The green snake was, apparently, alive and well where we left it, atop the dais in the carved out bowl where a statue of Khamsa once resided.

Hoping to get a bead on the snake from an upper level, Arkadios climbed the stairs to a higher level. Lycovyne, armed with ranged weapons, handed off the staff with continual light to Kyril and followed Arkadios. Unfortunately, through the gloom and dust, they were unable to see the snake from above. Gonchar attempted to throw a large piece of statue rubble at the snake and missed entertainingly.

The party decided to walk around the dais and bravely avoid the snake. Steps went down around the altar and met at a landing behind, from which steps descended in both directions (north and south). The party descended the steps to the south which ended on a large landing with tattered carpeting. A strange mist glowing with a faint orange light was visible below. The orange glow did not radiate heat, as attested to by those with infravision. The party followed the stairs which led south.

These stairs ended in a large, large room. The glowing orange mist was pervasive, as was the tattered, stained carpeting. The room had the look of faded grandeur. Six large pillars stretched from floor to ceiling.

Lycovyne and Gonchar stepped onto the landing and immediately had to save vs. spell, both making their saves (17 and 13, respectively). A web-like net fell from the ceiling and Lycovyne and Gonchar were able to avoid it. It was not a web spell and not a net, but similar to both. Flint checked the area for traps, snares and trip wires, finding none.

The Snakes Have A Head#

The party was then rushed (no surprise roll, initiative loss) by a featureless, faceless, giant humanoid which seemed to materialize out of a pillar. The creature’s only raiment was a kilt of Egyptian design. This creature attacked Lycovyne with both fists for 5 HP of damage.

Simultaneously the party was approached by a large woman with a head full of snakes - a medusa! Seeing this creature, the party ran like hell back up the stairs. Lycovyne took 4 more points of damage from the faceless creature while running away. An arrow from the medusa shunked into the wall next to Flint as he ran up the stairs. The party fled back up the stairs and then around to the left behind Khamsa’s destroyed altar.

Arkadios rolled 16% on percentile dice, Flint rolled 76% (why?). Arkadios then got to go for a walk with the DM. When he came back, he told the party that “there was something following us when we came running back up the stairs. It was also following us on the way down and it retreated with us when we fled the medusa. It’s been following us for quite a while, whatever it is.”

Now back in the large room filled with deific statues, Lycovyne examined the doors in the far southern wall (map, pg. 45 - DM - direction on the map is wrong?). They were straining under the weight of sand pressing from the other side and sand leaked through the crack between the doors.

Melios cured light wounds for Arkadios (for 5 points) and Kyril cured light wounds for Lycovyne for 8 points. The party began to search the statue room for traps and secret doors.

• initiative loss
• the medusa and the faceless creature again attack the party - the creatures seemed to materialize out of nowhere (did the medusa simply walk up the steps?)
• Flint takes 4 points of damage (2 punches to the head from the faceless creature)
• an arrow snikked into the wall near Gonchar (narrow miss by the medusa)
• Lycovyne attacked the medusa with his long sword and missed
• Arkadios attacked (them medusa?) with his bow, adj. 14, missed
• initiative loss, bugger
• the medusa attacked Gonchar who, with his eyes closed, was essentially fighting blind with an AC of 1 (normally -1) - Gonchar was struck by one of her arrows but made his save vs. poison (praise Thoth!) and took 2 points of damage
• Menka cast sanctuary
• Lycovyne hit the medusa with his long sword for 8 points (adj. 19)
• Kyril cast faerie fire with both enemies in the AoE
• Arkadios, looking through a hand mirror, sees that the medusa is focusing on Gonchar
• Gonchar, eyes closed, hits the medusa for 10 points
• Menka cast bless only to realized he wasted it (everyone’s in combat already)
• Lycovyne hit the faceless creature for 8 points
• Flint hit the faceless creature for 4 hp
• initiative loss
• Gonchar gets bitten by an adder on the medusa’s head, saves vs poison, takes 9 points
• Gonchar attacks twice, misses both times
• the faceless creature hit Lycovyne for 4 points
• Menka, breaking the sanctuary, hit the faceless creature for 8 hp
• Lycovyne missed, with celerity
• Flint missed the faceless creature and then hit it for 4 points
• Kyril, aiming indirectly via a hand mirror, fires 2 magic missile charges, hits the medusa hard for 24 points
• Arkadios hit the faceless creature for 5 points, but the second hit was not recorded (??)
• Arkadios killed the faceless creature, which then blended back into the stone from whence it came
• the medusa fired an arrow at Kyril, missed
• faceless creature fled, was not killed, right? (as recorded in the notes)
• Menka moved and changed weapons, staying out of sight of the medusa
• Kyril, again indirectly via hand mirror, nailed the medusa with 2 more magic missile charges for 21 points of damage, killing it, after which it turned to stone
• DM’s note: commendation for Kyril on the double magic missile blast
• greater medusa: 51 hit points
• faceless stone creature: no information provided, though it did not reappear

Gonchar hit the stone medusa several times trying to shatter it, but without success. Kyril cured light wounds on Lycovyne for 7 points, bringing him up to full at 34 points. We saw a cave painting which included Gonchar grinding tomatoes between rocks, and the DM was outted as an OT (Original Tard). Also, Arkadios failed to make it through the Federal Copyright Warning after seeing Linda Carter in the opening credits.

Hearing Voices#

The party returned to the stairs behind the defiled altar of Khamsa. Marching in order down the steps they found the glowing orange mist to be gone, replaced by normal subterranean darkness. Lycovyne, as always, carried the continual light.

The web trap was still lying on the floor where we had last seen it. Gonchar hit it to see what happened (and because it’s what he does best), with no effect. Lycovyne hit it with a natural 20 and only vaguely nicked it. Menka and Kyril folded the thing and stuffed it into the bag of holding carried by Menka.

Free now to explore, the party circumnavigated the room looking for traps, doors, etc. At the far end of the room (map) we came across a smoking field, pulsating afterglow what appeared to be a theater’s stage curtain. A disembodied voice was heard by all; its source seemed to be behind the curtain. The voice carried the accent of Northern Cragenheim, quite unusual for this area.

The voice then told us to leave behind the flail and we would be let go without harm. While the voice was booming on, Menka threw a non-magical flail out 10 feet (??) and Arkadios attempted to look behind the curtain finding the stage up a level higher with a second curtain behind and only darkness in between.

Meanwhile, out front, the party was attacked by snakes. Lots of them. They looked like the snakes in the secret room back near the entrance to this sand-buried temple (see St9 ‘Worms and Sand’).

• (no surprise roll?)
• initiative win
• Kyril used animal friendship, charming 2 snakes
• Lycovyne and Menka moved to within melee range
• Arkadios hit a snake for 2 points of damage
• Menka attacked with a natural 1, breaking a fingernail and running out of hairspray
• Lycovyne attacked, missed
• a Priest of Set appears out of nowhere, of course - blond hair, blue eyes, a Cragenheimer
• the priest stabbed twice at Lycovyne, missing both times
• snakes lunged at Gonchar and Menka, missing
• the priest spoke in a voice that filled the room, causing the party to save vs. spell
• Arkadios, Lycovyne and Menka failed their saves
• Arkadios and Lycovyne are out/down for 2 rounds, Menka is out for 1
• a snake barely misses Lycovyne
• Flint hit the priest 4 points
• Gonchar hit a snake for 20 points, killing it
• Kyril hit the priest with his staff (?)
• Gonchar hit the priest for 14 points
• Menka cast silence 15’
• the priest attempted to flee
• initiative tie, speed factor
• Kyril hit the priest for 6 points as he fled
• Gonchar hit the priest for 9 points
• Arkadios fired at the priest and missed
• Flint hits for 1 point
• Menka gets hit by the priest, makes his save vs. poison
• the priest, badly beaten and bleeding, staggered, called out “Set my Lord!” and then vaporized
• initiative win
• Gonchar and Flint missed the remaining giant snake
• Menka and Lycovyne hit it for 9 and 8 points, respectively
• the snake lunged at (no idea whom) and missed
• initiative win
• everyone missed, waste of initiative
• Arkadios hit the giant snake with his second shot, killing it
• giant snake, 20 hp
• giant snake, 20 hp (?)

Kyril now has 2 giant snakes as pets.

Flint looked behind the second stage curtain. Behind it he found a large couch, some random furniture, a dinette, lots of pillows, all reeking of snake. The elves and the thief checked the room and its perimeter for secret doors and any other portals. (Who) found a loose stone in the center of the room, which, when pressed, opened a door in the back wall.

Flint checked the door for traps but didn’t find them. Menka cast find traps on the door but, not being a thief, he could not pass the relevant information on to Flint, so no attempt was made to disarm it, we just knew it was there.

Khamsa, I Presume#

Arkadios and Lycovyne threw a giant snake’s body through the trap and it petrified. Menka’s find traps spell, still in effect, senses that the trap is no longer active. No other traps are visible to Menka in the room, looking through the door.

Gonchar went through the now trap-free portal and entered a 20’ by 30’ room absolutely filled with loot. Coin everywhere, amphorae overflowing with wealth. A man-sized statue, presumable a petrified Khamsa, stood in the middle of the room with the circlet on its head (see St8 ‘Guldar Heel’s Tower, Invited’).

The party followed him in and, of course, Menka was immediately overtaken by a presence. Menka, wielding the flail of the gods and using its storm voice ability, yelled “I am Khamsa! This is all mine! You all will leave!!”, causing the party to save vs. spells. Kyril failed his save and was immobilized for 1 round.

Gonchar pummeled Menka, knocking him down. Arkadios rolled to hit to try to steal the flail from Menka’s hands, but missed. Lycovyne knocked the flail out of Menka’s hands, made his save vs. spells to avoid coming under its control, feeling a tingle and nothing more. Getting up, Menka regained his hold on the flail.

That subterranean asshat Gonchar pummeled Menka again for 11 points of damage but missed the second time. Menka lost initiative and Gonchar pummeled him again for 10 points of damage, knocking him unconscious. Menka was now down to 10 hp total.

The party found the bag of holding on Menka’s person and somehow managed to stuff the flail into it without coming under its power. They also removed his ankh and stuffed it into the bag, Thoth curse their fetid, wretched souls!

Sometime later, while the party poked around in the treasure room, Menka woke up and freaked out that the blackguards had removed his ankh. The melee almost started again when it became known that it was in the bag, and it was returned to him.

Kyril fired up detect magic and the party began to sift through all the loot. Except as noted, I’m not sure how everything was ID’d.

Treasure!

• big chalice - not magic, very valuable
• large vial - radiated magic - contained a potion of fire giant strength (22 str)
• rolled up carpet - radiated magic
• (DM ID roll:) Carpet of Flying
  • 5’x7’, can hold 3 humans, 30" movement
• scroll in a metal container - radiated magic - contained Southern magic user spells:
  • ladder, mummy, time loop
• an amphora was filled with a huge fortune in gems, each of incredible worth - the entire contents were stuffed into the bag of holding

Menka cured light wounds on himself for 14 points, and Kyril added 2 more for 15 points - Menka would be at full after resting.

The circlet needed to be destroyed, as per the stories told by Guldar Heel, etc. Gonchar attacked the statue and shattered the head. To keep anyone from putting the pieces back together the party took a chunk of the petrified circlet and put it in the Bag of Holding. The Bag of Holding is now full at 35 lbs.

Desert Plains Revisted#

Victorious, and wealthy enough now to afford just one extra pair of trousers each, the party began the long trek out of the temple. With the destruction of the circlet the temple began to deteriorate rapidly around us. Back through the throne room, which now contained only an obsidian platform with a rotting chair, out the double doors, past the harmless snakes and safely back to the temple entrance.

Once back in the desert, Kyril made water while everyone chuckled. Refreshed and preferring not to loiter near the crumbling temple the party began the journey back to Schloss Kyril. It was not possible to reach it in one night so the party camped among the hot rocks. While resting Kyril cured light wounds on Flint so the entire party will wake up at full. Barring incidents.

Before the sun arose, the party set off in the general direction of their initial approach: to find the oasis, and from there to cast locate object and find the mirror which would bring us back home to more temperate climes. We lugged through the scorching desert for a little while when, suddenly, a large, brown lizard erupted from the sand!

• no surprise roll, initiative loss
• Menka failed save vs breath weapon, took 14 points of damage (what kind of breath weapon?)
• within the same cone, Flint and Gonchar saved yet took 7 points of damage each
• Arkadios hit, then missed, for 3 points of damage (with his bow?)
• Gonchar hit the beastie for 15 points
• Kyril missed the brown lizard
• Lycovyne hit it for 11 points
• Menka, after bathing in the breath weapon attack, struck back with his flail with a natural 20 for 20 points of damage, killing the beast, praise Thoth!
• brown dragon, 39 hp

Continuing onward through the desert, Kyril sensed water and led the way to the oasis. The journey to the oasis took a half day. Once the party arrived at the oasis and obtained refreshment, Menka cast locate object and felt a “pull” to the north. Leaving the oasis and heading due north, the party was able to locate and retrieve the mirror. After uttering “Farthis” we found ourselves in the cool cellars of Guldar Heel’s tower.

Upon arriving at the Tower we were greeted by a typically surly Null Keyz. He provided refreshment and informed us that we’d been gone for a little more than a week. He also informed us that Guldar Heel was still recuperating and asked us to leave and stay elsewhere, suggesting the Inn.

Note: the last page of notes is rather spotty…

The party made their way to the Friendly Arm Inn, there to be greeted by Bentley Mirrorshade. He ushered us into the familiar back room so we could converse in private. Bentley was thrilled that we had destroyed the circlet but was aghast that we had retained a piece and said we should destroy it immediately. Did we destroy it?

Bentley suggested we get some sleep and “get some proof of the destruction of the circlet.”???

In Dzailo’s snoring absence, Lycovyne decided to ID as much as possible before resting.

• web from the Bag of Holding
  • detect magic: yes
  • ID (8 pearls): Net of Entanglement - given to Flint
  • has a command word, required another ID (7 pearls): “eight” or “8”
  • notes also say it has a command word of “kerfuffle”
  • engraved gem ID (??? pearls, bottom of pg. 44)
  • Periapt of Proof Against Poison +1
  • 10 % poison resistance
  • purple case (bottom of pg. 44)
  • ID (6 pearls) - no answer, need read languages to read enclosed scroll
    • cure light wounds - Menka
    • cure disease - Menka
  • 2 metal flasks from Sons of Kyuss
  • DM is working on ID
    • Potion of Fire Giant Strength - given to Arkadios
    • other is not id’d?
  • ring and dagger found in the pile of rotten clothes (St9 pg. 43)
  • DM is working on ID
    • Ring of Free Action - given to Gonchar
    • dagger +100 - given to Flint

Note: 12,000 GP worth of gems acquired from the party’s adventures in the sea of sand. Roughly 2, 000 GP each. Also note that it cost Menka 500 GP to level up, praise Thoth!