== Wealday, Erastus 30, 4708; Runeforge; mid day ==
One by one we entered the large circular domed chamber and stepped up onto the dais. Bubbling in the oval pool at our feet was a prismatic liquid that glowed in a maelstrom of different magics.
Curious, I carefully filled a crystal vial with the mysterious fluid only to find it quite clear and mundane — probably just water. It was the pool itself that was so oddly magical.
But we could think of nothing to do here, and so we chose the first hallway to the left of the entryway and gathered about it, clustering behind the statue of Xanderghul, Runelord of pride.
Sabin boldly stepped forward and vanished. And yet the Status spells Kane and I had in effect indicated he was but a few steps away. I followed and found myself standing next to Sabin, and looking back it seemed like the tunnel stretched for a mere sixty feet or so to whence we came. Sabin called back to the others, “It is like a dimensional door, just walk this way.”
One by one the rest of our group came through, some taking a bit longer for unknown reasons to reach us, but in the end we all stood before an opening to a brightly lit room.
As before, Sabin and I stepped through the entryway into the middle of a broad passageway leading to the right and left. The floor was stone, but all of the walls were seamlessly covered in mirrors. Looking to the right we could see our reflections staring back at us, and these were reflected back from the opposite wall behind us, and so on such that it appeared to be a hallway that lead off infinitely into the distance.
And then our reflections stepped out from the mirror! To our left was a pair and to our right another pair. One of my reflections cast a Flame Strike upon me, and the other three figures were likewise chanting words of power.
The real Sabin was caught by a Feeblemind spell, but Avia pulled him back out from the hallway, while I was caught in a wall of blades cast by my other doppelganger.
My companions prepared for combat, but it quickly became apparent that the creatures that crawled out from the mirrors were only interested in attacking their originals, and so for a while it was only Sabin and I that were in danger of direct attacks.
But that did not mean they were immune to area effects, as we found when yet another blade barrier came down into the corridor where they were clustered, and a fireball detonated in their midst.
And yet I did not feel particularly threatened by my mirrored twins. True, they were intent on my destruction, however I knew from personal experience that they lacked the ability to do me any more serious harm than what they had already inflicted. And so I moved into the hallway as the blade barriers came down rather than retreating back to my friends.
I am not a fighter, and I do not possess many offensive spells — on this particular day I had only memorized two spells that could inflict damage, giving my foes a total of four: three of which they had already used. I no longer wield any weapons, and so what more could they do but try and heal me to death?
Those grappling with the duplicate Sabins were not so fortunate. Equipped with both potent offensive spells as well as skillfully wielding a great ax, even one Sabin is a formidable opponent.
The two Sabins used the a Dimension Door to get past the blade barriers and appeared behind my team mates — except for Rigel who had snuck further back down the corridor. Trask had read a scroll of Heal to remove the feebleminded effect plaguing our Sabin.
Nolin and Avia moved in to engage the Sabins and prevent them from casting more spells, while Kane channeled energy to heal everyone in the area and Sabin slashed out at his twins from behind the two fighters.
Meanwhile I approached the mirrored wall to our right, brushing aside the pesky attacks from a reflected self (batting at me with his pack), when the other showed up and cast a Flame Strike that also caught part of the mirrored wall, which shattered. The copy of me that had stepped from that wall shattered as well.
Back in the corridor Trask peppered foes with magic missiles while Nolin and Avia had hacked away at one of the Sabins, which shattered with Avia’s killing blow. Their attention then turned to the remaining Sabin as Rigel crept up from behind and dispatched it.
Trask turned his magic missiles on my remaining twin, who had pulled a dagger out from his pack was stabbing away at me. But this was short lived because Sabin dimension doored to the mirrored wall to the left and shattered it, reducing our remaining opponent to shards.
Sabin and I then proceeded to smash all of the mirrors lining the hallway to prevent duplicates of the others from being created. With that threat removed we followed hallway, the left and right hand ends of which met at the entrance of a truly grand and huge cathedral like space.
Like the hallway before it, the walls were covered with mirrors, but these towered above us some hundred feet, and stretched far away on either side. A large raised dais was in the center of the space, and a giant peacock perched upon it. The bird blinked, and ruffled its feathers from time to time, but ignored us. The floor was made of smooth ivory flagstones.
Four giant gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the light from which was thrown back by the massive mirrored walls, providing a bright, almost harsh illumination.
We had inadvertently split into two groups as we walked in: Sabin, Nolin, Rigel and I to the left, and Avia, Kane and Trask to the right.
Rigel cheerfully called out, “Hello Mister Peacock!,” but it did not answer, and only stared at us impassively with its black beady eyes, which seemed to reflect a great wisdom and intelligence.
And then, from around us, a chorus of voices speaking in ancient Thassilonian mingled in an almost harmonious chant:
The master is in his study, so please contain your screaming while you are punished for entering his sanctuary.
Kane stepped forward and yelled out, “I am tired of waiting!”
A man appeared then, immaculately dressed and groomed with neat shoulder length blond hair, speaking softly. Three fireballs detonated, one in the midst of those of us to the left, one amidst the group on the right, and one centered just on Kane.
Five more men appeared, scattered about us, whispering magical invocations.
Both Kane and Sabin acted as if something was racing towards them, but while Kane appeared to have shrugged it off, Sabin’s private horror wounded him.
Sabin promptly used the dimension door trick to put himself, Nolin, Rigel and I next to a figure standing by the dais. Nolin brutally hacked at it with his greats-word. The man let out a girlish squeal and then burst into a flurry of snow that slumped into a slushy pile on the ground.
Avia ran over to another of the men — they all looked alike — and swiftly reduced it to a pile of snow and slush.
The surviving men took various actions, most defensive, but one sent a bolt of lightening at Nolin.
Sabin and Nolin took out a third, while Rigel killed another.
Trask set off a fireball on top of one figure that had cast Mirror Image on himself, and was rewarded with two puddles of melted snow, having also caught the remaining snow man who had turned invisible.
We turned our attention to the giant peacock and found that it was an illusion, and so we searched the vast complex for secrets. Rigel found a hidden door in the middle of the back wall, which was neither locked nor trapped.
Beyond the door was a comfortable looking room — a library or study — but it smelled as if something had crawled in and died. And so it had. Sitting in a chair next to a table was the remains of a man, slumped over parchment on which he had been writing when he died. Avia said the corpse was evil, but it was just a corpse, and did not animate as we cautiously approached it.
It had been a man — in fact he looked like the creatures we had fought in the cathedral, and so we assumed he had created guardians in his own image. We guessed he had been dead for only a couple of years.
The writing on the parchment was in Thassilonian, and shpowed the man had been working on some form of a very advanced illusion spell.
We stripped the corpse of all items of value, and scanned through his bookshelves for more:
[1140] evil aligned robe: provides +5 AC, 18 SR, and +2 on all class level checks, -3 levels if worn by a good aligned person, -2 levels if worn by a neutral aligned person
[1141] +6 headband of vast intelligence: has 3 specific skill bonuses we have yet to research
[1142] +2 ring of protection
[1143] Cape of the Mountebank [Sabin]
[1144] journal written in draconic
[1145] two volumes of spell books containing every illusion spell listed in the player’s handbook
Sabin scanned through the journal, which identified the dead man as Vraxeris, the runeforge agent of Xanderghul. I scribed the last two entries as Sabin read them out loud.
Vraxeris journal entry:
The runeforge pool awoke! I first took this as a sign that Runelord Xanderghul had risen. When I arrived at the pool to investigate, it seemed that the others had come to the same conclusion. The foolish Wardens of Envy thought to disrupt the recrudescence, and with the aid of Kazaven, Ordikan, Athroxis, and that lovely creature Delvahine, we were able to defeat them utterly. Their Abjurant Halls lie in ruins. Our treaty was short-lived, though. Kazaven absconded with the bodies and that treacherous wench Athroxis nearly burned me to death before I made it back here.
I was mistaken. Runelord Xanderghul still slumbers. It is that monster Karzoug who quickens and nears rebirth. Damnation! He must not be allowed to precede Xanderghul into the world, for he would rebuild Thassilon in his own inferior image, a testament to his own greed rather than one of pride in the work. He must be delayed or defeated!
I have managed to escape this place, to a certain extent. By astral projection I can explore what the world outside has become. It is a brutish place, yet it pleases me to see Thassilon’s mark endures in the shape of our monuments. Still, the wilderness of the world vexes me. Gone is the empire I knew. Karzoug’s city of Xin-Shalast is now hidden high in the mountains, and when I finally discovered it, I found the spires where his body is hidden to be inaccessible, warded against astral travelers by the occlusion field around the peak of Mhar-Massif. As long as his rune-well is active, I fear even a physical approach would be impossibly deadly. I must determine a way to pierce these wardings, and to send an agent in my place. No need to risk my own life before my clone is ready.
Vraxeris journal entry:
I have taken steps toward an alliance with Delvahine. She may be able to escape this place, for she was not of the original blood. At the least, she can call up on agents from outside, and perhaps through them we can secure servants in the outer world. She seems uninterested in Sorshen’s return; all the better for Xanderghul, that.
The runeforge pool is the key. As I suspected, the occlusion field around Karzoug’s fortress in Xin-Shalast has a flaw. His lack of knowledge of the intricacies of Sorshen’s and my own lord Xanderghul’s powers have left an opening. My agents must use components infused with our lords’ virtues, extract the latent magic within these components, and then anoint their chosen weapons with this raw power. The runeforged pool seems to have enough reserves to enhance no more than half a dozen or so runeforged weapons, but those enhanced with enchantment and illusion magic will be most potent against Karzoug’s defenses. They may even be pivotal in his defeat. For my own part, fragments of any of the mirrors in the Peacock’s Hall should suffice for a component. Delvahine’s… equipment… should suffice for enchantment, although one might be wise to cleanse them before they are handled.
The search for an agent goes poorly. Delvahine seems more interested in her own lusts than aiding me. Worse, the lapses and fevers are increasing. I fear that I will be forced to see to Karzoug myself, in which event I will need to use the master circle I built into the Halls of Wrath to escape this place. Yet first, I must set aside my work on delaying Karzoug’s return and turn back to the final development of my 205th clone. I only hope I have time to finish before the dementia takes hold…
There is much here that directly applies to our quest!
We know that the Runelord agents had somehow managed to remain alive in this place for many thousands of years. For Vraxeris this was accomplished by him duplicating himself periodically into a replicant, or as he called it, a “clone.” It would seem sort sort of defect was introduced into the process or his last body was damaged or corrupted corrupted such that he did not have sufficient time to prepare its replacement.
But more important for us was the information concerning Karzoug and the runeforge.
Karzoug began to rise a little more than two years ago.
Karzoug’s fortress is near a peak once called Mhar-Massif.
There are protective wards about his fortress that are still active and deadly as long as his rune well is active. Could it have been the one we deactivated in Sandpoint about a year ago?
Karzoug’s defensive wards hold a flaw where enchantment and illusion magic (Sorshen’s and Xanderghul’s) can be used to get past them.
Weapons can be imbued with special enchantments if the correct ritual is performed and right components used. Such weapons, especially those enhanced with illusion magics, will be most effective against Karzoug and his defenses.
The comments about the different warring factions here within the runeforge reminded me of the corridor on the way in here, where chunks had been blasted out of the wall. Vraxeris journal indicated some of the other runelord agents had been possibly slain, but we could expect to face at least some powerful adversaries while exploring the complex.
A pair of double doors led into another hallway, but other than a room full of skeletons (about 200 of them we guessed) there was nothing of interest.
We returned to the main runeforge chamber, where the quietly bubbling pool now holds special significance for us. We picked up some of the mirror shards from Xanderghul’s chamber, because Vraxeris has mentioned that they were one of the key components for the ritual.
Noting that Vraxeris had formed an alliance with Delvahine, we decided to explore Sorshen’s lair next.
As before, the passageway had a dimensional door style effect that eventually led us to a pair of mighty iron doors, beyond which was another immense interior space.
The area was well lit, and the layout and decoration left little doubt it had been designed for carnal purposes. The floor was alternating red and white polished flagstones, and red and white scrims lined the walls. Columns carved skillfully in the shapes of sensuously posed naked woman held aloft the tall ceiling. In the center was a raised platform, which was curtained off with flowing sheets of red silk.
Most disturbingly iron cages were positioned around the complex: some were, empty, and some held the rotting remains of people.
Someone held captive in one of the cages yet lives! I must go to his aid at once.
