Law versus chaos

Sarenith 26, 4712


With the investigation of the poisoned sausages now wrapped up, the Coopers decide to head back to the Emerald Spire and explore the 15th level. They trek through Echo Wood, then arrived at the tunnel leading to the Splinterden level. Suddenly they hear two familiar voices. Thorne steps out of the shadows and tells his siblings that he'd been waiting for them. Daryle's first reaction is to pull her bow and notch an arrow, but after a few tense moments the other members of the Coopers agree to let Thorne and Rowen join them. Not that they trust them or anything, but perhaps it would be easier to deal with the Emerald Spire with a full complement of party members. Thus, for the first time in months, the entire party is together.

After some discussion as to whether to move to down to the 15th level or perhaps clear the 9th level for real this time, the Coopers decide to head to the depth of the Spire. They use their transport tokens to teleport to the 14th level. Scattered around the room, they are greeted by the lich Nhur Athemon, who inquires about the happenings outside the Spire. Roscoe relates some of the events that have taken place, then the Hellknight questions the lich about how the Coopers can travel down to the 15th level. Thorne maneuvers around Athemon's throne, getting in a position to backstab the lich. Nhur Athemon remains focus on Roscoe, however, and magnanimously opens a secret staircase leading downwards by pushing a button on his throne. The Coopers head down.

After about a descent of 600 vertical feet over more than 1,000 steps, they reach a strange level, with gold wires embedded in the floor. Two creatures looking like mechanical centaurs stand guard, but they do not attack until Thorne steps in the room and begins to pull the gold wire out of the ground. The battle is short, and the party takes a beating until Darelle releases a cloud from her jar of cloud and reduces visibility to zero. The Inevitables threaten the Coopers with certain death, but Thorne wisely states that they are in fact here to support the Inevitables' quest to eliminate the Proteans. Darrelle recalls her cloud, and the creatures allow the Coopers to freely move about the level as long as they don't touch anything and that they take the fight to the Proteans.

In the next room, they discover two creatures looking like large mechanical eyeballs who were clearly expecting them. They are manipulating various parts and appear to be rebuilding something. They reveal that they have been fighting the Proteans for eons, and that the battle is at a stand still, neither side being able to communicate with their plane of origin. The Inevitables wish to keep the Spire's gate closed, while the Proteans wish to open it and release chaos in the world. The Inevitables control the gate, but the Proteans have the key. Tempted by all of the wonderful stuff laying around, Gerald briefly considers taking a few spare parts, but a deadly look from his sister Daryle moves him along.

The third room looks like a power generating station, and the wires here hum softly. A set of doors lead out of this room into another one, and all lawful creatures are able to walk through freely, while chaotic creatures suffer some damage. Omok is the worst off, but he quickly heals. In this room they meet the caulborn, who are observing what is happening in another part of the level. In their conversation the Coopers quickly gather that the caulborn are monitoring the situation and taking copious notes, but appear to support neither side.

Gerald decides to add a variable to the fight between the Proteans and the Inevitables in the Spire room, and he casts fireball on the large window, hoping to ignite the room beyond. Unfortunately it is only a screen and the room where they stand is engulfed in flames. Gerald and the other Coopers take significant damage. Daryle shakes her head in disbelief. Here we go again, she's thinking...

The prodigal son returns, and now everyone is about to die

Sarenith 18, 4712

With the magical doors now closed, the Coopers minus Thorne are reunited again , but they find themselves once again locked in a hostile dungeon. As there appears not to be any exits except for the closed door, Darelle searches for secret doors. She quickly discovers that the statue next the west wall features a spot for a key in a similar shape to the leviathan's eye. She retrieves the crystal eye, and inserts in the statue. The entire statue and its pedestal slides silently over, revealing a secret passage.

The party enters the hallway, followed by the four Azlants. Daryle listens to the southern door, and hears nothing. At the other door, Roscoe can hear some chanting drifting from the other side. It appears more than four people are conducting some sort of ritual. Omok barges through the door. Twelve knights of the ioun star in their ancient garbs have been brought back to life in a hideous mockery of what they fought for millenia ago. Armed with their battle axes, the undead knights attack. Gerald fireballs the dead knights, which Roscoe and Omok follows up with a channel positive energy. A rain of acid falls on the Coopers. Daryle and her sister Darelle drop a stream of arrows on the knights, and Roscoe and Omok unleash another channel positive energy, which drops all of the knights.

The room appears to be an ancient chapel. The stone furniture was not affected by Gerald's fireball, but the drapery hung on the north wall burned to ashes, revealing a flight of stairs and another door heading north. Roscoe successfully avoids a magical trap located on the top stair, but the prismatic spray hits Omok instead. Roscoe opens the door, and he finds a platform heading to the middle of a cylindrical room with no visible ceiling or floor. The howling winds shake the paladin. Roscoe ties a rope around a stone pew and around himself, then heads out on the platform. In a stroke of bad luck, the rope unties but Roscoe remains standing and reaches the center of the room.

He is greeted by an eerily voice that introduces itself as a devil. Ten thousand years ago, Nhur Athemon swore fealty to this devil, but as he grew powerful he forgot where his loyalties laid. Now the devil wants its revenge on the Azlanti who became a lich. He offers a wish to Roscoe in exchange for the lich's head and his phylactery. Roscoe questions where the phylactery could be found. The devil identifies it as the mechanical heart inside the leviathan. Roscoe motions to Omok to join him on the platform. With the winds having abated, the hobgoblin reaches the edge of the platform. Roscoe tells the devil they already have the heart, and after a short discussion Omok agrees to throw the Heart of Nhur Athemon into the abyss. The deal made, the platform pivots and reaches a hidden door in the East wall. Roscoe and Omok go through the door.

Meanwhile, the triplets and their Azlanti allies returns to the main room, looking for another path. Darelle places the other eye in the other statue's base, and it slides open, revealing another passage. The party enters a workshop filled with clockwork parts. As they carefully search among the wreckage for anything of value, they are attacked by animated parts. The Coopers quickly defeat the constructs. Gerald finds scrolls of expeditious retreat and of obscuring mist. Darelle discovers an alchemical silver dagger +2, while Daryle lays her hands on a headband of vast intellect +2 made of fine pink feathers and featuring a bouncing wooden flamingo mounted on springs on either side.

As Roscoe and Omok enter the room, they realize they have stumbled upon Nhur Athemon's throne room. Standing on a balcony, they see Nhur Athemon in full undead splendor, sitting on a throne carved into the Emerald Spire, facing away from them. Eight undead nobles stand before him. His throne slowly pivots and soon the two Hellknights are face to face with the lich. Athemon welcomes them, and tells them he has been following their exploits. Seeking new servants to lead his armies to defeat and enslave the outside world, he offers them a bargain. In exchange for them swearing fealty in a ritual, he will provide them with enhanced abilities. Roscoe and Omok debate the pros and cons of accepting such an offer, but eventually agree that this is the wisest course of action, firstly because they are unlikely to be able to defeat the lich by themselves, and secondly because they would enjoy being more powerful. Roscoe hopes that his deity will forgive him his trespass.

Roscoe is the first to participate in the ritual. A noble brings Roscoe a blade of pure silver. The Hellknight pricks his finger, and a drop of blood falls onto the Spire. Immediately tendrils of green smoke rise, and bind Roscoe as he swears fealty. He suddenly feels stronger and more nimble on his feet, as well as incredibly blessed with fast healing [+2 temporary modifier to Strength, +2 temporary modifier to natural AC, temporary +10 fast healing per round]. Omok follows suit. The hobgoblin also bargains for the ability to read the Book of the Damned he found a while back. Athemon grants him this ability, and soon Omok becomes smarter and embued with the ability to control some undead. Unfortunately, this is accompanied with a slide into insanity. Both Roscoe and Omok also experience an alignment shift of one step towards evil.

As a rewards for his loyalty, Athemon summons the Mistress of Thorns, who appears next to his throne. He paralyzes her, and offers her head to Roscoe. Roscoe swings his sword and with one mighty blow decapitates the Mistress of Thorns. Thus ends her hold on his soul, something that had weight heavily on the paladin.

This is the exact moment that Daryle opens the door from the workshop into the throne room. She sees Nhur Athemon sitting on his throne, surrounded by his undead nobles, with Roscoe holding the Mistress of Thorns' head in his hand and a weapon in the other, while Omok looks bemused. She wisely closes the door and reports to Darelle and Gerald. Roscoe and Omok soon come through the door, and the paladin has some explaining to do. He attempts to justify himself to his siblings, telling them that he has found a way to save Fort Inevitable from the menaces that threaten the town,
but soon the sisters decide to leave their brother, and they pursue their exploration of the dungeon.

Daryle and Darelle return to the stone chapel, and decide to investigate the door in the opposite hallway. They barely get it opened that a nightmarish vision stands in front of them. Undead yet animated by evil, a humanoid very much resembling the statue of the Lady Estrekan of Almorain Blue, Knight Commandant of the Western Star that they discovered in the hallway, immediately attacks. This fearsome vision scares Darelle out of her wits, and she runs away, only to fall victim to the prismatic spray trap in the stone chapel. Luckily, she is transported back home, right at the foot of her bed. Daryle, meanwhile, is not so lucky and suffers a crippling hit that drops her down. Her last vision before passing out is that of the Lady Estrekan methodically walking away from her.

Back with the remaining Coopers, Gerald decides to pursue his exploration, and he stumbles upon a room in a circular shape with white walls. There he meets a strange bird-like creature. In an extremely condescending tone, the jyoti informs Gerald that he is here to fulfill one of his requests. Gerald asks it to find his sisters. The jyoti departs, and returns a few minutes later with the corpse ... of a female knight previously encountered and killed in the stone chapel. Gerald takes greater care to describe his sisters. The jyoti rolls its eyes, but leaves again. It returns a few minutes later with Daryle, and tells Gerald that trouble is coming before he vanishes. Gerald heals his sister just as   Lady Estrekan steps in the room. Daryle pretends to be still dead, and Gerald is swiftly defeated.

The Lady departs, and Daryle heals her brother. Meanwhile, the Lady Estrekan enters the other room, and confronts Omok and Roscoe. Omok suffers the same fate as Darelle and runs away in an irrational fear. Roscoe confronts the fell knight, but he too bites the dust in a combat quickly concluded. Fortunately for him, he heals quickly and returns to the world of the living a few minutes later.

Daryle and Gerald discover their brother, and they decide they have had enough. Gerald casts dimension door, and the party leaves the level.

Omok eventually recovers his wits, only to discover that he has been abandoned by the Coopers. Fortunately Gerald returns once more, and with Omok they depart. The Coopers return to Fort Inevitable, where they are reunited with Darelle.

The Coopers are steamed

Sarenith 17, 4712

Following the arrests of Thorne's associates, the Hellknights conduct muscled interrogations. All of them tell a similar story. They last saw Thorne in the first week of Gorzan, which corresponds to the same time frame as the last time the sisters saw him. Roscoe orders further interrogations. The suspects are to be kept apart from each other and under 24 hours surveillance. They are to be interrogated at least twice a day until useful information is gathered from them.

Roscoe then departs the Citadel and meet his sisters and Omok at the Juliver Arms for breakfast.
Doliber welcomes them and vigorously shakes the Coopers' hands, congratulating them on their good fortune. When Roscoe looks confused, he tells them that earlier in the morning Gerald came in and announced that he and Cassandra would be married at the end of the Festival of Songs on Rova 1, 4712. After a great meal and some discussion about their brother's insanity, they decide it is time to return to the Emerald Spire. They gather their gear, and then head out. They'll deal with Gerald later.

They trek through the blooming countryside, and soon enter the Echo Woods. At the halfway point, the sky begins to cloud over, and the greenish darkness that descends bodes ill. The sisters immediately begin looking for shelter, as another green storm is striking the area. The best they can find is a large pile of rocks that offer protection against the rain, but not much else. Still, it's better than nothing so the Coopers hide there, weapons drawn and on guard against any surprises. The green fog rolls in, the cloud cover is low, and the winds begin to howl. Lightning flashes, and rain starts to pelt the ground. For half an hour, the intensity of the storm does not diminish.

Then, among two flashes of lightning, Daryle spots seven small figures emerge from the surrounding trees. The group is under attack. She recognizes them as twigjack, which they encountered back in the forest by Dimsdale. Darelle can smell the rot in the air. Clearly something is out there. The twigjacks separate and attack each member of the party. Roscoe and Darelle emerge from the shelter to engage, while Omok and Daryle stay behind and attack from a distance. The cackling of a voice can suddenly be heard, and giant slugs appear behind Daryle and Omok. Slime pours out of them, and the space soon become extremely slippery. Engaged on all sides, the Coopers do not notice the gnarled old man emerge from the nearest tree. He rushes Roscoe, who, surprised, gets knocked aside.

With the slime saturating the area, and with rain and wind battering them from all sides, the Coopers are soon down in the slime, struggling to get up and yet still fighting their enemies. The gnarled old man taunts them and tells them their doom awaits in the Spire. Eventually, he withdraws and merges back in a tree. After everyone managed to get up Darelle tells Roscoe and Omok about their previous encounter with the gnarled old man and tells them that he is an agent of chaos, one of the many who have emerged or been drawn to the Spire.

It takes four hours, but the storm finally abates. During this time they hear strange noises in the forest, and at one point a rendering cry of pain, but aside from hints that things are moving in the distance, nothing bothers the Coopers.

In the late afternoon, the Coopers reach the Emerald Spire. They enter through the tunnel and reach the Splinterden level. Using the transport token, they arrive on the Pleasure Gardens level, then use the hovering platform by the Devourer's throne to reach the 14th level.

The Coopers descend on the platform and arrive about a thousand feet lower in a large hall. The ceilings here are 30 feet tall, and the craftsmanship indicate that significant resources and time were spent building it. A large staircase lead from the elevator platform to a huge set of stone double doors. On either side are two large statues. The whole level is bathed in an eerily green light. On either side of the doors, in their own alcoves, are two statues, as finely crafted as those they encountered in the Pleasure gardens. The first one is that of a woman wielding a sword and appearing to be leading troops in combat. A star-shaped hole in her left palm is clearly visible. Omok comprehends languages and reads the inscription written in Azlanti "Eternal is the Seal of Estrekan. Eternal is her vigil against evil."

Next to the other statue the Coopers discover a dead body. Based on her cloak, Roscoe recognizes her as Tiawask, a missing wizard from the Goldencloak Iliara Starcloak had asked him to locate. She displays no visible wounds, and from the state of the body Darelle estimates that she's been dead about four days. Omok speaks with dead and converses with the dead wizard. Tiawask tells them her story of being captured by Klarkosh on the sixth level, and explains how she escaped using a potion of gaseous form. She was unable to find a way up, so she made her way down, hoping to discover another exit. She's been meandering down here over the last ten months, and died when she placed a star shape ioun stone in the statue's palm. The Coopers then notice that this statue has a similar star shape hole in its palm, but a stone fills the space perfectly. Roscoe promises to fulfill his mission and bring the body back when they return to Fort Inevitable.

Wrapping her hands in parts of her Shadowborn dress, Darelle retrieves the eastern star ioun stone. She realizes she has a similar stone in her equipment, the western star ioun stone. She is also suddenly able to read the inscription on the statue, even though it is written in Azlanti. It reads: "Dedicated to the brave sacrifice of Lady Estrekan of Almorain Blue, Knight Commandant of the Western Star." Omok casts divination to find out if placing the stars in the reverse order would work, and the answer is that indeed that is the fact.

On the count of three, Roscoe and Darelle place the stars in their appropriate spots, and the double stone doors shimmer, then majestically open. Daryle quickly spike them in place. In the middle of this large room is a huge clockwork leviathan, surrounded by four humanoids bounds in chains by its feet. The construct releases a jet of superheated magical steam that takes the Coopers by surprise. They suffer grievous wounds, but they engage the creature. Darelle is thrown against the wall, and falls to the floor. She notices that the humanoids' eyes and mouth are sewn shut.

Roscoe leads a valiant attack but he is grabbed and swallowed by the leviathan. He lands ten feet below in the creature's stomach, a pool of boiling water. Since the water itself is not magical, Roscoe is able to withstand the heat due to the protection against heat they acquired from the Mistress of Thorns back when they headed down to the magma level. Inside in the darkness he spots what seems like a large mechanical heart. It appears easy to dislodge, but Roscoe hesitates to do so.

Meanwhile, the combat outside the leviathan continues. Daryle is grabbed by the creature and is when swallowed, joining Roscoe in its stomach. He points the heart to his sister, and she removes it from the wall. The monster keeps operating, however. Roscoe then plans to throw the heart out before the leviathan releases steam again. Unfortunately, Roscoe misjudges the timing, however, and as he aims the leviathan releases another jet of steam. Both Roscoe and Daryle are ejected while Omok and Darelle suffers grievous wounds. Roscoe drops the heart to the ground, and Omok picks it up and puts it in his backpack.

The Coopers continue to rain blows on the leviathan, and they inflict enough damage to disable the construct. As the party recuperates, Darelle looks at the four humanoids. They are humans. She carefully removes the stitches from the first person's mouth and eyes. His voice is a first raw and much disused, and Darelle can't understand a word he says. She remembers the ioun stones, and heads back out to the statues and removes both of them. Returning in the room, she sees Omok following the lead and removing more stitches from the other folks.

The first man Darelle freed introduces himself as Ithan. His companions are Efrah, Urian, and the lady Ommarra. All of them were Knights of the Ioun Star, and they had pursued the perfidious Nhur Athemon from Azlant all the way to his refuge here at the Emerald Spire. In a mighty battle they destroyed the archmage and his acolytes but the lady Estrekan and themselves were slain in the process. They were revived later by the archmage, who had indeed become a lich before the fall of the Spire, and, to taunt them and flaunt his power over life itself, forced them to endure in mock salute for over ten centuries.

As he tells his tale, Gerald walks in holding a couple of spikes, and happily returns them to Daryle. The doors to the outside world close with a ominous bang. The Coopers are once again locked behind magical doors...