Blasphemaster fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Aug 18, 2013

I felt like we were going the wrong way down that hallway with the stairs and the dead, so I led us back here, to the main room. So that's where we find ourselves.



There is a helmet sitting in front of a kind of throne. We should probably check that out.

Imoen cautiously approaches.



She picks up the helmet, and knows what it is. She tell us that it is Kiel's helmet.



Then, again, things start ... moving.



We are given another vision of what had happened, so very long ago.



Another form enters from a side passage. A leather-clad dwarf with a bow. But the first figure keeps speaking.



A third figure enters from the other door. It looks like a caster of some sort. But the tableau is not yet played out.



Then the fake Durlag turns and casts upon us. It is Cloudkill!



Thankfully one of the doors, the one to the torture room that we already explored, is open. We all run through it to escape the room of death.

But one of the dopplegangers puts Branwen underneath its thrall before we even make it there! And Imoen panics and begins to run around.



I try to put together the pieces of a Dispel Magic spell, but I only get a Heal off.



Oh, so that's how that works? I wonder if I can do that on purpose sometime. It felt... right.

But I can't think about that now. I have to dispel things!



Woot! It worked!

And Finch is quite proud of herself when she is able to take out the last doppleganger.



Actually, that may not be the last one. We hear sounds of strangled breathing coming from the main room.



Is the main doppleganger choking on his own mist? Good riddance, if so. We wait.

We only go back into the room once the cloud has cleared.



Imoen takes him out.



And there is another! He manages to pull off the fear/charm combo that they are quickly becoming famous for.



I throw my highest spell-like something at him. A huge green ball forms in front of me and speeds towards him!



I have very high hopes for this spell, but it disappoints. It hurts the thing, but doesn't completely destroy it. Hrm.



I'm pretty sure that my djinni is going to take care of business, though, so I sit back and watch the magic unfold.

I get kindof upset, though, when Finch kills my djinni!



And then she comes after me! I quickly cast some Mirror Images to evade her attacks.



And Imoen, with her magical bow, takes out the final doppleganger.



We all run around avoiding Finch, then, until she comes back to her senses. She is a persistent little bugger though. I'm glad she's usually on our side!



With that taken care of, we decide to check out what's on the right side of the throne room. Imoen goes first, of course.



She finds a control panel and a strange wheel. What's all this now?

With a flick of a button she is able to open a nearby door.



Does this mean that the system is not automatic? Did Durlag set this whole thing up to be run by dopplegangers? Or did the dopplegangers set this place up as a monument to their success? This raises a ton of new questions.

Imoen decides to explore the hallway beyond the control room. She looks for traps, and finds a big one.



She says this is a particularly nasty trap, and would have crushed anyone walking up to it.

She finds another trap in the next room, and moves to disarm it.



Then she finds more.



This is connected to Durlag's wife's room. So is this like her trophy room?



Maybe so. Judging from the equipment we found in her place she could have easily killed all these wyverns.

There looks to be a set of double doors on the far wall, so we open them.



There are two Furnebols and an Islanne in this room!



The most horrible part of doppleganers, I think, is that with their Dire Charm abilities, you never know if who you are fighting is a doppleganger or the real thing, charmed. What must it have been for Durlag? Worse than hell, I think.

My team rushes in. I try to support them, but I don't think it goes right.



Jet'laya takes care of one of the Furnebols. I try to cast more magic.



At last I'm able to summon a djinni who is willing to give me a wish in combat.



A repeatable wish.

Choose then, but be aware that unwise wishes shall leave the wisher wanting.

I wish that spells I have cast would be restored, that I might cast them again!

Then I shall grant your wish and restore some of your lost spells.

When he says "you" he means the entire party, because his magic envelops us all!



With some of our spells restored, the party goes about casting many different things. I call on the Weave to aid me again, and come up with Project Image.



Jet'laya calls down a Holy Smite upon the dopplegangers in the room.



My Projected Image goes crazy with the random spells, throwing things left and right.



I can't even keep track of all the magicks flowing out of my fingertips. I just keep them going as fast as possible - this Image won't last forever!



I summon gnolls to aid me, and immediately kill them with a Cloudkill.



I kill another doppleganger and have elementals working with my Image to take on another when I realize that Branwen is dead. Is that ... could that have been me? I don't even know.



I pull the remaining Golden Company back and check out what's going on with the battle. The whole area is inundated with a Cloudkill. I've got one fake Durlag pinned down by elementals and spiders, and another fake Kiel free. The free fake Kiel casts Gust of Wind and dissipates my Cloudkill! Wow!

I send Finch, Jet'laya, and Imoen to engage the smart fake Kiel. My minions are still going after Durlag on the other side of the bridge.

Jet'laya kills the fake Kiel with a strike from her Mace of Contrition.



And, after my Projected Image introduces a Teleport Field into the mix, Finch is the one to kill the fake Durlag.



I see a little cubbyhole in one corner of the room, so I eagerly see whats inside. I should have checked for traps, because a Fireball comes out and hits the entire party!



And then another! and another!



The Fireballs just keep coming and coming. Jet'laya and Finch are both almost dead by the time we get out of there.



So... now we're down to four. Branwen and Will are both dead.



There has got to be an end to this place, hasn't there? I will find it even if it kills the rest of us!

The corpses in the hallway really give away the traps.



Of course Imoen can't really find any traps next to the corpses...

Instead, she finds a body, watched over by strange automatons.



A book lies next to the bier. Imoen picks it up and reads it.



So he lasted this long, did he? Not bad, not bad at all, to fight his way all the way from the throne room to this point. He must have killed a lot of buggers along the way.

Imoen calls us all in and we go past the Doomguards, to a room I've seen before in a vision.

Finch picks up and reads the book at the top of the stairs.



So, its either going to be the Doomguards, or some undead. I think we should take on the Doomguards first.

But as I walk into position to cast my first spell, I step on something and a door moves.



It is yet another secret passage leading to yet another staircase and yet another book.



I pick up the book.



Huh. Interesting. So down this staircase is Durlag's madness? I'll put that on the agenda.

But first, we're going to loot the corpse of his son.

The Weave first decides to give me a djinni servant.



Then it decides to let me arrange some spells into a sequencer.



The third spell is when the battle truly begins - with a stun.



My spell sequencer doesn't seem to do much.



Somehow ice starts falling from the sky. I do not know if this is because of me or my enemies.



The Weave gives me a selection of enchanted weapons, gives armor to the Doom Guard near me, but also summons an air elemental to do my bidding.



I choose Arrows, incidentally, and receive 40 of these:



Then it happens again, and I choose a quarterstaff.



My next spell gives me more magical minions. Good, I guess?



My djinni, previously hurt a lot by combat, finishes regenerating as a ball of gas and re-enters the fight!



Finch is seriously injured by something or other, and needs to heal.



Even though she is slowed considerably by the ice and snow of the blizzard, she manages to retreat and heal herself, even though she is pursued by a doom guard.



We have quite a lot of minions in the fight, so I decide to regroup my main force and see how things go without us. No need to spill more Golden Company blood, right?



One of the Doom Guards falls to an air elemental, and the rest swarm on to its companions.



The djinni casts Haste, which affects both himself and all of his summoned creature companions. Excellent move!



Another Doom Guard goes down, and now there is just one left.



The djinni goes off to regenerate once again, and the air elementals hold the line until it comes back, fresh and new, and casts Lightning Bolt at the remainig Doom Guard. It falls.



Awesome!

We move in to loot the bodies and clean the place up, when several undead simply appear out of nowhere. They're on to us!



The clerics tear into the undead with a vengeance. This is what they were made for! Finch takes out the first.



She also runs around behind the second and takes it out too! Go Finch!



And the third falls to her relentless onslaught as well!



Remind me to never be around Finch if I ever become undead.

I send everyone else out of the room to loot the bodies. But as I do so, 3 more undead pop up!



I run back behind Finch and let her take care of business. And she does, quite quickly.

Once.



Twice.



And three times!



Then Imoen runs to the previous room with Kiel's body in it. She loots Kiel's Buckler, Kiel's Morningstar, Arla's Dragonbane, and a Wyvern Head Helm from the foot of Kiel's bier.









And then, I call it. We're not going down the stairs. We will go back to town once again and rest for a bit. Besides, we have Mur'neth and Kagain to pick up to replace our fallen.

Vorgen fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Sep 13, 2013

Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Sep 2, 2013

Vorgen fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Sep 3, 2013

Vorgen fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Sep 13, 2013

The trip back to the Elfsong Tavern is routine macabre. I still don't know what to do with or say to those who have died following me. Branwen is presumably used to this by now, but it was Will's first time. I really have no idea why they even do it. They're probably giving me looks when I can't see. Will probably suspects the worst things about me, now. Maybe the rest of them are even clueing him in. I'll have to ask Imoen later. But, wait, then she'll know that I know that they might Know. Better to not arouse suspicion. Better to keep silent. Better to keep it all on the inside.

Better also to get people to come with me who haven't seen me in a long time. Like Kagain and Mur'Neth.



You'll not "suffer" long if you keep up that attitude. Get in step Kagain, we've business to attend to.

Straight to the point, I respect that. Let's go.

And then I talk Mur'Neth into coming as well.



It seems your deity was right. Please, rejoin the party.

Then we trudge wearily back to Durlag's Tower. On the way, I even talk up the experience. Say how far we've gotten. Don't mention the crazy, though. No need to mention the crazy.

One evening on the journey, Imoen asks a very pertinent question.



Never hurts to check up on your money. 'Specially when there be a thief in the party.

What?! Hey, that's not very nice. I don't steal stuff from my own comrades!

Wasn't Syvishtar's left boot missing the other morning?

Yeah, but that's just between me and him.

Anyway, that kinda stuff was all just pranks. You can't seriously think that I would steal for any malicious purpose!

Pranks or no, I keeps a close eye on me gold.

Heh, banter. I remember when I could do that. When everybody's soul wasn't weighing on mine own (The weak should perish).

Since we now have Kagain, I change the party formation. He leads a strong wedge, supported by Finch and Jet'Laya. The ranged attackers are on the back row.



It is a strong formation. I have high hopes for it (They're all going to die).

We walk past abandoned tables...



climb down empty wells...



traverse forgotten halls...



and I half-expect the newcomers to turn and run. But Kagain looks around in wonder, and Mur'Neth exhibits no emotions at all (Fools they are, but good for fodder).

We pass by the false exit with the undead waiting to rise. We go to the real exit, in which was left a book for us.



The book we still have. I ask Finch to show it to me again.



Yes. All that came before - that was not madness. Only now will we know Durlag's madness. Now, as we descend the stairs. I pray for no mirrors. Then we descend.



We reach a door at the bottom of the stairway. The door is closed, but I hear explosions behind it. Noises of fire, my old friend. I go up to open the door personally and peer inside.



A fireball goes off in this room periodically. It is as if the room is stuck in some sort of time loop, with the ever-expanding beauty of a purifying ball of fire playing over, and over, and over. I sit mesmerized. Then I notice the other doors in the walls. And then the bodies on the floor.

I step into the room myself. My Robe of Dh'arlo'me will protect me. I fear no Fireball. There are only minor valuables on the dead bodies. Slightly singed too. Meh.



On a whim, I decide to check out the leftmost door. It leads through a small hallway to a beautiful subterranean garden!



Amazing! I call for my companions to follow me here. They run one at a time, in between fireballs.



Kagain is the first. But when he arrives he shouts out "ghoul!"



These are fast. A second one rushes up to join the first. Crap!



Kagain manages to take out the first one, but two more show up! Thankfully, Jet'Laya shows up too.



I get hit, and cast Blur as a defensive measure. Finch shows up to the party.



Mur'Neth joins up just in time to get the attention of a Greater Ghoul. Attention that he simply cannot handle, it turns out.

Why did I even bring anyone back with me? What was I thinking??

The rest of the party takes care of business.



I should stop using these inexperienced Golden Company members. They just invite death (They deserve it).

After we clean up, Imoen goes out to scout again. She finds that the place is all greenery and shrubbery. Also a little maze-like. Is this a subterranean hedge maze? I've always wanted to see one of those!



It is not a very friendly hedge maze, though. I'm a little suspicous that it may be trapped.



The skeleton was a clue.

Imoen thinks she can backtrack to find some more twists and turns, so I let her do so. She is ambushed!



I only have time to hear a little shuffling and scuffling behind the bushes, and then a short cry. No! Not Imoen!

We all rush over to help Imoen, and on the way I cast Detect Invisibility. I find an Ashirukuru right in the midst of our party!



The little evil bitches try to become invisible again, but my magic keeps revealing them. They must know it is I who keeps them in sight, because they attack me personally.



You will all die for Imoen! All of you! With a snarl of anger and a rictus of fury, I lash out with my go-to spell at the nearest Ashirukuru. The Weave takes the snarl as a cue.



I am a hunting wolf, seeking out my prey. Yes. I will do this. While the rest of my party keeps the Ashirukuru in place, and while my magic keeps it visible, I lunge at its throat. I feel a satisfying crunch and the hot rush of blood.



I try to say something, but I only growl and shake automatically. But the prey is already dead.

So, Imoen is dead. Again. By my hand, pretty much. And now we've lost both a friend and our trap detector. Meh. Who cares. I go and sniff out the statue nearby. A fireball blows up in my face, but it doesn't hurt much.



There are goodies!

Potions of Master Thievery and Heroism, scrolls of Domination and Hold Monster. They all go in their respective pouches. There is also a battle axe, Ghoul Slayer, and another Tome of Understanding.



Kagain snatches that axe right up. And I take a look at the Tome. I liked the last one I read. I wonder what's in this one?



Kagain has a great chance to try out the axe around the next corner, as we find more ghouls to fight!



Finch does well against them. But I get a few bites in too.



I could get used to this predator's body. I don't mind being a wolf, at least not right now.

We step away from the corpses of our victims and trigger another Fireball trap. This time the clerics are somewhat injured.



I am finding it hard to concentrate on my companions. Finding it hard to care. They heal themselves or something while I anxiously respond to all the smells and sounds around me. I want to go forward, but Finch and Jet'Laya object. They say that it is simply not possible to proceed in such a trapped environment without a thief. They then share a look and nonchalantly suggest I wait until the the wolf spell has worn off, then think more clearly.

What are are they talking about? I am not sure, but try to humor them.

When the spell wears off, I remember that I can raise Imoen. I should do that.



With Imoen back in action, the clerics are much more relaxed. What, did they think I was going to rush off and ignore the traps in this place? (I should have. They can kill off the weak.)

Imoen makes herself invisible and goes back to retrieve her equipment.



She finds a few obstacles on the way, but nothing she can't handle.



After she gets back we have to deal with a new Ashirukuru. Great.



The one-two punch of Detect invisibility and massive melee damage save the day again!



This time when the Ashirukuru dies I notice some equipment on the corpse. I look it over - some Boots of Displacing and a Wakizashi +1?



Do the others have these? Have I been missing out on loot? Imoen goes back to check, and yes, she finds another set there. She takes them for the Golden Company's armory. Never know when we'll need to displace someone!

Imoen scouts around a bit and comes back to tell us that we're done with the maze.



Now, we can find out where this door goes to the south.



Imoen reports back that it's creepyweird.



Yep, creepyweird confirmed.



The talking, disembodied stone head is especially so.



But it isn't the only one.



The third one, though, I can agree with.



Fire solves all problems.

The fourth mask I didn't notice before, but it intones a more cryptic phrase.



Imoen does some scouting. Around the corner and down the hall is a skeleton!



One skeleton is not something that the girl really worries about these days. She obliterates it without effort.



But there is a second one! We all rush to help. There are traps and Fireballs and the whole mess is quite mayhem.



But a room full of skeletons and sleeping gas? It is not really a threat for us.



I imagine Durlag was thinking of someone weaker when he made this room. Or maybe it is a training room for boring Sunday afternoons. Perhaps a nursery for adolescent dwarves?

At any rate, I open the final door on principle.



Nothing of note happens.

We go back to the boring hallway and let Imoen scout ahead once more.



She finds four doors on one side of the hallway, and a final door at the end.



Of course she decides to open the door on the end first. Inside she finds bones, and a greater wyvern!



She attacks it in the manner to which she is accustomed.



And then she runs around the room until the cavalry arrives.



Finch deals the killing blow.



She is quite the powerhouse now. Go Finch!

The next wyvern must have watched how that fight went, because it almost kills Finch outright!



Thankfully she runs away and heals okay.

It also gets a few hits in on me before going down.



A third wyvern goes by the book, after taking some chunks out of Jet'Laya.



A couple of statues facing the same direction, and not towards us, tips Imoen off to possible basilisk presence.



But there is not a basilisk, but a skeleton. A talking skeleton.



I guess we should have gone this way instead of left.



So, not much different than the Elfsong Tavern then? The thought of revenge grips my heart, and it beats quickly. My chuckle freezes in my throat. What if they some day take their revenge on me? What if the Golden Company turns on me? What if they Find Out?

I can't bear to look at the statues any longer. I turn away.

Also, Mechezarin! What the holy weave! He was huge!

Okay, so, we killed everything in Durlag's bestiary. We killed his skeletons. We killed his assassins in the shrubbery maze. I guess the only rooms left are the ones back in the hallway.

Imoen checks out the first door, and finds that the hallway is quite long.



We decide to go down it together.

We find winter wolves and a polar bear in a room full of ice!



They are not hard to take out. Not hard at all.



There is nothing else in the room, so we leave and go to the next.



We find a room filled with bubbly green... junk.



We search it for clues as to what it should be. Eventually, we find a Fission slime.



I remember what the stone faces said. I tell everyone to stand back. What we need now is a FIREBALLLLLLL!!!!!



Ooh, what's this?



Eh, not exactly what I asked for, but whatever.



Ok, now time for a FIREBALLLLL!!!!!



Until this moment I did not know exactly how many bubbles there were in this room. Now I do.

Hrm.

Well, how about a FIREBALLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



No, that's... listen, guys, the stone head said fire, so, uh, can you just stand back a bit? Ok thanks.

FIREBALLLL!!!!



OH YES! Let us bathe in the blessed flames of purification and may all our sins be burned in its arcane fires!

And may the FIRESTORM that comes after burn away all vestiges of... ouch that hurts!



Okay that last part was overkill but hey the slime is dead so who's really counting at the end of the day when you get down to brass tacks and in for a penny in for a pound... of FIRE.



Mwahahahaha!

I leave that room in a good mood, and almost whistle as I skip down the hallway to the next.



I'm detecting a theme in these rooms. The first one was cold. The second acid. This one is earth... no, air?



Whatever it is, Kagain chops it in half.



Well, can't see anything else, we might as well call this room done and take off.



OH CRAP! Again with the invisible stalkers! There's something I want to try.



Ah ha! It works!

Finch calls down the pain.



And Jet'Laya brings down the Holy.



Finch gets double-teamed, and runs away to heal herself.



She does, and gets back into the fight, but gets injured again right away.



She runs all over the room trying to get away from the stalkers, and then stops to heal herself with a spell. But they catch up.



And our mighty and valiant gnome goes down. drat.

I try to get in on the fight, but the Weave tells me to melee.



The stalkers coordinate their attacks, focusing on Imoen next. Jet'Laya tries to heal her, but cannot.



I shout out in rage again, and grasp my sword. I know how to use this now. I strike down the stalker!



And the next!



Jet'Laya almost dies, and retreats to heal. The stalker, sensing weakness, goes after her.



But Jet'Laya is not so weak. She turns and strikes down the final attacker.



Then the Vault Keeper and I have a little conversation.



2200 gold later, Imoen, Finch, and Mur'Neth are back. I figure Mur'Neth might be able to catch a trap to the face or something, and save one of us.

Then we decide to rest up in this cave of air. Compared to the rest of this level, this cave was murderous.

16 hours later, we are ready to face the final room!



Lets see, we did ice, and poison, and air. I bet this last one is fire!



Yep!



I know, Meta Infernum, I know.

I'm fairly confident that I can handle whatever this place throws at me. So we stride into the room and see...



Oh poo poo! These are the guys that Draer'Ragh summoned! They hurt! Keep it away, keep it awayyyyy!



It is as if the Phoenix Guard knew what exactly we were going to try do to it, because it drinks a potion of magic shielding right away. poo poo!




But for once, just once in my measly little life, the Weave helps me out. It drops a cow on the monster.

I keep throwing magic out as fast as I can, and the Weave lets me queue up a few things. I choose Stoneskin, Fire Shield Red, and Glyph of Wild Magic.



The first Phoenix Guard is knocked onto the ground by the force of my cow, and is also almost dead. Everyone else's magic bounces off of it harmlessly.



The second, female, phoenix guard is upon us, though. What shall we do?! I decide to ask the Djinni that I summoned.



I wish to summon a horde to overrun my enemies.

A horde? As you wish...

I pray that there will be enough bunnies to keep the Phoenix Guard busy.



But Kagain decides to take matters into his own hands, and cuts down the Phoenix Guard right in front of the party. Her death fireball washes over us all, and almost kills Mur'Neth right there.



There is still a Phoenix Guard next to us, too. We must be careful!



Also, all the bunnies are dead. They were too short for this world!

Then Imoen speaks up.



She must have noticed something that I didn't. I brace for, well, anything.

Her awareness costs her, though. The Phoenix Guard is after her!



We scramble to heal everyone again before taking out the last Phoenix Guard. We barely manage it, just in time to get Fireballed once more.



And then immediately, without warning or notice or fanfare, we are teleported away just as Imoen suggested. We find ourselves in another room entirely, and the air is eerily quiet. Then an ethereal voice begins to speak to us.

I yell at everyone to switch to melee weapons and stay in your square. I try to rustle up some magic... when the entire opposing side comes rushing at us all at once!



We quickly succumb to our basic instincts. Mur'Neth melts into a puddle of goo. Jet'Laya and Finch cast Holy Smite. I throw random magic out at someone, anyone. I am almost blinded from the energy sweeping the room.



A few moments later, all the pawns are... gone? Not dead, just disappeared. My two summons are standing in the middle of the board and the opposing Knight is firing at us. Whaa?



I'm afraid to move from my square, not really understanding the rules, so I decide to peek at what's going on. I cast Wizard Eye at the center of the board.



There is... nothing. Did someone accidentally kill the king right away?

I see a pile of loot on the floor. I move over and look at it. It certainly looks like the kind of thing that a magical king in a game of chess would drop. I guess?



Some minor spells and potions and a Cloak of Displacement. I turn to my companions. I shout out with glee, "We won!"

We take a look around the room, but there's nothing really there of interest. So we decide to sleep and prepare for what may lie beyond.

Vorgen fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Sep 26, 2013

stille fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Sep 23, 2013