The Later Levels - Part Two
The coming of KarnusWhile resting in Threshold, Lana realised she would be able to use the resources of her master's tower to create another spell. She recalled a cave complex which she and the others had explored months before in the hills to the north, where they had been exposed to a purple powder capable of causing hallucinations in a person's mind. Lana hoped to return to the caves to obtain a fresh sample of the substance, but wished somebody to accompany her. Drewen offered to tag along, as did another magic-user named Karnus Perdissium - a travelling mage in search of an adventuring party. Born in Specularum, this member of the Magicians' Guild was skilled in alchemy, therefore Lana was keen for him to assist with her new spell - Phantasmal Force. Thus Karnus accompanied Lana and Drewen on his first adventure into the unknown.
The caves were as Lana and Drewen remembered them, but for a major addition - they were now inhabited by a band of slavers known as The Iron Ring. The trio of adventurers found themselves encircled by thugs known as "Hounds" within the ranks of the organisation. As tension escalated a confrontation seemed inevitable, however despite Lana and Drewen trying their utmost to avoid combat it was Karnus who managed to avoid bloodshed by charming the leader. Lana was permitted to obtain her sample of the magical dust and the three departed the slavers' base with their lives intact.
Having proved his worth, Karnus was introduced to Threy and was invited to join the party for further adventures together. The novelty of having two resident magic-users within the party took a long while to diminish, and soon there were to be two clerics within the party also.
Dwarf, two mages and two clerics ... the mountain death camp
Now a fifth individual joined the party - an eager young man named Vasily, a promising acolyte of the Church of Traladara based in Specularum. The youth had come to Threshold on a clerical mission, believed to have been bestowed upon him directly by his chosen patron - the Immortal Halav. A darkness had been detected upstream in the northern mountains, therefore this cleric was seeking allies to help him root out whatever evil was at large. Therefore the party of five packed their equipment and trekked out of town, heading northwest into the mountains.
After just a few hours the companions reached a logging outpost - here trees were felled to be transported downstream via barge to Threshold to be chopped into lumber. Upon approaching the huts where the loggers and their families lived, the party was set upon by a horde of undead. Dozens of zombies assaulted the companions who were forced to defend themselves - slashing and smiting on all sides - until finally the zombies were overcome. The party had no time to rest however as they were immediately set upon by the force which had animated the undead - a cleric who introduced himself as Friedrich Schonberg, a member of the cult of Thanatos. Drewen, Lana and Threy recalled how a secret church of Thanatos - the Immortal Patron of Death - had been uncovered in Threshold just a few time ago, whereupon the other faiths had drawn together to scatter the death-clerics to the winds.
Schonberg proudly admitted to killing the families of the logging camp then using prayers to his dark Patron to compel their souls to unlife. The party, and Vasily in particular, were outraged at this misuse of power and rushed to battle the cleric. Lana used her new spell to create the illusion of a medusa, hoping it might paralyse the cleric with fear, but he saw through the phantasm and was unaffected.
Friedrich's abilities were superior to those of the party and he sustained few wounds, until Threy invoked a spell of Holding which caused the cleric to freeze stock-still. Feeling suitably smug, Threy helped himself to a twisted black staff which Friedrich bore in addition to his mace, and the other heroes busied themselves searching the loggers' huts for information while they considered what to do with their captive. This proved a costly mistake. As the party's backs were turned, chanting emanated from one of the far huts and Friedrich became able to move again. Somebody had reversed the Holding effect.
The accomplice made his presence known, stepping forward in flowing black robes - the necromancer Maximus. The original party members scowled at the sight of their old adversary, recoiling as the wizard hurled three magic missiles into their midst. The companions were forced to resume combat, now faced with two powerful foes instead of just one. Drewen renewed his attacks with increased vigour and soon crushed the dark cleric's skull with his warhammer. Seeing his ally fall, Maximus turned himself invisible and fled to his hut to retrieve belongings and magical treasures, before disappearing. The five companions managed to track the mage to a nearby cave complex and confronted him in what seemed a dead-end tunnel, its floor littered with bones and refuse. Maximus cast an identical spell to one of Lana's - Mirror Image - and managed to withstand combat for several rounds without sustaining damage. While maintaining undisturbed concentration in this way he Dimension Door-ed Threy to the top of a nearby waterfall. The necromancer then attempted to barter with the party members, probably fearing for his wellbeing, and offered Lana and Karnus a tempting selection of scrolls if they were to let him go free. The pair were adamant in their desire to bring Maximus to justice, however, and refused his offer. Hearing this, Maximus morphed into the form of a raven and flew away. The party were left kicking themselves that their foe had once again managed to escape.
The party descended from the mountains and returned to Threshold to recount the tale of their mission to Patriarch Sherlane. They spoke of how disappointed they were at not having managed to apprehend Maximus. Still, the mission was not a complete failure, as the heroes had defeated a highpriest of Thanatos. Vasily felt sure this was the threat which Halav had wished him to remove. Lana vowed that in the future Maximus WOULD be brought to justice for his crimes.
News soon spread of the tragedy which had befallen the logging camp. The party felt the need to escape the resulting gloom, and set out on the road to Specularum, bidding farewell to their friends in Threshold. Having amassed considerable experience in recent weeks, Karnus was keen to return to the Magicians' Guild to be taught several new spells by his master - Guildmaster Teldon himself. The party arrived in the capital a few days later. Drewen and Threy busied themselves running the Flying Ferret Inn, Karnus and Lana visited the Guild and Vasily returned to his church.
The crazed alchemist and the elemental
Around a week later Karnus found himself needing components and called to one of the city's alchemy stores. Conversing with the owner whose name was Valtius, Karnus got the impression something was amiss. After subtle probing, Karnus deduced that the owner was hiding a dark secret - he had been testing alchemical concoctions on his own son, who was now dead by poisoning. When Karnus failed to persuade the man to turn himself over to the city authorities, the man panicked and fled into the thick of the city markets, clutching a strange stone with him. Karnus rounded up his companions and gave chase.
When finally Karnus, Drewen, Threy and Lana tracked the alchemist to an out-of-the-way back alley, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. From out of the ground emerged a twelve-foot tall creature - its body composed of soil and stone bound together by magic - an Earth Elemental, which Valtius in his desperation had summoned through the enchanted stone he bore. Lana thought of ways to banish the creature and guessed that if she acquired the stone that had summoned the elemental then she might be able to send the creature back to its home plane of existence. She used her ring of telekinesis to wrench the stone from the alchemist's grasp, but watched aghast as her act caused the elemental to turn wild. Its mental link with Valtius had been severed and could not be re-established.
The immense creature was perhaps the most fearsome adversary the heroes had faced, mightier even than Falaryx, the black dragon of Blight Swamp. The elemental was set to storm through the Foreign Quarter, and would need to be eliminated before it could cause damage to the city and its inhabitants. Without delay, Karnus ran in the direction of the Wizards' Guild to fetch his master who he knew would be capable of removing such a powerful foe. Lana meanwhile cast a Fly spell upon herself and snatched up Valtius as bait, attempting to attract the elemental's attention and lure it away from nearby dwellings, towards the river outside the city walls. She decided to try and trick the monster into stepping into the water (an opposing element) in the hope it might be swept away and disperse. This did not happen however, as the elemental moved slowly and seemed reluctant to enter even the shallows at the river's edge. Vexed, Lana deposited the quivering alchemist on a small nearby island, and flew back to where the elemental stood raging on the shore.
Drewen and Threy had caught up, and both suspected only magical weapons could harm the magical creature. Drewen fired a barrage of magical crossbow bolts while Threy charged forward, uncharacteristically brave, and managed to strike the thing's leg. The enraged elemental turned and smote Threy with its fist, sending him flying through the air to land dozens of feet away. Faced with such colossal physical might, both cleric and dwarf were forced to maintain their distance.
Lana was airborne however and sensed that her detachment from the element of Earth gave her an advantage. She downed a potion she had taken from Valtius' store, which gave her increased size and strength, then swooped to engage the creature. She sent a swarm of Amber Shards sizzling into its back, followed by two vials of flaming oil, then cast Mirror Image to protect herself from the creature's fists and closed for hand-to-hand combat, her magical dagger grasped in one hand. As the combat progressed the elemental swiped clean through each of her phantasmal images, yet Lana herself was landing colossal blows. Never had she felt such strength, as the potion endowed her with magical vigour. Amid her confidence however, the elemental's fist smashed into her ribcage, crushing her to within an inch of her life. Lana recoiled, barely able to breathe, but returned for one last strike, hoping it would be enough to kill the thing. She was vaguely aware of chanting beneath her. Master Teldon had teleported himself and Karnus to the riverbank and was preparing to cast a spell to aid Lana. As the monster's fist closed for what would surely be a hit... Lana turned invisible! This was all the distraction she needed to land a killing blow. The strike took all Lana's strength but caused the elemental's frame to crumble beneath the force of her blade. As the elemental spirit returned to its plane of origin, the physical form it had occupied collapsed into smouldering rubble.
Days later, Valtius appeared in court before Duke Stefan to answer several charges including the unlawful killing of his son. Lana spoke in the alchemist's defence, reducing his sentence from death to one of imprisonment. The potions from Valtius' store were shared among the party members and the stone of summoning, a powerful magical item, was entrusted to Karnus' care since Lana felt she wanted little more to do with earth elementals.
The quest for Drewen's Armour
Lana was at a stage where she felt weary of the adventuring life; after all, it taken up the last two years of her life, leaving little time for friends or magical study. There was now another mage in the party, so Lana decided to opt out of adventuring for a while. Instead she would remain in Specularum and take charge of running the Flying Ferret Inn, and she thought she might also spend some time at the Magicians' Guild. She bid temporary farewell to her comrades as they embarked toward the east on a new adventure.
Drewen told the others of a legend he had uncovered - how centuries ago a dwarven engineer was rumoured to have created a suit of magical armour, which he placed at the heart of a dungeon filled with traps and pitfalls. Legend told that only the most hardened and experienced of dwarven heroes would make it through the trials which awaited inside the dungeon. Intrigued, the others agreed to escort Drewen on his quest since the dwarf had often in the past assisted the others while asking little in return for himself. The group's first port of call would be the dwarven town of Makrast in the north-eastern mountains, beyond the borders of the Grand Duchy and inside the Empire of Thyatis.
After weeks of travelling the party reached Makrast, locating and entering the cave complex where the magical dwarven armour was said to be concealed. The party fought their way past living statues and golems, fountains which sprayed metal-eating acid, rooms filled with tripwires connected to loaded crossbows, pitfall traps and more, but eventually penetrated the centre of the complex - the chamber where the armour was located. Drewen placed his hand upon the magical plate and the party found themselves back at the entrance of the dungeon. Drewen was now wearing his new armour, which was a perfect fit for his stout frame! Striding back down the mountain toward the town encamped at its base, the local folk welcomed Drewen as a champion, and many celebratory feasts were held to honour the dwarf's accomplishment.
During the journey back to Specularum, the four companions went hunting for griffon feathers, a necessary component for a spell Karnus had long been meaning to create - "Perdissium's Perpetual Agitator" - a variant of Hold Person, but decidedly less pleasant for the victim. Unfortunately the party's wealth and belongings, which had been stowed in a horse-drawn wagon, had been stolen and sold in a town along the route. Through use of a Charm spell Karnus befriended an ogre who accompanied the party for a short while. It was also noted that at this time Threy had fallen from the favour of his Immortal patrons, probably as a consequence of not having attempted to further the beliefs of his faith. On a regular basis the cleric would find himself denied spell use. This trend finally ceased when Threy resolved to consider his calling with renewed vigour.
Returning to Specularum, the heroes regrouped with Lana and settled down to life at home for a short while - a few weeks or so. It was still springtime, and the party would have the remainder of the year to adventure. Still, in less than a couple of weeks' time, once Karnus had successfully completed his spell creation, they took to the road once more, bound for the city of Kelvin.
From this point, our story follows the classic D&D module B10 Night's Dark Terror, which took us the best part of two years to complete!
In a riverside village, the party encountered a man named Stephan and began speaking with him. Stephan spoke of his family's trade - taking wild white horses from the moors located east of Kelvin, and taming them for sale to the elvish clans in the trading outpost of Rifflian. He offered to reward the party reward if they agreed to escort a number of horses from his family's home on the moor to Rifflian, and the five readily agreed. The following night, however, the barge on which Stephan and the party were travelling was set upon by men whom the travellers presumed to be river pirates, and combat broke out. Amid the darkness of the night, Lana fired a bolt of lightning into the river waters and electrocuted more than half of the wading attackers. Threy cast a spell of Holding and drowned a further handful. The party fought the remaining bandits, and afterwards noticed strange chafe-marks around their foes' wrists. Slaves? Looting the bodies, Karnus removed a dagger (which turned out to be magical) and an amulet depicting a ruined tower.
The barge travelled a few miles further upstream and the party, joined by Stephan, disembarked with the horses. They progressed through marshy terrain, reaching Misha's Ferry to seek passage across the river, but Misha was missing from her hut home. Only her bear remained, and would almost have mauled the party's mages to shreds had the pair not levitated safety in the nick of time. In any event, Misha's disappearance seemed odd and worried Stephan greatly.
Night soon fell and although the party wished to stop and make camp for the night, Stephan spurred them onward, assuring everyone that it was only a short distance to his homestead. The party pressed on through the night, the way lit by Threy's glowing shield. Soon a disconcerting red glow was seen above the treetops - one of the homesteads was on fire and the surrounding woods were filled with goblins. The party were ambushed by goblin raiders, and were forced to flee, seeking the protection of Stephan's homestead. Lana paused to throw up a magical Web between the trees behind the party, blocking the goblins from following, then made haste after her companions.
Read on to the next instalment - Night's Dark Terror