Rise of the Runelords Recap # 97 [RPG]

Delvahine welcomes guests, 

as long as they're polite.

[5 Pharast 4708 continued]

Having detected an intrusion into her pavilion, the mistress of the Iron Cages of Lust, a succubus named Delvahine, confronts the adventurers, angry at the unannounced interruption.  Her contingent of stone giant manservants, contacted via telepathy, begin to steadily (and loudly) march toward the rear of the tents where the Heroes of Varisia find themselves still facing a pair of the so-called “shining children.”  Jinkatsyu, his blindness healed by Ava’s magical intervention, fights his way through both of the alien presences until he’s face to face with Delvahine herself!  But an array of illusory duplicates stymie his further attacks, while she manages to entangle Kang with her whip!  The succubus then bombards the adventurers with an onslaught of spells designed to break their wills, realizing only gradually that Ava had previously cast powerful abjuration magicks to protect them against just such an eventuality.   The battle is at a stalemate, but as the stone giants get closer and closer, Ava starts to panic before teleporting herself and her companions away to comparable safety in the Shimmering Veils of Pride.

Even the possession of a Runeforged-blade 

doesn't make one invincible!

The others complain that they were on the verge of winning, and heated discussion is had about what to do next.  Eventually, the group settles on Kang’s proposal to immediately use the bejewelled toy stolen from Delvahine’s pavilion to try to craft a weapon of the kind written about in Vraxeris’ journal: a so-called dominant weapon that could be the key to defeating the Runelord of Greed, Karzoug.  The quartet return to Runeforge’s central hub, where Kang again examines the pool of prismatic liquid.  The master alchemist first immerses a broken shard of glass from the Shimmering Veils of Pride, infused for thousands of years with raw illusion magic, and then Delvahine’s toy, an object long-instilled with the power of enchantment.  The central pool turns a golden color and wisps of energy writhe up out of the pool to caress the adventurers, before Kang nods at Jinkatsyu and plunges the kitsune’s rapier into the waters.  In a blinding flash of light, esoteric Thassilonian runes are etched onto the blade’s surface in a sign that the procedure has been successful.

But someone has taken notice.  Another beam of golden light bursts from the pool to bathe the statue of Karzoug, and it animates as a towering stone golem!  The adventurers hear the same voice they heard issuing from Mokmurian’s mouth in the last seconds of the stone giant’s life:  “You, again.  Your optimism is admirable but foolhardy.  Your weapons will never reach Xin-Shalast.  Your fate is death, here in Runeforge.”  Jinkatsyu grabs the rapier from Kang’s hands and charges the golem, plunging the blade into its hardened stone body with incredible ease.  The others scatter, with Kang hurling explosives with great precision.  But the statue survives the initial onslaught and strikes back, slamming fists the size of boulders into Jinkatsyu with blows so powerful they can’t be deflected.  With every bruising strike, the kitsune’s flesh begins to turn grey and harden until, just as Kang shouts to flee and Erik fires his last bullet, Jinkatsyu is shattered into dozens of pieces of stone!  With incredible bravery, Ava leaps between the golem’s tree-trunk sized legs to grab a piece of the shattered stone, hoping it can be used to magically resurrect her ally.  The survivors intend to retreat down a narrow corridor, hoping the massive animated statue can’t follow, but a final bomb hurled in desperation by Kang blasts the golem’s legs out from under it, and it ceases movement except for intoning a few last words:  “This . . . this is not the last . . . come then, heroes.  Seek me atop Mhar Massif, if you value life so poorly.  You should be honoured—the first fools to be executed under the banner of Shalast in ten thousand . . . “

Glabrezu demons are known for trickery and lies, 

but they're quite capable of combat when called upon!

Worried that the sound of the battle may draw other residents of Runeforge to the hub, the adventurers quickly gather the stone remnants of Jinkatsyu’s body and decide it’s time to escape.  Under the false impression that the teleportation circle they saw earlier in the Halls of Wrath would provide a quick escape, they hurriedly run down into that wing.  But their previous retreat has given time for reinforcements to set up battle lines, and this time the adventurers find a hardened position.  Ranks of human warriors wearing armor and wielding greatswords are there, and in front of them, the monstrous creatures known as sinspawn wielding massive axes.  On the parapet where the iron golem previously stood is now a determined warrior-woman flanked by her bodyguard, a towering eighteen-foot-tall four-armed demon!  Knowing they could never survive a frontal assault, the adventurers rely on magick and speed to bypass the defenders through teleportation magic!  But when they land on the teleportation circle behind the parapet, it doesn’t take them to the material plane but another section of the Halls of Wrath. 

The demon, dispatched to chase them, is hot on their heels as they run for their lives towards another teleportation circle in a side chamber.  This one takes them to another chamber with a quickly-dispelled wall of black smoke, beyond which is a large avenue of crimson stone pillars supporting ceiling arches that seem to be made out of fire.  Engraved on the floor of the center of this room is a huge seven-pointed star made of silver, and Kang instantly knows that this is the “master circle” that could provide escape.  But the demon, just seconds behind the fleeing adventurers, uses its Abyssal magicks to reverse the gravity in the room, sending Ava “dropping” towards the burning ceiling!  Kang uses his dragonfly wings to retrieve her and get her back to the master circle where she casts a spell to open the portal out of Runeforge.  The implacable demon teleports into their midst just as the adventurers jump through, and it claws at Erik, missing by a hair’s breadth.  It gives an enraged howl, frustrated that its quarry have escaped to a place it cannot follow.

The Heroes of Varisia find themselves tumbling out onto the snowy slopes of Rimeskull.  Their harrowing experience in Runeforge has provided additional insights into Karzoug’s location and a weapon to help defeat him, but the knowledge was hard-gained.  Another chapter in their epic story closes, and the final one begins.

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Director's Commentary

To my mind, Ava made the right call in teleporting the group out of the battle.  The group had what they needed (the ingredient to Runeforge a weapon), and didn't need to take further risks.  In other words, "don't fight when you don't have to!"

This session contained two of my favorite scenes in the AP.  First, the players were visibly surprised when that enormous statue came to life and plonked down a Huge-sized miniature on the table in front of them.  Second, that breathless escape in the Halls of Wrath was thrilling and could easily have gone catastrophically bad with just one wrong turn or a bad die roll.  I was proud and impressed with them for making it out that way.

This scenario was thus the end of Part V.  Up next, the beginning of the end!