The Underground Temple of the Dread Lord [Mirror]

[Fenric]

The partially caved-in ruins of the temple of the Dread Lord occupy an underground area near the ruined temple of mirror-Inari.

While having lost an avatar to the Godruped, the Dread Lord of Darkness is anything but dead, and his temple is not exactly abandoned. Still, the cult has suffered near universal casualties after the loss of its high priest and repeated incursions by the growing paladin segment of mirror-Town. (For even as Town gets darker, mirror-Town enjoys a resurgence of goodness)

[Fenric]

Krystal pokes around the entryway, trying to get her bearings.

Our temple doesn't have a secret passage to the temple of Darkness... I wonder where this room corresponds to?

She continues to search around the rubble, finally finding a passageway leading away from mirror-Inari's.

hmm...

[Exachix]

The rest of the group (mExy, mLorrian and Exachix) follow her.

Exachix shifts to fox form to catch up faster.

[Fenric]

Krystal hears sounds and turns to look, smiling when she sees that it's the Exachixs, Lorrians, and Kantur.

Took you long enough. I think we need to go this way... I'm not sure where that other hall goes, but it doesn't seem right.

It is reasonable to wonder what "other path" she is referring to, as there is only one that is immediately obvious.

[Kantur]

You're probably the one who knows the temple best of all of us...

[Exachix]

mExy looks around and hmms.

"Maybe."

mLorrian hmms and thinks.

Fox-Exy smiles to Krys, shifts to normal and looks around.

Lorrian looks behind them as they stop.

[Fenric]

Krystal nods and cautiously heads onward. This hallway appears to have been fairly regularly used, and has no traps.

[Exachix]

Exachix follows, as do the rest of them.

Lorrian stays behind Kantur, guarding the rear.

[Fenric]

Krystal looks around, probing with her spell and wishing she had a "which way is best" pointer like Aesa does. She turns down another hallway, and this one should look familiar to mExachix: he was escorted this way by death knights once upon a time.

[Exachix]

mExachix does recognise it, but doesn't and wouldn't say anything.

Exachix smiles to Krystal.

"Are we slightly lost?"

[Fenric]

Krystal growls softly in her frustration

This is obnoxious. So far, the places here have been nearly identical to back home. This nasty place is as winding and confusing as the one back home is boring and linear.

Krystal arrives at the door to the late mirror-Kazuki's throne room: the inner sanctum. The evil and unpleasant holy symbol is still visible on the fragments of adamantite door lying on the floor. The room beyond is dark, and the dread lord's presence still faintly taints the place.

[Exachix]

mExy smiles and looks around.

Exachix hmms and casts Prying Eyes to look around.

mLorrian looks around, sighing.

[Fenric]

Krystal walks into the room, then goes "eep" as four pairs of red eyes seem to ignite in the room, followed by four large figures clanking out of the corners.

Death Knights!

[Exachix]

mExy smiles.

"What a shame."

mLorrian, however, wants to live, so begins fires spells at them, mostly magic missile and rays of ice.
Lorrian Begins shooting arrows.

Exachix hmms and looks at them, before casting Death Ward on the party.

[Fenric]

Death Ward is a good plan, as the first knight unleashes a 2nd edition Power Word: Kill on the party.

Krystal manifests her Ephemeral Swarm at one of them, but lacks Izumi's stopping power.

The Lorrians do some damage, but not enough: and the knights engage: one attacking Krystal, one Exy, and one on each Lorrian. mExy and Kantur are left alone for the moment.

[Exachix]

mExy watches, amused.

Exachix grins, reaches out and tries to Immolate one.

mLorrian casts Aura of Cold, Lesser.

Lorrian fires more arrows, until one comes close, when she drops the bow and draws her sword and starts to shock it.

[Fenric]

(( Work stuff: I've got to sign off for a while. Sorry ))

[Exachix]

((Ok... have fun >=).. ))

A large PAUSE sign appears.

Lorrian begins to decorate it again.

[Fenric]

(( Oh yeah. Great fun :P ))

Exachix starts his on fire: it does not appreciate this and swings it's evil broadsword.

mLorrian's cold aura doesn't do much.

Lorrian's arrows do alright, but she still gets swung at.

Krystal dodges a swing and pounds on the thing with enhanced Magic Missiles.

[Exachix]

Exachix is hit by the broadsword, gasps, buckles forward, before rolling over and trying to hit it with a mace.

mLorrian casts Entomb on her death knight.

Lorrian drops her bow and swings her sword at it.

[Fenric]

Krystal narrowly misses losing an arm, and has her spell spoiled.

mLorrian takes her target out.

Lorrian hits, but does precious little damage against the knight's heavy armor.

Exachix thumps his, also for slight damage. The knight swings an overhand chop at the priest.

(( If either of the weapons should have done more, let me know ))

[Exachix]

mLorrian smiles and proceeds to cast Entomb on another.

Lorrian strikes again with both swords this time, now making them both shock alot of things made of metal.

Exachix puts a hand up to block the shot, but the sword cuts into his hand. Exachix growls and shifts to shadow Form, before trying to totally immolate the thing, also firing a bit of contained destruction magic right at it's center.

[Fenric]

mLorrian rescues Krystal from decapitation by Entombing the next knight.

Lorrian makes the other knight dance and bounce. It does less damage than you might hope, but it does rather spoil the thing's attacks.

Exachix is now facing a pile of ashes surrounded by red-hot metal, that's slumping more than a little.

[Exachix]

mLorrian smiles and casts her last Entomb on Lorrian's knight, which lorrian attacks, again.

Exachix swears and tries to get out of the way, his paw bleeding but him not noticing.

[Fenric]

Lorrian zaps it solidly again, and mLorrian entombs it. It is not clear if this death knight is dead or not... not that it really matters.

Krystal drinks a little health potion, then comes over to Exachix

Are you alright?

[Exachix]

Exachix nodds, one paw holding his other, bleeding paw, as he pants and looks at the burnt death knight.

Lorrian smiles to mLorrian.

"Thank you."
"That's ok."

[Fenric]

Krystal winces

You should do something about that paw, dear.

[Exachix]

Exachix nodds, and looks to his left.

"I wonder.."

He sticks it in the dead time pudding.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.

((Sorry... it's almost 11pm... I need to go the bed.

Goodnight all))

[Kantur]

((It would be typical that I just get back now...:smalltongue: ))

Kantur quickly casts a curing spell on Exachix

[Fenric]

Krystal pauses, then looks at Exachix with distraught features

Something bad is going on back home.

Exachix, as well, will hear Fenric quietly saying that the Town is not the safest place right now.

[Exachix]

Exachix nodds, his left paw still slightly bloodsoaked, but seemingly ok.

Is the temple ok Fenric? he trys to send to the avatar of his goddess, if he can.

Lorrian looks at Krystal and sighs.

[Kantur]

I'm sure they'll be able to take care of it.

[Exachix]

Lorrian looks at Kantur and sighs.

[Kantur]

Kantur heads over to Lorrian and kisses her cheek
Is everything ok?

[Fenric]

Exachix and Krystal hear Fenric, at first

Temple's ok for now, but...
That will be enough of you in my realm, you disgusting pansy of a reflection.

The red voice sounds vaguely like the principle avatar's... but not nice.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at Krys, then hmms.

Who are you?

Lorrian nods to Kantur.

[Kantur]

He flicks her hair playfully
Good.

[Fenric]

The voice tingles with evil

Inari, of course. Sadly, I woke up too late to catch you.

Krystal shudders.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms.

Shame isn't it. So... why would you be concered with a selection of lost travellers?

Lorrian smiles to Kantur.

mExy and mLorrian watch.

[Fenric]

mirror-Inari laughs: a dreadful sound in their minds

Nonsense, Exachix. Someone stole my high priest and I need a new one. Easier to steal you in turn than train someone new. But if you'd rather be captured by the Dread Lord, that's fun to watch as well. Except I don't think he has noticed you quite yet.

A tingling fills the air

I can remedy that.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and smiles faintly.

So... you want to turn me.. into your high priest? Interesting.

[Fenric]

The tingling subsides as the powerful, evil, but none-too-bright mirror Inari considers this development

I rather expected you to resist the idea.

Krystal looks at Exachix worriedly.

[Exachix]

Exachix thinks.

Ok... what would the terms be?

[Fenric]

mirror-Inari is now completely confused

Terms? Um... well... the high priest generally presides over sacrifices and tortures people, that sort of thing. You spread evil and mayhem; and I give you power, riches, and demonic servants.

[Exachix]

What Power will you give me as a result of this?

[Fenric]

The usual things: granted spells, demonic servants, immunity to negative energy...

Krystal pokes around the ruined sanctuary for anything useful, significantly disturbed by the continued conversation.

[Exachix]

Well then, If I accept, will you come here, give me a sacrificial knife for the first victim in person, and be here to witness it?

[Fenric]

Don't be stupid: you are in the Dread Lord's sanctuary: I cannot go there.

Krystal picks up a staff that seems to have fallen from the wall, and examines it.

[Exachix]

Aww shucks. How about when I get back there, we do that then.

[Fenric]

Very well.

The presence of the evil goddess recedes from the room

Pretty smooth, Exy. Of course, you'd better avoid that temple from now on.

Krystal nods toward an exit on the south wall

That way, next.

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles.

"Think of it as a way to get her out of the way." He smiles.

Lorrian looks slightly confused and worried.

[Fenric]

Krystal nods with a grin and heads down the hallway. This hallway doesn't seem to have been quite so regularly used, and the party begins to encounter traps. Nothing too significant so far, but it hints that they are going the right way.

[Exachix]

Exachix follows, thinking.

The two mirrors follow, cautiously.

Lorrian smiles to Kantur, before leading him down after the two mirrors.

[Kantur]

Kantur follows her, keeping an eye out for danger.

[Exachix]

Lorrian smiles to Kantur as they go, watching their mirror-forms.

[Kantur]

Kantur returns the smile.

[Exachix]

Lorrian smiles as they continue their following.

Exachix casts Find Traps to find traps.

[Fenric]

Exy finds basic traps: treadle blades, acid sprays, tripwires: that sort of thing. Stuff that indicates a secure, but still occasionally used, hallway.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and thinks.

"Kantur, there are a bunch of traps ahead, do you mind taking them out for us as you are our professional trap-cleaner-outer."

Lorrian rolls her eyes at this.

[Kantur]

You don't need to include 'trap-cleaner-outer', 'Professional' on its own sounds fine to me.

He grins at Exy before getting to work on the traps

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles.

"Ah well."

Lorrian watches Kantur work.

[Fenric]

Kantur has no particular trouble with these traps. Around the next bend, however...

The direction that Krystal next indicates is dusty and a bit unsettling.

(( There are an increasingly difficult series of five traps as you progress down the hallway. DC starting at 10 and ending at 30. ))

[Exachix]

Exachix periodically casts Find Traps when reaching the end of each set of traps.

[Kantur]

1d20+22=27, 1d20+22=38, 1d20+22=30, 1d20+22=23, 1d20+22=39 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1057402)

And use the once per day reroll on the forth one (1d20+22=40 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1057412))

Making it:
27
38
30
40
39

[Fenric]

To no great surprise, Kantur defeats the mini-gauntlet of traps leading to door with a complicated lock. Krystal chuckles

I'd imagine that after that hall, this door is anything but tame.

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles and casts Find Traps again.

[Fenric]

The door is trapped, the door is a trap, the lock is trapped, the square of floor that Exachix is standing on is a trap.

[Exachix]

Exachix mutters something remarkably similar to a string of curses.

"Um... if it's ok with you guys I won't move any more."

He hmms and thinks.

[Fenric]

Krystal looks at Exachix with a look of concern

Trapped pretty thoroughly, I take it?

[Exachix]

Exachix nodds and points to them, before casting Detect Magic.

[Fenric]

The door itself exudes transmutation. The lock has conjuration, the hinges show Evocation, there's necromancy on a symbol in the middle of the door, and the floor isn't magical.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks down at the floor and smiles faintly.

"This'll be interesting..."

And casts Antimagic Shell (or Field) on it.

[Fenric]

Exachix has anti-magic over the area. There is now no clear information on what is what.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms, hopes and tries to open the door.

[Fenric]

The door is still locked with a "very complex" lock.

[Exachix]

Exachix growls and tries to bash the door, without moving his feet so he doesn't trigger the floor trop.

[Fenric]

The door rattles but does not break. "Very Complex" locks are generally installed in "very sturdy" doors, after all.

[Exachix]

Exachix mutters something and thinks, he stops the Anti-Magic Field... hopefully.

((Can you do that actually? If you have a spell running, can you cancel it?))

[Fenric]

(( Strictly speaking, you have to cast Dispell Magic even on your own spells: but you cannot fail.

Many, if not most people house-rule that you can dismiss one of your own spells at will and ignore that silliness. ))

The antimagic field goes away

[Exachix]

((Ah... ok)).

Exachix hmms and casts a Disjunction to try and get the spells at the door.

[Fenric]

Exachix disjoins the spells on the door.

Krystal whistles innocently.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at her and smiles, before casting Knock.

"I know what you're about to say."

[Fenric]

Krystal winces as the Knock fires

Actually, I was going to say that targeting the door forgets about the hinges...

Which blast a fireball even as she speaks.

Ow.... and the lock...

Which tingles, and a glabrezu appears. It swings a massive claw at Krystal, making her jump out of the way.

[Exachix]

"Hey! I disjointed that"

He casts Flame Strike (enhanced a little) at the glabrezu.

mExy and mLorrian remember they are there, and mLorrian fires a ray of ice at it.

[Fenric]

(( I know, but I was being an Evil-DM and taking you at your word. You disjoined the door... besides, traps get so boring with this group otherwise ))

The Glabrezu only takes quarter damage from the fire, but mLorrian makes up with double-damage from ice. The thing roars and tries to snip Exy's head off with a powerful lobster-like claw

[Exachix]

((Ah well *takes notes for later life*))

Exachix yelps and shifts to fox form quickly, most likely setting off the floor trap.

mLorrian fires more ice and mExy gets out a crossbow and fires.

[Fenric]

A big, heavy, adamantite spike falls through the ceiling and pins one of the glabrezu's lobster-like claws to the floor. It rages and tugs, but is stuck.

More ice and the crossbow bolt thump into the demon, followed shortly afterward by Krystal's Ephemeral Swarm. The demon howls and summons two manes to help it.

The putrid demons attack mLorrian and mExachix, while the glabrezu swings at Krystal again with its free claw.

[Exachix]

mExy smiles, draws a large broadsword, and attacks.

mLorrian fires Ice bolts around.

Exachix smiles and bites the demon, shifting to shadow form in the process.

Lorrian wakes up and gets her bow out.

[Fenric]

Exy's bite does full damage, which sadly isn't very much for a fox. The glabrezu is immune to stat drain.

Krystal gets hit while dodging and falls rather heavily. She doesn't immediately get up, but she is making a long series of disgruntled noises.

mLorrian stings the manes, but the one coming at her doesn't go down: it reaches out to touch her with its disease-inducing powers.
mExachix fares a little better, making his exlplode into a cloud of noxious poison (as Stinking Cloud)

[Exachix]

mLorrian is hit... and is desised.
mExy gasps at the cloud.

Lorrian herself shoot arrows.

Exachix dashes over to Krystal and casts a quick healing spell. (Heal)

((back after food))

[Fenric]

mLorrian takes 1 point of CON damage and 1 point of CHA damage immediately, and then one more each day until she is cured or dies. If she dies, she turns into a manes herself.

The horrible thing tries to touch mExachix next, as he gasps in the cloud.

Krystal is healed, and grabs Exachix out of the way just before the claw comes down and smashes him flat.

Lorrian's arrows put an end to the glabrezu's fighting, and it explodes violently.

[Exachix]

mExy still gasps and is hit.

mLorrian cringes and tries to cast Entomb on it

shadow-fox-Exachix smiles to her, shifts back to normal, but stays as a fox.

Lorrian diverts fire now to the mane.

[Fenric]

The two mirrors are now diseased. The dreadful thing is entombed, sparing everyone another stinking cloud.

[Exachix]

Exachix shifts to hybrid and undesieses them.

mLorrian smiles to him faintly, but mExy still scowls.

Lorrian smiles to Krystal and holds a hand out to help her up.

[Fenric]

Krystal accepts the help and looks over at the door, now open a crack from Exy's spell.

Lucky thing it didn't close back up.

[Exachix]

Lorrian smiles to Krystal and then chuckles.

Exachix looks at the door.

"Silly door."

He tries to open it now.

mLorrian smiles, mExy still seems unhappy and grouchy.

[Fenric]

The door swings open without further incident.

Inside is a sight to make Kantur have a heart attack on the spot:

The treasury of mirror-Inari has been combined with mirror-Ayame's hoard and mirror-Kazuki's own not insignificant holdings.

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles and looks over it.

[Kantur]

Kantur just stares incredulously at the sight before silently moving into the room to look through the horde.

[Exachix]

Lorrian watches him enters, smiles and follows, looking around.

[Fenric]

Krystal blinks a few times

So the cult really did gather it all up here... that explains the readings.

Krystal pokes areound, picking up some money and a fair quantity of large gems before reaching the middle of the room and turning around a few times.

There's nothing but money and gems... Don't get me wrong, cash is always great and spellcasting burns up gems as if they were lumps of coal... but...

Krystal looks genuinely disappointed.

[Exachix]

"What were you looking for?"

Exachix follows her, looking around.

[Fenric]

Krystal looks at Exachix and smiles fondly

I come to these dark, nasty places to find interesting, forgotten, or otherwise lost magic and items. The money's nice and all... but it's not what I'm looking for.

She looks at the staff she took from the throne room

This evil piece of crap is all I found this time. Turning "dead knights" into "Death Knights" is not highly ranked on my list of interesting things.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms.

"No..."

He picks up a gem and looks at it.

"What about making your own. Gemstones in themselves will help that."

He looks around.

"How in Inari's name will we get all this out without A) alerting anything we're here and b) so we get more than Kantur"

[Fenric]

Krystal taps a small crystal ring on her pinky-finger and then points it at the wall. A rather familiar looking door appears where no door had been before.

I wasn't about to get locked in the place forever just because Dad got himself killed spectacularly someday, so I made my own key. Kalzarath's phylactery might have been the anchor for the door, but the extradimensional space exists regardless of it.

Krystal starts casting Invisible Servant

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles and hugs her when the spell is finished.

"Oh good."

[Fenric]

Krystal directs the iniviible servant to carry the treasure into the mansion, giving rather precise directions for where to put it inside. Then she turns to Exachix

No sense waiting in this dreary place.

She heads inside.

[Exachix]

Exachix follows her.

mExy smiles to mLorrian, and mLorrian follows them, but mExy stays, looking over the stuff.