Rise of the Runelords

"I guess this is the way." someone muttered.  "Balros, you first." Balros turned to the group trying to figure out who said that, shrugged, and said "Eh." as he stepped into the vortex.  His footing was solid.  In fact, from his perspective, he was inside a very well built, 10' stone passage that went on into the darkness in the direction away from the group and simply ended in open space in front of the rest of his companions who were all watching intently for any signs of danger.  Having a little fun, Balros spoke as if in some sort of time warp, "Eeevvveeerrryy ttthhhiiinnnggg iiisss oookkk. ccccooommmmeee ooonnnn iiinnn."  Not all that amused, the rest of the group joined him.  You traveled into the hallway.  You lost sight of the entrance before the other end opened into a dimly lit, circular room some 100' across.  The source of light seemed to be a bubbling, prismatic pool of liquid in the center.  Carved into the marble floor was the ever present seven pointed star.  Each arm pointing to a 25' foot tall statue.  Behind each was an opening.  There was no statue by the hall in which you made your entrance. Clock-wise from your left, the statues depict:

1. A strikingly handsome man with a close-cropped beard and a charming expression, dressed in extravagant clothes and wielding a lucerne hammer.
2. A gothic beauty with wild hair and a somewhat insane expression, this woman wears a long flowing dress and wields a thorny bastard sword.
3. An obese man, his flesh rotten in places so that the bones show through, wearing a ragged robe and wielding a scythe.
4. A towering man with gems set in his forehead and hands, dressed in robes and wielding a burning glaive.
5. A short smiling man with a hooked nose and beady eyes, dressed in robes and wielding a spear.
6. A heavyset woman with a sneering visage and an imperious stance, dressed in a flowing dress and wielding a halberd.
7. A voluptuous woman with a seductive look, large eyes, and long flowing hair; this statue is nude and wields a doubleheaded guisarme.

You spent some time milling about and running through the various bits of information you have gathered trying to associate each statue / weapon with the Runelords you know of and their school of magic and / or sin.  You were able to devise a likely list when Pirozzi said, "Hey, this pool radiates all magic types but divination.  Think that means anything?"

"I'm sure it does. Let's move on to find out."  After a little debate about which tunnel to take first, you decided to be methodical about it and started with the first one to your left.  The one you suspected belonged to the Runelord of Pride.  As the group moved down the hall, the dwarves and Balros were commenting on the superior craftsmanship of these tunnels when Edwin, D'Argo and Golian simply vanished. Those remaining started looking for hidden pits, secret doors, detecting magic and any other cause.

The three who vanished found themselves in a hallway with floor to ceiling mirrors.  The reflection upon reflection was a bit disorienting.  The hallway behind extended as far as they could see and appeared to 'T' about 20' forward.  They tapped on the glass, tried disbelieving, debated breaking a mirror before and deciding to cautiously and slowly move forward.

The original group, finding no obvious signs of danger, got out a rope and all hung on to a section as they moved forward.  After a few steps, Pirozzi and Malloric vanished and appeared just behind the first three in the mirrored hall.  Soon all were reunited. Pirozzi commented that he detected no magic in the hallway whence you came, but this one radiated dim illusion magic.

Focusing on the floor to keep from being too disoriented, Balros and Wolfgar led the group to where the hallway split left and right.  They stepped into the intersection to see where each led and noticed that each branch went only a few dozen feet and turned again as they could see their reflections in the mirrors ant the end of the hall.  Debating about which way to go, both of them had to lower their eyes as they felt disoriented.  It seemed as though their reflections were advancing on them.  Before anyone could realize what was happening, Wolfgar watched 'himself' advance and strike him heavily with his warhammer.  Balros watched himself reach into a pouch and drink a potion, becoming blurry.  He reached into his own pouch to find his potion of blur still there. Confused, the group backed up in hopes 'evil' Wolfgar and Balros would not pursue.  They didn't immediately but instead prepared for a fight by casting and positioning.  D'Argo lobbed an acid ball into the hallway and soon realized that evil Wolfgar was also protected from acid like Wolfgar.  It did some damage though.  They soon attacked.  'Evil' Balros had the jump on Blaros and was adept at disarming himself.  'Evil' Wolfgar was buffed and started heading toward Wolfgar when Henrik interposed.   Many attacks missed the blurred 'evil' Balros and targeting for single target spells was challenging due to their being two identical targets and walls covered in mirrors.  The 'evil' Balros fell first as the 'evil' Woflgar was able to significantly cure himself.  But in the end they were defeated.  You cast a few cures and decided to strip Golian of his weapons and some items before sending him back out into the hall in case his reflection also attacked.  It did not so you formed up and moved on.

You turned the corner and could see a vary large room with walls some 100' tall, all covered in mirrors.  The room was lit by four huge chandeliers hung far out of reach, the flickering lights reflected over and over over. Near the far end of the room was a raised dais with a wyvern-sized statue of a peacock in full display.  Someone said, "I'll bet there are more illusions in here."

"I'll check." Edwin said as he moved to the front of the group to cast true sight.  "You're right." Edwin whispered. " There are four people - identical people - standing one at each corner of the dais.  They see us but aren't doing anything other than standing."

Pirozzi moved a little closer to see a corner and said "I'll blast 'em." as he started casting.  As if on cue, Edwin saw all four of the mages start casting.  They beat Pirozzi to the punch and everyone saw the telltale  signs of  two incoming fire balls as Wolfgar steadied himself against a mental assault.  The fireballs were powerful, catching the whole group[ and disrupting Pirozzi's spell.  He slunk back to the rear very hurt.  Edwin started his curing routine.  D'Argo hasted all but Golian who had already movied into the room.  Wolfgar cast invisibility purge and charged into the room hoping to reveal as many of the mages as he could.  The rest followed.

Wolfgar revealed one mage and the group focused.  Balros moved into flank and Goliand decided this was the time to parley with them as he stood to the side and tried to convince the rest that these mages were not the enemy.  Pirozzi launced a fireball to where he though two of the mage were.  Edwin informed the group that only one was hit.  Soon two more powerfull fireballs came out of nowhere and hit Malloric, Edwin and Pirozzi.  That last barrage almost dropped Pirozzi.  Edwin was curing as fast as he could.  Wolfgar was able to reveal another mage and Malloric turned him into a pincushion, dropping him quickly.  Wolfgar and Balros were attacking another mage who had hit Balros with an enfeebling ray.

The two visible mages each cast scorching rays at Balros, hitting with all four.  These were more powerful than Blaros expected and he took significant damage.  D'Argo responded by turning one of the mages into a toad that hopped away.  Wolfgar moved and revealed the last of the mages.  They dropped quickly after that. When killed, the mages dissolved into puddles of clear liquid.  Water you think.

As Edwin and Wolfgar were tracking down the invisible toad to squish it, Edwin noticed two things.  First, the mirrors on the rear wall of the room reflected slightly differently than the other walls. Second, as he was mentioning / apologizing for not getting to cast endure elements on the group he noticed that the air temperature and quality were, well, perfect.  In fact, while tired from the exertion of the fight, he was neither hungry nor thirsty.  Everyone felt the same.

You were able to located a secret door in the rear wall and entered a room with full bookcases lining the walls.  It had a musty stink.  On the far side was a bodyslumped in a chair with an open book resting on its lap.  A set of double doors were on the right wall.  Detecting, Henrick found an evil aura from the robes that the body wore.  Pirozzi could tell that the robes, cloak, headband and ring all were magic.  You explored through the doors and discovered a series of rooms, the last of which was full of hundreds of skeletons.

Going back to the corpse, you checked the open book.  It had the look of a journal.  D'Argo looked at he last few pages:

“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 Kazaven, 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. Kazaven 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 allowed 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 pro jection 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 up on 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 lords’ 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...”