Imperial Destiny Campaign

Imperial Destiny Campaign Session Fifty

“The Liberation of the Oracle of Kosha Dar” Goodmonth 24, 782 CY

Goodmonth 24

Passing through the heavy door between the two statues of nude screaming women, the heroes found themselves in a large irregularly shaped area in which an aura of menace pervaded the air. Still invisible, Trayven and Asura were sent forward to scout ahead to see what the rest of the high-ceilinged chamber held. With Thurak following close behind them for support, the scouts were only able to proceed a short distance from their comrades when a powerful fireball abruptly exploded amongst them! Thankfully, I had remained near the entrance of the room with Mobley and Patch, who following their instincts, had lingered behind.

While most of the group surged forward to confront the enemy spellcaster who had hurled the devastating firestorm amongst the heroes, Thurak inexplicably simply stared blankly forward as if stunned by what had occurred, though he was not paralyzed. Similarly, there was no sign of any actions taken by Trayven or Asura, leading me to fear that they had been incinerated by the powerful blast. Only after the battle was over did I learn that Asura, Trayven, and Thurak had all been affected by a powerful spell that addled their wits. When the remainder of the group advanced around a nearby corner, the champions were able to see the terrain ahead and the foes that had already managed to devastate their ranks.

The room itself was arranged in a fashion similar to a throne room, though with considerably less fanfare than most seats of power. A central platform was surrounded by squares of stairs that led 10’ up to the top where a huge, high-backed chair of black stone rested, its armrests carved with large skulls. The chair faced towards the wall on the right where two huge oval-shaped depressions were carved deep into the wall. An immense gold-edged mirror hung from the wall between the depressions, its surface strangely murky.

Standing near the wall that the throne faced around the lowest of the steps leading to the platform were two individuals, who were clearly the perpetrators of the attack upon the Hammer. Nearest to the wall was an elderly woman with long, stringy white hair whose best years were clearly well behind her. Even more hideous than the crone’s withered face was her garb, which was to all appearances an extravagant black gown meant to be worn by young women with designs to entice men into romantic liaisons. Unfortunately, this garment did not compliment the looks or physique of the elderly woman in the least. Sheathed in violet flames, the crone began cackling as her hands wove the beginnings of another spell.

The crone’s companion was a middle-aged man with close-cropped white hair clad in blue-tinted full plate armor that was etched with numerous lightning bolts along the steel plates. The Iuz heraldry on his ornate tabard and the crowned skull unholy symbol that he brandished in one hand made him readily identifiable as a fell priest of the Lord of Pain. A dreadful dark, unholy energy seemed to shimmer around the smirking Iuz priest as he prepared to call upon the evil powers granted him by his deity.

1 Standing a short distance in front of the humans was a heavily armored orc who amazingly enough towered over 10’ in height! The fierce giant orc was armed with a wicked greataxe and wore a tabard with the crowned skull of Iuz featured prominently upon the chest. Snarling at the heroes through his dark gray helm, the orc immediately began racing forward upon sighting his foes, axe held high.

Looming over even the gigantic orc was a putrid undead creation of immense proportions. Composed of rotting corpses stitched together in a fashion similar to the Rotting Colossus that the heroes had encountered in Anzihein, the thing had been constructed with a humanoid shape, though it was over 20’ tall. Large iron plates had been bolted into the flesh of some of the corpses, giving the thing an even more hideous aspect as the holes made by the bolts dripped a pale green fluid whenever the thing moved. Swarms of flies surrounded the undead mass and the stench given off by it could be detected at a great distance. That it was possessed with at least a spark of life became readily apparent when the thing began lumbering towards the heroes with meaty fists extended, periodically issuing gurgling moans that somewhat resembled the word, “lurch”.

Seemingly faced with only these four foes, the heroes still appeared to hold the advantage of numbers despite the sudden inaction of Thurak, Trayven, and Asura until their plight dramatically increased with the a abrupt appearance of a pair of demons next to Mobley and Patch! The demons were tall and emaciated, standing over 7’ in height with coal-black skin that was tautly wrapped around their bones. Sickening reddish ooze seeped from the demons’ pores to cover their bodies with a slick layer that seemed to turn the heroes’ blades. Eyes blazing red with hatred, the fiends wielded deadly scythes as they launched a surprise attack from the rear.

Though with nearly half their number apparently incapacitated, Flammenarbe led the Hammer’s counterattack, using a spell to banish one of the demons back to the Abyss, leaving the other to be dealt with by Kho’Bal. Flammenarbe then negated the threat from the orc, priest, sorceress, and undead beast by conjuring up an invisible wall that blocked their advance as well as their spells, granting the group a brief respite. Before the elven wizard could complete his wall, the Iuz priest managed to increase the Hammer’s woes by using a spell to paralyze Mobley that was so powerful that Patch was not able to dispel it when he made a single attempt to do so later in the battle.

Hoping to make use of the defense provided by the wall, the champions began to regroup when the giant orc managed to clamber atop Flammenarbe’s invisible creation and drop safely to the other side. Drusus immediately rushed forward to engage him in a ferocious duel that soon became one sided when the undead monstrosity ceased its futile efforts to batter down the wall, instead following orders from the Iuz priest to reach over the wall to attack the hobgoblin Sentinel. Suddenly breaking free of whatever daze that he had been in, Thurak came rushing forward to Drusus’ aid, only to be crushed into the floor by the armored fist of the undead monstrosity!

With plans to invoke a terrible curse upon the orcish warrior, Flammenarbe attempted to approach near enough to touch him. Unfortunately, the huge orc saw the elven mage moving towards him and lashed out with his unnaturally long arms to hack Flammenarbe with a devastating wound that sent him sprawling unconscious on the ground. Despite the grisly death of the valiant dwarven priest and the fall of his charge, Drusus may have still been able to hold on against his opponents save for Asura’s sudden return to the battle. Still suffering from the effects of the confusing spell, the half-elven swordsman struck at Drusus from behind, thinking him an enemy! Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Drusus’ defenses were wide open, allowing for Asura to strike him down with a savage thrust of his crackling rapier. The orc quickly repaid Asura’s assistance by cutting him down with desperate sweeps

2 of his greataxe through the air from which his rapier thrust had originated, leaving him in a pool of his own blood, still invisible.

Though briefly triumphant, the orc’s gleeful shouts turned to screams of agony when Trayven was able to fight through the haze of the spell for a short interval, allowing him to speed a pair of arrows at the foe. While his mind was spell-addled, Trayven’s aim was as true as ever, causing the deadly shafts to tear through the orc’s armor, sending the gigantic humanoid to the floor in a pool of his own blood. As I watched in amazement, the orc’s body and equipment decreased in size shortly after hitting the ground, shrinking until it reached the proportions of a normal orc, making it clear that its enhanced stature was the result of a spell.

In the meantime, the hideous crone and her priestly companion managed to circumvent Flammenarbe’s barrier by using a spell to transport themselves to a position near Patch and Mobley. The Hammer soon found itself in dire straits indeed with Drusus and Thurak dead, Asura and Flammenarbe unconscious and bleeding, Trayven magically confused, and Mobley held paralyzed by magic. With only Patch and Kho’Bal to effectively continue the fray, it seemed well within the realm of possibility that I was about to witness the last battle of the Emperor’s Hammer! The heroes’ plight was only to deepen, however.

With the Iuz priest swinging a dreadful greatsword seemingly made completely from bone in savage arcs and the crone’s deadly spells, the enemy was quick to bring Kho’Bal low while the undead monstrosity and the giant orc were battling his comrades. Kho’Bal had attempted to slay the sorceress, but discovered to his dismay that his attack upon her did little harm while the flames surrounding her lashed out to severely injure him. Patch wisely used a spell to make himself invisible, which gave him just enough of an advantage to stay alive. With no visible enemies to battle, the Iuz priest cruelly slew the still paralyzed Mobley with a savage sweep of his bone greatsword that nearly cleaved the Mayaheine priest in two. Though Patch made one attempt to free Mobley from his paralysis, the halfling sorcerer was so discouraged at his failure to break the spell that he could not bring himself to make a second attempt, instead choosing to harass the foe with his magic. While his efforts forced the two foes to use healing potions and spells, it soon became clear to Patch that he lacked the power to defeat both enemies single-handedly.

The battle all but won, the Iuz priest and sorceress warily sought the halfling sorcerer to finish him off, though Patch cleverly changed his location often as he fought desperately to keep the Hammer alive. As indicated by its lightning bolt etchings, the Iuz priest’s armor proved to be heavily enchanted to defend against electrical attacks as Patch discovered by the failure of his powerful strokes to do more than singe the evil man. Similarly, the sorceress seemed to have erected powerful magical barriers against Patch’s enchanted darts while all of the enemies had demonstrated an eerie ability to ignore flames. Desperate to turn the tide of battle, Patch made repeated attempts to bring Kho’Bal back into the fray with force- fed healing potions, though the vigilant priest and sorceress easily brought the orcish Sentinel down each time he stirred. The situation was bleak indeed as the Iuz priest’s wild, hacking sweeps of his blade through the air from which Patch’s spells originated grew ever closer to the target when Asura and Trayven at last broke free of the confusion spell on them.

Still invisible, Asura first took the fight to the priest, as he seemed the deadlier opponent due to the fact that the sorceress seemed unable to target her spells at foes that could not be seen. Battling furiously against the evil priest, Asura managed to grievously injure him with vicious rapier thrusts that struck at his enemy from all angles. Daunted by the severity of his wounds, the priest hastily used a spell to make himself invisible as well before retreating to heal himself. Sensing that whatever chance the Hammer

3 had of victory would evaporate should the priest manage to restore himself again, Asura called for Patch to use his magic dispelling abilities to defeat the Iuz priest’s invisibility.

Hastily rushing forward to seize the opportunity, Patch failed to realize in his enthusiasm to defeat the Iuz priest that he himself was within the area of effect of his dispelling sorcery! This became all too apparent when both the Iuz priest and Patch suddenly appeared in the field of view, both none too pleased to be visible. Before Patch could cast another spell or defend himself, the Iuz priest rushed forward while uttering a vile chant, followed by grabbing Patch’s arm. The evil magic imparted by the Iuz priest’s touch was so powerful that the halfling sorcerer could only utter a brief shriek of agony before falling over dead on the spot! Though deeply dismayed at the fall of yet another comrade, Asura quickly avenged him, cutting down the Iuz priest from behind before he could escape yet again.

In the meantime, Trayven had taken a brief respite from the battle to guzzle a quantity of healing liquids to cure the worst of the burns that he had taken from the sorceress’ fireball at the outset of the battle. Now ready to join the fray once again, Trayven was delighted to see that the sorceress had taken cover near him, perhaps fearful of Asura’s blade now that the violet flames shielding her had faded away. The venerable crone made an easy target for Trayven’s arrows as he began firing shaft after shaft into her. While it was clear that powerful sorcery still shielded her, such was the fury of Trayven’s archery that he was able to slay the crone in short order before she could use a spell to escape.

As silence fell over the blood-drenched chamber, the stunned heroes realized that they had somehow managed to prevail against the odds, seizing victory from the very jaws of defeat! Though their triumph hardly felt like a great success with half of their number dead, the survivors knew that their task within the Oracle of Kosha Dar was not yet complete. Weary of mind and body, the champions gathered their dead and those of the enemy into Flammenarbe’s portable hole to be dealt with properly at a later time. Flammenarbe and Kho’Bal were soon restored to fighting order with liberal applications of healing draughts and healing wands, though the Hammer’s stockpile of such resources was now severely limited.

The most amazing of the heroes’ efforts to replenish their strength came in the form of Trayven’s use of Awakener to raise Drusus from the dead. Examining the mightily enchanted morningstar, Trayven announced to his comrades that he felt that his training using magical devices would be sufficient to the task before setting to work trying to activate it. After only two attempts, Awakener began to glow fiercely with magical energy just as when Mobley has used it in the past, which was soon followed by Drusus’ first breath since being slain by Asura!

While most of the group worked to heal its wounds, Trayven, Drusus, Kho’Bal, and even Flammenarbe plied the undead monstrosity with arrows while it continued to aimlessly batter the invisible wall. Though it took nearly 40 arrows to do the job, the horrific creation at last released a final gurgling moan before collapsing in a sickening pile of rotting corpses and greenish ooze.

With but five of their number left standing, the remnants of the Hammer moved on to continue their quest. The throne room had little of interest beyond what was already described save for an immense set of iron portals etched with scenes of demonic debauchery that had no visible means of opening. The group therefore pressed on into an adjoining chamber where they saw another set of huge iron doors, though these were without the vile artwork and impressive size of those in the throne room. The center of the high-ceilinged chamber was occupied by a building resembling a guardhouse that was equipped with a heavy door.

4 While the bulk of the group warily approached the front of the guardhouse, Trayven and Asura were sent forward to scout the wall with the iron portal, which the heroes could now see was pierced by several arrow slits that faced them. To their chagrin, the scouts soon discovered that the arrow slits were manned by vigilant gnoll archers armed with longbows. Hoping to neutralize the threat without putting his visible comrades at risk, Trayven began firing his bow with unbelievable accuracy through the arrow slits to slay the gnolls! Though effective at first, Trayven’s attack set off a terrific battle for control of the guardhouse that the depleted Hammer was hard-pressed to win.

Trayven had managed to slay two of the archers when a screeching roar was heard as the iron portal rose upwards, seemingly of its own accord. The suddenly open doorway disgorged a group of four heavily armed ogre warriors led by a huge hill giant, all roaring in fury at the heroes. To compound the Hammer’s worries, the iron door of the guardhouse smashed open moments later to allow another pack of four ogres to charge out to counter the Hammer’s assault. Caught unprepared by the sudden wave of ogres attacking them, the heroes found themselves separated with Asura and Trayven near the great iron portal, Drusus and Flammenarbe near the guardhouse door, and Kho’Bal in the open area in the middle of the room meeting the ogres’ charge.

Drusus fought with great valor in a furious defense of his charge, managing to slay all of the ogres with Flammenarbe’s aid in a desperate struggle. While seemingly heavily outnumbered, Kho’Bal’s mighty efforts with his axe were greatly aided by the stealthy attacks of Trayven and Asura, who plied their weapons with shockingly effective precision. The fray took a turn for the worse, however, when a small port opened in the side of the guardhouse that allowed an unseen enemy spellcaster within to use magic to paralyze Kho’Bal for a time.

With Kho’Bal completely vulnerable, a grinning ogre stood before him with his bloodied greatsword held high overhead for the finishing blow, making it a virtual certainty that the orcish Sentinel would soon join his charge in death. Unbelievably enough, the ogre’s wicked hack severely wounded Kho’Bal, but could not slay the indomitable Sentinel, though he remained incapacitated from the injury for the remainder of the battle. Trithereon had clearly blessed Kho’Bal with the power to avenge his slain charge!

Though badly bloodied, the champions eventually prevailed over the humanoid defenders with several of the surviving gnolls surrendering once the hill giant was slain. The spellcaster within the guardhouse remained defiant, however, forcing the heroes to use Asura’s ensorcelled key to spring open the formidable door. Within, the group found the guardhouse’s primary features to be three huge winches that were connected to thick iron chains feeding into holes in the floor. The only occupant of the room was a young priest of Iuz, who appeared stunned that his sanctum was so easily breached. Though eager to slay such a vile practitioner of evil, Drusus maintained his discipline when asked by Flammenarbe to take the priest prisoner and used only the flat sides of his weapons to beat the priest into unconsciousness during a brief struggle.

With the area firmly under their control, the heroes properly secured their new prisoner and used what remained of their meager healing supplies to enable Kho’Bal to return to active duty, though the orcish Sentinel remained badly wounded. In addition, the group reluctantly expended a much-needed healing potion to bring the Iuz priest back to consciousness in order to interrogate him. This effort proved unrewarding, however, as the sneering fellow refused to answer any questions put to him with anything other than vitriolic rhetoric.

5 Examining the winches, the champions theorized that they had likely been operated by the ogres that had emerged from the guardhouse to open and close the iron portals seen in this room and in the throne room. Putting this theory to the test, Drusus and Kho’Bal struggled to turn the winches by way of experiment. The Sentinels’ efforts were immediately rewarded as the group found itself able to open the great doors in the throne room as well as the portal outside the guardhouse. After sealing the gnoll prisoners in their area of the complex, the heroes returned to the throne room to continue their advance, leaving the Iuz priest manacled in the guardhouse.

With the iron portals now open, a grand hallway of tremendous proportions was revealed. Lined with 20’ tall statues of leering demons, the center of the 50’ wide corridor seemed to be lit from beneath by a hellish red glow. The opposite end of the corridor nearly 200’ away was blocked by another set of iron portals, though the group quickly came to the correct conclusion that these could be opened by the third set of winches in the guardhouse. After making use of the final mechanism, the group returned to the grand hall where they cautiously began to traverse it.

Avoiding the glowing center of the hall, the heroes successfully advanced to the opposite end without incident. There, they could see a large, high-ceilinged open area with a structure in the center. Equipped with another formidable iron door covered in etched scenes of demonic destruction, each corner of the building featured a large statue of a screaming demon. Several darkened archways and alcoves could be seen on the walls to either side of the building.

After warily checking the entryway of the open area for traps, Asura boldly advanced into the room despite the fact that his and Trayven’s invisibility spells had since faded away. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that the defenses of the chamber were magical in nature when the demonic statues on the corners of the central structure began shrieking in a high-pitched keening wail that could surely be heard throughout the entire complex. The screams of the statues aroused the fell defenders of this area as a trio of shadowy wraiths and a sextet of snarling wights came racing out into the room from the alcoves and hallways to the sides. Simultaneously, Asura felt himself being forcefully and painfully prevented from entering the room by a supernatural force.

As the statues’ shrieking at last subsided, the Hammer fought a desperate battle against the group of charging undead, the loss of their two priests being painfully obvious. Without the aid of Mobley, Thurak, and Patch, the champions’ struggle was made much more difficult, though the group was able to prevail in time. Unfortunately, the heroes’ victory did not come before Drusus and Asura had their life forces sapped by the draining touch of the undead.

Once the undead defenders of the area were defeated, Flammenarbe made use of a spell to disable the magical ward in the room that had prevented Asura from entering. Closely inspecting the elaborate iron door, Trayven discovered the faint traces of a powerful magical trap that had been laid upon it that Flammenarbe’s examination revealed would slay any who dared to open it! Finding the portal to be held fast by yet another spell, the heroes opted to continue searching the complex in hopes of finding a safe means of opening the door before attempting anything rash.

The group soon discovered that the rest of the complex consisted of a series of three bedrooms that had likely housed the leaders of Iuz’s garrison. The first of these explored by the heroes was identified as having likely belonged to the giant orc gauging by the size of the bed. Spartanly furnished, the room’s only feature of note was a series of elf, human, and dwarf heads mounted on the walls with plaques identifying them. Fortunately, none of the screaming heads were recognizable.

6 The next bedroom discovered by the group was eventually identified as the residence of the Iuz priest by process of elimination after the group realized that the final one searched belonged to the aged sorceress. The priest’s room was finely appointed with thick furs covering the bed and shelves holding numerous small items of statuary. On an iron stand near the center of the room was a 1’ diameter plain bronze sphere with a highly polished surface. Examining the statuary, the champions were disgusted when they realized that each of the miniature statues portrayed a vile and/or deviant sexual act being perpetuated by individuals of several races and genders. Naturally, the Hammer left the items alone while continuing their explorations.

After using a spell to realize that the bronze sphere was strongly enchanted, the group examined it more closely, though no new details could be discerned. While Asura was possessed of a fierce desire to touch the orb, none of his comrades shared his curiosity, leading them to vacate the room when he announced his intention to do so. The heroes had just retreated to the hallway outside when Asura touched the orb, causing a loud buzzing sound to come from it. This was soon followed by an angered voice snarling a demand for a “Nazrak” to explain why he was attempting to make contact. Alarmed by the unexpected result, Asura rushed to rejoin his companions, leaving the orb and its enraged voice behind. I could only speculate that the orb was used by the leaders of the garrison to communicate with their far off superiors, though the thought that it could be used to speak directly with the Old One himself was more than a little terrifying.

Entering the final bedroom, the companions found it to be the residence of a woman, logically pointing to it being the home of the venerable sorceress. Considering the appearance of the room’s former resident, the group was disgusted to note the presence of an extensive collection of cosmetics and perfumes in rare wood boxes of on a desk opposite the door. Besides the plain desk and fur-covered bed, the room was surprisingly devoid of interest, however. Convinced that something was amiss, the champions conducted a more thorough search of the room, an effort that was soon rewarded when a small portion of one of the walls was revealed to be illusionary.

Probing cautiously about the concealed compartment, Asura was able to retrieve a backpack containing a quantity of money and a trio of thick tomes that Flammenarbe excitedly speculated were spellbooks. Feeling pressed for time, the heroes opted to examine their prize at a later time before returning to the warded room in which the structure stood that almost certainly the power chamber containing Iuz’s binding sphere.

Using powerful magic, Flammenarbe was able to open the heavily warded door to the power chamber, revealing an amazing sight. The structure was composed of but a single room with no furnishings though nearly every inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling was covered with arcane runes that had been etched into the stone and filled with rare metals. The runes pulsed with an eerie yellow glow in a seemingly random pattern that was not at all coordinated. The only surface not covered in runes were two 5’ diameter circular depressions that were located opposite each other on the floor and ceiling just short of the center of the room. The center of the chamber was occupied by a stand of ancient black stone with four prongs shaped to hold a large spherical object. Currently resting in the grip of the stand’s prongs was an iron orb that was nearly 2’ in diameter. Delicately etched with numerous flickering runes, the iron sphere seemed to crackle with power, though signs of age could be seen as certain portions of the surface appeared scratched or more worn than others. The heroes immediately realized that this could only be the lesser binding sphere that Martek and Al-Raquib had spoken of!

Understandably apprehensive about meddling with mighty artifacts such as this, the companions held a lengthy palaver to determine how they would proceed with completing their mission. Though it was

7 clear that the lesser binding sphere would have to be removed, complicating matters was the group’s concerns over the potential repercussions associated with replacing it with Martek’s greater binding sphere. At last, the Hammer decided that they would have to trust Martek with the thought settling matters being that he would undoubtedly be a more benevolent master of Kosha Dar than Iuz.

Remembering Martek’s instructions regarding the fragility of the binding spheres, the heroes decided to take the direct approach in destroying it, attacking the artifact with weapons. After only a few mighty blows from Asura, Drusus, and Kho’Bal, the skin of the sphere began to tear open as if it were being ripped apart from within. An instant later, the entire sphere exploded with crimson flames, sending fragments of the sphere flying in every direction, including a few into the bodies of those members of the group laying waste to the sphere. The crimson flames seemed to briefly coalesce into a large humanoid shape with horns, though it disappeared suddenly only a second later. The champions were grateful to see it go as they recalled that Martek had noted that the lesser binding sphere had held an entrapped demon!

With Iuz’s lesser binding sphere destroyed, the group carefully removed the glowing bronze greater binding sphere from the portable hole that was given to them by Martek. Approaching cautiously, Asura gently laid the sphere atop the stand where it fit perfectly well into the grip of the prongs. The runes covering the sphere immediately began to blaze with energy, which was quickly followed by a number of remarkable changes around the room.

The first such transformation was seen when the runes covering the walls, floor, and ceiling steadied in their glow before settling into a strong, rapid pulse of scarlet light. A moment later, a low humming sound could be heard coming from the two depressions as bright red lightning abruptly sparked across the gap between them. The red lightning soon snarled with constrained power, forming a 5’ wide pillar of energy raging in the center of the room. I speculated that the changes wrought in the room were likely due to the increased power level associated with the installation of the greater binding sphere over the lesser.

Wondering how they should report their success to Martek, the group returned to the throne room to see if the installation of the greater binding sphere had wrought any changes there as well. Upon entering, the champions immediately saw that their actions had been noticed for Martek was already present, inspecting the throne with Al-Raquib at his side. Greeting the heroes with a disarming smile, Martek commended the Hammer on its glorious victory over the forces of the Old One and thanked them once again for their heroic efforts. The famed archmage then announced that he would be pleased to show them the fruit of their labors as he sat in down in the black stone throne, resting his hands atop the skull armrests.

Bright red flames sprang into life all around the chair the moment that Martek sat down, though he seemed to take no harm from them. As Martek focused his attention forward, the clouded mirror on the wall before the throne abruptly came to life, clearly showing the scene on the plain before the oracle. A feeling of great power could be felt coursing through the air that the Baklunish priests and holy men assembled on the plain could clearly detect as they immediately stopped whatever they were doing to turn to face the oracle, expressions of awe on their faces. Martek then began to speak, each of his words resounding throughout the room and apparently out onto the plain below.

Martek began his speech by explaining to the holy men that the legendary Padishah Martek had been returned to them by the gods to reward their piety and lead the Baklunish people into a new golden age. His words elicited an immediate reaction from the awed holy men, who cheered and wore jubilant grins

8 on their faces, though a few seemed surprised, likely because they had expected to hear the usual commands to invade the nations of the east that were given by Iuz’s henchmen. Martek continued, stating that the Baklunish people had proven themselves worthy of their greatest challenge yet: to restore the legendary Baklunish Empire and its fabled culture to the heights that it had known in the distant past!

The first step required to take on this epic undertaking would be to unite the disparate Baklunish peoples under a single banner for the first time in centuries. To this end, Martek had the oracle call for a grand council of rulers and priests from every Baklunish nation. As they have already demonstrated the worthiness of their valor and martial prowess time and again in the campaigns against the nations of the east, the warriors of Baklunish lands were instructed to turn their efforts from warring in the east to fighting to rebuild their own homelands as the grand task of restoring the ancient empire would require the complete devotion of every citizen. Martek went on to announce that the restored empire would require the construction of a glorious new city dedicated to Al’Akbar to serve as its capital as only with the light of a new beginning could the darkness of barbarism and in-fighting be left behind.

Martek also announced that the oracle desired the full reopening of the ancient trade route from the “Lands of the Golden Ones” on the other side of the Athis Desert to the nations of the east. Still speaking with the word of the gods, Martek declared that this flow of trade was not to be shared with Iuz for the evil deity was considered “unclean”.

Upon hearing Martek’s words, I was amazed to hear his grand plans for the future. While it would obviously take many long and painful years for his labors to bear fruit, the capability was clearly there for the Baklunish people to truly emerge from their dark ages after the centuries of barbarism and suffering brought on by the Invoked Devastation. A restored Baklunish Empire would certainly have the potential to serve as a mighty ally of the Elreddi Empire, assuming of course that the Empire will survive its current desperate struggle. Whatever the result of his other endeavors, Martek’s opening of a new trade route from exotic, far off lands to Elredd and her allies will undoubtedly prove a great boon in the years to come.

His speech at last concluded, Martek bid the holy men to carry out his orders and announced that the great Martek would soon come to them, sent by the gods to lead them to greatness. Martek then stood up from the throne, causing its flames to wink out and the mirror to grow dark, its last sight being of ecstatic holy men cheering wildly at their good fortune and the glory to come.

Turning to the Hammer, Martek smiled wearily as he asked them to relay his greetings to the emperor of Elredd and inform him of the honor that he was bestowing in the opening of the trade route. Still grinning, Martek went on to tell the heroes that he also wished to show his personal gratitude to them for all that they had done in the form of a reward from his own treasury. To this end, the legendary archmage gathered the group together in order to teleport everyone back to his “tomb”. Once there, Martek led the group to the final set of doors that the champions had previously left unexplored. Martek then threw open the great golden doors to reveal the spectacular sight of an amazing collection of wealth and items of power.

Martek explained the nature of each treasure in great detail to the heroes, showing them a wide array of valuables ranging from ancient Baklunish coins, items of power, and tomes of powerful sorcery. Showing great generosity, Martek announced that he wished for each member of the Hammer to take a single item from his treasury as a reward. Though quite impressed with the potency and value of the many treasures Martek showed the group, I was personally most impressed with a collection of ancient

9 tomes containing an early history of the Baklunish Empire. While ancient books of knowledge would certainly be valuable to scholars in any case, modern historians are almost completely without knowledge of the early centuries of the Baklunish Empire, most such information having been destroyed in the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colorless Fire. Unfortunately, I had to silently seethe in frustration as Martek had extended his reward only to members of the Emperor’s Hammer!

With three members of the Hammer deceased, their surviving comrades had to choose items from the treasury on their behalf that the group felt would be most desired by them. Expecting the group to confine its choices to items of power that would prove directly useful to their quest, I was astounded and delighted when the heroes opted to take the series of Baklunish history books as Thurak’s reward, wisely thinking that knowledge of the ancient Baklunish Empire and the years of Martek’s first reign could prove of use to the Empire. The heroes’ other choices were equally wise, including a pair of books describing the basics of ritual sorcery and the art of ritual magic that were taken by Drusus and Flammenarbe.

Once the grateful champions finished selecting their rewards, Al-Raquib announced that he would be honored to teleport the group back to his home in Elredd at their earliest convenience. The former War Wizard went on to note that the Hammer’s followers had been brought up to the safety and comfort of Martek’s flying citadel and currently awaited them in the entry hall. Desiring to return to the Empire as soon as possible, the companions followed Al-Raquib to the entry hall to prepare for the trip home.

Still seeming awestruck at their surroundings, the followers were shocked into full attention by the news that Mobley, Patch, and Thurak had all perished in the furious battle for control of the Oracle of Kosha Dar. Mobley’s followers seemed especially shaken that their venerated leader had fallen, though Warder-Lieutenant Simraith expressed great confidence that the Shield Maiden would restore him to life. Gathering up their supplies, the followers joined the heroes in gathering near Al-Raquib to watch as he cast a powerful teleportation spell. Stepping into the ensorcelled circle, the expanded group was transported across hundreds of miles in an instant back to the city where their quest had begun, seemingly an age ago.