Saralas: Session 75

23 Elient (Late Day)

The Tower

• Baerwin has just come back with the unfinished letter referring to the artifact recovered from Ostoria, which has been moved to a stasis chamber for further study.
• I dig through my memory from long days in the library waiting for Eleanor to get off work.
  • Ostoria was an empire that existed even before the Netherese
  • The artifact would have been old, even to the Netherese
• Since Baerwin went left and just found this note, we check the door to the right
• Behind the door is a set of hallways. Inside the hallway is a hypnos magen demanding that we leave at once
  • I ask the magen if it knows where the person running the party might be
  • It doesn't respond, just tells us to leave again
• I head back to the party for the moment, not wanting to start a fight just yet
• Karthos heads to the north to try some of the other passages.
  • Apparently he found a bar, and drank an illusory wine.
  • He also overheard that an ancient obelisk stands in the shadow of this spire. Using this obelisk and an staff of power, one can turn back time
• I head north up the dais. Suddenly Karthos appears behind me. Is he stalking me?
• I see a room to the left, with a couch and cushions. I walk closer to see what is here.
  • Courtiers lounge on luxurious cusions, smoking from long pipes and dining on fruit
  • Against the back wall is a large harp, its strings being plucked magically
  • In the center of the room, a gem-studded chest sits on the table, with an octopus on its face.
  • Upon inspection, the chest seems special. It is ornate, gemstone studded, though otherwise wooded.
  • "Do you think it's magic?" Karthos just shrugs saying "Maybe".
  • Min sidles up and starts touching it. Then she opens it, but it's empty. She says it was magical.
  • Skant sighs. "Oh good, the genius is going to give us his great wisdom," I say.
  • Skant explains that the chest is magical, and allows the user to conjure any non-magical object they can think of worth 1gp or less. You hold the idea of the object in your mind.
  • I touch the chest, think of Baerwin's sandwich, and open it. Inside is a lovely sandwhich which I hand to Baerwin.
  • Min conjures 1 gold piece. Then does it again and again until on the 19th time the chest turns to dust.
  • As I see these folks smoking their long pipes, I also pull out my scrimshaw pipe, pack and tamp it, and light it.
• Baerwin heads to the north.
• He finds an open room with a chasm and a door on the other side. He finds an invisible bridge and carefully feels out the edges of the bridge. It is about 3 feet wide and can be easily crossed.
• The party is growing tired. I am very hesistant to rest, but Karthos explains that the blight that is turning us into Nothics is a function of time, not rest.
• We argue about time, and I am really not OK with trying to mess with this obelisk we heard about. One round of time turning was enough for me.
• Even so, I think we should keep moving, at least for a while. Time is short.
• Eventually we decide to head across the invisible bridge.
• Across the bridge, we see our reflections dance over the mirrored surfaces of the chamber. It is star shaped. In the center is a gently glowing crystal mounted 5 feet above the floor. The air hums with power.
• Karthos believes this chamber exists to amplify or store a large magical effect.
• I approach the crystal warily. It is certainly magical, but nothing else happens.
• Skant, ever annoying, sighs again. "Lady Resda, touch one of the crystals". Resda does so, and they all start glowing brightly. Light beams shoot out of the crystals converging into the center of the room. As more rays intersect, a translucent figure comes into view, of a bald man wearing a long purple gown.
• I ask where it bought its fine gown. It laughs and says it is a construct, with the purpose to oversee its restoration. He says it is not going as quickly as hoped.
• His master is Iriolathas, the archmage of this city. He has been around for thousands of years. I ask how on earth he has survived so long. Karthos says "yeah he's a Lich." I check my notes, that is what Wodna said, indeed.
• "So he's undead," I say. The construct appears unimpressed with that terminology.
• Baerwin asks if it is possible to have an audience with the archmage. The construct notes that his master hasn't been quite himself lately.
• "Is he ill?" asks Resda.
• "He's probably insane," I reply.
• Baerwin asks "hypothetically" if its master would have an issue with a cult invading the city. His master would be concerned with any threat to the city, apparently.
• Apparently the gargoyles are on the roof. Avarice apparently flew up to the top of the spire shortly after we entered the city.
• He laughs at our description of Avarice's threat. He thinks they are a restoration crew, and have been surveying the damage. We explain that they have been looking for the clues to lower the shield protecting the spire.
• The construct says only the worthy could open the shield. I point at Karthos and say "Mushroom man over there already lowered it."
• Karthos says we are the survey crew. The construct is suspicious. Skant is unhelpful and Karthos knocks Skant to the ground.
• The only other thing here is a door on the ceiling, which is quite high. Too high to reach, though Resda could fly up there.
• We return to the party.
• What do we need to do next?
• Do we try to lure the cultists somewhere? Do we try to convince the archmage or construct that the cultists are a threat?
• Baerwin suggests going to the meditation dome and having our projections lead them on a chase up the spire, causing the lich to intervene.
• Karthos heads back down towards the eastern hallways where the hypnos magen told us to leave.
• Karthos charms the magen. I follow, and ask Karthos if he can introduce me.
• Karthos heads into the eastern room, finding 6 staffs on racks, with room for many more.
  • The first staff is a straight stick with an owl's head carved in the top
  • The second has an octopus on the top, and is made of blue-tinted wood with black veins.
  • The third is made of translucent purple glass
  • The fourth is carved from golden wood with fish along its length.
  • The fifth is made of weirwood. It is gnarled and twisted.
  • The sixth is made of black ice.
  • Most are ancient and have lost most of their magical properties, however the black ice staff has not lots its magic.
• Karthos sets his own staff down, and picks up the staff with the owl's head and the black ice staff. Whoever holds the staff is immune to being frightened or paralyzed
• We head north down the hall way and open the door to the north.
  • Shifting green, purple and blue light spills into this room through a single window
  • It looks like an alchemy lab, or surgery
  • Behind the table sits an ornate suit of armor. Where the head should be is a human brain in a jar.
  • "Hello," I say. A female voice resopnds "Hello"
  • "Are you in charge of this party?"
  • "No, but it is marvelous isn't it?"
  • "I'm so sorry to have bothered you."
  • The brain says that it has been waiting for someone to help turn back time. When I express hesitation the brain seems to get annoyed. It's simple, it says, find the staff of power from Irolathas, and actrivate the obelisk.
  • Apparently, the brain would do it, but it can't leave because of the magic keeping it alive.
  • It wants us to go get the staff of power from Iorlathas' study and bring it back, and reward us with riches.
  • We will have to watch out for Everlast, it says. We confirm that is the construct we met earlier. The door in the ceiling is the way through.
  • The brain is insistent. "Bring me the staff."
  • "Alright, we better get to it," I say, and leave.
• Back out in the party we debate what to do next. We could head back down and start some fights, we could try to go up through the door in the ceiling, we could try to engage the Lich.
• Baerwin points out that if we fought the Lich and got the staff of power we could probably lure Avarice with it. Similarly, if we had the staff and made our way to the obelisk that could also lure Avarice away.
• We think if we had the staff that could be our best option for getting power and drawing attention. Resda can probably fly right past Everlast and drop a rope from the ceiling for the rest of us to climb.
• We return to the room where Everlast was. The projectors are currently disabled. Resda flies up, carrying a rope. The door in the ceiling is closed. The door appears to open inwards.
• I wander back through the party, to the brain in a jar. "Hey, how do we get through this hatch."
• "You knock," it replies. I thank it and head back to the party.
• Resda knocks, and the door opens. Above it is a 50 foot long smooth and featureless tunnel leading up.
• It is very late, and we are feeling very tired.
• Resda keeps heading up, scouting out the end of the tunnel above. She floats up into an oval hall glittering with frost. A 10-foot radius dome of translucent ice encloses the top of the shaft. Nearby are two blade-shaped patches of darkness on either side of a door. There is a large green crystal set into the arch above the door. She comes back down to relay this to us.
• The others want us to rest before we all head up.
• We send Wodna a note. She responds that she is hidden, but there are cultists everywhere. The wizard is trying to get into the tower but can't get through the force field, apparently.
• "Did you include the 'love, Saralas' part?" I ask. Korag rolls his eyes.
• We settle in for the night.