Journal Entry 16

Journal Session 16

Having defeated a fearsome naga and claiming the first piece of the legendary staff of Angronomir, heroic wizard of the ancient world– Barrack, a plain-spoken dwarven Fighter, powerful wielder of the hammers favored by that strong and dour race; Marik, a reptilian dragonborn Warlock, heir to an ancient and proud lineage, but inescapably bound to a pact granting him supernatural powers; Jaeran, an elven Cleric upon whom the gods have granted a measure of divine power as a reward for his faith; Luke, a cloaked half-elf Wizard of mysterious origins and arcane might; Syxia, a tiefling Rogue, dark daughter of a cursed bloodline, her ancestors given to the infernal worship of fiends; and Ur-Kadar, dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, a holy warrior dedicated to upholding the tenets of his faith and protecting the weak with his battle axe – began by considering the man they had seen on the other side of the magical portal near where the piece of the staff had been affixed.

Luke and Marik relied on their learning and experience in matters arcane, and bent their minds to a thorough examination of the portal. They believed that the staff had served as a focus item that kept the portal open, and they felt that if they were to replace the fragment of the staff where it had been affixed, the portal would reopen. The party discussed their options, and ultimately decided to replace the staff and question the man on the other side. With nerves of steel, Luke replaced the staff, and the portal reopened. The man on the other side seemed genuinely surprised to see the gateway open again, and he began pleading for the party to help them. Before deciding on such a course of action, the party had many questions for him. He revealed that his name was Erisend and that he had been imprisoned beyond the portal for longer than could remember. He related that it had been a mighty struggle for him just to maintain his sanity. Based on his clothing, mannerisms and patterns of speech (as well as the content of his answers to the heroes’ questions), the party estimated that Erisend had been held prisoner for nearly 500 years. Erisend stated that he was an agent of House Talnivarr and came to his present location from the Keldarian League – his mission had been to investigate claims of necromancy in the College of Magic south of Dunwin. He claimed to have confronted a young wizard named Marzoth and his betrothed, Lucritica, with a fellow House member, a female eladrin named Gwrach (or, more properly Gwrachallinora). He could not recall the name of his former companion until he saw the ring the party had recovered from the naga, and he was unsure of what might have happened to her. He again begged for the party to help release him. He explained that someone would need to reach through the portal and pull him through. Without hesitation, the party members agreed to this course of action, and freed Erisend, who was very grateful. He was greatly weakened by the ordeal of his long imprisonment, but had barely aged during his confinement. He said that he wanted to get out of the trackless marshes, and needed to return to House Talnivarr and render his report (despite how long he had been gone). The party said that they would escort him out of the Fens and then take him to the wizard Neltharian in the town of Folkestone. From there he would be able to travel by portal to the Great House.

The party trekked through the swamp, and after three days of difficult travel in the boggy murk, returned to the hut of Gwrach the hag. Forcibly taking the ring from a resisting – and pouting – Syxia (after an argument that ended with Barrack silencing her like only he can), her companions returned the ring to the swamp hag. As she slipped it on, she transformed back to her old self – an eladrin wizard. She recognized Erisend, and they spoke privately for a brief period. She explained that she was cursed by Marzoth and turned into a hag. Furthermore, the curse forbade her to state his name and bound her to the confines of the swamp. She said that she missed the Feywild, and instead of returning to the House with Erisend, she decided to return to her homeland. She thanked the party and told them that she would be willing to help them in the future, if possible. She then departed for the Feywild, while Luke performed the linked portal ritual.

The party appeared in the cellar of Neltharian, who let them up into his shop after hearing them arrive. The party introduced Erisend to the wizard, and after several minutes, Neltharian was convinced that his story was true; he then sent Erisend off via a portal to the Great House. Neltharian then turned his attention back to the party; he had news for them. He reported that one of his “associates” in Carrowheel, one Polliver Dourstone, had investigated the house of Danelious Zharam, and was surprised to find the place deserted. In fact, it looked as though it had been empty for a long time (but, curiously, the taxes had continued to be paid). Also, he had discovered a teleportation portal that he believed led to Balthazar’s Tower. Neltharian noted that he was also working on determining the location of the third piece of Angronomir’s staff, believed by some to be hidden somewhere in the Glimmering Peaks. Finally, he confirmed that the piece of Angronomir’s staff that the party had recovered was indeed authentic. He offered to keep it for “safe-keeping,” but the party insisted that they would like to hold on to it. Neltharian seemed content with that decision, and made no counter-argument. After some discussion, the party decided to use the portal in order to investigate where it led, in the hope of finding the second piece of the staff. After a long and demanding wilderness quest, the unanimous decision was to rest for the night in Folkestone, and proceed with the quest for Angronomir’s staff the following day. As the party prepared to depart Neltharian’s shop, the hulking reptilian warlock nearly collapsed from exhaustion, as his chest heaved in great wheezing spasms. Helping him to a chair, the wizard immediately saw that Marik was still suffering terribly from a serious disease he fell victim to in the Fens, and informed the party that they must proceed without him. Marik would rejoin the party as soon as he was well; in the meantime, Neltharian agreed to look after the dragonborn warlock and nurse him back to health given his grave condition.

The party then headed directly to The Crested Cock, where they presented their old friend, Meldrick the innkeeper, with one of the hydra’s heads. They noted with some pride that Folkestone was continuing to grow and prosper. The heroes could see that Meldrick was pleased with the large crowd gathered in the tavern that night listening to Pendingle the bard, who was entertaining the crowd with a bawdy limerick about nymphs.

When summoning nymphs be prepared
For they might have their naughty bits bared
But, listen up smarty!
If its brought to the party
You can bet it is meant to be shared!

Luke was thoroughly amused, and ordered several rounds of strong ale. He offered to add a light show to Pendingle’s act using his powers of prestidigitation. He did just that, and the assembled tavern patrons hooted and hollered with delight. Pendingle then broke into another song about a Goliath who practiced ballet. Luke remained in the tavern all evening, continuing to drink heavily. After retiring to her room to change, Syxia looked for Belandor, corporal of the guard, only to find out that the handsome warrior was on duty in the keep, and could not be reached. Disappointed, she sat at the bar nursing watered wine, and turned away any number of suitors (since none were rich, handsome princes. Or rich. Or handsome. Or princes.) and their offers of ale, companionship or certain amorous activities. Dejected, she instead went shopping to replenish her stocks of clothing, opting for very inexpensive and functional (as well as cute, short, head-turning and tight) items, as well as splurging on lingerie and stockings (hard to come by among dwarves or in swamps, and which would fill half of her backpack). She then returned to her room, and took a long, hot bubble bath and washed her lustrous blue hair before going to sleep in a nice, comfy bed.

After a pint or two of dwarven stout, Barrack went to the keep to see Greven the magistrate. He told Greven everything that he and his companions had learned, and Greven was very impressed with the heroes’ activities and victories. Barrack also inquired about The Animator. With no recent undead sightings, however, Greven assumed (and hoped) that the foul villain was no longer an issue or threat. For his part, Jaeran paid a visit to Father Corus, in order to see if that worthy could relate anything about the magical shield he now carried; he promised to find out as much information as possible. Barrack returned to the inn, and he and Ur-Kadar stopped by the temples of Bahamut and Kord. They found the progress suitable and donated more gold to these divine shrines. They then returned to The Crested Cock, where Ur-Kadar threw a very inebriated Luke over his shoulder, and retired for the evening.

The party awoke in the morning and prepared to head off to Neltharian’s shop. Barrack was getting very impatient with Syxia, as she made the party wait for nearly an hour before she was “ready to go.” He was about to rebuke and reprimand the devil-girl when he received a mental message from their old friend, the eladrin wizard Tolinyr. The eladrin’s voice rang in the dwarf’s mind: “It has been a long time, friend. I have learned a great deal since I departed, and I fear you are being misled. Be wary.” The dwarf tried in vain to send a return message, but the magical connection was gone. Barrack also realized, too late, that they should have sent a message with Erisend to House Talnivarr to make sure that Neltharian was in good standing with the House. Setting off, they arrived at Neltharian’s shop, and the wizard prepared the portal. Feeling that they must trust Neltharian (until they found a valid reason not to), the party stepped through the portal.

They found themselves in a 20’ by 30’ room that contained the outline of a door in the stone wall, and were suddenly aware of an incredibly cold presence surrounding them. Luke and Jaeran realized that they were surrounded by negative energy and would be unable to recover as usual from extended rests. The realization sunk in that the party would have to complete this stage of their quest with only the resources they brought into the accursed place. Resigned to the situation, and their fate, they examined the room for a way out.

On the face of the door was a 4 x 4 grid with a series of numbers (see the picture attached). It had a series of numbers that appeared, at first, to have no connection. Luke used his mage hand to push on the numbers, but it had no effect. Ur-Kadar reviewed the numbers and found that each row and column added to a common number, 44. However, what that meant continued to elude the heroes. Syxia, tired of the puzzle, planned to touch a series of numbers in a random order, but was blasted back into the air by an electrical shock, and landed on her rear end in the midst of her companions. Embarrassed, and angry over a cracked nail, Syxia went to a corner and drew up her knees, and waited for her companions to think their way out of the situation. The party thought about the obstacle for some time before Barrack reached up and touched a number in the top left of the grid. He too was blasted back as a surge of electrical energy jolted through his body. The party noted that if the grid was broken into quadrants, the 4 squares in the diagonal quadrants added to either 33 or 55. Any possible meaning was lost on them. Barrack sought to eliminate another number, and was again subjected to a violent electric shock. They eliminated some numbers by assuming that doubles of a specific number were not part of any solution. After several more attempts, they found themselves no closer to a solving the puzzle. They returned to their initial observation and decided to examine the number 44. Someone mentioned that if you add 4 + 4 you get 8, which is a number on the grid. But could it really be that simple? Barrack reached up and touched the number, then disappeared in a flash of light. Luke followed his lead, as did Ur-Kadar, Syxia and finally Jaeran.

Barrack found himself in a large round room with eight alcoves and no apparent exit. In the alcoves were 6 animated suits of armor and 2 mechanical canines. He had fought the dog-like iron defenders before, but the armor constructs were new to the dwarven veteran. Now knowing when, or if, his compatriots would arrive, Barrack charged forward, pursuing traditional dwarven tactics. He tried to position himself with his back to a wall to avoid being completely surrounded. Luke then suddenly teleported into the room and he attempted to make his way to an empty alcove. He summoned a flaming sphere, and placed it behind the group assaulting Barrack. Ur-Kadar entered the room as one of the armored constructs was destroyed. Barrack was surprised that the constructs were so easily destroyed, until he saw their golden, glowing eyes go out for a moment, then start to blink rapidly. Within a few seconds, the construct exploded with great force. Luke was caught in the blast and faced the full force of the explosion; he was blasted by shards of white-hot, razor-sharp metal, and succumbed to unconsciousness. As he lay dying on the floor of the chamber in a pool of his own blood, his flaming sphere went out. Syxia then entered the room, surveyed the chaos, smiled and drew her wicked blades.
Ur-Kadar and Barrack together could have easily destroyed the animated suits of armor, but the explosions were something new, unexpected and dangerous to them. Luke somehow regained consciousness, but just as quickly was hit by another blast as Syxia’s daggers found an exploitable gap in one of the suits of armor; blood streaming from a dozen serious wounds, the wizard again slumped to the floor. Jaeran strived to work quickly in dispensing his holy words of healing power, but even diving healing was quickly depleted by the exploding constructs. The party recognized that having their dragonborn warlock – who, while capable of deadly ranged strikes, was hovering between life and death as he heroically fought off a terrible sickness many miles away – would have been very beneficial. However, the heroes were able to methodically dismantle their enemies despite suffering a great deal of damage, and the reserves of their powers. Syxia found a secret door that led to a staircase going up. They followed it to where it surprisingly ended in a blank wall. Syxia again found a secret door, and the companions went through.

The party proceeded through the door, and Barrack was attacked by what looked like a huge, animated bear trap. The scythejaw animate clamped on to his leg with brutal force, and he struggled to shake free. The other party members entered a large semi-circular room with several columns. A large brass golem, in the form of a minotaur bearing a massive axe, stood guard in front of the door on the opposite side. The party engaged the metal beast and tried to avoid its mighty swings. After taking several blows, the golem went on a rampage and rushed forward, knocking several party members prone. It followed up the charge with a arcing swing that targeted anyone near it. It inflicted significant damage, but it, along with the scythejaw, was eventually destroyed.

After surveying the room, the party found a levitation tube in the room that might lead to an upper level if it were activated. The party searched for a lever or other way to activate it without success. They then turned to the door. As Syxia opened the door, she saw a wide open space that separated the outer corridor from an alcove. A flat iron bridge with thin decorative guardrails spanned the gap between the two areas. Dozens of bolts of black lightning flicked from one wall to the other, filling the air with the concussive sounds of popping and crackling; a flesh-numbing chill permeated the very air of the place. Syxia steeled herself, and went quickly and quietly across the bridge. She proceeded to the alcove on the other side and noted that a seemingly non-functioning arcane ballista was there, as was a small lever. She pulled the lever, activating the levitation tube.

The party ascended to the next level of the tower, and found themselves in a large round room with an open door behind them. This huge chamber was dominated by a pattern of deep slots in the ground with tangential slots ending inside rings of archaic engravings (see map). The slots formed half circles, one smaller than the other. Inside the rings on the top semi-circle stood two large automatons, each possessing a massive metal hammer for one of its arms, and two more iron defenders. As the party surveys their surroundings, a blast of energy enters the room and exploded. They turned to see that the open door led to a familiar bridge and an active arcane ballista. Unsure of what power the arcane carvings on the floor might possess, the party steered clear of them. Barrack and Ur-Kadar engaged the hammerhands, while the party scattered to avoid the blasts from the arcane ballista. Ur-Kadar was hit by one of the constructs and was knocked back into one of the magical circles; he instantly disappeared in a flash of blue light. The party was suddenly without one of its defenders and the situation grew more difficult and dangerous. And who knew what soul-shredding horrors Ur-Kadar was facing on his own?

The party struggled with the enemy but began to gain the upper hand despite taking significant damage. After many rounds of combat, they heard something from the teleportation tube. Fearing that it could be more mechanical defenders, they turned to see that Ur-Kadar had made his way back to the fight. The fight in the internal tower was winding down, and Ur-Kadar and Syxia turned their attention to the arcane ballista and rushed the bridge. While the agile and nimble Syxia was fleet of foot, Ur-Kadar’s momentum took him to the front. Just before engaging the giant ballista, he plummeted through the bridge, realizing too late that it was merely a clever illusion. Syxia watched in horror as the valiant dragonborn plunged into the stygian abyss with an impossibly guttural shriek. Filled with fury, she leapt forward, the toned muscles of her lithe body giving their maximum effort. As she landed safely with an acrobatic flourish, she sprang to her feet near the ballista. Luke blasted it with force daggers, while Syxia carved it up from behind, her daggers trailing venom and fire. Suddenly, Ur-Kadar appeared in the middle circle of the inner tower. He raised his axe with a determined look in his reptilian eyes and charged.

Within moments of destroying the ballista, the party realized – with great dismay – that Ur-Kadar was wild with rage, and was no longer in control of his actions. He took a mighty swing and his magical axe slashed into Barrack. Luke hurled a chill strike at the paladin to slow him down while Jaeran hit him with sacred flame, in an effort to give him a chance to break free from his domination. Barrack fought back with his warhammer, and pushed Ur-Kadar back in an effort to hold the bridge and protect the remainder of the party. Several staggering blows that would have killed lesser fighting-men were exchanged before the madness drained from Ur-Kadar and his own mind returned. Exhausted, he slumped to his knees and apologized to Barrack and the others. Barrack, breathing hard and soaked in sweat, reminded him that the attack was not his fault, and postulated that the paladin had fallen under a geas. The party rested for as long as they dared; they recognized that they had used a considerable amount of their powers and resources in claiming this level. With a deep breath, Syxia pulled the switch and activated the levitation portal to the next level.

Upon their arrival, the party saw – much to their dismay – an oddly-shaped room dominated by a massive brute made of steel, wood and stone: a slaughterstone eviscerator, a massive construct with a mass of swirling, razor-sharp blades. As the party moved to attack, two additional foes – animated suits of armor, as they had fought before – appeared. The party was split into two groups, and the animated suits of armor were quickly isolated and destroyed, as the party had learned their lesson about destroying the things from afar, outside the range of their explosive death throes. As the rest of the party made short work of the armored constructs, the slaughterstone eviscerator moved forward to attack as its clicking, whirling blades performed a dance of death around the heroes. Syxia was caught in a storm of blades and was severly wounded; she quickly repositioned herself off to the side of the thing – she had learned that she simply could not close with and trade blows with the thing, as its blades were simply too deadly. Instead, she decided to time her strikes, cutting deeply with her magical daggers while dancing just outside (or just inside) the range of the whirling, spinning blades.
In the meantime, first Barrack, then Ur-Kadar hammered away at the eviscerator as Jaeran and Luke attacked it with magical attacks both divine and arcane. Eventually, the whirling blades stopped spinning, as the heroes reduced their opponent to a pile of twisted metal, stone rubble and splintered wood. Exhausted, the heroes bound their wounds and recovered for a moment before deciding on their next course of action.