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