Annoyed at the chilling pain from the mosaic's attack, Zog traces a symbol in the air and then launches his lightning bolt through it, blasting a big hole in the floor right at the heart of the image of Tiamat.

"Take that, you old hag," he mutters under his breath.

Elemental Bolt with Learned Boost on the mosaic, hit Reflex 38 for 59 hp before resistance. It gains vulnerable 3 to my elemental attacks.

16:59, Today: Zog the Faceless rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9.  Saving throw.
16:59, Today: Zog the Faceless rolled 59 using 4d12+35 with rolls of 11,6,4,3.  Damage on mosaic.
16:59, Today: Zog the Faceless rolled 38 using 1d20+27 with rolls of 11.  on Mosaic w/Learned Boost.

Without a moving target The Bone Witch does not really have much to do besides continue cutting down the last still active one, simple cuts and slashes finish out this already longer than normal fight.


MOVE: Shift: Teleport 5
MINOR: None
STANDARD: Bond of Pursuit.  AC vs, #3=51 takes 55 damage

With a flourish, the party destroys the remaining cyclone-thing, which dies with a whimper, and burns/blasts the living daylights out of the mosaic on the floor. Silence falls on the room, which is appropriate, as it appears to be a library--albeit with papers now lying everywhere after wind-creatures buffeted them. The question occurs to you: what fool puts wind-creatures as guardians in a library?

Bookshelves line the walls here. Agon immediately notes one very unusual one, though--black and seemingly throbbing with arcane power, he identifies it and uses a minor ritual to retrieve it. It appears to be locked with some kind of arcane lock.

The next room over (room 23) is clearly a sitting room. Desks, couches, and comfortable chairs line the walls of this chamber. There is only one thing that is unusual: what appears to be a human corpse is preserved in a glass case!

Harald recognizes the figure! 

Map for frame of reference:
https://docs.google.com/drawin...Q50-wFOAK6P78Lk/edit

Zog looks at the mess and grips his side. "Ow," he says simply, limping to the north. He takes a moment to sit in the sitting room.  While he is resting, he studies the figure in the case, trying to learn what the deal is with the fellow...

Short Rest, burn two surges to get to full. Can I make any skill checks on the guy in the case?

Agon's first concern was for the pieces of broken construct littering the floor.  It took a powerful will to animate stone and metal so powerful, and he tried to divine what trace of it remained, in hopes of finding a future advantage.

Nemeroff caught his breath after the last foe went down to their blows. "Who is the figure under glass?" he asked when they checked out the other area.

OOC: Short rest, spend a surge

Zog (and anyone else trained in it) can make an Arcana check. Don't make the check untrained.

K: Acrana 37
12:30, Today: Nemeroff rolled 37 using 1d20+26 with rolls of 11.  K: Acrana.

Short rest: burn 1 surge to full strength.

Harald strolled calmly over to look at the strange exhibit - Man in a Box!

"Ah wonder why they'd dae that.  It's an odd thing tae dae.  Ah wonder if they mummyficated him?"

He stared into the room and a cold chill ran up his back.

"Hey!" he yelled.  "Ah know that gadgie.  It's me old mucker Vali.  He's no' deid he's..." Harald hesitated as he tried to figure out how to explain Vali's condition.

"He's deid but he's kind o' alive as well.  An' he's no' undeid...well no' proper undeid like a zombie.  He's kind o' a livin' undeid.  Aw!  What the heck!"

The dwarf barged into the room and smashed open the glass case.

"Vali!  Hey Vali" he shouted.  "It's me, Harald!"

Vali does not move, despite the breaking of the glass case.

"Let me see you friend there" Agon said. He trusted Harald's judgement, but there were subtleties of magic not accurately conveyed.


14:14, Today: Agon rolled 50 using 1d20+32 with rolls of 18.  arcana: vali.
18:07, Yesterday: Agon rolled 37 using 1d20+32 with rolls of 5.  arcana: investigate construct corpses.

The construct corpses prove interesting to study. He would be a bit shocked if he ever saw their like again, but he thinks he has a couple of ways in mind where he can harm them differently in the future.

If you ever encounter these again, they are Vulnerable 5 to your attacks.

More importantly, Agon figures out that the figure in the glass is held in a peculiar kind of stasis. It takes him a few minutes, but he works out the near-invisible runes on the body and does a bit of counterspelling of his own. Suddenly, the figure moves....

Gromley relaxes onto his disk, but quickly moves the floating magic vehicle behind his dwarven friend once the figure starts moving...

(OOC-short rest)

The body's eyelids snap open, revealing a pair of milky white orbs that stare directly at Agon. stare. Lips move wordlessly as the corpse attempts to speak or perhaps scream, without any air in it's lungs...

Then, with the crackle of stiff ligaments, and popping of joints that have been still for some time, the revenant broke free of it's rigor mortis, cracking it's neck first one way, then the other, and drawing in a deep breath. The unlife began to return to it's ashen flesh, still looking very much not alive, but significanly less dessicated with every passing moment. With a rasp, it's vocal chords began to operate again, and it spoke in a harsh whisper, gradually growing stronger as it went, and taking on a edge of hostility.

"Where am I? And who are you? What did you do to me?"

The revenant's gave swiveled around the room, locking onto Harald. It's hostility changed to confusion as it struggled to place the face.

"You. You look familiar... from somewhere...

"You are in the Mantled Citadel, fortress of the arch-lich Irfelujhar, servant of Tiamat." Agon touched his breast. "I am Agon, wizard and enemy of all the prior names. You were imprisoned here, and we released you." Diplomacy was not Agon's strength, but here the simple truth was better than any lie. "Harald the dwarf named you Vali.  What do you last remember, Vali?

"Vali, pal!  It's me, Harald.  Dae ye no remember?  Fightin' they dragons an a'?"

Nemeroff watched the interaction between the two as he had no idea who they were dealing with.

"Irfelujhar? Irfelujhar..." Picking up on the liches name, Vali muttered to himself vacantly. "Ahh... The dragon. That's what it said... Must have done something to me..."

At last, Vali was snapped from his thoughts by Harald. His blank look finally changed to one of recognition.

"I remember now, dragonslayer. Stubborn... Good. Can't have been too long... Thank you... Companions trustworthy?"

Stepping out of the remains of the case, he began to dust himself off, casting about for any more of his gear.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:49, Mon 12 Oct 2015.

As the figure starts to move, Zog shifts and changes. He now appears to be a middle-aged, red-headed man. He steps over and looks at the newcomer.

"Seeing as we were sent here by Bahamut himself, I would think we are decidedly trustworthy, if you are a friend of Harald's. You are currently in the demi-plane run by the being you just spoke of, Irfelujhar." He introduces himself and the rest of the party.

"What do you know of this Irfelujhar?"

The corners of Vali's mouth turned up, revealing a set of yellowing teeth, as he gave the man a bemused smile.

"I see. And perhaps that is a lie. Or perhaps not. No matter... As for Irfelhujar, I know only his name, and that he is in consort with dragons."

In reply to Vali, the Returned (msg # 715):

"It is wise not to trust in this dark place, good sir." Gromley said, floating up on his disk. "But think about the risks we have undertaken just to get here. Seems like a lot of effort just to lie and fool you, don't you think?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:13, Mon 19 Oct 2015.

"Well Ah know that Vali is a trusted friend of old.  And Ah am unanimous in that!"

Harald stamped his foot to emphasise his words before turning back to VAli.

"And you, ma wee pal.  You need tae tak' heed o' what Ah am sayin'.  These folk are a braw bunch o' fighters.  Gin we meet ony dragons, they'll mak' mincemeat oot o' them.  So gies yer hand an' lets act like brithers thegither."

He held out a gnarled hand to the revenant.

Looking moderately annoyed to have his sport cut short, Vali takes the offered hand, returning his grip with the chilling strength of the undead.

"Hurrmph... Well met again, Harald. What dire mission brings you to a place like this? Perhaps I can offer some assistance? I seem to be spare at present, and since your friends have failed to stab me yet, it seems my condition will not pose an insurmountable problem for them. "

Zog's face turns a bit red. "I can see that you have been in many dangerous places, fellow, or had some difficulty. Perhaps you have reason to be suspicious. But that notwithstanding, you are not listening very well. Let me repeat myself.

"We are sent here directly by the deity Bahamut. He hand-picked us for the mission, in fact.

"We were sent here to prevent a servant of Tiamat from hatching a plot of some kind. We are well along in the process of finding this servant, Irfelhujar, and stopping him.

"For my part, I am happy to have you join us, provided you pay more attention to what I say. In my home, I am an arbiter of justice and defender of the innocent. This goblin, the Great and Terrible Bone Witch, is a paragon of divine vengeance. Gromley, Nemeroff, Agon--these are all figures of legend, no doubt, in their homes. We do not deserve your suspicion."

Gromley was right, in that it was foolish to trust a person on the Plane of Betrayal. "We have done you one good turn in setting you free, Vali. Harald vouches for you, and what is a little death between friends.  If we move fast, we may defeat our foe before his magic destroys us."