Now We Are Six

Now We Are Six*

*By A. A. DM

We emerged from the amber mist refreshed to find Ripven once again on his game. We checked the room’s exits: In one direction a huge chamber with a floor deeply layered in mud. In the other, a water filled chamber was revealed. We opted for west and mud.

Holly scouted, climbing round on the wall anti clockwise*whilst Ripven moved down the east wall from the door tethered to the rest of the party in case of accidents. Talking of accidents, Holly twice fell off the wall but fortunately her skills meant that she was unharmed on each occasion, if subject to slightly unexpected face packing.

* Or possibly anti sundialwise?

She was just recovering from the second fall as Ripven headed for the exit we had spotted further down the east wall, when a mud golem rose from the floor close to Barakor and attacked. Fortunately it was relatively easy to deal with despite its magic resistance that meant I held my fire. Ripven contributed with the usual spiritual hammer and the fighters handled the issue. Holly made impressive speed across the room to assist despite the cloying mud that caused Eldras to slip as he tried to backstab.

Having returned it to the muddy floor we proceeded to the other exit and found an empty chamber, similar to the one we had just left, even down to the fact that the exit opposite opened into the same water filled room. There was however a northern door and we headed for that.

This left our backs to the south where the wall was blank. Unfortunately it was partly an illusion, and a hydra attacked as we concentrated on the northern door, its five heads seemingly focussed on Eldras who took three of its initial attacks.

We fought back although several of us were surprised, and we managed to kill it, head by head, Holly transforming into a weretiger to get the job done. I used my ray of enfeeblement successfully to assist. Surprisingly we remained relatively unscathed taking a couple of minor wounds only, sadly including one to me. Luckily we had managed to kill it before any of its heads grew back and we returned to the northern door after a fruitless search of the concealed southern part of the room.

We entered what proved to be the room that was our final objective: Stephan’s sarcophagus lay before us. A tapestry showing his assassination lined the walls and on opening the tomb we discovered a skeleton wearing a golden crown. At this Saladin’s eyes lit up and he seized it, seeing it as this season’s must have fashion accessory.

Meanwhile I read the script in the coffin lid that indicated that to break the curse we should burn the tapestry. Barakor complied, and we found ourselves standing in a beautiful garden outside the Chateau. Amongst us was a richly clad stranger with a staff who introduced himself as Stephan D’Amberville.

Stephan thanked us for our assistance and requested the return of his crown from Saladin, who of course, refused. Things were about to turn ugly but our cleric cast Hold Person on the Prince and we returned the crown. He also remarked on our absent friends(?) and in a moment a confused Roscoe and Zionestes were back with us, apparently none the worse for their electrifying experience.

Stephan then presented a chest of jewellery and gems to each of us. In all the treasures were worth in excess of 50,000 gold pieces. No chest for Saladin though… He then presented a magic item to each of us, (even Saladin). I got a pair of bracers of defence but there were swords and armour and a cloak of elvenkind and stuff… He recharged Ripven’s staff and Barakor’s horn, identified some stuff and at my request added some spells to my spellbook. What a guy!

Holly, still in weretiger form pressed our host for information and he told us the same story that Faffleen had recounted, however from a slightly different perspective, filling in some holes and adding some revelations. The main points:

• Stephan D’Amberville had been the last Governor of the Allerzoi colony established on Abendor

• It was a penal colony; the three factions mentioned by Faffleen had broadly been the prisoners, their guards and the scientists investigating the psychic abilities that the Allerzoi colonists were exhibiting.

• The Allerzoi had become sterile and apparently stopped aging; this was being investigated by a scientist called Ryzek.

• The three Allerzoi factions had each founded a great city; one had been destroyed in the devastation, Barakor identified Mirath as the city founded by Urush.

• After all races turned on the weakened Allerzoi, the three faction leaders had united to save their remaining people, setting up a magical realm in a pocket dimension called Rirndale.

• The citizenry of Rirndale pass themselves off as Half Elves when they travel in Abendor.*

• Stephan and his family had disagreed with the plan on the grounds that Rirndale was to be a realm where the Allerzoi would be isolated from the effects of whatever affected the Allerzoi psyche.

• Stephan and a small minority had set up their own pocket dimension, Averon, centred on the Chateau that we had just explored.

• The three faction leaders had not travelled to Rirndale, where they would have lost their powers. Faffleen, leader of the ex prisoners had then tried to destroy Aranobias of the science group and Urush, the Colony’s military commander.

• Faffleen had been able only to imprison Aranobias despite his weakened state

• Faffleen had believed Urush destroyed, but Stephan had discovered that it was he who had infiltrated Averon and persuaded Stephan’s brother to assassinate him

• Urush had escaped through use of time travel to the present

• Stephan had used his power to escape to the tomb, trapped in a dormant state and had been able to destroy his brother and his supporters as he did so. Urush had escaped again however.

• Stephan had created Averon to be timeless which he theorised had caused or exacerbated some mental instability amongst some of his family

• With Urush on the loose he expects to be targeted again and therefore is cutting Averon off finally from our reality.

• He sealed this by giving us his staff to return to Faffleen with whom he had fought in the wars against Aranobias and Urush

*Eldras looked a bit shifty at this point and confessed that the Mage of the Plains had already revealed that he was a descendant of the Allerzoi. This explained a few things.

We were suddenly back with Faffleen as D’Amberville severed his ties with this world. Back in the Fortress of the Great Plains of course, only an instant had passed. Faffleen welcomed us back and took the staff. He heard the news confirming and explaining Urush’s return gravely. He proposes that we travel to Urush’s fortress to find an unspecified artefact to use against him.

He also considers that Stephan in returning his staff is not only doing so to close the dimensional corridor to Averon, but as a warning that Urush will aim to destroy Rirndale next, for which he would need one of the three staves used in creating it. The staff would also enable Urush to wreak literal devastation of the kind not seen for a thousand years. Faffleen knows that the last staff was buried with the great mage Ryzek.

With the Mage of the Great Plains confined to his fortress it’s down to the eight of us, an elf, a dwarf, a halfling, three humans, a human who thinks he’s an orc and of course, an Allerzoi to save the last haven of the Allerzoi and perhaps our world too.

Kravaine
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Stephan’s Reward 11000
Mission Completion 5000
Mud Golem 50
Hydra 50
Bracers 3000

Total 19130

Eldras
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Stephan’s Reward 8000
Mission Completion 5000
Mud Golem 50
Hydra 50
Slippers 1000

Total 14130

Barakor
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Stephan’s Reward 6000
Mission Completion 5000
Mud Golem 50
Hydra 50
Sword 4400
ID on golem 100
ID Mirath 50
Spotting Elemental room sequence 50

Total 15730

Holly
Characterisation & Roleplay 75
Stephan’s Reward 8000
Mission Completion 5000
Mud Golem 50
Hydra 50
Cloak 1000
Scouting Mud room 150

Total 14325

Saladin/ Grom
Characterisation & Roleplay 100
Mission Completion 5000
Mud Golem 50
Hydra 50
Sword 7000

Total 12200

Ripven
Characterisation & Roleplay 30
Stephan’s Reward 10000
Mission Completion 5000
Mud Golem 50
Hydra 50
Reclaiming Crown from Saladin 400
Ring 500

Total 16030

Roscoe
Stephan’s Reward 6000
Mission Completion 3000
Dagger 600

Total 9600

Zionestes
Stephan’s Reward 13000
Mission Completion 3000
Armour 3000

Total 19000





Name Class 2nd Class B/F Cumulative Target Current Level
Kravaine MU*
21,043 26,964 48,007 60,001
(7) 6
Eldras T*
15,543 25,508 41,051 42,501
(7) 6
Barakor F*
8,652 C*
8,652 16,281
16,281 24,933
24,933 35,001/
27,501
(6/6) 5/5
Holly M
14,325 23,670 37,995 47,501
(6) 5
Grom/ Saladin F*
13,420 26,529 39,949 70,001
(7) 6
Roscoe T*
10,560 17,794 28,354 42,501
(7) 6
Zionestes C*
20,900 19,200 40,100 55,001
(7) 6
Ripven C*
17,633 14,559 32,192 55,001
(7) 6
*EP Bonus applied

29.3.14