Session 61 - Forge Folly

General Summary

  Deep within Runeforge, the Saviors of Sandpoint came face to face with a gift from Karzoug - a dragon born of magic and influence from the nightmare plane of Leng. Above the conflict, Maximus Merilander stood by and watched things unfold.   As combat ensued, Maximus lept off the roof of the research structure and slashed the air, plane-shifting to a place the heroes noticed had glamorous buildings and roads made of gold.   Blood flowed on both sides, but the Saviors were triumphant in the end. With its dying breath, the creature reached out telepathically to the heroes. "He is a fool, much like his master. Karzoug believed that he was taking advantage of the denizens of Leng, but in reality, they were taking advantage of him. His arrogance will ultimately lead to his downfall. Fortunately, you will not be alive to witness his failure.".   Next on the agenda was to sift through the treasure the creature had accumulated from the rest of Runeforge. Among the valuables was a large, heavy journal of solid gold adorned with a peacock on the front. After some perusing, they fell upon an interesting entry:  

The runeforge pool awoke! I first took this as a sign that Runelord Xanderghul had risen. When I arrived at the pool to investigate, the others seemed to have come to the same conclusion. The foolish Wardens of Envy thought to disrupt the recrudescence, and with the aid of Azaven, Ordikan, Athroxis, and that lovely creature Delvahine, we were able to defeat them utterly. Their Abjurant Halls lie in ruins. Our treaty was short-lived, though. Azaven absconded with the bodies, and that treacherous wench Athroxis nearly burned me to death before I made it back here. I was mistaken. Runelord Xanderghul still slumbers. It is that monster Karzoug who quickens and nears rebirth. Damnation! He must not be allowed to proceed Xanderghul into the world, for he would rebuild Thassilon in his inferior image, a testament to his greed rather than one of pride in the work. He must be delayed or defeated! I have managed to escape this place to a certain extent. By astral projection, I can explore what the world outside has become. It is a brutish place, yet it pleases me to see Thassilon’s mark endure in the shape of our monuments. Still, the wilderness of the world vexes me. Gone is the empire I knew. Karzoug’s city of Xin-Shalast is now hidden high in the mountains. When I finally discovered it, I found the spires where his body is hidden to be inaccessible, warded against astral travellers by the occlusion field around the peak of Mhar-Massif. As long as his runewell is active, I fear even a physical approach would be impossible. I must determine how to pierce these wardings and send an agent in my place. No need to risk my own life before my clone is ready.   The runeforge pool is the key. As I suspected, the occlusion field around Karzoug’s fortress in Xin-Shalast has a flaw. His lack of knowledge of the intricacies of Sorshen’s and my own lord Xanderghul’s powers has left an opening. My agents must use components infused with our lords’ virtues, extract the latent magic within these components, and then anoint their chosen weapons with this raw power. The runeforged pool has enough reserves to enhance no more than half a dozen runeforged weapons. Still, those enhanced with enchantment and illusion magic will be most potent against Karzoug’s defences. They may even be pivotal in his defeat. The emblem on the cover adorning my journal should suffice for me. Delvahine’s... toys... should suffice for enchantment, although one might be wise to cleanse them before they are handled. Toy dragons can be as lethal as the real ones.   The search for an agent goes poorly. Delvahine seems more interested in her lusts than in aiding me. Worse, the lapses and fevers are increasing. I fear that I will be forced to see to Karzoug myself, in which event I will need to use the master circle built into the Halls of Greed to escape this place. Yet first, I must set aside my work on delaying Karzoug’s return and turn back to the final development of my 205th clone. I only hope I have time to finish before dementia takes hold...

  Other entries identified that many magical items had been sacrificed to the runeforge pool to empower it. There was enough enchantment remaining to enchant two weapons. Jayvielle and Kilgor empowered their weapons, but as they withdrew their weapons from the pool, the statue of Karzoug came to life and spoke to the heroes. "You. Again. I can’t help but be inspired by your optimism, but your weapons will never reach Xin-Shalast." His confidence began to wane as his strength faded from the statue. "This… this is not the last… come then, heroes. Seek me atop Mhar Massif if you value life so poorly. You should be honoured to be the first fools executed under the banner of Shalast in ten thousand…"

Rewards Granted

• A jewelled silver dragon worth 1,200 gp (dominant weapon component consumed in the runeforge pool).
• A beautiful book etched with gold filigree and a golden peacock on the front cover. The golden peacock is worth 800 gp (dominant weapon component consumed in the runeforge pool). The book weighs just over 200 pounds, but as part of a collection, is worth 1,500 gp to a scholar of Thassilonian lore. Inside is the journal entry and notes of one of the wizards of pride, mentioning both Xin-Shalast and the runeforged weapons (see excerpt above).
• Three potions of cure serious wounds
• One potion of haste
• Two star sapphire eyes (each worth 1,000 gp) and a dozen amethyst grapes (each worth 300 gp)
• A slender wooden box containing two scrolls of plane shift and a scroll of binding sitting near the back of the cache, held down by a slender wooden box. Within this box rests a tuning fork attuned to Runeforge—the material component necessary to plane shift into this demiplane.
• 10,000 gp, 1,200 pp, and 7,000 gp in mixed jewels, gems, and fine linens
• One eversmoking bottle
• One golembane scarab
• A handy haversack that contains a tome of understanding +1, six potions of cure moderate wounds, a potion of remove disease, and a potion of remove paralysis
• An evil robe of the archmagi, a headband of vast intelligence +6, a ring of wizardry II, and a cape of the mountebank
• A tome of leadership and influence +2
• A diamond worth 5,000 gp
• A gem of brightness (13 charges)
• Two +1 greatswords, two +1 ranseurs, and two +1 longswords. Each of them glows continuously, providing light equal to a torch.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Created two dominant weapons to use against Karzoug and the occlusion field surrounding Xin-Shalast.

Notes

• The research books scattered around the Research Center are worth 10,000 gp if they were to be sold. They detail various experiments and partial notes on the conundrum of transmuting lead into gold. They provide a +5 circumstance bonus on all Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (religion) checks made regarding transmutation and constructs. 
• Spending several hours reading through these books, the heroes discovered notes and descriptions of the solution the Lords of Greed hit upon to protect Karzoug from the fall of Thassilon. By building a runewell larger than any created before, Karzoug could place himself in stasis between realities, suspended between Golarion and the hostile Leng plane. Once the dust settled, the plan was for one of Karzoug’s apprentices to release him. The details of this process are not recorded in the books—the wizards of runeforge were focused only on aiding the runewell’s construction, not what came after it was completed.
• Powering the runewell was a powerful magical artifact known as an anima focus—the magical link between this world and the runewell hidden within the Eye of Avarice, the pocket between the Material Plane and Leng. It functions as an anchor and window into the Material Plane for the soul lens, and it is through it souls of greed have been siphoned into the runewell. Whenever such a soul perishes, the beam of light emitted from the top of the anima focus glows green and siphons a portion of that soul’s greed into the soul lens in the Eye of Avarice. The soul lens amplifies the siphoned soul fragment so the runewell can use it to energize Karzoug’s return to Golarion.
• Destroying the soul lens and disabling the runewell may be an alternative to destroying Karzoug. Of course, Karzoug probably suspects that the heroes are also aware of this.