Trial by Fire
General Summary
Supposedly at his master's request, Musashi Masumoto put out a call for all those interested in breaking into the plane of the mad mage and recovering the bodies of Tiff and Runa. Grud received a direct request telepathically to join the incursion, and they all met at the Face Punch Tavern in Warhaven. Rico joined with two of his allies, Belron and Ashe, and the group set aside their differences to discuss how to get into the demiplane.
Fortunately, they were not the only ones who responded to the board post, and Eve joined them. She claimed to be a member of the mysterious organization that showed them the way in the first time, and she knew of a way back. If the party could secure a magical node, she knew the ritual required to channel its power into opening the portal inside. It would be a one-way trip however, she warned, and gave them a bird feather token to contact her.
They traveled to Fjordhaven and contacted the famous historian Pall Gar. Unable to persuade him otherwise, they made a sizeable donation to his archaeological efforts beneath the new city. In return he gave them the name of a contact who knew a way to access the node located near the volcano at the center of the peninsula. The contact was a scribe who called himself Jerome, and he indeed knew the way. They would have to convince Lord Orem, a gatekeeper of sorts, to grant them entrance...
Meanwhile, Runa and Tiff found themselves as petitioners in the Fugue, the realm of Kelemvor. Ushered through the city into the courtroom of the God of the Dead, several witnesses were called in to present evidence of Runa's beliefs. The souls of Runa's victims were summoned, and the god of vengeance, Hoar, agreed with Tiff that Runa had acted in accordance with doctrine, despite Kelemvor's protest that Runa had not dedicated any of her considerable wealth to honoring her patron deity. Oghma had seen her in his realm, but Runa was in the company of a Sharran. With a wink toward Tiff, the old bard's avatar strummed his lute and disappeared. Shar failed to show, but Cegilune, the spiteful hag goddess of the moon, appeared to lay claim to Runa's soul, apparently having use for her as a soul larvae and pointing to Runa's true nature as a hateful old hag as proof.
Another being appeared then, the ancient patron of witches, Baba Yaga, floating in her mortar and pestle. She pointed out the similarities between herself and Runa, and revealed herself as the true power behind the coven that the mortal witch had joined. Runa however, had no intention of submitting to any deity, and made her belief known, demanding answers from Hoar and spurning Baba Yaga. Offended, both deities left her fate up to Kelemvor and left the courtroom. Kelemvor's gavel had barely struck when Runa was whisked away to join the False in eternal servitude in the Fugue Plane, and several other souls replaced her in line...
With a significant bribe of 50,000 gp, Belron convinced Lord Orem to give them a description of the teleportation chamber necessary to arrive. They opened the vault through a series of valves, accidentally animated two forge golems in the process who were busy channeling the intense heat from the node into furnaces. Defeating them, they summoned Eve, who stayed behind to perform the ritual while the party teleported to the entrance to the demiplane. They wasted no time and challenged the thunder behemoth within, and with a shout, the beast charged.
First it swallowed Grud, but the half-orc used a token to summon an ethereal horse and escaped. The insectile shapeshifter Belron made several strikes against the creature with his stingers, but the beast was unfazed by the poison and unleashed a torrent of attacks of its own. Belron fell moments later.
Rico held the beast's attention next, and the creature stomped its clawed feet and an earthquake threw everyone to the ground and Rico found himself pinned beneath falling rubble. Ashe cast several spells trying to slow the monster's reflexes, but they were ineffective as well, and Rico was swallowed and perished within the creature's acidic bowels.
Grud activated a token and summoned a steed that took him into the ethereal plane, leaving Ashe to deal with the monster. Ashe decided to at least attempt to gather the remains of Runa and Tiff--from a pile of the creature's defecation... He succeeded, but he was unwilling to leave Rico behind and so turned to face the beast, only to be swallowed himself. Inside the stomach, Ashe was unable to cast spells, so he petitioned the gods to save him and attempted to plane shift the two of them to freedom. Despite the gods' favor, he was unable to penetrate its spell protection and was overcome by the acid as well. Grud gathered a bit of Runa/Tiff's remains and returned to collect the body of the one uneaten party member. 'Twas not for mercy, however, but for loot, and that would prove to be his undoing: the thunder behemoth stomped another earthquake, throwing Grud from his mount and casting the horse into a fissure that closed around it. Having lost his only way of leaving the demiplane, Grud unleashed a howl of rage and cut the behemoth to shreds. Unfortunately, the creature began to regenerate, its blood and guts pooling at the center of the chamber. Grud cut free the corpses of his companions from the belly of the beast and searched their belongings for anything that would help him. At last he found a ring with a single wish remaining on it among the loot from the volcanic node chamber, but it was not to be. The ring failed, as, unbenownst to any but the original builder, the demiplane had been specifically constructed to prevent such spells from working. Resigned to his fate, Grud gripped his falchion and faced the now-reconstituted thunder behemoth.
Ashe, who worshiped Mystra, the Faerunian goddess of magic, joined his patron as well, and the legacy of his soul would live on in any spell cast through the Weave. Though Rico desired to be at his beloved's side, Kelemvor found the young lord's soul too entangled with the soul of the umbral dragon Skygge and banished him to the Abyss, where he wanders still, ever-seeking a redemptive act strong enough to break free from Skygge's will. Even demons fear where he now treads.
Belron entered the rest of of the nature goddess Mielikki, and he remains in her court still, always counseling zealous retribution against those who defile nature's laws. Which in his mind's eye, includes just about everybody. For months Grud and the thunder behemoth fought, and the half-orc barbarian found his strength fading. No one was coming to save him from the inaccessible demiplane. Not wishing to die, Grud swallowed his lifetime of pride and called out to the gods for help. Only one appeared, as if in a vision, the one-eyed god of the orcs, Gruumsh. The deity was proud of Grud's continued struggle, but would not grant the barbarian his life. Instead, the god offered a hand to his prodigal, and Grud accepted, entering the afterlife, leaving only his enraged body behind to continue thrashing against the reanimating corpse of his enemy.
Grud activated a token and summoned a steed that took him into the ethereal plane, leaving Ashe to deal with the monster. Ashe decided to at least attempt to gather the remains of Runa and Tiff--from a pile of the creature's defecation... He succeeded, but he was unwilling to leave Rico behind and so turned to face the beast, only to be swallowed himself. Inside the stomach, Ashe was unable to cast spells, so he petitioned the gods to save him and attempted to plane shift the two of them to freedom. Despite the gods' favor, he was unable to penetrate its spell protection and was overcome by the acid as well. Grud gathered a bit of Runa/Tiff's remains and returned to collect the body of the one uneaten party member. 'Twas not for mercy, however, but for loot, and that would prove to be his undoing: the thunder behemoth stomped another earthquake, throwing Grud from his mount and casting the horse into a fissure that closed around it. Having lost his only way of leaving the demiplane, Grud unleashed a howl of rage and cut the behemoth to shreds. Unfortunately, the creature began to regenerate, its blood and guts pooling at the center of the chamber. Grud cut free the corpses of his companions from the belly of the beast and searched their belongings for anything that would help him. At last he found a ring with a single wish remaining on it among the loot from the volcanic node chamber, but it was not to be. The ring failed, as, unbenownst to any but the original builder, the demiplane had been specifically constructed to prevent such spells from working. Resigned to his fate, Grud gripped his falchion and faced the now-reconstituted thunder behemoth.
Epilogue
In the realm of the dead, Tiff would join her beloved Mulhorandi god of magic, Thoth, as an official of high rank within his court. May seekers of knowledge invoke her name when studying magic.Ashe, who worshiped Mystra, the Faerunian goddess of magic, joined his patron as well, and the legacy of his soul would live on in any spell cast through the Weave. Though Rico desired to be at his beloved's side, Kelemvor found the young lord's soul too entangled with the soul of the umbral dragon Skygge and banished him to the Abyss, where he wanders still, ever-seeking a redemptive act strong enough to break free from Skygge's will. Even demons fear where he now treads.
Belron entered the rest of of the nature goddess Mielikki, and he remains in her court still, always counseling zealous retribution against those who defile nature's laws. Which in his mind's eye, includes just about everybody. For months Grud and the thunder behemoth fought, and the half-orc barbarian found his strength fading. No one was coming to save him from the inaccessible demiplane. Not wishing to die, Grud swallowed his lifetime of pride and called out to the gods for help. Only one appeared, as if in a vision, the one-eyed god of the orcs, Gruumsh. The deity was proud of Grud's continued struggle, but would not grant the barbarian his life. Instead, the god offered a hand to his prodigal, and Grud accepted, entering the afterlife, leaving only his enraged body behind to continue thrashing against the reanimating corpse of his enemy.
Rewards Granted
Loot:
Coins
40 pp, 1,800 gp, 4,000 sp, 23,000 cp
[0 gp] (was 40,000 gp) Ring of Three Wishes (0 wishes remaining)
Armor
[2,159 gp] zombie skin shield
[1,159 gp] +1 light steel shield
Art
[400 gp] gold bowl with dragon engravings
[500 gp] platinum holy symbol
Gems
[500 gp] aquamarine
[100 gp] amber
[90 gp] unworked garnet (worth 45 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[110 gp] unworked amethyst (worth 55 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[120 gp] unworked garnet (worth 60 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[110 gp] unworked garnet (worth 55 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
Scrolls
[700 gp] arcane scroll of elemental body i (CL 7)
Wands
[750 gp] wand of cure light wounds (CL 1)
Weapons
[2,310 gp] +1 battleaxe [sheds light]
Wondrous Items
[3,000 gp] bodywrap of mighty strikes (+1) [no external clues]
Experience:
Grud, Rico, Tiff (16): 400xp each = 400 (forge golems) + 0 (killed by thunder, thunder!)
Belron (15): 500xp
Runa (14): 700xp
Ashe (13): 867xp
Alignment:
No shifts.
Coins
40 pp, 1,800 gp, 4,000 sp, 23,000 cp
[0 gp] (was 40,000 gp) Ring of Three Wishes (0 wishes remaining)
Armor
[2,159 gp] zombie skin shield
[1,159 gp] +1 light steel shield
Art
[400 gp] gold bowl with dragon engravings
[500 gp] platinum holy symbol
Gems
[500 gp] aquamarine
[100 gp] amber
[90 gp] unworked garnet (worth 45 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[110 gp] unworked amethyst (worth 55 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[120 gp] unworked garnet (worth 60 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[110 gp] unworked garnet (worth 55 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
Scrolls
[700 gp] arcane scroll of elemental body i (CL 7)
Wands
[750 gp] wand of cure light wounds (CL 1)
Weapons
[2,310 gp] +1 battleaxe [sheds light]
Wondrous Items
[3,000 gp] bodywrap of mighty strikes (+1) [no external clues]
Experience:
Grud, Rico, Tiff (16): 400xp each = 400 (forge golems) + 0 (killed by thunder, thunder!)
Belron (15): 500xp
Runa (14): 700xp
Ashe (13): 867xp
Alignment:
No shifts.
