Session 11: Death is only the Beginning, Part 2

Act 2: The Rebellion Strikes Back

In the confusion of battle our heroes steal across the Plaza to the iron bound door of the Armoury. Using the Key which Alias gave them they burst in on the guardians. Brutish Cabal warriors, armour plates bolted to their skin and madness in their eyes crash against them while a Cabal wizard, set to guard the entrance utterly fails to confound them with his sorcery. From a murder hole a Cabal archer sends vials of sizzling acid crashing in to the room but he is quickly countered by Assamber who has finally thrown off the stifling shackles of Lokarnos sorcery. No longer does he limit himself to the powers of storm and thunder, now all the elements are at his command and he sends fiery death through the murder hole. The guards are quickly dispatched and the group consider their next course of action.

Two routes present themselves to Belmondo the Artificer’s workshop, a Hallway known to be trapped and a Trophy Room. They choose the latter and find the living statues of Belmondo’s victims, trapped in stone and deadly to boot. What’s worse is that the room features an elaborate mural showing the Cabals victory in taking the City which routinely steals the senses of those present letting the statues throttle their victims to death. Morn invokes the Hammer of Maran Gor and smashes much of the ensorcelled wall while Assamber rakes it with thunder and lightning. The statues are then soon dispatched.

The party debates. Do they push on for the Artificer or take a diversion and raid the Cabals store of weapons. They choose the latter and quickly disarm the magical glyphs protecting the door. Once inside they are confronted by a Cabal Golem which proceeds to kick them around the room. As they crash about vials of acid and clay jars of explosive flame explode and burn. The Golem has massive resistance to damage and the explosions are taking their toll on our heroes but finally it falls apart. They loot the room quickly uncovering many treasures. Vials of acid and jars of fiery death are the least of their hoard. Morn recovers a set of enchanted Dwarven Plate while Assamber recovers fundamental ice, drawn from the depths of the northern ocean and vials of Black Lotus Extract, the possession of which brings a sentence of death from the Cabal. The Lotus greatly expands the mind of any sorcerer inhaling it but at the risk of addiction, madness and death.

Pressing on they find the main hall deserted. The Cabal wizards are on the roof contending with Dwarven Astrologers while their Golems are being dismantled. The group pass below into the Workshop, a vast open space filled with bellows, forges, stone tables and a pair of Iron Golems. Belmondo is there as well, together with two Cabal wizards. He appears to be packing as the Golems load strange and sundry materials into two huge iron bound chests.

“Ahh, welcome, you must be the people who have caused Darius so much trouble. I assume you are here to kill me but I have a counter offer.” At that moment the Golems strike, crushing the two Cabal Wizards beneath metal fists. “Now that Darius’s spies are out of the way we can talk. Let me go and I will give you the passwords to enter the Spire.” There is more discussion. Belmondo has not crossed their path before so the only black mark is that he is a member of the Cabal. He also has two Golems and one of the caused them a lot of problems. They agree and he quickly steps into a ready teleportation circle vanishing. No doubt he will appear again in the future.

The group head below into the Armoury’s teleportation chamber. Five arcane circles are present and they quickly disable the four which lead to the Cabal Towers. Preparing themselves Assamber invokes the Linked Portal Ritual and they vanish. They do not appear where they expected and instead find themselves sat around a campfire, a small wizened and tattooed man sits across from them. He introduces himself, he is Utu Kamla the Elder, the first Wizard and he has an offer for them. He exists outside of reality, a part of the stream of magic itself and only when they used the Ritual could he contact them. He offers to aid them against Darius if they agree to save the Library of the Ancients. It is besieged by Chaos and he fears that his legacy to future generations will be lost. They agree and they find themselves stood in the Chamber of the Spire.

*cut scene*

The wizard Darius enters the hold of the ship of Death. As he goes he negates the wards which hold the creature inside the ship. Reaching the hold he shatters the final binding on the ancient stone coffin and flees. In the distance the Dragon Riders of Arkhosia bear down on the City.

In the West the Witches of the Kireshi perform their magic. Between them stream the murderous rogues hired by Nabonidus. Adventurers, killers and thieves, they are rotten to the core but have been drawn here by promise of limitless gold. The Kireshi place seeds from the heart of the Shrouded Oasis between the stones of the Plaza and whisper long lost sorceries to them. They quickly grow and spread and poisonous vines slither through the corrupted woods and around the Tower of Sorcery. Demons wake from their sleep to find themselves being choked to death but the Cabal is alerted. Necromancers hurl soul eating flames into the woods and men begin to die.

As the Dragons approach the Harbour the Ship of Death swings away from the dock breaking its moorings. The lid of the stone coffin is pushes aside and the mummified corpse of Darius the First emerges into the open air for the first time in two centuries. He activates the ships defences and several masses of bone and metal clamber onto the deck on spiky legs. The ship heads toward the approaching dragons and then into the air. Seeing the threat two of the Dragons move to intercept and battle is joined, incinerating flame against age old necromancy.

The third Dragon passes by and as it does so another ship takes to the air. The Windrunner, the ship of Alias, agent of the Order of Transcendental Inquiry. On one hand stands Kallista Antarion, on the other the Artificer Belomondo. The Dragon banks past them and descends on the City flames belching from its throat.