Ebenezum the Mage
1) Hedge Maze. Group lives with Daimon Childe, a reknowned necromancer in Candor with a daurihota addiction (that makes him light-sensitive; hence, his nocturnal lifestyle). It is hired by Fleming Cuvort (The Etiolate Escutcheon) to rescue Lady Gallimaufry's daughter from the Hedge Maze in the Botanic Gardens of Candor. Extra-dimensional spider in the center using illusion of great Victorian mansion, beautiful lady. The group fought and killed it, getting a great write-up in the paper. Here Arnim finds a sketchbook of unfixed Portraits. Isrik, Arnim, Twilight, Droxie, Valmont.
2) Rakehell Club. The group is hired by Fleming Cuvort (The Etiolate Escutcheon) to discover why the Rakehell Club has been closed down for so long, with none of the guests leaving. They discover a bloodgate set up by depraved members, hierodule Nightshade in dungeon with Sarbenet, lots of insane nobles. Consult Daimon, who calls Eidolon (the owner) over and discusses matters. Eidolon leaves to clean up, but now knows that the group exists in this time. Isrik, Arnim, Twilight.
3) Mythago Dale. Hired by Care-exaltant Tandal du Sun-Blazoned to find out what happened to one of his operatives, Carai Edeux. Mythago Dale looted and burned by sahuagin, fortress taken over by bandits led by drow Nokiro, who is in cahoots with sahuagin, trading slaves and information for treasure. Map of Mynedd Palace on one of the sahuagin. Another one seems to be a golem with flesh covering. Rescue Dorian and Mirya, heirs to Mythago Dale castle's throne. Twilight and Valmont give an old lady a fatal heart attack. Nokiro escapes. Isrik, Arnim, Twilight, Valmont.
4) Arrest. Isrik, Arnim, Twilight, Valmont arrested on various charges such as breaking and entering, being the Red Rose Killer, etc. Eidolon is behind plot, informed by Nokiro, who was his operative. Tandal enters at last moment and gets them off - temporarily.
Rescue. Mashi'ite takes Isrik's girlfriend hostage to get key of Cimarron back from him - Isrik had found key on dwarf in Mythago Dale. They beat him off (he runs away), rescue girlfriend.
Ambriel. Tandal hires group to retrieve his father's sword and crown from the sunken ship by Ambriel. Group does underwater mission, enters Ambriel, fights sahuagin, sees (but doesn't recognize) an aboleth on a scry-screen. Grung, Isrik and selkie helper Susani held and used as hostages. Arnim attacks anyway, so their throats are cut and they're tossed into ocean. Sahuagin escape. In Candor, Twilight pays for Grung's raise, temple makes its own arrangements with Susani for the raise. Isrik pays for own raise and retires from adventuring. Grung, Isrik, Arnim, Twilight, Valmont.
5) Dominarch's funeral. Dominarch dies and group attends funeral, sees Tandal and the Onieromancer leave abruptly at end before Jash and Eidolon can speak to them.
Carradale. Valmont is assigned to Carradale, choosing a cloistered life of service over an adventuring career. Group decides to accompany him. Skirmish with Nokiro in an old fortress taken over by wererats serving a troll and a sheet demon; kill troll, sheet demon, Twilight lops Nokiro's head off with his own ruby-hilted sword. Save Oba from slavers in Crofty Faire, Arnim meets Epharim and Skyrim, Twilight sleeps with Jay Caleido. In Carradale, Valmont's old flame (now ruler) pregnant by her newly dead husband, and baby is promised to demons by evil cleric who charms Valmont into aiding her, group investigates and saves woman as child is born. Group goes on to Garamile without Valmont, equips, enters desert to find Oracle. Investigates ruined temple of the oracle, meets Domiel, an archaeologist/thief, rescues Oracle, asks questions, leaves. Twilight, Arnim, Grung, Oba, Valmont.
6) Dream. Group meets odd traveller and Taryn hiding from sandstorm; take refuge with them in tent, fall asleep. Traveller, who is Mashi'ite in disguise, steals their dream-souls off to his master's realm. They proceed to have living dream investigating Rake's hold, discover Nachtim, discover Onieromancer's cloak, fight Rake (before this, though, Rake kills Mashi'ite for incompetence). When killed, they "wake up" again buried under the sand. Onieromancer now keeps dream-eye on them because they have his cloak and he'd like it back. Twilight, Arnim, Grung, Oba, Taryn.
7) Return to Candor. Szandor has left. Twilight discovers Daimon is a lich.
Group invited to Masque at Eidolon's house (Grung to represent temple, Arnim invited by Epharim, Taryn invited by Skyrim, Twilight sent to represent Daimon). Group hangs out, does little; sees "Tandal" (or someone disguised as him). Sees Eidolon in "costume" of demon (actually, his real form). Sees Sarbenet again. Sees Carnifex briefly (but doesn't necessarily recognize him).
Daimon, since his secret is out anyway, hires group to take him to School of Nekros so he can regain soul of Yvaine from Morphias and Mephista. A few acolytes accompany Grung for a while until reaching the next temple. Small battle in Teslin in bar against Corybantes of Decad. Twilight, Arnim, Grung, Taryn.
8) Group goes to Yeovil, meets Valmont briefly (he is working there briefly assisting a scholar), gets sleds, travels into Icewinds. Taken by drow to kill the illumvoraces in the Under of the City - the drow realm beneath Tocair's old laboratory. Daimon not allowed to travel with them; but queen's consort Dantalian does. Twilight killed by cloaker (or rather by group stabbing the cloaker and hitting her). Group fights and flees from Shadow Wyrm. Daimon teleports with Twilight back to temple of Carrick in Candor and has her raised (but in doing so lets it be known in Candor that he is really a lich, as he doesn't bother disguising himself).
9) Our heroes go back down into the Under to kill the shadowyrm, accompanied by a small contingent of drow warriors, including Dantalian again. The wyrm attacks them in the tunnel, driving them into the sublevel and killing about half the drow. They explore a bit, are attacked by a drider whom they kill, explore the ice tunnels, losing Dantalian to a fall and a deadly white pudding. They finally fight the wyrm in its lair, emerge victorious, and take their share of the treasure as reward. Sirchade is in mourning, but the aseku now have access to the records and discoveries of their ancestors, which will be used in the Eschaton battles.
10) Nekros. First foil a plot by the Hellions to break out of jail, killing Gremoric in the process and getting the notes on Nekros the Hellions had made for Chardonnay. Then spend about three months travelling to and scoping out the School of Nekros, contacting Szandor mentally for information. He informs Twilight that she seems to have an identical, albeit male, twin of opposite colors (drow coloration, in fact) in the School of Nekros, whose mother was Mephista. Twilight meets a playwright/coryphei Vair and gets romantically involved. With Szandor's info, teleport in to get mirror, out to inn again. Daimon does ritual to free Yvaine, uses scroll to teleport them to his old hideout in Geronfrey. Rememorizes, takes group to Candor. Daimon's house in Candor has been destroyed by the twins. Daimon leaves Yvaine with Szandor in Church of Elder Gods, teleports off to fight Morphias and Mephista himself. Arnim calls the Onieromancer, travels through Portrait sketch to Suspiro Keep with Twilight and Taryn. Grung left behind in Tabernacle of Sangre.
11) Liskeard. Group returns from Onieromancer's via mirror. Grung stationed in Liskeard to command withdrawal of troops and oversee remaining force. Political negotiations/arguments. Carnifex returns and tries to take Twilight to a place called "Eschatophainen" in a carriage; she argues, decides he's mad, and he storms back to Liskeard to kill the aristocratic duelist he'd seen kissing her in the square (a set-up by the duelist, who fought him off once and now awaits his return). Rest of group waits at duelists', Carnifex eventually killed. Arnim goes off with Epharim during mating season. Twilight escries Vair and discovers that he lives, even though Oscoro had been razed by the angry necromancers. Reports of hierodules to north. Arnim and Twilight ride off to talk to them and are captured. Attempted escape from Watchpass tower that fails. Their arms (and Arnim's right foreleg) are broken to prevent further attempts. Grung is faced with their apparent death or capture, and impending battle between Liskeard's forces and the hierodule army.
12) Liskeard II. The forces of Grung, Darkus Ollanin, and Archon Iliade Andromalius take to the battlefield below Watchpass tower. After battling the hierodule hordes and driving them back up the mountain to take cover in Watchpass, the group reaches an apparent stalemate. The hierodules can resist siege eternally, given the resources of the mage's tower. A truce is finally reached, with an exchange of hostages and a mutual recognition pact made. The archon cedes Watchpass to the hierodule leader, Scarlet Vixen, in exchange for help in the fight against the Arquian rebels. Arnim and Twilight heal, the group returns to Candor. Twilight is reunited with Vair. Oba has been talking to Isrik about finding a certain gem that he needs for a quest to free the White One. Daimon asks our heroes if they will help him kill himself in the phantom castle of Mirablis Lake....
13) Mirablis Castle. The group leaves on Wraithwalk to enter the phantom castle that appears every Wraithwalk over Mirablis Lake. There, Daimon hopes to find a power-draining artifact that will kill him and, by negating his undead energies, allow him to be resurrected like a normal corpse. It is a chancy endeavour, and he is nervous. Vair also travels along, unwilling to be seperated from Twilight after having heard of her ordeal in Liskeard. They enter the castle, meet a variety of strange people, and finally open a phase door through the ceiling below the floor of Killjoy and his minions, who guard the artifact. There, the group fights ghouls, gargoyles, a modron and Killjoy's friends to get access to the artifact. When all are killed or driven away, Daimon kills himself. As Grung raises him with a rod of resurrection, the artifact explodes, having drained enough energy to manifest itself as the demon it is. As the group makes its escape, Grung turns the demon. Taryn has a vision in which she agrees to help find the missing Oba, and receives some clues.
14) Eidolon I. Oba and Isrik are missing, and all evidence points to their disposal of at the hands of Eidolon. The group does preliminary research, hunting for clues, talking to Tandal's rebels in the vineyard, etc. Grung is saddled with watching the temple while the high priest and most of the rest of the clergy travel south to inspect the political situation there. Clues in Taryn's vision are followed up, mostly without result.
15) Eidolon II. More and more evidence points to Oba and Isrik being captured in Eidolon's house, perhaps with Jack Stealth. Twilight buys a house and moves in with Vair. Grung buys six houses and tears them down to build himself a mansion. Arnim visits Eidolon's house to see his art collection, and searches for Taryn's clues; his attention is drawn to a wind-up clockwork fair that has the right kind of vine patterns on it. The group discusses the ramifications of breaking in, but is reluctant to do so. Thieves bother the group, having declared it the "target of the month." Grung beats up a thief, some thieves try to shoot him, and there is apparent stalemate. Arnim joins Wythucarn University as an art student.
16) Eidolon III. Grung deals with a djinni pretending to be an avatar of Sangre in order to find out how loyal he is to the desert; the djinni (Fatad Beyh) is not satisfied, but leaves and swears to oppose him should he threaten the desert. Twilight is invited back to School of Nekros by "The Prelector." She assumes that this is her brother, the half-drow Armand.
Group enters Eidolon's house during a party and winds up the magical clockwork, freeing not only Oba and Isrik, but also Jack Stealth and the Abjurer Agrimony. The group flees into the magical portal created by a Rod of Security gifted them by Daimon Childe for the Feast of the Ice Lords. They eventually emerge, Jack and Agrimony going to visit Tandal. The next day the group is summoned, with all other nobles and high priests, to the palace. They go, to witness Dash and Eidolon's last act of treachery; opening a portal in the throne room to allow the aboleth to enter Candor. Chaos ensues; Eidolon and Dash vanish, and all the high priests begin to pray for help. Divine intervention occurs, and the portal is closed, the aboleth vanished. Tandal takes the throne and sends adventurers after Eidolon and Dash. Dash is captured; Eidolon fought but lost.
Twilight teleports with Daimon to face of Fellis, learns she really is his daughter, by Mephista, and that Armand is truly her brother. Fellis does not give her her freedom. Daimon adopts her as a surrogate daughter. She marries Vair (Grung officiates, Tandal, invited and attends). Grung is promoted to Justiciar by High Priest Scald Aver. Taryn goes to Rharihu Plains to study Nachtim. Arnim attends university, builds up portfolio. Tandal offers all a job on his airship fleet (requisitioned by Eidolon for very different purposes) to approach other countries diplomatically. They agree.
17) Sahuagin I. The airship is sent to Saldon. Twilight tries to visit the Necromancer without an invitation and gets "stupid" written on her forehead - and no visit - for her trouble. While there, group is hired by Alyxander to find out whether his fears of a new vampire on Saldon are true. They discover the attacks are made by galltrit in the employ of an old wizard whose daughter is dying of olive slime assimilation - he was using the galltrits' anaesthetic saliva to ease her pain. They get him to send back the galltrit and send her to the temple of Carrick for healing. He tells them the olive slime was on the Daemon Chain, where she and his son (who never returned) had been searching for a place to hide hidden booty. The group goes to investigate and discovers a vast underground complex, partially undersea. They capture a cleric of Mock, Neath, who informs them that an aboleth lives below.
18) Sahuagin II. The group raids the undersea portions of the caverns, killing sahuagin, scrag, lacedon, sharks, electric eels and a lot of other beasties. They attack the aboleth several times, using their Rod of Security to escape and rememorize. In the course of the fight they save the sahuagins' prisoners, including the old man's son. The aboleth finally flees, and the group returns to witness Neath's trial. Neath is flogged but otherwise aquitted, to Grung's chagrin.
19) Shreir Nyctalops. On the way back from Saldon to Candor, the ship is attacked on Wraithwalk Eve, with the temporarily released spirits of Morphias and Mephista tossing it as far as they could, into the mountains of north Geronfrey. The ship staves in its hull on the mountainside, and the sails are shredded beyond hope.
The group, at Limper's request, goes out to investigate the surrounding lands and, if possible, locate a rather large amount of incense for his Censer of Summoning Air Elementals. The sky is continuously overcast, and the peasantry sullen and frightened. Grung encounters Angela, a little girl whose parents and older brother were taken by Lady Basilica and who was wandering lost in the forest. She recognized him as "Ichabod, the Magic Pig," just like the rag pig-doll she was carrying. Willy-nilly, he ended up taking her along with him to Roscarberry, where her parents had been going to pay taxes.
Roscarberry was mostly abandoned, the old monastery of Caren the Sower closed and taken over by the local lord, Shreir Nyctalops, and his gang of cowardly bullies. Nyctalops informed them that the taxes owed were to be paid off in the form of the little girl, because the parents had been too poor to pay in cash. The amount owed was 5 gp, so the group paid up and kept the girl with them. However, Twilight noticed that Shreir was looking a little off-color - well on his way to undeadhood, in fact - and, upon discussion after leaving the village, the group decided he was an evil that must be taken care of. That dawn the group broke into the monastery and fought Nyctalops (his men ran off), finally managing to kill him. His body faded away into nothingness, leaving the question of his actual state somewhat ambiguous.
20) Lady Basilica. Shreir had informed the group that the Lady Basilica who had apparently taken Angela's parents was a loup-garou, an enemy of his who controlled the lands immediately north of him. After killing him, the group decided to try to rescue Angela's parents and take care of the loup-garou problem, too. They returned to the ship to report, left Angela behind, and - with Kindle and Cinnaband - trekked off to find Lady Basilica. However, Lady Basilica's wolves soon warned her of intruders, and she was on guard.
After locating the pleasant-looking mansion on top of a hill, Cinnaband left to scout it out while the others kept watch. While she was gone, they were attacked by a spirit wolf, several wolf zombies and two loup-garou servants of the Lady. The loup-garou ripped up the party fairly well before one was killed and another captured. Cinnaband returned around dawn to inform them that the place was very dangerous, created by the "assassin architect of Ankham," one Garton Aubrey. The group questioned the servant, whose answers were slanted enough to make them believe that the loup-garou were unwilling slaves of the Lady (in truth, they enjoyed their superiority). Thinking him a hapless victim, the group (over Grung's objections) decided to keep him alive, and fled off toward Ankham. The first night they set up ornate defenses, but were being watched by loup-garou spies who declined to attack. The next rainy night they camped in an open area in a small copse of three trees, without defenses. About six loup-garou attacked, firing arrows and then loping in for the kill.
Cinnaband was caught in a tree, then webbed with her loup-garou opponent there by Grung. Arnim, Twilight, Vair, and Taryn fell; Grung managed to bring Arnim back to consciousness and flee into the pocket dimension with him and Cinnaband to quickly cast some cure lights. When they returned, some time later, the bodies of Twilight, Vair and Taryn had been carried off. Arnim revealed that he could take them quickly back to Candor to get a new sail and some help with one of his Portrait sketches; this they did.
In Candor, they got a new sail, Arnim discovered Epharim had gone and Grung got a letter from Valmont. Tandal sent them to the Onieromancer, who was in Suspiro Keep, so that mage could send them back via his magic mirror. However, the other members of the Ouija Board were there, so Grung mentioned Twilight's predicament to Daimon. Rather annoyed and alarmed, Daimon promised to take care of it. Grung, Cinnaband and Arnim returned to the ship with the sail.
Daimon teleported into the cells after escrying Twilight, used knock to open the cells, and rescued the three, teleporting them to the ship and scolding Twilight for letting herself fall in battle ("A mage should be defensive!"). He then teleported back, claiming important business.
20.5) Basilica II. Twilight conferred with Grung and decided to sneak into the Basilica Mansion alone, invisible, with wraithform, to find the magic items that had been stripped from herself, Vair and Taryn. However, during the course of her investigations she had to spend some time in the pocket dimension to re-memorize spells. By that time, Vair had discovered her absence and, alarmed, alerted the others. Grung tried to quiet him, first with spells (hold person, silence) and then with argument. They agreed to wait three more hours for her, and then go in.
21) Basilica III, Ankham. Twilight returned and the group decided to pit its full destructive force against the mansion. With the captain's irritable permission, they flew over the mansion, flew down (without the ship), and gave the mansion everything they had: Call Lightning from Taryn and Grung, Lightning Bolts from Limper, Twilight and Arnim, and Cloudkills from Limper. The loup-garou poured out of the second floor where the walls had been collapsed by the lightning strikes, and were killed one-by-one by the group, who suffered no debilitating injuries. Most of the magic items were recovered, but none of the lost spellbooks (destroyed in the disaster).
The group then went on to Ankham, where Twilight wasn't happy to see an Anseis Warship in the bay. There, they quickly learned that chaos was running rampant. If the rest of Geronfrey seemed dark and forbidding, Ankham was actively dangerous. Through individual investigation, the group soon found that the streets were controlled by gangs and violence was an everyday occurrence. To make matters worse, all the temples had been shut down and defiled, and the nobles were clinging to their old ways, too afraid to try to exert control. One of the gangs, Predator's Children, was discovered to consist almost entirely of vampires that had taken over the Temple District. A serial killer known for flaying his victims was at large.
Taryn had a vision of Eppadunim leading her to a temple in the district. There, she and Arnim ended up finding a Portrait Card depicting some sort of dark waterfall.
Arnim and Taryn rescued Cruiscan from a vampire attack, learning a bit about his history, including the news that he'd lost his paladinhood for not killing his sister, Lorelei, the infamous high-class vampire of Saldon. Vair became intrigued by a mysterious, highly skilled actor in the Grand Theater of Ankham, and began some circumspect investigating with Twilight. Grung discussed opening a temple of Sangre in the Dragons' district, talking briefly to the gang leader. During the festival of the Orobourous, Vair confirmed the mysterious actor's identity as a noble who was chief of police in Ankham. The noble swore him to secrecy, then invited him to meet after that night's show in his dressing room.
Finally, the captain decided to leave Ankham; diplomatic relations were not going well, and there was strong evidence that the Anseis government had a strong influence on the unseen Overlord. However, that night Twilight and Vair entered the mysterious actor's dressing room, Twilight invisibly, and Vair at the actor's invitation. There the actor ended up attacking Vair, cutting at his face with a razor. Vair and Twilight fought, then, when the actor broke open a vial of gas, bailed out through the window. The actor followed, but the two ran off and he began calling for the police.
Realizing that they were soon going to be in deep trouble with the police - since the chief was himself the serial killer - they implored the captain to take off as fast as possible. The ship left Ankham to return to Candor without notable event. Cruiscan is left behind. (DM's Note: He will return as the vampire Spider in the Light or The Fire campaign!)
In Candor, Arnim discovered that Oba was failing quickly, dying of old age, and Grung discovered a mission waiting for him - to go south to Bahr al'Raml and try to stop the threatened jyhad against the Temple of Sangre and the Shatters. Twilight learns that Szandor has taken employ as a bouncer in the Deviant's Palace, and seems colder toward her; he has already refused offers of employment from both Tandal and Daimon, preferring his present job.
22) Haunted Manor. After Oba's death and funeral, the group heads to Carradale, to respond to Valmont's letter about having a haunted house on his hands, while en route to the desert. The group heads up to the manor with the heir, Blaise, for the price of half of Blaise's inheritance. While unhappy at the deal, there is little the young, impoverished noble can do about it. Grung is nearly slain by poisonous spiders, and Blaise rides back to town to try to get an antidote while the others investigate. Grung is cured, but remains somewhat nauseous for much of the rest of the adventure.
It soon becomes clear that there are several ghosts of young women haunting the manor, and the group slowly figures out what is happening. They make contact with Reveri, the poet; Rebecca, the flirt, interacts with Vair; and they are all spooked by Regine, the murderess. In investigating a room, Twilight falls down a concealed hole and vanishes. The group searches fruitlessly for her, then makes camp. They are plagued by bad dreams, sleeping poorly. Meanwhile, Twilight escapes; she had been kidnapped by the thieves Psyche and Broc, whose discovery that the ghosts had awakened in the manor they were looting caused them to decide to leave.
Finally, the group asks Reveri for advice and learns of a hidden high-level scroll of Speak with Dead. They use this to ask the girls' father the whereabouts of the hidden treasure room. The room is hidden behind a mirror of opposition, and opened with the secret word "Medusa." Inside the treasure room they face off with the ether shadow Erebus and his undead (shadows and skeletons). During the fight, Rime turns Taryn all white; not long afterward, Taryn is drained of all strength and turned into a shadow. The group leaves, taunted by Erebus who tells them (falsely) that he is now free. They return later and defeat Erebus and the last of the opponents, but can do nothing for Taryn. Holding her at bay with spells and holy symbols, they cart off the treasure and leave her there.
Blaise is happy to have treasure and manor restored, although the amount the group takes is a painful gouge, and the Archon Christa Briarwood disapproves so much of the adventurers' mercenarial tendencies that she refuses to hold the treasure for them while they travel. Valmont refuses, also, partially because he's nervous about keeping so much money in his unprotected house and partially because he's under pressure from the archon not to.
22a) Taryn. Meanwhile, the heshetani Warado leads Taryn through the Adumbra to the Tower of Eclipse, where she can - if she passes the test - regain her normal form. She does indeed pass, but is now as white as a ghost.
23) Ramatap. Group goes to desert to deal with the murder of Ramatap, ostensibly committed by a cleric of Sangre. Grung spends most of the time mindreading, and everyone else wanders around the bazaar. Arnim sells his paintings to a djinn, who gives him magical money that disappears soon after (although Arnim doesn't realize it this adventure). They uncover the plot of the Prophets' mage to cast a Rest Eternal on the body (with the help of a cleric of Decad) before Wraithwalk, and convince the head of the Prophets to put the mage on Trial - leave him out on Wraithwalk. The mage dies and, for the moment, the jyhad is neutralized.
The group continues down to the Oracle, sacrificing a +1 dagger and a Necklace of Missiles to find out how to help Taryn. The answer isn't easily understood but seems to indicate they would need to enter the Adumbra.
The group goes down to Spir, where Arnim tells a kobkode trader about Oba and the group purchases a few potions.
24) Rharihu. Group travels further south to visit the Rharihu Plains and joins with group of clerics and sorceresses at the doorway to Rakru mountain. A Grand Rite of Luganim is carried out, killing many of the participants, and the others enter Rakehold. There they find a great many undead, which they turn and kill. However, although they explore around quite a bit, they fail to find the kevalin Rake until a day passes, at which time they discover him arguing with another kevalin, a white one whom they assume is Tocair but who is really Ase ("Ash"). When the group attacks, Rake uses truemagic to bind them, but Ase (who is on the side of the young races) attacks, and at the same time Twilight casts a magic missile at him. Losing the spell, the truemagic sweeps Twilight, Grung, Taryn, Arnim and Vair into the temporal matrix.
Castajamir. The grou pappears in the middle of a Blood Rite, grounded there in their flight through time by the akasic magnet created by such magic. There they are attacked and defend, with one person in a red robe escaping. They hide in the pocket paradise to rememorize spells, at which time Taryn and Grung realize they are being granted their spells by some strange being, not their own god (in actuality, Grung receives his spells from Iron Scream, and Taryn, from Mock). They reappear and explore. Twilight and Vair steal clothes, and Twilight, Vair and Grung wander around a little to get an idea of where they are.
25) Catajamir II. The group wanders about a bit, Grung, Vair and Twiight being given the tour by an elvish bartender. The elf turns the three in under suspicion (they know too little) to the templars via a telepathic message to a carnifex he knows. They get away, but in doing so, Grung kills a templar, instigating a major search attempt. After hiding from the search, Taryn, Vair and Arnim decide to go to the merchants and swap some gems for ceramic bits. This they do, but when Arnim writes before the elven merchant, the merchant gets suspicious. He has the three followed, and when his spy returns, calls the templars. Meanwhile, Taryn and Arnim decide to go back to the merchants. They are apprehended en route, and another contingent raids the group's hideout. Carnifexes and templars die in the battle, which ends with the three jumping into the pocket paradise.
Taryn and Arnim have been sold as gladiators. Over the next few days they are in the gladiatorial pits, training as exotics with some advice from an old-timer, the orcish gladiator Pakillot. Finally they are led into the ring, to fight six lizard-like creatures (Laerti). At the same time, Grung, Twilight and Vair return, and begin searching for them. They enter the gladiatorial ring just as it starts looking bad for Our Heroes. Twilight hears Pakillot talking about Arnim under his pseudonym, Seranim, but can't get out to help as Taryn and Arnim fall to their opponents. The thaumatarch is about to give the thumb signal for life or death when Grung vaults from the stands into the ring. Templars and carnifexes spill out to capture him. In the end, he, Taryn and Arnim occupy cells, saved by the thaumatarch's curiosity and sudden realization that these mindblind people could be useful to him.
Twilight and Vair end up springing Pakillot to get help into the thaumatarch's palace, where the prisoners are taken. They stay there, Twilight raiding Y'dhailan's rooms and overhearing Thaumatarch Gothic order his three new slaves to carry out an investigation for him. Twilight also encounters Vair's camo skills for the first time. All five finally meet outside, and begin the investigation. They end up springing Pakillot a second time for her information, though Twilight thinks she knows a little too much for a "simple gladiator." By this time the group has realized it is in the past, and that Y'dhailan is some sort of past incarnation of Eidolon....
Arnim discovers the djinn's cheat.
26) Castajamir III. The group investigates a little, looking more into the question of Eidolon than the mystifs. Pakillot's ties to the rebel movement are revealed. Grung is angry because Taryn and Arnim wouldn't enter the rebels' headquarters, claiming they were too small for Rharihini. Twilight brings back enough information from Eidolon's rooms to make the group realize his plot is to become a dragon, and to realize that he is inextricably bound up in a plot to destroy the various kevalinu leaders. They see the White One - a coautl guarded by kobkode, known as a great psionicist. Realizing that Eidolon will trap the White One in his gem from their adventures in the future, they go to the kobkode and reveal all. The kobkode consults his kevalinu friend, another psionicist and the White One's adept, Ash. The plot is revealed. The group races back to the palace as the Cataclysm begins. Too late to save the thaumatarch. Don't beat Eidolon, but Ash reveals his true name, and Ydhailon marks the group as his enemies, to be dealt with later (he didn't realize at the time how much later it would be before he got his chance!). Mass destruction. Are our heroes responsible for the Cataclysm?
Ash sends group forward in time again, where he holds Rake at bay. Discussion. Rake unrepentant and determined to continue gathering his army to prevent the "Second Cataclysm" - this fabeled Eschaton of the aseku.
26.5) Arnim and Taryn stay with the Herds. Twilight and Vair teleport back (via Ash) to Candor and get Grung resurrected by High Priest Scald. Twilight discusses things with Daimon and the Onieromancer, reveals all to Tandal. Arnim decides to take exile again instead of staying with the Herds. Epharim is upset, and maintains that she will never reveal Telarnim's father's identity; no claim Arnim could make would be "legal" to the Herd. Taryn receives respect, starts making friends with Malakim, which is interrupted when Malakim leaves to escort Arnim and Twilight (who teleported back in via Onieromancer's mirror to check on Arnim) back to Candor. Taryn stays a while longer, makes the Pact between Rharihu and Rake, then travels back with a group of kobkode traders she meets in Spir who want to make the trip to Candor. Meantime, group learns that Deviant's Palace was burned - with its patrons - by a group of battledancers and Michaelite paladins. Szandor is off meditating and reaffirming his faith. Later it is revealed that he took the job to serve his church, but was deeply disturbed by things he had to do to maintain the Deviant's trust.
27) Tandal hires group to break his friend Bethany out of Granite Mountain Prison. Group succeeds, trying to kill as few as possible. Unfortunately, among those they kill is the mage's apprentice. The mage and the lieutenant follow them as soon as possible, and the mage fireballs the encampment. Anjy is killed. Grung and Arnim capture the two, and Grung disembowels them. The group returns to Candor, where Tandal (with reluctance) agrees to have Anjy raised back to life by the Church of Bel.
28) Toxin I. Group is hired by nobleman to find his daughter's murderer; daughter killed in ritualistic manner, hair shorn and heart removed, on a strange pattern, lips sewn together with steel wire, body bound with hooked chains. Group investigates a long time, finally gets enough evidence to buy a "Commune" spell at temple of Thame. Spell reaffirms their suspicion that the murderer was one Lord Toxin, who lives in Rushden up north. Vair pleads off from the mission, because a big play is scheduled within the month. They ask Szandor to go, and he agrees (planning to continue up north to do some skiing afterward - he needs a vacation after the trials of his service in the Deviant's Palace). They go to Rushden, where they find the Lord and his household held in general respect. His blind bard, Damnation Whitlock, plays each night in the Smoke Ring and Froth. Arnim and Taryn visit Damnation in the lord's house once, and Grung, Twilight and Szandor visit the lord's house later for dinner. The visit is inconclusive, and they decide to try again. Grung is angry because Arnim and Taryn refuse to enter the lord's house, claiming it is too small for them - just like in Castajamir. The group decides to assault the place the next day.
29) Toxin II. Meanwhile, Angy claims she has discovered a monster whose depravations the group saw on the way up. They follow to discover she has only found a bear lair. Nevertheless, they decide to attack the bears, and Grung kills one. When it becomes plain there was a person in the lair, they seal up the cave and retreat. Taryn and Twilight return to open cave. The werebear living there presses murder charges against Grung. Grung runs away, then returns to go to prison. Szandor leaves for Yeovil thinking that he can convince a priest to return and raise the werebear in exchange for dropped charges.
Meanwhile, the Rushden captain is investigating the allegations against Lord Toxin. She and Damnation discover Toxin's secret and are attacked by Midian. Damnation blows a horn of blasting and the two escape as the roof collapses; Midian leaps through mirror.
Captain releases Grung on own recognizance to investigate. The group decides to enter the mirror to find the heart. They enter and find themselves at the front gate of Castle Drachenfels. Damnation accompanies them.
Drachenfels I. In Drachenfels they begin exploring, find a letter indicating that The Recantor has corresponded with Eidolon in the past, run into Neath who has been sent by priests of Metal Gods to find out what the Recantor is doing.
30) Drachenfels II. Group discovers a kobkode, Vino, locked in a cell. They explore about, kill Neath for apparently attempting to sacrifice Vino to Mock, meet the hunchbacked, dwarven servant and stumble onto the cellblock, where they free Roderick, a cavalier, and Navanha, an undead courtesan.
31) Drachenfels III. Group finds its way into the Bloodheart with Navanha's guidance and a little help from the Bone Oracle. There they kill mendicants and trolls and talk a bit with the vampire adventurer Maximilian Von Stronhoff before attacking Galton Pathos, who was wrapped in silk and slime recovering from the Hierodule Plague. Much weakened and just awakened, he falls victim to his own axe and is killed.
Group goes up top and decides they must destroy the central tower. Arnim uses Damnation's Air Walk spell to remove the weathervane, and Taryn blasts the tower to smithereens with Call Lightning. Destroying the Blackstone leads to the crumbling of the entire ediface, and the group flees down the mountain to watch the castle's collapse. The undead courtesan is trapped inside.
For a week and a half the group lives on the beach, until rescued by Daimon Childe, who was alerted to the fall of the castle by Darius St Cyr. They spend a day at his house in Roscarberry, where Roderick decides to stay to make his way down south to Ankham, his home. The rest are teleported back to Rushden. Charges are dropped against Grung, partially because Szandor came through with a priest who could do ressurrection, and partially because of what Grung had done. Angy, however, had been taken back by Szandor to go skiing with him, since Grung had apparently left her behind. The group sets off for Candor, except for Grung, who goes up to Yeovil to retrieve Angy. There he meets Szandor who, done with skiing, joins him and Angy on the flying carpet trip back south.
Back in Candor, everyone hopes for a bit of rest and relaxation. Szandor is assigned by his church to act as a bodyguard for the Torturemaster.
32) Rats in the Underworld. Vair has problems - the health and safety inspector is going to close the theater unless he can get rid of rats in the basement (or "underworld", in theater lingo); and in addition, his archenemy in the theatrical profession, Exalt Rosalie Bancroft of House Dovrieux, finally went too far in attempting to seduce him away from both his wife and his theater, and in response Vair told her he was buying out her theater, the Lese Majeste. The rat problem is simply a matter of meenlocks in the city sewers, but the rival problem is considerably more serious ... or so he thinks.
The group enters the sewers several times, getting soundly thugged by the various monsters and molds dwelling therein. Upon splitting at last, Grung and Twilight meet the full force of meenlocks and fight, knocking most unconscious, killing their steeds, and collapsing the sewers before running away. Collapsing the sewers, incidentally, also knocked down a variety of buildings on the Etiolate-Vermiel border, including the restraining wall. Needless to say, the commander of the guard of each respective post is less than thrilled.
Before the performance that night, Grung spotted a magical mote messing with the sets. Twilight magic-missiled it with her wand once - it resisted - then twice, killing it instantly. Unfortunately, it was a pixie, Tomtot, and the friend of an invisible magic-user who grew very angry. Grung finally gave up the body on the roof, and the mage left to get it raised. His invisible partner, a burglar, chatted a bit with Grung, but wouldn't commit to turning in Exalt Bancroft. Now Grung and Twilight have two new enemies.
33) Rats, II. Group goes back under and defeats the monsters. Cat approaches Grung and Twilight, and at his behest they, Merriwether and Tomtot make an edgy peace. The group decides to take 7 months off to do various chores and try to figure out how they might defeat Fellis. During this time, Szandor travels to Anseis for them to carry out undercover investigation (unbeknownst to them at the time, he travels as a torturer, and works at that job during the duration of his time there).
34) The Laughing Dolphin. Group hired by Arnim's old friend Licateon to rescue his merchant master, Retoud, from bandits. The bandit group is hiding in the Laughing Dolphin Inn along the coast, which they have rebuilt extensively after its burning by the sahuagin raiders years ago. There is a terrible battle in which the mage of the bandits manages to kill Licateon, Taryn, Vino and Vair. When the bandits see they are losing, they kill Retoud and take off. Several escape to Caol, to lick their wounds and try to decide whether or not to take revenge. The group returns to Candor with the corpses, which they have raised; they are not paid for the mission, although Retoud pays for his own and Licateon's resurrection. Vair fails his resurrection survival roll and dies permanently. There is a funeral, general grieving, and discussion about how the group might be able to petition the gods for a "wish" to bring him back. Twilight distributes his possessions.
35) Assassin Mountain I. Group heads south, at Vino's behest, "to free the White One." Twilight hopes that doing so might get her a wish to bring Vair back. Scald gives Grung a contract to make a diplomatic treaty with the kobokode of the distant Cazmorin Jungle. Angy stays in Candor.
Our heroes stop briefly at Valmont's and join him in a bar fight against Davin Black's boys, who have been terrorizing the local landowners. There they also meet Calavin, a rharihini who has been whipped and tattooed, but they do not ask him questions and he doesn't volunteer information.
Then they take off for Garamile, where Grung meets Musalim and hears that a mysterious bird-man caused Zaroud to come down with a wasting disease. That night, Brothers of the Everlasting and the bird-men attack Duke Shokar. Group investigates, faces an Oathbinder Genie who kills the surviving Brother, and gets requested by the Duke to find the assassins and try to end these attacks. Grung also wants to cure the disease his brother has. They hire Fadiya and Omar and head off, stopping briefly at Grung's tribe and then going deeper in.
36) Assassin Mountain II: Grung and Twilight enter Assassin Mt. while the others hide (Twilight invisibly). Fadiya tries to kill guildmaster and is captured, along with them. Fadiya is executed, Grung offered a chance to save himself by being asked by the guildmaster to remove the heart of Ramatap from the altar of the temple, because for him to do it would be blasphemy but for an infidel to do it would be okay. They do so and get into a fight with the djinnmaster, but along the way figure out how to cure the disease. Assassins finally discover the rest of the group and everyone is together again. They are tested, and all pass, gaining the guildmaster's approval. He binds them with an oath on the djin never to reveal anything they know about Assassin Mt., and lets them go. They visit the oracle and get answers to their questions, esp how to free the White One. Discover that certain gems must be put into Pattern of Sun Ascending, whatever that is, in order to free the couatl.
37) Shisi I. Group makes deal with Grandmaster of Slayers to borrow Heart of Ramatap for pattern. Rharihu Plains. Arnim feels himself being scried on, correctly assumes it is because of Portrait Card picked up in Ankham. Scries back.
Rharihini paladin Rhalim Truthguard discovered, had been savaged by aurumvorax and Shisi raiders who captured Skyrim, Epharim, Telarnim and Alexim. Epharim killed en route, turned into Nachtim. Skyrim killed. Telarnim, Alexim gelded, tattooed, made into slaves. Group does preliminary scouting, scrying of Shisi encampment in mountains. Some sort of excavation work going on in mountains, run by Shisi mage. Everyone very upset at treatment of slaves, Arnim swears revenge for his son. Taryn and Arnim record their Choices - No!
38) Shisi II. Group raids Shisi encampment, kills many warriors, puts slaves into pocket paradise. Arnim pretends to be a Nachtim, but Shisi apparently don't like Nachtim, upsetting group's theory that they are working with Rake. All retreat to figure out how to get slaves out of paradise, which drops group where it was put in (i.e., in Shisi caverns). Discovers that back at camp, Rhalim's throat has been cut, apparently by the Shisi.
39) Shisi III. Back into encampment to rescue slaves, avoiding wards and wizardlocks with stone shape. Suriviving Shisi have holed up in new excavations, abandoning caverns, so group travels through fairly easily. Slaves led out. Some discussion of whether or not to pursue the hidden Shisi, but it is decided that the freed slaves should return to Herds first, and the Herds would deal with Shisi. Arnim promises Alexim that he will rejoin Herds when he returns from jungle - now that he's a hero, chances are good that he will be accepted once mroe.
Visit to Rake. Rake is surprisingly helpful and lets our heroes borrow the Crystal of Deadly Dreams, one of the gems they need for the Pattern. Arnim is still being scried on.
40) Welcome to Jungle. En route to jungle, group attacked by the kraken Ryashey under Anseis that Arnim has been scrying on via the Portrait Card found in Ankham. Anseisian Black Guards have upper hand for quite some time, but finally defeated; however, Taryn killed in Twilight's lightning bolt. Body cremated, plans made to resurrect her back in Candor.
Group goes to jungle, discovers that kobkode council of elders turned oba-ship over to mind-controlling usurper. Group travels through jungle to ruins, Ndoko Makiri. Dingoneks wreak havoc on party, and Arnim loses a few fingers to them. Group does preliminary investigation of ruin, discovering the usurper, shamans, and lots of big snakes.
41) Finale. Group attacks Ndoko Makiri but falls under usurper's mental control. Finally breaks free when usurper leaves, and everyone is very frustrated. Group has by then realized that Eidolon is behind usurper's power; the drow apparently genetically created and duped the mind-controlling kobkode for his own ends. Our heroes decide to leave well enough alone and free the White One instead. However, in temple of White One the group cannot figure out how to summon Eidolon or solve the Pattern of Sun Ascending. Needing astrological help, heroes spend some time scrying various people for help. No good. Finally discover that Rake is going to attack Ndoko Makiri with Nachtim in order to get through the usurper and to Ash, who is in a stasis field and whose psionics are giving all mind-sensitive people, especially kevalinu, headaches around the Known Lands. Nachtim attack, usurper killed, Ash freed, Rake leaves, Ash joins group to free the White One, his old master. Poem used to solve Pattern of Sun Ascending. Djinni called, Heart of Ramatap borrowed. Eidolon summoned, magic jar used to capture him. Vino takes his watch fob, the Prison's Key, and finishes Pattern. White One - the couatl Heishrat - is freed. Twilight reluctantly leaves Eidolon's body, which is cremated, and his soul Rest Eternaled by Grung. All are rewarded in various ways. Grung gets his contract signed by the new Oba, Vino's grandfather. Plans made to regroup eventually, but for the moment, all of our heroes go their seperate ways. Vino stays in jungle awhile, Arnim returns to Herds, Grung and Twilight go back to Candor where Taryn is raised. Twilight is reunited with the resurrected Vair, Angy is happy to see Grung once more.
And everyone lived happily ever after, at least for a month or two, until they started adventuring again. But that's another story.
