Dwimmermount, Session 35

The last session resumed where the previous one had ended, as the characters were about to enter a room they suspected contained a medusa and her minions. As it turned out, the room contained no medusa but it did hold several giant snakes and, on a table in the far corner of the room, what appeared to be a crystal ball. The presence of the crystal ball made the character suspicious, particularly Dordagdonar, who was interested in using his ring of invisibility to sneak into the room by means of another door so that he might cover up the ball with his cloak. The players argued that, since covering up the ball wasn't an attack, it wouldn't break the ring's invisibility effect and could thus be done without alerting any opponents to his presence. I thought the reasoning sound and so allowed it.

Unfortunately, Dordagdonar soon realized that, invisible though he was, the other door would not be and his entrance through it might alert the snakes to his presence. He decided to bide his time and deal with the crystal ball later. While the battle raged on, Gaztea felt a strange "tugging" at her mind, as if someone were attempting to take control of it. Thanks to a successful saving throw no one did. Next round, Iriadessa was not to fortunate and, under the unseen mental control of someone, she turned on her allies. Seeing this Brother Candor acted quickly, casting a silence, 15' radius spell on the young mage, preventing her from using any of her own spells. Alas, Iriadessa possessed a wand of fear, recently looted from a treasure trove, and she pointed it at her allies. With the exception of a couple of the hirelings and henchmen, the entire party ran away in terror, as the giant snakes bore down on them.

With the snakes now moving into the other room, Dordagdonar decided that now was the time to act. He rushed into the other room invisibly, covered the crystal ball with his cloak, and placed it inside a bag. Meanwhile, the brave hirelings and henchmen slew one of the snakes, just as Iriadessa, still under mental domination, moved herself out of the radius of the silence spell. Dordagdonar returned to aid his companions by casting sleep on Iriadessa (which, luckily, still worked, since she is only 4th level). With her out of the way, the second snake was soon dispatched and order restored. A search of the room afterward found no sign of a medusa, but the characters did discover a large cache of Thulian gold coin.

At that, the characters decided to return to Adamas. They had items they needed to identify, supplies to purchase, and information to acquire. Brother Candor made a large donation to the temple of Tyche, much to the pleasure of High Priestess Morna. He also made a donation to the temple of Typhon as well, hoping to use it as a chance to see the archivist Saidon. Although the Typhonians gladly accepted the donation, Candor was not granted an audience with Saidon, who, he was told, was now "too busy since his recent elevation" to take visitors. Apparently, the recent visit by an inquisitor resulting in the high priest's fall from grace, with Saidon, as the main Typhonian cleric to have kept his head during the zombie invasion, taking his place.

Somewhat disappointed, Candor turned to other matters, such as finding a reliable alchemist/sage to use as a source of information. He eventually discovered a fellow called Marmaduke, who proved quite knowledgeable. Marmaduke recognized the crystal ball, asking "Where are the others?" As he explained, it's one of a linked set of 4-6 such balls, used by Termaxian adepts to scry and mentally dominate any within the range of the ball's magic. By itself, a single ball is useless, but removing one from the "circuit" to which it belonged has a deleterious effect on the others in the circuit. Brother Candor and Dordagdonar then decided that, upon their return to Dwimmermount, they'd make a point of seeking out the other crystal balls.

Just before the party planned to trek back to Muntburg, High Priest Saidon sent word that he would be able to see them after all. He apologized profusely for their being sent away, explaining that everyone in Adamas wants to see him now, hoping to curry favor with him, that his underlings routinely send away anyone who comes calling without a specific invitation from him beforehand. Grateful for more Thulian spoons, Saidon reported a few small bits of information to the characters. He noted that other adventuring parties were beginning to take note of the success of the Fortune's Fools and following suit. Many of these parties have powerful backers, most notably the Band of the Hawk, which operated under a charter from the Despot of Adamas himself! The Band had not been seen in some time, though, and there was speculation as to whether they were still in the dungeon or if they had met an untimely end. He also intimated that more sinister groups -- Termaxian cultists -- might be doing the same, a fact the PCs already knew. With that, they headed back toward Dwimmermount.

I almost forgot: Dordagdonar has decided to construct a flesh golem.