*** This campaign uses the Tomb of Horrors adventure book, adapted to the Birthright setting. There was also a session on the 20th, but I was not present and no one else made a report. So I will incorporate what I heard happened in this report. ***
Absent: 27th: Barsjt.
The mebhaighl closes in on me from all sides. Overwhelming. All goes black.
I came back to my senses again. My head aching with the power released and infused into the temple. The complex is under assault! By attacking the integrity of the wards placed in and around the temple complex a lot of energy coursed through the buildings, assailing those attuned to magic. I was not the only one who was knocked senseless. Other priests and minor wizards lay moaning or still in the hallway. It took me a few heartbeats to realize that the grinding noise and clash of metal did not come from inside my head, but were the actual sounds of battle somewhere down the hallway. The council chamber!
I stumbled down the hallway towards the chamber where the council members had gathered. My legs felt weak and the magic coursed through the hallway, sometimes the runes of the wards shone as bright as the afternoon sun under the magical assault. The council would be selecting a new leader soon. The rest of my fellow Shadow Hunters had taken up watch outside the council chamber. Too many strange things had happened in the weeks leading up to the selection of a new leader. Foul play was suspected and foul play seems to have been confirmed! The entire complex trembled and dust fell from the ceiling…
I went through my roster of powers, checking if any would be affected by the change in magical environment. I did not immediately sense danger in using any of them, but I did find some of my powers had been exhausted or rather…drained…from my memory. I could only hope they would return with a bit of rest. But rest would have to wait, for when I reached the cylindrical stairwell that lead up to the council chamber, several council members stumbled out into the hallway. They were covered in dust and blood and walked around dazed and terrified. None seemed too badly hurt, so I made my way past them and up the stairwell. One of the men tried to dissuade me, muttering that a giant purple worm inscribed with runes had crashed in through the floor of the council chamber. He confirmed my fellow group members were up in the council chamber, fighting the monster. The building trembled again and dust fell all around us. The councilmember ran off in terror. I had to push my way through some guards and past several other council members to reach the top of the stairs.
The fight was on in full force still, though I did not see any sign of the large purple creature. I did see Jokul, Sherabb, Snorri and Adamar fighting several of the grey skinned dwarves we have encountered before. We were in the antechamber to the large chapel. The connecting hallway had been cut off by a wall of thorns created by Jokul’s magic. As I reached the scene, we managed to round up the fight quite quickly, though it was not easy. The dwarves could fire poisonous darts from their beards and they hit hard with their pickaxes.
A huge hole gaped in the centre of the council chamber. A small purple worm lay on the ground nearby. I went to inspect it, but temple guards called for us. They had rallied around the remaining council members who then healed our wounds. One of the guards, an officer judging by his uniform, informed us that fights were reported from down below. One such fight raged in the library…in the forbidden section. From deeper into the complex a scout had reported a ritual in progress. He did not get close enough to glimpse who or what was executing it, but the priests surmised it must be the source of the magical assault on the temple. The council members whispered among each other that this ritual might even be directed at the artifact that binds all Khinasi mages to the oaths. That would be grave indeed…
After a quick breather we headed down to the library where giant gold-plated armadillo-like creatures were supposed to be ransacking the forbidden section. Barsjt was missing, we heard he was fighting elsewhere in the complex. Along the way Sherabb had a brilliant idea, he infused the magical system of the temple with some of his own arcane power, helping to strengthen it against the assault. I promptly followed his example by injecting the raw arcane power of my Flaming Sphere. It seemed to help, though we have no idea how much. The headache persisted, probably for as long as the ritual was in progress. But we will probably be suffering more than a headache if the ritual is completed.
The sight at the library was quite shocking. Two giant turtle like creatures, quickly identified by Jokul as the legendary bulettes, were tearing through entire bookshelves with their massive heads. Several grey dwarves were throwing books down a great hole in the ground. We went in, weapons first, attacking the creatures who were in the process of destroying and stealing this potentially dangerous knowledge. The grey dwarf leader seemed surprised to see us, managing a ‘you should be dead?!?’ before ordering his subjects to attack us.
From previous fights I know these dwarves are resistant to poison, but my poisonous cloud is much more powerful than before. So I decided to use it here; at least to obscure the area. Plus I could cover a large area and would not harm the books. The cloud turned out to be quite effective, and I moved it over the battlefield immediately.
As the bulettes moved in I understand why they are also referred to as ‘land-sharks’ for they moved through the earth as fast as we would walk. If it wasn’t for the rumble and upturned pavingstones in their passing, I would have thought they could teleport. It was hard to keep your footing when one of these creatures passed underneath. And then they could jump out of the ground and their fearsome beak and claws wreak havoc on anyone nearby. So when they came our way, I teleported to the other end of the chamber. The grey dwarven leader followed me and attacked, hitting me hard. Meanwhile a flunky tried to push over one of the big bookcases and crush me under it. But he didn’t manage to push it over. A landshark emerged from under the bookcase though, splintering it and throwing books all around. I was swept off my feet. Jokul had said the creatures could sense tremors in the earth and use them to navigate. So I tried to attack the creatures and then teleported another distance after putting the poisonous cloud over my assailants. Alas, it was not far enough for they chased me, the landshark found me without much effort. It was a poisonous barb of the dwarven leader that knocked me out…way out of reach from Jokul or any other allies. At least my cloud had killed most of the dwarven minions and my comrades could deal with the other landshark. The last thing I recall was seeing the other landshark suspended several feet in the air at the other end of the room. They could fly too!
I guess I was more annoyed than surprised to see the grinning face of Splug over me. He had administered me a potion. How he had remained out of sight of both us as well as our enemies remains a mystery to me. Something is withholding me from feeling grateful though. I guess a Sidhe just can’t be grateful to such a lowly creature. But there are more pressing matters; a dwarf and a bulette were still there, preparing to strike at us. I felt a tug of an arcane teleportation power with Sherabb’s signature. I fell in with it and teleported closer to my allies and the big hole. After that Sherabb and Snorri turned up at that end of the room and took down the grey dwarf. I tried to assist and then teleported off to the other end of the hole, thinking to be safe from the single remaining bulette. Again I was wrongI I would not believe anyone who told me this, but the bulette burrowed and emerged on one side of the hole. Then jumped the
The fact that the grey dwarves were throwing books down the hole is something we should look into if we get the chance. They might be transporting the knowledge to some underground base of theirs for all we know…
Judging by the resilience of the magic wards we figured a bit of a rest would be possible before we went on to face those conducting the ritual. I somehow expect it will be a bald and tattooed grey skinned dwarf who goes by the name The Warlock.
