06 The Shard of Greed

Tsadok marched on, finding pillars which Iradil sensed as magical. "Witchcraft!" he snarled. Iradil sensed magics around two old, shabby tapestries, that still had some value. In the rod holding them up was concealed a magical wand.

Battling more nupperibo devils, Tsadok was contemptuous of Iradil. Shikoba interjected, "I'm also half-drow as well!" which caused Tsadok to sneer, "It isn't contagious, is it?"
Opening a door to yet mroe devils, Dariz swiftly closed it and asked, "Want it opened or closed?"
Iradil favoured slaying the devils, rather than leaving them behind at their backs, so swiftly replied, "Open!" to which Tsadok commented, "Huh? The drow's finally making sense!" and readied his magical cold iron ranseur.

Within a larger room an invisible imp and two fire elementals, The Suzerain of Little Erebus issued challenge. Tsadok asked what to do, Dariz asked Tsadok to be quiet, "I'm busy talking to the voices in my head!" His demands and Iradil's contemptuous approach swiftly escalated to battle.

Deeper through the dungeons was a magical rift siphon maze, focussing magical extraplanar flows of energies through rune inscribed metal plates. Tsadok sought to pull the metal plates from the wall, slow and straining work, so quickly turned to shattering them. As his earth breaker thundered on to the iron plates, ringing loudly through the maze, a hellhound skulked through to pounce on the party, breathing fire.

Dariz and Iradil dodged out of the flames, the others burnt by the deluge of fire, with Hellov drawing on divine magics to heal the raw wounds.

The worked stone walls shifted to rough caverns, a gray ooze and freshdreg attackers were encountered.

Beyond their caverns, the party found connections in to sewers. A lost fisherman from the vessel the party had explored spoke, from a hidden position, of how he was Lockerbie Brast and had sought to deliver a broach to his wife, Liza Jane Brast, in Magnimar. Iradil had found the broach on the sunken ship, he shared with Lockerbie Brast that they would return it. With some persuasion, Lockerbie Brast revealed himself, shared what he knew of the surrounding rooms, then accepted that he should be laid to rest and gifted peace.

After eels, derro dwarves and prisoners who they rescued, the party came upon a powerful derro mage, then a 7 pointed altar of red and gold crystals.

The altar was guarded by two ferocious shriezyx, attacking with  claws and bits, webs and venom. Defeating these, bloodied but victorious, the party claimed the next shard of the Sihderon, the Shard of Greed. Tsadok took the shard, refusing to let others inspect or take it, "No! I'm holding on to it!"

On returning to Magnimar, Sheila Heidmarch placed an ioun stone in the shard, countering the curse within it. Tsadok focussed on the Shard of Greed and had a vision of a statue, affording the party insights in to their next destination.

05 The Thassilonian Laboratories

Advancing through the Thassilonian Laboratories, a swarm of centipedes rushed over Tsadok, writhing over the half-orc who smashed at the uncountable vermin horde. Dariz dashed to the storeroom, collected a torch and used this to burn the insects whilst Iradil and Shikoba cast orbs of acid in to the swarming mass. The acid and flame slowly destroyed the numbers until, victorious, Hellov healed Tsadok's numerous injuries.

Battling through spiders and returning to King Zuuga, Tsadok sought to trade Clicky's treasures for the diamond that King Zuuga had promised. King Zuuga looked confused, seemingly not recalling their agreement. Tsadok contemptuously responded, "Look, your majesty, you'll look very funny with only half a head. Give us the diamond!" The mite grew hostile, Shikoba shot him dead with one arrow.

Resting after this battle, the party slept with careful watches, being ambushed by spiders on Irdail's watch, the third watch of the night.

After recovering and preparing, questing onward the party found a hideous creature erupt by a red stone statue.

Swift to react, Tsadok smashed it, slaying it in one massive thundering blow. Recovering the magical cold iron ranseur from the statue, Tsadok started to wield this, favouring the thrust of it over his crushing earth breaker.

Rooms contained devils that Shikoba described as devils from another plane, named nupperibo.

 They patrolled, unlike the devils (lemures) incarcerated in rooms through the dungeon.

Iradil saw, through a wall of force, a vessel shipwrecked on the lake's floor, some 60 feet away. Incanting magics, the party advanced upon it, were attacked by two reefclaws, then looted the vessel's sunken treasures.

The party returned from the waters back in to the Thassilonian Laboratories, seeking out the next shard.

04 Mites

The doors stood firm, sealed with magics that brutal might could never overcome. The etched runes, mobile and flowing, blazed out as if inviting challenge to form and open this portal. Musing over the runes, Tsadok and Iradil found meanings within the confusion, Dariz bravely shifting the runes across the door. Each rune she moved seared flesh with burning pain, she staggered back almost unconscious as finally the doors swung open. Hellov, catching her, healed her grievous wounds before the party peered in to the darkness ahead, cautiously advancing.

The caution was futile, for spiders rushed towards them. Tsadok shattered two, Shikoba deftly drew her bow and slew one, enabling the party to then conceal themselves in the darkness and advance through the gloom until they found a small, blue creature.

This creature, a mite, also had giant ants around it, Tsadok smashing it with one mighty overhead blow. A black widow spider attacked Iradil, biting but missing him, with the corridors ahead contained mites and spiders. Further in, a room was filled with a dozen foes. Iradil whirled around the mites and spiders, slaying 3 before they could act. Dariz flurried blows, dropping more before Shikoba's arrows slew another, Hellov dropping one as it fled.

Advancing carefully, a mite of some stature was seen.

He claimed to be King Zuuga, Iradil called out to Tsadok, "Tsadok, come test your mettle!" His irritated reply was, "I don't do pest control!" Dariz tried to be diplomatic, the king offered rewards for work undertaken, a quest, which Dariz swiftly accepted whilst the party grumbled and agonised over slaying the mite or listening to the offers.

Deeper through his domain the party found more mites and spiders, beyond which "Clicky" was found.

This creature pulled in Iradil who then slashed zealously at it, Tsadok's Earthbreaker thundering in to it's solid carapace, shattering it before it could harm Iradil or the others.

The party paused, thinking on what they had achieved, but focussing on the task ahead, the task of finding the next shard of the Sihedron.

03 The Crow

Having rested overnight, the party gathered at Underbridge and paid a sailor in gold to journey from the shadowy and dangerous district out across the gentle blue waters of the Varisian Gulf, to the Crow. The Crow, one of ten 220 ft tall towers rising from the waters to once support the collossal bridge, stands proud, an impressive monument. Now only part of the bridge remains at Magnimar, covering the Underbridge and crumbling just a short distance out over the waters below.

The towers looked spectacular, their white stone bright in the morning sun, as the party were ferried further and further out, to moor with 3 other vessels at the base of the majestic ruins. Iradil gazed over the waters, the summoned ancestor was merged within Iradil, prepared for the ventures ahead. He thought idly of gossip, rumour and talk of the Crow, sharing with the party how criminals and unsavoury sorts were said to hide out in the towers, now. Smirking, he called out, "Tsadok, you're going to fit right in!"

Advancing in to the monument, Iradil thought of the shard hidden within the tower, another potent artifact, so very near. The inside of the tower, unlit, pooled with darkness and a fetid stench. Eyes adjusting to the gloom, the colour faded as the party cautiously entered, surveying the ruins in black and white darkvision. A quick discussion confirmed that Shikoba, Dariz and Iradil were adept at subtle scouting whilst Hellov (in his heavy armour) and Tsadok lacked this discretion.

The lower levels of the tower were found to be empty, save for a cloying room recently used as a privy. Part of the unwholesome stench was the rotting corpse of a dog. Shikoba poked at it, discerning that as she saw more, it was no dog, but was some sort of massive rat. The scouts shared this with Hellov and Tsadok as they passed by them, before padding slowly up stone stairs.
 

Their scouting was not as stealthy as they believed. In this poorly lit room, behind an upturned table, a woman called out demanding that they drop their weapons then leave, or face defeat. The scouts swiftly snuck downstairs to share the ultimatum with Hellov and Tsadok, planning a swift assault. The party charged up, Iradil dashing around the table, to see the defenders.

Iradil saw the women, simply defending their squalid home, so paused and invited them to stop and simply let the party move on, passing them, with no conflict. They readied for battle but paused their attacks until, on seeing Tsadok charge at them with his mighty two handed hammer, their crossbows discharged a volley of bolts before they were dropped, shortswords drawn and fierce battle was joined. With the Tower Girls was a large half human half rat. On the two Tower Girls' defeat (with Dariz tending the unconscious fallen foes), this rat creature dashed off with speed and agility, through rooms to reach a space hundreds of feet above the waters below, before deftly leaping across the open space. The platform, beams and rope were perilous, Iradil hurled a ball of acid at the fleeing rat creature before the party were forced to halt their pursuit. Dariz crossed effortlessly, to then pull out ropes and cautiously help others cross, aware of the waters churning around the tower's base, some 200 feet below.

Advancing through a room with 7 Tower Girls and huge rats, more battle ensued. Tsadok smashing them, Shikoba shooting them, Hellov healing and slicing with his might axe, Dariz punching swiftly and powerfully, Iradil slashing with taloned gauntlets, the party came to victory once again. Rushing on, the party found the half person half rat readied for battle.

Shikoba drew her bow, arrow after arrow striking true, but none of her arrows harmed the creature. Similarly, Dariz's powerful strike and Iradil's raking talons struck true but then failed to draw blood, with the creature shrugging off their blows. Tsadok strode forth, the half-orc wielding his mighty Earth Breaker, but although these collosal blows bruised and bloodied her, the rat creature took little harm from even these fearsome thundering strikes. Iradil hurled spheres of acid which slowly seared and hurt her, Hellov called on divine powers to empower Tsadok's weapon with magics to do greater damage and, eventually, she finally fell to him.

Tired and breathless, Tsadok rested whilst the others also recuperated, gathering themselves before pressing onwards to claim the next shard of the Sihedron.