We're off to see the wizards

Erastus 2, 4712

After stopping on the 15th level to allow Kazmauk to transform himself back into a very human Roscoe, the Coopers and their large Hellknight escort emerge from the Emerald Spire to witness a different world. The Spire itself seems to have dimmed and barely glows, though it retains some greenish light. All around the Spire the goblin and giant camps lay in ruins. Hellknights are gathering the bodies of slain goblins and giants and building funeral pyres. In the distance thick columns of black smoke rise in the general area of Fort Inevitable. Hundreds of troops are securing the area and have already begun working on fortifying the approaches to the Spire. Two large army trains are secured and guarded, and a new camp is rising out of the ashes, flying the major Hellknight order pennants, with that of the Order of the Nail in prime position to honor Duke Mosley. The Commander escorting the Coopers invites them on behalf of the Duke to a banquet held in his triumphant honor tonight. The Coopers agree to attend.

As the Coopers debate about their next course of action, Omok simply departs the group, heading eastwards, and without a single glance towards them. The rest of the Coopers return to Fort Inevitable, trekking through Echo Wood before emerging in the farmlands that surround the town. Emerging from the forest, they find another nightmarish vision. Thousands of goblin, emerald automatons and human bodies are spread over several battlefields, and the remains of many farms are still smoldering. The giants and goblins cut through a large swat of land on their way to attack the town. Though outnumbered, Drovust and her Hellknights attacked with gusto and managed to eliminate the entire enemy force at tremendous cost to her own troops. What remains of the Hellknights are huddled on the edge of the field, healing their wounded and dispatching any goblins still living. A makeshift flag flies above the Citadel displaying the symbol of the Seven Foxes, and all of Fort Inevitable's gates remain closed.

Climbing a tree, Daryle takes aim and fires a few arrows at the Hellknights. Three of them are hit and fall to the ground. The remaining force withdraws from the battlefield. Darelle begins examining the ruins, and she discovers eleven Geralds have perished during the fight. Some wore Hellknight uniforms, while others had civilian clothes and even a few looked like they had served on the goblins' side. One Gerald had somehow polymorphed into a giant. Being the considerate sister, she gathers the corpses and builds a funeral pyre for them, incinerating the fallen Geralds.

Roscoe also scours the battlefield and locates several magical items, including a monkey belt, a staff of authority, a ring of protection +3, and a weapon he recognizes as the Everwar Holy Fury. Daryle joins in and find a monkey belt and goggles of the treasure hunter. She looks for evidence that Greenhide perished on the battlefield, but finds none. Talking to survivors and questioning goblins before dispatching them, she finds that the goblin chief was in fact leading his army. All witnesses report seeing him leading a charge against Drovust, but a fireball exploded and it is as if he had been vaporized. His corpse had simply vanishes. 

While moving Geralds, Darelle discovers a magnetist's glove and a necklace of adaptation. She also finds roughly 50,000 crowns' worth of equipment and gems among all of the Gerald bodies. She hides the money in Mother Holworth's farm, which thankfully survived the battle.

After helping the wounded and assisting citizens of Fort Inevitable, the Coopers return to the Spire to attend Duke Mosley's banquet. They are feted as heroes, and the Duke rewards them with estates in Cheliax, to be collected when he wins the fight for the throne. Near the end of the banquet, the Duke takes the Coopers apart and warns them that their help to his cause will not go unnoticed in Cheliax and that they might find it prudent to spend time away from the River Kindgoms for a few months, at least until the dust settles. The Coopers agree to consider his advice. He also tells them that they will always be most welcomed in his halls, except for Gerald of course as his head now has a price attached to it.


Erastus 3, 4712

Leaving the Spire at dawn following Mosley's banquet, the Coopers minus Gerald, who became a victim of the Duke's desire for revenge, return to Shadowborn Manor, mourning Gerald's death, but not really. They are greeted by a woman wearing an immaculate uniform in the livery of House Ornelos, of Korvosa, in the country of Varisia. She delivers them all invitations to participate in this year's Breaching Festival, which takes place every year at the Acadamae of Korvosa. In this festival, participants enter the main building and must compete in a series of challenges and traps designed to test both their survival skills as well as the skills of the crafting wizards who are graduating from the school. The Acadamae of Korvosa is known as the premiere wizard school in Golarion, and wizards attend school for a term of ten years, upon which they must create a challenge for the Breaching Festival. Those wizards who successfully design a challenge that manages to kill an adventurer graduate with honors. Those who manage to maim an adventurer graduate, and those who fail to harm an adventurer must complete a remedial year. The rector of the Acadamae, Toff Ornelos, heard of the Coopers' exploits and especially enjoyed the smash hit It Was Inevitable. He would consider their participation an honor.

Daryle questions the envoy on the nature of the competition. She replies that the contest involves entering the Acadamae at sunrise. The first person out before sunset is the winner of the Breaching Festival, and this year will earn approximately 153,000 crowns. The Festival was last won back in 4551 by Dyson Fordyce, who entered at sunrise and came out of the Hall a few minutes later. Having won on a technicality, the rules were changed and now participants are required to make it to the Hall of Wards. No one has exited the Hall before sundown since. The mortality rate is about 70% among adventurers.

Remembering Duke Mosley's advice to make themselves scarce, the Coopers agree to attend the Festival, to be held on the 1st of Lamashan, which gives them three months to make their way to Varisia. After all, what could possibly go wrong now that Gerald is no longer with them?


Rova 30, 4712

After three months tramping through Golarion, the Coopers get their first glimpse of Korvosa, the fabled magical city and the largest city in Varisia. Stretching for miles, they are awed by its majestic beauty and its grandiose venues, with the Acadamae of Magic clearly visible on top of the city's highest hill. Several large walls protect the city from attacks, and its cosmopolitan citizens are bustling to and fro.

After entering the city, the Coopers are directed to the Acadamae of Magic, located in the middle of the city. They are met there by none other than Toff Ornelos himself. During their months-long trip, the Coopers have discovered that Toff Ornelos is considered one of the top arcane user of this age, having accomplished documented exploits beyond the abilities of most mortals. In the prime of his life, Ornelos has been headmaster for over thirty years and has overseen the instruction of countless wizards throughout Golarion.

Ornelos welcomes them to Korvosa and escorts them to a large auditorium in the Hall of Summoning, where they are introduced to the rest of the competing teams and individuals who will participate in the Breaching Festival. Mangarad is an Ulfen wizard dressed in fur robes and he is accompanied by three henchmen. Knur is a tough-looking dwarf of the Gilded Claw who is accompanied by two of his kinsmen. The halfling male Lawrence is dressed in black and is accompanied by two more halflings. His attire provides no clue as to his profession or skills. The Naga is garbed in a cloak that hides his facial features. Lacking a left arm, he instead sports a knife on his stump. Grunt Farnsworth is a mean-looking dwarf barbarian who is accompanied by four henchmen. The Coopers are surprised to see a Gerald here as well, entering the competition. This Gerald left Fort Inevitable five months ago. He sports a turtle drawing on his horn. Whilenor is a human druid with some ranger skills. The last competitor is introduced as Lord Garrett of Ged, a maleficent lich. He glowers at everyone.

Toff Ornelos then describes the rules of the competition. After signing waivers, participants will enter the Halls of the Acadamae. They will find different challenges and traps in each room. Surviving a challenge will provide a key light, then the room will reset itself within five minutes for the next set of participants. Each participant in a group will need a different colored key light to enter the last part of the competition. Individuals thus have an advantage in that they only need one light, however the challenges can be quite difficult to solve for one person. Over the history of the Breaching Festival, there has been no statistically significant advantage of being either part of a group or playing as an individual.

There are three rules the participants must follow. First, the winner is the first person who exits the doors leading out of the Hall of Calling before sundown. If there are two or more people exiting at exactly the same time, they will divide the prize equally among all winners. Second, groups and individuals can collaborate together to overcome some of the challenges, but they cannot directly harm, interfere, or attack other participants. The challenges are hard enough as is, and there needs to be enough participants to ensure that the graduating wizards' designs are tested. Finally, as mentioned earlier, there is a high risk of death, so each participant will need to sign a waiver explaining they understand the rules and the risks of bodily harm and possible death. The Breaching Festival itself is attended by many folks, including Queen Ileosa of Korvosa.

Ornelos asks if there are any questions. The participants remain quiet, so the headmaster then divides the participants into three groups, so they can tour the different halls of the Acadamae where the challenges will take place. The Coopers end up in the same group as the Naga and Whilenor, and their guide is Jandar Listwin, a junior wizard who plans on graduating next year.

• The Hall of Summoning is the largest building on campus and shows evidence of having been rebuilt in the last few decades. The Hall's main feature is its large auditorium where 333 students can sit comfortably. Final exams for wizards take place here.
• The Hall of Seeing features a set of double doors that display giant harrow cards, which change to reflect the past or the future of the last person to touch the door. There are scrying devices everywhere.
• Resembling a cube, the Hall of Induction is built of thick iron on three sides, and a series of iron plates on the fourth. It contains nothing aside from a spiral staircase and five empty floors. All walls in here are made of force, and keep all evocation spells contained inside the building.
• Forever shifting, the Hall of Lies is the home of the Acadamae's illusionists, and as such not everything is at it seems.
  
• Every part of the Hall of Shaping has been transmuted over the decades, providing the building an eclectic, if worrisome, look.
• The Hall of Whispers is the final home for many of the students (and participants) who were unable to complete their tasks. Home to powerful necromancy, this building is the site of many gruesome experiments.
• Home to the school's enchanters, the Hall of Charms is imbued with power.
• The Hall of Wards is the best guarded and magically protected building in Korvosa, and probably all of Golarion. To complete the last challenge, participants must enter the hall and emerge from it after defeating the challenge inside. The first person to step out wins the Breaching Festival.

As the group returns to Ornelos Hall, site of administrative building, a wizard is thrown out of a window, shattering glass everywhere. A large retriever steps through and pounces on the prone wizard. The Coopers leap to action, and after a few tense moments are able to slay the creature and rescue the wizard. She identifies herself as Seska Imintar, and she tells the Coopers she had been working on a challenge for tomorrow when the beast escaped. Ornelos rushes to the scene, and after listening to Seska for a minute chastises her for failing to constrain her monster. He promises the Coopers that her challenge will be better tomorrow, else she will fail her graduating year. Thanking them for saving her, he bids them goodnight, and looks forward to seeing them an hour before dawn tomorrow. The Coopers withdraw to their lodgings, reading for their big adventure, and, hopefully, their even bigger payoff!

The root of the Emerald Spire

Sarenith 30, 4712

Thorne drops a few barrels of red dye in the town water supply early in the morning. Within a few hours, the tension has ratcheted up even further, and there is palpable panic in Fort Inevitable. During the day, Daryle and Darelle go to the Temple of the Golden Key and purchase several potions of cure heavy wounds, cure medium wounds, and cure light wounds. Both sisters anticipate that the battle with the Vault Keeper will be a tough one. They also purchase potions of invisibility from Falandra, who has just brewed a new batch. Darelle then goes to Abernard's house. The sorcerer is there, reading a book on his porch. Darelle shoots the breeze with him for a while, then asks him if he could identify an item for her. He agrees, and examines the hand Darelle discovered in the Emerald Spire. After a few moments, Abernard tells her she's the owner of a hand of glory. Darelle thanks him.

Following his failed attempt at leading his cultists to the Emerald Spire, Rowen grabs his scrolls of magic missile from his ruined estate and returns to Fort Inevitable. Kazmauk remains outside the town's walls at the Hunters' Lodge and awaits the return of his sisters with trepidation. He's ready to return to the Emerald Spire. Omok continues to read the Book of the Damned, hoping to unlock all of its knowledge.

The Cooper sisters finally return, but it is too late to leave the Hunters' Lodge. The group decide to head out early in the morning.


Erastus 1, 4712

Awake before dawn, the Coopers realize that Olifrit is gone. Instead of the gnome, they find a Gerald in the building. This Gerald wears priestly robes and seems saner than some of the other versions they have encountered in the past. The Coopers wonder how he eluded security and entered the lodge, but after a short discussion, the rest of the group agrees to take Gerald with them They begin the trek to the Emerald Spire. Each of them experience a sense of foreboding. This could be the day they triumph over the evil that dwells at the root of the Emerald Spire, or this could be the day when their adventure comes to a permanent end. It takes them out of the morning, and the Coopers give the Spire a wide berth, hoping to avoid the large giants and goblins encampment at the base of the Spire. Their circuitous route allows them to not be seen from the Spire, but they also can't see it. They enter through the secret tunnel leading to the Splinterden level. From there, they use spire tokens to travel to the Vault, the sixteenth and last level of the Emerald Spire.

Arriving at the base of the Spire, the Coopers first stop by the strange creature that looks like a pillar of stone. Ooviroon is happy to see the Coopers return so soon, and he asks them for news of the outside world. Darelle reports on what has happened in Fort Inevitable, and questions the outsider on the happenings down here. Ooviroon has no news. He's now happily digesting the remnants of the grugs the Coopers killed and fed him a few days back. Darelle questions him on the origins of the Spire. Oorivoon explains that eons ago Vault Builders, which hailed from the Plane of Earth, arrived on Golarion shortly after its creation. Using seeds of crystallized magic, they seeded the planet with vaults, spaces where they could study the nature of life. The Vault Builders were responsible for creating numerous spaces throughout Orv, Golarion's third and lowest level. When the Vault Builders departed following their war agains the Aboleth, a Vault Keeper was left behind to guard the Emerald Spire. Named Iluchtewhar, this Vault Keeper has slowly gone insane over the eons, according to Ooviroon. Oorivoon further talks about what motivates Iluchtewhar, and mentions that as an outsider from the elemental plane of earth he is vulnerable to bludgeoning.

After this discussion, Darelle bids goodbye to Ooviroon, and the party heads northwards. Kazmauk stops and examines the strange stone sphere. Daryle notices that the sphere is completely smooth and has no seams. Omok uses divination and determines that the stone sphere was built by someone to protect itself against an enemy coming from the root of the Emerald Sphere. Gerald uses spell craft and realize that the structure was built overtime with a large number of shape stone spells. Rowen makes some quick calculations and believes that one could move about 25 feet in using some sort of teleportation spell and be safe.

Tired of these arguments about the best way to penetrate the sphere, Darelle uses a hammer and chips away at the stone wall. Surprisingly, the wall crumbles easily. Kazmauk grabs tools and also begins to bash away, and soon most of the Coopers are at it. After half an hour, they emerge on the other side into a small cavern. Inside they discover a small fey floating on air. She introduces herself as Eriniell, and she invites them inside. She also informs them they must not touch the floor as Iluchtewhar can sense their thoughts when they are in contact with the earth. She tells them she used to be one of Iluchtewhar's servant but eventually realized that he had been corrupted by the Spire. She has been hiding behind this barrier, protecting herself from the Vault Keeper, hoping to strike at him when the time was right. The Coopers, sensing a possible alliance, tell Eriniell that the time is now, and manage to convince her that today is that day. She agrees, and mentions that Iluchtewhar is dwelling beyond this room. The Coopers ask how they are supposed to go there. Eriniell tells them they could travel through the roots that spread around this level, but she has the ability to dimension door to his lair. After some negotiations, she agrees that she and her children will transport the Coopers to Iluchtewhar's personal chamber by means of this spell. Darelle then notices that there are several invisible stalkers in the room with them, all hovering behind the fey. The Coopers are ill at ease but decide this seems the best plan.

As they speak with the fey, whispering of wind causes Rowen to change personality and he becomes very self assured. Eriniell casts dimension door and the Coopers and their allies arrive in Iluchtewhar's room. Eriniell immediately engages in combat, and the Coopers join in. Kazmauk hits with sword but realizes that his attack is ineffectual. Only magic and blugeoning will hurt Iluchtewhar. Darelle and Thorne unleash a torrent of magic missiles, while Kazmauk engages with his lesser weapon. Omok joins in, and Rowen casts a few spells as well. Iluchtewhar replicates against the party by unleashing a blast of razor-sharp crystals that strike everyone but Thorne. He also summons earth elementals to fight on his behalf. Daryle engages one of the elementals, while the other strikes at Omok. The party is quickly depleted of healing spells, and finds itself on the tethering edge of doom. Iluchtewhar has suffered massive hit, yet he is still standing. It is clear, however, that he is slowly maneuvering himself towards a side door to escape the room.

While fighting, Rowen hears sounds coming from the hallway leading to this room. Is it reinforcements? Daryle moves away from her earth elemental long enough to spike the doors close. As combat rages, one of the Coopers nears death, followed by another one. The Coopers have met their match and will surely perish.

Suddenly the door explodes outward, crushing Rowen beneath a ton of splintered wood and rubble. Duke Mosley enters the room, resplendent in a dust-free and shiny uniform. Mosley does not look sick in the slightest. Followed by a horde of Hellknights, he greets the Coopers and unleashes a wave of healing, restoring everyone's strength. Kazmauk turns around and deals the death blow on Iluchtewhar, who explodes in a shower of sparks and green crystal dust, hurting everyone with debris. The Coopers are surprised to see him Duke Mosley. The Duke tells them that he has been faking his near-death to fool his enemies into thinking him weak. His plan was to capture the Spire all along, and now thanks to the Coopers' valiant efforts he controls the structure. He tells them that war is coming to Cheliax, and he will use the enormous power of the Spire to attempt to dethrone his mother the thrice damned queen, Queen Abrogail Thrune II. He is grateful to the Coopers for their assistance, and he invites them all to a banquet tonight to celebrate his brilliant victory. All, except Gerald. He tells the sorcerer that he will give him and his myriad copies a day's head start, then it will be hunting season.

In a private conversation with Daryle and Darelle, Duke Mosley informs the sisters that while his forces have been assaulting and clearing the Spire, the former Lady Commander Audara Drovust has been leading the quarterly relief force of Hellknights against Fort Inevitable, hoping to catch Mosley dying in bed with a small guard protecting him. This force left their planned itinerary at Daggermark and seized Mosswater before trekking to Fort Inevitable. Unfortunately she encountered a force of goblins and giants equipped with emerald automatons, and both forces are fighting within view of the Fort. Furthermore, he lets them know that a rebel force has seized control of Fort Inevitable and removed the few Hellknights who did not switch allegiance. As it is, both Greenhide and Drovust will exhaust themselves against each other, and the victor will be unable to seize the town back. Mosley tells them his own army has suffered some losses, but are now encamping in the Spire and will not be challenged by Drovust, Greenhide, or the rebels in Fort Inevitable. He apologizes to the sisters to have made them pawns of his plans, but as a thank you he recognizes that the Hellknights' possession of Fort Inevitable has now run its course and he agrees to leave the town alone. After all, he will need all of his strength and manpower to secure the Spire and study it.

Upon this news, Darelle sends a message with her tree token to Dr. Mordel reporting what has transpired at the Spire. with message of new management. Rowen, who explores the next room, finds a strange device. Duke Mosley, who enters the room, chats amicably with Rowen and they discuss the purpose of the device. A large map shows the entirety of Golarion with blinking spots scattered throughout. When Rowen begins touching parts of the Orvgate, a potent artifact that allows travel to other Vaults throughout Golarion, Mosley backs away. The necromancer pulls the first lever, which lines on a specific Vault that appears to be in the expansive jungle of  Mwangi. As soon as Rowen touches the second lever he is transported far and away to that Vault. Mosley shrugs and walks away. 

Thorne, sensing his opportunity, swiftly melts in the shadows and leaves the scene. Making it back to Fort Inevitable, he retrieves a few items and flees the area, motivated either by Duke Mosley's revenge or the ire of his sisters ...

Darelle notices that the green dust that used to be Iluchtewhar begins slowly drifting on the floor. She uses windwall and blows it all away. The Coopers have successfully conquered the Emerald Spire, but so much unanswered questions remain!

Roscoe is dead. Long live the dwarf!

Sarenith 27, 4712

With all of the Proteans eliminated and the repairs to their reactor allowing the Inevitables to communicate with their plane and bring in reinforcements, the side of Law has triumphed, and the Coopers are ready to explore the rest of the level with no enemy force blocking their progress.

Leaving from the Spire, they enter a room made of two circles. On the floor of the first circle is a large red rune. On the floor of the second circle is a large green rune. Both runes are unknown. Darelle comprehends languages but is unable to understand what is written. The runes appear to be conceptual rather than language-based. Daryle throws a copper piece, and it falls squarely on the red rune. Nothing happens. Omok pushes the sisters aside and he enters the room. Once again, nothing happens. The rest of the Coopers enter the room as well.

After observing the situation for a few minutes, Roscoe touches the red rune with his gloved hand. Nothing happens, and he does not feel any magic. He removes his glove, and touches the rune again. Suddenly he transforms into a half-orc. Touching the green rune, he suddenly loses his gender. He touches it again, and now he has both genders. Touching the red rune again, he transforms into a dwarf. Roscoe decides he likes being a dwarf. He elects to be called Kazmauk Riverbottom. Roscoe Cooper is now officially dead.

Gerald goes through the same process and eventually settles on a female gnome. She selects the name Olifrit Vowaldie, which, according to Darelle and her understanding of languages, roughly translates to Masturbation Bruises in gnomish. None of the other Coopers are interested in touching the runes, so the party moves on.

Thorne enters the next room and sees his back wherever he looks. Thorne pushes Kazmauk in one of the mists and he comes out backwards on the other side. Kazmauk falls on Omok and both of them end up on the ground. Thorne walks backwards through one of the mist mirrors, and ends up on top of them. After getting up, Thorne collects some of the mist in a jar.

Pursuing their exploration, they come across a room with a vortex in the ceiling. Islands of rock float in a large cavern of lava. The vortex is clearly opened to the plane of chaos, and with the reactivation of the reactor the vortex pulses brightly. It's only a question of time before someone walks through that vortex.

Daryle returns to the reactor and attempts to shut it down to prevent any more proteans from entering this plane, but the three kolyarut guarding it refuse. She shoots an arrow at the reactor, hoping to disable it. The arrow does some damage and creates a few sparks, but the robot arm the Coopers moved into the room immediately begins to fix the damage the ranger did. Worse, the three  kolyarut sound the alarm and begin chasing her. She sprints back to the Spire, and, using her transport token, she removes herself from this level. The Coopers claim Daryle acted alone, so the inevitables do not attack them. They look at them suspiciously, however.

Looking for the key that would open the floor doors, Thorne returns to the staircase and searches the bodies of the Proteans they had move there so they would be out of recall range, but he does not find the key. He returns to the maelstrom room. The floor has already begun to solidify due to the reactor shutting down once again.

Olifrit asks Darelle for a brass key in her pouch of spell components so she can cast a spell, but she finds herself unable to hang on to it and gives up in frustration. Omok decides to use the orb of command and asks: Where is the exact location of the key that opens the door that I am currently looking at right now? The orb reveals the answer. The key is located in the Proteans' treasure, in a secret room next to the vortex. Darelle and Thorne return to the room, and they can see that the floor is once again liquifying. The robot has repaired the reactor. They find the secret room and discover the key among many other random possessions accumulated by the proteans over the eons. They return to the Spire.

As stealthily as he can, Thorne uses the key in the floor door, and he manages to release the latch. The doors swing inward, revealing a pit that drops hundreds of feet below. There is a small series of ledges that can be used to climb down, but it will be an ordeal. The inevitables in the room are incensed, however, and they begin attacking. The Coopers decide to leave the room by heading down.

Since she had not been followed by the rest of her family, Daryle chooses to come back using her transport token. Unfortunately she lands in a space where the door has dropped open. She falls down the pit and Darelle catches her using her last blue pegasus. While attempting the climb down, Omok misses a step and drops, but quick thinking allows him to cast air walk, thus saving his life. The Coopers begin the descent to the last level of the Emerald Spire, with no more healing potions and with a female gnomish spellcaster who's unable, for the most part, to cast spells due to her huge hands. What could possibly go wrong?

Disappointment on so many levels

Sarenith 26, 4712, continued

Shaking off the damage from Gerald's fireball, the Coopers stand up again in the room with the caulborn, who did not suffer any damage as they saw Gerald's attack coming before Gerald himself was able to unleash it. They congratulate the Coopers on their choice of siblings, without a trace of irony in their tone. Gerald casts mend on everyone's burnt items of clothing, and now everything looks as good as it did prior to the fireball.

Thorne questions the caulborn about what to expect in the rest of the dungeon. They reply that the balance between chaos and order is likely to be upset with their presence here, but it remains to be seen which will eventually triumph. However, they also state that they are curious as to how the Coopers will manage to escape this room as they themselves have not found a way out. Gerald casts dimension door twice and transports the party back to the main room. The centaurs do not acknowledge their presence and remain on guard, ready to fight. The Coopers decide to move on to the next room.

Weary that a trap awaits them, Roscoe carefully enters the room, but nothing happens. The rest of the Coopers follow suit, except for Daryle. Suspicious and worried that the door will lock itself behind them, she asks Thorne to close and open it several times. The rogue does so, and the door does not lock. Daryle remains skeptical but she agrees to come in, and her fears are soon allayed. Aside from gold lines on the floor and a gentle humming, there isn't anything of interest in this room.

The next room, however, features three kolyarut evidently being repaired by giant machine pulsing with energy. Each machine's many arms sparks and moves parts from its innards and place them on the creatures. Thorne walks in and begins to talk to one of the kolyarut. The rogue questions it on what has happened to them, and it replies that it participated in a battle not too long ago. Gerald realizes that this is the same battle they saw while in the room with the caulborn. The creature explains that at the end of yet another inconclusive battle they retrieved their wounded and returned here to be fixed in time for the next fight.

Darrelle looks at the machinery and wonders if it could be used to repair the equipment in the room next to the caulborn. Gerald guesses that they should be able to. The machines appear moveable, but none of the Coopers, not even Omok, are strong enough to move one of them. Thorne manages to talk the three kolyarut into pushing one of the machine to gain an advantage over the other side. With the ability to summon allies repaired, the Inevitables will surely win this conflict. They agree and begin pushing the machine. Thorne estimates it will take about two hours to drag it across the hallways, so he agrees to supervise the progress. Bored with the lack of battle, Omok continues to read The Book of the Damned, hoping to gain more power.

Roscoe opens the door leading away from the machine room. In the next room stand two kolyarut, guarding access to the neutral space where battles take place. Roscoe attempt small talk with them, but they warn the Hellknight Commander that they are about to be attacked. Sure enough, the doors to the east burst open and in step four chaotic outsiders who immediately engage in battle. Normally in this sequence of events the other three kolyarut would intervene, but as they are otherwise engaged with Thorne, the forces are unevenly matched, even with the Coopers engaging the enemy. The Proteans inflict significant damage on Roscoe and Darelle, while Gerald manages to lose a foot and crushes his hands when a Protean appears behind him and surprises him.

It takes the return of the three kolyarut to reverse the tide, and soon the four Proteans are slain. It occurs to Thorne then that if the bodies of the dead Proteans were physically moved up the stairs a little, the other Proteans wouldn't be able to dimension door and retrieve their dead comrades to bring them back to the battle. The Coopers move the dead bodies.

Meanwhile, Gerald is healed by Omok, but unfortunately that doesn't fix his foot issue or his crushed hands. Struck by a genial idea, the sorcerer decides to use the machines that fix the kolyarut. After all, what could possibly go wrong? A metal foot and two metal hands four times their normal size later, Gerald knows the answer to his question. However, he can now move, albeit slower than before. Using spell components and precise hand movements will prove to be difficult, if not impossible. Daryle remarks that at least this version of Gerald will clearly stand out among the others.

Eventually the kolyarut reach the generator with the fixing machine, and it begins humming as it slowly repairs it. Thorne keeps an eye on the whole operation, but it becomes clear that within the hour it will be fixed.

With the cycle broken and a lack of allies to rejuvenate, the Inevitables triumph over the Proteans. The Coopers can now safely explore this level. Unless Gerald does something dumb ...

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 poisoned sausages investigation

Sarenith 22, 4712

Waking up from their really bad collective dream, the Coopers find themselves laying in very soft beds in separate rooms at the Juliver Arms. Doliver apologizes profusely for their predicament and mentions that others also suffered the same fate. The Coopers are puzzled. How did they all suffer the same dream, and why? A few questions reveal that all of the individuals around town who were affected had consumed Karlyle the Butcher's freshly made sausage. But why would Karlyle want to poison everyone?

The Coopers are also confused to find Gerald in their mists. Gerald reports that he'd been out from work yesterday and prepared a meal of sausage. Daryle gets angry that there are so many Geralds running around. Omok proposes that they start killing each Gerald they encounter until they stop encountering them. Then at last they will be free from the sorcerer's gaffes. Gerald agrees that he needs an identifying mark to distinguish him from the others so that his family members know that he's the real one. He goes to the blacksmith and gets him to carve a dragon design in his protuding horn. There! A unique design. What could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, Omok questions the orb of command "What being planned to put hallucinogenic drugs in our food that made us have a collective dream?" The orb indicates that Master Lobeck, one of the high ranking poisoners in Daggermark, has planned the poisoning operation. Omok is mad that the orb does not tell him why, but the orb only answers one question per day. Roscoe is vaguely familiar with that name. Master is Lobeck's first name, and not an honorific. He is described as bald with a tonsure haircut, and is supposedly the third highest ranking member of the poisoners' guild.

Roscoe reports to the Citadel and talks to the second in command. There are several reports that others in the town have experienced a similar food poisoning, but none of them seem to have experienced as vivid dreams as the Coopers. Seventeen individuals were arrested for disturbing the peace. In all likelihood they suffered from this poisoning. Daryle checks the Hunters' Lodge. Shim Longbranch has nothing to report. They did not eat any of Karlyle's sausage yesterday. Shim mentions that the new recruits' training is going well.

Gathered back at the Juliver Arms, the Coopers decide to postpone their trip to the Emerald Spire and instead investigate the sausage poisoning. The sausage was smoked and freshly made that day. Doliver brings his last sausage. Roscoe detects poison, and it comes back as clearly poisoned. Gerald identifies the sausages and discovers traces of evocation. The sausage is both poisoned and magical. Or is it a magical poison?

Daryle decides she will talk to Karlyle. The butcher is happy to describe his sausage-making process, and shows the Coopers his instruments. Daryle discovers that the spice blend that Karlyle puts together has been altered. Darelle pinpoints angel blue as the suspicious herb that has been added. This herb grows in the depths of the Mwangi jungle. It is used by shamans to inspire dreams and acquire visions, and is considered to have some evocative magical properties. Karlyle mentions that early yesterday morning Jeff, the baker's apprentice, had come by to deliver bread before dawn and he had pointed there was a man on the roof. Karlyle and his apprentices had left the shop for a few minutes and had scanned the roofline, finding nothing. Jeff swore that there had been a man up there. The butcher and his workers scoffed and returned to work. The alteration of the herb mix must have happened then.

The Coopers decide to find Jeff. He's a simpleton who has worked with the baker for over two decades. Darelle questions Jeff about the man on the roof, and Jeff swears there was a man up there yesterday at dawn, but he did not get a good look. The Coopers head back to Karlyle's neighborhood. On the roof they discover traces of footsteps. It last rained three days ago, so the footsteps are recent. Omok  investigates the building on the other side of the street, and finds an old deaf woman. Omok removes deafness from the old woman. She had not heard anything. But her granddaughter reports that there were noises on the roof two nights ago. Omok returns to the roof and places a symbol of sleep on the weathervane. He hopes to affect the rogue if he returns in the night.

Daryle goes to tell Dr. Mordel about angel blue  Erynna tells her she hasn't seen Mordel. He ate ome of the sausage for lunch yesterday. The ranger decides she will wait until sunset to see if the doctor will stir.

Roscoe returns to the Citadel and visits prisoners. All of them tell a similar story of eating sausages, then experiencing strange and uncomfortable dreams. Roscoe orders the prisoners released, and does not assess fines for their breach of peace. Roscoe then heads back to Karlyle and he orders the butcher to use entirely new spices and "beef" up his security.

At dusk, Dr. Mordel awakens with an incredibly powerful headache. Daryle explains what happened to many of the residents of Fort Inevitable. Mordel reports that he experienced heightened frustrations and angers and loosened inhibitions while under the sway of the sausage. Darelle brings a sample of angel blue to Dr. Mordel for further analysis.

Daryle notifies the rest of the seven and explains what has transpired in town the last two days. They agree to be on the lookout for strange events. The ranger also decides to camp outside the treasury, remembering that one time when someone broke in and stole all of the money under similarly strange circumstances. Omok, for his part, waits on the roof. Their fears are unfounded however, and the night passes quietly.


Sarenith 23, 4712

In the morning, a different Gerald appears in town, trailing strange sand under his boots. Daryle recognizes the sand as being the same one located in the old mine near Shadowborn Manor. This one gets a tiger carved in his horn. Darelle visits Falandra, and discovers that there's a third Gerald working there. Falandra and Darelle discuss the problem, and Falandra remembers reading a tome about what was called the "Cassandra Effect." A wizard had supposedly developed a spell that could summon a mirror image of a living person, with the same memories up to the summoning. This sort of spell could explain the presence of multiple Geralds that seem to appear then disappear at random.

Daryle and Roscoe devise a plan to tell every Gerald they meet to be at the Hunters' Lodge in a week's time at 4pm. When they all show up, they will be captured. Daryle then decide to explore the tunnels and goes to the mine. She discovers that it is still in operation, but there are no Hellknigths present. Further investigation by Roscoe at the Citadel reveal that Thorne had ordered the mine closed a few months back because the supply of iron ore had been depleted. Clearly, it had not been.

The Coopers and Omok go to the mine with 24 Hellknights. The miscreants turn out to be connected with the poisoners' guild, and despite heavy losses the Hellknights under the valiant leadership of Roscoe manage to regain control of the mine. Gerald sheds a tear for the loss of his turtle a year ago in this very spot under less pleasant circumstances.

Gerald, you killed me again, thank you very much

Sarenith 21, 4712

On this beautiful morning, Roscoe inquires with the guard if there has been signs of Thorne. The head of the night watch reports that the rogue has not been seen since a warrant was issued for his arrest. His associates have revealed some details about his various operations, but all of them are unawares of the extent of Thorne's network.

After a lovely breakfast, Darelle heads over Nolm's Bindery to talks to Falandra about Gerald. She inquires about the different Geralds that have been reported around Fort Inevitable, and Falandra says she has in fact noticed inconsistent performances on the sorcerer's part. Falandra wonders who would take the time and spend the magical power and the money necessary to resurrect Gerald multiple times. Darelle speculates that someone, or something, is attempting to sow chaos, and that Gerald is the perfect agent for that. But who would be able to do so in Fort Inevitable? Falandra believes only High Mother Sarise Dremagne from the Temple of the Golden Key, is capable of performing a resurrection, but she also suspects that the Hellknights also possess this capability.

Darelle then proceeds to the Temple of the Golden Key. She meets with High Mother Sarise, and they discuss Gerald's multiple appearances. Sarise also believes that an agent of chaos must be at work. She acknowledges that she has the power to resurrect a dead person, but it would require a substantial donation to the temple, and in no case would she resurrect a Hellknight. She also suspects the Hellknights possess this ability, but when the Lord Commander Varden was assassinated he was not resurrected. She believes this entire incident was a power play between different Helknight factions.

Omok, meanwhile, spends some time reading the second chapter of the Book of the Damned and gains a new ability.

Daryle arrives in town, and she finds her siblings and Omok. After a meal of sausage, fresh bread and ale, at the Juliver Arms, they gather their gear and they begin the trek back to the Emerald Spire. In the forest, they encounter a disheveled Gerald, bearing scratches and evidence of having been in combat. He reports that he was just coming back from the Spire where he had looked on the 13th level for them, but was attacked by a strange gnarled man and a bunch of twigs on the way out. This Gerald reports having been away from town for four days. A discussion among the Coopers about what to do with all of the Geralds running around. Gerald is incensed that someone would be usurping his good name for nefarious purposes. Omok tells Gerald he can get rid of the other Geralds for a small cost. Gerald says he will think about it, but he really wants to find the other Gerald, discover out who is behind it and why. Maybe, the sorcerer muses, he could unite all of the Geralds and take on Greenhide and his cronies.

Roscoe proposes the idea of a tattoo to identify each Gerald with a specific number, so at least they'd know which one they're dealing with. Gerald is game for it. He could also stylize the blade embedded in his head with a different design. Daryle cuts the conversation short and gives him a shallow cut on the right arm. That should identify at least this Gerald. This is the moment that Gerald chooses to reveal that he has a wife. Gerald officially took her last name of Gertywindindlysin and is no longer a Cooper.

With the death of the Mistress of Thorns, the 9th level is now open for exploration, so the party decide to travel back and liquidate the remaining residents. Unfortunately they never acquired the rune for her level, so they will need to travel either to the 8th level, or to the 10th level. Considering that the 10th level is where the magma dragons lived, the Coopers wisely decide to head back to the snakepeople's level.


The Coopers complete the trek, enter the tunnel leading to the Spire, emerge on the 3rd level, and teleport down to the 8th. Immediately it is clear they are in a section of the dungeon they did not previously explored. The Spire appears to be located in a hatchery. There are several large eggs laying around in carefully built nests. Omok grabs an egg, and so does Roscoe. Omok plans to either cook the thing or see what hatches and raise it as a pet. Unfortunately Roscoe is attacked by an emperor cobra but he drops the egg on its head and it falls unconscious. Roscoe cuts its head and decide to keep the head and dry it out later. Darelle discovers a couple of goblin bodies that have been bitten by the snake. She searches the bodies and discover a lone copper coin. The coin appears to have been minted by Greenhide.

Gerald opens the door, and it explodes in his face. He closes the door and returns to the middle of the room, shaken. Roscoe carefully opens the door as well. It explodes again, the trap having had time to reset while Gerald was explaining that he had not seen anything.

Roscoe enters the room, and recollections immediately flood him as to its purpose. The paladin discovers the entrance at the bottom of the stairs has been barricaded, so he heads for the next door. Darelle follows, and Omok decides to break through the door just as Gerald casts a knock spell. At the same time, a flight of arrows is loosened from the barricade and each Cooper takes a few hits. They enter the next room but not before being splashed by a rain of acid. Gerald, who witnessed this attack, emerges from the hatchery and he sends a fireball against the barricade. It is soon engulfed in flames with the yells of many goblins coming from its ruins. Daryle crosses the expanse of the shrine and joins the rest of the party. She thinks about closing the door, but doesn't. Gerald follows suit.

The room they now find themselves appears to be a sacrificial room with three snake statues. It is evident by the lack of desecration that the goblins have not entered this room. Darelle uses her acrobatic skills and jumps around the room, hoping to trigger a trap, but she finds none. The Coopers explore the room but find no other exits. Daryle climbs one of the snake statues and discovers that they can be turned. She turns her statue, and Darelle does the same for the other statue on the same wall. A secret passage opens.

The hallway leads to a hot spring that must be crossed to reach the other side. Gerald  casts ice storm as Daryle examines the spring, catching her by surprise. She avenges herself by firing an arrow and hitting Gerald. The sorcerer has accomplished his goal, however, and the water is frozen solid. The Coopers run across the ice to reach the door. The ice soon melts and the hot spring begins to flow again. Darelle notices that there is a passage underneath the hot water. Since she and the rest of the Coopers are protected against natural heat, she decides she will swim and see where the passage leads.

Darelle emerges in a room with a staircase ascending and another one descending. This looks very familiar. Against the wall, by the pool from which she emerges, is a statue of a snake holding an emerald in its mouth. The other members of the party also make the short swim and come out. Darelle reaches over and touches the emerald. She immediately disappears. Again this feels very familiar to the Coopers. What was it that happened the last time they did this? The remaining Coopers argue among themselves about what they should do next. Omok tires of the conversation, makes the jump to the statue and touches the emerald. He feels pulled away but manages to resist the effects. He successfully pries the emerald out of the snake's mouth, and he decides he will try to touch Gerald with it. Unfortunately Gerald is rather nimble, and he avoids being touched. Roscoe has enough, and he touches the emerald and soon joins Darelle in the snake's labyrinth.

Meanwhile, Omok and Gerald continue to fight, and soon it becomes a full-blown confrontation. Omok uses a slay living spell while Gerald dimension doors the hobgoblin back into the acid temple. Daryle jumps back in the spring and emerges in the other room. She opens the door and discovers a set of goblin sentries. She manages to kill three of them, but the fourth one is proving to be rather tough. Gerald, who was closely behind his sister, sees his sister on the ground in mortal danger, and he unleashes a fireball, instantly incinerating her opponent but also slaying her. Omok, who was coming from the other side, summons a land shark and attacks Gerald, who joins his sister in death. Omok then touches the emerald and is transported to the snake's labyrinth to join Darelle and Roscoe's doom...


Sarenith 22, 4712

The Coopers awaken one at a time, in warm beds at the Juliver Arms. Doliber is soon with them, and apologizes profusely. The Coopers had eaten the sausage and had all collapsed on the floor soon after, along with several other customers who had also partaken of the inn's fare that noontime. He's not sure how his stock of sausages got poisoned, but all of the victims report living through rather vivid nightmares. Thankfully, a full night's rest did wonders and none of them feel any of the ill effects of this rather strange food poisoning. So, after all of that, the events at the Spire were only a dream. But it felt so real ...

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...

Of Hellknights and Gold

Sarenith 13, 471, continued

Roscoe cracks the accounting books of Fort Inevitable, both the real ones and those kept on the side and abandoned by Thorne since his disappearance. In the latter he discovers a letter. It is clearly coded.

He spends a few hours trying to break the code before he realizes that this letter is written in a similar code he used to employ with Thorne when they were both younger, back at the farm in Novensia.

Roscoe is pretty sure that Rose is Thorne, and Demon is Duke Mosley. But who is Lotus? Roscoe wonders aloud about why Mosley's death would create civil war among the Hellknights.

Roscoe continues to peruse the books, and he also discovers the following amounts that are not accounted for, even though there are "receipts" that prove the expenditures:

• 34,000 crowns have been paid for bonuses for the out of town workers that helped rebuild Fort Inevitable.
• 47,000 crowns have been paid for various repairs to the town wall and other Hellknight structures around Fort Inevitable, but upon investigation only minor work was performed, and certainly nowhere near the price the Hellknights paid.
• Finally, there are 120,000 crowns that have been paid in miscellaneous expenses, including 13,000 listed as incentive pay for Roscoe. Roscoe never received any of this money.

When Roscoe relates these findings to Omok, the hobgoblin decides to question the orb of command to discover who benefited the most from the gold that was misappropriated. The orb of command answers that the largest beneficiary of this gold was Duke Mosley. Thorne has not been seen by any of the Coopers since the sisters tracked him to Braddon's General Store on Desmus 4. Roscoe puts out an order among Hellknights to report on his movements if seen. 


As if this was not enough, Doliver Reedbank arrives at the Citadel and he hands Roscoe a list of Thorne associates, as promised during their last meeting:

• Roger Silverfish, employee of Drurn's Tannery, who helped Thorne hoard and move food during the famine.
• Nolan Crueleye, Nethan Scarletlance, and Ivan Browndog, mercenaries from the Salamander Company provides muscle.
• Daman Blackelk, who ran the racketeering racket in the tent city during the winter.
• Selif Redlyon, who works at the Poldmar stables and who is responsible for smuggling merchandise in and out of Fort Inevitable through horse equipment.
• Ossian, who sold water from his private well at inflated prices.
• Dwayne Saucyeye, who works at the Ironworks, melted precious metals into mundane items so it could be smuggled out.
• Regan Redeve, who works for the stonemason Zoldor Maril, has built various structures throughout the area, and indicates 3 specific locations. 

Roscoe orders Thorne's associates surveilled, and their comings and goings logged. If they meet Thorne, he wants them all arrested.

Meanwhile, Shim Longbranch arrives at the Hunters' Lodge along with several other youths of the area, sent by the Seven Foxes to train. Darelle gives the ranger the keys, and he swiftly gets the youths organized into training groups. Daryle is impressed by Shim's exacting efficiency. Roscoe arrives over in the late afternoon, and brings his sisters up to date on what he has discovered in the accounting books. Daryle mentions that he should talk to Wirt to get some background information on the Duke.

That night, Roscoe, Omok and the sisters are in the Commander's office. Roscoe sends a messenger to the Juliver Gate and requests that Maralictor Wirt report to his office. When she arrives, he asks her about the Duke. She informs him that Mosley is the bastard child of Queen Abrogail II of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, ruler of Cheliax, and he has spent his youth at Court. It is rumored that he headed out with a large army to the Worldwound to burnish his military credentials. When asked about the reference to the Hellknights fighting each other, Wirt reports that the situation in Cheliax is tense. Not everyone agrees with the diabolical pacts that have bound Abrogail II's authority over the state. Despite marshaling forces and effort, the Queen has been unable to eliminate all opposition. As the possibility of a civil war increase, Mosley has built a base of supporters throughout all Hellknight orders and clearly plans to take control of the organization and use it. Roscoe questions Wirt which side Mosley would support, and she answers that she's not sure, but he owes allegiance to his mother. The fact that there is doubt, however, means that his support is clearly not unwavering. Daryle asks Wirt where Audara Drovust, the former Lady Commander, fits in this picture.

Wirt replies that Audara also grew up at court, the third daughter of a minor noble at the same time as Mosley. It is believed that Mosley forced himself on her, and she has developed a hatred for the man. Upon her return to Cheliax, she purchased a barony and remained there over the last four months, developing her estate. The discussion then moves to the Hellknights and their Orders and organization. How could Mosley, who is from the Order of the Nail, be able to infiltrate and control the other Orders? Wirt speculates that he has been implementing sleeper agents for at least a decade in the other Orders, ready and awaiting his signals to throw them in complete chaos or even directly eliminate their leadership.

After Wirt departs, the Coopers decide that the financial crisis threatening the Fort must be resolve. They decide to head back to Mosswater and retrieve more money from the treasury in the ghost city.

On her way home, Darelle stops by Dr. Mordel's house. When he comes downstairs to meet her, she asks him if he could investigate her blue powder so that it could be replicated. He tells her he will do his best.


Sarenith 14, 4712

The Coopers head out in the middle of the night on their horse. They arrive mid-morning. Their first order of business is to ensure that the Food to Dye For remains a viable shelter. Their thorough inspection reveals that it indeed is. Roscoe is impressed at the quantity of bones that litter the roads. The Coopers then proceed carefully to the lighthouse. After searching the lighthouse, they find no disturbances that would indicate that someone has been in the building. Climbing to the top, they verify that the light has not been tampered with since the last time they were here. Daryle and Darelle carefully remove a section of the lense, and glance inside. Gold still glitters.

Thus, over the course of the day, Roscoe, Omok and the Coopers manage to retrieve approximately 100,000 crowns. They place the money in old chests found in various houses around the city, then park the wagon in the warehouse behind the restaurant. While working, Roscoe wonders aloud if there was an astrologist or an oracle who might have predicted this disaster. The others do not know. Whatever happened here, Roscoe rhetorically asks.

As the sun begins to drop, Darelle and Daryle return to Food to Dye For with the money. They carefully barricade themselves in the old restaurant. Omok and Roscoe remain in the lighthouse, curious to see what types of creatures come out at night. At sunset, Omok blasts the horn of Ovtik to summon whatever creatures dwell in the water to come to him. The creatures come out of the water, and soon the lighthouse is surrounded by some kind of undead ogres, pushing ahead of them undead orcs. They all try to climb the tower but can't. More fearsome are six-legged beasts that look like undead rhinos. They begin to meander the town, leaving the ogres and orcs behind. Roscoe and Omok debate the wisdom of attacking the undead, and eventually agree that they make great guards for their treasure, and that eliminating or greatly reducing their numbers would be to Coopers' detriment. They decide to wait.

Unfortunately, the monsters' constant wail is grating. Omok, being deaf thanks to the horn of Ovtik, can't hear, but Roscoe begins to suffer under the noise. During the night Omok helps himself to the treasure inside the light.


Sarenith 15, 4712

Just before dawn monsters leave. Roscoe is completely wiped since he couldn't sleep at all during the night. The Coopers reunite in the lighthouse over breakfast. With so many chests, they decide that it would be safer to travel by cloud. Darelle summons her jar of cloud and the Coopers head back to Fort Inevitable. Roscoe deposit the money in the treasury. That should be more than enough to pay upcoming expenses and retire any debt Fort Inevitable accumulated under Thorne's trouble leadership in the treasury.

Darelle brings back a barrel of Mosswater Dye and leaves it at the Hunters' Lodge, planning to study it and extract the recipe to replicate it in the future. Shim informs the Coopers about the progress of the trainees over the last day. He thinks that they should be ready to lead in about a month, though more time training would provide them with better odds of surviving an attack.

Returning to the Fort, Darelle talks to Mordel about what might have triggered so many demons. He doesn't know for sure, but he suspects that an expedition by the Hellknigths about two years ago might have hastened their arrival. He also provides her with a recipe to recreate the blue pegasus. Now all she will need is to gather the ingredients. Thankfully there is a laboratory she can use at the Hunters' Lodge.

Roscoe asks Wirt about the status of Thorne's associates. She replies that there have not been any unusual activities. With the quarterly muster and trials coming up soon, Roscoe decide it's time to round them up. They may be more talkative under arrest, and if nothing else they will provide a good spectacle for the crowd as they are executed. Warrants are issued, and Hellknights are dispatched to seize them.


Sarenith 16, 4712

Roscoe decides it's time to mint new Hellknights. Accompanied by Omok, they head out to the Hunters' Lodge. There, Roscoe leads Omok and three of the trainees down in the mine, where they confront the demon behind the crystal. Omok breaks the barrier after some effort, and in the fight everyone is bloodied but the demon is dispatched, and the hobgoblin and his three companions are immediately officially appointed as Hellknights by the Lord Commander himself.

Taking a look through the gaps in the broken crystal,  Darelle sees shadow dimension beyond. How can they prevent other creatures from stepping through? Daryle suggests that they consult Abernard. The sisters trek back to Fort Inevitable and meet with the old man at his house. Abernard welcomes them, and he tells them they just missed their brother Gerald. Darelle inquires as to whether Abernard noticed anything weird or different about Gerald, and reports her beliefs that an impostor is running around. Abernard states that in fact Gerald has not been his whinny self lately, and no calamity has befallen the town.

After hearing the sisters' plea for help in sealing the gap in the crystal, Abernard travels to the Hunters' Lodge and takes care of the problem.