Date At Start Of Game: 1/14/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 26th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Tower

As the session starts the PC are conversing with Cizbakri about Donovan’s Mate and the quest to free his soul. At first the PC discuss whether they should just attack him and try to take the artifact. Several of the PC are hesitant as kirin are supposedly creatures of good. Eventually the PC agree to attempt the mission. Before entering the PC make an agreement with Cizbakri that if they are able to free his soul he will give them not only Donovan’s Mate but also any other treasure they may want to take from the tower. Cizbakri agrees. The PC then ask for the command word for Donovan’s Mate and Cizbakri tells them that he will give them that information when they return. When each PC touches the rod they are swept into a foggy whirlwind…

Inside The Wick

The PC appear in a large octagonal chamber. The walls are white marble and the floor appears to be made of solid aquamarine. On each facing is a doorway that has a different material acting as a curtain. In front of them is a large marble dais. A set of stairs lead to the top of the dais which is covered in a swirling fog. Po uses his Spirit Eyes and detects magic on everything! As the PC search the area they hear Cizbakri’s voice echoing from the fog, “Is someone there? If so I would enjoy speaking with you…this place is very lonely.” The PC enter the fog on the dais and find a room with red silk pillows atop which rests a very evil looking version of the kirin, Cizbakri. His eyes are solid red, his hair is dyed green, and the armor he wears is covered with demonic faces. After some chit chat the PC start asking about how to free his soul. Evil Cizbakri explains that his soul is split into 8 parts. Each part resides in a chamber that can be reached from the octagonal room. All pieces must be returned to restore his soul. If the PC fail Evil Cizbakri guesses that the PC would also become trapped in this realm for all eternity! Knowing that kirin are honor bound the PC ask that when his soul is freed that he go his own way. They also ask for the command word for Donovan’s Mate. Evil Cizbakri has nothing to lose and agrees with the bargain. With the the PC return and start venturing into the various portals.

The Harem

After entering the red silk portal the PC emerge in a desert tent. In front of them are pillows atop which rests a female Bat Kin, Ape Kin, Armadillo Kin, Kangaroo Kin, and Raven Kin. The woman beckon for the PC to spend the night with them. The PC are assaulted with powerful charming magic! Oren is able to narrowly resists but pretends that he is being charmed so that he can get closer and attack. When Oren closes he raises his hammer and slams one of the females. At this time the group changes into succubi and attack with dangerous claws. After some deft swordplay and tactics the PC take down the devil women. When the PC touch a lantern in the room they vanish and are returned to the main octagonal chamber.

The Arena Of Terror

The portal with a brown wicker screen leads to a roman coliseum type arena. The only person in the stands is Evil Cizbakri. He claps his hands and shouts, “May the combat begin!” With that four gates open at the sides of the arena. Two huge wolverines, a griffin, and a large creature that is part boar and part rat (aka a Boarat) emerge. The PC begin the battle by carefully maintaining their position. The Boarat charges in an attempt to run down the center of the group! Oren balls up over Po while Cillian jumps out the way then slashes as the beast passes. When the Boarat hits Oren is bounces off of the Armadillo Kins tough hide. Kanga fires at a wolverine then is grabbed in the leg by the creature. The other wolverine maws Cillian’s hand but is surprised when his hand lights on fire! The Griffin attacks Bilby who stabs viciously at the creature. Oren eventually unballs and takes deadly shots at the Boarat. Po start cursing the creature as well. Eventually the PC are victorious. Evil Cizbakri claps then the PC find themselves in the octagonal chamber.

The Library Of Considerable Wisdom

The brown wool hanging leads to an extremely large library that is in a state of disrepair. Walking the shelves is the ghost of a very old Ape Kin with a long beard. He tells the PC to read their books in quiet. Po starts to search the shelves and finds books on very obscure topics. After some playing around Cillian and Po deduce that they can always immediately find a book on a topic where they have knowledge! Po reads a book carefully then Cillian sees a portal open behind him them quickly close! The portal was open for a second only. With that the PC use their skills to read books, open portals, then escape. The last person in the room is Oren who uses his knowledge of Military Companies to open a portal.

The Pond Of Paradise

After passing the white satin curtain the PC find themselves on the shore of a forest pool. In the center of the pool they can see a glowing white stone. Cillian uses his water breathing power on the party then he and Oren jump into the water. As they approach they are attacked by jets of water. Oren decides to ball up Cillian and try again. This time they are lifted out of the pool by a naked woman made of water! Finally Cillian and Oren decide to tunnel under the stone and grab it. After breaking through Cillian grabs the stone which opens the portal and the PC vanish.

Only four rooms left…

Date At End Of Game: ?/?/???

Date At Start Of Game: 1/13/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 25th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Ruins

After defeating the deadly acidpede the PC search its lair. Inside they find what appears to be a large square pillar roughly 5m wide on a side. The pillar goes from floor to ceiling and appears to be of newer construction that the rest of the ruins. After looking around Cillian spots an opening in the ruins near the tower above them. The PC decide to investigate the opening. Oren digs a tunnel into the region. When he breaks into the room the PC see a strange half deer half alligator creature, a stagator, watching two of her young. After Bilby does a quick search the PC back down the tunnel not wanting to rile the creatures.

Next the PC decide to break into the pillar which they think might be a stairwell. Oren uses the Granite Head forge magical hammer to bust down the wall then the group removes the rubble. Inside they do find a stairwell. Carefully Bilby investigates. At the top the PC find ruins of some cells but decide not to investigate. Instead they head down stairwell. At the bottom they find a strange chamber with 3 levers and force fields. After playing around carefully for a bit Cillian is able to safely trip the trap which fills with acid. After finding a hidden latch the PC are able to get by the trapped room.

In the next area the PC find a larger room with four small holes in the floor. Po can detect that they are magic but the PC cannot find objects the properly fit in the holes. Again not wanting to search the ruins Oren caves in part of the wall and the PC move into the next area.

In the next area the avatars find two doors. The PC take the door that is toward the direction of the tower. Inside the find a gas traps that locks them into the room with a steel plate. Thinking quickly Po seals up the gas jets with magical ice sling stones. At the same time Oren bashes down the wall on the side of the door again using the Granite Head hammer. The top door leads to several long hallways with pit traps. Po and Bilby lead the way setting off the traps carefully. Oren jumps the pits and Cillian disables them.

In the following room the PC find a small iron chest and an iron door. Cillian carefully checks the chest and finds a trap that drops a lever inside the box. He tries to pick the lock but it is too difficult. Next the PC investigate the door. The lock is normal looking but Po detects that there is some type of spell on the lock. Oren again digs around the door. In the next room the PC find an empty hallway. At the end Po finds an illusionary wall covering a force shield. On the way back Cillian unlocks the door from the rear side. The group then hears a panel slide open in the ceiling and six strange half mosquito half spider creatures, spisquitos, fly down and attack. Four attack Oren and Cillian. Two more chase after Po as he flies out of the room. Oren and Cillian are both bitten and paralyzed by the creatures! After paralyzing their prey the spisquitos continues to suck out blood! As Oren fights to escape Kanga starts shooting them down. Once the ones on Po are down he starts shooting them off of Oren and Cillian. Oren eventually escapes and pounds some. Bilby cuts down one but is eventually bitten and becomes paralyzed. With a couple more shots Kanga finishes them off. After healing up Cillian takes another look at the difficult lock on the chest and is able to pick it. Inside they find an iron key that appears to be magical. Placing it in the look of the door opens the illusion wall and force shield.

The Tower

After opening the force shield the PC see a passage way leading to the tower. At the end of the hallway is a door into the tower. Just outside of the force field is a lever. When the PC throw the lever the force shield on the tower drops! Immediately after dropping the shield the howling spectral form that they saw earlier laughs then flies away. As it flies past the PC they note that it appears to be a Cougar Kin…could it be Soza?

When the PC open the door they discover that it opens in the middle of a large 10m diameter tower. It appears that the inside of the tower is larger than the outside. The room is setup like a fancy bedroom and study. The floor is covered with rich carpets, the bed is a work of art, there is a large desk with magical lanterns, an overflowing bookshelf, and a tall wardrobe. Po detects magic on almost everything in the room. He carefully checks the desk and finds that it helps one concentrate. Using his new spell he shrinks the desk and hands it to Oren to carry it for him. Oren agrees if Po carries his backup maul. Po agrees then shrinks the maul. The group searches the room for secret doors. Oren is surprised when he searches the wardrobe and emerges with clean clothes. Eventually the PC discover that on the back of the door they used to enter the room is another door! When they open this door they find another room that is void of furniture but has a large circle and lots of notes. It appears to be a work room of some type.

Cillian then decides to look on the back of that door. He finds another door and opens it before really searching the workroom. To his surprise he finds a room filled with a mound of red silk pillows, lots of treasure, and a large creature resting on top! The creature appears to be a giant Goat Kin type being around 4m in height! When the door opens the creature beckons to Cillian, “Fine sir. Please do not step any farther into this room or I will be forced to make you leave.” Quickly the rest of the PC join Cillian to speak with the creature. The PC eventually learn that the creature is named Cizbakri. He is a mystical creature known as a Kirin that has given his word that he will protect Soza’s treasure for 1001 years. (He is only 275 years into the period.) Po knows that Kirin are legendary creatures with vast powers of wind that come to the aid of good heroes during epic struggles of good vs evil. While speaking with Cizbakri Po notices that a normal looking brass candlestick on the top of the pile radiates with powerful healing magic. He guesses that this is Donovan’s Mate! Eventually the PC decide to tell the Kirin about their journey as avatars of the Great Tree. Oren spins a fantastic tale which mesmerizes the Kirin. After the story Cizbakri is impressed and sensitive to their quest but he tells the PC that he has given his word to guard the treasure. Next the PC ask Cizbakri about Soza and their arrangement. According to Cizbakri Soza made a fatal mistake when he setup the shield around his tower. He miscalculated and put the shutoff lever outside of the shield. Soza was trapped in his own tower! After researching a way to escape for almost a month Soza passed away due to starvation. His spirit was haunting the tower until the PC released it. Next Cizbakri reveals that he too was tainted by Nombrian magic. He seeked out Donovan’s Mate to heal himself. Soza had the artifact so he made the deal to guard the treasure if he could use the magical rod. The PC then convincingly argue that Soza stole the staff from Cragspine so really it is not Soza’s treasure at all. This puts the Kirin in a quandary. He agrees to let the PC have Donovan’s Mate but he warns them that the rod has been trapped by Soza and that the healing it bestows comes at a price. According to Cizbakri if you touch the staff it will transport you to a pocket dimension. The large Kirin then warns the PC that inside of this pocket dimension there is an “evil part of his spirit”. Inside this realm this evil spirit is akin to a god. If the avatars can pass challenges from this creature it will “free” Cizbakri and he will be willing to give them Donovan’s Mate and anything else they want from the treasure room. Steadying themselves the PC reach out for the candlestick…

Date At End Of Game: 1/14/207

Date At Start Of Game: 1/4/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 24th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Attack Of The Gem Eaters

After finishing off the strange insect creatures the PC investigate a nearby cave that apparently was their home. Along the edges of the cave are remnants from several dead beings. From the clutter the PC find several silver coins, a silver belt buckle, and a magical set of gloves. Po determines that the gloves aid someone using a sword. They are magical fencing gloves. After some debate the PC decide to give the gloves to Cillian. While searching the room Bilby catches some movement in the cavern! There is a small gem eater in the corner disguised as a rock. After approaching Kanga decides to shoot the rock. It falls to the ground in a heap. With that another small gem eater detaches from the wall and starts to flee. Oren smashes it with his maul. This concerns Kanga as he did not realize these were creatures and probably young. He takes the dead insect child body with him. With that the PC head deeper into Mount Lockmoro.

Speaking With Cragspine

After travelling for another 10 hours the PC enter a gigantic kidney shaped natural cavern. Running along the sides are sheets of quartz crystal with strange lights arcing up and down them. As they enter a huge form stirs in the far corner of the cavern and approaches. Cragspine is a massive Chinese dragon with dark brown spines and a copper colored underbelly. He has huge fangs and wiry black barbel that hang down from his nose. After approaching the PC he winds up his body and sits. Kanga then abruptly asks him if he can help the dead insect creature. The dragon replies that the PC have met the gem eaters and survived. Cragspine then says he cannot help the dead. He then asks the PC to introduce themselves. With that Oren does introductions. When he introduces Cillian Cragspine seems surprised and asks him who gave him that name. Cillian says he named himself. Cragspine simply smirks. After the introductions Oren explains that they are avatars of the Great Tree and that they have come looking for Donovan’s Mate. He then describes how Po and Cillian became tainted and their current quest to cure them. Cragspine acknowledges that the quest is noble and decides to make an arrangement with the PC for Donovan’s Mate. It turns out that Cragspine does not have Donovan’s Mate but he knows where it rests and knows how to use it. Cragspine says that a crafty Cougar Kin mage named Soza “acquired” the rod from from him roughly 50 years ago and has secreted it in his tower. The problem is that the tower is invisible, shielded by some type of impenetrable magical barrier, and…um…does not have any big doors. He admits that he could not break down the barrier or get around it underground. Cragspine does not know where the mage has hidden Donovan’s Mate in the tower but he does know that this Spirit Mage was extremely crafty and an expert at dimensional pockets, force shields, and traps. Thus the PC should look for items with those magical energies when in his tower. Cragspine lets the PC know that the tower resides on the southern coast of the Golden Isles in the massive Sarei Swamps. Local guides know the region where the keep resides as the source of the Rintao River. Cragspine recommends finding a guide at Piers if the PC want to find anything while in the swamp. Piers is a small city on stilts that sits along the delta of the Rintao River. It is essentially the gateway city to the Sarei Swamps. Cragspine explains that the tower can be spotted by gazing at reflections in nearby pools. Cragspine then tells the PC to have Meiji contact him when they have retrieved Donovan’s Mate.

Epic Tale #10 – The Mysterious Tower

Travelling To The Source Of The River Rintao

After speaking with Cragspine and leaving Mt Lockmoro the PC hire a ship to take them to Piers. On the way the PC ask the sailors about the best guides at Piers and their going rates. The sailors mention an Alligator Kin guide known as Seymour. They figure the going rate is around 2 sp per day. Piers is really just a set of four large rafts that have been tied together at the Rintao River delta. The inhabitants are comprised primarily of Hissers, Alligator Kin, and Crane Kin. Everyone is dressed in light clothing and appear hardened. The only structure on Piers is a small shack with a propped up window that acts as a tavern and storage facility. The proprietor is an Alligator Kin known as Lockjaw. As the PC approach there is a hand painted sign that says, “Comfort 1 sp, Bess 4 sp”. The PC ask for a round of “Comfort” and find it to be an ale like drink. They ask Lockjaw about Seymour and are directed to a table with 3 Hissers and a scrawny looking Alligator Kin with a wide brimmed hat (aka Seymour). When the PC ask about hiring Seymour one of the Hissers slams his fist on the table and say that he is already hired. Thinking fast Oren makes a proposition to the large Hisser. He says that if the Hisser can beat his small Bat Kin friend, Bilby, in an arm wrestling contest will he let them hire Seymour. If the Hisser wins he will give them a bag of silver. The largest Hisser Maggok laughs and agrees. This gets the entire place excited as the contestants prepare to arm wrestle. After a tough fought battle Bilby wins! This sends the bar into raucous cheers! Immediately after the contest Oren buys a round for the house which cuts off any chance the Boa Kin had of wanting to start something. After things calm down the PC hire Seymour for 2.5 sp per day and plan their journey.

The Tower And Ruins

Although the trip to the source of the Rintao River is grueling and Po gets sick for a bit the PC make it in good shape. At the source of the river there are large ponds which are formed by underground springs. Carefully Bilby and Po fly out looking for the tower. After searching for a bit Po spots a glimmer when gazing into one of the ponds. He calls over Bilby and points out the glimmer in the pool. While Po goes back to get the others Bilby starts to scout the grounds. To his surprise he finds the ruins of a small keep with the tower in the center. The ruins are overgrown with jungle vegetation and many of the interior wooden building are rotting. After watching for a few minutes he spies three beetles fighting over a dead body. He returns to alert the PC. Po decides to take a shot at the beetles with his bow once the PC get closer. The beetle takes the shot then the trio of insects start flying after Po! Po dives down to Oren and the PC chase them off with a few shot. Once the beetles are gone the PC enter the keep to explore.

The tower in the center of the keep is the first thing the group examines. It is roughly 5m in diameter and 10m tall. There are no doors or windows in the structure. Roughly 15cm from the white marble walls is a shimmering blue force field. The field is warm to the touch and appears to block all attacks and penetration by Cillian’s vision. As the PC look around the tower they see a ghostly figure of a Cougar Kin with half of his flesh eaten away emerge on the inside of the force field! The visage screams with a horrific yell that chills the PC to the bone and has Bilby plugging his ears in pain. After screaming incoherently for a few moments it vanishes into the tower. The PC assume that the spectre must be Soza. The PC talk for a bit about the tower. They wonder why anyone would build a tower in the middle of a swamp. They also wonder about the origins of the keep as the tower was probably not initially set into the middle of the keep. Finding no immediate access to the force field the PC start to search the grounds.

Coming from one corner of the keep is a smell of rotting meat. The smell appears to be coming from a sinkhole in one corner of the keep. Carefully Oren repels down the sinkhole while Bilby and Po hover down with him. The trio finds a natural cavern full of huge mushrooms. Kanga then jumps down and Cillian quickly follows down the rope. After some searching the PC see some of the mushrooms part. From between them a huge centipede like creature with large pincers and acid oozing from it’s back appears! Oren realizes that this creature is the source of the stench. It quickly rushes the PC to attack. Kanga fires first sending a deadly bolt into one of the creature’s multifaceted eyes! As it attempts to recover from the deadly shot Bilby and Oren strike home felling the beast. Kanga pleads with the PC to try and keep it alive but eventually Oren squishes it because they do not want it behind them. Po takes some of the acid in a small jar.

What dangers lurk in these mysterious ruins and will the PC be able to find a way to access to the tower???

Date At End Of Game: 1/13/207