33. The Evil Priestess and Emerald Sister

After resting a few days and fully recuperating from the grueling fight with the Ogre Mage, the group grew tired of hard tack rations and decided to make the trek from beneath White Plume Mountain.
Using Felnar's spells they were able to safely leave the ziggurat room and after floating through the air stream they encountered Simon and the rest of his group. Simon was in human form, which was a red haired man with slicked back hair, wearing black oiled leather armor, and bearing a rapier. His fellows consisted of a very large man with curly brown hair and a large axe, two women, one older and commanding with black hair, another younger woman in her late teens, also very attractive. With them were 3 wolves, one was a very large grey wolf with a pronounced scar over it's right eye.
They allowed the group to assemble after the ride on the rafts, then parlayed. Simon asked for the weapon they were promised. After some whispered consultation, Aardgal said "We'll give you black razor once we get outside." That was fine with them, as they turned to leave, Bornir added "And we'll take the captives." Since Simon and company had taken the two unconscious captives from the previous fight, and seemingly eaten or fed to their wolves the dead men.
Simon replied "Dungeon spoils. We had assumed they were for the taking." To his comrades he said "Is this alright? You know I'd prefer not to deal with kinslayers." The older raven haired woman said "A small price for the sword." They handed over the two men.
Aardgal determined that the fighter was inclined to evil but the unconscious cleric was not, and since he was a priest of Kelanen, demi-god of swords and adventure, they were inclined to revive him with healing spells. Upon waking the man, Drake, gave his surrender to Bornir. He was untied and forced to carry his fellow captive.
When the group neared the Sphinx's room near the entrance they could hear argueing. They found Simon and the rest were in a heated talk with two large horned red skinned humanoids who were carrying large two handed scimitars and wore silk pantaloons and pointy slippers. Azrael recognized them as two Efreeti. The Efreeti were insisting Simon and company must accompany them deeper into the bowels o the mountain for 'processing'. One of the fanged Efreeti told Aardgal and Morgrim who were in the front "You may leave champions."
Not wanting to get in a potentially deadly fight for nothing the group made for the exit.
Simon said "We will take Black Razor now." Azrael shrugged and handed him the legendary great sword, and the group left for the surface.
Shaft lingered in the hallway to listen into the altercation. Simon, Snarla and the rest seemingly went along peacefully. A loud scraping sound could be heard, and the water in the hallway drained rapidly towards the former room of the sphinx. The scraping noise continued , ceased for a while, then resumed. Presumably a secret door in the floor opened and the water drained away, leaving an inch of muck to slog through. Shaft hurried to the stairs up to join his friends.
Upstairs they waited for the steaming tunnel to vent, then they hurried through the cavern to the mountain side. Bornir swore he could hear a woman's scream when the steam vented. Huh, he thought. At the mouth of the tunnel, thay found a young woman in peasants clothes. She was roped to a stake, and had been scalded by the steam coming from the mountain. 60-70 ft. down the mountainside a dozen peasants in dirty clothes assembled. Their leader had a symbol painted on his frock in red paint or blood.
As the group untied the woman, the groups leader yelled "She is our sacrifice to the great mountain." Lath prodouced his sword and yelled. "We have defeated all below, no further sacrifices will be needed, EVER!" The grtoup seemed shaken but were less convinced of the error of their ways than afraid of Lath.
Edgrin came forth and tried to persuade the peasants "We have met with the mighty wiard Keraptis. He wants no more sacrifices, and wants us to take this woman away from here."
Between Lath's threatening and Edgrin's persuasion the peasants walked away with the occasional look over their shoulder.
The girl said she was the village of Yellow flow and the folk of the town have taken to sacrificing one person a year to the mountain to protect them from their enemies. Her only crime was she was unliked there. The group gave the cleric of Kelanen, Drake, one of his long sword back and a quarter staff to the woman along with some food in a sack. As terms of his surrender Drake was to provide for the fighter and the girl, Clia, and take them to Alhaster.
The group walked down the mountainside then headed west towrds the ruins and the ate of Zagyg. Drake, Clia, and the revived Sir Bluten made for Alhaster to the southeast.
The group reached the crag by nightfall, and could find no means to ascend to the playforms above. The Talisman of the Disc was explored and in time they found it had the command word 'Tenser'. Shaft took Lath's slippers of spider climbing and using the devices he ferried several people up the sheer rock face. A fly spell was cast on Bornir and he quickly grabbed the heaviest folk (Morgrim, Krech, Lath and Azrael) and flew them up before the magic wore off.
The group made their way through the tunnels and rested for the night. After an uneventful evening they ate and descended towards the Gates of Zagyg.
They determined the correct door to go back to the Emerald Sister's lair deep in the bowels of Droskar's Crag, the Bronze door was opened and the group went through.
Things had changed in the week since the group had left. The faint glow of the glintaxe wasn't there. The group went down into the Emerald Sisters geode-like lair, and they found a new opening had been formed in one of the side walls.
As the group moved forward several figures came from the new opening and glared at the group. The first was a large man made of earth and stone. Bearing a large axe with skulls which weeped blood and carrying a huge shield of ancient design. Behind him were the two dwarves Ulla Ironmettle and Toric Coalbrow. Near them was the floating apparition of Druingar Glintaxe.
"I learned from last time you will accept no parlay. Kill them all!"
The group started casting spells, Felnar threw a fireball, and Krech moved up the stairs to engage the Earth Magus. Krech encountered invisible foes on the stair which blocked his way.
Several invisible foes appeared. Blocking the stairs was a very large dwarf-like creature with iron hard fangs and claws, a bristle beard which was also hard as steel and dripped poison, glowing red eyes, bald heads, wearing copper plated plate armor of a diabolical design. A total of three of these creatures came from invisibility. They each stood 9' tall and the lead one had runes carved into the flesh of his exposed arms which glowed with a hellish light. That one Bornir recognized from the afterlife, a devil named Bhelial.
The two minor Durzagons cast Cause Critical Wounds on Azrael and Bornir, while the lead one cast an Unholy Blight which sickened Felnar and damaged everyone.
From the back of the room rose the female form of the Emerald Sister, the jade prophetess spoke urgently "Your fight concerns me not. I see you have returned with the weapon Wave, place it in my pool and the gem is yours." She produced another of the large gemstones which seal the planar gate. It fell from her hand to land on the dias in front of her, at which time a tremor shook the room. "Temn Zren is almost come. As I have known for years he comes to slay me and take my power for his master. He will succeed, in a minute I will be dead. I go to face him below." She rapidly sank into her pool of minerals and stone, and the pool sank. The rivulets of elemental earth also stopped flowing through the chamber. Even though she knew she would die she would fight to the end. Later the group would ponder wether she left to stand against the Ooze Monolith in a place which would alow them to survive the conflict?
Meanwhile Ulla Ironmettle called out "Shen! I summon you hence. Our pact has been fulfilled." At this another opening in the wall of the cathedral opened as a planar gate opened into a darkened room beyond.
Ulla cast a confusion spell which only affected Aardgal. Toric guarded her, and the dwarf was Azer blooded, maning he was somewhat resistant to fire and the fire ball Felnar had thrown.
Another invisible combatant appeared, a large grey goblin, hairier and much larger than a regular goblin, it stood 9'tall, bore a great sword, and had elongated jaws. Azrael recognized it as a Barghest, a wolf-goblin shapechanger from the plane of Gehenna.
Druingar Glintaxe floated forward and tried to touch Morgrim, who barely fought off his possession attack. Morgrim cast protection from evil on himself to prevent further attacks, Druingar then went for Krech.
Felnar cast an explosive cascade on the dwarves, and Ulla and Toric were forced to back away after casting a silence on the group. They retreated to cure and buff, while the group fought the Durzagons, Earth Magus and Barghest.
They were qickly downed, Morgrim pressing the attack on the Barghest, since he felt Whelm, the legendary war hammer he bore, hum as he attacked the creature. Azrael successfully turned the Stone Spikes, a type of elemental, which were issueing from the new portal. After he turned the second creature, their master, Shen the Dao, came through the portal.
By this time Ulla and Toric had come back, Bornir cast a silence near her, they advanced and blocked Azrael and Aardgal behind a Wall of Stone. Azrael quickly dimension doored back into the fight but mis-judged the arrival and was shunted aside and they fell down a ramp.
Bornir made short work of Toric, who had taken the Bloodhammer from the defeated Earth Magus. Ulla had a choice, she could plane shift away, alone without Toric and the Bloodaxe, or take the chance she could get the spell off and win all.
She let greed, or was it love of Toric, get the best of her judgement. She was struck twice, Krech scored a minor blow, but Bornir struck with such ferocity her much needed concentration was broken and the spell fizzled. She was brought low before she could try another spell.
Likewise Shen the Dao was slain. He had tried to curse Morgrim, and was striking with great fury with a large maul, when the blows and arrows slew the evil genie.
As quiet sttled on the mineral cathedral, tremors which were minor started to become more violent. Dust and chucks of quartz fell from the ceiling with each Tremor.
The group quickly stripped the combatants, and found 2 more of the planar stones in Ulla's pouch. The gate she had opened led to the ante-chamber outside the yawning portal underneath the Ruins of the Six. The group knew the had to seal off the portal. In charging through the gate they found a few people finishing off the last of the Stone Spikes. In the room were Mere, the female geomancer, Jierian Wierus, high priest of Saint Cuthbert in Diamond Lake, and two lieutenants from the Greyhawk Militia, Mikkela and Trovost.
They had attacked the ruins on and off for days, seeking the source of the Chaggrin Grues which were spreading across the region. When they heard fighting they rushed to attack and learn more of the menace. Luckily they didn't have to contend with Shen the Dao or his master, rather two Stone Spikes which were lethargic from being turned.
The two groups turned towards the yawning portal to the realm of Ogremoch. Azrael stepped forward and placed all four gemstones into the hemispherical depressions in the floor surrounding the portal. Immediately the hole in reality spiraled shut, but not before Azrael saw a gargantuan form, an earthen monstrosity lumber for the gate. Azrael reeled back shaking. He had seen Ogremoch, rumored to be one of the five sons of Tharzidun. It took a minute or more for Azrael to snap out of it, and the friends wondered for his sanity.
After the gate was closed the group saw a gargantuan hole torn through the back floor and wall of the room. Perhaps eaten away would be a better desciption, for it was a tunnel through the earth -the path of Temn Zren, It seems it went after the Emerald Sister immediately upon breaking through into this plane, boring a tunnel through the earth and loam towards it's prey. At a depth of 40' down it was filling with seeping swamp water which turned the hole into a small river delving diagonally into the earth.
The destruction it had caused had undermined the stability of the already unstable ruins, and with it's elemental earth servitors to shore the place up it was likely to collapse on it's own at any minute.
The two groups retreated hastily to the sepulcher of the Lords of the Six, where Mere and company had entered using the ropes tied to broken collumns above ground. They groups kept running as the small plateau upon which the ruin stood slowly sank towards the surrounding swarm-land.
With barely a look back they headed east towards Blackwall Keep. Along the way the group heard what had occured in their absence. Marzena and Commander Trask were still at the Keep, as were the 30 soldiers. Almost all of the worshipers of Saint Cuthbert had left.
There had been a few fights with local lizard men foraging parties, and a few monsters. When the grues attacked, not once but three times, the Commander ordered the dedicated, but undisciplined, followers of the Saint back to Diamond Lake, and only Jierian and a few stalwarts stayed behind to help.
Jierian, a tough older man with salt and pepper hair, tall thin and not terribly talkative, he carries a stout cudgel of iron, his worn half plate, light shield with the starburst symbol of the Saint and a well used bull whip is within easy reach at his belt. He seems quietly judgemental, though respectful of those of other faiths. He offers Krech counsel when the groups rest, and even extends an invitation to Felnar (the only unaffiliated human amongst your group) to visit the church next Godsday.
Mere seems more happy than last time she met Azrael and Aardgal, having helped defeat a despised enemy. She speaks of helping the High Priestess of Wee Jas, Amariss, in designing a temple at the Shrine of the Green Lady, she still wears a plain brown dress of homespun fabric, but now bears a small silver necklace and pendant with the symbol of Wee Jas.
The two lieutenants talk a bit to Krech, who they know from the militia, and seem quite friendly with Azrael, since reports describe him as the hero of Blackwall Keep.
After a day and a half of walking the 13 heroes reach Blackwall Keep. Mikkela asks when you near the walls "Aardgal, didn't you have some horses?"