Game-Summaries:8/1/2020 Recollections
Recollections by Jeroy edit
I have very little time before so I will be brief and to the point. We searched for the maze engine but found so much more.
We began asking Tel for help in where we could find the Maze Engine. He provided us a tome of great insight, after reading it I find that I feel somehow smarter, about all things (+2 INT), he called it the awakened mind. After reading through Zanna and I proceeded to our Mater's Trial which we both passed. During that trial I learned that our artifact is a tether in a way to the Maze Engine and while in contact with the Artifact I could identify a point in space within my mind that would bring us to the true Maze Engine. It was in the Northdark and so we made out way there. We passed through terrible places but eventually found out way to Menzoberan which is now just a husk of it's former self. All that remains of the city is Lord Dyrr's tower, shrouded in a protective spell. We were able to enter as I had Lord Dyrr's Phylactery on my person. He wasn't around and we thought better of touching any of his things. We rested and left. As soon as we left we were ambushed by a wizard who thought we were Lord Dyrr in disguise. I charged at him with all my might and landed a mighty blow but in my haste I ran through a flash of brilliant light, I know now that I died. The other members of the EO and Oran (a new friend from the conventicle) defeated the wizard, who we learned from Gromph.
Lord Dyrr raised me and now I owe him my life.
We continued on towards the point in my mind, we eventually reach it to find a lava pit with a battle of dwarves versus demons lead by Baphomot. We bring all of our power to bear including summoning the warriors of Valhalla from my horn to defeat the demon horde. After the battle the maze engine began to whirl and activate producing a mechanical looking creature called a Modron. Soon hundreds and thousands appeared. We attempted to speak with one and it had realized I had been in contact with an object they seek, the Wand of Orcus. They seek to destroy the wand and needed to know where it is. We told them Folcom Keep and they went on their way. We returned to the Magistery where a council of Masters determined that they will align themselves with the 181,500,000 modrons that have marched into out plane to seek out and destroy the Wand.
Recollections by Rezik edit
Recollections by Kaylorr edit
Recollections by Zanna edit
Recollections by Oran edit
Selected Scenes by DM edit
Finding the Maze Engine...and dwarves? edit
You open the door and there's an immediate wash of heat that floods over you bathing you in warmth followed quickly by prickling sweat. The orange glow in the next chamber obviates the need for any light and floods the open shaft you're in right now with the same.
The opening goes to a cliff edge and a massive pool of primordial lava that bubbles delicately. Across this lake of fire is another cliff face and ledge and upon that ledge you see several figures embroiled in conflict, and hear the clanging sounds of steel and the cracking splinters of wood breaking. The sound is almost enough to distract you from seeing a suspended gyroscope of several bright brass rings floating above the lava, each concentric ring spinning along a different axis. The contraption looks like an artificer's desk toy, more intricate with each passing moment you look at it.
Not realizing you have all been transfixed by it, a voice from the other side of the chasm snaps you back to the present. "OY THE BEASTS ARE TRYING TO ROUT US WATCH YER BACKS LADDIES AND SEND THESE FOUL CREATURES TO THE ABYSS WHENCE THEY CAME!!!" And the clanging and cracking intensifies with several war shouts.
You open the door and inside is a 200 ft across pool of lava blocking you're passage to the other side. Floating above the lava is the maze engine. On the other side of the lava is a large battle.
You fly over the lava pit!
As you draw near the maze engine the air behind to distort around you. Is hard to tell if this is an effect of heat or something else.
You slowly descend to the other side and shapes begin to resolve more clearly. You see a retinue of a a dozen heavily armored dwarves locked in battle with demons. On the far wall is a large crack where demons are entering the frat and the cliff surface is littered with the bodies of the dead, dwarf, drow, and demon alike.
The leader of the dwarven contingent notices you and tries to get a better view but is still contending with an especially large minotaurish demon.
One of the dwarves in the back not actively engaged with anyone begins turning an onager to fire upon you but the leader of the contingent manages to pull away from his fight to give his siege operator pause.
The beefiest dwarf with the burliest red beard points his axe to you and shouts "Oi!! Be ye friend er foe?!"
Before you can respond the shattering sounds of rock breaking fill the cavern and the crack on the far wall breaks open, and a cloud of rock dust blooms eventually covering the battlefield.
"Aye it does not much matter anymore!" Before the cloud envelops them you see him instruct his siegedwarf to turn back towards the demons, judging you to be the lesser threat.
The cloud deafens the battle somewhat but you hear a great snarling huff from deep in the opened wall. And two glowing red eyes, much higher than any other demon's head pierce the dusty veil.
you are flying close to the other side, the dwarves are too busy fighting these hoofed demons to bother fighting you as well, and some big baddy just showed up. There's bodies everywhere on the platform you are landing on.
Baphomet Rises edit
You wade into the fray with your tentative alliance. The spike-armored dwarves are reluctant at first, but they realize quickly two facts: You are attacking the demons, and they don't really have a choice but to accept your assistance.
You make fast friends as compatriots against a common foe, and eventually the head dwarf makes his way back in the battle lines to your party. Swinging axe from creature to creature "Aye I guess ye be FRIENDS then! Who sent for ye? ARE YE FRIENDS OF OL' RUMBLEBELLY??? I saw him sneak away but aye...Ye can't be mad at an illithid for having tentacles, ya ken?"
he looks slowly (as slowly as one can in battle) from one of you to the others. "Well, yer an odd bunch ain't ye. Name's Bruenor Battlehammer and this here is what remains of Mithral Hall." He gestures broadly with his axe (between swings) and a spray of blood spreads out across his men. "And these fine dwarvenkind are the last of the Battlerager battleragers!" All of the dwarves let out a war shout and redouble their efforts.
He looks again between all of you "I hope ye have a few spelltossers, we can't hold this ground much longer eh." he grins a bloody grin, as you continue slicing and dicing the demons. The dust is beginning to settle and you are seeing a much, much larger swarm of demons clop-clopping their way to you.
Facing off against the rising demon prince Baphomet Jeroy raises the Horn of Valhalla to his lips and sounds the deafening call of his ancestors.
A white light appears off to the side of the battle, growing brighter and brighter and then expanding. A warm scene of sunny rolling hills, beautiful mountains, and then a city materializes. metropolis of gold, spires climbing before your very eyes and then a road stretches from infinity and breaches the vision, growing with a crash into the cliff face. Then you see glints across the bridge, growing, dancing in the sunlight. An army charges forth. Led Zeppelin begins playing out of nowhere. What's a Led Zeppelin? Doesn't matter cuz it's cool as fuck.
Without pause they charge into the lines of demons splitting the encroaching horde in half. Cheers and shouts erupt and demon parts begin flying through the air. After the halls of Valhalla have emptied onto the field and all of demons in front of you lay dead. They circle around and a tall human in shining full plate steps forward in the pause before horde approaches. He lowers his shield with three crowns on a blue field emblazoned on the front and lifts up his helmet. "Hornblower, we ride to battle!"
Jeroy gets a full body erection and grows to Large size.
You ride across rocky surface, Zanna riding atop PB&J and Jeroy shaking the ground with every stampeding footfall, leading the flight of the Valkyries. Rezik surges forward on Gramph, forging a path with Gramph's ice breath and Kaylorr launches flame strike after flame strike flying through the air on golden wings. Oran stands in a chariot (where did he even get that?) in the middle of the charging heroes with his battleaxe shredding licks so fierce it's literally on fire. Oh that's where the Led Zeppelin is coming from.
Even in the face of this, a greater demon rises. A hundred feet tall with menacing horns and tusks covered in blood and gore, Baphomet snarls and meets you in battle.
At this point please use your imagination to picture some helm's deep level awesomeness for like 6 hours.
Finally, mopping up the last of the demon hordes the heroes of the horn circle back around Jeroy. The human knight unsheathes his sword and bows to Jeroy. "Next time will be the last time, hornblower." And they stampede off into the distance as your reality splinters opening again the vision of Valhalla itself, and the heroes return home.
You are completely and totally spent. Every spell cast, every blow taken, you are covered in blood, barely awake, but Baphomet himself fell to your hands today. Even now, the dwarves of Mithral Hall cheer in victory.
March of the Modrons edit
"THAT WILL SUFFICE. YOU EXPEDITE OUR SEARCH BY 14 PLANES AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. YOU MAY ACCOMPANY US TO THE SURFACE AND WE WILL ENSURE YOUR SAFETY AS RECOMPENSE FOR THIS INFORMATION."
Bruenor confirms with you that these creatures are completely law abiding and the concept of lying just does not compute for them.
You continue to converse with the Quinton Hierarch (you eventually learn this is his rank) on your journey back up to the surface. You drop Zanna off at a nearby passageway that leads back to Menzoberranzan, and she continues back to her meeting with Dyrr.
The rest of you spend days traveling on the modron march, which moves with perfect rhythm and regularity, and you learn more of Mechanus, the mystical realm of Law. There are five ranks of drones and 9 ranks of "Hierarchs" or the ruling class of modrons, all led by the "ONE AND PRIME" also known as Primus. You learn of the last prime, who did in fact die in a battle with Orcus himself. Only the first hierarch speaks of this to you, the others don't seem able to comprehend the idea. The Quarton tells you that when the last prime died, the oldest Secundi immediately took its place, although the energy of a dead prime doesn't just vanish, it redistributes in the world. The current prime took power 248 years ago.
As you return home to inform the Magistery and your friends of your discoveries and the current movements of the Modron March, the Magistery convenes a Master's Council. It is decided in the Master's Council that the Modrons and the Magistery are aligned in the goal of the annihilation of the dreadhorde, and while the modrons care only to destroy the wand, they will have to defeat the dreadhorde to do so. They are likely to fail without our help, and we are likely to fail without theirs.
Modrons are extraordinarily resilient creatures. They are resistant or immune to most elemental, and mind- or emotion-affecting magicks, and will make for strategic allies in this attack. Normally it would be inadvisable to to attack a location as fortified location such as Folcom Keep, but the Modrons while slow to react, once they engage are the most efficient machines of destruction known to the universe. You find out there are exactly 181,500,000 drones in total on this march, and that does not include the few dozen Hierarchs, who you have learned have VERY powerful abilities, beyond magic.
Tomorrow, we bring the fight to them.