Session 19: Casnemos, The Tower and the Amethyst Report

General Summary

The Stink of burning Flesh Still wafts in the air from the massive burning pile at the edge of the crater.    The party takes a short breather knowing that they are extremely exposed here, and that there is a direct view from the Tower at the edge og the black lake to them.    They have a lively discussion as how to best take the tower, all the while noticing that is seems like every couple minutes a new pair of defenders appear on the wall.    In the end they go for the direct option- A frontal assault, Thordunn will bring down the gate with his bombs, And the rest will charge through the gate.   They charge on their destriers as fast as their steeds will carry them, and they quickly see that the defenders are shambling skelatal amalgamations of Hound and Scorpion with large engorged tails. Before they started their Charge Killian Create a minor illusion of another Rider ahead og him, and the moment they passed into range these Scorpionhounds fling the tips of their tails as bony Javelins towards the image, where they harmlessly pass through it.    At this moment hell breaks loose.    Thordunn still on his Pony bowles a bomb perfectly into a small gap of the gate, and blows the bar assunder, and the gate flies up. Soren Creates a cloud of mist around the entrance to provide further cover, but before that they all see a massive ossified curled worm- a *Solorm*. Or well, a construct of it. Behind it is a hooded veiled figure of a chain mailed cleric, saying some incantation- this is likely Casnemos. Next to Casnemos is a massive pile of bones, from which he summons more Skeletal hound.    Thordunn rides in and jumps from his horse to the staircase, and MukYUk comes right after, though he tries to ride his horse up the staircase and his horse falls breaking his legs.    The Scorpionhounds continue peppering everyone with bony spikes, thugh they explode easily as Thordunn finds out.    The Archer that had left before to warn the the castle defenders jumps into the fog and engages Soren in brutal hand to hand combat taking out his horse under him leading Soren to be pinned. On the Other side of the battlefield Casnemos finishes his ritual and the massive Ossified Solorm coiled in the courtyard comes to life. Right after this MukYuk and Killian beat upon Casnemos so Thoroughly and fastly that he casts magical darkness around them and flees like the coward he is. His shouts of mockery heard from inside the tower seconds later.    In The meantime Thordunn has found his real opponent and challenge dukking it out with the massive jaws of the Solorm. He Throws bombs and swings axes at it, all the while being brutally mauled by its thrashing tail and teeth. though he avoids being caught up its jaws. Soren now covered in a thick skin of Bark and having broken out from under his fallen horse is casting massive amounts of healing into Thordunn, and even survives several slashes of the Tail. Killian takes out many of  the Scorpionhounds in the field through liberal applicatiions of thunderwave, while mukyuk starts scaling the wall of the black tower to get into a window. This plan works quite well until a massive swipe from the Solorms tail flings him off the side and he crashes unconsciously into the dirt.    Killian has is friends back though and moments later the Muk is back in the battle. Casnemos's cries of mockery turn into incredulity, as the party does real damage to the Solorm, and has taken out most of the other defenders. Casnemos also acusses them of working with Elva calling them her lackeys.  Pummeling onto the Solorm, and distracting him with Killians vicious mockery, Muk Yuk and Thordunn( still standing from Sorens magical infusions of healing into him) finally take out the Bastard beast, A final strike of Muk causes the entire thing to shatter and explode covering everyone in fine bone splinters, except Killian who wisely took cover behind the mound of Bones.    Silence falls, and the group is all out of resources, this being the third large battle of the day. But they finds no obvious entry into the tower, and they can hear Casnemos accusing them in what now seems a much younger voice of ruining his plan.    For the first time in the groups living memory Soren turns into a spider climbs upon the tower and throws Casnemos over the side. By what mechanism they do not know, but he now appears to be a boy in his late teens rather than the fully grown cleric from before, and he falls fumbling after a book. Unconscious and dying Killian binds Casnemos up and restores him with a healing potion.    Soren form the top of the tower sees the Amethyst aswell as the transport staff , which seems enchanted with other material aswell. the top of the tower is full of magical devices projecting his voice , hearing and sight beyond the tower, and from here he sees that Elva and 16 purpur and carmin clad mercenaries are on their  way to the tower.  Soren finds the tower to be full of loot and treasures and He finds the controls to open the doorway at the buttom at the tower.    The Party is still discussing when Elva arrives at the gate and Says to MukYuk   "Goodday MukYuk, Its good to see you"