Having defeated the blue gnolls that occupied Shilukar’s former lair, Early the warblade, Emeris the half-dragon shadowcaster, and Vatex the urban ranger consider the portal and the idol in the chamber to the south. Revenge is satisfying itself, but Early wishes to have the portal closed so that no more fiendish creatures can come through. But can they rely on Shilukar’s instructions on how to close the portal? Even if they can, they know nothing of the obstacles they face on the other side.
In any case, they decide to explore the rest of the subterranean complex first. All residents seem to be away or dead, but for two gnolls guarding an exit to the sewer. The group quickly slays them. Throughout various chambers they nothing little of interest until they stumble across Shilukar’s former laboratory. There are nearly two dozen large glass tanks filled with foul smelling chemicals and rotting organic matter. In most vats, rotting creatures float dead, attached to a number of umbilical-like cords. These cords connect to horrid, semi-organic machines, that seem to have once pumped fluid into the creatures when everything was operational. Each creature appears to be a terrible fusion of recognizable animals and a massive spider. There is a spider with bat wings, a dog with spider legs, a ratlord that that is a large spider from the waist down, and other such abominations.
They leave this chamber and return to the entrance of the chamber containing the Idol of Ravaan and the portal. Early leads the way, but the others stop at the boundary of the chamber when they see the warblade suddenly stop and drop his sword. They seem him drooling and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Fueled by the power of the nearby idol, Early’s mind is filled with visions of attacking his friends and tearing them apart with his hands and teeth. A moment later, he acts on his visions and lunges at the others, snarling like a beast. The others step back, and when Early rushes past the threshold power of the idol it loses its grip. Shaken, he asks Emeris to enter the chamber to get his sword, but when he does, even the formidable will of the shadowcaster yields to the idol’s power. He stumbles dumbly towards the idol at the end of the chamber, and Vatex follows. Although his elven blood should make him extra resilient to such mental influences, he succumbs as well. Both he and Emeris are overcome by violent images that flash in their mind, and they both close in on Early with bloodlust in their eyes. Early lures them back outside the chamber and they regain their wits, but it is obvious none of them can enter that chamber without magical intervention. The Glade of Ravaan must wait.
They head back to Emeris and Early’s house to rest. The next morning they head to the Adventurer’s Square and sell loot and identify magical items. Vatex ends up keeping a magical ring that allows the wearer to fall from any distance as gently as a feather. Now it is time to visit Ishara Jare, the loremaster who is researching the strange verse that resulted when they used the legend lore scroll on the Banewarrens’ sealed door.
They get to Ishara’s house and Veston, her short and fat assistant, invites them in and serves them delectable tea. Ishara joins them and explains what she found in the literature. The “noble house that is not noble” refers, she believes, to House Vladaam. This is because in “The Memoirs of ZENITHIAN”, written by one of the heroes who defeated the Dread One, it is said that another such hero, named NARIDIA, had supposedly been corrupted by the essence of Vladaam – one of the Chosen of the Ancients. After the battle where the eight great heroes fought the Dread One through the halls of Jabel Shammar to the Banewarrens, Naridia allegedly took some things from the corpse of the Dread One after he was defeated. Some of these items are said to have passed down through House Vladaam over the millennia. Most importantly, one of them was said to be the mummified hand of the saint Danar, which functioned as the key to the Banewarrens’ sealed doors. This would explain the verse’s reference to “the key that is a hand” and ‘the touch of the saint.” As to the “staff that is a dagger,” Ishara’s theory is that is likely refers to the Staff of Shards, a mighty artifact. Legend says that it was this weapon that smote the Dread One with the killing blow.
The companions considers the gravity of this information. They know of House Vladaam’s dire reputation, for it is said that they are very powerful and demonic blood may flow through their veins. Saharasahla, hearing this information through Emeris’ thoughtstone, sends his voice through the connection and tells the half-dragon that getting this key is their best chance to get the missing page of the Book of Inverted Shadows. But what can they do to get the key from such enemies? Ishara tells them of a man named NICALON REGALIS, a member of the Knights of the Chord who is a well-known enemy of the Vladaams. It is said that he even used to work for them. She suggests if anyone might help them, Nicalon might.
They visit the headquarters of the Knights of the Chord, the Kirii Templehall, and they are referred to Nicalon’s favorite hangout, an unpopular tavern called the Fuzzy Gauntlet. They meet Nicalon there that evening. He is a tall, dark-skinned man who carries a lute and a sword, and he does not hide his hatred of House Vladaam. He confirms that he used to work as a bodyguard for the evil nobles. After he left their employ, the youngest Vladaam daughter, Navanna, killed his family and stole an important relic called the Pyramid of Xagor. They tell him they too want something possessed by the Vladaams, the mummified hand (although they hide its significance), Nicalon thinks this is a perfect opportunity for them to work together.
Hearing the name Navanna allows the group to make a startling connection. Navanna Vladaam? This explains Illadras’ letter to Andross, recovered in the Temple of Deep Chaos. In it, Illadras said the Pactlords of the Quaan were unaware of Navanna and the Banewarrens key. Is Navanna somehow connected to the chaos cults, or the Keepers of the Faith?
Emeris and Early meet again with Nicalon later at the Cloud Theater. There they discuss possible plans of attack while watching to a lame opera starring Dullin Balacazar from their private balcony seating. Nicalon first fills them in on what he knows about the Vladaams. Known to be in the city at this time are ALIASTER, a powerful wizard. There is also the fat sister GATTARA, a sorceress, and the younger brother, GODFRED, who is a warrior with a reputation for stupidity. The patriarch, IRISTUL, a man of decadent and unsavoury appetites, is extremely powerful but fortunately abroad searching for powerful soul-devouring weapons called Hungerswords. The younger daughter, Navanna, is out of the country in Walsta for unknown reasons.
Nicalon suggests they will have to break in somehow, and draws them a map of the Vladaam estate. He thinks the best option is to sneak across the property, break in via the library window, and make their way to the storeroom in the basement. That would surely be the location of important items such as the mummified hand and the Pyramid of Xagor. Emeris thinks they should wait until they can find Dziga, for the rogue is their best asset for a mission such as this. Nicalon is disappointed that they will not act immediately, and angrily tells them to find him when they are ready. With the prospect of getting back his family’s treasure so close, he seems impatient to delay any further. He leaves.
Vatex meanwhile hits the streets to see if they might infiltrate the estate by becoming employees. He manages to find the supervisor of the Vladaam guardsmen drinking at a tavern called the Griffon. Vatex asks if the Vladaam’s are hiring, and the supervisor says no, and says even if they were they wouldn’t hire a stupid elf. Vatex’s blades flash out of their sheathes and he kills the man quickly. Patrons flee the tavern and call for guards, and Vatex flees through the crowd. People point and shout “murdering elf!” He disappears into an alley before the guards show up and makes his way back to the house to escape legal trouble.
On the way back home, Emeris is summoned to Saharasahla’s library. The old shadowcaster tells him that a strange visitor, seemingly human, came to the library asking about the half-dragon. Saharasahla could not determine his identity, and revealed nothing to the stranger, but said he wore a distinct symbol. Saharasahla shows his rendition of the symbol but it means nothing to Emeris. Emeris shows it to Vatex later, and the elf vaguely remembers it from a story involving a mighty dragon and a druid. The details are very fuzzy though.
Early stops by Dziga’s apartment, but unfortunately the rogue is nowhere to be found. When he gets back to his house, he finds Vatex and Emeris awake considering what to do next. Without Dziga, they will not act on their knowledge of the Banewarrens key, and their conversation once again turns to the forces of chaos. They know that there is a long passage in the Temple of Deep Chaos that leads to a huge chaositech device called the Mrathrach Machine, and there they may find a new lead on Khyron. Although it is past midnight now, they head back to the apartment house in Oldtown and descend into the sewers and back into the Temple of Deep Chaos.
The temple’s previously cleared areas have not been repopulated, and most of the bodies of slain enemies remain were they fell. The long passage is found just south of the Kaleidescopic Temple. The tunnel earns its name with a seemingly endless length that changes width, slope, direction, and method of construction numerous times. It is nearly 700 feet of winding tunnel before Vatex hears the sounds of battle ahead. Advancing carefully, they find a minotaur cleric bearing an black hand symbol on his cloak battling two female cultists with symbols of Brotherhood of Venom on their robes. The minotaur bids them to help kill the traitors in exchange for magic scrolls, while the human cultists play the “we are all humans” card, imploring them to join them in killing the monster, who turns out to be Reggaloch, an Ebon Hand cultist of whom they had heard previously.
The companions side with the humans of the Brotherhood. Although Reggaloch’s morning star, its spiked head bigger than Early’s skull, is wielded with devastating strength, the combined forces quickly take him down with steel and shadow magic. Emeris, relying on his exotic appearance and intimidating personality, pretends to be a member of the Keepers of the Faith. The cultists seem convinced by the bluff, and show Emeris a letter they were to deliver to the White House, which supposedly sits above the Mrathrach Machine.
Emeris reads the letter, addressed to Aggah-Shan, the lich that owns the White House, and signed by someone named CALDOR. It informs the lich that progress on the Mrathrach Machine is ahead of schedule, and it should be “complete” in about thirty days. At this time, it is explained, the machine will no longer need to be powered by “the zaug.” No one is sure what a zaug is. Reading on it is said that progress has accelerated due to the assistance of the rhodintor and the kython. Emeris and Early remember the word “kython” from a letter found way back in the Temple of the Rat God, where it was mentioned the cultists acquired a large supply of chaositech when the “vault of the kython” was opened.
The companions allow the cultists to take the letter and go, for it might draw unwanted attention should the two women fail to show up at the White House. They continue deeper down the passage, and after about another three or four hundred feet, come to a massive door of solid iron. The door is carved with elaborate pictures of coiling serpents and plants in a swamp. The door is locked, so they yell at the top of their lungs, and bang on the door, hoping to make a racket and get someone to let them in, as they might be able to continue the Keepers of the Faith ruse. They get no attention, and they resort to using raw strength. Unfortunately, it seemed they might sooner move a mountain than force the door open. Discouraged and annoyed with Dziga’s absence, they rush after the cultists on their way to the White House, but they are too far ahead. They return to the surface.
They stop by the Ghostly Minstrel for a few drinks, and they find the Company of the Blue Lantern drinking merrily despite the late hour. Vatex mentions they need to get past a locked door and the fighter Rando suggests the Company’s rogue, Burger the halfing, go help them out. Burger only agrees on getting a dinner at the greatest restaurant in Elan, Bella Delicious.
The sun will be up in a few hours, but the companions immediately head back down to the door at the end of the long passage. Upon arrival, Burger picks the difficult lock with ease and heads back to the surface, saying he looks forwad to his dinner. Vatex pushes open the massive door, made of metal five inches thick. Early steps up to hold out his torch, but the chamber beyond is lit with a metallic blue-grey light.
They look around in awe as they enter the massive cavern beyond. They are at the top of a massive shaft that seems to go hundreds of feet down, containing a huge tower-like structure that rises from the depths below, coming fifty feet short of the ceiling. This giant tower, they realize quickly, is the Mrathrach Machine. Roughly cylindrical, the machine is fifty feet in diameter, and the shaft is a hundred feet in diameter. Iron scaffolding has been built in the space between the edges of the machine and the sides of the chamber. There are many levels of scaffolding going down, spaced out every twenty feet along the machine’s height. Two ladders on the east and west sides connect the different levels, and the five-foot-wide inner and outer rings of scaffolding are bridged by narrow catwalks.
The machine itself is a dizzying array of movement and noise. Much of it rotates, with different segments moving at different speeds in different directions, with strange arms, mysterious antennae, and spinning machine parts making the inner ring of scaffolding a precarious location. The chamber is also stiflingly hot, with the machine venting copious amounts of steam, often in scalding gouts around in the scaffolding, which makes the whole place even more inhospitable. A cacophony of mechanical grinding and pounding and blasting vapour fills their ears.
It is a few moments before they spot a venom-shaped thrall crawling along the wall towards them. Vatex snaps up his rifle and hits the monster with a well-placed shot, and it lets out a keening wail as black blood spurts from the wound. Despite the racket from the machine, they are sure that unbearably loud wail can be heard deeper down the shaft, likely alerting others. Early fires his double pistols while Vatex rushes to intercept. Emeris gazes at the thrall and ravages it with shadow magic. It lets out another screaming wail as Vatex meets it, cutting through its chitinous plates to be rewarded with chunks of black gore.
Two more thralls have entered the shaft from a passage on the western wall two levels down. Above, as Vatex ducks and cuts at the legs of the thrall, Early bounds over him, disappearing through the Vajra, leaving a transparent afterimage that streaks forward through the thrall neck, cleanly severing its head. Early reappears, landing in a crouch as the headless thrall tumbles off the scaffolding. Suddenly a cone of steam bursts from the machine and engulfs Emeris, burning him badly. The three of them hasten to the western ladder and descend to the third level down, to meet the emerging thralls.
When they get there, Vatex warns them that another monster is coming. It is a strange, xenomorph-like humanoid with an armor-like exoskeleton with an eyeless, carapace-covered head, four clawed arms, and a thin, whip-like tail. It carries a strange crossbow-like weapon that looks to be made of the same organic material as the monster’s carapace. It is quickly climbing up the tower, maneuvering around the numerous moving mechanisms with familiarity. It reaches the fourth level from the top and leaps to the cavern wall, to which it clings with eerie facility. From its angle on the wall which it grips with with three claws, it holds up the crossbow-like weapon with its fourth claw, aiming and Emeris. The weapon seems to convulse and it launches of gob of burning acid which splatters all over Emeris.
The other two thralls scamper along the walkways on the third level down to engage the descending companions. Early intends to intercept the acid-launching creature – a kython, perhaps? – on the fourth level, firing his pistols as he flipps across the distance. He bounds across the gap to the inner ring, then turns quickly to jump to the outer ring below. He miscalculates the spinning parts of the Mrathrach Machine, and is struck by a long, heavy antenna which knocks him off the scaffolding. He falls down five levels before catching himself on a catwalk between the inner and outer rings, cracking some ribs in the fall.
Vatex and Emeris find themselves suddenly outnumbered as thralls close in and the kython takes aim. The kython launches another gob of acid which splatters against the wall above Vatex while Emeris engages a thrall. Vatex fires a shot that hits the thrall while Emeris conjures black fire around it. It scampers forth stings him with the burning poison on its tail, and he feels his muscles grow terrible stiff. Vatex hits it again just beneath the throat, and Emeris presses his hands against its abdomen. He unleashes life fading negative energy, and the unconscious thrall collapses motionless.
A second thrall closes in on it quickly, and Emeris throws black fire around him, freezing the monster as it charges him. The thrall is wounded but hardly slowed. Emeris does not get back into a defensive stance quickly enough, and the thrall lashes him with its tail, and stabs its claws through his ribs, and lifts him up to deliver a thick dose of poison. Instead its tail darts out at Vatex as he rushes to the aid of his friend. The poison-dripping tip hits him in the shoulder. Immediately the wound turns a sickly color and he feels his muscles begin to grow very numb. Nonetheless he hacks the Flame of Elmekia into the thrall’s abdominal cavity. It tumbles off the scaffolding to its death, and drops the bleeding half-dragon to the ground. Suddenly Vatex is splattered with the kython’s acid spitter, fired from the inner ring one level below. Vatex draws his rifle while Emeris gets to his fight and scounges through his pockets for a potion.
Several levels down, Early climbs up the western ladder while trying to dig healing potions out of his pack to mend his broken ribs. A column of burning air washes over him while he grips tightly to the ladder and holds a vial of healing elixir between his teeth. He ascends a few levels when he sees a amorphous ooze-like creature slither out of a western passage on the fifth level from the top. This creature seems to take note of Early and descends the ladder. Early sees it coming and channels through the Vajra to power up his special abilities. They face off on the outer ring of the sixth level.
Early swings Cryssaegrym and the silver blade cuts deep, producing a stream of transparent life-fluid. Different colors within the creature swirl and within the blink of an eye it completely transforms itself into a towering humanoid with charcoal-colored skin and bright orange hair. A…fire giant? The shapeshifter smashes its giant fists into Early, crunching his armor into his chest painfully and glancing off his skull, nearly sending him spinning off the outer ring. Trying to see past the stars in his eyes, Early strikes back and is splattered with blood as the silver blade cuts deep. He narrowly avoids being struck by a fierce kick and strikes again, slicing through leg muscle.
Above, Vatex fires a shot that harmlessly richochets off the kython’s skull plate. As Emeris slugs back another potion, he heads over to the western ladder to reach the kython below. Vatex follows him to the fourth level, and moves along the outer ring. Emeris crosses the catwalk and moves to the inner ring while weaving steel shadows around himself. The kython fires acid at Emeris and he holds up his arm which burns badly as it takes the majority of the glob. As the two close in, Emeris is stuck by a swinging arm spinning on the machine. He grabs on to the ledge and holds, but he sees the kython give him a knowing eyeless look. Before it can take advantage though, Vatex assaults it with a flurry of blades. Emeris looks on as the athleticism and finesse of the elven tempest squares up against the unnatural prowess of the kython in a battle of such speed it is difficult to follow with the untrained eye.
Emeris switches his attention to the fire giant and the warblade on the outer ring two levels down. Early is being battered by huge fists and shows signs of serious injury, so instead of climbing back up, Emeris lets himself fall down a level and lands carefully on the inner ring. He breathes deep and unleashes a blast of freezing cold shadow from his throat that sends shapeshifter in giant form stumbling back. Early leaps into the air and disappears through the Vajra. Time seems to stop for him as his blade explodes through the giant’s skull. When the shapeshifter’s death spasms end all that is left is a pair of giant legs bubbling into a slimy puddle.
The situation is not as good above. Vatex scores a few hits against the kython but finds it difficult to penetrate the monster’s tough natural armor with his muscles so weakened by the thrall’s poison. At the same time, while he has avoided the fierce maw that would easily take off his face, his flesh is scored with half a dozen bleeding wounds from the four-armed flurry of claws. On the level above, he can see another pair of thralls entering from the western passage.
Next: The battle at the Mrathrach Machine continues!
Random Elanian Factoid: The Knights of the Chord are a small knightly order dedicated to upholding freedom and protecting the innocent. The knights all have mastered, to some degree, the art of drawing power from music and song. While many may have at one time been bards, they are no longer minstrels. These knights are a martial order and focus heavily on combat skills. They have strong and ancient ties to the noble House Kath.
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