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;
Marcus, half-elf acolyte of Hieroneous;
Tarqualan, high elf mystic;
Piotr, suloise human mercenary;
and finally;
Talon, dwur initiate of Clangeddin.
[6th of Wealsun, 579]
As the party exited the water filled stairway and back into the air, they surveyed the room they currently held. A small dais lay against the northern wall, with an exit on the north-east. A door stood directly opposite their entry, which was closed. On the dais rested a midsize golden idol depicting something equal parts bat and frog, with a huge belly and a dazed expression. A small plaque at it's feet proved to bear a simple prayer (which nobody was foolish enough to recite aloud).
As Marcus began examining the north-east exit for signs of guards, several metal spheres flew out of the hallway over his head and began milling about in the air nearby. Talon swung his axe to strike one, and was immediately blasted by lightning bolts from all five, knocking him unconscious. Over the next several rounds, Marcus bore the brunt of their attacks, (though Milik was sorely wounded, as were others) but eventually the dwindling magic resources of the party managed to bring the spheres down and heal Talon back to consciousness.
Electing not to explore the corridor the spheres
emerged from, they chose the door instead and soon found themselves descending
yet another flight of stairs. At the bottom landing stood another pair
of black garbed soldiers flanked by a pair each of the metal spheres; Marcus
charged one guard and took his head in a single sweep, but his headlong
charge left him vulnerable not only to the second guard's lunge, but to
the concerted blasts of all four spheres. Again, Marcus proved to have
the fortitude to survive such injuries, but for the first time in a great
while he was staring death in the face. In due course the foot of
the stairs was secured, injuries healed, and
the party began to advance once more.
As the group traveled down the long corridor before them, Milik attempted to use the captured gems to locate the others they sought; one proved to lie directly ahead, while another lay above and before them. After passing an intersection, Talon thought to test the stairs before them for traps, and located a wide group of stairs that seemed to conceal a pressure plate. Not wanting to risk jumping past the stairs, Kalik elected to send his captured water elemental ahead to trigger the trap; as it flowed over the affected area, a gong could be heard to sound somewhere ahead...
Pressing forward at Marcus' urging, the group
descended the stairs sending a concert of notes sounding ahead; the end
of the hall soon filled with a double line of archers all with flaming
arrows; the first volley of which slew Vesper outright and injured nearly
everyone else. Seeing that the archers would likely have time to loose
several more volleys before they could reach them, Marcus attempted to
call upon Hieroneous for aid (divine intervention - rolled a 00 (very bad))
but was rebuked - "How is Justice served by rushing headlong into death?"
he heard the voice of his god reply, "And what Honor is there in dragging
thine companions to their doom?" Followed shortly
by the voice of a minor servitor saying "All circuits are currently busy;
please try your call again tomorrow".
Kendradell tried next, and was heard by Lydia
(though the price was high). Milik and Kalik recognized the song that came
to her lips as the song that held their enemies bound in the Cairn Hills
so long ago, and Kendradell's head was filled with the knowledge of the
nearest exit from the temple and back to the upper world. Once the situation
was explained to him, Marcus rushed headlong towards the frozen archers,
and while Piotr stood guard over Kendradell, most of the rest of the party
joined
Marcus at the end of the stairs...
After dousing the archers in oil, alcohol, and spirits, Marcus, Kalik, Milik, Talon and Tarqualan climbed the dais at the end of the chamber they were now in to regard the velvet clad form of a sandy blonde man who seemed to have been regarding their battle with interest. When Kalik spoke to the figure, it proved not to be frozen at all, and began bantering with the party while Kalik struck him repeatedly with his swords. Finally, the figure (who introduced himself as Charles, and while denied being in charge of the temple, always spoke in the first person as though he were...) gestured at Kalik and sent his body spasming to the floor...
Leading the group through a tapestry at the back of the dais, he eventually brought them to a large circular room with a reflecting pool. By means of explanation for why he taking such lengths to hide his presence, he showed the party a vision in the water - the viewpoint of the pool centered first on the temple, then southwest over Keoland, across the Crystalmists, beyond the Sea of Dust, and into the foothills of a low mountain range beyond. There a veritable sea of tents could be seen; and between the tents moved a race of strange centaurs - coal black with ivory hair, with silver hooves and eyes like mercury. A host preparing to ride to war, their host explained, former slaves of the ancient Suloise who sought to avenge the deaths of their ancestors and to expunge the pale devils who'd broken their King over two millennia ago.
In thirteen years, he went on to explain, the warband they saw would ride out of the west and bring death to any who opposed them. While he was not the only one who knew of this threat, he explained that perhaps he alone had the resources to break their march and scatter them again, but that he'd need the help of heroes... heroes powerful enough to overcome the types of obstacles he'd already thrown at them...
It was about this time that Marcus struck, cleaving Charles' head from his body. After quickly searching his body and coming up with another of the Meyanar gems, they began examining the room with the reflecting pool, searching for exits...
Meanwhile, back in the hall, Piotr noticed female form sneaking up on Kendradell and himself from behind. When questioned, the woman identified herself as Mirella, and then she and Piotr both drew steel and began to dance...
After noticing that Kendradell's voice was repeating the same refrain like a skipping record, the bulk of the party began to return to her aid, but were momentary confounded by the stairs which moved in reverse, keeping them at bay. Tarqualan cast flying magic upon himself, Marcus, and Milik, and flew off to investigate Kendradell's strange behavior leaving Kalik to examine the stairs, trying to divine a means of turning them off...
After exchanging several rounds of blows with Piotr and only scratching him, Mirella finally unleashed a powerful forked bolt of lightning which took down both Piotr and Kendradell just as the flying members of the group parted the tapestry. Kendradell's song ended, the archers unleashed their fiery missiles, some of which struck Mirella, but more of which returned to strike the archers themselves, and it only took one falling into the pool of inflammable liquid at their feet to set the lot of them ablaze...
Seeking now only to flee before more guards could arrive, the party reversed their course, pausing only to heal Piotr and Kendradell to consciousness. At their next encounter with said guards, Talon called upon Clangeddin, and though the cost was mighty, so was the aid Clangeddin lent. With Kendradell to guide them, they fled out of the temple and sought the safety of Verbobonc, there to report to their superiors of what they had learned...
[Intermission]
Over the next several weeks, the party told their tale to the heads of their churches, and to the leaders of the Raotian faith especially. Neidan was replaced, and soon after the project abandoned when it was learned that the flooding of the temple was spreading, making its restoration improbable at best. Kalik's fate was never learned of directly, though they occasionally heard bards singing of his continued exploits, so they felt that he must have survived the experience somehow...
Though this marks the end of this campaign (for awhile), I do plan on running a scenario at an upcoming convention that will determine whether the Mabelrodians succeed in their endeavors or not; I'll likely write up the results of that afterwards...
THE END... FOR NOW.