Finally, Klarkosh!

Arodus 23, 4711

After descending to the 6th level, the Coopers arrive in a room dimly lit. In the room are two levers, a red handled one and a black handled one. Thorne pulls the red lever, and a grinding sound can be heard in the distance. He then pulls the black lever, to a similar effect. The Coopers quickly realize that these levers activate switching plates that rotate hallways, providing access to other sections of the dungeon.

They begin to explore the rooms next to the staircase. In one, they discover Klarkosh's trophies, artifacts he collected from all of his victims.They find several mementos displayed by the wizard, including a tapestry that depicts a strange royal court, what looks like melted metal, placed on a pedestal, and two weapons, a heavy mace and a broken staff. Roscoe touches the melted metal, triggering an electric trap that zaps both himself and his sister Daryle. They take both weapons with them.

Opening another door, they come upon Klarkosh's private bathroom. The bath is already drawn and the water is warm, as if the wizard was about to use it.

Continuing on, the Coopers stumble upon Klarkosh's jail and its jailer. After a short combat they triumph over the jailer, and they explore the cells. In several of them they discover strange and hostile animals, but in one of them Darelle discovers a nude man in one of the cells. He is severely dehydrated and he has wounds all over his body. After Darelle heals him, he tells them his name is
Jharun, a wizard in the service of the Goldenfire Order. Roscoe recalls that Jharun is one of the two wizards sought by Iliara Starcloak. She had mentioned to him that Jharun and Tiawask sent her a note a few weeks back saying that they were ready to explore the Emerald Spire, but since then, they hadn't been seen. She had entrusted Roscoe with the mission to find the missing wizards and bring them back alive, or at least bring their bodies back, to the Order. 

Jharun tells the Coopers that he and Tiawask were captured by Klarkosh, but that Tiawask managed to escape. He's been here all these months, a prisoner without hope. The Coopers tell Jharun how to escape the Emerald Spire, but he decides he wants to stay with them a while longer, since it seems to be safer.

In Klarkosh's throne room stands a throne and two emerald automatons. The Coopers briefly fight them before taking flight. Thorne comes up with a plan to hide his face under a heavy cloak and pretend to be the evil wizard. The youngest Cooper manages to pull it off and convinces the emerald automatons to disactivate.

The hallway from there leads to what appears to be a large training room. Two more emerald automatons stand at the end of the hall, and rows of weapons line each wall. Two sets of heavy iron bars divide the room into three sections. With the bars down, the party decides to backtrack and heads back to the throne room. There they stand next a door they had left unexplored. Thorne tries to open the door and after much effort he manages to pick the lock. Inside, they discover Klarkosh's bedroom. The room is well furnished with a large bed, a desk, chairs, and a fireplace.

Daryle finds the red and yellow silk embroidered with a K sheets attractive, and takes the bedding off the bed, including the pillow cases. Thorne is strangely attracted to the chairs, and he sits in one of them, finding it very comfortable. Unfortunately, the chair he selects is infested with a small worm-like parasite, and one of them bites him and burrows itself in his back.

Roscoe will close the flue and hope that enough smoke comes in to attract Klarkosh. He instead discovers that the stove itself is a secret door that leads to Klarkosh's laboratory. As the group debates who should go first, Gerald jumps at the chance and heads through the secret door.

In the large room he discovers a machine belching steam and creating a deafening sound. Hundreds of cogs and gears spin about, causing the ground to vibrate slightly. At the other end of the room, sitting at a workbench is a man bend over a broken automaton. Wearing a mask covering half of his face and with an artificial arm and leg, Gerald recognizes Klarkosh by the descriptions provided by various enemies on the upper levels.

Gerald considers his options, and decides that the best thing to do is to slowly maneuver towards Klarkosh and attempt to attack him from the back. Despite the noises and the vibrations, however, Klarkosh has a good view of Gerald's path, and Gerald is not all that good at sneaking anyway. Halfway to the ruler of the 6th level, Klarkosh raises his head and looks directly at Gerald, greeting him. As Gerald and Klarkosh engage in discussions about automatons, Daryle enters the room and moves towards one of the alcoves, hoping to get a good shot at the wizard. Meanwhile, Roscoe senses evil in the room, and he comes to the startling conclusion that the Klarkosh that stands before Gerald is nothing but an illusion, and the real one is hiding in an alcove. Daryle bumps into an invisible emerald automaton, and as the invisibility spell is broken, combat begins.

Darelle wedges a dagger in the steamworks mechanism, and gears stop spinning. Slowly the pressure beings to built, and soon the steamworks will explode. The Coopers engage the various automatons, while Roscoe charges the spot where Klarkosh is hiding. Thorne is injured twice, while Gerald falls to the ground after summoning various monsters. Darelle and Daryle were also severely injured, but in the end Roscoe slays the wizard, Darelle removes the dagger, and the steamworks do not explode. The master of the first 6 levels has been killed by the Coopers.





Injured and bloodied, Gerald and Thorne decide to head back to Fort Inevitable. They agree to accompany Jharun back to his order.

Roscoe, Daryle and Darelle decide to press on. The next room they enter reveals an armory guarded by a bronze minotaur. After a viscious fight in which Roscoe is grievously wounded, the Coopers slay the monster. They find Klarkosh's scrapyard which contains a multitude of spare parts, before returning to the training hall. After opening the hall's gates, they enter the Hall of Steam, where they meet a strange bioluminescent humanoid standing next to the fountain. Two emerald automatons are also in the room, recently decapitated. The Coopers cautiously approach the outsider. He tells them he rather finds the automatons fascinating, and he makes no hostile move. The Coopers leave him be and proceed to the next room, where they discover the staircase heading down to the 7th level.

Going down, they emerge in a room light by large trellises of candles, with a door in the west wall. Roscoe approaches the door but triggers a trap that incinerates the Coopers, causing them wounds that would have fell weaker people. They decide to retreat back to the 6th level and Klarkosh's quarters to recuperate.

Troglodytes and their God Box - NOT DONE

Arodus 20, 4711

In the last month,  Darelle worked with Dr. Mordel. She has realized that the good doctor has not left his house in the 35 years he's lived in Fort Inevitable. She first suspects he might be a vampire, but he's up and about his house during the day. She finally decides to ask him why, but he's very evasive about it. Meanwhile, she acquires more healing skills. Strangely, four people came through Dr. Mordel's clinic with slash and gash wounds, and one of them even had to remain hidden in the basement.

Roscoe was occupied with several patrols that took him all the way to Mosswater. Over the last few months, tax monies have disappeared from the Hellknights' Chancellery, and several empty chests were discovered in the ruins of the abandoned town, and they believe that more have been buried in the swamp.

Daryle has been busy hunting goblins and training her wolf to hunt with her.


Arodus 21, 4711

Business has kept the Coopers away from the Emerald Spire for the last month, but now that all siblings are back in Fort Inevitable with some downtime, they decide to head back and finally deal with Tarrin Dars. After an uneventful trip through the underground tunnels, the Coopers carefully enter the Splinterden. They make their way towards the temple, and Thorne takes a peak inside. Tarrin is gone. Inside, all that remains is her dessicated corpse lying atop a pile of finely grained black sand. The large fake book Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber, god of thieves and murder still lays open on the table. Daryle takes a quick look and determines that it is opened to a summoning ritual.

Darelle decides they must destroy the book, even if it is fake. They burn it on the altar along with the candles and the remaining tools, then they decide to proceed down to the next level.

What happens when your water gets poisoned?

Erastus 12, 4711

Having poisoned the Splinter Cutthroat gang well the previous day, the Coopers head out to the Emerald Spire early in the morning, and arrive through the tunnel into the 3rd level of the Spire. The stench that floats throughout the level is foul, and there are piles of feces everywhere.

Thorne peaks in the temple room, and notices that Tarrin Dars is still at the altar, poring through
Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber. However, there are now three silver chalices on each corner of the altar. A strange dark liquid fills each chalice. Thorne carefully closes the door, and the Coopers move on.

In the first room they discover five sepulchers. Four of the tombs have portraits sculpted on their lids, while the fifth is bound by large iron chains. After opening each tomb, Gerald brags the skull of the skeleton laying in it. In the fourth tomb, that of an Azlant lady, Gerald discovers a small rosewood box which smells very nice. Inside he discovers one intact bottle of perfume, with another bottle that shattered a long time ago. On both the box and bottles is a crest of a dog sitting with a muffin on its nose. Gerald vaguely remembers reading somewhere that this crest was that of the Tyral family, a rebellious family who was part of a plot to assassinate the Azlant king 10,000 years ago. The Coopers decide at this time not to open the fifth tomb, especially since they can hear nails scratching the inside of the lid. Daryle discovers something intriguing, however.  On both 2nd and 3rd levels, the Coopers have found ancient Azlant tombs from eons ago, in a place so removed from Azlant it might as well have been at the end of the world. Why would there be so many Azlant nobles buried here?

The Coopers move through the various room, killing the disabled thieves they find along the way. Darelle's poison was very effective and debilitated the entire gang. In the main corridor they come upon the thieves' stash of stolen goods. All in all, there are about 900 crowns' worth of textiles, spirits, fine tools, crafting woods, and iron ore. They plan on selling this cargo to the merchants when they return to Fort Inevitable at the end of the season.

In the thieves' dining room the Coopers fight and slay Dars' lieutenant. Darelle discovers 11 pieces of dishes belonging to eight prominent families in Fort Inevitable. The Coopers take the dishes and carefully pack them away. Gerald, continuing his creepy trend of collecting heads, also remove the lieutenant's head.

In a large cell block they attack and kill a human who was busy whipping a small hafling before being rudely interrupted. That hafling turns out to be Shim Longbranch, a ranger from Dimsdale the Coopers encountered a few months ago. Shim had been out on a hunt when he was captured by the thieves and brought back to the Spire, where he had been experimented upon by Dars' alchemist. But now that evil man laid dead on the floor. The Coopers invite Shim to follow them, which he does after freeing all of the animals inside the other cells.

In the lieutenant's room they discover two journals he had been keeping about his evil deeds around Fort Inevitable. They also discover the armory, so armed with blunt weapon they return to the tomb with the iron chains and, after opening it, they kill the wight that was prisoner. Only Tarrin Dars remains...

Upon returning to Fort Inevitable the Coopers return the stolen plates and the head of Dars' lieutenant to Maralictor Wirt, who thanks them for their dedication and award them 75 crowns for the lieutenant's head.

Kids and magic don't mix

Erastus 11, 4711

After being sedated for three days following the events with the Splinter Cutthroats gang, Gerald awakens in Dr. Mordel's house, confused as to what happened to him. All he remembers is going in to the brigands' lair and walking through the fortified door with a supposedly magical cat's skull. He was promptly dragged inside and a hood was placed on his head. After meandering throughout the level, he was eventually hit on the head and fell unconscious. He awoke to find himself tied and hooded. 

Later on in the day (or was it night) a couple of guards came in, punched him in the face, and dragged him out. It seems like his brother Thorne was there, but that's can be right. At any rate, when he finally awakes Gerald steps out of the room with bandaged hands and a black eye.

He slowly gets out of bed, and wanders out of the small bedroom. He encounters Erynna, Dr. Mordel's assistant, coming up the stairs. She tells him to go lay down, she will get the good doctor. 

Dr. Mordel tells Gerald that there was a terrible battle during the Coopers' rescue attempt, and Gerald's hands were cut off and severely crushed. Fortunately, Mordel was able to save them, but they needed to be healed through a process only known to Mordel. In the meantime, he had sewed two small goblin right hands that worked. Gerald was crestfallen.

Soon Darelle and Daryle arrived, and were rejoiced to see Gerald finally back to his former self. While Gerald had been unconscious, they had caught up on Fort Inevitable news, including the fact that no goblins have been turned in for a bounty in the last ten days. The Coopers suspect that Greenhide may be mustering his forces and gathering to himself all the goblins from the area. For what purpose, they are not sure.

They also devised a plot to deal with the Splinters who dwell on the 3rd level of the Spire. Darelle has already created a poison based on a mix of plants saps, and Thorne has delivered it into the water supply. In the next 24 hours, all of the brigands will be violently affected and will be in no shape to fight. Thorne also reports that Tarrin, leader of the Splinters, is still reading the fake copy of Words Behind the Mask. And the brigands themselves report hearing a lot of goblin noises coming from the 2nd level.

Having some time to themselves, the Coopers decide to escort Gerald to visit Abernard Royst so he can turn in his map of the 2nd level and collect some much needed gold. On the way there, they stop at the Temple to pick up more scrolls of cure medium wounds. Coming out, Gerald bumps into a small child and sends her sprawling to the ground. Getting up and dusting herself off, she accuses Gerald of being mean spirited. That's when he notices that his newly purchased scrolls are gone. The girl immediately takes off, moving surprisingly quickly. Gerald begins chasing after her, but he is soon stopped by a Hellknight patrol that claims the girls accused him of attacking her. Meanwhile, Daryle sprints down the next alley and comes out. But the girl is gone. The only house on this block in which she could have taken refuge is Abernard's cottage.

After much discussion, Hellknight officers enter the cottage using the spare key (whose location Thorne reveals), but they do not find the girl. They advise Gerald to file a report of theft at the fortress. With the patrol gone, the Coopers enter the house. 

The first thing they notice is that Abernard's house does not look any different than the last time they were here, but somehow the Hellknights did not notice that it is so much bigger on the inside than on the outside. On one of the walls in the hall Darelle notices a series of family portraits, and the girl can be clearly seen in one of them alongside Abernard. At first, the Coopers suspect that she is some sort of spirit, and they attempt to discover whether she's taken refuge in the painting. After a few minutes of examinations, however, they decide that it really is a painting, and they begin searching the house.

The downstairs looks like it has not been cleaned for a few weeks. There are dirty plates everywhere, and the food pantry has been raided. The Coopers head upstairs. In the first bedroom they enter they discover a sleeping ogre in what is obviously Abernard's bedroom. Daryle carefully locks the door and they move down the hall. They come across what appears to be a guess room that has been completely thorn apart. It looks like a girl is currently living in this room. In it they discover a small spellbook with the name Nissa on it.  

After an encounter with a few deadly plants, the Coopers finally ascend the stairs to the third floor. There they discover Abernard's workshop and his library. Gerald uses magic and discovers that many of the books in this room have magical auras. A corner of the room also feels particularly evil. On the large working table is a big book. Gerald notices that this book is the actual grimoire called Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber, god of thieves and murder, that Abernard had created a copy of to fool the Splinters. The book itself was turned to a summoning ritual.

Behind large doors they hear Nissa yelling at something. After several heated exchanges, they are able to open the doors and enter into Abernard's alchemy lab. Nissa was busy trying to conjure Abernard back from his two dimensional state inside a pentagram drawn on the floor of the lab. After a battle during which Thorne is covered with leaves and Daryle takes a lot of damage, Nissa is tackled to the floor, and her rod of wonder falls to the ground.

After some research Gerald discovers how to undo the ritual cast by Abernard, and the old sage is brought back from his limbo. Abernard reveals that following the creation of the fake grimoire he became very interested in one of the rituals that could summon a devil that would do his bidding and rescue Gerald.

Unfortunately, his niece Nissa, an apprentice wizard, disrupted the ritual and Abernard became caught in a two-dimensional gate. Left to his own devices, Nissa did her best to rescue her uncle, but was unable to do so. She discovered Abernard's stash of magical items, including several cursed items, which changed her personality and magnified her egotistical tendencies.

Abernard thanks the Coopers profusely and reward them with the rod of wonder.

Fooling the Splinters

Erastus 7, 4711

Returned from the Spire following their recent trip where Gerald was lost, Roscoe, Darelle and Daryle gather in Roscoe’s dwelling above the Juliver Arms. They have left messages for Thorne in all of his haunts, urging him to find them there so they can share the bad news about Gerald.

In the wee hours of the night, Thorne finally arrives. He reveals he is aware that Gerald has been taken prisoner by the brigands and will be turned over to Klarkosh in the morning. 

Gerald is currently the captive of the Splinters Cutthroat Gang, a group that dwells on the 3^rdlevel of the Emerald Spire. They are led by Tarrin Dars, and she is always looking for old books. Thorne happens to know that she would most likely trade Gerald for a grimoire called Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber, god of thieves and murder. Thorne also happens to know that Abernard Royst, one of Gerald’s mentors and the local sage, owns a copy of this book.

 
Erastus 8, 4711 

The Coopers thus head to Abernard’s house and rouse the old sage from his bed. After a short exchange, he lets them in his house. A small cottage on the outside, Abernard’s home is larger on the inside. In the discussions that ensue, Abernard denies owning a copy of this heretical book, and he stirs the Cooperstowards creating an illusory copy instead. Identical to the actual item, the book will furthermore be implanted with a suggestion and be guarded with various spells that will provide evocation, abjuration and evil. For all intents and purposes, this book will look exactly like the original.

Armed with the book, the Coopers head out back to the Spire and enter through a little-used tunnel leading about 1.5 miles through the underground into the 3^rdlevel of the Spire. Led by Thorne, they arrive at the Splinters’ headquarters. Thorne connects with Tarrin, and strikes a bargain with her to exchange the book for Gerald. The trade is performed, and the party leaves with Gerald, but not before Thorne suggests to Tarrin that “he is important to Norgurber and he must be listened to.” Tarrin seems to fall for the suggestion. She immediately begins perusing through the book. Thorne departs the temple where Tarrin was worshiping and informs Maskus, her lieutenant that she is not to be disturbed for the next three days, even if Klarkosh comes to collect the prisoner.

During the trek back home the Coopers discuss the possibility of returning to the Spire with another person looking like Gerald and passing it as him.

The Coopers return to Fort Inevitable and deliver Gerald to the tender care of Dr. Mordel. Thorne goes to visit Karlyle the Butcher and manages to secure a captive. It turns out that Karlyle has recently come into possession of a priest of the Living God, and he matches Gerald’s description fairly well. 

Karlyle delivers the priest to an abandoned shed outside the walls of Fort Inevitable, and the Coopers take the man in a wheelbarrow back to the Splinters. Maskus is confused at first, but when Thorne recounts how he conned Gerald’s friends and captured him again, he is pleased. He informs Thorne that Klarkosh has not yet come by, but it is not uncommon for him to be days or weeks late. Guards come and take the priest away. 

Thorne returns inside the temple to talk to Tarrin, and he realizes that she has gone the deep end. The suggestion spell combined with the illusory ritual book, has worked too well, and now Tarrin is busy studying the book to discover the ritual she needs to bring Norgurber back by opening a portal. Thorne decides to leave her, but as he exits he pretends to have been sent on an errand from the Splinters' leader. 

He informs members of the gang that he must go and count the treasure of gold to see if Tarrin has enough to cast the ritual. The guards laugh and point at the door next to the Temple. Thorne opens the door, then enters. The guards begin placing bets. Suddenly the bed rises and a Gold Golem attacks. The Coopers join in the battle, but after an unequal battle they are forced to escape. Fortunately, in the battle and the gambling that ensued they were able to grab eight precious books off Tarrin's shelves: 

1. The Dreams of the Gods
2. Twilight's Burning Ceremonies
3. The Vacant Prophecies
4. The Mind's Voyages
5. The Discord of Night Swords
6. The Sons of Darkness
7. The Spiritual Flames
8. Grod's Erotic Orcish Poetry 

Armed with a wheel barrel filled with these books, the Coopers headed back to Fort Inevitable.

Of course this would happen to Gerald

Erastus 3, 4711

After a restful night following yesterday's combat with moon spiders and other entities, the Coopers search the rest of the room. Roscoe seizes two bone priests outfits, while Gerald grabs a black ritual candle.

Aidan decides to explore the room next door, and gets smashed when the ceiling drops on him. The chest he tried to open was a trap. Aidan repeats the process several times, while Gerald also becomes a victim of the roof trap.

Feeling slightly refreshed, the Coopers decide to finish exploring this level of the Emerald Spire. They head towards one of the rooms left behind. Upon opening the door, they discover the moon spiders' nest. Roscoe comes up with a clever plan to incinerate the babies that rush at them, and after setting it up with Darelle and Daryle, the spiders die in a fiery inferno. Looting the room, they discover several cocoons of small spiders. Gerald grabs some of the webbing for spell components, while Daryle fills a small jar of moon spider eggs. Gerald decides to do the same, but he adds a ray of frost to freeze them inside his jar.

Returning towards the northeast corner of the dungeon, they enter a crypt with eight sarcophagi placed at equal distance from each other. Each one is inscribed in Azlani. Gerald carefully copies the name in passable Azlani: Valeros, Codwin, Kreedis, Jamus, Teedum, Carmoth, Delduin, and Aylsande. All but Aylsande are male. Upon touching one of the sarcophagi, the lids slide open and six skeletons emerge, charging the Coopers. Gerald manages to delay Aylsande by appealing to her mercy but the skeleton has been dead too long to recall its former life, and in the end she joins the fray.

Gerald is incapacitated, but Roscoe manages to turn the tide and slay the last skeleton in an epic battle. As a result, they get their hands on a crown, two bracers, a silken ceremonial armor, and a short sword for each skeleton. In the remaining two sarcophagi they discover two intact skeletons and also remove their equipment.

They also discover that one of the sarcophagi actually covers a staircase leading to the third level of the Emerald Spire. Having cleared the second level of the Spire, the Coopers decide to return to Fort Inevitable to rest and stock up on healing potions.

As payment for exiting the Spire, Daryle gives Greenhide one of the silken armor that had been badly damaged in the fight against the skeleton, but the goblin appears either not to notice or not to care and he thanks them.

Back at Fort Inevitable, Gerald presents the map of the 2nd level to Abernard Royst, and also inquires if the old sage knows the names Gerald discovered. Abernard tells him that he does not, but he will conduct some research and let the sorcerer know what he finds out.

Daryle sells one of the Azlani bracers to Tom Braddon, Thorne's employer at the General Store.

Roscoe reports on his mission to the Spire with Lady Commander Audara Drovust. She informs him that about two years ago, a large party of Hellknights led by Chaid DiViri entered the Spire and went as far as the 8th level of the dungeon. Upon their last trip outside the Spire, DiViri had reported there was a strange level below rumored to be connected to the plane of fire, with powerful lawful magic. So DiViri returned to the Spire with twenty-eight Hellknights. They were never seen again. Drovust entrusts Roscoe with finding any remains or items so that a proper chronicle can be written.


Erastus 6, 4711

After three days of rest, the Coopers purchase several scrolls and potions of healing. They head back to the Emerald Spire, and travel down to the 3rd level. There, they discover that a stair case leads down to the 4th level, but that the rest of this level has been barricaded by humans. After several conversations, they realize that these brigands know their brother Thorne, but they will not grant them passage through the 3rd level.

Gerald comes up with a clever plan. They are here to deliver the "magical" head of a skeletal cat to Klarkosh, the overlord of the first six levels, and they must take the head down personally.

Eventually, after several back and forth, the brigands agree to let one of the Coopers through the gate and take him down to see Klarkosh. The party agrees that it's a good idea, and Gerald volunteers for the courrier duty. So, of course, Gerald goes through the gate ...

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