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All six players in attendance:

7 May 1108: The party attempts to explain what just happened to General Sewati. He is at first suspicious, but soon loosens up and seems to see the grand picture. He requests that the party join him on his return to Paco, where he will bring them before Odin to explain it all to him.

8 May: Last day in Miakoda. Last minute shopping and prep for the barge trip to Paco. Dhersion visits the mines.

9 May: Drifting down river. Get to know the general quite well.

10 May: Late in the day, arrive at Paco. Kesi's staff glows sporadically as they enter the city. The general arranges lodging for them in the center, walled city.

11 May: The general retrieves them and escorts them into the palace to see King Odin. Though they are required to leave their weapons behind, Kesi convinces them to let her in with her quarterstaff. At first, the general objects - not wanting to push his luck with the paranoid palace guards - but soon he concedes when the chaos detection powers of the staff are explained.

In an upper level fortified antechamber, the party is introduced to the king (who is served by nine guards). Kesi's staff glows brightly in the room and Roderick's detect chaos sees a large source of chaos in the back corner of the room. Unfortunately for the rest, the beast in the corner is invisible.

The king has a short temper and does not seem interested in the party's arguments. Even though he may believe the party's story about the Slaad influence, he claims it is too late to stop the war with Sibutco. He orders the group to leave. The general protests to no avail. Without weapons, their options seem few. Roget quietly asks the general for his sword. The general is unwilling to comply, but carefully moves his hands behind his back, leaving his scabbard vulnerable.

In a flash, Roget draws the general's sword and charges into the corner to attack the invisible opponent. Kesi and Dhersion follow Roget's lead.

Vincent moves to the opposite corner and snatches one of the guards' short swords on the way. Aramil, still unarmed, steps in to protect Bigby from the advancing guards.

The invisible chaos in the corner projects a cone of fear that engulfs the bulk of the party. While none of the group fall for it, one of the guards turns to flee - leaving eight. Soon, though, they begin a horrible, messy transformation into Red Slaad. The creature in the corner seems able to convert them two at a time, so for the first minute or so, this is all it does.

Roderick steps to the back of the room and manages to cast a protective spell against chaos on the king. It protects him for awhile, but eventually he draws his weapon and attacks a nearby Slaad - which causes the spell to drop.

What with one thing and another, the battle grinds on. In the end, Bigby had levitated into the air, but was pulled down by a pair of jumping Red Slaad and killed. Roget was dominated by the “White Slaad” in the corner and ordered to kill King Odin - which he did. Kesi was killed by another of the Red Slaad, and Aramil, Roderick, and the General were knocked unconscious.

Late in the battle, when things were looking quite desperate, Vincent discovered that his frog figure was an activatable magic item. Once activated, he found he was invisible to the Slaad! With this new-found ability, he found he could attack the creatures at will - and suffer no real consequences.

In the end, though, the price may have been too high. Two dead. Three out, including the cleric. And stuck in the middle of a palace, where the king was just killed - and there are almost no living witnesses to vouch for the party's side of the story…

XP awarded: 3,500 each, Running Total: 21,000. Everyone gets to seventh level. Kesi and Bigby, if raised, will drop back to the middle of 6th level for dying (18,000 XP).