The Magnificent Marvel of the Magnanimous Masked Messiah

[IcarusIX]

The Pit of Seven Jaws was just as I surmised. A name evoking metaphor. There was absolutely nothing menacing about it whatsoever.

Unless one counts the several stories of rickety wooden stairs that descended into the pit. Or the hydra at the bottom. But all is well! We fought the hydra and bested it quite easily. It sprayed a bit of snow at us and nipped at a few of our heroic band members, but all in all it was quite easy to kill the over-rated beast. It definitely took no more than seven tries. Assuredly.

After that little fiasco, we went further and further still into the cave below. However, the path seemed never to end. Deciding it wise to rest before continuing on for what could be yet another day's hike, we made camp in an alcove. I, in my prescient wisdom, set up a system of alarms around our little alcove so that we would be alerted if any visitors came close.

We were not alerted. We all woke up to probably one of the most shocking and worst sights one can see when just waking up from a slumber. It was a Beholder, floating there in the entrance of the alcove, many eyes turned upon us. The largest eye, placed in the center, was open and suppressing all magic. Which, you know, is only slightly a damper on my abilities--- for I may be a wizard, but I am also The World's Best Bard.

Now, let it never be said that The Masked Messiah is not a wondrous genius with an intellect that shall forever awe the humble mortals of this earth. The Messiah promptly went about making an ally of the Beholder, whose name was "Valkra," and sending this impromptu ally to Jzadirune to engage in epic battle with the other Beholder we had once encountered. This genius plan has absolutely no chance of backfiring and is without any doubt the only thing that saved our entire band of adventurers. As it was, the Paladin almost engaged in hostilities with Valkra, and the Halfling swashbuckler almost refused to bow when told to do so. I swear, I may be the only one among us that is invested in our continued survival. If I weren't so burdened with genius, I might actually have to do all of the work in this party myself. As it is, poor Grogrot's back is soon to break. He's carrying this party through every adventure.

With our Beholder problem no longer a problem, we continued down the tunnel and found some lovely statues that didn't come to life. We didn't have to smash them. Archaeological treasures preserved!

At last, we found Bhal-hamatugn. It's a lovely place. Quaint glow. Soft textures. Very vertical. The interior decorator has a bit of an obsession with the rustic, but I think it works.

The ferryman, who had a name that was something like "Sai-ko Pomp," took us across the lake at the bottom of the enormous cavern. Towering above us, a temple with the shape of a fish could be seen. Beneath us, our guide assured us that the "Mother" was sleeping. Our Holy Warrior of the Week interjected to inform us that the "Mother" was an evil, insane goddess and that these frog-like inhabitants of Bhal-hamatugn aren't good people. I found that kind of judgy, to be honest, but not everyone is as tolerant as the Magnanimous Messiah.

We were welcomed warmly at the front door of the temple, also known as "The Maw." Our hosts made the unfortunate mistake of bringing their spears and weapons to greet us, and my companions made the unfortunate mistake of killing them. I may have also accidentally discharged a Fireball at our hosts. These things happen.

Now we venture into The Maw!

Stay tuned, dear audience. The fun never ends.

~M

[Harriet]

"Darling" a Bard would know that the thing that distinguishes them from a mere Performer (which is your calling) is magic. Called forth in song, certainly, but the Beholder still stifled my grasp of the art.

[IcarusIX]

Inside the Maw, we found two prisoners. One was a Human and the other was a Halfling. Both of them agreed on disagreeing about everything, which is where their mutual agreement ended. We tried to use a spell to discern the truth, but the Human was honestly a bit cheeky about it and I didn't like him. The Halfling was less cheeky, if also less cooperative in the whole. For some reason, Grogrot decided to bring the Halfling along. Once Grogrot decides to pick something or someone up, you don't really argue with him. That is to say, you can't. We left the Human there, but he was gone by the next time we came back.

We went downstairs into a room filled with water up to my waist. Someone raised the ire of a mummy, so as a team we decided to lower it back into its murky tomb. Permanently, of course. That went swell.

Continuing down a long hallway, we found a secret door that led into a massive chamber. Inside was a statue several stories tall, shaped like a woman with lobster claws and a lobster head. Multiple levels of wide balcony were raised around the room, with the statue standing in a central pool that remained uncovered. Personally, I find the Kuo-toa's post-gothic aesthetic to be quite dated, as well as their take on absurdist iconography, but to each their own.

A winged woman in the chamber apparently took great umbrage to my critique of the feng-shui in the room, because she attacked us immediately. And my word, that woman could put on the hurt. As if dealing with her wasn't enough, more frog-people showed up and started casting a spell. We managed to kill everything, and somehow the Halfling that we kidnapped from imprisonment also died along the way, and then we set off an explosive trap. Deciding that enough was enough, we went back to the prison cells. To sleep.

And apparently I slept in for a bit too long!

~M

[IcarusIX]

Tonight's story is a cautionary tale about staying for too long in a place you don't belong.

First, let me explain what really happened while I was gone. Apparently, the group decided to send me back to the surface to recruit some new friends for our incredibly dangerous adventure in the Underdark. They did so while I was still half-asleep, so I agreed to it and set to it before I even really knew what was happening. When I got back, the group had already found Zenith. But we were still looking for something, I suppose.

That's when it began. We were trying to get through a pool of water when we were attacked. Our Paladin friend--- who seems ever so inclined to find danger first with her face, then with her fist--- was immediately overrun by tiny creatures that looked like hybrids of a dragon and an eel. We figured out later that they were actually tadpoles, so we took to calling them that. They were nasty little things, and difficult to get out of the way. A few applications of lightning and fire seemed to do the trick, however.

That's when Gob opened the next door. Apparently, that door didn't like Gob's sudden manhandling, because it immediately threw off a lightning bolt that fried almost the entire party. It was also ten feet wide, so there's that. Since Gob hasn't ever heard the phrase, "enough is enough," he went into the next room, alone but for his constant companion; reckless abandon. The door swung shut behind him and spears came out of the walls.

That's when we all heard crying coming from behind a portcullis where the water was coming from. It was sort of weird, so a few of us decided to investigate.

That's when Gob found a big ol' Black Dragon. They had a chat. It went well enough that Gob wasn't eaten. It didn't go well enough that the dragon didn't spit acid. He did. It was disgusting.

That's when we found a room full of Kuo-toa behind the portcullis, each of them pregnant and one of them split open from the birthing process. I guess I may have sort of, kind of massacred her babies on accident. But it's fine, because a few of them were still alive and Grogrot decided to adopt them. Which is not fine, but we'll get by like we always do. I hope.

That's when we almost decided to leave. Gob was looking like half a Halfling after his acid bath, the Paladin was looking like a hole-y crusader instead of a holy crusader, and everyone else was feeling a bit crispy after our hair-raising shock. But then someone decided to check the last room--- where there was a wraith.

That's when we'd all had enough. Which should have been enough several "that's when" ago.

When we returned to Cauldron, something pulled us to the Malachite Hold. We returned there to find Valkra, clearly the younger Beholder, ripped to shreds. Yes, to shreds, I say. And his wife? To shreds, I say. Anyway, there was a message written in blood, which is the typical medium that psychopaths use to write. It read, "This city is mine." Which, clearly means the other Beholder we're dealing with is an idiot. Have you ever heard of Grogrot, Beholder the Elder? Get with the times, old man.

Then we had quite a bit of respite. Or, that is to say, everyone was taxed heavily while weeks of planning and training occurred.

The fun never ends!

~M

[IcarusIX]

I have ascended, I am a god, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me from achieving all of my most ambitious plans and devious machinations.

Yet, strangely, everything's still in shambles and Cauldron is on the brink of collapse.

I'm beginning to think that being the Messiah might actually involve work.

Morgan was kind enough to walk in on me while I was doing, you know, normal teenager things. It seems like it's becoming a habit for people to barge into my room unannounced. You're not my real abandonment issues parents!

At some point, there was a debate. It was confusing and sort of boring, so people started a riot instead. That went poorly.

Grogrot was kind enough to tuck me into bed. I really needed a nappy-nap. Unfortunately, a building was on fire and big, fat, medically obese Fire Elementals showed up in the city to ruin my nap time. I wasn't feeling particularly godly at that time, so I was somewhat ineffectual. Grogrot was still kind enough to tuck me back into bed after.

A Paladin that's not Morgan went and disappeared, which is inconvenient, and honestly quite rude to do to my poor dear Jenya (why do so many guys ghost this gal? Men are pigs!).

I read a stupid tablet about a fairy tale that comes from Giant kind. Giants are awful at telling stories though, and it was hardly worth recounting. A real Bard such as myself can easily read a tablet like this one, but a real Bard (such as myself) also knows better than to waste time on improving a terrible tale that was written by Giants.

Now we're going to Red Gorge! To find the Paladin. The rude one. I mean the careless one. I mean the one that will likely meet with a terrible fate. I mean the one that's not Morgan! But all of those things probably apply, still.

What's with Paladins, anyway?

Have I mentioned that Grogrot is going to be Lord Mayor? Because that's still happening. That will definitely be a thing.

Also, Beholders smell bad. They'd know that, if they were smart enough to dream up having a nose.

Ha!

~M

[IcarusIX]

We were on our way to Red Gorge when a giant bird showed up. Grogrot rode away on the giant bird, giving some of our newer companions some serious pause. We assured them that this was perfectly normal and that he'd be catching up to us later. Which is what he did.

Upon arriving at Red Gorge, we went to the Red Miner Inn. You see, this cleverly named establishment is named after its owner, who is a red haired gentleman that was once employed in the mining profession. Genius. There were drinks, then some revelry. In the morning, we met with members of The Chisel. The basement we met in had some fascinating frescoes depicting Surabar Spellmason in a battle with an angelic figure. The frescoes also showed the founding of Red Gorge, with the laying of foundation stones. Unfortunately, our studies of the frescoes had to cut short, as we were told that Terseon Skellerang plans to invade Red Gorge. I hardly see the tactical advantage in it, but apparently the Captain of the City Guard in Cauldron does. Our missing gentleman Alek Tercival challenged him for the position of Captain as a clever stop measure for the impending invasion. It's mighty convenient that he's missing now, though...

We took some boats toward the Demon Scar. However, along the way I noticed this Super Intriguing Path^TM and urged the party to go that way. They weren't exactly very trusting in my proclamations that we would find exactly what we need to rescue Alek Tercival by going down that path, but they followed anyway. While traversing a jungle path, we were ambushed by gnolls. Grogrot, of course, wanted to keep one. The newest Paladin in our party, whom I'll simply call Also Not Morgan, decided to kill the gnoll unceremoniously. This was a patently Bad Idea^TM.


After barely managing not to follow through on a fatal battle royale, our lovely little band of misfits found a wand in a cave that was stamped with the seal of Saint Cuthbert. Since we were obviously going the right way, I gloated to the party. That didn't make them less suspicious of me, somehow. Anyway, we also found a Mega Sloth. It was chill, though. Grogrot told us it wanted to stay in the cave, so we left it alone. I'm sure that was hard for Grogrot, but he's growing and maturing. I'm really very proud of him.

When we went back to the boats to make camp for the night, we were visited by a beautiful angel called Nidrama. She said to go to "the eyes" to the North and stay resolute in our task of finding Alacast, the divine Quarterstaff that Alek had been after. She warned us that the minions of the Lord of the Demon Scar would be prepared for us and do anything to deceive us. Then she vanished without a trace. Which is an awesome trick, and I will learn it!

Since we were definitely going the right way all along, we made it to the wasteland of broken glass known as the Demon Scar. It's where we were headed all along, but by going to this side we found a pipe that ran underneath the wasteland and protected us from the miles of broken volcanic glass along the way. As I've said before, I'm a bloody genius. It took a very long time to reach the end of the pipe, which never once stopped descending, but at last we were rewarded with the sight of strange ruins. The booming wind and foul vapor that pervaded the air in the ruins was problematic, to say the least, but as Heroes we persevered. We found a locked gate that was guarded on the other side by a Hill Giant. After someone magically traversed through the gate to unlock it for us, we stealthily got into position to assassinate the Hill Giant before he even knew what hit him. Somehow, some way, through a method I can't quite seem to remember or discern, and originating from an actor I can't quite see the face of in my mind, the Hill Giant ended up vaporized completely. Whoever did that must have been extremely powerful.

For all we know, it could have been a Beholder!

~M

[Zero]

I love how every othe paladin is some version of: not Morgunn.

-The paladin who is Morgunn

[IcarusIX]

Sadly, dear audience, I must admit that this night's tale is relatively uneventful. Truly, I wish I could relay to you some events more epic, more inspiring, more intriguing. Instead, it was another banal day underground. Just the usual drudgery. For the sheer sake of consistency, I'll recount the horribly boring events of the day.

It all began when we found a wide chamber dominated in the center by a sculpture. Upon the sculpture were chairs with sets of three armrests on each side, meant for beings that had many arms upon each side of their torso. They were fans of redundancy, as far as I could tell. The sculpture was obviously supposed to move, but it could not be made to do so, so we had to leave the puzzle behind.

The next room featured pillars that were filtering purple liquid down into a pool in the center of the room. The liquid was coming from some strange orbs that were built into the pillars. A single golden goblet sat on the floor by the pool, so a few of my companions drank the liquid using the goblet. After, even the pre-teen boy was able to lift Grogrot. You know. Typical stuff. Once the doors were opened, traps activated and burned most of us near to death. Also typical.

As we continued, we found three Trumpet Archons. Doing what was only natural, I bathed them in acid. It turned out they were simply enfolded in illusion, revealing themselves to be Hags instead. Now, I'm not a Hag expert, but I think it's fairly normal for hags to have great big hairy cricket legs. That's what these hags, anyway. Their moth-like wings acted as big cloaks. We did what we do best: slaying.

After that, we ran into some big spooky bois. Yes, skeletons. Each of them had six arms, three on each side. The redundancy fans! They were carrying these fascinating disks, which we picked up after dismantling the aforementioned spooky bois. Unfortunately, those disks exploded. You know. Typical stuff. When we went into the room where the spooky bois came from, we found three golden baboon masks. There was also a chest full of magic items and a secret compartment in the wall that held Alakast, the divine Quarterstaff given to Surabar Spellmason by Nidrama to combat the Demon General Nabthatoron, but all of that stuff was boring compared to the masks. At last we had found something interesting and worth talking about.

The last room we examined had a white chair facing a black mirror and colored symbols on the ground. Morgunn touched the mirror first, vanishing right after. Next up was Ebbin, the kid. One by one, everyone left me and vanished. I was almost definitely fine with that, maybe, but Simon had left his imp behind. That would have been fine, too, if it weren't for Nabthatoron speaking through the imp. The Demon General told me not to follow my friends into the mirror, where I would almost certainly vanish forever and never again earn fame or glory. So I did it anyway.

Lo and behold, in the pocket dimension inside the mirror we found Alek Turcival. He was a bit out of his mind, but we got him to come along once Nabthatoron himself showed up. Simon banished him, which was an interesting if effective choice, given that Simon uses Nabthatoron as as Sugar Daddy. But, all's well that ends well, because we ended up getting away and leaving the pocket dimension. We popped up in a desert, which is more or less fine.

What's not fine, however, is that we were followed shortly after by Nebthatoron.

If this is to be my demise, dear audience, remember me fondly!

~M

[IcarusIX]

Now, as you may have already surmised, we survived. This is especially apparent because I'm still telling you the story myself. But wait! Don't go just yet! There are more twists and turns before the credits roll!

So, as you know, Nabthatoron followed us out into the desert. This change of venue was a mistake on our part, but following us was a mistake on his. He kicked off the party by throwing a large group of people high into the air like they just don't care. Spoiler alert: they do care. They care a lot about falling one hundred feet back to the ground, even if it is on to soft sand. Despite that little fall, Grogrot got back up and kept on coming. Meanwhile, I was doing my best to stay out of Nabby-Poo's attention, but I gave him everything I had. I never thought I'd be so heavy into Necromantic magic, but here we are. Nab was getting the worst of it from the Unholiest and the Holiest of energies as the Paladins added what was missing to my punch. All the while, Alakast was wielded by KooKoo. In the end, Nabby-Wabby the Wacky Waving Inflatable Flailing Arm Tube Demon couldn't take anymore. As it turns out, Weebles wobble and they DO fall down (when you Smite them).

Also, Simon turned into Super Saiyaman. His hair became yellow and turned into a spiky updo. All of his muscles bulged for a second and then went right back to where they were before, but for a split second he looked very impressive. And, you know, he started shooting holy energy blasts all over the place like a teenage boy that has just "discovered himself" for the first time. It was quite the spectacle.

Simon's evolution into Giga-Simon sort of stole the thunder from Nidrama speaking in our heads to tell us to trust the Smoking Eye and Alek turning into dust (in the wind).

Nab went pop, like a bubble, and peace was restored to the... desert. And wherever else Nab had stuck his evil little pincers/fingers. Hopefully. I mean, at the very least, Nab's death brought peace to our minds. Right, guys?

So, then, naturally, the story really has to kick into a new gear at this point. We've beaten the guy we THINK is the Big Bad, but not so. There's always someone bigger, badder, and more eviler. It's called Power Creep, and it happens all the time. Anyway, this weird little desert hermit named Kaurophon (Kaurophon-Obi-Wan? Illuminati confirmed) showed up out of nowhere to tell us that he was sent by the Smoking Eye. Naturally, we believed everything he said about a place called Occiptus that will be ruled by whosoever can pull the stick out of Vhalantru's butt pass three tests of the Smoking Eye. Apparently this demi-plane was once pretty nice, but now it's all demonic and nasty. So, it's up to us to restore the demi-plane and become the rulers. Also, it's deep, deep in the Abyss. No problem, right?

Wrong. The ground is made of flesh. I hate this place. It's sticky, icky, yucky, nasty. No accounting for taste with demons, I tell you. We went to the Cathedral of Feathers, which looks nice at the right angle at the right time. Otherwise, it houses a few Driders, a Succubus, and a huge Fire Salamander Elemental. Nothing the good ol' crew can't clean up, but not exactly the definition of "vacation." There was also a rather tasteless statue of a goat-man. No idea why. The test was actually to be administered down below, given to us by the proctor. He's a fine chap, really. He's a Mummy-Lord, which is no cause for concern whatsoever.

Now we're going to kill a demon (again)!

Please excuse me as I scream for several episodes while I power up...

~M

[IcarusIX]

Imagine, even if you don't want to, a room full of spider webs. Now imagine those spider webs are thick and sinewy. Also, they're blood red. That's the room into which we entered. Face to face with a Bebilith, we steeled ourselves for an ugly battle. Right away, the Bebilith sprayed web out in a wide pattern, capturing several of my companions at once with the immobilizing substance. Utilizing my fancy Spider-inspired slippers, I climbed the nearest wall with no issue and let loose with a Lightning Bolt of Let My Friends Go. The Spider-Demon went after Grogrot, dealing with the closest threat. As always, that turned out to be a mistake. Grogrot swung back with twice the fury and exponentially more strength. Jimmic threw in his seal of disapproval as well, which looks suspiciously like a giant bite mark. It's a giant bite mark. Jimmic bit the Spider-Demon. Harriet rushed forward next, blasting the Bebilith with a Thunderwave and knocking out a significant portion of the webbing bridging the room. Unleashing one more Lightning Bolt of Ultimate Judgement, I blasted the Demon down into the pit below where its body was impaled upon spikes. For good measure, I threw some acid on it. Never can be too careful.

The next room had an engraving encircling the entire room, the same phrase inscribed over and over. "Know who made you." Our favorite Mummy Lord was there to impart the wisdom of Adimarchus and give us a special lantern before electing to depart. We went to the next room, which contained a Celestial we had been given the choice to kill instead of the Bebilith. I was surprised to come across the Guardinal. He was trapped in a ring of silver dust, but we let him go. Smart? Perhaps not. No good deed, etc.

There was a later incident involving a library, some floating books, and a lot of torn pages. For the sake of not traumatizing Kookoo further, I'll abstain from delving into the nitty-gritty details. Suffice it to say, Kookoo and I have a lot of work cut out for us in the future.

Once outside the temple, we followed the light of the lantern to a vast plain full of nasty boils. We popped one, which was not worth it. After that, we were attacked by a Basilisk. Not a normal Basilisk, mind. Something Greater. Something Abyssal! It was truly a sight to be feared, but none of us would know that because we all looked away. And killed it. Blind. That's just how we do it!

Finding a circle of runes, we entered them and were teleported to a forest that can only be described as "fibrous." The Mummy Lord was there again, once again gifting us the wisdom of Adimarchus and telling us not to stray from the path. So we didn't. A massive Black Dragon swooped down from the sky while we were traversing the forest, forcing us into a most dire fight for our lives. The blasts of acid it propelled from its vile maw were almost enough to lay low several members of our party, but we persevered.

In the distance, a large structure in the shape of a skull was waiting for us. Near that skull, the light of the lantern fell upon an ulcerous pool of acidic fluid. To one side of the ulcerous pool, a black winged angel was just hanging out. And by hanging out, I mean he was suspended on several spears that were impaling his body and pinning him to the ground. We released him, and he told us that a Fire Giant and a Rakshasa had done this to him. He proved useless otherwise, and we sent him on his apathetic way. Meanwhile, Kaurophon jumped into the pool and went on ahead of us. By then, we'd all decided he was a traitor.

We pursued Kaurophon, but we had to deal with the Fire Giant and the Rakshasa first. They stood in our way, which as you might know by now is a patently bad idea. It's historically proven to be fatal. Generally not recommended for one's health. Deciding that discretion is the better part of skullduggery, I turned invisible. However, my newfound status as hidden in plain sight was not to be utilized in this fight. In a matter of moments, the Fire Giant was completely dismantled. The Rakshasa, thinking itself clever, had also turned invisible. However, not so clever was its plan to drop invisibility right in the middle of our party and attack bare-handed against one of my friends. Not only was the Rakshasa unable to scratch my friend, but it was summarily executed with little effort.

Now we aim to confront Kaurophon and potentially save this demi-plane from its twisted fate. Otherwise, we'll just have to resort to a tactical withdrawal back to our own realm. Why die trying to rule a foreign land when you can just kick back and relax at home?

~M

[IcarusIX]

Hello. I don't believe we've met before.

It's my duty to tell you a story, but that is quite difficult for me. I seem to have lost my memory entirely, save some knowledge of what I can do with magic. Still, I will tell you what I know and what I have learned.

I awoke with my head in a stranger's lap. She seemed kind and gentle, but I felt fine when I awoke and so I stood up on my own. The room I was in was strange and unreasonably cold. The center of the room featured a pair of pillars that appeared to have been comprised of necrotic flesh. Around me stood a great variety of people, including an Orc with a living backpack, the woman in white garb that had carefully cushioned my head above the hard floor, a bird-like man, an armored woman wielding a bright staff, a man with silver eyes, a young boy with a strange blue mark on his skin, and a woman that appeared to be a pirate. Unaware of what had happened, or who I am, I expressed some confusion. I was told by the bird-man that the people in that room were my allies, and I was an ally of theirs. I asked if they needed help, and they said yes. Being an honest person, I told them I can cast magic spells that should be useful. It was at this time I was asked why I was wearing a mask, to which I had no answer. However, pulling on the mask hurt me and it wouldn't come away from my face. I gave up on this effort soon after.

The cold complex we were in still had rooms to be explored, so I accompanied my apparent allies as they delved further inside to inspect more rooms. The first we came upon after my waking stored fifteen corpses that were each covered in glowing blue runes. The group decided to leave that room alone and explore further down a tunnel. We found fifteen more corpses, just as before. Five humans, five elves, five dwarves, all covered in the same kind of runes. This phenomena remained unexplained. We continued deeper inside, discovering a bedchamber belong to a posthumous Fetor Abradius. There were many books there, which the bird-man wished to organize. I gave this endeavor an attempt, but it was not as simple as I anticipated it to be. Thereafter, the silver eyed man sent his familiar through a door. It was promptly obliterated.

The door was opened to reveal a massive dome shaped room. Above, a walkway encircled the room. A bridge of ice spanned the distance in the middle of the walkways. An undead dragon was coiled around some structures in the middle of the room. Five pillars, larger than the pair I'd seen before, comprised of the same substance. Seeing those Pillars made me feel suddenly weary, uneasy, and exceptionally strange. I silently vacated the area to recoup my better senses, whereupon I examined the inner folds of the robes I had woken in. They contained notes, which I desired to decipher as I recovered from my distressed state. They are full of superfluous words, descriptions, and information. The writing style is past anarchic, firmly entrenched in the bizarre and senseless. The translation of these notes was difficult, but I managed to distill the information in those notes into something coherent. Please see below.

---

The man identifying as "M," along with his allies, prepared to confront the traitor known as Kaurophon. The goal of the confrontation was to achieve dominance in a power struggle that would decide the next ruler of the demi-plane known as Occipitus. Upon moving into the next room, the group of adventurers were challenged by a golem. They dispatched the golem, ascending some stairs. The room they discovered had an oily, black bonfire placed in the center. Two rust monsters, two otyughs, and an earth elemental appeared in the room. The adventurers slayed these beasts as they endeavored to discover what entity was occupying the inside of the opaque black fire. A fatally poisonous mist of yellow coloration rolled out from the fire, then followed by an intense force known as a finger of death spell. It was after the latter spell that a lich revealed itself by stepping out of the fire, issuing yet another challenge to the group. The lich surrounded itself with a protective barrier of magic, which many attacks failed to pierce. The orc threw the globe back into the black fire, along with the lich inside. The silver eyed man summoned radiant fire within the same space as the black fire, presumably with an intention to create a counteracting effect. The lich cast a fireball spell, injuring many members of the group. The lich then revealed itself once again. The orc attacked once again, along with the help of a greater peltast serving as his monster companion. The lich continued battling efficiently, more seriously wounding several members of the group yet again. At the conclusion of the battle, however, the lich decided to retreat by shifting away to another plane. It was discovered afterward that Kaurophon had perished, presumably succumbed to the forces of the lich.

Once again, the group ascended another flight of stairs. A pillar of plasma was erupting from the floor on one side of the room. A mummy lord waited for the group, informing them that they were required to sacrifice an ally in order to solidify their rulership of Occipitus. "M" refused to sacrifice an ally. The orc and the silver eyed man also refused. Considering that, the bard, the boy, the bird-man, and the paladin chose to enter the pillar in an attempt to sacrifice themselves. They were instantly annihilated. A moment later, they returned from within the plasma. Each of them then had a hollow pit where one of their eyes used to be, smoke pouring upward out of it. They became the co-rulers of Occipitus, shifting the landscape back to a state that more closely resembled what it had been before it fell into the Abyss.

The group shifted back to their home plane, once again visiting Red Gorge. Banners of Cauldron were hanging up, indicating that Red Gorge had been conquered during the group's absence from their home plane. After gathering information, the group determined that Lord Vhalantru was then in charge of Cauldron and its subsequent territories. The group had also been gone for a year, despite personally experiencing less time while in Occipitus. The orc chose to leave to a compound he had formed outside of Cauldron. After, the group traveled to Cauldron and found much of their holdings abandoned after their absence. They tracked down a few allies to gather some more information. Meanwhile, the bird-man went to the temple of Wee Jass to gather other information.

After determining that the bird-man was likely captured by hostile entities, the group went to the temple of Wee Jass to mount an assault in an attempt to rescue him. They were challenged by three half-orcs, two stone giants, and a group of stealthy killers. The adventurers slayed all but one of the men involved. Deciding they were too injured to continue looking for the bird-man, the group went outside to rest in the alley. Recovered, they reentered the temple to resume their task. Upon reentering, they discovered the bird-man to be encased in amber within a strange cage suspended from the ceiling. Two clerics to Wee Jass, a spell caster, a dreadwraith, a bone devil, and a small group of large undead creatures opposed the attempt to free the bird-man. After intense battle, the bird-man was freed and all of the hostiles within the temple were killed.

Liberating the temple of Wee Jass from control of the previous occupants subsequently liberated the city of Cauldron from a tyrannical rule and its simultaneous marshal law. This appeared to have impressed Lord Vhalantru, and Red Gorge later had its sovereignty restored. Business once again grew desirably within the city.

Six months passed with relatively little event. After months of rest, study, and training, the group reconvened in order to discern information about the strange cage that the bird-man had been encapsulated in. A casting of the legend lore spell revealed that the cage was a soul cage linked to the demi-plane of Carceri located in the Abyss. That demi-plane was the current residence of an entity known as Adimarchus, which was imprisoned there after attempting to rescue a woman for whom he harbored romantic notions. The cage also seemed tenuously linked in abstract fashion to structures identified as the soul pillars of Karran-Kural, which were alleged to contain the lore of the spell-weaver civilization. The spell-weaver civilization was allegedly wiped out after construction of an interplanar device ended in catastrophe, possibly interring the green dragon that served as the guardian of the civilization.

Discerning the location of Karran-Karal, the group decided to head there first via the Demon Scar. In the heart of the Scar, they found a cold tunnel leading down into new ruins. The ruins were occupied by tall glass pillars that suspended spell-weavers in a state that partially resembled stasis. The silver eyed man attempted to open one through force, angering the bird-man and sending both into a state of minor contention. The glass was revealed to be ice, which was then melted to a sufficient point to awaken a spell-weaver. The spell-weaver elected to vacate the premises immediately, without any communication.

Meanwhile, the paladin chose to enter the next room. As she did so, she was trapped within by the ice-devil occupying the room. Upon melting the wall of ice that had been created, "M" discovered that the harmful magic of the spell still lingered and became significantly but non-fatally wounded. The ice-devil was slain with relative haste. Another room deeper inside the ruins contained more ice pillars, this time containing the souls of elves and dwarves. The souls were released from imprisonment, in addition to two spell-weaver souls. A scrying device was found, but it yielded no information that was immediately relevant or obviously useful.

Exploring further, a large iron golem attempted to block the path further in. It was avoided by descending down a hole in the room. The group rested in the partially collapsed room below.

---

There are no notes concerning what happened next. Presumably, this represents the gap in time between when "M" previously rested and when I instead woke up in the room with the necrotic pillars.

Translating those notes, strange and challenging as they are, has calmed my nerve and given me some time to recover my body from the strong reaction I had to the five larger pillars I encountered. I do not necessarily trust the group I was following, but their commission for my assistance is not an unreasonable one. In addition, I have found a friend that I can most certainly trust. He assures me that helping that group will be conducive to productive endeavors in both the city of Cauldron as well as across other regions of the world. I trust him, so I will endeavor to execute operations that will serve the purpose of increasing productivity in the region of Cauldron, as well as others beyond. However, as much as I trust him, his trust in the group I was traveling with seems misplaced. Illogical, even. Perhaps irrational. I will help them as I can, but I know that I must also guard myself. I must take care of myself.

My friend has told me that if I do nothing else, I must write of the events I witness and participate in. If nothing else, I must tell the story. He's displeased with how I choose to tell a story, but I'm only doing my best. It pains me to see him displeased, but he says he will teach me to do better. I hope I have been efficient in recounting these events so far.

Thank you for heeding this tale. Your patience and attention are most appreciated. I wish you well.

~I

[IcarusIX]

Greetings.

The story continues after my escape from the dungeon with the help of my friend. Two weeks passed, in which my friend assisted me in learning more about who I am and what my purpose is. My given name is Iatus. My purpose is to preserve the safety of Cauldron and recount the events of my own endeavors.

I was contacted by members of the church and two surreptitious organizations for a commission to find and retrieve a kidnapped associate. After receiving some intel, I accompanied the group I had met in the dungeon two weeks ago. We infiltrated an abandoned tavern that once also served as a thieves' den. Evidence inside suggested it now had been retrofitted for the use of a slaver's ring. We discerned the location of a secret room, which was occupied by a badly brutalized body on a torturer's rack. Two other people were inside, waiting to ambush our group. They were mildly effective in countering our combat strategies, but in the end their own efforts were useless. The woman was turned to ash, and the halfling was banished back to another plane.

We met with the Harpers and the Chisel, the aforementioned groups that operate in secrecy. We had retrieved their associate, alive. The associate told us about House Rhiavadi and some suspicious activity going on at the estate. I was somewhat inclined to investigate the estate, despite finding some flaws with the inferences that were being made by the spy we had saved, but then the Paladin had started to go off on a tangent. The woman, Celeste, was offering to "heal" me. As I was uninjured and free of any disease, I found this prospect to be inefficient at best and devious at worst. I declined the offer. The Paladin insisted that healing magic be dispersed, to which Celeste acquiesced. Unfortunately, Celeste would have caught me in the wave of magic. In self defense, I counteracted her spell and vacated the scene.

Distrusting of my former associates, I decided to investigate the Rhiavadi Estate on my own. Using magic to secretly enter the grounds, I found that my former associates had done the same and managed to actually enter the estate building itself. Going to the front door, I knocked and was immediately let in. Ascending the stairs, I decided to investigate the upper level. As I made my way around, I used scrying magic to discern what was behind each door. In the large ballroom of the estate, a group of imposing warriors were meeting. Reviewing their plans to complete a ritual that would unleash a demonic plane upon our own, the leader revealed herself to be a Demodand. The leader was none other than Lady Rhiavadi herself. She ended the meeting by commissioning the various warriors arrayed around the ballroom to seek out myself and my former associates with the objective of assassinating us.

Finding this prospect to be inherently detrimental to my studies, I decided to vacate the premises immediately. I didn't know what my former associates were doing in the estate, but I had no time to deal with them.

After failing to find Celeste or any of her other associates, I decided to go back to the library where I had been studying. Generating a magical sanctum for myself, I sequestered myself within to continue my studies. However, I soon deduced that the nine assassins that would be coming for myself and my former associates would inevitably manage to interrupt my studies. The most logical course of action was to reunite with my former associates and aid them in ending this threat. They were invited to my sanctum. Planning for battle went poorly, and as always my associates were disinclined to the most logical courses of action.

Somehow, this planning led us to investigate Vhalantru's estate. I've been informed he's a Beholder. I find this to be less than ideal.

After infiltrating the estate inefficiently, we cleared the first floor of potential threats and moved to the second floor. There, small creatures that resembled simplistic Beholders, named Gauths, engaged in battle with us. However, these Gauths wer afflicted by a strange kind of parasitic relationship with small demons. Their effectiveness in combat was highly diminished, and their bodies revealed signs of demonic presence.

A library on the second floor yielded some impressive books. One such book informed me of a ritual of power. I have decided not to reveal this information to my associates. They're impossible to trust and disinclined toward the most logical courses of action. Telling them about the ritual would only hinder our collective efforts. I don't have the necessary components to complete the ritual myself, but if I should find them then I will certainly carry it out on my own. After all, only a being of sufficient intelligence can effectively wield the power of the ritual.

Upon the third floor, we found Vhalantru in a bedroom. After a brief engagement, Vhalantru was frozen solid. This revealed him to simply be a Doppelganger, not the real Vhalantru. With that creature dispatched, we decided to go back to the first floor. We had earlier discovered a hole in a secret room on the first floor. Descending, we found zombies at the bottom that unleashed large demons when the zombies themselves were dispatched. The demons were marginally more difficult to dispatch, but it was done quickly. Another hole led further down, which we collectively descended. There, using the Warlock's familiar to scout, we found several doors that we would dub "Beholder doors." They each had a stylized Beholder upon them, a central inset gem, and ten gems around the outside that represented each eye stalk of a Beholder. Using my vast intellect, as well as a small amount of trial and error, I eventually deduced that each door requires a specific spell to unlock it. At first, it was thought that all ten were required. We circumvented two of the doors to immediately enter a treasure room we had scouted, but upon entering myself I saw that the floor contained the outline of two stone golems. Our teleportation circle was scribed upon them both, meaning that as soon as they moved our way out would be destroyed. I warned everyone to leave immediately, and for the most part they did.

We all fled the stone golems, choosing to go back up to the surface so that we could regroup. One of the other doors below led to a room that was almost definitely guarded by some sort of large creature, possibly a demon. That door read "Oblivion," which means we need to traverse that path. By going to Oblivion, we can go to the location of the ritual where the Shackleborn will be sacrificed by the Demodands to unleash Carceri upon our plane. If we interrupt that ritual, we can preserve Cauldron and my studies can continue.

After getting back to the surface, we parted ways and found different places to hide for the night while we rested. The assassins looking for us left us messages in the morning, but it doesn't matter now. If we simply go straight to Oblivion, we can delay that particular problem. Perhaps even neutralize it altogether.

On our way back down into the pit beneath Vhalantru's estate, we found another Beholder door hidden halfway down the second descending shaft. We have decided to investigate that door to determine what is behind it.

I will report further later.

~Iatus

[IcarusIX]

[garruk94]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[IcarusIX]

Even as the curtain falls, the show must go on.

Last you'd heard, our band of heroes were once again diving into Vhalantru's secret pit of villainy to look again for signs of Vhalantru himself or the Cagewrights. They found Vhalantru the Beholder, who'd unfortunately just completed the process of imbuing himself with demonic power. The heroes fled, not wishing to be vaporized, but Vhalantru followed. Grommic, who you might remember at one time being the amiable duo of Grogrot and Jimmic, jumped atop the demon-Beholder in an attempt to both subdue the monster and buy his friends some time to get out. However, Vhalantru charmed Grommic and absconded with our friend(s).

Having retreated to the top of the estate once again, the heroes debated their next course of action. Leave and find some other way to deal with this threat? Find backup? Or immediately go back down and try to save Grommic? As the heroes debated, one who stood apart from them had already made his decision. He walked away, and as he did so I walked in a different direction. If I was doomed to be a lost soul, then at the very least I could join some others.

The real heroes went back down to save Grommic after all, but they were, in a fashion, too late. Grommic had already been persuaded by Vhalantru to undergo the same ritual and accept demonic power. Grommic told the group that Vhalantru wasn't the true villain in Cauldron, having been deceived by the Cagewrights. Morgunn took exception to Grommic's new attributes, however, and they had a bit of a scuffle.

Now, if fighting an Orc barbarian sounds like a bad time to you, imagine fighting one that had fused (somehow) with a Mimic. Now, if that sounds like a bad time to you, imagine fighting him while he also has the power of flight and several other demonic powers available to him. What I'm saying is, Morgunn had a very bad time.

But she didn't die, so the heroes all left. Vhalantru agreed to help evacuate the city, changed his appearance completely so that Morgunn wouldn't be tempted to go after him, and the heroes joined the evacuation efforts.

Before everyone could get out, however, the volcanic activity of the mountain started to spike. Lava spouts began to erupt all over the city, forcing the heroes to dash madly all over the place in an attempt to save lives and control the situation. Just as they were possibly figuring it all out, the Morkoth arose from the boiling lake and began to attack. Morgunn took to the skies with her pegasus, engaging the Morkoth above the city so that the civilians below would have more time to move out of the city. The other heroes tried valiantly to strike the Morkoth from afar, but the patchwork beast had strong defenses and cared little. However, Morgunn persistently blocked the Morkoth's every move and dodged every attack. Just as the tide of the battle had begun to turn in the Morkoth's favor, Morgunn rallied powerfully and laid the beast low. So ended the legend of the Morkoth, broken upon the shores of the lake it had lurked in for ages.

After the evacuation efforts were back under control, the heroes followed the siren call of a mysterious force far below. They retraced an old path back through Jzadirune and over a bridge that had yet to be traversed. The new path led them further below the volcanic mountain than they had ever been before, where they suffered through miserable heat and avoided dangerous flows of lava. At last, they found the entrance to the Cagewrights' base. It was, of course, trapped. As usual, however, that didn't stop our heroes. They made their way inside, battling legions of demons, zealots, and even a minotaur. Everyone was looking particularly dried out after so much battle, but the more astute members of the party managed to find a hidden altar with great power stored inside. Using the power to restore their bodies and their magic, the heroes delved deeper into the volcano to find the last of the Cagewrights and put an end to their ritual.

Coming upon a lone mage right before the entrance to the ritual chamber, where waited the demonic tree with its cages of Shackleborn, the group attempted to ambush the mage. This did not go, as you might have already suspected, smoothly.

Grommic charged the mage, and then time stopped. Sooner than anyone had blinked, the mage was gone and a large demon had taken his place next to Grommic. In addition, a massive wall of whirling blades had materialized within the room, effectively cutting off the entire party so they were unable to help Grommic. The situation was looking quite dire until Harriett dispelled the barrier as if it were nothing more than a pitiful, third-rate illusion. With but a wave of her hand and a single, perfect utterance of an arcane note, the battlefield was once again under the control of the heroes. Simon, the warlock with a rather holy disposition, sighted the invisible Cagewright mage with empowered eyes. Summoning a crown of stars, Simon dealt out cosmic justice as if laying down an infallible decree of protection upon our beloved plane. Meanwhile, Grommic and Morgunn worked together to utterly dismantle the demon that the Cagewright had summoned. Soon enough, the battle was over.

It was then determined that there was another Cagewright that posed a threat, since evidence pointed toward her having a way to failsafe the demonic ritual if necessary. The heroes sought her out, but she proved to be less powerful than her counterpart nearer to the tree. Even after summoning greater numbers of demons, she died swiftly. Having finished with her, the heroes made their way to the tree.

The chamber where the giant tree stood was crossed many times by streams of lava flowing in and out. From the high canopy of the tree hung many cages, each containing the lifeless bodies of the Shackleborn. The tree was in the process of leeching energy from the volcano, keeping a powerful and imminent eruption in check. Once enough energy had been taken, the ritual would be complete and the demonic plane of Carceri would be unleashed onto our own. Presumably, life after that would be quite miserable.

Only one demon remained standing guard by the tree, gigantic though it was. It was even quite friendly at first, despite clearly stalling for time so the ritual could be completed. The heroes charged, the demon stalled for more time, but ultimately we all know how this old song and dance goes. One dead demon, many destroyed cages, and inert dead tree later--- the heroes needed a way out of the volcano fast. Luckily, there was just the right kind of magic available to them such that they could planeshift away to safety.

The volcano of Cauldron did explode, destroying our homes. More than just making a wasteland out of our houses, it erased our histories and attachments. The churches, the libraries, the lake that had once threatened to drown us all, the taverns, our very own Fuzzy Wuzzy tavern & grill, and so much more. But amidst that devastation, hope still shone through. After all, the citizens of Cauldron were safe. Although it would take a long time before the area around Cauldron was ever safe for habitation, the people could find and settle a new home.

After all, what mattered most was not saving a few buildings, or a place, nor even the land itself. What mattered was the people. Those that had helped us save their children when they were being taken. Those that had partied with us when the rains came. Those that had supported us even when we had been away for a long time. The people that had sacrificed much, and endured more, just to live another happy day together. The ones for whom we had put on shows, lost friends, sacrificed ourselves, but always came back for. They are who we saved.

And if we had to do it again, I think we would.

Now, my friends, do not cry as we say goodbye. Instead, smile. Laugh. Be happy. This story may have finally made its end, but there are always more stories to tell.

And I will always come back to tell them. Because, of course...

~The show must go on~