Medusae
Reflections
Chapter 11 - Crap!
Leaving the warm tropical air, the lush forest, and their peaceful camp next to the waterfall (now littered with wolf-spider bodies), the party decided to follow the pull of the rod. It led them north to Chondath and directly to it's capital, the golden city.
After their first night, camping over a hundred miles from the city, Lark came back to them, free of Yous' quivering palm, and together they discussed the plan. Invisible and windwalking, the party would triangulate the staff's position by flying around the city. Assuming it would be within the palace, they would then use the sewers to enter the palace grounds and seek out the rod piece.
They did so, and spent around sevem hours wandering around the maze of sewer systems under the vast city. Being in their magical mist form and flying, they were spared most of the unpleasant sensations of the sewers. They finally found a barred off section protected by powerful magic. Four magical symbols etched into the sides, roof, and bottom of the sewer pipe, outside of the bars, as well as a shimmering field of magic in front of the pipe, marked the entrance to the sewers under the palace grounds. Xej made sure by stone swimming to above ground. Sure enough they were outside the palace walls.
The party tried a few plans, wandered around for a bit more, and eventually returned before using magic of their own to get through. At this point their windwalk was failing and they were forced to become material within the stinking sewers. The piss and vomit stream of liquid slowly began to seep through their boots and the noxious fumes made them gag. Kral used a powerful disintegrate spell to destroy the bars, and then the party, protected within an anti-magic shell made their way past the symbols. They then began exploring the sewers beneath the palace grounds. After wandering around for over another hour, they realized that their quarry lay between the large pipes, where the sewers did not reach. They stopped to think about this. Since it was getting late, they teleported out into the forest (after a couple minor mishaps), and setup camp to rest for the night. Here they thoroughly washed and changed their clothes in a cold stream and relaxed in the clean fresh air.
The next day, again using windwalk and invisibility, the party returned to the foul sewers and made their way back to the center of the cities sewer systems. To their surprise they found the passage blocked by a newely created wall of solid stone, with only a small grate at the bottom. As they discussed this turn of events, Vandehaur scried upon the party and messaged Xej: "Ambassador's from Chondath arrived, wish to discuss and share information about the Rod. King is dead."
Seemingly unphased by this, the party continued to consider their options. A patrol of soldiers came by, and the party hid invisible as the patrol checked on the wall and then continued on. Then the party used another disintegrate to destroy the stone wall. Two guards on the other side were immediately visible. Before they could get away the parties magic reached out and slew one, and held the other.
They again used anti-magic to move down the passage and grabbed the live guard and tied him up. They questioned him closely about the situation down here, and then began to explore the pipes for a short time while thinking about a plan of attack...
Chapter 12 - An Uninspired Journey through Generic Dungeon 1.1 to Heavily Guarded Treasure Room 3.beta.24
The party used windwalk and invisibility to move through a small pipe up into a dungeon level underneath the palace. They journeyed through some generic halls and avoided guards and eventually found there way to a level with a long hallway leading to some double doors guarded by some...um...guards. They tried to sneak past with recon, but the guards could see invisible things apparently and spotted Xej.
A battle ensued as an alarm was raised, and the party blocked up support with stone walls and battled a very skilled warrior who managed to put up a bit of a fight before being taken down by arrows, daggers, swords, and a bear. The party, looting as quickly as possible directed Kral to open a hole through the wall, after being unable to open the door, and he did so, revealing a large treasure room full of coins, books, items, valuables, as well as 4 largish demons watching over them.
Chapter 13 - Suckered by the old "bait and switch"
Fire and darkness enveloped the doorway they had made as Lark loosed four arrows with startling accuracy and power into one of the demons. Xej immediatly noted that two were illusions,the two larger ones thank goodness, and moved through into the room with Gondogal and Kral close on their heals. Amid the huge piles of coins, chests, weapon racks and art work the three moved in and saw a stone pedestal in the middle of the room that contained the piece of the staff they wanted. It was surrounded by a wall of force.
Things got interesting as invisible flying creatures zapped party members with Dimensional Anchor wands from above, and as two iron golems, two rune covered golems, and a dual rapier wielding man moved from about the room to engage the party. The demons meanwhile loosed electric and fire attacks on Gondogal, Xej, and Kral.
Kory managed to dispel the darkness and fire and enter the room, but quickly realized the party was outmatched and withdrew outside the room again. Gondogal and Xej made a grab for some treasure and fled, not before doing a bit of damage and destroying the disguised rapier weilding golem. The iron golems were too powerful however and they fled through a new wall of fire raised by the demons.
Kral made a final bid for the item. Dispeling his dimensional anchor, he transformed into a small parrot (so he could talk and cast his spell) and teleported into the small sphere of force. Grabbing the staff peice, he teleported out, and flew out of the room transforming back into himself in the process.
Staff peice in hand, and soldiers and warriors bearing down on them, arrows clinking around them, they all teleported away. Of course the teleports went awry and they didn't end up at the same place. Traveling back to Cormyr, they realized they'd been had. The piece they had barely managed to steal was a fake, the real one still hidden in the treasure room somewhere.
They returned to Cormyr where they were confronted by the new Steward of Cormyr, Thalus Rowanmantle. Thalus, trusted by all parties, spoke to the party very forthright. He talked about the disintegration of the crown prince by an assasin, as well as assisinations of other royal members. He also spoke about Xej's demotion from the Wizard Council of Cormyr, with Vandehaur replacing him. At the end, he demanded the PC's hand over the staff to Chondath, a more powerful nation with the resources to protect and retreive it.
Asking for time to think, the party went to see Stamp who was a little more alert. They discussed everything, and he suggested that if they didn't trust Chondath, then they should leave Cormyr, cut their ties, to not draw Chondath's wrath on Cormyr for their actions. Agreeing, they immediatly departed via teleport to Xej's stronghold.
They took some time to scry on Yous, who was traveling across a desert with a small group. The discussed for a while and decided that the situation was thus: they had peices 1 and 2, Chondath has peice 4 in their vault, Yous had piece 5 and was seeking out peice 6. They decided they'd grab Yous's peice off of him and get all the rest, finally going back for the one in the Chondath vault at the very end. To defeat Yous, they decided they'd ask Alarra for some help. We leave them thinking of departing for Alarra's.
Chapter 14 - Wind Dukes, Medusae, and Ghosts, oh my!
The party spent some time at Xej's stronghold, trying to figure out what next steps to take. Deciding on a plan to wrest the 4th peice of the staff from Yous, Xej and Kory went to Alarra to ask her for help. She refused to assist them in attacking a man whom by all accounts was not an evil man, but simply doing a job for another country, that also sought to solve the problem of the world. Kory seemed injured but Alarra informed them that she would not help them fight their battles, unless possibly it involved one of her kin, or of a higher purpose than one of human or elven politics.
Kory and Xej returned home, and they planned to attack Yous anyway, with Xej preparing some scrolls. While they were preparing they were paid a visit by Aquestran, a wind duke who located and entered Xej's stronghold. The party was cautious, but began peppering him with questions when it became apparent he might be telling the truth. He informed them that Chondath only had one peice and Yous was traveling mostly blind, based on triangulation. He also told them he no longer trusted Yous, whom he was originally helping.
He refused to help the PC's by pointing out Yous's strengths or weaknesses, but he did give them more information the staff, it's nature, and the fact that the war, currently a stalemate, between the Vaati and Chaos queen was no longer a struggle of fundamentals in the universe, but simply a war between two ancient races that really had no purpose.
The party decided to accept his help, and he pointed them to the next piece, peice four, giving Xej a good enough description to teleport to the valley in Calimshan in which it lay immediately, hopefully beating Yous there.
Arriving at the valley, they scoped out the area, and Gondogal sent his mind to the astral plane in search of some questions. Receiving answers that were possibly incorrect or lies, the party journeyed ahead to some ruins deeper in the valley. Finding the Caravanserai that Aquestran told them about (the ruins), the party entered, being spotted by an invisible guardian. They went within, poked about, chased a smoke mephit and invisible guard about until being confronted by Eudie eud Glimm, the master of this place, and with his appearing from the astral and knife in his back, might be a ghost.
The party played about, poking around while trying to decieve Eudie into thinking they were complacient. Xej found an all too realistic statue of a man in a garden and tried stone to flesh, which caused him to become a real man again. He was shocked, surprised, and a little nuts. Not listening to Xej, he fled for the front gates but was slain by another guard before he could get away.
Poking around some more, the party entered a main building for drinks, but before they could be served Gondogal's poking around revealed an invisible firey creature who promptly smashed him with burning fists, knocking him back down to ground level. The party tensed, sensing sudden danger.
Chapter 15 - Fire and Wind
A fast and deadly battle erupted as a group of six Janni and two Efreeti attacked the party. Helped by at least four Medusae and another four Janni, walls of flesh searing fire erupted again and again corning the party into a room where they were faced with no escape except through the fire or past the four medusae and their stony glance.
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