Argent opened the wardrobe. A stinking cloud of smoke and ash poured out and filled the room with the smell of rotten eggs and burning flesh. There was a moment of darkness. The smoke faded to reveal that everyone in the room had been transported to another world. They stood in a stone arena in the center of an amphitheater. There was a wide pit in the center of the arena. Above the pit hung an iron gibbet on a chain. Inside the gibbet was a young girl with long black hair - the same girl from the watery visions! The girl seemed to be afraid and crying.
Sitting in the amphitheater were multiple rows of bizarre creatures - variously horned, barbed, calciferous, gaunt, winged, and hoofed. They began to cackle and cheer at the arrival of the newcomers in the arena below.
The largest among them, a winged serpentine figure with clawed arms and legs banged his long two-pronged fork-like weapon onto the ground. The audience became silent but still buzzed with anticipation.
The sky was dark with smoke and ash and underlit by innumerable fires. The landscape was rocky and inhospitable with tall spires like stalagmites and strange unearthly formations of obsidian and basalt.
The serpentine figure sat in a place of prominence and wore red jeweled robes and a powdered wig. It stood to address the newcomers.
"Greetings, mortals! Welcome to Narak! We, the shadim of Narak, long ago entered the service of the arch-lich Acererak. In exchange, we were offered the soul of this young girl. Per our arrangement with Acererak, the girl is allowed a defense. You have been selected to act as her advocates. You will face our own champion. If you defeat our champion - we will release our claim upon the soul of the girl. If we win - her precious soul will experience an eternity of torment to feed our insatiable hunger. You may forfeit at any time and be returned to your world. Do you accept these terms or do you forfeit?"
CHAPTER 39
"THE HALL OF THE GOLDEN MASTODON"
"THE HALL OF THE GOLDEN MASTODON"
THE EXPEDITION
- Bramble Wolf - a theran barbarian wise-man (Wildhunt Shifter Druid) searching for the legendary origin of his tribe, recently transformed into a woman by a magic fountain, slowly becoming a goat due to a curse from a bronze staff. Current bearer of the spirit of the trustworthy god Moa.
- Apparently Jones - a blue-skinned demijin caravan guide and animal trainer (Air Genasi Ranger) from Akasa, the land of sky mountains. Having failed to find work in Port Nyanzaru as an animal handler, she has joined the expedition to the interior as a scout. Current bearer of the spirit of the foolhardy god of froghemoths named Kubazan.
- Xoc-Wik - a b'alam warrior (Tabaxi Fighter) from the jungles of Bres, searching for those responsible for the destruction of his tribe.
- Zeynap Shiravadakar - a Eusebean smuggler (Human Warlock) bearing the spirit of a celestial unicorn. Current bearer of the spirit of the nimble god I'Jin.
- Argent Truth-Sayer - a golden azi knight errant of Bhamut (Dragonborn Paladin) in the service of Bhamut, sent on a holy mission to join the expedition to destroy the Soul Monger. Current bearer of the spirit of the selfish god of wealth Nangnang.
NPCs
- Orvex Ocrammas - translator and guide for hire; rescued from the Fane of the Night Serpent.
- Zorai - vyth (grey-skinned alien) explorer sent to Omu to investigate the massive seismic event that coincided with its destruction; trapped within a magic mirror soon after the destruction of Omu more than 150 years ago.
DM Note-
Xoc-Wik's player and Zeynap's player were both absent this week, so they suffered from Brain Fever. Apparently's player, who was absent last session, was back this week. Unfortunately, Apparently was trapped in the control room with Zeynap. I had her play Vythi Zorai until they could reorient the cogs and reunite with Apparently.
Ordinarily I'd just magically swap characters - like transpose Apparently with Xoc-Wik - but I didn't want the players to depend on that or learning to abuse it.
The Wardrobe of Narak
Despite being the drowned girl from his visions, Argent displayed no hesitation, "Let's do it! Any objection?"
Bramble, influenced by the spirit of Unkh, was overcome with indecision. Orvex shrugged. Zorai shook her head.
"We accept!" declared Argent.
The serpentine judge sighed, "Very well, we have chosen our champion!"
There was a flash of flame and smoke as a large creature covered in a thick carapace appeared in the far corner of the arena. It was the color of exposed bone. Large translucent wings like those of a wasp fluttered on its back. It bore in one armored hand a massive sword. In the other was a strange weapon composed of a long hollow tube.
"Begin!"
Bramble transformed herself into a giant ape and charged the bone creature from its left flank. Argent approached the creature from its right. The creature was pinned in the corner.
Bramble wailed on the creature, cracking the bony carapace under heavy simian fists. Argent called forth the magical yklwa he named "Plate Mail" and stabbed at the creature. Zorai took aim with her plasma pistol but had difficulty connecting with her target. Orvex huddled in the opposite corner and hid.
The creature focused its attacks against Argent. The hollow tube fired poison-tipped darts at short range. The poison from the darts caused excruciating pain but Argent was able to shake off the lasting after-effects.
Argent and Bramble's coordinated attacks ultimately defeated the calciferous devil. As it fell screaming it burst into flaming tatters and cinders.
"Very well," sighed the judge, "The child's soul shall be returned to devachan to await reincarnation." With a bang of its forked spear, the child disappeared from the gibbet in a flash of pure white light, "You shall be returned from whence you came!"
He banged the forked spear again and the party found itself returned to the five-sided room of the Cog of Blood.
The Wardrobe of the Infinite Labyrinth
The fourth glass bulb over the portcullis was now illuminated green. Argent looked around at the remaining wardrobes. "Well, that was the fourth one, let's do the second one." He opened the second wardrobe decorated with a grinning hag dangling a baby over her hungry mouth.
A purple gas billowed from the wardrobe, completely filling the room and swirling like a maelstrom. When the maelstrom subsided, the party found themselves standing in a large room - a laboratory and library. Two cages hung from the ceiling in which man-sized four-armed insectoid creatures were imprisoned.
Each of the members of the expedition stood within magic circles drawn on the floor, their glow slowly fading.
Windows revealed a strange gray landscape of rolling hills covered in twisting labyrinths as far as the eye could see. The sky was a strange twisting display of glowing auroras.
A humanoid figure wearing the robes of a scholar sat at a desk writing notes in a book. A bushy fox tail emerged from his robes behind the back of his chair. He turned to look at the newcomers, holding a pair of wire-frame spectacles to his fox-like face, "Greetings," the vulpine scholar checked his notebook, "Ah, right on time."
He stood and brushed himself off, "Welcome to the Infinite Labyrinth, the domain of Amon Tor. My name is Ygga Raxy. I have made arrangements with the arch-lich Acererak. He told me that someone would arrive at this moment from some point in the future. Per our arrangement, I am to make you an offer. If you can pay my price of one thousand gold pieces worth of gems, I will answer any and all of your questions regarding the Tomb of the Nine Gods, which has yet to be built. You can place your gems here on this table. If you are unsatisfied with my answers, we can renegotiate the terms. Do you understand?"
Argent and Bramble accepted the offer. Apparently had all the gemstones back in the control room. They scrounged their purses and satchels and pooled their resources. They were able to pay the price.
The fox-creature proceeded to answer their questions truthfully and helpfully. He told them that the Soulmonger was located a little over a hundred feet beneath the Cog of Blood and the correct cog configurations to reach it. He told them that the Soulmonger was a device and could be destroyed given sufficient destructive force. He told them that there was no way to align all the cogs to allow free passage - someone always had to stay behind in the control room. He revealed the location of the Skull Chalice of Ch'Kagare in the Hall of the Golden Mastodon and the cog configuration that allowed access to it. He also explained that once all five challenges of the Cog of Blood had been met, the portcullises would remain forever open. They would not have to repeat the challenges.
Eventually the party ran out of questions and the fox-creature concluded their business. With a wave of his arcane hand they were transported back to the Cog of Blood.
DM Note-
I changed this up to give the players a break from fighting and a chance to roleplay. They seemed to enjoy the encounter. I was able to provide a lot of useful exposition and foreshadowing without giving away any big surprises. Plus it gave them something to spend their loot on. Had they been unable or unwilling to pay, then the arcanoloth would disappear and release the two mezzoloths from their cages.
The Wardrobe of the Great Mechanism
The second glass bulb was now illuminated green.
Argent opened the third wardrobe decorated with clockwork gears. The interior revealed a vast space of interlocking gears and spinning drive shafts. A round metal sphere with spindly arms and legs rolled out and fell onto the floor in front of Argent.
The third glass sphere over the portcullis began to glow green.
The sphere was a mechanical being with a spherical metal body. It stood up and looked around with illuminated glass eyes. Its voice was sounded artificial and monotone, "Greetings. We are searching for us. We believe we are trapped somewhere in this plane. Can we help us find us?"
"Uh, sure. Who are you?" asked Argent.
"EHHHH! Please define that word. We do not understand."
"Which word?"
Argent and Bramble did their best to communicate with the mechanical creature. They soon learned that it had no sense of personal identity. Singular pronouns or forms of identification were alien to it. Every time anyone used a word such as "you", "him", "her", or anytime someone referred to someone by name, the little mechanical being simply blurted "EHHHH!"
DM Note-
This was incredibly fun to role-play!
Argent and Bramble soon adapted and eventually learned that the creature was a modron - specifically a monodrone - from a place called the Great Mechanism. Acererak had captured a group of modrons and put them to work building what the modron called an "Orderer" - a modron device that altered reality. They agreed to help the modron.
The Wardrobe of Skion
"Two more," declared Argent. He opened the fifth wardrobe.
The room darkened. Everyone was overcome with a sense of dread, a feeling akin to falling down a shaft while standing on solid ground. The light returned and they were standing in a ruined mausoleum. Only part of the walls and ceiling still remained, the rest was rubble. Around them was a vast field of crypts, graveyards, mausoleums, and sepulchers. The sky was dark grey. The air reeked of death and decay. Within the ruins of the mausoleum were four desecrated sarcophagi.
From each of the sarcophagi rose six glowing spheres of ethereal light, translucent and sickly pale. The balls of light attacked! Bolts of life energy shot out from each victim like lightning. Each bolt was greedily absorbed by the spheres of energy.
Argent responded by calling upon his patron god, Bhamot. The spectral form of a serpentine dragon appeared over Argent. All but two of the spheres of light fled the mausoleum. The remaining sphere were soon destroyed by Argent's magical yklwa and Zorai's plasma pistol.
Once the last glowing sphere was eliminated, the party was returned. The fifth glass sphere was illuminated, leaving only the first.
The Wardrobe of the Scourge
Argent opened the final unopened wardrobe. The party was transported in a swirl of dust to a ramshackle cage covered by a dome made of interlocking metal parts and junk. Hanging onto the outside of the cage were a motley audience of onlookers who hooted and cheered at the arrival of the party.
There were strange orange-skinned humanoids with flat sinister faces and long pointed ears. They were dressed like scavengers in an assortment of bits of armor, found parts of clothing, and bits and bobs of salvaged equipment.
Scampering among the taller humanoids were smaller humanoids with skin that varied from green to yellow to red to violet. Taller more muscular humanoids with lumpy yellow skin pushed the others around.
An orange-skinned humanoid stood at the top of some metal stairs at the only way into or out of the domed cage. The humanoid wore a long fancy coat with large metal shoulder pads. His hair was combed into a high pompadour. He held in his hand a microphone attached to a wire.
"Greetings all you marauders, dregs, and crushers! Welcome to - the THUNDERDOME! Tonight we have a special treat! A challenge promised to us by the arch-lich Acererak himself! These worthy opponents have been transported across time and space from the far side of Antara to face one of our greatest champions. Tonight, you will be witness to the battle between these adversaries - foretold to be some of the toughest in all Antarra - and our very own main man, the terror of Ji-Go, you all know him, you all love him, WARLORD EPSILONNNNNNN!"
There were sparks and fireworks as the gate opened and in stepped a tall orange-skinned warrior wearing plate armor. A cadre of orange-skinned marauders entered with him and formed a line to the left and right of the entrance.
The crowd cheered!
The announcer continued, "You all know the rules - the team with the last man standing wins. Are you ready? BEGIN!" The announcer ducked out of the dome and closed and locked the gate.
Bramble leaped into action, calling forth a wall of spiritual flame which appeared in front of the line of marauders. They all perished in the conflagration!
Warlord Epsilon stepped through the flames and confronted Argent. The two fought. One of Epsilon's blows caught the modron and destroyed it.
Bramble quipped, "Well, he didn't last long!"
The party was returned to the five-sided room. All five glass bulbs were now illuminated green. The portcullises opened.
Reunion
Xoc-Wik communicated the situation to Apparently Jones through his helmet of telepathy. During their time in the Cog of Blood, the heavy door sealing Apparently and Zeynap into the control room had once again lifted. The party moved back into the center cog and Apparently reconfigured the cogs so that she and Zeynap could rejoin the party.
This time, Zeynap, Xoc-Wik, and Zorai were left in the control room. The cogs were then reconfigured so that Argent, Bramble, Apparently, and Orvex could access the Hall of the Golden Mastodon.
The Hall of the Golden Mastodon
The party moved carefully down the corridor to the Hall of the Golden Mastodon.
They found a room shaped like a quarter of a sphere. The curved wall was decorated with a massive mural. The center of the room was dominated by a massive golden statue of a mastodon clad in battle regalia - an armored howdah was affixed to its back. The statue stood on top of a round dais. A small gap beneath the dais gave Apparently the impression that the entire dais and statue rotated, but no amount of force would budge the statue.
The mural told a story in pictures. Orvex explained that the murals showed Ch'gakare, the Chultan hero who stole the king of Omu's war-mastodon Ghom. As punishment, Ch'gakare and Ghom were banished to the Ennead Hells of Narak. There they fought and defeated a series of various and fiendish shadim before returning to Chult. Upon their return, they beheaded the king of Omu and turned his skull into a jeweled chalice.
DM Note-
I had Argent's player make a Religion check vs. DC 15 to identify the devils. He failed so got no info about what was coming.
Apparently climbed on top of the war elephant and found a star-shaped indentation in the back of its head. She told the others and they wracked their brains trying to think of what might fit.
DM Note-
Argent's player said, "Ooh, I try the scepter!"
I asked for clarification, "Which scepter?"
He sheepishly replied, "I dunno."
It was a funny moment but we both knew what we meant. I knew he had one of Queen Napaka's scepters and I wanted to know if he tried the real one or the copy. Not that it mattered, neither of them would have worked.
Apparently finally remembered, "The star thing! Back in the control room! The knob on the level is shaped like a star!"
The party sighed and left the hall. They somehow got a message back to the control room to reconfigure the cogs, get the star-shaped head of the lever, and return to the Hall.
DM Note-
Xoc-Wik was in the control room, so they didn't have anyone who could send a telepathic message. So let's just assume Xoc-Wik was keeping in constant contact. Sure, why not?
Back in the hall, they all climbed atop the elephant save Orvex who waited nearby. Apparently inserted the star into its socket.
The elephant started to rotate widdershins. A large stone slab fell from the ceiling and blocked the only exit from the room. Orvex gave a start. Suddenly, the entire floor caught fire. The flames soon reached six feet in height. Orvex screamed as his flesh burned and quickly climbed aboard the elephant with the others.
The elephantine statue continued through a full rotation. On its second round, four small devils with wings, their backs and tails covered in quills, emerged from the mural. They flew above the flames and launched quills from their tails at the adventurers on the elephant's back. Apparently, Bramble, Argent, Orvex, and Apparently's spirit animal Archie did their best to fight back but Apparently and Orvex but their weapons did little to eliminate the devilish creatures.
Upon the elephant's third rotation, three more devils emerged from the paintings - humanoid warriors with long thick tentacles growing from their chins like beards. The humanoids carried long pole-arms. Two climbed onto the tusks of the elephant and attacked Apparently and Archie from a distance while the third climbed the rear of the elephant to harass Bramble.
Bramble summoned a healing wolf and everyone on the back of the elephant moved through it as the elephant continued to rotate.
At the end of the elephant's fourth rotation, only one of the spined devils had been defeated. Two thin reptilian devils emerged from the wall. These devils were covered in thick spikes. They moved to the corners of the room and hurled small magical fireballs at the heroes on the elephant.
Apparently fell but was quickly revived by the spirit wolf. This time she felt the poison of the bearded devil's tendrils.
On the elephant's fifth rotation, a large winged humanoid with a long tail and long bull horns emerged from the mural. Argent noticed that the pattern indicated four, three, two, and one. He deduced that this would be the final devil. He called forth the holy power of the god Bhamut. Several of the devils cowered in the face of the power of Argent's faith.
Unfortunately, another devil emerged from the painting. The final devil was an armored female warrior with large feathered wings and small goat horns. She emerged with a heavy sigh like a bored teenager. She looked at the horned devil cowering in the doorway, "What's, like, wrong with you?"
She looked onto the elephant, "Oh, right!" She rolled her cat eyes, "WHAT-EVER!" She loosed three large arrows from her ornately carved bow at Argent.
Apparently once more fell but was once again revived by the spirit wolf. Archie was destroyed. HIs form instantly returned to the spirit world of Aeon. Things were beginning to look grim.
Argent leaped off the elephant and crawled along the ceiling using Nangnang's magic. The armored devil stepped into the room to better observe him, "Hey! Where are YOU going?" she demanded.
Argent told the others to close their eyes. He activated the cloak of Unkh and a blinding flash of scintillating radiance filled the room. The armored devil loosed three more arrows into Argent. He cried out and fell to the fiery floor, unconscious.
Bramble quickly summoned the spirits of healing to tend to Argent. The armored devil dropped her bow and picked up her shield and sword. Argent, suffering little from the burning floor, once more caused his cape to flare into brilliance, this time stunning the armored devil. Argent then withdrew a potion he had taken from Nangnang's tomb, opened it and drank what he believed to be a Potion of Superior Healing.
Argent's eyes began to bulge, his tongue stuck out, and he reeled! It was poison! The armored devil stabbed Argent with her sword. The dragon-man fell to the floor. She stabbed him again out of spite!
Bramble sent the spirit wolf to revive Argent. Argent was barely alive. The fire burned around him. He wouldn't last much longer.
Argent's Sacrifice
Bramble considered it, but changed her mind. But maybe she would. She couldn't decide.
Argent stood up, wreathed in flame, "ME! Take me! Let them go!"
The devil's eyes widened and she smiled, revealing pointed teeth, "Oh, for SURE! Absolutely! Okay!"
She snapped her finger.
Argent disappeared in a gout of flame and ash, leaving behind his clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment.
Despite being the drowned girl from his visions, Argent displayed no hesitation, "Let's do it! Any objection?"
Bramble, influenced by the spirit of Unkh, was overcome with indecision. Orvex shrugged. Zorai shook her head.
"We accept!" declared Argent.
The serpentine judge sighed, "Very well, we have chosen our champion!"
There was a flash of flame and smoke as a large creature covered in a thick carapace appeared in the far corner of the arena. It was the color of exposed bone. Large translucent wings like those of a wasp fluttered on its back. It bore in one armored hand a massive sword. In the other was a strange weapon composed of a long hollow tube.
"Begin!"
Bramble transformed herself into a giant ape and charged the bone creature from its left flank. Argent approached the creature from its right. The creature was pinned in the corner.
Bramble wailed on the creature, cracking the bony carapace under heavy simian fists. Argent called forth the magical yklwa he named "Plate Mail" and stabbed at the creature. Zorai took aim with her plasma pistol but had difficulty connecting with her target. Orvex huddled in the opposite corner and hid.
The creature focused its attacks against Argent. The hollow tube fired poison-tipped darts at short range. The poison from the darts caused excruciating pain but Argent was able to shake off the lasting after-effects.
Argent and Bramble's coordinated attacks ultimately defeated the calciferous devil. As it fell screaming it burst into flaming tatters and cinders.
"Very well," sighed the judge, "The child's soul shall be returned to devachan to await reincarnation." With a bang of its forked spear, the child disappeared from the gibbet in a flash of pure white light, "You shall be returned from whence you came!"
He banged the forked spear again and the party found itself returned to the five-sided room of the Cog of Blood.
The Wardrobe of the Infinite Labyrinth
The fourth glass bulb over the portcullis was now illuminated green. Argent looked around at the remaining wardrobes. "Well, that was the fourth one, let's do the second one." He opened the second wardrobe decorated with a grinning hag dangling a baby over her hungry mouth.
A purple gas billowed from the wardrobe, completely filling the room and swirling like a maelstrom. When the maelstrom subsided, the party found themselves standing in a large room - a laboratory and library. Two cages hung from the ceiling in which man-sized four-armed insectoid creatures were imprisoned.
Each of the members of the expedition stood within magic circles drawn on the floor, their glow slowly fading.
Windows revealed a strange gray landscape of rolling hills covered in twisting labyrinths as far as the eye could see. The sky was a strange twisting display of glowing auroras.
A humanoid figure wearing the robes of a scholar sat at a desk writing notes in a book. A bushy fox tail emerged from his robes behind the back of his chair. He turned to look at the newcomers, holding a pair of wire-frame spectacles to his fox-like face, "Greetings," the vulpine scholar checked his notebook, "Ah, right on time."
He stood and brushed himself off, "Welcome to the Infinite Labyrinth, the domain of Amon Tor. My name is Ygga Raxy. I have made arrangements with the arch-lich Acererak. He told me that someone would arrive at this moment from some point in the future. Per our arrangement, I am to make you an offer. If you can pay my price of one thousand gold pieces worth of gems, I will answer any and all of your questions regarding the Tomb of the Nine Gods, which has yet to be built. You can place your gems here on this table. If you are unsatisfied with my answers, we can renegotiate the terms. Do you understand?"
Argent and Bramble accepted the offer. Apparently had all the gemstones back in the control room. They scrounged their purses and satchels and pooled their resources. They were able to pay the price.
The fox-creature proceeded to answer their questions truthfully and helpfully. He told them that the Soulmonger was located a little over a hundred feet beneath the Cog of Blood and the correct cog configurations to reach it. He told them that the Soulmonger was a device and could be destroyed given sufficient destructive force. He told them that there was no way to align all the cogs to allow free passage - someone always had to stay behind in the control room. He revealed the location of the Skull Chalice of Ch'Kagare in the Hall of the Golden Mastodon and the cog configuration that allowed access to it. He also explained that once all five challenges of the Cog of Blood had been met, the portcullises would remain forever open. They would not have to repeat the challenges.
Eventually the party ran out of questions and the fox-creature concluded their business. With a wave of his arcane hand they were transported back to the Cog of Blood.
DM Note-
I changed this up to give the players a break from fighting and a chance to roleplay. They seemed to enjoy the encounter. I was able to provide a lot of useful exposition and foreshadowing without giving away any big surprises. Plus it gave them something to spend their loot on. Had they been unable or unwilling to pay, then the arcanoloth would disappear and release the two mezzoloths from their cages.
The Wardrobe of the Great Mechanism
The second glass bulb was now illuminated green.
Argent opened the third wardrobe decorated with clockwork gears. The interior revealed a vast space of interlocking gears and spinning drive shafts. A round metal sphere with spindly arms and legs rolled out and fell onto the floor in front of Argent.
The third glass sphere over the portcullis began to glow green.
The sphere was a mechanical being with a spherical metal body. It stood up and looked around with illuminated glass eyes. Its voice was sounded artificial and monotone, "Greetings. We are searching for us. We believe we are trapped somewhere in this plane. Can we help us find us?"
"Uh, sure. Who are you?" asked Argent.
"EHHHH! Please define that word. We do not understand."
"Which word?"
Argent and Bramble did their best to communicate with the mechanical creature. They soon learned that it had no sense of personal identity. Singular pronouns or forms of identification were alien to it. Every time anyone used a word such as "you", "him", "her", or anytime someone referred to someone by name, the little mechanical being simply blurted "EHHHH!"
DM Note-
This was incredibly fun to role-play!
Argent and Bramble soon adapted and eventually learned that the creature was a modron - specifically a monodrone - from a place called the Great Mechanism. Acererak had captured a group of modrons and put them to work building what the modron called an "Orderer" - a modron device that altered reality. They agreed to help the modron.
The Wardrobe of Skion
"Two more," declared Argent. He opened the fifth wardrobe.
The room darkened. Everyone was overcome with a sense of dread, a feeling akin to falling down a shaft while standing on solid ground. The light returned and they were standing in a ruined mausoleum. Only part of the walls and ceiling still remained, the rest was rubble. Around them was a vast field of crypts, graveyards, mausoleums, and sepulchers. The sky was dark grey. The air reeked of death and decay. Within the ruins of the mausoleum were four desecrated sarcophagi.
From each of the sarcophagi rose six glowing spheres of ethereal light, translucent and sickly pale. The balls of light attacked! Bolts of life energy shot out from each victim like lightning. Each bolt was greedily absorbed by the spheres of energy.
Argent responded by calling upon his patron god, Bhamot. The spectral form of a serpentine dragon appeared over Argent. All but two of the spheres of light fled the mausoleum. The remaining sphere were soon destroyed by Argent's magical yklwa and Zorai's plasma pistol.
Once the last glowing sphere was eliminated, the party was returned. The fifth glass sphere was illuminated, leaving only the first.
The Wardrobe of the Scourge
Argent opened the final unopened wardrobe. The party was transported in a swirl of dust to a ramshackle cage covered by a dome made of interlocking metal parts and junk. Hanging onto the outside of the cage were a motley audience of onlookers who hooted and cheered at the arrival of the party.
There were strange orange-skinned humanoids with flat sinister faces and long pointed ears. They were dressed like scavengers in an assortment of bits of armor, found parts of clothing, and bits and bobs of salvaged equipment.
Scampering among the taller humanoids were smaller humanoids with skin that varied from green to yellow to red to violet. Taller more muscular humanoids with lumpy yellow skin pushed the others around.
An orange-skinned humanoid stood at the top of some metal stairs at the only way into or out of the domed cage. The humanoid wore a long fancy coat with large metal shoulder pads. His hair was combed into a high pompadour. He held in his hand a microphone attached to a wire.
"Greetings all you marauders, dregs, and crushers! Welcome to - the THUNDERDOME! Tonight we have a special treat! A challenge promised to us by the arch-lich Acererak himself! These worthy opponents have been transported across time and space from the far side of Antara to face one of our greatest champions. Tonight, you will be witness to the battle between these adversaries - foretold to be some of the toughest in all Antarra - and our very own main man, the terror of Ji-Go, you all know him, you all love him, WARLORD EPSILONNNNNNN!"
There were sparks and fireworks as the gate opened and in stepped a tall orange-skinned warrior wearing plate armor. A cadre of orange-skinned marauders entered with him and formed a line to the left and right of the entrance.
The crowd cheered!
The announcer continued, "You all know the rules - the team with the last man standing wins. Are you ready? BEGIN!" The announcer ducked out of the dome and closed and locked the gate.
Bramble leaped into action, calling forth a wall of spiritual flame which appeared in front of the line of marauders. They all perished in the conflagration!
Warlord Epsilon stepped through the flames and confronted Argent. The two fought. One of Epsilon's blows caught the modron and destroyed it.
Bramble quipped, "Well, he didn't last long!"
After a brief battle, Epsilon knew he had lost. He threw down his weapons and conceded the match.
The crowd booed but the announcer confirmed the defeat.
"Congratulations, champions! Acererak promised us worthy foes and he did not disappoint! You have defeated our best! You will now be returned to your point and time of origin! Good luck to you!"
The party was returned to the five-sided room. All five glass bulbs were now illuminated green. The portcullises opened.
Reunion
Xoc-Wik communicated the situation to Apparently Jones through his helmet of telepathy. During their time in the Cog of Blood, the heavy door sealing Apparently and Zeynap into the control room had once again lifted. The party moved back into the center cog and Apparently reconfigured the cogs so that she and Zeynap could rejoin the party.
This time, Zeynap, Xoc-Wik, and Zorai were left in the control room. The cogs were then reconfigured so that Argent, Bramble, Apparently, and Orvex could access the Hall of the Golden Mastodon.
The Hall of the Golden Mastodon
The party moved carefully down the corridor to the Hall of the Golden Mastodon.
They found a room shaped like a quarter of a sphere. The curved wall was decorated with a massive mural. The center of the room was dominated by a massive golden statue of a mastodon clad in battle regalia - an armored howdah was affixed to its back. The statue stood on top of a round dais. A small gap beneath the dais gave Apparently the impression that the entire dais and statue rotated, but no amount of force would budge the statue.
The mural told a story in pictures. Orvex explained that the murals showed Ch'gakare, the Chultan hero who stole the king of Omu's war-mastodon Ghom. As punishment, Ch'gakare and Ghom were banished to the Ennead Hells of Narak. There they fought and defeated a series of various and fiendish shadim before returning to Chult. Upon their return, they beheaded the king of Omu and turned his skull into a jeweled chalice.
DM Note-
I had Argent's player make a Religion check vs. DC 15 to identify the devils. He failed so got no info about what was coming.
Apparently climbed on top of the war elephant and found a star-shaped indentation in the back of its head. She told the others and they wracked their brains trying to think of what might fit.
DM Note-
Argent's player said, "Ooh, I try the scepter!"
I asked for clarification, "Which scepter?"
He sheepishly replied, "I dunno."
It was a funny moment but we both knew what we meant. I knew he had one of Queen Napaka's scepters and I wanted to know if he tried the real one or the copy. Not that it mattered, neither of them would have worked.
Apparently finally remembered, "The star thing! Back in the control room! The knob on the level is shaped like a star!"
The party sighed and left the hall. They somehow got a message back to the control room to reconfigure the cogs, get the star-shaped head of the lever, and return to the Hall.
DM Note-
Xoc-Wik was in the control room, so they didn't have anyone who could send a telepathic message. So let's just assume Xoc-Wik was keeping in constant contact. Sure, why not?
Back in the hall, they all climbed atop the elephant save Orvex who waited nearby. Apparently inserted the star into its socket.
The elephant started to rotate widdershins. A large stone slab fell from the ceiling and blocked the only exit from the room. Orvex gave a start. Suddenly, the entire floor caught fire. The flames soon reached six feet in height. Orvex screamed as his flesh burned and quickly climbed aboard the elephant with the others.
The elephantine statue continued through a full rotation. On its second round, four small devils with wings, their backs and tails covered in quills, emerged from the mural. They flew above the flames and launched quills from their tails at the adventurers on the elephant's back. Apparently, Bramble, Argent, Orvex, and Apparently's spirit animal Archie did their best to fight back but Apparently and Orvex but their weapons did little to eliminate the devilish creatures.
Upon the elephant's third rotation, three more devils emerged from the paintings - humanoid warriors with long thick tentacles growing from their chins like beards. The humanoids carried long pole-arms. Two climbed onto the tusks of the elephant and attacked Apparently and Archie from a distance while the third climbed the rear of the elephant to harass Bramble.
Bramble summoned a healing wolf and everyone on the back of the elephant moved through it as the elephant continued to rotate.
At the end of the elephant's fourth rotation, only one of the spined devils had been defeated. Two thin reptilian devils emerged from the wall. These devils were covered in thick spikes. They moved to the corners of the room and hurled small magical fireballs at the heroes on the elephant.
Apparently fell but was quickly revived by the spirit wolf. This time she felt the poison of the bearded devil's tendrils.
On the elephant's fifth rotation, a large winged humanoid with a long tail and long bull horns emerged from the mural. Argent noticed that the pattern indicated four, three, two, and one. He deduced that this would be the final devil. He called forth the holy power of the god Bhamut. Several of the devils cowered in the face of the power of Argent's faith.
Unfortunately, another devil emerged from the painting. The final devil was an armored female warrior with large feathered wings and small goat horns. She emerged with a heavy sigh like a bored teenager. She looked at the horned devil cowering in the doorway, "What's, like, wrong with you?"
She looked onto the elephant, "Oh, right!" She rolled her cat eyes, "WHAT-EVER!" She loosed three large arrows from her ornately carved bow at Argent.
Apparently once more fell but was once again revived by the spirit wolf. Archie was destroyed. HIs form instantly returned to the spirit world of Aeon. Things were beginning to look grim.
Argent leaped off the elephant and crawled along the ceiling using Nangnang's magic. The armored devil stepped into the room to better observe him, "Hey! Where are YOU going?" she demanded.
Argent told the others to close their eyes. He activated the cloak of Unkh and a blinding flash of scintillating radiance filled the room. The armored devil loosed three more arrows into Argent. He cried out and fell to the fiery floor, unconscious.
Bramble quickly summoned the spirits of healing to tend to Argent. The armored devil dropped her bow and picked up her shield and sword. Argent, suffering little from the burning floor, once more caused his cape to flare into brilliance, this time stunning the armored devil. Argent then withdrew a potion he had taken from Nangnang's tomb, opened it and drank what he believed to be a Potion of Superior Healing.
Argent's eyes began to bulge, his tongue stuck out, and he reeled! It was poison! The armored devil stabbed Argent with her sword. The dragon-man fell to the floor. She stabbed him again out of spite!
Bramble sent the spirit wolf to revive Argent. Argent was barely alive. The fire burned around him. He wouldn't last much longer.
Argent's Sacrifice
The armored devil shouted, "Okay! Wait! Hold it! Hold it!" she shouted, almost annoyed, "This is so BORING! Look, I'm just going to kill you, right? You're all going to die, and for what? Look, I'll offer you a deal. I'm bound to this wall and I'm forced to kill you, right? Well, I've got a clause. If I provide a soul to my boss, I get out of this stupid-ass job. C'mon! How about it? One little soul and you all get to walk out. Well, all but one of you."
Bramble considered it, but changed her mind. But maybe she would. She couldn't decide.
Argent stood up, wreathed in flame, "ME! Take me! Let them go!"
The devil's eyes widened and she smiled, revealing pointed teeth, "Oh, for SURE! Absolutely! Okay!"
She snapped her finger.
Argent disappeared in a gout of flame and ash, leaving behind his clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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