Gygax and Greyhawk Session #48 - The Sundered Tower

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 6) 

Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 5) 
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 5) 

Date/Time

??

The rakshasa caravan winds its way across the sephrcural plains before climbing back into the craggy hills. One of the stench kine slips on a talus slope, and nearly tumbles everyone down to a rocky doom. Descending once more onto a barren plain dotted with burial mounds, a fireball erupts from a crevasse in the cracked ground, engulfing the party and their hosts in flame. And then come zombies;  a minor hoard of the undead crawl out from among the mounds and shuffles to intercept. Emir Takasha mildly suggests that, in return for the traders hospitality,  the party take care of them. They take up the offer. but Goro is distressed to find Heironeous cannot answer his call in the Lower Plains, and the party has to fight them the old fashioned way.  This results in a tougher than expected battle, and eventually the Emir ends it with a well placed fireball and a not-comforting, grimalkin grin. 

Turning down the Emir's offer of over-priced healing, the caravan traverses the plains and climb again into the hills. After some indeterminate time, the caravan halts, and the Emir draws the party's attention to a collection of craggy spires in the near distance. At first it looks like nothing but rock, but slowly it evolves into the form of a blasted and tumbled collection of Gothic towers overlooking the plains below. This, the Emir says as he and his people prepare to move on, is the Sundered Tower. 

Taking leave of the rakshasa, the party climbs a rough path up to the ruins. Passing into the courtyard, they fond nothing but tumbled and blasted stone, and a single archway leading down into darkness. Ranzel checks the drifting ash and dust, and notes several human-like creatures have passed this way recently, within the last week. Entering the archway, the party descends a wide hallway sloping gently down, until it ends at a door and corridor. They find their magical lights do not work, and even a simple torch throws but little light in the all encompassing darkness. They open the door and are beset by three shadows, who are dispatched. In the room they find a terrible grey alter overlooked by a diabolic goat-headed figure. Three candle sockets shows signs of black wax, and an archway to the west is marked by a keystone with a red gem. On a stone table nearby is a bowl with a strange glowing ember, and a collection of black and red candles in the drawers below. 

Goro passes through the archway, and is immediately shrunk in size and strength. The opposite side of the archway is marked with a black gem, and when Goro comes back through, he returns to normal but receives a cold wound deep in his body in the process. Meanwhile, Ranzel has placed three of the black candles on the alter and lit them. This moves the alter aside, revealing a room beyond. As the three candles quickly vanish, the party rushes through the opening just as it begins to close off the opening once more. This next room is filled with drifts of fine ash. On one wall is a mural of a robed figure holding a lit candle to an archway. In one corner is a stone chest, inside which they find an absolution charm with the visage of a pit fiend and the name "Broggmoth". Passing to another ash-filled room, they observed cloven hoof prints passing through a red-gem arch. Lighting one of their red candles they hold it up to the arch, which causes the gem to turn black. Passing through, everyone feels a cold wound just as |Goro did. 

On the other side is a vast chamber lost in darkness. A tumble of stone lies to the left, so they start to work along the walls in that direction. Along the way they find a few bones which they recognize as finger and toe bones; but each is the size of a human femur.  Suddenly comes the sound of massive chains shifting on stone, then a rending sound. Moments later, a huge skeleton, 40' high, looms out of the darkness. Swinging the chains, it attacks. The party, knowing this thing could be their doom, opt to flee. Spying a balcony to their left, Skeef climbs up the wall and Ranzel tosses his grapple and rope. Although several of the party are smashed by massive blows from the chain, they all get to the balcony safely. It seems the giant cannot or will not attack  them here ... 

GAINS

4 black candles of Astaroth

2 red candles of Astaroth

Absolution charm (13 hrs) 

KILLS/VICTORIES

10 zombies

3 shadows 

LOSSES

none

Gygax and Greyhawk Session #47 - Beyond the Hellgate

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 6) 

Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 5) w/ henchman Usborn (Gnome Fighter 2/Illusionist 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 5) 

Date/Time

Sunsebb 3 (morning) to Sunsebb 11 (morning)

The party leaves Nevond Nevnend in a blustery snowstorm, and their route to Oxton over the next 4 days is buffeted by snow and cold all the way. Even through the weather is fit for neither man nor monster, they run into a pair of hungry trolls and a somewhat hostile mounted patrol out of Oxton. The patrol, they learn, is looking for bandits, giants and other foul things that creep out of the mountains when the winters snow starts to fall. 

Arriving in Oxton, they settle in to their favorite inn for the night. Next morning they first visit the sage Pharnabazus to ask about the Hellgate and the nepenthe flowers that grow along the River Styx and River Lethe in the Hells. They learn little new about the Hellgate, but the sage does give them a lengthy lecture on  nepenthe  and ways to turns the blossoms into syrup, which will relieve exhaustion and permit sleep in the agonies of the Hells.  

They spend the rest of the day in the Hellgate tavern, casing the joint and deciding how to open the gate without too much fuss and destruction. Noting the slip-shod working currenting holding up the roof in place of the missing keystone, they use the gnome Usborn as a front and offer to repair the stone in return for drink and lodging. This offer is accepted, and the party gets to work in the early hours of the morning, once the patrons are passed out in drunken stupors and the landlord and staff have retired. They place the gate keystone, and suddenly there appears a view of a blasted and barren wasteland. They party passes through to this unwelcoming land, leaving Usborn behind to cover their tracks and help them back through the gate should that becomes necessary. 

On the other side, they first feel a dull throb and vibration through their bodies, a slow and continuous agony that dulls the senses and drags their motions. Standing atop a crag of rock, around them they see a wasteland of drifted ash, deep canyons and distant blasted mountain. Occasional pallid fireballs burst across the landscape, and the sky is a ashen grey. On the crag with them are four gates, one of which holds their pulsing red keystone. Which they immediately remove to close their gate. They notice now a group of five creatures just a short distance down the slope; devilish-dragonish in appearance, the five are tearing apart a human body. One, wearing the corpses' scalp as a toupee, approaches. In a telepathic whisper, it offers to give them an augury by reading the fallen man's entrails (which the beast holds in its hands) in return for respite. The party agrees, handing over a single wafer, at which the creatures laughs and then gives a vague prediction of success in their endeavors. He and his companions then fly off. 

With no clear idea of where they are going, and there being no signs of any destinations, the party heads off to skirt the canyon edges and see what they may encounter. At one point they avoid a rockfall that nearly drops them to the distant canyon floor. After untold and unknown hours of travel, they come around a pile of rubble. On the opposite side, near the top, crouches a strange creature. The size and appearance of a huge wolf, but with a prehensile reptilian tail, the thing speak telepathically to them. It questions them, asking who they are and why they travel the Chromatic Dragon's realm. After some bluff and hesitation, they party simply tells him the truth; they are looking for the Herald of Hextor, the pit fiend Chamazi. The creature, whom the party now learn is Amducias, Duke of Hell in the service of Tiamat, considers their story for a moment before chuckling and making a comment about 'a little more chaos is good'. He directs them to the Sundered Tower of Astaroth; if the Herald is on Avernus, he will likely head there. The Arch-Fiend's senses cannot penetrate the magic of Astaroth's tower, and Asmodeus would unlikely be displeased to learn of machinations by Hextor among his underlings. When asked for directions, Amdusica once more laughs and says something about it not being his job to guide wandering Primes lost in Hell, before turning away and leaving the party to its own devices. 

Unable rest and still lost, they party moves on. After another wearying and numbing trek, they enter a wide plain scattered with vast cemeteries of unknown origin. Thankfully nothing emerges from the grave to confront them, and they soon see off in the distance a caravan of some sort. They move to intercept, and find two rakshasa leading a half dozen stench kine loaded with gear, one of which is also pulling a palanquin. The two tiger headed humanoids eye the party warily, and one goes to the palanquin and and assist the passenger to emerge; a much more richly dressed rakshasa who introduces himself as Emir Takasha.  The party learns they are traders, and Takasha offers they party opportunities to trade from his extensive selection of goods. The party takes advantage of this, acquiring unspoiled (and un-spoilable) food and drink, as well as some respite in the form of honey cake. When asked of the Sundered Tower, the Emir nods and says he knows of the place. He offers a contest; if a champion of the party can subdue one of his guards (non-lethal and non-thaumaturgic of course), they may join his caravan and journey with them to the tower. If they fail, one of the party will become his slave. The party warily agrees, a contract is made, and Goro steps forward to fight one of the rakshasa sentinels. It does not go well for the half-orc, as the sentinel is unnaturally fast and almost impossible to hit, whereas Goro is struck by claw and bite multiple times. Getting frustrated, he throws down his weapon and throws himself at the rakshasa, successfully grappling the creature. The rest of the party now raises a legal point; the sentinel has been subdued. The Emir grins wickedly and accepts the ruling, inviting the party to join them on their journey across the broken wilds ... 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 troll

1 rakshasa [subdued]

LOSSES

none