Brief Recap: Last turn, Humphrey was captured trying to sneak into the mages guild as Blade, unaware that Bruce had his agents spread the word of the huge bounty on Blade's head. Meanwhile, down south, Blade, Fyona, and the rest of the party met Lady Gayrlana.

Down a Very Dark Hole

The first thing Humphrey feels is pain. The pounding in his head is severe, but he learns a new definition of pain when he tries to move his hands. He looks down at them to see that all his fingers have been badly broken, knuckles bulging out of their sockets, some of them bleeding where splintered bone protrudes through the skin. He next realizes he is gagged, and that his throat is parched. He looks around the dark room, realizing that one of his eyes must be swollen shut. He tries to spit a broken tooth, but the gag prevents him. Chains around his wrists and ankles prevent him from standing or moving his hands very far.

He sits on a cold, damp stone floor, a single torch burning feebly in a sconce on the wall. He does not recognize this place. The room is circular, with several small round pits in the floor around the room's perimeter. The place smells of death.

Humphrey hears someone shuffle nearby, and strains to turn his bruised face toward the sound. A voice says, "Are we awake? Good." Krossus steps into view, holding the crown and scepter in his hands.

"Truly," says Krossus, "I am amazed that you were able to win these from their hiding place. The Tomb of Acererak is a deadly place, and many mages of the Magocracy have lost their lives there seeking the crown and scepter." Krossus moves into a dark part of the room, and Humphrey squints as a taper flares, lighting a lamp. The lamp illuminates the room, revealing that it must be a torture chamber-- implements of pain hang on the curved walls, and an iron maiden stands to one side of the room. A large table is also in the room, with shackles to bind a victim. Another table holds all manner of blades, hooks, saws, and hammers.

Humphrey watches Krossus move to one of the tables, where the book of Xerath lies open. "Interesting reading. What was it you were looking for? How to defeat Shwolv? How to use the crown for your own purposes? What? No answer? Yes, I'm afraid the guards were a bit hard on you. I asked them not to break all your teeth, but they get overzealous. Don't worry though, they got their reward."

Krossus holds up the lamp to illuminate the walls of the chamber, where the six fighters who attacked Humphrey hang upside down in chains from the ceiling. They are all dead, or nearly so. "I can't have anyone knowing you are here, you see. That would raise questions, such as why you stole the book of Xerath. And those clever mages of the guild would then deduce that this is the crown of Acererak. I can't allow that to happen."

Krossus moves closer to Humphrey, and draws an orb from his black robes. Humphrey recognizes it--a Spell Stealer. Krossus holds it above Humphrey's head, and Humphrey feels the spells he has memorized being drained painfully from his mind, until he cannot remember any of them. Krossus holds the orb up in the light and gazes at it closely, then puts it away.

"I think we can dispense with these, now." He waves one hand, and the chains fall from Humphrey. The gag too drops onto Humphrey's lap. The old mage spits the broken tooth at Krossus' feet.

"Tell me about the Obsidian Stone," says Krossus.

Humphrey spits blood from his mouth, looks at Krossus and begins laughing and laughing, nearly unable to control himself. After a while, and much irritation on his captor's part he stops and says "You are looking healthy Krossus. It is nice to see you feeling so good about yourself. What a twisted bit of irony this is, wouldn't you say?"

"Irony? I wouldn't say that. It was only a matter of time before I got my staff back." He gestures to a stone pillar in the room against which leans the Staff of the Magi. "And I am indeed feeling very good about myself, now that I have the crown. If you do not tell me what I wish to know, I will use it on you, Humphrey. You know what the effects will be, for you have read the book of Xerath. I need only command you, allow the crown's power to touch your mind. Then, over time, you will most certainly be driven insane." Krossus smiles deviously, showing his teeth. "I will relish watching your reason slip from you. But, that fate can be avoided. If you tell me what I wish to know, I will give you a quick and honorable death. Why do you seek the obsidian stone, and where is it located? If you do not answer, I will use the crown on you right now to compel you. You know its power. You will either answer, and retain your sanity, or answer and lose your mind. Make your choice."

Humphrey looks at Krossus, knowing he is beaten. He begins to tell his story, slumping over as he does. "The obsidian stone is a powerful remnant of the ancient gods. I surmised, with it along with the crown and the sceptre, a person may be able to reclaim the glory of past ages and conquer again the Wurld as we know it. The first step is by recalling the old minions of the Ancient Gods, from the ethereal plane. These creatures are known as the Githyanki, or Gith, in some tongues. Unleashing them is easy, all one needs is the stone, and the proper alignment of the three moons." Humphrey pauses to cough profusely, wretching in pain. "However, the Gith are immune from the effects of the Crown, as they dwell outside of our perception plane. To unleash them unfettered means the end of all we know, good or bad, on this plane. To control them, one need call upon the chosen one, a child of the Gods, half-man, half-beast. She is a lyncanthrope. She must bear the obsidian stone to command the Gith, for they follow none on this plane but her. I captured the Crown and the Sceptre to command her, if I could find her again, for I know her name. She trusts me, though I don't currently know where she is. As for the location of the Stone, it is with her as well.

"Much of this is druidic legend, garnered by my capture and persuasion of the new Grand Druid Aria. She is under my spell. Though legend, I believe it to be true."

Krossus listens to Humphrey, as if considering the old man's words. He then slowly raises the crown and places it on his own brow. "Remain seated there until I return," he commands Humphrey. He pulls the crown off, placing it and the scepter in the satchel Humphrey had made for that purpose. "I will return. We shall see whether you speak the truth. I cannot fathom why you would wish to call such as the Githyanki to our world. But I will learn the truth soon enough. Egmund will tell me more than I need to know. And perhaps your old friend Nepal?" With those words, Krossus walks out of the chamber, chuckling to himself as he leaves.

A few moments after Krossus is gone, a swirling mist appears before Humphrey. It solidifies into the shape of a demon standing nine feet tall and surrounded with smoke and flames, bearing a flaming sword and a lightning cat-o-nine tails--Shwolv. The heat of the beast burns Humphrey, and it snorts foul sulfurous smoke in his face, making him caugh until he wretches. But the mage cannot move away from his seated position, having been commanded by the crown wearer.

The beast speaks to him in its own dreadful language, but the words are somehow understood by Humphrey: "Thou foolish mortal, who took the crown of my master. Thy own deeds have saved me a long wait. Now that thou art no longer protected by the crown, thy soul is mine.

"But one chance hast thou." The massive beast leans forward so its flames singe Humphrey's eyebrows and beard. "Serve me willingly. I wilt pour the hellfire into thee, so thou may slay thine enemies, and live a long life. Or defy me, and I shall carry thee back screaming to the Abyss with me this instant. Thou art my creature now, whether thou servest or no. Choose."

This is the second choice Humphrey has been faced with since awaking. It is clear to him that his life hangs in the balance. He dreads that his soul appears already lost.

Humphrey says, "It seems my fate is sealed. I am doomed." He looks up as defiantly as he can. "If it is my enemies that I spite, I serve you, but in so doing serve myself as well. I agree."

At these words the room changes. A seemingly tangible darkness surrounds Humphrey and Shwolv, and Humphrey feels a strange buzzing in his ears. "Very well," Shwolv says in an impossibly deep voice. Humphrey hears the words as common speech in his mind, though he also hears the demon's actual words, which are of a language not meant for mortal ears.

Shwolv stretches forth his hand, and touches Humphrey on the chest, above his heart, with one red-hot of a talon. The demon's touch sears Humphrey, and intense pain wracks his body. He cries out, and slumps over when the demon withdraws its claw. A hole is burned through Humphrey's torn and bloody robes, and a faint light emanates from the wound. Then Shwolv moves close to Humphrey, and stands over the mage. He opens his maw, showing razor sharp fangs dripping with corrosive liquid. The demon vomits a black fire upon Humphrey, and the mage at first thinks he will die. But the Hellfire does not burn him. Instead it heals his wounds, restores his smashed fingers and teeth and eye, makes Humphrey whole again. The Hellfire swirls around Humphrey, then pierces his breast where Shwolv touched him, and there the Hellfire enters the mage's mortal body for good.

The pain is like nothing Humphrey has ever before experienced. His whole body is agony, and all thought leaves his mind. His blood runs black in his veins, and his features twist until he scowls in evil mockery of his previous self.

As Humphrey wrestles with the pain, he faintly hears Shwolv speak again: "Beware, mortal, the crown's magic is more potent than mine own. Thou wilt not be immune to Acererak's tools, though I have rendered you whole again, and the crown wielder's command upon you be hereby erased--for it is not thee whom he commanded, but thy lost self. Thou wilt not go mad. Thou now hast the power to slay all who stand before thee. The Hellfire wilt also repair thine mortal coil, but only thine own. Other powers might thou wrest from it, if thy craft be great enough."

The demon steps backward away from Humphrey, and in a flash of brimstone, it disappears.

Humphrey feels an intense dread, like there is a massive debt to be paid, or some impending doom awaits him. But he also feels power coursing through him, demanding to be unleashed. He begins to laugh uncontrollably, hysterically. For half an hour he cannot silence himself, as tears stream down his face, lamenting his lost humanity.

Later, he senses someone approaching the room, and an icy calm overtakes him. The door opens, and two mages walk in--the ones who captured him, members of the war cabal. The one Humphrey recognized grins malevolently at Humphrey, saying, "It appears Master Krossus has defanged this little viper." He nears Humphrey, but when he before Humphrey, he stops, confusion on his face. He looks at Humphrey's hands, then his face. Uncertainly, he offers, "I assume the Master healed you--perhaps to make you better sport?" An evil grin splits his features as he prepares to backhand Humphrey.

Humphrey accepts the backhand, allowing the sting to course through his face. Smiling with new malevolence, he turns to the two magi and says, "I think the two of you should die." He opens his maw and spews hellfire upon them both.

Black liquid fire englufs the two mages in an instant. Their screams are short, for the Hellfire burns the flesh from their bones, then burns their bones into ash, then burns the ash into smoke--all within moments of Humphrey's action. As quickly as it came, the Hellfire is gone.

Humphrey feels a dreadful satisfaction, and a tiny bit of remorse. Both feelings come from an innate understanding--the souls of the slain mages went to feed the demon Shwolv. Black hate boils up gleefully inside Humphrey at the thought of their eternal torment at Shwolv's mercy. This was service to please Shwolv.

Some part of Humphrey feels pity for the slain. He does not know whether it arises from the fear that he, too, will share that fate; or whether some shred of humanity, or his soul, survives within him. Without hope of the latter, he stands. Inspecting the spot where the mages stood, Humphrey finds only a blackened spot. No articles of clothing or devices survived the Hellfire, if they were indeed carrying any magic items. Even their staves were obliterated.

Humphrey moves to the door and listens. No sound is evident. He pushes it open and sees a ladder going up. He begins to climb.

After probably two flights, he reaches a trap door, pushing it open. A lamp sits on a table in the room, showing it to be a basement or cellar of some kind. Humphrey climbs into the room and looks for an exit--a door leading to stairs upward.

Upstairs, Humphrey realizes he is not in the Keep, but rather a private home inside Galay--Krossus' lair, he suspects.

Humphrey closes the trap door and listens for any sounds. If he cannot hear anything, he begins to investigate the room he is in, in hopes he will find something of use to him. He concentrates on the hate within him, and ponders what powers it might provide him, though he knows the price of its power. Sensing too that now, in the time when Krossus does not yet know of his escape, might be his best chance to best the wizard, he crouches behind the door to his chambers, and waits for his return.... after a short time, he realizes he might do better by waiting where he was commanded to sit. He climbs back down the hole and returns things to the state they were in when he climbed up, and there he waits for Krossus. At first opportunity, he shall spew hellfire on him.

Humphrey sits back down in the exact spot where Krossus commanded him. His wait is not long, for he hears someone enter the trap door and climb down the ladder. The door to the torture chamber opens, and Humphrey is surprised to see Egmund before him.

The old man kneels before Humphrey, and says, "Are you alright? I discovered what Krossus did you you, and came to help." Humphrey, having used the crown numerous times before, immediately recognizes that the strain behind Egmund's eyes is a struggle against a command from the crown. Egmund is not his own man. "Can you move?" asks Egmund. Egmund's eyes betray that he is not willingly saying these words.

"My dear friend. You must be away from here. Krossus has me in his grip, but you can still save yourself. Teleport out of here now, before he gets you as well."

Humphrey looks at Egmund with internal sadness. He is careful not to betray that he can tell the effects are on him. He tries to use his force of will to get the hellfire to take him and Egmund away from the place and back to his secret place in Galay. (in essence he is seeing if he can teleport using the hellfire magic).

Humphrey imagines Egmund and himself teleporting to his hideout. He touches the Hellfire within him, to see if he can draw power from it to make the teleportation without spell or magic item. In a rush, the Hellfire rises up, threatening to escape his grasp and burn--burn Egmund! An alien hate tells him to let the Hellfire loose on Egmund.

With sickening realization, Humphrey knows that the Hellfire wants souls. Souls for the demon Shwolv. Humphrey himself feels a hunger to use the Hellfire, or rather a feeling that he is commanded to use it. Resisting mightily, he reigns in the power, forcing it back with an immense effort of will. Humphrey does not want to send Egmund to that fate, even if he is now a servant of Krossus.

From Egmund's perspective, he sees Humphrey sitting with a sad, defeated look on his face, imploring him to flee while he can. Krossus had spent hours issuing careful, detailed commands to Egmund, but Egmund's mind was extremely tough. The part of him not enslaved by the crown tries to put strain in a face commanded to betray no trace of the crown's effects, to send a message through eyes commanded to show no sign of influence. He has to help Humphrey somehow, but first he must warn Humphrey that he is not himself, that he is Krossus' creature. He would need the apprentice of his old friend Viktorus if they were to stop Krossus from taking over the entire Guild, and worse.

Then Egmund sees black hatred overcome Humphrey, whose eyes grow shadowed, as if they were filled with ink. Humphrey's features then twist into a rictus of pain, his eyes close, and when he opens them, his eyes are normal and he takes several deep breaths.

Krossus' slave Egmund immediately moves to leave, not turning his back on Humphrey, his staff held between them in defense.

[Do you let him leave?]

"Egmund, as you can see, my loss of the Power, Krossus now commands is tormenting my soul, as it he now torments yours. I had hoped truly that you would be able to avoid Krossus, but I can see you did not. Good luck to you old friend. Both of our days are numbered now, I fear." Humphrey waits for him to leave. Almost immediately after he does, Humphrey creeps up the ladder and listens. He listens with the hellfire for souls. If he hears nothing with his ears or his hunger, he leaps out the nearest exit (a door, a window, etc), and makes his escape. [Please let me know if you want me to be more specific?]

________________________

Meanwhile....

[From last turn:]Fyona answers, "I wish I could say the same."

Gayrlana's features show a flash of anger that quickly turns into a sarcastic rolling of her eyes, passing the comment off as a joke. "Don't be jealous, daughter, no man's worth it. So tell me, what are you two doing down here with an orc and," Gayrlana squints through the smoke across the table, "is that Ghotu Graver? I see you must be about some serious business, then--with orcs and killers as companions. And this one, nice braids," she says nodding to Bibi. "All you need is a mage, and you'd have a real company, wouldn't you?" Her tone is playful, but sarcastic--no different than Blade or Fyona remembers her.

Blade is becoming uncomfortable in the heat of the room, and the other party members now feel it too. Beads of sweat have popped out on their brow, and all members of the party now feel slightly dizzy and nauseous--the smoke is truly cloying. Too late, Blade realizes they are being drugged or poisoned. He is confused, as neither Gayrlana nor the men smoking the pipes seem to be affected by the smoke.

When Gayrlana sees the alarmed look in Blade's face, she steps back from the table. "The game is up, I'm sorry to say." She deftly pulls a bag of something from her belt and tosses it into the air above where Fyona sits, creating a cloud of silver sparkles around her daughter. "Don't fight and no one will get killed. If you do fight, I'll kill one of your companions for each of my men you kill." As the party rises from their chairs ready for combat, they notice that many men--Gayrlana's mercenaries--surround the building. Blade thinks she must have brought her entire company with her, there are so many fighters and non-human creatures outside. [Gayrlana's mercenary company has humans but also non-humans and "monsters".]

Fyona fights to stay coherent "What do you want Gayrlana?"

Gayrlana says, "It's not really what I want, dear, but what my employer wants." Looking at Blade, she adds, "You'll meet him soon enough."

"I cant wait. " says Blade

The two fighters at the bar move behind Gayrlana, as more enter the front door. Other mercenaries can be heard outside the window, and finally more mercenaries appear from a hall leading to another part of the bar. All exits are blocked.

[What do you do? All of you feel very dizzy and sick, and you suspect you are about to lose consciousness. ]

"The rewards must be truly great to involve such a large force of mercenaries to capture only two individuals." says Blade indicating the surrounding merc force. "I'll not fight you, Gayrlana. Not like this.. it is business and I understand. Perhaps you could be persuaded to let us go...for old times sake. " he says with a smile despite the nausea he feels. "Or perhaps for the love of your daughter."

Gayrlana smiles coyly, and says, "I'm glad you don't want to fight Blade. As for Fyona, we'll see about that." to Fyona she says, "Don't fight, dear. You'll only make things worse for your friends."

"I'll take that as a no then," says Blade upon hearing Gayrlana's comment to Fyona. Blade had his own reasons for the conflicting feelings he held for Gayrlana. He wondered what had happened between the two women to cause such antipathy between mother and daughter.

"Heed her words Fyona, the company was several hundred strong when I was a member. All seasoned professionals and trained monsters. It's probabaly best to let her take us to whomever hired us, then escape from there. Besides, we should respect the wishes of the elderly."

Gayrlana whistles playfully, like Blade just struck a good blow. "Better watch it, Fyona. Seems once the beauty of youth is gone, Blade will have no more use for you. Have you told her about us, Blade?" she finishes, looking straight at Fyona.

(Fyona did try to dodge the dust but regardless of the result her action will be the same)

[DM note: Gayrlana hit, so the dust covered you where you sat, mostly on your cloak.]

Fyona reaches for the full bottle of wine on the table. She tips it back, gulping down half of it before she feels it starting to come back up. She makes no attempt to stop the vomit that is at the top of her throat. Fyona turns her head to face her mother as the bile escapes her mouth. A large heave hits the ground in front of Gayrlana and splashes onto her boots.

Blade looks at Fyona with a shocked look on his face. Perhaps her father had been a Rasheman, that would at least explain her disgusting behavior.

Fyona looks up at her mother and begins to laugh. "Have I grown to be the lady you thought I would be?"

Gayrlana steps back, but the wine/vomit still splashes her boots and the hem of her cloak. "The more you try to offend, dear, the more you remind me of me!" she says happily.

"I can't recall you ever vomiting upon those you were displeased with Gayrlana, at least not literally. You were always a bit more subtle than that. " says Blade wrinkling his nose at teh rising smell. The smell combined with the drugs in his system make his feel even more naseaus than he already had been feeling. "You really must learn to get a handle on your drinking my dear." he says to Fyona.

Fyona pulls the hood up on her cloak and drops through the floor into the wine seller.

When she does so, nothing happens. The chair and table still feel solid to Fyona. Gayrlana smiles wickedly at her daughter, saying, "Yes, my employer said you'd try that. That's why he gave me the dust." She smiles sweetly at Fyona, crinkling her nose just a bit as she does so in an infuriating way.

Fyona says nothing but tightens her grip on her sword.

Bibi speaks up "What do you want with us?" motioning to herself Mog and Ghotu.

Gayrlana says, "Why, nothing, braids. But if you interfere, I won't hesitate to kill you. And the poison you've taken will render you unconscious any second now, I can already see the effects." Bibi does feel extremely sick, and the room keeps trying to spin before her eyes.

Posting Instructions: The forest is kind of dim, as it is pretty dense overhead.

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