Wild Game & Black Pool

In a Feywild chamber the group encountered Hespotherad who invited them to play a game.  He of course would allow the party to cooperate against him, else it wouldn't be a challenge.  All of the group except Mara gathered around the table and examined the game board.  Demin started the challenge spotting a chance to play a card and advance the party toward winning.  Hespotherad started to go red in the face and spout threats against the party as the group continued to take their turns.  Each time a hero would make a move toward winning he grew angrier and redder.

Fallen Amoth

Our hearty adventurers found themselves back in the Tuern shrine after a battle with four ghosts.  They quickly took a short rest and healed up from their exertions.  Taking a look around the group decided to try and activate the southeastern archway.  Lythandar attempted to open the arch but failed as a blast exploded into the chamber.  It luckily missed all of the party members, but everyone then moved away from the arch as Lythandar attempted to activate it again.  Success followed and Pretis and Mara led the way through finding themselves in the Hidden Temple.

Liquid Night

The party continued to search the room for various armor or weapons that could be useful, though they found nothing new or interesting.  Most of the armor was plate mail, unusable by any party member.  Mara searched for secret openings anywhere in the room but found no escape routes other than the glowing arches.  The party had entered by the northeast archway, which now was inactive, and decided to leave via the southwest archway.  Mara suggested that when leaving the arch on the far side maybe moving away would be helpful since everyone was clustered together coming into the present chamber.  Lythandar an arcane check to activate the southwest arch and the party stepped through, Pretis leading the way.

Betrayed Tuern

Our group of hearty adventurers had just passed through another arched gateway.   They found themselves in another oddly shaped room.  Broken weapons and shattered bones littered the floor.  Blackened stone walls were set with racks of burnished steel.  The bodies of six devils laid upon the floor but a broader view was obscured by seven hulking metal figures crashing forward to attack.

A Prayer for He Who Was

Our hearty band was in the Hidden Temple of Nerull's Fortress Necromanteion.  They had just heard a raspy voice challenge them again as they had heard in other Acererak constructions.  It was again a forbidding of doom for the party.  The group decided to explore the side passages before proceeding "through" an archway. 

Hidden Temple

After defeating the devils the group sat down for a short rest.  Melisana noted that in the northwest corner of the chamber there was a staircase leading down into the mound of rubble.   She also noted that in the piles of rubble there were two magical items of some sort.   Turns out that these were a Planesplitter Longsword +5, claimed by Mara, and a Skyrender Crossbow +5 claimed by Demin.  The group was spent from their efforts and Alhellara broke out her Exodus Knife to create a portal into a extra-dimensional space where the group took an extended rest.   

Eldritch Storm Ambush

After defeating the Larva creatures the group took a short rest, looked around, and decided the only interesting place to head toward was the ruins in the distance with a storm obscuring their view.  So they headed toward the fortress ruins.  They slowly approached the pile of ruins a towering skull of debris and ice emerged from the mist.  Melisana recognized that the head was of the dead God Nerull.

The Fallen

The heroes made their way slowly down the staircase and found many ruins at the lower level.  The ruins continued for many miles and consisted of courtyards and gardens overgrown with empty pools, shattered benches and tables and broken statues.  Some areas were groves of dead blackened trees.  After some time the group came upon a mass grave site with dismembered body parts, swarms of insects and burning pyres.  Next they came upon a battle site, ruined tombs and religious sits that had been destroyed.  Amongst the rubble they found a Symbol of Mortality +5, a Rod of Obliterating Wrath +5 and a Death Shroud Ki Focus +5.

Blade Gauntlet

The hearty group arrived in a crumbling courtyard, with a teleportation circle at the center set within a field of blasted dark red stones.   Steep slopes strewn with rubble fell away in all directions but one.  There, a ruined staircase twisted down and across the shadowed landscape where pulsing white fire in the distance, cut through a ever present darkness.  The circle was surrounded by six foul looking creatures and a look of dismay passed amongst the group, until they realized that they had just completed an extended rest.

Final Confrontation

The party followed the Hand up two more flights of stairs where they entered a large circular room.  Scintillating colors seemed to engulf the chamber, spinning in wild kaleidoscope patterns, appearing at once like beams of light and sheets of material carrying on an invisible maelstrom.

Heart of Vecna

The group reentered the palace and moved swiftly back up to the third floor.  They moved to a couple of unopened doors looking for more stairs up.  Two rooms just held various palace guards and wights, seemingly barracks.  Moving past a guard room they opened a door to a room behind the central open foyer.  In this chamber was a staircase going up.  Pretis found that the chamber was symmetrical with another door on the opposite side leading into a similar area they had just left. 

Palace of Vecna

After finishing off the followers of Iuz the party took a rest and then searched the bodies.  They found a small amount of gold and no magic items.  After moving the bodies out of the courtyard the party moved on in the direction of the Palace of Vecna.  In the distance they spied a structure reaching toward the darkened ceiling.  Rounding a corner they saw a massive bone white structure stretching toward the inner skull in all its glory.  If bore a distant resemblance to a hand, as five towers jutted from its top.  Four of the towers were identical, slender and bone white, seemingly carved from the same substance as the rest of the citadel.

The Destroyers

After rescuing Valuriss from the Fingers the party headed towards her hovel as they wanted to return her to safety.  While moving slowly through the streets of Cavitius a man, with a desperate look in his eyes, approached the party.  "Please can you help me!  You are outlanders, and you are powerful.  You can plead my case with Lord Haroln!"

Welcoming Party

Our hearty adventurers are standing at the end of a blind alley, apparently in Citadel Cavitius.  Looking around the group decided that the best hope was to move toward the skull streetlamp at the entrance to the alley.  As they approached this area an Ogre stepped out of the gloom and said,
"Well, I thought I smelled something fouler than usual around here!" As he shifted a wicked looking executioners blade from hand to hand.  Three other large Ogres appeared farther in the street.  The group recognized that they were again facing a group of Iuz's ogre warriors.
"I thought my lord Iuz was mistaken when he predicted you would be strong enough to follow us. Shame on me for doubting the Old One!  Now, we'll turn you into playthings for the necromaners in this hellhole!"

Death Becomes Them

The hearty adventurerors continued examining the library of Moghadam for clues to the demilich Acererak's plans or for a exit from the lair of Moghadam.  Pretis was off to one side swearing an oath against Acererak, while Demin was trying to fill his backpack with as many paper, scrolls, etc. that he could find.  Melisana and Lythandar were discussing how to backtrack out of the lair.  Suddenly the heroes found themselves surrounded by swirling mists of brilliant colors.  There is nothing else to see wherever they look.  In fact it is hard to see anything beyond 20-25 feet.

Moghadam's End

As the party stood atop the pillar, which used to be an altar, they looked down and were surprised when the ceiling fell upon them.  Now the floor about 100 feet down from them was covered with both floor and ceiling debris.  The pillar sloped slightly outward as it descended to the floor.  Alhellara was lowered on the rope of the flying hook to examine the pillar and possibly the floor if she made it that far.  About halfway down the pillar Alhellara noticed a f foot square opening into the pillar.  Looking in it appeared as though the interior of the pillar was hollow.

The Devourers Welcome, Up and Out

The party had entered a chamber held up with twisted stone columns, their misshapen forms making them seem almost alive.  At the far end of the chamber they encountered the Devourers green face set into the wall.  The face had been marked with black scorch marks and rough carved glyphs that repeated "My Master, Dread Devourer, Die Forevermore ..." over and over.  As Pretis and Mara placed the keys in the keyholes hidden in the eyes, a blast of Arcane energy emerged from the mouth of the face.

Demon Patrol

The party had just finished off a group of skeletons, wights, a bone golem and the skull who stated he was Acererak.  The group decided that the skull was really not Acererak as it fell much easier than even the skull they dispatched in the Shadow Tomb.  Demin retrieved the skull while the rest of the group rested and looked for magic. 

Skullbreaker Standoff

Our hearty adventurers had entered the "residential" district of the ruined city surrounding the skull covering the tomb of Acererak.  They had just witnessed a battle between two factions.  Luckily for the party they managed to stay out of the line of fire while the skeletons and zombies waged a fierce battle.  The mages from two different sides also were engaged.  Finally the last standing party moved bedraggled to the north.

Courtyard Clash

As the party started to circumnavigate the skull they came upon a courtyard with haphazardly piled rubble walls. In a stone pool at the center were skulls and shattered bones strewn.  As the group moved forward they beheld two robed figures moving amongst the rubble.  Mara suggested trying to avoid these characters but Demin, remembering seeing this type of mage before fired his crossbow at one of them.

Lady of the Mists

As Demin watched the Lady attacked him, moved past and then attacked two other party members.  Alhellara moved into the stone circle and placed her Astral defenders in the battlefield.  Melisana determined that Radiant damage was less effective against the Lady.  Pretis planted the standard but fire damage was also less effective.  Meanwhile Mara moved forward to attack the Lady while the rest of the party moved into the cavern area.

Undead Patrol

The party had opened a door into a large chamber filled with pillars.  They could not see the far side of the room but they could see the vampire, wights and zombies spread around the chamber.  After some discussion of just closing the door the party moved in to attack.  The battle was vicious and swift as the group concentrated on the vampire and he didn't last very long 

Shrouded Dead

The party entered a room that was a cross between a crypt and a laboratory.  Several stone sarcophagi stood in the room, along with a table covered with papers, vials, beakers and strips of linen cloth.  Melisana had determined that these items could be used for mummification.  The body on the floor was left incomplete.  As Mara picked up a small piece of metal that she thought could be a key, the corpse arose.

Chorus of the Dead

The party found themselves in a chapel?  Pews, an altar and two candelabra were present in the chamber.  Melisana moved forward to inspect the altar and Pretis moved into the narrow passageway leading east.  Mara had examined the small alcove to the west.  As everyone but Demin had entered the room a mass of roiling darkness with stricken faces appearing and disappearing across the surface emerged from the east, west and southern walls.

Nothing to See

After the completing the circuitous path the the Doors to Nowhere the party saw through an open doorway into a larger dark room.  Lythandar used his light capability to illuminate at least part of the area.  This room once had painted figures on the walls.  The group could make out humanoid shapes, and they could see shallow indentations that might have held circular pieces of glass.  Now only broken shards covered the floor.  Of more interest were the skeletons and a Bone Naga in the area.

Shadow Engine

The party had destroyed Acererak's shadow engine but they were in a battle against the Acererak Construct.  Demin continued to shoot his crossbow at the Construct, move his glove to a gem and pick it up.  Mara, Pretis and Gofin kept up their attacks on the Construct while Lythandar climbed out of the pit.  Alhellara was still on the rope above Demin attempting to inflict Radiant damage. 

Daunting Doors

As the party entered the octagonal chamber they saw a low round dais in the center of the room on top of which were four carved faces of the Devourer.  These faces looked just like the faces in the bottom of the Black Well.  From a pile of bones on the dais a huge creature knitted itself together.  It was composed of bones body parts of various kinds.  Pretis moved to flank the creature and planted the banner.  Mara moved in toward the creature as Demin fired his crossbow.

Boneyard Bridge

The party continued in the ossuary with Pretis and Mara on the floor, Demin and Alhellara standing on the ledge and the rest of the party on the bone bridge.  Gofin was attacked by a Phantom which then disappeared seemingly into Gofin's body.  Demin continued to fire crossbow bolts at the nearest phantom while moving away from the black fluid dripping down the walls.  Mara and Pretis continued to battle Tormentors while managing to not sink into the bone covered floor.  Lythandar and Melisana used area burst to injure as many enemies as possible.

Gifts from the Dead

A foreboding pit filled with fungus stood between the party and what they believe is the exit from the Feywild Ruin.  The table didn't seem to be an option here as the wood was rotting away.  Gofin and Demin were averse to attempting a climb of the walls above the pit given previous trials.  The fungus was wet and did not burn, spores appeared above the fungus whenever something was thrown into the pit.  Melisana decided to use Angelic Blades to fly across the pit carrying her rope with her.  When she landed Lythandar and Melisana found that trying to drive pitons to stake the rope was beyond difficult as the floor and walls were like chalk which broke easily.  

Feywild Ruin

Are heroes are standing in and before a 30 foot long pit, the bottom studded with spikes, with a shimmering area seemingly creating a bridge across the pit.  Unfortunately the bridge seems to disappear as a character moves across it.  Gofin had learned this firsthand as she fell into the pit.  Demin determined to follow climbed the wall along the north side of the pit, he made it to the last square of the pit and then fell onto the bridge which disappeared.   Demin fell to the bottom of the pit taking damage from the spikes and force damage from the bridge.

Dark Laboratory

Standing before the spherical room the group discussed their options.  Try climbing down into the bottom of the sphere, have Melisana fly across with a rope to ferry others over, leave and try the other tunnel.  Seeing only another empty(?) platform on the far side of the sphere Mara suggested just leaving but others argued that sometimes things were hidden.  Meanwhile Pretis, tired of moving slowly asked about a Ritual that could remove this aging affect that was besetting her.  Melisana brayed in that she would like the ass' head removed also, but replaced by her own again.  

Black Well

Our hearty adventurers milled around the oddly shaped sarcophagus room attempting to find another exit, other than the obvious one leading west.  Sadly nothing was found.  Gofin headed toward the exit and caught herself before falling into the 20' pit at the doorway.   Gofin and Demin determined a method for bypassing the trap door and headed out into the hallway.  Heading west they soon came to a T intersection and another pit.

Tapestries of Time beyond Perilous Archways

The group took a quick rest to recover from the Wraith attack.  Continuing to scan the chamber of archways they decided to reread the message received from the dripping of the ichor.  Pretis and Gofin decided to try and reach the teleportation circle on the ceiling, maybe they could pass through it to another area.  Meanwhile Mara checked for secret/concealed doors between the archways, where she found none.  Gofin caught a grappling hook in a chain near the center of the chamber and Pretis climbed up to reach the chain.  Taking damage from the black ichor she continued upwards to the runes on the ceiling.  

Shadow Gate

The party looked around the glowing platform as Pretis, Demin and Melisana moved forward to examine it closer.  Melisana used her religious training to heighten the imbalance between the eldritch wards and the necrotic energy of Moil to accelerate the process of breaking down the wards.  Just as she finished with this action - A great shapeless mist suddenly flared at the end of the bridge leading to the platform.  Its roiling mass of tendrils and ghostly faces lit from within by and unearthly green glow.  A host of voices screamed in a twisted chorus of pain and fear as it attacked.

Tower of Test

The party was faced with a room of black iron spires that toppled and twisted in a domino effect.  The spires smashed into each other, reformed, and righted themselves, altering the pathways erratically.  Demin and Pretis were the first to make a move into the room, either slipping between the spires or forcing their way through them.  Gofin and Alhellara followed with Mara hanging back and them pushing her way through with brute force.  

Zombie Patrol

The party started to search the ruined tower, rifling through the smashed armor and weapons, and found nothing of interest.  An exit to the east was found which led to another bridge into the darkness of the city of Moil.  Following the bridge some members of the party were soon shivering from the cold and Demin kept wanting to rest for a while.  As Mara and Pretis passed over the highest part of the bridge they could see that it continued for a distance and then fell into open space as the bridge disappeared.

Spectral Strike

 

The party set out on the bridge leading SW and after a short distance they came upon a offset X interchange.  Mara determined that they should follow a left hand rule so they turned NE.  This bridge sloped up and after cresting the high point the party saw the bridge only continued for 100 feet or so and then fell into space.  No connecting bridge was visible so they backtracked and continued SW.  The air was still frigid and the bridge icy as they continued their journey.

Portal Tower

Our hearty adventurers had just completed finishing off a group of Ogre's and Warriors of Iuz and decided to take a well deserved extended rest.  Just before settling down they discussed the rather random attacks that party members had been making on each other.  Lythandar noted that only the members with Vecna relics embedded in their body seemed to be affected.  Pretis had never attacked the party and didn't have a relic.  Much discussion was about what they could do since the regular body parts weren't magically infused with the ability to attach or regrow into their bodies.  Lythandar was willing to knock out his molar and not replace it but the group decided to do nothing at this point.

Adytum Apse

Ugwaerel moved forward and teleported into the midst of the adventurers.  Using her Cloak of Ignorance she blasted everyone but Mara and became invisible to them.  Then she attacked Pretis with Shocking Grasp.  The party reacted with their own attacks which did considerable damage while Mara dispatched the last Ghoul and moved toward Ugwaerel.  The battle continued as Ugwaerel proved to be a significant enemy.