Session 3: Off to See the Wizard

Due to the eagle eyes of Zhang Min, the party was prepared for the bandits who tried to ambush their damaged wagon. Twelve bandits in all rose with their crossbows to assault the party, but the PCs were the quicker. Zhang Min, Kiki, and Riya charged the bandit positions, while Mid played eerie music that illuminated them with faerie fire. Meanwhile, PPP played soothing music that put several of the bandits to sleep. Clancy crawled underneath the cover of a wagon and sent magical energies in the bandits’ direction. As Terlis prepared to join in the battle, Zaffa ran past him but then veered back suddenly and thrust his spear at Terlis, wounding him in the side. Zaffa was a traitor who must be secretly working for the bandits! Fortunately, Mid noticed the betrayal and cast a spell that had Zaffa writhing in uncontrollable laughter on the ground, while Terlis crept behind a wagon wheel and fired an ice knife at a pair of bandits.

With half the bandits put to sleep by PPP’s enchanting tune, the PCs made quick work of the remainder. They were tying up the survivors, when four riders charged into the scene. It turned out to be a Ranger Knight patrol led by Knight Postia Ventonius, a haughty young knight on her way to the Citadel. She quickly took charge and led the prisoners and wagons into Fort Midway. On the way, they were met by other Ranger Knights who had been alerted to the disabled wagon by Xiao and Lu.

As soon as the wagons were parked, there was an immediate showdown between Knute and Omar Dobi, each throwing accusations at the other. When Mid tried to intervene, Omar angrily called her a “halfbreed.” It looked like tempers might flare into fists, but the commanding officer, Commander Xiao Bi intervened. She declared that there would be an inquiry the following morning into the incident and commanded all parties to return to their wagons. The PCs shared some tea and sweets with Xiao and Lu, who were clearly feeling guilty about abandoning Knute and Lina, before settling in for the night.

The following morning, a tribunal was organized. Knute and Lina gave their testimony, followed by the PCs. Then Zaffa was called to the stand to recount his part. He indicated that he had been placed on the inside to sabotage a trailing wagon at the right moment so that his fellow bandits could take it down. Omar Dobi came last and was sweating profusely as he accused Knute and Lina of negligence and the PCs of every perversity and sorcery imaginable. Meanwhile, Clancy used his telepathy to interrupt Omar’s thoughts. Commander Bi eventually cut Omar off and declared him guilty of abandonment. She ordered him to pay restitution to both Knute and Lina and the Ranger Knights.

After the trial, Knute informed the PCs that he and Lina would no longer travel with Omar’s caravan. They would wait for the next caravan while they repaired their wagon. Knute said it would be at least three days. The PCs decided to take a side trip to investigate the mysterious Emerald Spire that was only a day’s travel away.

After traveling several hours, the PCs reached the base of the tower. Surprisingly the base of the tower was occupied by an orcish tribe. Before they could hide, they were noticed and a party of orcs came to investigate. The orcs were initially stand-offish. The leader announced herself as “Snaglak, chief of the Bone Crushers” and seemed to expect a similar greeting from Mid. When Mid failed to deliver, she inquired what tribe Mid had grown up with. Upon discovering that Mid was raised by humans, she expressed concern and said that they needed to “get the poor thing something to eat” and that humans simply don’t “understand an orc’s diet.”

The party was invited to a repast with Snaglak, mostly consisting of meats, smoked meats, salted meats, some pickles, and ale. Snaglak seemed to suggest that the tribe protected the tower for “the wizard.” When the PCs asked if they could meet the wizard, Snaglak suggested a game to decide it. If the PCs champion could defeat the Bone Crusher champion in a bout of fisticuffs, she would allow them to speak to the wizard.

Riya volunteered for this service and faced a hulking orc named Tog. However, Tog was not nearly as quick as Riya and with a series of lightning fast blows, she quickly knocked him out, while he failed to make contact with her darting form. Initially shocked, the Bone Crushers were impressed and began chanting Riya’s name.

Snaglak led the party into the base of the tower which the orcs are using for habitation and storage. She led them under a large circular opening to the rest of the tower. Terlis tried to send Fatbat up this opening but his path was blocked by some kind of invisible barrier made of air about 30 feet up.

Snaglak led the party to a horn that was used to communicate with “the wizard.” The PCs began conversing with a shrill voice on the other line that they initially took to be the wizard. Ultimately it was revealed to be some kind of servant of the wizard, whose name was revealed to in fact be Imhotep. He was uninterested in letting them into the tower and repeatedly told them to go away. However, at some point he began arguing with someone else and then told the PCs begrudgingly that they would be allowed up.

Snaglak took the PCs to a small circular room. A stone platform descended. The PCs got on it and immediately they were whisked upward at a rapid pace in what Snaglak called an “elevator.” At some points they were able to catch glimpses of the outside through windows. Eventually, the elevator stopped and the PCs were greeted by two very odd figures, unlike any creatures they had ever seen or heard of.

The first figure was a greenish little man about the size of PPP and Terlis. He was dressed in overly large robes and had a look of annoyance about him. His name was Zaglirx and it was quickly revealed that he was the owner of the voice that the party had negotiated with below. After PPP attempted to fake taking off his boots, it was also revealed that Zaglirx was a capable illusionist.

The second figure, who Zaglirx named as Kuyot, towered over the PCs to a height of at least seven feet. he was covered in light grey fur with clawed hands and feet that looked capable of serious rending. He also carried a greatsword on his back. Despite his intimidating appearance, Kuyot had a smile on his lips and a kind twinkle in his eyes. He seemed curious more than suspicious, although he was clearly there to be an enforcer.

After some initial conversation (and the removal of weapons), the PCs were allowed into Imhotep’s salon. It was a large room with a giant window that looked out over a breathtaking view, far below. Imhotep approached them from a balcony. He had dark skin, and the accouterment of an ancient Zwambian.

Imhotep politely introduced himself to each PC. He surprised each of them by hinting at some knowledge of their background, almost as if he were reading their minds. When he came to Terlis, he quickly agreed that “something could surely be arranged” and when Terlis looked puzzled, Imhotep suggested that Terlis had asked for some materials for scribing spells, although Terlis had said nothing.

After these introductions, Imhotep turned to Kiki and made a cryptic comment about attending to important matters before raising his hand to her head and asking if he could touch it. Then everything happened in a blur. Kiki suddenly raised her hand to swat his hand away, but was held in place by Kuyot who grappled her from behind. Imhotep placed his hand on her brow and then there was a sudden flash from his staff. When everyone regained their sight, the strange brain creature from the sewers was standing immediately next to Kiki, hissing and spitting. It raked its claws at Imhotep but they were blocked by some arcane shield. Kuyot was the first to respond and slashed the monster with his sword. The PCs regained their wits and with their combined might, they quickly made short work of the creature.

After the monster was slain and Kiki was recovering from the worst headache in her life, Imhotep explained that it was called an Intellect Devourer. It had invaded Kiki’s brain when she was stunned and if left unchecked, it would have slowly devoured her mind. Imhotep was very curious about where the PCs had found such a creature and troubled to learn that it had lived underneath Arkesh. He said that such creatures were the pets of a powerful and alien species known as illithids, or mind flayers. it was a statue of such a creature that the party had come across in the sewers, and it was likely that a colony lived below the city, using it as a source of plentiful brains which they used as food. Imhotep said he would look into the problem.

In recognition of this valuable information, Imhotep gave the PCs a gift. He gave Terlis a bag that contained a plentiful supply of material for scribing spells. The bag itself was a magical bag of holding capable of holding many more things than its appearance suggested.

While Terlis rapidly scribed new spells from one of Imhotep’s old spellbooks, Imhotep invited the PCs to dine in his salon. Overly a leisurely vegetarian meal, they discussed many topics, but Imhotep was cagey about many of the mysteries the PCs inquired about, such as the origin of The Arcane, the use of dresium, and the purpose of the Emerald Spire. He suggested that the PCs would have to learn these things for themselves to understand them. He also suggested that he expected he would see them all again and that great things lay in their future.

With full bellies but more questions than answers, the PCs descended the elevator and spent the night in the orcish camp. Clancy woke up with a horrible headache after spending half the night in drinking games with several orcs. The PCs turned their backs on the Emerald Spire and returned to Fort Midway.

Back at the Fort, the PCs found that Knute and Lina had indeed found a new caravan. This one contained three other merchants: a dwarvish couple named Bali and Khari Brighthelm; a dashing and independent Bakshuni woman named Sammi al-Hulai, and a rotund and pleasant Guldorian named Geoffrey Bailey. The dwarvish couple traveled with an odd dwarf of the Elderbeard clan named Aghal who seemed like something of a crazed shaman. In addition, a Ranger Knight patrol led by a knight named Kafia was assigned to the caravan.

The group departed Fort Midway in the morning. Travel was uneventful except for a false alarm of a bug attack caused by a migrating herd of steppe buffalo. However, as the PCs closed to within a day’s ride of the Citadel, they suddenly saw a column of smoke on the horizon. Kafia and his three guards immediately spurred their horses to investigate, despite attempts by Clancy to get them to wait for the rest of the caravan.

When the PCs got closer, they could clearly see the burning remains of wagons from another caravan. As they cautiously approached the perimeter, they saw bodies, including the body of Hugo, one of Omar Dobi’s guards who had been deeply suspicious of Terlis’s magic. It appeared that their former caravan had been raided. They also saw the body of a gnoll.

The party did not have long to contemplate all of this, however. From the center of the caravan, they heard the sounds of shouts and growls, suggesting a battle was underway….