... darkness, falling ...
Our band continues to be...
Kalik, halfling initiate of Avoreen;
Vesper, (NPC) human fighter, henchman of Kalik;
Milik, halfling sorcerer;
Kendradell, female half-elf bard & initiate of Lydia <absent
this week>;
Nikolai, suloise human acolyte of Lendor;
Marcus, half-elf acolyte of Hieroneous <absent this week>;
Tarqualan, high elf mystic;
Naazi, centaur mystic and initiate of Tritherion;
and finally;
Talon, dwur initiate of Clangeddin.
[11th of Ready'reat, 578]
Though shouts could be dimly heard elsewhere in the temple, the group launched into what seemed like a bizarre scheme to deal with the time-trapped liche; a nearby room proved to to have several ancient tapestries adorning it's walls which were quickly stripped and tossed over the liche, doused with oil and ignited. Once Nikolai released the spirit holding the liche, Marcus, Tarqualan, and Talon moved to hack away at it as it fumbled beneath the burning, confining fabric.
Kalik attempted to scout the grand hall, but was attacked by a pair of guards just out of sight of the rest of the group; however, one of the guards ineptly struck his companion instead of Kalik, earning him a swift blow from that same (ogre vs. hobgoblin, with the hobgoblin playing the bumbler). As smoke began filling the halls from the conflagration on the stairs, Naazi moved to aid Kalik but more ogrish guards came to investigate as he did so, dividing the group into three; those on the stairs, those facing the new set of guards, and those yet unengaged in either melee.
Much to Kalik's horror, one of the new ogrish guards coming out from the side hallway exhibited a most un-ogrish ability to spit gelatinous creatures that dissolved anything they touched like acid (he initially caught one in the small of the back). As the melee with the guards continued, more hobgoblins arrived, one of which proved to be a tremendous jumper, leaping nearly a dozen meters to land on Kalik's back when he turned to engage the acid-creature-spitting ogre.
Milik, who felt no need to draw attention to himself from either the ogres or the hobgoblins, stood well off to one side and directed his familiar to target the ogres (or at least their armor) with spells. Easily overcoming the ogres resistance, he used his magic to close their armor about their necks, choking several and taking them out of combat if not killing them outright.
Meanwhile, back on the stairs, the liche fought gamely on, hindered by the heavy tapestries but hardly without defenses. One blast of lightning from beneath the coverings nearly crippled Marcus and soon yet another knocked Talon unconscious and left him near death. Kendradell had expended her magical healing reviving her pet hunting cat, so it would not be until after the initial battle was ended that time or opportunity would be found to administer healing to the fallen dwur.
Once the liche was defeated, Those who had been involved in that fight turned to aid the growing battle in the halls, and in due time that battle was won as well, though not without cost. The one acid-spitting ogre used his ability well, damaging armor on several members of the group and destroying Marcus' magical helm in the process.
Though feeling the press of time, the party did a quick search of their vanquished enemies, and took a pair of magical bracers from the liche which served to revitalize their stores of magic somewhat. Several members of the group noticed that the drifting wisps that infested their own wounds seemed to take no interest in the wounds they inflicted on their enemies, and decided that the brass rings each of the guards wore might have something to do with that...
As they advanced down the main hallway, they investigated the hall the ogres had come from as well, hearing nothing except behind one door where a number of voices could be heard crying out, though too indistinctly to be understood. As Naazi advanced down the remainder of the hallway, cloaked in invisibility, he became the first to see where the rest of the forces holding the temple lie in wait...
Almost as soon as he cleared the corner, Maerdan the Black called out
a curse upon him, and though none could see them, everyone could hear the
moaning and whispering that came from the 15 mouths that sprouted all over
his body. Surrounded as he was by the remainder of his guards and servants,
Maerdan obviously felt confident that victory would soon be his. But even
as Marcus, Talon, and Naazi rushed forward to do battle, Nikolai called
out to his god, asking that Lendor remove the threat of
Maerdan for all Time... and though it cost Nikolai nearly all of his
life-force, his call was heard, and answered.
Though Maerdan froze in mid gesture, his minions fought on, as there clearly was no other choice left to them. After many minutes of tense fighting, (very tense for Nikolai, who discovered that one of the ogres they'd thought dead in the previous battle had regenerated all of the damage he'd taken, and sought revenge on the greatly weakened acolyte as he stumbled weakly away from the main fighting...) the party was eventually victorious.
By this time, however, fighting could be heard in the upper temple, where no doubt the forces of King Belvor and the churches of Pelor, Hieroneous, and Pholtus were pressing the armies of Maerdan back to their lair. Not wishing to be caught in such a fracas, the party left the temple the way they'd entered it, though not without returning to the hall where they'd heard cries before and releasing the prisoners they'd found there. Nikolai, for his part, did insist on dragging the frozen body of Maerdan along with them, as he wished to make a gift of it to his uncle in the Duchy of Urnst...
Once outside again, Naazi realized that the next four days constituted the High Holy days of his church, so he hightailed it back down the mountain trails with only Kalik for company, eventually reaching one of his temples for the fourth and final day of the celebrations. As the rest of the party made their way along the same trail, towing the body of Maerdan along with great effort they encountered only scattered opposition and the remnants of tribes and clans of humanoids more interested in retreat than confrontation. After almost a week they rejoined Naazi and Kalik and began to trek slowly back through Ket, Bissel, and Veluna towards Furyondy.
As winter deepens, the party arrives in Furyondy and are greeted quietly as heroes by those who know the part they played in the battle for the temple; they do not speak of the body they yet bear with them, however. Though mere monetary rewards are welcomed, more welcome is swift passage to Willip, and paid passage aboard a swift merchanter to Leukish...
As we leave for the evening, they have boarded their ship and left port, headed east across the steel colored waters of the Nyr Dyv...
[27th of Sunsebb, 578]