Mister Perky posted:

it's pretty clear now why I had Rime Of The Ancient Mariner on the brain

Tiggum posted:

Over the past few hours your shock at having witnessed the unholy resurrection of the Lencian crew has gradually turned to anger. You vow to avenge the souls of the crewmen and draw your weapon in readiness to attack the host of Drakkarim undead who are standing in rows upon the deck. But before you can act, you feel a shudder run through the steps as the host vessel comes lurching to a halt. There is a dull boom and then several portals open in the surrounding wall, spilling beams of white light across the deck of your captive ship. Scores of Drakkarim undead emerge from these portals and descend upon the ship like a host of hungry ghouls. You are forced to abandon your plan for vengeance for there are now far too many of the enemy.

Lone Wolf posted:

Previously, there were not too many of the enemy, even following the resurrection of the Lencians as horrifying mockeries of life. No, prior to the arrival of these new soldiers, the enemy numbers were such that you could easily have slain them single-handed, thereby preserving the lives of the crew. But you might have gotten hurt!

The_White_Crane posted:

Previously, there were not too many of the enemy, even following the resurrection of the Lencians as horrifying mockeries of life. No, prior to the arrival of these new soldiers, the enemy numbers were such that you could easily have slain them single-handed, thereby preserving the lives of the crew. But you might have gotten hurt!

nelson posted:

I was thinking the same thing. Cowardly Lonewolf

achtungnight posted:

The Deathlrord of Ixia posted:

The corridor gradually ascends to a high gallery which overlooks a chamber two storeys deep. A dozen undead slaves clad in silvery robes are busy attending to a vast machine constructed of quartz-like crystal and black metal. Through holes in its side they probe and manipulate long glassy rods which reach into the machine’s core. From these holes there radiates a brilliant, ghostly light.



Using your Grand Huntmastery, you are able to see patterns in the ultraviolet spectrum of light. You recognize that the light which is pouring from the holes in the side of this diabolical machine is very similar to that which normally radiates from the sun, but it is abnormally intense. A tingle of fear runs along your spine the moment you realize that the ghostly rays are a deadly threat to any living creature.

Fearing detection by the undead attendants, you hurry from this high gallery by means of a sloping tunnel which descends to an empty hallway. All along the left wall of this narrow passage are glassy portholes that are caked with ice and grime. Vigorously you scrape the encrusted filth from one of these circular windows and peer through it. Your curiosity is rewarded by a stunning sight.

Outside of this vessel is a vast subterranean lake enclosed within a titanic cavern of ice. Several ice-boats, similar to the one on which you set sail from Fort Azgad, are moored in a long line at the lake’s edge. Scores of undead warriors attend to these ships, and many more can be seen marching along the frosty walkways which go all around the lake’s shoreline.

Quickly you realize that these ships are part of a great invasion fleet. Constructed by the slaves of Deathlord Ixiataaga, they can only have been built for one purpose—to carry his armies of undead warriors to the lands of the living. Rimoah and Ardan were correct—the Deathlord does intend to wage a bloody war upon Magnamund—yet even their gloomiest predictions failed to estimate just how advanced his plans are.

Shocked by the revelation of your discovery, you reaffirm your vow to thwart the Deathlord’s monstrous scheme. You move away from the porthole and hurry along the hallway in search of a way out of this alien submarine.

At the end of the hallway you arrive at a flight of metal stairs which ascend to a heavy, bronze-banded door. This sealed door appears to be a recent addition to the vessel; it is secured by a curious combination lock which you recognize to be Drakkarim in design.

The lock comprises three raised blocks, each of which is divided into four equal squares. In each square, except one, there is a number. You have encountered this type of lock before and are aware that by tapping the empty square a correct number of times, you will cause the lock to disengage and the door to open.

Comstar posted:

So the evil undead overlord has a nuclear reactor running his castle. I don't think he actually needs his armies of undead.

achtungnight posted:

10.

The Deathlord of Ixia posted:

With a dull clunk, the lock disengages and the heavy portal creaks ajar. Immediately you are greeted by a blast of frozen air as you push open the door and step out onto a viewing platform which is fixed to the outer metallic skin of this huge alien submarine. Away to your right you can see a line of ice-boats at anchor at the lake’s edge, and to your left you notice a column of skeletal warriors. These are being led by a black-robed Cabalah, marching in mechanical fashion along a jetty towards the mouth of a tunnel which leads out of the vast ice cavern. Your keen Kai senses tell you that you have arrived in Ixia, and that the distant tunnel leads to the surface.

You commit the position of the ice-boats to memory; if your mission is successful, you will be needing some means by which you can escape from Ixia. Then you carefully observe the area immediately surrounding the submarine, and notice that there are only two ways by which you can reach the distant tunnel—by the adjacent jetty, or by entering the icy waters of the lake and swimming to the shore.

Tiggum posted:

They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose, nor spake nor moved their eyes; it had been strange, even in a dream, to have seen those dead men rise.

I prefer Kubla Khan, but Rime of the Ancient Mariner is pretty great too.

Tiggum posted:

That is the correct answer, and I came up with the same rationale as Nelson. But who knows if that's what Dever intended?

Guy Fawkes posted:

We had swimmed in the cold water before. Let's try the Jetty.

Maugrim posted:

May as well put our nexus skills to use and swim for it.

The Deathlord of Ixia posted:

You descend from the submarine’s viewing platform and slip unseen into the frigid lake, thankful that the Platinum Amulet you are wearing is powerful enough to protect your body from the ill-effects of such devastatingly cold water. Rather than risk being seen by a patrolling group of undead warriors, you gulp a lungful of air, dive below the surface, and strike out for the distant shoreline.

During your underwater swim, your higher Kai rank and mastery enables you to use the Brotherhood Spell Breathe Water. This magical spell allows you to absorb oxygen from the icy seawater directly into your bloodstream through the pores of your skin, negating the need to surface repeatedly for air.

In just a few minutes you reach the distant shoreline and break through the surface alongside a shallow stone causeway. Atop this causeway is a track, a spur of which branches off towards the tunnel entrance. With only your head visible above the lake, you cling to the causeway stones and wait patiently for a nearby patrol to march past.

As soon as the patrol is a safe distance away, you haul yourself out of the water and run to the cover of some boulders which lie embedded in the icy shore of this subterranean lake. Here you discover to your dismay that, during your underwater swim, you lost two items from your Backpack.

Erase those items which you have recorded in spaces 4 and 6 on your Backpack Items list.

From your hiding place among the boulders you watch the activities of the loathsome undead. The causeway and jetty are teeming with cadaverous soldiers who, under the direction of several spindly, black-clad creatures, are busily transferring materials to and from the ice-boats and the open mouth of the submarine. The tunnel entrance lies only two hundred yards away, yet reaching it without being detected by the enemy looks to be a near-impossible task. You are trying to formulate a plan of action when suddenly you notice a means by which you can achieve your goal.

The track, which branches away from the causeway and leads to the tunnel entrance, passes close beside your hiding place. Every so often a wagon loaded with equipment trundles along this track towards the jetty, and an empty one trundles back. When the next empty wagon appears, you get ready to abandon your hiding place and leap aboard its open tailgate.

Patiently you observe your chosen wagon. It is being hauled by a shaggy, grey-furred beast of burden which is harnessed by heavy leather straps. As it trundles past the boulders you break cover, leap aboard the tail, and hide yourself from sight beneath a greasy, foul-smelling tarpaulin. Through a crack in its ancient wooden planks you watch with trepidation as the wagon moves slowly towards the tunnel entrance. It enters the tunnel, unchallenged by the skeletal warriors who stand guard here, and ascends a gentle gradient to another ice-walled cavern. Several passages connect at this point from all directions, like the spokes of a giant wheel converging at the hub.

An undead Drakkarim soldier steps forward, takes hold of the shaggy beast’s harness, and leads the wagon towards a stockpile of metallic containers. Clearly he intends to load these onto the wagon for transportation back to the submarine. Fearing discovery, you leap from the rear of the moving wagon and hide yourself among a stack of empty wooden crates. From here you observe two possible ways by which you could leave this busy cavern: by an unguarded staircase in the north wall, or through an open archway in the east wall.

moosecow333 posted:

Of course we wouldn’t lose the water breathing potion.

Runcible Cat posted:

Stairs!

Materant posted:

Why do we even have this, anyway? We have a Grand Discipline for that.

Guy Fawkes posted:

Too many times we have found Archways protected by lethal magic field or alarm systems.

Runcible Cat posted:

Stairs!

The Deathlord of Ixia posted:

At the first opportunity you sprint away from the wooden crates and descend the staircase to a closed door. It is a sturdy portal, carved from solid rock and banded with strips of bronze. You test it with the toe of your boot and, to your surprise, it swings open with barely a sound.

Beyond the door lies a rough-hewn chamber lined with racks of ancient crystal spears and swords. Despite the millennia which have passed since they were crafted by armourers during the Age of Eternal Night, these weapons still hold a keen edge and gleam like new.



Your Telegnosis detects a secret door concealed in the far wall of this chamber. It is finely constructed, virtually undetectable to the human eye, but a closer examination reveals a raised pimple of rock positioned at its centre. As you reach out to touch it, the heat from your hand activates a concealed catch and the secret door slides silently open, revealing a dark passageway beyond.

Broken Box posted:

Secret passage.

Mikl posted:

Secret tunnel!

Broken Box posted:

Secret passage.

Runcible Cat posted:

Don't we get to pick up a sparkly ice weapon?

Broken Box posted:

Secret passage.

Tiggum posted:

They're not capitalised in the text so they're not meant to be lootable, but if you want we can swap our regular spear for a crystal spear. It won't have any special properties but it'll say "Crystal Spear" in our inventory.

Mikl posted:

Secret tunnel!

The Deathlord of Ixia posted:

The narrow passageway leads you to a chamber carved from glittering blue ice. Steps have been chiselled into its translucent north wall, a slippery staircase which ascends to a landing positioned high above the ice-cavern. As you climb the steps, the sub-zero temperature plummets even further, making you shiver involuntarily despite the combined protection of your Platinum Amulet and your Magnakai skills.

After a tiring climb you reach the landing to be greeted by the sight of an unguarded cave mouth. Through this opening you see a bleak and desolate wasteland of rock and ice. A blizzard is raging, whipped up by a fierce electrical storm that blazes above a distant mountain range. The jagged grey peaks are illuminated by the flashes of the storm’s ghostly, blue-white fire.



After checking your equipment, you reluctantly leave the cave mouth and set off into the raging blizzard in search of the city of Xaagon.

For an hour you trek through a swirling white oblivion of a blizzard, trusting solely to your keen survival instincts to keep you safe from rock falls and hidden crevasses. Yet, despite your skills, it proves to be a difficult and treacherous journey: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

Gradually, the storm lifts its heavy yoke. Although snow continues to fall, the wind loses its angry intensity, and for the first time since you left the cave mouth, you are able to see more than a mile distant. As you crest an icy ridge, you stop to get your bearings. You look to the south and see the brooding, grey-black waters of the Tozaz Sea lapping at the ice-locked Ixian coastline. To the north and west you are surrounded by unfriendly mountains, and to the east, directly ahead, lies a pass which cuts between two viciously sharp peaks. Beyond the pass you catch your first tantalising glimpse of Xaagon—the city of the Deathlord.

You establish that you are less than three miles from the crystal walls and monstrous towers of Xaagon. You resolve to try to reach the city before the storm resumes but, as you enter the pass, the blizzard returns with malicious vigour. Finding it impossible to continue, you stop and use your Kai skills in order to seek sanctuary from the raging storm.

In this narrow pass you detect only two possibilities for shelter: a cave on the north side, and a circle of fallen rocks a few hundred yards away to the south.

Endurance: 38/41.