== Toilday, Lamashan 28, 4708; Spires of Xin Shalast; afternoon ==

With True Seeing cast I looked through the portal and saw a vast cylindrical chamber more than a hundred yards in diameter. The walls were fog-like, but I could see faces moving about the surface, pushing up against it to reveal their gaunt features, as if the fog were an elastic membrane holding in a horde of souls, each trying to escape.

Sixteen columns of eerie fire were evenly spaced about the chamber, fully illuminating the space with their sickly glow.

An intricate pattern of channels was carved into the floor, which led to disturbing speculations to its purpose.

In the dead center of the room was a giant diamond shaped pool. Suspended above that by a large metal ring was an enormous bluish purple gem, girdled by a gold band with the rune of greed engraved upon it.

We had no plan, but it was obvious we were going enter. I called out a few recommended tactics:

“Wait until I cast a protective spell on us all before moving in. And do not gather on the other side: spread out as much as possible. If you can fly or move through the air, get off the ground and increase the distance between each of us.”

Karzoug. We knew he was in there, waiting for us, and I wanted to provide as much protection as possible for us all, and so I cast Holy Aura. My other suggestion was just common sense: there was no need in making ourselves easy targets for every area effect spell he might know.

Others cast their own spells and Nolin quaffed a potion. Sabin hasted many of us, and Trask linked some via a telepathic bond.

Kane stepped through first.

Immediately I lost track of him via the Status spell, but we already guessed that the portal led to another plane, and so this came as no surprise. We watched through the shimmering field as he stepped to the left and out of view.

Nolin then stepped through and flew upward.

Sabin followed, with Sedjewick close behind, and they moved straight in.

Trask passed through and over to the left, and we could see him look up as he began to move his hands.

I activated my boots and flew in and straight up. I was greeted immediately by a warning from Nolin, “Karzoug is directly above you — see if it is just an image.”

“Oh, it’s definitely him,” I replied.

He was about twenty feet above me, glaring down at us. Gems were embedded in his skin, and he wore a magnificent cloak. In his right hand was a flaming glave. He had long and deadly looking finger nails that looked like claws.

I could tell from the smell of baked dust that Trask must have launched a fireball at Karzoug, but the runelord appeared unfazed.

Karzoug barked, “Enough of this!” and pointed a finger in our direction. Four sparks flew out and around the room before each exploded as a fireball.

Karzoug then did… something. It was confusing to watch. He was floating there in one pose after casting his Meteor Storm spell, and then instantly he was standing slightly off to one side with a totally different posture.

But on the floor something more obvious had changed: a thick cloud of heavy yellow vapor spread out along the floor, engulfing my companions. I could tell some of them were poisoned, and realized that somehow Karzoug had managed to cast Cloud Kill without us noticing him do it.

Rigel entered at that moment — I could not see her, but she popped back into presence of my Status spell. She seemed totally unaffected by the cloud.

Avia came through and I sent her a quick update via the telepathic channel. She looked up and flew straight toward Karzoug. Nolin charged and cut into the runelord, claiming the first real blood of the battle. I flew over to provide healing support, and planned to maybe give Karzoug a few surprises of my own.

And then Sabin moved up behind Karzoug.

Down on the floor Sedjewick ran out from the poisonous cloud and over to the fountain. He still managed to sing a song of courage, despite the occasional cough or sputter.

Trask tried to use Greater Dispel Magic (one of my personal favorite tactics), but it rebounded back onto himself. Mercifully it did not cancel his magical protections.

Karzoug’s flaming glave then lept from his hand and launched a fireball at Avia, Nolin and I.

Karzoug clawed at Nolin, but the latter’s Rune of Wrath inflicted cold damage in return.

“Eat quickened lightening bolts!” Karzoug quipped as he zapped Nolin with arcs of electricity.

A giant air elemental appeared beside us and bashed Karzoug. I could hear Kane snicker below.

Avia closed the distance and landed a series of incredibly heavy blows, followed immediately by savage attack from Nolin.

A momentary look of pain and confusion crossed Karzoug’s face before he transformed into a cloud of gas.

Sabin wasted no time in slicing through the cloud with his ax, and Karzoug transformed back into his normal form. But now he was just a corpse.

There was a blindingly bright flash of white light, and the souls I had seen in the walls whipped around into a massive whirlwind which encompassed the entire chamber.

When the light faded we found ourselves at the base of the center of the spire. The pool, Karzoug’s runewell, had also been transported here, although it was quickly freezing over, and Karzoug’s body was there too.

His glave tried lamely to continue the fight, even after we told it to stand down or face destruction. It blustered on in the way the insane and egotistical usually do before dropping to the ground.

Wait, what? That was it?

We quickly gathered around Karzoug’s body, and Sabin removed his head — detached head and body were then placed in separate bags of holding.

Oddly enough all of the injuries we had suffered within the cylindrical chamber had been healed. But Sedjewick had been struck blind by the great flash of light. Kane quickly sured him of that malady, and we looked over what we had stripped from Karzoug’s body.

[1693] Runelord’s flaming glave. +2 keen flaming glave with dancing and a neutral evil intellect; it possessed dark vision; could hear, read and speak languages; was telepathic; once a day could create a major image; three times a day it could cast Cure Moderate Wounds upon its wielder; it could cast Faery Fire; and it had Fireball as a dedicated power
[1694] rod of greater quicken: 3 times a day up to level 9 spells
[1695] wand of Blood Money (33 charges)
[1696] wand of Dispel Magic (24 charges)
[1698] +6 belt of giant strength
[1699] +6 boots of dexterity
[1700] Sihedron Tome: a leather bound volume with a sihedron star on the cover. Rumored to have been crafted by a mage dragon during the reign of emperor Xin, this book could hold an infinite number of spells, and could prepare spells as if the caster’s intelligence was +6. It contains all of the spell’s Karzoug knew
[1701] Robes of Xin Shalast. +6 AC; SR 24; spells cast as if caster were at +2 levels; 2 pockets that acted as handy haversacks; immunity to the occlusion field and the effects of high altitudes, including the death zone
[1702] +5 ring of protection
[1703] ring of Freedom of Movement
[1704] Amulet of Greed. Attuned to the runewell such that while in the runewell (where Karzoug was confined) it granted: +5 AC, no need for food or water; fly at will; heal rapidly from wounds
[1705] ruby inscribed with the rune of wrath (for use with Sign of Wrath)
[1706] 1,500gp of ruby dust
[1707] 10,000gp of gem stone dust
[1708] Talons of Leung: fine gloves with embroidered gold filigree: grants +3 on attack and damage for natural claw attacks (1D4 damage); 3X critical; DC 20 will save on critical or target is insane, otherwise target is only confused; wearer is immune to confusion and insanity; -2 to wisdom as alien voices run through the wearer’s mind

It took Sedjewick’s Legend and Lore ability to identify the glave and the the gloves, but even he was unable to understand the amulet. For that I pulled out the Quill and asked the Peacock spirit.

It was clear that the glave, along the Karzoug’s ex-champion’s sword, would be destroyed. None of us had any desire to allow the continued existence of intelligent evil weapons that took control of those who handled them.

The amulet caused more debate. Some wanted it destroyed and others thought it was now a harmless relic. I was among the latter, and argued that it could do no good (or harm) unless the wearer were inside the runewell. Specifically, “that runewell,” as I pointed to the pool of frozen water before us.

Why not just destroy the runewell itself? It no longer radiated power, and so Nolin, Sabin and Avia hewed it to rubble with their adamantine weapons.

The huge blue-purple gem had been teleported here along with the runewell, but now it was cracked. No matter: it was still valuable, and so we dismounted it from its elaborate set up and took it.

[1709] cracked, huge, blue-purple runewell gem

We spared the metal ring in which it was mounted, thinking we may be able to sell it and the gem stone for a better price than either one alone.

And speaking of prices… we were going to be ridiculously rich. The items we had with us alone were enough to ensure that, but we had left large amounts of incredibly valuable treasure in the spire.

Nolin, Sabin and Kane returned to the spire to ensure all was secure, and when they returned we began to make plans.

It will take quite some time and effort to remove all of the valuables from the spire. We will use our library as a staging area, where we can classify the treasure, divide magical items among ourselves, and then sell the rest… or keep it until we need more cash.

We have come up with a plan for totally destroying the two weapons, plus Karzoug’s remains (no sense risking resurrection) that involves a bag of holding and a portable hole.

We need to alert the remaining inhabitants of Xin Shalast that their leader — in fact all of their leaders — are slain, and they that there is no point in remaining.

Little doubt only lamia and rune giants are all that is left, and it will take physical proof that Karzoug and his aides are all dead. We have all of the bodies, and so this should not present a problem, although we will not allow direct contact with Karzoug’s body (not even a single hair). Perhaps a wall of force can be used to keep them from it.

Nolin wants to topple part of the spire to act as proof. This is not a bad idea, but I fear attempting to do so may cause the entire structure to fall, and we should make sure anything we want has already been removed before trying.

I think we should remove Karzoug’s face from Mhar Massif, which should be straight forward, given enough Earthquake and Stone Shape spells.

Personally I do not care if the lamia and rune giants remain in Xin Shalast, so long as they remain off the plateau and leave us in peace.

While we discussed these short term goals, we also began thinking toward the future.

We will inform our allies in Magnimar and Sandpoint of what has occurred, but will refrain from providing the location of Xin Shalast itself.

For scholars (and the Pathfinder Society) we will reveal the location of Runeforge, and how they can access it, and will provide my maps and notes for their usage. We can sell them some of the Runelord relics we have collected as well.

Most of us want to pay a visit to Sandpoint, where this entire adventure began more than a year before, and relax for a short while before moving on.

But what does “moving on” imply?

Kane and Rigel speak of returning to Fort Rannick (oh yes, another of our acquisitions) to beef up its security and bring commerce and stability to the region.

I cannot see myself settling down, and already I am looking over the maps Sabin and I found in Fort Rannick, showing other the location of other places that may need our aid, or pique our interests. But for those quests I will need to start a new journal, for this one has but a few blank pages remaining.

“So Sabin, let’s talk about Viperwall.”