Enter the BOOM
The group pressed on after having finished off the second wave of skeletons. They found that a narrow hallway connected the two rooms together on the northeast portion of the catacombs. From here the hallway headed due north for a time until it reached yet another fork. Adrick detected a strong aura of evil emanating from the northern portion of this fork, but the eastern end seemed quite, so the group chose to explore this section first.
They ran into several more rooms filled with numerous burial chambers along the way. Hazlo was quick to search all of these rooms, but found nothing of interest in most. He was careful not to disturb any of the graves in his efforts however. In one of the rooms Adricks dwarf’s senses told him something was amiss about the masonry on the eastern wall. He used his stone speak ability to see if there were any hidden doors or other objects. Sure enough the stones told him that there was a hidden door in the wall.
He used his stone speak ability to see if there were any hidden doors or other objects. Sure enough the stones told him that there was a hidden door in the wall. He approached the area with caution. Hazlo came up and checked the area for traps, having found none, he and Adrick slowly pushed the door in.
The room the entered was small and dark. Ruhdon came up and cast his light spell upon his sword. He lifted it up to inspect the room’s contents. On the northern wall lay a strange creature made of fused pieces of metal and other material. It was generally humanoid in shape and wore the robs of a wizard. In his right hand was a large staff, and an old book of spells lie next to it on the ground. Its left hand grasped some small object that none of the three could detect from their vantage point.
They moved into the room cautiously watching the creature for any sign of movement. Ruhdon studied the creature’s chest and noticed that there were 3 slots centered in the middle. The looked as if they would hold some sort of power crystal or something to that effect. He mentioned this to the others and they began searching the room to see if the could find anything that would match this. Hazlo soon found a blue sapphire near the opposite wall. Adrick looked behind the door and found a green emerald resting there. Ruhdon approached the creature and uncurled its clutching left hand to reveal a red ruby.
Ruhdon took the ruby and the other two crystals and placed them in their correct slots by size. As soon as the last one was in place they light up brightly and the creature opened its eyes. It coughed a few times and looked around wildly for a moment before settling on Ruhdon’s face. “Who are you?” asked the strange construct.
“I think the bigger queaution is, what are you?” replied Ruhdon.
“What am I? I’m a wareforged construct. I was created by my Master wizard many years ago to aid and supplement his powers in his many adventures. The last I remember were had come to Gardmore Abbey to help the knights defended against a siege. We were here for several days gfeinding off attacks and helping the knights better organize their dfecnes when one fateful night, all help broke lose. My master sent me in here to hind and instructed me to deactive until he would come for me. Were you sent here to retrieve me?”
“No, I’m sorry to tell you this, but I think your master is bead, along with the rest of the knights of the order. You see the Abbey was overrun by undead creatures and has been unhinabited by the knights or anyone else of note since that time. That was nearly three hundred years ago however,” said Adrick.
“Three hundred years? Then I am all alone. I had always wanted the freedom to chose me own path, but I had hopped this would come when my master was ready to let me go, not like this,” lamented the warforged. “Well, allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Boom. I was created by my master, as an aid in battle and study. I am well versed in the arcane arts, with a specialty for, well, makig things go Boom.”
“I see your master wasn’t the most creative when it came to names,” mocked Hazlo.
“Perhaps not, but he was an excellent wizard who made me well. I wonder, what bring you to this place after so long?” asked Boom. Adrick proceeded to explain, in brief, their adventures and their reason from coming to the abbey. In that time Lucan and Ballimor had come into the room to meet the newcomer. “Well given the circumstances I wonder if you mind if I join you in your quest? I haven’t much else to do or anywhere to go and I assure you I can be quite useful in a fight.”
“Are you sure you are master of your domain Boom,” questioned Lucan. “I had heard that wareforged were controlled by some kind of power stick or something. Do you have that in your possession?”
“I confess I do not, but I’m sure my master’s remains, where ever they may be, does. I doubt anyone living would know were to find it, and unless one activates it directly, I am free to do as I wish,” replied Boom.
“Well I for one will welcome all the help we can get, come Boom we are searching for the master of these crypts to appease Bahamut. I say we head down this eastern tunnel until we find its end,” announced Hazlo. The group nodded in agreement and they set out on their task again.
Testing the Newb
Boom fell in with the rest of the party as they headed down the eastern hallway. The path stretched on for several hundred more feet until ending abruptly a large wooden door. Hazlo listened for a while up against the door but heard nothing from within. Cautiously, he opened the door and peek inside.
He saw several ghostly shapes floating about the room aimlessly. Quietly he closed the door behind him and informed the rest of the party. Boom stepped up and suggested that he would go in first using his powers to try and corral the monsters within. Ballimor was quite amused by this and encourage the wizard to do so.
Nodding in agreement Boom stepped up to the door and swung it open loudly. Having gotten the creatures attention he proceeded to cast a powerful spell conjuring a large vortex of wind in the middle of the room. Most of the creatures took minor damage from the spell but more importantly they were trapped within the highwinds unable to move from their spots. Seizing upon the opportunity the rest of the party members poured into the room with enthusiasm. Within just a few minutes the battle was over. Unable to move or avoid their attacks the monsters stood little chance against the coordinated efforts of the party.
"I must admit that was quite impressive," said Ballimor. Upon inspection of the room the party found a large treasure chest the far right corner. Hazlo opened the chest cautiously fearing reprisal from Bahamut. Hearing nothing in his head however you proceeded with looting the container. Inside he found several hundred gold pieces a magical longsword and a strange looking bowl. Adrick inspected the bowl and deduced that this must be the bowl of Io's blood. Satisfied that they had discovered otherwise to this wing of the crypt the party headed back down the hallway towards the fork again. Spirits were high all around as the new addition to the group had proven he was more than capable of helping out.
Master and Construct
Having lost the element of this of surprised the party stormed into the room. The room was a very large antechamber larger than any of the others that they had seen in the crypt. The only light came from a small fire burning in the center of the room. The only person they could see was a decrepit looking old man sitting out a stool staring at the fire. He wore tattered wizard robes and clung to a large twisted wooden staff. He rose and turned towards the intruders to address them, "who dad and her my sacred chamber?"
"we are here on the orders of the great platinum Dragon two cleanse his crypts of an unholy blight," announced Hazlo and his most impressive voice.
"He, he, he," chuckled the old man. "I was once a cool hardy human such as yourself. But once the scourge came I discovered what true power could be and now I stand here before you a God among men!"
"I that you master?" questioned Boom.
"Boom! My fateful servant, were have you been? No mater you are here now when I have need of you most. Come here and help me squash these pathetic intruders!" The wizard withdrew a small rod from his robes and activated a few buttons. Suddenly Boom lurched forward to take his place next to his creator. "Attack my disciples, tonight we will feast upon their blood," he shouted. Suddenly several vampires emerged from the shadows bearing fangs.
Ballimor cursed himself for trusting Boom and launched forward in a charge towards the wizard. The archers spread out and began firing at the vampires while Ruhdon castes stinking cloud in the middle of the group of monsters hopping they were not immune like the skeletons. Adrick alone shouted encouragement to Boom telling him to fight the will of the control rod.
His pleas did not go in noticed for Boom longed again for the freedom he had so recently earned. The war forever fought against his masters will the entire battle and in the end the others would attribute a large part of their success to his efforts. For the terrible wizard was never able to fully employ his true power while locked in a battle of wills against his most powerful creation. Still there were several times when Boom succumbed to the power of the rod and found himself attacking his fellow party members against his will.
Despite these drawbacks the Last Drop fought on bravely. The monsters were numerous and powerful, but at length the found themselves with the upper hand. Hazlo and Lucan finished off the wizards vampire allies and the entire party focused on Boom's master. The full force of the group against him was to much forte powerful wizard to withstand and he lost control of Boom in an effort to keep himself protected. It was at this moment that Boom struck the man with his most powerful spell, disarming him and driving him down to the ground.
Alone and near death, the wizard pleaded with Boom for mercy, "please Boom. Remember all of our times, remember I created you, gas you your power, far you your life! You can not do this..."
Boom hesitated for a moment, taking pity on the remains of his once great master. "I am sorry my old friend, but it is my time now. You are just a mad old wizard who has fallen into evil. It is a mercy what I do in the memory of my good friend who I fear died long ago." Boom raised his staff and delivered the fatal blow. Afterwards he fished out the control rod and implanted it within his chest. Hazlo heard Bahamut in his mind, praising him for his efforts in clearing the evil from this place. Lucan nodded with approval and Adrick came up and patted Boom on the back. No one said anything, they just gathered round the remains of he wizard for a time before moving on.
Arachnophobia be Damned
The party solemnly ascended the stairwell back up to the Temple room. There they meet Sir Oakley and explained to him what they had encounter on their journey into the catacombs. He was quite disturbed to find out about the undead creatures that were roaming the grounds. He was even more upset when he found out about Hazlos interactions with Bahamut. He warned the rouge not to try the god again. Finally the presented him with the bowl of Io's blood that they had discovered. Sir Oakley took the sacred object and placed it in its placed on the alter. He then discuessed options for the next step. He was certian there was an entrance to the vaults in one of the other two buildings on the Drangon's Roost, but he could not say which. He also knewthe Vaults contatined the wealth of the order at the time of the scourge. He authorized the group to take what then needed from whatever was left within. The group stayed the night in the temple and set out in the early morning.
They chose to check out the northern most building which looked to be in better shape overall. The door was ajar when they approached so Hazlo poked his head in as stealthily as possible. All he saw was darkness. Though the buildings roof was partly collapsed the dim light of the morning sun did not allow much light to get in. Ruhdon then took the lead casting light upon his sword.
The interior of the building was dusty and full derbris. There were spiderwebs everywhere. As he moved further in he started to get the uneasy feeling that the group was being watched. Suddenly Hazlo was attacked from behind by a large spider. The monster lept from the shadows struck him in the back then retreated back to te shadows. Soon more and more spiders started leaking to attack the group.
At length Ballimor was able to catch one of the spiders with a solid hit and the creature was killed instantly. Encouraged by the weak nature of their foes, the group faned out going on the offensive for the first time. Before long they had killed all but one of the spiders, a particularly large one who was most assuredly the nests matriarch. The group cornered the beast that put their full moth against it, finishing it off as well.
With the Meance dealt with the group fanned out to explore the area. The building was mostly destroyed by time and the spiders and the found nothing of practical use. Ruhdon discovered a stairwell leading down and announced it to the group. They decended the passage single file, eager to meet the next challenge.