Wealday, 22 Lamashan

Morning could not come quick enough, yet courtesy required that we at least have breakfast with my parents. I think my mother was beginning to understand that Rigel was not my betrothed, but Father seemed to remain convinced that with some subtle prodding and gentle directing he’d have grandchildren in no time. For her part, Rigel took it all politely, but Nolin, I think, showed far too much interest in the proceedings.

I swear to you, these are not the parents that raised me!

We left my childhood home and went back outside the city to a sufficiently distant location so as to guarantee a little privacy. Nolin did nothing to help by smilingly reminding me that if we used up all my spells for today, we could always go back and spend another day with my parents. Even Rigel threw him a look at that.

Besides, it has nothing to do with skill, at this point. It’s just a matter of luck as to whether I can overcome the magic resisting our return. with a run of back luck, such as I had yesterday, I could exhaust my spells. I hoped fate would smile upon me, for the sake of the rest of the party and in no small part for the sake of my sanity.
After all, it would take 12 failures in a row to have to – get to – spend another night in my parent’s house.

It’s not that it was a bad house, per se, of course. I grew up there and it holds fond memories. Who doesn’t have fond memories of their childhood? It’s just that recently, it had become more difficult to –

Shoot. First teleport failed. Thank goodness this spell doesn’t take any serious components. With my natural ability to eschew components, small and trivial items are not really needed for me to –

Crap. Failed again. Ok, I’m going to really focus and put down my quill. It’s just a matter of luck anyway. Can’t miss 12 in a row!

[Hastily written in the margin: ONLY TOOK TWO MORE! HAH!]

Wealday, 22 Lamashan (later)

We arrived from Korvosa with others waiting expectantly for us. Nolin immediately sized up how people were dressed and announced he was fully suiting up too. While he prepared, Takkad filled me in.

Last night he and Sabin apparently did a litle scouting with arcane eyes. Some interesting things they found:

• ground level on the main street does not appear to be actual ground
  level. The road is actually elevated above what appears to be the
  first floor of many of the buildings. There are basements here that
  were never intended to be basements. Are there also sidewalks beneath
  the streets?

• the buildings are immense. This is not a small city, even in its
  partially damaged state. Were it not for the danger presented by
  the apparently awakening Rune Lord and the hundreds (thousands?)
  of creatures living here, this would be a fountain of knowledge
  about a time long since gone.

• entry to the city is blocked by a fortress of smooth black stone.
  Passing it in a normal fashion and remaining unchallenged is unlikely.

• About 1/4 of the eastern city has been destroyed … or at least
  heavily damaged .. by a landslide from the surrounding peaks,
  followed (presumably over many years) by glacial snow and avalanches.
  It makes the area look forbidding, yet at one time there were
  buildings there so may some structure remains under the rough
  rock and ice.

• As one proceeds through the city, one grows ever closer to the
  gleaming spires on the mountain, and the stern face of Karzoug
  looking down upon the spires and the city itself. The visage
  must lie several thousand feet above this already air-thin
  and exhausting altitude.

• As the eyes proceeded, the buildings seemed to get larger and
  more ostentatious as one neared the citadel and the face.
  Karzoug was not a subtle man.

Based on this information, it was clear that a stroll down Main Street was not going to be our best choice. However, windwalk could again be our friend and there appeared to be several choices of places we could land and solidify near the citadel. Because if there was one thing we could be sure of, it was that Karzoug was not going to be found at the end of the city with the small and crushed housing.

Before leaving, I cast resist cold on myself. Not because I was chilled, but it seemed more likely that damaging spells would be cold-based here than fire-based, and my own natural fire resistance would assist me if I guessed wrong.

We landed safely, and a quick inspection showed nothing – no footprints, bodies, or anything to indicate anyone had been here recently. But we quickly learned if we got too close to the citadel, there was some sort of force resisting us. We could push through it, and we did, until … there was some sort of THRUM, or pulse, which had a very deleterious affect on those under its effect.

I myself had not, apparently, gotten close enough but Rigel, Nolin, Sedgewick, and Kane all had … and the THRUM seemed to affect them badly. They appeared disoriented and staggered as if drunk or confused, while some found wounds appeared to varying degrees upon their body. Sedgewick quietly and calmly (considering the nature of his news) announced he was blind.

Kane healed him, and I mean Healed him, and his stuttering left him, wounds healed, and the blindness disappeared. But he still appeared shaken by the event. A combination of lesser restorations and minor healings helped the rest, but all moved out of the zone. Takkad pondered a bit, and recalled a passage he’d read that had not meant anything at the time. Braxis’ journal had said we needed to find and deactivate the Runewell that was running this rather massive burglar alarm.

We returned to gaseous form but learned two important things. The area of THRUM seemed to cover all the interesting features of this upper slope. Nothing would be found here until the trap was disabled. And the second thing was that being in gaseous form did not, in any way, shape or form, relieve you from the punishment from that trap.

We finally returned to the place we’d originally (safely) left gaseous form and was very surprised when Avia turned to us and said, in a voice not her own, “Now how do you like my toys? You come to my home to play, now it’s time to pay the piper.”

And while we were surprised to hear this short monologue coming from Avia’s mouth, she was nothing short of apoplectic. If we had any substances with a sedative effect, this would have been a good time for her to ingest them.

It was decided that, at the least, it would be a good time to rest and rethink our plan. The houses in the upper part of the city appeared to have been, at one time, very nice houses so we stood a good chance of finding some reasonable accommodations there. No linens or bathwater, mind you, but a solid roof and perhaps doors and windows that still worked.

We gave the house an inspection, and it seemed reasonable. Passageways were huge, yet individual items seemed right-sized. Giants for servants? Perhaps. Legend does speak of such things.

One room seemed to radiate cold. My resist cold had expired, so I renewed it. By one of the far pillars there appeared to be a large worm. I don’t mean like thick-as-your-thumb juicy worm. I mean bigger-than-your-body purple worm. And when it detected us (by our heat, no doubt) it left no ambiguity about its intention.

My resist cold served me well, but Sedgewick, having taken yet another heavy blow, lay near death. Kane moved to him quickly as I shot a carefully aimed fireball at the backside of the creature. I figured it it liked cold, heat would probably damage it greatly. I was not disappointed.

I found out later that Kane used Breath of Life on Sedgewick and literally pulled him back from Death’s chilly shores. It took but seconds, but Avia and Nolin hit the worm mightily, killing it – but the toll was almost too great. A single breath and Sedgewick had lain dying. And then the worm did a strange and horrifying thing.

In its death, it exploded. And again many took significant damage as the freezing cold worm guts hit us with great force (although my resist cold served me well again.)

Included in the worm detritus was a partially digested being. Once one got over the shock of dealing with a partially digested being, it occurred to us to see if the body contained anything magic.

It did.

We found a mask, that looked like death or a skeleton, if you prefer [1601]. After studying it and casting identify, we were able to tell the mask had the capability of, once per day, so long as it had been worn for at least an hour, of flying off the face of the wearer and attacking the face of a victim, bestowing upon it the equivalent of a finger of death spell. There was also a sihedron ring [1602] that looked very handsome – golden, with some valuable stones set in it. It offered a +3 deflection bonus, a +3 resist added for all saving throws, bestowed upon the wearer the effects of Endure Elements at all times, and allowed the wearer to change the appearance of their armor as a standard action. You couldn’t change it to full plate, for instance, but it sure could look like that’s what you were wearing. Sedgewick ended up taking this, mostly because he had no additional resistance to any of the magic we were facing.

Sabin tried using an arcane eye to find this Runewell, but was unsuccessful. Got to see a lot of different buildings, though, I guess. Apparently there’s a pretty significant sporting building, or coliseum nearby, and he saw an interesting creature in there. It was like nothing we’d ever seen before. He tried to follow him but an arcane eye has no opposable thumbs and gets easily thwarted by closing a door in front of it.

Based on these reports, we used windwalk to tour parts of the city in person, which carried with it the minor thrill of danger. We’re not, strictly speaking, invisible. Just hard to see. We checked out Temple Row, the Jotenburg District, the Artisan District, and flew over the Slave District. Intrigued, I asked Takkad how he knew all these names because as near as I can tell, they were not enscribed on the ground below us. Turns out he’d kiped a map from one of the rooms we’d been in earlier, and it had all these sections highlighted and named. I was expecting something a little more spectacular.

Disappointed yet intrigued, we set up the “usual guard duty” so we could rest and recover spells. We noticed, at one point, what looked like a dragon silouhette across the face of the moon. Of course. It wouldn’t be complete without a dragon. I drifted off to sleep.

… but then just before dawn Kane hastily awakened us. There was a clicking noise outside the window. Those near the windows were able to catch a quick glimpse of two crag spiders. Nasty things. Takkad used a spell called “Destruction” – utterly fascinatingly thorough! – to take out one, and Sabin and my lightning bolt took out the other.

Now we need even more rest.

Oathsday, 23 Lamashan

We went to the coliseum, to see if we could learn more about the creature we’d observed with the arcane eye. And we did locate him again without too much trouble. He seemed to own (or at least claim possession of) one of the nicer “boxes” in the arena. But today he was not alone. With little effort, apparently, he summoned two bone devils (according to Kane) and ordered, “I’m bored. Fight for me.”

Kane said the creature itself was an ice devil. Devils. I’m not sure if devils or dragons are worse, and now we have both.

We were quietly discussing this unsettling turn of events when a voice reached my ears. “M’lord, m’lord!” a small shadowy figure called to me. “We have waited for you.”

Me?

Us, it turns out. This was a small creature with a most amazing skill. He was humanoid .. ish .. but he could change his skin to match his background almost perfectly. It allowed him to go almost anywhere undetected, so long as he was quiet.

We decided to let this harmless looking creature lead us deeper into the tunnels beneath the streets. He had this annoying habit of repeating, “you’ve come!”. Were we part of some prophecy? If so, I’d like to know what it says of our surviving.

Eventually we were deep enough into the tunnels that he felt he could speak. His people called themselves “the Spared”. Many many years ago, they had been slaves when Xin Shalast started to crumble around them. They were able to survive when others could not because a) they were small and thus elusive, and b) they were well camouflaged. Innately.

His people have excavated more tunnels over the years, but some of his kind had broken into a bad place of crypts and terrible things. In fact, a Terrible Thing was known for taking his friends and people and enslaving them in some way. Not like the Runelord, but in a way that seemed to leave no person inside. They were never the same again, and yet they seemed to never die.

This sounded like undead to me, and to several others as well.

His name was Margaiv, and he showed us the murals that foretold our arrival. Apparently his goddess Mesmina had said to patiently wait and she would send us. And his faith in us made us the unquestioning choice to save his people from the invisible (yes it was invisible) beast that was enslaving his people.

I put my hand across my brow and looked down. Really? Why did it always have to be us?

But us it would be, and we resolutely set out to save these peoples. They were ecstatic, but not so ecstatic that a great many of them wanted to travel with us. In fact, only Margaiv was willing to take us sort of close to the entity responsible for these heinous acts. He took us as close as he dared, pointed down the hall and faded into the wall to await our heroic actions that would save his people.

It really was not a nice beast. And it was invisible. It seemed like it might be a vampire of some sort? Never really did get a square look at it. But that’s okay; all I needed was targeting orders. I cast Spell Resistance, Mirror Image, and Resist Cold on myself before we went in.

Both Sabin and Takkad had cast spells to allow themselves to see invisible beings, and they helped tell us what was really there. I hasted everyone, and Sabin teleported the Usual Suspects next to the beast.

But as luck would have it, this was a fairly powerful evil. It lashed out with tentacles (or so they said) and four “converted” Spared also converged on the party. When it lashed out, those close to it, in a single round, were left moderately hurt, but considerably weaker. And they found themselves without spells they’d had just moments before.

For my part, I had not gotten within range of its tentacles. I used chain lightning to light up as many baddies as possible. Then a fireball .. and that’s all we had time for. Others had slammed it with a flamestrike, and channeling against undead, and some very sharp, hasted swords.

It had turned into a mist and disappeared through a crack in the ground, but a little passwall from Sabin and an accurate sword from Avia, made it dead for good.

Now that it was dead, we carefully ascertained it had possessed

<

p style=”padding-left: 30px;”>[1603] Bracers of armor +3
[1604] Ring of invisibility
[1605] another sihedron ring

We caught our breath for a moment, but there were a couple of loose, undead Spared still about, and we’d need to clean that up. But this bad was gone, and that would likely make the others seem like child’s play.

Hmm. How long ago was it when knee-high goblins was decidedly NOT child’s play?

 

== Toilday, Lamashan 21, 4708; Xin Shalast; evening ==

Sabin and I made good use of the remaining daylight with a Dimension Door to pop out down the road past the giant sentries. We huddled behind the boulders at the base of the cliff and peeped out at the city below, embraced in the arms of the surrounding mountains. These arms had not been as protective as the founders of Xin Shalast had no doubt intended, and a landslide from the collapsing eastern valley wall had covered nearly a quarter of the city. Glaciers had entered the breach and further buried this sector in a jumble of ice and rock.

We could see the causeway that Sabin had spotted the previous evening with an Arcane Eye, but now more details were visible. Even though the main road of the city was built upon a rampart, the surrounding buildings towered high above it, making it appear as a river of stone carving a deep chanel through high cliffs of immeasurably tall towers.

The architecture seemed odd, although at this distance we could not pinpoint just what seemed off about it. Another Arcane Eye provided the missing detail: each structure was built upon the remains of another. Some of these earlier remains were simple ruinous jumbles of massive stone work, but others were solidly built foundations that still held themselves up proudly beneath the weight of a new tower or hall, which itself was holding up yet another, and so on. As a result the city had grown ever upward through the ages in a reckless race toward the sky.

The causeway ran through the city, and following a dog leg to the west it reached the base of Mhar Massif, where it began to climb in a series of large steps.

The likeness of Karzoug had been carved into the side of the upper reaches of the mountain. His face was set with a perpetual frown as he glared out upon his city with a greedy expression that neither time nor the elements had managed to soften.

The scale of the city’s buildings increased towards the mountain, a trend that continued as the causeway became a stairway and climbed up to Karzoug’s face. Here the structures became more sparse as the dense clutter of urban life was left below, but they became more ornate and grand, clustered around large estates or temples.

The stairs ended at a plateau beneath Karzoug’s stony chin, where spires reached upward to staggering heights, dwarfing even the massive towers in the city below.

From where we hid we saw signs of habitation: tendrils of smoke rising from chimneys, laden wagons crawling along the roads, and giants walking to and fro. Through his Arcane Eye Sabin also spotted many forms of lamia and other creatures of types not familiar to us. Whether these were survivors from the original downfall of the city, or servants returning in answer to the call of their long lost lord, it was apparent that the city was rising from the ashes in preparation for Karzoug’s return.

Making our way through the city undetected would be challenging should we opt for that route. However, we did notice that the stairway leading up the mountain was unused, and the building complexes on either side of the stair seemed deserted.

Sabin and I returned to camp where we quietly discussed our options for the next day, provided Trask returned from Korvosa with most of his spells intact.

== Wealday, Lamashan 22, 4708; Xin Shalast; evening ==

Trask returned with Rigel and Nolin soon after breakfast, and although there were a few comments about how much more difficult fathers could make things by second guessing and offering unwelcome advice, his Teleport worked after only a few tries.

There was no need to wait around, and so after judicious use of the wand of Endure Elements, I cast a couple of Windwalk spells and we were flying over the causeway at a healthy height. We swooped over the city and then flitted up over the ancient steps, and veered off to land (and solidify) near Karzoug’s cheek.

I estimated that we were at around thirty thousand feet in elevation, and thanked Pharasma for the foresight she had given us to obtain artificial means of breathing. Even so the thin air was bitterly cold and had an unpleasant, almost sulphuric, tang.

We saw three building complexes upon the plateau: two perched on lower ledges, and one — the primary one — above. I say primary because there was no doubt that this was the apex of all of Xin Shalast: a huge circular building coated with a thick rind of ice, out from the center of which rose a spire of mind numbing height.

The crazy thing was nearly half a mile high!

Karzoug had to be in there, and so Sedjewick cast Detect Secret Doors, and we resumed gaseous form and swept down toward the spire. But we flew into some form of energy field that provided resistance to our progress. The field yielded as we pushed into it, but the resistance did not fade, and it induced a feeling of vertigo that worsened as we progressed.

Suddenly we were engulfed by a pulse of sound, which inflicted an intense wracking pain. In a flash I glimpsed scenes from an alien world of blasphemous creatures and towers with walls that intersected at impossible angles, but the experience was mercifully brief.

Sedjewick had not fared so well. He had been stricken blind with shock, and had dropped to the ground as he transformed into solid form in a panic.

Kane was already moving down to his aid, and so I turned my attention to the others.

Sabin, as it turned out, had stopped as soon as we encountered the energy field and reached the ground to resume physical form. He became an anchor for the rest of us to focus upon, and so I sped towards him, as did Avia.

Once there and solid, I called out to the others to get the out of the energy field as soon as possible.

Nolin and Rigel had left their gaseous forms next to Kane, who had cast a powerful Heal spell on Sedjewick. They sprinted full tilt towards us, with Kane pulling out a wand of Lesser Restoration as he ran.

Finally we all gathered together, crouched behind a snow covered boulder, when Avia turned to us and said,

Now, how do you like my toys? You come to my home to play, now it’s time to pay the piper!

We were all surprised, but no more so than Avia. I could tell from Status that she was not possessed, nor was she acting against her will (at least not after the fact).

For her part, Avia said she did not say those words, although she acknowledged she did speak them. An odd distinction, but I understood her meaning: someone (Karzoug) was using her to speak.

We found this disturbing, and wondered if this was caused by the energy field. Detect Magic showed a massive dome of abjuration energy surrounding the spires, and I then remembered Vraxeris’ journal where he described an “occlusion field” protecting Karzoug at Xin Shalast. He had also stated that as long as Karzoug’s runewell was active, no one would be able to get past the field.

Could this have been a reference to the magical pool at Runeforge we used to recharge our wands? If so we may have been feeding energy to Karzoug without realizing it.

But the others remembered another runewell — this one for Alasnist — located beneath Sandpoint, and so they theorized that Karzoug’s runewell could be in the city proper below.

We needed a safe place to retreat and decide what to do next, and so we once again took to gaseous form and followed the stairs down to a set of buildings beneath the plateau and above the city, where we could keep an eye on both.

We appeared to have chosen an abandoned manor of some city noble from ages past. The main chambers and furnishings indicated that the inhabitants had been human sized, but the tall ceilings and massive doorways indicated that they had used giants as servants.

We searched the house for anything useful that might tell us about Xin Shalast, or possibly even mention a runewell. The walls were decorated with murals depicting life of the city when at its zenith, but all followed the same motif: Karzoug’s craggy face staring down from the mountain as armor clad warriors and giant servants carried loot up to the spires.

I did find a map of the city in a desk, which I have taken and updated with what we see of the city now. It is marked with the names of the various districts, and it turns out we are using the “Rising District,” where the city elites once lived, as our hideout.

Going from room to room we passed by an archway through which I felt the heat from my body being sapped. We cautiously looked into a large pillared hall, and saw curled around a far column a giant worm. Awakened by our warmth it opened its maw and sprayed a cone of snow and ice, catching all of us in an arctic blast.

Sedjewick fell to the floor, his life quickly ebbing away as Sabin used the Dimension Door trick to place himself, Nolin and I next to the worm. Rigel vanished and Trask set off a sizeable fireball on the far side of the worm — the explosion sent a momentary wave of hot air our way, which felt good, but the worm screamed and writhed in agony.

Kane ran to Sedjewick and used Breath of Life to revive him, while Avia raced by to get within striking distance. She was rewarded with a nasty bite, but in turn she carved a large chunk of flesh from its side.

The worm then slumped beneath an onslaught of Nolin’s mighty slashes, but rather than die peacefully the thing exploded, splashing us with a frigid goop that bit into flesh like icy acid.

Everyone needed healing — especially Sedjewick — and after we had recovered from this unexpected encounter we looked through the remains of the worm. It had eaten someone and the remains of a humanoid corpse was mixed in with the beast’s entrails. Using Create Water helped clean away the worst of the gore, but the water quickly froze, although the worm guts did not.

The partially digested figure was wearing a skull shaped mask (made from bone), plus a ring.

[1601] skull mask: once per day (if worn for an hour) the skull can be sent to fly and touch a foe, bestowing a Finger of Death effect upon its target

[1602] sihedron ring: a gold ring set with seven black sapphires in the shape of a sihedron rune +3 deflection bonus +3 resist bonus for all saving throws Endure Elements is always in effect As a standard action the wearer can change the appearance of their armor to be that of any other (Sedjewick)

We drew lots to see who of the interested among us would get the ring, and Sedjewick won. The skull mask sounded useful, and I was tempted to wear it, but it has too much the look of undead for me to feel comfortable with it.

We found nothing else of interest in the manor, and so we set up camp in a chamber with two windows overlooking the city.

Looking down we could see an alarming number of giants and lamia walking about. We also saw armored figures (of all kinds) patrolling the city. But worse were the giants riding enormous crab like spiders. Sedjewick said they were crag-spiders: fell beasts the runelords had bred for servitude.

From here, and using the map as a guide, Sabin sent out an Arcane Eye in an attempt to find Karzoug’s runewell.

His first stop was a temple with onion shaped domes and slender fluted towers. Thassilonian runes proclaimed this place to be “The Temple of Divine Consumption,” and sihedron symbols were carved on the walls, plus a massive statue of Karzoug stood (possessively) in the center. Like most of the other structures in Xin Shalast, the temple was constructed upon the remains of an older building. Within a lamia priestess was busy with clerical work.

Temples surrounded this first one, but virtually all were in a ruinous state, including a temple to Lamashtu.

Next Sabin moved the Eye over to a huge building across the causeway from the temples. While smaller than the gigantic building atop the mountain, its size was still mind boggling. It was a huge coliseum built in the shape of a sihedron rune. Within was a large arena beneath domed ceiling with crystal skylights. Seven towers surrounded the dome, each representing one of the seven sins, with Greed facing the likeness of its counterpart carved upon the mountain.

Surrounding the arena within were seats for 150,000 spectators that rose up from the floor (walled and designed for combat). Box seats were provided to keep the city elite isolated from the rabble, and in one of these boxed sections was a tall cricket like creature.

The thing stood erect on two large legs and paced about as if it were restless or impatient. It then kicked open a door leading below and walked out, and soon returned holding a magical spear glistening with frost.

We wondered about this creature: was it held captive and forced to do combat for its masters’ entertainment? Could it be a potential ally?

But there was no sign of the runewell, and so Sabin took the Eye to a large race track nearby. Unlike the coliseum, this was mostly a ruin and the south end overgrown with brush. Near the entrance was a giant statue of a giant being gored to death by a mastodon. Lovely. Some sort of huge creature peered out from the shrubbery.

The Arcane Eye expired, and we decided to take advantage of the remaining time on the Windwalk spells to tour the city personally.

We wafted south over the Temple Row where we saw many temples devoted to many deities (including Desna), but as we had seen earlier, most were unused ruins.

The Jotenburg District had the most buildings with huge features, which were obviously intended for giants. A military base perched on a ridge above and was accessible by a ramp. Giants walked around the fort and crag spiders moved about restlessly in their corrals.

We passed over the Artisan District and approached the southern end of the city, which was guarded by a black fortress. Winged lamia guarded this area, and so we gave it a wide berth, cruising instead over the landslide and ice flow which covered what once was the Slave District.

We returned to our camp to keep watch and wait for the next day.

Our plan was for Kane to pray for the Find the Path spell in the morning, and then use it to find Karzoug’s runewell. Casting the spell he would then lead us about in gaseous form, zeroing in on the well’s location.

If this fails, then we will need to descend into the city and explore on foot.

In this quiet time my mind wandered over what had happened to us up on Mhar Massif, and how this pointed out the awesome amount of power Karzoug must wield. And why had he selected Avia as his voice? We have managed to convince ourselves that this we a message set as part of a trap, and that Karzoug is not actually aware that we are here.

It is a comforting thought, and I can almost believe it… almost. I fear we have alerted him to our presence, and we need to keep a low profile for a while and not draw more attention to ourselves until the last possible moment.

As darkness descended lights sprang up from around the city. Suddenly a bright arc of lightening flashed out from the fort, and a dragon took wing and flew into the night. Great. We can handle a dragon, having battled two already just to get this far, but add that to a city full of armed giants, plus spell casting lamia, crag spiders and who knows what else is lurking in this place and you get what amounts to impossible odds.

Stealth is not just our best option, it is our only option.

For now we are relaxing over a hot meal magically prepared so there is no risk of a fire giving us away to prying eyes.

== Oathday, Lamashan 23, 4708; Xin Shalast; morning ==

We were almost all awake at dawn when Kane alerted us to the noise of something scuttling over the rocks near our windows. A careful look showed two curious crag spiders who had been out looking for something to eat, and then came upon the scent from our camp.

They slowly crept up to us and peered in, but we were ready for them. I used Destruction to, uh, well, destroy one, and Avia and Sabin killed the other with a flurry of blows.

This intrusion into our rest period means a delay of four hours before setting out, but we can make good use of this time, and both Kane and I still need to pray for the day’s spells.

== Oathday, Lamashan 23, 4708; Xin Shalast; mid day ==

Finally we were all rested and awake and ready to go, and so Kane cast Find the Path and concentrated on the whereabouts of Karzoug’s runewell. It was apparent to onlookers that the casting was not going well, and after making a grimace that for some odd reason reduced Rigel to a near hysterical fit of laughing (couples!), Kane said the spell had failed.

So we had to do things the hard way, and our first stop, via Windwalk, was the coliseum. We flew in and made for the corner where Sabin’s Eye had seen the cricket creature earlier. He was still there, but he was not alone. Four dread wraiths were keeping him company, and we soon discovered that he was not their prisoner.

Cricket looked rather bored and after a while he called out in a commanding voice, “Come forth from the pit, I summon you.” Only he was speaking Abyssal, and what he summoned were two bone devils! “I am bored,” he called down to the two devils that had appeared in the arena, “fight for my entertainment.”

So much for being an ally! Kane and I deduced that Cricket was in fact an ice devil — a powerful and particular nasty foe.

While we are not ones to shy away from ridding the world of beings like this, there is a time and place for everything, and it was still time to be stealthy. We drifted over to a box far away on the adjacent side of the arena and materialized so we could (quietly) discuss our next steps.

I wondered out loud if we should start at the entrance of the city, by the fortress, and work our way toward the mountain like any other arrival would.

Others worried (and rightly so) that this would increase the chance of being discovered, and perhaps we should concentrate our search around the Entertainment District, where we currently were.

And then, much to our surprise, we heard a soft voice from just outside the door of the box, meekly saying in Thassilonian, “My lords, I would speak with you.”

The door to the box was open, but we had a hard time finding the owner of the voice, even though he was standing right at the doorway. He was humanoid in shape and size, although a bit lumpy, but his skin was perfectly tinted to mimic the wall behind him — even the shadows matched.

He repeated, more urgently this time, “I must speak with you.” He then gestured for us to follow him.

Either we had been discovered and this was of trap, or he was a potential ally (to make up for Cricket being evil and all). Either way our best bet was to follow him quietly and see what might come.

Out in the hall he whispered excitedly, “My people have been awaiting your arrival for centuries, and now you have come!”

I asked if there was a safer place than this to talk, and he nodded and walked to a nearby stairwell.

We moved as quietly as possible through the coliseum and worked our way into the dimly lit rooms beneath the arena. Our “friend” moved in a furtive way that was dead silent, and as the environment around us changed, so his skin changed to match it, making him altogether difficult to follow.

Through a grate, which he carefully opened and then closed behind us, we found ourselves in a crudely carved tunnel in the rock. Down we went, and I believe southward, as the tunnel zig-zagged and intersected other tunnels leading off into the darkness.

My new goggles allowed me to see well enough in the pitch darkness, but eventually our guide claimed it was safe enough for light, and so we brought out ever burning torches to light the way.

He was more at ease down here, and more willing to answer my questions.

His people called themselves the “Spared,” and they had been the slaves of Xin Shalast. When disaster struck, and the city met its doom, their diety, Mesmina, saved them by leading them to the tunnels beneath the city. Since then his people have carved more and more tunnels, creating a network of access holes into the city, from which they could watch their old enemies return as the city began to come back to life.

His name was Margive, and he was out on just such a scouting mission when he saw us.

Mesmina had said that some would come to save the Spared and lead them out of Xin Shalast to safety. This prophesy was recorded in a mural in their dwelling space, “And,” he said with unconcealed joy, “here you are: the ones foretold in the prophesy!”

The Spared had done well to survive for millenia, carving their network of tunnels, and visiting the city to obtain what they needed to live. But their source of salvation was also the cause of their downfall.

Several decades past, an excavation of a new tunnel broke into a large chamber filled with crypts. They closed up that tunnel, but something came through, and that something had been taking the Spared to do its bidding. Now the tunnel was open again, and more and more of the Spared were being taken. Once they were captured they ceased to be of the Spared, and became servants of the unseen beast (“Oh, yes, it is quite invisible.”).

“They hunt for it. They kill for it. Soon there will be no more Spared. But now you are here to save us.”

He stopped, as he said this, and gestured at the wall of a chamber we had just entered. There was a mural painted on the wall with adventuring types — it is amazing how little the gear changes over time — and the figure he pointed to as being Mesima was dressed in the robes of a cleric of some now lost goddess of runes.

“You will kill the unseen one and save the Spared just as Mesima promised.”

While the Spared seemed like unusual allies, they were the only ones we were likely to find. Their knowledge of the tunnels and the city would provide invaluable. And even if they could be of no service to us at all, we could not let this unseen, undead (clearly) horror run free among them.

We asked Margive to lead us to the chamber of the crypts, and soon we were standing near the entrance to a large room. “In there, in there!” he whispered, and skulked away back down the corridor.

We cast a few protective spells and entered the chamber. It was large with steps leading up to a balcony at the far end, and pillars held up a lofty ceiling. In the center was a dias upon which was a throne, and seated there was a skeleton.

Four ex-Spared (unspared?) were standing about the room.

Sabin shouted out, “Oh shit, it’s big!”

“Beware me sitting on my throne, I will destroy thee!” boomed a voice in Thassilonian.

The skeleton was not big, and so I assumed Sabin was able to see an invisible foe, and so I cast True Seeing and described to my companions what I saw and where it was, uh, hovering.

It was big. In fact it was a huge spherical beast with a multitude of tentacles waving menacingly about. Its eyes were blood red and its beak like mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth. And it was between us and the throne.

Trask hasted us, and Sabin applied the usual Dimension Door tactic to move Avia, Nolin, he and myself next to it. Avia and Nolin whacked it hard… when they could hit it.

It then hit us. All of us within reach of those deadly tentacles suffered horrible energy draining damage as it struck out. Worse, the unspared entered the fray, and they too wielded a negative energy attack with deadly purpose.

Kane and I both channeled energy, but not to heal, and three of the unspared turned to mist and flitted through cracks beneath the stairs.

Meanwhile we pressed our attack against the invisible beast, and soon it too turned to mist, which fled to beneath the throne.

Avia toppled the throne and Sabin hacked away at the dias with his adamantine ax, revealing a stone floor with slits leading deep below.

Trask killed the remaining unspared while Avia stared down at the cracks and said, “It’s down there!” Sabin pulled out a wand of Passwall and created a vertical tunnel most of the way down, into which I jumped and used Stoneshape to pull the rest of the rock up and away.

There, huddled down in a chamber below, staring back at me, was the tentacled, vampire-like creature. A moment later and Sabin, Avia and Nolin had reduced it to (invisible) sticky goo.

Some of us turned our attention to hacking through the stairs and dealing with the unspared.

Down in the creature’s bolt hole I removed a number of useful items:

[1603] +5 bracers of armor
[1604] ring of invisibility
[1605] sihedron ring: same as above (Takkad)

Another drawing of lots and I found myself wearing the new sihedron ring.

The negative energy drain was among the worst experiences I have ever faced, and I have used Restoration on myself, but others are in need as well. Tomorrow I will pray for both Restoration and Death Ward spells.

Now that the threat of the undead horror has been removed we need to seek out Margive.

Although we would have to wait until the next full moon we decided to go back to the area today to see if we can find the spot. Around the frozen lake/swamp we search in a unsuccessful attempt to figure out the path to Xin Shalast. Breathing was difficult and it was clearly draining away our strength. Luckily for us rope trick provided relief from the thin air. After spending the day and part of the evening trying to figure out how to find the way we decided to leave.

Trask attempted a teleport but found that it failed. A quick test with dimension door pointed out that there was something blocking teleport out of the area, the same thing likely would prevent teleport back into the area. Since wind walk was gone we decided to each use our own method to get down the mountain. I glanced over to kane and just said “you coming?”. I later found out that the others were still deciding on the best course of action. After the rest of them caught up with us several miles down river we had discovered that Nolan and Rigal were missing. We made it back to the frozen lake again and discovered the two of them trying to get warm and greatly affected by the thin air. Trask created a rope trick and we waited until morning to try once again to get out with a full range of spells. Even with wind walk we looped around a couple of times. We decided that we would all watch and follow Takkad out so that we make sure we are all together. We found a good place nearby for a teleport spot outside the crazy confusion area.

Now that we have scouted the area we have decided to come back the day before the full moon. Most of us have decided to get magic items to help with the breathing. The ioun stones were very expensive and I now feel very poor. Luckily Takkad was kind enough to buy me the focus for “sign of Wrath”, a loan. With time I was able to learn a number of new 6^th level spells. Given the lack of funds I had to skip over spells that require the purchase of expensive focus to cast or require expensive materials. Although I could not pass up the spell true seeing even though I cannot afford the 250gp for the spell material. Instead I created 5 scrolls of Blood Money and have to hope that Takkad and Kane are willing to heal the damage and restore the lost point of health. I have determines that I can use Blood Money once for materials less than 500gp without affecting combat abilities. Given the Karzoug’s fondness for transmutation I have made a point to make sure to learn stone to flesh. Trask should still have the scroll so this will make it so that two of us have the ability just in case. The domineering weapons will protect us from 3 attempts to harm us with transmutation so this should just be a backup plan.

With all of the previous scouting the teleport back to the spot just down river of the lake was easy.  >From there we once again Wind walked back to the lake early in the day so that we would have plenty of time before moon rise. Takkad chose to sustain from food for days before moonrise to ensure that at least one person was in the proper state of mind. Turns out that he was able to see the path outlines by the moon light where as the rest of us could not. We found out later that true seeing would have also shown the path. Our new half naked friend was somehow getting information about us from her fey cousins down in the swamp. I clearly don’t understand these fey folk but she guided us down the path until the path narrows into an obvious trap point. Off in the distance we could see what looked to be fire light coming from a cave. Arcane eye showed that the cave was occupied by a group of giants and further checking of the other side showed another group of giants. It looks as if this is a great spot to throw/drop large rock onto anyone that dared to pass. Moving on down the road I found Xin Shalast. The glow of the fires in the city indicated that there are numerous creatures in the city. I could not tell if there are hundreds or thousands in the city. It could also be that they have every burning torch’s so it looked heavily occupied. About this time the arcane eye ended so I was not able to get into the city.

Rigal and Nolan had decided to not purchase magic items to help with the thin air so Trask took them back to the city so that each of them could purchase a necklace of adaptation.  This should have been a quick trip but Trask used up all of his available spell slots trying to successfully teleport to the city and back so they had to stay in the city over night. I don’t want to wait until morning we should be pushing forward but here we are waiting for there return. I have invisibility plus dimension door/teleport that I could use today so maybe I should scout ahead, find out some information. I could be back before the other return. But Karzoug may actually know that we are here so we should keep together.

5 Lamashan, Sunday

So at long last, we decided to forego further testing of our thermal fortitude and leave the higher latitudes behind. We teleported back to the library to “prepare”.

Really, all we needed to “prepare” was to get a good night’s sleep and remember some spells. Well, I think Takkad did want to go to Magnimar to buy some goggles of darkness, and Sedgewick picked up some special crossbow bolts. Myself, I felt pretty prepared. But then Avia decided she wanted to get one of the whirly stones, and Takkad also wanted to talk to the mayor. Nolin said he was interested in going too, so I agreed to teleport everybody there tomorrow.

6 Lamashan, Moonday

What a delightful day at Magnimar. We soooo yanked Takkad’s chain. I think to properly record this, I will need to write it as though it were written as a prophecy. Ahem …

And it shall come to pass in those days, that the Wandering Man, the Master of Fire, Her Lady of Holy Pain, He Who Shatters Doors, and the Illustrator shall come together in the City of Lesser Glamor. And while they shall arrive as one, they shall depart as many. For it is said that Her Lady and the Illustrator shall seek out the Stones of Whirliness, and though they be scarce, they shall find them with but a wee bit of searching. And yea, the Man of Wandering shall see through the Darkness, and both he and the Illustrator shall find cold iron to thwart their enemies.

And as a group they shall seek audience with the Leader of the City of Lesser Glamor, but lo, they shall desire two different Paths.

One Path, the path of Light, shall require camaraderie, bonding, and demonstrations among peers before finally consummating in arriving at a time with which to confer with the Leader. And much merriment shall be had before the Meeting.

But the other Path, the path of Dark and Haste and Avoidance of Camaraderie, shall also be proposed. And there will be those who strongly desire one Path over the other, and those who Could Care Less. Yet both Paths cannot be taken; one must must be taken while the other is discarded.

And only one among them can return all of them to their origins, and he shall favor one Path over another.

And it shall come to pass that after the moon has risen, a Message shall arrive on the wind to the Wandering Man, seeking his whereabouts. And he shall reiterate again, out loud this time to the Shunned Mage, that the Path they are taking is not one of his choosing, and shall wonder Out Loud if others have Lost Their Minds.

Upon receiving this communication, the Shunned Mage shall make himself present, thus choosing one Path but avoiding the Desirable One, and shall directly and summarily return himself, Her Ladyship, and the Aimless One to whence they’d come, leaving the rest to their Path. Using Foul Magic, the Leader shall be informed despite the possibility of Great Camaraderie.

And so a Meeting Time for the following day shall not be made, and the remainder of the group shall return very late in the Evening but full of mirth and song.

Thus endeth the prophecy.

7 Lamashan, Toilday

It turns out that while we were in Magnimar the previous day, Kane had asked some questions of Desna and one of them was to learn whether fasting was really necessary to discern the path to Xin Shalast. And the answer was, no, it wasn’t. Takkad was curious, though, as to whether it made a difference and decided to fast beforehand anyway as an experiment.

Having acquired, we thought, all we needed we teleported to the cabin in the morning, and then used windwalk to make our way upstream. The wind did increase, but although it slowed us we still made progress much faster than walking would be. We found what we believed to be the tributary Ava, and in short order we did indeed see a tall and beautiful waterfall. If we were walking or boating, it would present a formidable obstacle, but in gaseous form we traversed it easily.

Finally we came to what seemed to be a frozen lake which seemed to be the source of what seemed to be the river. If you’re detecting some skepticism, you’re very perceptive. Increasingly, it seems, things are not what they seem.

As we solidified at the short of the lake, two things quickly became apparent to us. It was indeed very cold, and the air was indeed very thin. Endure elements had been cast on all of us, so the cold was noticeable but not dangerous, but few of us had any means to breathe when air was scarce. I noticed that one got tired more easily, and seemed to have less endurance or stamina at this altitude, and I realized that it might be prudent to obtain some magical means to improve upon this.

The lake, it turns out, was actually a marsh (but still frozen). If one walked carefully out on the fairly clear ice, one could see that sometimes the bottom was mere inches away while other times it was measured in feet. At this altitude, there wasn’t the usual collection of marsh grass and plants, and certainly there didn’t seem to be any animals or life. Instead, I observed that there seemed to be some fungi and lichen growing here.

Takkad cast True Seeing and went looking around the lake in windwalk form to cover as much ground as possible, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

It occurred to me that one way around the thin air problem might be a rope trick. And it turned out that worked very well – we waited for Nolin and Takkad inside the rope trick, a bit cozy but at least comfortable.

I thought it was just myself, but in talking with the others I found that when outside, there was also this growing unease, like something was wrong or out of place. It wasn’t so strong as to be distracting, but was apparently real, nonetheless.

Takkad tried a number of other things, including using a rock to simulate a moon, and asking the peacock quill for clues (it basically said, “you’re in the right place; wait for the moon”). Having learned pretty much everything we could (or so we thought), we decided to teleport back to the library and come back the night of the full moon.

But, um, it failed. Something was resisting me, and a couple of attempts to teleport back to the library failed. We decided to make our way back to the place below the falls and try again from there. And when we’d made it below that big falls, we found the feeling of unease was no longer present.

Unfortunately, neither was Rigel nor Nolin. We weren’t quite sure when we’d lost them, but looking around, we realized they were not with us.

Since windwalk had expired, I cast Fly on myself and flew back to look for them. I was worried that something bad and evil had happened to them, and since Fly doesn’t last nearly as long as windwalk, I needed to recast it a few times. But it still took about 45 minutes, and when I found them they were right back at the lake, sitting around a fire they’d built. They insisted that they’d followed us faithfully, except for some reason they’d ended up right back where they’d started.

This feeling of unease appeared to be more than a feeling. Whatever blocked teleport also appeared to confuse direction. Another thing to make finding Xin Shalast a challenge!

The rest of the group arrived within an hour.

We decided to spend the night in a rope trick while recovering our various spells, then start anew in the morning. Just for grins, I kept trying to teleport out, and finally succeeded! That proved it was possible, if difficult. From the library, I then tried to teleport back in … and that used up all my fifth AND sixth level slots before succeeding. So again – it was possible to teleport in, but by no means a sure thing. Sabin determined that dimension door, which covers a lot less ground, seemed to work okay. Maybe because it stayed within the “field” we seemed to be in.

8 Lamashan, Wealday

Takkad windwalked us all again, and led us down the mountain. Or seemed to. He actually led us to another mountain nearby – quite certain the whole time that we were heading in the right direction. He tried again only to lead us north of the lake. The third time I tried to lead us, and it seemed to work. And once the unease was behind us, teleport worked reliably, and we all made it back to the library.

Kane and Takkad talked about intersecting planes being a reason for the disorientation, but I quickly lost track of the points they were making. It apparently was enlightening to the two of them and the rest of us just found other stuff to do. We have until 21 Lamashan before the full moon, so there’s plenty of time for discussion, or research or whatever. Or acquisition — I think a Necklace of Adapation might help considerably with the breathing issues.

Takkad seems less eager to teleport with me to Magnimar, but does also want to obtain some sort of breathing aid. Rigel and Nolin feel they’ll be okay.

20 Lamashan, Moonday

Since my last entry, Kane and Takkad obtained whirlistones that let them breath. Expensive buggers, but they were already wearing amulets or necklaces so they couldn’t use the cheaper alternatives. We also bought three rods of extension, which can make spells last longer.

Armed with portable air, we are ready to return. So we teleported to the five mile point, assumed windwalk form, and made our way back to the lake. I created another Rope Trick for us to wait in, and we wait. Every now and then a couple of us would go down and look around, but, well, nothing.

Finally the moon rose above the mountain peaks around us and shone on our area. And still nothing had changed … but wait. Takkad claimed he could see a trail – path, really. It looked like the river Ava had an old bed that was now clearly visible … to him and him alone. Maybe fasting wasn’t necessary, but clearly some sort of distress somehow aided this vision.

With Takkad as our guide, we proceeded ever higher and ever more north up the mountain.

We were only a mile or so north of the lake when we came upon a fallen tree, and a young lady, naked, sitting on the fallen tree. Sedgewick tried to address her in Thassalonian, but she looked at him strangely. Her ears suggested she might be elven, but Avia thought they were the wrong shape. I stepped up and asked her, “Do you live here?” (yes) and “Do you like visitors?” (ok).

Turns out she understands common fine, but not Thassilonian. She is an ice nymph, and a druid. She knows of us from our experiences with her cousin in Turtleback Ferry. She’s willing to help us but only in a guiding sense. Her name is Svenka. She led us a ways further until we reached a 100-ft wide paved road. The bricks were golden, but a close inspection showed them only gilded, not solid gold bricks. Still, pretty ostentatious.

She pointed out the sentries, at the top of some high cliffs, and said she could go no further. Sabin used arcane eye to spy upon them and found that the sentries were cloud giants. Sending it further into the city, we discovered the ancient city had a population of hundreds, maybe thousands. So far as we knew, this could represent a substantial defending force. This was not going to be as simple as Runeforge; a little more subtlety was going to be needed.

But first, Rigel and Nolin were admitting that with 20/20 hindsight, perhaps some sort of breathing apparatus would be helpful. Since we’d pretty much exhausted the market in Magnimar, I offered to take them to Korvosa. Assuming, of course, that I could get teleport to work.

We decided to Rope Trick overnight, and with a fresh batch of spells, attempt to teleport Rigel, Nolin, and myself to Korvosa.

21 Lamashan, Toilday

It took many attempts, but I did finally get us to Korvosa. Fortunately, we could find two more Necklaces of Adaptation. Unfortunately, my spells ran out before successfully teleporting back. With a disproportionate amount of glee, Nolin suggested we stay at my parents’ overnight and try again in the morning.

It wasn’t all that long since I’d last visited, and I didn’t want to surprise them. Yet, here we were and I had to admit it made more sense to stay with them than to use money for rooms in town.

So with a heavy heart, we arrived at my parent’s door. It was easy to see that Mother was surprised at our arrival but she smiled at Nolin’s visage. How much DID they talk about last time?

My father wasn’t home at the time, but Mother hastily prepared the rooms we’d used a month or two earlier. Rigel made me nervous by repeatedly eyeing the furnishings and utensils as if she was doing some sort of mental audit. Nolin found himself a comfortable place on the patio.

It wasn’t too long before Father returned, and he was pleased to see us again so soon. For someone who essentially shoved me politely towards the door just a couple of years ago, he certainly seemed happy to see me and my friends.

“Trask!” he exclaimed. “Back again so soon? I see you brought Nolin again, and Rachel!”

“Rigel,” I said, hanging my head. “It’s Rigel.”

“Right!” he said. “So ..” and his voice dropped to a stage whisper, “you two have resolved your issues?”

“Father, there were, and are, no issues. She just couldn’t come last time. No, we’re here because I need to rest and regain some spells. The rest of our group is ..” I hesitated, “… in an area partially shielded from magic, and teleport is not always successful.”

He frowned. “Perhaps if a more experienced sorceror were to try. Where is this place? Perhaps I’m familiar with it.”

“No, Father. It’s no place you’ve ever been. It’s in the mountains in the far north.”

“Is this still chasing that Runelord thing?”

“Yes, Father, it’s related to that. But the air is very thin in the mountains, and we returned to get some necklaces of adaptation to improve our breathing.”

“So, there’s nothing I can do to help? Say, what if I came along?”

“What if you just worry about the shop?” my mother called from the next room. “You’re done adventuring; quit trying to come up with a reason to pick it up again.”

“Yes, dear,” lamented my father. “Although, I -”

“No ‘although’ about it. We have a deal, remember?”

Father gave me a look and a shrug. “Let me know how this all works out. I’ll drop you a sending from time to time.” He retired to his den, and I was left looking at my friends.

Nolin grinned and said, “I love your family!”

Rigel said carefully, “It’s never boring here.”

I rolled my eyes at them both and went to get ready for lunch. Tomorrow morning I can try teleporting us back again.

(Later)

Received a sending from Sabin. Told him I’d have to sleep and we’d try again tomorrow. Maybe they can arrange to kill the guards before we get back.

== Sunday, Lamashan 5, 4708; Monastic Library; evening ==

We teleported back to the library, which has become our defacto home base. And who could blame us for settling here? The collection of ancient volumes in library itself is useful, and it is maintained by a marvelous mechanical man who acts as part librarian and part catalogue.

All mundane ways into the complex are protected by traps (magical and otherwise), and the stacks are shielded from magical and mundane entry. We simply teleport into the hall outside, use the key to enter, and we are as safe as can be expected.

There has been some discussion about moving our headquarters to Runeforge, but while it might prove more secure then the library, access is more difficult, which makes it less desirable a residence.

In the here and present we have decided we should return to Magnimar tomorrow and pick up additional supplies and equipment for our expedition up the Ava River and on to Xin Shalast.

== Moonday, Lamashan 6, 4708; Monastic Library; late evening ==

We just spent an entire day and most of the night to buy a handful of objects that should have only taken a couple of hours.

In fact the shopping went well.

Sedjewick and I bought several hundred cold iron bolts for our crossbows — I seldom wield weapons these days, but thanks to our trip through Runeforge my weapon is Domineering aligned, which should make it useful to have on hand in Karzoug’s realm.

I also found a pair of Goggles of the Night that I scooped up at a fair price.

Avia and Sedjewick picked up some ioun stones that provided various types of protection.

Once we were done shopping I mentioned that I wanted to update the mayor with our status and current efforts (in case we should fail). Typically Sabin and I just show up at city hall and make an appointment which, given our recent contributions to the city’s prosperity, is usually soon granted.

But Nolin had an alternative: what if we were to mingle with the guardsmen and send word up through them and their captains that we had something to tell the mayor? This seemed like an inefficient way arrange a meeting, but he and Task seemed very enthusiastic about this approach, and so I reluctantly agreed.

And so we waited for the changing of the guard, and then accompanied the off shift group to a nearby pub, where the hours dragged on as Trask and Nolin regaled the inn with tales of our past glories. Sedjewick was there, and provided visual interest via illusion spells, while Avia and I sat nearby impatiently waiting for the supposed meeting with the mayor to be arranged.

Finally, near midnight, a meeting was arranged, but it was for the next day! Had we just gone straight to his office we could have already seen the mayor and been home.

Sabin used a Sending asking what was taking us so long, and after I provided a disgruntled reply, he teleported into the inn, and he took Avia and I back to the library while the others remained to indulge in more bragging.

While we had been wasting time at a pub in Magnimar, Kane had asked Desna for information about Karzoug and Xin Shalast. He discovered that Karzoug was not lawful and that Xin Shalast was on our current plane. He also found that fasting, as the Vekker brothers had done, was not necessary to find the path beyond the River Ava, but the full moon was.

None the less, I decided it would be good if at least one of us fasted as the Vekkers had, and volunteered for the position of “control subject.”

== Toilday, Lamashan 7, 4708; Headwaters of the Ava; evening ==

Some time past midnight the others returned, and by day break were rested well enough to get started.

We teleported to the Vekkers’ cabin and from there used Windwalk to continue up the Kazaron River. Some thirty miles up we came to a fork, and followed a narrow waterway left, assuming that this was the Ava. The tributary had cut a sharp chasm into the surrounding rock and mountain sides, and dropped swiftly from its lofty source high above. The water was white with frothy foam as the river flowed over boulders and faults, and plunged over sudden precipices.

Up and up we went until, around noon, we came to where the Ava flowed from a frozen lake, some sixty miles above its union with the Kazaron. We landed on a rocky shelf close to where the river left the lake, which we soon realized was really a frozen marsh. But it was a bizarre sort of marsh, and instead of reeds and sedges poking up from below, strange fungi and lichen grew.

The sky was a piercing deep blue, and it was bitter cold, but it was the thin air that caused the problems. It was hard to get enough air, no matter how deep or fast our breaths, and at times we would need to sit and rest although we had done nothing more strenuous than just stand and gasp.

There was nothing here for us except the frozen marsh, the tops of surrounding volcanic cones, an eery silence, and a growing feeling that something was not right with this place, and that we were not welcome.

Screw that! I cast True Seeing and Nolin and I resumed gaseous form and drifted around the perimeter of the marsh. Nothing. And so we resumed solid form and I cast Waterwalk (just in case) and we made our way on foot to the center of the marsh.

Despite the fungi, the marsh was like others, with hummocks of dry ground, shallow fens and deeper mires, but all covered with a thin layer of ice.

Meanwhile Trask had cast Rope Trick, and the others, except for Sabin who waited for Nolin and I to return, had climbed inside for relief from the cold and thin air.

Standing by the rope I pulled the Peacock Quill from my pack along with chartreuse ink and a fine piece of lamb skin vellum. I then penned the question,

We stand at the head of the Ava River. How much longer before the way to Xin Shalast appears?”

And in its usual discomforting way, the pen wrote the Peacock Spirit’s reply:

At the right place you are, open your way may be, yet easier your journey will be under the light of the white face.

I thought it might be worth an effort to replicate the light of a full moon, and so taking a rock with Daylight cast upon it, Sabin and I flew up and positioned the glowing stone where the full moon wood be, as Sedjewick directed us from below.

Nothing.

We decided to return to the library and wait for the full moon. But Teleport did not work the two times Trask tried to cast it, and so we used Water Walk and began the trek back down the river.

We made it down past the first large cataract when we noticed the feeling of unease had passed. But our feeling of elation was short lived when we discovered that Nolin and Rigel were missing.

We turned around and wearily climbed back up the river, while Trask flew on up ahead. We found the three of them waiting back where we started, sitting around a fungi fueled fire.

They said they were following the river with the rest of us, but at some point in time the realized they could no longer see or hear us. They continued down but wound up here instead.

I used an Ethereal Jaunt spell to see what the place looked like from that plane, but it looked like everything does while there: grey and foggy.

Trask persistently kept at using Teleport until he finally popped out and safely arrived back at the library, and he kept at it from there until he returned to us, but he had consumed a frightful number of spells for this simple experiment.

We decided to rest in a Rope Trick sanctuary until morning, and then try Wind Walk to get back out.

== Wealday, Lamashan 8, 4708; Monastic Library; afternoon ==

In the morning I cast Windwalk and led the party down the Ava. Only we landed on the side of a volcano instead. I tried again, and we found ourselves somewhere north of the marsh, in the opposite direction we needed to go.

Trask then led the way and we made it down the river some five miles, where we resumed solid form and then teleported back.

Kane had earlier suggested that perhaps the disorientation and feelings of unease were caused by the intersection of two planes. We now researched this idea and found a book on planes that confirmed Kane’s theory.

The next full moon is on Lamashan 21st, and we will return on the 20th to see what luna will show us.

In the meantime we will once again head to the city to find items to aid us with the thin air, and anything else we might find useful.

== Oathday, Lamashan 16, 4708; Monastic Library; evening ==

I began my fast today.

Over the past week we searched for items to help us out in the mountain environment.

With all of the recent encounters with different planes, I picked up tuning forks for various planes:

material
ethereal
astral
air
water
earth
fire

For Kane and myself I purchased Iridescent Ioun stones, which sustain one without air. While expensive, this purchase proved to be popular, and so we traveled to Korsovo to find another two for other party members.

Party members who did not already have something dangling from their necks purchased less expensive but equally effective Necklaces of Adaptation.

Rigel and Nolin eschewed any such precautions, but perhaps they have other means for dealing with the lack of air.

== Moonday, Lamashan 20, 4708; Road to Xin Shalast; evening ==

I awoke ravenous, as I have for the past few days, and a little light headed. Sedjewick joined in the fast the day after I started, and he too looked hungry.

We teleported to the five mile point below the headwaters of the Ava, and then used Windwalk to make our way to the marsh . Trask created another shelter using Rope Trick, but we take turns climbing down in pairs periodically to check the status of the coming night.

The moon finally cleared the surrounding volcanoes and bathed the marsh in its silvery light. And I saw a ghostly image of the river Ava from where it emerges from beneath the ice, flowing through the marsh and up a valley between two peaks.

I called to the rest of my party, but none of them could see it, and so I began walking through the marsh and then up into the mountains, with the others following behind.

The shimmering image of the old river bed led around a shoulder of one of the volcanoes and beside it was a fallen tree. On the tree was a nude elf maiden sitting on the trunk.

All of my companions could see her, and I heard Avia murmur that the maiden’s ears were too long for her to be an elf.

I could detect a strong aura of magic around her, but Avia detected no evil, which was reassuring, but we still gripped our weapons tightly.

Speaking Thassilonian, Sedjewick clumsily greeted her, but she continued to stare at us.

Trask stepped up to offer assistance, but being equally clumsy with words as our bard he barely managed to squeak out anything more coherent than, “Boobies!”

Fortunately she spoke, surprisingly using common:

“Greetings strange ones. I have heard of you before, but was not expecting to find you here, nor hear youj speaking in strange tongues. I am from the mountain fens, my realm, where I look after the plants and creatures. My name is Svenka.”

“How do you know us?” asked Sabin.

“Some time back you assisted my poor cousin in the forest dells near Turtleback Ferry, and I have heard of your kindness from her.”

She was a nymph!

Svenka looked at us with compassion and declared we would find little more than danger and suffering from the horrors that lay in wait ahead, and she suggested we go back.

We then told her of the threat Karzoug presented to all if he were to escape his realm of Xin Shalast. Svenka was familiar with Karzoug and his city, and described the hordes of giants, lamia, snowmen and other fell creatures who had flocked to his city. The River Ava itself once flowed from Xin Shalast itself, as we must have known, having followed its ancient course to this point.

She then led us up to the beginning of the remains of an ancient road, paved with flat stones with flints of gold, fully one hundred feet wide! She pointed on ahead to where the road passed between two cliffs and said that Karzoug’s centuries were posted ahead, and she would go no further.

We had done well to come this far unimpeded, and fortunate indeed to have met such a gracious guide. But Nolin and Rigel were having a hard time keeping up, and were gasping for breath. Nolin asked if the entire city of Xin Shalast was exposed to the thin air, and Svenka confirmed that these conditions were what we would find there. Nolin frowned and looked at Rigel, but said nothing.

From where were stood, hiding behind a large boulder, we could see a fire lit upon the top of the cliff to our left, but the right cliff was dark. Sabin sent an Arcane Eye up the the cliffs and found four cloud giants on either side, looking down watchfully on the road below.

He then sent the eye up the road and onto the city itself.

Whereas the full moon cast a pleasant silvery shimmering light upon the lands about us, on cursed Xin Shalast it cast an unwholesome glow of sickly yellow. Sabin described a large city spread between the feet of two volcanoes. A gigantic fortress at the near end guarded a gold ramp that led down into the city, passing through and rising again at the far end as a massive stairway climbing up the side of a mountain. An avalanche from the west had encroached upon the city, burying a quarter of it in snow and ice.

The city had clearly been built on a massive scale with towers soaring high overhead. The architectural motif was one of decadence, which still managed a sort of haughty pride despite the millenia of ruin and decay that time had wrought upon it.

Although a ruin, there were still fires from the buildings — hundreds or perhaps even thousands of them.

Getting past the cloud giants was clearly our first step, and stealth rather than force seemed our best bet for infiltrating the city beyond. But while the relative dark of night was the best time to set out, Nolin and Rigel were in no shape to go anywhere.

We have set up another Rope Trick shelter and are waiting for morning.

== Toilday, Lamashan 21, 4708; Road to Xin Shalast; morning ==

After many attempts Trask was able to teleport to Korsovo, and by the use of a Sending spell we knew that Nolin and Rigel had found a pair of Necklaces of Adaptation. Unfortunately Trask was unable to return before running out of spells in failed teleport attempts.

The rest of us are waiting around, carefully keeping watch on the land around us, and especially on the road and guards ahead. While the rest of our company should return tomorrow, it is likely that Trask will have used enough of his spells that we will need to wait another day before setting out.

And yet having our entire party at full strength is preferable to impatiently setting out prematurely.

The cold would had normally cut through the skin like a knife if not for the endure elements. Even with the magic to protect me from the cold I feel the need to get some cold weather clothing just in case. Up here on the cliff we found Karvek’s body, but it was oddly missing his feet. His angry ghost attacked us when we tried to pick up the body. At least this time the battle was quick and we were able to rejoin the party.

Disturbing howling sounds began as an odd snow storm descended on the party.  This howling seemed to be some type of magically affect as members of the party suddenly became fearful of the howling that was coming from several directions. The storm grew worse and at that moment the bard suggested that this could be the work of a powerful Druid. We decided to head back to the cabin to return the body and setup camp. Seemed like a good enough plan but sometime powerful Druids have a way of making one change plans.

The spectral brothers were once again united but in the beginning things did not look good. The brothers however seemed to be stuck in some battle of wills and it appeared that there was nothing that we could do to help the now spectral brothers. I could see the strain on Takkad’s face as he feverishly tried to find a way to free Karvek from his curse. In the end I can only assume that the external influences of the creatures were somehow keeping control of Karvek even in death.

Suddenly the howling was outside the door and I felt a chilling fear begin to take hold and then fade away. Others in the party were not as fortunate as I was and were greatly affected by this howling. If not for the great presence of Avia I surely would have been overwhelmed by this eerie howling. Kane heard what seemed to be something crashing through the window upstairs and Nolan and Takkad rush to the doorway and headed up the stairs. I was still gathering my wits about me but decided to take Avia, Kane, and the Bard to the upper cabin. There were sound the creature(s) that we assume caused the howling. Avia and I moving into the room and begin intense negotiations with the creature. After a couple of rounds of negotiation, the creature took a strong liking to Avia. The creature grabbed Avia and started to head back out the window. Takkad blocked the exit path of the creature allowing for further negotiations. Rigal provided the final hit to end the conflict with this creature. Moving Avia and Myself to the next room where the second creature was trying to take Trask out the widow. I ran out the door and around to flank the creature. Trask was able to get of a breath of fire that appeared to cause discomfort to the creature but still the creature started to fly away. I got a pretty good hit on the creaturee from my side and I think Nolan and/or Avia also landed good hits causing the creature to fall to its death. Although I am not really sure if the creature was even alive!

Down below it looks as if this was the cure for Karvek curse. Silas had been holding out on the missing pages that explained how to get to Xin Shalast. The missing pages dropped to the floor and I am pretty sure that the Bard was drooling as he picked up the pages and began to read them.

This will indeed be a tenuous journey that will require a heavy use of magic. Looking over Takkad’s shoulder I copied this from what he was writing in his notes.

• Continue traveling up the Kazaron River to the second tributary, the legendary River Avah. 

• The path is not one for the faint of heart, for there are no trails or banks, and the river boasts cataracts up to three hundred feet high. The waters of the River Avah are icy cold, but never freeze.

• Follow the river up and the air will grow thin and the sky the deepest blue, until you arrive at the ice mists. At this point you will be very near the roof of the world itself, at the River Avah’s source. 

• Here you must wait and fast until a night with a full moon. And then the remaining way will open to you.

 

== Starday, Lamasha 5, 4708; Vekkers’ Camp, Kodar Mountains; afternoon ==

Trask, Avia, Sabin and I stood atop a small shelf above a mist filled chasm and stared at the small and forlorn graveyard. Huddled against the rock face was a mummified corpse: mostly dry skin stretched over a skeleton. It was a dwarf, and the only name missing from the tombstones was Karvek Vekker, brother to Silas, who had sent us up here looking for his sibling’s remains.

Karvek had curled up before a small fire pit, wrapped in his padded armor, and died. His feet were missing, and in fact they had been burned off at the ankles. But the explanation of what had done this, or any of the other strange things we had already experienced in this place, eluded us. Even the blanket of fog and mist beneath us seemed odd… unnatural.

Sabin and I stood by the corpse and I reached down to reverently touch the remains.

And up from the eerie fog drifted the translucent figure of a dwarf dressed in padded armor. His legs ended in burned stumps, and he moaned at us through his fanged teeth. Karvek’s ghost!

But unlike his brother Silas, Karvek was an angry and hostile dwarven ghost, and his red glowing eyes glared at us as he pounced upon Avia, thrashing at her with claws and biting her.

I channeled energy around us in order to drive it off, Trask burned it with a pair of Scorching Rays, and Sabin blasted it with Magic Missiles. Avia then struck at it thrice and Karvek dissolved into the mist.

We prudently decided to return back to our companions, and so when a quick scan of the ledge revealed only Karvek’s magical armor, Sabin picked up his remains and we flew back down.

Meanwhile a disturbing howling had started off in the distance, which unsettled Rigel, Sedjewick and Trask. We landed before our comrades when another howl from a different direction split the darkness and made Kane nervous.

Kane quickly pulled out a wand of Remove Fear and used it on the afflicted.

We all then assumed gaseous form and swiftly returned to the cabin, where we returned to our solid selves.

All during this time the snow storm that had unexpectedly closed in on us earlier had steadily worsened into a blizzard. We thought we could hear angry voices shouting out at us from the wind. Sedjewick thought it could be the work of a powerful druid, and given the harm the Vekkers had done to the local environment, it was easy to believe his theory.

We entered the basement of the cabin and Sabin handed Karvek’s body to me. Silas appeared in the adjacent room, and I placed the body at his feet.

Silas looked at the body of his lost brother with tenderness and forgiveness as it disintegrated to dust. A pale wisp of smoke appeared at the spot where the body had lain, and Karvek appeared, but he was still the angry and bestial Karvek.

The two ghosts stared at one another, and appeared to be locked in a battle of wills as spasms of pain flickered across their spectral faces.

I guessed that Karvek had been afflicted with a curse in life, which followed him into death. Silas was now trying to purge him of this curse, but it was not obvious who would win this confrontation.

I had a scroll of Remove Curse available, but that required you touch the person to be cured, and Karvek was incorporeal. Various ideas quickly passed through my brain, but in the end the only thing I could think to do was cast Bless in the area, with the hope that it would somehow aid Silas.

And still the sound of the storm outside intensified and grew louder. Suddenly there was a heavy thud, as if some creature had thrown itself against the door. Nolin stepped over and stood guard there, but from the upstairs Kane heard the sound of shattering glass. Something was entering through a window!

Howls rent the air from just outside the basement door and also from upstairs. Rigel was terrified and vanished as she activated her ring of invisibility, and Kane and Sedjewick likewise looked frightened.

Some large creature began beating against the door, but Nolin had slumped to the floor with a glazed look of panic in his eyes. Trask secured the door by erecting a force wall before it, and the banging soon stopped.

At the ore chute just above Silas, where the snow had been swirling in from the grey sky, a hideous elk-like face peered in with glowing red eyes. Fortunately the opening was secured by iron bars, which the creature shook furiously before disappearing back into the storm.

Avia grabbed the wand of Remove Fear from Kane’s shaking hand and used it to calm those she could see (leaving an invisible Rigel in what I imagined to be an unstable mental state).

Nolin returned to his senses and having heard Kane declare that something had broken in through a Window upstairs, took off up the stairs with me in close pursuit.

Sabin used his Dimension Door trick to bring Avia, Sedjewick and Kane upstairs before us, and so I used my new boots and flew up to join them.

Trask remained down below for reasons of his own.

There, in a room to the south, standing by a shattered window was a huge creature with an elk’s head and a humanoid body. Its eyes glowed red and it had sharp un-elk like fangs and claws. It floated above the floor, and like Karvek its legs ended in burned stumps.

The creature immediately grabbed Avia, but she managed to escape from its clutches.

Sabin raced to her defense and hacked at it with his axe, while Kane ran into the room to the north so he could assist with healing from afar, leaving plenty of room for the fighters to work.

A second creature was crawling through the window in Kane’s room when I arrived, and I used a Flamestrike to slow it down. Kane, mindful of how the other beast easily grabbed Avia, cast Freedom of Movement upon himself and confronted the thing as it towered over him.

I could hear Nolin running up the stairs, and Trask called out “Uh, what’s going on up there?” I had no idea where Rigel was, but she was invisible, and an invisible Rigel is a valuable asset in situations like these.

Sabin and Avia slashed at their beast, but it grabbed Avia in its mouth, pinning her arms.

Nolin ran past me and into the room with Kane, attacking the beast in there with a satisfying thwack. And just at that moment Trask popped into the room, right next to the creature, which promptly grabbed him.

The creature with Avia in its jaws began to climb through the Window, and so I closed off that route with a Wall of Stone. The beast screamed and dropped Avia and then turned and hit Sabin.

Rigel appeared as a flaming arrow left her bow and struck the creature in the face, slaying it.

To the north Nolin was bashing away at the other creature, and Sabin DD’d Avia and he into the northern room to assist.

The loathsome critter pulled itself and Trask through the window when Trask breathed fire on it — a useful enough ability, but the thing still held him in its mouth.

I channeled energy to heal all those around me while Kane wished Nolin good luck.

The creature began to fly up, but Avia hacked at it, followed by a mighty blow by Nolin which felled the beast.

We cautiously listened for other intruders, but hearing none we returned to the brothers, who were still locked in mental combat.

Minutes passed, but finally Karvek appeared to slump, and then he stepped back as his fangs and claws vanished. He seemed calm and at peace, and with a parting look at his brother, he quickly faded away.

Silas relaxed and smiled as he turned to us, “My new found friends, you have saved my brother. The greatest reward I can offer you is to take my knowledge of Xin Shalast with me. But I see your destiny is tied to that evil place. Read the missing pages of my journal for what you seek.”

And with that, he too faded from view while Trask sputtered, “But, but the pages are missing!”

True, the journal we had found earlier had had several pages ripped from it, but back in the room where we had found the journal was a sheaf of torn papers: the missing pages!

I quickly read through the entry, which described the daunting path to reach Karzoug’s city.

A grueling and physical trial, even without the strange and other worldly effects. It takes great luck and skill to find, and little wonder it has remain undiscovered for ten thousand years.

And indeed the way sounded difficult.

Continue traveling up the Kazaron River to the second tributary, the legendary River Avah.

The path is not one for the faint of heart, for there are no trails or banks, and the river boasts cataracts up to three hundred feet high. The waters of the River Avah are icy cold, but never freeze.

Follow the river up and the air will grow thin and the sky the deepest blue, until you arrive at the ice mists. At this point you will be very near the roof of the world itself, at the River Avah’s source.

Here you must wait and fast until a night with a full moon. And then the remaining way will open to you.

The trek sounds arduous… at least if attempted on foot. And while currently the winds howl about the cabin, once the storm passes I wonder if Wind Walk will once again provide the means of locomotion on our journey.

Endure Elements is also a must, plus Water Breathing, just in case, and it could not hurt to have a Freedom of Movement at the ready. Perhaps we should purchase enough scrolls of these types that each of us will be protected as we travel up river.

There is some speculation about fasting and the full moon, and couldn’t we just time our arrival to coincide with that celestial event, but I wonder if we must be in a particular frame of mind to see the way.

There is little will in the group to make camp here tonight as we originally intended. Instead we will teleport back to our base at the Monastic Library and prepare for the next leg — indeed possibly the last leg on this plane — of our long journey that began so long ago.

Even now as we ponder our next steps, Rigel is repeatedly asking, “Can we leave NOW!”

Time to go.

5 Lamasha, Starday

As Sabin touched the body, several of us started to (uselessly) yell No. No is a simple word, and understood by even simple people, but it is wholly ineffective at stopping something that has already happened. I’m not at all convinced that Sabin doesn’t interpret “No” to mean “please hurry and finish before I reach you”. But in this case it made no matter – the body had been disturbed even though prudence might have had us take a few more notes or observations first.

Despite the unnatural fog, this was clearly a small graveyard. Digging in the ground here must be possible only during certain small times of the year, so it didn’t surprise me that some gravestones seemed to mark very shallow cairns, as though they were a combination of digging and rock piling.

The dwarf, which we presumed to be Karvek Vekkers, seemed to have burned off his feet (or had his feet burned off after his death). He was, at this point, a solid frozen chunk. But as he was touched, a ghostly figure rose from the body. The figure seemed to have burned-off feet, significant fangs (not simply an incidental dental issue), and glowing red eyes. He seemed unhappy that we touched the body. He randomly (I assume) attacked Avia.

Now, it seems blatantly unfair. Ghosts are translucent and you can’t easily touch them; why is it they can so easily affect us on the material plane? Shouldn’t we be as hard to discomfort as they are difficult to affect to us? I mean, simply being frightening is one thing, but shouldn’t there be a little symmetry here?? Why don’t we frighten ghosts? They shouldn’t be able to do physical damage.

Ah well, coulda shoulda woulda. Avia was indeed harmed by the ghost, taking some deep scratches as the ghost emitted an unearthly moan. But Takkad channelled positive energy into the ghost, I did some scorching rays, Sabin shot some magic missiles, and Avia gave as good as she got and the ghost quickly dissipated.

Sabin picked up the remains – enchanted armor and all – and we headed back to the cabin. While the ghost had given out a, well, ghostly, moan, now we were hearing really disturbing howling off in the distance. It was distracting, and made me nervous. Rigel, Sedgewick, and eventually Kane felt that way too … but Kane pulled out a wand of Remove Fear and the feeling left me. Weird that just a howl could do that – I’ve faced down giants and bigger and never felt terribly scared.

And – was it my imagination or was the wind picking up? I couldn’t tell if it had started snowing or it was just blowing around. The wind did seem stronger, and when I mentioned it to the group, a couple of people nodded.

By the time we reached the cabin, there was no question that the weather had changed. It was definitely snowing, the wind was much stronger, and you could hear it making noises, almost like voices in the wind. Sedgewick mentioned he thought it was possible that druids could control the weather, which really was not a comforting thought.

The wind and ice made it a challenge just to enter the cabin safely, but with care we did. We took the body downstairs to where we’d seen Silas’s ghost.

As we brought the body into the room, Silas’s ghost re-manifested. There was a look of profound sadness and .. was it forgiveness? … on his face. Then surprisingly, the body disintegrated into dust and Karvik’s ghost reappeared – fangs and stumps and red eyes and all. But this time the eyes were focused on his brother. The two seemed to be having some sort of monumental staring contest …

… as the wind increased further and made the cabin shake. There was another howl right upstairs! Rigel panicked, but Kane again zapped her with his Remove Fear wand and she settled down. Nevertheless, she became invisible, which guaranteed if she bolted again we’d never know. Sabin grimly went to mirror image and Avia cast a protection from evil. While there was nothing to fight yet, everyone was on edge.

And still the staring contest went on.

This time the howling was right outside the outside door for this room and something beat on the door. Nolin and Kane totally panicked and crouched cowering on the other side of the room. Thinking that perhaps the door was going to be busted down, I put up a wall of force across that entire wall, including the door. Anything that busted it down would find an invisible barrier.

Avia grabbed the wand of Remove Fear from Kane (he was in no condition to object) and zapped him and Nolin. Upstairs was the sound of shattering glass. Either the wind had gotten very strong, or something had broken in. I was not the only one to hear this – Sabin dimension doored himself, Avia, Kane, and Sedgewick up to the hallway. I was going to go, but decided I should stay here in case something tried to break in. Nolin and Rigel (we found later) went up the stairs. Takkad flew up the center of the shaft.

Suddenly, I found myself alone down there. And still the staring contest went on.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the team had dimension doored pretty close to the object of their hunt. A creature was there in the south room with stumps for legs, like Karvek, and glowing red eyes, like Karvek, but with an elk’s head and a humanoid body. It had fangs and claws and looked decidedly out of place in the natural order of things. And when Avia moved to close with it, as she naturally tends to do, it actually tried to grapple her. She held it off but still took some damage from its claws and teeth. These were close quarters and it took some maneuvering for Avia and Sabin to fight effectively.

And still the staring contest went on. Nervously, I cast mirror image. There was no longer any beating on the door.

This time, the creature successfully grappled Avia. It was incredibly strong. Sabin beat upon it, drawing blood. Kane withdrew slightly, leaving room for the fighters but remaining close enough to be an effective healer. That’s when the second creature – yes, a second one of these monstrosities – broke the window in the kitchen and climbed through, much to Kane’s distress. Mindful of the grappling ability, he cast Freedom of Movement on himself and prepared to do what he could to defend what had been the rear of the group. Takkad, his attention diverted to the new threat, threw a Flame Strike at it, which it did not appreciate – but it also did not do us the favor of dying from it.

And still the staring contest went on. I could hear noises upstairs. “Uh, what’s going on up there?” I yelled up. Other than the whistling wind, it was now quiet down here. It sounded like my friends needed help, so I teleported up to the kitchen.

Despite Sabin and Avia beating on the first beast, it managed to grab Avia in its mouth and turned to leave. That was it? Collecting food? or victims? Not wanting it to escape, Takkad used Wall of Stone to block off its exit. It howled in anger (but howling with your mouth full of Avia obviously mutes the full effect.)

About this time I arrived in the kitchen; popping in right next to the second beast. While it may have been startled, it adapted quickly. I tossed some lightning its way, but it was a fairly weak bolt. For its part, it bit me and tried to hold me in its mouth much like the other had with Avia. Nolin smacked it hard, but it held on. I cast enlarge person on myself, to make myself harder to hold on to. And I was, but not so large it still couldn’t wrap its maw around me.

Meanwhile, the beast holding Avia was encouraged by sword and crossbow to release Avia. Then Rigel appeared from nowhere (literally) and shot a flaming arrow in its face. Boom. Dead critter. Rigel knows how to make a good entrance. Everyone hurried into the room with the other creature.

But in the meantime, it had stepped outside through the opening it had made in the cabin and was preparing to fly off. I may have been pinned, but I still had one more trick up my sleeve. Once a day I can breathe fire due to my heritage, and this was time. I turned my head to face the beast and unleashed an upchuck o’ fire upon this creature that seemed to so embrace cold. Take that. It was MOST unhappy with me. But it was not yet dead.

It was Nolin who struck it down in the nick of time — although I have been studying magic skills which might have allowed me to cast other spells to free myself even while pinned.

Takkad spread healing all around, and life was good again. I could tell my friends were impressed with my bravery at taking on such a creature just to save Kane.

I and the others hurried back downstairs. And still the staring contest went on.

It took, literally, minutes. Karvek’s face looked less angry and more tired. His fangs and claws disappeared, and he slowly faded away. Silas turned to us and thanked us. Then he said, “If you insist on going to that place, you may find the way by looking at the pages in my journal.” He started to fade and I yelled, “Hey! But somebody ripped them out!” He smiled and as he disappeared, some pages materialized and floated out of the air to the ground before us.

Takkad and I both scanned through them.

A path described as a grueling physical trail, even if it weren’t for the strange, otherworldly influences. There is a disorienting effect. It’s easy to get lost. No wonder it’s been hidden for 10,000 years.

Continue up the Kazeron to the 2nd tributary. The River Avah is a winding route not for the faint of heart. There are no banks; only walls up to 300 feet tall. The waters of Avah are freezing cold, yet never freeze, themselves. The air grows thin, and the sky is the deepest blue. When you arrive at the ice mists, you will be very near the world’s roof itself, at the River Avah’s source. Wait and fast here until a night with a full moon. Then the remaining way will be revealed to you.

Sigh. I hope there’s a fire inside. Sounds like we’re going to get pretty cold getting there.

5 Arodus, Tuesday

Much discussion ensued about what items to get, and in what order.  We have two sources of discounted magic: Sabin, who can do weapons and armor and does it for cost, and Rallo, who will do wondrous items for 10% over cost.  The prevailing policy was we didn’t want to take “too much time” and we also wanted to give everyone fair access.  That resulted in the following ordered shopping list.

Rallo

Headband of CH +2 => +6 (Trask)       16d, $17.6K 
Belt of ST +4 => +6 (Sabin)           10d, $5.5K 
Goggles of night (Kane)                6d, $6.6K 
Winged boots (Takkad)                  8d, $8.8K 
Cloak of resistance +1 => +3 (Rigel)   4d, $4.4K 
Belt of CO +2 => +4 (Sedgewick)        6d, $6.6K 
Winged boots (Avia)                    8d, $8.8K

Total: 58d

Here was Sabin’s work list:

Sabin

Sabin's armor                     7d, - 
Kane's buckler +1 => +2         1.5d, $1.5K 
Kane's mithril shirt +2 => +3   2.5d, $2.5K 
Avia's sword +1 => +2            11d, $11K 
Nolin's sword +2 => +3            9d, $9K 
Rigel's bow (add seeking)         7d, $7K 
Avia's buckler +3 => +4         3.5d, $3.5K 
Sabin's axe +2 => +3              9d, $9K

Total: 56d

I myself also went and found magic users who could move my +2 ring of protection to +3 ($10K), my belt of CO from +2 to +4 ($12K), and my cloak of resistance from +3 to +5 ($16K).  When you include the work I asked Rallo to do, I spent a total of $55.6K on upgrades.

Rallo grumbled a bit about this being a bit much, but we took him out for dinner a couple of times and reminded him we’ve given him first crack at most of the stuff we’ve found.  Over the almost two months he did commissioned work for us, he did earn $5.8K (plus, of course, whatever else he may have sold at his shop during that time.)  He smiled, but I think we may need to bring our projects to him in a less concentrated group next time.

A few others in the party also had some work done, or picked up some pieces, on the open market.  Overall, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t make themselves a little harder to kill, or a little better at killing, and you gotta be proud of that!

12 Arodus, Wednesday

Well it looks like we’re going to have a couple of months to study, train, and/or just rest or hang out.  I offered to take Takkad to Golduria so we could see if everything was okay with the innkeeper.  And it turns out that there was a perfectly logical explanation.  When Takkad sent his message, as luck would have it, the innkeeper said he happened to be, uh, indisposed, and was unable to reply.  Takkad and I looked at each other, and I asked the innkeeper, “how was she?”  He smiled a moment, and then looked aghast and stammered, “Uh, what do you mean?”

Takkad and I took a walk around town to assure ourselves that in fact nothing seemed amiss.  Takkad told me he’d been to the Pathfinder Society the day before, looking for information about Xin Shalast, but although the place was legendary – or maybe because it was legendary – there was nothing recorded that was usable.  He mentioned Sedgewick was going to research it among the books we’d found, and that he himself would like to go talk to Quink in Sandpoint.  I was curious so I offered to be the means for that.

Upon returning, we discovered that Sedgewick had indeed found some information, but sadly, very little of it was new to us (or rather, I should say to Takkad. The man has a mind like a sponge!)

Sedgewick told us:

Xin Shalast was at the base of Mhar Massif, which lies at the headwaters of the sacred level Alph. (At this, Kane perked up.) Sedgewick continued that the river Alph supposedly led to the earthly paradise sacred to Desna. (Kane corrected him and said it was *not* “supposedly”. Just because it hadn’t been found yet didn’t mean that it didn’t exist.)

Karzoug called down unknown creatures from the sky, and had innumerable minions, and created gateways to other worlds. Karzoug’s favored school of magic was transmutation, but in excelling there he neglected illusion and enchantment. He built immense statues to guard his realm; Alaznist built Helltowers to defend hers from him. Independently, the Runelords were said to have created a means to place themselves in states of suspended animation, leaving minions behind that would awaken them when the world was in a state to receive them. It is not clear if all the Runelords were successful in this plan.

15 Arodus, Starday

Today, Takkad and I went to see Quink in Sandpoint and see if he knew anything about Xin Shalast.  At first he rambled a bit about Karzoug, and the legend, and then suddenly his eyes got big. “I have something right here, that might be useful!”  He shuffled through some papers, then scowled and looked to his left.   He scratched his chin and quickly moved to another stack of papers on the other side of the room and his scowl deepened.  “Right here, I had it – wait, oh, right now, that would be in the cabinet.”  Takkad and I looked at each other as Quink moved to a bureau/desk/armoire – it sadly appeared it might fulfill all those functions – and opened a drawer. “aHA!” he exclaimed.

“I imagine you’ve read the books of Cevil Charms, yes?” his eyebrows questioned? “Of course, Takkad, a well-read man such as yourself probably owns a personal copy of Eidolon.”

Takkad gave a small, smiling nod. “Entirely possible; my library is extensive and I recently expanded it.  It’s hard to keep track of them all.”

“Well, I too am an admirer of the man,” Quink continued, “and at one time had a significant correspondence with him.  Redwing – that’s his nickname, you know – of course you probably already know that.  The point is, he sent me a letter, a personally handwritten letter, in which he recounted a tale he’d heard about Xin Shalast.  And I just located it.  I normally have things a bit more organized, but your visit caught me – ”

“I completely understand,” said Takkad diplomatically.  “And I apologize for not setting up an appointment instead of just dropping in.”

“No no, not at all,” said Quink.  “You and I have a common interest, a common base.  Even after all these years, all these centuries, Thassilonia is what brings us to the same table!”

“Ahem, yes,” said Takkad.  “But you mentioned a correspondence?”

“Yes, yes,” said Quink excitedly.  “Here.  You can look, and you can copy, but you understand, of course, he personally signed it!  So it mustn’t leave..”

“Yes, of course,” said Takkad, absently, looking it over. I saw his eyes get big, and he handed it to me.  It said

Salutations Mr. Quink!

Thank you again for the kind words and drink. It’s always a pleasure to speak with readers of my work, especially those well-read and civilized enough to know of my writing beyond Eidolon. Alas, I was unable to procure a copy of the early draft from my personal files.  It would seem that it has gone the way of so much of my early work, lost forever to the gulfs of time and narrow-minded publishers unable to grasp the import of a young Pathfinder’s work.

Fortunately, my mind is as quick now as it was in those early days of my explorations of your fantastic homeland.  I recall the evening I first heard the story of Xin-Shalast, while seated on a log in a Varisian camp, sharing ruby mead with an enchanting young woman.  Ah, but that’s a story for other times.

mI was intrigued y the tale, though. All peoples have tales of “cities of gold,” yet with Xin-shalast, the Varisians had no tradition of explorers seeking it. They viewed the place as one of evil, a place to be feared and forsaken.  As far as I could tell, none of your indigenous people ever sought out the ruins before the advent of Chelish rule.  But there was mention, come to think of it, of two dwarven brothers. Vekker, I think their names were.  Claimed to have found the route to Xin-Shalast and convinced several tradesmen in Janderhoff to support and supply their plan to establish a base of operations in the low Kodar Mountains along the Kazaron.  Their vanishing into the Kodars bankrupted all but one of their investors, I hear, and even today, the Vekker name is generally accompanied by a litany of rousing dwarven profanity when i tcomes up in ‘Hoffian taverns.

In the stead of enclosing a copy of the early, complete draft of my work, though, please find a signed copy of Eidolon with this missive.  I trust it will look quite handsome on your shelf.

In good health,
Redwing

“As you can see,” said Quink excitedly, “we had met for dinner, and discussed some of his drafts.  At the time he’d thought he might still have them, but alas, they seem to be lost.  But he did mention this story of a dwarven expedition.”

We looked at each other.  “Thank you, Quink,” said Takkad.  “I agree, this may be valuable information.”  Ever the diplomat, Takkad spoke with him another ten minutes before we took leave of him.  Returning to the library, we waited until the others were with us and gave this news to them.  Nolin’s only reaction was, “I knew I needed a bigger weapon.”

Much of the party is now impatient for their magic work to be done.

5 Rova, Oathday

It has been several weeks since we travelled to Sandpoint, and it seemed as good a time as any to visit my parents.  A couple of the group said they’d like to accompany me to Korvosa, which shouldn’t be a problem so long as we don’t surprise my parents. So I have sent word via rather ordinary means (a letter) that I’ll be arriving today with three of my friends.  That should give Mother time to clean up the guest rooms so they are up to her standards.

I have retrieved my enhanced headband from Rallo, and also my enhanced cloak of resistance.  My belt of constitution and my ring of protection are still being worked on, but I don’t anticipate needing any extra health or any extra protection, unless it’s to prevent my mother from hovering around me or my father from requiring more details of my recent adventures.

Oddly, although I started writing this journal so that my father could one day read of my adventures, I feel now like I don’t want him to read everything I’ve written.  I think this journal will remain primarily for me, and I’ll convey summaries to my father in other ways with less editorializing.

So Takkad, Nolin, Avia, and myself arrayed ourselves at noon, and we teleported to a place I know outside Korvosa, so that we could walk in like ordinary people rather than pop in like apparitions and frighten everyone within fifty feet.  And all three of my companions agreed with my reasoning.

Although this route took us an extra half hour to walk to my parents place in the city, it also meant they got to get a better taste of the city itself.   I realize I am not objective, but I think Korvosa is probably one of the most beautiful and calming places in Varisia.  And now when I say that, I can say that having seen a lot more of Varisia.

Prepared for our arrival, we were greeted warmly at the door by both my parents.  My hopes for an uneventful visit were dashed almost immediately by my father when he undiplomatically asked, “What, did you already lose that young lady friend of yours?  I had come to like her – Rachel was it?”

“Rigel, Father.  Her name is Rigel, and she’s fine but she didn’t come along this time.”

“But it wasn’t that long ago you were here! Did you already have a falling out?  She seemed so quiet; perhaps if your mother and her had a talk …”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nolin obviously hiding a smirk, Takkad studiously inspecting a rather ordinary earthen vase, and Avia smiling broadly.  “Father, there’s nothing to .. fall out.  We’re just friends.”

“Don’t believe that,” my father said in a stage whisper. “They say that but she either doesn’t really care at all or she’s plotting something. You should -”

“Father, truly, she is simply taking some time off and resting.”

“What does she do?”

My companion’s eyes all turned innocently to me and invited me to respond so that they might bathe in my discomfort.

“She is .. an economic redistribution researcher.”  With the distraction that the momentary gape of my father provided, I turned quickly to my mother.  “Are we using the rooms upstairs?  I’ll go show my friends their rooms, then.” She nodded, still looking a little confused.

Nothing is ever easy with my parents.

6 Rova, Fireday

Dinner was uneventful and actually quite pleasant.  If it’s one thing I’ve missed in the last year and a half, it’s been my mother’s cooking.  From what I hear, they have a part-time staff to do some of the cooking now, but Mother always likes to pick up the frypan herself when there are guests involved.  (Another good reason to bring my friends home!)  We had discussed before we left that we intended to leave Sunday morning, so maybe I can get another of these home-cooked meals tomorrow.

However, we (the four of us) will go out for dinner ourselves tonight, so as not to impose too greatly on our hosts.  We invited them along, but they declined.  So we will all meet at the Leaky Roof for dinner around sunset.  (Really, it’s a nice place – it just has an odd name.)

Breakfast was late today, as we slept in a bit.  Avia wants to check out the markets, and Takkad also has some errands he wanted to run.  Nolin said that while he may spend a little time inspecting the city, he’d be just as happy to spend the day relaxing on the patio.  I myself want to go meet again with Councillor Rasok, and Father agreed to accompany me.

Ah, Councillor.  It seems I have been underinformed on the machinations of the Korvosan government.  I’ll admit, outside of knowing that the king ran the army and has a marvelous palace, I hadn’t really paid much attention to how the city was run.  But in talking more with Father on this visit, I came to learn that although Father calls him Councillor, or more precisely, “counselor” (and he does indeed participate in an informal council) his actual title is Arbiter.  He is one of the judges for the town (and the region), and the “council” he speaks of is the collective group of Arbiters.  While they hold no legislative power, they do represent (aside from royal decrees or proclamations) the judicial arm of the government and it is said that they hold some unofficial sway over the monarchy itself.

In any case, I wanted to know if his peers – if the city – wanted to be involved in this effort against Karzoug.  After my last meeting with him I was encouraged both by his knowledge of ancient Thassilonia, and that fact that it sounded like the council might be interested as well.

But the meeting was disappointing to me.   While he and Father did chat about their days together again, his conversation with me was less on point and more vacuous, at least to me.  When I raised the topic, he looked at me and said, “Honestly, I’™m still trying to wrap my head around the concept that we’re even seriously talking about this. For most of my life such tales were the sorts of things we heard as children, but it was just a fantasy story about a long-dead kingdom. I’m no scholar but I’ve done my share of reading, and I’m afraid no one I’ve spoken to has any idea where Xin-Shalast was, other than ‘it was said to be in the high mountain peaks long ago’.”

He continued, “But should you find such a place, the stories I’™ve heard of the streets paved of gold … you must bring me word of how to get there if you succeed.  I’m sure it would be in the best interests of the scholars of Korvosa to study such a priceless artifact.”  And then my heart sank when he added, “But be sure to contact only me, none other, for you must know that there are many unscrupulous men who would take advantage of you to turn this to their gain.  So work in secret and bring me news.”

Sigh.   While I don’t believe him to be unscrupulous, he is at best, mocking my – our – efforts.  On the one hand, he seems to ridicule our efforts but then wishes to be the sole one to hear the news if we do find the fabled city.   I wonder if this won’t be a common problem.  If we do find the city, it will undoubtedly  be both a lucrative and historically significant find.  How will we maintain the historical integrity of such a find without creating a garrison there?  I fear that we too will need to keep the location secret, and thus only extend its legend.  To do otherwise will doom it to looting and desecration.

Father had additional errands to run, so I returned home alone.  I was surprised, as I entered, to hear two voices from the kitchen. Nolin and my mother were talking.

“Sure, but why?” asked Nolin.

“He was adventurous.  He was … outgoing.  He was something of a bad boy.” responded my mother.  I moved a little closer, and now could see my mother, although not Nolin.  She was smiling.

“You seem different from him though,” said Nolin.  “I mean, he’s a sorceror like Trask, right?”

“Yes.”

“But you …?”

My mother smiled again.  “Not a magical bone in my body.  I handle the mundane stuff.  I can sew, I can cook, I can get tough stains out of a cotton tunic.  And Elros knows a mend spell, can conjure food and drink, and can use prestidigitation to remove stains.”

“How did you meet?” asked Nolin.

“I was working at my father’s market. I’d seen him there before, and he looked utterly lost every time. He bought things that made no sense, like two pounds of fresh fruit and a pound of salt.  Once he bought more than he could possibly carry, and he paid my father to have me haul them to the place they were staying.  Because it was a fair distance off, he offered to also buy me dinner.  I wasn’t catching on, but I’m pretty sure my father knew.”  She smiled.  “He wasn’t really interested in produce. Or groceries.  The man can plan when he puts his mind to it.”

Nolin laughed.  I don’t think I’d ever heard him laugh before.  “So he’s the brains and you’re the brawn?”

“Not at all.  I also do the books.  I keep the inventory lists. I put food in the house.  We’d have no food here at all if we left it to him.  You’d think a man who can command powerful magical energies could follow a recipe – but I swear the man would starve if he had to cook for himself.  And his magic shop would be about two months behind in its bills and billing if it were up to him.”  She paused.  “He’s impulsive.  He follows his gut.  Sometimes that’s utterly remarkable and sometimes, it’s … problematic.

“No, he’s very charismatic, and I wouldn’t change anything,” she continued, “but we complement each other.  I could not enjoy the life I’ve become accustomed to without his skills, and he wouldn’t be able to earn a living with them without mine.   He is the face of the store, and the face of the family, and the head of the household, and he fills those roles admirably. I am the chief of staff, the filter for his visitors, and the agent for his problem solving.   Not every issue can be resolved with flame, and those that cannot, fall to me.  I am confident that if anything threatened this family he would give his life to defend it. And if anything threatened him, I’d do the same.  Even if I don’t have a fireball at my disposal, I do have other weapons.”

“From what you say, I see a lot of him in Trask,” said Nolin solemnly.

I moved away.  I found the whole conversation a little disconcerting. I’m pretty sure I can cook.

And neither Father nor Mother had ever told ME how they’d met.

But then, I’m not sure I ever asked, either.

8 Rova, Sunday

Avia, Takkad, Nolin and I had a very impressive brunch prepared by Mother before taking leave shortly before noon.  I’d learned what I’d come to learn, and apparently Takkad, Avia, and Nolin had also fulfilled whatever their goals were.  Nolin kept looking at me and breaking into a grin, and I began to appreciate never having heard him laugh before a lot more.

1 Lamasha, Tuesday

Things are finally coming to a head.  Most people have their enhanced magic items back by now, although Avia’s still waiting on her winged boots.  Nevertheless, we are beginning our provisioning.  Top on the list is: what, if anything, do we want to get with our group funds?  It was agreed that in general, we’d like to get things to get us out of very dire straits.  We already have a scroll of stone to flesh, but several times now people have either almost died or been severely handicapped by demon attacks that required multiple lesser restorations.  While our priests now have the ability to raise dead and do greater restorations, they are not inconsequential spells and require substantial amounts of diamonds or diamond dust as material components.

So two major purchases were: two diamonds worth 5000 gp each, and 6000 gp worth of diamond dust.  A resurrection requires a diamond worth 10,000 gp, but Takkad’s elders assured him that two 5000 gp diamonds would also work, and that provides some flexibility in case we want to use one for “simply” raise dead.

We’ve decided to see if it is possible to contact Mr Redwing himself to see what else he might remember.  Takkad said he’d check with the Pathfinder society in Magnimar before we leave.

3 Lamasha, Oathday

Takkad talked to the Pathfinder Society in Magnimar. Mr Redwing, it seems, is on the road quite a bit.  Pathfinder, and all that.  Right now he’s believed to be in or heading for the Cheliax region.  So all we need to do is find a single person whom we’ve never met, who is 800-1000 miles away in a region we’ve never visited.

Or, translated, “we don’t get to meet Mr Redwing.”

4 Lamasha, Fireday

Some serious planning before we leave.  We decided to go to Janderhoff and pick up the trail of the Vekkers.  Chances are good that we’ll simply follow the river up into the mountains.  It will be cold, bitterly cold.  If the wind is too great, we will reach a point where we won’t be able to windwalk, so we also purchased a folding boat for 7200gp using group funds.

We can easily teleport to Korvosa, and then windwalk from there to Janderhoff.  We can talk to people and decide what to do after that. Everybody has their magic items back, newly enhanced. Rallo has been paid, and is probably happy to again take on freelance projects that pay more than 10% over cost 🙂

4 Lamasha, Fireday

We didn’t really learn all that much in Janderhoff.  We went first to the Pathfinder Society and Takkad flashed his badge or membership card or whatever.  But the representative there was kind of dour and uninteresting.  He finally retrieved an older member who could speak from (I think) memory rather than legend.  Or at least he looked like he could.  But even he didn’t have much to add to the story.

Yes, it was the Vekkers, Silas and (I forget.)

They got a large backing, but there wasn’t just one.  They came back several times, looking for additional backing.  Apparently they were mining up in the Kodars and claim to have found a path to, or an entrance to, or a way to access the famed city of gold, Xin Shalast. They brought back enough gold each time to suggest that perhaps they were telling the truth.  The mining team consisted of about two dozen dwarves at its max, but not a one of them was ever heard from after the Vekkers disappeared.  Story is that they took the investor’s money, presumably paid off or killed their crew, and took off with it.

Kane asked if there were any investors’ families still in town.  Our host harrumphed and replied, “not likely”.

What’s up in the mountains?  It’s a dangerous area. Weather’s extremely challenging, but the weather’s the least of it.  The air itself thins out and you have difficulty breathing.  The wind alone threatens to push you off every precarious ledge.  There are furry creatures that roar so loud you hear nothing else.  And so on.

We’ve decided to stay overnight here, study up on endure elements and windwalks, and wisp ourselves up the river until the winds force us to abandon that mode of travel.  If we haven’t found anything interesting yet, then I guess we unfold the boat and head upstream further.

5 Lamasha, Starday

According to our maps, Ulgin is the only notable city between here and our goal, and while it is not directly on the path, the ground below is so barren and featureless that we will head there solely to have the landmark.  It’s a town of about 5800, but our research suggests it is a place that tends towards isolationism and strangers that come to town often don’t leave.  Frankly, it sounds like a place steeped in evil.

So we reached it in just a few hours, happily flew over it, took about a 30 degree turn to the northeast and continued on. After another hour, hour and a half, we reached the foothills of the Kodars.

The Kodars are some impressive peaks, with many, I’d estimate, in excess of 20,000 feet high and some in excess of 30,000.  We flew over the Kazaron River since the info we had was that the Vekkers’ operation was on the Kazaron.  I’m not sure what we were looking for .. just something out of the ordinary.

The Kazaron met another river, and at the junction of those two rivers, as luck would have it, there appeared to be a structure. We are probably at about 10,000 feet, so a structure qualifies as “out of the ordinary”.  The structure looked like a cabin built up on a cliff, but some long, enclosed wooden appendage led down to a smaller structure some 50 or 60 feet below.  We all landed up top and materialized outside the cabin.

We were immediately struck by the fact that, yes, it was cold, and yes, the wind was blowing quite briskly.  While we were in no danger of freezing to death, it was equally true that it would be a rough camp if we stayed here.  A discussion ensued, and we thought that now that we’d landed here and were familiar with it, we could retreat back to the foothills to create a base camp, and return here by teleport rather than windwalk if we wished.  We could return to gaseous form, scout the area around the cabin, and then go back to a more safe area to discuss strategy.   If the entrance to Xin Shalast was around her, there would undoubtedly be some powerful creatures guarding it or pouring out of it, so we should consider carefully what we want to do.  Plus, the cold would be a significant hinderance were we to get injured or stuck here.

The brief stop and discussion allowed me the luxury of quickly (if painfully, because the cold really does seem to hit the fingers first) updating my journal before we head back to set up camp.

5 Lamasha, Starday

And somehow – I honestly do not know how – we went from that discussion about scouting and then setting up camp, to “hey, let’s go in”. Standing on the porch outside, Kane and Sedgewick found the door unlocked, entered, and made their way cautiously to what appeared to be the kitchen.  I don’t really know what else they may have done before getting there, because that’s when it got interesting.  We pieced together later most of what happened.

Kane and Sedgewick passed through the entryway, entered the hallway, and followed it to the kitchen.  It was apparent the entire place was disheveled and cluttered, as though either there’d been a battle or someone had ransacked the place before us.  In the kitchen, in addition to the apparently requisite destruction and clutter, they found on the wall a picture of two slightly drunken dwarves standing in front of an elk — apparently some sort of hunting picture.

And about that time, Kane found himself ravenous.  So he conjured up some food and drink – a big ole pile of it on the floor in front of him.  He and Sedgewick both dived into it, but quickly discovered it was unsatisfying.  Then they eyed each other, and realized what would really go down good.

Meanwhile, Takkad sensed, because of his status spell, that they had been put under some compulsion or spell.  Avia was the first to get to the room, and found that Kane had already drawn blood on Sedgewick, but Sedgewick had managed to make a mark on Kane as well.

It seemed to me from the noise that the other door at the front of the cabin might lead directly to the kitchen, so I went and opened it.  Sure enough, there was Kane and Sedgewick before me, with Avia coming up from behind Kane.  I was about to go in and try a dispel magic when Nolin yelled at me not to go in.  That caused me to pause a moment, and I saw Kane struggle against Avia as she bent over and grabbed him.  With her arms wrapped around him, he found it easy to bite her hand, which drew blood.  The strange thing was that rather than struggle to be free, he seemed content to gnaw on Avia’s hand.

Sort of a paladin pacifier.

Takkad took advantage of Kane’s distraction to tie him up, but it wasn’t easy.  He struggled every inch of the way.  Meanwhile, Sabin had cast a resilient sphere on Sedgewick, which simultaneously protected him from harm and stopped him from harming anybody else.

With them restrained from hurting anyone (else; Avia had her hand in Kane’s mouth until he was totally tied up!) Takkad cast Heal on Kane … and he looked muchly apologetic.  Sabin dismissed the resilient sphere and Avia was freed to cast remove curse on Sedgewick as she healed him … and he too looked a little less wild-eyed.

Kane said he thought he sensed something – no, not a thing.  Some force in the room, and did a positive channel into the room.  He immediately reported that it definitely changed … something … in the room.  That is to say, he didn’t sense anything in the room anymore. “There was a weight in the room,” he said, “and that weight is now gone.”

I’m guessing this is a priest thing, because I didn’t sense anything before, and I didn’t sense anything after either.  I think I have reasonable control over some significant magical energies, but I didn’t feel … well, whatever.  If he says it’s gone, then I suppose it’s gone.

For their part, Sedgewick and Kane said they entered the room and felt hungry.  Kane immediately conjured food and drink but one bite of that and he was sure that wasn’t what he hungered for.  That’s when Kane and Sedgewick decided to, well, eat each other.

But not anymore, they assured us.

Anyway we now understood that the disheveled state of the cabin might not be due to a battle .. or at least not due to an invasion.  If even one dwarf was so affected, it could easily have become a bloodbath inflicted upon the rest of the unsuspecting crew.  And if more than one was affected … I looked around.  Yes, that could certainly explain things.

The painting in the kitchen was indeed of two apparently sodden dwarves, standing by an apparently slain elk.  I suppose these might have been the Vekkers.

With our entire party in the cabin, the cabin seemed much smaller.  The kitchen held our would-be cannibals and the rest of our party, just barely.  To the south, the hallway led to what turned out to be a bedroom, and another western door.  To the west of the kitchen, another door led to what appeared to be a larder … and a grim discovery.

In the larder, there was a bare floor, hooks hanging from the rafters, and a window with bars on it.  That might not be too unexpected for a larder, but there was also a pile of bones.  Smallish, but thick. Rather dwarvenish.  It would appear we’d found at least part of the missing mining party.

The bedroom to the south held two beds, a chest, an iron coal bin, a crossbow, some shields, a coat, and a hooded lantern.  We decided to inspect the whole building before doing much with the stuff in the room, since folks were understandably nervous now that the place seemed to be haunted, or cursed, or something.  We quickly moved back into the hallway to a door which we assumed led to a closet.

The door was not locked.  Inside there was sturdy shelving and .. by golly it was a closet, right where you’d expect one.

This left just the southwest corner of the house, which we presumed was accessible by the door to the west in the southern hallway.  It was unlocked.

Entering the room we found it was a 10’x25′ room next to what appeared to be a shaft.  Given what we’d seen on the outside, this was entirely what we expected.  But what I didn’t expect was the reaction from Takkad.

Takkad, who always seems to take detailed notes of every building we examined, looked up from his drawings.  He went back out to the hallway, looked up and down, mumbled to himself and carefully paced off from the kitchen, down the hallway, to the outside wall of the bedroom.  “There’s more,” he said.  He again looked up and down the hallway.   “Judging from the size of the cabin and the size of these rooms, there’s more either behind the closet or behind one of the walls in the larder or the shaft room.”

We returned to the closet and searched around the heavy shelving, but we could find no signs of an entrance or panel.   Returning to the larder (which we noticed now had a really unpleasant odor, and probably always had) we began to search its southern wall.  Again we found nothing.

But when we searched the shaft room, we at last found a secret door.  It was, unfortunately, locked.  Rigel happened to be out of the room at the moment, so Nolin, with a broad smile on his face, announced he would use his “sword of opening” to unlock the door.   It took two, maybe three applications of the great adamantine sword of opening before the door bowed to its magical power in an explosion of splinters.

The newly opened door revealed a small room, about 5’x10′.  The room may have been small, but it contained some big surprises.  First, the doors themselves and the walls around the room seemed to be of double thickness.    There was a desk, upon which appeared to be a leather ledger and a pen.  There were 7 large, heavy burlap bags, and a small coffer.  5 of the bags contained gold dust … Rigel estimated there was about 1000 gp worth in each.  Two of them contained small gold nuggets: those bags are probably worth about 1500 gp each.  The coffer was neither trapped nor locked, but it contained 28 uncut gems, each worth about 50gp each.

Our attention turned next to the ledger.  While it bore the expected entries for the work being done here and the expenses being incurred, there were also notes about the various mines and locations that had been worked and in most cases, petered out.  Notably, some details on the last mine were clearly missing; although we could probably discover the location from the remaining notes, the ledger nonetheless bore evidence of pages having been ripped out.

A quick discussion ensued.  Kane mentioned that while we were opening the secret door, he’d been playing with a peg in the nearby bedroom and found that what appeared to be a simple place to hang one’s coat, moved and clicked when you pushed it.  Others mentioned that they definitely wanted to go down the stairs – or rather, down the shaft.  Nobody trusted the stairs once they heard about Kane’s clicker.  Sabin wanted to find the trap, though (convinced it must be a trap).

So Sabin returned to gaseous form (gotta love how long windwalk lasts) and tried to find what the clicking sound did.  He couldn’t spot anything. Kane heaved a sigh and said, “YOU work the peg” and went to look for himself.  And by golly he really did find a section of stair which appeared to be trapped – under one state it wouldn’t support any weight at all.

Now that everyone was thoroughly suspicious – cannibal curses, traps to drop you dozens of feet, and did I mention that nothing seemed to grow within about five feet of the cabin? – nobody wanted to walk down the stairs, although we were all convinced something really cool must be down there.  So we all returned to gaseous form and drifted on down to the base.

At the base of the shaft, there was a 20×20 room with a door to the north and a door to the south. We chose the south first.  The door was not locked, but when we entered I was immediately struck by the odor – it smelled, I don’t know, not rotten but I guess chemical. There was a pile of what looked like metal shavings here.  I had just cast detect magic (nothing) when a strange feeling ran thru me and some others in the room with me.

I turned around and standing near the pile was a dwarf – might have been one from the picture, I don’t know – and he looked a little .. intense.  He had a beard full of gold flakes and specks of black, and his eyes were bright as he said, “You gotta try some of this!  It’s awesome!” and he gestured at the pile.  I again felt a chill run through me, and said, “I don’t think so.”  Takkad saw him too, and also felt something. Remembering upstairs, he immediately channeled positive energy into the room, and with a disappointed look the dwarf faded away.

A couple of us have detect poison, so we now cast it on the pile.  The pile of metal shavings contained arsenic, and suddenly we understood what was going on here.  While the apparition may have been magical, this pile of metal discard was an ordinary byproduct of mining and processing the ore. It’s probably also why nothing grows around the cabin — the ground here is probably poisoned as well.

To the west and up a slight ramp was an unlocked door. Entering that modest (10×15) room we found rather shabby conditions, but at least there was a plank floor.  To the southeast a curtain hung from the ceiling to provide a little privacy for the 5×10 room behind it.  That room held a cot, some boots … and, Sabin, announced, some magic.

We quickly began to search the room and something fell out of one of the boots.  It was a [1222] +1 punching dagger, that appeared at one time it may have had some sort of a coating on the tip.  Nolin says it was probably poisoned at one time, but it had never been used and the poison was probably harmless now.  Probably.

We returned to the base of the shaft and tried to open the northern door.  It led to a room with pans and picks – mining equipment – with another door to the north.  That one was locked, but it was easily unlocked. This time it led outside, where a cold wind greeted us and a crude path curled and led around to the south side of the building. Kane followed that while the rest of us decided if maybe we’d seen enough for now and should return to create that base camp we’d talked about.

But that was decided for us when we heard a startled cry from behind the building.  In a flash, we cleared the side of the building and was able to see exactly why the group should ever split up.

In the back here there was a large pile of (probably poisonous again) filings or fragments, but there was also a huge pile of sticks or branches.  Or so one might think, had it not stood up to thirty feet high and borne glowing red eyes that were focused on Kane.  As we watched, it took a might swipe at Kane – I swear it had a reach of 15 feet if it reached an inch) and Kane staggered, bleeding significantly. Perhaps even more significantly, it looked like some fungus had come off the tree and stuck on Kane.  He staggered and stumbled.

Sabin gathered “the usual suspects” around him quickly and dimension-doored the welcome wagon to a spot close to the tree.  But the reach on this thing, and the suddenness of our encounter left some of them out of optimal position.

Takkad, who had been out of position to join “the usual suspects” this time, looked heavenward and invoked a spell I’d never seen him use before.  Later he told me it was “destruction” and he’d just learned it, and boy, did it do a number on that tree.  It must have shed half its branches and it looked like it had been through a tornado.  But the eyes still blazed red, so Kane gamely attacked it, and removed a surprising number of branches with his attack.

Still capable of significant damage, the tree attacked both Kane and Avia with some powerful blows. More of the fungus attached itself to both Kane and Avia, and both stumbled as it seemed to affect their balance.

As I mentioned, the dimension door was not perfect, and because of the reach of the tree Avia found herself subject to attack while being unable to attack herself. She gritted her teeth and absorbed another attack and another round of fungus to move right next to the tree.  Her attack was successful, and the tree looked more like a huge pile of sticks .. but still with red glowing eyes.

I moved to get a line-of-sight at the creature, and Sedgewick began to sing. However, Nolin, who had already ended up right next to the creature, immediately began swinging at it … and one swing was all it took for the light to go out of those red eyes.  The creature collapsed in a silent pile of, well, now firewood.

Takkad healed everyone of their injuries, which were in some cases quite grave.  The fungus required more than just healing, but our clerics took care of that too.  But everyone felt that now, really, we should go find a safe place and regroup.  While we were not in danger of having exhausted our spells, the things we’d run into already had made us use them at a surprising rate.

But then we heard the knocking.

Or to be more precise, Avia, Rigel, Kane, and Sedgewick heard the knocking.

We searched around but it quickly became apparent the knocking was coming from inside.  We looked at each other.  What else was waiting for us inside?   So it was with great caution and some trepidation that we all slowly went back to the base of the shaft, and all of us could now clearly hear the knocking.  In fact, the knocking got louder.

Standing at the base, it was apparent the knocking was coming from the room with the arsenic pile.  With a deep breath, and ignoring the concerns of my companions, I opened the door .. and was confronted again with the backside of the apparition of Goldbeard.  It might have been my imagination, but he seemed a little less scary and a little less intense as he turned to stare at me.  Takkad entered and immediately channeled positive energy again. The dwarf grimaced, and may have even faded a bit, but immediately refocused his gaze on us.  On me.

“You are still alive?” he asked in a gravelly voice and with some raised eyebrows.  “You – you seek the City of Greed.  Abandon your quest.”

“We will not,” replied Takkad.  “But we will remove obstacles in our path,” he said pointedly.

The dwarf looked at him with a steely gaze. “I can take you to Xin Shalast.”

“But?” I asked sarcastically.

“But I do request a task of you,” said the phantom.  “If you bring me the bones of my brother, I will help you.  His bones are still at the last mine, and that is not where he should be.”

We agreed that was not unreasonable, and the apparition faded.  It seemed that tomorrow would bring us to the old mine.

But first a few loose ends. We returned upstairs to the cabin to examine the trunk from the bedroom. We found within

[1223] large black opal
[1224] cracked leather backpack with broken rock hammer and 43gp
[1225] 12 +2 crossbow bolts of distance
[1226] pocket flask containing potion of ability to scale and move in mountains (+10) plus endure elements – duration 8 hrs

So .. we were THIIIIIIIS close to setting up a base camp in a substantially warmer climate, but somebody made the point that we should use the remainder of the windwalk spell to scout out the last mine, and THEN return to create a base camp.   We estimated we had about two hours of windwalk left, so we could probably take some time to (try to) find the last mine.

We found the area described, but the wind was ferocious.  We were further upriver, and higher in the mountains.  We believed that although the trails were icy and the wind strong, it was navigable with care.  We were at the base of a 2000 ft cliff, and the trail led up. But as we went up, the way seemed less and less safe.

There were layers of unnatural fog here, and from the fog we could see the tips of what appeared to be gravestones.  In fact, there appeared to be the body of a dwarf in a firepit.  Before we could do anything, Sabin reached down and touched the body.

Arodus 3, Sunday

Well that was a bit more difficult than I would have liked.

I’m afraid my memory is a bit faint after all that happened. Most of us had enchanted two sets of weapons in the magic pool, one against greed, and another against wrath. I remember a statue of Karzoug tried to stop us, and I remember we stopped it from stopping us. In the end, my “domineering” staff became a very powerful magical artifact:

silver, +2 quarterstaff of storing [10 charges]
bull’s strength 1 charge
enlarge person 1 charge
telekinesis 2 charges
flesh to stone 4 charges
-2 diplomacy
+2 morale bonus on saves versus transmutation
+2 attacks/+2d6 damage versus transmuters and shape changers
absorb up to three harmful transmutation effects a day

My +1 cold iron dagger became my covetous weapon, now capable of

returning
-2 diplomacy
+2 morale bonus on saves versus evocation spells
+2 attacks/+2d6 damage versus evocators and fire users
energy resistance (fire) 5

The fire resistance didn’t really help me at all (I’m already more resistant than that) but for several in the party it was a welcome addition. (Some of them still seem to feel like I have no self control. Go figure.)

Anyway, armed with all that, we went after Alasnist, expecting a fight but almost biting off more than we could chew. Upon entering the hall we confronted 4 sin-spawn. Well, feh. I was in the initial group with Avia, Nolin, and Takkad, and 4 sin-spawn weren’t really going to hold back the four of us. We defeated them even before the second part of our party came through the teleportation circles.

Before following the teleportation circles to the next destination, we regrouped. Nolin, Avia, Sabin, and Takkad went first this time. It took a bit for them to clear the circle because apparently there were nine sin-spawn waiting for them this time, and while we’d sent exactly the right people to deal with that threat, it still took a bit of time for them to leave the circle so we could arrive. We clearly came after some major damage had already been done, but just as clearly it was not yet over either.

But it didn’t take long.

We’d collected a total of 13 +1 great axes, and 13 +1 red breast plates. There were still the flaming weapons stuck on the walls that we’d seen last time. And there was still the smoky curtain at one end.

Takkad used True Seeing to look through the smoke, and he saw a huge hall, two rows of stone pillars, a flaming ceiling, and a circle of low flames on the floor surrounded by a large sihedron image.

Oh. And an enormous demon. Takkad called it a “shemazen” and warned us it was about thirty=five (35!) feet high and looked like a cross between a bear and a spider.

And then a lightning bolt struck him. He told us, grimly and as quickly as he could, that he also saw Athroxis and she also saw him. A hasty and brief conversation seemed to be leading towards getting the magic user first and the demon second, although there was notable noise from some about that abomination needing to go first.

Then it all became personal, as another lightning bolt came out and this time, it struck all of us, bouncing off of Takkad. And to seal the decision, Takkad yelled “The shemazen is gone!” just as the shemazen appeared behind us.

I quickly judged that the greater danger was the dimunitive magic user, because I figured that the demon would just be a physical battle, and our fighters excel at that. In hindsight, this served to show how little I know about demons, even if it arguably proved the right move anyway. I threw up a wall of force between her and us, and turned my attention to the 35-foot spider-bear behind us.

Our party flew, and floated, and teleported. We smote, and struck, and fought. But the demon was able to not only deal damage but reduce one’s strength, and it wasn’t until some holy power got invoked (Avia!) that the demon started taking serious damage. We knew this because of the great chunks of flesh actually flying off, and the unearthly howls it emitted. Agonizing howls of pain are always a good indication you’re doing it right.

There was a flash as something – Takkad said smugly it was another lightning bolt – hit the wall of force and detonated. The wall held. A second hit it .. and it still held. Walls of force are pretty darned strong. And frustrating, if you just blew two high level spells making one light up briefly like a full moon.

The shemazen teleported away from us but Sabin, in an inspired effort, ran towards it and threw his axe at it, killing it.

We were mildly damaged but nothing a little cleric action couldn’t take care of. And now we could turn around and deal with Athroxis. I decided it might be prudent for me to cast spell resistance on myself, and while others positioned themselves, Athroxis dropped the smoke. Oh, and conjured another shemazian. Our efforts to fight them one at a time was for nought, now.

At a signal from my companions I dropped the wall of force, and it was ON. Athroxis wielded a flaming ranseur which was vicious, and the shemazian went back to what shemazians apparently do best – making people bleed and sapping their strength.

Takkad aimed a Greater Dispel at Athroxis, and that may have contributed to what happened next.

It was Nolin who finally struck the killing blows on Athroxis, and the most peculiar thing happened. As she fell, dead, to the ground below, an elaborate tattoo or etching on her forehead disappeared, and reappeared on Nolin’s forehead. It was like a bad bar game as he tried to guess why people were staring at his face, but not his face.

But there wasn’t time for a lot of this, as there was still a demon to deal with. I tried chain lightning, and it laughed at me. Takkad tried a cone of cold, but Takkad paid for it with a swipe and a significant loss of strength. Finally, Sabin gathered his usual friends and dimension doored right next to it, and between Avia, Sabin, and Nolin (and a the faintly visible aura of justice in the air) it was quickly put to rest.

With both the demon and the fighter/mage down, we checked to see what radiated magic, and what it was. We found

[1211] wand of lightning [15] CL 10
[1212] wand of clairvoyance/clairaudience [32]
[1213] mithril breastplate +4 (black)
[1214] +1 flaming ranseur
[1215] amulet of natural armor +2
[1216] belt of physical might +2 (st + dx)
[1217] headband of vast intelligence +2
[1218] ring of protection +2
[1219] cloak of resistance +3
[1220] spell component pouch
[1221] spellbook

We had defeated the last hall in RuneForge. Now all we had to do was get out. We weren’t sure if we were even in the same plane as our homes, although we suspected it was the case. We decided to rest for a bit to recover from our battles and consider how we might get out.

5 Arodus, Tuesday

It occurred to us that we should charge our wands/weapons one last time before (we hope) successfully leaving Runeforge. Unfortunately, this did not go well. Our working theory is that what we did with our weapons drained the pool, either temporarily or permanently, it matters not, of its magic.

We dipped our newly acquired wand of lightning, and was able to raise it to 25 charges. A second dip and it went to 30 charges. Several cautionary yells from the peanut gallery suggested we should not be experimenting with one our more valuable magic items, so we switched to our wand of knock. It went from 10 to 8 charges. We dipped it again, using either telekinesis or an unseen servant (I don’t remember which) but it fell in and dissolved. Gone.

Since that wasn’t disasterous enough, we tried again with a wand of silent image with 3 charges. It exploded, but fortunately we were all far enough away it didn’t hurt us. So endeth the lab.

We were careful to stuff our haversacks and bags of holding as full as possible with things to bring back (whether to use or to sell). We weren’t sure if we’d be able to get back into Runeforge, or whether we’d want to.

Takkad tried a sending to his father, which seemed successful. But then, thinking about it more, even if we were on another plane it seemed likely a sending would succeed.

So we stood in front of the inscribed sihedron, knowing that it was somehow special. I had a sudden inspiration, and although several party members seemed startled, it was done. I tried casting a teleport spell to the dragon’s lair, where he’d stored his hoard and where we’d created the original gate that led us here. Teleport is from the conjuration school, and whether it was the spell or the school, it had the desired effect. A gate opened up, through which we could see the circle of stones we knew to be on the mountainside outside the dragon’s lair. I immediately stepped through.

I think there were a couple of cries of warning, but there I was on the mountainside, and soon the rest of my party was there too. The gate remained open for about an hour before closing of its own accord. And from there, we teleported back to the library and began considering what we’d accumulated, and what we’d keep, and what we’d sell.

Takkad seems to be the party accountant, and by his calculations, even when setting aside a share for party use, assuming we find a market for the things we wish to sell, we should each increase our wealth by over 59,000gp. Each.

Each!

But we’re not done. We need to still confront a Rune Lord and stop him from re-assuming power, and without other Rune Lords to oppose him, we may have quite the battle on our hands. And to that end, I (and many in the group) are spending a fair amount of time considering what magic items we may want to construct or purchase to bolster our strength even more.