Session 15: The Claws of the Lioness - The Pleasure Realm of Tixelzintran

Dramatis Personae:

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Shaman - Cathpailu, Spirit Whisperer and Druid - Played by Andrea
• The Mage - Arash Sehat, Arcanist and Elementalist - Played by Jonathan
• The Dwarven Craftpriest - Thorel, Reclaimer and Dwarven Craft-Catechist - Played by Christopher
• The Elven Spellsword - Triandal Krisna, Dreadsword and Arcanist-Guardian - Played by Nathaniel
• The Cleric - Brother Mikko, Catechist and Mendicant - Played by PJ
• The Barbarian - Belaye Bsrat, Hunter and Pit Fighter - Played by PJ

When last we left our heroes...

The last thing any of you remembered was being dragged into the void. Then, darkness, and the utter and unfeeling cold of the gnawing emptiness outside the world. And then you fell into forgetfulness for a long time...

When you finally come to, you find yourself in a tavern. At first, it seems normal enough, until you really start to look more closely at your surroundings. You find that everything is just a little off. The furniture has not been made with any reference for size or scale, tables are leaning at odd angles which make it almost impossible set food or drink on them, and the wait staff are bad approximations of humanoids, but where their heads should be, there are only gaping maws and 1-4 eyestalks turning every which way. 

Perhaps strangest of all, there is a massive hole in the middle of the room, which everyone more or less ignores, even as they move around it. 

At this point, the Maitre D' approaches you, a very tall, shifting figure, with four eyestalks branching off of its misshapen head, which itself is just a large central eye and a gaping maw. "WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE REALM OF TIXENZINTRAN THE ALL-SEEING!" he says. "WE HAVE AN EXCITING MENU PLANNED FOR THE NIGHT... YOU!" The figure then proceeds to tell you the specials for the day: "TRANSMOGRIFICATION, DISMEMBERMENT, MADNESS, AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE, DESPAIR." 

---

The party decided that they wanted to have nothing to do with this, and, after introducing themselves to each other, began to try to find a way to escape. After investigating their surroundings, they find that the hole in the center of the room is in fact the stone mouth of a well. Brother Mikko investigates it, and, after descending a few feet on a rope held by Alsuna, finds that it drops 15' feet into a chamber below, which is laid out like a giant, life-sized chess board. One by one, the members of the newly formed party dropped down, and in the process, triggered the pieces on the chess board to come alive and attack them.

Quickly, the companions realized that the chess pieces were limited to movement according to the rules of chess, and were able to adjust their movements accordingly. Arash was dropped by the attack of one of the Black Knights, but was revived by the healing hands of Alsuna and stood up with 1 HP (thanks to a very good roll on the Mortal Wounds Table). He cast Burning Hands, destroying the Black King, and deactivating all of the other Black pieces in the process. Realizing this, Cathpailu commanded her spirit animal, a young panther, to attack and kill the White King, deactivating the remaining pieces. The party was then able to make their way safely across the board and through a tunnel to the south.

This tunnel opened up onto a rickety rope bridge spanning a yawning chasm. As the party stepped foot on it, a Kobold appeared at a nearby ledge and began yelling angrily at them. Brother Mikko decided to run across the bridge at full speed as the Kobolds began to prepare some kind of incendiary devices, but lost his balance and fell into the chasm and was lost. As the rest of the party crossed, more carefully, Triandal set off the Kobold incendiary devices with a well-aimed arrow, starting a chain reaction that destroyed the band of kobolds, and the party made it safely to the other side.

In the next chamber to the south, the companions met Belaye Bsrat (PJ's next character), a former gladiator who had also been kidnapped and taken to Tixelzintran's realm. In the room they found a trio of statues that had been carefully dressed in real armor and armed with real swords. One of the statues (according to Alsuna's sense for these things) had been equipped with armor and weapons that were cursed or evil in some way. The party decided to leave the statues alone. 

The tunnel continued to the south, where they could hear the sound of rushing water, but there was also a door to the east. After examining the latter, and hearing nothing and finding no traps, Triandal decided to cautiously push it open, revealing a well-appointed banquet hall with a sumptuous feast laid out. Although Alsuna could tell there was nothing evil/chaotic about the meal, she was still deeply distrustful, but some of the other party members sampled the food, and found that doing so healed their wounds from the fight with the chessmen. There was also some magical rum in a gorgeous crystal decanter. Arash sampled this and found that it granted him at least temporary control over the Undead (as a Potion of Control Undead). 

Monsters defeated:

• 14 "living chessmen"
• 4 kobolds

Characters killed:

The Cleric - Brother Mikko, Catechist and Mendicant - Played by PJ

The Claws of the Lioness, Session 14: Fireball the Party

Dramatis Personae

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Henchman and Dwarven Delver - Noravras of Beasthold - Dwarven Caver and Pest Controller - Played by Sophia
• The Thief - Kiz of Aesta Suvash - Footpad and Failed Apprentice - Played by Chris
• The Dwarven Craftpriest - Moriana of Beasthold, Dwarven Craft-catechist and Reliquary Guardian - Played by Andrea
• The Mage - Timlaras "Tim" of Aesta-Suvash, Thaumaturge and Necromancer - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Thief - Arana of Aesta-Suvash, Hood - Played by Scott
• The Mystic - Ali Abbas the Immaculate - Played by Paul
• The Fighter - Vunika, Man-at-arms and Mercenary - Played by Christiana
• The Dwarven Vaultguard - Dwadnur of Beasthold, Sentry and Goblin-Slayer - Played by Nathaniel

When last we left our heroes...

Following the fight in the Drukk nest, the party was ragged and wounded, with several of them no longer able to fight effectively. Dwadnur, Alsuna, Vunika, and Timalaras decided to escort the wounded back to down while Braem (and his two henchmen), Mix, and Guinevere decided to explore a tunnel they found at the back of the nest [these players were absent, and since the other players did not have the benefit of their help in the fight that ended this session, it felt unfair to say they were killed in it.]

Party #1, stepped out into the hallway -- where they were immediately attacked by a returning Drukk patrol. After fighting their way out of this -- thanks to some good shooting by Vunika, the axe and glaive of Dwadnur and Alsuna, and the Wand of Fireballs wielded (with some strings attached) by Timlaras. After clearing the hallway of their foes, they wandered on, realizing that they were without BOTH of their mappers (Braem and Guinevere). They chose a direction and moved down the hallway, eventually emerging into a small chamber in which a very, very large man lay dead, his rotting corpse pinned to the floor by a great spear. Deciding not to investigate this (as they had so many wounded to take care of and this was clearly not the direction they had come before), they headed back the other direction, eventually finding the corridor by which they had entered this wing of the temple.

As they went, Timlaras was using his ring of X-ray vision -- the All-Seeing Eye of Tixelzintran -- to check the rooms on either side of the corridor. As they passed the Drukk latrine, Timlaras used the ring again, but this time something... happened.

It turns out that the wand wasn't the only thing the fire demon had given him that came with "some strings attached" -- the All-Seeing Eye had opened a gate to the Planes of Madness, and the many-eyed creature which had haunted Timlaras' visions the last several times he had used the ring now materialized directly in front of them. It was a floating mass of eyes and teeth, and it greeted them thus: "MY MASTER TIXELZINTRAN ACCEPTS YOUR WORSHIP. I HAVE COME TO COLLECT YOUR TRIBUTE."

As the party was trying to figure out what to do now, Dwadnur decided to shoot the creature with his crossbow. In the ensuing battle, well, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

From its four great floating eyes, the abomination shot out rays that variously put the party to sleep, hurled them through the air, or turned them to stone. Despite this, the remaining party members were not exactly pushovers, and they managed to whittle away at the creature's health until a ray shot out from one of the eyes and struck Timlaras. Timlaras badly failed his Save vs. Spells... And fell under the domination of the creature. Turning to aid his new ally, Timlaras raised the Wand of Fireballs (which ended up not working the first time because he was within the range of the magic cancellation effects of the creature's central eye) and unleashed a great blossom of flame upon the party. All of his former allies, except for Alsuna (who was lying unconscious behind him at this point) were instantly killed in the conflagration, leaving their weapons, gear, and any magical loot ripe for the taking...

Monsters killed:

• 7 Drukks

Player Characters killed:

• Kiz
• Moriana
• Ali Abbas
• Noravras
• Dwadnur
• Vunika

Session 13: The Claws of the Lioness - Tetanus All Around

Dramatis Personae

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Henchman and Dwarven Delver - Noravras of Beasthold - Dwarven Caver and Pest Controller - Played by Sophia
• The Thief - Kiz of Aesta Suvash - Footpad and Failed Apprentice - Played by Chris
• The Dwarven Craftpriest - Moriana of Beasthold, Dwarven Craft-catechist and Reliquary Guardian - Played by Andrea
• The Mage - Timlaras "Tim" of Aesta-Suvash, Thaumaturge and Necromancer - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Fighter - Džim of Aesta-Suvash, Warrior - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Thief - Arana of Aesta-Suvash, Hood - Played by Scott
• The Mage - Mixebram "Mix" of Aesta-Suvash, Arcanist and Magical Scholar - Played by George
• The Mystic - Ali Abbas the Immaculate - Played by Paul
• The Fighter - Vunika, Man-at-arms and Mercenary - Played by Christiana
• The Elven Spellsword - Braem the Burning, Arcanist-Guardian and Flametongue - Played by Ben
• The Henchman and Legionnaire Kumban - Played by Ben
• The Henchman and Legionnaire Kemog - Played by Ben
• The Dwarven Vaultguard - Dwadnur of Beasthold, Sentry and Goblin-Slayer - Played by Nathaniel

When last we left our heroes...

Investigating the chamber they had found beneath the statue, the heroes found a well-appointed bedchamber, with a massive bed, wardrobe, and writing desk. At the writing desk, they found a diary which (after studying it for half an hour or so) the companions learned belonged to a "Hierophant of Swords" a worshipper of the old Saftash god of war in his aspect of Anyshĩk-Tǎngkĩ, god of swords. According to the diary, 

• The Hierophant has been on a quest for some time to find a new "Emperor and Empress of Swords" but has not found anyone "worthy."
• He had begun trying to promulgate the worship of the God of Swords at first through chivalrous duels and 1-on-1 combat, but within the past several months he seems to have descended into madness. His last "duel" was the slaughter of an unarmed theater troupe. 
• There have been no diary entries for several weeks now.
• Apparently the "sword-fish" have not been fed in some time, whatever that means.

After taking the diary and the valuables from the room (including a set of costly silken robes and vestments worth 300 GP, and another one of the slightly glowing numbered sword blades, which was hanging over the bed) the party decided to go back up and head west from the vestibule. 

Heading down the passage, they discovered the duck latrine, behind which there was a hastily built false wall with the word "DON'T" written on it in what you hoped was brown paint. Knocking this wall down, you found a prisoner, impaled here against the wall with another one of the numbered blades. The prisoner turned out to be a Vampire named Remmy. Remmy offered to help the party in exchange for his freedom, but Alsuna the Paladin was having none of it. Using holy water and garlic, she decapitated the Vampire -- but this seemed to have only made it mad. After swearing vengeance on Alsuna and her friends, the vampire's body and severed head turned into mist and vanished. Moving on from here, but with another one of the numbered blades, the companions continued down the passage until they came to a door the ducks had adorned with rusted sword blades spackled to the doorframe by, well, poop. 

Using the All-Seeing Eye of Tixelzintran, Tim looked into the room and realized that it was probably the main nest of the Drukks. The party decided to attack, since they had specifically come to the dungeon to stamp out this particular menace. Dwadnur kicked the door in, Tim summoned some spectral berserkers, and the party charged in.

The Drukks proved to be tough, with duck warriors on the ground drawing up a line at the pallisade of swords in the middle of the nest, while Drukks in the rafters hurled down rusty, excrement covered sword blades. It took the magical aid of no less than 8 berserkers summoned from the afterlife, but the companions at last wiped out the Drukk nest -- though not before Džim, Moriana, Ali-Abbas, and Noravras had fallen in battle.

In the aftermath, the companions checked on the fallen. Džim was dead, impaled through the skull by a rusted sword blade dropped from above. Moriana was in critical condition; Alsuna's healing magics were enough to save her from death, but one of her legs was maimed and she was in bad need of a week's rest in a safe location. Ali-Abbas and Noravras were scarred and injured, but Alsuna was able to bring them back to 1 HP, and they would be able to recover normally after a night's rest in a safe location.

The companions searched the fetid nests of the Drukks and found 50 Platinum Pieces hidden within them. 

At the end of the session, the party rolled a random encounter, which is where we'll be starting next time.

Monsters killed: 

• 20 Drukks

Treasure recovered:

• Silken vestments (300 GP)
• 50 Platinum Pieces (500 GP)
• 4 of Swords
• 8 of Swords

Player Characters Killed:

• Džim 

Session 12: Claws of the Lioness - Roast Duck

Dramatis Personae:

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Henchman and Dwarven Delver - Noravras of Beasthold - Dwarven Caver and Pest Controller - Played by Sophia
• The Thief - Kiz of Aesta Suvash - Footpad and Failed Apprentice - Played by Chris
• The Dwarven Craftpriest - Moriana of Beasthold, Dwarven Craft-catechist and Reliquary Guardian - Played by Andrea
• The Mage - Timlaras "Tim" of Aesta-Suvash, Thaumaturge and Necromancer - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Fighter - Džim of Aesta-Suvash, Warrior - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Thief - Arana of Aesta-Suvash, Hood - Played by Scott
• The Mage - Mixebram "Mix" of Aesta-Suvash, Arcanist and Magical Scholar - Played by George
• The Mystic - Ali Abbas the Immaculate - Played by Paul
• The Cleric - Guinevere the Curate - Played by PJ
• The Cleric of St. Faruin - Kumbar of Aesta-Suvash, Catechist and Undead Slayer - Played by Jonathan
• The Fighter - Vunika, Man-at-arms and Mercenary - Played by Christiana

When last we left our heroes...

The party managed to avoid the giant weasels (as the party referred to them: "54 Feet of Weasel" which I swear was not a metaphor for anything). After trying to put them to sleep (turns out they were too big to be affected by the spell), Vunika made a distraction that sent the weasels bounding off into the mist, and the party was able to continue on their way without a fight.

They arrived at the village of Vlamanishiki. As they crossed the stream to get into the village, they noticed that it was absolutely choked with old, rusted sword blades. They found an inn (with a painted Jester's cap out front; the Sign of the Fool) and bought soup and a round of ale and spoke with some of the locals. It turns out there are duck-headed beastmen raiding in the area, selling weapons to the kobold and goblin tribes in the Ettinmarsh, and so on. The littler of rusted sword blades come from them and it appears to just be getting worse.

The party decided to wait until the cover of darkness to head upstream, and found a waterfall flowing out of the ettinmarsh. Behind the waterfall they found a cave entrance. The pool at the base of the waterfall was completely choked with swords. Some of the party searched through them and while most people didn't find anything interesting, Kumbar (who is a cleric and can't use swords) did find a ceramic sword.

Tim used the Ring of Tixelzintran to peer into the cave and locate a trap set by the duck-men, which the party was able to avoid. The passage led to a large vestibule of an underground temple to the old Saftash god of war in his aspect of Anyshĩk-Tǎngkĩ, god of swords.

There was a huge statue with a big diamond in its forehead in the vestibule, and 3 duck-men guards, who Tim promptly fireballed (with a normal fireball, not the wand). There was a big pile of fine swords at the base of the statue, apparently laid there as an offering. Two of them were glowing faintly in the dark and are labeled with old Saftash numerals 2 and 9. They appear to be magical, but also incomplete, as though they are part of a puzzle or a key. Mix is holding onto them now. 

Mix has also been up to secret secret things again, but also, Tim has been having strange visions of a floating mass of eyes watching him and the party. Gwen, the party's newest cleric, found a secret door at the base of the statue...

Monsters killed:

• 3 duck men

Treasure found:

• Diamond (1000 GP)
• Ceramic sword
• 2 of Swords
• 9 of Swords

Session 11: Claws of the Lioness - Dinner with the Lady Rota

Dramatis Personae:

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Henchman and Dwarven Delver - Noravras of Beasthold - Dwarven Caver and Pest Controller - Played by Sophia
• The Elven Spellsword - Braem the Burning, Arcanist-Guardian and Flametongue - Played by Ben
• The Henchman and Legionnaire Kumban - Played by Ben
• The Henchman and Legionnaire Kemog - Played by Ben
• The Thief - Kiz of Aesta Suvash - Footpad and Failed Apprentice - Played by Chris
• The Dwarven Craftpriest - Moriana of Beasthold, Dwarven Craft-catechist and Reliquary Guardian - Played by Andrea

When last we left our heroes...

The heroes spent the next two weeks in the city of Aesta-Suvash, resting, healing their wounds, and taking advantage of the downtime to train, research, and prepare. In particular, Tim and Mix took some time to research Tim's Wand of Fireballs as well as teach Mix some new spells. Regarding the former, Tim learned the following:

"You spend two weeks examining it carefully, testing it in various ways. What's tricky about it is that it isn't a "device," but rather a living, organic thing from another elemental plane. Despite the fact that it has been severed from its original tree, it maintains its connection to the elemental plane of fire in some way. However, as you start to dig into this, you begin to realize that the fire demon which you captured, and which gave you this branch in return for his freedom, may have tricked you."

"As you carefully examine the seed pods, you realize that using the wand has a side effect you had not previously discovered: Corpses slain by the Branch of Demar Norei will sprout a Firetree sapling in 1d4 days. This tree grows rapidly and reaches maturity within 1 year. During that year, it gradually transforms the terrain for 6 miles (1 hex) into a burning wasteland resembling the elemental Plane of fire. The firetree is guarded by 2d6 fire elementals who reside among its boughs. If 3 or more mature trees exist in a single hex, during their second year they will transfer an area of eight hexes into a vast, burning forest inhabited by creatures from the Elemental Plane of Fire.

"Although you are still not closer to figuring out how to make the branch sprout more seed pods, you take a couple of things away from this:

"1) The demon definitely tricked you, and his plan was probably that you would use the wand until you transformed your region into a demi-plane of the Elemental Plane of Fire.

"2) There is no guarantee that the trees that grow from the branch would allow you to make more branches (that seems a little too easy to you), however it's definitely the case that if you could harvest them, they would count as valuable components for making fire-based magical items, such as scribing scrolls of Fireball (which is basically a 1-time use of the spell that doesn't use up a spell slot), potions of fire-breathing, and so forth. They could even be harvested to craft a more traditional wand of fireballs, although this isn't something you've yet learned how to do."

While the party continued to process this information in order to decide what to do about it, they examined the bounty board at the Claws of the Lioness Guildhall, eager for their next opportunity to make some coin and possibly find magical solutions to their new problem. Alsuna and Braem also took the opportunity to hire some new hirelings (three in all) to bring their numbers up after surviving the rigors of the previous dungeon.

In the meantime, Morianna the Dwarven Craft-priest spent some time at the local goldsmiths guildhall in hopes of meeting interesting people and perhaps gathering rumors about the city's rich citizens. While there, she met a strange, decrepit woman, her face veiled, who was there to pick up a very special and unusual mirror. When she learned the mirror was not ready, she said it might not matter anyway since she had not found anyone willing to retrieve the healing waters which would be necessary to complete the mirror's intended purpose. Morianna accosted her, and learned that her name was the Lady Rota (the same Lady Rota whose name had been mentioned on the most recent bounty posting). She has suffered from a terrible malady these last twelve years, which first began as a scaly infection in her skin, and has gradually spread to her bones, and now to her blood. The leeches and apothecaries of the city, as well as the temple clerics, have been unable to cure the apparently magical disease or curse. Her one remaining hope is the healing waters of a lost Elven city deep in the Ettinmarsh. Morianna expressed interest in helping her with this problem, and the Lady Rota invited her and her friends to her villa outside the city for dinner that evening.

After conferring amongst themselves, the companions decided that there were two or three bounties which interested them in the general direction of the Ettinmarsh, and so there was no reason they should not take Lady Rota's in addition to the others in the hopes killing multiple birds with one stone. Specifically, the stories of bird-headed beastmen raiding villages along the south road near the Ettinmarsh and selling sorcerous weapons to kobolds intrigued Braem. 

That evening they met with the Lady Rota at her villa. Her villa, beautiful on the outside, was bare and cheerless within, as the Lady had sold off most of her most valuable possessions in order to pay for various treatments over the years. Despite her poverty, she managed to provide a good dinner (some would say a suspiciously good dinner) for the companions, whom she did not however join for dinner. After the meal was over, the Lady Rota joined them briefly, and told them of a scarred and half-mad elf who had stopped at her Villa for shelter one night many years ago. He had spoken of the healing waters (which perhaps also impart madness? The Lady Rota isn't sure, but she's willing to risk it) which he had found in the ruins of the great city of Cyfandir, a great Elven city to the south which was destroyed by a Dragon and an army of Ssanu and their beastmen slaves a thousand years ago. No living man has looked upon its ruins, but according to this elf, there are still healing waters there through which flow the life of the Fae. 

The Lady Rota

The companions gathered as much information as they could from the Lady Rota, and were provided with four horses to help them on their way. From there, they began their journey down the road to the village of Vlamanishiki, a day and a half or so to the southeast. They were only a few miles outside of Aesta-Suvash when they stumbled across a pack of six Giant Weasels hunting in the morning mist. Thanks to Braem's sharp eyes and quick thinking, the companions have managed to see the Weasels before the Weasels see them.

Session 10 - The Claws of the Lioness, the Demon Waters, Pt 6

Dramatis Personae:

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Elven Spellsword - Braem the Burning, Arcanist-Guardian and Flametongue - Played by Ben
• The Mage - Timlaras "Tim" of Aesta-Suvash, Thaumaturge and Necromancer - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Fighter - Džim of Aesta-Suvash, Warrior - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Thief - Arana of Aesta-Suvash, Hood - Played by Scott
• The Cleric of St. Faruin - Jorsau of Vlamesht, Catechist - Played by PJ
• The Mage - Mixebram "Mix" of Aesta-Suvash, Arcanist and Magical Scholar - Played by George
• The Mystic - Ali Abbas the Immaculate - Played by Paul

When last we left our heroes... After briefly discussing the possibility of running back to town, hiring more help, etc, the parties decided they would open the door to the temple's central chamber, shoot a fireball from Timlaras' Wand of Fireballs, and then run. Before implementing this plan, Mix decided to don the strange bleeding coin holy symbol he'd found earlier that day. With their preparations made, they threw open the door and Timlaras shot a fireball into the center of the room, roasting several of its occupants alive (despite the fact that they were standing knee-deep in water). There was a brief skirmish at the door before he shot another fireball,  then passed the wand to his apprentice, Mix, who fired the wand again. The second and third fireballs proved decisive, melting or boiling all but a few of the beastmen slaves of the strange creatures from the abyss. 

Unfortunately, this is where things began to go pear-shaped: a spirit arose from the body of the last one of the fish-man priests -- a spirit that looked suspiciously like Mix, save for the addition of gills and a strange weeping wound at the center of its chest. The creature (which the party realized it could not evade, since it simply emerged from the water on the other side of them when they tried to run) identified itself as the Dead God and addressed Mix as his servant and prophet, and demanded the worship of the rest of the party. After a couple of abortive attempts to attack it, the party was saved by Mix, who managed to convince it to leave them for the time being, and leave the conversion of these infidels up to him. 

At this point, the party (after almost walking away without searching the chamber for treasure) looted it, finding a massive amount of sunken treasure (no doubt offerings to the god the fish-men worshipped), comprised mostly of highly portable gems and jewels. As they did so, the party cleric and paladin took an hour to demolish the ancient cursed altar, finally bringing the evil at the heart of that accursed place to an end. While they were doing so, the door to the chamber opened, and a trio of rough-looking characters looked in. They explained that they were adventurers, but since the party had already arrived, they would be moving along now. 

As the party prepared to head back to town, Mix used the abilities granted to him by the medallion to heal the downed Arana. He was able to cure her wounds, allowing her to stand and fight (though she would probably never use a bow again), however as she stood she coughed up a large, bloody coin, a slightly smaller replica of the one Mix wore. Looking closely at it, the party realized that the once formless image on both coins had now gradually clarified into something resembling Mix in profile. Everyone felt uneasy at this, but it was Braem the Burning who actually did something about it. Drawing his swords, Braem demanded Mix hand over the unholy symbol. When Mix refused (and prayed to his new god, who did not answer his prayer), Braem ran him through, dropping him to 0 HP. Seizing the medallion (and being tempted by it, but resisting), Braem wrapped it up and gave it to the cleric for safekeeping.

Carrying the unconscious but stabilized Mix out of the dungeon, they were ambushed near the entrance by a group of local ruffians and outlaws -- the three the party had met earlier, plus the rest of their band. The fight was brief but deadly, with the cleric Jorsau being slain in the altercation before Tim ended the battle with yet another Fireball. The last of the outlaws was slain as he fled by a returning Džim. Džim made peace with his employer after Tim promised to give him a raise, but not to give him a raise in the sense of raising his corpse after his death. 

And so, wounded and weary, with their pockets full of treasure and their hearts full of foreboding, the companions returned to Aesta Suvash.

Monsters killed:

• 6 Kua-Toa
• 8 Orcs
• 4 Gnolls
• 8 Bandits

Treasure recovered:

• Crystal Geode (2,000 GP)
• Facet-cut flawless black sapphire (10,000 GP)
• Flawless diamond (4,000 GP)
• 19 jade carvings of myth, depicting the creation of the world by Alsudhvi, who raised the dry land out of the chaos of the primordial waters (3 stone, 3,800 gold)
• Four opal cameo carvings of the four consorts of the Lord of Waters (3/6 stone, 3,200 GP)

Player Characters Killed:

• The Cleric of St. Faruin - Jorsau of Vlamesht, Catechist - Played by PJ

Session 9 - The Claws of the Lioness, The Demon Waters, Part 5

Dramatis Personae:

• The Paladin of St. Faruin - Alsuna of Vlamesht, Bulwark and Vanguard - Played by Sophia
• The Elven Spellsword - Braem the Burning, Arcanist-Guardian and Flametongue - Played by Ben
• The Mage - Timlaras "Tim" of Aesta-Suvash, Thaumaturge and Necromancer - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Fighter - Džim of Aesta-Suvash, Warrior - Played by Scott
• The Henchman and Thief - Arana of Aesta-Suvash, Hood - Played by Scott
• The Dwarven Craftpriest - Moriana of Beasthold, Dwarven Craft-catechist and Reliquary Guardian - Played by Andrea
• The Mage - Tuvalt the Clumsy of Vlam-Kuzang, Arcanist and Warmage - Played by Chris
• The Cleric of St. Faruin - Jorsau of Vlamesht, Catechist - Played by PJ

When last we left our heroes... Our companions spent some time attempting to examine the pump array (including casting Dispel Magic on it), before ultimately deciding to leave it as it was and pressing on. Timlaras used his Ring of Tixelzintran the All-Seeing [a Ring of X-Ray Vision] on the door to the north, revealing half a dozen beastmen (gnolls and orcs) along with a trio of multi-armed fish-men standing around an altar in the middle of a large room. Tied to the altar was the writhing body of a young woman. 

The party made their preparations -- Timlaras first took twenty minutes to go back and raise two of the Morlocks as zombie servants -- and then kicked the door in. The two zombies fell almost immediately, but they bought precious time for the party to get in through the door without taking a gnoll arrow to the face. Alsuna ran forward and rescued the woman on the altar -- Jorsau, a cleric, and as it turned out, one of Alsuna's childhood friends. Even so, the tide of battle seemed to be turning against the heroes, with Timlaras and Tuvalt locked in a battle of spells with the fish-man shaman. At that moment, Džim and Arana (who had been hanging back) charged in, coming to the aid of the master.

As the tide of battle turned, Timlaras lobbed a fireball into the room, immolating three of the beastmen, while the rest of the party focused their arrows and weapons on the fish-folk warriors charging through the door. It was at this point that Džim, trying to protect his employer, was gravely injured. Timlaras told him not to worry because "if you die, Džim, I can always just raise your corpse." Then, as Timlaras noted, "I won't have to pay you anymore." Džim, already wavering in the face of these strange abominations from the Deep, lost his resolve at this threat of zombification from his employer, and turned and ran. 

As the battle raged on, Alsuna and Jorsau got clear of the altar, and Timlaras ended the battle of spells with another fireball from his wand, which slew the shaman and his gnoll guards. The final two fish-men warriors were cut down, and the remaining companions found themselves masters of the chamber. The cost had been heavy: Džim's morale had been shattered, and he had run; Arana was gravely injured, her right hand forever maimed; and Tuvalt the Clumsy had been slain by one of the fish-folk warriors. 

Speaking with Jorsau, the companions learned that she had been part of a small group of pilgrims which had been travelling on the road to Aesta-Suvash when they were waylaid by beastmen and brought to the temple. This was four days ago. Since then, each of her companions in turn had been sacrificed on the low stone altar, tied to it until the chamber flooded and they were drowned. A few of her companions had suffered a different fate, taken away through the door to the southwest, never to be seen again. While Jorsau got her gear and clothes back on, Timlaras used his ring to gaze through the southwest door. What he saw frightened him, powerful wizard that he was: 

The door led to a stairway leading down, deeper into the dungeon. There, standing in a pool of water, were a dozen or more beastmen, all of them infected with the strange vegetal growth that had plagued the "gombie zoblins." In their midst were half a dozen of the fish-folk, levitating and chanting around a sacrifice on another low stone altar. At that moment, the floor of the chamber occupied by the companions began to fill with water. Timlaras turned back to his companions: "We need to run." 

Monsters killed:

• 4 Orcs
• 2 Gnolls
• 1 Kuo-toa Priest
• 2 Kuo-Toa Warriors

Player Characters Killed:

• The Mage - Tuvalt the Clumsy of Vlam-Kuzang, Arcanist and Warmage - Played by Chris