Mikhail first slays the arch-mage's familiar and then uses oil to burn Xodast to death as she suffocates within the floor of her own mansion. Taarna then (wisely) tosses each of the fallen heroes into a bag of holding, freeing them from the subjective reality. The heroes then gather the Cone of the Magi and prepare to flee. They go back up the stairs to the entry gallery where Esmerelda casts stone to flesh on the wall, which the heroes then hack their way through.
In the distance, clouds gather as the Rain of Colorless Fire begins to burn away the whole Suel civilization off the face of Oerth. The party again hops into the bags of holding and Mikhail leaps out the breach in the wall, trusting to his ring of feather fall to protect him. The young druid slowly drifts down, concentrating...
...appearing 300 feet above a virgin forest covered in darkness. In the distance along the banks of a small river, another, smaller city smolders in the light of the Colorless Fire. The ground beneath it fails and the Suloise city of Jewel slides into the soft earth beneath it...
The heroes land near where the Archery Grove lies in the future. The heroes decide that here too is unsafe and Mikhail suggests that they head toward Griffon Mountain in the distance to the West. The heroes hike halfway through the night, the effects of the Colorless Fire still plaguing everyone. Brock uses his cure critical wounds to heal himself and Mikahil tries to cure Tolus using his psionic powers, but neither is a permanent solution. Poor Hannok, for instance, has lost all his hair and much of the skin on his body. Exhausted, the heroes make camp and rest.
Status:
Tolus: full
Brock: 46 of 66
Taarna: 61 of 96
Esmerelda: full, but weak and jaundiced with bleeding sores and huge patches of missing skin -- -1 STR, -1 CON, -5 CHR, -2 to hit, -1"
___Drusilla: full, but weak and featherless -- -2 STR, -2 CON, cannot fly, less than 1" walk
Cymoril: 19 of 88, but bleeding from her nose, eyes, and ears -- -1 CHR
___Tar'jar: 21 of 101, but very weak -- 17 STR and -3 to hit and move
Mikhail: 48 of 78 and 20 PSPs
___Hannok: 46 of 56, but very weak, feverish, with horrible bleeding sores and most of his skin rotting off his body -- -3 STR, -1 CON, -9 CHR, -4 to hit, -3 move
Stepping out of the protection of the ancient Baklunish stone circle, Esmerelda uses the memories she obtained from the Suloise to create a dimensional fold back to Xodast's estate in Suendrako. The heroes rush through, appearing into a quiet, deserted, idyllic courtyard in the most beautiful portion of the Suel capitol. As they arrive, the heroes realize that Esmerelda and Hannok have contracted hunnefer rot from their moments within the clouds of the Invoked Devastation, so Cymoril and Hannok cure them. A lone woman in silver robes wanders through the courtyard, commenting casually that they are "visitors from far away" and that "it looks like rain" in the clear, near-sunset sky. She then heals several of them, commenting that "time heals all wounds." Taarna realizes that the blind priestess seems to be able to "see" everyone, save Mikhail. When the Scion of House Taraak points this out, the woman reacts quite strongly and timeheals the young druid. She then cryptically adds, "Don't unwrite what is written, or you may be unwritten yourselves," slipping away.
The heroes follow an adjoining creek to Xodast's mansion only to be attacked by a dozen su-monsters. During the fight, Mikhail tries to use his animal telepathy to calm the monsters, but that only enrages them, forcing the druid to timeshift to safety. Meanwhile, Taarna, Tar'jar, and Cymoril hack through the creatures with the help of Brock and Katan. In the melee, unfortunately, Icon the Assassin's head explodes from a psychic crush. The heroes heal a bit and then speak with Katan about how to enter Xodast's home. He recites a line of Suloise poetry and teleports away.
Cymoril, Tar'jar, and Taarna discuss the exact wording while the rest of the heroes hop into the two bags of holding. By the time the heroes are ready and recite the poetry, they are too late. The heroes are now in a huge gallery with various trophies as well as two massive dinning tables. Lying dead near one is Katan. Cymoril and Taarna both note four nearly-invisible figures hiding against the walls while the ranger also notices that one chair is actually alive. Taarna notes the traffic pattern of the room and figures out where the secret door out is, revealing a magically unlit corridor of obsidian.
The heroes carefully proceed only to see themselves in a mirror of opposition. Suddenly there are copies of everyone except Tolus, Mikhail, and Hannok. The heroes use teamwork to carefully battle their opposite selves and together they're victorious. Taarna then spirit tracks and finds the secret door out of the hallway which Tar'jar shatters, revealing a spiral staircase downward. As they descend, several of the heroes become further debilitated from the energies of Tovag Baragu -- Tar'jar becomes weak, all of Drusilla completely molts, and Esmerelda's hair and skin begin to sluff off.
Past another door, the group enters a huge room full of minor knicknacks with narrow walkways between huge class cases. Taarna leads the party to the far archway, but Brock points out that it is magically trapped. Within the room, cataloging the treasures, is the blonde woman from the Obelisk of Lendor. She sees the party and mirror images herself. Esmerelda simply holds them all. Taarna scoops up her body and tosses it through the arch, triggering the magical ward that summons a gray slaad executioner. The creature unleashes ball lightning that damages most of the party and shatters many of the display cases, which in turn summons both a guardian daemon and a barbed devil. Battle ensues though Tolus, Esmerelda, and Mikhail manage to slip by to the room beyond while Taarna, Cymoril, and Tar'jar fight the summoned creatures.
Tolus sees Xodast resting on a divan, protected by her winged cat familiar as well as an iron golem and two steel statues. Using his amazing speed, the ranger attacks the near-helpless arch-mage. The metal men make a move to intervene, but Mikhail drops a wall of fire on them to isolate the various fights, destroying the steel statues but actually strengthening the golem. Esmerelda moves to engage the metal monstrosity, trusting in her mirror images to buy enough time for the heroes to win. Mikhail casts rock to mud on the far side of the room, trying to bury the archmage in the floor. About this point, Brock and Hannok join the fight in Xodast's chamber, just as an assassin uses a magic rope to bind Tolus, buying Xodast enough time to cast a spell off a scroll -- the lot disappear into subjective reality, though because of Mikhail's gift, the druid pops back almost immediately.
This is about when Taarna, Tar'jar, and Cymoril arrive, having bested the other-worldly foes. The three fighters battle and defeat the golem after Mikhail first slays the arch-mage's familiar and then uses oil to burn Xodast to death as she suffocates within the floor of her own mansion. Taarna then (wisely) tosses each of the fallen heroes into a bag of holding, freeing them from the subjective reality. The heroes then gather the Cone of the Magi and prepare to flee. They go back up the stairs to the entry gallery where Esmerelda casts stone to flesh on the wall, which the heroes then hack their way through.
In the distance, clouds gather as the Rain of Colorless Fire begins to burn away the whole Suel civilization off the face of Oerth. The party again hops into the bags of holding and Mikhail leaps out the breach in the wall, trusting to his ring of feather fall to protect him. The young druid slowly drifts down, concentrating...
...appearing 300 feet above a virgin forest covered in darkness. In the distance along the banks of a small river, another, smaller city smolders in the light of the Colorless Fire. The ground beneath it fails and the Suloise city of Jewel slides into the soft earth beneath it...
The heroes land near where the Archery Grove lies in the future. The heroes decide that here too is unsafe and Mikhail suggests that they head toward Griffon Mountain in the distance to the West. The heroes hike halfway through the night, the effects of the Colorless Fire still plaguing everyone. Brock uses his cure critical wounds to heal himself and Mikahil tries to cure Tolus using his psionic powers, but neither is a permanent solution. Poor Hannok, for instance, has lost all his hair and much of the skin on his body. Exhausted, the heroes make camp and rest.
Status:
Tolus: full
Brock: 46 of 66
Taarna: 61 of 96
Esmerelda: full, but weak and jaundiced with bleeding sores and huge patches of missing skin -- -1 STR, -1 CON, -5 CHR, -2 to hit, -1"
___Drusilla: full, but weak and featherless -- -2 STR, -2 CON, cannot fly, less than 1" walk
Cymoril: 19 of 88, but bleeding from her nose, eyes, and ears -- -1 CHR
___Tar'jar: 21 of 101, but very weak -- 17 STR and -3 to hit and move
Mikhail: 48 of 78 and 20 PSPs
___Hannok: 46 of 56, but very weak, feverish, with horrible bleeding sores and most of his skin rotting off his body -- -3 STR, -1 CON, -9 CHR, -4 to hit, -3 move