The Twisted Golem

AK510-40 Cool Summer End Week 4

[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Moonday (afternoon)

They continued the descent as quickly as they could. There was no sense in waiting for reinforcements now that The Prince and Cromith knew how potent their abilities were. They reached the doors to the first storage level and were forced to stop. There was a musical lock barring their way. Ethan examined the door for several minutes and sent him mind back to the years when he had been Setanta Fochlachan. The Bard had often used such locks. He played his Canaith mandolin, in a precise and extremely complex melody and as the delicate music echoed through cavernous stairwell the hundred of tiny lock and catches on the door began to click and move in time. After only a few moments of flawless playing the door unlocked.
The sight beyond the door took their breath away. Stored in massive steel racks were thousands of warforged bodies. Ivellios' keen intellect quickly noted that because the racks were a hundred wide and deep and because there were four level, there must be around forty thousand warforged bodies stored in the complex.
Ethan was stunned. This was not just the army the had been looking for. This could be a nation.
"Well we've found an army!" he exclaimed. "How do we wake them up!"
"No so fast," Ivellios didn't look optimistic. "According the books and the tapestry, we need kellum to animate these guys and we need to put the kellum into the reactor down stairs. Tionscail knows how many we'll be able to activate."
"Damn." Ethan cursed. "The DeDannan left here because the kellum was exhausted. Where are we going to get more kellum?"
Ivellios slowly drew the kellum rod from his belt. "How about this?" He ventured.
"Whoa there Ivellios, have you any idea how powerful that rod is?" interrupted Tim. "There's got to be a better way."
"Yeah it is a nice rod alright," agreed the mountain elf.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.
They all moved to defensive positions. When Ivellios thought he heard something, an attack was usually imminent. They were about to ask Charmer if his exceptionally keen ears had notice anything when they noticed he had gone missing. That was odd.
The lights went out.
"Croi protect us," prayed Tanner.
A twisted frame of blackened metal appeared into the shadows of Ethan's light spell. It was vaguely humanoid in shape and covered in smoky black tendrils of dark energy. Powerful undead shadows reeking with Fallen hatred circled around it. It's twisted metal face grinned an evil grin. It was the herald of The High Feeder Lord. It was the servant of Athru. It had forsaken Tionscail. It was here to kill.
The corrupted golem unleashed the power of Feo and sent a black wave of his hatred at the mortals.
Pain and suffering were the gift of Feo and only the favour of the Gods saved them from oblivion. The power of Charon fortified their bodies against the menace of Feo, but they were badly weakened and Ivellios was barely clinging to life after the assault. Before they could react the shadows surged forward, threatening, mocking and leering. They promised destruction and pain to their prey.
Battered and shaken, Vedic Tim Tanner of Croi pushed himself back up off his knees and opened The Book Of Creation. He prepared to call upon the power of Croi to destroy the vile spawn of Feo. The passages of The Book were indelibly marked in his mind and he spoke them with the power that a truly devout believer.

"And as we walk through shrouded land
In dark and lonely halls
We place you into Bas's hand
To send your souls to walls

Bas is your true master now
Feo's taint is washed away
Your fallen spirit I do crush
Croi burns your sins away"

He moved quickly between the shadows as he prayed and then the symbol of Croi shone from his armoured chest as he roared with all his might.
"In the name of The Sun, The Moons and The Holy Trinity! Begone unto the light!
The powerful shadows had been sneering at the Vedic's feeble attempts to channel the power of the Chosen against them. He couldn't possibly channel enough energy to hurt even one of them.
It was a common mistake.
Tanner's faith and the Book of Creation were a potent combination and Croi had heard his prayer.
A blinding explosion of light lanced throughout the chamber as Tanner's heart lit up like the sun. The searing rays of incandescent light were a mere whisper of Croi's terrible power. Every single shadow was utterly destroyed. The twisted golem clanged slightly as it's flight faltered for a moment, in the wash of positive energy.
"Incredible…" whispered a relieved Ivellios.
Seizing the initiative Ethan roared a Charon war cry and charged the creature. His bardic magic guided his hand and his flail struck true. The creature's metal frame was dented by the force of his blow.
But the golem's face twisted into an evil grin. Already it was beginning to recover from the attack.
Ivellios fled from the golem. His extensive knowledge of arcane lore told him that a golem such as this was impervious to magic. Tionscail gifted many of his creation's with immunity to the powers of Draiocht.
Tin Tan's flaming spittle flew across the room and hit the golem's chest but to the blackened monstrosity it was as water to a babe.
Sharp adamantine claws slashed Ethan and opened deep wounds across his face and chest.
Ethan attacked again but to no avail. The creature seemed impervious to his weapon.
Then the Vedic noticed that the black tendrils had returned. The creature was about to send out another wave of dark energy and there was no way for Ethan to get clear in time.
Tim raced to Ethan. The golems tendrils darkened. Tim leapt through the air. Feo's energy began to lash out. He landed between the golem and the bard and shouted "Light of Croi protect us!"
The utterly destructive hatred of Feo, kills all living things. Only the Gods can stand in it's path.
The wave of oblivion crashed onto the Vedic and roiled over the bard. The destructive bile of a demented God ate at their very right to exist. Death was inevitable.
Inevitable, but not imminent. Ethan's devotion to the Gods was impressive even to the Vedic. He reached out to the light of Croi and found it as his life was being pulled away. He forged the light into a shield. Ethan's devotion bolstered the shield. The shield held. The wave passed in a whisper and they survived. The clerics fell to the ground exhausted. The golem towered over them and flexed it's talons.

Then Carraig's huge fists slammed into it's arrogant smirking face. It staggered back and moved into a fighting crouch. Through the pain and fear, Ivellios was enjoying this. This was the first time he had literally wiped the smile of someone's face. Even if it was a golem.
The two golems faced off. Carraig was over nine feet tall and weighed over two thousand pounds. The smaller warped metal figure looked far less menacing when faced with Carraig's immense bulk. It lashed out with it's claws. They raked across Carraig's stone arms and chest. Sparks flew and the claws bit deep into the stone. Carraig's mind wasn't built to process pain. He barely even noticed the damage.
"Grab him!" ordered Carraig's master from a safe distance, hoping that this would allow Ethan and Tanner to escape.
Carraig extended his thick stone arm and grabbed the dark metal figure by the throat. It lashed at the arm and chunks of rock flew off, but Carraig was unimpressed and maintained his grip.
He hefted the golem as if to test it's weight and then smashed it's head into his own. The animating light in the metal golems eyes flickered as it was pummelled.
It looked very worried. It called on Feo's dark energy again and lashed at Carraig. The destructive magic could have lain waste to an entire army.
Carraig didn't even notice it.
"Tionscail's gift to many of his children is immunity to magic," quoted Ivellios a smirk quietly growing on his lips. Tin Tan had to admit that smashing the fallen golem to pieces with an even bigger golem, was probably the most fun you could have without setting something on fire.
Carraig now had both hands wrapped around the golem's throat and had crushed it flat. He smashed his forehead into it's twisted face. Again the animating magic faltered. The dark golem was desperate to escape and tried to wrestle it's way out of Carraig's mighty grip. It's strength surprised both Carraig and his master.
Thin metal arms pushed back the massive bulk of the stone golem and it levered it's way out of Carraig's unsubtle grapple. As soon as it freed itself from Carraig's rocky grasp, it fled.
Carraig lashed out at it as it ran connecting with yet another punishing blow that bent several of it's ribs. It fled the room and flew down through the empty air of the stairwell, looking for the safety of it's master.
Ivellios called Carraig back. He was badly damaged from several talon gashed but didn't seem to notice.
"Good boy Carraig!" Ivellios patted the golem on the shoulder.
Carraig smiled.

Schliss Raiders

AK510-40 Cool Summer End Week 4
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Moonday (afternoon)

They left the temple having showed considerable restraint in face of the vast wealth therein and descended in search of the construct storage levels.
Carraig's heavy foot steps thudded monotonously on the marble staircase.
Up through the darkness drifted three cloaked shapes. Silent as death they came, to feed on the brains of the living.
A trio of Illithids appeared out of the darkness, floating in the open air in the middle of the stairwell. They struck the explorers with a succession of psychic blasts. The alien psionic energy ripped through their conscious thoughts and paralysed their minds, they all staggered back stunned by the mental onslaught.
The illithids signalled to their grimock slaves to ascend from the dark depths and capture the hapless humanoids.
Somehow Ivellios' mind resisted and he managed to retain his will. He called upon the power of Draiocht to thwart the illithids psychic powers.
Before the Mind flayers could react Ivellios' magic had restored his companions. He threw the kellum rod to Tim Tanner. "Tine Time!" he advised.
Tim Tanner grabbed the kellum rod and called upon Croi for the power of the sun. Sunfire drenched the open air where the illithids floated. The sun-fire burned all the more brightly for the power provided by the kellum rod.
The illithids screamed as the burned, their resistance to magic failing them in the face of Tanner's might. One disintegrated in the blaze while the other two were horribly burned. The blackened corpse of the mind flayer plummeted into the depths.
Ethan and Charmer unleashed a volley of arrows which spelt doom for another flayer. It fell: dead and silent, into the gloom.
The desperate flayer lashed out instinctively with another alien mental blast and this time Ivellios' mind was unable to stand the psychic bombardment. The others still under the protection offered by Ivellios' magic shrugged off the assault.
As Ivellios had done only moment's before, Tim Tanner called upon the power of Draiocht to dispel the illithids powers. Ivellios was revived and the magic holding the cloaked figure in the air was broken. The scorched figure screamed Fallen curses in the name of Schliss as it fell.
They listened for the inevitable crack as the body hit the ground far below. It never came.
"The minions of Athru have many black arts at their disposal," quoted the Vedic. "Well see that spawn of Schliss again".
"Looks like his highness knows were here then," observed Ethan.
"Stop yer yapping. I hear something coming," Bob Charmer barked, his keen ears straining. "There!"

A band of grimlocks hurried up the stairs towards them. One of them moved to touch a symbol on the wall. Then they were engulfed in darkness.
"Nobody panic, I've got a light spell," said Ethan. He sang and produced a light from thin air.
He smiled triumphantly before his noticed that his companions weren't that easily impressed. Tough crowd, he thought.
"Watch this!" Ivellios produced the DeDannan schema with a flourish and invoked its power. A mass of writhing black tentacles sprang from the ground around the grimlocks and they were ensnared. The tentacles began to crush their prey. Charmer casually practiced his archery skills on the hapless would-be attackers and struck down a pair of the with a few nonchalant movement of his arms. The Vedic rushed to Ivellios, grabbed the Jester's Sceptre and pointed it at the grimlock's with unexpected vehemence.
"Hah!" he shouted as he lashed out at them with the jester's chaotic magic.
The entire stairwell was instantly covered in a mass of luxuriant thick green grass.
"That's useless!" complained the Vedic.
Ethan was inclined to agree. Pity Appleby and Stuffitt weren't there to see it. They would have loved it.
"Next time," he consoled the cleric.

The Weavers

AK510-40 Cool Summer End Week 4
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Moonday (morning)

In the Woodhaven the villagers were gearing up for the harvesting which was about to start.
In the morning Vedic Tanner and the druid Appleby humbly beseeched Croi, Naduir and Torthulacht for a good harvest in Woodhaven. The Cycles festival of the Rod was only three weeks away. Tanner also prayed to Croi and Bas for the ability to raise the dead so that the weavers in the temple could be brought back from beyond the wall of souls to continue the work of Aisneis and Tionscail.

The Ibixians made a lightning assault beyond the shunt and the others slipped below during the battle.

They returned to the temple. Ethan felt the force of Tionscail's anger when he arrived and saw the slain warforged scattered around the temple. His gutworm was overcome by the divine emotions and it sent Ethan into a rage. It took him several moments for Ethan to compose himself and once he had, he vowed to Tionscail that he would avenge this desecration of the Temple.
They gathered the bodies of warforged for the raising service and chose two weavers. All the bodies were still well preserved.

There were two altars in the Flame Forge. Neither of which could be reached because they were surrounded completely by the molten mass.
Ivellios prayed for Tine's Grace. His prayer was answered and his natural resistance to fire was increased so that he could stand within the forge's flame. Tin Tan was happy to see his master join him in the forge. It was about time Ivellios succumbed to the joys of flame. While examining the magical symbols around the base of one altar Tin Tan figured out how to control the altar platforms and activated the platform to allow the Vedic to pray at the altar.

A small fortune of diamonds was always required as a sacrifice to Bas when raising the dead. They had no diamonds so Tanner prayed. A vision came to him from Aisneis and he saw a safe. He led them to the vestry and there they found the safe and a fortune in gems stored inside it.
With some of these gems Vedic Tanner raised two of the weavers. The expression on the face of Tionscail's statue softened slightly.

The weavers were not interested in talking to their saviours. They were very shocked that the weaving of the tapestry had stopped and so returned to it to catch up with the time they had lost. The party managed to glean a few pieces of information from the weavers but resorted to reading what they could from the tapestry itself because the weavers attention was consumed by their task.
Some warforged bodies were missing, the tapestry indicated that the prince of Schliss had taken them below to conduct experiments.
Presumably the others were left in the temple because of it's preserving qualities. To prevent further desecration of Tionscail's craftsmen, they brought the bodies back to the Kysiatch's halls.

Many other interesting facts were outlined on the tapestry.
The Prince of Schliss was pictured conducting experiments on Lizardfolk and DeDannan in the Tomb of Setanta and in the village of Honeyglen. He has also formed a pact with the Wild Marsh druid. Under the druid's secret protection he was forcing several tribes of Steel Clan lizardfolk to do his bidding. Any villages of Steel Clan who resisted were destroyed. The tapestry hinted that the most vile experiments were still being carried out by the Prince and his followers in the levels below.
Teth Cromith XIV was the mastermind behind the most vile of the experiments. He was allied with Athru and was attempting to create a master race combining, DeDannan, Undead and Illithid traits. The tapestry revealed that he had followed Ambassador Lord Verity Kinnett to Stormwatch from across Time, Space and The Planes. If the signs were being interpreted correctly, he was also in the levels below. Ethan declared that the Church and The King would have to be informed, so that they could deal with Cromith. Tanner, Ivellios, Ethan and Bob were eager to deal with the Prince of Schliss themselves.
To their surprise the warriors of Woodhaven were being woven into the tapestry. The destiny Tanner and Namer were of particular note. Ominous symbols surrounded a mysterious dark figure which trailed them.
The most immediately useful image on the tapestry was a map of Poll Na Deanta.
The central staircase descended hundreds of feet below the dark keep. While the majority of the complex was comprised of layers of mine shafts for an exhausted kellum mine, the construct animation chamber, the elemental power generator, the high security magical experiments level, the prison and the construct storage levels caught their attention.
Ivellios surmised that using kellum in the power generator could allow them to animate the warforged in the animation chamber.

Carraig struts his stuff

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Sunday (Night)

Ivellios, Tin Tan, Carraig and Tanner returned to get reinforcements.
Meanwhile Charmer and Namer set off from the arrivals area to look for them.
Both sides found the Ibixians under concentrated assault from the Lizardfolk.
The Ibixians were again seriously wounded and were fighting in a corridor, alternately rotating their ranks into melee and healing.

Ivellios and Tanner arrived and the Ibixians decided that it was time to launch a serious offensive.
The new comer Carraig, a creature of Charon, was granted the honour of launching the assault.
The Ibixians cleared the corridor to allow Carraig through.
Ivellios launched a fireball into the large chamber beyond and used the kellum rod to increase the power of Tine's Tears!
The larger lizardfolk manage to survive the intense explosion but the smaller ones were incinerated and reduced to ash in an instant.
Despite themselves, Ivellios' companions were suitably impressed.

Then Carraig charged down the corridor and crashed into the bloodscale rager at the far end. The rager was unable to stand his ground and was pushed back into the centre of the chamber.
Tin Tan scurried forward and spat his newly strengthened fires at a blackscale. The fiery glob struck the lizardfolk and burned through his chest. The blackscale fell.
Bob unleashed a volley of sonic arrows at the remaining blackscale. One of these shots was aimed so well it struck the bloodscale in the eye. The power of Charmer's bow punched the arrow into the lizardfolk's brain and the sonic energy bound to the arrow by his magical quiver, exploded in it's skull. The roof of the blackscale's head blew off and the blackscale was hurled backwards. Charmer smiled.

With the two blackscale dispatched by charmers arrows, Ethan charged the rager. Setanta's flail struck true and the rager reeled from the blow.
Vedic Tanner charged forward and struck the rager with another crushing blow.
Still the rager stood and it vented it's wrath on Ethan, it's massive glowing axe slashed a large gash in his arm as Ethan narrowly avoided being split in two.
Carraig lashed out with unstoppable power and slammed his large stone fists into the rager. The golems blows sent the rager reeling and he fled from the assault.
The Ibixians howled in frustration that their quarry might escape and barrelled into the chamber after the fleeing rager. It might have escaped but for Beria's well aimed axe throw which caught it in the back of the neck and dropped it in it's tracks. Beria bleat-roared with laughter, "You can't escape the axe!"

The remaining Ibixians took up defensive positions around the chamber and prepared for the counter attack. They insisted that they didn't need any assistance and encouraged the 'Thinkers' to have a nice tour around the complex while they fought on.
Vedic Tanner and Cei-Liur Namer weren't too happy about leaving Reave Beria to this fate. And managed to persuade them to join the others in the Arrival's area and that they should heal up and then strike out from there.
Ivellios and Tanner helped Appleby and Stuffitt ferry all the Ibixians through the shunt then they rested. It had been a long week.

The Temple Of Tionscail

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Sunday (Evening)

At the bottom of the first flight of stairs Carraig turned on a light switch. Slowly and shakily the level was illuminated.
They faced a set of double doors.
The doors were decorated with the symbols of Tionscail.
In the corners of each door were the symbols of Ealionn, Draiocht, Caomhnu and Fileadh.
Also represented were Tine, Cre, and Aisneis.
All the symbols were easily identified but were ancient versions and clearly not the modern Church of The Moon versions.
The doors were of gold with Adamantine, Mithral, platinum and Kellum decorations. They were forty feet tall and each was fifteen feet wide. They were incredibly heavy. Carraig moved them with ease. They glided quietly as they opened. A sign of careful maintenance or preservation magic.
A couple of Antechambers later they were in the Temple of Tionscail.

A massive adamantine golem of Tionscail dominated the Temple.
Also of interest were, the forge of fire, the warforged creation tables, the sub temples to other gods.
The thousands of items crafted to perfection. The hundreds of carved tunnels all filled to the brim with art and other items from the Temple.
The corpses of warforged artists and craftsmen lying about the room. The expression of rage on Tionscail's face.

The tapestry of Talamh
A tapestry that was woven for over 10,000 years by the warforged clerics of Tionscail and Aisneis, from visions sent to them by their Gods.
The tapestry was over three miles long and stored on enormous spindles in purpose built corridors.
Upon it was the entire history of Talamh, from The Great to The Godswar, from The Chain Gate to the Unification of the Church of The Moons.
The tale of The Company of Wolves and The Edge of Reason also were told.
The secret of The Metarex quest was also told and how High Feeder Lord Teth Cromith XIV managed to escape the oblivion of the Metarex and trail the last Scion of Teth Cthan to Bigany. The Tapestry shows that Teth Cromith XIV and The Prince of Schliss killed the Warforged. Tanner and Ivellios swear revenge and Tionscail accepts their oath. His symbol is burnt into their foreheads. It will remain for a year and a day.

Tin Tan wasn't particularly interested in either Tionscail or humanoid affairs. He was too busy rejoicing in the power of Tine, the only God worth bothering with. Tin Tan drank deeply of the fiery liquids and molten metals of Tine's forge fire. The incredible heat would have incinerated a normal rat in seconds, but to Tin Tan this was the finest meal he had ever consumed. And he gave exultant praise to Tine. Then changes then began to occur within Tin Tan and the temperature of his body increased dramatically as Tine's Forge Fires took hold within him. He began to glow. From that day forth Tin Tan's flames were greater and hotter than any other of his kind. This came as no surprise to Tin Tan, being the best character in the village.

These Ibixians are crazy

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Sunday (Afternoon)

They were about to continue down the stairs when they heard the bleating war cry of the Ibixians.
They rushed up the stairs and opened the doors to find the 20 Woodhaven ibixians fighting for their lives.
The Charon priests had fought their way past the lizardfolk army defending the caves.
However they had been pursued by reinforcements and several of them were badly wounded.

Tanner and Ivellios opened the door and they flooded onto the landing.
After launching a few spells through they shut the doors behind the Ibixians.
Tanner contacted Todd and instructed him to seal the landing doors.
The Ibixians began to use Charon's magic to heal their wounds.
The Charon Code allows priests to only cast spells before and after battles.
A Charon priest that cast spells in combat is considered inferior.
Consistent combat spell casting requires atonement.

The ibixians decided that they would stay at the top of the stairs to guard the lower levels from the lizardfolk and use the landing as a staging area for harassing raids.

The Naming of Carraig

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Sunday (Morning)

Tim Tanner and Ivellios decide that it is time for them to venture further below.
The others stay to tend to the injured and sick

Ivellios uses clairvoyance to scan the area behind the shunt.
It is guarded by a blackscale, a couple of stone clan and a couple of Wood spitters.
Ivellios studies the shunt magic and with knowledge gleaned from Kysiatch's Journal, figures out a way to get through the portal and re-materialise in an instant. It is difficult but he feels he can do it.
He uses the control panel to unlock all areas.
Tim Tanner finds the lever mentioned in Kysiatch's journal that unlocks the door to the main stairwell of Poll Na Deanta.

Ivellios moves them through the shunt instantaneously and they attack.
A pair of fiery rays and a flaming spit fell the Blackscale.
A couple of mace blows and a barrage of magic missiles and the other guards are also dispatched.
All were killed to quickly to raise the alarm.

Quickly the pair slipped through the doors and onto the landing.
Todd then sealed the arrivals area.

They descended into the Darkness.
Slumped on the stairs was a stone golem with a burnt out socket gem in it's chest.
Ivellios took the Strong Arcane Gem and placed it in the socket.
Immediately the golem came to life.
"Who the Namer?" it asked.
"Ivellios Tharanaian." the wizard responded.
"What is my Name?"
"Carraig."
"Mission?" it asked.
"Bodyguard." Ivellios instructed.
"How goes the War?"
"It is over."
"Who won?"
"The DeDannan"
"The Ogre Mages"
"They were all killed."
"Good."
The Stone Golem, Carraig was now fully reprogrammed.

Worms of Kysiatch

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Charday

Many of the survivors of The Darkkeep have become ill.
The symptoms are stomach cramps, fatigue and blind rages.
Ivellios consults Kysiatch's Journal and identifies gutworms as the cause.
There were gutworms in the water in the fountain in the arrivals hall.
Although Appleby purified it, gutworms can survive up to a day in purified water.
Ivellios decides to irritate his gutworm into submission by continually urging it to
"Come into my mouth". It doesn't.
Vedic Tanner removes his armour and threatens to kill his gutworm.
It responds by biting Tanner's stomach lining.
Tanner plunges a dagger into his own stomach in an attempt to kill the gutworm.
The blade pierces the creature's head and it is killed.
However it's death throws cause massive internal haemorrhaging and lacerations to stomach, rib cages and other organs. The pain is incredible but Stanten calls on the power of Croi to heal the Vedic and the damage is quickly undone.
"I don't think the commoners are going to survive that." Tim acknowledges.
Ivellios decides to use his magic to solve the problem.
After several hundred attempts to urge the fiendish parasite into his mouth, he casts a suggestion spell and the creature is compelled to struggle up his throat.
Ivellios is on the verge of suffocating with the worm appears in his mouth.
Quick as a snake, Tanner grabs the gutworm in his fist and drops it into one of Kysiatch's glass jars.
"We can examine that later" he suggests. "For now you'll have to live with the worms until we can com up with a better cure." The others, having seen the alternatives are willing to live with the infestation for a while longer.

Ivellios, Todd, Tanner and Ethan spend the day studying the lab and library.
Over night Ivellios dreams become stronger and the urge to go below cannot be resisted.

The Grim Library

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Draiday (Night)

They entered the secret chamber once Todd eventually managed to find a well hidden door.
He was poisoned by vilestar. Something unusual prevented his death from this vile poison. No one remarked it.
Everything in the room was covered in blue white fungus. Charmer spotted an iron cabinet covered in vilestar.
Todd decided he didn't want to get poisoned again and so they resolved to come back later.

They entered the library. They were attacked by a summoning ooze. It spewed out lemures.
They were unable to damage them or to get into the room
Charmer killed many with his sonic arrows. Tanner killed the ooze.

Todd was bitten by an oras fethid and contracted filth fever.
Ivellios started to examine the books.
They found many scrolls and valuable books.
Ivellios was attacked by a shadow while studying one of the tomes.

Library
Book of Summoning, all summon spells 9,600 gp
Book of lesser magic, all 2nd level spells 10,000 gp
Tine's Flame, all fire spells PHB & SC 9,400 gp
Ancient DeDannan Magic (2nd Ed Spell Compendium) 10,000 gp
Ezechial's Pact Magic Binding The Beyond 2,000 gp
Basic Psionics 1,000 gp
Golem manual, stone (Sepia Snake protected) 22,000 gp
Tome of Truenames and pronouncements 5,000 gp
Shadow magic of Shale, Gift of Dorchas. (Shadow) 1,000 gp
Book of the Wu Jen 1,000 gp
Tome of the War mage 1,000 gp
Shelf of scrolls 10 medium Scrolls 4 major 12 minor 23,375 gp
Other research books 5,000 gp

The Grim Laboratory

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Droiday (Afternoon)
A rogue dretch was wandering the halls.
It is quickly slain by the party.

Desk
Lying on a highly ornate but ancient and badly damaged Darkwood Desk are:
A red and black oily metal rod. Kellum Rod Socketed: Lesser Empower Rod (Ivellios)

An Adamantine flat piece of metal covered in magical runes. Schema of Black Tentacles (1/day)

An open gem display case of silver inlaid with red dragon velvet: Socket Gems, One of each energy type (6) trinket gem, One of each power type (6) trinket gem, One lesser Balor Gem, One lesser , Solar Gem, One Strong Arcane Gem

Sticking out of a drawer at an odd angle is a jesters sceptre, Rod of Wonder (DMG 237)

The alchemical experimentation table is covered in hundred of magical contraptions, vials, burners, glass coolers, gold reducing jars and so forth worth 5,000gp

Various heads, crushed gems, guano, string etc, 4,000 gp of spell component gems.

In various stages of creation are, 10 potions (plus 4 of illithid mutation - Athru)

5 Scrolls written on human skin

A Pearl (of Power) earring

Bag of holding Socketed

Hanging in a wardrobe are:
Two full sets of ogre sized high quality clothing and accessories, which are empty socket holding items (two for each slot).Very high quality craftsmanship 2500 gp each

Purple and Gold (Summoner's) cloak of Torlandish design (Augment Summoning)

Spike
A lizardfolk head is jammed on a spike

One an operating table
A tzakandi corpse with it's mouth ripped open, A failed tzakandi experiment being fitted with a morgue tongue, Poison Dusk Clan. He still has a quiver on his back, Sonic Quiver

On another operating table
Another Steel Clan Lizardfolk head. A DeDannan Torso in bardic clothing, Minotaur skull and hooves.

The Journal of Kysiatch
Lying in the middle of the leather upholstered desk is a large well made book.
Kysiatch's level of activity dramatically increased at the beginning of the year when he was visited by the Alhoon Teth Cromith and the prince of Schliss.

Biological spare parts table
Preserved in jars are...
Gutworms, A undead Morgue tongue, An illithid cerebral hood, A undead mummified eye, An illithid rending claw, A Steel Clan Lizardfolk Warrior, An illithid raking tentacle, A Brain in a Jar
On a dissection table , is a warforged dressed as an artist several body parts are missing.

Hanging from a hook
Another Steel Clan lizardfolk lies hanging from a hook. It's brain is missing. Looks like it was extracted by a Mind Flayer. Tentacles hang from it's slack jaw. (The brain is in the jar).

Stylish Darkwood Display Cabinet
(Coated in poison) Ceramic tobacco jar. (450 gp) Tobacco Kysiatch was addicted to it during life and kept smoking it during undeath. The wyssin plant grows on the surrounding hills.

Green glass bottle: Terran Brandy (1 bottle) it's label lists the names of nymphs from the thornwood forest that were tortured, abused and slain in order to distil this foul liquid. +2 to caster level. The bottle is full and holds 40 doses. It is worth 20,000gp in The Prison on Talamh it's worth between 40,000gp and 100,000gp depending on whether a buyer can be found...

20 small vials: Kysiatch's own fungal brew made from blue fungus in the secret chamber. Chamber was a supply room armoury before but now the fungus has taken over. Kysiatch used to sell the brew to Prisoners in order to fund bindings, experiments and purchase magical items.

Various small drawers: Many body parts bought from The Prison. There are all spell components from BVD to be used in experiments.

The party examined the lab and were attacked by brain in a jar.
It was electrocuted by Ivellios then Vedic Tanner turned it and it was then pinned to the door by Charmer.

Tim turned the undead grafts.
Then they were all destroyed.

Todd was offered the hood.
It is too gruesome for him so he declines.

Ivellios reads the Journal of Kysiatch and discovers many intriguing things, including the true purpose of the facility, the fact that Kysiatch was once a DeDannan and that he was trading supplies with creatures from The Prison.

The Prayer of Vedic Tanner

We heroes of the deep halls are,
Harmoniously voiced.
The Glory of The Great we feel,
The Chosen we all praise.

We follow Chosen Trinity,
Oft unified and split.
Cogadh, Croi and Draiocht; Three,
We serve, we never quit.

For Cogadh roar the Charon Verse,
And light The Shining Moon.
For Draíocht chant The Spells of Shale,
And cloak The Darkened Moon.

And so Croi Leads the Cycles Song,
The Palace of the Sun.
We feel approaching healing,
As our prayer is Done.

So here we sing The Ever Song,
We sing it on this day.
And so we hail the Sun and Moons,
of The Peering Eye.

The History of Schliss: Part III

Years later, disaster struck. The last Scion of the Metarex an Illithid child called Teth'Cthu, son of one of the Imperial Refugees had escaped into the underdark. He was approached by Athru, who offered to become the protector of the Metarex Illithids. But only if they would worship the Fallen and do Athru's bidding. Teth'Cthu agreed readily and quickly became one of The Fallen's Minions. Athru sent protectors to the child while he grew in power. Teth'Cthu began to recruit followers from among Imperial Loyalists and the disenfranchised illithid in Shliss and other settlements. Then he slipped into Shliss central birthing pool and with Athru's power caused a mutation in the spawn of Shliss' ruler. Teth'Cthu barely escaped with his life and was badly burned by the Mutants' acid breath.

The Mutant, a Neothilid grew in a blinding flash to a gargantuan size and proceeded to slaughter all of the inhabitants of Shliss. The rulers quickly sealed the city and the docks and called all their brethren to the birthing pool to destroy the creature. The battle raged for days, with massive losses on the Illithids side and no substantial damage to the Neothilid. Then the rulers decided to flee to the ships. The Neothilid anticipated this and ambushed them on their way to the docks. The first illithids to reach the docks were a group that were loyal to Teth'Cthu. They closed the gates to the docks against the rulers and left them to their deaths. The Neothilid massacred the rulers. However having suspected that there was treachery involved, they had trapped the imperial Nautiloid with poison. The loyalists attempted to use this nautiloid and were poisoned. Meanwhile the remainder of the Shliss population fled through the smaller unsealed air and sewer tunnels into the underdark to seek out the other illithid cities.

Teth'Cthu was waiting for them, hideous in his burned flesh and forced them to convert to The Fallen or be destroyed. Few escaped him. Descendants of Teth'Cthu still rule a vast number of Fallen Illithids but there are still many independent cities scattered throughout the underdark. Some are followers of The Chosen or of Aigne having with the Church in a bid to fend of the growing power of the Fallen.

The History of Schliss: Part II

Hundreds of years after the fall of the Metarex, Shliss was one of the few major Illithid centers still active. A ragged flotilla of Nautiloids arrived from outside the sphere. They bore the emblems of the Metarex imperial family. They came seeking shelter in Shliss and declared that they had brought a weapon of great power in order to allow the forces of Shliss to take over the planet. Talamh would then become the staging point for the recovery of the Empire. Negotiations took place for the positions of the newcomers in the Shliss government and for Shliss role within the future Empire. The newcomers who were members of the imperial family did not get the respect they felt they deserved, while the Shliss rulers did not believe that the Empire would ever be reborn and so were disinclined to give up their powers to the haughty self-important refugees.

A nasty battle erupted and the imperial family was slain by their Shliss Kin. Most of the Shliss rulers and their best warriors were also slain in the viscous battle. Their ships were ransacked to find the 'weapon of great power' but it was never found. The Shliss Illithids believed that the Imperial Family was lying about the powerful item in order to gain power within Shliss. They were quickly dismissed as imposters.

The History of Schliss: Part I

The 'Shliss' outpost was founded during the height of the Illithid Empire over ten thousand years ago, before the time of Tain McLir and during the time of the great races. It was founded by an illithid Empire colonial fleet. The Fleet made landfall on Talamh and built a colonial city. It was from here that the illithids spread throughout the underdark of Talamh and throughout the planes in the Peering Eye world.

The outpost was named Shliss, which means 'Focus', in the Ancient Illithid Tongue. Shliss was initially very successful and many Nautiloids arrived at the great dock of Shliss to deliver and trade in slaves and other valuables.

Several other colonies were founded in various other parts of the underdark and this process led to inevitable clashes with other races beneath the surface. These wars raged for hundreds of years as the illithid struggled for dominance of the underdark. Once the underdark was theirs they intended to take the surface world and claim the entire planet for the Illithid Empire.

They may have succeeded on Talamh as they had on countless other worlds but for two major obstacles.

First they paid no heed to the Gods, Fallen, Chosen or Risen and so had no divine allies, secondly the Gith revolution overthrew the Illithid Empire and so they had no off-world allies to send reinforcements. These two major setbacks meant that they were unable to conquer the underdark and that they were unable to match the power of the great races.

Needless to say the Illithid leaders persevered and hoped to achieve their goals nonetheless. The Illithid of Talamh were one of the few who managed to prevent the Gith uprising, by slaughtering thousands of Gith slaves and then sealing their city against extraplanar travel and communication. Their massive colonisation and trading fleets were at their greatest size and were used with tactical brilliance against the Gith Navy in great battles in Eyespace. The losses were horrendous on both sides and so they both sought easier targets, vowing destroy their foe once their strength was increased sufficiently.

The colonisation had stalled considerably due to the losses in the Gith Wars and so the Illithids began a long period of consolidation, growing their strength, in preparation for their eventual conquest.

They declined to worship any gods though. The Risen were anathema to their beliefs, the chosen required them to renounce their dreams of planar conquest. And while The Fallen suited their purposes and outlook, they were too few in number and worshiping them provoked to much antagonism from both the chosen and the risen. The Illithids didn't feel that is was necessary to share power with anyone.

Peering Eye History: The Fourth Age

Fourth Age

0: Bigany
King Jurius Kinnett I is formally crowned by The Val-Roi of Croi.
She orders the construction of The Great Temple.
A Cathedral of colosal size in Bigany town.
In return for a massive land grant from the King, The Church grants Bigany a city charter and pledges The Church's protection to the City.

2: Bigany
The Black Guard is transformed into a fearsome unit.
BAs, The Trainer, The Crown and The King all work in unison on the transformation.

5: Bigany
The Citadel is Started

25: Torland
Several provinces have ceded from the empire, central power is crumbling

55: Bigany
The Citadel is Completed

100: Bigany
King Jurius Kinnett I dies, having been succeeded on the throne by his son, grandson and great grandson.
While never too far from the seat of power he trained his successors well and Bigany prospered.

101: Torland
The Dominus Imperial line dies out.
Senate takes full power and declares a republic.

150: Torland
Khyler family takes control of the senate become high consuls

200: Torland
Exeros Kyler I Declared Emperor by the senate

200: Bigany
Bigany City Walls & Sewers Completed

240: Torland
Elven Realm of Nagaranthialleth falls to an unnamed dragon.
Treaty of Nagaranthialleth signed

250: Torland
Barbarians displaced by the invasion of Nagaranthialleth raid deep into Torland, reaching the edge of the Tor Peninsula.
Battle of Tor Bay.The Peninsula wall is started

275: Torland
The Peninsula wall is completed

290: Torland
Vitrus Senator declared consul

300: Bigany
The Val-Roi of The Church Of The Moons moves the Church Seat to The Great Temple in Bigany City

310: Bigany
Expansion of The Great Temple.
The land grant is fully used so extradimensional space becomes widely used.
Portals to other churches, The Moons and to other planes are created.

330: Torland
Emperor Javian launches ill fated eastern colonial expansion.

333: Torland
Riots in Tor, Senate over eastern expansion

335: Torland
Senate attempts to overrule emperor regarding the eastern expansion

338: Torland
Senators who attempted to overrule the emperor are killed.
Many flee the capital.
End of Vitrus family ascendance.

353: Torland
Collapse of the Eastern Colony.
Javian Dies in suspicious circumstances.
Jarius takes the crown

360: Torland
South Sea Pirates encountered.
Skirmishes

360: Torland
Southern campaign commences, attempt to crush the power of the South sea Pirates

370: Bigany
A Torlandish Invasion of Bigany is Broken at Lakeport.

371: Bigany
Lakeport, Bigany and The Great Temple begin a series of fortification initiatives, most notably the new citadel and the formation of the six armies.

380: Torland
South Sea War ends with truce of Free Port

385: Bigany
Creation of the Bigany Navy, heavily supported by the Mome familly.
Rise of the Mome Merchant Navy.

400: Elledrin
Temple of Elemental Evil Defeated

420: Bigany
The New Citadel is completed.

450: Bigany
Gold is discovered in Torc lands at the source of the Branch River.
The Branch Hill mines are opened.

450: Bigany
Torland invades Bigany driven back following battle of Rebrick Bridge

480: Stormwatch
Stormwatch Colony Founded

485: Torland
Emperor Autarchus crowned emperor of Torland at the age of 25.
Focus on Arts and Philosophy within the empire

500: Bigany
The Demon Night in Bigany, King Darius Kinnett XIV taken captive.
100 Blackguard Plane Shift to The Abyss to rescue the King

500: Bigany
Misneach is Raised - Peering Eye.
The Paladins of Misneach enjoy a resurgence among the Dwarves.
Tionscail Priests oppose this new movement, but the Dwarvern nation still hold a deep love and respect for Misneach.

500: Bigany
Torland Invades Bigany but is driven off by the Black Guard

501: Bigany
Yet another Torland invasion of Bigany is driven back at Redbrick bridge by a unified Black Army

501: Bigany
Edgar Kinnett escapes from Ko-Shaar and is crowned King Edgar I of The Kingdom of Bigany and The Colonies

502: Bigany
Foundation of Highvale Barony by Lord Maaji Halmonde Mome I

504: Torland
Assault on the Dragon by Bigany, Torland and The Church

504: Bigany
Biganford demon incursion

504: Elledrin
Temple of Elemental Evil Converted

505: The Barrier
Assault of Temple of All Consumption

506: McDuff Isle
Nadine McDuff Crowned Queen of McDuff Isle

510: Stormwatch
The Metarex is Destroyed

510: Stormwatch
Foundation of Woodhaven.
Appointment of Ambassador Verity Kinnett and General Azaz Vakar.

Peering Eye History: The Third Age

Third Age

-4,500: Talamh
Destruction of the Chain Gate - Ebb of Great Races and their Civilisations

-4,500: Torland
The Torish Humans are rescued from the Fallen host and taken to the Tor peninsula by a god.

-4,500: Talamh
The Church Founded - Peering Eye

-4,000: Torland
The Torish people start using agriculture rather than Hunter gatherer

-3,500: Torland
Village Settlements throughout Tor Peninsula

-3,000: Torland
Bronze discovered by Errull Tribe who come to dominate the peninsula over the next 100 years.

-2,500: Talamh
Unification of The Church after 2,000 years war - Peering Eye

-2,250: Torland
City of Tor founded by Errisyl I of the Errull tribe

-1,750: Torland
First encounters between Torland people and nomadic tribes from mainland

-1,500: Torland
Encounters with Elves.
Art of Shipbuilding learned.

-1,250: Torland
Disputed Succession leads to Civil war in Torland

-1,000: Torland
Torland fragmented into City states.
Start Era of the city state

-480: Torland
Tacticus Maximus I comes to power in the city of Tor.
Revamps the army and declares himself emperor

-470: Torland
Khyr, the last free city state on the Tor peninsula is conquered and razed.

-470: Torland
Legions I - XX are founded

-450: Torland
Emperor Tacticus Maximus I dies on campaign in the south.
End of Southern expansion

-420: Torland
Empire size has stabilised with some reduction in size.
Imperial senate founded, grows in power.

-400: Torland
Beginning, era of peace.
Tor follows non aggression towards its neighbours.

-300: Torland
Depleted through inactivity the Torland armies are overrun by a barbarian horde from the north.
Tor is razed.
Turmoil in the regions

-280: Torland
Regional powers have grown to the level of warlords.
Gaius Regimentus I declared emperor.

-275: Torland
Emperor Gaius Regimentus I subdues the provinces.
Rebuilds army, trade.
Navy created.

-275: Torland
Start of period of Colonisation.
Naval Domination.
Coastal colonies established.

-250: Torland
Tribune Primus Vitrus founds the Western most colony of the empire.
The province is named Vitruesi.
It is formed with both military and mercenary aid.

-150: Torland
Emperor Julius Dominus X extends the main body of the empire westward to join the Vitreusi province.

-120: Torland
Twin brothers are born to the Emperor's wife who dies in childbirth.
Both live, the first born: Victus is declared heir.
His brother is accorded special rights and named Cartulus Bellicus Imperius

-100: Torland
General Cartulus Belllicus gathers a group of disaffected younger children of the wealthy and sets out to conquer new lands.
He is granted the Dirt Legion due to his imperial status and raises a large army of Mercenaries.

-95: Bigany
Cartulus Belllicus conquers the new province of Elleria Minor around the Great Lake and receives formal recognition as Duke of the Western Realm, Senatorial Consul

-95: Bigany
Julius Kinnus, a bastard son of Bellicus, is born to a Dirt Legion officer.
She keeps the father's identity secret from all.
As per tradition the son is raised as a Dirt Legionaire.
He is named after his grandfather and his father's aspirations for kingship.

-94: Torland
Emperor Julius Dominus X, his son Prince Victus Dominus I are killed in a boating accident near Lakeport, the new Capital of Elleria Minor.

-93: Torland
Empress Verosia Dominus I, wife of Victus, seizes power on behalf of her infant son Verus Dominus I becoming the first empress of Torland

-70: Torland
Summer of Blood.
Attempted assassination of the emperor in waiting.
Empress Verosia Domius I loses her grip on sanity and imposes martial law.

-69: Torland
Civil unrest, riots in Tor, the senate.
Cartulus Belllicus openly defies Empress Verosia in the senate.

-69: Bigany
Julius Kinnus deserts the Dirt Legion during riots in Tor and returns to Elleria with four close friends.
They settle on a small island where the 'Big One' river meets the Branch river.
The Island settlement becomes known and the 'Big One Y' Keep.
Due to the shape of the rivers.

-67: Bigany
The Five Lords' of Bigany Keep, as Julius Kinnus, Cassius Momentus, Larcenus Veccio, Ibrahim 'Fabulous' Talkus and Maximus Forticus call themselves, start charging a toll on ships using the Big One and Branch rivers.
They enforce this toll from their substantially fortified keep using ballista technology gained from the Torlandish Army.

-65: Torland
General Cartulus Belllicus is arrested, tried and executed for treason.

-65: Bigany
Cartulus Bellicus Imperius II renounces his name and resigns his senatorial seat.
He crowns himself King Cartulus Kinnus I of Elleria He declares Elleria's full independence from the Torlandish Empire.

-60: Bigany
After long and frustrating years of Diplomacy an ageing Empress Verosia marches on Elleria to reclaim Torlandish Lands.
A bitter war ensues.

-58: Bigany
The Five Lords of Bigany Keep, raise a mercenary army and lift the siege of Lakeport where King Cartulus Kinnus I is trapped.
The King of Elleria formally recognises his brother thanks to intervention from an Aisneis Priest.
Elleria officially recognises Bigany as an independant domain despite it's humble size.

-55: Torland
Empress Verosia Dominus dies in Vitrus on her way back to Tor.
She is the last emperor to set foot in the town.

-55: Torland
Emperor Verus Dominus takes the crown of Torland.
He still refuses to recognise either Elleria or Bigany but lacks the military power to enforce his will.

-50: Bigany
Bigany grows to be a properous Town with trading posts along the banks of the river.
After initial violence, the tolls have been paid without issue for many years.
Bigany town provides security and shelter in return for the toll exacted.
Trade is brisk especially once the Elleria wars end.

-45: Torland
The Senate takes control of crumbling empire from the hands of Emperor Verus Dominus.

-35: Bigany
Lord Orion Kinnus, Julius' Son, is formally acknowledged as the leader of the Five Lords of Bigany Town.
He changes his name to Kinnett in order to start a new 'Noble' line and to reinforce Bigany's independence from Elleria and Torland.

-7: Bigany
Lord Jurius Kinnett disappears into the Horn mountains on a quest given to him by a priest of Aisneis.

-2 : Bigany
Lord Jurius Kinnett returns.
He has incredible personal powers at his disposal.
He declares himself King Jurius Kinnett I, Ruler of The Kingdom of Bigany.
He claims all lands south of the mountains to be his.
This domain includes Elven, Ellerian, Torlandish and freehold lands.
All the Lords of Bigany, including the current ruler of Bigany, his father Lord Orion attempt to assassinate him.
Jurius easily stops them and brings them into a private session.
After an few minutes they reappear and declare full support for the new King.
The Church of The Moons, at the request of the Cult of Aisneis, supports Jurius completely.

-2: Bigany
King Jurius Kinnett I visits the Elledrin and Tor and returns with treaties recognising The Kingdom of Bigany.

-1: Bigany
King Cartulus Kinnus III of Elleria invades Bigany to crush the upstart King Jurius.
This is exactly what Jurius wants.
On the day of battle near Bigany Town Jurius appears in the air beside Cartulus.
The King of Elleria is a famous Knight of prodigious strength and consumate skill, known for his battle prowess and many military victories.
Using his mind he swiftly crushes Cartulus' will and exacts an oath of obediance.
Cartulus becomes the Captain Jurius' Personal body guard, The Black Guard.
The lands and cities of Elleria are ceded to Bigany and Jurius divides them among the Lords of Bigany.
The existing nobles align themselves with the five families for fear of Jurius Kinnett.

Peering Eye History: The First Ages

First Age

10,000,000 years ago in the Multiverse
Creation is completed by The Great


Second Age

5,000,000 years ago in Radharc
The God Children are born.

1,000,000 years ago in Radharc
Talamh is created by The Gods.

100,000 years ago in Radharc
The Godswar - The Chosen Sing.

10,000 years ago on Talamh
The Height of the Great Races, most notably the DeDannan.

The Return of The Bard

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Croiday

The day was spent in prayer giving thanks to the Chosen. The Vedic and his acolyte Stanten, performed a ceremony which all attended. Each then gave thanks to their own God in their own way. Saol granted her gift's to Vedic Tanner and he bestowed her healing upon all. The druid called upon the blessing of Naduir and was granted nature's bounty. With this he fed all the survivors. The water from the arrivals hall fountain was purified and by Croi and Naduir and all drank deeply. The day passed swiftly. Only the minor interruptions of prayer, meditation and the needs of the body disturbed their slumber.

The following day the adventurers awoke refreshed. Many of the Dark Keep survivors were in foul spirits and several needed to be restrained when their anger at the loss of the count and the keep overtook them. Ivellios and Todd were eager to explore the rest of the complex where they were confident that items of significant magical power or monetary value awaited them.
The grimweird's laboratory, a guardroom in ages past, was locked. After some time Todd admitted defeat, he couldn't pick the lock. He returned to the summoning chamber and sifted through the pile of ash and brittle cloth that was all that remained of the grimweird. He found an iron key, a pair of rings, a belt and an amulet. A short while later they were in the lab.
All manner of strange items and gruesome biological oddities lay strewn at random around the room. What grabbed Appleby's attention though were the bottles of oils and unguents that lay randomly placed about the chamber. He quickly established that there were sufficient components there to attempt a reincarnation ritual. The resolved to delay the exploration until after the druid made the attempt to reincarnate Ethan Namer.
They brought the Bard's body to entrance hall and the druid performed the ritual of reincarnation.
Ethan's friends then invoked to the Gods on his behalf, beseeching them to return Ethan once again as a human and free from the taint of the Dragon of Nagaranthiel.

Appleby: Naduir, breathe the water of life into him.
Charmer: Bas and Saol, he asks you for more time on our world.
DelFuego: Neart, grant his form the strength the challenge his foes.
Fileadh, play him your Song, to draw him back and let your melody describe his true form.
Tharanaian: We know that he has not fulfilled his destiny.
So we ask you Aisneis to please give him the chance to yet again challenge the great wyrm.
Appleby: Naduir, Your wind my breath, fill my lungs and grant me this true re-incarnation to Namer's true form.

Each invocation of the Gods names during the ritual, caught the attention of a fraction of the Gods' minds. Even a minuscule portion of a Gods' mind has overwhelming power.
Ethan's soul was released by the aspect Bas. Naduir's will sent it back with a new human body. Aisneis casually muted the wyrm's power and allowed the Namer to pursue his true destiny. As Fileadh played, the aspect they had invoked wove Ethan's connection to the True Line into his Song. Naduir breathed life into the body.

Ethan Namer awoke. He felt perfect. Not merely healthy, fit, content or happy.
Perfect.
His body was stronger, tougher and more agile, his mind felt quicker, stronger and more certain of it's purpose. He felt in harmony with the Song and realised that before he had always been a discordant tone. The taint of the wyrm had been removed. He was free to choose his own destiny. He reached for his mandolin and began to play. Savoring the moment.
"No time for that now!" exclaimed Todd, "There's treasure to be found!"

Ethan was almost going to resist when he remembered just how much he liked treasure.

Dretch Incursion

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Cogaday (Night)

A dark red storm raged across the broken land. The clouds seethed and boiled above the blackened ground below. Maggots writhed in agony on the carcass of a poisoned beast. He ate them. On the edge of his dull consciousness he could sense their anguish and this was almost as satisfying to him as their putrid taste. Maw had a quiet, undisturbed notion that he was once more than this. More than a drooling, hateful, small, lump of flesh with sharpened teeth eating poisonous rot and roaming the shattered landscape looking for something to kill. Every day was filled with despair and frustration that he was too weak and pathetic to vent his wrath on anything of consequence. Every day was filled with hate. Hadn't he once been a killer? His ineffectual mind was cursed with hazy half formed memories of such things, as if some inept psychic had casually wiped his memory leaving only enough of it to taunt him with impressions better times. Was he being punished. Yes. That was it he realised. He didn't know why but he knew he deserved it. But he could do nothing about it and the painful futility of his existence began to eat at him and he remembered that the same revelation came to him endlessly. Only all consuming anger could move his thoughts from this awful truth so the cycle of rage began again. With almost no effort the fury overtook him and he had to destroy something. He hurled the maggot covered bowels he had been eating at one of his companions, who stared venomously at him, while the stinking larva ridden excrement dripped down his face. He screamed, infuriated and the inevitable combat began once more. Claw slashed against rubbery face. Teeth clamped onto scabby arms. But neither could inflict any serious damage on the other. The two obese bloated figures rolled on the corpse strewn ground surrounded by a mob of their kind. A collective bloodlust was growing. A riot of untamed violence was about to break out among the dretch.

"Get back in line you horrible filth!" roared their commander Illh'asa'thruk'intro'mlai, a massive hulking figure weighing over half a ton and towering over the dretch. To give weight to his order he picked up one of the dretch standing in a circle around the brawlers, bit off one of it's legs and threw it at Maw.
Maw dodged the leg and scrambled to get back into formation. Thruk was completely psychotic and delighted into tormenting every dretch in the platoon. They were all terrified of him. Not least Daq, whose dark green blood sprayed all over the bitter rusted stone. He squealed in pain and terror.
"What the Feo did you do that for you Risen bastard?" he wailed, clutching at the gushing stump. Everyone winced, you didn't call Thruk a Risen, not unless you loved pain. Thruk smiled at the pathetic figure writhing in agony screaming curses at him.
"Oh, I am so sorry your Highness," Thruk apologized, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He reached down and picked up Maq's bloated body, "I didn't realise that I was in the presence of such an important guest."
With a gruesome gristly sound he slowly pulled Maq's arms out of their sockets.
"I'm going to rip off your head you Risen bastard!" screamed Maq's strangled voice.
Thruk was impressed, while the insults were pathetic, the little dretch's anger was powerful. This kind of ferocity was just what the army needed, the dretch deserved a promotion he decided. The tendons in Maq's left arm were marginally weaker and so they broke first. The arm was wrenched away from dretch's body and dark green blood sprayed the onlookers. Maq's boiling rage drove him beyond sane limits and he continued to hurl abuse at his tormentor. His remaining leg flailed, trying to find Thruk's face.
Thruk was rarely impressed, least of all by muck like these dretch but this one was special. He was destined for great things. Thruk had little time for destiny.
He knelt down beside a large jagged rock and rested Maq's head against it. Then he placed his hands gently on either side of the wailing dretch's head, lifted it slightly, smiled and smashed it into the rock. Maq died instantly.
The ruined body slowly turned to black ooze. The ooze began to bubble and all manner of body parts boiled up from the dark living mess. All were silenced by the beautiful power of Athru at work. Then a form began to dominate. From out of the corrupted primordial ooze rose a gaunt humanoid figure dripping with blood colored slime. A single horn bent forwards from the centre of it's leather skinned skull.
"Well done Maq'asa!" Thruk congratulated the disoriented dretch on his promotion to Babau, "Get this horrible lot in line. We've got a job to do!"
The dretch moved quickly, their fear of Thruk driving them forward. To slake his overpowering thirst for revenge, Maq'asa quickly killed one of the dretch, his powerful talons darting through it's eyes. There was no abyssal re-incarnation for that pathetic whelp, it had died quaking instead of using it's anger. The Prison punished weakness.
Maq'asa hurried to keep up with the others.

It was only minutes later when the calling came. A summoner on the material plane of Talamh! A dark greasy red portal opened up in front of him and he was pulled irresistibly through it. A feeble looking creature, covered with dark purple tendrils of energy had called him. A grimweird. He was offering a binding to the material plane in exchange for service. Maq'asa was more than willing, but wanted to see what was on offer before he decided whether to betray this fool.
A chosen cleric entered the summoning chamber. The grimweird's concentration lapsed before the binding conduit could be established fully. Maq'asa was hurled back across the planes to The Prison. No! He had to get to Talamh, damn that priest! He refused to let the connection go and his anger was powerful. It came to his aid again. By sheer force of rage he held on to the conduit. But slowly and inevitably it was slipping through his fingers. There were some things even anger could not achieve.
Then the miracle. A chaotic uncontrolled flux of energy surged along the evaporating connection and smashed into The Prison. The positive divine energy of Croi overpowered the ancient destructive energy of Feo and the grimweird's spirit was smashed. The energies took on a lives of their own as The Prison fueled their chaotic destructive battle. The grimweird's spirit was bound to the summoning energy that had sustained him in his undeath and it lashed out. The grimweird's fury fed Maq'asa's terrible purpose and lent him the strength to hold the portal open. The DeDannan summoning circle at the other end granted it the stability it needed to hold the energy in place. A permanent portal was formed.

Thruk watched in amazement. To him it seemed that Maq'asa had spontaneously created a permanent portal to Talamh. Not even a demon lord could do that! What the risen was going on? He was worried. Maq'asa wanted revenge against him and The Prison itself seemed to grant him strange new powers. He was sure he could kill him, but after the display of power he had just witnessed he wasn't willing to risk Maq'asa returning as a Balor or something even more powerful. This was not good. In The Prison it was always the wrong time to show fear. He decided to make light of the power displayed and to assert his power.
"Alright you maggots! Get your short fat arses through that portal!"
Not one of the dretch moved. He nodded to Maq'asa who killed one, quickly and enthusiastically with his razor-sharp claws. Thruk grabbed one, broke it's arm and hurled it through the portal.
"Move!"
The dretch shuffled forward through the portal, their fear of Thruk outweighing their fear of the unknown. Maw's dim brain sensed that a bad day was about to get a whole lot worse.

When he arrived on the material plane the others were already pounding on the armor of some hated Chosen creature. It had been sickened by the glorious clouds of green gas they had exhaled. Maw took a deep breath, Talamh was a strange alien place and the gas was comforting to him. A glowing red symbol on the wall nearby gabbed his attention. It was a magical chosen symbol, he could feel it. Instinctively he lashed out with his own magic, projecting his fear at it. He felt foolish when his mind caught up with his instinct and berated him for wasting his fear magic against a symbol. Then he was pulled through the shunt.
He appeared in a long well lit hallway. There was no gas here and it felt strange. He inhaled, ready to breathe the gas out into the hallway. A Chosen champion came thundering down the corridor and with one powerful blow cut off his head.

The battle had quickly turned against them after Sir Eagon's impressive decapitating strike. The strange demonic creatures had filled the chamber with poison gas and more were swarming through the shunt. Sir Eagon and Ivellios were unable to do anything but retch. Appleby and Charmer were still in the fight and holding their breath but both arrow and staff were bouncing off the creature's rubbery magical hides and only their most powerful blows were having any effect. They weren't killing them quickly enough. Worse still, Todd had disappeared when the battle had started and Vedic Tanner was nowhere to be seen. When they realised that the Vedic must still be in the summoning chamber beyond the shunt, they knew something had to be done quickly.

Finally, as Appleby and Charmer were slowly forced back by their foes, Ivellios and Sir Eagon recovered from their retching fits. Ivellios called upon the power of Tine's flame and conjured a wall of fire across the hall to block their assailants.
"These creatures are dretch," Ivellios shouted to his companions, "They can endure a considerable amount of heat, but this wall should hold them back. We need to charge through the wall, punch through their lines, activate the shunt and rescue the Vedic. Everyone got that?"
They all nodded. Sir Eagon, backed up by the ranger and the druid, ran through the wall of fire. The pain was intense but was over in the blink of an eye and they survived. They slammed into one of the snarling blubbery creatures and smashed it into the far wall. Ivellios slipped through the newly created hole in the enemy lines and reached the shunt. Before the dretch could react he activated it and pulled his companions through.

Tim Tanner was being badly gouged and bitten by a swarm of dretch when they materialized in front of the shunt inside the summoning chamber. The room was filled with the familiar cloud of stinking poison gas and was crowded with dretch.
Their attention was drawn to a jagged rent in the fabric of reality, glaring at them from the middle of the chamber. The air was slick with evil and hatred throbbed through from The Prison. More dretch were filing through. The battle was joined once more. Sir Eagon and Appleby went to relieve the Vedic who was battling for his life, while Charmer stayed to defend Ivellios. Ivellios didn't register any of this. His attention was focused on the portal. Here we go again he thought to himself. He knew he had to shut down the portal before something serious came through. He knew that the dretch would only be driven through by a more powerful demon, presumably a Hezrou. Thankfully he also knew how to deal a demon incursion. He just hoped his magic was potent enough to close the rift. Tin Tan's voice spoke encouragingly in his mind, . Ivellios smiled.
He threw his magic and his will against the portal. He wrestled with the energy. It was barely held in check by some inexperienced maniac on the other end. The chaotic anger-fueled construction was no match for his skills and he tore it apart with ease. The conduit to The Prison was severed and the portal vanished. The grimweird's soul was sent for judgment. There was a staggering backlash of energy as if an inter-planar bowstring had snapped. It slashed into Ivellios. He almost collapsed. The energy overwhelmed him as magical power filled his frame. He could be transformed into a creature of great magical power by this energy. All he had to do was accept it. Accept Athru. But he did not accept. That lesson, he had learned long ago. He resisted the lure of the dark and stayed faithful to Tine. Tin Tan glowed with admiration.
The incursion was ended and the dretch were stranded. They didn't last long. Appleby lashed out with his staff, broke bones and cracked skulls. The ranger's arrows punched into their rubbery flesh and they fell under his relentless assault. Sir Eagon's sword was unstoppable and he smote his foes. No dretch could stand before him. Their flesh burned where his Chosen sword cut and no abyssal magic could protect them.

When all were slain, the victors said little. They were exhausted. There had been many battles that day and though all had been won, they had taken many wounds. They limped back to the control room. Ivellios took charge of the DeDannan control panel and locked down the entire complex.
Then, at last, they slept. Long and deep.

Kysiatch has a bad day

AK510-39 Cool Summer End Week 3
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Cogaday (Night)
The spider crept crookedly along a deep groove in the marble wall. She didn't like venturing out into the open, away from the protection of her lair. She feared the light which had recently flooded her darkened home. She felt exposed. But her master had commanded her too go forth. And so she did. Even now as her legs found the almost imperceptible cracks in the sheer marble surface, she could feel his presence. To her tiny primitive mind his intellect was as vast and incomprehensible as a God's. His power was beyond her limited ability to imagine and she was terrified by him.

he commanded. She scuttled forward unheard and unseen on her eight agile limbs. She hid in a groove and watched. The creatures were colossal things flailing around in some incomprehensible dance. They made noise. It was so loud. She could feel it shaking her tiny frame. It vibrated along the walls and pounded her antennae. Even when they were still, their breath roared across the air. She crouched to hide her sensitive antennae behind a lip of marble.
the voice commanded, she sensed anger and looked up quickly.

Kysiatch was getting worried. He could sense the few thoughts that went through the spider's tiny mind. After the first time he had tried it, he rarely bothered. There wasn't much going on in there. The more of his own mind he pushed into the tiny insect's consciousness, the more he could sense of her surroundings. But unfortunately he had to be careful. Which was very frustrating. Once he had gone as far as taking control of a spider's limbs and controlling it's movement, that had been a memorable experience, he had felt how she moved, how she sensed the world. He understood how to find imperfections in a surface, how to hook your feet into them and use them to walk straight down to a floor that suddenly seemed hundreds of feet away.
It was exciting. He had thrown out a web-strand, which was by then second nature and had hurled himself off the wall into oblivion. The web-strand had caught the wall and he had swung down the giant elastic rope. The air rushed past and the ground arced towards him. It had been exhilarating. Then the stupid creature's speck of a brain had burned out. He assumed it's tiny corpse had been left dangling on the end of the web banging off the wall. Sometimes he almost felt as though he should have gone to see. It was peculiar he thought, with all the thousands of creatures he had summoned to do his bidding, that spider was the only one that he ever felt any connection with.
Kysiatch caught himself. His fear of these unwanted guests, was straining his mental defenses. He hadn't survived over ten thousand years, by examining he emotions. Certainly not for a pathetic creature who had died two thousand years ago. He had never given her a name. She had deserved that hadn't she?
Kysiatch's mind wandered for several more maudlin minutes before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. The power that bound his frail shrunken corpse together was difficult to control at times and his mind had perfected the ability over the long years to control it without consulting his conscious mind. The process kept him alive but occasionally took so much mental effort that he was left prattling like a demented crone.
When he recovered he gently instructed the spider. .

He insinuated just enough of himself into it's mind to see and hear what was going on in the room below. The Kyton was dead and the infidel priest was looking unbearably smug. Kysiatch really hated priests. Even when the DeDannan had still been a power to be reckoned with, he knew their priests were charlatans, who were failing their race. Tionscail this and Draiocht that. They could all rot! And they all had. But that was the trouble with priests, there were always more. That was why you had to admire High Lord Cromith. Admittedly, he was allied with Athru, consorting with the Gods counted against him in Kysiatch's book, but he had destroyed the workers in Tionscail's temple and desecrated the whole place. Yes! A thousand times yes! The Alhoon had absolutely no respect for the Gods and he had the arrogance and the aggression to do something about it. Kysiatch had feared that temple for millennia and now it was neutered. The Illithid was a forced to be reckoned with. Even the so called Prince of Schliss was his puppet.

The infidel priest was parading around in DeDannan socketed armor and he didn't even know how it worked. He kept bemoaning the foolishness of his companions who had stupidly allowed themselves to be severely wounded by the chain devil. The impudence! Chain Devils were powerful nightmares from the depths of hell, each could lay waste to a battalion of warriors without raising a sweat. All previous invaders had fallen before them. The invaders should be dead! He regained control and instructed the spider, .

The infidels prayers were powerful, and he infused his companions with the power of Saol.
The spider noticed two new colossal intruders moving down the hall. Kysiatch switched her attention to them. One was a human clad in animal skins, bearing a large gnarled piece of unidentifiable wood. It crackled with power, even through the muted understanding of the spiders mind he could feel it. He was already looking forward to examining it in the magical lab once the owner was dead. That shouldn't take too long he thought, given the bloodied and bedraggled state of the druid. That must have been some battle upstairs he surmised.
The druid's companion was a knight of some sort. He bore the symbol of the accursed Church of The Moons so he assumed that he must be a champion. He too was hobbling along the corridor trying to pretend that his wounds were not as serious as they appeared. Pride, Kysiatch thought, can be a dangerous thing. The foul Chosen priest dutifully continued his prayers to his Gods and soon their power had dragged the druid and champion from Bas' door to Compleasc's favor.

The intruders were ready to set off in search of him. It was time to strike back, they would pay for the deaths of his allies. He let the spider's mind go with a final command to keep watch. Then he turned his full attention to the summoning circle. This was the only place, within the Poll Na Deanta arrivals area, in which he could use his summoning powers. He stood beside the circle and started the ritual. His Kyton ally had been defeated after doing considerable damage to the attackers, perhaps a larger creature, with more ferocious physical attacks and more staying power, was what he needed. He called upon the forces of Naduir to provide him with such a creature. He could feel the magical power coursing through his frail body. Power that would allow him to pull and creature from across the planes to this very spot. A dire lion, he thought and it appeared.
It roared. It was massive and strong. It's claws were long and sharp and giant fangs protruded from it's gaping jaw. It's expression of anger and aura of menace were reinforced by the nasty boney spikes on its forehead and by the hell-born, blood colored light shining in it's eyes. Using the luminous energy that bound his spirit to his feeble shell, he poured power into the beast. It's muscles bunched and tightened as he increased it's strength and toughness beyond natural limits. He sent a thought into the massive creature's small mind, an easy task after tiptoeing through a spider's thoughts. he sent, indicating that the creature should follow Misorek, his primary Kyton servant.
Misorek left, trailed by a mountain of fangs and fur. As they disappeared through the shunt, Kysiatch returned his focus to the spider. The intruders had finally moved from the hall back into the barricade room. The door to the failsafe room was the focus of their attention and so, as he expected, they had missed the more important portal, perfectly concealed within the chamber.

The spider’s senses were almost overwhelmed by a world shattering load roar. It stiffened. he projected, . The fearful arachnid inched along the groove and into the barricade room to spy on the group clustered at the door. Kysiatch noticed, with a small degree of concern, that they were not cowed by the outrageous din reverberating through the door. In fact, their faces lit up and their enthusiasm awoke. Misorek flung open the door for the beast and retreated quickly. It bounded through the open portal, turned, crouched and pounced, all in one fluid motion. It was a beautiful sight to behold, as the lethal abyssal creature crashed amongst them, teeth snapping down on armor, claws rending flesh and raking against shields. Blood splattered on the ground, voices cried in pain and the lion roared all the while. The fight was brief though and while the beast inflicted several vicious and bloody wounds, it was slain quickly. It's body vanished as it's essence returned through the circle.

Kysiatch was disappointed. Surely a Dire Lion should have taken at least one of the to The Wall Of Souls? He pondered what to do next as he watched them stride confidently into the failsafe room. The champion who, he now knew from his observation, was called Sir Eagon DelFuego, led the way. He discovered the pit trap, the hard way. Kysiatch's heart leapt when he heard the armor clad buffoon wailing in shock as he frantically grasped for the ledge and then fell into the deep spike filled pit. There was a bone shattering crash when platemail and flesh collided with the pit floor forty feet below.
The warning words 'check for traps' escaped someone's lips as the noise subsided and they wished in vain that they had spoken a few seconds earlier.
"Hello!" called Sir Eagon, in a weak and pleading voice, which was music to Kysiatch's ears.
"I'm still alive down here and in terrible pain, I think my leg is broken!..." he wailed pitifully. This was even better than Kysiatch could have hoped. A broken leg would really slow them down.
The champion's companions started laughing and Sir Eagon heartily joined them.
"Hold on we'll throw you a rope," they laughed.
"He does a great impression of that bard," Stuffitt acknowledged. "We should really get Ethan raised from the dead".
This was all wrong thought Kysiatch, as the intruders pulled a winded and bruised Sir Eagon out of the pit. He should be dead. He was beginning to wonder if the seemingly insane bravado, shown by the intruders, was based on ability rather than mere delusion, as he had first suspected. He decided it was time to call on the biggest creature he could summon. There was no more time to toy with these humans, they needed to be dealt with as soon as possible before they became a serious threat. The energy he needed to summon a creature had returned and he was ready to summon something big. But first he needed some protection. He moved to the circle and with a few candles and other more esoteric objects he prepared it for the binding ritual. He started the incantations to bring forth another Kyton, ready to use his considerable bargaining and persuasive powers to secure it's service. This would be costly but poverty was better than death.

Meanwhile the spider crept into a tiny crack between wall and roof and watched Todd Stuffitt reset the stone clad wooden trap door over the pit.
"I've jammed it, so it should be safe to walk on." he said and stepped on to it to prove his theory.
"I still can't believe that you missed all those spikes," Bob charmer looked at the champion with admiration.
"It was the will of The Chosen," Sir Eagon replied, "and good armor". He pointed to several long gashes in the metal plates that protected his body.
"Let's get going," suggested the druid. "The more time we spend standing around congratulating ourselves the more time whoever is summoning these creatures has to fill this dungeon."
"Right." said Sir Eagon. He reached out to open the door and found it was locked.
"Tim for Todd to shine" the assassin pushed forward and started to pick the lock, "thanks for checking the door for traps, though".
While Todd was working on the lock Sir Eagon examined the door. It was made from solid iron and was at least four inches thick. There was a metal grill in the middle of the door at head height for an ogre. He deduced that it was designed for observing this room because the grill could only be opened form the other side.
"Come on Glick!" Todd prayed for divine guidance.
Vedic Tanner looked at him in disgust, "What kind of prayer was that?"
Todd ignored him, concentrating on his task. After several minutes, he managed to open the ancient lock.

Kysiatch had hurriedly completed the bargaining with his new Kyton ally Geriath and had then summoned another great beast. This time he called forth a creature of even greater size and muscle. He returned his focus to the spider as the thief opened the door to the arrival control room.
Misorek led the creature through the shunt and sent it charging down the arrivals hall to the control room. The elephant unleashed an almighty bellow, trumpeting in defiance as it ran.
The priest Tim Tanner and the druid John Appleby stood in front of the charging gray mountain as it bore down on them, confident that the power of the gods and the power of nature would protect them. An instant before it crashed into them, they both struck it with their weapons. Mace and staff hammered into the elephants skull, the impact was doubled by the force of it's charge. Kysiatch almost looked away, fearing that they would do the impossible and slay the elephant before it could attack. Tanner was driven by the power of Croi and Appleby by the power of Naduir and they were potent in combat. But neither could stop an elephant's charge and it plowed over them and stamped them underfoot. It slowed as it neared the far wall, knocking the ranger to the ground like a rag doll.
The intruders closed cautiously on the huge maddened animal. It lashed out with trunk and tusk, legs and bulk, flailing around the small control room. It gored and stamped and bellowed. The intruders kept their heads and pressed the attack. Stuffitt leapt over a nearby table to avoid it's attacks followed by the ranger who had already been badly gored. They unleashed a barrage of bolts and arrows from behind the protection afforded by the stone structure.
Sir Eagon, John Appleby and Tim Tanner fell upon their foe with a series of blindingly fast sword, mace and staff attacks.
The battle raged and although the elephant was too distracted by the number of assailants to focus a killing blow on any one, none of them had escaped his wrath. The intruders were all badly injured and more importantly, Kysiatch noted, the priest had no energy left for his healing magic. It was time to send in the Kytons and finish this. It would be a sweet victory. The tusken raider had done it's work well.
The elephant was lashing out desperately as it's strength ebbed through bloody wounds. It knew death was at hand. John Appleby raised the Applewood staff high above his head and spun his body. The whirling momentum allowed him to strike with a series of rapid but powerful strikes. The power of Naduir crackled through the Applewood Staff as it connected with the elephant's head again and again. The druid's magic and physical strength combined to shatter the weary animal's skull and it died in an instant. Appleby smiled, such is the way of nature, he thought. Then he slumped to the ground, exhausted and bruised after the battle and he wondered when Naduir would grant him the power to summon such mighty animals.

The assassin was already examining the chair he had found behind the table, when the elephant's body disappeared. Kysiatch smiled. There was no way that this mere human could decipher the words on the Poll Na Deanta arrivals area control panel. There was even less chance that he could figure out how to use it. It had take Kysiatch years to master it. Still, he thought, no point in taking any chances. He decided to send in Geriath and Misorek to put an end to the threat. Before he pulled his focus away from the spider, Kysiatch saw the assassin do something that intrigued him. He watched for just a moment longer. The assassin put his hands randomly on the surface of the panel and then closed his eyes. Then he started moving his hands over the panel as if trying to sense something. Then he started touching the panel in a complex sequence of strokes he caused a hum to issue from it. The arcane symbols covering the panel and the walls nearby began to come to life and as Todd continued to poke blindly at the panel, the noise and light grew. His companions began to register grave concerns and looked like they were going to stop him. Kysiatch impotently wished that they would do just that. He could barely believe it but that bumbling human was about to accidentally activate the panel's lockdown sequence.
"No!" he screamed in anger and fear.
A voice spoke and magically all could understand it, "Arrivals Area Lockdown Activated."
The human looked insufferably pleased with himself.
"Who needs Ivellios?" he grinned.
A section of the panel was illuminated in arcane light and it showed a map of the arrivals area in dark green light. The doors on the map were colored red when each locked shut.
They all turned when the exits from the room were sealed. A thick iron door slammed shut in front of them. They knew what this meant: a brief respite from the assault and time to heal. The priest read from a prayer book that, like the druid's staff, reeked of power. Kysiatch wanted it. But there were greater problems to be dealt with. The invaders could not be given time to recover. If they did so, his victory in the coming conflict was not assured. He needed to find someway to override the control room.
He manipulated the magical balance of the shunt and stepped through. He strode through the arrivals hall as quickly as his frail frame would carry him. He unlocked the door to the guardroom and stepped in. He felt a sense of calm flood into him as he entered the room. There were tubes and vials and arcane assemblies of all kinds cluttered amongst the tables in the room. He was glad to be back in his lab but there was no time to experiment now. Not when his millennia long existence was at stake. He surveyed the clutter, trying to determine which items belonged to the original guardroom and which he had added when he converted it to his lab. Then he spotted what he was looking for, hidden behind a discarded lizardfolk head. A simple lever jutted out from the wall at about shoulder height for an ogre. Funny he thought as he struggled to reach up for it, I used to look down at this lever.

Neither the spider or the other occupants of the control room noticed that the red marking of the landing door had changed from red to dark green. All attention was focused on the conclusion of the ceremony that Vedic Tim Tanner was conducting. All of the invaders were chanting a prayer written by the Vedic, which was based one of his revisions of The Book of Creation. When the chant was completed each participant reached out in prayer to their God.
"Croi!"
"Seilig!"
"Glick!"
"Naduir!"
"Croi!"
And in response to the ritual and the devotion shown by the followers, the Gods responded. The lame walked and the sick were made whole. Cuts closed, bruises healed and pain vanished.
Vedic Tanner was well pleased, "Now that, was a prayer!"

Kysiatch watched in horror. He had been unable to breach the room's defenses from the guardroom and now his foes had been healed. The accursed Gods of The Moons were showing them a level of benevolence that was unheard of. This could not be! He had survived here for millennia. Now he was trapped unable to escape. There was only one thing to be done. Summon and bind and many allies as he could and once the door to the control room was opened, he would attack. As this desperate plan formed in his mind, an argument had broken out among the invaders. Some were advocating a retreat, until their magical and divine powers were renewed. Others argued that they should press forward and destroy whatever lay before them, before it could summon even more creatures. Kysiatch had heard enough and broke contact. He moved to the circle and started a binding ritual. Summoned creatures were excellent cannon fodder but they were recalled to their home plane after only a couple of minutes. He needed bound allies now, that could be forced to serve until the invaders had been dealt with. He started the binding ritual and hoped that he could complete it in time.

The spider bereft of the Grimweird's consciousness, still watched the colossal creatures below her with mild interest, though she didn't know why. Using the tried and tested method of blind luck, Todd managed to use the control panel to open the door to the arrival's hall. The hall was wide enough for a couple of ogres to fight abreast and ended at a shunt about as far away as Todd could throw his dagger. One side was decorated with the usual DeDannan symbols but also with frescos of the DeDannan at work in Poll Na Deanta and fighting Ogre Mage armies. The other side was decorated with two life size statues. The first was a DeDannan knight who held the chains of a prisoner, the second was that prisoner, an ogre mage on it's knees begging for mercy. Between the statues under the chains was a decorative bathing pool. The frescoed wall held two doors, but the invaders attention was grabbed by the scarlet glow of an active shunt.

The vedic and druid looked at each other and raced forward to the shunt. A sense of urgency had come to the vedic and he tried to follow his intuition when possible, it rarely let him down. The druid was wise, his intuition was almost as reliable as the vedic's. Right now, it was telling him to follow the vedic. Following Tanner was always interesting. A quick gesture and the shunt's balance shifted. Tim and John disappeared through the shunt and were replaced by an unwelcome new arrival.

Misorek stepped through the shunt and activated his chains. He had to buy time for his master to complete the ritual. Then the invaders would be doomed. All he had to do was guard the shunt and prevent anyone from attacking Kysiatch. He surveyed the enemy. Only three. The Vedic and the druid were missing, possibly hiding somewhere, no time to ponder that now. The champion, the assassin and the ranger were closing around him. He kept his back to the wall. He decided to take the champion first and changed his visage to that of the champion's dead lieutenant.
"Why did you forsake me!?" his voice mimicked the dead bandit.
The champion paled visibly. Misorek smiled and lashed out with his chains striking through the champions armor. This would be easy. Then the ranger's arrows hit. They hurt but the arrows were not made of silver and so the wounds were only minor and would heal swiftly. The champion launched a ferocious attack balancing skill with brute force and he managed to open a deep gash across Misorek's chest. He screamed curses at the champion for his impudence. The assassin was creeping around, looking for an opening for a killing shot. Misorek was ready for that, it wouldn't work. He lashed out at the champion again and scored another telling blow. The rangers arrows were like a persistent swarm of insects, stinging consistently. He would have to be dealt with next. The champion was the real threat and his assault was impressive, his sword cut through a hole in Misorek's defense and slashed his leg. The assassin tried to activate the shunt.
"Not so fast", sneered Misorek in the Infernal tongue as he lashed out to block the assassin.
But the shunt had been a ruse and the assassin whipped his body away from it was soon as Misorek had acted. He ducked under Misorek's guard and plunged a green bladed rune covered dagger into his stomach. Misorek screamed in agony as the dagger bit into him. This assassin knew his trade damn him. The wound was not from silver but it was deep and would take too long to heal. Misorek knew he was in trouble. He lashed out at the assassin and struck two vicious deep gashes in the human's shoulder and ribs, they bled quickly over ragged skin and exposed bone. Then the ranger and the champion attacked again and Misorek was back on the defensive, the champion having managed to open an serious gash in Misorek's lower back while he fought the assassin. It was time for retreat. Misorek called to the Grimweird. No response. That was odd. The assassin's green smoky dagger appeared through the front of his neck. Oh. There was no time for the pain. Misorek was dead.

Kysiatch knew it was too late to complete the ritual of binding when the shunt glowed red. He spun to face the intruders. It was time to make a stand. Kysiatch had been here before and had prevailed. He would prevail again as he had done for thousands of years.
"You were alone for those millennia and slept much," said one of the voices that accompanied him. That part of his mind should have been controlling his bind energy. He would have to meditate later and regain control. Meanwhile the Vedic and the druid had come through.
The were Alone.
At last some good fortune. While Misorek held their companions at bay, Geriath and he could slay these two. With their healers dead the invaders would be easily taken. He reached out towards the lightly armored druid and touched his living flesh. The energy within him, the energy that summoned his allies and held his frail from together, was always hungry. It sucked the druid's life from his robust living body and fed it to the Grimweird.
It felt so good.
He tried to taste the essence of the Vedic, knowing how potent it would be, but the DeDannan armor he wore was too strong a defense and Kysiatch couldn't make contact with his living flesh. The druid attacked and landed a painful blow with each end of the powerful magical staff. It crackled against his emaciated flesh. The pain was intense and he recoiled from it. The druid would die first he decided. The priest held forth the symbol of his God, Croi. Hah! thought Kysiatch Croi was an overrated upstart Godess. He could tell that this foolish priest was about to channel her power through the symbol in a vain attempt to disrupt the energy that bound him. Oh foolish young mortal, he thought, I have been bound with this energy for longer than your church has reigned, your feeble skills are no match for the dark...
The arrogant gloating of Kysiatch's meandering thoughts were interrupted by an excruciating wash of living energy burning with the power of the sun. Pain filled every fiber of his being as the power of Croi was brought to bear upon him by a soul incandescently pure of purpose.
With an iron voice Arch Vedic Tim Tanner of The Church Of The Moons hurled his words at the Grimweird.
"By the Power of Croi and the Church of The Moons, by The Sun, The Moons and The Holy Trinity, be gone unto the night, foul creature of The Fallen. The power of Croi Compels you!"
But I'm not Fallen, thought Kysiatch, as the energy within him struggled in vain to hold his form together. Then his soul was released. His pathetic body burst into fine powder and his loincloth drifted slowly to the dusty floor. Geriath retreated to the summoning circle and was gone.
"Well that was easy" exhaled the suspicious vedic, wondering if it was some kind of trick, "Good old Croi".

The spider felt the passing of her master with as much sadness as her tiny primitive mind could muster. She crawled dejectedly back towards her web-home. She achingly missed his presence as a priest would miss their God. One thought kept nagging at her, like a splinter in her mind: I never even gave him a name...