THE CYST |
June 25, 1999 GM: Kenneth Newquist |
| WHAT HAS COME BEFORE |
| The Blackrazors have come to the Plains of Chaos in a last-ditch attempt
to close a portal from the Abyssal plane to their basement in Obsidian Bay. Armed with
powerful scrolls given to them by the high mage of the Pomarj, they have bested the traps
of the Citadel of Law and earned the blessing of its bizarre keeper, the cambion follower
of Heironeous, Altair. [Read The Citadel of Law saga] After acquiring powerful magical items to protect them from the chaotic nature of the Plains, the Blackrazors set out in search of the portal to their Prime plane, located in a chaotic nexus known as The Cyst. They fought their way across the Plains, freeing -- and alienating -- a group of Starfire Guild members who had been captured by alu-fiends. [Read The Plains of Chaos saga] They finally arrived at the Cyst, a huge black monstrosity built from layer upon layer of bulging, disgusting pockets of blackened quasi-flesh. Flowing from a duct in the side of the citadel was a trickle of blood and bile, which flowed into an immense lake of the same. Every fifteen minutes or so, a huge surge of the disgusting fluid would erupt from the duct, sending waves rippling through the lake. Surrounding it on every side were immense armies of dretches, which appeared to be rebelling against the local balor lord. As they watched, higher demons swarmed from pockets in the Cyst and attacked the underlings below. Eventually, after exhausting their spells and suffering heavy losses to the thousands of dretches, the higher demons retreated to their disgusting citadel. The Blackrazors now stand on a hill one mile from the Cyst, debating their next move. |
| THE STORY |
| After seeing the monstrous citadel, the Blackrazors retreated to safer
ground to rest and recover their magical power. Along the way they encountered a handful
of survivors of the Invincibles Guild, under the command of Erik St. Clarion. The band had
been badly wounded, and they were incapable of completing the mission. The Blackrazors
decided that the cavalier Demetry
Hawkins and Falgar would accompany the
Invincibles a safe distance from the Cyst, and then return home with them. Demetry protested -- he wanted to storm the Cyst -- but ultimately agreed to the mission. After Demetry and Falgar left, the Blackrazors camped for the night -- or what passed for the night on the Plains. Their band was comprised of:
At the end of their sleep, the Blackrazors were attacked a foul demon that looked like a skeleton with dried, mummified flesh stretched over its exterior. Scrappy recognized it as a babau, and ran to wake the others. Meanwhile Gnarth tried and failed to magically spook the creature. Scrappy managed to rouse all of the Blackrazors except for Kalib, who slept through the combat. With Aesop, Tanevir and Yogesh awake, the Blackrazors started to counterattack the demon. Tanevir attacked, but watched in horror as his weapon was weakened by the creature’s strange skin. The babau tried to terrify the Blackrazors with its magical aura, but they stood their ground. Tanevir struck back with a lance of disruption, shaking the demon as Yogesh sliced it with his scimitar of speed. The bard’s attack weakened his sword. The demon still stood. Its red eyes flashed brilliantly, and suddenly it was no longer alone -- three cambions stood behind it. As the creatures arrived, Kalib finally woke up. He stumbled to his feet, drew Justiceseeker and demanded and update. If you were not so lazy, you would know, the sword responded. What happened to the everlasting vigilance I tried to instill in you? What happen to -- Just tell me what’s happening! Kalib shouted mentally. He cursed the mask. He cursed its powers. He cursed his foolish decision to put the damn thing on. Now you’re understanding. See repentance is good for the soul! the sword sniped. The situation is thus -- the rest of the "Blackrazors" are awake and fighting. They have engaged a babau, who surprised the thief and the gnome. Three cambions have just gated in to the fray. And you are standing on the sidelines, try to wipe the sleep from your non-existent eyes. That was enough for Kalib -- he readied his blade, listened carefully, and prepared for the fight. Meanwhile, Aesop decided to get creative. He summoned a wall of ice to clobber the demons, and smashed several of his companions in the process. After recovering from the mage’s attack, the Blackrazors were able to finish the babau, and then destroy the cambions with a final, fierce hail of blades. * * * After the demonic assault, the Blackrazors discussed their own attack on the Cyst. During their original scouting of the disgusting citadel they had found two possible entrances -- the cavities the powerful demons launched their attacks from, and the vile duct. They choose the duct. They cast fly spells on themselves, waited for the ducts to discharge, and then entered. When they did, they were glad they didn’t have to touch the walls. The duct’s surface was soft, warm, and squished when touched -- not that anyone wanted to touch it. They worked their way up the duct, and found that it branched to the north and west. They choose the northern one, and found that it ended with a strange valve made up of overlapping muscles. They also noticed several small, 6-inch diameter holes ringing the valve. Tanevir, puzzled by the holes -- and the small veins leading to them -- decided to start carving up the wall. After slashing the veins, he pulled back and let Aesop cast a wall of ice to block the passage way. Then they retreated further down the corridor. Kalib, smelling disaster on the wind, motioned to Gnarth to withdraw. The cleric and the gnome pulled back, going into the western passage way. They anchored themselves into the wall using their swords, and waited for the inevitable. * * * When the bile came, it surged down both corridors, surprising Scrappy, Yogesh, Malaclypse and Aesop and flushing them out of the Cyst. They landed in the lake, and were overwhelmed by revulsion. Still cloaked by invisibility spells, they struggled out of the lake and climbed back into the duct. They rejoined Kalib and Gnarth, and began moving down the western corridor. They found another of the valves, this time in the floor. At that moment, they realized the surge was about to begin again. They quickly anchored themselves and endured the flow. Afterwards, they carved their way through the valve and dropped into the duct below. * * * A few feet into the new artery they realized that it was different -- its eastern wall appeared to be made of a resin-like substance. They started carving away at it with their swords, making huge amounts of noise and inevitably attracting attention of a patrol of dretches. The Blackrazors made quick work of the dretches, and then turned their attention back to the wall. With in minutes they had broken through. On the other side they found a cavernous room with softly-pulsing slick black walls. At its center was a bone archway -- and inside of the archway was a pulsing energy field. Standing around it were demons -- two chasme and two full-grown nabassu. They were ready for the Blackrazors -- and the adventurers didn’t care. Taneivr, Kalib and Scrappy ran into the room, dodging to the north as Aesop and Gnarth took the south. They were immediately engaged the demons as Malaclypse hid in the corridor. After he was sure that the demons were distracted, the wily elf entered the room, unfurled the Scroll of Unbinding, and read it. The portal at the center of the room flickered and then collapsed in upon itself. The Cyst seemed to scream around them as the portal disappeared. Tanevir pulled out the Scroll of Return and as he began to read it, the Blackrazors felt the walls begin to shudder. A surge was beginning. Tanevir read faster, and as he did so he could feel the pressure of the room changing as the bile prepared to flood the artery -- and pour through their slash in the wall. He finished the words and the Blackrazors winked out like stars at sun rise * * * The Scroll of Return deposited the Blackrazors on a rise overlooking the Army of Obsidian Bay. Someone in the army noticed them, and an electric shock swept through army. The Blackrazors were back. The adventurers made their way through the dazed forces, making their way to the command tent, where they met the commander of the forces, Lady General Illandra Moorsend and her staff. Standing off to one side, smiling in spite of himself, was the master of the Obsidian Tower -- Starstorm. "The deed is done," Tanevir said and threw down the empty scroll cases. |
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