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Stone Soules Summary: Return to Tan-El

We were last in Middle, and I visited the Church there as we pulled in. Over the next day and the next in transit, I healed everyone with the help of Aria and some from Dari. We purchased a magic bastard sword in exchange for a +1 Mace and some cash from the Baron at End. We also gathered some basic supplies and Eli learned the Change cantrip from Elowier's old spell book. We then departed to Base Camp. There was a Giant Toad there which swallowed Ludo, but because of his Ring of Free Action he could try to get out fairly easily. While trying, he killed it instantly and climbed out. It seems that chance to kill something from inside it are fairly large. So we decided to move Base Camp based on the number of attacks we've had here lately. The following day, we set out for the city, ready to check out the traps.

When we activated the teleporter, Canstin was knocked down by a Fire Giant that came through and clocked him. While we fought it, Eli slipped briefly into the portal invisibly and observed an evil priest (snake worshipper) with a shadowy lantern that produced Shadows and gave them power. Snag stuck his face in the portal. When he stepped back next to the portal, he suddenly went through the portal. Snag was enslaved by the evil priest and went with the priest when he retreated from the Korian item.

We knocked the Fire Giant to zero and he came out of his charm. We healed him and set him free after he gave us some information (in Ogre, thanks to Faranyn).

We went through the portal with the activated Sun item of Kor, protecting ourselves from the Shadows, and they all retreated to the evil consecrated ground and as we advanced they went further back through doors. We held at the edge of the ground. After a number of attempts to get through, there were too many shadows there. I sent a bottle of Phaulkon's Holy Water sailing at the doors on the other side of the place, which drew the wrath of the Shadows. We then tossed an oil flask at it, causing the Shadows to again damage the thrower. Cassana fired a flaming arrow at the door and it burst into flame. The shadows then retreated through that door. I then desecrated the temple entranceway, though I took damage from a glyph as a result, nearly dying in the process. But Phaulkon's Causes are worth it...

We sent Eli forward still Invisible with Invisibility to Undead, and Resist Fire on him for the doors and any traps. He found an army of Skeletons beyond. And a latter going up. They saw him, though. He went back again in a minute and was able to pass them. He was gone for a long time, and we decided to attack the skeletons, though Aria and I would be of no help, being turned by the very Evil Ground we walked on. Faranyn waded through the skeletons, and Theo and Ceydric also helped. Elowier, alas, was one of the skeletons, but we did aim to bury him later. There were even Fire Giant skeletons!

During the battle, Ceydric missed a nasty blow, and Gerald's sword (that Gerald has given him) lost its handle. Gerald was none too happy with this idea. We will get it fixed, though.

We could go no further up, because Faranyn when going up got clocked by the Fire Giant at the top, knocking him down. He took tremendous damage, but his armour just about fell apart on him saving him lethal damage. If it wasn't for the great amount of damage, I dare say that Faranyn might have even tried to land standing up. The giant closed the door. We decided to head back, since there was nothing further we could do. When we got to the other side of the teleporter with all the skeleton bones, well sprinkled with Holy Water, we found Eli there. And the Sphinx offering to rescue Snag at a huge cost. We decided to delay a decision in case we could do something.

We went back to Base Camp while Eli told us the description of the rooms above: Tons of snakes, the shadow light revealed him in its light, running from Snag, an Evil Altar, getting attacked by Snag, setting off a glyph on the roof and running away, while the Sphinx helped Snag to find Eli. Snag attacked Eli, and the Sphinx seemed to be aiding Snag in seeing the Invisible Eli, though we can't say for sure. Eli finally couldn't run any longer and Snag was coming for him. He used a potion of climbing to go down the wall and around the city to the teleporter we found him it. If not for my Resist Fire, Eli would be dead right now! I am very glad of that!

After healing, we prepared for an attack to rescue Snag, and climbed up the wall. A combination of Invisibility to Animals and Resist Fire on Theo when he opened the trapdoor (of which he took minimal damage) After some attempts to go down, there was nothing we could do. Finally in desperation, I cast Dispel Magic down into the rooms below, in hopes of deactivating the light and the Fire Giant enslavements. Well, many snakes turned into people and logs and some charms were broken. A giant and a soldier from End (former snake) attacked the priest, along with Ceydric with an Invisibility to Undead to wade through the Shadows.

[Note that this battle took place in the corner battlement building on several floors to the east of the castle and north of bugbear tower.]

When it came time to try and rescue Snag, the dispel magic did not break his charm, and he defended the Evil Priest against Ceydric and the Fire Giants, and the End soldier fighting him. The evil priest turned the lantern up full blast producing Shadows. Ceydric destroyed the lantern by striking it and then striking the priest's arm, who dropped it, causing it to break. After much effort, and Dari's charming of the giant that did not escape the enslavement of the priest, we killed the priest, and got people out.

We also killed some snakes and rounded others up into bags for dispelling later. There were some people eaten in the whole encounter. I think that my part in this encounter, despite the gain in destroying the Evil Priest, and desecrating the Altar, will have to be explored further. The innocents that were lost. I may have to go on a hermitage like Star. Phaulkon will demand recompense for this. The shadows did flee, though, and we are ready now to see if we break even off this whole encounter. Alas, if only Snag had not still tried to save the Evil Priest until we killed it. But we are all alive but Elowier, now, and in a position to go forth alive.

At the end of the battle, the two uncharmed Fire Giants cut the snake-tailed high priest into little pieces. We agreed to give them the 4,000 gold coins the priest took from them and then to split the treasure based on contributions in the battle. An alliance was not suggested.

We rescued quite a few people. At least 13 coherent still-with-mind people (4 of the original 17 were eaten/poisoned by snakes and are dead). There are half-dozen to a dozen people who think they are snakes. It costs about 1,000 gold each to put them away in a sanitorium in End.

Kyle

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