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After getting the party fixed, they will likely have stuff to do while in the city. Do as much of this via email as possible…
Continuing the dungeon called “Beyond the Light of Reason” (Dungeon magazine, issue #96, Jan/Feb 2003, pages 65-89).
Since the party left with the dungeon half-emptied, there will be changes by the time they return.
First and foremost is the return of the dragon! The party has NO chance of defeating her, so they should be discouraged as much as possible. However, there are three main options to get past her. First, the party can wait for her to leave, then sneak in past her cave. This will be dangerous - because there is no easy way to know how long she'll be gone and whether she'll return while the party is still climbing the hill.
The second option is to go in the lower mine entrance. Since they have explored the mines already, they have a good idea of where it is. However, it is blocked by rubble and will require serious excavation to reopen. Stone shape would help, but a 12th level caster will require several to tunnel through. Transmute Rock to Mud would clear it out quite effectively.
The third option is probably the best - and that is to Teleport directly into the mines' lower levels. Naturally, it has its own risks, but it solves more problems than it creates.
If a Teleport option is used, the spell caster should be presented with a sense that the magic field around the mines affected their transport in some way. They will sense a flash of brilliant fire and feel a surge of peace and security. The two sensations present an odd dichotomy, but do nothing tangible to the Teleport. The characters (as long as they are not evil) may come and go as often as desired using this means.
Once inside, the party will discover that Vargnin has made some changes. Firstly, he summoned a Red Slaad and sent it up to reclaim the Grimlocks caves. In the process, he summoned three others and they killed the Ogres in area L17. After this, Vargnin cast a series of Animate Dead spells to turn them into Ogre Zombies (MM, p. 267, see stats below).
Ogre Zombie
HD: 8d12+3 (hp 55)
Initiative: -2
Speed: 40'
AC: 19 (-1 Size, -2 Dex, +8 Natural, +4 Chain shirt), touch 7, flat footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+14
Attack: Greatclub +9 melee (2d8+9) or slam +9 melee (1d8+9)
Full Attack: Greatclub +9 melee (2d8+9) or slam +9 melee (1d8+9)
Space/Reach: 10'/10'
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Single actions only, Damage Reduction 5/slashing,
Darkvision 60', Undead traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +6
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 6, Con --, Int --, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: --
Feats: Toughness
CR: 3
Alignment: Neutral Evil
After all this, the Aboleth in L15 has become convinced that Vargnin is going to kill him. If the opportunity presents itself, he will be even more willing to cooperate with the party. (Sadly, the party is unlikely to seek his help - and his remaining Ogre and Skum guards will be no match for them).
One improvement to the Aboleth's position is the recruitment of the Troll Fighter from L11. With his masters killed, the Troll found himself alone against the Ogres and the Aboleth recruited him with ease. His new mission is to guard the same bridge - but now against the Slaad who have taken up residence in L8, and L10 (2 each).
Finally, the Skum tore down the rope bridges in L1 and L12.
# Encounter CR 10 11 10 11 1 Tiptoe past the dragon 11 4,500 3,300 750 550 1 Troll under the bridge (L11) 8 1,500 1,100 250 183 1 Red Slaad 7 1,000 825 1,000 825
2,000 1,558
2,000 1,550
Kesi,
The noise of battle is replaced by the roar of a fire. But not the quiet of a fireplace. This is an inferno. A hellish, loud, roar of flame, as if the fire were screaming to break free and run across the world.
At first, the noise is terrifying - a raging pain with a sharp blade. But then, your senses - which were a jumbled mess - begin to settle and you recognize the fear and realize that it can no longer reach you. Instead, the fire in front of you seeps into your body and fills you with a sense of peace and security.
Quicker than the first time, you realize you have died. Again.
A sadness tries to displace the peace and security, but fails. The giant wall of white flame in front of you seems to keep all such thoughts at bay.
Time passes. You drift in and out of awareness. The ever-present fire seems to occupy your mind, its flames keeping you transfixed.
And then words step in to your mind. Seconds pass before you think to react. You turn to your right towards the voice, but more seconds pass before your mind interprets it all.
“Impressive, isn't it?” he asked.
A dwarf stands next to you. His armor is old and in desperate need of repair. He has no visible weapon, and the cloth of his outfit is in tatters. A thick layer of dust clings unnaturally to his beard and hair. He stares forward toward the flame.
“It was called 'Berronar's Pyre' by the man who triggered it. But in my day, we called it…” He pauses for a moment, as if searching for a word.
“Well,” he continues, “we didn't really have a name for it. There was too much pain and too little time for such details.”
You study his face for several seconds as he silently stares forward. You realize only after what seems like a very long time that you should say something.
But he turns to you just as you feel able to form a sentence. His face reminds you of Pavo - but is that just because all Dwarves look alike? Or is it more?
“I am Einerk. And this…” he waves an arm toward the flame, “is the entrance to the Long Deep.”
You turn back, following the sweep of his arm. But instead of the flame wall, you find yourself standing in a large natural cavern. The roar of the fire has been replaced by the shocks and flashes of combat spells being cast. At the center of the cavern, two men stand opposed. They are both armored, one in chain mail, the other in a breast plate. Both are human. The man in chain mail has light red hair sticking out from under a silvered helm and his armor is adorned by the symbol of two conjoined silver rings. It is a symbol you have seen before - in the abbey in the marsh. He holds a mace in both hands, but seems to wield it more as a holy symbol than as a weapon.
The other man has darker hair, over which he wears a silver circlet adorned with several moonstones and a large sapphire. He holds a black talisman in his hand. A symbol to a god you do not recognize.
Both men are casting spells furiously as they dodge around the room. The ground shakes as their spells hit. Bits of stone, dust, and dirt fall from the walls and ceiling. Some of the spells you recognize, having seen Roderick cast them before.
Suddenly, the earth screams as a fissure cracks through the floor, splitting the cavern in half and separating the two men. The man in the breast plate stumbles backward to keep from falling into the newly created chasm. The man in the chain armor holds his ground and casts a spell of brilliant flame.
The flame arcs across the cavern toward its target, who is still struggling against the unsteady ground. But as it crosses the chasm, it hits a wall of invisible gas venting up from some place below. The world turns white and the sounds of combat are replaced by a roaring inferno.
You find yourself back where you started. In front of you, a wall of white flame roars. To your right, Einerk stands silently staring at it.
The men who were battling so fiercely a moment before are nowhere to be seen. You are not even sure if they were ever there.
And then, without warning, you feel yourself falling backward, away from the fire. The sense of peace and security you were feeling is violently severed and replaced with a frightening sense of movement. And with it comes a pain.
You awake on a bed, with Roderick standing over you. Your body aches from deep wounds that Roderick's spell has not finished healing over. But even more, the transition from the calming effect of the fire to reality jars your senses. For several minutes, you feel colder than you have ever felt. And for several hours beyond that, you find yourself disoriented and disturbed by the lack of the white flame.