The Shackled City, Day 21 (2007-02-23, 6:30 PM), Chapter 6: The Test of the Smoking Eye

Players (Characters)
Scott (Rain)
Jeremy (Grokk)
Catherine (Amber; Roland)
Rachel (Horkina)
DM: Tom (Garlen)

The group awoke the next morning and broke down the stone barrier used to protect them while sleeping. Down the stairs was a strange sight indeed -- a corpse covered in a strange mix of funeral wrappings and golden armor, sitting at a massive oak desk. This mummy stood and addressed the group, saying "Adimarchus, Most Potent Ruler of Occipitus, bids you welcome to the Test of the Smoking Eye." He then introduced the Test of Judgement: behind the door to the north was Thathnak the bebilith, and to the south was Halalia the avoral guardinal. The party was to choose one door and slay what lay behind.

Amber aligned everyone's weapons and the party opened the north door while Kaurophon waited in the antechamber. In the room to the north was a massive network of wooden bridges, and a large spider-demon hung from the roof. Grokk, Horkina, and Rain fired arrows at the demon while Garlen climbed the walls to close distance. The bebilith's web proved an ineffective defense, as Garlen passed right through and moved into flanking position. Horkina and Rain also climbed the walls to join in the smashing, and the demon was soon overcome by a multitude of perforations and magic missiles.

The next room was decorated with frescoes depicting a black-feathered angel fighting with hordes of demons and devils. Red sigils floated around a lantern upon a pedastal. In a flash of light, the mummy lord appeared next to the lantern, which he brought forward and handed to Rain, saying "Heed the words of Adimarchus! You have passed the test of Judgement. Attend to the wisdom of Adimarchus! Always deal with rivals first, and enemies second." The lantern beam pointed back to the entrance; it was to guide the party to the next test.

Before following it, the party stepped into the south chamber, where the guardinal stood captive in the middle of a silver circle. Rain stepped forward and broke the silver circle, and Amber handed a scroll of planeshift to the now-freed guardinal, who agreed to heal the party's wounds and walk with them to the edge of the celestial rubble before departing. Kaurophon reluctantly went along, feeling somewhat useless as Grokk and Horkina combined to smash a stone golem to bits. Halalia departed and the party continued on horseback to the north, briefly engaging a pack of fiendish centaurs who wisely chose to withdraw when two of their number were slain in a matter of seconds.

The lantern pointed ahead into what had no doubt been a battlefield long ago, where the Test of Resolve would take place. Dotting the ground were large cysts. Kaurophon explained that a battle between celestials and demons took place here when Occipitus fell, and that, while the demon corpses were immediately absorbed, the angel corpses are being absorbed far more slowly. The lantern pointed between two cysts, and the party followed. Encountering a basilisk, they stopped and attempted to engage it at range, and were suddenly transported back to the edge of the field. Roland moved to the side and cast Evard's Black Tentacles to slow the basilisk down, and Amber followed him and fired off another spell. Rain moved off the path to the other side with Horkina and Garlen, and these three were again teleported back to the edge of the field. Eventually the Basilisk fell, and the group continued following the lantern as it guided them through the cysts.

A glowing sword within a nearby cyst drew the group's attention. Rain and Horkina cut into the gooey mass, grabbing the sword and a few other items just before they were transported to the edge of the field. Dragging a stick behind them to mark the path, they quickly caught up to the rest of the group, and Rain surmised the "Test of Resolve" required him to stay on the path and keep heading forward. When the group encountered a Retriever shortly thereafter, Rain kept moving while the others stood to engage it, but was still teleported to the edge of the field along with Kaurophon. One Dimension Door later and they were back with the group. Rain drank a potion of invisibility and resolved to keep moving at his normal speed, ignoring all distractions, while dragging a stick behind him to trace the path for the others. The party quickly dispatched the Retriever and looted its junk pile.

A few minutes later, the group rescued a nearly-dead Couatl from another cyst, awakening it with a Break Enchantment spell from Amber. The Couatl gruffly thanked the group "despite their devotion to chaos" and then planeshifted away. Rain, still moving invisibly, spotted a group of humans between a pair of large cysts. He drew a small arrow in the sand and then continued on. One of the humans drank a potion and turned invisible, so Kaurophon coated the area in glitterdust. Roland's electric loop spell stunned two of the remaining three, and they all dropped quickly to the blades of the Rubble Rousers.

The lantern beam directed Rain into a faint circle on the ground, which teleported him across Occipitus. The rest of the party soon followed. They were greeted by another mummy lord, who announced "You have passed the Test of Resolve. Attend to the wisdom of Adimarchus! Let neither riches nor weaponry, neither allies nor enemies, tempt you from your course. Instead, spread such distractions before your rivals. The lantern shall guide you to the final test: the Test of Sacrifice. Your ascension to the throne draws nigh!" Amber created a stone dome, Roland cast rope trick inside it, and the party got some much-needed rest.

The party reached level 11.