| Session Date | April 27 2024 |
| Start Date | 1 Harvester 1273 |
| End Date | 1 Harvester 1273 |
| Starting Location | Lich's Tomb |
| Ending Location | Dark Master's Prisoner Hold Cells |
| Player Characters | Helga, Hans, Burt, Mord, Deaglan, Sirius, ZZ |
| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
Nizhith - Half-orc prison guard/torturer for the Dark Masters
runes, jump, scorchers armor
After resting overnight, ZZ tried to remove the curse of Hans’ sword, but did not think he was of sufficient power to do so. Hans decided to leave it behind if possible and found that he could do so. The party now returned to the vicinity of the destroyed angry wizard statue. Burt used his bone dice to cast an augury about whether or not they should proceed under a minor globe of invulnerability, but the dice said no. After heavy duty preparation, they entered the temple of Maelentir once again, after Sirius first summoned three ochre jellies to go in first. They swarmed the dais but nothing happened, so he sent them one each to the three doors to slime under them. Then the statue spoke, saying “Welcome, pilgrims. Seek ye to become servants of the Lord of the Great Magics? Much may be given to those that pledge their loyalty and prove to be true to the great one.” The party declined and the statue grew angry, shouting, “Foolish infidels, know now the wrath of the god of magic!” as it began to shoot out a beam from its head, demagicking one of Hans’ items. The party now attacked the statue, including putting a passwall below it (did not work). And then, a hoard of Wights and Wraiths poured from secret doors into the room. The party fled but were not pursued. Sirius summoned a fire elemental and sent it in to wreak havoc, but it apparently did not last long as he peeked in and saw it and the jellies were gone.
Leaving Sirius behind invisible to watch the area, the rest of the party decided to return to get Hans’ cursed sword. As they did so, they ran into four Duergar. They parleyed friendly enough and both parties admitted they were out adventuring. The party even gave them directions to the temple of Maelentir and they parted ways. As the rest moved on to the Lich’s crypt, ZZ hung back to watch for anyone following but saw nothing (and the DM lost an opportunity with the party now split in three locations!). They returned to Sirius who had not seen the Duergar group but had caught a hint of a single invisible one. When they were all together, the party decided the Duergar were a threat and set out to eliminate them. With the entire party invisible, they set out in pursuit of the Duergar. One was now invisible, tagging behind the main group, probably to watch for pursuers. Suing silence, the party got in close and hit them with slow, hold person, multiple magic missile volleys and other spells, as well as melee attacks. The Duergar didn’t stand a chance.
The party now returned to the Hall of Emperors and used passwalls to strike a chamber clearly behind the northern bronze door of the temple of Maelentir. The surfaces of the room were of polished, yellow stone. The northern end of the room had an eight-foot-tall statue of Maelentir carved with a triumphant, evil look. The angled sections of wall flanking the statue were inset with what appeared to be a faux stained-glass window through which a steady bluish-purple light shone. The glowing windows depicted a stylized wizards laboratory complete with alchemical equipment, a crystal ball, a burner beneath a small pot suspended from a tripod, mortar and pestle, decanter, magnifying glass, etc. Written in Common across the two “windows” was “Fire will clarify the essence of power.” Hans entered first and found that he could pass a lit torch through the glass, as well as his own head to view what was really a stylized sort of lab, only a few feet deep. An unseen servant could not pass the glass, even holding a torch. Hans then tried to take the crystal ball but could not move it. Then, thinking of the words on the glass, he lit the burner which released some smoke and put Hans into a trance. Mordecai tried pulling him free but met with resistance and had to force Hans out. Pulling him free from whatever trance he was in had a terrible effect on his mind (-3 intelligence).
The party now passed south through the temple, without ill effect, and entered the room to the south. The surfaces of this room were all of a polished, dark purple stone, the southern end dominated by an eight-foot-tall statue of Maelentir carved with a sly, knowing look. The angled sections of wall flanking the statue were inset with what appears to be a faux stained-glass window through which a steady bluish-purple light shone. The glowing windows depicted a stylized library complete with books, scrolls, a bookshelf, a bookstand, hourglass, quill and ink, etc. Written in Common across the two “windows” was “An hour will suffice to obtain hidden enlightenment.” Again Hans reached in and tried to take a book, but none moved. So, he then flipped the hourglass and went into another trance. An hour later, he awoke with knowledge of a new spell (telekinesis). He also awoke with a plain steel ring on his finger that he could not remove.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party now moved out into the main temple again. From here, Burt cast dimension door and beamed himself and Deaglan beyond the east door which turned out to have once been priest’s quarters, now long abandoned. Happily, Deaglan found a secret door leading to a small closet within which they found a platinum skull cap later identified as a skullcap of wizardry. Returning to the party, they now tried toppling statues but the Wights and Wraiths rushed back in. Hans was ready for them and cast a wall of fire, using it to snuff them all out.
They now headed back west, having decided to take on the Dark Folk they knew lurked nearby. The first group they ran into were immediately hostile and put up a fight. One that Burt slew exploded in a bright flash that nearly blinded some of the party, but they were soon wiped out. Other Dark Folk were subsequently found and wiped out. Further on, they found a torture chamber with a half orc who tried to attack but was charmed by Sirius. He quickly changed his tune, saying that if the party was going to wipe out the Dark Folk he would stay out of it. Further, he began to provide the party with a great deal of information about the Dark Folk and their Dark Masters, saying that this was both an outpost for them and a secret prison they did not want anyone to know about. He warned the party that there were two Masters nearby, the closer being a powerful spellcaster and master of illusions. He led them to the close one and they rushed into his room, apparently alerted by the previous fighting. Although he blasted Mordecai with intense illusions of horror, the cleric shrugged it off and the party was able to overwhelm him. However, upon being slain, he exploded even more powerfully than the Dark Folk, doing actual damage to those nearby. After plundering the room, they found a secret door leading to a seemingly abandoned room. But, thinking it might be illusionary, they tried to disbelieve and found several chests and a much larger treasure.
Heading now to the prison, the half orc who named himself Nizhith explained who the prisoners were. One, a Bugbear, had been taken secretly so they could torture him for information on the Troll Kings. The party released him and told him to return to his masters with word that the Dark Masters clearly plotted with the Serpentine Lord – he would travel with them a short time until it was safe for him to peel off. They also released a man named Sandrix, a fighter with a sob story about being slave traded from master to master. One cell, sealed with wax, he said contained a drugged Ogre Mage. The party discussed destroying it but in the end decided to let it rot. The last prisoner they released was one of the Greater or Deep Ghouls, this one named Carstairs. He was being held for ransom and was happy to be released, even though he knew the party had slain one of his kind previously. This done, the party decided to go after the other Dark Master…