As we were discussing which corridor to proceed down first, a large, eight-armed man appeared before us, floating in the air. He asked us, “Would you defeat the Runelord Karzoug?”. We said yes, and he told us that we could come to him if we needed anyone resurrected.

We traveled down the corridor associated with the sin of Pride. We walked for at least a mile, and Devin sensed that we had shifted into another dimension along the way. The walls had been made of stone, but we came to a part where the walls were mirrors. We arrived at a T-shaped intersection, in which the corridor we approached from was the middle leg. Ash was the first to peek around the corners, and saw that each arm of the T turned 90 degrees towards the direction we had been walking in. When she saw her reflection in the mirrors at those turning points, two copies of her emerged from the mirrors and attacked us. Gulnyr approach the intersection, and two copies of him stepped out as well, and shortly afterwards the same thing happened with Eliatris. She warned Devin to stay back, so he did not approach.

During the fight, Ash shot at the mirrors to try to break them. Eliatris got knocked out. Gulnyr managed to kill one of his own copies, and Devin used a Wall of Stone spell to block the other Gulnyr copy from getting to us. Gulnyr was killed, at which point his remaining copy disappeared; then the same thing happened to Eliatris. Devin used Breath of Life to revive Gulnyr, who then grabbed Eliatris’s body, and we all retreated. However, both of Ash’s copies were still alive, and Ash got knocked unconscious. As an act of desperation, Devin killed Ash, which dismissed her copies.

We returned all the way back to the entry room, and asked the floating figure to resurrect Ash. He also reincarnated Eliatris, who became a half-orc. We rested for the night.

We returned to the T-shaped intersection of mirrors. Eliatris attempted to shoot the mirror that was not blocked by the stone wall, and this caused a copy of her to emerge. We fought and killed it, and then Eliatris borrowed a hammer from Gulnyr to smash the mirror.

We proceeded down that corridor, and came to a large chamber. Its walls were mirrored, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. A giant living peacock was in this room, as well as a well-dressed man. He told us that the master was in his study, not to be disturbed, and requested that we keep our screaming to a minimum. Then he attacked us. As we fought him, several copies of him appeared. Some of them seemed to be illusions, and one of him turned invisible to avoid us. During the fight, Ash was knocked out, and Devin was killed. Eliatris healed Ash, and the three party members besides Devin eventually killed all of the opponents.

Ash found a secret door. It led to a study containing a desk, a large book collection, and a gold peacock statue. Another duplicate of our enemy, presumably the original, was slumped over dead at the desk. He was dressed in a robe of peacock feathers, and had a journal in his lap, which we took. There was also a set of double doors leading out of this room.

The party returned to the entry room once more, and had Devin resurrected. The eight-armed man informed us that the dragon had just arrived in the Runeforge, but not the same way that we had entered.

Ash studied the journal, and translated a portion of it:

The runeforge pool awoke! I first took this as a sign that Runelord Xanderghul had risen. When I arrived at the pool to investigate, it seemed that the others had come to the same conclusion. The foolish Wardens of Envy thought to disrupt the recrudescence, and with the aid of Azaven, Ordikan, Athroxis, and that lovely creature Delvahine, we were able to defeat them utterly. Their Abjurant Halls lie in ruins. Our treaty was short-lived, though. Azaven absconded with the bodies and that treacherous wench Athroxis nearly burned me to death before I made it back here.

I was mistaken. Runelord Xanderghul still slumbers. It is that monster Karzoug who quickens and nears rebirth. Damnation! He must not be alowed to precede Xanderghul into the world, for he would rebuild Thassilon in his own inferior image, a testament to his own greed rather than one of pride in the work. He must be delayed or defeated!

I have managed to escape this place, to a certain extent. By astral projection I can explore what the world outside has become. It is a brutish place, yet it pleases me to see Thassilon’s mark endures in the shape of our monuments. Still, the wilderness of the world vexes me. Gone is the empire I knew. Karzoug’s city of Xin-Shalast is now hidden high in the mountains, and when I finally discovered it, I found the spires where his body is hidden to be inaccessible, warded against astral travelers by the occlusion field around the peak of Mhar-Massif. As long as his runewell is active, I fear even a physical approach would be impossibly deadly. I must determine a way to pierce these wardings, and to send an agent in my place. No need to risk my own life before my clone is ready.

I have taken steps toward an alliance with Delvahine. She may be able to escape this place, for she was not of the original blood. At the least, she can call upon agents from outside, and perhaps through them we can secure servants in the outer world. She seems uninterested in Sorshen’s return; all the better for Xanderghul, that.

The runeforge pool is the key. As I suspected, the occlusion field around Karzoug’s fortress in Xin-Shalast has a flaw. His lack of knowledge of the intricacies of Sorshen’s and my own lord Xanderghul’s powers have left an opening. My agents must use components infused with our lord’s virtues, extract the latent magic within these components, and then anoint their chosen weapons with this raw power. The runeforged pool seems to have enough reserves to enhance no more than half a dozen or so runeforged weapons, but those enhanced with enchantment and illusion magic will be most potent against Karzoug’s defenses. They may even be pivotal in his defeat. For my own part, fragments of any of the mirrors in the Peacock’s Hall should suffice for a component. Delvahine’s… equipment… should suffice for enchantment, although one might be wise to cleanse them before they are handled.

The search for an agent goes poorly. Delvahine seems more interested in her own lusts than aiding me. Worse, the lapses and fevers are increasing. I fear that I will be forced to see to Karzoug myself, in which event I will need to use the master circle I built into the Halls of Wrath to escape this place. Yet first, I must set aside my work on delaying Karzoug’s return and turn back to the final development of my 205th clone. I only hope I have time to finish before the dementia takes hold…

We returned to the study, and went through the double doors. This led us to a library, whose books had been destroyed by a fire. This room had three other doors leading out from it. The first door led to a room that contained a number of identical dead bodies stacked neatly. The second door led to another such room.

We learned that Hannah Velerin is now in charge of the Sandpoint Cathedral, since Father Zantus was killed.

We split up to speak with various towsfolk to see if anyone could help us solve the riddle leading to the location of the Runeforge’s entrance. Eliatris spoke with Savah at her armory. Savah told her that the Scarnettis have been harassing her lately. Her only suggestion as to the possible location of the Runeforge was to head north.

Ash went to the bookstore to talk to Chask. When she arrived, Quink was there as well, the two of them having their usual argument about history. Ash overheard them saying unkind things about her before she entered the store. She asked them about the Runeforge, but neither of them knew anything about it. Quink showed her a children’s picture book titled “History”. Ash asked if they knew of any place where there were seven monuments near a lake, but they did not.

Meanwhile, Devin went to the monastery to speak with Sorn. He showed her the riddle, and she said that she knew the answer, but would not tell him. She instead invited him to meditate so that Irori may give him enlightenment. When he did, he experienced a vision of seven stone heads in a circle facing each other; one of the heads had the face of Karzoug.

Gulnyr spoke with Ameiko. Her suggestion was to try Lake Stormunder.

The next day, Devin prepared a Wind Walk spell, and we used it to travel to Lake Stormunder. There we found the seven stone heads that Devin had seen in his vision. Nearby was a stone stairway with giant-sized steps, leading up the Rineskull mountain, into the open mouth of a large face carved into the stone. Shortly after arriving, we saw a white hare run by. This hare had a single horn on its head, like a unicorn.

Each of the seven runelords was originally associated with one of the seven virtues, which they perverted into the seven deadly sins. Each runelord was also associated with a particular school of magic. We deduced from the riddle that if we cast a spell from the appropriate magic school on each stone head representing the associated Runelord, this would provide us with the keys to the Runeforge. The associated virtues, sins, and magic schools, as well as the spells that we used, are as follows:

• Kindness -> Wrath: Evocation; Light
• Zeal -> Sloth: Conjuration; Create Water
• Humility -> Pride: Illusion; Ventrilloquism
• Love -> Lust: Enchantment; Wrath
• Generosity -> Greed: Transmutation; Mending
• Temperance -> Gluttony: Necromancy; Enervation
• Charity -> Envy: Abjuration; Resistance

Eliatris cast the first spell, Light, on the appropriate head, and a golden key appeared in its mouth. Devin then cast Detect Magic on all of the heads, but this did not produce a key. Just then, the hare came back, and attacked us. Gulnyr tried to grab it, but it impaled his hand with its horn. Devin and Eliatris killed it.

We next got the keys for Sloth and Envy. Suddenly, we felt the air getting cold, and Gulnyr became shaken. A white dragon flew over us and attacked. This dragon was known among the Shoanti as Arkrhyst, or “Freezemaw”. After it passed by, we took cover behind the stone heads, while quickly obtaining three more keys. When the dragon came back, it landed on top of Eliatris. As we fought it, Ash obtained the last two keys. As the dragon crushed Eliatris, she played dead to trick the dragon into letting her go prematurely. The dragon did so, but flew off with Gulnyr in its mouth. Gulnyr drank a potion of Fly, but the dragon dispelled its effect, and then dropped Gulnyr right onto Eliatris, killing her. Fortunately, Devin was able to cast Breath of Life on her in time to revive her.

Since we now had all seven keys, we decided to flee up the stairs as quickly as possible rather than continue to fight the dragon. Ash cast Fly on Gulnyr, who grabbed Devin and Eliatris, and flew them to the base of the stairs. Devin cast Air Walk on himself to climb upwards, while the others used Fly spells to fly up. Partway up, Ash cast Fly on Devin as well.

Meanwhile, the dragon had turned itself invisible, and flew to the landing at the top of the stairs to wait for us. Gulnyr and Eliatris were the first to arrive, and the dragon breathed on them. Devin suggested that we retreat into the cave at the back of the landing, and that he would then cast Wall of Stone to block the dragon from following. After we went into the cave, but before Devin could cast, the dragon cast Wall of Ice to block our retreat, and then picked up Ash in its mouth. Gulnir smashed a hole in the ice wall. Devin attacked the dragon with Searing Light, and it spit out Ash, and put up another ice wall further into the tunnel. Ash drank a potion to become gaseous, while Eliatris went through the hole in the ice wall, taking enough damage from the cold to fall unconscious. Finally, Devin was able to cast Wall of Stone with everyone but the dragon in the tunnel, but he couldn’t create enough stone to avoid leaving gaps above and below the wall. The dragon breathed into the tunnel, killing Eliatris again. Gulnyr grabbed her, and we made our way down the tunnel, toward the dragon’s lair. The dragon, meanwhile, started burrowing into the wall.

We came to a place where there were two 12-foot tall statues of men holding swords. Gulnyr gave Ash a scroll of Limited Wish, which she used to cast Shadowy Haven, giving us a place to rest for a day. We cast Light on a sling bullet, and threw it out of the haven so that it would seal the entrance for two hours.

The next day, Ash left the haven to try to find the dragon’s horde, and to try to find a diamond large enough to use for a Raise Dead spell to resurrect Eliatris. Beyond the statues the floor was sloped and covered with black ice. The corridor led to a round room with icicles hanging from the ceiling, below which was a deep shaft. She went down the shaft to the lower level, and found the dragon’s horde there. Many passages led from it in various directions. In the middle of the room was a large pillar, surrounded by seven smaller pillars. Each of the smaller pillars had a keyhole, and all of the pillars had Thassilonian runes. Ash found and retrieved an appropriate diamond, and then returned to the haven.

Devin cast Raise Dead on Eliatris. Ash then cast Fly on all of us, and we went to the horde chamber. We used the keys in the pillars, and a portal opened up in the central pillar. Devin cast Detect Magic on the horde so we could find and quickly grab some magic treasure before entering the portal. We each grabbed one item, and then entered.

We found ourselves in a ten-foot wide stone tunnel, which led to a 200 square foot chamber. There was a pool in the middle of the chamber, and a sihedron carved on the floor. There were also seven statues present, with a corridor behind each one.

Before leaving Jorgenfist, Voon gave us more information about Thassilon. The people living in the area were known as the Azlanti. A wizard named Xin established Thassilon, and appointed seven of his allies as governors. Each of the governors represented one of Xin’s seven virtues. But it was these seven who became the Runelords, and they betrayed and overthrew Xin, and turned the virtues into the seven deadly sins. They enslaved giants and built great monuments, some of which still last to this day.

Much to Ash’s dismay, there was no mention of any of these monuments being lasers.

After leaving Jorgenfist, Gulnyr and Eliatris went to Janderhoff, so that Gulnyr could return the crown and earn back his beard, and so Eliatris could shop for better armor. Ash went to Magnimar. Devin escorted the captured townsfolk back to Sandpoint, and then spent some time in Riddleport visiting his extended family.

Devin was the first to return to Sandpoint, and upon the request of the sheriff, he used a Sending spell to call the others. We all met with Sheriff Hemlock and Mayor Deverin, who informed us that there had been an earthquake while we were gone. We realized that the earthquake occurred at the moment we killed Mokmurian. It caused the ground to collapse near the the garrison, leaving a hole that led to the tunnels beneath the town. Guards had been sent in to investigate, but they never returned, and sounds of Yeth hounds could be heard coming from below.

We went down the hole, and found ourselves in familiar surroundings, since these were the smuggling tunnels that we had explored shortly after first arriving in Sandpoint. The room we arrived in was a shrine to Lamashtu. Upon exiting this room into a corridor, we heard a Yeth hound baying, which caused Gulnyr to become scared and run off. Devin channeled energy at him to relieve his fear, but Gulnyr was too frightened, and he didn’t return until after he had gotten as far as exiting the hole and arriving back in town.

After he returned, we continued on, and found ourselves in a room with a statue of Alaznist, the runelord of wrath, holding a book. This was the statue from which we took a ranseur on our previous visit. We went past a room with a washing pool, and came to a spiral staircase. The stairs were completely clogged up with spider webs, so Gulnyr used his flaming sword to burn them away.

We came to a dead end, but Ash used her new Gloves of Reconnaissance to discover a passage behind the wall. Gulnyr was able to find a secret door, and Ash picked the lock. The corridor beyond the door was filled with mist, and the walls had Thassilonian writing on them. A voice then spoke to us, asking, “Who are you?” Thinking that it was the voice of Karzoug, Devin replied, “We are your doom.” It then asked, “What happened to Thassilon?” Gulnyr replied, “It has fallen.” We asked the speaker his name, and he replied “Xaliasa“. He asked what nation has replaced Thassilon, and we replied “Varisia”. We mentioned that we wanted to defeat Karzoug, and Xaliasa said that we had piqued his interest, and invited us deeper in.

We were in a chamber from which we could go in three directions besides the way we came. One way led to a shrine to Lamashtu, another was through a set of double doors with a carving of Lamashtu’s head (a three-eyed jackal), and the third was a corridor that tapered off to a dead end. Gulnyr detected a secret door near the end of that corridor, which Ash then unlocked and opened. Beyond it was an empty 5′ x 5′ room. Gulnyr tried to enter the room, but became disoriented and walked away from it instead. Devin threw a coin into the room to see if there was some force that would deflect it, but it went in normally. Devin then jumped into the room. Gulnyr tried to jump in as well, but became disoriented and jumped away from it instead. The disorientation effect persisted the entire time that we were in the mist, affecting Gulnyr most severely, and having little effect on Devin and Eliatris.

Eventually Gulnyr made it into the room, and found another secret door within. Beyond it lay a round room with a domed ceiling. The walls had writing on them, and a pool of glowing water lay in the middle of the room. Devin looked into the pool, and Sarenrae sent him visions of unspeakable horrors. He realized that this was a birthing pool, and was better left undisturbed. Meanwhile, Ash read the runes on the wall, and found that it was part of a rhyming riddle.

We went back to the first mist-filled chamber, and from there proceeded to the shrine. It contained statues of Lamashtu in alcoves, and there was a collapsed passage in one corner. We heard a demonic voice casting a spell. Gulnyr entered the room. The demon cast another spell, which negated gravity for us. Devin had cast Air Walk when he first entered the hole from Sandpoint, so he was unaffected, and Eliatris used her Boots of Levitation to help her counteract the effect, but could not move very quickly. Ash cast Fly on herself. Between Gulnyr fighting the creature directly, Ash firing slingstones at it (one of which became a boulder), and Devin channeling positive energy, we killed the demon.

Xaliasa spoke again, asking, “Who wields powerful magics today?” We told him about the secret wizard society. He asked, “Is the Hellstorm Flume still active?” Our puzzlement about what he was referring to indicated that it was not. Devin asked, “What is your relation to the runelords?” Xaliasa replied that he was a servant for one of them, a spy for another, and a traitor to another. He asked what gods we serve, and we told him. We asked him what god he served, and he indicated Lamashu, the “Mother of Monsters”. He asked which runelords still live, and we said Karzoug did. We asked him how to enter the Runeforge, and he said that he hid keys and clues to it in this place.

We then opened the double doors decorated with Lamashu’s head. This led to a corridor with more writing on the walls. Gulnyr and Ash found three secret doors. The first one led to a 20′ x 15′ with more writing, and a jackal head carving. The second led to a collapsed passage. The third led to a room similar to the one behind the first door, but it was partially collapsed. Gulnyr began to search through the rubble, but this caused a rockslide that collapsed the rest of the room.

We returned to the shrine room, and explored a passage that led from it. The passage was splashed with blood and bits of flesh. We determined that these were the remains of Sheriff Hemlock’s guards, and Devin found a single guard insignia, which he took.

We came to a large room, which had formerly been three separate rooms, before the walls between them eroded away over time. We were attacked by six Yeth hounds, which we killed fairly quickly. More of the riddle was written on the walls here.

We explored more corridors, and rooms with more of the riddle on the walls. At one point, Gulnyr was struck with a feeling of paranoia, like the rest of us would try to kill him, but he was not particularly concerned. We finally came to a writing room, containing a desk, ink, and a peacock quill. We determined that the latter item was a powerful artifact known as a Revelation Quill. There was a dead body of one of Hemlock’s guards present. Ash could not enter the room, as she lacked the will to do so, so we copied down the writing on the walls so Ash could translate it for us. It was the rest of the riddle. The entire riddle reads:

If magic bright is your desire, to old Runeforge must you retire! For only there does wizards’ art receive its due and proper start.

On eastern shores of steaming mirror, at end of day when dusk is nearer, where seven faces silent wait encircled guards at Runeforge gate.

Each stone the grace of seven lords, one part of key each ruler hoards; if offered spells and proper prayer, take seven keys and climb the stair.

On frozen mountain Xin awaits, his regal voice the yawning gates keys turn twice in sihedron – occulted Runeforge waits within.

And now you’ve come and joined the forge upon rare lore your mind can gorge – and when you slough the mortal way in Runeforge long your work shall stay.

Having finished exploring this part of the complex, we returned back the way we came. When we got to the room in which we fought the Yeth hounds, Xaliasa spoke once more, saying, “Time for talk has come to an end, my sucklings! Now, fall to the power of the Scribbler!” The Scribbler attacked us, along with two demons. We dispatched the demons quickly, but the Scribbler was a tougher opponent. We eventually defeated him, at which point the fog dissipated.

We returned to town, and reported what we discovered to Sheriff Hemlock, including the fate of his guards.

In the room where we fought Mokmurian, there was a stone wall that did not match the stone of the rest of the walls. Devin recognized it as having been created by a Wall of Stone spell. Based on its location, we figured that there was a passage behind it that connected to a door we had seen in a previous corridor, but had not entered. We spent a significant amount of time breaking through the wall so that Ash could investigate, and it did ultimately lead to where we thought it did, with absolutely nothing of interest in between.

There was another door in this room, made of wood. It opened outward, but was blocked by something. Gulnyr smashed through it, and behind it was a cave, which had collapsed.

We returned to the library door that we had previously found. Devin detected abjuration and conjuration magic on it. Ash couldn’t find any trap that she could disable, and Voon suggested that it would likely be safe to open if we used the proper key rather than tampering with the door or lock. Gulnyr severed Mokmurian’s hand from its body, and Ash used the hand to hold the key and unlock the door. The door glowed brightly, and a floating, screaming creature emerged from it and attacked us with fire. The fire could not be put out with water, and the creature was also able to cause the runes on the walls to glow and burn us. We managed to kill it, but Gulnyr and Ash burned for a little while afterwards.

Having exhausted the trap, we were then able to enter the library. It was a large circular room with runes on the wall, furnished with leather chairs and wooden tables. A tall shaft in the center was populated with many books and scrolls. We were greeted by a clockwork librarian who told us of the vast knowledge contained in this room. Voon chose to stay here and perform research while the rest of us continued exploring and clearing out Jorgenfist.

We rested for the night in the library. While the rest of us slept, Voon researched Xin-Shalast. We learned that it was a city in the Kodar Mountains, on the shores of the Avah river. It was the capital of Shalast, one of the seven capitals of Thassilon.

We found Conna the Wise, and brought her Mokmurian’s head to prove that we had killed him. Looking outside, we saw that the various armies had started fighting each other, and Cinderma had allied herself with the Harpies.

There were several buildings within Jorgenfist that we had not yet explored, so we decided to investigate them. The first one we came to was a large dining hall. It was well stocked with meat, bread, and ale. A large fire pit lay in the center, flanked by two large tables. A stone giant cook was in this building, accompanied by a huge bear, and they attacked us. The cook fought with cookware such as a pot and a ladle. We killed them, then moved on to the next building.

This was also a large building. It contained a large bed covered with bear pelts of gold, black, and white. There were also shelves stocked with bear skulls. Ash took the pelts, and in doing so discovered a sack hiding among them, containing coins, gems, and other treasures.

We then went to a third building, which was a stable for mammoths. We heard two frost giants inside speaking. Suddenly, the doors were opened, and one of the giants emerged. The other one was inside mounted on the back of a mammoth. We quickly killed the first giant. Eliatris attacked the mammoth being ridden, while Devin shot at the rider. The mammoth charged out of the stable, trampling Gulnyr on the way, and plunging into a mist cloud that Ash had created.

Eliatris decided to try befriending another mammoth that was in one of the stalls, but as soon as she opened the stall door, it charged and trampled her, and then exited the stable. She then tried to befriend mammoth being ridden, but failed, and it attacked her. The rider then rode it out of the stable.

Gulnyr lit a fire in the far end of the stable, and then freed a third mammoth from one of the stalls. Meanwhile, The giant that had left found Cinderma, and pointed her and the harpies towards the stable. Cinderma beheaded the giant, and then headed towards us. The harpies descended upon Eliatris, while Ash was invisible nearby. Gulnyr charged at the harpies. Devin had been unaware of what was happening due to Ash’s mist cloud, so he was on his way back to the previous building, assuming the others would regroup there, before noticing the fight with the harpies and joining in. We killed two of them, and the third one retreated. Cinderma killed it as she approached us. We managed to kill Cinderma, though Eliatris was knocked out twice during the fight.

At this point, Conna arrived with 18 stone giant allies. She told us she would be leading her people away from here. She also mentioned that there was something wrong in the dark tower, which we would have to deal with before we left.

We went to investigate the cave that we saw when we first arrived at Jorgenfist. It contained a dragon’s horde.

We returned to the library, and Voon shared what he had learned in our absence. He had researched Karzoug. Karzoug was the Runelord of greed, a transmutation expert, and had ruled Shalast. Voon had also learned about the Runeforge. This was a shared magical laboratory, constructed by the seven Runelords. Each of the Runelords had a different magical specialty, and they decided they could learn greater magical knowledge if they combined their research. They were not allowed to enter the laboratory themselves, but instead each sealed a trusted servant inside the forge to do the actual work. Once a year, they would meet with their servants to learn what had been achieved. They were particularly focused on researching hibernation.

We went to the dark tower, to find the “wrongness”. When we opened the door, we found it to be very cold inside, and the floor was covered with frost. We went up to the top floor, where we found the harpies’ nests. They were filled with entrails and corpses. We returned to the ground floor, and found a trap door under two inches of ice. We broke through the ice and opened it, and beneath it was a vertical shaft. Devin cast Light on a piece of ice and dropped it down the hole; the floor was 70 feet below. We used the Rope of Climbing to descend, and Eliatris used her Boots of Levitation.

A strange voice babbled at us, and a mummy appeared, floating in the air. He was holding a cylinder covered in green glowing runes, and spewed forth a green gas cloud at us. We fought him, and during the fight he covered the floor in swarms of beetles. Devin repeatedly channeled energy at the mummy. Gulnyr lifted Ash off of the floor to avoid her getting hurt by the beetles. Eliatris was levitating using her boots. The mummy shot a ray at us that blinded us. Eliatris picked up Devin off of the floor. The mummy hit Devin, causing him to contract Mummy Rot. Devin finished off the mummy with another blast of energy, and then used a bunch of spells to cure himself of his affliction.

We returned to the corridor in which we had been attacked by trolls wielding ranseurs, and followed a tunnel leading from there. We came to a fork. One direction led to a dead end due to the tunnel having collapsed, and a side passage that led to a small empty room. The other direction led to a large room.

In this room, it was impossible to look at the walls directly. They could only be seen in one’s peripheral vision; the room seemed to stretch to infinity in any direction that one actually looked. We were attacked by an extra-large stone giant with a glowing rune on its chest. During the fight, Gulnyr was hit by a spell that made him smaller. When we killed the giant, he exploded, causing us to take fire damage. We then exited the room through a set of double doors across from where we came in. Gulnyr had to smash them open with his hammer, because he was too short to reach the handle.

This brought us to a corridor that led to a large chamber, measuring about 40 x 70 feet. There was a large cauldron marked with a sihedron symbol, with human remains strewn around it. A large skull-faced golem came at us from behind it. Voon fired a Scorching Ray at it, which dissipated when it hit, doing no damage. We eventually killed the creature, and shortly afterwards Gulnyr returned to normal size. We decided we should disable the cauldron, but it was too heavy to tip over and empty, and too tough to crack. So instead, Voon used Mage Hand to move the burning coals away from it.

We next came to a room containing five dead giants in armor; the one in the center was missing its head. They all came to life and attacked us. The headless one stayed back as we fought the others, and summoned nine human zombies to join the fight. After we killed all of the zombies and giants, a scandarig emerged from the wall and attacked us. Also known as a “Forge Fiend”, this was a metal construct with a mouth in its belly. We defeated it as well.

Exploring on, we came to the scandarig’s lair, which was a room with a 100 foot high vaulted ceiling. After this, we came to a corridor whose ceiling was decorated with sihedrons. There was ancient Thassilonian writing on the walls. Ash used Comprehend Languages to discover that they were meditative prayers to a peacock god. There was a door marked “Library Here”, which had a sihedron-shaped indentation, and no obvious hinges or handles. There was another door, which just had rubble behind it.

There was also a third door, which we opened, and Gulnyr stepped through it into a room with scratch marks on the walls. Three hound-like creatures, known as Hounds of Tindalos, emerged from the corners and attacked him. Eliatris entered the room, and she and Gulnyr killed the hounds.

Another door in this room led to what appeared to be an arcanist library or storeroom. This was a large room containing six pillars, each five feet wide. At the far end was an easy chair and a table; under the table was an iron-bound chest. The room was filled with some kind of mist.

Voon used Dispell Magic to clear the room of mist. After entering the room, we heard a spell being cast, which caused us to be enveloped in a thick fog. It was thick enough to slow us down as we moved through it. Mokmurian was present, floating in the air; he seemed to be a runt of a giant. He cast another cloud, which caused Constitution damage. Eliatris used her boots to levitate to try to attack him, but he cast Disintegrate on her, disabling her. Devin used a Heal spell to get her back up. Mokmurian then used Scorching Ray to knock out Devin.

Voon used Greater Dispell Magic on Mokmurian, which dismissed his flying ability, finally bringing him down where we could fight him directly. Ash healed Devin. Mokmurian fumbled an attack, blinding himself. Voon cast Disintegrate, but Mokmurian resisted, taking less damage. Ash was able to sneak attack Mokmurian while he was blinded, and after a few more rounds of combat, she finished him off.

After he was killed, a disembodied Thassilonian voice spoke to us. It said:

So these are the heroes of the age. More like gasping worms to me – worms to be crushed back into the earth when I awaken the armies of Xin-Shalast, when the name Karzoug is again spoken with fear and awe. Know that the deaths of those marked by the Sihedron – the giants you have so conveniently slain for me – hasten my return, just as yours soon will. Fools, all of you. Is this all you could manage in ten thousand years?

 

Eliatris managed to flee all the way back to Conna’s cave, and thus was not present when the rest of the party retreated into the crack in the wall. She rested for eight hours, which also allowed Voon enough time to recover his spells.

Meanwhile, the crack led to a network of passages, where the rest of us took shelter. Shortly after arriving, we heard the sound of snarling, and metal boots running away. Gulnyr followed the sounds down a passage, where he saw a tiny old man wielding a scythe, who attacked him. Another such man approached us from a different direction and attacked Devin. Ash ensnared him with a tanglefoot bag, and set him on fire. Meanwhile, Gulnyr killed the first attacker. After the fight, we heard a spell being cast by a dragon who was waiting just outside the crack.

After their rest, Eliatris and Voon set out to find us. They came to the kobold’s room, and saw the dragon asleep next to the crack. Voon suggested that the best way to find us was to scry us and then teleport to our location, and the two of them went off to a safe location to do the casting.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were exploring the network of passages, looking for another way out. We came to a cavern filled with spider webs. We were attacked by shambling husks of dead giant spiders, which spilled smaller spiders from their bodies as they moved. During this fight, Eliatris and Voon teleported in, and helped us kill the spiders. By the end of it, however, Devin had become poisoned, and was unconscious. After Gulnyr revived him with a potion, Devin cast Heal on himself, relieving all damage and ability loss.

Exploring on, we came to an exit that opened in the side of a ravine. There was a river at the bottom, 250 feet below us, and another cave entrance 50 feet above the river. Eliatris tied the Rope of Climbing to herself, and used her Boots of Levitation to investigate the lower cave. Inside were three blue wyverns, who spotted her. She levitated down to the river, pursued by the wyverns. She tied the rope to a rock, and submerged into the river, waiting there until the wyverns returned to their cave. Voon cast Fly on himself, and Spider Climb on Gulnyr, and the party joined Eliatris by the river. We then rested for eight hours.

After our rest, we climbed back up to the cave that we had come from. Using a Find the Path spell, we found our way back to the shrine area. We went to the room with the altar, where the lamias were. As we approached, Devin cast Wall of Stone to block the lamias’ retreat, and to prevent them from retrieving the dragons. We then attacked and killed them. Each one had a Headband of Wisdom; Devin took one, and Eliatris took the other.

We continued our exploration. We came to a corridor whose walls had furs hanging on them like tapestries. As Ash scouted down this corridor, two ranseurs lunged out at her from the walls. Believing that she had triggered a trap, she went further ahead, and then threw a piece of soap onto the floor where she had been when attacked. The ranseurs came out again, but they did so where she was, rather than where the soap was. She returned to the party, and we threw a lamia corpse down the corridor, but nothing happened. We lit the furs on fire, and then used Obscuring Mist to travel down the corridor unseen. At the end of the corridor were openings that led behind the walls. Behind each wall was a troll wielding a ranseur; it was they who had spotted Ash and struck out at her. We killed them.

We then returned to the altar room, where we encountered the giant cook, another stone giant, and three bears. We fought and killed them. Afterwards, we broke through the stone wall that Devin had made, and killed the dragons with ranged attacks while they were chained down. We then returned to Conna’s cave to rest.

We headed to the Great Cave to the southwest that Conna had informed us about. This was a sort of dining room, and there were four stone giants eating there. Their meal consisted of live rats and other vermin. Three of the giants were eating together, and the fourth one was at another table by himself. The lone giant was in our way, as our intended passage out of the cave was just beyond where he was sitting; the other giants were far enough away not to be a problem, if we could avoid them seeing us. There was another passage to our left, but it led to the pit, near the area where the dire bears lived. We decided we needed to get past the lone giant to the exit passage behind him.

Ash created a cloud of fog to prevent the three giants from seeing what we were up to, and they didn’t particularly seem to care. The lone giant was alarmed by the fog, but Eliatris cast a Silence spell on him before he could alert the others. We attacked and killed him, and then dragged his body out into the passage that led to the dire bears. We the proceeded out of the dining cave via the exit passage.

As we traveled along this passage, we found a secret door. Behind it was a room with no other exits. Galenmir was there, and as soon as he saw us he drank a potion that appeared to make him stronger, and more fierce. In return, Devin cast Mass Bull’s Strength on our party. We then fought Galenmir, but it did not go as smoothly as we would have liked. Due to some fumbles, Eliatris knocked herself out, and Ash greatly wounded Devin. Eventually however, Gulnyr finished off Galenmir, aided by some bleeding wounds caused by Ash.

We then continued along the passage we had entered this room from, and came to another room where we encountered the kobold that Conna had warned us about. However, Gulnyr quickly rushed her and smacked her with some impressive hits, and she was soon dead without giving us much trouble.

We took the other passage leading from the kobold’s room, and came to a three-way fork, with passages running south, southeast, and east. We first explored the southern fork, which led to a tannery, currently manned by three rune ogres. We fought and killed them, but just as the fight finished, two giants came along. They didn’t see us due to a fog cloud that Ash had placed within the room’s entrance, but they came into the room to investigate. We attacked and killed one of them within the fog cloud, but the other ran down the eastern fork for reinforcements. There were four more giants in the room at the end of that passage. However, by fighting them one at a time by keeping them confined to the narrow passage, we were able to defeat all five of them without too much trouble.

We then explored the southeast fork, which led to the armory. Seven of the kidnapped Sandpoint villagers were here, so we freed them and brought them back to Conna’s cave. They told us that the remaining villagers had been brought to Lokansir, so we headed off to find Lokansir and rescue them. We found the large doors that Conna had told us about, with a giant sihedron rune carved into it.

Behind these doors was a 50′ x 100′ room, with tree trunks embedded in the floor, and manacles attached to the trunks. There were four Sandpoint captives here, bound in those manacles: Mayor Deverin, Aneka Avertin, Nisk Tander, and Vorvashali Voon. We split up to free the captives, and as we were doing so, Lokansir rose up from the dirt. He was a large hill giant, covered in glowing runes. We fought him, but after becoming significantly wounded, he retreated by sinking back into the ground.

We rushed the villagers back to Conna’s cave. We then headed back out to continue exploring, and Lokansir attacked us while we were in the kobold’s room. We fought him again, and once more he retreated when wounded. We then went down the eastern branch of the three-way fork, to the room where four of the five stone giants we fought in this passage had come from. This was a rest area for the giants, and had another passage leading from the other side of it, which then forked to the northeast and the southeast.

We picked a branch, which took us to a cavern filled with the smell of incense and the sound of music. There were pictures of hyenas decorating the walls, and a stone slab stained with blood. Upon the slab lay the body of Jesk Berinni, who had been sacrificed. The two lamias that Conna had told us about were present, and we fought them. During the fight, Lokansir showed up again, and this time we managed to kill him. Unfortunately, the Lamias proved to be tricky, and one of them ran off to fetch the two red dragons to assist them. When they showed up, we retreated quickly, as we were in fairly bad shape, and Devin was unconscious at this point; he had to be carried by Gulnyr.

We ran back the way we had come until we reached the kobold’s room, where there was a crack in the wall large enough for us to squeeze into, but too narrow for our pursuers to follow us into.

Here is some supplementary information that Conna the Wise is able to give you about the challenges you might face:

“To the southwest is the Great Cave. It is likely to find four to six of my kin eating there at any given time. Should you encounter them, they will give no quarter, so I understand if you must use lethal force. They are among Mokmurian’s most trusted soldiers, and thus the most misguided of my people.

“Beyond the Great Cave dwells Galenmir, Mokmurian’s general and second-in-command. I would see him dead. You will also find a tannery and armory, with more stone-kin or ogre slaves. Ah, I almost forgot… there is a dangerous kobold warrior who guards the cracks in the wall and keeps the vermin out. In a passage full of mica beyond there will be more guards, charged with watching the pit. I have not been allowed farther in this direction, but the Ancient Ruins, where Mokmurian dwells, should be beyond.

“If you head east from here instead of southwest, you will pass a set of doors carved with an immense sihedron rune. Within dwells Lokansir, charged with the indoctrination and branding of new slaves. Those taken from your village may be here, but do not enter this region lightly. Ancient magics run strong in Lokansir’s blood, and while outwardly he resembles a hill giant, he is strange and dangerous. I have seen the very earth tremble and erupt at his behest.

“Just southeast of Lokansir’s room, the two red dragon captives guard the way forward. Named Econtredor and Sulaminga, they are young, but very dangerous. They serve Mokmurian due to the foul persuasive magics of his lamia priestesses. I have not been allowed past these wyrms, but there must be at least two lamia with Mokmurian in the realm below. I have also seen two heavily armored trolls armed with ranseurs occasionally venture out to make petty demands of my people.

“All I know of the places below is that they are suffused with the ancient magics that once held my people as slaves, and may do so again should Mokmurian have his way. He must be stopped, so we may return to the true path of stone.”

After defeating the stone giants at the top of the Storval Stairs, we soon came upon a traveling merchant selling scrolls and snuff. Though friendly enough, he refused to tell us his name. After buying a few scrolls, we continued on towards Jorgenfist.

Along the way, Devin cast Scrying again, and witnessed the townsfolk being transferred into a tower at Jorgenfist. The giants that had brought them were not entering the tower themselves, but passing the prisoners off to other giants who were inside. Devin also noticed that all of the giants were marked with the sihedron rune. There was smoke coming from the tower, and some giants were busy training mammoths.

Two days later, we arrived at the mouth of the valley which contained Jorgenfist. There were several towers, surrounded by encampments of armies. Ogres, hill giants, and stone giants were present. There was a watchtower not very far in from the valley entrance, and we also saw a cave entrance up on the valley wall quite a distance away. As we were planning our strategy, we were suddenly attacked by two rocs. One of them grabbed Eliatris and carried her off; we managed to kill the other one on the ground. Eliatris was able to use her animal handling skill to prevent the one carrying her from eating or killing her, but it dropped her into its nest, which was atop the tallest tower in the center of Jorgenfist. Devin scried Eliatris, and saw her in the nest. He also spotted three harpies perched atop the tower’s gate.

We waited for nightfall, and made our way to the watchtower. It had two floors, though it was as tall as a five-storey building for humans. There was a fire pit on the second floor, and a cauldron of water next to it, for creating smoke to serve as signals. Also present on the second floor were two stone giants with glowing runes carved into their bodies, looking out. Ash turned herself invisible, and then used ventriloquism to tell the giants that there were new orders for them. One of the giants went downstairs to the door. Gulnyr and Devin went to the door, and fought and killed the giant when he emerged. Hearing the commotion, the other giant started down the stairs. Meanwhile, Ash had made it up to the second floor, and was trying to move the cauldron away from the fire so it could not be used to send a signal. She set up a pulley system along with her rope and grappling hook to do so.

Gulnyr and Devin attacked the giant at the top of the stairs, while it attacked Ash. Suddenly, a much larger female giant named Cinderma approached from outside. We killed the second rune-marked giant, and Ash dumped the water out of the cauldron, but Cinderma knocked out Gulnyr and Devin shortly thereafter. She said “Galenmir will want these!” as she carried them off. Ash followed behind her, invisible.

Cinderma brought Gulnyr and Devin into Jorgenfist, and gave them to two other giants, who stripped them of their belongings. Cinderma said that some frost giants would be showing up, and left. While stripping Gulnyr and Devin, the giants mentioned that we would be delivered to Lokansir.

Eliatris shot arrows at the giants from atop the tower, while Ash attacked them from behind the corner of a building. The roc attacked the giants as well. During the fight, Ash was wounded badly enough that she turned gaseous to escape further harm. Eliatris arrived, but was soon knocked out. One of the giants started pounding on the tower that housed the three harpies, to call for their help, addressing them as “disciples of the black monk”. Ash managed to get to Devin and bring him back to consciousness, and he revived Gulnyr and Eliatris. Ash was then charmed by the harpies, so Gulnyr grabbed her, and then we all ran off and jumped into a nearby pit to escape.

The pit was 80 feet deep, and the floor was covered with piles of bones and corpses. We spotted three dire bears wandering around, and we put a fog cloud around them to avoid being spotted. Just then, an elderly female stone giant appeared, and told us that she was our ally, if our goal was to slay Mokmurian. She told us her name was Conna the Wise, and led us to her cave. She said that Mokmurian used blasphemous magic to kill her husband, who had been the leader of the tribe. He is under the influence of Karzoug, an ancient spirit of a lord. She said Mokmurian spends much of the time in his library, and there are two ways to get there, east or south. The southern route is longer, but safer, than the eastern route. She also asked us not to kill any stone giants. She gave us a place to rest up for the night, and provided the following information:

• We must destroy Galenmir
• The kobold is small, but very dangerous
• There are two red dragons at Jorgenfist: Econtrador and Sulaminga
• There are lamia priests
• Lokansir, like Karzoug, is from ancient times
• Lokansir manages the rune-slaves; being made a rune-slave is a punishment, and the process is irreversible
• The prisoners from Sandpoint were brought to Lokansir

Eliatris spoke to Savah, to find out more info about the Shoanti dockworker who had been visiting her shop. Savah told her that the man’s name was Ahbet, and that he had been purchasing cheap, low-quality weapons. Meanwhile, Ash investigated options for trying to scry on the kidnapped townsfolk, and was told that the Twilight Academy in Galduria would be a good place to find assistance. That night, we spoke with Ameiko, who gave us information about the Storval Plateau, which the captive stone giant had mentioned to us.

The next day, Eliatris, Ash, and Devin went to Savah’s armory to try to find the cause of Savah’s poisoning. Ash was able to detect a coating of poison on the countertop and on the cash box. There were also sailcloth rags in the wastebasket that were soaked with poison, which had been used to apply it.

We purchased a scrying mirror, and Devin prepared a Scry spell. He used it to view Mayor Deverin. He saw that the stone giants had stopped to camp. There were 15-20 townsfolk, six giants, and two dire bears. Teraktinus was looking ahead, towards a forest in the distance. One of the townsfolk present was Niska Mvashti, a seer. As Devin observed, Niska created a diversion by hiding under a horse and hurling stones at one of the bears. During the resulting commotion, she was able to escape from the camp undetected.

We obtained some horses, and proceeded to ride them towards Galduria. Along the way, we came to a river, which was blocking our path. There was no bridge or other easy way to cross nearby. While we were trying to figure out how we would get the horses across, Ash heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes nearby. Eliatris cast Detect Evil on the bushes, and found that there was a source of evil there. Suddenly, we heard a screeching noise coming from the sky; the Sandpoint Devil descended to the ground in front of us, and attacked by breathing fire. While Gulnyr fought the Devil hand to hand, and Ash and Eliatris shot at it from a distance, Devin went to investigate the evil within the bushes. He found a dog-like humanoid hiding there, giggling. Devin killed it, but there were two more of them nearby. After we had killed all three of the humanoids, the Sandpoint Devil escaped via Dimension Door.

Once again faced with the problem of crossing the river, we eventually decided that getting two of the horses across would be good enough. Gulnyr knocked two horses unconscious, enlarged himself, and carried them across; we let the other two horses go. We finished riding to Galduria doubled up on the horses.

When we arrived, we asked around for Niska. We were told to go to the Lucky Publican. Once there, an old woman beckoned to us, and offered to do a reading for us from her Harrowing deck, for the cost of 1 CP each. She instructed us to ask a question, for which the reading would provide an answer. The question we asked was, “How can we defeat Mokmurian?”. She performed the reading, and told us the following:

• We must gain ancient knowledge that is locked away.
• We require great speed, but have already failed. However, being slow might actually be beneficial.
• Mokmurian believes that he controls his allies, but some could be turned against him; we should seek allies in the enemy camp.

After the reading concluded, the old woman informed us that Niska was waiting for us in the back room. We met with her, and asked her about the Twilight Academy. She scoffed, and said that the Twilight Academy was just a front for the Harrowing Society, which consisted mostly of charlatans. She then offered to give us information about Jorgenfist, but she wanted 100 GP for it. Eliatris cast Zone of Truth on her, and we gave her the money.

Niska told us to travel to Wolf’s Ear, and from there to Ravensmoor. We can’t stay overnight at Ravensmoor, because they don’t allow outsiders to stay. We must quickly seek the Mushgold river, and follow it to Jorgenfist. If we’re fast, we have a slim chance of ambushing the stone giants in the Iron Peaks. The stone giants have a fortress, surrounded by an army, so we need a plan to get in. She also told us that the prisoners will most likely be kept alive and made into slaves. Niska then arranged for us to stay the night in Galduria, and booked passage for us on a ferry for the next morning.

The next day, instead of taking the ferry, we went to the Twilight Academy to arrange for teleportation to Ravensmoor. The cast the spell on us, but we arrived in Wolf’s Ear instead. We found a couple of fishermen on the river, and persuaded them to take us to Ravensmoor in their boat for 7 GP.

Devin cast Scry again, and saw the enemy party at the base of a giant cliff wall, roughly one hour away from the Storval Stairs.

We left Ravensmoor before nightfall, traveled for a while, and then set up camp. Ash set up trip wires so that we could all rest without needing someone to keep watch.

We arrived at the base of the Storval Stairs. At the top were six hill giants standing guard. We proceeded to climb up; Gulnyr enlarged himself, making it easy for him to climb quickly, and Devin used Air Walk to ascend beside the stairs. Ash and Eliatris climbed up normally. Meanwhile, the giants rolled boulders down the stairs at us, and threw rocks directly at Devin. Gulnyr made it near the top long before the rest of us, and engaged the giants in melee combat. Eventually, he suffered too much injury, and was killed. Fortunately, Devin arrived just in time to cast Breath of Life on him. We then managed to finish killing the stone giants.