GoCorral

This session was held over Google Hangouts. Avery, Trajan, and Will attended. We had a long break since the last session because all of us were enjoying the holiday break from school with our families.

Run into a Muck

Last time the party had received directions from a sewer nymph. The party sought the Tome of Agamemnon which they knew was guarded by traps and a golem. The sewer nymph directed them to an area of the sewers she knew contained traps and a golem. At the beginning of that area was a nasty otyugh ready to attack.

Various damaging blast spells were laid upon the otyugh as it charged. It was able to get one good full attack out on Torin before it succumbed to the magic onslaught. Torin healed himself up and the party moved to investigate the metal door the otyugh was guarding.

A magical inspection by Logan revealed that the door had an abjuration spell cast on it and an illusion spell. Torin used his animate objects spell to bring the door to life. He commanded the door to open, but the door found itself locked with a spell (The abjuration spell was arcane lock). Preta removed the arcane lock spell with a knock spell. Then Torin was able to command the door to unlock itself and open. Torin then wished the door to become unhinged. The door wasn’t strong enough to pull itself off its hinges. Torin used his magic spear to break the hinges and the door leaped out. At that moment the animate objects spell expired. Torin swept the door into the otyugh room with the butt of his spear, being careful not to touch it and set off the remaining illusion spell.

Beyond the animated door was a short corridor that ended in a metal door with no lock. Logan’s magic vision detected an evocation spell on the door. Torin was out of animate objects spells for the day, so the party opted to dispel the trap, whatever it was. Shez took a crack at it, but found his magical skills weren’t up to the task. Preta used his superior magical might to dispel the trap. Torin opened the door.

Behind door #2 was a 10-foot man shaped thing composed entirely of sewage. The large room the sewage man was in contained lots of alchemical equipment, various pots and cauldrons of sewage, and at the back left corner were two pots of red liquid. At the back right corner was a closed wooden door.

The sewage man slammed its foul arm into Torin and a fight ensued. Preta tried various blast spells, but discovered that the sewage man was actually a golem immune to magic. Logan’s eldritch blast was similarly useless. Shez noticed acid wounds on Torin from the sewage man’s attack so he cast mass acid resistance to protect the group. Torin focused on buffing and healing himself to survive the golem’s continual attacks. Amalius carried the fight by casting sonic energy walls can penetrate a golem’s immunity to magic. The golem was ripped apart by two sonic walls every round. Every time they dealt damage a bucket of sewage poured out on Torin. Torin foolishly stabbed the golem with his spear and it disintegrated in the sonic wall. In the end the golem fell apart due to the sonic attacks.

Amalius investigated the red liquid pots and determined that they were instrumental to the golem’s creation. Suspecting that the golem’s creator was nearby, the party flung open the next door to reveal a snug apartment with bookcases, a desk, a bed, a bedside table, a larder, and an old human male cowering behind a sofa chair. The old man shouted, “Stay back! I’m a powerful wizard!” In one of the corners of the room was a ladder leading up.

Amalius and Preta attempted to talk the man down. They learned that the wizard’s name was Alan Roy. The golem was a pet of sorts named Cordo Roy. Alan actually held the deed to the house above as well as the sewer underneath. Alan kept on insisting that the party had broken into his home and he wasn’t afraid to let loose his awesome magical powers upon them (He had a flesh to stone ready to cast). After much insistence that they leave his home, the party eventually backed away. Upon reaching the otyugh room, Alan slammed the remaining metal door.

A Good Soak and a Bad Interview

The party wasn’t giving up there. They discussed going back in to just battle the wizard. They decided that taking the case to the police was a better idea. Or even better yet, the army! They are important figures in the war after all. They went to the Bradel Fields Council chambers and talked with the Army Council member, Lotigan. Lotigan told them that Alan likely did own the sewers beneath his home, such arrangements aren’t uncommon in Bradel Fields. Alan likely also had a permit to do magical experiments in his home as long as they weren’t considered dangerous to the city. As it stood, the case would likely be dropped if it was brought to court. Amalius wanted to meet with Alan, suspecting that he was hiding the Tome of Agamemnon. He intimidated Lotigan in an attempt to convince him to set up the meeting. Lotigan took offense at the intimidation but told the adventurers that he’d bring the matter up with the council tomorrow.

Satisfied with a good day of adventuring the party headed to Astyanax’s estate where they were staying in Bradel Fields. The filth of the sewer needed to be washed off with a good bath. While the party relaxed in the baths, Astyanax’s daughter, Cassandra, came in wearing just a towel. Cassandra is engaged to the Björn of Dalleer. The marriage alliance was necessary to gain a new ally for the Alliance. Cassandra is also well-known for being “loose.” Sleeping or even taking a bath with one of the key Alliance members, such as one of the PCs, would seriously damage the Alliance’s chances of gaining Dalleer’s support in the war.

Cassandra let the towel drop and she joined the party in the bath. She flirted with Amalius, showing off her chest and her legs as she cleaned them. Preta tried to flirt with her, but she looked at him with disgust due to his reincarnated satyr body. Shez got jealously angry at Preta for flirting with Cassandra. Amalius attempted to refocus Cassandra’s attentions on her fiancée or her father. She let it slip that Astyanax has locked himself in his room since his resurrection. At that point, Cassandra’s nurse’s shrill voice could be heard from an entrance to the baths. Cassandra excused herself, blew the party a kiss, grabbed her towel, and ran out a different entrance.

The next day, around 11 o’clock, a messenger arrived at the Astyanax estate with a letter from the Council. The party had been granted an interview with Alan Roy. The interview would take place at the police station between only one of the party members and Alan. Ten guards would be in the room as well. The adventurers headed down to the station and sent Amalius in to speak with Alan. Logan stayed behind at the Astyanax mansion to make sure that Cassandra didn’t get up to any trouble.

Alan started the interview off by telling Amalius, “I’m only here because I believe in cooperating with the law.”
Amalius asked him about the Tome of Agamemnon and the sewage golem. Alan explained that he knew of the book, but nothing else. The golem was an experiment in creating golems out of a plentiful resource that could protect the city. Alan had been perfecting the red liquid which animates the sewage so that the golems survived for longer. His latest golem, Cordo, could survive above ground for two minutes. The previous prototypes had survived for even less. He believed the stinky air of the sewers beneath the city play a role in animating the golem. Alan hoped to create many of these beasts so they can defend the city when/if the Xorians arrived.
Amalius accepted that answer and then showed Alan the amulet the party received from the sages of Bradel Fields (See Xorian Wars 6/Alliance 5: From Tomb to Tome Search). Alan recognized it as a golem control amulet. More specifically, that the type of golem that it controls is capable of casting spells.
Amalius tried to convince Alan to join the party in finding the golem in the sewers, but Alan said he’d rather not work with home invaders. With that, the interview ended.

The Tome Retrieved

The party went down into the sewers again. There were only two unexplored areas left, one close to Alan’s basement and one far away. The adventurers chose the far away one first. There were two different rooms there. One was a pool of water filled with leeches which the party chose to “not mess with.” The other was a stone door with a chaos beast behind it. The chaos beast was taken down by one spell from Preta. Beyond the chaos beast was another door. That door opened to a collapsed corridor. Amalius disintegrated the rubble with his latest power. The party explored further in that direction, became a little lost, and then started marking the walls to reestablish their mental map. After a few chalk markings and many more possible directions to go in, the party decided to tie off that one room next to Alan’s before proceeding further.

The last section of the sewer started with a room and a corridor leading off of it. Torin stepped into the corridor first and was hit by a swinging scythe blade trap. The blade severely injured Torin and infected him with a virulent poison. Luckily, heal fixes everything and Torin preps a lot of those every day.

Next was a set of double doors. Amalius detected an abjuration spell on the doors. Torin animated the doors to avoid opening them himself. The doors swung inwards to reveal a 9-foot tall brass and gold golem covered in runes. Preta presented the amulet in an attempt to command the golem. The golem went berserk upon seeing it and moved to attack. Torin promptly commanded the doors to shut.

The party put their heads together to devise a clever plan. Amalius spent two disintegrates to create a twenty-foot deep hole in the corridor before the double doors. Amalius then teleported above ground to hire an illusionist. The illusionist cast a silent image over the hole to make it seem as if the floor was still there. Preta would be flying and invisible while he opened the door. The golem would see Amalius in the corridor presenting the amulet and taunting the construct. The golem would rush forward and fall into the pit. Then Torin would cover the pit with two walls of stone to prevent the golem’s escape. The only hitch in the plan was the abjuration trap on the door. Opening it released a glyph of warding which blasted Preta but didn’t knock him out. After that, the golem rushed forward as predicted. It fell into the disguised pit and was promptly entombed by Torin.

Beyond the golem’s room was a door, a 5-foot long corridor, and then another door. No magic traps were detected, so Torin went in to open the door. Beyond that door was a small room with the Tome of Agamemnon sitting on a pedestal in the center of the room. Fearing traps within the room, Amalius manifested retrieve and teleported the book to his hands. The mechanical trap went off, dropping a large stone block on Torin’s location. Torin leapt backwards into the golem room to narrowly avoid being crushed.

Giddy with success the party went back to the surface, reported their success to the Bradel Fields Council, and teleported back to Phoenix.

A Stormy Truce

The next day was overcast. The party went to the Alliance Council chambers to officially present the Tome of Agamemnon. During the initial talk of what to do with the book a messenger came in and whispered into Arendil’s ear. Arendil stood up and made an announcement.
“A large storm has begun outside. It is July and the storm comes quite early. As some of you may know, Ares is on the side of our opponents. I had feared that Ares would use the thunderbolts he’d stolen from Zeus to attack us. I’d set scouts, such as this young man,” then to the messenger, “Thank you. You may go.” Then back to the council members, “To warn us of such a storm. I believe that Ares begins this process now. It is likely that the thunderbolts will begin striking us soon and then the Xorian armies will attack. I believe that we should all go to defend the walls.”
More messengers came in reporting that the Xorian army was mobilizing.
Arendil continued, “As some of you may know, Astyanax is currently on medical leave. Gradorian will be taking over the military high command. I need a volunteer to command the Bradel Fields contingent.”
Amalius said, “I’d like to volunteer, sir.”
Torin spoke up, “Aye. Me as well.”
Arendil said, “Good. I’ll also need volunteers to ride out to negotiate with the enemy before the battle.”
Amalius, Torin, and Preta volunteered.
Arendil told them, “Under no circumstances are you to surrender the city. If they want something within the city, then we will grant it to them if they will depart the field of battle. But we will not surrender here!”
Titandra also volunteered to meet with the envoy from the Xorians. Amalius attempted to dissuade her. Amalius feared that negotiations would break down and violence would break out immediately. Titandra insisted on accompanying the negotiation party and Amalius relented.

The adventurers outfitted themselves for the battle. They took a view from the top of the Phoenix wall. The Xorian army was lined up on the Phoenix side of the siege wall. They stood dozens of ranks deep for the miles surrounding the city. In the middle of no-man’s land stood a single man on a black bat-winged horse with a white flag. Rain came down in buckets.

Amalius, Shez, Preta, Torin, and Titandra rode out to meet the envoy. The envoy was Degusharla, a dragovinian, one of the Rages, the General of the Xorian Infantry, and Master of Archery. He carried a magnificent bow made of bone. Degusharla rode a winged dragovinian horse. Degusharla introduced himself. The party introduced themselves. Both sides indicated that they wished to avoid bloodshed today. Degusharla then asked for permission to speak first, which was granted.
“Your men have fought bravely and valiantly. You have held off a force that is superior in numbers and strength for two years and remain strong. I ask you to end it today. You have displayed excellence in two of the three key values of the Xorian Empire. Those three values are Ability, Unity, and Immortality. You have great ability individually and through the unity of your abilities you have resisted us. I ask that you only relent and take the third value, immortality. If you surrender no one will be killed. All your men, women, and children will be spared. The best among you will be granted immortality. No one need accept this rule and they may depart the city unharmed. These are the terms I present to you.”
Torin answered, “We will not give up the city. It belongs to the people of Phoenix and the Alliance. You must leave this area and go back to Xoria.”
Degusharla said, “I cannot do that. I must take the city. It is regrettable that men on both sides must die this day. Have you anything else to say.”
Torin said, “No.”
Degusharla said, “So be it,” and he spurred his horse to trot back to his side of the battlefield.
Amalius asked the others after Degusharla’s back turned, “Should I use retrieve on his bow?”
Preta and Torin said he should. Shez followed Preta’s lead in saying he should. Titandra was too shocked at the suggestion to reply. Amalius used retrieve, but the magic weakened due to Degusharla’s distance. The spell failed and Degusharla kept riding oblivious to the attempted theft. Amalius wanted to use retrieve again, but Degusharla was now out of range. The party rode back to Phoenix.

Gradorian gave battle commands to the leaders of the Alliance as they prepared to fight.