After taking a month or so to prepare, the group launches their bid to end the threat of Akruel. A teleportation jaunt brings them to the vicinity and the group camps near the edge of the jungle. Despite the dangerous terrain and homicidal fauna, the group is comfortable in their portable spaces. Over the next few days they move southward and keep an eye out for the ‘boiling cloud of hate’ that dominates the sky over the Sepulchre of the Dead. Once they locate the general area, the Magnificent Malchor takes to the skies with the eagle eyes to take a closer look.
Information is gathered and plans are laid, discarded, unearthed and replanted, burnt down and eventually reconstituted. In the struggle between sneaking and frontal assault, the frontal assault gains the upper hand.
Flying through the skies to bring about the final confrontation, the group engages with a pack of vampiric gargoyles and some lesser vampire spawn. The Crown of Stars comes in handy and the combined assault of Malchor, Elulyn and Houseboat blasts the defending air force from the skies. Kormier pursues the stragglers and manages to fell one before the other two flee into the ruined city.
The city teems with undead of all stripes and the light is dimmed as the party moves beneath the overhead cloud of darkness. They swoop towards the pyramid steps which the mace tells them houses the leader of the death cult.
They enter the structure and encounter a set of Orcus clerics who are scrambling to respond to the incursion. The group is moving fast and Malchor’s crown is used to good effect to ensnare the clerics, while the rest of the group moves to eliminate them in an efficacious manner. They understand that time is short, for the swarm of undead is beginning to scramble up the sides of the pyramid. They take a few seconds to scan the room and think about plunder. Some small chests are opened and some magic is detected – but there is no time for that for Akruel has arrived!
An epic – but brief – battle is waged. Elulyn is dominated by the Orcus priest and prepares to aid him in the battle. An early disintegrate spell from Malchor seems to have no effect. Cosmic sheathes himself in acid and begins slapping Akruel, dealing significant damage, while Kormier deploys a gem of brightness. The flying Orcus cleric is forced to assume a gaseous state to flee and reform.
The clock is ticking! The army of undead crests teh tops of the steps and starts to pour into the chamber below. A couple of hastily erected walls of stone buys time and the group coordinates to press onward while they have the initiative. An arcane eye is used to establish the lay of the land and to identify the number and arrangement of the defending forces. Unexpectedly they lay eyes upon the ebon heart of pure evil that the mace must be used to destroy.
The party descends into the chamber below, with Kormier’s helm driving some lurking undead ahead of them. They burst into the undertemple with a vengeance, rapidly fanning out to execute a coordinated attack that takes most of the occupants by surprise.
Malchor uses the crown to remove any magical protections from the high priestess and follows up with a feeblemind to neutralize her. Elulyn places a wall of force to isolate the raging Kormier, who has enlarged and enraged himself as he hurtles towards the ebon heart. As he approaches, his helm warns him of undead and he swiftly surrounds himself with a wall of fire. The pure evil of the heart drains the life force out of the approaching heroes so there is a tiny bit of reshuffling.
Kormier presses on while Cosmic, Malchor, Elulyn, Mr T, Kikko and Justicar go about slaying several of the surprised orcus priests. Elulyn cuts the high priestess’ throat and there is a dodgy moment where an invisible lich engages Malchor. As Kormier slams the mace into the heart of darkness, Malchor manages to disintegrate the offender and as a wave of energy sweeps outwards, the occupants are caught in a push-pull of a tidal wave of evil and good.
Luckily, the good outweighs the evil and the group is not destroyed, though it is clear that nearby undead are not so fortunate. A terrible commotion springs up from the staircases that descend even deeper into the bowels of this evil place.
There is some hasty plundering but the bulk of the group is eager to quit this hellscape, for who knows what else lurks within – so a planar portal is opened and the group steps through. They return to Immersea and rest a moment. While Melkerech is still out there and the Bone Tower was never destroyed, and though Coburn’s armies still occupy the formerly free lands to the east…for a moment, at least, there is cause for celebration.
Leave a reply