== Oathday, Erastus 3, 4708; Therassic Monastic Library; late night ==

Sabin and I worked at a frantic pace, eagerly scanning through the library’s ancient texts for information about Karzoug, Alaznist, and any magic or ritual involving rune tattoos.

I did pause briefly to wonder at Sabin’s comprehension of Thassilonian: what was it that first compelled him to learn an ancient, dead and nearly forgotten language? Was he inspired by the monumental ruins left behind by this lost civilization, or was there some other, perhaps personal reason?

For me, well I am Shoanti, and my people were once the warrior class of the Thassilonian empire, and our tribes still cling tenaciously to certain aspects of our heritage, including the old language.

It was a long and tiresome task, interrupted many times by discussions about how to notify Longtooth and how to parcel out his agreed upon share of the reward, and also whether we should investigate the Black Tower for which this high desert valley was named.

The mechanical librarian was helpful, but only to the extent that it held the complete list of titles and subjects for all tomes in the library in its shiny mechanical head. Left to us was the task of sifting through each of the many volumes the metal man brought forth from our enquiries.

We had seen images of Karzoug before — my companions at Thistlestop, and all of us at the Storval Stairs — and the descriptions of him from the texts matched what we expected. One illustration depicted him with gems embedded in his forehead and hands. He was apprenticed to Runelord Haphrama, and rose through the ranks until, at the age of 77, he replaced his mentor and took up the burning glave, symbol of the Runelord of Greed. We were left to ponder whether Karzoug hastened the need for Haphrama to be replaced.

Karzoug’s realm was Shalast, and under his leadership it prospered as it never had before, with its capital, Xin-Shalast, considered to be one of Thassilon’s most prestigious and powerful cities.

Interestingly we found a letter in one of the books on Karzoug addressed to one of his minor officials about an accounting error. Apparently a report filed by the official included a discrepancy of seven gold pieces. Karzoug took this personally, and as punishment he had each of the official’s seven sons ritually gilded and placed in the town square as a reminder that what was Karzoug’s belonged to Karzoug, and everything in Shalast was belonged to Karzoug.

Like Karzoug, my companions had seen images of Alaznist before, and had in fact sold a marble statue bearing her likeness which they found in the ancient ruins beneath Sandpoint. She was as stunningly beautiful as she was cruel and bloodthirsty. As the Runelord of Wrath she commanded legions of soldiers who were altered by magic, drugs or hideous mutations (Olithar had mentioned the results of her handiwork that were skulking beneath Sandpoint) to be enraged against whomever their mistress labeled foe.

And her chief foe was primarily Karzoug. The two neighboring Runelords hated one another beyond reason, and their two kingdoms, Bakrakhan and Shalast, were ever at war with one another.

Bakrakhan was located where the present Varisian Gulf is located, having been sunk in the cataclysm which ruined the Thassilonian empire. Sandpoint and much of the Lost Coast Road were on the eastern border of Alaznist’s realm, as were all of the X’s found on the map in Mokmurian’s possession.

The Runelords often scoffed that even death could not defeat them, and as such no text mentions their final resting places, although the capital of each realm seemed a likely place.

What we uncovered about the rune tattoos was most disturbing. There is a ceremony of binding whereby the subject is marked with the tattoo of a particular Runelord. When the subject dies, or is killed, then that part of his soul that is closest to the Runelord with whose rune the subject has been marked will by siphoned to the Runelord.

It was clear that if the deaths were arranged in such a way to bring out the specific vice represented by the Runelord, then a larger portion of each subject’s soul would go to the Runelord. What fate awaited the rest of the victim’s soul was not stated, but some texts darkly hinted at blasphemous ends.

This immediately brought to mind the work of Lucretia at Turtleback Ferry and the sinking of her gambling ship with all of its specially marked patrons drowning. Lucretia was obviously working for Karzoug, the Runelord of greed.

And having looked through Olithar’s journal entries I wondered about the violent deaths Nualia had planned for the city of Sandpoint, and the (seemingly) senseless murder spree Xanesha inflicted upon Magnimar. Were these forces at work on behalf of Alaznist, the Runelord of wrath? Olithar did not mention any tattoos borne by the victims, but did the party know then to check? I think not.

The locations of these events align with the former realms of those two Runelords, and I fear we may be facing the attempted resurgence of more than just the one.

The good news is that if the tattoo is removed, such as by an Erase spell (or I would imagine more painful methods), before a person died, then their soul would not be harvested for the Runelord.

Avia, who could also read Thassilonian, found that the huge cauldron we encountered on the way in was a Rune Slave Cauldron. These were made in Xen Shalast, and used throughout the empire to convert unwilling or unruly giants into obedient servants. In this way a large and able workforce was maintained, and many of the great Thassilonian works of splendor thus created.

What little information we could find about the Black Tower was that it was once the bell tower of the Therassic monks, who were devoted to worship of the Peacock Spirit. Oddly enough we could find nothing about this entity, although the brotherhood itself was said to be evil.

We also spent more than a little time reading up on red dragons. Just in case.

These creatures make formidable foes, but it was apparent that Longtooth was a juvenile male, which explained his in your face, everything is about me, sullen attitude.

Red dragons automatically detect magic and can breath fire at will. They are arcane spell casters, with exceptional strength constitution and a natural ability for melee. They have keen senses, can see in complete darkness, and can still fight even when blinded. They are immune to sleep and paralysis, but very vulnerable to cold. They have a frightful presence that can cause even the bravest warrior to run away in terror (although, as pointed out to Rigel, those less brave are more likely to run away no matter what).

And so just what are we to do with our dragon?

Well, for one we will uphold our end of the agreement and deliver to Longtooth his fare share of the loot we found in Mokmurian’s underground lair.

There was talk of teleporting to Longtooth so we could inform him of our victory over Mokmurian, or even waiting until the morning when we could use a Sending spell to let him know our status.

But in the end, we decided to do none of those things.

Instead we carefully went through our inventory and found the total, and then we chose Longtooth’s share, which we would deliver to him in the morning. All of us would go, and we would leave our share of the treasure behind. We would go completely ready for combat, in case the dragon decided to be hostile.

As part of this process we identified a handful of items that we had previously missed (mostly from the cute little kobold berserker):

[1000] necklace of fireballs
[1001] +1 breast plate (small)
[1002] +1 buckler (small) [Kane]
[1003] +3 short spear [Kane]

All told we had 78,000* gp of inventory to which Longtooth had a share. But we had an additional 7,000 gp of items we had discovered in the wyvern cave before our agreement was made with the dragon.

There was a contingent of us that was hoping the dragon would cause a fuss and attack us. Sabin and I were in that group, but we intended to go further and actually antagonize Longtooth, and we worked out our own private plan.

It is late and we are tired — especially those of us who have spent the day reading ancient texts written in cramped or spidery hands.

The party accidentally omitted the 5,000 gp worth of laboratory equipment and supplies found in Mokmurian’s work shop in its initial tally.

== Fireday, Erastus 4, 4708; Therassic Monastic Library; evening ==

Trask and Rarallo working together could teleport the entire party to Longtooth’s cave, and so we emptied our bags of holding and haversacks, cast defensive and protective spells, and found ourselves on the ledge just outside the cavern.

Kane looked down below to see that the giant camps were indeed dispersing as the rest of us cast a few last moment defensive spells, pulled out our ever-burning torches and entered the dragon’s lair.

Longtooth wasn’t there, but he soon swept in and stood between us and the opening. I told him that we had defeated Mokmurian and his primary minions, had carefully kept a tally of all we found, and had brought his share with us to fulfill our agreement.

Sabin opened a bag of holding and unceremoniously dumped out what we had decided to give to the dragon. It was an accurate amount value wise, and even included two highly magical axes (for which we had no use). But we had also included a lot of mundane giant armor (beyond the value of Longtooth’s share) which was not tied together and spilled out in a cluttered mess, making the pile of loot look less appealing than it otherwise would.

Longtooth liked the magical items, and accepted that the amount of gold we had included as a good amount. But he wanted more — he wanted scroll books and a map to the location of the library.

I told him he was lucky to get what we offered, considering he had cravenly hid in his cave while we did all the dangerous work of defeating Mokmurian and his followers.

It was just a little nudge, sharply delivered to be sure, but it was all it took to push Longtooth’s greed to anger, and he puffed himself up and charged at us, baring his fangs.

I think none of us were impressed.

I cast Holy Smite on him, while Sabin used a Dimensional Door to move himself plus Avia and Nolin right next to the dragon. And they proceeded to beat the living shit out of Longtooth. He batted at them feebly, but when the rest of the party launched magical attacks against him, and then the fighters had another go at him, with Sabin dealing the killing blow it was all over.

We now had an ex dragon lying dead before us. Rigel took the opportunity to leap into the pile of coins that made up Longtooth’s horde and wallow about in it while I used a pair of Wall of Stone spells to seal the cavern from unwanted visitors.

We managed to collect the entire pile of coins and handful of interesting items into our bags and packs and teleport back to the library. We would return later to skin the dragon and remove his head (as a gift to be presented to the citizens of Sandpoint).

[1004] Amulet of Mighty Fists

360,055 cp (3,600.55 gp)
23,145 sp (2,314.5 gp)
34,030 gp
50 pp (500 gp)

water opal: 1,000 gp
rich blue diamond: 1,600 gp
2 black opals: 8,000 gp each
53 gems of various types and quality: 3,500 gp each
Tapestry of monks sparring: 600 gp
Set of 4 silver idols: 600 gp each
wyvern with human rider
human warrior trampling a daemon
centaur dressed in full plate
leaping fish with a wide mouth full of sharp teeth
A platinum statue of Karzoug: 5,000 gp

We went through the new items and found Longtooth’s horde had a value of

coins: 40,445 gp
items: 32,600 gp

This, combined with our previous findings gave us a total new found wealth worth 115,100 gp.

A number of these items will no doubt be kept by the party (quite a few items are already in active use), but when divided nine ways (one share for the party fund), we each stand to have a tidy number of coins.

Later, Kane stealthily made his way back up to the main giant compound (being shrunk to a tiny size via the trapped room in the process) and observed that there were still a lot of giants wandering about, looting the place.

We spent the rest of the day resting, or discussing what we each might do with our share of the loot.
== Starday, Erastus 5, 4708; Therassic Monastic Library; evening ==

I used a Sending spell to contact Conna and ask her how long we should consider the giants in the fortress under her protection, and she replied that all those loyal to her should be gone in a couple of days.

Kane used Sending to Sandpoint to let them know the giant threat had been eliminated and the dragon slain. Mayor Devlin replied that their had just been an earthquake and a giant sinkhole had opened at the northwest corner of town (the location of the Old Light). She didn’t sound panicked, but she did say they could use help.

Kane also contacted the ferry men at Wolf’s Ear to let them know we would not need their services to return, and to tell the stable in Galduria that we would pick up our horses and settle the bill in a couple of weeks time.

I then sent a message to the mayor of Magnimar, informing him of the giants’ overthrow, and warning them about the potential threat of a Runelord cult, and to keep an eye on anyone with an ancient rune tattoo. Quite naturally the mayor was alarmed by this news (and probably more than a little confused), but he must wait until tomorrow for clarification.

Rarallo teleported Sabin, Nolin and I back to Longtooth’s cavern, where Sabin cut off the dragon’s head while Nolin skinned it. I then cast Gentle Repose on the head and skin to keep it fresh. We promptly returned to the library level once our grisly work was done.

We spent the rest of the day pondering over how to handle such a large quantity of copper coins, with suggestions ranging from spending it to improve Fort Rannick, which technically we owned, to giving it to the folks of Sandpoint.

We also considered where to go next. Sandpoint was in need of some sort of aid, but it was not desperate, and we did need to pick up our horses. We also needed to sell some of our treasure, and convert some of it to gold coins or gems, and possibly purchase equipment and supplies. Both Magnimar and Korvosa were likely candidates for where we could best do these things.

I am beginning to tire of this underground complex and long to feel fresh air on my face, and to see the open sky. We have another day before we plan to head up to the Black Tower, slaying any giants or harpies we meet along the way.
== Sunday, Erastus 6, 4708; Therassic Monastic Library; morning ==

There has been a change of plans.

I used Sending to clarrify the threat of the Runelords to the mayor of Magnimar, who seemd less unsure, but still not convinced of any real danger.

Kane performed another sending with Mayor Devlin, and she reported back that part of Sandpoint had collapsed (in the sinkhole?), and that the guards sent to investigate never returned. And there is a terrifying unholy howling unlike any dog they have ever heard. They need help and they need it soon.

Unfortunately we are not prepared to return to Sandpoint, but rather than waste time sitting idle, we have decided to teleport to the base of the Black Tower and deal with it now so we would not have to return later. Tomorrow morning we will gather up our possessions and teleport to Sandpoint to offer whatever assistance we can.

But now I need to cast a Magic Circle to help protect us from the harpies at the tower.
== Sunday, Erastus 6, 4708; The Black Tower; noon ==

We appeared at the foot of the Black Tower, which rose up twice as high as any of the (more recently built) towers of the fortress. It was ancient, and made from black stone, which was carved into elaborate shapes, and stone gargoyles clung to its upper reaches. Moss and lichens clung to the stone, giving it a sickly yellow-green hue. The entrance was before us, but four harpies saw us and swiftly flew over.

One of them shrieked in ancient Thassilonian, “Protect the tower of the great monk from these intruders! Kill, my sisters.” She dove down, attacking Rarallo, and received an arrow from Rigel for her efforts.

Another attacked Sabin, while Trask fireballed a third. But this harpy began to sing, and Trask stood, as if transfixed, and watched as she swooped down and attacked Kane.

A fourth harpy was perched on the wall, and she too began to sing, but rather than have her enter the fray or enchant anyone else, I encased her in a box of stone. I assume she will die for want of air eventually.

We pressed our attack on the remaining three, who proved to be much tougher than one might expect from bird women. But one by one they dropped, and after some healing we approached the tower door.

It was unlocked and untrapped, so Nolin opened it and we all stepped inside a large circular room.

It was cold, and all the surfaces were coated with a heavy layer of frost. The ceiling was fifteen feet above, but other than where we entered there was no obvious exit. I cast Airwalk on Nolin, figuring at least one of our fighters should be up off the slippery surface, and Trask cast Spiderclimb on Kane. Kane detected a trapdoor in the floor, which Sabin opened.

It was dark below, and even with dark vision Sabin could not see the bottom. I cast light on a pebble and dropped it in, while we both watched as it fell perhaps seventy feet to the floor of a chamber below. A pair of green glowing eyes looked up at us.

Instantly I cast Flame Strike on the eyes. It took little deductive reasoning to figure that a pair of glowing eyes in a black tower created by an evil order of monks and guarded by harpies belonged to something nasty and evil itself. Kane cast Bless and Rarallo sent down a ball of lightening.

A figure, tightly wrapped in strips of linen, and carrying a metal cylinder in its naked hands shot up from the shaft to the ceiling. It glared at us with vile glowing green eyes.

We heard it, or what it was carrying chant in Thassilonian, “The green light, the green light, the green light, the green light!” The mummy itself then cackled, “You’ll pay the price for violating the tomb of the Peacock Spirit! Flee now or die!”

Nolin climbed up to it and slashed at it, as Kane and I channeled positive energy towards it. It in turn shot a green ray at Avia and Trask, burning them. It touched Nolin, who appeared to be shaken, but he continued to hack at it. Trask granted Avia the ability to fly and Kane and I continue to channel. Eventually we prevailed, and the mummy turned to dust, which dropped back down the shaft, along with the metal cylinder it had been carrying.

While Nolin looked fine and unharmed, he said he was feeling ill, and was worried he had a disease known as mummy rot. Rarallo had a ring with Remove Curse stored, which he cast, and Avia added to that a Remove Disease. These combined effects appeared to have cured Nolin.

We lowered Kane down into the chamber below, which was circular like the room in which we stood, but much, much colder. He quickly grabbed the cylinder and brought it up.

It was a magic scroll case, with six spinning circles on the outside along with a series of runes. We played around with the runes and circles, but eventually grew impatient, and Trask used three knock spells to open it.

There was a collection of 18 scrolls within, claiming to be The Emerald Codex of the Therassic. The first nine scrolls contained curses, and we passed over them for the time being. The next eight were magic scrolls:

Greater Restoration
Heroes’ Feast
Order’s Wrath
Scrying
Slay Living
Unholy Blight
Regenerate
Symbol of Stunning

The last scroll described how to get to the entrance of the library and the password used to get past the shining child guardian.

Or you could just find and use a key, as we did.

Kane did not have time to explore or search the chamber below, and reported that it was barren. I might slip down on a rope and search — cold has minimal affect on me and I should be able to endure the room long enough to perform a thorough search.

And what about the upper reaches of the tower? Is it just ornamentation, or are there other chambers accessible via secret ways or methods?