"That does seem to be all he is good for, running away, and his projects sinking into the elemental chaos.  Not that I particularly desire a competent enemy."  Of course, competent natives were also in short supply.

  Boo spooky I'm a ghost meant to protect this temple from intruders but I'll attack you instead. Spooooooky.

Raichel glances at Mittens. "Never? What about Modra? He got away from us a few times."

Timothius says, "Leave it to Raichel to remember any villain getting away."

May says, "I like the idea of taunting him for running."

Raichel says, "I like the idea of catching him more. Every second he draws breath for anything other than recanting any of his evil orders is a second that people suffer as a result of him. Just because he's running doesn't mean he has no influence. Such is the power of someone who is in charge of an army; He can be running while his minions do his bidding for him."

"Minions whom we mow over," Mits answers, pointing out the carnage, "But yeah.  Just trying to keep you from losing heart is all.  Whether we chase him for years or hours, I'm with ya that he needs to be caught sooner or later.  And I ain't quitting till he is."

She gets to tying up those who survived.

  Enemies so forgettable that Kyle's player literally forgot about them, such as the Cyclopses.

  "While I can see your point Raichel, we can only go so swiftly before it becomes reckless endangerment even for those in our profession.  My greatest concern, to pull from Mittens's storybook comparisons is that all the portals we are coming across and sealing will merely reopen, or have replacements when it is melodramatic."

Raichel says, "....well thanks, sis. And yeah, Kyle. I'm not rushing us. Just upset we are being delayed." Raichel then sighs in relief when Mittens' ritual restores Raichel a bit.

May grins, "It'll take a lot more for yours truly to lose heart!"

Timothius says, "I lost heart a long time ago. But thankfully, I lost enough heart to not even care that I've lost heart."

Mits loots a book off the skull lord, reads it, and heads in the direction Sarshan went.  "Well it's off to save the day again we go.  We still haven't figured out how the blood chaos is being pumped into the Prim Material, so at the very least we've some kinda giant machine to smash if not a recurring villain.

"Speaking of portals...  Gimme a hand unlocking this one."

---

GM Handwave for expedience.  No need to roll for this skill challenge.  We can take-10 on the skills and auto succeed them all.

Once these defenders have been defeated, the PCs
can pursue Sarshan. The entire northern portion of
the cavern is undercut by a buried permanent tele-
portation circle that acts as a portal to the Elemental
Chaos. The skull lord’s ritual book contains the loca-
tion of Sarshan’s lair.
A DC 16 Arcana check reveals that strengthen-
ing magic has been applied to the portal by Sarshan.
As such, activating the portal does not require a
full Planar Portal ritual. However, the shadar-kai
magically locked the portal when he fled, so that the
PCs must successfully complete a skill challenge to
activate it: complexity 1 (4 successes before 3 fail-
ures); Arcana, Religion, Nature; all checks DC 21. If
successful, the portal opens up 4 hours later. If unsuc-
cessful, the PCs can attempt the skill challenge again
(repeatedly if necessary) after 12 hours.
Documents carried by the skull lord identify it as
an envoy of Onthorirfel, a lich dwelling in the Shad-
owfell. These documents also suggest that Sarshan
and the lich have been collaborating on some plot,
though no details are provided. A DC 21 Arcana
check confirms that Onthorirfel is a powerful lich
famed for his specialization in ritual magic. Although
this information is not immediately relevant, it will
become important in later adventures.

  Nerd Litch, got it.  "You are the most uplifting holder of crushed dreams I have ever met, Timothius." Well, it's true.

  Kyle adds his own default skill checks to the process of unlocking progress.  "Reality is not as durable as people would hope it is, would be my assumption after recent events Mittens."

Timothius asks, "And out of curiousity, how many people with crushed dreams have you met? Besides our enemies..."

Raichel smirks at Tim suggesting the enemies' dreams have all been crushed. Well that and the fact the heroes are now pressing onward.

May just follows along.

Timothius examines the portal and points out the profane portions and how to sanctify them so the portal will work as originally intended again. (Only way I figured religion had to do with a locked portal)

A blast of heat heralds your arrival in the midst of
an ocean of molten rock. Around the destination
teleportation circle, numerous small islands float on
this burning sea like icebergs of rock and earth. These
earthbergs drift in proximity to a much larger island to
the south. Tall dikes on this main island shield it from the
worst of the molten waves.
Through the heat haze, creatures are visible. A dwarf
with coal-dark skin and blonde hair is stationed on one
of the earthbergs, while a large, wingless dragon guards
another. On the island, two githyanki stand with silver
swords drawn. Close by, a red crystal floats above the lava
sea.
Perception Check
DC 16: The air above the fiery sea shimmers and
dances with the incredible heat. However, a magnificent
city is visible far to the north, its brass towers and minarets
glittering on the horizon.
DC 21: The dike around the large island has clearly
kept it safe from the lava for countless years, but even as
you watch, high waves break over the top. Molten rock is
beginning to pool and spread within the wall, the island
shuddering with a faint groan.

https://dungeonmaestro.files.w.../2011/08/djamela.jpg

"Ok so NOW I'm pretty sure we're in the Elemental Chaos.

"Hi there!  EYEBEAMS!"

Mits fires her eye lasers at the enemies!

  "Quite a number of passengers and traders before all this sort of thing started, really."

  Portal haz.  Lava land haz.  More idiots haz.  "Hmm, more Gith silver swords for May's collection.  I might keep one for myself at this rate."  Now, maybe these two would-Oh who was he kidding, even if Mittens didn't greet people with eye lasers, it would just be another attack in this case.

  He fires off a pacification dust bolt at the pair of Gith, to ensure their first turn is basically wasted.  He then considers the floating shiny object, bit it's too shiny to be of the annihilation variety.  Probably.

The enemy begins its counter-attack!

Raichel says, "Careful not to use anything you'd need a rest for unless you really need it! Every minute counts!"

May says, "Got it!" and charges into the enemies. "And of COURSE you can keep one of the blades, Kyle! All you had to do was ask!" ....clearly May loves Kyle.

Raichel starts off with some lightning, hitting one enemy and bounding it to another. Then she moves into flanking with May to help with melee!

Timothius says, "I'll do what I can, but if you need healing even once, you all may as well let loose since I need to rest to get my healing back."
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:51, Wed 25 Feb 2015.

Kerfwoosh!  Both the firebelcher and the flame shard open up with fireballs!

"Not going to be quite that easy to take these guys out, Raichel."

Mits flies over to a cluster of enemies, activates her fire resist, and does her typical kersplosion combo, dealing massive amounts of damage to the enemy!  Clearly, she's only holding back the dailies.

"No one's taking my sword!" a gith asserts, swinging at Kyle!

"A healer!" the second says, attacking Timothius!

The duergar sprays everyone, including the gith, with poison quills!

"Bwahahaha!!  Diediediediedie!"

  Kyle sighs as the Gith attack anyways (maybe that pacification powder was past the expiration date?) "Deal with you in a minute," As he nails the flying over lava crystal with his knock things prone encounter.  The artificer will soon get to find out just how lava resistant a fire shard is.

  He barely manages to avoid eye rolling as he plucks out the poisonous barbs from his arm.

Timothius is hit by quills also and looks at the duergar with a "...and?" expression. Then the gith gets in Tim's face and slashes at him! May immediately appears in the way, shielding Timothius and smashing the gith in the belly with her shield. "Ohnoyoudon't!"

Tim says, "Ah... figured out healer is dangerous. We got a smart one."

Timothius then sings to his team, causing them all to be a little tougher and an enemy or two to be weaker.

Raichel flanks the one that charged Timothius and begins hitting him with her stick REALLY hard. "GET OUT OF OUR WAY!! That COWARD you worship is fleeing from us! If you think he's so amazing, then why is he running from us?!"

May says, "Because they're stupid-heads."
This message was last updated by the player at 09:20, Wed 25 Feb 2015.

The gith collapses from Raichel's attack!

"Raichel can be very persuasive," Mits comments, "Hate to burst your bubble, but your kind were easy to kill when we were much less powerful."

Blammo!  She takes out the firebelcher and injures the pinned elemental and duergar!

  "These things happen with a culture that practices blind obedience, despite aborning weakness."

  This time around Kyle goes for things much simpler and just slashes his respective Gith with an acid dripping sword.

Timothius puts an astral seal on the gith that May is on.

Raichel is briefly surprised that her hit downed the guy. But she doesn't hesitate for long as she turns she shoots lightning at the next gith! Thanks to Astral Seal, it hits and Raichel heals some. (not mechanically. Just flavor)

May swings and hits armor, but doesn't hurt the gith. Though she keeps the gith marked. "I wonder how I'd feel if people blindly obeyed and followed me."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

"Blind obedience to you would likely work out pretty well.  Because you'd demand things like, 'Stay behind me while they're shooting at you!'"

Mits burns the three remaining enemies.  The gith doesn't look long for this world.

"Not... taking... my... sword!"

  May would probably deserve it more than most, this is true.

  To the Shatner speech Gith, he comments "I vaguely recall there being some cultural significance to your blades, but let's be honest here.  If we spared you, and even let you keep your swords, would that really change how you would act?  Or would you merely continue as before, just with your personal blade unless we slay you and dump the remains into the blood of chaos?."

May says, "Tell ya what! Surrender and we'll let you keep your sword! Don't? And we'll let you live so you can be around to regret that we took your sword!"

May looks ready to smack the guy into next tuesday, but holds off to see if he surrenders.

Seeing nobody but the gith around, Raichel says, "He won't surrender because his pride demands that we strip him of his pride... wait."

Timothius says nothing, but prepares to heal whoever needs it. He does, however, put an astral seal on the gith.

The gith takes a final swing at Kyle and collapses unconscious.

"I guess your speech knocked him out, heh."

No.  That was Rai's punch so fast that it couldn't be seen.  Mits Kersplodes the last two enemies, finishing off the fire shard.  The demon dwarf is still standing though.

"Ahahaha!  Gith will never change!  No matter how many times you kill them!"

More beard quills, etc.

  Kyle actually avoids the beard quills this time, because he is not as much of a magnet for them as Terdisas.

  He considers some holy water, but KEYWORDS means Devils are immune to such things, and resitances mean a particular horrific in visuals formula he recently worked out would not actually hurt them.

So he just shoots them in the brain.  How droll.

Raichel says, "Well we *could* have said 'duergar never change, no matter how many times you kill them', but that wouldn't be true.. we met a good duergar."

Timothius gets to healing and getting to the other side of the lava with the others.

May takes point, but rests with the group.

"Well that was mildly annoying with the moving... earthbergs?  Floating rocks?  Why are we not being incinerated being this close to lava?  I was expecting much more inconvenience from the Elemental Chaos.  Like... Need special magic just to be able to breathe.  Huh."

Baddies are tied up and Mits gets some rest while studying the teleportation circle on one of the bergs.

"Gotta say, though.  I like how much time we're saving with all these convenient teleportation circles."

  "Because it's magic."  Granted, most cases of ACTUAL lava would be much the same in this game, where standing next to a bonfire is hazardous by comparison.

  "When they are already set up, at least.  Actually making one is a rather involved process when it comes to busywork."  Arcane assistance is provided as needed.