Just Means

Chapter 18 - Talking Stones

The party quickly began the process of searching the castle, while the Paladin waited near the portal. The creature almost managed to sneak past the others, but was detected by Talice who fireballed him before he hurried away. As he approached the dias, Ferras detected him and attacked, as a pillar of flame surrounded Ferras. The creature took a nasty wound, but managed to escape.
The party decided they needed to rest, so they poured flour about the dias and went to camp a mile from the castle. The next day, much rested, they returned to the castle and found the flour cleaned up. They debated about what to do with the dias. They knew the the word to activate the portal on this side, Bzalon, but they didn't know the one to return. They used magic mouth to send a rock through, but the word didn't send the rock back. They also used a small animal, that Xej scryed upon, and they saw a small entrance hall with doorways and hallways. This also let them know that the other side would not be a harmful environment. Still, they had to be able to return...
Stumped, but deciding that they wanted to know the password back before going through (they didn't want to risk being trapped on the other side), they headed to a nearby town and learned as much as they could about the castle. They then sent another rock through, trying many more words, but none sent the rock back. Finally, Ferras noted that each night, the Flour they left behind was cleaned, which meant someone came through to clean it up. They could capture them and get the word from them. They decided that was their plan.
Setting up the flour, they decided they would wait invisible for the creature to come through, then Xej would cast anti-magic shell so that they would not be able to escape. They waited. About midnight, after a few hours of waiting, footprints appeared in the flour, the party moved in, and Xej's anti-magic shell banished the invisibility revealing a woman. She tried to flee, but the anti-magic shell was disabling the portal, and they had her trapped quickly.
They spoke to her, the Paladin promising to protect her from Bzalon if she told them the word to return. She finally told them it was "Jazelshrack" (the name of the demon Bzalon tried to make a deal with). Not trusting the obviously evil mage, the party took her away and waited for others. When the sun rose, the returned to camp to rest, before returning to the castle so that they could test the return word with a magic mouthed rock. It worked, the magic mouthed rock returning of it's own ability.
Wolanin, Xej, Talice, and Ferras decided they would be the ones to go through, using invisiblity to hide themselves as they scoped out the enemy stronghold. For the task, Ferras agreed to don the ring that would conceal his aura of goodness. Sneaking in, they were set upon by invisible undead, but dispatched them quickly. After some looking around, Talice used magic to look under doors and explore the immediate area. Xej recognized that Bzalon had used a spell that would cause the hallways to be filled with mist, many doors locked, some concealed, and everything to have an aura of magic. They came upon a room full of training mages, but decided that a frontal assault was not a good option, and used magic to get past the least guarded way as the party began their journey into the heart of the stronghold.

Chapter 19 - Deal with the Devil

PC's left place, and big nasty evil undead guy came and said, "Leave me alone or die." Party returned woman servant and decided to let the place cool down before returning. In meantime, decided to head for the Annulus and do some scouting in Hell and see what they can see.
Xej used the Compass on the Annulus and could feel a pull. They found a portal that they had to jump from a tree to activate, and that lead to 100' fall into a chasm, on Avernus, the first level of Baator. Most people had some method of flying, and Stamp's golden armor helped protect him from the fall (ok...so he fell like a rock and the paladin swooping down managed to absorb some of the damage for his sovreign).
Party began to search, were attacked by some demons, then encountered some old friends of Wolanin and Kory. They found Valery and ---. They explained how a dark shadowy figure had stolen them away from where ever they had been, and they were with many others in a huge pit. Their souls were slowly warping to evil. They had managed to survive and escape. They asked for help.
The Paladin was adamant that the party take a break from their quest for the annulus to save these souls. The party finally agreed and Elric used the Compass to seek a giant statue in Sigil. (it would lead to the nearest gate to Sigil). They located one some time later, in a cave, and after much difficulty managed to find that they needed an orange fruity liquid. Xej returned to the Prime Material and got many orange fruits, finally some berries activated the portal and they all returned to Sigil (before some demon's showed up). In Sigil, Kory's powerful heal spells managed to cure both Valery and Ravensbow of their wasting disease that was turning them into Lemures.
In Sigil they got weapons for Valery and --- and proceeded to have a large fight over the ownership of the compass and some magical items. Wolanin and Ferras were at the center of this, the fight started when Ferras realized the magical sword of the Abyss was Wolanin's who was only loaning it to him. It spread as Ferras questioned what Wolanin thought about the ownership of the compass. The party finally decided the compass was for the greater good, and Wolanin finally settled for using the +4 long sword of baator.
With an escape route found, and rearmed, the party headed back to Avernus to rescue the other souls.

Chapter 20 - Eternal Loss

Went back to hell, got beat up real good. Lost Elric, Valery, and Ravensbow. Cave caved in. Went to portal that went back to Faerun. Went back to evil castle, fought a demon, fought some more demons, and then Xej disappeared after nasty battle.

Chapter 21 - Swamp of Fate

Looked for Xej, found him fighting demon, saw him killed, fought big evil guy, won, guy fled, building started to collapse, no way out except through magical portal mirror. Tricked, thought going to Faerun, but all appeared in mud. Xej death was illusion. Looking back into portal, saw Xej and evil guy from Redruken (dwarven place) and Xej looked a little sad about Kory, but smiled and waved to everyone else as he walked away and portal vanished.
In place, rain rain and more rain, very heavy, big swamp, lightening. Nasty place. Went around, met some demi-human swamp people, talking to them when giant snake thing attacks village...

Chapter 22 - Old...OLD...friends

On this muddy, raining, swamp world, the PC's find out that magic only works at 1/3rd it's usual strength. Magic items and the ability to cast spells is horribly hindered. At any rate, we fight the big half worm/half man creature and are helped by three suprise allies that show up on griffons. Several people are wounded badly, smashed by the snake creature. After the battle, we find out that the three people who helped us are partially known by Kory and Wolanin! Gondagal and Sladerious Ravensbow are both known. Gondagal apparently used to be someone named Falc. Both Falc and Slade are known from when the party went back 5000 years in the past to Netheril.

Apparently though, it's us who's gone back, not them forward. They explain that this world was created when a powerful netheril mage made it to protect the people from the fall of Netheril. Now however, they can't leave, as magic isn't strong enough to make a portal out. Apparently a floating city in the center of the plane is besieged by dragon men. They are constantly fighting the dragon man army.

So, we were sent both back in time, as well as to a strange plane... Anyway, we, the PC's are the first people to show up in this plane in 11 years. The dragon men apparently detected this and a group came here and sent this giant creature to attack us. Gondogal and Slade say that we need to follow the dragon people if we want to know what's going on. Party rests, and decided to follow dragon men, whereever they go in the swamp.

Thanks to a magical tracking statue dog, we track them to a underground tunnel and follow them in. We find ruins under the ground, and Ferras is attacked by an undead creature which drains a level from him. We continue on...

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akadi