Chapter 18: Kingdom Come

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin sheathes his blade and runs to where Mako fell, Laying Hands on his fallen companion.

[Inferno]

DM:

Blessed by Mitra, Garrin performs a miracle (+6hp) and Mako awakens from his hellish catatonia! (...and may act freely this round)

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

With hill-born alacrity and bestial grunts, the barbarian bounds over the bottomless ocean of void beneath the cracked islands of Zargoth's otherworldly arena. His mighty thighs carry him high - too high - and he skids, losing his footing upon landing, and his slash somehow misses its mark.

Charging attack w/ longsword [1d20+4] = 7+4 = 11

"Crom's ruddy sphincter!" he curses, knowing his god does not aid him, and suspecting he may be actively thwarting him.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu again feels his life force sucked away!

He rallies against the effect and lunges with his staff.

To Hit (THACO 20): [1d20+2] = 15+2 = 17
Staff of Uthoth - Damage: = S/M/L: [1d6+2] = 1+2 = 3

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako reaches into his pack and pulls out a scroll and read the word written upon it.
"God of eyes, see no more!"

Cast Blindness

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri is at first exuberant as he impales the monstrous eye and, muscles straining, maintains his grip on the Claw of Chobek.

Save vs. STR (18/00): [1d20] = 10

Then he feels his life continue to drain away...
Lost Hit Points [1d10] = 5

What can he do? What tools can he bring to bear before the demon consumes him? Dropping his shield, he reaches into his pack and pulls out the Canoptic jar of Sutekh in what may very well be his last act on this mortal plane. "Sutekh the Destroyer! We could use some destroying right now." Popping the lid, he shoves the open jar into the rent he's made with his trident...

At least that's what he intends to do.
Watch it be a Potion of Heroism...

"Perhaps I will see you soon, Grandfather," he says to himself, the thought not entirely unpleasant.

[Inferno]

Beyond the Island of Death, The Underground City, Beneath the Great Pyramid of Xuthalhotep
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Ten. Midday, 23rd day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia






Far from Earth, delirium and reality can no longer be distinguished from the other.

Beleaguered minds grapple with the inconceivable, each seeing merely one facet of the cosmic obscenity of Zargoth!




But each nightmare shape is alike in that they could have only been bred in the lost pits of Hell!




Amid abominable shrieking and laughter, the blasphemous contradiction of reality itself besets them with waves of psychic vampirism! Staggered by the harrowing loss of life essence, Loche's aim is betrayed!

Hanging from a mote in the demon god's eye, Kiri cries an unlikely prayer to Sutekh the Destroyer as he pours the mysterious contents of a canopic jar recovered from the giant anthill into the ghastly trident wound!

Garrin plunges across the abyss to Mako's fallen form! The holy warrior blesses his friend with the sacrament of healing! (+6hp)

Mako awakens with a start. From a slender bone case, the sorcerer unfurls the ebon papyrus of the Scrolls of Sutekh, found within the fabled Treasure of Xuthalhotep! Mako utters words forbidden to Men for thousands of years, and adds, "God of eyes, see no more!"

The countless all-seeing eyes of Zargoth are struck blind! (+2 to hit Zargoth. -4 to be hit by him, and Zargoth may only attack those who successfully strike him in melee this round.)

The immense slithering tentacles of the vast, abysmal entity writhe and thrash and thunder, threatening to break this world apart!

Xorzen looses the famed Javelin of Men-khetu with all his remaining might into the great blind eye of the ancient horror, impaling it in a spray of luminous blood!



Zahra cuts herself free with the peerless Sword of Xuthalhotep, sundering the great limb that holds her aloft! She plummets down to the floating terrain below! (5hp damage)

Amethu crashes the Staff of Uthoth into a crawling, feeling tentacle, smashing it into oblivion!

And Cruloc the barbarian springs across the island-dotted void, plunging headlong at the hateful, otherworldly thing, driving his great sword before him with the strength of his people, sinking it to the hilt! (13hp damage)

A cataclysmic scream of voice, shape and soul rents the air as the immortal demon-god of the Great Pyramid and the Underground City is undone!

So ends Zargoth! And with him, this world! Existence slips away in a rushing deluge of nameless color and blinding light!




Suddenly, the adventurers stand again in the courtyard of the unholy temple at the Island of Death!




Had they ever left? Was it all a dream?!

The wretched acolytes of Zargoth that were last seen alive now lay splayed around them, gibbering and twisting, their sanity gone.



The Zargoth Pit is dark and silent. The human sacrifice (W1) yet lives, struck by terror and wonderment.

And then the ground gives way beneath their feet! The earth rocks and quakes in violent upheaval that threatens to topple the monolithic spires of the heinous temple, if not the island itself!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet.


Behind the DM Screen:

No initiative. Zargoth acts last in a round.
The version of this spell on the Scroll of Sutekh allows no Saving Throw.
Falling damage, Zahra: [2d6] = 5
Because Zargoth is blind, Cruloc hits. Cruloc: damage: [1d12+3] = 10+3 = 13

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/12, Spells: 0/7 1st lvl, 1/3 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 28/45
Garrin: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 10/26, Laying Hands: 0/1
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 3/16, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 23/26
Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 6/11, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 7, HP: 2/12
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 13/29, Light spell on javelin

PC Magic:

Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
Healing Mists of Osorus (Garrin, Kiri, Loche, Mako and Xorzen have breathed of the mists): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
Slow Poison (Amethu): Target: Cruloc. Duration: 111 rounds.
Light (Mako): Target: Zahra's javelin. Duration: 9 rounds.
Potion of Speed (Loche): Duration: 14 rounds.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Bluetongue]

Loche

"Are we alive? Is it over?"

Mesmerized by the sounds and colours of unearthly realms he is amazed to be still standing.

"Back to the ship?!" is more a statement of intent than question. He aids others as neccessary and makes to leave this place.

[OGRE MAGE]

“Was it all an illusion?” Xorxen shouts from behind his mask.

When the ground starts shaking, he no longer cares what just happened.

“Grab the girl and RUN!!! Make for the ship! It’s our only hope if this island implodes!”

The speedy monk sprints off in the direction of the vessel they arrived on.

[ChubbyPixie]

Not stopping to analyze, Kiri will run to the girl and gently heft her over his shoulder in one quick motion (“Pardon me, Lady.”) before moving out of here with the party as fast as he can manage in his haggard state.

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra turns toward the Sacrifice, then changes direction when she sees Kiri already has her. She matches her pace to Loche and Xorzen as best she can. Her blade flashes in her hand as she runs.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin joins the others in the mad dash to the ship.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu will reflect upon the dire events at a later time. For now, he too flees!

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

The demented squealing of Zargoth's remaining thralls fill the newly silent cavern, and Cruloc's revulsion towards them mounts. Not even in their last twitching death throes do their blackened lips utter a sound approaching anything human.

Head swimming from the heady rush of strength, the barbarian thrusts his gore-flecked blade aloft!

"Cruloc! My name is Cruloc! I tell it to you that you may howl it in the void!"

He starts for the crumbling exit, pauses, then turns back toward the ebon infinitude of the chasm, and raises an eyebrow.

"There will be many there to howl it back to you."

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako joins the others and flees to safety.

[Inferno]

The Island of Death, The Underground City, Beneath the Great Pyramid of Xuthalhotep
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Ten. Midday, 23rd day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia






Stunned by the hideous memory of what they had just survived, the heroes are suddenly roused into action by the convulsing seizure of the earth itself! Xorzen finds his enchanted javelin and snatches it up as Kiri lifts the pale woman and they flee for their lives through the unearthly geometry of the corpse temple!



Aeons-old masonry and cyclopean blocks crumble all around them as they race across the shuddering tiles in a wild nightmare plunge of frantic madness!

Past great crypts of undead infested with blights of eyes, the adventurers shield their vision as they hurtle through the chamber of hypnotic oculi! The vast, protoplasmic behemoth no longer looms over the great hall as they fly beyond the broken ruins of faceless abominations and down the towering stair!




Pillars and arches raised before Man was born tumble down on every side as they leap aboard the Dark Ship!





Feverishly working ropes and sails, they quickly cast off with Mako at the wheel! With moments to spare, the ship narrowly escapes the complete collapse of the harbor cave!





In a terrible thundering of noise, ageless monoliths and spires crumble down in ruin! Then the island itself is swallowed like Atlantis by the ravenous black waves of the subterranean lake!




Suddenly, sickeningly, the ship slows! Trapped in the jaws of a great churning whirlpool wrought from the island's destruction, their progress grinds to a halt! All seems lost! The sinking of the Island of Death will pull them down with it to the bottomless black depths of the sea!

Then the vortex crests and subsides and with it, their terror. The Dark Ship is free! The adventurers sail from where the devil isle once stood, where no trace now remains!

The ship's bow points toward the Underground City, strangely less ominous and oppressive now.



They had done it. Zargoth is destroyed! His reign over Verulia is broken! His tyranny is ended at last!


Actions while on the ship?





PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/12, Spells: 0/7 1st lvl, 1/3 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 28/45
Garrin: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 10/26, Laying Hands: 0/1
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 3/16, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 23/26
Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 6/11, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 7, HP: 2/12
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 13/29

PC Magic:

Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
Healing Mists of Osorus (Garrin, Kiri, Loche, Mako and Xorzen have breathed of the mists): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
Slow Poison (Amethu): Target: Cruloc. Duration: 96 rounds.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri sets the woman down and grasping her shoulders gives her visage a friendly looking over, looking for signs of impending madness or despair. "That was close, lady. You ok?" He releases her and sits down on the middle rung of the ladder to the poop deck. "As for me, I feel like I've been run over by a chariot."

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen tries to calm himself after their miraculous escape from certain death.

He looks at the woman, waiting to hear what she has to say before suggesting their next course of action. He slides the mask off of his face to show her his Verulian heritage.

"Do you remember anything from your ordeal? Do you know how you came to be in the predicament you where in when we found you?"

With the central island now gone, the distressed monk peers around in every direction, wondering if there are any other areas to explore before making their long trip back to the surface.

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra paces, trying to look in all directions at once. With their Demon-God gone, will the madmen of the city be rioting? Or will they be lost and confused, like the giant ants?

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

His calloused hands gripping the rail of the main deck, Cruloc looks fixedly upon the spot where the slain god's unhallowed island disappeared in the unimaginable cataclysm of crashing blocks and roiling waves.

"Let no songs be sung of this day or of this place. Let the Stygian waters claim and cover it. Let this memory die. And with it the horrors we’ve seen this day."

The barbarian lifts his eyes above the mainsail to the cavern ceiling looming high overhead. Its oppressive mass is smothering.
He would hie himself from this place, and once again taste rain on his lips and feel the sun on his shoulders.

Turning his gaze toward the bow, his pensiveness lifts, and a sardonic smile creeps across his battle-scarred visage as he regards the approaching city.

"Heh. She waits splayed like a fat whore who has imbibed too heavily and lost her protector. Her trinkets lie there for the taking - for those with light fingers and sharp wits!"