Kingbeast's Lair

Date At Start Of Game: 2/18/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 31st session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Entry Chambers

After felling the strange dinosaur mummy the PC examine the corpse and find a large key strapped to its back. Carefully Bilby sneaks past the archers and looks for a keyhole. He finds one near some massive looking gears against the northern wall. Bilby also hears a distant hum coming from below the gears with his sensitive Bat Kin ears.

Carefully Po uses his Dead Can Dance spell on the skeletal archers. This allows the PC to venture safely into the room. After searching the chamber from where the mummy emerged the PC decide to check the lock near the gears. Cillian inserts the key then twists it. It goes to four different positions. At each position the PC can hear something mechanical moving in the distance but the position of the gears does not move. On the forth position they hear a grinding noise. Not having an obvious thing to try the PC start to investigate the four doors leading out of the large foyer.

The first room has golden doors and contains strange dragon symbols on the floor that glow with a red light. When Cillian explores he finds a strange brazier at the end of the room that is covered with ash. When he approaches and lights his hand a being made of flame forms in the urn! It carefully steps out then moves to attack Cillian! Cillian runs out of the room then Oren slams closed the door.

The PC then decide to check the other rooms. Each chamber has a door made of a different metal, different color glowing symbols, and a different altar area. The room with the bronze doors has yellow symbols and a statue of a cloud with lightning bolt. The room with copper doors has amber symbols and a fountain with two twin-headed dragon statues. The last room has silver doors, blue symbols on the floor, and has four dragon men statues kneeling around an ice dragon statue. After some discussion on how to proceed the group decides to try the ice room first.

Cillian enters the room and the four dragon men animate and move to attack. They appear to be living creatures! Cillian rushes back to the door then turns with the rest of the party to face the creatures. He uses his flame hand but finds that most of it diverts around the creatures to the back of the room! Once the dragon men close the party starts attacking. Oren sweeps them out of the way with his deadly blows! Bilby cuts looks with his sword. Cillian keeps flaming them then switches off to his sword. Eventually the dragon men fall. On careful examination of the room Cillian finds a narrow crease at the end of the symbols. First they try pouring blood from the dragon men into the crease but nothing happens. After this Oren tries pouring some water into the trench. As the water freezes the blue glow from the symbols proceeds down the trench. Once the trench is full the PC hear that one of the gears has started moving. They now have the idea that something similar must be repeated in each room.

Next the PC decide to tackle the room with the cloud and lightning bolts. As nothing immediately springs on Cillian he approaches the trench and discovers that if he lays something metal in the trench it starts to glow yellow. Getting an old sword from Po Cillian lights up his flame hand and melts the sword into the trench. Once it gets filled the doors slam shut trapping Cillian and Oren inside! After the doors close a strange creature made of electricity appears! It is a will-o-wisp! It vanishes then moves to start attacking the PC. For some reason Cillian can see heat coming from the creature and attacks. With a fantastically accurate blow he cuts the creature in half causing it to fall and become visible. With a smash from Oren’s hammer the beast flickers out and disappears.

The room with the fire creature and red symbols is next. This time Cillian approaches and the being made of flame does not appear. Carefully Cillian starts pouring oil into the trench. As he pours out the oil it lights up from touching the nearby red symbols. As soon as the flame starts to lick the creature appears again. The PC cut loose on the creature while Cillian pours. When the creature blasts Cillian he cringes only to find the flames pour around his body not causing him much harm! In a few more strikes the creature falls. What is going on with Cillian’s powers?!? Po guesses that Cillian might be a fire dragon.

Finally the PC confront the room that they fear might be the toughest…the room with the two twin-headed dragons. As they approach the statues animate. They appear to be some type of animated mechanical constructs. Their bellies are full of acid which they can spit in a dangerous gush. Oren and Bilby lead the charge by racing up to attack before the creatures start to move. Po starts throwing his Cursey Boo Boo spell to slow them down. Cillian uses his flame hand and sword to land blows. After some fantastic hits from Oren and Bilby the creatures fall. The party is wounded but are victorious. They pour some acid into the trench and the final gear starts to roll.

With the gears rolling the PC try the key again. In each position the key stops one of the gears from moving locking it into an open position. In the last position they hear a mechanical screech and the gear does not stop. Something is broken internally. With some help from the PC Cillian examines the gears and manages to stop the final gear from spinning but he cannot get it to lock in place. The PC discover that the gear can be moved if they could find some long metal poles to use as levers. They remember the pikes from the skeletons and break into their stronghold. Inside they also find a chest that contains a strange trumpet made of bronze that is shaped like a dragon. Po determines that it is radiating with Dragon magic and that it is one of a set.

As the PC move the freed gear Cillian notices that with his earth sight there is a passage leading from below it. Carefully Bilby and Cillian step into the gear then Oren uses a pike to move them down to the opening. Bilby and Cillian see a fungus covered room with three chests. As Cillian examines the chests Bilby watches the room. In one corner the moss and lichen starts to bulge. Eventually a hand forms and Bilby attacks. Cillian uses his flame hand but the creature appears to absorb heat! As the PC attack fungus in the room starts to constrict around their legs! Spirit Splitter appears to be keeping the moss away from Bilby but Cillian is being slowed down. With some well landed blows Bilby cuts down the beast before it can land a blow! In the chests the PC find some coins and another one of the dragon trumpets. This dragon trumpet is silver.

With that the PC decide to explore what lies behind the gears…

Date At End Of Game: 2/18/207

-== What is it? ==-

Asterios Polyp is a graphic novel that tackles some deep topics through the eyes of its eclectic main character. The book was written and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli and published by Pantheon Books. It was released in 2009.

Asterios Polyp has interior art that is comprised of only yellow, pink, purple, and blue shades. The cover has some black but it is predominately in the same color palette. The book is 10.5” x 8” in size and is 344 pages in length. I am reviewing a hardcover copy that I bought from Lee’s Comics in San Mateo.

-== What I Like ==-

The main story is comprised of deep layered topics which are explored through the life and beliefs of the main character, Asterios Polyp. Some of the major topics covered in the story include fate, death, art, and love. In each case Asterios brings light to these in his own analytically minded fashion.

Asterios Polyp is wonderfully intricate in its simplicity. The story is told through several threads that start and stop at various points in his life. After having described the narrative as jumping around through time you might think that this would make the book hard to read. In fact the narrative is so masterfully crafted that instead it feels fluid and natural.

Everything about the story, artwork, AND physical presentation of Asterios Polyp has meaning. in 344 pages there are no wasted panels. The way the scenes are drawn evokes Asterios’ state of mind at the time. For example, when someone is upset or fearful they may take on a shaky sort of outline. The dust jacket has Asterios Polyp on front cover facing the spine. On the back cover of the jacket is the ghost of his brother staring back across the spine. Also the dust jacket does not cover the front surface of the book. It leaves parts of the cover exposed which allows it to move around in a sort of disconcerting way. For some reason even the ill fitting cover reminded me of Asterios.

Asterios Polyp has many memorable moments which I can vividly recall months after reading it. The initial pages and last few pages are really memorable. These pages hook you into the story, make you read it to the end, then really makes you want to go back and revisit those moments with a reread.

The artwork in Asterios Polyp is comprised of simple lines with little shading but it is executed to perfection. I would stare at the simple lines trying to divulge some deeper meaning. It reminded me of the story…intricate in its simplicity.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Maybe my only complaint is that the story can be a bit “heavy” at times. If you want a quick read where you can turn your brain off at the door this is not the book you want to pickup.

-== Summary ==-

With Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli weaves a masterful tale that is detailed and utterly unforgettable. I need to give credit where credit is due. I found this graphic novel based on a recommendation from Blair Butler who hosts G4’s Fresh Ink. Here is a link to the video review that tipped me off that Asterios Polyp was something different and great. Boy Blair was right on this one. Please go buy Asterios Polyp and see how graphic novels can tell compelling stories. This might be the best graphic novel that I have ever read. Go buy this sucker right now and read it. When you get done come back here and thank me. 😀

Amazon has Asterios Polyp for sale at this URL for a paltry $19.77.

I give it 10 out of 10 paws.

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Now that Kingbeast’s Lair is back expect some spiffy new content. I think the next entry will be the review of what could possibly be the best graphic novel that I have ever read! How is that for a teaser!?! 😀

GAME ON! 🙂