Age of Worms - Greyhawk Adventure Blog (Patreon)

These are the session logs of our adventures in the Domain of Greyhawk, beginning in the small town of Diamond Lake, expanding to the big city, with many detours along the way.  Many of these session logs were written by our Player Characters (not the DM).

Dawn of a New Age

An Adventure Campaign at Goldmine Games

Our unlikely group of adventurers has headed to the Free City of Greyhawk to find answers to the undead rising up in the region.  They have successfully stopped a cult called the Ebon Triad, but what will they find lurking in the big city?

The party is seeking to stop the rise of evil undead and cultists in the region.

The truths of this campaign:

Doppelgangers are killing, imprisoning and impersonating important people in Greyhawk, and hunting the PCs, and the adventurers want to find out why.

The party has headed to the Free City of Greyhawk to find more answers to the curious undead, the worms, and the Wind Duke artifacts.  Allustan has sent them to a trusted sage, Eligos.

An evil force called the Ebon Triad has its eye on the mining town of Diamond Lake.

Powerful undead have risen up in the Cairn Hills.  This type of undead is difficult to kill and has something to do with Kyuss worms.

Allustan Neff has hired the party of adventurers to investigate the evil and thwart the cultists' attempts to overtake the town.

The Whispering Cairn hides many ancient secrets and elemental powers that the cultists have tried to tap in to.

Mine owner, Balabar Smenk, has beef with the cultists and wants control of the Dourstone Mine.

Events and Session Logs in Chronological Order

01 A Quest from Allustan

Session Log of 2.9.2023

The 2nd Day of Needfest in the year 591

Four would-be adventurers longed for something greater than their simple little mining town of Diamond Lake.  And so, they were called by Allustan, the so-called "smartest man in Diamond Lake", to investigate possible cult activity going on in one of the oldest tombs in the Cairn Hills.  Allustan explained that people have gone missing in these tombs, and many others have sworn never to return.  He has hired an unlikely group of explorers to investigate a particular area known as the "Whispering Cairn".  It is in this tomb that untold mysteries and occult activity awaits.  Allustan gave each party member 60 gp and 3 healing potions and a promise that they would receive another 200 gp each, should they return alive.

Upon their arrival some eight hours later, the party was blocked from entry by dangerous, carnivorous plants.  None of the party members had seen this menace before, but with their skill and a little luck, the adventurers were victorious, but not without injuries, some of which were deep wounds that needed magical healing.

As the party peered inside the cave, they saw years of dust, an old bedroll, and strange writing upon the walls.

02 Mystery Lanterns and False Tombs

Session Log for 2.16.2023

The adventurers made their way through the Whispering Cairn.  Using animal handling and some rations, the party safely made it past a pack of wolves, while Esor was able to take a backpack from their den without being noticed. Once the party had dispatched some large Cavern Lizards who were hiding amongst the rocks, they were able to figure out the workings of a large sarcophagus, a turning arrow, several lanterns and rushing wind.

Investigators Lirael and Gimble called to attention the symbol on the neck of the sarcophagus carving, and identified it as something associated with ancient air elemental deities.  Further research into his book revealed that this symbol is one of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, one who called himself Zosiel.  Perhaps he built this tomb?  Or perhaps it was built for him?

They found that when the sarcophagus was turned towards a lantern, that caused something to move and turn within the cavern.  Directly to the north, though, something failed and a swarm of Acid Beetles came forth, along with a couple of Mad Slashers and a Cavern Lizard.

The party now faces a choice.  There are three possible pathways ahead: The yellow lantern created an elevator that rose up through the floor.  There is an enormous hole in the ground under the green lantern.  To the right, it seems a blue lantern is hung much farther up than the others.  Could there be another passageway to the northeast?

03 The Lamentation of Lestor Land

Session Log for 2.23.2023

After recovering from their latest battle against the denizens of the Whispering Cairn, our adventurers continued up through the transportation device to what might be the true tomb of the Wind Duke.  After Esor helped locate the traps in the area, the party was able to avoid them.  Once past the gaping maw of the entryway and the bright prism-like colors, the party found themselves standing on a 5 foot wooden beam.  And then another trap was set off.  Metal spheres began shooting at party members as they noticed a snake-like creature in the rubble below.  They dare not fall in.

Once past the flying spheres, the party was blocked from further advancement by a hideous undead.  This ghost spoke to the party.

"I have been here countless decades, punished for abandoning my family in a time of need. Over these years, I have seen explorers like you come and go. The trap in the walls kills most of them, but others have left in humiliation, unable to pass through the far metal door. I am unable to leave the way you came because of my curse, but I am able to push through the far wall. Beyond is a glorious chamber of strange carvings and a pillar of air. And there’s a catch on the other side of the door that opens it without a problem. I'll trigger it for you if you take my bones from here and bury them with my family on a farmstead just beyond Diamond Lake. Do this for me, and I will be free. I assure you there is no other way through that door."

And so, our adventurers fought the Grick below and found the bones of Lestor Land in an old chest, along with other items that Lestor no longer needed.

They return now back to Diamond Lake to find out what's become of Lestor's family, and to report back to Allustan Neff, their patron.

04 Bones and Chattering Teeth

Session Log for 3.2.2023

By nightfall, our adventurers had arrived at the Land Farmstead, where they were to investigate the area and deliver Lestor's bones to their rightful place.

While Esor and Wehttam scouted ahead, Lucious and the rest of the group followed recent humanoid tracks up the hill.  Esor spotted a lone guard hiding in the bushes in front of the dilapidated farm house and made the first strike, attempting to knock the mercenary unconscious.  One half of the group quickly took out two mercenaries, one of which was a low-level wizard named Merovinn.  Wehttam intimidated and questions him while Esor rifled through the other's belongings, seeing as he didn't need them anymore.

Then it was barbarian versus barbarian when Lucious took on the leader of the mercenaries, an albino half-orc named Kullen.  The battle might have gone on for days, were it not for the aid of the rest of the party.  Once Kullen was overwhelmed, he was allowed to flee.

Just then, the party noticed two hideous creatures crawling out of the Land family graveyard.  Drareg knew all there was to know about these accursed creatures, the Buso.  They were two humans, cursed to change into these hideous scavengers by night, while remembering nothing of their night time activities by day.  They were allowed to feast upon the body of one of the mercenaries while the party investigated the farm house.

Drareg found a letter that was from one Balabar Smenk to Kullen, instructing him and his gang of thugs to take bones out of the Land Graveyard and deliver them to someone named Filge.  None of the party knew who filch was or his connection to Smenk.

Drareg and the party decided NOT to bury the bones of Lestor here, as it was likely they would be dug up again by someone or some thing.

The party then returned to manor of Allustan to collect their reward, debrief, and find some answers.  The only connection the party could uncover to Filge was the Old Observatory.

05 A Cacophony at the Old Observatory

Session Log for 3.9.2023

Our adventurers began at the home of Allustan, where they reluctantly decided to tell him everything there was to know about their previous adventures, including the rescue of Lestor Land's bones.  The party decided that they would head to the Old Observatory to see what secrets lay hidden there.

After some buying and selling of goods, the party headed to the abandoned home and mine, where Allustan said they could rest up, or even revitalize the house, if they wished.

Arriving at the observatory, the party first spotted an owl that was clearly on the lookout for intruders.  Esor drank a potion of climbing that allowed him to scale up the walls of the observatory and though a second floor window.  Lucious climbed up a tree and crashed through the south side of the room not long after.  They discovered several potions, an alchemist's table, a mummified goblin (complete with suit and top hat) holding a platter with a severed head and several other oddities.  Once they heard the commotion below, they headed downstairs.

Before entering, Gimble and Torhild sang a song, the likes of which had never been heard in or near Diamond Lake.  The rest of the party had entered through the front door, only to find crossbows pointed at them held by common animated skeletons.  But these were no ordinary skeletons.  They were the bones of the Land family animated by some foul necromancer.  Gimble gathered up the bones once the fight was over.

The party entered the hallway to find another battle already taking place.  Lucious and Esor had taken on several Tomb Motes, tiny undead, diseased creatures.  Lucious and Torhild both contracted Corpse Bloat disease during the battle.  Drareg called upon the power of Velnius to banish the evil creatures.  The party took care of what was left.

In one of the bedrooms, the party found a letter from Balabar Smenk to one named Filge.

06 The Narcissistic Necromancer

Session Log for 3.16.2023

Our adventurers found a letter that was written from Balabar to Filge.  Drareg discovered that a second letter was written on top of the first.  Gimble used his magnifying glass to identify that the writing was in an old language he understood, Flan.  Gimble pointed out that the note seemed to be in a different tone than the first (most likely from a different writer).  It said:

The Dourstone Mine is the setting for cult activities of the Triad and its members, though it scares me to enter the place.  Ragnolin has been sufficiently blackmailed to their whims.  Treat all intruders into your operating theatre with extreme prejudice.  If you visit the Dourstone mine, mention the names Theldrik, the Faceless One, and Gralak Kur, and you will be provided with whatever resources you may need.  The Age of Worms cometh, and with it, your power and our day of reckoning.

This made the party even more determined to find Filge and end his reign of terror here.

The group entered the feasting hall again where animated zombies were gathered around a dining table, frozen in place until they began speaking.

“Once again, milord has provided a delicious meal," one zombie said in an accent tinged with the airs of nobility. “It is an honor to dine in your august presence."  Other diners chimed in with sycophantic comments of their own.  “The Guild of Wizardry was wrong to turn you out," a male elf corpse remarked. "You ought to show them like you showed me.”  The tattered remains of what must once have been a young woman spoke up next. "I shouldn't have ever doubted you, Filge," it said earnestly. “I always loved you when we were together. Now I will love you forever."

Disgusted at this blatant display of evil, the party moved up to the second floor, where they found more scrawlings of a mad wizard.

Filge was waiting for them on the third floor, where many zombies broke free from their glass cages to attack the party.  Esor used the remainder of his climbing potion to move around the outside of the observatory to the other side.  Lucious attacked the biggest zombie, and Wehttam found the high ground.  But it was Drareg, last in the order, who moved to the operating table to call upon Velnius to turn all of the undead in the room.  Once the undead were under control, Filge relented.

Using persuasion and a Zone of Truth, the party discovered everything that Filge knew about the plot to take over Diamond Lake and beyond.

"Balabar and I were mates 20 years ago in the Free City. I laugh now to think of how far he’s come in so little time. How respectful people around here are toward him. Ha! If they only knew! Balabar called me up from the Free City for a bit of study about some weirdness in town. He got himself brought down to a hidden part of the Dourstone Mines a month ago, to set up some provisioning deal with the dwarf what runs the place. But the mine was crawling with awful beasts in hooded robes. He said their wild cries made his stomach heave. The cultists—they called themselves the Ebon Triad —said something about the Age of Worms, about strange undead in the southern hills and the swamp. Smenk knew he had to prepare a defense, so he called in his undead expert. Me.  I needed helpers, so I got Smenk’s white half-orc to fetch the raw materials. I have no idea where he got them. The Dourstone Mine is along the road east of here, but this hell-hole is your town, not mine. You tell me where it is. If you're going, best be careful.  There are at least 30 guards at any one time.  Smenk said the place scared him. which I wouldn’t have thought possible before I heard him say it myself.  Smenk says the cult called the Ebon Triad follows Hextor, Erythnul, and Vecna, the Lich-Lord of old. If true, the place must be crawling with delicious secrets. I’d love to accompany you if you intend to go.  Balabar nicked that jar from a laboratory in the Dourstone Mine. It's very rare. Dead now, of course, but once it and hundreds of worms like it must have wriggled within the abscesses and orifices of a powerful undead creature called a spawn of Kyuss. These are probably the ’unkillable' zombies the cultists mentioned to Smenk. If true, it could be a real problem. Those worms can get inside you and turn you undead in about a day.  I know very little of the god, Kyuss.  He appeared more than a thousand years ago in the Rift Canyon to the north. In a short time, he created dozens of new undead breeds and amassed a legion of creatures bound to his will. They say an undead dragon stood at his side as the general of this force. Now, only the green worms remain of his legacy. That and his title: Harbinger of the Age of Worms.  The Age of Worms is the Waiting Age, an era of catastrophe that lurks in the shadows of every tomorrow. Scholars obsessed with apocalyptic visions claim that its advent signals an interminable period of suffering in which the cosmic scales shift disastrously toward evil and light fades from the land.”

07 Legends of the Wind Dukes

Session Log for 3.30.2023

Our adventurers returned from the observatory to their new party base at the abandoned house with a tale to tell Allustan.  They explained everything they saw and discovered that the necromancer, Filge, the was up to.  After a long rest, they decided to return Lestor's bones to the Land Farmstead graveyard.  First, they needed to retrieve the bones from Amariss at the Boneyard.  Amariss handed the party a pair of gold wedding rings, which, she said were enchanted to keep any cursed or undead creatures from harming the graves again.

Then it was back to the Whispering Cairn, where they climbed the chain to meet with Lestor Land.  It appeared that there was another larger Grick in the metal spheres below this time.  The seal on the tomb rolled away, and before them was an enormous circular room.  Drareg and Wehttam began investigating the walls while Esor, Gimble and Meriel moved to the center of the room.

These were the images on the walls:

These images shift and move, making them come alive with action.

Southwest Image: This image depicts a peaceful scene featuring several vaati relaxing in an idyllic country scene. Dozens of perfect circles fill the sky above the frolicking figures. As the steam runs over the image, dark, twisted shapes emerge from the sculpture’s edges. The shapes coalesce to form monstrous creatures that look like a cross between spiders and wolves. As the creatures approach the Wind Dukes the circles in the sky begin to burst one by one.

Northwest Image: This image depicts a towering vaati figure wearing the glyph of Icosiol standing over a legion of lesser Wind Duke warriors. The central warrior bears the glyph of Zosiel, but each figure bears a glyph of a distinct Wind Duke warrior.  As the steam plays about the image, the warriors raise longswords in salute to Icosiol.

Northeast Image: A group of seven proud noble Wind Dukes present a staff-like rod to a council of superior vaati in this gallery image.  As the steam fills the bas-reliefs contours the central figure raises the staff above his head, where it splits into seven irregular parts.

Southeast Image: The bas-relief in this gallery depicts the final battle between Law and Chaos. As the steam moves about the image, the Wandering Duke Qadeej impales Miska the

Wolf-Spider, a demonic entity that looks like a drider with four arms and a human head flanked by two wolf heads. As the Wolf-Spider, Rod, and Qadeej vanish into a planar rift, Icosiol is struck by a beam from Miska's eyes and slumps dead to the ground.

Once the party moved to the center, the chamber's final guardians, the Wind Warriors, appeared.  Gimble charmed two of them with Heart Tamer, and two were dispatched by the party.

08 Storming the Whispering Cairn

Session Log for 4.13.2023

Our adventurers have decided to explore more of the Whispering Cairn with Lestor's help.  In the Lair of the Architect, they were met with a block of stone, and squeezed through a small opening, though Lucious was apt to bring the thing down.

Gimble fell asleep on a not-so-comfortable bed of stone and found it difficult to wake up.  When he did, he was more tired than when he fell asleep.  It must have been the strange magics of this place.

The party explored the Lair of the Architect, without too much of a fight.  But there was one addition to the party, an earth elemental by the name of Artifax who was placed there by the wind dukes to oversee the labor of the building.  Drareg found he could speak the elemental's language, and they were able to pacify the beast.

Then, it was on to the Lair of the Laborers.

09 Weird Encounters

Session Log for 4.20.2023

Tired but determined, our brave adventurers were nearing the end of their exploration of the Whispering Cairn.  As they approached the flooded baths, Gimble discovered the thoughts of two entities in the water, and one mind filled with menace and evil.  Meriel created an ice floe, and Lucious rode atop her giant Octopus form.  The water weird elementals made the first move, as they were invisible in their native water.  Wehttam took to climbing the walls to find a better vantage point, but there was no luck there, as he was forced to try his hands at swimming. Esor's aim was true as many of his and Lucious' shots fell true against the Weirds.  Drareg watched the chaos ensue as he stood on Meriel's ice floe casting spells from Vilnius' power of the storm.

10 Needfest in Diamond Lake

Session Log for 4.27.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

After more than a day and a night in total darkness exploring the crypt, it was good to see the sun again. We stopped to rest at the old home Alustan is loaning to us, and I made sure the horses were doing OK. We dropped off the stone egg containing Artephax, the golem who seems eager to follow our commands and even more eager to wreck havok when he runs out of things to do. We will have to be careful with him.

On the way we noted many wagons has passed in or out of town, perhaps from the travelling circus; we decided to venture into town and see it, bringing our found treasures to sell as well. Our first stop was at Alustan's home, to inform him of all that we'd found in the crypt. We entrusted him with the large metal circlet that perhaps has something to do with the sphere of annihilation we witnessed; he may figure out how it is used. He told us of a clue in the Dourstone Mine: an elevator that may lead us to answers about the Triad Cult.

Drareg donned his new Circlet of Zosiel, which has multiple uses: comprehending languages, identifying the magical nature of items and detecting magic in general. Gimble attuned to Filch's skull necklace, and both Esor and I took a bone; now we can easily communicate with him from seemingly any distance. We do not know who is in possession of the one missing bone.

Our next stop was at Venelle's. It was so good to catch up a little and introduce her to my new friends, but for the first time I realized there was much that I couldn't tell her. She kindly bought many of our found items and wasn't nearly as surprised as I thought that we found them delving in an old crypt. I guess she's heard me speak fondly of trying the adventuring life many times!

We stopped at the alchemist's shop for a few potions, then on to the annual festival of Needfest in the town square. The strongest among us had a go at the axe throwing challenge, and we tested our mettle tossing daggers; no one hit a bystander, so I consider that a win all around. The "Drop in the Bucket" guessing the number of tankards was more difficult than I thought. The Hammer Slam was great fun, and one of us won the grand prize I think. We even played the Fishing children's game, and I'm terribly fond of this rum flask carved from a coconut that I won.

But the whole rest of the world faded away when I saw the Rat Maze challenge. What an elaborate labyrinth of tunnels! I had to experience it as a rat, running for the win. Gimble and my eyes met, and I could see him concocting a plan in an instant. He persuaded the gypsies to allow him to bring his "pet rat Peppermint" to the race, and we ducked around the corner so I could wildshape. We returned and they set me at the starting line.

In a flash we were off! At first I ran randomly down a turn or two, following rats that looked like they new the way. Then I could hear Gimble shouting directions, and I started to pull into the lead. When it seemed I might be near the finish, there was just one rat ahead. I squeaked to him that the cheese at the end was already gone, and he was running for nothing. He slowed and look back at me sadly, and I ran ahead to win the race!

As it turned out, Gimble bet quite a bit on us, and now my purse is heavy with gold. I've never had more than a couple of coins of my own; this newfound wealth is surprising. There are many poor townspeople at the fair today; I must find some ways to share my winnings.

We saved the hot pepper eating challenge for last. We don't eat a lot of spicy food at the Lodge, and I failed on the first try with the hellhound peppers. Others in our group kept going valiantly, trying the ever hotter effriti peppers, fire giant peppers, and then the red dragon peppers. Drareg won the challenge! I think I have a recipe for a potion made from hot peppers; Torhild kindly sold me a few of hers at half price so I can give it a try. I wonder if the druids would be able to plant some in our garden at the Lodge.

11 Bizarre Happenings at Lazare's House

Session Log for 5.4.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

I feel stronger, more capable. Powerful spells that I learned about years ago with the druids suddenly seem possible for me to cast on my own. I gave Gimble a high "5" in celebration.

Lucious headed off to get the massage he won as a grand prize. I thought we might seek out the three individuals that piqued our interest earlier in the day; the woman who was doing so well at the dagger toss and the two others. But before we could take three steps, Wehttam was hailed by Lazare Chance, who stepped out of his gaming parlor. I assumed he just wanted to invite Wehttam in for a game of dragonchess, but he beckoned us all inside, and I could tell by the look on his face that he had more he wanted to share than a game.

The interior was quiet and serene, and the menu was delightful. We ordered up some exquisite food and drinks, and Gimble was told there might be something here that could cure his exhaustion in a snap. But it wasn't an espresso or a cappuccino; Alustan was here with a refreshing spell ready for him! He introduced us to his adorable familiar, Parker the dachshund.

Alustan congratulated us on doing well in the wind crypt, and revealed that Smenk is somehow aware that we killed Filge! He tells us that creatures with no eyes have been seen going to Smenk's house late at night; it is assumed they are coming from the Dourstone mine. He adds that noone has seen Ragnolin Dourstone, the dwarf mine owner, in quite some time.

Alustan thinks that Smenk may be at odds with the cult. We had thought he might want to use the cult to create an army of undead things and invade the town. Clearly that's what Filge was hoping for, and it's possible the cult has this goal. But Smenk might just be his old greedy gluttonous self, and would rather eliminate the cult and add the Dourstone mine to his collection. Now it's clear we have two enemies, both who wish to destroy the town in different ways.

Alustan handed Wehttam a note written in Suel which only he among us can read. It was a "cordial" invitation from Smenk to come to the Feral Dog at 1PM for a job.

Before we could discuss it further, we heard a woman's scream outside. We rushed to the windows and the doorway, only to be shot with arrows by a flock of kenku bandits! Only then did I realize the scream must have been a kenku mimic ruse. Drareg rushed them with his spirit guardians while Gimble handily incapacitated three of them with a hypnotic pattern. Esor took out one with a single ferocious arrow while Wehttam threw ice knives at another.

Torhild ran down the alley after one bandit with swords slashing while I cast a new spell, erupting the earth under two kenku and taking out a large corner of the Feral Dog in the process. I've always despised that horrid pit of of a place and the dogfighting that happens there. How fitting to dismantle the spot Smenk wanted to meet us in tomorrow! With canines on my mind, I wildshaped into a dire wolf, gracefully leapt down the narrow alley over the heads of two of my friends to flatten one of the kenku and give him a bite. No, they do not taste like chicken.

With the remaining kenku surrendured, we were able to learn that the Faceless One sent them, and we can find him in the Dourstone mine. Gimble observed that the Faceless One was definitely "giving us the bird." We saw that the kenku's faces were tattooed with the hand of Vecna.

We returned inside for another round of drinks and to decide what to do next, but we could not yet decide on our next step. Gimble drew a hilarious caricature of Smenk and captioned it "I love goblin balls!" which Lazare proudly pasted on the bar.

Secrets:

PCs are invited to a quick game of Dragonchess.

Lazare tells them a secret.  People who visit his tavern are disappearing.  He says that anyone who has worked at the Dourstone mine have disappeared, especially if they are connected the flophouse.

Ellival Moonmeadow is there.  He says that he has seen a group of strange eyeless creatures heading to the Smenk residence.

Smenk has a note for them.  In Suel.  Meet me at my house.  I have a proposition for you.

12 A Growing Predicament

Session Log for 5.11.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn: After successfully battling the kenku bandits, we agreed the Garrison would be the best place to take them to find justice. But before we could depart, we heard Lazare Chance exclaim in anguish. His daughter Dannath had been kidnapped! Not wanting to let the trail go cold, Lucious agreed to take the kenku to the Garrison and catch up with us as we searched for her. Gimble gave Lucious one of the bones so they could communicate. We asked Allustan if he knew more of how the necklace worked. He shared that the message spell is two-way and has very little limit on distance at all; it can travel many miles. Someone with the missing bone might be able to hear words that Gimble is saying, so we should be careful and perhaps use code words at key times. Gimble quickly deducted the path Dannath had been taken; to the Dourstone mine! When we arrived, yet another kenku was about to take her in, and she looked to be mind-controlled. Gimble frightened the kenku into running and I stopped Dannath, only to learn that she came of her own free will. She’d met the Faceless One and found his mystery strangely charming! We took her back with us, and along the way she became just as easily enamored of Gimble’s charismatic style. After a tearful reunion with her father, we spoke at length of better choices she could make as a young adult. She agreed she would come with me to try life at the Bronzewood Lodge and learn to brew the beer she’d been serving up in the gaming parlor. I admit my desire to help her is rather self-serving; if someone new is there in my place in the kitchens, perhaps my parents will find it easier when I leave town on this grand adventure I hope to have. Lucious told us what happened at the Garrison: he was granted membership in the Knights of Holy Shielding, a group of lawful good warriors. He met Valkus Dun, the High Priest of Hieroneous who maintains a shrine there. Valkus knew of our quest, and he offered aid in defeating Hextor. We stayed the night at Lazare’s, and the next day agreed we should meet with Balabar Smenk at the Feral Dog. (Gimble said “Yahtzee” is the code word if things so south.) Smenk had a surprisingly squeaky voice and an unsurprisingly duplicitous offer: to pay us a ludicrous amount of gold to go in and take whatever we wanted from the Dourstone mine and kill whomever stood in our way. I concentrated and detected Smenk’s thoughts, which were plain: he despised us and the cultists, and wished us all dead. Lucious tried to intimidate him into giving us some gold up front, and a brief skirmish with his guards ensued. Gimble’s bardic mind tricks saved us from bloodshed, convincing the guard he’d rather become a carpenter and quit working for Smenk. Then amazingly Smenk himself fell under the spell of Gimble’s magic helm. His eyes glowing purple, he gave us his magic items and agreed enthusiastically to fight with us in the mine!

As the party began tracking the kidnapped Dannath, Lucious headed to the garrison turn in the murderous Kenku and speak with Valkus Dun.  The leader of the Heironeous chapel and the Knights of Holy Shielding invited Lucious to become a part of their faction.  Lucious agreed, and Valkus handed Lucious a pin that he was to wear at all times.  Valkus warned Lucious that if they pursued the cultists into their lair, they would come across the mortal enemies of the Knights, the Cult of Hextor.  Lucious was instructed to end their reign as soon as possible.

13 Down to the Dark Cathedral

Session Log for 5.18.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

It is now the 3rd day of the month of Fireseek, and the air is chill with frost.

Balabar Smenk continues to be firmly bound by Gimble's spell, and we spoke with him at length. He claims no responsibility for the illness and death of Lazare's wife. He told us a bit more about the Triad Cult: Theldrik is a military commander of the cult of Hextor. Someone named Gralak Kur is a lead worshipper of Erythnul, a god of Slaughter. Smenk hates him as his eyeless undead followers killed Smenk's right hand man.

Gimble convinced him to offer drink coupons to encourage the miners to gather at the Feral Dog and leave the mine as empty as possible. If we speak to him again when we return, I hope we can have him put an end to the dogfighting there.

We rested at the home Alustan provided us, and I cooked up a very Hearty Meal. Torhild took some time to try and piece together the torn treasure map she won at the festival. It looks to be a map of a marshland location that definitely contains a treasure of some kind! It will take further study to determine where in the Flanaess we can venture to find it.

Then we ventured to the entrance of the Dourstone Mine. It was well guarded, but the guards were easily persuaded by Gimble's silver tongue, a stack of drink coupons, and a tidy sum of gold. Once inside, Foreman Gerreld was more difficult to persuade, but Gimble was successful and he let us pass without bloodshed.

We found the boarded up entrance to the mine elevator, and Lucious easily bashed an opening for us. Then we were met with a puzzle: an old elevator that could only be operated from inside, with room for only 3 people and 500 pounds of weight total. I wish we had thought to strategize a way for us all to descend together; instead we sent half the group down in hopes of being able to make a return trip for the rest. But there was no time to return.

Once Gimble, Drareg, Esor, and Wehttam reached the bottom, three tiefling worshippers of Hextor heard the elevator in motion. I wildshaped into a giant spider and descended the elevator shaft quickly on a silken strand, while Torhild and Lucious scrambled to safely climb down using a grappling hook and claws.

Gimble delayed the guards briefly by disguising himself as a tiefling, but battle soon broke out. We are a powerful group of adventurers, and the guards were no match for us. With the guards defeated, we can see three doors which hold secrets: doorways to Hextor, Vecna, and Erythnul. There is also a large black pool the guards had been centered around; what could it contain?

14 Hextor is the Next Door

Venturing into the subterranean temple to Hextor and defeating his cult commander

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We investigated the room to determine its purpose and any secrets. Esor sent his dancing lights down into the black pool, and we saw that the water was clear, cold, and extremely deep; no bottom could be discerned. We noticed blood and scratches around the edges; best not to get too close. The walls revealed traces of Vecna's personal library from ages ago. No doubt the Triad Cult found this location fitting for their evil purposes.

We had defeated the guards in the main temple chamber, and so we rested to ready ourselves for fiercer battles ahead. While I sat in my meditative trance, a moment of inspiration struck me; an idea for how to rid the Feral Dog of its dog fighting. I hope that when we emerge from the depths that the Rhennee are still around, perhaps packing up after the festival. I also hope that Smenk might be still under Gimble's spell, so he might be convinced of an idea.

Three doors waited for us to make a choice. With Lucious's membership in the Knights of Holy Shielding, Hextor seemed the most pressing. Lucious was ready to show them the justice of his blade, and we cautiously approached the door. Esor skillfully disarmed traps and unlocked doors, and we were in.

The first chamber held a small platoon of more than a dozen skeletal soldiers, heavily armed. We avoided touching them and examined the room to see a knocker on the wall. Someone remembered the code in the letter from Smenk that might be the key to disarming them, and carefully knocked the pattern. Nothing happened, but that's the nothing we were hoping for. We moved down the hallway to check the next room.

The door was locked, and we heard voices chanting. Someone brilliantly suggested I turn mouse and scout, and I was able to slip under the door in my tiny brown fuzzy form. There was no cheese or crumbs on the floor, just the feet of 12 mean-looking cultists in armor and robes. I retreated and announced I was feverish to attack those who planned to destroy my town, but my wise teammates talked sense and we moved on.

I scouted another side room, revealing two drowsy guards and a statue to Hextor. We decided it best to save our strength for Theldrik if we could find him. I am so glad of how well this group works together!

Ahead were three more doors. Under the door to the left, my beady mouse eyes looked up and widened at the view of a huge boar! I thought about speaking in its language, but I wasn't sure if simply alerting it to our presence would enrage it. Perhaps I can persuade it if we get the chance again; no doubt it has been mistreated and might prefer attacking its captors to attacking us.

Under the far double doors, I viewed a large chamber, ringed with cultists on a raised walkway and a huge menacing statue at its center. Drareg was struck by a horrifying vision of an animated version of this statue made more terrible by dark powers, rampaging through Diamond Lake and stomping off to destroy everything in its path. He was gifted a spell by his god, a special smite to defeat the evil.

We moved onward. Esor disarmed a nasty trap that might have put us all out of commission and reset it so the cultists would set off the sleep gas if they walk by.

Then we were able to surprise two pairs of guards in quick succession. I wildshaped into a giant spider, and everyone joined in the battle and dispatched them quickly. Beyond was a stench-filled room with two undead assailants. As we rushed in to defeat them, from the side room Theldrik appeared!

Theldrik used his dark cleric powers to twist fate, and all the luck we had progressing through the temple ran out. Every attack we made failed to hit, and every spell failed to complete! His spirit guardians swirled around him and battered my teammates bloody. I turned to jump in the fray, but before I could move, cultists appeared down the other hallway and attacked Wehttam!

I shot as much webbing as I could in that direction and managed to stick one cultist to the wall and bite another. The third (pictured) was too busy reading Fifty Shades of Thay and didn't even look up when we killed him.

We were weary but persevered, and at last the final blow was struck, and Theldrik was defeated!

Secrets:

hidden

15 A Slog With a Hog Through the Underdark

Session Log for 6.1.2023

Theldrik was dead! We recovered his armor and a necklace with a dragon's tooth, along with valuables and gold that belonged to him and his two lieutenants.

The party found his journal and a scroll, both of which were written in Infernal, a language which Torhild spoke and which Drareg and Gimble could understand through spells. But of all the writing on the parchments only two sentences could be made out, the rest was written in some sort of cypher. Esor was able to make some sense of the code and find a few clues. The two lines were:

Seven corpses stir in four tombs

EEST BCWHOT IENST PATHOS IIO PRNL

The party was able to discern that the code focused on every fourth letter, and from there, they could make sense of the cypher. The second line translated to

"EBON ASPECT STIRS WITHIN THE POOL"

The DM was impressed :)

Gimble suggested an amusing notion of writing a message in spiderweb, but we didn't have a moment to spare while the cultists reacted; I saved the idea for later. Torhild cut off Theldrik's head, put it on a pike, and wrote along it "The Faceless One Sends His Regards." Then we retreated quickly towards the entrance.

I could not leave the boar in chains for them to torture. Gimble and Torhild gave me their rations, and I spoke to the enormous beast as gently and simply as I could. He was hungry, always hungry, devouring 30 days of rations and growling for more. The party named him Chunk.

I was able to convince him we could free him, and unlocked his chains with held breath. Chunk did not attack, instead barreling towards the exit. He set off the armored skeleton trap and kept running, laying waste to the skeletons and dragging several down the hall as he ran. He hit the floor trap as well and kept going like it was nothing at all.

We followed Chunk out, and Gimble shattered the hallway behind us to hopefully trap the cultists in their temple for a day or two. Torhild remembered we could use the wand of enlarge/reduce to get him up the elevator, but that would put the miners in harm's way. I convinced him to wait in the Dark Cathedral while we infiltrated the cult of Erythnul. Meanwhile he could snack on two dead guards if he was still hungry.

The door to Erythnul's temple was rough stone; no lock for Esor to pick. I was able to mold earth to give us a tunnel beneath it. Then we walked down, down for perhaps an hour in winding dark tunnels.

Suddenly up ahead was a single lit torch. Esor scouted and we learned of a trap; mud soaked with fuel that could be easily lit by torches linked with a string. Drareg blew out the torch with a gust of wind, and we moved forward cautiously. Suddenly Esor cried out; his leg trapped in a bear trap under the mud! Torhild and Drareg worked together to get him out of it, and I moved the earth as we went forward to avoid any more traps.

We came to a precipice, and our party planned an excellent way across; swinging tarzan-style on a rope of spiderweb! But when I crawled to the ceiling to set it up, suddenly arrows shot out of the darkness. The party fought several Grimlocks, grey-skinned primitive humanoids with no eyes. When two of them fell, a Carrion Crawler crawled to them and began to eat.

Thinking it was distracted, Torhild jumped down into the pit to get across. But the monster smelled more it could eat, and attacked! We fought, and I was able to trap it in a web and restrain it, and the party defeated it.

16 The Bridge to Grallak Kur

Session Log for 6.8.2023

We are back in Vecna's old library next to the black pool. Chunk is fed and settled as are we, and I have time to write. What a day!

After we defeated the grimlocks and carrion eater in the cavern, we discussed which way to push forward. The tunnel midway through the rock seemed like the safest bet. We climbed up and began to wind our way single file down the dark narrow passage. A grimlock barbarian attacked us, seeming eager to die at our hands. My spiderweb along with a critical hit by Drareg and a few other good smacks by our party took her out quickly.

We searched her and found gold as well as a Wand of Cure Wounds and a bloodstained burlap sack containing the head of a drow priestess! Who could it be?

On the other side, the tunnel opened onto the entrance to a rope bridge of three ropes in a triangle formation. Clearly Grallak Kur likes to encourage collaboration amongst his followers with trust-building activities. Before we could progress, we spotted an unknown number of foes on the other side. I cast faerie fire, and one hideous reptilian form glowed purple. Apparently they're called destrachans. So creepy!

Gimble tried his shatter spell and had some success; Wehttam followed with a much louder shatter spell that shocked their eardrums soundly! Then their arrows flew back at us, and one filled with dark evil energy hit Wehttam squarely. He fell to the ground, unconscious!

Torhild bravely ran across the bridge to draw their fire, only to slip into the cavern below. Fortunately she was not gravely injured, as the fall was not far. Esor nimbly danced across the bridge. I stepped out onto the bridge to try a spell, but when I lifted my hands to weave the spell's shape, I plummeted.

Fortunately the rest of our party was ready up above with arrows and spells to attack, and Drareg healed Wehttam with his cleric magic. Down below, Torhild finished off a foe, and I used Mold Earth to dislodge another from the cliff's edge, bringing him down next to her ready sword.

After the battle, we ventured further into the depths of the winding caverns. The smell of rotting meat was nearly as bad as our stench after the battles and the fire trap! I cast Pass Without a Trace, hoping to help us silently creep past tunnels filled with busy grimlocks. We reached a small cavern where we found Grallak Kur!

Kur was crouched on a ledge tripping on mushrooms while his three followers stoked a magical fire. We had a moment to strategize, and our casters agreed multiple Shatter spells were the best strategy against powerful enemies with no eyes. Wehttam, Drareg, and Gimble shattered them one after the other, blowing out their eardrums (and blowing off their garments, ewww) and the witch doctor died!

The party battled and took down the two other priests. Torhild released her breath weapon on Grallak Kur, and then Drareg's guiding bolt dealt the final blow. He was defeated! I crawled up the ledge to retrieve his body, and saw he was crouched on a teleportation circle. Torhild removed his head and Gimble wrote a missive on his cheek, but we were unable to activate the portal to send our message. Gimble then scratched it out so it could not be used.

We found various riches, including a rope of climbing and vestments that change into whatever fine clothing one might be imagining.

I must remember one other strange item we found: on the witch doctor was a bone carved into the shape of something similar to but not quite a swan.

We were able to retreat safely out of the tunnels after the battle and return here. Before we slept, we examined Vecna's door from a safe distance; it radiates with desert heat and sand.

I could use a dip in that pool to wash off the mess, but I think that's a bad idea.

17 Echoes of the Whispered One

Session Log for 6.15.2023

5th Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

Torhild remained in the Dark Cathedral for this portion of our adventure, but I was able to convince Chunk to come with us! He had eaten the two bodies of the cultists we brought back from Erythnul's temple and was ravenous again. I cast Animal Friendship on him and told him of fresh meat to be chomped in Vecna's cult. He agreed to travel with us for a day.

Esor studied the door and found it free of traps. Gimble uncovered runes around its edge, written in an ancient form of I think it was Flan or Suel? He used his Wand of Secrets to reveal it was a portal to another place, not just a tunnel underground. We opened the door to find a short hallway leading to a skull-decorated shrine to Vecna, his left hand atop a pedestal.

The pedestal read "Those who wish to know the secrets of the Evil One, take my hand!" Gimble did not talk to the hand; instead we all joined hands, and I grasped Chunk behind the ear. Then we touched the pedestal and were transported!

We were hit with 112 degree dry air as we landed on a vast desert plain. The pedestal was behind us; hopefully we can use it to return. Someone noted it looked like we must be in the Dry Steppes, a great many miles from Diamond Lake. Not far was a huge tent in the traditional Baklunish style, and not far past that, a mysterious sandstone temple in the shape of the head of Anubis.

From the tent's entrance an elderly sage beckoned and invited us in to "tea." Inside the tent were many comforts: overlapping rugs and cushions in woven patterns, hanging brass lanterns and cloth to keep out the sand in the air, scented incense and the smell of spiced cooking. He introduced himself as Alhamazad, and gave us some strong spiced coffee:

Everyone who drank the coffee received advantage on Athletics checks and Con saves for 1 hour

Alhamazad quipped "You will not survive if you do not prepare!" He told us:

The dust devils arise without warning, and we must hunker down until they pass to survive.

Be very careful what items you take from the temple of the Faceless One. Perhaps he means they may be cursed?

We thanked him and began our short trek to the temple. Suddenly a dust devil did appear out of nowhere, and a gang of kenku bandits as well! I reacted quickly and extremely poorly, forgetting my spells and diving for the nearby rocks while wildshaping into a rhinoceros. Lucious raced ahead and roared to battle several kenku at the temple. Esor hit the bandits with arrows and Wehttam with firebolts, while Gimble mocked them severely. Chunk charged one and turned it into rotisserie chicken on a tusk. Wehttam's ray of frost turned another into a frozen chicken dinner. Drareg called lightning down from the heavens, roasting several birds and knocking one off the temple top.

The battle over, Drareg used a wand of cure wounds on Lucious, and we entered the temple. Disturbing green veins in black marble made me wince, and mesmerized Esor completely; he could not move for several minutes. No visible door could be found, but the Wand of Secrets revealed one.

The way forward was narrow, and so I let Chunk know he could run out to the desert. Perhaps we will not see him again, but who knows. We moved on to find closets full of supplies with Smenk's rooster icon on the boxes, and a cache of simple weapons. Moving on down the steps we entered a room of horrors!

We were met with a profound stench, metallic like the smell of blood. The room was pitch dark, but Esor sent his dancing lights in to illuminate the space. Five black columns looked like they were made of tar (or congealed blood?) and as we watched in alarm, many sinister hands pressed out from them!

We moved in cautiously, staying far from the columns except for Lucious, who ventured too close and nearly got grabbed by them! Around the room five frescoes came to life:

Shifting paintings hang on the walls. The paintings are of various scenes and locales in the Flanaess.

Baklunish Capital.  Tovag Baragu.  The scene shows a city of clearly ancient design, lit by the moon, stars, and torchlight. It rises up over the shore of a gently lapping lake. Ships bob along the shore and occasional flying creatures move across the sky.

Dorakaa: The city is a grim and filthy place. The streets are filled with Goblins and Orcs. Skulls seem to be the predominant motif in architecture and decoration. This is a land hostile to all that is good. This is the capital of Iuz's realm.

Ancient Flan: It shows a strange land (one of the ancient empires of modern-day Keoland), again clearly of an older age. The people dress in clothing long since outdated, garments today seen only in tomb paintings and ancient statues. Chariots, bronze weapons, and strange races mingle among them.

The Citadel Cavitius: This archway looks out over a grey, gloomy expanse. At first it seems featureless, but close inspection reveals the dim outline of a massive skull in the distance.

Empire of the Whispered One: This archway is just forming as the characters arrive. Currently it is only a window. The scene shows the remains of an immense palace, shattered and broken. The destruction could only have occurred moments before, since rubble is still crumbling away and people are running in confusion. Even in destruction, the palace looks both majestic and corrupt.  This is the palace of the Spidered Throne, the seat of Vecna's ancient empire.

It is here that I must stop to write, to tear my eyes away from this scene. I saw no way out of this room; perhaps someone will investigate the basalt altar and the jeweled dagger there to find out more, while I stare and my fury grows.

18 A Dilemma with a Dastardly Druid

Session Log for 6.22.2023

From the Journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

The 7th Day of Needfest, 591 CY

I have not had the chance to write down what occurred some time ago, before our descent into the Dourstone Mine. Allustan told us of a meeting with his brother the Govenor/Mayor Lanod Neff, who had a job for us. I was hesitant to consider any service to the supposed leader who let Diamond Lake decay while he prospered, but then Allustan said Nogwier would be there as well, and then I had no hesitation to attend.

We discussed the plan amongst us, and Drareg, Wehttam, Esor and Lucious opted to stay behind, while Torhild, Gimble and I attended to learn what was being asked of us. It turns out Neff's plan was to wine and dine us in the most ostentatious fashion, as if our loyalty could be acquired as easily as luxuries bought with tax dollars or given to him as bribes.

I ate and drank lightly and found an opportune moment to ask Nogwier what he surmised from the dinner and deceptively casual conversation. He responded with one of his classic proverbs, "Surveillance should proceed saltation." I could not agree more.

Then the three of them described the problem: a druid named Clarese Itel is suspected of multiple murders of local wealthy families. The trouble revolves around a third Neff brother, Daedus, who lives on a country estate west of town. He and his family have not been seen in ten years; it is suspected they are dead. Clarese was once employed by Daedus to manage his own private zoo, and she may be twisting druid magic to enrage wildlife, causing them to attack and kill people. There have been other wealthy individuals killed recently who were travelling along the road near the estate; it is unknown if it was the result of bandits or savage animals. Clarese once was a follower of Beory, but may have lately become under the influence of Tharizdun.

The Governor/Mayor offered us 1000GP to each of us in exchange for solving the mystery of the missing family and bringing Clarese in, dead or alive. We agreed to take the job, and decided to ask around town for any information that might be helpful. We stopped in Taggin's General Store so that Torhild could purchase a holy symbol of Beory. There we ran into the sweetest grandmother, Ms Hoffmeyer, who told us that there had definitely been recent deaths on the road west of town, and we ought to be very careful. She also asked for help in her garden despite the Fireseek weather, and I agreed to send over a couple of Bronzewood Lodge kids who need some volunteer hours to graduate. Taggin told us he used to take his kids to the Neff zoo many years ago, but he had heard it had closed down suddenly about ten years ago due to some accident.

We then headed to the manor. On the road we encountered a turned over wagon, its contents spilling out. Gimble investigated and found it could not have been here for more than a few hours. We found traces of the pyschotropic Kalamanthis plant. It is grown and carefully guarded by the monks at the Twilight Monastery, so these merchants were probably smuggling contraband.

As we walked closer to the manor, I also spotted unusual trees, varieties that are only found a great distance from the Diamond Lake area, such as bronzewood trees and even young ipp trees. We approached the high walls and could see two sprawling buildings, the manor and the zoo. We decided to search the manor first, to see if anyone still lived there and what information we might gather about what happened to the family.

We scaled the wall to avoid detection, and quietly climbed in a window. The rooms inside were dark, dusty and long abandoned, and unnaturally frosty. The first room looked like it was once a study, but was now filled with many barrels of surprisingly fresh-smelling ale. Each barrel had a different icon scrawled on it like a caricature, as if a child was deciding what to name the drink. Torhild bravely poured herself a pint and pronounced it delicious, and I had a sip - agreed!

Suddenly two ghosts appeared! Two spectral children, twins, about ten years old. These must be the twins, Sigwell and Sipidus Neff. They told us they brew the beer as that's what they planned to be when they grew up. They tell us their mother and father are also ghosts in the house, as well as something dark and scary, an entity full of malice. They do not know where it is or what it is, and their fearful thoughts of it causes them to vanish for now.

In the next room is the daughter's room, the unfortunately named Gluckstern. Here is evidence of violence, blood on the floor. We search and find a Scroll of Bone Shards and an exquisitely crafted toy plush bronze dragon worth 500GP.

Then we walked into the living room. Many animal head hunting trophies had been mounted on the walls, but some had fallen on the floor. Before we could investigate, another ghost appeared, this one of the father, Daedus, Allustan's brother. He began to order us around like servants, demanding we put the heads back up on the wall.

Gimble wisely began to talk with him while putting a few of the heads back up, hoping for information. What we got was the most horrific bravado. Daedus gloated over his macabre prizes, describing how he hunted these innocent creatures. Each was more heartwrenching than the last, including a unicorn he slaughtered after sneaking into Celene's forest!

I will write more once I have time; my candle grows short and it is nearly dawn, and my anger boils at the memory.

19 Fighting Our Way to the Faceless One

Session Log for 6.29.2023

5th Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We had been standing in this chamber of strange and horrible animated scenes, in between us black columns with hands threatening to reach out and grab us. I was able to tear my eyes away from the scene on the wall of the destruction of Diamond Lake, to turn and see that several foes had appeared! Two acolytes of Vecna attacked us from the corner, while a shadowy armored humanoid emerged from a column on the other side of the room. Gimble called it an Allip.

Esor's sneak attacks injured the acolytes severely. I tried to dive into the fight as a bear but was quickly caught by the hands in a column; even bolstered strength from Alhamazad's magic tea did not help. Torhild lended her aid, breaking me free before it could grapple my mind as well. Gimble hurt the Allip with a dissonant whisper, "Somewhere the sun is shining all of the time."

Wehttam tried to hit them with a spell, but he missed and it seemed to be strangely absorbed by them. We killed the Allip and one of the acolytes; the other ran farther into the temple. Esor claimed the ruby-encrusted dagger on the altar as a prize; I must remember to be vigilant in the coming days to observe if it's having an evil effect on him.

We were battered after the fight and retreated to the storerooms for a short rest. Then we continued past the chamber, again noticing that some of the scenes seemed to be portals to another time and place. We emerged in a corridor, where Esor spied a skittering of insect legs down one end of the hallway. We first headed in the opposite direction to a small chamber where Gimble found an old key. Also in this room was a leatherbound book written in Infernal; luckily Torhild could read it! Its title:

The Nethertome of Trask

A quick perusal revealed it was the journal with all of the Ebon Triad cult's secret evil plans! We did not have time for reading, and so we pocketed it for later.

We head down another passageway that narrowed to a squeezing point. I smelled humanoids ahead as well as an odd chemical odor. At this point I realized I was still a bear; I hadn't even noticed. Am I growing hesitant to revert back to being an ordinary person?

Distracted by this curious thought, I am last to recognize the threat ahead; a hulking shape made of sand and bits of undead flesh. We hit it a few times but it quickly proved very dangerous; luckily Drareg was able to successfully turn it, and we slipped past as it dissolved back into the ground.

In the next room was a giant centipede! We hid and paused to consider our options. Then I realized yet again that I was still a bear. I drop my wild shape, and then the thought properly hits me; I might be able to persuade the centipede to leave us alone, perhaps even to attack its captors. I cast Animal Friendship and I can feel it take hold; it is no longer an enemy! I sense its thoughts, which are simple, of food and shelter.

I cast Beast Bond and it works! I convinced the centipede to fight the cultists. With enthusiasm it crawled up onto the ceiling to ready an attack. Esor made sure the door was not trapped, and Gimble used the old key he found to open the door. The party rushed in the crowded hallway to face the acolytes of Vecna, while the centipede crawled along the ceiling to drop in death from above.

The attack began with me at the very back, encouraging the centipede telepathically; there wasn't room in the tiny hallway and chamber for any more of us. Suddenly I heard a soft sound, like a sack of groceries being dropped on the floor. I turn with wide eyes to see the Faceless One standing at the back of the chamber!

I use telepathy to let the party know the big bad is behind us, but before we can react, he casts a web over us; Torhild, Wehttam, Esor and I were all caught in it. I broke free, wild shaped into a giant boar (thinking of Chunk) and poised to rush at him!

We made several attacks at the cultists and the Faceless One and realized that if they cast a spell and it failed, these enemies are able to absorb the energy of it and make themselves stronger! Fortunately our rogue and fighter's weapons pierce them just as easily as any other foe.

20 Final Face-off with the Faceless One

Session Log for 7.13.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

For what felt like weeks, time stood still in the temple to Vecna in the desert. Drareg went on a spiritual journey, his mind elsewhere, but Wehttam used his magic to control his form, as if he was fully here. I was poised mid-charging, my tusks ready to gore the Faceless One.

A most glorious battle resumed. The Faceless One summoned a demonic centipede to attack us. Drareg cast Bad Luck on him, but I must have been too close to the casting, and all my attacks unluckily failed to hit him as well!

We fought, and from a great distance Lucious heard the sounds of battle and was called to arms. He raced through the temple and came up behind the enemy centipede, hacking at it with many blows until it fell. The centipede friendly to us attacked the cultists as well, luckily even after my beast bond with it faded. The party observed how spells that failed to hit could get absorbed by our enemies and strengthen them, but fierce hits with swords and crossbow bolts weakened them as any other.

After many heroic rounds, the cultists and the Faceless One were defeated. Torhild brilliantly thought to ask his name before he perished - "Obius Drorius was my name at birth," he revealed.

After the battle, Esor investigates the room and finds a small hidden door and crawlspace leading to a room full of treasure! Treasures included a book in abyssal, a haversack of holding, bottles of worms, a wand of summoning, Vecna for Dummies and Vecna for Smart People. There was also 248 gold and 6 garnets worth 50 gold each.

As we began our walk back to Alhamazad's tent, Gimble suddenly noticed the sand moving! Something crawled beneath it, poised to attack. He cleverly cast Shatter to try and draw it away, and accidentally hit it with the spell! Then we discussed how to avoid it. Gimble and I remembered the old dance to "walk without rhythm and it won't attract the worm" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCDIYvFmgW8 but we figured the rest of the party was probably not familiar with it, so instead we opted to move back and take a longer walk across the desert plain.

I cast Pass Without a Trace and we tried to step quietly, but the monster had excellent senses. Torhild took a step and was suddenly snapped up by the tentacles of a Dustdigger! We fought to keep her above the sands and battled the monster, breaking her free in time for her to take the final blow and kill the aberration.

Then we returned to Alhamazad's tent, where I was delighted to see Chunk lounging on a carpet like a domestic beast! Perhaps he may choose to travel with us further. The old wizard cast a protective dome over us, and we had a much deserved long rest.

We did not tarry in the morning, as we knew now that the three cults were defeated, the evil craft they had conspired on would rise from the black pool. We returned through the portal to find the dark cathedral empty and damaged, scrapings along the floor leading from the pool to the elevator, which was in ruins. We paused there to consider our next move.

21 Chapter Conclusion! Ending the Emnity of the Ebon Aspect

Session Log of 7.20.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Today marked the resolution of the clues we had been following and a happy ending to trouble in Diamond Lake!

The party gathered in Vecna's old study, preparing to climb out of the cultist compound and though the mine to follow whatever horror had emerged from the dark pool. With the three cults defeated, we knew that the summoning they had created had been weakened, but we could not stop their ritual entirely. The final Big Bad Evil Guy has been released!

The elevator was completely destroyed, but I was able to mold the earth of the elevator shaft to create handholds and footholds, and we climbed out safely. In the mine tunnels we saw no one, observing wreckage and odd footprints, like a cross between a giant lizard and an orangutan.

Once outside as we took our first breath of fresh air in days, we saw tragedy: several guards at the mine entrance had been slashed to death by the monster. Esor relieved them of worldly possessions they no longer needed while Lucious said a prayer to his god: "By Grabthar's hammer, you shall be avenged!"

We saw a whirlwind of destruction off in the distance, as something big was tearing up the walls and outbuildings of the mayor's mansion. I completely forgot Alhamazad's words that it would be waiting for us, and we rushed to intercept it.

We had a brief moment to prepare, as I touched Wehttam and Drareg on the shoulder to grant them extra movement with a spell. Esor was able to hide, becoming an effective secret assassin as we moved in to battle.

Esor's crossbow bolts flew as Lucious called out a war cry with rage. Three cultists emerged from the shadows and cast their spells; Gimble was able to counterspell their evil intentions! Drareg called a lightning storm over the battle, and bolts of lightning struck our foes.

Wehttam tried his daggers of magical ice, but the monster was immune to cold and absorbed his magic into its own fortitude! I wild shaped into a boar and tried to draw its attention away from Torhild and Lucious, but all of my attacks failed to hit, and it focused on attacking them as they were successful in doing damage to it.

Torhild used her cloud rune to deflect the cultists' spell, turning it so it hit the Ebon Aspect monster instead! Then Wehttam ensorcelled powerful chaos bolts of acid and magic meteors to destroy two cultists in one fell swoop! The last cultist tried to fill our minds with our worst fears, but Gimble counterspelled it!

Gimble's dissonant whispers caused psychic damage to our foes. We fought bravely, and at last Lucious made the final blow, and the big bad monster fell at our feet, defeated!

After the battle, the town leaders gathered to thank us for our service saving Diamond Lake, and asked us what we might desire for the town or for ourselves. Drareg brilliantly suggested an economic improvement, to have the Dourstone Mine become an income generator for the entire town, not just lining the pockets of the rich. He also insisted upon Smenk's wealth being distributed amongst the people now that he was in prison; the townspeople cheered in approval. He also asked that the town be given a new blacksmith as he was departing; Osgood's was recognized as the solution to this dilemma.

I asked for three things: Faraday's abuse of his horses still weighed upon me, and I asked that he be forbidden from owning them. They agreed to close his business and give the horses to the Garrison, implying that Faraday might find work in the mines. The second issue was the dogfighting ring at the Feral Dog Tavern; now that Smenk was behind bars, the council agreed to let us convert the tavern into a more cheerful gathering place for the miners; we proposed to call it The Dashing Rat.

The last item was not something that could be solved in a fortnight. Seeing my parents in the crowd encouraged me to speak: they have told me many times of when the town was once a beautiful fishing community, and Diamond Lake sparkled with health. We need to figure out how we can make it so again. Gimble spoke up with enthusiastic agreement. There was a brief discussion, and a group of regional druids was mentioned who might be able to find a way to heal the lake.

The council adjourned, and we gathered at Lazare's to celebrate with a round of drinks. Alustan told us he had urgent business at Blackwall Keep, and asked that we accompany him as it would not be safe for him to travel alone. We agreed to go with him. He also shared that he had discovered that the Ebon Triad Cult was somehow tied to the Wind Dukes, and we were reminded of the puzzle of many colors we were not yet able to solve in their crypt.

We then had two days to prepare for the journey. We decided to leave Artiphax at the house, as it was not easy to bring his heavy egg along. I went back to the Bronzewood Lodge to cook some food for the journey and to catch up with my parents after many days away. Concerned for my safety travelling, they gave me with a new set of armor infused with a cantrip.

We then set out on horseback with Allustan and Parker in their carriage, on the road to Blackwall Keep.

22 Bed with No Breakfast and Blackwall Keep

Session Log for 7.27.2023 - Beginning of a New Chapter

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

We have resolved the conflicts in Diamond Lake and made the town a better place! We gathered in the town square with many locals, where a town crier in a big floppy hat read the Diamond Lake Accord from a parchment scroll. A few folks asked if our band of heroes had a name; we decided to give it some thought and come up with one.

We had a couple of days to prepare for our journey with Allustan. I brewed up a batch of Dragon's Breath Ale and put it in a barrel to ferment; it should be ready in a week. I also baked some Goodberry Granola Bars for the journey. Allustan says there's a bed and breakfast along the road to Blackwall Keep - won't that be a delightful place to visit.

Allustan proposed that when we return, Artifax could be used to help excavate the Whispering Cairn and uncover more of its secrets. There are mysteries there that we should investigate later.

We saddled up the horses, loaded the cart and headed on our way. As we rode, Lucious composed a song entitled "We are the Champions of Diamond Lake." Gimble poured over the Vecna book, reading in some foreign language. I was captivated by the landscape, keeping an eye out for any wildlife or trees that were new to me, and I foraged for ingredients when we stopped to rest the horses.

We came across a cautious but amiable band of halfling merchants along the road, who wanted to barter their potions for any gems we might have. We bargained and bought several healing potions. One of the young halflings named Spring pointed at Wehttam and said he remembered him from Greyhawk!

Late one night camping under the moonlight, we were attacked by bandits. They missed Esor with an arrow; he pulled out of the nearby tree and shot it right back. I conjured up a dust devil to intimidate and injure them, and Allustan put two to sleep with a spell. Gimble cast a frightening illusion of the Ebon Aspect.

Lucious awoke singing this song and intimidated them with his rage. We noticed that they seemed to work well as a team, coordinating their strikes. One had a black bird of prey tattoo on his arm; Wehttam recognized the symbol of the Shadow Hawks.

We felled four foes and tied up the remaining two, recovering maces, crossbows and a lot of gold, as well as an Armband of Elusive Action and a lute. We interviewed one of the captured bandits; he told us that King Shukak of the Twisted Branch lizardfolk tribe was in league with some human named Ilthane the Black. Gimble charmed the other one (Doug) using his helm. Doug wanted to fight with us but was intimidated by the sheer numbers of lizardfolk he might face; Wehttam cleverly told him there'd be only five, and he was easily convinced.

(I missed the whole thing with the letter mentioning the sorcerer, something about dragons, insert here)

The next day, Drareg spied a lizardfolk in the forest keeping pace with us. At last he appeared and spoke to us; he was with the Broken Claw Tribe. He asked for meat but was not interested in jerky or trail mix, and looked ready to kill us all when Gimble suggested playing his bagpipes.

We continued onwards, until Allustan spied the side road leading to Shank's Rest, our bed & breakfast. Or rather, a bed with no breakfast; an abandoned farmhouse belonging to an acquaintance of his. The kitchen garden had reseeded itself and had a few winter herbs and a bay laurel, and I foraged some excellent mushrooms to make a soup for supper. Allustan now owes me one for his facetiousness about the accommodations.

We woke to darkened skies and a thunderstorm brewing. By the time we reached the keep, the storm was pouring down, but its rumble could not drown out the ominous sounds of battle ahead. As we rode up the hill it grew louder, so we stowed the horses in a safe spot, and Lucious volunteered to take Allustan safely back to the B&noB while the rest of us passed without a trace to the Keep.

We climbed to the rear of the fort without being noticed by friend or enemy. As we came around, we saw the keep's horses had been killed in their paddock, shot by enemy arrows. More arrows were flying as we shouted a greeting to the keep's soldiers; they fought bravely and had lost several soldiers already in battle. They shouted that more were at the top of the keep with ballista.

We looked out over the ramparts and saw squadrons of lizardfolk. Drareg channeled the power of the thunderstorm, calling lightning down on the enemies. Gimble toasted a squadron with a fireball while Wehttam shot a powerful lightning bolt. Esor's arrows struck true, and my spike growth spell killed two of the enemies and sent others scrambling backwards into the swamp.

Seeing they were fighting a losing battle, the enemies retreated into the Mistmarsh, and we turned to enter the Blackwall Keep.

23 Into the Mistmarsh

Session Log for 8.3.2023

After the battle and the lizardfolk retreated, we entered Blackwall Keep to find many injured soldiers. Drareg and Esor helped tend to their wounds with their knowledge of medicine, and I dug into my herbalism bag for willow bark and lavender oil to assist.

Lucious caught up with us after escorting Allustan away; he told us Allustan had used his scroll of teleportation to get back to Diamond Lake and muster the garrison to march here. It would take several days for them to arrive, so the keep was still in danger until then.

Among the keep's soldiers was Drareg's uncle Drakumir! Drakumir Meets with Drareg He told us about the rivalry amongst the lizardfolk, stirred up by someone outside. Just this morning the sorcerer Marzena had been kidnapped from the keep along with four soldiers, and if we hurried, we might be able to follow their trail into the swamp and rescue them. What’s more, Marzena is in possession of a powerful necklace, and if the lizardfolk chieftain gets the chance to use it, it could spell doom for the Keep and perhaps the entire region.

Drakumir gave us vials of insect repellent, and we headed into the stinking swamp. We struggled to follow the tracks left by those who took the soldiers and Marzena, and we got a bit lost. We encountered an enormous alligator, its mouth frozen open, and realized it was entirely turned to stone. Gimble wisely realized a monster that could turn us to stone as well might be nearby. We saw movement in the water and headed the opposite way, avoiding danger.

We spied a lizardfolk amongst the vines obscuring our path, letting us know we were closer to our goal. Lucious cast faerie fire to draw him out, but he escaped. Just past the path to Yoda’s hut we found the entrance to a lair, and we hoped it was the Twisted Branch Lair.

Once inside we were attacked by assassin vines, and I was briefly restrained. Wehttam tried his firebolts, but they fizzled in the humidity. Drareg used Toll the Dead and the vines shrivelled and browned, while Gimble’s vicious mockery wilted the vines with embarrassment! Esor then finished them off with a few quick swipes of his rapier.

In a storage room we found decorated wooden eggs covered in Cloisonné, and we each took one. In the next room were three lizardfolk, and I read their thoughts; anger, boredom, devotion to their god, and hiding something. They also looked afflicted by illness. They have no doctors, all their doctors have gone home. Someone commented that they looked like Sleestaks. (Sleestak, what’s a sleestak?) Gimble distracted them with a hypnotic pattern, and we took their weapons away.

Sleestaks were once fearsome (14:06)

There were three paths out of this room and we stealthily peered into each one to see which way to go. Lucious found a harpy nest in one. We battled them and Esor was briefly charmed by one of them. Another room was filled with reeking garbage, and underneath it an angry garbage monster! Lucious got critically hit by garbage, and it stole Drareg’s healing spell to heal itself!

I harvested some very useful looking Spotted Mushrooms from the garbage pit. We stealthily crept ahead, until we reached a room that had Marzena and some of the missing soldiers tied up! In front of them was a powerful looking lizard woman. We opted to try talking before fighting, and luckily she spoke our language. She asked us if we had killed any of her folk; as we had chosen not to, she was willing to talk to us.

She told us her name was Hishka, and her king had ordered the capture of the sorcerer and soldiers. He has delusions of grandeur and wants to expand his rule over the land. There is some secret he keeps within a clutch of eggs that is key to his plan.

We pause to decide our next step; to head left to the king or right to free the rest of the imprisoned soldiers.

Secrets:

hidden

24 Lizard King, Kobolds, and Eggs Endangered

Session Log for 8.10.2023

The 13th Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Drareg told us about the conversation he had with Drakumir: there is someone in Greyhawk he is looking for. We might find him on the south side of town often referred to disdainfully as the foreign quarter (or even the thieves' quarter.) If we journey there, we ought to head to the Crooked House Tavern for more information. Gimble and I reminisced about a similar tavern we once visited, sadly now gone...

We are joyous to have found the captive soldiers and Marzena. She gestures with broken hands to Wehttam to recover a wand hidden in the hem of her robe, and tells him if they get out alive, she could take him to Greyhawk to train with a mage guild.

Hiska tells us their tribe is now ruled by a usurper who killed their chieftain recently. This new king is influenced by the black dragon Ilthane and made a deal with him.

An elderly lizard man hobbles in, ill from drinking a "healing potion" last night that the king gave him. Hiska tells us all the tribe's eggs are kept in a cave below, past the king's chambers. She knows that the black dragon's egg is there as well, and a group of kobolds guard the eggs.

We decide we must take out the king. In crocodile form, I slip into the water and wait ready to strike at the edge of the king's cave, while Gimble disguises himself as a lizardfolk from a neighboring tribe. He and Torhild walk in with the bag of devouring and present themselves deferentially to the king. Torhild tells them they bear a gift that only the king can remove from the bag.

The king and one of the two guards become suspicious of their ploy, but the other is eager for riches and reaches in. Torhild asserts that the bag will grab him as he is not the intended recipient of the "gift," and the bag does catch him. The king loses his patience, and the fight begins! He attacks with his trident dripping with acid.

Torhild does massive damage with a blinding smite. Drareg swings his red mace, killing one of the guards, then grabs the trident, locked in a battle of strength with the king. Drareg calls his spirit guardians for aid, and they whirl about, hurting the other guard. Drareg casts a blinding spell on the king, and Wehttam shatters him.

We spy blackened scales around the king's mouth, and realize he's been drinking the dragon kool-aid and has acid resistance. The blind king fumbles his hold on the trident, and I bite his arm for massive damage. Wehttam kills the guard, and Torhild kills the king! The witch doctor is also killed and his prisoner freed.

We collect treasure and return to Hiska to announce the chieftain is dead. The lizardfolk rejoice and hold a feast in our honor, where Torhild is crowned Chieftain for one Night and is waited on hand and foot.

In the morning, we swim into the nursery caves, Drareg and I casting Lampetra Water Breathing on the group so we can all arrive safely.

The caves are spacious and dark; Gimble and Wehttam wait in the dark as not to spoil our element of surprise. The rest of us see seven kobolds with weapons ready, surrounded by an astonishing number of lizardfolk eggs, crowding the space around and behind them. I realize I have chosen my spells poorly!

Drareg saves the day by carefully, skillfully casting a shatter spell to avoid the eggs and hit the kobolds fiercely, channeling the power of his god for maximum force. Gimble whispers in the dark to hit them with psychic damage, then Drareg shatters the remaining kobolds into oblivion.

We carefully, slowly make our way through the lizardfolk eggs to the massive treasure chest and the black dragon egg behind it, noticing the egg looks very strange. Gimble offers it to the Bag of Devouring, which consumes the egg. We open the treasure chest to see the glitter of a dragon's hoard.

25 Big Birds and Blackwall's Basement

Session Log for 8.24.2023

The 15th Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We have freed the captured soldiers and Marzena the sorcerer from Blackwall Keep, and saved the lizardfolk from certain doom by their usurper chieftain (now dead!) Hishka thanks us and offers to travel back to Blackwall Keep with us and show us the shortcuts through the swamp.

Along the way we come across that same giant alligator turned to stone. Hishka warns us the Cockatrice are nearby and blindfolds herself. Many of us do the same or cast our eyes firmly down, shoegazing. Esor offers up a 100 foot rope for us all to take ahold of with one hand, and we march cautiously foreward.

It doesn't take long before the cockatrice attack, but we are ready for them! We quickly realize the seriousness of the danger, when Lucious's battle cries are cut short as he begins to turn to stone from a cockatrice's bite! Esor hits them with faerie fire to help our hits strike true, and I turn eight sticks into snakes which slither out in several directions to find the enemies on their own.

The snakes grapple and constrict the cockatrices for massive damage, and after five snakes are turned to stone. Hishka spots a huge cockatrice coming at us from a distance and casts a wall of flame to hold it back. Lucious shrugs off turning to stone, calling out:

"Everybody must not get stoned; we are here to rock and roll!"

We see that the remaining cockatrices are either grappled or held back by the flaming wall; time to get out of here. I collect the most fierce looking of the stone snakes as a treasure, and we move on.

Back at the Keep, Lucious is greeted by Dobrun and Mikkela, friends from the Garrison. They tell us they've got a letter from Allustan, but we don't have time to read it; all hell is breaking loose at the Keep! We hear two soldiers yelling at each other that there are (diseased? Ensorcelled?) soldiers and lizardfolk they've trapped in the cellar; they can't bear to kill their fellow men.

We rush into action, heading down to the cellar. There we find undead men infected with worms of Kyuss, real worms, actual worms, they live like a worm, similar to the worms we saw in our villains near Diamond Lake.

During the battle, Drareg cleverly realizes if he "heals" them, the worms dissipate and the remaining zombie is much easier to dispatch. Esor sneak attacks them but is frightened and drops his crossbow, and Torhild steps on it running down the hall from another terrifying wormy undead. She drops her sword, but luckily has another one handy to keep swinging.

Suddenly the bag of holding/devouring that Gimble is holding swells open, and many tiny horrible Kyuss Spawnlings are belched out. He quickly casts a Shatter spell, melting them and preventing any more infections. We finish off the last of the undead and search the basement rooms, rescuing several soldiers who are terribly embarrassed to have hid from danger.

At last we have a moment to read Allustan's note; in essence it requests that we return to Diamond Lake, and we agree that will be our next stop. There I can pick up the hot pepper potion I have brewing at the Lodge. It will be good to say hello to my folks and catch up with Vanelle as well.

Secrets:

hidden

26 Welcome to the Free City

Session Log for 8.31.2023

The 17th Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

After the perilous events at Blackwall Keep, the party decided to saddle their horses and head back to Diamond Lake along with a few of the garrison, Marzena and her ward, to meet with Allustan, discuss what comes next, and rest for a while.

Once Allustan had a chance to investigate all that the party had discovered, he soon realized that every one of the potions found in the Twisted Branch Lizardfolk lair were tainted with a Kyuss worm.  This must have been how Ilthane, the black dragon was slowly poisoning the tribes of the Mistmarsh.  Together with the artifacts of the Wind Dukes, Allustan quickly realized that he needed access to greater minds than he.  He told the adventurers that they should visit with a good friend and sage named Eligos who lived in a manor in the Garden Quarter of the Free City.  He would know what to do if given time.

And so the party spent a couple of days resting in Diamond Lake, but decided to buy and sell in the big city.  Once the horses were ready, the party headed west towards the largest city in the Flanaess.

Perched on the banks of a broad, slow-moving river, the glistening Free City of Greyhawk comes into view. Larger than any other, this city is home to tens of thousands, living together with the hope of a better life. Tall spires and gabled roofs crowd together and peek out over the high stone walls that surround the bustling metropolis, while smaller, less opulent buildings spread from its walls in nearly every direction. Scores of common folk, along with carts and wagons laden with wares for market, form a long line slowly trudging toward the nearest gate.

But gaining access to the Free City was a lengthy endeavor that involved waiting in line for 3 hours, followed by an inspection performed by the guards at the gate.  "Well what do we have here? Fancy folk here to spend their coin in the Free City," the guard called out from the gate. “Well, what’s your business here? And be prepared to turn out your pockets.”  The party had changed clothes into common attire, with weapons safely stored away.  They showed the guards their letter from Allustan Neff about their mission to the Free City, and the guards let them pass through.  Some of the party members remembered the rules of the Free City: No drugs, no poisons, and no offensive spells allowed within the walls, and vigilantism is very much frowned upon.

Once inside of the Highway Gate on the south side, the party bore witness to a welcome sight.  The streets of the Free City were cobbled with well-worn stones and scored by deep wagon ruts. Throngs of people of all races, some bearing exotic raiment, crowded the streets. The creak of wagons and neighing of horses was interrupted by the call of merchants hawking their wares and the shouts of customers haggling aver prices. The air hung heavy with the smell of civilization, the stench of sweat and refuse mixed with the aroma of fresh baked bread and fire roasted meats.  They made their way north on Processional street, admiring the Thieves Quarter on their right, and the Slum Quarter on their left, past a slaughter house, a tomb, and several seedy hotels.

After getting acquainted with the area and exploring more of the Artisans Quarter, the party decided to head to their destination, Eligos Manor in the Garden Quarter, just north of where they were.  There they were greeted by Pollard, Eligos' servant, who inquired about the reason for their visit.  After they showed Pollard their letter from Allustan, Pollard asked the adventurers to wait in the parlor for Eligos to arrive.

Once inside the manor, the party was escorted through the grand foyer, which was dominated by a marble staircase lined with suits of ancient armor, and topped by an ancient battle banner used as a curtain. Off to one side, a short hallway led to a parlor.   The parlor was lined with packed bookcases, framed by various oil paintings of faraway places and fantastic locales (such as a great road of bones, a bustling city set inside a dormant volcano, and an abstract painting of a vast featureless ashen plain). All of the furniture was gilt with fine gold tracery and padded with plush red velvet cushions.  The floor was polished wood, but covered by a well-worn carpet depicting some forgotten battle between the forces of good and evil. After a few minutes of waiting, Eligos joined the party in the parlor.

The group was skeptical.  Lucious had a general distaste for wizards and did not trust him, even though his insight told him that Eligos meant no harm.  Drareg also seemed hesitant to give up any vital information or items.  Eligos was able to ease their fears, however, when he explained why he and Allustan were such great friends, and after serving each of the party members some of their favorite beer and ale, the party finally explained much of what had happened in Diamond Lake.

Eligos thought for a moment, and then responded:

"Although not my area of expertise, I do know a bit of what you speak and am greatly disturbed. I will look into this matter, but it will take some time. There are many books to consult, and most are kept in the Great Library. I should be able to gather the information you seek within the week. While you wait, might I recommend that you stay at the Crooked House in the Foreign Quarter? It is an excellent inn and the keeper and I are old friends — mention my name and he’s sure to give you a discount on rooms.  I shall contact you there when I have found the knowledge you seek. Until then, I suggest you enjoy the comforts the Free City has to offer."

Once the party left the manor of Eligos the Sage, they walked their horses back to the Artisans Quarter.  Drareg visited an old friend at the Metalsmith's Guildhall.  Much of the party's loot was sold there, as Drareg could earn more from being a guild member.  Torhild visited one of the best jewelers in the city in the Thieves Quarter and purchased a gift for her mother.  Lucious visited the Mercenaries Guildhall in the Foreign Quarter, searching for any connection to the elusive guild he once belonged to, the Harpers.  Marzena led Wehttam to the Guild of Wizardry, where Wehttam was destined for great things.  Esor was firmly determined not to join the Greyhawk Thieves Guild, even though she risked punishment from one of the most powerful groups in the city if he was caught using his skills.  Finally, the party agreed to stay at the Black Dragon Inn in the Artisans Quarter to get some rest.  They agreed that they would explore the Foreign Quarter and this "Crooked House" the next day, when they had more time.

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn: While the rest of our group rested in Diamond Lake, I had the chance to visit Vanelle and catch her up on the recent travels and battles in the Mistmarsh. I will never forget the look on her face when I said I bit that corrupt lizard chieftain while wildshaped as an alligator! I told her we were off to the Big City and gave her the rum flask carved from a coconut I won at the faire as a keepsake. We swore best friends forever as we always do, and she gave me a quiverfull of freshly fletched arrows, telling me to sink them squarely in my enemies’ hearts. I stayed at the Bronzewood Lodge for what might just be the last time. Dad poured out endless cheerful advice while stirring several pots in the kitchen and made sure I packed the fire potion I’d made with the chili peppers. Mom gave me at least eleven crushing bear hugs until I wildshaped into a bear to one up her with a bigger hug. Old Nog said he knew I’d return soon and refused to say goodbye. The other lodge residents gathered around after dinner one night and presented me with the armor they’d made for my journey (???) The road to Greyhawk was familiar as we’ve travelled it many times on our way to see family in the forest to the west, but this time we skipped the usual path we detour to avoid the city. The sight of the city skyline was impressive and strange, followed closely by unpleasant noise and smells. Feeling sensory overload and crowd anxiety, I looked for some symbol of nature to focus on. Far down a side street were some rather interesting flowers in a window box, a type I hadn’t seen before. I told the group I’d be right back and darted off. Perhaps it was more than a few minutes later, I finally wandered back, but they were gone. Or perhaps this wasn’t the same intersection at all? All the noise made it tough to think. I wandered, alternating fascination with distaste at what I saw and heard. Eventually I made my way to a nicer part of town with more trees and plants, and remembered that we were supposed to meet someone in the Garden Quarter. Just then a group of City Watch rushed up demanding to know what a scruffy looking peasant was doing wandering the streets. I panicked and wildshaped into a housecat, darting through the shrubbery away. I found Eligos Manor not long after that, but the sun was setting and I was exhausted. Padding up to the back porch I meowed to a cook tossing out vegetable scraps; she smiled and brought me a saucer of milk. I drank and curled up to sleep. In the morning I was poked awake by a kitchen maid wondering why a girl was sleeping in their bushes. I told her of our adventuring party and Allustan’s invitation, and she let me know they had visited Eligos the day before. He then invited me in to a very fine breakfast and told me all he had told our group the day before. He said they would have stayed at the Crooked House, and so I could easily find them there.

27 From Folk Heroes to Accused Murderers

Session Log for 9.7.2023

The 23rd Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

The adventurers opted to stay and rest at the Black Dragon Inn.  On their way there, they passed by several street prophets, but one in particular stuck in their heads.  Standing on a rock with just a tattered cloak to cover himself, he shouted:

"Listen to me, you children of the Free City, and hear the doom that builds before your blind eyes. You in your house of gold and you in your hovel of mud and even you in your mail of metal, none of you are safe from the doom, from the Age of Worms. Oh yes, it is coming. Have you not heard the dead dragons roar? Have you not smelled the rot festering under your very nose? Have you not dreamt of the worm that walks, bringing decay to all he touches? Fools, you are all fools! Your doom is upon you! The end is in sight and none of you shall be spared. Decay is the future and the future is here!"

After doing some investigating, the party found out that he was called the "Rain Barrel Man" and last week he was shouting about the evil dragons of the rift or some such nonsense.  The group couldn't get much else out of the Rain Barrel Man, so they went on their way.

The next morning, Esor slept in - until noon! - while Drareg and Torhild went exploring the Artisans and Foreign Quarters of the city.  Torhild visited a cartographer by the name of Melezakan who skeptically looked at her "treasure map" that she won in the fishing contest in Diamond Lake.  Melezakan told her that the map looked authentic, but he would have to verify it with his other maps of the area.  He agreed to make a map of the surrounding area for Torhild and determine the origin of her treasure map all for 5 gp.  A steal!  Torhild accepted and met back up with Drareg.

Drareg investigated the outside of the Crooked House.  Everything seemed to be normal for this area.  As he returned to meet with Torhild, he noticed a commotion down the street to the north.  It was some sort of celebration and parade, and it was heading their way.  Torhild asked a bystander what this festival was all about, and she said it was "in celebration of the Champions Games" that were coming soon to Greyhawk.  The "Champions Games were organized and directed by a man named Loris Raknian.

After the parade arrived, Drareg and Torhild had just seen each other when disaster struck.  A Blue Dragon Chimera held in a cage had broken its bonds and was attacking bystanders.  Five were killed in the attack, and Drareg began immediately tending to them while Torhild directed the monstrosity's attention to her.  Esor, once he finally arrived, shot arrows at the beast.  Once the monster was taken care of and the people brought back from the dead, the party had now become the heroes of the day!

Esor chased after one of the thieves in the crowd and witnessed something very strange.  Down one of the alleys, the thief seemed to change from a 5 ft. tall human into a 6 ft. tall something else.  This was disturbing indeed.

Then the party headed back to the Crooked House.  They sat down for a meal and ale, while Tarquin, the inn's owner, introduced himself.  Tarquin seemed nice enough, and after some time, the party decided to return to the Black Dragon Inn to stay the night.

When they awoke the next morning, they found two city watch guards waiting for them in the tavern.  They were investigating a recently committed murder.  Some time last night, someone looking just like Torhild stabbed and killed Tarquin, the owner of the Crooked House.  Now the city watch investigators were looking into the murder with the accused in tow, heading back to the scene of the crime.

When they arrived, the patrons of the tavern were in an uproar over the murder of their friend, Tarquin, who had just been seen visiting with the group just the night before.  One person cried, "There she is!  The dragonborn killer!".  The party vehemently denied the charges and said that someone may have impersonated them.  Some of the patrons were convinced, but the town watch was not.  The party was escorted to the watch station in a caged wagon to await their trial.  Except the driver did not stop at the watch station.  He continued on to a seedy place somewhere in the Wharf District.  Esor managed to pick the lock on the cage.

Lurking at the water's edge like a rotten log washed ashore, was the warehouse marked "Sodden Hold".  It was built mostly of stone with a wood shingle roof thick with long, ropey moss. The entire building had a green hue, owing to the large patches of moss and mold that grew on its walls.

It's there that we await to see what our heroes will do next.

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn: I found the Crooked House close to mid-day, but the kind innkeeper Tarquin said our party had not visited or stayed there. We had a nice long conversation about the city, and he suggested other inns they might be at, and so I had a short list of inns to visit. My way was cut off by a long winding parade through the city, delaying me for some time. I visited several inns but with no luck, and ended up returning very late to the Crooked House to sleep. I woke in the morning to screams from the ground floor; Tarquin had been murdered! A witness described the killer to the city watch, and described Torhild! Someone must be impersonating her. I rushed out to head toward one of the last two inns on my list, the Black Dragon. Nearly there, I darted out of the way of a horse and caged wagon rushing with Torhild and several others inside it! I dropped my bag in the process, and out of it spilled the bone communication necklace. How had I forgotten this easy way to reach Gimble? I put it on and immediately his words came calling into my brain!

28 Mayhem and Mimics at the Sodden Hold

Session Log for 9.14.2023

The 26th Day of Fireseek, 591 CY

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Thanks to Esor who was able to pick the lock on the caged wagon transporting the imprisoned adventurers to the brig, they were able to jump out of the back with their captors unaware, barreling onwards.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, I had just put on the bone necklace, and Gimble was calling out to me with a hoarse voice - he had been looking for me for ages. Who would think just walking around in a city calling someone's name out would result in finding them? ;) I then called out to anyone else in the party who might have a bone as well, and they were able to tell us to meet up with them at their current location in the wharf quarter, where they were examining the exterior of a curious warehouse.

Lurking at the water's edge like a rotten log washed ashore, the warehouse marked "Sodden Hold" stood before the party. Built mostly of stone with a wood shingle roof thick with long, ropey moss, the entire building had a green hue, owing to the large patches of moss and mold that grew on its walls. On the door was a symbol of an enormous octopus pulling an entire ship underwater.

While Esor and Drareg examined the exterior and checked the door for traps, I caught up with Torhild about where I'd been the last two days. She told me of the battle with the chimera at the parade, and how an owlbear and other animals were imprisoned presumably for battles to the death at the arena. We agreed to go to the games and free them if we can.

Esor picked the lock on the door, and I shifted into rat form to scout inside. My tiny nose filled with dust; the place looked long abandoned. Seeing only boxes and papers, I invited them in. Torhild went to open a crate, and four crates suddenly sprung to life; they were mimics! We battled them and shattered them apart.

After the battle, I shifted into spider form and climbed up the catwalk to investigate. Torhild tried to follow with the ladder, but it broke apart underneath her! I found a doorway and stairs leading to what appeared to be door to the room our group was in, but the door would not open. Torhild approached from the other side and fell into a pit of spikes! Esor rescued her with a rope, and Gimble asserted that perhaps she ought not to touch anything else today :)

Once safely through, we found chests containing astonishing riches, including platinum and gold and fine clothing. We continued cautiously down the hallway only to discover it was a jail, with multiple exhausted  prisoners!

29 The Prison of Deception

Session Log for 9.21.2023

Torhild, Esor and Drareg stood before the locked cells and began asking questions to the shaken and frightened prisoners.  They found themselves in a tall chamber which contained five cells, each with a wall of iron bars facing the corridor that ran between them. A number of the cells were occupied, one with a young dark elven woman, one with an old man, one with a sleeping dwarf, and another with a young man.

One cell contained a young elven woman, Ilya, who said she was abducted nearly a month ago. She was cold and untrusting of anyone that spoke with her, as her captors had been toying with her the whole time, delighting in her anguish. Her family was one of the lesser noble families in the Free City, one of the key trading partners between the city and the nearby elven kingdom of Celene. She had seen hundreds of different individuals come through this area in the past month, rarely the same person twice.

One cell contained Martell, a young man who claimed to be a member of the town guard captured a week ago.

One cell contained Gatel Watam.  He was once a local tax collector before being captured by the a year ago. Gattel's mind was shattered, and he went through periods of intense weeping, childish laughter, and haughty talk as if he were a high born noble. He was only occasionally lucid enough to identify himself, an act usually followed by an attempt to end his life.  Gattel's closest companion during his imprisonment was a spoon named Thomas.

But it was the dwarf that had the party on edge.  He looked and sounded just like Drahcir, Drareg's father, albeit thinner and older than last he saw him.

The party finally agreed to release the prisoners, and it was only then that the found the truth of it all.  Drahcir and one of the other prisoners were Doppelgangers sent to ambush the party when they had the chance.  "Drahcir" went invisible and made a run for it through the north doors, laughing all the way out, much to Drareg's deep disappointment.

The party carefully followed the doppelganger, Drahcir, into an area filled with river water.  Much of the floor of the ruined chamber had given way, revealing a large stagnant pool of water below. Rusted spears and broken swords broke the surface of the pool throughout the room. A framework of soggy timbers that might have once supported the floor still stood, stretching out across the void.  The party knew that Drahcir must have gone somewhere beyond this room, and, with Torhild in the lead, began navigating the dangerous planks across the water.  Torhild was, of course, the first to fall, and needed assistance to get herself out of the stagnant water.

It was at that point that the party realized they needed to rest, recuperate and re-assess the situation.  They escorted poor Gattel to the first temple that would accept him and dropped him off at the doorstep of the Dark Moon Monastery, where he banged on the door expecting to be allowed entrance immediately.

The group then walked to Eligos' manor, to debrief with him.  If tax collectors, nobles and other important people were being imprisoned and impersonated, then there was no telling whom he could trust or whom it was safe to talk to.  Eligos told them that they needed proof of just how deep this conspiracy went before he could bring it to the attention of the city's Ruling Oligarchy.  It would also be helpful to know what the motive of such a nefarious plot was, and who (or what) was behind it.  The party then made their way back to the Black Dragon Inn to rest and gather the rest of the party before they investigated further.

While the party slept at the Black Dragon that night, Ilya Starmane came to visit Torhild in her chambers.  She told Torhild that she should be wary of those in her party.  Ilya said she married into a minor noble family in the city, and had joined a Dark Elf enclave below the city streets.  She knew that the enclave had designs on the city and had a mysterous leader whom they rarely spoke to.  When she realized that the enclave's goals were too dark for her tastes, Ilya left the enclave as quick as she could.  She believes that the dark elf enclave is somehow involved with the Shapechangers, and asked if Torhild would speak to her again once the party had found any proof of their involvement.  Ilya then vowed to help the party track down and defeat all of those involved in this nefarious scheme.

30 Water Chambers in the Warrens

Session Log for 9.28.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We rested at the Black Dragon Inn and discussed the doppelgangers that fought in the Sodden Hold. One of them had a symbol carved or tattooed into its forehead, a shape made of six curls like the end of vines or spaghetti or who-knows-what; noone recognized it, but could at least rule out all the many guilds and organizations we had heard of. Someone mentioned that Drow tattooed their slaves on the forehead.

We also discussed the surprising power of the doppelgangers. They could do more than just mimic the approximate look of a person; they could mimic clothing and possibly even carried items as well. Their skill was incredibly precise, creating details that could fool those that know these people very well. They are able to mimic a person's voice, speech patterns, and even personality. It is possible they are using some sort of mind-warping spell to even draw memories out of their victims to further perfect their impersonations.

We remarked how this nefarious group seems to have particular awareness of or interest in our adventuring party. Did they know of our work in Diamond Lake? Or of our success in saving the lizardfolk tribe? So far none of this activity seems to relate to the three cults we defeated in Diamond Lake or to Kyuss and the worms.

We decided we needed Eligos to try and identify as many of the bodies as possible. I offered to help round up a big pile of bodies and bring them to the front porch of his mansion, but everyone else seemed to think it was a better idea to encourage him to come back with us to the warehouse.

At breakfast, we noticed a new sign posted at the bar: it something short and simple like GAMES! COMING SOON! With the name of that awful local who organized the parade of imprisoned mistreated beasts. We will have to do something about that.

Gimble realized if the doppelgangers know his face, perhaps he ought to change it. He tried out a couple of new guises, settling on a blue tiefling with white horns and hair and with an entirely new accent.

Eligos agreed to come back with us to try and identify the bodies. But before we could even begin, his wizard eyes spotted two invisible foes in the far corners of the sunken room. We were attacked by two air elementals!

What followed was a battle involving a fighting fish zombie, a spider, seagulls, sneak attacks, spirit guardians, and air elementals with acid reflux. When it was over, we congratulated Eligos on being such a brave fighter. He remarked that he used to be an adventurer like us, then he took an arrow in the knee.

Eligos rounded up several bodies on a floating disc, make them invisible, and assured us he'd somehow get back to his manor without bumping into anyone. He left and we turned to try the next door, but it was firmly locked; both Esor and Gimble could not pick it. I used Stone Shape to make a hole in the wall instead, and we continued inside.

There we saw two holes in the ground; one a broken area leading back into the main warehouse room (ah, we could have gotten in that way!) and the other a square shaft of some sort that could lead downwards. A barrel easily large enough floated on the water, plainly engraved with the words THIS WAY TO BAD GUY. It was a subtle hint, but we were observant.

Gimble used one of his magic fish to animate one of the fresher bodies into a zombie. He obediently climbed into the barrel and Bob was thus appropriately named. While he bobbed, I wildshaped into an octopus and scouted below. I didn't have to go far at all before finding an entire room with breatheable air below. Everyone held onto a rope and we descended with me in the lead; they didn't need to hold their breath for long to reach the chamber. Bob didn't need to hold his breath at all.

We all bobbed up into this new mysterious room. We climbed up onto a central platform and had Bob pull the lever; it lowered the water level and the platform, making it possible to reach the one doorway out. Before we could go, a giant purple octopus swam out of a hidden corner and appeared to search for food. I spoke to it as best I could; it seemed simply hungry and lost. Perhaps it stowed away when they collected the seawater for this chamber? But how could someone collect ocean water when the sea is so very many miles away?

We discussed a way to help the octopus at length, until Esor began tossing daggers pointedly. We agreed to return when we could figure out a way to help him, and moved on. Esor got us through the first door and skillfully found two trap pits set in front of two of many doors in the next corridor.

Gimble entered one of the rooms and found a closet of a wide range of clothing and assorted jewelry that would allow someone to impersonate a man or woman of most any rank. Before we could move onward, my octopus senses revealed that there was definitely someone hiding behind two of the other doors nearby.

31 Dumbfounded by Doppelgangers and Greetings from Georgina

Session Log for 10.12.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn (or at least someone who looks and talks exactly like her - is it really me?)

In the depths of the Sodden Hold, we discussed the doppelgangers and their impressive abilities. I realized that if Torhild had been impersonated before, perhaps any one of us in our party could be an impostor! We gathered around and asked each other questions that only that person would know. Gimble remembered my name in the rat race was Peppermint, and Drareg knew he cast Lesser Restoration on the worm-infested zombies in Blackwall Keep. Esor remembered the dire boar we rescued in the cult of Hextor, but Torhild did not know Chunk's name - perhaps she is a doppelganger! I resolved to watch her closely.

We surprised two people in fancy dress, and I grappled one with a bear hug. They begged to let us go, but changed their story a couple of times and Drareg caught their lies. Gimble read their minds and found out easily their evil intentions. I asked only that they be dispatched without suffering, and Esor grinned as he executed them swiftly.

In the next room were extensive papers and plans explaining what the doppelgangers were planning. Gimble read through them and realized they are trying to infiltrate all the high offices in the Free City. Their leader is someone named Telakin.

We fought and killed another doppelganger in the next room, and Esor found a pocket inside his pocket; a small device with ten different outfits of clothing stored in it, any of which can be swapped out instantly. Then Gimble briefly overheard a group of voices from the chamber beyond. Blue light flowed around the locked iron door. Esor unlocks the door, Gimble opens it a crack to see...

ALL OF US, PLUS ONE!

Drareg, Gimble, Esor, Torhild, me, and a scholarly-looking human we've not met before. All are tied up in some sort of straight jackets, bound and gagged. As we filed into the room in stunned awe, several of "us" break free! The Esor in the straight jacket shouts "I'm the real me - he is an impostor!" Drareg tossed him his spare red mace and fills the room with his Spirit Guardians.

I cast Detect Thoughts and hear my own mental voice speaking to me, as Other Me wildshapes into a bear, breaking free of her bonds. She attacks me with a sharp set of claws, but I am too much in shock to react! I use telepathy and detect thoughts to try and find a flaw in her otherwise perfect imitation. What is my favorite color? What flavor cake did the druids bake me for my birthday? How did I get the scar on my left elbow? She answered them all perfectly...I grow frightened and retreat down the far hallway.

The strangest battle ensues, with Other Us battling us. A stray spirit guardian whacks the stranger on the shoulder, but she is able to make her escape and run down the hall after me. I turn to check on her and she quickly calls out "Nice bear!" with hands out in placation, asking for me not to bite her. I tell her telepathically that yes, I am a nice bear, and that she ought to get behind me for safety.

As the fight grows more heated, two of the doppelgangers turn invisible! Torhild shouts "I don't like being played for a fool!" and hits Other Torhild soundly. Esor is able to stab Bad Esor with a dagger, and Drareg hits the bad bear with a mace. One of the invisible ones perishes after hearing Gimble's Dissonant Whispers, immediately reverting back to a sort of grey alien with a tattooed forehead.

32 Telakin's Final Stand

Session Log for 10.19.2023

Our adventurers searched the bodies of the doppelgangers who were impersonating everyone in the party.  They found little, other than a large saphire gem on each one of them.  Each gem was worth nearly 2000 gp and radiated magic.  Then the party decided it was time for a long rest, so they headed back into one of the doppelganger bedrooms, securely locked the door, and set up a watch.  Yes, there were still enemies in the area, but none made an attack during the rest.

Georgina remembered something about wall panels when she was taken prisoner, and so the party headed south, into a maze of worked stone.  After some searching and investigating, the party located pressure plates hidden in the floor at various points, and two of them were found on opposite sides of a wall.  Once both plates were pressed at the same time, other walls in the maze moved.  Drareg and Esor saw fit to go back through the long hallway and come around on the other side of the maze.  Finally, walls were raised and lowered to reveal a locked iron door at the south end of the maze.  Esor checked his pockets and found a set of keys left there by his abductor, Ixiaxian.  They worked.

Torhild was the first to peek through the door, and she saw a bewildering sight.  To the right was a strange, magical and mechanical chair, the workings of which, she did not yet understand.  To the left was Allustan, the party's benefactor, but without his loyal friend, Parker.  The adventurers saw fit to enter the chamber, and warily face their patron, Allustan, who invited them in.

"Welcome adventurers," he said, "please come in so that we may discuss the truth of things."

Warily, the party stepped in and spoke with Allustan.  Each one of them believed that Allustan's words were true, that is until he got impatient with them, stood up out of his chair and shot the party with a massive fireball spell.  The party now knew that this was not their friend and patron, Allustan, but an enemy doppelganger named Telakin.  Telakin used some of the spells in his arsenal and did some damage to the party, while Torhild ran to engage in melee.  The party did not have time to check for traps in the room, and so she again fell forty feet into a pit full of dull spears.  Georgina sent her familiar owl down to cast web on her so that she could climb out.

Will the party be successful against this adversary?  And will they uncover the motives behind this planned attack against the adventurers?

33 Telakin's Final Stand Part II Revenge of the Dwarves

Session Log for 10.26.2023

The adventurers face Telakin in his throne room, disguised as a musclebound barbarian. Along the far side of the room is a sinister glowing contraption surrounding a table that appears empty, but Drareg shouts that his father is restrained upon it, invisible, and it looks to him as if his mind is being drained by the device!

We battle Telakin while Drareg races over and disables the device. The evil glowing lights wink out, and his father appears on the table. Drareg frees him and he growls “Let us take our revenge together against this villain!”

Gimble shouts “See how you like someone messing with YOUR mind for a change!” and hits Telakin with psychic damage. Georgina hits him with a mind whip as well, and Torhild uses her spider climb ability to position herself for the perfect swing of her sword against him.

The coward runs through a curtain to hide in the back room behind a wall. Henrietta scouts the way and tells us where he’s gone and spies a magic mirror there. Georgina tells us he’s transformed, and now has perhaps his true form of a doppelganger with black skin. The casters send spells in to hit him, and I fly in as a giant bat to distract and draw his fire while the dwarves move in for their revenge.

With Telakin defeated, we search around the room to determine what was happening here. Near the evil contraption are pedestals with sapphires on them, most likely containing copies of thoughts and memories of other victims. As some of these victims have been murdered, we carefully store these treasures away for delivery to their surviving family.

We are reasonably sure that two of the stones are copies of Georgina and Esor, and that copies were not made of any other party member. We also surmise that there is no copy of the poor insane tax collector we brought to the temple, as he must have been who Telakin experimented on as he constructed the mind-copying device.

Georgina retrieves Telakin’s spellbook with a long list of very useful spells in it. He also left a wand of regular healing. We examine the magic mirror and decide that it reveals one’s true self, though it may have other abilities. We agree it ought to be taken with us, and the strongest among us help to carry the 250lb weight.

We also learn from a letter who Telakin was working for – someone with the odd name Zyrxog. Esor shivers when we say the name aloud, though he cannot remember why it brings him a feeling of dread. Georgina and Gimble, who have lived in Greyhawk, both have a vague memory of Zyrxog being in the employ of Loris Racknian, the owner of the arena, though they could remember any other details.

We discuss our newfound treasure; the hat of disguise self looks especially fun. We note that the villains refer to our party as the GFDL or Group from Diamond Lake; perhaps we ought to come up with our own moniker. We return to Eligos’s manor, making note that we ought to return when we can rescue the octopus and get it to the ocean or a well kept aquarium.

Meriel plans to visit the zoo to observe animals she has not seen before, in particular the cheetah, while Torhild shops for tattoo ink. Meriel distributes the dragon breath potions she brewed, and the group muses about how to spend their newfound wealth in the multitude of shops in the big city.

Secrets:

hidden

34 The Market, Questions and Answers

Session Log for 11.2.2023

Leaving the Sodden Hold and the secret lair of the doppelgangers, the party spotted some strange glowing fungus on the floor of the hallways. It looked as if it had fallen off of shoes or the hems of clothing as the villains had walked by and began to grow there. Esor recognized it, calling it "Beggar's Gold." He explained it grows in the underdark near smithys where it can find the minerals it needs to grow. It catches the eye like glowing gold, but it is to the touch just slimy mold.

With the new "city discount" given to the party by the leader of the Ruling Oligarchy of the Free City, the group did a little shopping around the city, looking for magic items and other trinkets that might help the party in their adventures.

Drahcir was eternally grateful to Drareg and the party for saving him from the brink of death at the hands of Telakin and the doppelgangers and offered his help if the party ever needed him. Until then, he planned to return to his home and get as far from Greyhawk as possible. He shared his faded memory of two people being in charge during his imprisonment, but could not remember who the other person was besides Telakin.

The minor noble and drow, Ilya Starmane, visited with Esor, telling him much of her background. She said she was a minor noble by marriage to the Starmane family in the City of Greyhawk. The elven noble family had direct connections to the Kingdom of Celene, where many family members oversee trade negotiations with the Free City. Ilya was once part of a secret Drow enclave somewhere below the city streets, but ran away from them when she found their plans to be too dark for her liking. Her sister, who also escaped from the enclave, was soon captured and killed by the enclave's dark assassins. She believed that it was her sister's head that the party found deep within the caverns of Erythnul. The thought that this drow enclave has connections somehow to Esor, and that they are still active below the city. She believed that they may have had something to do with the abductions.

In the Black Dragon Inn, the party discussed the possibility of entering in the Champions Games in the Free City Arena. But what would their name be? The other tavern patrons had plenty of suggestions.  Drareg said that the party might be able to draw out whatever forces were acting against the party by competing in the games. The whole idea of competing in arena games was very disconcerting to Meriel, who remembered the neglected beasts recently paraded through the streets. They agreed to fight other people if needed, and to free any beasts they could if possible.

Georgina headed up to the top of the pyramid of the University of Magical Arts to meet with her former mentor, Tobin Potriades. She and the party told him of their dealings with the doppelgangers, and asked if anyone had seen Georgina in the last few days. The answer was "yes, but if he returns again, he will be caught!" Tobin then gave Georgina a compact mirror that had similar properties to Tellakin's mirror, that she could use whenever she was in a tight spot or suspected shapechangers.

Gimble paid a visit to the bard college to show them his Helm of Selnor and ask if they knew anything of its origin. He learned that it may have a connection to a barbarian woman named Vestra who is currently out of town but occasionally visits the free city. She is from the Sea of Dust. The bard college has agreed to keep a message for Vestra about the helm and to contact Gimble if she comes back into town.

35 An Angel? A Devil? And Mysteries Underground

Session Log for 11.9.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

With nearly two weeks before the games begin, we have time for our own initiatives. I volunteered to scout the arena and look for any hidden dangers, and wildshaped into a black cat. Georgina transformed her owl familiar into a cat as well, and we scaled down a chimney into a kitchen below the arena, noticing it was large enough for our party to sneak in (or out!) if we needed to in the future.

There was little activity in the Coenoby arena sublevels and no items of great concern; in fact it seemed a very well provisioned facility for housing gladiators, complete with its own magical lighting and underground fresh water stream. We explored a ways past the well trafficked areas and found the entrance to a labyrinth of sorts, where a ten foot tall statue of a giant with a mattock. Nearby is a recently sealed off tunnel; a round door covered in magic runes blocks the way forward. Georgina's cat studied it carefully so that she might transmit the memory of its symbols clearly to her upon our return.

We found two other items of concern before we returned to the surface; one expected and one surprising. We came across the jail cells of the prisoner gladiators; men who had committed violent crimes and chose to risk a painful violent death for the slim chance of freedom. They did not seem unexpectedly ill treated while they awaited their fate. The other surprise was a smell of dead bodies, many of them, coming from across the underground river far below.

I attempted to use the bone necklace to report my findings to our group, but all they heard was meows, so we returned to the Black Dragon.

As we shared a round of drinks at Black Dragon Inn, we were approached by a delicate rogue with short blond hair. She introduced herself as Celeste, a friend of Eligos, and told us she could help us find out what we needed to know about Loris Raknian. We were at first guarded with our trust in her, and Georgina took out her pocket mirror to see if she was a doppelganger. She gasped in surprise at the image, and I looked over her shoulder to be awed by the image of an elven woman of ethereal beauty shining beneath Gale's roguish guise. I know old Nog would lecture me that "pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity," but we all were readily convinced by her heavenly appearance to trust in her character.

Gale then introduced us to her friend Ekaym Smallcask, who immediately tried to swindle us out of a great deal of potential earnings in the arena. We negotiated shrewdly and agreed to give him 12 percent of any awards from our battles, and he in turn agreed to represent us.

Then we could delay no longer the decision to choose a team name! It took only a few moments to decide - on this day we named ourselves The Last Resort.

Ekaym then asked for our help in locating his missing sister Lahaka. She has worked as an exotic dancer at the Sea Willow, but he has not heard from her in months. We pay a visit to the Sea Willow, where a barmaid tells us she left suddenly without saying goodbye six months ago, then returned about five weeks ago on the arm of a devilish looking brute named Bozal and alongside a rather high class redhaired elf woman. Gimble takes a look around and discovers a note addressed to Lahaka that simply says "I have a new job for you" and is signed L - could it be Loris Raknian?

We make our way to some outbuildings near Raknian's mansion where Bozal is known to frequent. Outside are a few layabouts playing cards. Gimble sings a diss song about Bozal to try and draw him out; his cronies snicker in approval but say he's not around at present and don't know when he'll return.

Our investigation at a bit of a standstill, we decide to explore the sewers below the Cold Forge for clues. Entrances to the sewers in the Free City are watched over by towns guard to prevent unscrupulous types from easily entering, but we show our badges and Gimble easily persuades them to allow us entry.

Down below is the noise of skittering rats, a fetid smell of waste, and the soft glow of a surprising amount of Beggars Gold fungus. Torhild draws her finger along it and it lights up brighter; she writes TORHILD WAS HERE and the message glows for only a second before fading.

We walk a short distance and are soon in an older area, where the mold turns a more sickly yellow and a few Shrieker creatures hide. We battle them and defeat them while avoiding the poison, but one lets off a good shriek and alerts whomever might be nearby of our presence.

Moments later we are attacked by drow with crossbows! We defeat them and acquire poisoned bolts and a +1 shortsword. We take a short rest near a pool of water where curtains of green light cascade out like the aurora borealis. Meanwhile, having already blown our cover, Gimble gets out his bagpipes and plays that classic tune Low Drider.

36 Snake Subterfuge in the Sewers

Session Log for 11.16.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

As we rested near the glowing green pool of water in the caverns under the Free City, Gimble's bagpipe playing disturbed a creature living in the pool. I conjured eight constrictor snakes to grapple and bite whatever may be coming our way, and bid them to slither into the pool and investigate for themselves.

It was a rash move, as rising up from from the back of the pool was an enormous and rather annoyed monster! Georgina recognized it as a Naga. I quickly called to the snakes to move away and out of the water, and we hurried to rush past the pool. It stopped us in our tracks growling that we shall not pass! But Gimble spoke persuasively and calmed its anger just enough so we could avoid having to fight the creature, and we moved past.

We crept quietly around the bend, spotting a more familiar glimmer of lanterns ahead. A drow encampment lie ahead, complete with pigs and guinea fowl in a pen ready for their breakfast. I cast detect thoughts and heard three of them just waking from sleep, while Drareg perceived two of them sparring with swords in front of a barred chamber where zombies lurked!

Suddenly Gimble had the spark of a brilliant idea. He whispered to me to send the snakes chasing after him, then altered his appearance to look like one of the drow we just killed in the chambers behind us. He took off running all the way through the chamber shouting "SNAKES!" and I sent the predators in.

Rather than attacking them with the chaos we hoped would ensue, they looked amused and turned to watch what the supposed was their fellow drow about to perish in the coils of eight snakes. But this was the distraction we needed, and we attacked with surprise! Drareg cast shatter, and I erupted the earth. Three snakes slithered in to strangle one drow to death, and I shouted at the others to try not to kill one of them.

The drow priestess cast a mass cure wounds to try and revive her comrades, but it was too late - soon she was the only one remaining, and Torhild dealt a swift death blow. With the sounds of battle quieting, we could hear shouts for help from behind the zombies. Drareg grabbed keys from the dead priestess's pocket and turned the zombies. As we got a closer look at them, we could see holes in the zombie's heads as if something had bitten them there.

We followed him in to the chamber to find three merchants and two farmers from town who had been taken. They said the zombies had been other townspeople with them but were taken away by the drow and returned like that. They were to be next, "food" for some unknown other! Brain food to be exact.

I escorted the freed prisoners back to the surface, and asked them if they had seen anyone matching the description of Lahaka Smallcask, the missing woman; they had not. Meanwhile the others searched the bodies and the chamber. They found crossbow bolts tipped with violet fungus poison, two +1 shadow longswords, a holy symbol and small jade statue of Lolth, +1 scale mail and a +2 scourge covered in poison.

Moving ahead, we found a huge glowing purple symbol on the ground, the same curling shape that was branded on the doppelgangers we had dispatched. Georgina figured it out - this was the symbol of Xyrxog, and he was something called a "mindflayer." She tells us they live underground and have a history of enslaving the drow. They are very intelligent and can drain the minds of their victims.

We rest for an hour. The rest of the party mused over the best way to get past the glowing symbol trap, while I meditate and call upon Elhonna to give me the power to fight this menace. I feel her grace change my abilities, strengthening the power of my spellcasting and perception of my surroundings, while my joints seemed to stiffen just a bit in exchange. (+2 WIS, -2 DEX)

Then we move onward. Drareg detects magic high above us hidden in the ceiling of the cavern, so I wildshape into a spider to climb up and investigate. But before I can move, Georgina stifles a shriek and backs away. I look around for the enemy but there is none, and ask her telepathically what could be the matter. She continues to back away shaking, admitting she has a profound terror of spiders. The party muses that this sort of weakness often occurs in archaeologist explorers; they often seem to have one particular animal that causes them a phobia.

The party then arrives in a large cavern.  Set into the cavern wall of this foreboding chamber are a pair of tall white marble double doors, streaked with veins of a faintly glowing purple mineral. Flanking the doors are a pair of tall ivory columns, each bearing a tentacular symbol burned into their surface.

37 Zyrxog's Sanctum: Day of the Tentacle

Session Log for 11.30.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Esor, Drareg, Gimble, Georgina, and I continued through the underground tunnel, while Torhild lagged behind to tie her shoes. We came across a dark chamber with double doors off to our right flanked by two stone columns carved with many tentacle designs. There was a small stream up ahead and no other means of exit other than the way we came. Drareg looked and listened closely while I reached out with my thoughts, and we perceived two medium octopus-like monsters slipping away from us into the water to hide.

We decided not to waste our spells or our energy fighting them when our goal was to find Xyrxog, so I kept a close eye on them while Esor checked the door for traps; they were fine. Georgi sends in her glowing floating spell scroll named Trevor to scout ahead for us, and she tells us it's safe to proceed.

We make our way through to a round chamber filled with eerie purple light. Ringing the walls are benches with manacles and chains affixed to the walls, not currently holding any unfortunate victims. In the center is a large glowing brain!

We all feel a pulse of energy from the brain, and Gimble quickly breaks into a  rendition of Fairytale of Greyhawk to try and protect us from the charm. It helps him and Drareg, but Esor, Georgina and I are overcome. I feel as if the big ugly brain is my best friend, and we eagerly obey its orders to leave and go back the way we came.

It appeared that our fearless band of adventurers had a brain problem situation on our hands.

Drareg takes a swing at the brain with his axe. He's surprised to hit solid stone rather than squishy flesh, but he chips off a few bits and definitely makes it angry. Esor and I snap out of the charm and turn to help, but the two monsters - Octopin - see a chance for a quick meal and attack us!

Gimble rushes out to help us and gets viscously attacked by tentacles and pinchers. The brain sends a pulse to stun us, and we can do little to fight back! Gimble, paralyzed and poisoned, falls to the ground unconscious and grappled by the creature! I pull it off with my thorn whip and wildshape into a cave bear to hopefully chomp it to bits.

Georgina hits the other octopin with magic missiles, and it leaps at her, poisoning and paralyzing her. Then it turns and and critically attacks Esor, who is stunned by the brain and cannot fight back. It pinches his neck, and he falls unconscious as well!

Now two of our crew are making death saving throws while we are all under attack from two monsters and suffering regular pulses of stunning spells from the big brain. The situation appears very dire, and I wonder for a moment if prayers to Ehlonna would reach her from this far beneath the earth.

Suddenly Torhild comes running in from the tunnel to save the day! She grins and skillfully skewers an octopin with her sword. It wraps around her, paralyzing and poisoning her! Georgina lifts her hand to cast a death blow to the octopin wrapped around my bear paws, but I mentally tell her it's mine to kill, and she hits the other instead.

Then the brain stuns me again, and the octopin tears at me until I drop my bear shape. Luckily Drareg runs in to deal the final blow. He then casts a massive healing spell, reviving Esor and Gimble! Gimble chugs a healing potion, then fills the purple room with a fireball, and Drareg finishes off the brain with a few blows. Torhild kills the final octopin, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. Georgina collects a small piece of the broken brain to study it later.

We retreat into the chamber with the glyph and debate how long we can afford to rest. Luckily Georgina creates a magical yurt to protect us, and she conjures her lost familiar as we settle in for a much needed long rest.

The next day, I cast pass without a trace on us and we proceed silently forward up the steps past the wreckage of the brain. In the next room is an old laboratory, dusty from lack of use in perhaps several weeks. Georgina and Gimble take a look at the notes on the desk and the books: a recipe for How to Create an Octopin is noted as well as some sort of Mind Worm Spell. There are other books in infernal; all the books look like references for villains.

A large tank along the far wall dominates the room. It's filled with green liquid and what looks like a nearly grown octopin, though it's tough to see in the murky water. Gimble mocks it viciously while Drareg tolls the dead on it. Just as I'm about to freeze the water into a block of green ice, it bursts over the top to land in front of us. It's a monstrous hybrid, part octopus, part shark, part wolf, with humanoid arms and a muffin top. We all join in the attack and dispatch it quickly.

Moving onward to the right, Winifred the owl scouts ahead and finds a room with a round pool of water. We investigate and see that we can easily use it to scry on any location in the Free City that we know well. We see that all seems to be well at Eligos's home and the inns we have visited. In the Sodden hold, city investigators seem to have removed the bodies of the victims, but down below a few drow are moving about; or could it be more doppelgangers? We think of the arena manager and the missing woman, but cannot figure a way to look for them.

Georgina bids Winifred to scout the next chamber, and she sees a ledge overlooking a green pool 40 feet below. We creep quietly inside, and Esor floats down to take a closer look. As soon as his feet touch the floor, a gaunt man with tentacles for a beard emerges from the shadows. It is Xyrxog!

38 Brains are Off the Menu

Session Log for 12.7.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Humans in Diamond Lake frequently have trouble pronouncing our Elven family name, so we've used Laughingwater there for decades, without any issue. Now when I introduce myself in Greyhawk, people seem to think we're a family of comedians for some reason. Perhaps I'll have to ask Gimble to teach me a few jokes.

Esor lightly touched down on the floor of the strange chamber while Georgina, Gimble, Drareg and I discussed our best defensive positions. I conjured two vultures to fly around the room and slid down the rope of climbing to stand near the wall, away from the glowing green pool filled with strange tadpoles. Gimble, Drareg, and Georgi remained on the balcony where they could easily view the entire room and cast their spells.

Suddenly Xyrxog emerged from the doorway past the pool! (Insert evil monologue here)

Everyone was too nervous for a clever response to his speech. Drareg sensed an evil force emanating from the black marble monolith rising behind the pool. Georgi and Gimble shout out what they remember from their arcanist studies of Illithids: that they are telepathic and possibly telekinetic, and they have no known resistances or vulnerabilities. At that moment, Xyrxog hits us all with a powerful stunning blast, and everyone but Drareg and one of my vultures is stunned!

Xyrxog calls to a Vrock, who flies in from the tunnel at the balcony. Luckily a vulture is there to distract its attack. Xyrxog hits Gimble with a mind whip, and Drareg blasts him back with a guiding bolt. The other vulture shakes off its stun, and the two of them peck and claw at the Vrock repeatedly. But it is as strong as it can be, like a Vrock.

I shake off the stun as well and am about to cast a spell when Xyrxog turns invisible! Gimble is ready with his dissonant whispers and hits him no matter where he may be hiding.

I try wild shaping into a spider to blindsight where the Illithid is hiding, then realize my senses can only reach out ten feet. I cross the room but am not surprised he is too far to sense, so instead I drop my spider shape to cast an ice storm that fills much of the room. We all hear him yell "Ow!" as the hail hits him and also destroys nearly three-quarters of the tadpoles in the pool. Xyrxog howls in rage!

Gimble hits him with a psychic lance and knocks him visible, allowing Drareg to shock him with a shatter spell. Esor shakes off the stun at last and turns his crossbow loaded with poison bolts, doing massive damage to our foe. Georgi uses the power of her spellbook Trevor to see through its eyes; she floats it over and sends a devastating lighting bolt through it at Xyrxog.

My vultures and Drareg's spiritual weapon smack the Vrock slowly to death and we Wind a String Around it.

Esor sneaks within the chamber Xyrxog emerged from while Gimble finishes him off with a dissonant whisper. Esor finds a desk filled with interesting memos, all written in the undercommon language he can easily read. Now we have proof that Racknian hired Xyrxog to kill us and create doppelgangers to replace us! We see that the horde of money he sent to do the job was mostly in turn paid to Telakin; Xyrxog seemed primarily interested in furthering his workings here in his lair rather than any monetary payment.

We uncover a wealth of items in his lair:+1 breastplate

a necklace of seven fireballs (for Wehttam)

boots of elvenkind (for Drareg)

a cloak of fire resistance

a ring of spell storing with counterspell

a chest with gemstones totalling 1500GP (I need a diamond and some diamond dust!)

a library of vile looking tomes

and his ring of keys.

a flask of electric eel elixir that could be effective to use in wild shape

an elixir of health

an elixir of stone to flesh

a wand with ten charges of enhance ability - useful in and out of combat

a white shiver elixir Xyrxog invented, that makes you tough?

a winking ruby brooch that will enhance Gimble's persuasion and deception +2

39 Zyrxog's Museum of Oddities

Session Log for 12.14.2023

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Having defeated Xyrxog, we look through his papers for an understanding of who hired him and why. We find Xyrxog's Ledgers, which prove that Loris Raknian wanted us killed, and that he was in league with the Ebon Triad; my guess would be that he's a worshipper of Hextor which would be in keeping with his love of glorious battle.

Also in the ledger is a job from Bozal Zahol, to steal a mated pair of Aurumvoraxes from Lord Henway’s Menagerie; it looks like the job was completed. We remember that Bozal is the name of the tiefling that was seen with the missing woman Lahaka; surely it must be the same person. But what are aurumvoraxes? There was also something about a document called the Apostolic Scrolls which must be important.

We round up all the interesting items and start to put them into our loot bags, when we realize the stone to flesh elixir might be tried on the petrified little pseudodragon. We gather around as Gimble gently poured the potion on the stone, and with a musical chime and a puff of green smoke, the creature turns from stone to metallic green scales!

The little dragon releases a high pitched squeal and begins to fly from the room. Luckily Torhild's calming words in draconic slow its frightened retreat, and it turns to take a second look at us. Torhild calls out for snacks, and I toss her my entire bag of treats. She calms the beautiful creature, and soon it curls around her shoulders, lowering its impressive stinger-barbed tail.

We make our way out of the lair and the sewers, and after a brief rest at the Black Dragon Inn, Wehttam joins us from the University of Magical Arts, and we catch him up on all that he has missed. He agrees we ought to bring our newfound evidence to the Lord Mayor of Greyhawk City immediately.

We head out and walk quickly in the direction of the lord mayor's offices, but suddenly we run into Auric and Tirra. It takes us a moment to remember them from Diamond Lake; we saw them at Needfest and beat them at a couple of the games. They say they need to speak with us urgently, and we find a pub with a quiet corner to talk.

Auric tells us he and his band are competing in the arena games again this year; Auric's War Band won last year, and he was crowned (well actually belted) king of the games. I take one glance at his ridiculous belt and manage to keep a straight face. I am so glad I do, because one of us mentions we are on the lookout for a missing woman named Lahaka Smallcask, and his face fills with emotion. He tells us he and she were in love and making plans, when she suddenly disappeared two months ago. Auric received a goodbye letter breaking up with him, a complete shock. He fears she may be dead and urges us to find her.

As a show of good will for searching for Lahaka, Auric wishes to help us. He says that if we come to him with the name of which foes we are facing in the arena, he will have advice on their battle strategies and any weaknesses. "Above strength, I value honor" he says, while offering us inside information that will give us an edge.

Tirra takes Esor aside and again asks him if he has any interest in the thieves guild, but he steadfastly refuses to join. She offers to help him anyway, in the hopes he might change his mind later. She offers to place a few bets on our behalf and triple our winnings if we give her some amount between $2500 and $5K and if we are able to win the first two rounds of battle. Then she quips that she thinks we have the ability to win the entire games this year, and as Auric turns in astonishment, she gives him an elbow in the ribs and the most gleeful grin.

Tirra then tells us the most interesting bit of trivia: Loris Raknian is well over 100 years old yet looks no more than 50, and he his a human! He is scarred from battle but used to be a champion of the games himself. He is rarely seen outside his compound and only then accompanied by a small phalanx of bodyguards. Tirra suggests that we might follow one of his guards, a Captain Okoral, and see his movements, who he visits, to gather some intel.

Tirra further shares that she has heard that prisoners beneath the arena have gone missing and return as undead creatures. Her intel from the guild revealed that in between the surface and the Coenoby far below is actually quite a bit of space, enough for at least one other level of rooms, but noone knows what lies there. She speculates that it might be a shrine of worship for whomever Raknian pays homage to.

We opt to sell the periapt of foul rotting to Tirra, who offers us 1000GP for it. We tell her to keep the gold and use it towards bets on us in the games.

Auric then gives us a few general tips about the games and how they will be run: we should be careful any spells or attacks we make do not hurt spectators in the stands. We will not be allowed to keep any gear of the opponents we defeat. When we are about to battle, we will hear a bell ring and then be lifted slowing into the arena, allowing us 1 minute to prepare ourselves as needed. Each battle will be on a separate day, allowing us a long rest in between.

Auric also cautioned us that if Raknian wants us killed, there is much he can to do make these normally nonlethal games very treacherous. We should be on guard and ready. Our conversation finished, we bid Auric and Tirra farewell and agree not to bring evidence of Raknian's plots to the oligarchy of Greyhawk until after the games.

We then set out on a trip to Lord Henway's Menagerie for a look at animals we might use for magical tattoos. I need to study a few beasts for wild shaping as well, now that my powers have grown.

 40 Quest for the Golden Monkey

Session Log for 12.21.2023

After our adventurers recovered from their excursions in Zyrxog's lair, they decided to head north to Henway's Menagerie to look at some of the magnificent beasts and monstronsities on display there.  Led by Tirra, the master rogue, the group was informed that Lord Henway has been known to pay up to 4000 gp for rare creatures to add to the zoo.  She said that Lord Henway is one of the more eccentric nobles of the city-a trait he inherits from a line of eccentric ancestors. His mansion is unique not only in its bizarre mixture of architectures, but in the fact that it houses a menagerie of some 100 varieties of birds and perhaps 20 different types of other, larger animals. He opens the menagerie to the public on Freeday afternoons, charging a nominal fee from nobles, merchants, and craftsmen. He admits the people of the low quarter for free, though not many of them make the journey across town to see the menagerie.

The party entered the menagerie through an elaborate brass gate built into the aviary, a cylindrical cage filled with more than one hundred varieties of birds from as far south as Hepmonaland. The testy creatures shrieked judgmental cries from their lofty perches high above the entrance.  They proceeded through the aviary and into a catwalk in a modified manor house. Thin chain railings on either side prevented the visitors from toppling over and into one of several pits containing Henway’s most prized treasures, his collection of unusual and dangerous beasts. Some of the creatures the party observed in their well-manicured habitats included three lions, four brown bears, an owlbear, two manticores (with clipped wings and covered tails), a leucrotta (with a silence spell always cast upon its pit), three hell hounds (in an extra-deep pit), a griffon (also with clipped wings), two elephants, a displacer beast, two sea cats, and four giant sea horses (in their own salty aquarium).  This could very well be where Lord Henway would keep the Giant Octopus from the Sodden Hold.

Then the party spoke with Lord Henway about his missing pets.  He agreed to pay the party 4000 gp per Aurumvorax to return them back to his menagery safely.  There would be no reward if either one died.  Henway said that his divinations gave some clues where they were held, but not an exact location.  The pets were somewhere below the arena in Clerkberg.  Tirra told the party that if they wanted to have complete access to Raknian's doors, they must have a key, one that could be found only in the Wizard's Guild Library.  Somewhere in the library was held a small, golden, statuette of a monkey, inside of which there was a key called the "Mad God's Key".  This magical device could get the group where the party needed to go on Raknian's property.  But Tirra also said that the Greyhawk Thieves' Guild was not allowed anywhere near the Guild of Wizardry, so Tirra could have nothing to do with the operation.

Once the party arrived at the Guild of Wizardry, they were welcomed by an aged, half-blind, half-deaf, dwarf named Edril Rumblepot, who spoke just above a whisper.  The party asked Edril how they could access the Wizard's Guild Library.  He told them that they must climb to the 4th floor, don some purple robes and then they may access the library.  He said, "no one should remove anything from the library whithout the express permission of the head librarian".

All of the party followed the library's rules, except for Esor, of course, who would have nothing to do with the rediculous purple gowns.  This proved to be a problem when the party began searching the library for clues and interesting books to read.  Aparently, there was a guardian - sometimes invisible, sometimes not - that prowled the library's halls, looking for anyone or anything that seemed out of place.  This, as it turned out, was a beholder.

Drareg found some books on Vecna and the Ebon Triad that explained more about the Apostolic Scrolls, which were purchased and sold by Zyrxog.  Several copies of the scrolls are thought to exist, and all have the same purpose — providing the user with the ability to contact one of the “Apostles of Kyuss" so it can perform a mass sacrifice in honor of its master. The scrolls are written in Abyssal and contain a long and complex litany filled with horrific imagery and descriptions. Performing this ritual takes 24 hours, but it can be split into three 8-hour shifts over the course of three days.

After a thorough search of the library, the party went searching for the "Golden Monkey".  They found it and on display with other antiquities in a locked room.  Before they opened the door, Wehttam noticed that there were footprints leading to and from another room in the library...and they weren't human.  The party was careful to avoid both the magical and mundane traps on each of the items, but was promptly attacked by two demons, Hezrou to be exact. Esor described them as "mean looking horned toads".

After the battle was done, the party made away with a chaos cloak and the golden monkey with the "mad god's key" inside.

 41 The Free Dinner and the Coenoby

Session Log for 12.28.2023

Starday, the 8th Day of Readying, 591 CY - Weather Cold 48 F High, Thick Fog.

After resting from their previous adventure, the party took some time to purchase goods that they might need during their stay in the Free City Arena.

By 5:00 PM the free dinner had begun.  It was a spectacular event, with more than 200 guests and half again as many servants, cooks, musicians, and other entertainers. The event itself took place under the open sky on the arena battleground. Numerous long banquet tables were arrayed in a circle around a central wooden stage that gave entertainers a place to perform. The entire area was festooned with flowers, ribbons, and multicolored pennants. The arena gates opened for the event at 5:00 pm. and a patrol of Raknian's wardens took position before each one, checking invitations and keeping an eye on the situation.  Two great bonfires burned north of the seating area, and scores of cooks, scullions, and waiters were busy there with spits, grills, and platters.

When the PCs and Ekaym arrived, Ekaym presented his license and a clerk recorded the PCs’ names, the name of their group, and took a note on the group's leader. After being admitted, the adventurers were shown their table and servants soon provided plenty of delicious food and drink.  The arena filled quickly with guests and attendants, and shortly before 6:00, Raknian entered the arena with his retinue (Captain Okoral, Talabir, and six bodyguards) and the crowd greeted him with thunderous applause. Raknian was quick on the pleasantries, and sat at a prominent table between the central bonfire and the stage.The current holder of the Champion’s Belt, the gladiator Auric, and his teammate Khellek also sat at Raknian’s table. When Raknian presented Auric to the crowd, he was greeted with even more applause.Next, Talabir took the stage and ran down the specific rules for arena combat.   After the rules were explained, Loris Raknian took the stage again and declared all gladiators “Champions of the Free City” for the duration of the Games (more applause), and then signaled for the Free Dinner to begin.Several bards took the stage and began performing as servants carried huge platters of food out to the various tables.

During the dinner, Ekaym seemed to be more interested in observing and listening to Raknian than in promoting his team to the bookkeepers.  Meanwhile, Raknian seemed to take an interest in the party, then dismissed it to himself.  The party was able to adjust their initial rank from 3 to 4 with a few attempts at deception.

The Free Dinner ended with an impressive show of fire works. A group of dancers surrounded the central bonfire and began whirling around it, their lean bodies outlined by the roaring flames. An impressive display of explosions and arcs of fire and lightning burst upward into the air from the bonfire, thanks to a pyrotechnics spell and several illusions cast by Talabir Welik. In the sudden silence that followed, the dancers fell to the ground and Loris Raknian announced in a deep baritone voice: “The Champion’s Games have begun!”

Once the visitors had left the arena, it was time for each of the teams to head down to the Coenoby.  This was accomplished by each team using the elevator lifts in the arena.  Our adventurers looked over their cramped quarters, wondering how anyone was supposed to fit an entire team in these former tombs - especially the ogres!  As it was the entire Coenoby was short of space, with competitors bunking just outside their quarters.

Then an announcement was made that the pairings (who would fight whom) had just been posted outside of the kitchen.  Oddly, the Last Resort was scheduled to fight in the second flight at 10:00 AM the next morning.  They had not one, not two but three opponents!  One was called, "Arcane Auriga" (a team of all female, elven arcane archers), the second team was called "Sapphire Squad" (a group of mounted mercenaries), and the third team was "To Be Determined".

"Four teams at the same time?," exclaimed Wehttam.

"Yes," said Talabir, the contest organizer.

Once the party had time to digest this information, Esor thought it best to meet (spy on) one of the teams.  The team he chose to visit first was Arcane Auriga, the group of four elven arcane archers.

Esor's attempt at stealth failed, but Rennida, their leader, welcomed him into their room.  Rennida told Esor that they were exiled from the Kingdom of Celene for "conduct unbecoming of a noble in Clan Sherendyl" and came to Greyhawk to test their skills, learn what the outside world had to offer, and perhaps, earn their acceptance back in Celene. Esor convinced the Auriga team that the Last Resort was worth its salt, so Rennida agreed to team up with them to defeat the other two, but once those other two teams were defeated, the Auriga family would not hold back.  Esor agreed, and the party's first alliance had been made.  Rennida's daughter, Krinasa, believed that the third team would probably be a hand-to-hand team, like "Crazy Eights".  She also believed that someone must have it in for the Last Resort, putting them against such powerful teams on their first battle.  Esor left, and both groups began to prepare for tomorrow's battle.

 42 The First Battle

Session Log for 1.4.2024

The 9th Day of Readying, 591 CY

Weather: High 44 F, Low 22 F, Clear, Moderate winds (SE 15 mph).

The party finished their initial preparations for the first battle, casting a few spells before getting on the platform that would lift them up into the arena floor.  But just before it was time to move, Auriga ran up to Esor and told him that they knew where each team would be placed, and a good strategy would be for Auriga to attack the Korush Mercenaries and for the Last Resort to try to bring down The Crazy Eight.  Then, we would see how the rest of it would play out.

Our adventurers had concocted quite a strategy to win this contest.  They and Arcane Auriga made quick work of the other two teams.  They never knew what hit them.

Drareg cast Ice Storm to create chaos and confusion on the battlefield while Esor took shots at the spellcasters.  Georgina got creative when she animated ten arrows and turned them against her enemies.  Wehttam used his chaos cloak and cast spells at other spellcasters.  One of the ogres, an ogre shaman slammed her staff into the ground at Georgina and split the earth beneath her, but the ogre's anger had gotten the best of her and her aim was off by just a hair.  Her earth shatter went as far as the audience in the stands, and the officials would have none of that.  She was disqualified from the round.

43 The 2nd Free City Arena Battle: Axebeaks vs. Badgers

-------------------------------------------------------

 Session Log for 1.11.2024

Winning teams of the second round receive a silver trophy depicting a dwarf gladiator (worth 500 gp) and a cash payout of 5,000 gp.

The announcer calls out once more: “Far from the depths of the Abyss, a dark forest blooms in a realm of shadow. Twisted creatures of nightmare walk the land, and howling wolves follow the scent of mortal blood!”

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Esor says that Pitch Blade has it in for us; he heard a rumor. We discuss it quietly in our rooms in the Coenoby, deep in the caverns below the Free City Arena. Here we rest for a day as willing captives in this strange lair, until the second battle in two days.

A storm rages overhead the next day, and Drareg curses our bad luck that we could not fight in the storm and use it to our advantage. Instead, Gimble uses the free time to our benefit, making alliances using his good graces. He entertains a gathered crowd with his singing and drumming, and several strangers join in the jam session and become fast friends. Others toss him coins in appreciation, earning some gold in addition to new friendships.

We laugh about the crowd of spectators booing us at the end of the first battle; they were upset we teamed up with Arcane Auriga and both of us won the battle of four teams, completely messing up their bets. Drareg amplified Gimble's voice with thaumaturgy and he announced "Thank you for your appreciation! In return, the first 100 beers at the concession are on me!" And as we exited the arena we saw frowns turn to smiles as the crowd rushed to grab a free drink.

Our group sat together while Torhild proudly carves her initials on her chain weapon, and we share some intel we learned about Pitch Blade. They have two barbarians with many melee attacks per round. Their manager is Okoral, Raknian's second in command, and we heard again that they think they'll be paid even if they kill us and get disqualified in the process.

The Coenoby has a courier that takes orders for potions and supplies; we each buy an item or two. I order a potion of heroism as I don't have the recipe or supplies to make one, or the time really.

The day of battle arrives, and we prepare to go up against the Badlands Revenge. We had learned they had a druid in their midst; I didn't see him the previous day in the Coenoby, but perhaps we could talk after the battle. I would like to learn where they are from and what their druid lives are like there. I was sure to prepare to conjure animals to battle whatever beasts they might bring.

As we rise into the arena, Torhild readies her sword and shield. Drareg uses thaumaturgy to amplify Gimble's voice, and he announces our arrival with lyrical style:

Attention! All spectators here for some sport 

Put your hands together for The Last Resort!

We are the conquering party that never ceases 

Opposing teams: prepare to pick up your pieces.

A storm’s brewing; Drareg will shatter you with ease 

Wehttam’s ice knives fly and every enemy will freeze

A swole dragonborn swings chains, Torhild’s runes activated 

Georgina Holloway gestures and arrows are animated!

Gimble whispers insults while his smooth words persuade 

Earth erupts in front of Meriel and no enemy can evade

From hidden heights Esor’s crossbow shoots arrows like rockets 

Lookout! This invisible thief might empty your pockets!

Together these heroes are an unstoppable crew 

Take heed other teams, we’re coming after you

Free City fans of the Champion Games 

Cheer our impending victory and remember our names.

The crowd erupts in cheers! Across the field we hear one gruff voice call "We are the Badlands Revenge!" and the crowd is silent. Georgina uses prestidigitation to make the sound of crickets chirping.

The playing field changed from last time. A hill rose up in the center, and atop it a stone satyr statue sits playing pipes. As he plays, a spike growth slowly spreads down the sides of the hill, threatening to overrun the entire field if we do not defeat our foes quickly. Guarding the throne are two manticores with disturbing humanoid grins.

We decide to split the party! Half of us begin to head left around the spike growth hill and the other half head right. I conjure eight axe beaks and send them in either direction to form a wall of fierce feathers and block the advance of our enemies. Wehttam rushes in front of me and casts a fireball with the wand, and as his cloak flutters I see a spectral form emerge from it and float in front of him. It changes shape randomly, constantly, and laughs in a voice that shifts from low rumble to a maniacal cackle. It congratulates Wehttam on a good hit with the fireball and introduces himself as Bedlam!

Bedlam releases a fierce spell that hits me and Wehttam as well as one of the manticores, who has swooped down in front of us. Gimble calls out to Bedlam and persuades him to attack the enemies in the future and please not attack us! Esor climbs one of the pillars to get in a great position to hit the Revenge with his crossbow, and Georgina casts slow on several of the gnolls as they run in to bite and claw Drareg and Torhild. Torhild invokes her hill rune in response.

Their honey badger attacks the axebeaks, and fur and feathers fly as the birds retaliate. The other manticore smells blood and swoops down to try and eat one of the axebeaks, but the conjuration poofs into feathers and dust as it dies. Then I spy the druid at the back, casting a healing spell to keep his teammates up and fighting. Esor spies him at the same time and hits him with a drow-poisoned arrow!

The slowed gnolls look daunted and drop their swords in favor of bows. Gimble shatters two of the gnolls and Drareg calls a huge lightning storm, raining bolts down on our opponents. Torhild backs up and jumps heroically over one of the manticores, then gets a claw in the backside from it. Georgina lightning bolts the matriarch gnoll, while her owl flies over to offer Torhild an advantage. The crowd is not impressed, and a boy tosses he a vial of poison in jest.

I blight one of the manticores, and it returns to its perch to lick its wounds. The other chomps another axe beak into nonexistence. Wehttam shatters the druid and his pet badger, injuring them to near death. Torhild strikes the matriarch with her sword and Georgina follows with Tasha's mind whip, wearing our opponents down.

The Badlands Revenge pause for a moment and take stock of how badly they have been injured while we have barely been scratched. Their leader makes the sign and they surrender the match!

 Secrets:

hidden

44 Searching for Secrets Between Battles

----------------------------------------

 Session Log for 1.18.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

We won the second battle! I am relieved no one got killed in the process, in particular those two magnificent manticores. Bedlam takes one more swipe at us, then disappears into the cloak. Wehttam finds that he cannot remove it! We win a silver dwarven bucket, which Drareg adds to his treasures.

We recover from our injuries and have dinner in the Coenoby, far below the surface of Greyhawk. Over dinner we quietly agree to do some sleuthing that evening, as we have several urgent puzzles to figure out: we need solid evidence that Raknian is behind the doppelgangers infiltrating the city government. We need to find out what happened to Lahaka Smallcask. We might find out what happened with the stolen aurumvoraxes, and if it is related to the other problems. And if there is a way to free the mistreated beasts, we will find it.

Before we sneak away, we agree we need to improve our communication tools; we order more bones for the communication necklace so that everyone has one.

We take a stairwell up to the level just below the arena, noting a very long distance in between the two levels. (What lies in between?) At the center of this floor is an enormous translucent green dome. Georgina and Gimble ponder it and determine that it is very old and protecting something inside it; no idea what. They also learn that it used to be gray, and changed to green somewhat recently.

Nearby are prison cells with the mistreated animals: a brown bear, black bear, tiger, lion, and leopard.They tell me they are hungry, injured, and depressed they are not allowed to "eat their prey." I tell them we will get them out of there, soon. But with the guards watching, we cannot accomplish that today.

We move on to the cells housing people. Only one is still occupied, with an old man inside, not the sort who could possibly put up much of a fight in the arena. Gimble detects his thoughts and learns that a person matching Bozal's description was until recently in the cell with him. He saw him turned undead, his eyes full of worms like the enemies in the basement of Blackwall Keep. Drareg recalls that he Apostolic Scrolls can summon undead.

The man is clearly mentally unwell, and deaf besides. I tell him if he consents I can cure his hearing, and that we can return tomorrow to clear his head from madness. He comes forward and I am able to touch both ears with a lesser restoration before the guard rushes in and shooes us away from the area. We can see the old man cover his ears as his hearing recovers and he begins to experience sounds again. He tells us his name is Nestor.

We retreat down the hall, then split up to try each stairwell and look for a way in to the mysterious levels in between the coenoby and here. At last we find one with a door that Esor checks for traps and opens. Inside we discover the most disgusting smell; it is the sewers.

We hold our noses and head down the tunnel, staying out of the smelly water. Georgina's owl Winnie scouts ahead and spies movement on the far wall at the end of the tunnel. We come out into an open area where [there is water underground, under the rocks and stones, same as it ever was](https://youtu.be/5IsSpAOD6K8?si=nNnE3Sc0aiVLfG5). Drareg spies several oozes lying in wait, ready to attack us. I conjure eight cottonmouth snakes into the far edge of the water, thrashing and drawing their attention, and we hurry past without incident.

We come to a fork in the tunnel, discuss and decide on the dry tunnel. A short walk brings us to a sudden ending of the tunnel into a large cylindrical room, reaching high above into the darkness. Georgina has Winnie scout it out, then we use a combination of our abilities to rise up; I wildshape into a giant owl to carry Gimble.

At the top, footprints in the passageway reveal there has been people here recently, and a magic lamp is lit. Gimble examines the prints and says they look like they were made by shambling undead, except for one set which is definitely hoofprints and probably Bozal!

Before we can discuss our good luck, we are attacked by three zombies: Bob, Daryl, and Jim. Drareg turns them, Esor shoots them with arrows, Gimble casts fire, and Georgina casts lightning to great effect. I ineffectively cast a blight spell, not remembering you can't rot what is already rotten.

45 The Worms Won't Win

----------------------

 Session Log for 1.25.2024

Our heroes did a thorough search of the coffin room but found only that the coffins were well worn and there were some bags of sand scattered around.  Other than that, there was a secret door to the north that led to a stairway, which Esor deduced would lead back to the Arena Understructure.  

Then, Drareg closely listened to the door to the east and heard many undead shuffling around and making frat party noises on the other side.  Esor cleverly rigged a device to hold Georgina's compact mirror under the door to see what was in the room.  They saw at least five undead there, one of which they had never seen before.  Almost all were the Spawn of Kyuss.  But one of the undead saw the mirror, and the party backed away.  Georgina then cast arcane lock on the door with the password, "Winnie1".  

The party chose to go north to see what was in the room at the end of the hallway after Winnie searched ahead.  Carefully, the party advanced ahead to find an old water pump machine in a small room.  The pump was connected to a metal pipe that cut through the earth to the northeast.  Georgina sent Trevor to explore the pipe.  He went about 20 feet before he came to an abrupt stop.  It was a greenish wall like the one the party saw on the dome in the center of the Understructure.  But this time, Trevor could see through to the other side.  What he described was beyond imagination.  There was an enormous maggot-caterpillar-like creature which pulsated with magic.  It appeared to be growing inside of some necromantic "chrysalis".  

With the only other choice to head out to the arena, back down through the sewers, or face what was behind door number one, they chose to face the undead.  Torhild was first to open the door.  The party faced off against several Spawns of Kyuss, one Greater Spawn of Kyuss, and a Mohrg, which had a wickedly nasty tongue and claws that lashed out at Torhild and held her fast.  During the battle, many of the Kyuss worms had found their way to the party's skin, and Georgina cleverly used Trevor to cast a magic missile which destroyed most of them.  

 Secrets:

“Corruption flows through the depths of the Nine Hells like poison! Only the flames can purify the sins of mortals! Behold Drusfan and Pharbol, the Pitch Blade! 

Four statues shaped like bat-winged devils rise from the four trap doors at the corner of the arena, then begin to rotate as they breathe out gouts of flame. Each creature that moves within 15 feet of a statue or starts its turn there must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. 

46 Bozal's Secret

-----------------

 Session Log for 2.1.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

Bozal seems to have been keeping zombies in this former training room deep beneath the arena; his hoofprints are all over it. I boldly open the door to the next room, only to be met instantly with a room full of worms, zombies, and Bozal himself! 

Zombies surge forward and try to bite us while Kyuss worms fly from their decayed flesh to try and land on us. I activate my shocking eel armor to sizzle them to death before they could take hold on me. Georgina uses a telekinetic shove to keep the zombies off of us and lightning bolts to sear Bozal and the zombies. Drareg deworms the green zombie with a lesser restoration and unleashes a wave of mutilation on all of our foes. Gimble uses his psychic lance and dissonant whispers to gravely injure Bozal.

Bozal casts a killing cloud that injures Esor and Georgina, but that doesn't stop him from aiming a few key shots with his crossbow straight at his cold heart. I shout at him "What have you done with Lahaka?" and he laughs like a crazy person, so I erupt the earth underneath him to try and shake the answer out of him. Gimble counterspells his next attack, and I have the chance to detect his disturbing thoughts...

Lahaka perished at Raknian's hands, strangled when he learned Bozal refused to follow Raknian's orders and kill her. His crazed mind refused to accept her death, and he turned her into a zombie with the worms. He kept her as evidence of Raknian's murder, the imprint of his ring on her neck a telltale sign of his foul deed.

We brought Lahaka a small justice via Drareg's mace, making the killing blow on Bozal's face. Then we prepared to proceed to the chambers where we would encounter her undead form.

47 Running Faster than Ulgurstasta

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 Session Log for 2.8.2024

The 11th Day of Readying, 591 CY

From the Journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Now that we have killed Lahaka's captor Bozal, we turn to look at his glowing green scroll at the front of the room. Gimble reaches to pick it up, but his hand goes right through it! He interprets the Abyssal and reads that this summoning spell has been going on for weeks and was nearly complete. It needed many deaths to bring it about; perhaps 50 people have been sacrificed. The being summoned comes not from another plane but an area north of the Nyr Dyv, the Worm Crawl Fissure. Gimble reads the name of the worm: Ulgurstasta!

We sneak down the hallway filled with glowing green light, and catch a glimpse of the giant worm. It ignores us as it's already starting to crawl up the side of the chamber towards the surface! Gimble calls out to it and hears a surprisingly intelligent response: it articulates its greedy desire to turn people into zombies and bring about the Age of Worms!

We gauge that we have a few moments to search Bozal's room in case we can find anything useful there. Esor disarms a pressure plate trap to his door, and we go in to see Lahaka's zombified form. There is no sign of worms on her; just the marks of Raknian's hands on her neck, proving he had killed her. Luckily she does not attack us, and we quickly search the room.

The room is as disturbing as the man. He has decorated with images of worms everywhere. The only item of note is a huge ornate trunk at the foot of the bed. Made of dark hardwood and steel, it is painted on all sides with images of an apocalypse and Kyuss being released from a subterranean prison. A Kyuss symbol has been nailed on the top in keeping with the room's gross decor.

Esor quickly examines the chest for traps and recoils in surprise; a magical trap has been set on the latch that could kill whomever tries to open it, with no chance of recovery. He thinks perhaps one with a high level of charisma might best be able to attempt it. We decide this a problem for tomorrow, and we need to fight the worm today.

Gimble offers to run below and round up support from Auric and the other gladiators, while the rest of us head up and start fighting the worm. Gimble parkours down the stairwell and rouses the others in record time with his bagpipes, shouting a rousing speech over naturally 20 seconds that goes something like "One day people will ask where were you when the worm came to Greyhawk, and you will respond I was there! I fought him! And you will be celebrated!" Auric and his warband run after Gimble upstairs along with the Draconic Blood and the Gravediggers.

Upstairs on the prison level, the rest of us surround the hole where the worm climbs. Drareg investigates the wine cellar for booze that could be lit aflame but finds none, only a suspicious smell like the worms below. Gimble arrives and takes a look as well with his wand of secrets, and the corner of the cellar is lit up with a secret to investigate later.

We shoot various spells and arrows at the giant worm, and Kellik magically greases up the inside of the tunnel, slowing its advance. We see tendrils shoot out to catch itself, tendrils that look ready to injure us if we get too close. We learn that acid and cold have no effect, but fire and lightning work well to hurt it (we remember that poison will not work.)

We back up to avoid the tendrils, and the worm reached our level. I try to knock it back with erupting earth, but its tendrils hold it fast. We consider whether it is time to run upstairs to the arena.

 Secrets:

Auras: Faint (door trap, DC 20 abjuration). 

Trap 1: This empty room has two traps: one on the carved stone doors between this room and area 12, and one inside the room itself. Deal with the door trap first, then read the boxed text when the PCs get the door open.

Lightning Bolt Trap: CR 6; magic device; touch trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (lightning bolt, 10th-level caster 10d6 electricity, DC 14 Reflex save half damage); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28. The lightning bolt is wide enough to encompass the entire stairway. 

Trap 2: Characters who cross the room face the second trap, which triggers 6 seconds after the first PC steps beyond the threshold. Anyone in the room at that point gets targeted by the trap, unless they’re Small or crawling, in which case the spears fly harmlessly overhead.

Poison Wall Spears: CR 5; mechanical; location trigger; manual reset; Atk +16 ranged (1d8+4 plus poison, spear); multiple targets (anyone Medium or larger in room); poison (Medium monstrous spider venom, DC 12 Fortitude save resists, 1d4 Str/1d4 Str); Search DC 17; Disable Device DC 21.

48 Knight of the Living Dead

----------------------------

 Session Log for 2.15.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Auric had just hit the giant worm with arrows, and Khellek with lightning, when it convulsed and vomited up seven zombies. Then it tipped its toothy maw upwards and began digging into the ceiling, crawling a great tunnel into the ceiling earth in a split second. Auric shouted that he and the other gladiators could take the zombies out, and we ought to head to the surface to fight it as soon as it emerged. We turned and ran for the stairs.

We ran out into the dark arena, only a few lanterns visible high in the guard towers. We shouted that a giant worm was coming, and the guards seemed to look a bit more alert and ready their bows.

With a few seconds to spare, we had a moment to count our remaining spells and drink a few healing potions. Torhild activated her storm rune, and I pulled out the masterwork longbow in case I ran out of spells entirely.

With a great explosion of earth and rock, Ulgurstasta broke through the arena ground! I was gratified to see it still glowed purple from my faerie fire. Drareg called a lightning storm over it and Esor began peppering it with arrows. I saw Gimble whisper an effective insult I could not hear over the sounds of battle, and Torhild took a swing at it with her chain.

Khellek ran in shouting in an uncharacteristic wild rage, cursing at the monster. It swung its head and spat up another zombie. This one had an enormous belt buckle, and I felt a cold lump in my throat as I recognized Auric! He was crawling with Kyuss worms and writhing on the ground. I wildshaped into an owl to dash across the field towards him, hoping to heal him.

The worm turned in Esor's direction and moved with unnatural speed, biting down on him quicker than he could move away. Esor was swallowed! Drareg's hit the worm with lightning bolts, Torhild with her chain, and Gimble with his painful insults, but nothing could force it to choke Esor back up.

Suddenly from the back of the box seats a figure emerged - Loris Raknian! His eyes glowed yellow as his voice boomed loud: "Behold the apostle of Kyuss! Look to the worm - he is your champion!" Then the entire arena floor glowed with a green mist that began coalescing into ghostly forms resembling gladiators both recent and ancient. As they slowly grew more solid, weapons appeared in their hands!

I reached Auric and touched him with a restoration spell. The worms disappeared, but Auric was still a zombie, and he fought with Khellek. The guards pelted the worm with arrows but they did no damage as they were not magical bows. Ulgurstasta turned to face Torhild who had been attacking with her chain; it bit down and swallowed her as well!

Raknian bellowed at the worm "now give me what you owe me!" and he screamed in pain as a transformation spell took ahold of him. Then the worm screeched as we saw a dagger's blade emerge from its throat, followed by a very slimy Esor and Torhild! The carcass of the worm collapsed around them.

Khellek dealt a death blow to Auric and stood grieving over his friend's dead form for a split second, before turning to run at Raknian in a rage. I conjured eight giant owls to swoop in and peck at Raknian, but I could not stop his foul magic; as we watched, he transformed into what I can only remember from old stories is called a Death Knight. Khellek felt the extreme power and strength flowing out from Raknian and was repelled backwards, shaking his head knowing there was now nothing any of us could do to stop him. As we watched, Raknian uttered an evil laugh and disappeared.

The green mist filled with ghosts of former gladiators disappeared as well, and the entire arena was plunged into sudden silence.

49 Sharing Serious News & Cracking the Accursed Chest

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 Session Log for 2.22.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We stand together in the suddenly quiet arena, catching our breath after the battle. Esor and Torhild step away from the scattered remains of the giant worm while Khellek stands over Auric's corpse, angry tears streaming down his face. Drareg catches his arm and boldly asserts that he can bring his dead friend back to life tomorrow; he has a powerful spell he can ready. We agree to meet at the Crooked House in the morning to discuss it further, and he carries Auric away.

We decide to stay at the Crooked House that night, rather than return to the depths below the arena. We arrive at the inn exhausted and ready to crash, but a boisterous group around the fire are excited to see us and demand the story of what happened in the arena. Gimble tells a thrilling tale and we all get very drunk off many a round the group buys us.

We are awoken late the next morning by a messenger with a note from Talabir Welik, the arena's referee. With Raknian gone and Bozal dead, he is now in charge of what's left of the games. We were scheduled to battle Auric's war band in the third match; Welik has declared us the winners by default, and invites us to come and collect a gold trophy of a human gladiator worth 1000GP and 10,000 gold pieces as well! (Drareg reminds us that some percentage of that is owed to our manager, Ekaym Smallcask.) Welik adds that he will postpone the final battle for a few days while repairs are made to the arena.

We stagger downstairs for a sobering breakfast, where Khellek and Tirra join us. Khellek tells us the body of his friend lies in repose at his temple. We begin to discuss the purchase of supplies for the spell to revive him, when Ekaym Smallcask arrives, having heard about the battle last night. We realize he needs to be updated about his sister. We withdraw to a private room at the pub, make sure he has a strong drink in his hand, and tell him of her fate, being sure to emphasize that we fully intend to bring her back with divine magic along with Auric. After his anger subsides, we convince him not to come with us to recover her form, but to meet us at the temple for the ceremony.

Then Celeste Ghale rushes in, out of breath and with a look of horror on her face. Eligos and his manservant have been murdered! The rogue investigated the scene of the crime; their bodies were taken by two killers, humanoids that left bootprints, who forced their way in. Nothing was stolen and there was no battle; they were paralyzed and their throats slit.

Celeste is sure that this is a concerted attack against mages of his order, and Allustan could be next. Drareg carefully prepares a sending message to warn him in 25 words or less. We wait, holding our breath for the response. Drareg recites Allustan's words in his head:

"I am in the Whispering Cairn. Need your help. Ilthane the Black has come! Please come soon. I will be in Icosiol’s Tomb (the one…)"

Allustan's sentence is cut short by the spell ending. We discuss fervently our next move - warn the other wizards? Try to teleport to Diamond Lake? Hire the fastest coach? Georgina worries that a wizard named Menzorian may also be targeted, and we discuss travelling to Magepoint or sending him a message.

Khellek shares that his is a Seeker, one of a group of treasure-hunting adventurers, and shows us his ring with a compass star of that group. We remember that we found the remains of a person in the Whispering Cairn of that group, and he eagerly listens to our tale of Ulavant.

We decide to travel to Diamond Lake by the fastest means possible. Most of us head out to make inquiries with that in mind, while Torhild stays behind in the pub to drink with Tirra, Celeste, and Ekaym to look after him. We shop, buying diamond dust and other spell components (I get an agate to Awaken something later, not sure what) Georgina tells us she's gotten quite good at making scrolls and could start up a side business at some point later. Drareg gets some new armor. 

Then we return to the arena late in the afternoon. We speak with Talabir Welik, who gives us our trophy and coin, and we tell him we need to leave town for a few days on urgent business. He is not sure how long repairs will take, but he wants us to return for a dramatic final battle, and he mutters with a grin that more time might mean more bets, hype, and profit, and reassures us to take a few extra days if needed. We agree to communicate by a sending spell to coordinate the final battle. 

Then we descend under the arena and return to Bozal's vile chambers to recover Lahaka Smallcask. Once inside however, we remember two unknowns; what's inside the accursed chest, and what lies in the door beyond Bozal's room. We opt to try the room first.

Once the door opens, Torhild takes a look. A brazier in the northwest corner lights the rectangular [room](https://www.scabard.com/pbs/campaign/1763599/ccategory/1806126). A green and black checkered curtain hangs from a steel bar fixed near the ceiling concealed the south wall. The bones of long-dead victims litter the floor, apparently damaged by acid.

Torhild slides open the curtain, and we are attacked by the tendrils of some foul fungal growth! Our ears fill with a terrible buzzing noise, like a thousand flies, and Gimble looks confused. The Alkilith looks deadly, and a quick glance around the room fails to reveal any need to stick around. Torhild pulls the curtain closed and shoves us all out of the room to safety.

Then it was time to tackle the trunk. Gimble and I planned ahead; I had given him my ring of protection to wear, which as a plus meant he had to remove his stupid helm and I could see his smiling face for once. (He really seems addicted to that thing!) Drareg casts a helpful spell and Gimble reaches out to try the latch. We all hold our breath, but it works! The chest opens and Gimble is not sucked inside. He sways and looks weakened; we discuss a spell to restore his constitution tomorrow.

Treasure found in the trunk:

The trunk contains a bag of 300 gp, four deep green emeralds worth 100 gp each, three aquamarines worth 500 gp each, a potion of greater healing, a scroll of death ward, two scrolls of etherealness, three doses of dust of tracelessness, seven blocks of exotic incense worth 200 gp each, two blocks of incense of meditation, a wand of lesser restoration with 12 charges, and a Murlynd's Spoon. Lastly, three vials containing oil of gentle repose. 

Then there is a flash of light and a whooshing noise as one of the humanoid silhouettes on the side of the trunk disappears. A naked wood elf appears, falling to the floor. He had been freed from the trunk! I cover him with my cloak and check to see if he has injuries we can heal.

As our group discusses the treasure in the trunk, I remember two other things we need to take care of here under the arena: in the prison cells are a group of mistreated animals: a brown bear, black bear, tiger, lion, and leopard. Nearby is an old man whose mind we can heal. Gimble mentions the importance of searching Raknian's house and gathering more information there. I also recall that Bozal stole a mated pair of Aurumvoraxes from [Lord Henway](https://www.scabard.com/pbs/campaign/1763599/character/1920580)’s Menagerie; we have no idea what happened to them. Perhaps there will be a clue in Raknian's house? 

50 A Bodacious Bard & Raiding Raknian's Residence

-------------------------------------------------

 Session Log for 2.29.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

Firstly, apologies as I was feeling particularly grouchy on this day due to lack of sleep; it will be good to get out of big noisy city soon enough!

We are in Bozal's lair under the arena. The wood elf who emerged from the cursed chest wakes up groggily. He looks completely disoriented and frightened for a moment, but we convince him we are friends and he is safe. We offer him water and a spare outfit from Gimble's pack, and we introduce ourselves. He is called Cannorial El’atherian, from Meldarin the same as mom's family. He was in the Gnarley forest with a group, came across the chest, and was attacked by a black dragon. He saw them all slain before he touched the chest and wound up here, after feeling some strange slow passage of time being trapped in the place the art on the chest depicts, near the evil god.

Cannorial tells us that Ilthane the Black was hired by the Ebon Triad cult in Alhaster.

We cautiously ask him what date it was for him, and tell him he'd lost many months and traveled a ways east to the Free City. He agrees to come with us for at least part of the day until he can get his bearings and sort out his next steps.

We bring him and Lahaka's zombie with us to the arena understructure. There we stop as I heal poor Old Nestor in the jail cells; he smiles as his mind clears. The guards are away from the area, and Esor easily picks the lock. He thanks us and runs off with cheerful alacrity, while we turn to address the animals at the other end of the cell block. We feed them and heal their wounds and discuss what to do next; we think Lord Henway might take them for his menagerie. Cannorial develops an instant fondness for the black bear and decides to take it back with him to the forest (I guess he got his bearings quickly enough.) Then I charm the rest of the beasts so they are friendly to us for the day, and Esor opens their cage without incident.

We emerge into the sunlight and walk through startled crowds in the streets, our motley crew of adventurers along with a mild-mannered zombie and a small herd of dangerous beasts. We stop at the Crooked House tavern to get everyone a hot meal (especially Cannorial) and the pub crowd gathers around and exclaims in glee that they thought they'd seen everything until now. Tarquin Shortstone himself comes out to see the excitement, and he feeds the bears honey and peanut butter when I'm not looking. I'm too distracted and delighted by Gimble, who climbs up on stage and regales us with the most jaw-droppingly epic song!

Greyhawk City II

After lunch Cannorial bids us farewell and departs with the bear to begin his journey home; we make sure he's provisioned and knows the way. We walk to the temple of Pelor, where we are greeted by a priestess who takes one look at the zombie and all the beasts and calls in her supervisor, High Matriarch Sarana. Following close behind her are Khellek and Ekaym Smallcask, who bursts into tears and hugs his zombified sister.

We explain the situation, and Sarana is astounded that Lahaka herself may be the key piece of evidence for Loris Raknian's crimes. She sends a messenger to bring constable Derider Fanshen, who after speaking with us asserts that the city will be filled with wanted posters for Raknian tomorrow. We assert that we have to leave quickly to battle the dragon that has descended upon Diamond Lake, and Sarana makes us a surprising offer: she is part of the ruling oligarchy of Greyhawk, and she has means to teleport us to Diamond Lake. We thank her and agree to return to the temple as soon as we are ready to depart.

We leave Lahaka in the care of her brother and the temple clergy; they assure us that they will begin the ceremony to revive her and Auric, and they may be well with us again in a day or two.

Then we split the party; Torhild and Georgina go with Gimble to research at the Bard College, and Drareg and Esor come with me and all the beasts to Lord Henway's menagerie. We speak to Lord Henway, who surprises us by exclaiming with complete honesty that her recognizes several of the animals; they were stolen from him! He urges us to try and find his missing aurumvoraxes if possible. Meanwhile Gimble and Georgina find some old tomes describing the Windukes Cairn; they are certain there must be a teleportation circle there, but it has not been found. Torhild begins to nod off in a corner, and Skittles knocks over a stack of books; Gimble suggests she go say hello to Gerbil, who makes excellent taffy.

Torhild returns later with an enormous bag of taffy (for only one gold piece!) and we regroup. In the early evening, we head to Raknian's mansion to investigate. The city guards out front tell us their orders are to let us pass, but they do not have keys to let us in. The front door looks well locked and trapped. Georgina sends Winifred through a high window, but she instantly death-poofs into a cloud of feathers from whatever trap is inside.

I take a stroll around the house and find a side door; Esor pronounces it free of traps and lets us in. It's a small kitchen; no clues here, only silverware that quickly slips into Esor's loot bag. We carefully creep into the dining room next door; Esor finds a hidden lever. We back into the kitchen, and Georgina uses mage hand to switch it; only Drareg hears the tapping of many claws on stone from the approach of a most likely hostile guardian. Georgina quickly switches the lever back, and the sound fades.

We progress though a portion of the hallway, a training room with some magic weapons, and a lovely courtyard. Beyond it is a room with animal sounds inside; Esor peeks in and sees an aurumvorax!

We are able to sneak away without alerting it, and we proceed down the hall to the last door. I get a bit impatient and nudge Drareg inside, setting off the trap and getting him shot with poison arrows. He is not amused. Inside the study we find the secret Journal of Loris Raknian that proves his other crimes, including his contacts with the Ebon Triad in Alhaster. Apparently Bozal was from that city. It also notes the two aurumvoraxes as well as a blue chimera, likely to be upstairs.

51 A Dragon at Diamond Lake

---------------------------

 Session Log for 3.7.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We continue reading Raknian's journal, cataloging his misdeeds. He notes how much he paid Xyrxog the mindflayer to create doppelgangers and infiltrate the city's government. He insults someone named the Prince of Red Hand in Alhaster, but comments that he is pleased this prince has hired Ilthane the Black dragon to eliminate mutual enemies.

We hear a noise from the closet - the chimera is there, not upstairs! Esor silently opens the door a crack, and Georgina is able to polymorph it into a chicken before it can notice us. We quickly search the closet it's in and procure 5 very fine bottles of wine worth 40GP each. We then close and bar the door and mark with with a sign to warn others: DO NOT OPEN - CHIMERA INSIDE

We search upstairs and find nothing of note; Esor pockets some gaudy jewelry. We collect the double-bladed swords and other +1 weapons from the training room to sell later, and I grab two wicker baskets from the larder. It takes several tries, but Georgina is able to cast the same magic on the two arumvoraxes, and they become turtles for an hour. I scoop them into the baskets, and we hightail it to Lord Henway's Menagerie.

It's late evening, but the night guard is glad to notify Lord Henway of our arrival, and the lord is ecstatic to hear these turtles are his stolen creatures. We get them back into their enclosure, then over a celebratory drink in his study, he explains how the aurumvoraxes are terrible pests to dwarves and other subterranean inhabitants, attacking them and eating their gold. He took them into his care from a dwarven tribe who preferred a humane solution. He then awards us a chest of gold in generous thanks.

We return to the Crooked House pub for the night. The usual lively crowd greets us like old friends, and they can't let us drift upstairs to bed without hearing another song from Gimble. He ends up entertaining the crowd with songs of Celene for an hour, and they shower him with coins and praise.

In the morning we return to the temple. The priests are busy mid-ceremony restoring Lahaka and Auric to life; we peek in and Ekaym and Khellek give us a nod and encouraging looks. Then High Matriarch Sarana escorts us to a building nearby, where we enter a room drawn with intricate designs on the floor. I know not what to expect, when suddenly my ears pop and my stomach flips, and our feet hit the ground as we fall an inch or two from the air just above the center of Diamond Lake town square!

It's the same dirty mining town, and the air smells even worse than usual. As my vision clears, I am struck with horror as I can see a long line of destruction! It cuts across the square; the Emporium and the Church of St. Cuthbert are completely destroyed. I panic as I see the line continue through the back of Venelle's Boyer and Fletcher right through her living quarters, and on down towards Allustan's and in the general direction of the Bronzewood Lodge.

I turn to run that way in a panic, when the door opens on Lazare's Gaming Parlor, and Lazare steps out with a look of pain and exhaustion on his face. I run to him instead and ask after my friends and family; he reassures me that Venelle is well, sheltering at a neighbor's. The Bronzewood Lodge is untouched, and some injured townspeople have been sent there for healing. We ask Lazare if he thinks the dragon may have gone in the direction of the Whispering Cairn; he has not seen it since yesterday, and it was last seen heading that direction.

We agree to waste no time, borrow two horses and a cart, and travel quickly towards the cairn. We stop at our house on the way to retrieve Artephax; we find a note from Allustan that says "Apologies, I borrowed Artephax. Need him to help me in the Whispering Cairn."

When we get close to the cairn, we take the horse and cart off-road and hide them, then continue as stealthily as possible towards the cairn; I cast pass without a trace to help hide us. Torhild asks if it's normal for this forest to be so eerily quiet; all the birds have gone away. Suddenly we hear an evil giggle from the trees, and a poof of a spell going off but failing to hit us. We spy small flapping wings; winged kobolds are attacking us!

We stop trying to be sneaky and dash towards the shelter of the cairn opening, now visible in the distance. But before we can take a few steps, a dark shadow rises over the ridge behind it. It is Ilthane the Black!

52 Battle with Ilthane the Black

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 Session Log for 3.14.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

[There are many stories of chivalry, where the heroic knight saves the damsel in distress. This is not one of them.](https://www.netflix.com/title/80991090) We are saving Allustan and Diamond Lake by working as a heroic team -  we are their Last Resort!

We stand shoulder to shoulder, hurriedly debating our attack strategy. I can still smell the incense rising off of Drareg's armor; he inhaled it the night before and was now glowing with added power. Ahead, Ilthane the Black rose over the ridge behind the cairn, blocking our path to safety. From the trees in three directions, we could hear the gleeful cackle of winged kobolds ready to attack.

Georgina blinks twice, shakes her head and then exclaims "that dragon is an illusion!" We look about and feel certain the real dragon is in the air not far away; we have seconds to ready ourselves for a possible [petrodraconic apocalypse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0AcBryPUxY&list=PL67cMGyeB5sE8NdxzVfi0eCkDPE8EX9O2). We move apart, take some cover, and cast a few spells; I conjure an air elemental, and Georgina cleverly calls up a draconic spirit.

Our eyes gyrate (from the illusion to the opposite direction and upwards) 

The air vibrates 

(We see) a gate in the sky, a portal to die 

A shriek from space, a mangled yell 

Dragon descends, welcome to hell! ([Dragon at 4:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpUKO-WKaqo))

The kobolds hit a few of us with arrows, and we hit them back: Wehttam with ice knives and Drareg with Toll the Dead. Torhild runs in and kills one, and Georgina kills another by hitting with a spell, then shoving it telekinetically off its perch. Suddenly Ilthane the Black appears right over us! I shoot fire at her, but she counters my spell, and we see a magical shield around her.

Her voice booms over the field "YOU HAVE RUINED MY PLANS FOR THE LIZARD FOLK, AND RUINED OUR PLANS FOR THE TOWN. NOW I WILL RUIN YOU, IN THE NAME OF DRAGOTHA!"

Her voice fills us with fear; everyone, including the draconic spirit and my elemental! We tremble but are still able to cast spells. Torhild drinks the potion of heroism and grows big, and Drareg calls forth a powerful stormcloud. Gimble polymorphs Torhild into a giant purple gorilla! She grabs a big boulder to toss at the drgon. Then the kobolds pelt us with arrows and we kill nearly all of them, but not before one perched above the cairn entrance hits us with a fireball! Gimble loses his concentration, and Torhild becomes a dragonborn again.

Ilthane hits Torhild and Wehttam with acid breath, and Drareg calls down lightning upon the black dragon. Gimble fireballs the snickering kobold mage right back, killing him. One by one we shake off our fear, but Torhild and my air elemental remain afraid. I drop the spell and try a moonbeam instead, but she moves fast and suddenly hides in magical darkness.

Gimble fireballs the darkness and I follow with a cone of cold. The sphere of darkness winks away and we see the massive form of the dragon fall to earth, dead!

The party walks over to her corpse, considering whether to harvest any parts, and I try and remember if I have any recipes that need dragon ingredients.

53 Through the Black Seal Darkly

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 Session Log for 3.21.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We pause to catch our breath and bandage our wounds after the fierce battle with Ilthane the Black Dragon. Georgina suggests that dragons have many useful parts, and I try to recall which magical recipes I've seen with them. We must hurry to reunite with Allustan, so we agree to harvest dragon parts on our way back later.

We venture into the Cairn of the Wind Dukes and show Georgina around. Her arcane knowledge comes in handy, and she identifies the pedestal near the entrance as a broken teleportation device. It needs significant repairs, costing 25 thousand gold and a total of 50 days of work (two people working 25 days.) The room with the colored lamp puzzle is unchanged; what's new is the collapsed tunnel has now been cleared of rubble by the satisfied-looking earth elemental standing nearby. We see behind him a shimmering wall of inky black; a portal!

Drareg greets Artifax in his Terran language and learns from him that Allustan has gone through the portal and instructed him to stay there and guard it. The portal leads to "a place where a battle happened long ago." He warns us the portal has a guardian we'll need to fight; Allustan has awoken it. While they talk, Gimble takes a good look at the runes carved on Artifax's body, and realizes that he must be over 1000 years old!

Georgina examines the portal and surmises that it leads to a place on this plane roughly 500 miles to the northeast, somewhere near White Plume Mountain. She says we'll have to jump through one at a time, and we line up. First Drareg, then Gimble (who hopes he might talk our way past the guardian) then Esor, then me, and last Georgina.

(Aside: before we jump through, we recount that we had given a few artifacts to Allustan to examine. Most notably, a powerful artifact we had found in the wind dukes cairn. We need to remember to ask him about them.)

The portal is like splashing into the oily foul water in Diamond Lake. I walk through into a small pitch dark chamber, with a second portal on the other side. Drareg, Gimble, and Esor are all crowding in here, standing perfectly still - they must be paralyzed! I move to try and restore them but before I can react, there is suddenly a movement from the corner of the room. A spider man with candy-striped legs slashes at me, but I escape paralysis. [I realize with fright that he might be having one of us for dinner tonight.](https://youtu.be/ijxk-fgcg7c?si=VA0KeE4dSGS91QmH)

Georgina arrives through the portal, and she's able to escape paralysis as well. The others gradually shake it off, and we all fight the spider man as best we can, though he darts back into the walls to escape our attacks.

He's immune to Gimble's pyschic whispers, but he is hurt by Esor's arrows and my thorn whip. We wound him severely, but he retreats before we can land a killing blow. We will have to finish him on our way back.

We take turns walking through the other portal and find ourselves in another wind dukes cairn, complete with enough fierce wind that spells with verbal components become impossible. Gimble and Esor are deafened; I telepathically ask Esor to check for traps down the hall. Pipes in the walls near us are already spewing smoke; I am able to use mold earth to seal a few of them. But then the smoke coalesces to form 8 smoke elementals!

Georgina coughs; she breathes in the noxious smoke. Drareg asks them not to attack, and Gimble casts Tongues to persuade them in their elemental language "How do you not recognize emmissaries of the Wind Dukes?" They seem to pause for a moment to consider; meanwhile Georgina coughs again. I wildshape into an earth elemental to avoid the smoke.

The smoke elementals turn and float away; they are convinced to leave us alone! I punch the remaining holes in the walls, sealing them shut with rubble, and the noxious smoke dissipates.

Esor scouts ahead for traps, and he finds many of them in the next room. Each doorway out is trapped as well as two sections of the floor. He carefully steps in and is able to disarm one of the doorways and one of the spike floor traps. Drareg then approaches and investigates; he spies Allustan's wheelchair tracks leading through the door to the north. That door is still trapped, but Georgina suggests she can open the door with mage hand, and I might be able to toss everyone through, over the trap.

54 Humoring the Earl of Coalchester

-----------------------------------

 Session Log for 3.28.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We are continuing to explore the Wind Dukes cairn on the other side of the portal from the cairn outside of Diamond Lake. We must press forward and find Allustan, hoping he is still alive. Now that Esor has skillfully disarmed some of the traps in this room, we can investigate it. A smoke elemental lingers from the previous room, making friendly gestures and offering to help for a short time.

We examine the artwork along the walls, and Gimble deciphers some of the ancient runes. It tells a tale of Icosiol the Wind Duke general leading an army and commanding a giant construct. They fight a spider queen commanding an army of oozes. At the battle's end, a massive magical explosion kills everyone, friend and foe alike, creating the huge rift canyon in its wake and evil worms inside it.

Trevor scouts the next room and spies six hovering flickering lamps rotating around an 8 foot larger than life statue bearing sword and shield. We cautiously move forward but set off the trap, causing a deafening blast; nearly all of us are briefly deafened and slowed. I telepathically suggest we move out of here as fast as possible, when a door opens at the end of the short hallway and a very big fiery red salamander greets us.

With upper-class politeness, the salamander bows and introduces himself as the Earl of Colchester. He cordially invites us inside to get away from the terrible noise; we could meet his friend and have a nice sit down and a cuppa. He gestures behind him to a room filled with fire and magma, and his friend looks to be a hungry-looking magma creature.

We back away and politely decline his ominous request, and with an evil grin a fireball springs from his fingers! A short but effective battle ensues; Drareg banishes the Earl back to the fiery plane he came from, and we shut and block the magma creature in its room. We notice an interesting treasure chest inside before the door closes; should we return later?

Esor scouts the next room, which strangely features a large metal ball hanging from a chain at its center. As we approach to investigate, a black ooze springs from the back wall and attacks!

The ooze does damage to Drareg's and Esor's armor; we will have to get it repaired once we return. I cast a firewall to singe it, Georgina sears it with a fireball, Esor shoots arrows, while Drareg gives us two thumbs up as he concentrates on the banishment spell still working to keep the Earl away. We wear the ooze down and then Gimble insults it to death.

Esor notes that oozes don't have any pockets to rifle, and we suddenly realize that with Ilthane the Black dragon dead, somewhere up for grabs is its horde of gold and treasure. The mages in Alhaster hired her; perhaps they know the location of her lair?

Drareg completes his spell, and the Earl is banished for good. He starts to follow us when he hears a high pitched voice cackle "he's mine!" Is it a monster holding Allustan? Gimble looks around but only spies a chandelier with rainbow colors, reminiscent of the other wind cairn; the runes next to it read The Great Wheel of Time.

We follow Allustan's traces down a long hallway. Esor's dancing lights illuminate a frescoe of a horned demon covered in eyes, kneeling before Icosiol. We arrive at a dead end, but Esor checks the walls and finds a secret door. We head down, down into the earth, and cobwebs begin to fill the corners of the passage; not typical webs but made of some dark substance like a shadow. I fight the instinct to wildshape into a spider; I need my human senses and my spells as well.

From around the corner a giant spider attacks Esor! Before anyone can move, it grabs him in its webs and drags him away! We rush to follow but the path is blocked; solid brick I can't move with earth bending. High pitched evil laughter echoes around us while we at last find the right brick to press and open up the secret tunnel, trailing far behind.

We travel down the tunnel and find a room with chain mail, a dusty altar, and a niche with a statuette.

(Meanwhile Esor wakes up alone in a room near dessicated corpses, everyone wound with spider silk. He cuts his way out and pockets coins and gems he finds in a pile, probably scavenged from the bodies.)

55 The Relief of Finding Allustan

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 Session Log for 4.4.2024

In the Shadowfell, Esor continued to search for items among the dead while Flycatcher was gone.  He found that there were two exits, one that led to the Shadowfell reflection of Icosiol's Tomb and one that led outside, where just a few miles away, a dark city stood out among the hills.  While searching through the lair, Esor found a scroll that seemed to be a mystery.  It had a drawing of a red river falling through caverns and an odd poem written over it.  On the back of the scroll, it said to find someone called the "Marquis of Ravenstone, Moreto".  He also found a shadow dagger.

Meanwhile, in the Prime Material, Georgina, Torhild and Drareg stood in the chamber where set of dusty and archaic armor rested in front of a small shrine, apparently long abandoned. The weapon stand before the armor lay empty except for flakes of rust.  Behind the armor was a small altar loaded with dusty offerings from years past. A statue of a regal Wind Duke sits in a small nook above the altar, and a door is painted on the wall to the right.  

Then a creature emerged from the painted door on the right.  It was obviously some kind of wraith, but it wore the vestments of a Wind Duke.  It attacked.  Drareg was terrified of the creature throughout the battle and could take no actions, while Torhild and Georgina were left to deal with the life-draining undead.  During the battle, he mindlessly talked to himself, obsessing about a lost item, muttering constantly about the “theft of the shrine treasures by the foot soldiers."

Torhild called out to Flycatcher, asking for clarification on her demands and proof of life for Esor.  The easily-distracted Flycatcher finally said that she wanted the group to rid her of the "one who carries the lantern.  His name is Moreto.  Kill him.  Go down, down, down the River of Blood."

Once the party had a chance to catch their breath, Georgina picked up the trail of Allustan again and saw that he headed up the stairs through the blue, metal double doors.  Carefully peeking though the doors, Drareg saw what looked like a room of worship.  A small statue of an armored Wind Duke, his left hand resting on a sword, his right held up to shield his eyes, stood at the far wall of the room as part of a small shrine. The statue seemed to be made of gold, with sparkling blue gems for eyes; a beam of bright light shined onto the statue from above. The walls are carved with ebony bas-reliefs of Wind Duke servants bowing and soldiers saluting. An elaborate carpet covered the floor, but it was badly worn and the colors had faded -- only small patches of the complete pattern remained, but this made it easier to track Allustan in this room.  

The party carefully moved into the room, but as they got closer to the golden statue, the two relief statues on the left and right began to activate.  They were golems, but nothing like anything the party had ever seen before.  Torhild made a run for the south door and managed not to get hit by the golem, Georgina cast a wall of fire to keep them back, and Drareg also used spells to keep them at bay, but they only fought with more tenacity.  

Once Torhild opened the south door she saw an awe-inspiring sight.  The room was full of flickering bluish light and a breeze that smelled like thunder storms. The floor sloped down toward the center from all directions, like a funnel. Some twenty feet above the bottom of the stairs crackled a sparkling globe of lightning. A metallic spike protruding down from a stone block in the ceiling touched the very tip of the globe’s upper curve. Inside the globe floated a human figure, a man with a long dark beard wearing torn and stained red robes.  It was Allustan, and he seemed to be in a state of suspended animation inside the globe, but he did not appear dead.  His wheelchair was leaning up against a column at the base of the stairs.

Just then, a massive bolt of lightning struck Torhild, though she managed to dodge most of the damage.  Georgina stepped in to cast fly on Torhild and was also struck with a bolt of lightning from the tempest globe.

Drareg continued to attempt to keep the Relief Golems at bay, while Torhild and Georgina tried to figure out a way to solve the puzzle of releasing Allustan from the globe.  

56 Allustan Aided but Esor Still Astray

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 Session Log for 4.18.2024

The 14th Day of Coldeven, 591 CY

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn: 

Gimble and I ran to catch up with the group. We found Drareg in a pitched battle with two stone bas-relief golems in a room with an interesting golden gem-encrusted statue. We offered to help, but he shouted no, go ahead and help the rest free Allustan in the next room!

We looked through the doorway and saw Allustan asleep, suspended in a sphere of lightning over a bottomless pit. Torhild was remarkably in flight nearby, struck by lightning. Georgina, hurt by lightning as well, took shelter in the room behind us and daydreamed about a five-day paradise vacation on a tropical island.

Torhild flies around the room to look for any levers or buttons to release Allustan, but finds none, then flies underneath to be sure and catch him if he falls. Gimble aims his crossbow at the spike and shoots; he pings it but it does not bend. I cast a hemisphere of water around the bottom half of the sphere to shield Torhild, but the lightning arcs around it and strikes her! Luckily she is not stunned and does not fall to her death.

The golems batter Drareg relentlessly and he fights back valiantly, but they knock him unconscious! I am somehow able to cast a second dome of water on top of the first, creating a sphere - I am sure I won't be able to repeat the abjuration. It seals the lightning in but shields the spike as well, and we can't hit it with arrows.

Then I wildshape into an earth elemental and jump into the column to move through stone around to the ceiling. Everyone sees one stony hand reach out and break the spike! The lightning ball dissipates, Allustan falls through the water, and Torhild catches him safely.

We heal Drareg and bring Allustan back two rooms, where it is safe to rest. He thanks us and asks how long he's been out; it's only been perhaps two days at most. We recount the battle with Ilthane the Black; he is relieved we have killed the dragon but devastated to hear that his house has been melted by acid. His familiar is safe with Vanelle his neighbor, who has retreated to the Bronzewood lodge after her home (the back of her shop) was hit as well.

We are able to rest safely and heal Allustan's wounds. He tells us he knows that Flycatcher the spider has taken Esor into the Shadowfell! The next morning, we hatch a plan to get him back. Gimble and Torhild will distract her with conversation while I try to cast Charm Monster and Drareg begins casting Geas. One way or another, we'll get her to take us to Esor!

We call her and the two of them distract her easily with talk of this person she wants dead; however, my spell fails to work, and she flies into a rage! We fight her, then Gimble polymorphs her into a snail. Now we can decide what to do next. ???

Meanwhile in the Shadowfell:

Esor explores the shadowy landscape outside the cavern where the spider left him. He finds a road across a desolate landscape leading to a city in the distance. He follows the path and finds a crossroads with a signpost held up by a dead (sacrificed? punished?) body holding signs reading "Gloomwrought" and "Bridge of Despair" with arrows. Esor walks towards Gloomwrought the city, and reaches a ring road around a dark lake. He begins to walk down the road, looking for a path to the city.

57 Much Ado about Flycatcher

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 Session Log for 5.2.24

The 15th Day of Coldeven, 591 CY

After the long rest, Allustan took a moment to tell his story.  He came back to the Whispering Cairn to find artifacts that might help the party in their quest to uncover and prevent the Age of Worms, and was beset upon by the dragon Ilthane.  The battle led him to escape further inside the tomb.  Once past the Abyssal Ghoul, he faced off with the shadow web and its deadly occupant.  Through his discourse with Flycatcher, he discovered that Moreto, a special undead of some kind, had taken the Seal of Law from its resting place and was attempting to leave with it when he was stopped by Flycatcher on the way out.  A fight ensued that ended in a standoff.  Between Flycatcher and Moreto, he said that he found Flycatcher to the be more reasonable of the two.  He said that the seal was needed to open the true tomb of Icosiol, the Wind Duke general.  It was there that the party might find a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts, also known as the Rod of Law.  This artifact could prove very valuable in the coming battle against the forces of Kyuss' undead.  Then, Allustan admitted that he may be a further liability to the party in the rest of the tomb, so he would wait for the party outside in the hope that they might find something of great power.  He also said that he would contact another friend of his since Eligos was dead - a friend that was also his former master.  

Drareg stood holding the snail form of Flycatcher in his hand, planning with Georgina of what to do with the thing. 

But, first, a new problem must be dealt with.  It seemed that another creature had come through the Shadowfell with Flycatcher and was hiding in the shadow web.  She appeared to be a slender Lizardfolk who wore leather armor that looked like it was covered in feathers and carried a rapier and had crossbow at her side.  Her name was Arwen, and she, too, was trapped in Flycatcher's layer.  Arwen wouldn't reveal much about her true mission, but she said that she was hunting Flycatcher and got caught in the process.  Georgina and Drareg replied that they sought to capture and control Flycatcher with a geas spell so that they could return Esor to his home as soon as possible.  Arwen agreed to help, as long as she could take something to show that her quarry had been captured.

The plan was to change Flycatcher back to her true form, and Georgina and Arwen would fight her off long enough for Drareg to cast his geas.  If it worked, Flycatcher would do everything in her power to return Esor to them.  First, the group destroyed the shadow web using radiant energy. Then Georgina cast light so that Flycatcher would have no shadows to which she could flee.  Once Flycatcher was back, Drareg had a chance to cast his spell.  Arwen almost ended the battle early with a deadly shot with her assassin's arrow.  Drareg had trouble maintaining concentration at first, but then became inspired by Velnius and kept it going until the end.  Flycatcher would now follow the commands of Drareg as well as she could.  But this would prove no easy task.

Flycatcher said that Esor had left her lair in the Shadowfell and was already travelling to the City of Midnight.  It may take Flycatcher a few days to regain her strength and track down Esor.  But she would do everything in her power to locate and return Esor and agreed to give Drareg regular updates.  She also gave much more information about her enemy, Moreto.  Moreto, it seemed had stolen the seal of law from its resting place and had taken it to his lair at the bottom of the Falling River (also known as the River of Blood).  She warned the party that there were guardians everywhere in this tomb.  To the south, were Wind Warriors, and to the north, Xorn and other bizarre oozes and elementals.  

The next step was up to the party.

58 Down the Falling River

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 Session Log for 5.9.24

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Gimble and I completely missed the battle with flycatcher; he was busy helping me set up a fire and cook a hearty meal. Everyone ate and got a few extra HP while we discussed which way to travel. The zorn and oozes sounded troublesome, so we decided to head down the river of blood instead. 

Georgi sent Winifred to scout ahead, and she described a descent into a room with patterned floor tiles that were trapped and would release a torrent of water. Drareg asserted that he could control the flow of the water and keep us safe, so we marched ahead, Torhild first. She stepped onto the tiles, and we could hear gears begin to grind. We braced ourselves and water rushed in, but Drareg was able to keep the river away. We walked down the tunnel and through shallows to the shore of a larger underground river in a larger tunnel. The light from Trevor makes the water glow a dull red.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to my surprise to see Esor! We all exclaim in relief. He shrugs off his prolonged disappearance and appears safe and sound. He shows us a map of the river with cryptic lyrics written over it, explaining how the waterfall most definitely Cuts You Up (and possibly rocks you like a hurricane) if you don't heed the advice. We examine the map and plan our descent.

Georgi casts fly on herself and Drareg, I wildshape into a giant bat, and Gimble summons a flying steed. Torhild gleefully dives in, and we hope to meet her again at the bottom of the falls. Arwen is able to climb down carefully, and I dive into the water to twist and turn my way through the narrow spots. 

At the bottom we reunite. We have only a moment to gather our wits when four wind soldiers appear from the cavern ceiling, wearing ceramic armor and bearing impressive looking swords. We attack them with conjured bats and a fireball, and they hit us with crossbow bolts. Then Drareg is able to turn them with the power of Zosiel's circlet.

59 Making a Deal with the Marquis

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 Session Log for 5.16.2024

The 16th Day of Coldeven, 591 CY 

From the Journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

As the wind duke enemies retreated from the power of Drareg's circlet, we realized this entire waterfall tunnel might be home to more of the air guardians, and we needed to be extra cautious as we proceeded. At least, as cautious as we could be while floundering down a waterfall.

Suddenly Wehttam teleported in! He said he'd had a message from Allustan and was on a school break. While they caught him up on our adventures, I caught seven blind cave crabs to make some tasty crabcakes for dinner later. 

Wehttam was blind in the darkness, so Georgi cast light on his cloak pin. Wehttam and Torhild then dove into the water and began to swim downwards while Georgi cast fly on Arwen, Drareg and herself. I wild shaped into a bat again, and Gimble flew on his bizarre bird-steed. Esor climbed the walls, moving more slowly but more carefully.

Halfway down, as we flew, swam, and climbed by, another group of breezy bruisers burst out of the walls and shot arrows at us. Luckily we sailed past them quickly, only taking a few small wounds. Georgi and Wehttam tried to blast them with magic rays as we went past, but the chaos of the water threw them off, and the foes were able to dodge.

Esor reached the bottom last but unbruised unlike the rest of us, who got a bit banged up, flung into the rocks by the rushing water. At the bottom was a large cave, where the water flowed more peacefully off into the distance. There we could see an odd greenish light glowing. I cautiously flew over to scout, and spotted several enemies. Unfortunately the leader spotted me as well, and spoke, asking to parlay with us.

I flew back to the group and we conferred; I used my telepathy so the enemy could not hear my words. While we spoke he approached; Georgi could immediately feel that light would be bad news if it reached us. We could see it was coming from a man holding a lantern; this must be Moreto.

Moreto spoke in an odd tongue; Gimble cast a spell so he could translate it and began a conversation in earnest to try and buy some time while Georgi examined the lantern from a distance, Esor examined his very deadly-looking minions, and I tried to determine Moreto's intentions. He seemed not likely to kill us unless we provoked him; he was most interested in travelling with us. He feared Flycatcher and felt we were necessary for him to get past her and escape to the surface. He wished to reunite with "one of his kind," an undead dragon named Dragotha. We remembered Ilthane invoked the same name before we killed her; she was a follower of Dragotha. We declined to mention to Moreto that Ilthane was dead, and we were sure to say nothing about Flycatcher being under our power and far away from the cairn. I think he may try to kill us once he feels close enough to the entrance to escape the tomb; we will need to be ready to battle then.

We began the climb back up, after Moreto agreed to stay far enough back that neither his minions nor the light from the lantern would come within range of us. When we reached the bend where the wind warriors attacked, he held aloft the Seal of Law, and they turned and melded back into the stone wall. Then we continued climbing until we reached the tunnel and the stone door leading to Icosiol's tomb. There he held the seal up again, and a square of light illuminated around a hidden door. Esor checked for traps, then carefully opened the door.

60 The Final Test of the Vaati

------------------------------

 Session Log for 5.23.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

As Esor began to open the door to Icosiol's tomb, Moreto extinguished his lantern. We turned to face him, poised to do battle if needed. Instead, he tossed the Seal of Law to us and announced he would head to the surface from here. I quickly read his thoughts, but all I could gather was a feeling of hubris and a mocking thought "I know something you don't know!" as he walked away, his creepy minions in tow.

We discussed our intuition about him after he was out of earshot; Drareg felt he was calm and not eager to take any action against us for now. Gimble felt he was true to his word at least, and Wehttam seemed to think he'd make an awesome drinking buddy.

We turned back to the double doors as Esor tried the handle again. A wave of emotion flowed from the doors over us, leaving Esor, Wehttam, and Arwen with no desire to enter the tomb. So Drareg tried the handle, but the doors would not budge. Gimble and Georgi examined the many runes, and found three to be most prominent: Aaqa (holy city of the Wind Dukes), Icosiol, and Pesh (the location of the battle.) 

We discussed what the solution might be to get the door open; here we were with the seal in hand, yet the entrance was barred from us. Gimble saw those same three glyphs on the seal, and read them aloud as he thought about what to do next. Surprisingly, the doors opened! It seems it now knew we were friends, and allowed us to enter.

Inside was a vast chamber beyond a short hallway. From there the floor dropped away; only Esor could see the bottom 90 feet below. Walls were far to the right and left, and in the distance across the chamber lightning illuminated the next set of doors. To get there, it looked as if we might fly or jump across a half dozen pedestals. Georgi sent Trevor in to scout the room, and her book immediately drew the attention of air elementals. It seemed we were barred from flight; we had to jump our way over.

Gimble hatched a brilliant plan; he and Georgi could polymorph most of us into frogs! I offered to test it out by wild shaping into a frog. I easily jumped my way across several pedestals. When I got to the fourth, however, it began rotating rapidly! I timed my hop poorly, and ended up falling toward the floor far below Luckily Georgi cast Feather Fall on me to slow my perilous descent, but then I got hit by lightning! Still, the lightning bolt was less painful than the impact with the floor would have been.

Gimble then polymorphed Drareg, who easily hopped along. He tried to time his jump right after watching me fail; it took several tries, but he made it all the way to the double doors. Then he shouted in disappointment; the doors were a fake! Gimble polymorphed himself and hopped over to investigate; halfway there, he realized the large column after the spinning one had a recession in the floor that exactly matched the seal. He popped it into place, and it began to raise him up to the ceiling and beyond!

We watched as he returned momentarily, seal in hand. He said there was a chamber up there that contained the sarcophagus. It must be Icosiol's! One by one we frog-hopped to the pedestal and rose up to wait in the chamber beyond.

Once we all made it up to the next room, together we admired the rainbow light coming from lanterns all around. We debated approaching the sarcophagus when a booming voice growled in Abyssal "You didn't think it would be this easy, did you?" Rising up from behind the sarcophagus was a menacing demon! 

I recognized this particular type of demon, as clear as day in my mind though I learned about it from the druids 20 years ago. I don't recall its name, but I am positive it has advantage on perception checks and thus cannot be flanked. It has advantage on all saving throws on spells and can counterspell them sometimes. It has a paralyzing gaze and multiple attacks with its eyes as well as spells it can cast. It is immune to poison, lightning, and fire damage, and resistant to cold and acid damage.

61 The Eyes Have It

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 Session Log for 5.30.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We had barely a moment to admire the beauty of the rainbow light from the lanterns illuminating the ancient artwork of the tomb, when the demon rose up to attack us. Skittering out from the dark back corners near the steps came four giant spiders with wolf heads, while the demon cast mirror image and made reflections of himself bounce around him. Then three bolts of energy came out of one of his evil eyes, hurting and poisoning Gimble and Georgi but missing Wehttam.

Esor shot arrows at one spider and then wisely took cover under the floating sarcophagus. Arwen attacks a spider then is grappled in its web and bitten! Gimble shoots a psychic lance at the demon and he roars in pain, incapacitated. 

Torhild casts her rune and grows large! She dives for the spider attacking Arwen and hits it soundly with her chains, smashing it into spider bits. Drareg quaffs a potion of heroism and summons a celestial to attack the demon, while Wehttam shatters him with a spell. I conjure an air elemental and have him try to knock the demon out of the air with a whirlwind and closer in range of our spells, but he is too strong to fall.

Georgina opens her pack and a cloud of animated sewing implements flies out to attack a spider, piercing it brutally. Arwen shoots more arrows at another spider, while a third bites Torhild and starts to reel her up in its web. Halfway up, she yanks on the web and pulls it down off the wall!

Gimble strikes the demon with another lance, and it is incapacitated again. It retaliates with its eye bolts, knocking Gimble unconcsious! Drareg casts a mass healing word and he awakens while we all feel the healing spell refresh us. Then the demon knocks out the celestial and Wettham hits him with a synaptic static.

I dispel the air elemental so that I can cast a sunbeam on the demon. This injures him but also lights me up like a glowing candle, and I've had to move closer to cast the spell. He flies down and cuts me with his sword, but now I've lured him close to the ground where he's easier for everyone to hit. Spells and arrows fly at him, hitting him soundly. Just as he's about to reach out for me for what could be a vampiric touch, Esor makes an expert shot with his crossbow, and he falls over dead!

We finish off the remaining spiders, my sunbeam and Georgi's sewing notions piercing the last one to death. Then we all look up as a vision appears above us, of an ancient person driving a chariot in the sky. He gestures towards us and smiles, calling "you just might be the ones!" Gimble recognizes him as Arquestan, an ancient wind duke.

The vision fades, but a light begins glowing in a circular shape on the sarcophagus. It's just the size of the seal, and Gimble places it there. The sarcophagus settles to the floor and the lid pops open!

Inside the remains of Icosiol are nearly crumbled to dust; only fragments of bone and clothing remain. Around him are the following items:

   a piece of the rod of seven parts

   ring of the wind dukes

   sword of aaqa

   lightning sword

Also in the room is the demon's sword with spikes on it. We examine the artifacts and decide that Georgi is the best keeper of the rod of seven parts piece, Drareg can make good use of the ring, and Gimble can wield the two swords.

Tired from our battle and the long journey to get here, we opt to camp in this rainbow room. I set up a small fire and my cooking pot in the back corner and cook up the cave crabs I caught into a comforting batch of mac & cheese with crabmeat. With cook's utensils, this meal becomes a magical dish for a Heroes Appetite (1d10 extra hit points plus advantage on wisdom saves vs fear).

62 Over the Waterfall and Through the Tombs

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 Session Log for 6.6.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We finished the last of the mac & cheese with cave crab meat I prepared, giving us all 2 additional hit points and advantage on wisdom saves vs fear for the next day (Heroes Appetite.) Before we went to sleep, I meditated on the upcoming weather and learned it would storm in two days time.

After we rested, we discussed where to travel to next. Drareg enumerated our options: the room with the oozes, a portal demon who may need killing, catching up with Flycatcher, and acquiring that overlooked treasure chest in the room where the Earl of Colchester was residing.

We took the elevator down from the rainbow crypt of Icosiol one by one, making sure whomever was first had the Seal of Law. It pacified the elementals in the leapfrog chamber below. As we considered the best method to leapfrog back the way we came, out of nowhere the same fellow from yesterday's vision appeared, in the flesh! Riding his sky chariot was Arquestan. 

He floated before us and invited us to climb aboard. We had a thousand questions about him, his people in the land of Aaqa, why they came to Greyhawk and why they left so long ago, never to return. He answered our queries while he flew us upward, around the waterfall back to the top. He had some stern advice for us as well, to be careful to only trust those we knew the best. We realized he could see some aspects of our future. We asked if we ought to have dispatched Moreto; he replied that Moreto was better alive than dead, as he had a part to play.

We bid farewell to him (for good or just for now?) and headed down the hallway. We entered a wide hall with six statues. Five held in their outstretched hands floating skyscrapers, while the sixth moved in to block our path! Drareg displayed the Seal, and it let us pass. At the end of the hall were two red ice giants with runes dancing on their faces. They remained still, and we passed them to enter into a freezing cold room with a swirl of snow rotating in the floor. 

Georgina dipped her hand in the snow to investigate, and was rewarded with +4 to her charisma for the next 24 hours! Torhild dove to get in on the buff, but when she put her hand in the snow, it drained her - minus 4 to charisma for 24 hours.

The frescoed walls tell the story: here lies Psion Siar, the Great Snow Wierd, who fiercely defended the Aaquan people in the final battle etc. Apparently the snow was the wierd's remains which they now have on their hands.

We retreated and walked onwards to an area that looks like prison cells, now long vacant. Someone finds a set of chainmail +2 with lightning resistance? We investigate a tomb decorated like a garden, where an urn of a beautiful and much beloved Aaquan named Marceille resides. We sense traps on the small treasure boxes around the urn, and decide the grave should be best left undisturbed.

Then we made our way to the room full of fire, where the Earl was before. The fire elemental inside agreed he'd rather be banished home than remain here in boredom. He moves the chest out of the fiery room into the hallway, and then we calmly use the banish spell to send him home. Georgina sets a teakettle on the chest to boil some tea to drink while we wait for it to cool. 

The chest itself is made of a black stone (basalt) bound together with red gold, copper, and rusted iron, and weighs 300 pounds all by itself 450 pounds with all its contents. 500 gp for chest.

It contains 2,300 gp, a knitted copper drawpurse containing 300 pp and 2 large honey-golden topazes (both worth 600 gp), and a narrow-brass scroll case containing a wand of invisibility (12 charges).

The chest also contains four thick crystal decanters of an efreeti brandy called scarlet ambrosia (worth up to 2000 gp each), all four cushioned in a small portable bar of hammered brass.  A forth crystal decanter detects conjuration magic.

We gather all the contents of the chest and head onwards. We come to the area with the oozes, but they slink away due to the Seal. What's left is a complicated contraption surrounding a locked door. Drareg surmises it's a time-wasting contraption, but I feel sure something of value must be inside, and Torhild agrees to venture in with me. We go through several sets of doors and increasingly smaller rooms, all very empty. Torhild tries to drop gold on the floor and pick it up to trick Drareg, but he is wise to her deception!

63 Rainbow Magic and A Miracle in Diamond Lake

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 Session Log for 6.13.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We return to the entrance of Icosiol's tomb. Before we jump through the portal, I search for evidence that Moreto had passed this way. I find it; he has flown out with his minions. We expect we will face him again, and now we will be prepared.

Drareg sends a mental message to his geased "friend" Flycatcher, and she is eager to respond. In a moment she comes scuttling in on her shadow webs and announces that now the seal is in our care, she is free from her bonds and can leave the tomb. She might visit the Shadowfell, but we can call her to our side at any time; she gives us a vial of black goo and tells us to simply spill it on the ground and call her name, and she will appear.

Arquestan asks if he might walk with us to the other cairn. We invite him and watch as he dispels his chariot with a whooshing spiral of wind. We step through the portal without incident; I can't even spy the portal demon hiding in the shadows, placated by the Seal of Law. On the other side, we help each other remember the route down through the laborers' chambers to reach the flooded rooms where we know the red lantern rests. 

We ready ourselves to do battle with the undead creature that Ulavant warned us about last time, but after a careful investigation, we find no sign of it. Instead, we find the body of a Seeker, one of Ulavant's adventuring party. He is wearing +1 studded leather with a Seeker insignia on it. Alongside is a +1 shortsword and a pouch with 2PP, 38GP, and 55SP. He is also wearing a gold Seeker insignia ring that might be worth 200GP.

We climb back up to the rainbow chamber and carefully hang up the red lantern. As soon as it's hung, all the lanterns glow just a big brighter. Wehttam jumps atop the fake sarcophagus (Arquestan grins and confirms it's a fake of Icosiol) and we turn the sarcophagus clockwise to face the red lantern. The lanterns illuminate the ceiling with brilliant rainbow light, and animated scenes appear:

> Images seen in the lights on the domed roof of the Whispering Cairn:

>

> This image depicts a peaceful scene featuring several vaati relaxing in an idyllic country scene. Dozens of perfect circles fill the sky above the frolicking figures. Dark, twisted shapes emerge from the edges. The shapes coalesce to form monstrous creatures that look like a cross between spiders and wolves. As the creatures approach the Wind Dukes the circles in the sky begin to burst one by one.  The next scene depicts a towering Vaati figure wearing the glyph of Icosiol standing over a legion of lesser Wind Duke warriors. The central warrior bears the glyph of Zosiel, but each figure bears a glyph of a distinct Wind Duke warrior.  The warriors raise longswords in salute to Icosiol.  Then, a group of seven proud noble Wind Dukes present a staff-like rod to a council of superior vaati in this gallery image.  The central figure raises the staff above his head, where it splits into seven irregular parts.  Then, it is the final battle between Law and Chaos. The Wandering Duke Qadeej impales Miska the Wolf-Spider, a demonic entity that looks like a drider with four arms and a human head flanked by two wolf heads. As the Wolf-Spider, Rod, and Qadeej vanish into a planar rift, Icosiol is struck by a beam from Miska's eyes and slumps dead to the ground.

The vision fades, and soft rainbow colors illuminate the room again. But before it's gone entirely, seven crystals descend from the ceiling to rest gently on the floor. We pick up our favorite colors:

Esor: red 

Drareg: orange 

Torhild: yellow 

Meriel: green 

Gimble: blue 

Georgina: indigo 

Wehttam: violet

Arquestan tells us they each have just two uses, and may be used for either a blasting spell or a wall of defense. Each color's effect is slightly different.

We take this moment to quiz Arquestan about the tomb; he tells us we've explored every corner of it. We then invite him to join us for a visit to Diamond Lake and maybe Greyhawk, but he declines; he feels he can't leave the tomb but does not explain why. We bid him farewell and I search my bag for a suitable parting gift for someone immortal who probably has everything. The only thing I have is the petrified snake from our battle in the swamp; he grins with genuine thanks and asserts he'll keep it on the dashboard of his chariot.

We head outside into the late afternoon sun, stopping at the carcass of the dragon. It's been near or below freezing these past 2 days, so the meat is still looking fresh. A few scavengers have taken some bits, but there is still most of this huge creature. I study it briefly and figure out exactly where to cut to get any items we may need from it. We harvest various bits:

Dragon parts harvested (we did not find a guide to using dragon parts, so this is approximate): 

   Meriel: a large quantity of meat, to create dragon stew to feed the townspeople. They'll gather in the Dashing Rat and spill out into the square outside with hot bowls of the creature who tried to destroy their town. Maybe we'll serve with it Just Desserts.

   Meriel: about 10 scales about 3 inches each in length, to attach to the shoulders of my cape for flair

   Georgina: maybe scales to make a belt, also for flair

   Gimble: the hyoid bone, to make a crossbow

   teeth and claws to make maybe daggers or arrowheads

   Scales to make dragonscale armor or sell to an armorer

Then we walk back into town; looks like Allustan has led the Garrison's horses back with him so they did not spend nights alone in the forest.

The townspeople of Diamond Lake are continuing to pick up the pieces after the dragon attack. We part ways for the evening, agreeing to meet up in the morning at the Dashing Rat. Drareg goes to check on his family, and I head to the Bronzewood Lodge to check on mine. Gimble goes to Allustan's house to help him sift through the wreckage and mend anything he can. They search the rubble and find the ancient Aaqan device that summons a sphere of annihilation as well as those evil horns we gave him.

The party spends two more days in town, helping them rebuild. On the first day, Gimble heads to the Dashing Rat to entertain the crowd with songs while they line up for bowls of dragon stew that Meriel has prepared. Georgina spends the day with the weavers and tailors of the town using magically animated sewing implements, making warm clothes and blankets for anyone who lost theirs in the attack. Esor uses his calligraphy skills to craft new building signage for any who lost theirs, and he pickpockets a few arrogant nobles to redistribute wealth robin-hood style. Drareg uses his spells to heal those who were hurt in the attack. Allustan borrowed Artephax and put him to work rebuilding his home.

On the second day, I lead a group of druids from the Bronzewood lodge in an 8-hour plant growth ritual. I invite Georgina to join in and teach her the chants and steps. Parading through the town, we enrich the land in a half-mile radius. The landscape is still snow-dusted in the late winter frost, but as we walk the spell causes snowdrops and crocus to spring up, and bare branches of trees reach higher and wider. Soon when spring arrives, the trees, flowers, and farmlands will grow with abundance. This brown dusty town will be green and vibrant.

But the most miraculous event of the day was with Drareg. Over breakfast I told him and our entire group how it is my lifelong mission to restore the town to its former beauty it held when my parents first arrived over 100 years ago, when it was a bustling fishing and farming community and the mines were small. Drareg went to meet with Ameriss Gallowglass and spoke to her about purifying the lake. He then prayed to Vilnius for divine intervention, and his god responded! Then they headed down to the lake for a purification ritual. When the ice melts, I am eager to see what the lake will become.

That night, Allustan tells us we should head to Magepoint. There we could meet with his mentor Tenser, aka Menzorian, who is living there with Warnes Starcoat, Georgina's mentor! We also discuss our desire to find Ilthane the Black's lair and the treasure abandoned there.

In the morning, I conjure eight giant owls, and we fly for an hour northward. The owls are extremely fussy for being made to work in the daytime, but I am able to conjure eight more, and we fly for another hour. By the end of the spell we are all ready to land, and we set down in a small clearing. Suddenly out of the woods a voice calls in Abyssal - Georgina translates. "Give us the rod and noone has to die!"  Out of the woods comes green spiky and white bony monsters that appear to imply otherwise. Wehttam casts his magic meteors, and battle begins.

Georgina summons a silver dragon, and Esor shoots his arrows. I conjure an air elemental, and Gimble attacks with his peryton and his Aaqan swords. Drareg calls a storm to strike our foes with lightning!

 Secrets:

Black Dragon

   Esor - 15 

   Georgina - 20

   Meriel - 23

Rebuild the town.  

   Meriel.  Herbalism - 19

   Gimble.  28 Performance.  Arcana - 17.

   Geogina.  16 Weaver's. 

   Esor - I loot while people are busy 25.  Calligraphy.  28

   Drareg - 19 - Religion - 18

   Arcana - 4

64 Defeating Devils and Moving on to Magepoint

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 Session Log for 6.20.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We are in mid-battle in a forest clearing, on the way to Magepoint. Devilish enemies surround us, some green with spiky tails, and some made of old bones with even spikier tails. The one farthest to the northwest is shouting orders at the others and taunting us in language only Georgina and Torhild  understand. "Give us the rod!" they say he's yelling at us.

My summoned air elemental's blows are only barely hurting them; I may need to try a different strategy. Esor's arrows injure one severely and Drareg's lightning storm shocks several of them, but they bite back fiercely, knocking Gimble unconscious!

They fly up into the air to try and avoid our attacks, but they can't escape Torhild's chains or Georgina's ball lightning or breath from her summoned dragon. Arwen hides in the brush and hits the leader with several arrows as he shouts "That doesn't belong to you!" meaning the Rod of Law we carry.

We feel the wave of a spell; most of us shake it off, but Wehttam is struck with fear. Torhild's rune slows the bone devil that knocked out Gimble, while my healing word brings him back up and fighting. Meanwhile his peryton gores the bone devil and Drareg continues to wield his lightning storm attacks.

One by one, the enemies fall. Soon only two remain; one casts a hemisphere of magical darkness while the other flies into the forest to hide. We kill the one in the forest while Esor and my air elemental attack the sphere of darkness, but the enemy inside it escapes and runs away.

The battle over, we search the bodies, but none of them are carrying the sixth piece of the rod of law. It must belong to whomever hired them. All we find is a crystal ball, which they must have used to find us.

After a bit of healing and Gimble's song of rest, we walk for half an hour to Magepoint. We arrive on the southern road into a prosperous village of perhaps 200 inhabitants, its cheerful townspeople all out and about strolling and chatting. I ask a random fellow the way to Menzorian's tower, and he tells us it is at the northern end of the road, but the wizards are out of town for a few days. Then he politely asks our names, and exclaims that we must be the legendary Last Resort group of adventurers!

He gives us a quick description of the town and its points of interest, including a library and various shops with many fine items for sale. Then he shows us to the All Seeing Eye Inn, where he walks in ahead of us and announces our arrival to the entire tavern! Everyone gives us a quick approving glance and many cheer and applaud. The inkeeper breezes over and cordially offers us the best rooms, completely free of charge; we are the champions of Diamond Lake and the heroes of Greyhawk city!

We drop our stuff and clean up a bit, then head downstairs for a meal. There we are astonished to see three familiar faces. The first is Cannorial El’atherian, the wood elf who popped out of the accursed chest in Bozal's lair when Gimble released the evil lock. The second is Celeste Ghale, the friendly rogue from the Free City. I shout with surprise - the third is Eligos! He tells us the rumors of his demise were premature.

They introduce us to a fourth person with them, a serious-looking wood elf named Cymria of Celadon. 

65 An Audience with Manzorian and Warnes

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 Session Log for 7.11.2024

From the Journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We spend the evening at the All Seeing Inn in Magepoint, where we talk with Eligos, Celeste, Cannorial, and their associate Cymria of Celadon. Eligos tells us the harrowing story of his death(!) and being brought back to life (!!) by Tenser, who now prefers the name Menzorian. Celeste seems to know Menzorian well, and she tells us we ought to meet with the mages when they return from their travels.

One mention of the mages brings several eavesdropping adventurers over from other tables, who proclaim at length how hard it is to get into Menzorian's tower: the trapped bridge, the bloodhawks, the pain you will feel if you even think about teleporting there, yada yada... we move our conversation to a more private table in the back corner.

Cannorial tells us he did return to the Gnarley forest after we parted ways, and he released the bear there where's he's made a happy new home. He was haunted by his experience locked in the chest, however, and he returned to Greyhawk to meet with Celeste again. They came to Magepoint to meet up with Menzorian, and here they encountered Eligos and Cymria. The four of them are convinced an age of worms is coming, and our party may in fact be the Last Resort.

I feel suspicious of Cymria, and ask her story while carefully reading her face for any deceit. She tells us she's a princess of Celadon, and chose to leave before being married off to someone she does not love. She's been gone for decades and works with the mages here; she is both a fighter and a wizard. She left with a group of elves, most of which have gone their separate ways since then.

We decide we can trust them, and we tell them most of our story, including Arquestan, Moreto, and the Rod of Law. They take it all in and urge us to tell the story to Menzorian and Warnes Starcoat.

We retire for the night ("Free of charge!" announces the cheerful inkeeper) and spend the next day shopping. We sell a bunch of armor, weapons, and items we do not need, and we pick up some very nice magic items. Most of our shopping is at Esmerelda's Emporium.

Cymria catches up with us that evening and tells us the mages have returned! She says they will meet with us at the temple library in the morning. We walk there with her in the morning; upon entry, the very businesslike clerk informs us we either need to pay 100GP admission (for the week) or impress them with our historical knowledge. I start to tell the story of Arquestan and the Wind Dukes, but she yawns and holds out the payment coffer. 

Once inside, we are led upstairs to a circular room with elaborate murals on the walls, so realistic it's as if you could step through. Across the room are two men who must be Starcoat and Menzorian! We are in the presence of two of the legendary Circle of Eight. Starcoat and Georgina greet each other warmly, then Menzorian jumps right into conversation, skipping the usual formalities as it seems he is already very familiar with us and our work.

They show us around the room, explaining the murals denote various apocalypses that may or may not come to pass. The island of "dinosaurs" with a possible incursion from the Abyss seems the most ridiculous of the lot. Then we come to a mural of a ziggurat in a jungle with a strange forked tower rising from it.

This is what Manzorian and Warnes had to say about the Age of Worms:

The Age of Worms: ''The Age of Worms is foretold in a prophecy that speaks of a coming apocalypse, an age of death and writhing doom. Normally such rumors should be dismissed —doomsday prophecies are typically the product of nothing more sinister than madness. This prophecy is different. It can be traced back, through various incarnations in books, tablets, and carvings on walls, for over two thousand years. It does not change in content during this time—it has not evolved through clumsy attempts of fanatics desperate to reword its predictions to support their agendas.

"This alone would be enough for it to merit further study. But even more interesting is the fact that in the last few years several of its predictions have actually come true. In one prophecy, it predicts the 'ruin by fire of a city built in a bowl in the spire’s shadow.' Just last year, far to the south, the city of Cauldron—built in the caldera of a dormant volcano only a few miles from Kyuss' one-time home, the Spire of Long Shadows—was nearly destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Other prophecies speak of the recrudescence of the worm-eaten dead, the recovery of potent artifacts from ancient tombs, the destructive manifestation of an immense demonic tree in a distant city across the sea, the arrival of a 'Fane of Scales' amid a storm of wind and fire, and the cleansing of an evil taint from a city besieged in the past by giants.

"These events have all come to pass, and quite recently. In fact, there are only two prophecies remaining to be fulfilled.  The first of these mentions the reunification of a tripartite spirit—I assume this is a nod to the goals of the Ebon Triad. The second remaining prophecy reads: 'And on the eve of the Age of Worms, a hero of the pit shall use his fame to gift a city to the dead.' I believe this last line may have been speaking of Loris Raknian (certainly a hero from the gladiator's pit) and his recent attempt to sacrifice thousands at the end of the Champion's Games. Yes, I’ve heard of this, and I know you played a role in its prevention. It remains to be seen if your actions actually made a difference or not, but it would be foolhardy to assume that those who are trying to fulfill the prophecies will abate their efforts."

The Ebon Triad: "The Ebon Triad seems to be involved, at least on some level, with most of the events associated with these prophecies. Their involvement merits further investigation, although I believe that they may in fact themselves be little more than agents for a larger power—perhaps Kyuss himself. Certainly, their goal of unifying Hextor, Erythnul, and Vecna into one overgod seems ridiculous, although as far as the Age of Worms prophecies about this tripartite spirit are concerned, it seems that the actual manifestation of an Overgod is not what is being predicted as much as it is predicting the heretical beliefs of the cultists themselves."

Kyuss: "Kyuss is an enigma—what we know of him is sparse. We know that he was once a mortal, a powerful priest who ascended to godhood. He ruled a city named Kuluth-Mar fir to the south, and was famed for the creation of undead. A former companion of mine, a wizard named Balakarde, made an extensive study of Kyuss and his ways. You might even say he was obsessed with Kyuss.”

Balakarde: “When Balakarde learned Kuluth-Mar was the likely location of Kyuss’ divine apotheosis, he could barely restrain himself' I cautioned him against going to investigate the ruins. One does not simply teleport into an unknown region without doing some research. Yet Balakarde wouldn’t listen. He left immediately, returning two weeks later with a wild look in his eye. He wouldn't say much of what he’d found there, and before he moved on he asked me to hold on to some of his notes. He promised to return later and tell me more, but that time was short and he had to head north to follow a new lead. He vanished without a trace not long thereafter. I intended to try to track him down, but unfortunately, other events conspired to take my attention away. I suspect he is dead now. Or worse.”

Kuluth-Mar: "The notes Balakarde left with me are unfortunately rather sparse. They confirm that Kuluth-Mar is located in the Amedio Jungle, far to the south, and estimate that Kyuss ruled the city more than two thousand years ago from a fortress called the Spire of Long Shadows. Balakarde believed that this spire was the site of Kyuss' ascension to godhood. Kyuss built a ziggurat to serve as the foundation of the Spire of Long Shadows.  Balakarde writes how the ziggurat was a powerful magical focus for the ritual that propelled him to divinity. Much of Kyuss’ might has since left the city of Kuluth-Mar, but powerful undead servants and lingering touches of Kyuss’ own miasma make the ziggurat a fell and dangerous place. Balakarde visited the ruined city several times, but never penetrated the spire itself I never found the journal pages that described his earlier visits."

Artifacts: "The Age of Worms prophecy predicts that several major magical artifacts shall surface in the months before the end. It does not indicate that these artifacts have a role to play in the realization of the Age of Worms itself only that their appearance marks that the time is near. I know of several that have surfaced of late: the Black Blade of Aknar Ratalla, the Tome of the Black Heart, the Obsidian Eye. the Dread Forge, the Bindings of Erivatius. and now, as I’m sure you’re aware, a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts. I'm sure that more are to come.”

We feel convinced that the age of worms could very much be on its way, and our next best step may be to venture into the Amedio Jungle and face the undead in the ziggurat there. We inquire whether the Rod of Law might aid us, and Menzorian urges us to leave it with him. In exchange, he will grant each one of us a custom magic item valued up to 40 thousand gold! 

We also discuss the proper thing to do with the gems filled with the memories of some townspeople of Greyhawk; whether those people might be revived.

We remind each other that the folks at the Greyhawk Arena (and all those enthusiastic fans) may want to see us back for the final battle, but with repairs on the ruined arena continuing and their champion Auric needing time to recover from his recent death, we decide to let them know it may be a few months before we can return there.

66 The Fountain of Fortune's Folly and Final Decisions

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 Session Log for 7.18.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We continue to discuss the impending Kyuss apocalypse with Menzorian (Tenser) and Warnes Starcoat in the library of Magepoint. We urge them to tell us everything that was in Balakarde's notes, in case any detail may be helpful in our journey to the Amedio Jungle and the ziggurat that awaits us there.

Georgi takes out her mirror of true sight and surreptitiously gets a good look at the both of them; they are definitely not doppelgangers. Drareg and I analyze their faces and words as well, and we find no deceit. They offer us a menu of every high level magic item in their archives to choose from, and offer to modify or enhance items beyond that; a shiny gift for each and every one of us only if we decide to yield to them the Rod of Law.

They can see our hesitation as we begin to discuss the pros and cons of this exchange at length, and they offer us a diversion. We follow them down the stairs through a secret door in a bookshelf that opens up. Down to the basement of the library, past dusty shelves of yellowed periodicals, a slightly off-level pool table, and a mini bar adorned with posters of heroes from ages past. There at the back is a rustic stone fountain bubbling and splashing, with two chalices perched on its lip. One is pristine fine white ceramic, gilded on the rim and stemmed by shining electrum. The other is of tarnished pewter in an indistinct design.

Menzorian explains this is the legendary Fountain of Fortune's Folly! (I try to look impressed, but I've never heard of it?) We may choose to drink from the water and receive a blessing and a curse from the gods of chance. If we drink from the white cup, we choose the blessing, but the curse is random. If we choose the dark cup, we choose the curse but the blessing is random.

The group ponders and Georgi looks hesitant to try it, so I volunteer. I choose the dark cup, and Menzorian declares "You have chosen...wisely!" I drink and feel a bit less strong but also much more alert, as if I might react faster when battle begins. Gimble drinks next, and feels his hearing fade a bit but becomes even more charismatic. Esor becomes less charismatic but grins as the fountain spits gold coins and a gem at him. Wehttam forgets some info he learnt at his school, but his muscles grow. Drareg gets an ingrown toenail but becomes even more perceptive (I did not think it possible!)

Only Torhild bravely chooses the white cup, choosing a life anchor. She becomes resistant to any potion; we decide to test it at the bar tonight. At last Georgi decides it's worth the risk and sips from the dark cup; her perception dims a bit but she gains a weapon proficiency.

We thank the mages profusely for the gift of the fountain's waters, but tell them we need a day or two to decide whether to give them the rod. We take our leave and walk back to the inn. There we have a spirited conversation around the table, and I insist we take our time and come to a consensus about such an important decision. Drareg decides to commune with his god, and I decide a walk would help me think. Torhild comes with me and we shop for a nice rosebush with purple blooms to plant in the magic pot of awakening. 

We end up shopping the rest of the day; I trade in that +1 shield that the vile Bozal must have stolen off one of his victims and get a +2 shield; it is good to be rid of the reminder. We also pick up lots of insect repellent salve and incense, and I get ingredients for cooking magical foods.

Drareg communes with Vilnius and is miraculously able to reach him. He asks three questions:

1.  Will keeping the Rod of Law piece with us help us on our journey? Yes, but in the short term

2.  Will we benefit more by selling the piece and using the items they give us? An enthusiastic yes

3.  Do Starcoat and Menzorian know where the other pieces of the rod are? YES! Three of the pieces, but they are not entirely sure.

We reconvene our impromptu druid council around the pub table in the morning, and talk it out for hours. At length we agree giving them the rod is the best option, as this one piece is of little use to us as is, the magic items would be of great use, they can easily keep it safe rather than us bringing it into danger, and they can research it. They seem keenly attuned to stopping apocalypses, and though they do not agree to return it to us should we ask, we feel they will give it back if they conclude it is the best option for stopping the Kyuss apocalypse. I feel that Arquestan would not disapprove of this decision, so I agree.

We return to the library and give them the piece of the rod. Gimble also gives them the Helm of Selnor free and clear, telling them it is cursed. Finally, we divulge that we have the soul gems, and ask if they know what to do with them. They seem to appraise them with a thirsty look at first, then steel themselves and advise that a temple would be the best place to take them. Reincarnation may be possible for the lost souls whose memories are trapped in the gems, but only high level clerics would know.

They then give us two teleportation scrolls, one to get to the Amedio Jungle and another to return to either Magepoint or Greyhawk (we can choose at that time). I remember that I have a transport via trees spell as well that may be of use, and remember to get a good look at a tree in Magepoint. I may also need to have a look at herbalism books in the library that include plant varieties found in the jungles.

67 Welcome to the Jungle

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 Session Log for 7.25.2024

From the Journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

The Last Resort prepares to depart Magepoint for the Amedio Jungle and the accursed temple that awaits there. We do a bit of research and shopping: I ask Tenser whether the library may have a book or two on the flora and fauna of the jungle, and he surprises me with a book he has written himself on the subject! I thank him for The Magical Properties of Herbs & Flowers, and he agrees to sign the flyleaf. 

I spend most of the day reading but join the others in picking up some lightweight linen clothes and heavily waxed/oiled cloaks to keep the jungle rain off. I pack fresh granola bars and a censer for the insect cones. Georgi completes a complex spell, and appearing next to her is an eight foot tall burly construct of a person she names Fezzik.

And then early the next morning, we are off! We stand in front of the mural, Georgi casts the teleportation scroll, and in the blink of an eye the room changes into the middle of the jungle. We are surrounded by ferns, vines, and towering trees dripping with moisture. Warm humid air hits us like a summer's rainy day in Diamond Lake, and we raise our hoods to stop the drizzle raining down. It is LOUD, the simultaneous cacophony of a thousand myriad insects, birds, and are those monkeys?

I offer to climb a tree to get our bearings, but Georgi is already on point, sending Winnie up to fly over while we get a look at the land around us. She reports that the ziggurat of Kuluth-Mar is nowhere in sight! They consult maps and discuss the view of the mountains she's seeing and conclude that we have a two or three day journey southward. 

We walk, taking in the sights and sounds, and I keep an eye out for interesting plants or animals as well as signs of any people. The birds are beautiful, brightly colored aracari and parrots. I get a glimpse of several small primates, then later something that looks like monkeys but with small toolbelts and wielding spears! Gimble and Georgi tell me they must be the legendary Phanaton, small humanoids who make their home in jungle arbors.

We cross the Tiger River; Gimble summons Peryton the Pegasus to fly us over, all but Fezzik who is much too large. Georgi casts fly on him so he can glide over on his own. We skirt around a herd of foraging wooly rhinoceros, and make camp in a small clearing. Or rather, I offer to start a campfire, but Georgi smiles and with a gesture creates a magnificent three story tower for us to shelter in! I sleep out on the balcony under the stars.

After another day of travel we reach a ridge overlooking an enormous bowl-shaped valley. It too is lush with jungle life, but we can see small hills of vegetation sparsely covering aged ruins, and in the center of the valley is our goal. The ziggurat with its forked stone spire looms there, surrounded by a desolate area of rough earth perhaps two hundred feet in radius. Surrounding that is a high circular wall of the blackest rock.

We make our way down into the valley, the jungle growing quieter with every step. By late afternoon we reach the wall. It's made of obsidian, about 30 feet high, and has no seams or mortar; it's a construct of one solid piece of stone, engraved with magic runes in both directions that Torhild recognizes as draconic. We can see birds flying over and back; there does not seem to be any barrier above it. I gently toss a small stone at it; a few runes gently light up. Then Drareg and I are struck with a Vision of the Watcher, a memory of a powerful but disconsolate druid casting a spell to create the wall. We can see that it traps evil inside.

Georgi flies Winnie over, then gasps as she sees that the ground inside is not bare, but full of writhing worms! We decide we must fly to the ziggurat and not touch that earth. I wildshape into a giant eagle and fly Esor over to arrive first at the ziggurat's base, while Gimble ferries the rest with his pegasus and Georgi casts fly on Fezzik. As we fly we can see three entrances to the ziggurat; one on either side of the base, and a third at the top that appears to be like a chimney straight down. We land and begin to head to the western entrance, lit by the sun now low in the sky.

Then all of us receive a Vision of a King, a man with chiseled features sitting on a throne in front of this ziggurat. Before him a thousand worshippers genuflect and chant, and behind them we can see the ancient city still standing. We know that this is a ceremony to a god of death, and the king is asking to become a god himself.

As the vision fades and our eyes clear, we realize enemies have sprung up from the wormy earth to attack us! An undead knight and two large insects are heading our way.

68 A Hard Day's Knight, by the Beetles

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 Session Log for 8.1.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We pause for a moment on the lowest steps of the ziggurat, as we notice a green light glowing at its very top. Drareg calls out that he sees something moving not far off amongst the dead trees. Suddenly from behind Georgi's tall shield guardian Fezzik there's a flash of movement, and a horrific armor-clad man appears out of nowhere and swings his sword at me!

I try to duck but am too slow, and he slashes my shoulder. Then he whips his head around as Gimble raises an arm to cast a spell and out of his dessicated eye sockets shoot two huge toothy worms to bite him! Gimble is caught by surprise and is bitten, the worm infecting him. Gimble shakes his head and fights off a fleeting vision of death and destruction in an age of worms this dead knight dreams of. Then he casts Raulothim's lance and sizzles the knight's brain! 

Drareg shouts as two large creatures skuttle quickly out of the dead trees; two eviscerator beetles. They run up close before we can react to bite Wehttam and Torhild, then begin a cacophonous chittering that fills our ears. Georgi, Torhild, and I can do nothing but cover our ears to try and stop the noise. Georgi backs away, taking a swipe from the knight but able to run hopefully far enough away to escape the noise.

The bugs slash Torhild and Wehttam again; she cannot react, but he is able to cast binding ice that freezes the bug in its tracks (but not freezing its chittering mandibles!) and he runs behind the ziggurat to take cover, severely wounded. Arwen lands a few arrows in one of the bugs, while Gimble attacks them with his psychic lance and his pegasus smashes one with a well-placed hoof.

Then we gasp in dismay as we see one of the beetles send out a sickly green pulse into the ground. Worms rise up and heal it! We are all wounded, I am still holding my ears, and Georgi is still running to try and get far enough away to cast a spell. Then Drareg casts a mass healing and saves the day! The knight laughs and taunts us, speaking an ancient dialect of Flan, saying nobody likes him, everybody hates him, and he'll just go eat worms.

Gimble incapacitates one of the beetles with a psychic lance, stopping half the chittering, and Georgi is able to get far enough away and cast chain lightning on all three foes. I am able at last to uncover my ears, cast a sunbeam spell and wildshape into an [hoot-owl, howling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl4Y4FWWkn0) and flying up and shooting the knight and one beetle with sunbeams like lasers from my owl eyes.

Wehttam slings a spell and kills one of the beetles! Drareg hits another with a sacred flame and calls out a healing word for us all in one go. Then the knight attacks Drareg and he gets infected with a worm as well! Torhild is able to uncover her ears and thrashes the knight with her chains and shackles. Georgina firebolts a beetle and Fezzik punches the knight. We all get another round of attacks on them, and Drareg lands a killing blow to the knight with his spiritual weapon.

The knight collapses into a heap of armor with worms pouring out of it and burrowing rapidly underground. Drareg identifies the armor as +2 plate mail. We note that the knight was immune to lightning, radiant and psychic worked, non-magical weapons were half damage but silvered weapons would do full damage.

It is late in the day at this point, the sun low in the sky. Drareg casts lesser restoration on himself and Gimble to deworm themselves. We decide to retreat beyond the wall to a safer spot in the jungle, where Georgi casts the tower again and we call can get a good night's rest with Fezzik keeping watch. As I settle in to meditate, I wonder if we ought to take a day to sit atop the wall and cast every burning and radiant spell we have into that landscape around the ziggurat to possibly weaken their defenses.

69 Angels and Demons

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 Session Log for 8.8.2024

The 1st Day of Coldeven, 591 CY

After a long night's rest, our heroes woke up the next morning to the cacophony of the Amedio Jungle.  Gimble had already summoned another Pegasus, which stood patiently waiting by the thirty-foot-high obsidian wall that separated the evil of Kyuss from the rest of the world.  

Most of the party rode the Pegasus over the obsidian wall, but Esor climbed over like a spider.  They soon returned to the western entrance to the tomb, but not before Gimble searched for secret doors and traps both above and below the pyramid.  

After climbing the stairs, the party saw a room whose walls held carvings and frescoes of a bizarre scene. 

> The walls of this chamber are carved to depict an army of armored soldiers engaged in the ruin and destruction of a city of helpless men, women, and children.  Buildings burn, blood washes the streets, and dark thunderclouds boil in the skies above. Above them all, directing the army, is an enormous figure dressed in plate mail. His face is cold and cruel, but also quite handsome. He wields an exotic pole arm that combines the features of a pick, an axe, and a mace.

Two large double doors faced them to the east.  Torhild used a chime of opening to open the way.  And before them was a vast, ancient temple.

> This once-grand chamber suffers from long neglect. The dark green stone floor of the temple lies broken in the center, giving way to a gaping pit. Writhing tendrils of sickening green vapor slither up from this pit only to break apart and fade before seeping much further into the room. Great pillars line the outside of the vast chamber, but those near the center of the room lie broken— blasted outward by whatever force caused the hole in the center of the room.  Immense stone double doors stand in the center of each wall.

Esor sent Lenord, the raven, to scout the room, but only Wehttam was willing to take the first step onto the green marble floor.  Lenord and Wehttam sensed that there was some sort of curse in a wide radius around the pit in the floor.  They both felt drained of energy in that place.  There were two other sets of doors on the north and south of the temple.  The party chose to go north.  No traps or secret doors were found, and so, Torhild bravely creeked open the door.  She saw something she had never seen before.  

> The green walls of this room seem to writhe and glow with an unhealthy light. Scattered around the room are instruments of torture — rusted and pitted iron hooks, ancient blades, and other tools of horrid intent.  The walls of this chamber are panes of glass that enclose thousands upon thousands of Kyuss worms in a 2-inch-wide gap between the glass and the actual stone walls beyond. As long as the worms remain in this trough, they are harmless.

Then, Torhild heard a voice from above her.  He spoke in a celestial voice saying, "I am Kelvos.  I came to Kuluth-Mar some time before Kyuss became a god.  I was intent on stopping the necromancer from realizing his unholy goal.  But I failed.  My companions and I have been prisoners here ever since."  Then two more figures materialized to his left and right.  They were archons, sword archons, celestials whose arms formed swords of light and flame.  

Drareg was sceptical.  His insight told him that everything the ghaele eladrin said was true, but he had malicious intent towards the party.  Still, the party listened to Kelvos' story.  Then one of the archons turned to Kelvos and said, "It is time.  We can wait no longer.  Our duty is before us."

Suddenly Kelvos and the sword archons, which now looked dark and greenish, attacked the party.  The archons had somehow been corrupted over the ages to become an Angel of the Worm.  

During the battle one of the archons was defeated, but Kelvos managed to fly into the torture room, smashed the glass, and out of it poured a large Wormswarm.  Only a few minutes later, a tendril of green vapor reached out of the pit in the central room and pulled the dead Angel of the Worm down by his ankle.

70 Defeating the Wormtouched, Discovering the Library

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 Session Log for 8.15.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

I catch up to the group, stepping into the entrance of the ziggurat. I find them in mid-battle with three winged humanoids who look corrupted by the worms. We get a few good hits on them, but one of them casts a mass cure wounds and they heal the damage we've caused. I sear them with a sunbeam while Georgi shakes them with thunder and telekinetically shoves one into easy punching range by Fezzik. Wehttam surrounds their leader in a sphere of synaptic static, and he falls dead, brain melted!

I move across the room and see Arwen and Torhild holding off a swarm of evil worms. Arwen tosses a flask of oil and shouts for someone to light it afire, while Torhild tries to smack them down with her kyton chains - but they miss all three times! Gimble tries to fireball the worms, but somehow most of them dodge out of the way.

Georgi orders Fezzik to block the doorway, and we ready spells and arrows to shoot around him. Suddenly the worms surge forward and cover him! I toss a magic rock to try and knock some off; it kills a few worms but injures Fezzik as well. Esor faerie fires the worms but catches Fezzik too, and Wehttam fires off a powerful scorching ray. We watch in horror as it sizzles both worms and Fezzik, and it seems for a moment that both will go down in flames! Then the smoke clears, and a charred but triumphant Fezzik rises up from the ashy remains of the worm swarm.

The moment all the archons and worms are defeated, we experience a Vision of the Gift. 

We find treasure: +2 full plate, +2 half plate, and a +3 unholy greatsword that does necrotic damage and extra damage to good people. Gimble and Torhild get infected with a worm, but we are able to deworm them with a lesser restoration.

We take a quick look through the open doors to the east; it's an empty chamber with more murals of death and destruction. Georgi sends Trevor up the hole in the ceiling and down the hole in the floor. Upwards in the spire are branching hallways and a soft green glow; the mist seems to dissipate. Below, the tunnels extend at least 300 feet, with many branches off the main column downwards. Trevor spies two enormous creatures like lampreys, slithering down the halls. 

We listen at the double doors to the north; all is quiet. We enter cautiously and Georgi softly exclaims with glee "So many books!" We have found Kyuss's library of necomancy and dark magics. Georgi shines Trevor's soft light across many spines of books she'd like to spend days reading, and we can also see odd jars of liquid on the tops of the bookcases. Then the light falls across several humanoid statues. It appears several guardians have been lying in wait!

71 The Library of Our Discontent

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 Session Log for 8.22.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We have a small library at the Bronzewood lodge - even calling it a library is giving it airs. Three large bookshelves line the walls of a small room off the courtyard, housing druidic tomes and epic tales from centuries past alongside our favorite recipe collections. There's even a half-finished book old Nogwier is writing of his philosophical musings. So I have respect for books and their knowledge, but I end this night shrugging my shoulders and wondering: maybe not every book everywhere deserves quite the same level of veneration? Are there some books in this world whose contents are so evil that they should be destroyed?

We stand poised outside the library in the accursed Kyuss temple. Georgi's shield guardian Fezzik is standing guard at the doorway, and Trevor the floating book is inside, scouting. Georgi murmurs that she sees three undead warriors stagger out of the dark corners, poised to attack. She calls out "Don't harm the books!"

In a rare turn, I am first to act, and I quickly conjure eight wolves to block the zombies' progress. We feel the edges of a necrotic blast emanate out, then silence. Georgi exclaims that all eight wolves were instantly vaporized! We all pause with the realization that this will be no easy battle. Esor, Arwen, and Gimble respond by chugging healing potions.

And just in time; two necrotic blasts hit us next, injuring us and bloodying dear Fezzik! Georgi thinks fast and casts a wall of force around the undead. Then, crawling over a bookshelf like a skeleton half human, half animal, some new creepy villain tries to dispel the wall. He fails!

Gimble waves his hand, and Esor disappears, invisible. Drareg casts an insect plague into the room, and we wait as the swarm chews away at our enemies. But not for long; the little creepy skeleton dispels it! Georgi hits him with a Thunderball (modified fireball) in retribution, and Gimble befuddles his mind with synaptic static. I invoke a healing word for Arwen and another for Gimble.

We hear the disturbing skeleton yell orders at the knights, and suddenly one of the knights sends out a blast of a greenish (wormy?) color rather than the necrotic black, and they all heal up! Georgi hits the skeleton with a magic missile, and Fezzik regenerates a bit. Gimble whispers dissonantly at the skeleton repeatedly, wearing him down, and I conjure two vultures to fly in and attack him. 

Gimble analyzes the situation and realized they have a precious few number of necrotic blasts; three each and then they are used up. We must keep at it to beat them! But the wall of force prevents Arwen and Esor's arrows from hitting them, and our rogues stand waiting for action.

The vultures and our spells wear them down, and after careful count we conclude that they have used up nearly all of their blasts. I wildshape into an earth elemental and glide in under the library, popping up to bash the skeleton on his ugly head. I hit him hard, but he retaliates, and he knocks me back into a person with only four hit points left!

Georgi drops the wall of force and hits Wormcaller with a chill touch, while I consider my next move. I hear the rogues loading arrows into their crossbows.

72 Disabling the Kyuss Library Security System

Session Log for 8.29.2024

From the Journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

I can hear Georgina calling out "don't destroy the books!" as I feel my health fading - I am barely standing up. Wormcaller lashes out to deal a blow that could be my last, but somehow I am able to dodge it.

Now that the wall of force is dropped, our rogues and sorcerer get down to damage dealing. Arwen hits one of the knights with fire arrows, and we see two other arrows fly from what must be an invisible Esor. Wehttam casts a scorching ray that sears our enemies. I have no energy left to fight, and drink an invisibility potion so that I can slide out the library doorway. And just in time; I just miss the edge of a necrotic blast that warps Fezzik's metal parts and rots his wooden parts. He tries to punch back, but his fist is twisted, and he misses. We hear a thud; did Esor fall unconscious?

Now a full minute into battle, Gimble's invisibility spell fades, and we can see Esor slumped on the floor, unmoving. I'm able to rush over and pour a greater healing potion down his gullet while Gimble whispers insults at Wormcaller. The creepy skeleton heals himself a bit, but not enough; Wehttam sends out a scorching ray again, burning his bones to ash!

Drareg hits the knights with his floating lightning bolt-shaped mace and sends out a mass healing to help much of the party heal up a bit. Arwen and Esor sneak attack with their bows again, but the knights advance, and one swipes a vicious swath out of Fezzik's midsection with his vile greatsword. We watch, astonished, as the large shield guardian sways, then crumbles into bits of broken metal and wood. Georgina howls in anger "how dare you kill my friend!" We all take stock of the serious situation as three undead knights with greatswords advance on us.

I hope to turn the odds in our favor. I chant the polymorph spell, and with a successful flourish, the Fezzik-killing knight is transformed into a tiny tortoise! Georgina wastes no time, swooping in, scooping up, then gliding over to the central pit. With an avenging swing of her arm, the tortoise falls hundreds of feet to the bottom. We hear a satisfying splat, then a soft scuffling sound - somehow it barely survived!

Gimble clacks his swords in front of him in an X formation, and a wave of force knocks the other two knights, injuring and shoving them back. Wehttam hits one with thunder, the rogues with arrows, and Drareg with a spiritual weapon. Then I cast polymorph again, and am elated as it works! An even cuter, tinier tortoise stands where one of the knights was a moment ago. I catch him up and walk towards the pit, then toss him down the hole. He lands with an even louder splat, most definitely dead this time.

Drareg, Arwen, and Wehttam finish off the last knight before he can do much more damage with his sword. The enemies defeated, we gather around the shredded remains of Fezzik and offer Georgi our condolences. She sighs and says she'll contact her mentor in the morning; he may have a solution to bring him back.

We take a few moment to bandage our severe wounds, then search the bodies of the fallen. We find one set of +1 plate mail, a +1 mithril breastplate, and the +2 wormblade greatsword.

The library holds more than 100 books that look to weigh perhaps 600, and all of them are on the subject of necromancy. Georgi and Gimble begin to look through them. They find a scroll describing an object that could be helpful in the temple; it looks like the eviscerator beetle we fought outside, but is presumably a small carving. It should offer us some protection from the undead.

Meanwhile Esor and Arwen search for hidden doors or compartments. In a dark corner they find three "bone stones" - are they stones shaped like bones? Petrified bones? Or bone worn down into round stone shapes? They search the altar and find a hidden niche containing a set of black studded leather armor with a demonic face on the chestplate.

Drareg and I take a look at the worms in the glass bottles. Georgi finds the right book that references them; these are Lore Worms, that would give us knowledge if we consumed them and let them inhabit our brains. I uncork the bottles one by one and send flame cantrips inside, boiling the worms and pasteurizing their abilities.

Georgi is delighted to find an interesting grimoire called the New Cultists Book of Kyuss, and I am glad we didn't torch the library after all. She also notes a codex of spells for the death god Nerul. She settles in for hours of reading, and meanwhile I start a small fire in the eastern foyer and prepare some mighty mince pies for everyone. We make camp in the foyer by the glow of the embers, using Georgi's magical dome hut to keep us safe overnight.

73 Gimble is not Dead Yet!

Session Log for 9.5.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Everyone else in our group sleeps eight hours through the night, but elves only need half that, and sometimes I meditate rather than sleep. Yesterday was a brutal battle, and I slept soundly for four hours while my wounds healed. We camped elbow to elbow under the magical shelter of Georgi's dome, and I sat the rest of the night listening to the others softly snore while keeping an eye out for any enemies who might creep up from the hole in the floor of the next room.

But the night was quiet, and over a breakfast of goodberry oatmeal, Gimble tells us about his dream. The six-armed undead insectoid people are called Spellweavers, and they once roamed the Amedio jungle nearby. They have an ability to cast and concentrate on more than one spell at a time; it's something to do with those extra arms.

Esor and Arwen take a closer look at the strange black armor they found in the library; it's Wight Armor and has some special properties (see D&D Beyond) They decide to take turns trying it out. I take another look at the scroll with the bug image on it - we'll have to keep an eye out for this Scarab of Protection that could help us be resistant to the undead. The 12 painted Bone Stones (they look like bone-shaped dog biscuits carved out of various colors of soapstone) have some magical abilities that only work here; we had better figure out what.

Georgi sends a magical message to her mentor Warnes Starcoat, letting him know we've found a library full of magic books and also asking how she might rebuild her shield guardian. 

Warnes Starcoat replies: "If possible, find evidence of Kyuss apotheosis and of Balacarde whereabouts. Keep library. Bring back head of Fezzik for repairs. Note any Kyuss creatures. Bye."

So we round up all 600 pounds of books; most of them fit in my bag of holding, and the others each take a few. Someone packs up Fezzik's head as well. Then Gimble lets down the rope of climbing, and we descend underground.

Down, down, hundreds of feet we slide on the magic rope. We pass many earthen tunnels of various sizes, most looking devoid of life or ornamentation, though twice we see groups of three nagas slithering along. Eventually we come to a stop on a platform of worked stone, with a perfectly circular ten foot hole. Peering below, we can just make out the floor, and it looks to be moving! Thousands of worms writhe and crawl there. Georgi and Gimble each toss in a fireball! The smell of charred Kyuss worm is putrid, but a little prestidigitation helps with the odor. We can see that the worms that have not been burnt have retreated down side hallways, so we think it is safe to descend.

Touching ground in this accursed chamber deep underground in the Temple of Kyuss, our attention is immediately grabbed by the sight down a short hallway to the north. A vast chamber beyond holds millions of Kyuss worms, slowly writhing with contained malice. I immediately go to work protecting us, first casting erupting earth to break up the stone floor and walls in that hallway, then mold earth to seal the passage off. Meanwhile the others attack some of the worms who have retreated down the right and left passageways, but with a surprising surge, they engulf us!

A wave of worms rears up and crashes over Gimble, infecting and poisoning him. Arwen tosses her last vial of oil and lights it with a flaming arrow, burning many worms, but more flow around and over the dead ones. Another wave hits me and Georgi; I dodge and she shields herself, then she shoves them away with telekinetic force. I light a flaming sphere and try to block them in the hallway, burning a hole in their numbers, but they crawl unnaturally fast around it and at us again, poisoning and infecting the both of us!

Gimble shouts that a second worm has burrowed under his skin. Arwen gets hit by a hill of worms from the other hallway; they poison and infect her as well. Then she leaps away from them and critically hits them with a shot from her crossbow.

I activate my eel armor, shocking the worms around me and sending lightning damage to the pile near Gimble, and I send the flaming sphere forward to burn more worms. Gimble sends out a thunderwave, then gasps in pain as the worms poisoned him from within. He staggers, then falls to the ground!

Arwen shoots at the remaining worms, and Georgina telekinetically shoves them into my flaming sphere while I rush to Gimble's side. But it is too late; he lays dying! I grasp his hand and he mutters words I try desperately to hear over the battle.

Just as the light is about to fade from his eyes, Georgina appears in an instant over my shoulder, pouring a healing potion into his mouth! He iss still for one terrible moment, then gasps for breath and opens his eyes!

Arwen and Georgi finish off the last of the worms, and I cast lesser restoration one by one on everyone to rid us of our infectious worms that continue to poison us. Gimble whispers a spell, and an aura of vitality heals us up round by round. Then he tells us of a vision he had as he died, of Queen Titania in her throne room. Some mysterious fae person stood behind her, someone important that Gimble did not recognize yet knew he must meet in the future.

Lying on the ground nearby we notice the remains of one of the undead knights we had tossed down here as turtles; his armor and sword are in a pile in the corner. 

74 The Very Hungry Overworm

Session Log for 9.12.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

The Faerie Kingdom of Celene lies south of the Gnarley Forest, home of my mom and dad's families. The families talk at length of the mysteries and legends from that land, including their ties to another realm beyond ours, called the Feywild. I have never visited, but it sounds like a fascinating place. I wonder if Gimble has ever travelled there; he spoke of his death-knell vision of Titania with familiarity, though that may be from his studies.

We take only a moment to rest and heal in the deepest dungeon, far below the surface of the Kyuss temple in the Amedio Jungle. Torhild comes climbing down the rope to join us, and we catch her up on the situation; tons of worms in the sealed off room to the north, very deadly if one gets under your skin.

We cautiously proceed into the room to the east, and find fifty preserved ancient corpses, cold from a magic block of stone at the room's center. We discuss breaking the stone, and begin piling up the corpses to set them afire, but decide to wait on that, and venture onwards. In the next room is the remains of a similar deep chill, but broken; a crumbled stone and dessicated bits of what was once perhaps another 50 men remain. I wonder if Balacarde broke this one?

We make torches out of femur bones, scraps of cloth, and oil. Down the hall, we cautiously open a door, to find a naga slithering around haphazard stacks of books and scrolls. She hisses at us eagerly, urging us inside, and asks if we might have a teleport spell. She has been trapped here for centuries and is bored beyond belief. She offers us the books in exchange. We wisely play dumb, asserting that we are simple country adventurers. We notice she's not an ordinary naga, but an undead Kyuss worm naga. Other creatures (nagas?) slither in serpentine gutters carved into the floor.

We make polite excuses and back out of the room, insisting convincingly (thanks to Gimble) that we'll definitely be back tomorrow with more information about a teleport spell. We find another entrance to the same large pit of worms; they look calm, so we decide not to waste spells closing this passageway.

We head onwards past the room we came in, and unlock the double doors. Inside is a bare room with a bubbling fountain at its center. A very refreshing, delicious looking fountain according to Gimble and Torhild who tiptoe in. A powerful thirst overcomes them, and they rush forward to drink before we could try and stop them (and we are not going in there!) Then they choke and spit out the water - it's full of worms! They manage to resist the urge to swallow them and run out of the room. Before we shut the doors and retreat, Georgi says she can read the enscription on the wall above the fountain: "All Shall Drink, All Shall Gain Power and Endless Life."

Georgi uses her glowing book to scout around the big worm pit room, and she spies two passages on the far side of the pit. She casts a portal, and we jump through into a very cramped hallway in front of a door. All of the sudden, the writhing mass of worms parts, and swimming up from its depths are two Wormcallers and one giant green Overworm!

It started to look for some food. The worm tries to eat Torhild, but she uses a rune to confuse it, and it turns and eats one of its Wormcaller bosses instead! But the other hits us with necrotic blasts, and we fight back with fire. Gimble and I take some damage but are able to jump back into the portal to the first room. Then the worm catches Georgi in its toothy maw, and she loses the portal spell! But Torhild attacks while she uses a misty step to escape, then dimension door to get her and Torhild to safety with us.

75 A Vision of Apotheosis and the Knights Await

Session Log for 9.19.2024

The party had a few seconds to catch their breath in the worm room while the Overworm and the Wormcaller took positions on either side of the north exit.  Arwen ran through the hallway to sneak up on them from the west while the party moved to the corridors on either side to be less visible.  The Wormcaller stepped through first and attacked Drareg while the Overworm stuck its head in to give Drareg a vision of the Age of Worms, stunning him into a stupor.

Arwen did massive damage to the Overworm from behind and Wehttam struck the killing blow, exploding the massive beast into pieces across the Sea of Worms.  The Wormcaller attacked Drareg while he was stunned, but the rest of the party made quick work of him. 

The Wormcaller left behind a bag which contained 4 Scarabs of Protection and its +1 Mithril Breastplate, while the party found a +1 Kyuss Greatsword among the remains of the Overworm.

Once the Overworm and Wormcaller were dispatched, the party had another vision.

The immediate surroundings waver and fade, replaced by a bird’s-eye view of the city of Kuluth-Mar at its height. The streets are empty, as the thousands of citizens seem to have gathered in a mass in the central plaza surrounding the Spire of Long Shadows.  Suddenly, a foul energy wells from the spire at the center of the city, sweeping outward and felling the living as it passes. For each creature that falls, you feel a silent but potent sense of wrongness, as some indescribable part of the creature, perhaps its soul, is drawn back toward the Spire of Long Shadows to be absorbed by the strange black monolith of stone balanced at its peak. As the energy builds around the peak, a shimmering image of a colossal humanoid figure, its body composed of a million writhing worms, takes form around the Spire of Long Shadows, its arms raised in triumph. Yet in another moment, that triumphant pose seems to change to one of rage, and a soul-wrenching cry of fury tears from the undulant face. The image shrinks, pulled into the stone monolith at the Spire’s peak, imploding with a horrific wet burst In an instant, the city is quiet again, yet as the vision fades, the first signs of unlife spread through the thousands of dead bodies strewn around the ziggurat's base as bodies, now festering with green worms rise from death.

Drareg used his knowledge of religion to decipher a few clues from the vision.  The wash of energy that was drawn out of the crowd was not only the souls Kyuss' minions, but their faith in their king. The Spire drew upon their lives and faith in a way that reverses the channeling of divine power from a deity to his cleric, in effect channeling this faith into a singularity — the monolith at the peak of the Spire. The possibilities of what a powerful creature could do with this much devotional energy are staggering —ascension to godhood is perhaps the most obvious use for such energies. The enormous figure that appeared was Kyuss, yet somehow he was not able to control his apotheosis and became trapped in the monolith.

Both Drareg and Meriel felt that something else needed to be done here in this unholy dungeon.

After some discussion about the meaning of the vision, the party decided to investigate the door to the east of the Sea of Worms.  Arwen and Winnie were the first to the door, but they found no trap.  When Arwen attempted to unlock the door, a trap was indeed set off as jets of fire singed her from both sides. 

Once the party was able to enter the room, they made a curious discovery.  They seemed to have entered a living room. 

This room seems out of place, given the cold and barren décor of the other chambers in the complex. The floor is covered with a thick green carpet, and a long, padded divan sits in the room’s center. Small padded stools surround the divan. The walls are carved with nightmarish scenes of a dual world. The lower half of these carvings depict a world of caverns and twisting tunnels that are infested with massive worms, creatures that look like humans posing as worms, and creatures more horrifying than either. On the upper half, these worm monsters burst from the ground to ravage and ruin numerous humanoid civilizations.  Dragons with the heads of worms fly in the skies above, and towering over them all is an immense figure dressed in plate armor and wielding a strange pole-arm that combines the features of a pick, an axe, and a mace. The man's face is hidden by the hood of his dark gray robe, but worms drip from under his cowl.

Three locked doors surrounded the room from the north, east, and south sides. The party agreed that this was a good place to rest, so Georgina created a Mordenkainen's Tiny Hut, and the party took a long rest.  The next day, they awoke to a hideous suprise.  Staring at them from the three doors were three Knights of Kyuss.  They were each dressed in different armor and their weapons were also not all the same.  The knights could not see through the tiny hut, but the party saw them, and the knights looked ready for a fight.

76 Three Knights Vanquished

Session Log for 9.26.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We wake in this small room, having slept surprisingly well on the green shag carpet that looks like worms. But surrounding us are three knights of Kyuss! They stand in their open doorways. We can see by the names bedazzled on their doors that Markath is the one wielding the frosty ice axe, Kartik has the flail that's on fire, and Barnos is looking extra intimidating with his black sword. 

It looks like certain death is upon us, and I muster up the best spells I have ready. We activate scarabs of protection on Georgi, Drareg, Gimble, and Torhild, and I activate a bone stone. Then Georgi readies a wall of force to hold one or two of them at bay if possible. Just before she drops the tiny hut, Gimble has a brilliant idea; he conjures a major image of the hut, just inside the real one. Then Georgi drops the hut, but the knights are none the wiser; they still can't see us!

They stand silently, waiting to attack, and we get the jump on them! Arwen and Esor deal massive damage with their bows, and Gimble tosses a baboon at one of their heads from his bag of tricks. Drareg conjures his spirit guardians.Then I call up bones of the earth, stone columns that crush all three of them against the ceiling!

This means we can no longer see them from the ground, but they cannot see us either, and they are restrained from using their very deadly looking weapons. Drareg sends disruptive waves of thunder at them Arwen uses a flying potion, and Esor climbs the wall. Torhild buffs her allies, and Gimble dissonantly whispers. 

Immobilized, the knights can do little more than squirm and call worms to heal them. Esor and Arwen shoot arrows of deadly force, and Drareg sends another destructive wave. Georgina uses a mind whip on them, and I hit one with erupting earth. In another round or two, all three perish at our hand, and without being able to harm any of us! 

We pick over their bodies and recover three sets of +2 plate mail as well as one +2 flaming flail, a +2 necrotic longsword, a +2 icy battle axe, and three +1 shields. 

We leave this creepy cultist lounge, and I wildshape into a giant spider to ferry us across to the only other hallway we have not explored in this dungeon. At the end is an ordinary door, free of traps. We step inside to find the creature from our vision! The Spellweaver is busy at his desk, pouring over scrolls. He seems unsurprised to find us there, and does not rise up to attack us.

We get a brief glance around the room; it is opulent, filled with a haphazard collection of luxury furniture and knick knacks, some of which is stacked in odd formations, like the work of a creature who has spent far too many years trapped in one location to the point of madness.

77 Triumph at the Temple

Session Log for 10.3.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We peek through the doorway at the Spellweaver, who has clearly noticed us, yet does not pause from his work. Drareg casts Fox's Cunning on Georgina using the trophy we won at the Greyhawk Games. Then we open the door and the Spellweaver introduces himself: he is Mak'ar, Harbinger of Kyuss. He announces he's ecstatic about the coming of the end of the world and the rising of Kyuss, and asks us what horrors we have witnessed and heard about above. 

Gimble says "What horrors? Everything is fine and dandy out there." This annoys him. We ask whether he met Balacarde, and he replies yes, he was here fifteen years ago, and left a note. We ask if we can have it, and he says "NO!" Gimble starts casting a polymorph, and Mak'ar stands up to fight back. Battle begins!

Before Gimble can finish casting the spell, a magic snare the spellweaver must have in place is triggered, and Gimble suddenly winks out! Where did he go? We'll find out later... Mak'ar sends a ribbon of necrotic energy out, hitting Esor for massive damage! Drareg launches his spiritual weapon and Arwen shoots her bow, while Torhild grows larger.

Wehttam tries to cast his crown of stars, but Mak'ar counterspells it! Then he turns invisible and shoots a ray of frost at Torhild. Drareg tries to Shatter him, but misses. Georgi shouts "you're giving me a headache!" and dispels his invisibility, revealing him hiding in the corner like a coward. I try to polymorph him but the spell bounces off as if he's immune. But Torhild moves in and gets a sound hit on him, and Esor follows with massive arrow damage. 

He still looks in fighting shape, and begins to cast his next devastating spell. Georgi and I shout at Torhild that we can kill him, but our spells will hit her too. She cheerfully replies "hit me, I don't care!" Georgi launches a ball of acid, and I follow with a forcefull ball of water. Mak'ar staggers, lifts his hand to fight back, then Torhild strikes the killing blow!

We look around for Gimble; surely he would reappear now that the spellcaster has died? We begin to get concerned, but after more than a minute goes by (13 rounds!), he finally pops back in. He's just where he was before, shouting "I'm back! Is the fight already over?" Turns out he was stuck in a labyrinth the entire time!

We get a moment to say no, Mak'ar is dead, then we are all hit with a terrible Vision of the Age of Worms. Multiple apocalypses, in locations across the planet. In a far-off city, a demon lord who looks like a tree rises up. In the city of Cauldron nearby, the long dormant volcano begins to erupt, consuming half the town. Many other scenes like this, with a feeling that they have already happened recently or are happening right now. Then a whispery voice says:

    "A tripartite spirit once again becomes one, and at its advice are the mighty undone," the voices whisper. And then, "On the eve of the Age of Worms, a hero of the pit shall use his fame to gift a city to the dead.” 

It seems that two prophecies were not realized, because we stopped them.

Then Drareg and I receive a second vision, from the druids that created the obsidian ring outside. We can see that the tower atop the ziggurat has fallen, severing the ring. The druids call out: "Find us!" and send us an image of the city of Alhaster.

We collect these treasures:

•             jade statue of a dragon w1000GP

•             a diamond and platinum necklace worth 3000GP

•             a black pearl worth 2000GP

•             3 paintings of the temple in its prime worth 2000GP ea and nice enough we could use them to help teleport us here

•             Books worth 8000GP as a collection

•             1 magic book - Manual of Bodily Health

•             Mak'ar's weapons: a Rod of Fury and something else

78 Calamity in the City of Cauldron

Session Log for 10.10.2024

Treasure Found.

•             Hegemonic Plate

•             Rod of the Worm Master

•             Robe of Arcane Might (Evocation) - Georgi

•             Ring of Vengeance - Meriel

•             Rod of Fury

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We look over the items we recovered from the Kyuss temple in the Amedio Jungle. Among them are two metal plates, etched with extensive drawings and writing of an ancient pictographic style. They depict a six-armed Spellweaver casting a spell near the spire like the one that rose above the temple. Drareg comprehends the language - it's written in an ogre tongue, and describes a failed experiment, which created something called the Demon Scar. It's apparently the name of a town?

Drareg and I recount the vision we received from the Wild Watcher druids who built the obsidian ring around the temple. They appeared very real to us, and said they still exist - to find them, remember the name we used in the games at the Free City. The Last Resort? Drareg communes with his god and asks her: is there a place called the Last Resort? Yes! Did Balacarde go to Alhaster? Yes! Is there a red dragon in Cauldron? No!

We find our way to the main road, and not far down the road is the Lucky Monkey, an enormous inn along the trade route. There refugees have begun to stream in from Cauldron. They tell of lava and destruction, and one person is loudly claiming a red dragon is attacking the city as well.

We spend some time talking with the escapees, then get a night's rest and head quickly to Cauldron first thing in the morning. We enter on the main road along the ridgetop that affords an expansive view of nearly the entire town; from here we can see houses collapsed and a rift of lava snaking through a section of the town. We start to head towards the lava, when the sound of dozens of hoofbeats grows loud. A stampede of terrified horses and cattle is coming towards us! 

Gimble flies up and casts a hypnotic pattern; it's pattern of soothing lights slows and calms some of them. Drareg ices up the roadway to make them slip and slow their running to more careful steps. Georgi polymorphs into a herding dog and barks authoritatively at my side, then runs back and forth across the street to shepherd them to stop. I whistle sharply and call out to them in a commanding tone; it takes two tries, but enough of them listen to slow the herd into a walking gait.

We rush on ahead to the rift, following the sound of shouting to find a group precariously balanced on a ledge twenty feet below street level and twenty feet above certain death by fire; one tremor more and they will fall into the lava. The rogues begin tying a rescue rope and Drareg flies down to pick one person up. Gimble and Georgi conjure giant spectral bigby hands to scoop up the victims. Wasting no time, I conjure eight owls suddenly right above their heads and shout down at them to "PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" They seem intimidated by this offer of rescue. So I have the birds grab them forcefully and carry the rest of them up to safety.

Then we rush to a building that has just collapsed. Onlookers cry that at least half a dozen people are trapped inside. Esor sends sparking lights in to help find them, and Georgi polymorphs into a giant ape to begin carefully removing fallen beams. I wildshape into an earth elemental and move through the ground below, then up next to the victims. I shelter them with my rocky form to keep any rubble falling on them while we move forward slowly, others clearing the path. Within two minutes, we have rescued all the people.

We haven't a moment to pause when we look up to see creatures falling from the sky! Near us fall two of them; someone recognizes them as Farastu Demodand. Gimble sends a bigby's hand at one, and I rush the other one in my earth elemental form while sending eight owls diving in at him overhead. Esor and Arwen shoot their bows, and Georgi conjures a draconic spirit to fight the other one.

It doesn't take long to knock them out, and then we move across the city to battle any other fiends that may have fallen from the sky. It is truly a scene of apocalypse just as we had seen; this must mean all of the destruction we envisioned is happening in other places at this very moment.

79 From Cauldron to Magepoint

Session Log for 10.17.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Drareg, Torhild, Gimble, Georgi, and I ventured around the ruined city, helping citizens where we could. Arwen headed off in the direction that Esor went, returning later with him after relieving several noble persons of their purses.

Crises in check for now, we locate a map shop in town and ask a few pressing questions. There is a place nearby called the "demon scar" - Demonskar is an ancient sacred site with much mystery around it. We ask about a place called the "Lost Resort" and are told it no longer exists; it was once an island somewhere with a library on it. Could it be Tenser's island fortress off of Magepoint?

In our room at the inn, Georgi and I look over all the books from the library in my bag of holding. I pour them out gently onto the floor, and she examines the lot for magic. Then she exclaims in surprise as she discovers one of them is cursed! The Nerulian Codex, a book of death magic. Luckily none of us touched it, she asserts. We look at the New Cultists Book of Kyuss, which explains etiquette and protocol with cultists, and decide to give it to Gimble. We take a quick look at the Manual of Health, and decide Torhild could best use it.

Meanwhile Drareg and Torhild head to the armory and weapons shops to sell our gear; they fetch a fine price as anyone with spare gold in Cauldron wants to armor up against the rumor of a red dragon. We divide the winnings, each receiving an astonishing 12,500 gold! I think of how many barrels of ale the Lodge must sell to earn such a fortune.

We also discover in our inventories a number of "vision resonances," a type of abjuration; we each have the same number as the visions we experienced in the Kyuss temple.

Georgi also gives me a spare crystal ball she has so that I may try a scrying spell once in awhile. I would like to see what mischief my brother and sister have gotten up to.

Drareg notes that Flycatcher is still under his geas spell for more than a week, and we can summon her to do our bidding. We decide to do so in Magepoint, and will order her to track down Moreto and see what trouble he is getting into.

Back at the inn over pints of ale, we discuss what to do with these many thousands of gold. Noone is ready to settle down yet, but Drareg wonders if Diamond Lake might be more beautiful in a year after the plant growth and lake purification spells take hold, and a year after the citizens took greater control over mining operations. Torhild mentions the Lortmil Mountains would be nice to see and possible settle in. I show them all the small painting I keep with me of Lharithlyn village, the most beautiful place I've ever visited, and invite them to travel with me there one day soon. Georgi mentions her mentor once had an outpost on the moon, and wonders what it would be like to travel there.

Gimble spies a group of more novice adventurers at a nearby table, the Storm Blades, and strikes up a conversation. They know quite a bit about Demonskar, and caution us that we would get embroiled in a whole other calamity if we head that way. Anna Taskerhill in their group reports that the warrior priestess of Hextor, a woman named Trielle, was in Cauldron. She goes on to describe the Cage Wrights, servants of evil with ties to the plane of Carceri, may be kidnapping people, taking them there, where they keep them and use their souls for some foul purpose. We note that the spiky humanoids we fought earlier hail from Carceri as well.

Tobb Vanderboren in their group then makes some drunken and dismissive comment about our capabilities. I bristle and approach them with newly sprouted claws, fangs, and glowing feline eyes, as Gimble calmly replies "I'm the nice one; you'll want to direct your words at me." Tobb suddenly needs to head to the bar for another round.

We head off to sleep, but not before Drareg communes with his god, again with great success:

•             Is Balacarde alive? NO

•             Did he ever make it to Alhaster? YES

•             Did he find what he was looking for there? YES

In the morning Georgi invokes the teleporation scroll, and we are whisked back to Magepoint. I stop at the herbalist's shop to check with the proprietor about my pot of awakening in her care. The rosebush is growing well but showing no magic signs yet; it should awaken on 4/26/591. We discuss staying in Magepoint for several days; I will use one of them to transport via tree back home, to check in at the lodge and with family and bring home a few gifts.

80 Making Plans in Magepoint

Session Log for 11.7.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We are in Magepoint, awaiting council with the wizards here. Cymria of Celadon approaches us and leads us down the main avenue to Tenser/Menzorian, who stands somberly gazing at the water, near the land bridge leading to his tower. In lieu of a greeting he merely nods and says "ah, very good," and spins on his heel to begin striding down the bridge. We all hurry to catch up.

There are many spots where hidden hazards lie along the long bridge; Tenser gestures and offers curt advice we quickly follow to avoid them. I admire the bloodhawks circling overhead and glimpses of interesting sea creatures who briefly surface to gaze at us hungrily. Near the tower a solid wall stands in our way; Tenser dispels it with a wave. Beyond it we can see a sizeable gap in the bridge; he marches ahead to step on empty space, and we realize an invisible surface is below. It feels as solid as stone when we step along it.

Georgi smiles in appreciation as we enter the wizard's tower. He leads us to a spacious room where the other wizards have gathered in anticipation of our arrival: Agath of Thrunch, Eligos, and Warnes Starcoat. Celeste Ghale is here as well, in her less ethereal human guise. We recount our harrowing battles in the Amedio Jungle Kyuss Temple, ending with the destruction of both the Spellweaver and the protective wall surrounding the temple. Georgi exclaims merrily that we have a treasure trove of magic books to share, and I begin spilling them out of the bag of holding onto the plush carpet.

Once the books are reviewed and sorted, the wizards tell us of possible leads in Alhaster. The Ebon triad was started there, as a front for the Kyuss cult. Alhaster has been ruled these past 20 years by a despot worshipper of Hextor who calls himself Prince Zeech. His chief advisor is a mysterious woman known only as Loshanna. Apparently she claims to have eliminated the Ebon Triad, which we know to be false as we fought them in Diamond Lake. She may be the best person to investigate to learn what the Kyuss cult is planning, if we can either gain an audience with her or spy on her in some way.

The wizards caution us that clerics in Alhaster are ridiculed as holier-than-thou, and druids are scorned as dirty hippies. They give us both hats of disguise so we might pass easily through the streets. Tenser also tells Georgi of a special quest to be on the look out for, a secret Well of Tryptic Knowledge rumored to be somewhere in Alhaster. He gives her a hat of disguise as well. Arwen and Esor can use their disguise kits if needed, and Gimble is a changeling. I offer that I can now use Alter Self at will almost as well as a changeling, and offer to lend Fezzik my hat of disguise.

They tell us that the best time to enter Alhaster will be in three weeks’ time, during the Growfest celebrations. In the meantime, we can remain in Magepoint if we so choose, or use the time to travel over land or water slowly to Alhaster. They can teleport us to just outside the city, and I am so relieved we choose that option; I cannot swim, and I need time to visit Diamond Lake.

The wizards add that Prince Zeech holds some private parties for the upper crust and his favorite warriors; getting in may be the only way to get an audience. We are not certain if our reputation precedes us, and so we craft a devious plan to encourage the Prince. We purchase the supplies for a small bakery, just enough that can be loaded onto a cart. We plan to open the Last Resort Limited pop-up cupcake shop in Alhaster in a few days’ time, in disguise. There we’ll spread the word about the legendary heroes the Last Resort.

We ask the wizards about the Order of the Storm, the druids who built the wall around the temple. They reply that the Library of Last Resort doesn’t exist, but it can be found, whatever that means. It’s likely on an island in a demiplane.

We also discuss another option, using any intervening time remaining to find the lair of Ilthane the Black. It is near Alhaster and contains great treasure for the taking. Such a conquest might increase our reputation there. The mages suggest we could consult rangers and druids who live outside of town to pinpoint the location, though they caution us that there may be a brood of Ilthane’s offspring still at the lair.

Other activities:

•             We have a great deal of gold to spend, and we do some shopping for various things at Esmerelda’s Emporium.

•             Warnes agrees to repair Fezzik, and Georgina works with him in the workshop.

•             The custom weapon Torhild ordered will be ready soon.

•             Drareg takes some time to commune with his god, though I don’t recall what his questions and answers were.

•             We step outside of town, and Drareg uses the remaining power of the Geas spell to summon Flycatcher. He instructs her to track down Moreto and find out what trouble he’s been getting into, then report back.

•             My rose, which is progressing well, should awaken on 4/26.

I step through a tree and return to Diamond Lake for a couple of days, while everyone else is busy with other activities. Mom and Dad, the lodge druids, and old Nogwier are all overjoyed to see me, and I spend hours catching them up on our adventures. They catch me up on what's new at the lodge; they've healed many townspeople after Ilthane's attack, then preparing for spring planting and Growfest.

I take a trip into town to visit Vanelle; she’s already made a lot of progress on repairing her shop after Ilthane attacked the town nearly three weeks ago. I give her the unbreakable arrow as a gift. I try to give Dad the handy magic spice pouch and Mom the wand of entangle, but they insist I may have use for them on my journeys, and to save the gifts until I return home for good. But even the way they say it shows they know my motivations have grown bigger than this town, and they won’t be surprised if my heart leads me away as it has my brother and sister.

I spend the rest of my time there in the kitchen with Dad, and we come up with signature cupcake recipes for each member of the Last Resort. Then I return to Diamond Lake, and once Fezzik is fully repaired, we are transported to just outside of Alhaster with our cart of bakery supplies. We disguise ourselves as simple country bakers, and the town guards let us in.

Secrets:

Discussion with Celeste, Warnes, Tenser, 

Teleport just outside of Alhaster

Attacked by Orc bandits

Enter the gates of Alhaster - Hobgoblin guards.

Head to Mistwall Manor

Head to the Deluxury.

81 Cupcakes are the Latest Fashion

Session Log for 11.21.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Georgi announces that Fezzik is fully repaired! And he has some upgrades to his grenades. She decides he ought to remain in Magepoint for now, as he is not easy to disguise and he'll draw a lot of attention.

We don our disguises: Torhild using the hat of disguise to become a firbolg. The rogues use their disguise kits, Drareg stows his cleric shield, and Gimble and I use our shapechange/Alter Self abilities. He looks like a tiefling bard, and I look rather like a human I know from Diamond Lake.

I spend about 300 gold on a cart, horses, tack, an oven, banner materials, and all the supplies for our pop-up bakery. Esor paints some lovely banners and draws a calligraphic menu. Drareg helps build the mobile kitchen so we'll easily be able to set up. 

After getting past the guards, we wheel into the market square. As we are setting up, there's a crowd at the gallows nearby. They chant "Death to the Ebon Triad!" and "Thanks Be to Zeech!" as three people are hanged. Gimble detects their thoughts as they fall and learns they believe themselves to be Ebon Triad cultists. 

We fire up the oven and get baking. Soon the air smells sweet with cupcakes. Gimble climbs up on an apple crate and announces "the Last Resort Limited Pop Up Bakery is open for business!" As the crowd's zealous anger subsides, they seem ravenous. Within two hours we completely sell out, even at the inflated price of 5 silver per cupcake. And all along as we announce the flavors, we talk up the people they are inspired by, the Last Resort, heroes of Greyhawk!

Our work done, we close up shop and look around to try and meet some locals. Our first stop is the Ogre's Hideout bar, but it is full of hobgoblins. We try the Angry Grifter, but it only contains tourists. We chat with the bartender and get some hints as to where to meet nobles - shop at Alextasia's Boudoir, Patchwork, or La Fonz of Alhaster. Also, the casino.

The rest of the group walks around to inquire about Rorsk, the cleric of St. Cuthbert, while Gimble and I head to Alexstasia's Boudoir. Gimble disguises himself as an alluring noblewoman in a form-fitting gown, someone that easily attracts attention. I borrow Georgi's hat of disguise and make myself into a human noblewoman with fine braids, using lots of pointers from Georgi and Gimble to get the look just right, as I have never noticed finery or fashion.

We enter Alexstasia's Boudoir, and Gimble owns the room, allowing me to fade smilingly as the quiet friend. He spends and astonishing amount on a designer gown, and in the course of conversation learns that the casino's owner has a few extra tickets to Zeech's party.

We regroup with the party, and they tell us they've learned that there used to be a church of St. Cuthbert and were told where it's located. We head to the casino, resolved to visit the church later. Gimble is in his tiefling look, and he gets into the performance lineup. We talk to (and listen in on) the locals, and they comment on the "black dragon" (Ilthane!) they saw earlier that has left town. Someone comments very pointedly that they know that dragons have the ability to disguise themselves as people for as long as they want. Hmmmmmmmmm

We also learn that Lashanna has a manor called Mistwall Manor, her own estate in the northwest of town. She is likely to be found there when not in Zeech's palace; she rarely ventures elsewhere. She seems revered by everyone in town, known for getting rid of cultists.

Gimble's turn to sing comes up, and he wows the crowd with his renditions of Stairway to Celestia, Hard Hobbit to Break, Strahd Von Zarovich is Dead, and of course Greyhawk City II, selling the name of the Last Resort to anyone listening. He gets quite a receptive audience, and they toss 298 gold in his hat! And the casino owner gives us a free room for the night! We pile into the room, then Georgi sets up the Magnificent Mansion so we each have a private place to sleep (and wash the cake flour out of my hair.) 

That evening, we walk over to the church of St. Cuthbert to check it out. We see a "No Trespassing" sign on the gate, but it's not locked, and take a look at the grounds. We get a walk around the perimeter and spy a couple of possible entry points when out of nowhere a black-winged woman appears; one of Alhaster's Guardian Angels. She orders us to leave immediately, and watches to make sure we head down the street. We deduce that she was invisible before she appeared.

82 Cupcakes Continued, Conflict at St. Cuthbert's

Session Log for 12.5.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

Arwen, Georgina, Gimble, Drareg, Wehttam, and I walk away from the ruins of the St. Cuthbert church, thwarted by the "blessed angel" guard of Alhaster. We return to our free room at the casino and the magnificent mansion within; all except Arwen, who slips out to meet with the local thieves' guild. They tell her it's not difficult to outsmart the guard if we want to infiltrate the church; just stay in the shadows and watch for aerial patrols. They share what they know of their abilities: charm monster, greater teleport at will, and mirror image. They also carry an elixir of truth in case they need to question someone.

In the morning we find Georgi in the main room, knitting a bag of holding. We're approached by a portly jovial Quaggoth named Shag Solomon who asks us all about the Last Resort. He says please inform them Loratio (the Deluxury Casino's owner) would love to meet them as soon as they're in town. Our campaign is going very well!

We decide to sneak into the church after dark, so we spend the morning buying ingredients and baking cupcakes and the afternoon selling them. We earn 37G and 5S from sales; need to calculate expenditure on ingredients (butter, eggs, flour, sugar). In addition to promoting the Last Resort, we ask a few locals about the dark angels - they are called Erinyes and sometimes Brides of Hextor. They are based in the Angel's Aerie which is right next door to Mistwall Manor, Lashanna's residence. Coincidence? We think not! We also get a bit of good gossip; Zeech had invited many leaders of the Bandit Kingdoms to his 20th anniversary party, but they turned him down! He's now desperate to fill the guest list with prominent champions instead.

Evening arrives, and we sneak down near the church. Drareg uses Elevated Sight to survey the building and grounds and find an easy entrance, and we sneak inside. It looks dusty and undisturbed except for some odd tunnels that look like someone was using a mold earth spell to dig, but not recently; possibly months or years ago. Could it have been Balacarde? Or Rorsk? We search further and find bare footprints; they belong to ghouls!

We creep down the stairs to the lower level. In the back of the main room is a gigantic menacing statue bearing a deadly-looking war hammer. It's a Tomb Tapper, and it's resistant to lightning and immune to cold and fire. Someone hears muttering, and soon a figure appears in the doorway - it's Rorsk! But he sounds insane, and his eyes glow red. He calls out, and the giant statue attacks! I'm able to hold it off with a bones of the earth spell while Arwen shoots arrows, Wehttam casts a thunder spell, and Drareg shatters the far end of the room. Rorsk tries a blast of grave dust but fails to reach us. Gimble shatters the enemies as well, and Georgi shoots a well-placed thunderbolt.

83 Saving the Sinner's Sanctum

Session Log for 12.12.2024

The battle continues in the crypt of the ruined Church of St. Cuthbert. We face a giant tombtapper, momentarily blocked by the remaining columns of bones of the earth I magicked into place. Behind it, a disturbed-looking Rhorsk screeches and prepares to attack again.

Rhorsk blows a cloud of dust and jagged bone shards at us, cutting Wehttam severely and hurting several others. Gimble responds with Otto's irresistable dance, and Rhorsk cannot resist dancing to the music now in his head. Georgina waves her hands and places Rhorsk in an invisible hamster ball, dancing and spinning.

We strike the tombtapper until he is disabled, turning to stone. Then the dance wears off and Rhorsk slows to a stop, still in the ball. We try talking with him while Drareg cures Wehttam's wounds. Gimble is able to calm him with a few convincing words, but I say the wrong thing and he rages again. After several more tries they are able to calm him and talk with him, by going along with his ravings and saying we are here to stop the "infidels and unbelievers" as well.

Rhorsk is barely understandable, babbling about someone called Mother Maggot who may have ties to the Ebon Triad - certainly sounds like their style of creepy worm. The maggot is some sort of creature but I couldn't make out the name - blavrakia? ablakia? He also mentioned a place called the Sinner's Sanctum and described where we could find it; it's important somehow. He also asserted that Lashanna has been in Alhaster for a strangely long time, she "whispered in the ears of town leaders well before Zeech." As a half-elf, it does not seem likely she could live that long; what is she hiding?

His monologue over, he lapses into sullen silence. We excuse ourselves to the back, saying we need to "make our plan." In hushed tones we discuss him; he must have been turned undead by some evil force, but he does not seem to be a bad person. We decide we need to put him out of his misery and hopefully revive him later if possible. We prepare ourselves, then turn and attack. Between Gimble's psychic lance, Wehttam's shatter, and Drareg's guiding bolt, Rhorsk is dispatched. We place him gently in a tomb and depart, resolving to return in a few days when we can help him.

We search the premises before we leave, but there are no further clues or treasures. We resume our disguises and evade the winged guards, using Drareg's magic pathway. Outside the city again, we take a short rest to heal, then walk to the Sinner's Sanctum.

It is a run-down oversized house on the southeast side of town, near other residences and a park on the southern coast. As we approach, we hear moans and cries of prolonged misery. We ask a passerby what the house is, and they tell us everyone knows that's where you must go if you fall ill. A few get better and get out, but for most it's a one-way trip.

We walk in the front door and are greeted prefunctorily by a dejected attendant. Gimble cheerfully announces that we are here to offer some solace to the sick and suffering, and Ed Sheeran would like to sing for them. He tells us to wait and wanders off to find his boss. Soon an elderly woman slowly approaches. Furpotia wearily states that she runs the place, and should we even want to be here if we are not sick? Arwen asks if there is an outbreak or an epidemic, but she says no, this is simply how the city of Alhaster chooses to deal with its sick and dying.

She motions for us to follow her through the building, to choose a place to perform. We pass dozens of people on cots. We notice peeking out of the sleeve of Furpotia's robe is a symbol of St. Cuthbert. We ask her about it and she denies it, saying it's some old trinket, but we can tell it holds meaning to her.

By this point I am overloaded with fury and compassion. I tell her I don't care who she worships, I worship Elhonna and I respect all good faiths. She has gifted me the power to heal, and I can use it to heal one of these poor souls today. Please point me to one most in need. It only takes Furpotia a second to decide; she guides me to a boy dying from disease, whose distraught family has been visiting outside every single day, hoping for a sliver of good news. I say the magic words and heal him. His cheeks flush with health and he sits up smiling. I caution him he'll need to eat his veggies and listen to his parents and get his strength back.

Then Furpotia does something surprising; she leads the boy to a cellar door and down the steps to catacombs. She tells him to "run on home" and he takes off, seemingly knowing the way. She explains that these tunnels run under the city and many townspeople use them regularly to keep safe.

Georgi mentions that while we were walking around the building, she noticed another old door to a cellar. We ask Furpotia about it, and she readily shares that noone has used it in years, but she has heard that the Ebon Triad cultists used to meet down there. She gives us a key and says we are welcome to investigate it.

Our ameliorative concert forgotten for now, we unlock the door and begin climbing down a 100 foot ladder. At the bottom, the ladder ends over empty dark space, but we use the rope of climbing to descend to the dusty floor. We see some abandoned prayer mats with a black triangle on them - probably an Ebon Triad symbol. I find some very old bootprints - noone has been here in 10 years. Could Balacarde have left these prints?

We cautiously move forward until we spy a pile of ropes in the corridor. As we get close, it rises up - it's a hangman golem! Georgi recognizes it from her studies: it can constrict and misty step. Fire won't hurt it and may even heal it, and it's immune to all magic spells except possibly a few spells? It's definitely created by a wizard; could Balacarde have left it here to guard something?

DM's Note on the Sinner's Sanctum: The word "sinner" is not exclusive to any one religion.  Webster's defines it as "an offense against a moral...code, or an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible, or an often serious shortcoming or fault".  In this case, Hextor is the leading deity in this town, so a "sinner"might be anyone who seems weak or unable to take care of themselves, since Hextor is the god of war, tyrrany, and overt use of force.  The word "sinner" might also be referring to the fact that the "Sinner's Sanctum" was known to be a safe haven for the Ebon Triad, a cult that was officially rejected by Zeech's rule.  In any case, the only way to know for sure would be to ask the author.  

84 Ending the Ebon Triad

Session Log for 12.19.2024

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn,

We face the hangman golem, a twisting pile of animated ropes, in the underground temple to the Ebon Triad that they abandoned years ago. Georgi rapidly calls out some key facts about its abilities, remembering it clearly from one of her classes as a wizard’s construct. We agree it will be no trouble at all to defeat, and we send Gimble back upstairs to sing some lullabies to the sick kids while the rest of us fight.

Esor gets the jump on the golem and injures it with a well-placed arrow. I wildshape into a giant scorpion to snap at it, but all three of my attacks miss its flailing ropes. Then it attacks and gives several of us some fairly severe rope burns and grapples Drareg and Arwen! Drareg blinds it while Esor gets in another good arrow shot. The hangman squeezes our heroes and lashes out again! My scorpion attacks miss but Wehttam and Georgi stab the ropes with swords, then Esor finishes it off.

We investigate the area and find lots of writing on the walls; Drareg casts comprehend languages and begins to read. At the back of the hall is a 15 foot wide pit; we investigate and it leads at least a hundred feet down into darkness. Drareg and Georgina spend an hour studying the runes on the walls of the Well of Cryptic Knowledge, and find that they contain a wealth of lore about Kyuss and his avolakia minions.  A recurring theme in the prayers is the mention of a ceremony known as The Ravenous Awakening. This ritual involves the animation of huge numbers of undead who are then led like cattle into vast banquet halls, where they present themselves to the feasters for consumption. Further study reveals that while the avolakias worship Kyuss above all things, they also believe that his power is waxing.

The passages suggest that Kyuss himself is trapped in some form of large stone monolith. He managed to partially escape this prison once, 1,500 years ago, but he was unable to maintain his freedom for longer than a few short months before the defeat of his armies by a force the avolakia refer to only as the Enemy forced him back into his monolithic prison. More obscure mentions include reference to a location (phonetically translated as M'theskuss) called the Writhing Tabernacle, the place the avolakias seem to hold as the most holy site of Kyuss. Mention is also made of their great ally and the Voice of Kyuss, the Consort of the Five-Faced One, the eternal dragon Dragotha. 

Also the mother maggot has the ability to masquerade as a humanoid much like some dragons can. Could Lashanna be a maggot in disguise? By then it is very late and we are exhausted. Drareg is ready to fall asleep right here, but Georgi and I insist we walk back to the casino and beds and safety. We lock the cellar door and slip a simple note under Furpotia’s door, so she can read that we are taking the key and plan to return tomorrow to “continue our work.”

We return to the casino and Georgi’s mansion for a long rest and an impressive casino breakfast buffet. Before we leave our room, Drareg summons Flycatcher. She says Moreto is still in the rift canyon; after emerging from the winddukes cairn he headed to a cliffside city of giants called Kongen-Thulnir. She doesn’t say any more about what he’s doing there though; this is disappointing. Drareg directs her to spy on Lashanna, where she goes and who she talks to.

When we return the next day, we ask Furpotia why this place is called the Sinner’s Sanctum. She explains that in the worship of Hextor, might is right and illness is seen as weakness. Rather than caring for the sick, they discard them here, believing that they must either get well on their own and be stronger for it or die. Gimble’s eyes flash with the same fury I feel in my heart hearing her words. We resolve to not only heal everyone in the Sanctum but put a stop to Zeech’s tyrannical stranglehold over the defenseless in this town. I offer to heal three more right there, whichever are in the most dire circumstance. She leads me to them, and I heal three of the 14 patients.

We tell Furpotia that we will be leaving town soon, but to look out for our friends, the Last Resort. They are good people and she can trust them. Then we head back down into the cellar.

When we get to the pit, Georgi exclaims that this is what the wizards in Magepoint must have been talking about - this is the Well of Tryptich Knowledge! We descend into the well by various means; Wehttam sprouts adorable dragon winglets.

At the bottom, a large hall is decorated with statues of wormlike monsters coiled around skulls and bones. At the back, one huge statue dominates the room. We study it from a distance; it’s like a combination of Vecna, Erythnul, and Hextor, with six arms and only one, rather moist and alive looking, eye. This is the Ebon Aspect, the overgod the cult sought to raise! They have left it waiting here for the age of Kyuss to begin. We cannot let it lie in wait! We move to attack, and it begins to move as well!

Esor shoots an arrow its way, but the overgod catches it! I raise bones of the earth to imprison it while Georgi flies up near the high ceiling, casting Bigby’s hand to bonk it on the head from above, then show him the hand as a shield to block it from retaliating against her. Then it attacks! Casting a spiritual flail of Hextor to swing at us and smashing two of the imprisoning columns. Wehttam casts crown of stars and Drareg summons a celestial winged creature to keep it occupied. He roars and does a confusing dance!

Georgi, Wehttam, and Arwen swoon in confusion, Georgi floating down to the ground. I cast a flaming sphere to block its progress and wildshape into an earth elemental to stand between it and the befuddled Georgi. The raging overgod destroys the celestial and pushes past the big hand to strike my earthy form, getting severely singed by the fire on the way. Georgi clears her head and tries a disintegrate spell, but he dodges it! A big chunk of the wall behind it is disintegrated, revealing a small chamber we’ll have to check out later. If we survive!

Wehttam shatters the overgod causing massive damage, and then he dances again! Georgi and Arwen are bewildered and Esor just manages to shake it off, coming back to shoot arrows his way. Drareg shoots blinding light at him and it works – the overgod’s one eye is blinded! We all attack with everything we’ve got, and in one intense round he is nearly dead. Esor shoots his bow, and the overgod falls to the ground, spelling the end of the Ebon Triad!

85 Ebon Treasure, Talking to Rhorsk, Duplicitous Dragons

Session Log for 1.2.2025

We brush ourselves off after the epic battle with the Ebon Triad overgod. Gimble pops in and asks what he's missed - the entire battle! He quips "If I had a nickel for every god we battled, well I'd only have ten cents, but you have to admit that's still pretty unusual."

Items found in four chests in the well's vault:

Four chests the size of steamer trunks contain the bulk of the treasure in this room; each is arcane locked at 6th level, but none of them are trapped. The contents of these four chests are as follows.

•             Chest 1: 20 leather bags, each containing 1,000 gp. 

•             Chest 2: A leather bag containing 1,000 pp, 9 leather bags each containing 2,000 gp in assorted gems. A black sapphire (5,000 gp).

•             Chest 3: Several racks containing potions and other magical elixirs. In all, this chest contains

•             5 potions of Greater Healing,

•             5 potions of Superior Healing

•             10 potions of resistance (roll for each)

•             10 potions of nondetection, and

•             10 elixirs of truth.

•             Potion of Clairvoyance

•             Potion of Aqueous Form

•             Potion of Mind Control (Humanoid)

•             Potion of Stone Giant Strength

•             Potion of Revivify

•             Chest 4: This chest contains several magic items.  There is a note on top which says, “for the Ebon Triad   - L”

•             The items include a

•             ring of evasion,

•             a rod of flame extinguishing,

•             a wand of lightning bolt (12 charges, spell level 5th),

•             a wand of haste (12 charges),

•             a belt of dwarvenkind,

•             a talking doll

•             a cloak of arachnida,

•             Nolzur’s marvelous pigments

•             A harp of charming, and

•             a small silk pouch containing four beads of force.

It's a creepy doll; it's got a ruined eye that's always open. We take turns pulling the string on it's back and hear what sounds random:

1.          I want a piece of candy

2.          why whisper when you CAN SHOUT!

3.          Life is a box of chocolates

4.          I eat, sleep, and breathe music

5.          People will shout my name worldwide

But the sixth phrase is astonishing:

"Enstad, Save, Giovanni, Part, Square, Boxes"

It's the name of Gimble's hometown, and his Dad's name! There's a stamp on the doll's foot: Made in Enstad - by Cypher Assembly. Could the Ebon Triad have been involved in his father's murder?

We go upstairs to find fourteen sick and dying patients in the sick house. Drareg and I each heal seven, and everyone is cured! We tell a beaming Furpotia that we have solved the haunting of the Church of St. Cuthbert and laid Rorsk to rest. She clasps her religious symbol and thanks us profusely.

We depart, then use Drareg's shadowfell path to return to the church. We realize we cannot resurrect Rhorsk, as he has been undead for far too long. So instead we speak with him, Drareg asking the questions. He tells us he's been undead for perhaps 20 years. He was a priest here when Zeech took power at that time, when bandits attacked the church and set it on fire. He escaped to the basement but the entrance collapsed, trapping him. He began to starve to death, then ate the bodies of the recently deceased, which turned him into a ghoul. He regrets this evil decision and does not wish to return to life, merely hopes that one day the church will be restored and someone will preach there. 

Rhorsk adds that Lashanna was an influence to Alhaster leaders well before Zeech, and appears not to have aged at all. There are rumors she is a shapechanger and possibly undead.

It's time to exit the city in our baker disguises and return as the Last Resort! We leave and teleport back to Magepoint for a day or two. We pick up a 1000GP gem for the resurrection spell and speak to Menzorian and Warnes Starcoat to update them. We review the ledger we uncovered in the treasure trove of the Ebon Triad - it's a list of who is a member! It includes Loris Raknian, the Faceless One, Theldrik the cleric of Hextor, and Ilthane the Black dragon. We keep the ledger with us, so that we can reference it anytime we meet someone new; the mages make a copy for themselves.

My rose is slowly awakening in its pot; it will be awake on 4/26 in about eight days' time. We do a bit more shopping then return to Alhaster, with Georgi's Fezzik this time! We decide to investigate the Traitor's Graves first. We approach, encountering a startling number of crows and a cloud of irritating mosquitos. Georgi sends her owl Winnie ahead to scout, and Wehttam flaps his tiny dragon wings to fly ahead with the bird. They encounter five tiny dragons of the same acid color as Ilthane the black, who eagerly fly to Wehttam in greeting.

"Oh help us!" they wail. "A terrible monster has invaded our lair and we can't go inside!" We join Wehttam and talk with them; they are clearly lying through their pointy teeth. We agree to fight "the monster" in exchange for some offer of treasure we are sure they will not give us. Gimble works his persuasive magic and gets them to divulge some useful details: their mom Ilthane was an alchemist and worked with a marid (a genie) on some questionable experiments. They accidentally created some sort of dangerous ooze; that's the monster. Also we get a distinct feeling they plan to kill us once we rid them of this problem.

We enter their lair, and they roll the large stone closed behind us. I use mold earth to seal the entry as well, so they can't catch us unaware and attack. We spy cloning chambers - these are not offspring, they are clones of Ilthane! We peer into the darkness, and across the large room spy an ooze with skulls floating inside of it.

86 In the Lair of Ilthane the Black

Session Log for 1.9.2025

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We have arrived in the lair of the former Ilthane the Black, while her brood of four young dragons wait outside with obvious plans to kill us once we're done ridding them of the monster in their lair. From a pool of acid across the room rises a creature made of ooze and skulls!

We battle and destroy it, once we discover it draws its power from a ribbon of ooze connecting it to the pool below. After, we investigate the room and find an unexpected treasure; instead of piles of gold, we gain four potions worth 55 thousand GP apiece! They offer a permanent boost to an ability. We discuss who might be the best recipients, and these people drink the following:

+1 Strength - Torhild

+1 Con - Drareg

+2 AC Wehttam

+2 Charisma - Gimble sips the Charisma Potion and receives an amplification of fabulousness

We finds some adamantine vials and a mithril shield as well. We read notes that indicate Ilthane worked with a marid (a genie) who has escaped; the name was not noted. 

Then we heal up and prepare to fight the young dragons. I move the earth around the stone door and it falls within, and Gimble sends an image of the ooze monster out while we yell in fear and warning. It works; when we run out after it, the dragons have scattered from their position just outside the door where they were ready to attack.

We battle the dragons in mid-air, Georgi helping Fezzik, Torhild and herself fly so we can reach them. Torhild leans into one and whispers loudly "I killed your Mom!" The dragons fight to the death, too fueled by their rage to preserve themselves; the final blow is Georgi and Fezzik each releasing a fireball to burn them to cinders.

We have done a good deed for Alhaster on this day, ridding their environs of the future scourge of four black dragons.

87 A Grand Entrance to Alhaster

Session Log for 1.16.2025

From the journal of Meriel Lharithlyn:

We defeated the four young black dragons outside their lair, the lair of their mother Ilthane the Black. Dragon hide is rare and valuable, and we take the time to skin them carefully and remove their heads as well.

Into the bag of holding it all goes, and then Georgi tidies up the blood stains with some prestidigitation. Then we make our grand entrance to Alhaster!

We walk through the east gate with our heads held high, but no one seems to take notice. Did we not do a very good job with the cupcakes? But it's a downtrodden town, and the upcoming festivities don't seem to lift their spirits like the holidays in Diamond Lake among the overworked miners.

Suddenly a tall hobgoblin with a raven on his shoulder calls out "Are you the Last Resort?" We are recognized! He is "the legendary B'Kruss," so he tells us (a ranger?), and he's here with his illustrious associate B'Juss (she looks to be a sorcerer). He's heard we are formidable adventurers, and he challenges us to prove it with a race! I am very concerned about running over the townspeople by racing wildly through the town streets, but I am overruled, and Gimble volunteers to represent us.

Gimble hums "Eye of the Tiger" and a tiger appears for him to ride. B'Kruss whistles and the most delightfully fierce dire boar comes bounding up to him! "I call him Gristlegape." The boar snorts in greeting, and I wonder what Chunk is up to and if he's still enjoying the desert with the old wizard.

I wildshape into a hawk and prepare to fly just ahead of the racers, squawking as noisily as possible and clearing a path. Georgi conjures an arcane eye to follow them and make certain there's no funny business. A small crowd forms, the countdown commences, and they're off!

The race is nail-bitingly close the entire way, and at the last moment B'Kruss pulls ahead for the win. Emboldened and out of breath, he challenges us again, this time to a long jump. Torhild volunteers, and they clamber up to nearby roof while B'Juss lays an armful of farm implements on the ground. They prepare to leap from building to building! Torhild goes first, powerfully executing the jump with little effort. B'Kruss flounders, falling and flailing to land painfully on a rake and shovel. "No fair, I was winded from the race," he pouts, and argues we must complete one last test if he is to truly respect us. "You must wrestle my dire boar!"

I take the opportunity to speak with the boar, who assures me he's eager to wrestle and he'll not go easy on his caretaker. He challenges me to the task, and I wildshape into a bear to match him. We watch B'Kruss wrestle the boar first: they grapple and tumble, and B'Kruss pins him for the win.

Then it's my turn, and we seem evenly matched. We roll, each having one turn and then another to pin the other, but we break free. After a full minute where neither gets the upper hand, the onlookers are laughing and cheering, and we call it a draw.

We congratulate B'Kruss and invite him to celebratory drinks at the pub of his choice. Instead, he puffs up his chest, looks down his nose, congratulates himself on his victory, and strides away down the street with B'Juss. Gristlegape pauses to nuzzle my hand, then bounds after him.

We laugh at the loss and walk to the Deluxury casino. Passers-by point and comment enthusiastically about Gimble, who've they've just seen racing. The moment we walk in the door, the concierge's eyes light up and he rushes over. "I have been waiting for you! This way! Master Loratio is eager to speak with you!" He rushes us down a hallway and into the casino owner's office.

Armhin Loratio grins broadly and introduces himself to each one of us. We do our best to pretend this is the first time we've met. He proudly hands us each an Anniversary Invitation to Zeech's celebration of Twenty Years of Joy. It includes a long and perplexing list of activities, including, bowling, what might be a costume party, and the "Handsome Slaughter of Curious Avians." Armhin reassures us "Don't worry about the 'Handsome Slaughter...' they're probably not real birds." We succeed in appearing elated about the upcoming spectacle of tyrrany. Armhin advises we'll need to be dressed to the nines for the gala, either in fine fabrics or armor that's been polished and ornamented. Also, we should each bring a fine gift for Zeech, something that costs a minimum of 2000GP. We give each other a knowing look; we think we've got just the thing.

He then invites us to book a fine room at the casino. We do so, and a porter shows us to our room. Once tucked inside, Drareg calls Flycatcher to interview on her findings. She looks aggravated, and announces she has been completely unable to track Lashanna. The most she has found is a rumour from the Shadowfell that she is a dragon. "That would explain her extreme age and youthful appearance," comments Georgi. Drareg dismisses her, asking her where she'd like to go as her service to us is ending. "Far away from you!" she quips. We send her to the shadowfell.

We discuss the gift, everyone agreeing we'll have something crafted from the dragon heads and hides that will be simultaneously extravagant and infuriating to him. We have more than a week to prepare and could get something crafted in Magepoint.

Gimble spends 23 minutes asking for Titania's favor, something from her closets to wear to the ball.

The party advances to level 15 before the next adventure!

88 Primping for Zeech's Gala

Session Log for 1.23.2025

We are in Alhaster, and Zeech’s celebration of his tyrrany is in a week and a half. We have to impress him and the upper crust guests in order to gain an audience with Lashanna, the mysterious woman who appears to be our link to the Kyuss cult uprising. So, I begrudgingly agree to go shopping.

It doesn’t take long before the entire merchant class in Alhaster seems to know we have a pile of gold to spend and are in dire need of goods and services to improve our style. I choose the least pretentious option to have a dress made, after Georgi politely refuses to let me run home and retrieve a perfectly nice dress I wore to my cousin’s wedding a few years ago. We head to the home of a well-respected clothier Marissa Crumn, but she’s overwhelmed with childcare needs after her nanny suddenly quit (something about the kids pranking her, pretending to serve up the baby for dinner?) So I entertain her nine kids in the courtyard conjuring eight puppies to play with while she makes me a gown.

We’re approached in the street and in the shops multiple times by professionals offering to be an accessory at the parties. Georgi hires Siobhan, a graceful escort who is well respected in the aristocratic circles here. She’ll introduce her to the right people and guide the conversation. Gimble and I hire Erroneous Midge, a gnome bard who wants to be the next court jester. Arwen and Wehttam hire a shrieking child named Sammi who’s convined them this is a good idea.

Arwen gets a gown at Alexstasia’s, and Gimble poses once more as a lovely woman to pick up his gown, which won’t be used as he’ll attend as himself. Instead, he gets a handsome wool suit, deerstalker hat and inverness cape made by Marissa; I conjure eight bunnies for her kids to play with and use druidcraft to grow carrots in their garden for them. Drareg spends a full day polishing his armor and books a salon appointment to get his beard and hair washed and elaborately braided and accented with gemstone beads. He also buys a pinky ring with a lightning bold made of diamonds. Torhild buys a fine dress and a lovely hat. Esor acquires some dagger earrings accented with rubies. Gimble buys a brooch in the shape of a magnifying glass to accessorize his outfit.

I spend 300GP on some sort of tincture in the herbalists shop that makes my skin “glow” and schedule a salon appointment as well though my hair looks perfectly fine the way it is. Gimble travels back with me to Magepoint where he picks up a portable hole to hide weapons and armor with us at the ball. Gimble also brings the Sammi into Alexstasia’s and spends 600gp to get her the nicest outfit she’s ever owned, poor thing.

Then, we have to consider gifts. We are each expected to spend 2000GP on a gift for this horrible excuse for a human being who has ruled over Alhaster with an iron fist for 20 years. We know he’ll be livid to see the black dragons are dead, so we have a taxidermist in Greyhawk make a fine wall decoration out of two of the heads, with faceted ruby eyes that glow magically. Gimble looks around for a painting of Kyuss being imprisoned, but doesn’t manage to find one. Torhild buys 2000GP of taffy from Gerbil, and Drareg orders a set of black dragon mail for himself. I also purchase a staff of flowers, to look very much the druid at the party. Torhild remembers the talking head we found back in the Old Observatory in Diamond Lake, and I transport us there to see if it might make a good gift.

Esor leaves for a few days, transporting to the Shadowfell using Lenore the raven. There he asks his Dad for rumors about Lahshanna, and finds out she may be a vampire! We discuss it with him when he returns; could she be either a vampire or a dragon or somehow both?

Then Georgi remembers the story we learned in the Amedio jungle temple; a red dragon lifted the top of the spire away, imprisoning Kyuss inside it. Maybe that was Lashanna!