After defeating the crazed minotaurs, the bodies quickly crumble to dust. Some quick, looting and one of the party members looks out the window to see a large army of translucent figures surrounding the tower, staring upwards. Creepy. On to the next door – more crazed individuals. These are humans, clad in rotting cloth, with foam-flecked lips and wild eyes. They assault the paladin while babbling insane phrases about time standing still and a curse laid upon them. The fight is brutal. The paladin has each leg removed once and it is only the swift action of the cleric keeps her from dying twice.
As the party cuts the attackers down one by one, a howl comes from the spirits outside with each death. The cleric casts a spell to immobilize the the last one and the party ties him up. A bit shaken, they investigate another room – blissfully empty – and one more door leads to a room full of spiders. The offending arachnids are slain and the group retreats to the empty room to refresh themselves and restore spells. Magic items are identified and the cleric heals the crazed prisoner.
Once sanity is restored he explains how he and his colleagues came to this place and why Torm cursed him and his comrades to endless existence until someone comes to take Silveredge from its resting place. Belushi swears fealty to the cleric and jumps at the chance to redeem himself in Torm’s gaze. The group outfits him with some excess loot and he takes up a position at the party’s rear as they embark on further adventure the following ‘morning’.
Down one flight of stairs to the entry corridor and the first door opened is a study – complete with fireplace, bookshelves, desk and an occupant. She introduces herself as Elena and explains her role here – to warn would be seekers of the dangers of the upper floors of the tower. She offers room and board and is stunned when the cleric casually explains that they already have Silveredge and are simply exploring the rest of the lower floors of the tower. Elena begs to accompany them once they leave, for then she will be freed. The group congregates in the dining room and Elena busies herself creating a delicious soup and hearty fare. They question her about the contents of the basement and she says she is bound to the ground floor and cannot venture either up pr down the central staircase.
The group ventures downstairs, passes a Tormtest and gains access to a crypt where they meet the spirits of the three madmen they slew upstairs. The spirits fade away after thanking the cleric and co. for freeing them. The group is dismayed because they were hoping for a magical musical item to pay off the bard that set them on this course in the first place. But, the various information threads they have assembled it seems that they still need to set to rights the injustice of the events that led to the cursing of the tower. Gung Ho!
As they leave the tower with Belushi and Elena in tow there is a momentary feeling of vertigo and they step back into time. Behind them, the tower lies in ruins and ahead of them the vast swarm of spirits is fading into the aether. A small group faces and salutes them, then points westward before dissipating. The cleric points westward and the group heads off – when suddenly the cleric drops dead.
The elf and paladin move to protect the body and gain Silveredge when a lightning bolt rips out of the sky and shocks the duo. The flash of light reveals a figure on a flying carpet and a quartet of armored figures burst into view from the side of the trail. Galloping hooves are heard as well. The party rallies magnificently and destroys the attacking fighters, causing the hooves and carpet to rapidly recede into the darkness. Hey…somewhere along the way Elena has vanished into the darkness…the group suspects treachery, but the cooling body of the cleric necessitates rapid action.
After depositing Goldpiece, Belushi and The Gal in the luxurious surrounding of the Staff of Security, the mage teleports himself and the cleric back to Arabel to use the service of a cleric to utilize the party’s resources to return the fallen Kormier to life. A few nights in Arabel and the mage returns with the cleric in tow. They prepare for a westward journey to try and put an end to this Tormite saga.
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