Recap / Journal (Chapter 1) - closed

[Demogorgon]

Attack on the Risen Tower : Third Level


The party decided to toss a grappling hook up into the hole and climb from the top most tier of the chamber. Before doing so they covered the bottom hole with a number of book shelves and desks to prevent anyone from falling into the room below them.

The party climbed up the rope and arrived in the center of another 40 high chamber. The roof was covered with a 15’ thick layer of magical webs. The webs contained various piles of debris.

Down a short corridor that exited the entrance chamber the party could see two glass doors some 20 feet up the wall. A new wooden ladder leaned against one wall under one of the doors.

In one corner of the chamber stood a statue of a robed figure pointing a wand at its own chest. The statue’s head and right shoulder was partially severed in a diagonal fashion. Ylric noticed that the section missing from the statue did not appear to be broken or cut off and looked like an unnatural force had cleanly removed it.

Suddenly, a section of the wall about 20 feet above the party began to glow. A huge maw similar to that of a dragon materialized and protruded out from the wall. Rather than attack, the magic mouth relayed a message in the most annoying squeaky voice imaginable.

What took you so long? You fools think we are not powerful enough! You think that our kind cannot control magic? Well…You will soon learn of our power.

Hahah….

Wakey wakey wakey... wake up all powerful and glorious master of the Red Robe… time to teach the doubters of the conclave a lesson they will never forget.

Just as Sangrias reached the top of the wooden ladder he noticed that he was no longer holding on to a ladder, but two long and sticky tendrils. When he looked down he could see the gaping maw of a Mimic waiting to devour him. The mimic tried to drop Sangrias in to his mouth, but Sangrias managed to hold on to the bottom of the ledge. The mimic then attacked Sangrias with his tendrils and knocked him off. Sangrias fell, but had the chance to push off from the wall so that he landed next to Zissren.



With the party surprised, many became grievously injured by the spinning parchment and book covers. Cordus made a gallant effort to heal most of the party members. Zizzren and Sangrias became trapped on the other side of the Book Storms. Zissren sacrificed himself for Sangrias and lay on the floor dying from his wounds. The Mimic then moved into the corner of the corridor, transformed into a solid metal chest, and waited for Sangrias and Zissren to die. When it saw Zissren take his last breath the Mimic pulled him into his mouth with his tendrils and ate him. The mimic enjoyed the taste of the Bakali, the green dragon head and wolf meat rations in his back pack. About the only thing he didn’t like was the universal solvent, which he spat out.

While it was eating Zissren, Ylric shot an arrow right between the Mimic’s eyes. The Mimic screamed in pain, but the injury was short lived as the potion in Zissrens backpack spilled open and healed the wound.
Once the book storm was destroyed, the party moved in on the Mimic and killed it in short order.

When they searched the carcass of the Mimic they could only find small bits and pieces of Zissren. Realizing that their companion was dead, the party sadly gave Zissren his last rites on the spot.

Sangrias realized that Mimic ichor is useful in the creation of polymorph self potions, and their glue and solvent sacs can be sold to alchemists. Other internal organs are useful in the manufacture of perfumes. The mimic’s internal organs are considered tasty delicacies in some cultures. Despite the obvious value, no one in the party wanted to collect any.

After searching the books on the floor, Ylric found a ritual scroll of Magic Mouth.

With the death of Zissren, the party decided to rest in the chamber below. They made camp and took up guard positions in the chamber. Before resting, Sangrias invoked a Skull Watch Ritual to protect the area. During Ylric’s watch he could hear the sound of something flapping its wings. Ylric alerted the party and flew up to the window to have a look and sangrias followed. Outside the tower, the party could see a bat hovering near the window. Ylric took no chances and fired an arrow at it. The bat anticipated the attack and expertly dodged away. Sangrias then pulled it closer with his magic. Whatever the creature was it clearly wasn’t a normal bat, and the party had just made it very angry.

[Demogorgon]

Ylric and Sangrias continued to assault the strange bat with ranged attacks, but it managed to turn invisible and fly through a window two levels above them.

Enter Regortar
After the clash with the bat, Regortar made a dramatic entrance by stepping out of an elemental door. When Thrrdon saw the Bakali he immediately struck a conversation with the stranger. Needless to say, it didn?t take long for the party to accept Regortar in their ranks. Regortar informed the group that he was searching for a Draconian Mage who had impersonated "The Scaled One"


The Magical Elevator

The party climbed up into the third level and began exploring the area. Regortar scanned the area for magic and could detect magic behind all the walls in the room. The closest source of magic emanated from the circumference of the hole they had just climbed out from. Regortar noticed that entire circumference of the hole was covered in runic symbols that were filled with dirt and dust. After clearing out the dust the symbols read:

?The places of High Sorcery are held in common among all orders and no sorcery is to be used there in anger against fellow mages.? Regortar told the party that this was Lunitari's Law which was sacred to the Order of the Red Robes

From this vantage point, Regortar also spotted runes around the hole in the level below them. The party discovered that the runes read:

"The world beyond the walls of the towers may bring brother against sister and order against order, but such is the way of the universe." Regortar told the party that this was Nuitari's Law which was sacred to the Order of the Black Robes.

Further examination revealed that the runes, if spoken correctly, would invoke a floating disk that had levitation properties.

Regortar invoked the ritual and a red translucent 10? wide disk appeared floating above the hole. It became apparent that the disk was an elevator of sorts which moved up and down through the center of the tower. Regortar, Thrrdon, Sangrias, and Ylric stepped on the disk and Regortar commanded the disk to levitate up.



The Squeaky Red Dragon
As the party ascended on the magical disk, the squeaky voice demanded that the party leave. The voice threatened the party by declaring that he would cast a fireball on them.

Realizing that party couldn?t reach the hold above them without clearing the webs, Ylric launched a flaming arrow at the webs. The webs caught on fire and the entire ceiling was engulfed in flames. The debris that were previously stuck in the webs began to fall. Fortunately no one in the room was hit by any of it. Just before the webs went up in flames, Thrrdon noticed a suit of armor and a helm within the webs which soon crashed on the ground.

Just as Regortar commanded the disk to stop, the Squeaky Voice yelled at the party. The voice was furious that the group was setting the place on fire. He expressed concern for his experiments and his treasure.

The party decided to ignore the threats and could only watch in horror as a small ball of fire dropped down on them. When the fireball exploded, many in the party suffered serious burns, but Ylric took the brunt of the blast. The Elf could only scream as his clothing caught on fire. Fortunately, Cordus used his healing magic to cure the party of their burns.

With most of his clothing burnt to a blackened crisp, Ylric activated his magical bow and flew up to the wall where the fireball shot out from. His keen Elven eyes saw through a small illusionary wall that covered a 3?x?3 open window.

Ylric immediately flew through the window and landed in the room beyond. He could see a vast treasure horde on the floor sprawled before large ornamental throne. Two large braziers flanked each side of the throne and each had a glowing stone floating in the air above. The stone to his left was grey (Stone of Illusion) and the stone to his right orange (Stone of Transmutation)

The treasure horde was quite large with all sorts of valuables including weapons, armor, coins, gems, and jewelry.

Ylric ?s keen ears picked up the sound of something moving in the corner and fired two arrows in that direction only to see them both hit the wall.

Regortar took Thrrdon through an elemental portal and reappeared beside Ylric in the throne room. Sangrias, with no magical means to enter the room, made a heroic leap from the floating disk and dove through the window. Cordus and Utad remained in the entrance chamber and tried unsuccessfully to climb up the wall.

When Thrrdon moved near the adjacent wall he was immediately attacked. The party was shocked to see a large red dragon appear out of thin air and knock the Bakali warrior prone with his long tail. The dragon spoke in a squeaky voice and held a hoopak in his clawed hands.



Sangrias used his purple stone to summon a fire warrior and sent the creature off to attack the dragon, but it too was knocked prone by the dragon?s tail. The red dragon then invoked a mind affecting spell on Thrrdon who started to believe that he was trapped inside a maze of mirrors.

About this time, Ylric spotted an exceptionally crafted quiver full of silvered eleven arrows in the treasure. Tempted by the treasure, he decided to wade thorough the coins, grab the quiver and then take cover behind the throne. When he made his move to grab the arrows he immediately fell unconscious. When the party looked back they saw Ylric sleeping like a baby with his arms cradling a quiver of arrows. While the elf dreamed of endless riches all his wounds healed. Fortunately, for him his ranger instincts helped him to wake up from the dream a moment later.

After firing half a dozen arrows at the red dragon, which all missed their mark, Ylric decided to grab at the quiver of arrows a second time, but fell right back to sleep. Many in the party couldn?t believe it, but the elf was apparently very greedy and overtly foolish.

Then, the Squeaky Red Dragon walked through an illusionary wall and conjured an area of grease under the party?s feet. When the party followed the creature through the illusionary wall, they could see a stone pedestal in the centre of the chamber. On top were several small figurines set in slots around a palm sized orange gemstone (dwarf, elf, human, kender, gnome, half-elf, and a broken dragon). The gemstone emitted an orange light all around the room, which caused the figurines that surrounded it to cast shadows along the walls. In addition, the floor the chamber was covered in the shattered remains of thousands of valuable figurines, which appeared to have once fallen off the two display cases that flanked each side of the chamber.

After staring blankly at the sleeping elf for a few moments in disbelief, Regortar took control of the Orange Stone of High Sorcery and invoked its Slimy Transmutation power on the Red Dragon. The spell enveloped the dragon and turned him into a tiny toad.

Rather than toss the frog out the window to its death, Thrrdon stabbed it with the prongs of his trident, which dispelled the slimy transmutation and allowed the dragon to revert back to his normal form. The dragon was forced to fight the party on its back and endure the attacks of Thrrdon and Regotar.

The dragon slashed at the group with his claws, but suffered deep wounds from Thrrdon?s trident. Enraged, the red dragon almost killed Thrrdon with one powerful snap of his jaw. Rather than devour him the dragon spat Thrrdon out and turned his attention to Regortar. Immediately, the party scrambled to save Thrrdon?s life. Cordus tried to help Thrrdon, but had no idea how to treat a dragon bite. Thankfully, Sangrias had a few healing songs and used them to pull Thrrdon away from the dragon and heal his wounds.

Utad took control of the yellow stone and invoked a mind affecting spell on the dragon, which caused it to tumble through the glass shards that covered the floor. The glass penetrated deep under the dragon?s scales and caused the dragon to roar in pain.



As the dragon rolled over the glass, the orange gemstone on the pedestal (Polymorphing Device) started to pulsate like a strobe light. Everyone within range (all except Ylric) started to feel their bones begin to shift. Cordus resisted the effects, but Thrrdon, Regortar, Sangrias, and Utad were all randomly polymorphed into a different race. Thrrdon became a Dwarf, Regortar turned into a Kender, Sangrais lost his pointed ears and became Human, and Utad shrunk into a Gnome. In addition, the dragon was transformed into a dwarf.

Just then, the Bat that previously interrupted the party's rest, appeared near the window and attempted to take control of Regortar?s Orange Stone of High Sorcery.

The battle continues?

[Demogorgon]

The party continued to fight the dragon. As a dwarf, the dragon wasn’t nearly as dangerous and the party gained the upper hand. Regortar, who was now a Kender, began to taunt the dwarf/dragon sending him into a furious rage. The party took advantage of the dragon’s single minded focus on Regortar and slowly beat and stabbed the dragon/dwarf to death. The battle ended with the party thwarting the Bat’s attempts to take the magical stones, and the Bat was forced turned invisible and fly away. With the dragon/dwarf dead the party saw it transform into a Kender wearing red robes, which was his true form. Regortar noticed that he had a nice pair magical of boot on, which he kept for himself.

Looting of the Red Robe Level
After searching the entire level the party found several interesting items. On the desk in the laboratory they found a log of experiments written by an apprentice of the Red Robe Order. One entry in particular caught Sangria’s eye and he read it to the party.

… I’ve been instructed to stay focused on the task of modifying the transformation device for my master. The personal transformation is completely random. Thus far, I have tested the device with the most common races. Later, we will begin experimenting with more complex races and creatures. Unfortunately, with my master focused on preparation for the ritual, we will not have time to enchant the gem with the appropriate reversal rituals before we depart the tower. Until such time we will have to use the potions.

Also on the desk were three potions: Potion of Mimicry, Potion of Polymorph, Elixir of Dragon Breath (Fire, level 7).

Sangrias managed to pry the gemstone from the polymorphing device. He realized that the gemstone was in fact an Orange Diamond worth about 5000 gp.

In a secret compartment under the throne Ylric found 4 ritual scrolls: Hallucinatory Item, Water Breathing, Knock, and Secret Page. Ylric also found a red leather spellbook and a journal. The journal was full of practical jokes that the wizard played on others in the tower. Apart from this wizard’s odd sense of humor, Sangrias found a few interesting journal entries and read them aloud to the party.

… the sphere is still rather unstable, but we have no choice to use it or the sylvan creatures outside will attack. I told the old man that destroying the tower is a very dangerous endeavor, but he is convinced our magic will prevail and insists that the ritual can be completed with the portal open. We will also be using the stones to help stabilize the sphere. I just hope he is aware that energy from the portal will contaminate the ritual chamber and possibly have unpredictable results. Of course, if we close the portal first, we’ll have no means to escape this savage continent in time. Alas, it seems we have no choice.

…If anything should happen during the ritual a dimensional spell will activate and send me back to Lunitari’s throne. I’ve also rigged the transmutation device to transform me into a dragon and put me into temporal stasis. In theory, this will keep me alive indefinitely. Can you imagine the look on my colleagues faces when they arrive and see a dragon staring at them? They won’t be looking down at me anymore! Of course, the only drawback is that I might end up thinking I am a dragon if I remain in dragon form for too long, but I doubt that will happen. I really don’t see any reason to be afraid. Regardless, this will teach the conclave a lesson for doubting the power of a Kender wizard! Whoever said a Kender shouldn’t be a wizard anyway?

After the party discussed the significance of these journal entries, they decided to search the other room. They discovered a vast library with 5 books shelves. Each shelf was labeled as follows: Magic of Change,Magic of Deception,Magic of Independence, Magic of Mystery, and Magic of Purity

Sangrias took the opportunity to fill his backpack with books of Change and Purity.

The party then returned to the entrance chamber. On the floor was a suit of magical armor made of interlocking marble plates and a horned helm. These objects had fallen from the ceiling when the webs caught on fire.

The Master's Plea

Just before the group started to ascend on the floating red disc they noticed a shimmering disturbance in the air above the books on the floor. Seconds later a robed man with dark grey stony skin, similar to the stone of the tower, materialized before them. While the man floated, they saw that his legs were cut off at the knees.



The party observed that he was struggling to hold a sphere of utter darkness in his cracked stony hands. He frantically tried to compress the sphere in an effort to contain the magic within. The man then looked up at the group with a strained expression that denoted centuries of pain and exertion. With a slow and deep voice that reverberated through the stone under the party’s feet, the figure began to plea.

Please help me heroes of the forest. I am the Master of the Tower. For centuries I have waited for the gods to answer my plea and now you have arrived.

Take heed for the renegade knows you are here and waits for you in ambush. In the time you have afforded him; he has summoned a host of demonic servants to kill you. Do not let yourselves be so easily deceived! He will soon attempt to gain access to the portal. Truly I tell you, the renegade does not understand the danger. His actions could send everything for miles into oblivion!

Please, you must stop him. I cannot fight him in this state. I must continue my struggle.

Just then the sphere in his hand grew several inches in diameter and the master of the tower was forced to struggle with the sphere once again. As he fought to control the sphere he slowly faded away, leaving only the wind to whistle around the tower.


Attack of the Risen Tower: Level 4

The party decided to hide all the stones they had found and ascend on the disc to the room above. When they reached the next level the disc stopped and turned completely white. They found themselves in a triangular pit with a 10’ high tier to the north and a 20’ tier to the south. A wide set of stairs acceded to first tier. Directly above them was another circular portal in the ceiling. This portal, however; was sealed by a circular stone door adorned with a pentacle.

Shivnar's Offer
Standing at the top of the southern wall was a frail man adorned in ancient black robes, the party recognized him as the Renegade Shivnar, the man they had unknowingly helped resurrect a few days ago. Beside him were four transparent black robed figures looking down at the party with glowing red eyes. Each had a glowing dagger wound over their hearts.



Shivnar immediately demanded that the party hand over the stones. He also thanked them for helping him return to life and offered the party riches and power beyond imagination. The party refused his offer by calling them all lies.

Black Dragon Highlord
Just then the party could hear the roar of a dragon outside the tower walls. They could clearly see a black dragon fly past all the windows of the chamber in a counter clockwise direction. As the creature passed from window to window they could vaguely make out a man in full plate armor riding on the dragon’s back.



The man yelled from the top of his lungs with an angry and authoritative tone, “You test my patience Shivnar! What is going on? The soldiers I entrusted you with have been decimated. This is the third time that you have allowed this to happen! You told me you would be able to open the portal and you have yet to even enter the ritual chamber. I should have known to have placed my trust in you! “

"Patience Highlord", replied Shivnar, “defeat precedes you and your army does it not? Know that I shed no tear for your pathetic soldiers and do not forget that I consider some of them to be my children. Fear not, as the stones have come to me”.

Just then the familiar cry of a second dragon was heard outside the tower. As Old Greenie cried for her dead wyrmling the black dragon responded in kind with a terrifying roar of its own.

“You are on your own Shivnar, The ancient Othlorx is upon us! I will lead her away from the tower, but when I return you had best be inside the ritual chamber and in control of the portal.”

Shivnar looked around the room and then issued the following command, “Kill them my slaves, rend the flesh from their bones and devour them”.

Rather than engage the party, three of the wraiths floated up to the ceiling and phased through the circular stone door. Shivnar then looked behind him and addressed a figure at the back of the chamber that the party could not see from their vantage point. “Yes old man, your wards will not keep us from entering the ritual chamber; you failed to protect the chamber from incorporeal undead and do not forget that I already took the test long ago.”

When Shivnar turned to look back the party, Regortar blasted Shivar with a Dazzling ray of light and taunted him. After Shivnar recovered from the blast, he became enraged at Regortar.

Shivnar then pulled out sphere made from thick interlocking rusty iron bands and gazed at Regortar, “Now, since you won’t give up the stones willingly, let me introduce you to my little friend, his name is Bilarro”

The battle rages on…


Loot Found

Orange Diamond worth 5000 gp
Red Robe Master's Journal
Red Robe Spellbook
Ritual Scrolls: Hallucinatory Item, Water Breathing, Knock, and Secret Page
Potion of Mimicry
Potion of Polymorph
Elixir of Dragon Breath (Fire, level 7).
Marble Splint Mail +1
Horned Helm of Challenges
Kender Boots

[Demogorgon]

The Betrayal

Shivnar tossed the rusty iron sphere at Regortar and hit the Kender square on the chest. The Iron Bands of Bilarro magically rapped around his arms and made him partially helpless.

Just then several ugly demonic creatures (2 Dretches and 8 Manes) charged down the stairs at the party.





Unexpectedly, Utad took advantage of Regortar’s helplessness by stealing Regortar’s backpack. The party was in shock as they witnessed Utad teleport to the highest tier and attempt to dig out the Stones of High Sorcery.

About this time the remaining Nigh Eye Wraith flew over the party and took the two stones that Utad had removed from Regortar’s backpack. The Wraith then flew up towards the exit portal and phased through the door taking the two stones with him. With this action, Utad’s deception was revealed and it was now clear to all in the party that he used the party to acquire the stones for Shivnar.

When Regortar broke free from the Iron Bands of Bilarro the magical item returned to Shivnar’s hands. Despite being in a mad rage at the Kender, Shivnar levitated and followed the wraith to the exit portal, but before leaving he looked behind him and said, “I release you”. At that moment, the party could hear bestial grunts and groans echo around the chamber from the second tier. Looking up towards the exit portal Shivnar traced his index finger along the pentacle which allowed him to magically pass through the door. Before he fled, Ylric noticed that he was carrying two stones of high sorcery in his robes. Ylric could see that the stones were white and cyan in color.

Thrrdon made his way to the top of the stairs and bravely fought three of demonic creatures all by himself. At one point, he even had Utad in his grasp, but Utad teleported away and shape changed into an Aurak Draconian. Regortar immediately recognized the creature as the one who deceived his entire tribe. The Aurak Draconian charmed Thrrdon and commanded him to attack Sangrias with is trident, an attack that the bard narrowly managed to dodge.




Suddenly a huge ape like demon jumped down on the party from the second tier. The creature, known as a Barlgura, immediately began slamming the party with his long arms.




The party bravely fought the demon and was forced to fend off the evil temptations of the bat they encountered previously, who revealed his true form during the battle, that of a tiny demon known as a Quasit.



During the battle Cordus instructed his spirit wolf to keep two of the Manes occupied for the duration of the battle. He also healed a number of the party members despite being extremely angered by Utad’s betrayal. In fact, the Minotaur wanted nothing more than to gore Utad with his horns.

At one point in the battle, Ylric fired two arrows at the Manes that Thrrdon was fighting. The arrows killed the demons, but it caused them to explode and spray acid all over Thrrdon. As the acid melted the flesh off Thrrdon’s hand he cursed the elf for his careless actions. In revenge, Thrrdon grabbed the Dretch and dragged it next to Ylric in hopes that it would explode near the elf in a cloud of poison when it died. It was, after all, not the first time that the elf caused a creature to explode and spray acid on the Bakali.

Realizing that Sangrias had the other stones, Utad instructed all the creatures to focus their attacks on him. The Barlgura did as he was commanded, and with one swift slam into his ribcage, Sangrias collapsed on the ground clutching his backpack tightly in a last ditch effort to keep it from falling into enemy hands.

After commanding the Stones he had (black and yellow) to fly through the exit portal, Utad teleported beside Sangrais and was forced to spend a considerable amount of time flipping Sangrias over and removing his backpack. This afforded Regortar an opportunity to destroy the Aurak Draconian with his elemental magic. With one well placed spell by Regortar the draconian was thrown into a frenzy. Utad became surrounded in green flame and launched it self at Regortar. The draconian clawed frantically at Regortar, but the nimble Kender expertly dodged under the attacks. Utad then collapsed into a pile of ash. Regortar was pleased that the Aurak Draconian he had sought to kill was now dead from his own magic. He could sense that his Elemental Staff was very pleased with his actions.

It didn’t take long for the party to defeat the Barlgura and the remaining demonic minions.
When the battle ended the party realized that they had lost all but two of the Stones of High Sorcery. This meant that Shivnar and his Night Eye Wraiths had six stones. The party could only hope that the two stones they had would hinder Shivnar in some way or prevent him from following through with his plans.

Looting the White Robe Level
Thereafter the party searched the level.

Bookshelves

Each of the 5 book shelves on this level are labeled with an inscription in Magius as follows: Magic of Defense, Magic of Radiance, Magic of Resistance, Magic of Sustenance, and Magic of Truth

After searching through the book shelves the party found the following ritual scrolls.
Purify Water, Seal Portal, Disenchant Magic Item, Eye of Alarm, Magic Circle

Table and Chairs
Scanning for magic revealed a strange disturbance around the table and chairs. Regortar believed that the magic is creating a temporal disturbance (altering time).

Under the table was a skeleton of what was once human wizard. The skeleton had a small box that contains a magical pearl which the party identified as a Pearl of Power

In addition, the party found a small journal made from parchment.

Apprentice Journal
The journal has one interesting entry.

…May the gods of magic forgive us, I’m afraid in our haste we have allowed a fugitive to take the test! How could we have known that the Empire of Aurim had an open arrest warrant for him! He has been accused of murdering his own sister! I’ll have to talk to the old man about this immediately. I truly hope I am not the one selected to enter the gem and pull him out! I can’t imagine what kind of twisted designs the gems has created for Chardath. I can hardly bare the thought of exploring the mind of a psychopathic killer, let alone enduring a test created for such a person...


Throne

This ornamental throne is much like the ones in the previous chamber; however, this one is dedicated to Solinari. You find a secret compartment and inside a Journal, a Potion of Resistance, a Potion of Cure Light Wounds, a stone tablet written in Bakali, and a white leather bound Spellbook,

The tablet contains a ritual called Energy Enhancement


Master's Journal

This journal is very thin and lacks much to be desired. In fact most of the entries are short one sentence log entries like, “Created ritual circle’, or ‘Sent apprentice to fetch herbs’, etc. Only two entries seem to be of any importance.

… I have agreed to perform at least one test of high sorcery before we destroy the tower. Having at least one success in this land would at least make our failure a little more palatable.

…It seems we have our first test candidate from this land, one Chardath of Aurim. He told me that he is the son of a powerful noble family. I sense this individual is a very troubled soul. Even during my interview with him, I told him that no self respecting wizard carries an axe on his back! He insisted that the weapon was merely a good luck charm and that it is a gift from his father. I warned him that if he is unable to let go of his past the gem will completely absorb his life. I made it very clear to him that the penalty for failing the test of High Sorcery is death, but he remained confident.


Entrance Portal
Around this portal are dust filled runes that read: "All Wizards are brothers and sisters in their order. All orders are brothers and sisters in the power."


Exit Portal
This portal is a circular stone door set in the center of the 40’ high ceiling. The portal is adorned with an engraved pentacle. Extremely powerful magic emanates from the portal. All attempts to scan for magic beyond the door or past the ceiling utterly fail. It is very clear that the door and ceiling of this chamber are heavily protected and warded. Examination of the magic surrounding the pentacle reveals that it can grant ‘phasing’ to specifically attuned individuals or groups. Tracing the pentacle activates the magic.


Summoning Circle
This circle is etched into the stone floor and is filled with silver. The circle was constructed to keep powerful entities inside.

Protection Circle
This is a powerful circle etched into the stone floor and filled with silver. The circle was built to keep powerful entities outside and is perfectly constructed.

The Large Red Ruby
This very large dodecahedron (d12) shaped Red Ruby floats 5 feet off the ground in front of the throne and silently spins and rolls in place. The ruby emanates powerful magic beyond the parties capability of identifying. They suspect that it's a powerful artifact of some sort.



Loot found

Pearl of Power (MME)
Potion of Resistance
Potion of Cure Light Wounds (MME)
White Leather bound Spellbook
Ritual Scrolls: Purify Water, Seal Portal, Disenchant Magic Item, Eye of Alarm, Magic Circle
Bakali Tablet: Energy Enhancement (Ritual Book Page)

[Demogorgon]

After their search of the White Robe level, the party decided to activate the white levitation disk and attempt to gain entry into the chamber above. Sangrias traced the pentacle on the exit portal with a stone of high sorcery in an attempt to gain entry, but nothing happened. He noticed that the stone freely passed through the portal door, but his body would not enter. When he poked the stone through a bit more he was forced to fight for control of the stone with someone on the other side.

Regortar relayed a tale he heard about a tower of high Sorcery in the continent of Ansalon that had a room known as the hall of mages. He knew that only those who had passed the test of high sorcery could enter. Regortar speculated that they only way to gain entry would be to pass the test of high sorcery or find a way to phase through the portal.

Sangrias speculated that the red ruby floating near the throne was in fact a device used to take the test of high sorcery. Confidently, he touched the gemstone and disappeared. Many in the party had no choice but to follow him, and they each took their turn touching the gemstone.

The Land of Shimmering Ruby Crystal

The party came to their senses in a place unlike any they had ever seen before. The surface beneath them was a sheet of red glass or crystal which glowed with a diffuse, rippling light; it stretched out of sight in all directions with no visible edge or border.

Above the party, a black sky devoid of stars, clouds, or other features spread from horizon to horizon. Vast arcs of crimson lightning periodically danced across this void, followed swiftly by tremendous claps of thunder. These mighty reports caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble, yet no echo was ever heard in their wake.

The air here felt neither cold nor warm and was without scent or motion. This condition created a stifling effect that made this vast, openness seem somehow close and confining.

It was difficult to say how long the party was walking for, as one place appeared to be the same as any another in this strange land. Always there was the crimson glow beneath their feet, the black expanse above, and the eternal cascade of thunder and lightning around them.

After walking for an hour, the party began to hear a voice in the air. At first, the party mistook the faint whispers as nothing more than the fading rumble of thunder. With each passing second, however, it became clear that the murmuring held something more. Someone - or something - was trying to talk to them.

We are all prisoners of this place. I must serve one who should obey me. You shall be consumed by the land itself.

Survival is our common goal. We are both in need of allies. As a sign of my good faith, I offer the following advice: Gather the glowing stones of the land. They are the key to both our salvations. I give you the first so you may know what to look for.

At this statement, a ruby in the form of a perfect one-inch sphere dropped into Ylric’s hands and the voice continued to speak.

In addition to this counsel, I make you all a gift. Consider the matter; we shall speak again.

A magical ring of white metal appeared on each of the party member’s hand. The party experimented with the rings and determined that they were capable of identifying the direction of the party. They do this through a faint pressure that feels almost like a tug. If one relaxes his arm, the ring gradually (over the course of about one minute) lifts his hand to point toward the rest of the party.

After little debate, the party decided to split up into two groups and travel in opposite directions. Party A consisted of Cordus, Thrrdon, and Regortar, and Party B consisted of Ylric and Sangrias.

After traveling away from each other for about 5 hours and getting no place, Regortar reflected on the situation a bit more. He then realized that if this was some sort of test then perhaps he had to think more like a wizard. He wondered if any of his arcane spells could be the answer. With that thought, he invoked a Chaos Bolt at the ruby ground floor

Suddenly, a great stroke of lightning flashed down from the sky and struck the ruby ground not fifty feet from Party A. The deafening thunder that accompanied it hurled the group to the ground and left their ears ringing. In rapid succession, four more crimson bolts zapped the ground around them, tossing them to and fro like a toy boat in a ferocious gale.

Where each bolt struck the ground, the crystal glowed hotly like molten glass. Gradually, these rose up to form pointed crystalline monoliths some fifteen feet tall and five feet thick. These stood at equal points around them, forming a loose pentagonal rampart. They appeaed to be mere outgrowths of the floor with no visible seam or demarcation.

Examination of the monoliths revealed that they were simply crystalline outcroppings and Regortar could detect no magic emanating from them. He then invoked another Chaos bolt at one of the monoliths which caused the red crystals to glow warmly. He walked around to each Monolith and activated it in a similar manner.

Far off in the distance Ylric and Sangrias saw the lighting. They decided to turn around and spend the next 10 hours walking back to the other Party.

Party A decided that they could not wait for the other group and entered one of the monoliths.

Beyond the surface of the ruby monolith was - a gleaming corridor that burned brightly with all the colors of the rainbow. Unimaginable energies crackled through the air, raising the hair on their arms and down the back of their necks. The bitter smell of electricity tickled the Party’s nostrils and burned their eyes. Some twenty yards away, the corridor ended in a shimmering wall of white light. It looked incorporeal, but the party could see nothing beyond it.

Party A walked through the gate.

About 10 hours later Ylric and sangrias arrived and found the glowing stone Monoliths. The decided to search for tracks (rather than use the rings) and discovered the monoliths that the party A had previously entered. Once inside the corridor they both entered the gate.

Lava Tube Labyrinth


The party found themselves in the middle of a long tunnel that seemed to have been hewn from rock. The shaft around them was more or less circular, with a diameter of some twenty or twenty-flue feet. The walls, floor, and ceiling were jagged and rough. Patches of glowing lichen giving off a pale red light provided the only source illumination.
The blistering hot air felt so thick that it seemed to flow past the group like boiling water. The dense, biting odor of sulfur scratched their noses and eyes. Each breath seemed to set fire to their lungs and threatened to gag the group.




Cordus speculated that they were in lava tubes or inside the vents of an active volcano; however, he found it odd that the cavern was perfectly horizontal and not elevated in any way. They decided to wait 3 hours for the others in the party to catch up, but they didn’t arrive.

After traveling down the tunnel for a while, Party A realized that they were inside some sort of labyrinth. Worse was that each time they had to trace their steps back the way they came the labyrinth changed. Thankfully Party A had a Minotaur in the party and would have better chance than most to traverse the labyrinth.

Party B didn’t arrive in the labyrinth until several hours later. This gave Party A seven hours to traverse the labyrinth alone. At one point Party A was attacked by 3 magma creatures that hurled fire at them.




Party B was also attacked (seven hours later) when they began to walk through the labyrinth by a Rock Elemental and a Galeb Duhr.

[Demogorgon]

Regortar managed to taunt the magma creatures and make them chase him down the tunnel. This tactic afforded many opportunities to Thrrdon and Cordus in melee. In addition, Regortar made use of cold spells to slow the creatures down. Eventually Part A was victorious.


Jounrey through the Labyrinth

Party A took a short rest and proceeded to traverse the labyrinth. Despite the labyrinth’s ever changing nature, Cordus expertly lead the party through the tunnels for several hours. He was very adept at avoiding and identifying corridors that contained more creatures. He directed the party around fire elementals, rock creatures, and the terrifying roars and groans of many unidentified beasts, some of which could have been small dragons or basilisks.

Around this time the unknown voice contacted them.

My friends, your efforts to free us are humbly appreciated. Your exploits form the stuff of legend and surely will be recorded in the greatest tomes of history. Together, we shall triumph over he who rules this place.

A Scary Children's Tale

When Cordus heard the phrase, “exploits form the stuff of legend and surely will be recorded in the greatest tomes of history”, Cordus was reminded of a very old children’s tale that began the same way. The story was about a group of knights that went searching for a great treasure near an ancient volcano. The knights had to traverse a vast labyrinth full of evil fire and rock creatures. At the end of the labyrinth the knights discovered a huge dragon. The dragon was twice as large as any dragon on the face of Krynn and its treasure horde was even more impressive. Usually when the story was told, any artifact that the child could think of could be found in the treasure horde, even weapons wielded by the god’s themselves. After engaging the child in the story, it quickly took a turn for the worse and described in detail how each knight died at the hands of the dragon. Cordus recalled that the tale was mostly used to scare children and did a good job of it, as all the knights died and dragon went back to sleep.


The Story and the Dragon

Party A came to a point where the tunnel ended suddenly in wide cul-de-sac. The walls were black with soot and oddly smooth, as if they were made of freshly cooled magma or had recently been half-melted. Looking around, the party noticed two things. First, the tunnel behind them had vanished. A solid rock wall stood where only seconds ago they walked. Perhaps more importantly, however, was the fact that the ceiling of the chamber had a round hole some five feet across set in its center. Beyond the jagged opening was a ruddy glow that looked as if it were created by a smoldering forge or a large bonfire.

Regortar used his elemental magic to teleport Thrrdon to the top of the hole. They then dropped a rope down for Cordus. When the group emerged they saw that they were inside the base of a vast crater easily large enough to hold a small village. The walls rose hundreds of feet into the air before throwing themselves wide to the alien sky above. Beyond the rim of the great caldera opened a ruby red sky, across which lazy black clouds drifted slowly.

The floor of this enormous canyon was covered with an unimaginable horde of treasure. Chests of gems and jewels lied haphazardly scattered upon a sea of gold, silver, and platinum coins. Gleaming swords, shining axes, and a veritable arsenal of other weapons were scattered randomly about; shields, helms, and suits of armor round out a cache of a value seemingly beyond reckoning.

And coiled atop all this treasure was exactly what one would expect to see: a great dragon. From snout to tail, the beast measured no less than 250 feet. His crimson scales looked thick enough to turn cannon fire and the razor edges of his cruelly hooked claws gleamed in the glow of the endless treasure. The eyes of the great beast were closed and his breathing was slow and regular. Each time he exhaled, a roaring gale of scalding air rushed past the group, providing a hint of the deadly fires that burned within the monster. Although the dragon appeared to be sleeping, the group could not escape the feeling that he knew they had entered his domain.



The party retreated back down the hole and searched around for another exit. When they couldn’t find any way out, they conceded that they would have to sneak past the enormous beast. They each said their farewells to each other and fearfully returned up the hole to the dragon and his treasure horde.

They managed to put a good deal of distance between themselves and the dragon. It was not an easy task, however, for they had to take every footstep with the greatest care to avoid brushing over a pile of treasure and giving themselves away.

Just when it seemed that their plan might be working, the ground beneath Cordus shifted and buckled. He vanished from sight, plunging into an unseen sink hole in the floor of the chamber. In his wake, a loud crash of metal filled the chamber. Coins cascaded into the hole behind him and suits of armor toppled onto the hard stone. Fortunately, the crash did not awaken the sleeping dragon.

After a few minutes, Cordus’s gaze fell upon something nearly hidden behind a large chest of coins laid a circular opening in the floor. Unlike the entrance that brought the Cordus into this place, it was perfectly round and very smooth. Beyond, it he could see only darkness and he could not determine whether he was better off on this side of that mysterious portal or not.

The party tossed a sunrod down the hole. The light revealed that walls of the place were polished smooth, making a perfect sphere. In the center of the room suspended in mid- air floated a large tome. It was thrown wide open and the exposed pages were nearly filled with an intense, narrow scribble. As the party watched, a quill pen busily raced to add new words to those already written. With a jerk, the pen completed the last word on the page and pulled away. An unseen hand turned to the next page and the pen plunged at once back into its work.

The party lowered Regortar down the hole with a rope and Cordus followed. When they glanced at the book they noticed that the last paragraph read.

At long last, the smell of the heroes drifted through the thick air to the great wyrm's nostrils. He sniffed tentatively, drawing in a great gust of air with the force of a hurricane, and his burning eyes sprang open. A gaze of unmitigated evil and insatiable hunger began to search the lair.

The great dragon, Tyrauinorr, was awake.

The party tried to close the book but it sprung open with a tremendous force. They discovered that there was little they could do to physically keep the book closed.

The party speculated that they were part of the story in the book and sure enough the pages contained everything the party had done up until this point. From the moment they entered the labyrinth all their actions and even their thoughts were recorded in the tome. Regortar believed that he could take the pen and write an ending to the story. He desperately tried to write simple endings to the story, but everything he wrote disappeared and the pen escaped his grasp and continued to write on its on. If only they had a bard in the party at this time.

The pen wrote:
With a roar that threatens to bring down the walls of the cane, the great dragon lept into the air, beating his powerful wings and fixing his searing eyes upon them. A mouth lined with dozens of spear-like teeth gapes wide, spilling a wash of crimson and amber light into the crater.


"Intruders!" cried the immense beast in a voice that echoes like thunder, "Thieves! Your pitiful lives are at an end!"

Just as the pen wrote in the book, the dragon took flight above the party and taunted them as it circled in the air above them.

With that, it unleashed a plume of fire that knifed through the air as if spewed from a volcano. Where it touched gold and silver coins, they instantly melted and ran like water. Where it brushed the exposed stone, pools of bubbling magma sprang immediately into being. Who can say what effect such an inferno might have on human flesh?

Cordus realized that he might be able to use the treasure against the dragon. Just like the children’s tale he remembered, just about any magical item he could think of was in the treasure horde, even those wielded by the gods. Thrrdon and Cordus immediately started to look for Rings of Three Wishes and they each found one.

Thrrdon wished for thousands of Bakali to appear with ballista’s and magic users. His wish was granted and the Bakali army appeared at the top of the Crater and started to fire every projectile they had at the great dragon. Unfoundedly all the arrows and even the ballista bolts failed to penetrate the thick red scales of the dragon.

The dragon immediately flew up to meet the army and laughed at them. It circled the crater and terrified them all with its frightful presence alone. Hundreds of Bakali ran away in terror and any that stayed were simply scared stiff. The dragon assaulted the ballista and ripped apart any Bakali that got in its way. In a matter of seconds the entire army was defeated. The army was no match for the great dragon.

Thrrdon’s wish afforded the party more time to formulate other wishes and write a proper and believable ending to the story.

Cordus wished for the dragon to fall asleep, but it managed to shrug the effects off. Cordus then used another wish and asked for knowledge on how to pass the trial that the party now faced. He immediately gained an understanding of what had to be done. He knew that the party had to combine actions with words to kill the dragon, recover the gemstone (which was hidden in the dragons treasure) and lastly write the words ”The End” in the story book.

During this time Regortar wrote several other endings in the tome, but all of them lacked in action and thus failed to have any effect. When Cordus told him what needed to be done. Regortar told Thrrdon to toss a javelin at the red dragon and waited for Thrrdon to get into position. Then just as the dragon was about to turn its focus on the party and utterly destroy them all (and yes the DM would have rolled those attacks and damage). Thrrdon tossed his Javelin into the air and Regortar wrote, “Possessed with the strength of a mighty dragon, Thrrdon hurled his javelin high into the air. The weapon flew perfectly and directly towards a chink in the dragon’s scale. The projectile penetrated deep into beast’s heart and the dragon could only watch in horror as the javelin jutted out from its chest and stopped his heart” The dragon crashed to the ground with tremendous impact and force, one that threw the hero’s into the air and threatened to shatter the mountain.

When the dragon died the treasure disappeared and the party discovered a ruby in the shape of a tetrahedron about the size of a four-sided die. The rings of three wishes also disappeared.

Thrrdon then wrote the ‘The End’ in the book and the heros found themselves standing in a pentagonal room with a perimeter of some two hundred fifty feat. At the center of each wall stood a glowing portal that lead into a conduit beyond.

Reunited

On the floor of the chamber they found their lost companions Ylric and Sangrias, both of them unconscious. Sangrias was badly injured and close to death and Ylric was sleeping. Party A joined them and took an extended rest.


After resting for 6 hours those in the party who were afflicted by the polymorph device began to suffer its ill effects. Regotar used his arcane knowledge to prevent the magic from taking control of his mind. Thrrdon was less fortunate however, and despite having the strength to endure the magic affecting his body his mind became warped and he began to believe that he really was a dwarf, despite the party’s efforts to convince him otherwise. Regortar not wanting to suffer the same fate quaffed the polymorph potion (to the joy of the DM – no more taunting!) and returned to his Bakali self, being sure to admire his long scaly tail.

After regaining their composure the party randomly entered one of the portals and appeared back in the vast open expanse of shimmering ruby crystal once again.

[Demogorgon]

The Temple
After walking through the portal the Party found themselves in a magnificent temple, laid out as an oval, which stretched beneath an alabaster ceiling from which half a dozen glowing chandeliers were suspended. Two rows of thick marble pillars, each inlaid with delicate etchings of angelic men, women, and animal spirits, rose from the brightly polished floor. Stained glass windows depicting various religious figures lined the walls, spilling multihued light into the cavernous chapel.

One end of this elliptical room hosted an ornate altar and shrine. Two large braziers stood on either side, trailing coils of sweet-smelling smoke into the air. An assortment of oils, scrolls, and other priestly and shamanic paraphernalia rested atop the altar. Rows of hard wooden benches, pews for the faithful, filled the cathedral and faced the altar.

An odd feeling of peace and tranquility filled this place. Yet the Party could not escape the feeling that some looming presence was watching - and judging - their every move. As the heroes looked around, they discovered that the temple had no apparent entrances or exits.

Everyone in the party recognized the temple as one belonging to the supreme goddess (Chislev) of the natural world and her various manifestations . All in the party but Sangrias worshiped her in some way or another.

When Ylric searched the pillars he discovered that the pillars were masterpieces. Each was sculpted in such fine detail that it seemed impossible for a mortal hand to have crafted it. Untold years must have gone into the creation of every pillar. The pillars depicted great heroes of the faith, though not the gods themselves or their avatars, famous warriors and martyrs, saints, druids, and even a number of sacred animal spirits.

Just then all those who worshiped the goddess could hear the strange voice they heard previously.

"Many of your kind find peace and comfort in places such as this. Count yourselves lucky that somewhere in his shriveled heart my master fancies himself a pious man. But be warned for his patience is short and his temper swift. It is own impurity that torments him. DO not make the same mistakes he has."

Thrrdon examined the pews but didn’t see anything of interest.

Regortar noticed that the windows appeared to have the rays of the sun falling on them directly. Neither side of the church seemed to lie in shadow. Though not a dangerous effect, Regortar noticed that the sun light made him feel peaceful and rejuvenated.

Cordus and Sangrias examined the altar and discovered two very sacred items resting on top. One was a large fang and the other a flail, both holy symbols of the goddess Chislev. Despite having little religious training, Cordus decided to perform a ceremony in honor of his sacred spirits and Sangrias assisted. They both spend about an hour performing the ceremony and at the end were both granted a divine boon of wisdom (+1 WIS permanently).

Not knowing what to do or how to escape the temple Cordus picked up the sacred fang on the alter. Fortunately he was a Shaman and this action did not anger the spirits that protected the temple. With little other options remaining, Cordus decided to pick up the flail. Unfortunately, this act was a presumptuous one that constituted blasphemy. Suddenly a loud deafening voice shook the temple.

"You were welcomed in this house, but now your actions have shown you for what you are."

Suddenly five stained glass figures emerged from their windows leaving behind a man-sized hole. The caryatid columns in the middle also detached themselves and attacked the party. With 11 golems poised to strike down the party, Ylric responded and unleashed a fury of arrows that completely shattered one of the Stained Glass Knights in a mater of seconds and badly injured one the caryatid columns.




He then took the opportunity to run out the window and into the light. Ylric disappeared and the party had no choice but to escape with him. After all, they had little chance at defeating the golems without his help.

Sangrias soon followed and Cordus also tried to flee. When Cordus ran for the window one of the caryatid columns broke the Minotaur’s right arm. Ignoring the pain, Cordus made his way for the man sized opening in the window. From the corner of his eye, Cordus noticed a gleaming cube that was cut from a fine ruby laying the shattered remains of the Stained Glass Knight that Ylric destroyed. Just before he had the chance to pick up the gem, one of the Caryatid Columns tried to push Cordus through the window, but Cordus managed to wedge his horns along the opening. This afforded him enough time pick up the gem and escape through the portal. Thrrdon and Regortar exited the room from the opposite window. They had little choice in the matter as the Golems were closing in and the rest of their party had fled.

The Garden – Party A (Ylric, Cordus, Sangrias)
Party A found their way into the heart of a garden teeming with flowers, shrubs, and vines of every description. A variety of sweet odors perfumed the air, some so delicate that they passed almost unnoticed, others cloying and overwhelming. Tiny insects and bumming bees moved about, apparently uninterested in the party as they went about their labors.

They could easily believe that they had found their way home again, except for the fact that this garden stretched languidly out beneath a blood red sky.

A sudden movement caught their eye. Just ahead, through a tangle of vines spotted with delicate indigo blossoms, they noticed the slender silhouette of a beautiful woman. The instant Party A’s gaze touched her slender shadow; however, she sprinted away, moving with the swift agility of a deer through the lush foliage.

The young woman darted about, seeming to leave no trace of her passage through even the thickest foliage. Still, the Party’s determination appeared to have played off. They were just about to overtake her when she plunged out of the garden and into a wide circular clearing.

This place was even more beautiful than the rest of the garden, if that was possible. At its center stood a delicate bed carved of slender white wood and draped with an ornate silk canopy. All of the flowers on the plants ringing the garden faced inward there, looking like eyes that could not turn away from the elegant bed.

Beneath the silken folds of the canopy lied the slender body of a lithe young woman. Her hair was long, straight, and coal black. Her delicate features were set carefully in an almond-shaped face of milky skin. Her hands rested folded across her chest, almost as if she was lying in a coffin.

She wore an elegant white nightgown, sewn from lace so fine that it could almost be mistaken for spider's silk. A band of silver encircled her brow, holding an odd-shaped ruby upon the center of her forehead.

The girl who now appeared to be an elf or a nymph of some kind stood at the opposite edge of the clearing, apparently having just stumbled and fallen.

The Dodecahedral Chamber - Party B (Regortar, Thrrdon)

Party B found themselves standing on a cold surface of slick stone that reminded them of dungeon depths and murky tombs. A quick look revealed that they were at one edge of a vast pentagon some one hundred feet each side. Pentagonal walls also made of gray stone, rose up from the edges of this floor, sloping away at an angle. Perhaps thirty-five yards above, they buckled back and rose in another set of pentagons to meet a roof of similar design.

The overall effect was humbling, for they stood at the bottom of an immense dodecahedron which couldn’t possibly support itself. They were unable to escape the impression that, in any moment, this vast chamber cold fold in upon itself and bury them under tons of oily gray stone. A circular column stood in the center of the floor, reaching a height of about twenty-five feet. The top of this spire was shaped like and ornate throne. There ere no steps or other visible ways by which one might reach the impressive seat. A slender shaft of brilliant white light rained down from the center of the ceiling, washing the pillar in an almost blinding radiance. Lounging casually upon this seat rested a haggard-looking figure. His face was narrow and feral, making him look like a weasel or ferret. His clothes, although regal in the extreme, were wrinkled and disheveled. All in all, he looks rather like a beggar suddenly forced to wear the unfamiliar robes of a king.



Regortar and Thrrdon realized that they would have to talk to the man. With that intention they approached the throne cautiously and made their presence known.

After only a brief conversation it was obvious to the Bakali that they were talking to a man who had frequent and rapid mood swings. One moment he seemed very depressed the next he was rubbing his hands together like a greedy merchant and asking for gold. At one point he even uttered several bigoted and racist remarks towards them. In the short and chaotic conversation they had with the man they learned that his name was Chardath. The man believed that he was imprisoned. He knew nothing of the rubies the party was collecting and nothing of the other areas the party had previously explored. He also told them that he could not leave the chamber and blamed all of this on Shivnar. Chardath swore that if he could find a way out he would kill him.

Thrrdon and Regortar offered to help the man kill Shivnar. He believed everything the Bakali told him and oddly behave in a very gullible and naïve manner. Thrrdon then noticed a silver key on a slender chain hanging from his neck and Regortar, figuring they might need it, requested that the man give them his key. Chardath was not sure why they wanted the key to his private chamber at his family’s castle, but decided to make a deal anyway. He told them that if they promised to capture Shivnar and bring him alive (back to this chamber since he can't leave it on his own) he would hand them the key. Chardath made it clear that he wanted to personally lob off Shivnar's head with his Greataxe. Regortar agreed (lied) and Chardath took the key from around his neck and tossed it down at Regortar. The man then waved his hand and shimmering red doorways appeared at each of the corners of the pentagonal floor. Soon after Chardath become paranoid and constantly scanned the chamber clutching his greataxe for protection. From that point forward all attempts to communicate with him were met with incoherent babbling.


Items Found thus far
Cubic Ruby - From the Temple
Spherical Ruby - Gift from the Unknown Voice
Triangular Ruby - From the Dragon Lair
Silver Key - From Chardath

[Demogorgon]

Regortar and Thrrdon used their metal rings to locate the party. The rings pointed them towards one of the five portals which they entered. Regortar and Thrrdon found themselves in the same vast garden that their companions were in.

Ladies of the Garden
Several hundred yards away, at the centre of the garden, the other party members introduced themselves to the nymph they had previously chased. They quickly accepted the nymph as a shy and peaceful creature and had no reason to distrust her. Even after careful scrutiny they could not sense that anything unusual about the creature.

The nymph quickly apologized for running away and informed the group that she thought they were agents of Esmerel. While the nymph explained that Esmerel was an evil creature that often terrorized the garden, three other nymphs entered the clearing. One nymph told the group that Esmerel was a medusa. Another nymph told the party that she was spider like creature. With many inconsistent tales it was hard for the party to know what Esmerel kind of creature Esmeral was.

The party continued to ask the nymphs questions about the garden. The nymphs informed them that the sleeping lady wasn’t to be disturbed and the nymph’s clearly detested any action that would wake her. The nymphs didn’t know much about the sleeping lady other than that she had always been sleeping in the garden for as long as they could remember. In addition, they didn’t know of a way out of the garden and had never considered the idea.

The conversation with the nymphs continued for a short while longer and then began to take great interest in the party. They even sang healing songs to fix Cordus’s broken arm.

The party offered to destroy Esmerel for the nymphs and the creatures became ecstatic with joy. The nymphs informed the party that Esmerel would arrive in about 8 hours. The party thought it would be a good idea to create a barricade out of various pieces of wood and stone they found around the garden. The nymphs helped them in this task and after a few hours they created a box that completely enclosed their position and provided them cover.

While they waited, Sangrias expertly played songs and told stories to the nymphs. They quickly became infatuated with Sangrias and Cordus.

About this time a strange unknown voice spoke to the party.

I have never understood the interest in romance and passion, but that is the force that shaped the land in which you now travel. Beware, for a great enemy watches your every move

Theft of the Ruby
Ylric took this opportunity to walk over to the sleeping lady and steal the ruby stone resting on her forehead. Sangrias saw what Ylric was doing and did his best to distract nymphs with a great tale of heroism. Believing that he was in the clear and that Sangrias was helping him, Ylric reached out to pilfer the ruby, but just as his fingers touched the stone Sangrias unexpectedly brought attention to the Clan Elf. In response, the nymphs looked back at Ylric just as he finished dropping the ruby in his pocket. Fortunately, the nymphs were not very impressed with Ylric and they only gave him a quick glace before turning their full attention back to Sangrias and his amazing tales.

Tale after Tale
With the ruby gone, Sangrias realized that he would have to keep the nymphs distracted for hours on end, at least until the creature Esmerel was due to arrive. Sangrias tried his best, but he found it increasing more and more difficult to keep the nymphs attention. In fact, they started to react very chaotically at times and some of them began to wander about the clearing.

During this time Regortar added the knock ritual to his spell book.

After several hours of Sangrias playing songs and telling tales, the party heard the sudden cry of a hunting bird echo through the garden. Shrill and piercing, it rang in their ears long after it had ceased.

Esmerel's Attack
Looking up the party saw a horrific sky. Swooping down out of the expanse of crimson was a creature with the wings and talons of a bird and the body of a ravishingly beautiful woman. Her hungry eyes seemed to lock with those of the party as she licked her snarling lips. With another strident cry, she plunged into a dive, her talons outstretched.





At the same time each nymph cast off her demure nature and lashed out at the adventurers with wicked vampire like fangs and short swords. They even tried to charm the party and drink from their blood, but the party did well to prevent the creatures from overwhelming them despite being stuck inside their own barricade.

Don't Wake the Ghost
Unfortunately, Ylric decided to charge at the sleeping lady with his spear. He concluded, with little regard for the truth or a possibility of innocence, that the lady was involved in the attack. Ylric took no chances and tried to plunge his spear deep into the ladies heart. Ylric however was shocked when his spear passed right through the lady. The spear did little damage to her incorporeal form, but the ghost awoke in a state of shock and clutched at her neck. Ylric quickly ran away from the bed and tried his best to keep his distance from the creatures that now surrounded him.



When the party saw what Ylric had done they feared for the worst and attempted to flee the battle. Many in the group ran away to a more dense section of the garden. They had their hands full with the vampires and Esmerel and doubted they could handle a banshee.

During the battle, Sangrias used a bardic song to slow the vampires down and cordus followed with primal powers to immobilize a few more. This allowed many in the party to escape, but left Sangrias alone to defend himself. Surrounded on all sides, it appeared that Sangrias was the only true hero in the party.

When the ghost recovered from its initial shock it released an unearthly scream that terrified two of the Vampyres. One of them had a heart attack and slowly died from fright alone. When Cordus witnessed this terrifying power, he was sure that a spirit of this magnitude could not be destroyed by normal means. The Ghost that Ylric had awoken was clearly no ordinary ghost and wasn’t to be trifled with.

Enter Tindel
Around this time a half-elf druid named Tindel arrived on the scene. Although he appeared to be lost and confused, he decided to lend aid to the party. Unlike some int he party, he had no intention of running away and faced the Vampyres and Esmerel with courage. In fact, it was Tindel that killed Esmerel with calling forth a fire spell to incinerate her.

With the death of Esmerel, all the other Vampyre’s fell dead and their bodies melted away like water into the ground. Seconds later, a circle of light appeared in the spot where each body fell.

As the ghost moved closer to attack and utterly destroy everyone, the party could see that she had pale skin and long, raven hair. Her cold, ice-blue eyes showed the only expression on her otherwise deathly still face. Her slender throat was marred by the smooth cut which ended her life. The flowing, white satin gown she wore was stained with the blood that flowed from the fatal wound.

How to talk to a Ghost
Despite experiencing a feeling of utter terror Sangrias maintained his composure and spoke to the ghost in his native tongue, Hoor. Fortunately, the ghost spoke the ancient language of Auric, and could understand about 50% of what Sangrias said. Sangrias tried his best to plead with the ghost, but nothing seemed to work. It was only until Sangrias uttered an an off-the- cuff remark about the wound on her neck that he managed to catch the ghosts attention. With that statement, the ghost instantly clutched her neck and frantically looked about the garden. The ghost became lost in thought and began to float back towards her bed. Sangrias continued to talk to the ghost in an effort to get her attention by asking how he could lay her to rest. The ghost immediately responded by telling him to find and kill her brother. When the name Shivnar was mentioned the eyes of the ghost flared up with a cold blue energy. The ghost responded by telling the bard to kill Chardath and Shivnar. It was clear that she wanted revenge and thought that Chardath and Shivnar was responsible for her death. After feeling satisfied that her demands would be met she disappeared. It was not known if she lingered in the garden to observe the party or if she had fled.

Acts of Betrayal
After the battle was over, Regortar decided to attack Ylric with a magic ray which badly injured him. Ylric responded by using his elixir of flying and fired several arrows of his own at Regortar. Thrrdon then acted quickly and hurled a javelin at Ylric knocking him into unconscious. Cordus rushed to help Ylric, and was happy to discover that Ylric was only knocked unconscious and wasn’t dying. He then picked the elf up over his shoulders and followed Sangrias through one of the portals.


The Library
The party found themselves on the floor of what appeared to be an unusual library. The room itself was no more than a wide, curving hallway that stretched out of sight in both directions. Shelves of leather-bound books lined both walls. From where the party stood, there seemed to be no end to the collection of unusual volumes.





The ceiling of the library was some ten feet above the floor. It appeared to be nothing more than a brilliant white light which threw its harsh glare across everything below. Looking at the light, even indirectly, proved painful.


The then party revived Ylric and he immediately demanded that Sangrais give him the gemstones that he had previous pilfered from Ylric’s boots. Sangrias conceded and Ylric left the group in anger. He wandered far away from the party and the party said nothing has as he departed.

Regortar and Sangrias noticed that no place on any of the spines or covers of the books could they find a title or author's name. Each book had a date inscribed on it. In the location that the party stood in the library, the books were dated about 500 years in the past before the great destruction. Even more strangely there appeared to be many books each with the same date. The books appeared to be organized chronological order. In one direction down the hallway the dates of the books increased and in the other direction the dates decreased.

At one point Regortar scanned for magic, but he didn’t detect anything near the Party’s current location.

When Sangrias picked up a book he noticed that the volume was a masterpiece of the bookbinding craft. The soft, fine leather cover was rich and elegant. The pages were neat, even, and gilded, giving the book something of a glow. Subtle traces of Celtic like knot work ran along the edges and down the spine, forming an intricate, almost hypnotic pattern. It was clear that finding a specific book among all these duplicates would be nothing short of impossible.

At this time the unknown voice spoke to the group.

Be careful where you tread, my friends. Your journey has brought you to a place of subtle perils. There are answers all around you, if only you have the keys to unlock them. But take care: the perils of the past are everywhere in this place. Do not ask questions unless you are willing to learn the answers

They decided to travel backwards in the past in hopes of finding more information about Shivnar and what had happened in the Tower. After walking for a bout half an hour, they reached a point were the books were a little tattered and faded. After not finding anything significant they decided to travel in the opposite direction.

The party walked for several hours down the hallway and noticed that the books became warped and twisted. Eventually the books appeared as amorphous blobs. They could still be opened and examined just as books, but their shapes were irregular, the pages were not aligned, and so on. All of the order found earlier in the library had been lost. A short distance away, the hallway ended in a curtain of wildly scintillating light. After a prod from Thrrdon’s javelin the party confirmed that the curtain was a barrier.

Dismayed that the books at this end also contained black pages the party retraced their steps in the opposite direction. After about 5 hours of travel the heroes began to notice that the many of the books had deteriorated into crumbling ruins.

When the character reached the end of the hallway they noticed that the shelves held little more than clumps of moldering pages. In addition, a curtain of darkness marked the end of the hallway.


Items Found so Far
Cubic Ruby - From the Temple
Spherical Ruby - Gift from the Unknown Voice (Ylric)
Triangular Ruby - From the Dragon Lair
Silver Key - From Chardath
Five Sided Ruby - From the Sleeping Lady (Ylric)

[Demogorgon]

After pondering their dilemma the party decided to examine the books in more detail. Sangrias channeled arcane energy directly into one of the books. As he did this, a look of shock appeared on his face and he fell into a comatose state. The party tried to wake him up but their efforts failed.

Sangrias was living the through the memories contained in the book as if they were his own.

Childhood Memory Book
You stand at a doorway that opens into a lavishly furnished castle room. This room used to be your playroom, but has since been turned into an extravagant gambling hall full of strangers, many of which you have never seen before. You turn to look up at your mother, who is laughing and drunk from wine. You call out to her and demand that she give you back your toys, but she ignores you. She is clearly more interested in the strangers and the various acts of debauchery about the room. At that instant your emotions take the better of you and you start to cry. Many of the strange adults turn to look down at you, and several of them begin to mock you. When you look at your mother you notice that she is also laughing at you. You scream and turn to run up the castle stairs to your room. When you arrive, you close the door and crawl under your bed. You begin to cry, much like you have always done.


After Sangrias experienced the memory and recovered from his senses, the party moved down the hall way and read from some of the books with earlier dates on them. Sangrias volunteered again, and had another troubling memory planted in his mind.

Teenage Memory Book
You find yourself looking down from a castle window into the garden. Next to the well is a young woman filling her pot of water. Her name is Esmerel, she is the girl of your dreams, your first love, the young woman that you would do anything for. Despite having never talked to her and only having observed her from your window, you know that she is also in love with you. You have decided that on this day you will make her dreams come true. In fact, you have finally managed to gain enough courage to approach her. Your plan is to sneak up on her and surprise her with a passionate kiss.

When you do this; however, she immediately rejects you as if you are some kind of revolting beast. This causes you to become very angry and without thinking you lash out at her with the back of your hand and call her a bloodsucking harpy. The girl starts to cry, but can do little to defend herself. As she runs away, you continue to insult her with all manner of profanity. Thereafter, you start to hate her just as you hate all the other women in your life, including your temptress of a mother.

Sangrias almost lost his mental faculties with the new memory that had been implanted in his mind. Even when he woke up he became very confused and started to babble incoherently. It was very clear that any more attempts to experience these memories might cause a serious mental disability. The other party member decided to take their turn examining the books.

Regortar took his turn at the books and experienced the following memories.

Teenage Memory Book #2
You find yourself seated in the audience of a large coliseum. As you look down you see dozens of gladiators test their skills against each other. As the crowd begins to roar and cheer, you look upon the gladiators with jealousy. You watch in awe at the fighting prowess of the gladiators and begin to wonder if you could also become as skilled and famous as them one day. Later that day, you return to your castle and immediately head to the armory. Once there, you start to practice your fighting skills in hopes that you will become a mighty warrior. You swing your axe around your head and practice many unorthodox fighting maneuvers. Your imagination runs wild as you envision yourself severing the heads of all those who charge at you. You play out this fantasy to its end, and only return to your room after imagining yourself tossing the corpses of your victims into a pit of fire.


Much like Sangrias the memory was implanted deep in his mind. Regortar became very confused when he awoke from a comatose state several minutes later. After recovering, the party walked a little further down the hallway and Regotar opened another book and experienced the following memory.

Young Adult Memory Book
Sanding before you, in the audience chamber of your castle, is a man dressed in black robes. The man calls himself Shivnar and claims to be a teacher of magic from a faraway land. He has just offered to teach you a few magical spells in exchange for residence at your castle for one year. You agree to this proposal and in the morning he will begin instructing you on the arcane arts.

Just like Sangrias, Regortar started to babble and scratch the back of his head like a crazy person. It took some time, but he eventually regained his mental faculties and returned to normal.

The party decided to walk a bit more down the hallway and had Tindel open one of the books. When he activated the magic within the book, the following memory was implanted in his mind.

Adult Memory Book

After trying your best to sleep, you rise from your bed, light a candle, and begin rambling about the halls and passageways of your castle. Eventually you find a library that hasn’t been opened in decades. The old, worn hinges groan as you push the door open. Inside the room, a century’s accumulation of dust covers the furniture and floor. You quickly find yourself guided to a silver Librium. In a daze, you open the strange book and begin to read. You become lost in a maze of thought, and as you turn each page you slowly begin to lose your mind.

After you finish reading the book, you casually stole up the tower and into your sister’s room. Without thinking, you grab her and carry her into a hidden chamber beneath the castle. Unable to control yourself, but fully aware of what you are doing, you cut your sister's throat with a dagger. As her blood pours out over a sarcophagus, dark necrotic energy fills the room. As the dagger in your hand clatters to the floor, you collapse, your spirit broken and your mind shattered by the deed you have done. As you weep over the body of your sister, you become aware that you are no longer alone in the chamber.

Shivnar, the man who has been teaching you the arcane arts for the last few months, stands near the sarcophagus. Afraid, you immediately scoop up your sister’s body, turn, and flee. When you awake in the morning, you burry your sister and place her in the rose garden she loved to gaze upon from her tower window. You then proceed to turn her room into a shrine of sorts, forbidding the servants to change anything within her quarters.


The party traveled to the very end of the hallway (into the future) and had Cordus read from one of the books, which implanted the following memory in his mind.

Last Memory Book
After waiting a few hours at the tower, an old man in white robes floats down on a magical disk from a hole in the ceiling. The man asks you to follow him to a small antechamber, and once there, you tell him of your desire to pass the test. When you show him some of the magic that you have learned thus far he is impressed and ecstatic that you have arrived. He begins to question your motives and then warns you that the price of failing the test is death, but you do not fear, as you have a mighty axe which, according to Shivnar, will save you from such a fate. After asking you many personal questions, you are told to return in three days, and when you do, you are immediately taken to one of the top most levels via the floating disk. Once there, the old man points to a magical ruby and tells you to touch it. He then informs you that after you don the robes, you must join him in the ritual chamber above. You do not hesitate and you immediately touch the floating gemstone. You then find yourself in a land of shimmering ruby.

At this point the party wondered where the gemstone for this domain was located. Just then Tindel remembered that he had picked up a gemstone, but he couldn’t remember how or when he acquired it. He then reached into his pocket and discovered a nine sided ruby.

During their search through the library the party encountered Ylric standing in the hallway with his bow drawn. He called out to them and after several words about honor and promises of cooperation Ylric cautiously rejoined the party.

With Ylric’s help, the Party searched for a way out of the library. After searching and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Ylric recalled seeing a Yellow light near the far end of the hallway (in the past) shortly after the party first entered. The party traveled down that direction and after a bit of pondering Regortar decided to scan the area for magic. When he did so, a book on the shelf started the glow bright yellow. Sangrias immediately opened book and a magical light enveloped the entire party. They immediately found themselves inside a conduit with a shimmering white door its end.

Back to the Garden
When they traveled through the door they reappeared at a garden. The party walked through the garden towards the centre. They discovered that the princess was again sleeping in her bed and the 5 magical portals were still active. They randomly picked one of the portals and entered it together.

Into the Sea of Blood
After stepping through the portal, the party appeared floating beneath a vast, churning sea of crimson fluid. At first, a shudder of horror ran through the party at the thought that it might be blood. To be sure, it was warm enough and very much the right color. But the texture was wrong. This liquid was no more viscous than water and it started to feel cold - almost too cold.

As the party drifted amid the odd crimson wash, a motion caught the group’s eye. Looking closer, however, they could see nothing. Just as they were about to dismiss the matter, they saw it again. A shape was forming out of the red fluid itself, like an invisible thing slowly becoming visible.

Although it was difficult to see clearly through the crimson sea around them, the figure at last became visible. The body of the creature was a great globe that looked like a giant eye. It had the texture of a jellyfish, with a mouth filled with rows of needle-like teeth. Two lobster- like claws extended below the body, snapping hungrily. A pair of tendrils rose above the gruesome orb, each set with another eye.



Just then the party could hear the unknown voice in their heads.

For all his power, my master is a weak man. He fears many things. This is the seat of his fears. Beware, however, for fear is a contagion not easily escaped. I hope that your courage is hardy enough to resists this inflection.

The party fought the Beholder while holding their breath. Regortar decided that the blood couldn’t possibly be real and tried to disbelieve it. In his attempt to do so, he decided to breathe in the red liquid and sure enough he could breathe, but had to work a bit to push out the liquid from his lungs.

During the battle, the beholder attacked the party with its blinding central eye, paralyzing eye stalk, and fear ray. At one point, Thrrdon and Tindel became afflicted with madness. Thrrdon developed a phobia of poison and Tindel became afraid of the dark. The beholder paralyzed many in the party and blinded several others, but it was no match for the concentrated attacks from all the party members. Shortly after Ylric killed the creature with one of his arrows, Tindel and Sangrais could see circular ripples in the water with their peripheral vision. Realizing that it might be a portal the party started to swim towards it. Regotar and Sangrais entered the ripples and, just as they expected, found a shimmering hallway with a white glowing portal at its end. They waited for the party to enter the ripples, but the party remained stuck in the bloody sea, hindered by the beholders paralyzing rays and central eye.

Regortar and Sangrias decided to return to the bloody sea just as a second beholder formed near their companions. Regortar saved Ylric by using one of his spells to allow him to fly through the water towards the portal. Sangrias searched the area around the portal and found a ten sided ruby. Eventually they all managed to enter the conduit before a third beholder formed. Before leaving; however, Sangrias took a parting shot at the second beholder and killed it.

Back to the Land of Shimmering Ruby
With two of the beholders slain, the party then entered the portal at the end of the conduit. In doing so they appeared back in the land of shimmering ruby, the very first area that the party arrived in after they touched the gemstone. Regortar, cast a magical spell at the ruby floor and the 5 monoliths appeared, just as they had done before.

Before moving on-wards the party took a long rest. During that time Regortar helped Sangrias and Thrrdon recover from their Polymorph afflictions. Sangrias returned to being a half-elf, and Thrrdon no longer believed he was a dwarf. In addition, the party turned their attention to the phobias that Thrrdon and Tindel developed. Although they managed to help Tindel realize that his fear was unfounded and was acquired from the beholder's fear ray, Thrrdon wasn't convinced and remained afraid of poison.

Back to the Temple

After taking a well deserved rest, the party decided to enter the portal that lead them back to the temple they had previously escaped from. From there they hoped to return to the domain of Chardath and confront him directly. To this end, the entire party moved closer to the stained-glass window and prepared to smash it to pieces.



Quest Items Found
Cubic Ruby - From the Temple
Spherical Ruby - Gift from the Unknown Voice (Ylric)
Triangular Ruby - From the Dragon Lair
Silver Key - From Chardath
Five Sided Ruby - From the Sleeping Lady (Ylric)
Nine Sided Ruby from Library (Tindel)
Ten Sided Ruby from Sea of Blood (Sangrias)

[Demogorgon]

The party struck the Glass Knight that guarded the portal. The Stained Glass Knight came to life, but was quickly destroyed revealing the portal behind it. At the same time six Caryatid columns and three additional Glass Knights moved to attack the party, but the party escaped through the portal.

Chardath 'The Mad'
They party appeared back in Chardath’s chamber. He was perched on his throne, just as he was when Regortar and Thrrdon had previously encountered him. Sangrias decided to approach Chardath in an effort to help him, but the young lord would have nothing of the sort. Chardath reached for his great axe and smiled wickedly at the party. He then stood up and ordered them to kneel before him. He then threatened to cut off their heads with his great axe. The party tried their best to talk to the mad lord, but he was far too insane and clearly in a violent mood. Chardath threaten the party with death again and called upon several earth elementals to rise up from the stone floor. The Lord then leaped off the towering dais. The party could only watch in shock as Chardath fell from a great height. Just as the party thought he would break his legs from the fall, the ground under his feet shook and cracked when he landed unscathed. Chardath slowly stood up, laughed maniacally, and whirled his mighty great axe around his head. At that instant, all who stood near the axe felt waves fear emanate from the axe. It was clearly very powerful magical axe, but none in the party recognized it. Cordus thought the axe looked familiar, but he couldn't remember anything about it.

Chardath’s Axe
This is a two-handed, double-bladed axe with a handle of some indeterminate black material and a blade of gleaming adamantine. It is obviously magic, even to the eye untrained in such things. Its haft is wrapped in metal strips, with the base of the Axe carved to resemble a dragon at rest. In its teeth, the dragon holds a flawless sapphire. The other end of the Axe appears like nothing so much as a phoenix taking flight, its wings the blades and its feathers the serrated edges of the Axe. In its talons, it grasps a ruby of incredible value. Finally, there is a large pearl set at the very tip of the Axe, grasped by a tiny hand.

With his powerful axe in both hands Chardath moved in to attack Regortar, but in his mad rage he was caught off guard by the Bakali’s tail, and landed prone on his back. As the battle raged on, the party moved away from Chardath and his fear emitting axe. Thrrdon and Chardath singled each other out through the battle. The Bakali fighter was the first to feel the sting of the great axe which constantly moved in close enough to decapitate him with each blow. It was clear to all in the party that Chardath was wielding a Vorpal Axe. It was obvious that Chardath was struggling to control the Axe, it was almost as if the axe wanted to be free from its wielder. After being on the receiving end of many ranged attacks from the rest of the party, the mad lord had enough and used his teleportation powers to move the fight with Thrrdon behind the towering dais. Eventually, the party’s attacks overwhelmed the young lord, and Chardath fell to the ground dying. The party showed no mercy for the mad lord and made sure that he was dead. When he died, 5 glowing red portals appeared at each corner of the room and the earth elementals were destroyed. Cordus was quick to notice that one of the earth elementals left behind a red ruby. After searching Chardath the party found a suit of magical leather armor and a magical cloak.

Sangrias decided to pick up the axe, and when he did, the axe began to speak telepathically to him. Sangrias recognized the voice as the one that had been contacting the party throughout their exploration of the pocket plane. At one point, the axe spoke through Sangrias and informed the party that it knew the way out. Following this advice, Sangrias placed the great axe on his back and the party left through the portal as the axe had directed .

Exiting the Test
This place was similar to the one that first greeted the party in he strange land. Above them hung a pitch black sky, laced with an endless web of blood-red lightning that reverberated continuously with thunder. The ground that rolled out around the party was slick crystal that reminded them of nothing so much as a vast ruby. The area had no apparent horizon or boundary. The only feature apparent in this world besides endless sky and ruby earth was a silver dias or table that rested some thirty yards away.

The party approached the dias and discovered a triangular silver platform some six feet per side and one yard high rising out of the gemstone ground. It was smooth and utterly featureless except for three depressions set into its top, positioned at the points of the gleaming equilateral triangle. The party placed they had found in each depression and a keyhole appeared in the center of the dias.

The party inserted the silver key that Chardath had given them and turned it. The entire party was teleported outside the ruby gemstone. They appeared in the white robe level of the tower, exactly were they had previously entered the gemstone. The key and all the rubies they collected vanished from their possession and it was very clear that the test within the gem remained active. Despite this, the party noticed that they were all wearing ceremonial robes. The arcane casters in the party noticed that their connection to the magical energy around them seem to be amplified (i.e. they are all subject to Lunar Influence).

After having effectively hijacking Chardath’s test, the party was confident that they could now enter the ritual chamber in pursuit of Shivnar.

Loot Found
Leather Armor +2 (PHB - Magic Armor)
Cloak of the Crimson Path +2 (AV2)
Vorpal Greataxe

Quest Completed
hijack the Test of High Sorcery

[Demogorgon]

The Ritual Chamber
The party used the floating disk in the center of the chamber to ascend to the exit portal. Each party member traced their finger along the pentagram etched on the portals surface. Magical energy enveloped the group and allowed each party member to phase through the door into the corridor above them.

After passing through the shimmering corridor, Sangrias found himself separated from the party. He floated up through the corridor and phased through a magical white door. He then appeared on the eastern platform (designed for wizards of the white robes). The remaining party members experienced the same and appeared on the northern platform (designed for wizards of the red robes).

The ritual chamber was illuminated by moonlight which was refracted through a crystalline dome ceiling. Four platforms jutted out from the north, east, south, and west walls. A large pit at the center of the chamber floated an ominous black Sphere of Annihilation. The sphere was unstable and appeared to shift and spin randomly. Below the sphere in the bottom of the pit laid the Master of the Tower. He was motionless and it wasn’t clear to the party if he was alive or dead.

The ceiling of the chamber had a large hole in the southern end of the crystalline dome. Dangling precariously from the hole was the roots of a large tree, which appeared to have been taken up into the air when the tower rose from its earthen grave a few days ago.

Each platform had two glowing braziers and two dragon statues of various colors. A Night Eye Wraith stood on each platform facing the Sphere of Annihilation. Three of the wraiths used the Stones of High Sorcery, which had previously been stolen from the party, to stream arcane energy at the sphere in an attempt to control it.

With the wraiths focused on controlling the Sphere of Annihilation, Shivnar focused his attention to the casting of a magic ritual (Hallucinatory Creature). He stood in front of the floating magical book and a glowing mirror that was clearly a portal of some kind. An invisible force field of magical energy protected him and the book from harm.

Afraid to Shoot Strangers
Ylric trained his magical bow on the wraith in front of him, and noticed that when he did so the dragon statue’s gemstone eyes began to glow. Despite this warning, the elf shot his arrows at the undead creature and caused it to screech in horror. The grey and copper dragon statues immediately came to life and turned around on their platforms to attack the party. Regortar reasoned that the statues were constructed to guard those who controlled the stones and engaged in rituals within the chamber.

Meanwhile on the eastern platform, Sangrias found himself in a battle with the Quasit the party had previously encountered. The Night Eye Wraith from the southern platform floated over and attacked Sangrias with his crescent blade. In addition, the tiny Quasit held the Iron Bands of Billaro in his hands and taunted Sangrias with them.

A Friend In Need
The party on the northern platform bravely defeated the Night Eye Wraith, The Grey Dragon Statue, and the Copper Dragon Statue. During this time Shivnar completed his ritual spell and caused the image of a lady in blue dragon armor to appear in front of the portal. At one point the Night Eye Wraith’s lost control of the Sphere of Annihilation and it moved underneath the large tree that hung from the roof. Suddenly, the roots of the tree started to flail about and it became obvious to Sangrais and Cordus that the tree was in fact the Great Treant Evergreen. In addition, they could then see Thomas O’Malley the Leprechaun jumping about in Evergreen’s roots. He held in his hands a potion bottle and began to call out for the party to help him.




The Leprechaun jumped down from Evergreen‘s roots and landed on the western most platform. He then made his way over to the party and asked who had the Kayloe herb. Ylric used his flying power fly over to the western platform and hand the Leprechaun the Kayloe herb. Thomas took the herb and placed it in a potion bottle that he was carrying. He then turned to look at Evergreen and hoped that he would have the chance to cure the Treant of his insanity before things got worse.

Unfortunately, the Night Eye Wraiths lost control of the sphere of annihilation and one of them was struck by the sphere. This action caused two more of the dragon statues to spring to life. A gold dragon statue and a black dragon statue turned on their pedestals and moved to attack the party. The party made short work of the black dragon statue, but had a very difficult time with the gold dragon statue.



With the path to Evergreen now blocked, Tindel called forth a wall of wind in hopes that it would help the Leprechaun escape and make his way to Evergreen in time. The Leprechaun decided to turn invisible and try his own luck. Unfortunately, the tiny creature failed to sneak past the Gold Dragon Statue. The construct detected him and gored the leprechaun’s leg with his teeth and broke his knee. The leprechaun managed to pick himself up and limp over to Evergreen, but not before being blasted by the gold dragon statue’s fiery breath. The tiny creature rubbed his burnt facial hair and leaped up on to Evergreen. He then dumped the concoction directly on Evergreen’s roots. Everyone looking at the tree could see a wave of magical energy encircle the Treant. Evergreen awoke from his madness and began to thrash about. He pulled himself up onto the top of the dome, and when he saw that he was standing on top of a floating 200’ tower with no apparent way to get down, he began to roar. The Leprechaun began to converse with the Treant and explain the situation to him.


Sweet Leaf
The just as things started to look bad for the party, O’Malley managed gain the Treant’s attention. Evergreen didn’t exactly understand why the little creatures were fighting in the chamber below him, but when he noticed that some of them had hurt themselves he began to shake his amber leaves. At that moment, several glowing magical leaves began to float down onto the floor of the chamber. Tindel, Cordus, Ylric, and Regortar all recognized the leaves as rare gifts of magical healing. Regortar was directly under the hole when this happened and he managed to grab as many leaves as he could.

Alone on the eastern platform, and without much support from his party members, Sangrias began to wield the Axe of Emperors and make use of its fear aura in hopes that it would help him against the Quasit and one of the Night Eye Wraiths. After fending off several attacks, he jumped across the pit to the platform to engage Shivnar.

Cordus made his way to the center of the chamber and helped the Master for the Tower regain consciousness. The master floated to an upright position and began to worry about the sphere of annihilation as it was extremely close to the portal. He then took control of one of the Stones of High Sorcery in hopes that he could bring the sphere under control.

Spirit in Black - Lord Soth
Shivnar completed his ritual and the image of a lady wearing blue dragon armor appeared in front of him. He then began to call to the portal and beckon for someone named Loren to enter. A few seconds latter, the party could see the image of a Knight standing in the mirror. He wore a blackened full suit of full plate of ancient design which was adorned with a charred black rose. In addition, a long purple cloak hung heavily on his shoulders and was draped behind him almost to his knees. A tassel of long black hair topped his helm. A blackened sword hung sheathed on his hip. Two flaming dots red as blood shined from the eye slits on the helm. His voice seemed to echo from the depth of a bottomless cavern. He was truly a terrifying sight and all that stood on the platform could feel an aura of freezing cold spill through the portal. The knight looked into the room and transfixed his glowing red eyes on Shivnar and the image of the lady in blue dragon armor.



Sangrias then decided to use the Nullstone on the portal to prevent the Death Knight from entering Taladas. The Axe of Emperors, however, would have no part in it and immediately acted to dominate Sangrias. The axe assaulted Sangrias’s mind and took control of his body, causing him to drop the Nullstone and laugh maniacally. The axe then forced Sangrias to pull out the stones of high sorcery he had in an attempt to cause the purple and green dragon statues to animate. It was clear to Sangrias that the axe wanted the Death Knight to step through the portal. It also wanted Sangrais to take control of the situation and kill Shivnar. To this end the axe taunted Sangrias calling him a weakling and told him that he was not worthy of wielding it. Regortar realized that the Axe had dominated Sangrias, but wasn’t sure what to do. He picked up the Nullstone and pondered the situation.

While cowering behind his magical wall, Shivnar began to plea with the Knight and he encouraged him to step through the mirror. He told the knight that his love was waiting for him and he tried to appeal to the Knights sense of honor. Shivnar, however, wasn’t much of a diplomat or a good liar and the Knight hesitated. In fact, Lord Soth found Shivnar’s groveling tongue to be rather annoying. Regortar then took the opportunity to bluff Lord Soth, and surprisingly he was successful at convincing the Death Knight that Shivnar was attempting to deceive him. When Lord Soth recalled that the Bakali were generally very honorable he seriously began to question Shivnar’s motives. He then became very angry and made it very clear that he did not appreciate deception. As he pondered the situation before him, the Knight began to focus his rage and attention at Shivnar. At that time, the unstable Sphere of Annihilation began to spin rapidly and it pulled everyone in the room towards it. It even pulled Lord Soth out from the portal a little bit further. After that, it only took a bit more effort on Soth’s part, to pull free of the mirror and enter the ritual chamber. When he stepped foot on the southern platform, he became transfixed on the image of the blue lady, and cautiously made his way over to the woman to take her into his arms, but when he was stopped by the magical barrier and realized that the lady was an illusion, he became furious and began to slam his heavy plate gauntlets into the magical wall.

Shivnar's Defeat
Before the Death Knight could engage in various unholy acts of retribution, Sangrias regained control of his body and moved quickly to take control of the sphere of Annihilation, which by this time had moved south near the platform. He used the yellow stone of high sorcery to direct arcane energy at the sphere. He then concentrated and like an expert wizard moved the sphere through the magical barrier and directly into Shivnar. The renegade wizard screamed in horror as the sphere began to devour his body.

Suicide Solution
It was then that Regortar made a suicidal move, an act that would endanger the lives of the entire party. He squeezed through the small opening in the magical barrier, pulled out his Nullstone, and smashed it against the book. The book disintegrated instantly and the telekinetic energy that kept the tower floating above the ground dissipated. The tower shook violently for several seconds and tossed everyone around like a rag dolls. It then dropped to the ground and crashed into the side of the huge pit below the tower. The tower however was a powerful magical construct and didn’t break apart or collapse when it crashed. Although many in the party managed to avoid dying from the fall, Cordus was killed and Thrrdon was severely injured and started to bleed to death. Sangrias managed to jump into the portal just before the tower fell. The Leprechaun used his magical shillelagh on Evergreen to activate a tree portal spell and was forced to leave Evergreen to fall with the tower.

Into the Void
The crash caused the unstable Sphere of Annihilation and the portal to interact with each other. The result was a massive explosion of shadowy energy that devoured a large portion of the forest and sent every living creature in the area into Sithicus the domain of Lord Soth.



Unable to sleep, Granite stood up from his bed and lumbered out from his mountain top cave for a breath of cool night air. With his new bow ready for the morning hunt, he gazed over the moon lit canopy of Darkwood forest and wondered what kind of game he might find.

His thoughts then wandered a bit more and he recalled his encounter with the little people, the adventuring party that had previously paid him an unwelcome visit. The stone giant greatly missed the tales and hours of conversation he had with the party and he wondered if they would return sometime soon. But before he could let out a disappointed sigh, a large explosion shook the forest and reverberated through the very mountain under his feet. Flashes of lightning and magical energy illuminated the night sky for miles in every direction as night became day. The giant could only look in amazement as a huge shadowy cloud resembling a mushroom erupted from the forest floor. It was a spectacle that could be seen for miles in every direction....




Monsters Defeated
Shivnar
Quasit
4 Night of the Eye Wraith's
Gold, Grey, Black, Copper Dragon Statues Destroyed


Challenges
Unstable Sphere of Annihilation
Bluff Lord Soth

Major Quests Completed
Destroy the Tower of High Sorcery
Prevent Lord Soth from Entering Taladas

Minor Quests Completed
Revive the Master of the Tower.
Trap the Axe of Emperors in Ravenloft
Cured Evergreen of his Insanity

Magical Items Acquired
Yellow, Purple, and Green Stones of High Sorcery
6 Amber Leaves of Healing (Potion's of Cure Moderate Wounds)