During the first night of the party’s second stay at the Hall of Seven Pillars ^[1], Thoth granted Menka a vision in dreams.

Menka was at the top level of Guldar Heel’s tower, standing before the huge mirror the party used to teleport to the desert south. In the room with him, oddly, was a larger-than-human-sized Ibis ^[2]. The bird towered over Menka, yet Menka felt only a sense of wisdom and awe in the presence of the creature. It nodded toward the mirror, and, seemingly with its mind, placed the blocks used to operate the magical mirror in the slots in matching holes at its base. The mirror crackled, and a familiar, desolate desert scene appeared in the mirror. The Ibis nodded toward the mirror and Menka and the ibis stepped in.

The party emerged from the tomb of the Twice-Crowned into a bowl-shaped, wooded area which clears near the entry to the tomb - the party is stinking, tired, bloodied and bandaged. Two of the party are carrying bags of holding which are overflowing with coinage - luckily, the coins dropping into the dirt all seem to be coppers.

We spoke at length with Teos at the bar. He was loquacious in his gratitude and willingly answered our questions.

Creel’s tower was less than a day’s ride from the Horne’d Lamb. The good barkeep told the party that to simply touch the walls of Creel’s tower was … dangerous. Creel himself is a good man and had long held commerce and communication with the Inn as well as the surrounding area. Creel’s wife had died of some unspecified malady - perhaps plague, all sudden-like, and while Creel was out - and the man had not been the same since. Creel had turned to the dark arts of necromancy in an effort to bring his beautiful wife back to life. Teos had nothing but praise for Illyssa.

The room at (A) was well-maintained and well used. Creel had kept it clean, well swept. Some carpeting covered the floor. It contained bookshelves on the west wall, upon which many books sat. Shelves also hung on the northern wall, glass jars filled with clear liquids and various implements lining them. A sitting area containing a small desk with quill and ink sat in the southeastern corner. A reading chair lay on its side with a spilled bottle of wine on the floor next to it, the red wine staining a throw rug in this area. Crumpled paper was strewn about around the knocked-over chair.

The One Room Session (Almost)#

When the chiming ended, the carvings on the walls cease their infernal undulations. The footsteps we heard outside the room became louder and suddenly 4 subhumans dressed in archaic scale mail broke through the door - three carrying odd, curved battleaxes, one wielding a glistening, dripping dagger. The subhumans launched into the room among us while a creature, human-sized but like a large octopi, ambulating with a sickening undulating gait on its tentacles, glaring eyes in its large head, stayed in the doorway. The creature began to wave its tentacles and the familiar reality distortion field filled the room. The cleric failed his save vs. spell and was incapacitated and disoriented. The rest of the party made their save.

We found ourselves in possession of Abigail’s hand, and the claw-like gauntlet that contained it. As we gazed upon it while pondering the significance of slicing off a vampire’s hand, the hand itself began to dissipate in a sulfurous mist. Presently, the hand completely disappeared, though it left behind the gauntlet, intact and seeming to smoke as the hand dissolved.

We gave Heimdell’s crowns to Harald and Maeve. Menka returned the holy symbol of Odin to Harald’s curate, Olaf Iverson.

Kyril

• 2 vials of holy water
• Oil of Fiery Burning

Cathal

• Gamred the Golden (+3 two-handed sword, double-damage vs clerics in case Menka gets mouthy, plus user can Detect Magic and Remove Fear 30’ radius 1x/day)
• magical blue sapphire pendant^[1] (if user is killed, gem activates and saves user’s soul, user returned to 1HP (albeit unconscious))
• 2 vials of holy water

Gonchar

Hall crew returns on day 13.

Day 8:

Tim trained Lycovyne for one full week and he gained 2 hp, (56/56).

We decided as a party to keep the coin we acquired on solo quests and to share out magic items.

We have 11 pearls (pg. 349, Session 48). For some reason they were deemed too spendy to come from Zagyg’s Spell Component Case, though the case could produce the live miniature carp. Detect magic was required for some of ther loot.

Harald and Ninax, Menka and Cathal discussed the orcish incursions . Cragenheim will be levying troops from the surrounding area in the near future. Priest and knight assured them we would be back through at some point.

Menka, Cathal and Seamus planned to travel to the Hall of Seven Pillars the following morning. Ninax offered to ride with us to the block house. With the cessation of the frigid, lingering winter the road to Westkeep was re-opened, though only a well-protected caravan dare make the journey.

With the portal below the tower closed and danger at least temporarily averted, Creel advised the party that he had sent messages out to his fellow 8 wizards (of ‘The Nine’) asking for assistance. While the party bivouacked at the tower, some of this aid arrived.