Rise of the Runelords

You go about the normal after battle checklist.  Pirozzi is off in a corner going over magic items, Edwin is checking to see if anyone is still hurt, Malloric and Henrik are making sure the 'perimeter' is secure, etc., when D'Argo reappears in your midst - naked.  He and you all stand frozen and stare at each other with grand quizzical looks on you faces.  D'Argo begins speaking. He has yet to realize he's naked.  "That was a bit odd. How'd we get here?"  Wolfgar stares at him trying to say something, but no words come.  D'Argo looks back, What!?" and then down.  "Oh! . . . Um, can I get my stuff back?"

D'Argo relates a story of being somewhere else and in the presence of some being.  It seems his death was at an inopportune moment and complicated some plans that are supposed to unfold.  He was given an option of returning to the group or not, which obviously he did.  As he relates this part of the story he begins frantically looking for his captured spellbooks.  "It seems," as he continues paging through the books, "that there is to be some sort of cataclysm and that somehow we play a part in it."   He dejectedly drops his head and shoulders. "I guess it really did happen."  Pirozzi, peering over his shoulders, sees most of the pages are now completely blank.

You stay the rest of the day in Khalib's quarters and have yet another fantastic breakfast. Wolfgar has a good morning.  You head out to areas of the spire you have not searched.  You spent nearly an hour exploring and searching the pagoda structure, sarcophagus, statue and greenish lens before you moved on. You found several empty rooms before coming to the one set of double doors you saw in your early forays but had not yet opened.  What a surprise.

The interior of this dazzling chamber is awash in golden light—it shines from every gem, every strip of gold, and every silver-inlaid wall carving, creating a kaleidoscope of color and riches. The checkerboard pattern on the floor is interrupted in a twenty-foot-wide path from the northeastern doors to a throne on a dais of onyx to the southwest by a path of what appear to be countless rubies, forming a “red carpet” of sorts to the throne itself. This throne, if possible, makes the rest of the chamber’s extravagance seem pale and poor, for it is made of shining gold, diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, and draped with shimmering, glowing furs from unrecognizable creatures. The throne itself is sized for a giant, and stands nearly twenty feet tall from foot to peak.

On the throne sat a large woman in golden full plate, a heavy steel shield with gold filligree and a scimitar.  She was large in the sense that she was nearly 12' tall. Henrik said something like "Lay down your arms and we will negotiate your surrender."  She replied by saying something like, "Come try and take it" The battle began.

You had already cast a number of longer duration spells and took a round or two to prepare.  She took only a few steps closer to you and waited.  As some of you started to move into the room, you saw two rune giants move out from some shadows and take up positions on her flanks and in between columns so their attacks would not be hindered.  Henrik and Balros moved up the middle with Edwin, Worlgar, D'Argo and Pirozzi right behind.  Malloric moved off to the side to get a bead on one of the giants.  Golian was invisible and all assumed he would pop up somewhere shortly. It appeared to be turning into a stand up, toe-to-toe melee with the victor to be that last to fall.  D'Argo and Pirozzi were casing spells and quickly realized that she had some powerful SR, so they changed targets or moved to more conjuration type spells.  She attacked multiple times each round with her sword and added a shield bash.  Balros was able to disarm her.  He was surprised when her sword, after is left her hand and before it landed on the ground, shrunk to ,normal, size.  She became quite angry at this and took the time to retrienve her weapon, allowing attacks of opportunity.  As she grasped the blade, it returned to 'large' size.  The meleers were trading blows when Henrik and Golian focus their efforts on one the rune giants, dropping it in a matter of seconds, due mostly to some massive, unerring blows from Henrik.  Malloric was in the mean time sticking the other giant with arrows.  That giant would not leave the female's side, all the more to Malloric's amusement.   Worlgar was attacking one of the giants and Edwin was keeping everyone cured. At about this time, she hit Balros with a massive swing.  Balros' face went momentarily pale.  He felt his rune-forged weapon pulse in his hand as he shook off some effect from the blow.  A short while later she scored another massive hit. This time the magic was too much for him and he turned to crystal.  The remaining giant non-verbally asked for her leave and she granted it.  It charged Malloric.  Thanks to the many arrows from Malloric, it was too late for that giant and it fell quickly.  Alone, she was no match for the lot of you, although she did force Edwin to use a lot of healing skills.

After the battle, you debated Balros' fate as you checked around for magic items.  D'Argo pointed out that Karzog is a transmuter and that maybe her sword has similar powers and that if that is the case, the magic is likely dispellable.  It was and you did.  As you removed the magic items from her you were surprised that they shrink to normal (medium) size, although she did not.  You moved on.

There was a passage and another door out of this room. You choose the door. Even more surprising that the opulence of this room, the open door revealed a waiting Karzog. You readied for a fight you weren't completely prepared for.  Karzog started with his now predictable ramblings:

“And so the fools have found me. I must applaud your tenacity. You are much more persistent than the worms I thought you to be. You are more like hungry maggots in your endless squirming and writhing to get to the death that awaits you at the core of your fate. I am that fate, maggots. I am your death!”

He lashed out with a few spells as you did the same.  Malloric quickly noticed that Karzog was protected by a very power type of displacement or more likely was not actually there.  His 'non-existence' was quickly confirmed and you pulled the doors shut.  You moved on to other unexplored areas.  Another set of double doors opened to another Karzog.  Instead of wasting time, you simply pulled the doors shut.  At last the long hallway came to an end.  You opened this door, half expecting yet another Karzog.  What you saw was even more strange.

The plain stone walls of this long room have been lined by a variety of tables, boxes, crates, and cylinders. Some are made of stone, but others appear to be composed of metal. Strange winding cables protrude from some to connect to others. All of this clutter seems to focus upon a large metal framework constructed at the southern end of the room, where strange currents of energy dance and shimmer. Now and then, these currents coalesce into shapes—images startling for their familiarity and yet totally alien. The image revealed is of a massive city of towers and gigantic monuments set in a mountain valley at the foot of a huge peak—Xin-Shalast, as it would appear from this high mountain vista. The city beyond the energy curtain is very different, however, in that its towers and buildings are ablaze with light both magical and mundane and the great central road and surrounding streets teem with tens of thousands of giants and humanoids of all descriptions. The sounds and even the smells of this strange metropolis waft through the image—an image that is, perhaps, trying to be an open window. Amongst all the clutter a dozen robed creatures move as they tighten bolts, remove cable ends from one plug and insert them into another, turn dials and push buttons all the while having one eye on the image as if they are working to bring it into clearer focus.

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