Bane of the Cosmic Forge, Part 12

Previously on Bane of the Cosmic Forge, the party fell off a mountain, got covered in zombie sick, participated in a diplomatic outreach programme with the isolated Amazulu tribe, and then killed their god.

That god.

Passing back through the court of the Amazulu Queen, Motoko makes a further offering of some roasted corn, which actually goes down quite well, considering what the party had just done to their object of worship. Possibly it hadn't sunk in yet, or they didn't quite have a clear view of what happened from the court and so think that there had merely been a feisty debate with the volcano god rather than outright deicide. In any case, Whisker takes the opportunity to purchase a spellbook from which to learn the fire shield spell from the priestess Kumali, having observed its usefulness in the hands of Shaana, and suspecting that it may be useful again soon.

Making a brisk descent down the Amazulu pyramid on their way back to the (relative) safety of the underworld, Whisker the felpurr mage and Konata the faerie alchemist contemplate their role in the party.

[To Konata.] "I have been thinking. As the true spellcasters of the group, the others rely on us to deliver them from foes that cannot be defeated by simple force of arms. It is a heavy responsibility the two of us bear."

[Nods solemnly.]

"The enemies we face cannot be easily destroyed by mere application of elemental force. We have recently fought undead sorcerors and elemental beings, and we can expect to meet greater threats moving onwards."

"Yep."

"To be able to deal with these threats, we must become greater than we are already—we must redouble our studies and learn to tap into an even greater range of powers that will complement our already considerable respective arcane mights."

"I want to be a ninja."

And so Konata changes profession from alchemist to ninja.

Konata the ninja faerie alchemist

As a ninja, Konata's attack strength and evasion will be enhanced, and she will gain the ninjutsu (stealth) and kirijutsu (critical strike) skills. Ninjas gain alchemy spells just like alchemists, albeit only from level 5 onwards; in practice, this means that Konata can, after a brief period adjusting to her new profession, continue to build upon her alchemical prowess, despite no longer training as a dedicated alchemist. In fact, she will actually gain more spells that if she stayed an alchemist, because she will re-level from experience zero, and get to about level 10 again by the time the rest of the party collectively hits level 11. The disadvantage of her change in profession thus amounts to a loss in attributes such as intelligence and piety (as changes in profession reduce attribute values to the minimum required to qualify for the new profession given their species) and a temporary loss of general combat proficiency (being back at level 1 again). Fortunately, faeries require a lot of attribute points to qualify to be a ninja, so the attribute loss is minimal. Ninja also regenerate magicka somewhat slower than alchemists, though given the party's frequent visits to magical fountains to replenish health and magic, this is (for now at least), not of great concern.

"I can't help but feel that something terrible has happened."

"I'm a ninja!"

After some combat practice on the way to the party's next destination, the formation of the party is changed; given that Konata is now technically a front-line fighter (albeit not as yet a particularly skilled one), she is moved closer to the front. Alva is moved further back, because as a spear-wielder, she actually has enough reach to strike at the enemy from the rear. Alva is not sure how she feels about this.

"I mean, I'm one of the party's strongest fighters aren't I? And I'm the only one who wears plate armour, so I shouldn't be lurking near the back... right?"

"Fear not, nobody doubts your skill or courage."

[From the back.] "One of us! One of us!" [Nudges Whisker.] "Come on!"

[Tiredly.] "No. I don't think so."

[To Alva.] "Don't worry, I'll protect you!"

"This is a bad idea."

Return to Giant Mountain

Atop Giant Mountain was the Guardian of the Rock. On their first visit, the party tried to parley with the Guardian to no result, and chose to withdraw without conflict. Since then, the party have acquired the ruby eye from Mau-Mu-Mu, and strongly suspect that the second (or maybe more accurately, the first) eye is in possession of the Guardian. Which means they must reascend the mountain, and retrieve the 'rock' by any means necessary.

En-route, Konata practices being a ninja, and the art of stealth. This apparently involves flying behind rocks then periodically sticking her head out and screaming "ninja!" while throwing shurikens (inaccurately).

"Ninja!" [Throws shuriken at a distant jellyfish.]

"Who gave her those anyway?!"

[Tries to look innocent.]

Eventually the party ascend back to the summit of Giant Mountain, for a third meeting with the Guardian.

"Have you come to take the rock?"

"Yes."

"Then I must slay you!"

[Draws swords.] "We shall see."

The party attack the guardian of the rock.

A stony-faced stone face.

Konata immediately demonstrates that you can't take the mad alchemist out of the faerie quite so easily and uses her powers to create life: a wolf rat.

"Its alive!" [Laughs maniacally.] "...I'm actually a ninja."

The wolf rat crawls around mewing pitifully. Breaking the awkwardness, the Guardian spews boulders from its maw, bombarding the party, but Whisker, not especially fazed by abominations wrought by fell magic on any given day, preempts the assault by raising a missile shield, which immediately deflects a boulder thrown at Konata. The faerie doesn't seem to notice, giggling as she looks for somewhere to hide so that she can throw more shurikens.

Shaana uses her angel's tongue to bless the party while Wrath and company launch attacks. Konata tries to hide, badly. Attack magic proves generally ineffective, except for Konata's acid bomb spell.

[Frowns.] "This is just what I was doing before."

"You can pick up any new hobbies you like, as long as you remember that we still need you to dissolve rock for us now and then."

In the end, only Alva is slightly winged by a boulder, followed then by the wolf rat, which goes splat.

"Aw."

"It's for the best." [Under her breath.] "Thank God."

Eventually Motoko punches the Guardian in the nose, right along a hairline fracture running up its face, causing it to split into two inert chunks that shatter as they hit the ground. Sifting through the rubble, she obtains the other ruby eye.

[Nonchalantly tosses the eye to Whisker.]

Having acquired both ruby eyes, the party need only return to the castle, to the mysterious black door in the basement. But that is not the only piece of unfinished business back in the castle: the way to the wizard's lair is opened with Xorphitus's ring.

The Wizard's Lair

Xorphitus's lair, or more correctly his laboratory in the castle, was located beneath the castle dungeon, close to the skull-faced door with the hollow eyes. Sealed behind a heavy metal portcullis, the party had not been able to enter before, and so had been left with no choice but to leave it be. But now that changes, because Whisker wears Xorphitus's ring on his own furry finger.

It knows about Whisker!

"Open portal, and yield your secrets to me!" [Waves the hand bearing the ring theatrically.]

"Was that really necessary?"

"Some of us have an appreciation for the dramatic."

The party enter the laboratory, abandoned and untouched for one hundred and twenty years.

Everything is quiet and peaceful... until a demon cat from Hell appears!

It's a cat. A demon cat. A demon cat from Hell. Who is not Whisker.

The demon cat immediately attacks. Showing remarkable aptitude for simple pattern recognition, Shaana creates a fire shield to sap the strength of the infernal feline's enfilade.

"Hmm. It's made of fire. Would this work?"

Konata throws an acid bomb at the cat. It sizzles ambiguously.

"I think a more classical approach would be most valid."

Whisker casts a chilling touch spell. It smoulders indecisively. Alva looses patience with the spellcasters and backs the cat into the corner with a couple of sweeps of her fauchard, allowing Wrath to pin it down under a flurry of sword strikes, his reptilian scales protecting him from the worst of the heat. Motoko punches the demon cat, because Motoko is hardcore. Whisker decides that as a mighty wizard, he really doesn't need to show restraint, and simply hurls an iceball at the cat that consumes it and about half the laboratory in a vortex of cold that freezes everything solid. Fortunately, the others have long learned to duck and roll out of the way of Whisker and Konata's more exuberant sorcerous invocations, and are not themselves flash-frozen; all that remains of the Demon Cat from Hell however is a small shrivelled up corpse encased in frost.

"Only one cat may call upon the fires of Hades here!"

"But you use ice magic."

"And I reserve the exclusive right to future uses of hell-fire."

Xorphitus' lair contains a number of interesting looking chests, only half of which are coated in hoarfrost. Shaana gets to work.

"Grab some seats guys, this'll take a bit."

The first chest contains a number of scrolls, all appropriated by Whisker, protected, appropriately enough, with a fire bomb. The second chest contains a number of potions of healing, distributed amongst the party, protected by vorpal blades. The third chest contains two spellbooks, protected by a poisoned dagger mounted behind the chest's lock. Having determined that the magics are of no use to him, Whisker allows the others to have a flick through the yellowing pages. The forth chest, in the far corner, contains a record written by Xorphitus himself and a key, protected by a magical rune that, Shaana is duly informed, would have summoned a phantasmal hand that would have slapped her silly.

While Whisker reads Xorphitus's diary, Alva learns to cast the charm spell from one spellbook, while Motoko learns the detect secret spell from the other, neither of which is especially useful given the magics already at the party's disposal (though maybe Alva can use charm to avoid future expensive insults to foreign royalty).

Opening the wizard's record, you are able to read the following passages:

"What do we have here..." [Clears throat.]

Month of Stars—17th Day

"I have at least achieved success with my experiments in body re-animation! The poor victim was the mistress who had accompanied the Vicar, the whore mother of the demon child, and while she had been dead nearly three days, still did she breathe, walk, and see once again..."

"So Xorphitus was indeed engaged in foul necromancy..."

[Airily.] "It's a quite common way for archmages to pass the time."

"It's a pity that there was not a way to similarly save her mind and soul, as now she is but an empty corpse. I have sealed her in one of the Castle spires, until discovering a means of proper disposal. Encouraged by these early results, I shall continue when another test subject is available."

"Wait. I think we fought that zombie. You remember Wrath, the one that paralysed you?"

[Glowers.] "You dropped me on my head."

Month of Stars—23rd day

"My latest subject, the insane vicar of recent beheading, was a stunning experiment in corporeal separation. The moment the axe fell upon him, I invoked a magik which prevented his spirit from departing this world."

"Well, this is disturbing."

"I agree."

"I mean, Xorphitus can't even spell 'magic' correctly."

"His mind and soul thus captured, it proves that my ideas will work, and soon I will have mastered both life and death, and acquire immortality. For the time being, a 'spirit lock' should confine the departed Vicar's 'ghost' inside the other spire, and I will keep the key here, lest some unsuspecting turd loose this wraith upon us by accident."

"Ooh. Let's release the ghost!"

"I'd say that's a terrible idea, but we're definitely going to do it, aren't we?"

Month of Moons—4th day

"We have at last uncovered the secret portal which shall soon bring us the Cosmic Forge, and I must prepare for the journey, for tonight, we fly!"

Month of Moons—13th day

"We have stolen the Forge!"

Month of Moons—15th day

"I am afraid that my wily apprentice, Mystaphaphas, has disappeared. There is no indication of him anywhere and all magical attempts at locating him have resulted in failure, other than leading me directly to the den of an overweight serpent, of which I think now must surely have consumed him."

"I thought even as a snake, Mystaphaphas could talk?"

"Perhaps he only acquired the ability over his long imprisonment."

"Either that, or Xorphitus had learned to tune his apprentice out most of the time."

Month of Moons—16th day

"I have finally decided what to write with the 'pen', and thus escape that horrid curse which has already taken the King to his everlasting death..."

[Smirks.]

"So the king was indeed felled by the Bane of the Cosmic Forge..."

[Excitedly points at Wrath; nobody understands why.]

"Thus, tonight, I inscribe destiny!"

That is the last entry in the book, and all other pages are blank.

[Shuts the book.] "And we know how that turned out."

There is nothing more to find in Xorphitus's laboratory—or is there? (The answer is yes, there is.) Motoko looks around thoughtfully, then walks up to one of the walls, in the middle of which is a dusty old candlestick.

Clearly nondescript, despite the fact that I took a screenshot of it.

Pulling on the candlestick opens a secret door, leading into a large closet space.

Stepping into the closet, you notice a crooked staff in the corner, obviously forgotten or overlooked...

Within is the stave of moons, an enchanted staff that can inflict sleep. Carefully perusal of the closet reveals another secret door into a second laboratory. Therein waits a final chest containing some bottle rockets (for Konata to play with), a book of silence (unfortunately redundant, as Alva and Motoko are the only ones able to cast the silence spell, and both already know it), a resurrection scroll, and the ruby talisman, which improves defence and magic resistance, and can also be invoked to permanently increase the intelligence of the bearer (destroying it). Shaana quietly pockets it.

[Muttering to herself.] "I could let Whisker get smarter... but then I wouldn't secretly be the cleverest any more..."

Meanwhile, in the far corner...

A table full of potions, bottles, and other assorted chemicals sits quietly waiting for a master who shall not be returning...

As the resident alchemist (resigned), Konata flits over to the table to take a closer look.

A few of the jars appear to be intact and well-sealed, and possess contents which have not deteriorated or turned into hard lumps of blackened goop. An odd little wooden stick is also lying on the table and you notice that one end of it has been painted red.

Konata starts to play with some of the remaining chemicals. Whisker and Motoko wander over to see what the faerie is up to. Konata mixes up some purplish gloop in a flask and then strikes it with the wooden stick. This causes the entire apparatus to explode.

[Pick themselves off from the floor, coughing and slightly on fire.]

[Calls out to the rest of the party.] "I defeated the table!"

"And the nearby wall I see."

As Shaana helps Motoko beat out the flames feeding on her robe (Whisker is left to douse himself), the others examine the collapsed section of wall.

"It appears to open into a passage heading down."

"There's something weirdly familiar about the stonework here. We better take a look."

A short excursion down the passage leads into the Wizard's Cave near the dwarf mines, linking Xorphitus's domains below the surface. This is convenient, since now the party can more easily revisit Smitty and the magical healing fountain in the depths of the mines (which is much more potent than any of the fountains found in the castle).

Taking their cue from Xorphitus's diary, there is one more piece of unfinished business in the castle of the Bane King.

The Castle Spires

Two spires rise from the castle. Some time ago, the party were able to ascend one spire and unlock the chamber at the very top, whereupon they met the first of many zombies who would proceed to vomit on them. And yet that zombie transpired to have a tragic history, being the mistress of a holy man and the mother of a demon child, executed and then reanimated by the magic of the wizard Xorphitus, who it turns out was less nice before he accidentally divided himself in two and sealed the sane half in a giant underground crystal gem.

Now finally the party can unlock the gate blocking the way up the second spire, whereupon they encounter a familiar-looking door:

The door is solid black, and looks to be quite heavy. Bolted to the center of its face is a black iron spade.

"Finally!" [Flourishes the key of Spades.] "Carrying this around without having anything to use it on all this time was making me a bit twitchy."

Shaana unlocks the door and the party proceed into the chamber, ready to meet with one of Xorphitus's final experiments.

The room is barren and quiet, looking quite undisturbed for over a century. As you cast a gaze about the chamber, you notice an eerie glow beginning to congeal within its center, taking the shape of a human figure.

Well, at least half a human figure.

Soon you can discern a face, old and withered, and now it begins to speak...

"Hello? Hello? Is that you, Annie? I can't see, Annie..."

"Ah!" [Starts whispering furiously to the rest of the party.] "One of us has to pretend to be his lost love so that he can find peace and move on!"

[Looks at Shaana.] "...what?"

"Can you hear me, Annie? Annie? Why do you not speak to me, Annie? Don't you remember me? Annie, don't you remember?"

"Alva! Pretend to be Annie!"

"Don't you remember who I am?? I am... I do not know who I am..."

"I'm not pretending to be some dead girl! You do it."

"I remember... yes, I remember a long time ago... I was... a holy man... a pious and revered man... I don't remember... I remember Annie, sweet Annie..."

"Huh? No! I can't lie to a priest!"

"Oh my Annie, we are lost! I broke my vows of sanctity for you, sweet Annie... and I am punished! Punished..."

"What, and it's fine if I do it?"

"Our daughter! We must hide our little girl... they will come and take her away! No! She is the devil!"

"Motoko!"

"Oh, she who was conceived from sin... from our sin, fair lady Ann... and she is damned! And it is we who are damned..."

[Looks at Shaana incredulously.]

"Sweet Annie...the King has found us! The King has taken our daughter! He will protect her... he will protect us, sweet Annie... such a long time ago... I am lost now, Annie... but I still have the horn!"

"...shut up you lot. This could be important."

"I remember the cold around my neck... and the light... and I am walking into the light... but no! I am being pulled back! Something is keeping me from walking into the light... the hand! The hand from the light is holding something for me..."

"I could be Annie. Just sayin'."

"It is holding the horn! Is it time? Is it time, sweet Annie? Is it time for the horn? I am coming Annie! I will blow the horn at last!" [Holds up the horn and blows.]

"Go forth into the light, ghost."

"I can see the light Annie! The light is coming back for me! Goodbye Annie! I am stepping into the ligh—"

The ghost suddenly vanishes, the dark horn falling to the ground with a loud clatter!

The ghost of the vicar, anchored to the material realm for one hundred and twenty years by Xorphitus's magic, finally passes over. More importantly, he leaves something for the party to loot—and so Wrath takes the horn.

"A horn that can part the veil between life and death..."

The Door to Death

Underneath the castle, just beyond Xorphitus's lair, is a door...

A black steel skull cast upon the face of the massive door stares blankly out into the corridor. The eye sockets are unnaturally deep, as if the skull once held a pair of jewels.

From his robe's sleeve, Whisker produces the two ruby gems, taken from the Guardian of the Rock and the Amazuli volcano 'god'. He carefully inserts the gems into the twin eye sockets of the skull on the door...

A black steel skull cast upon the face of the massive door stares blankly out into the corridor. A glowing gem rests in each eye socket, giving the skull a demonic face and sinister smile...

There is a dull click, and the door swings open. The party walk through, feeling the kiss of a chill wind pass through them. A short corridor leads to another set of stairs going down, and so they walk down and out into another large cavern...

Stepping into the open air, your nose detects the scent of water, as if you were near a lake or something...

Quite clearly a lake or something.

And then you see it, surrounding your rock ledge, winding as far as the eye can see into an underground cavern in all directions, and then disappearing into the mists...

Scouting out the rock ledge, there is little of note, except for one thing:

A circular emblem is engraved upon the floor, adorned with many strange runes and mystic symbols. Inside the circle, a scene depicts a boat carrying a tomb in flames across the water...

Whisker kneels down to examine the emblem more closely.

"So what now?"

"Hmm. The horn, I think." [Looks to Wrath.]

"You would call upon the spirit world in this place, mage?"

"I would. We have passed through the door to death, and appear to be on a threshold between the living world and that of the dead."

[Looks solemn.]

"Um. You mean that metaphorically, right? It's not like we've stumbled onto the banks of the river Styx or anything." [Laughs nervously.]

Wrath brings the horn to his snout and blows:

The horn issues a haunting call which echoes far across the water...

[Smiles.] "Creepy."

Eventually the echoes fade away, and only the quiet rippling of the river is left to fill the silence...

Wrath lowers the horn and peers out into the mist.

From out of the mists, a dark figure slowly emerges...
Riding atop a long slender boat, he gently guides it to the shore...

Well this was a good idea.

[Softly.] "Eep."

"I am Charron, Ferryman of Ashes. Have you any ashes for me?"

"No."

"Do you wish passage?"

"No." [Frowns.] "No, wait. Actually, yes."

"I...I don't think—"

"The fee is 500 gold. Will you pay?"

Wrath hands over the desired coin and boards the ferryman's boat. Alva follows, as does Motoko and Whisker. Shaana hesitates, only boarding when Motoko gestures encouragingly. Konata flies over and sits on the prow. Charron levers the boat off from the tip of the ledge with his pole, and the boat starts to drift downstream.

[Twitching.] "This is nice. A nice little boat trip. With Charron. Who clearly works for the castle's crematorium. Which is underground. Down a river."

The ferryman guides the boat along the river through the mist. To one side can be seen what looks to be the walls of a compound built upon a rocky isle.

"This is the Isle of the Dead."

[Makes a sad squeaking noise.]

The boat continues its journey further upstream.

"So this is it then?" [Looks around.] "We died in our sleep or something, and this is our final journey..."

[Glances at Shaana with an irritated expression.]

[Casually.] "Probably would have noticed if we'd died."

[With a grim smile.] "The afterlife holds no fear to a true warrior."

"This is wrong. You're all crazy people. Especially you." [Points accusingly at Motoko.]

[Grins.]

Another isle emerges from the mist. This time, Charron guides the boat directly to its shores.

"This is the Isle of the Damned. The end of the ride for you..."

"I tried to be a good person. This is probably one of you lot's fault."

[Rolls eyes.] "We're not dead, girl. The Bane King must have damaged the interface between life and death and opened a gateway into the netherworld."

[Brightens.] "Really?"

[Shrugs.] "Or opening the door to death tore the souls loose from our bodies. How in hell should I know?"

[Giggles.] "Heh. 'How in Hell'."

[Chuckles.] "Good, wasn't it?"

[Sadly.] "Wah."

Charron leaves...

The Isle of the Damned

The 'Isle of the Damned' is a barren patch of rock above the water level upon which has been built a squat fortress. Aside from a central keep, several cells—essentially stone boxes with rows of iron columns replacing the walls facing the interior of the isle—line the isle's edges to the left and right of the party's landing point.

Another scenic landing place for our heroes.

In the front of the front gate to the central keep, straight ahead of where the party beached, there is something on the ground. On closer inspection:

At the foot of the gate, you find a book and a key...

Whisker picks up the book and hands the key to Shaana, who takes it without comment or expression. He flips the book open where an old bookmark is placed, and reads aloud:

"He who dwells upon the Isle of Minos is doomed by the curse of Minos, and shall become manifest in the form of a daemon; and he shall be given the knowledge that his freedom lies with the destruction of others, and thus, shall he live out his days, forever imprisoned, awaiting one with whom a battle may be fought and won, and in his triumph be released from the sad curse upon him; never shall he know that it is only be the victory of an enemy, who shall knowingly risk life to destroy his, that his freedom can be won; and such an enemy in victory may suffer himself in the deed..."

"I see. To lift the curse on another, one must be willing to risk one's life in deadly battle."

"You sounded far too happy when you said that."

The key does not open the door into the catacombs, but rather opens the cells surrounding them; the party start investigating them in turn, examining the remains of the dead within. Investigating one such set of remains causes a sudden thunderclap and a gust of fiery wind, whereupon the party find themselves standing before a fully-fledged daemon.

Deployed in full evil ranting mode.

"A thousand lambs shall be slaughtered to create the emptiness which from I, moves death to lift the bane of Minos all appeals to live, in peace to die!"

[Frowns.] "I didn't quite get that."

[Draws swords.] "He said, 'lets me and you fight'."

Wrath immediately jumps into combat with the mino-daemon. The daemon hits hard, and is able to hurl fireballs at its enemies, but its elemental powers are countered by Shaana's fire shield and Whisker's iceballs, while Wrath, supported by Alva and Motoko, prove a capable match for the daemon in physical combat. Konata helps by acid bombing the daemon (dubiously practical) and hurling shurikens from the shadows (which has the effect of revealing her position—she hasn't quite got the hang of ninjutsu yet). The daemon dies.

Even as the dust settles from the dead mino-daemon, a ghostly visage appears, the soul of a man once held captive by the curse of the Isle of Minos...

"Thee has released me! For years I have been trapped upon the Isle of Minos, cursed not by deeds but by words. Mine was the crime of spoken murder, for I did slay another by word alone, and with word alone did he die."

[Eyes wide.] "You killed somebody just by talking to them?"

[Shrugs dismissively.] "I fail to see what is so impressive. I basically do the same thing with my magic."

"As surely as if I had wielded a sword, his eyes did tum dull and glaze over; his mind ceased to function and warmth drained from his smile in that single moment I first said, 'Believe.'"

"Um. I don't think that's quite what he meant."

"For as the essence of man is born unto wonder and his young eye lofts above meaning, long shall he live that can see things anew, where knowledge serves life, and not points of view."

"The dead do go on, don't they?"

[Nods.]

"On that day, when I first spoke of 'Truth', then did 'I' die, this he that was me. And only the fading echoes of thoughts thought long ago, did serve as the reminder of life once remembered."

"You dishonored yourself, but you have served your penance—now depart from this place, spirit."

"Such was my curse, on the Isle of Minos, a lesson of distant voices which harken blackened water. A blessing be upon ye, ye who look anew, leave curses for the empty, the feeble-blinded who must sayeth, 'True'..." [Fades away.]

With the daemon defeated, Motoko takes another look at the nearby remains, finding a small cylinder containing ashes, and a key. Stored alongside these objects is an old studded leather hauberk, in good condition. Wrath takes it as a replacement for his own hauberk, which had accumulated quite a bit of damage over the many recent battles fought.

The party elect to finish their explorations of the cells, which is why the party is out in the open when the isle is swarmed by more demons.

And I mean swarmed.

These dark winged demons are nightgaunts, all powerful mages in their own right, as the party soon discover. The party's standard horde-fighting tactics: to hide their main fighters in preparation for sneak attacks as Shaana plays her lute, Konata blinds the enemy and Whisker attempts to reduce the enemy's numbers with elemental magic or a well-placed prismic missile, are insufficient. Shaana's music and Whisker's magic only affect a small portion of the encounter, while it quickly transpires that blindness is of little concern to the demons as they bombard the party with energy blasts, sleep spells and magic terror before any sneak attacks can be launched. Shaana and Whisker both fall asleep, in a cruel reversal of the their usual tactics. Wrath, Alva and Motoko try to press the attack, but the magically-induced fear cast upon them saps their will and leads to missed opportunities as each of them hesitates at critical moments. Konata fumbles for something to throw at the remaining demons, but her resolve breaks, and in a panic, she flees across the isle.

Having lost all support from the back, Wrath realises the danger they all are in, just as the first fireball lands in their midst.

[Roars.] "Withdraw to the other side of the keep!"

[Stares wildly at Wrath while standing out in the open.]

[Charges Alva, pushing her away as a nightgaunt swoops in and rakes his back.] "Go!"

[Already running, with Shaana and Whisker slung over her shoulders.]

Fleeing the battle, the party regroup on the other side of the isle's central building, out of immediate sight of the screeching demons. Motoko wakes up Shaana and Whisker as Wrath and Alva try to shake off effects of the fear spell they had been placed under. Konata peeks out from behind a pillar.

[Staggering upright, blinking blearily.] "We... under-estimated them..."

[Panting.] "We... must not do so again."

[Determined.] "I've got this. Konata. No blinding flashes. Just use an acid bomb—a big one."

"R–right."

"Whisker. Can you manage another prismic missile? I'm sure you paralysed at least a couple of them before."

"I can manage that, yes."

"Shaana. Fire shield."

[Nods.]

"Wrath. Motoko. When I step out and do my thing, charge."

Just as the nightgaunts converge again on the party's position, Alva steps out from cover and casts silence. The screeching of demons vanishes, leaving an eerie quiet as Wrath and Motoko wordlessly leap out and bear down on them. Whipping past them, a prismic missile explodes amongst the demons, driving two insane and turning another to stone, whilst another explosion above rains acid down on the remainder, just as the second second battle against the nightgaunts is joined.

This time the battle proceeds much better; with (most of) the nightgaunts robbed of the ability to cast spells, and the effects of the acid bomb continuing over the course of the entire battle, the party are able to take advantage of the confusion to dart in and out of melee, dealing savage blows that cut down the nightgaunts one by one, until eventually none are left.

Freed from the immediate threat of flying demons, the party finish their investigation of the stone cells.

Fragments of bones lie heaped upon the alcove, the final remains of some lost soul doomed upon the Isle of Minos...

Another corpse in the Isle of the Damned.

Many of the items left within are in poor condition or are of little value, though Motoko finds another cylinder of ash.

"Perhaps we should deliver these cylinders unto the Ferryman?"

[Nods.]

Wrath steps out onto the shore to the isle and once again blows the horn of souls. After a brief wait, the Ferryman of the river Styx guides his boat onto the bank.

"Have you any ashes for me?"

"Indeed we do." [Gestures to Motoko, who hands them over.]

Charron pays a finders fee of 500 gold for cylinders of ash. He is particularly pleased to receive the ashes of the poor soul who became the minos-daemon however, and so rewards the party with a random selection of attribute increases! (Generally two per character.) Tingling with enhanced vitality and speed, Shaana plucks up the courage to chat with Charron.

"Um...hello."

"I am Charron, ferryman of ashes."

"Y-yes, I know. But what is it you actually do, exactly?"

"I ferry ashes to the Isle of the Dead."

[Coming over.] "Do you know anything of the Bane King?"

"He has sent me many...but then, so have you...death has many guises."

"And the Queen?"

"Her spirit cries for revenge!"

"Hmm. Do you know anything of the wizard Xorphitus?"

"A lost and confused soul."

"What about Rebecca?"

[Frowns.] "Who?"

"Ahh! The demon child who sent me the Queen!"

[Looks at Konata.] "How did you...?"

[Speaks in a sing-song voice.] "'Summons of the Vicar and Mistress, to be paid 100 gold pieces for the sale of Daughter Rebecca...'"

"That was written in one of the old documents we found in the castle!"

"...and we met the Vicar's spirit in the castle spire! So the 'demon child' he was ranting about was this Rebecca...and she, what, ended up killing the Queen?"

"And so the Queen wants revenge on this child? But where could this child be now, assuming that she even still lives?"

"Find the King, and she won't be far behind."

[Stare at the Ferryman.]

[Nods to herself, satisfied.] "Yep. They should have sold her for more."

Motoko tries to read Charron's mind, but gets nothing, which is probably a good thing.

Mausoleum of the Damned

The mausoleum on the Isle of the Damned was sealed against intruders, but the key to inside was found in amongst the remaining effects of the minos-daemon. Having no other path left before them, the party open the mausoleum and step inside.

"So Motoko and I were debating tactics—"

[Look at Motoko and then back at Shaana dubiously.]

"—and Konata, maybe you don't need to be quite as far in front during battle as you've been recently?"

"What? Why not?"

"Well, while you're a ninja and all—and a really good ninja I might add—you're, well, not actually any good at hiding."

"But I'm a ninja! Nin! Nin!"

"Yes well, that's kind of the problem. You're not actually supposed to say 'Nin!' when you're hiding, and, um...."

"The last few battles you were left exposed to the full brunt of the enemy while the rest of us had concealed ourselves to strike from the shadows."

"...yes! So, if, for now that is, maybe, you know..."

[Looks at Shaana with big, soulful eyes.]

Being the only party member in the frontline without an already very high ninjutsu level means that Konata is often left exposed to attacks that the other fighters have negated by virtue of not being where the enemy are looking any more, which puts her at severe risk of being skewered or ripped apart despite her superior evasion. Furthermore, when Konata is hidden, her position in the party formation is not relevant to her ability to launch sneak attacks. Finally, a lot of the time Konata is still using her alchemical powers to neutralise threats, much as she did before. Thus, at least until her ninjutsu begins to reach parity with that of Wrath and Motoko, Konata is pushed back in the formation to fourth place, with Alva returning to the frontline.

"This is how it should be. Sorry Konata."

Within the antechamber, two fountains are placed on either side of a stairway leading downwards. The water from the left fountain heals injury and cures sickness, while the water from the right fountain restores magical power. Having somewhat drained themselves in combat with the demons outside, the party make good use of both before descending into the tomb below.

The small underground mausoleum smells of mould and ferment, and perhaps a bit of stale corpses. Your intrusion feels to be the first to disturb the rotting languor after many years of peace...

Two portcullises block exploration, one to the left, and one to the right. At the end of the passage however is a small chamber, and in that chamber is a chest, guarded by a zombie.

Perhaps not the greatest threat yet encountered.

With a low growl, Whisker destroys the guard with a single prismic missile. Shaana tends to the chest, finding within little more than junk and couple of spell scrolls. That little more however is the key to the rest of the tomb, which is put to immediate use. Entering the right-hand chamber:

Rows of stone sepulchers dot the room, private memorial chambers of the dead. Curious that such an arrangement might exist in a place known as the 'Isle of the Damned'...

Each sepulchre has its own inscription, identifying some lost soul interred here. There are other lost souls here however, and the party soon meets them.

Skeletons. Apparently in the middle of some kind of dance routine. Go team undead!

Skeletons are not too troublesome, aside from their natural resistance to mental afflictions such as sleep, as well as to poisons such as those used by Konata. Much as with the nightgaunts outside, it is Alva whose priestly magic is most potent, with her ability to dispel undead capable of destroying a few skeletons outright at a time. Aside from that, the party make use of cover to launch sneak attacks: Wrath, Motoko, Shaana and even now Konata are able to strike from the shadows and withdraw before the undead can even find them to respond. Whisker just stands back, and occasionally fires a magic missile. His power is not needed here, so he justs conserves it for now—from experience, he knows worse is coming.

One sepulchre bears the following inscription:

Bulli Bigbossi
Very well respected; they shot him 237 times.

"That is well respected."

"When I die, I hope they shoot me lots of times just to make sure."

Hmm. Might need to shoot him a 238th time.

The ghost of Bulli emerges from his sepulchre, flanked by zombie guards that emerge from hidden panels in the walls. With the zombies smart enough not to cluster in the range of single iceball or prismic missile, the party are forced to engage with them individually. Motoko takes point against Bulli, trying to repeat Alva's earlier feat by casting a spell of silence on the wraith, anticipating a magical attack. This frees Alva to dispel one of the zombies with her holy power, while Konata tries to dissolve another zombie in acid, Whisker tries to freeze his foe, and Wrath simply goes for a traditional rapid dismemberment of the final zombie. Shaana in the meantime blesses the whole party with a toot of her angel's tongue.

Alas, Motoko's silence spell fails, and Bulli is able to wreak havoc, casting energy blasts and draining some of the life from Motoko and other fighters with his icy touch. Nonetheless, Motoko is able to force back the ghost with her strikes, infused with her own mental power. While she duels Bulli, each of the party dispatches their corresponding zombie foe (actually, Wrath needs to finish a couple of the others' foes for them, but that's basically his job, so it's all good). Once all the zombies are (truly) dead, Motoko brings the battle to a decisive end by striking the ghost in the memory of a pressure point, 'killing' Bulli instantly. Apparently that is a thing a monk with kirijutsu can do.

"How did Motoko just do that?"

"Apparently, you just have to be really convincing when you strike, so the ghost forgets it doesn't have vital organs anymore and just 'dies' out of reflex."

"...really."

At least, that's how Motoko explained it me earlier." [Lowers voice.] "I think she was drunk."

Since attacking visitors to your tomb gives them licence to break in and take anything left inside, the party takes a peek. Inside Bulli's tomb is a jester's coxcomb, some potions, and a devil's pipe—a musical flute that weakens foes.

"Hey, a new instrument!" [Plays a low note on the pipe.]

"Shaana, that's been on a corpse."

Also the tomb is full of spiders.

Like, crawling with them.

The spiders provide some much needed respite from demons and undead, being susceptible to Shaana's lute and Konata's blinding flash spell, meaning that the party can dispatch them more or less at their leisure.

Bulli is not the only restless spirit here in the Mausoleum of the Damned. After exploring one wing of the mauoleum, the party cross over to the other side, finding a similar chamber full of sepulchres. Before one such sepulchre, they find the following inscription:

Mame Eila Pickymiss
Awaiting her hero. Still waiting.

The spirit of Eila emerges from her sepulchre and attacks the party, along with another zombie honour-guard. Unable to target all foes at once with a single iceball, Whisker decides to take decisive action another way.

Also, more zombie vomit sickening the party!

Whisker summons a greater demon.

[Look at Whisker in mild horror.]

"What?"

The demon rampages around and tears a zombie apart, but seems otherwise unconcerned by the ghost flying about its head.

[Sighs.] "Yes, well, the demons that one can forcibly summon from the lower hells tend to be none too bright."

Rampaging demon summoning aside, the battle with Eila proceeds much as it did with Bulli, with the party destroying the ghost's guardians before focusing their attacks on the greater threat. Somewhere at the back, Whisker dismisses his demon, adding it to the list (along with 'etherial' [sic] bats and friendly zombies) of 'nice ideas, but basically useless'.

In the sepulchre, along with the remains of the tragic (and unfortunately clearly now unhinged) Eila, can be found another book: the Book of Sirens.

"Anything useful in there?"

[Skimming the pages.] "Unfortunately this appears to be some kind of songbook, rather than a scientific study of the siren phenomena."

"So...can I read it?"

"No."

The River Styx

On the north side of the Isle of the Damned, one of the stone cells abuts over the water, a second gateway open to access from the river, hidden from sight of the shore upon which the party landed. If someone was to go into the cell and then look out through the gate however, that someone would see something interesting:

Outside the gate, a raft made of heavy planks is floating in the water. There is a heavy steel cable attached to the wall which then runs into and around a spool and crank device aboard the raft.

It turns out nobody on this world knows how to swim.

"How did we miss that before?"

"We were attacked by a horde of shrieking demons on the wing."

Having explored the Isle thoroughly, this seems to be the only way to explore further, short of somehow persuading Charron to ferry the party elsewhere (which he seems uninterested in doing at any price). So everybody gets on board:

Aboard the raft, you turn the crank to release the cable, and the raft slowly begins to float downstream...

As Wrath and Motoko work together to turn the crank, the rest of the party settle down and enjoy the journey. Shaana lies back and strums a pleasant tune on her lute with Konata perched on her head. Alva watches the water go by, while Whisker reads his newest book.

"Actually all this sailing around is rather pleasant."

[Bored.] "Oh look. Giant sea serpents."

Actually just regular-sized sea serpents, but Konata is quite small.

Although it might be assumed that being attacked sea serpents on a small raft in the midst of troubled waters would be quite hazardous, the truth is that if it's not a supernatural threat (undead, demons, elemental demigods rising from the heart of an erupting volcano, and so forth), then at this point it will hardly faze the party. Shaana barely glances up as she shifts melodies on her lute, immediately putting two of the three serpents to sleep. Konata frowns and tosses some flash powder at the remaining serpent, blinding it. Alva swings her fauchard in a wide arc and slices the serpent's head clean off. Wrath lets Motoko take hold of the crank, and then jumps into the water, swords out, and starts slashing at the dozing serpents blocking the way. Whisker turns the page on his book.

The water turns red. A scaly hand clasps the end of the raft, and Wrath pulls himself back on board one-handed, wakizashi between his teeth, katana still gripped in the other hand. Motoko turns the crank, and the raft continues its journey, following the cable tied overhead.

At the end of the line is a small cove. The party disembark to take a look around.

The cove is very quiet and seems to be empty...when suddenly you are surrounded!

The welcoming committee.

From out of the depths comes a torrent of splashing bodies, part woman, part fish, moving through the water with an ease and grace as if they had lived in the sea all of their lives...they completely surround the rock upon which the raft has landed, and after a few moments they become still, waiting for the water to calm, and then softly begin to chant this haunting song:

"We are the sirens, sisters of the sea, and we sing a song of sadness o'er the breeze"

"Ah! We need wax, or rope, or something—"

"Tho' in our hearts we love, 'tis madness sets us free. Alluring men to nightmare who hear our gentle pleas..."

"Why?"

"Only they that know the siren's song of woe, will 'scape the deadly hour which dances from our throats. And others they shall die, 'tis madness makes us high."

"The sirens' song drive people crazy! We need protection—"

"Come sirens! Lure the mortals to death upon the seas..."

And the sirens begin to wail in a most terrifyingly dissonant harmony, chills rushing through the air to break backs of mighty ships and sailors, and above their crying song, one of them shouts:

"Who are we, my sisters?"

"We are the sirens!"

"Wah!" [Claps hands over ears and curls up into a ball.]

"And why do we sing?"

"Because we are madness!"

"You know I've never needed protection against you singing..."

"And what do we sing, my sisters?"

"The siren's song of woe!"

"What is Shaana doing?"

"Oh I don't know. Some bard thing I suppose."

And the song builds to a frenzy, when suddenly the lone woman-fish turns to you and screams:

"And what is the siren's song of woe?"

[Looks up from his book.] "'Madness makes us free.'"

"Oh noble travelers! Thee knowest of our song of woe! Therefore, thou art free to return once more upon thy chosen path."

[Closes the book.] "Well that's decent of you."

"Remember, a siren must forever lure men to madness for only madness makes her free, and a mortal upon these waters must beware! But thee hast heard our song and still live, and so we are bound to aid thee in thy journey..."

"Whatever aid you can spare is most welcome."

"Take these magic wings, a gift, to use when thou must travel about the river, for the legs of mortal men are useless upon the water."

[Takes the water wings.] "We thank you."

"Now leave us, for soon our madness will make us free, and all that has transpired will be forgotten; for the freedom we seek is the freedom from the past, 'tis in the past lie all our chains and sorrows; and so we sing and we forget, and we thusly find that freedom, and it's madness of no memory which makes us free..."

And the sirens quietly slip back into the water, disappearing completely as if nothing had ever happened...

[Looks up from foetal position.] "...what happened? Are we safe?"

"Do you think we'll get more music quizzes?"

[Shrugs.]

The water wings are a pair of enchanted boots that, when invoked, allow the entire party to walk upon the water. This, needless to say, is very useful here. And so, the party begin to explore the river, continuing north from the sirens' cove. The river cuts a flow through the cavern, with the occasional side-channel or rocky beach leading up to a cave. For example, one such side-channel leads to an alcove containing an old chest.

They didn't even bury it, like a proper sea-chest.

Within the chest is an amulet of air, a pixie stick, some skyrockets, a stink bomb and some healing potions. Motoko identifies the amulet, determining that it improves evasion and resistance against air magic and poison.

Further downstream is another isle emerging from the waters to one side of the tunnel. Posted right by the shore is a sign:

Isle of the Lost
Seek ye and find.

The party make landfall and have a look around.

The island shore is covered with sand, a beach upon the water...

"Oh look, surprise giants."

In spite of the Isle of the Lost being rather small and wide open, the party still manage to get suddenly attacked by giants.

Note how they need to crouch to get around.

Although the island giants are a little tougher than the mountain giants previously fought, the strategy to defeat them has changed little. Well, one thing is a little different.

[Pokes giant in the back of the neck.]

[Makes gurgling noise and collapses.]

"Ninja."

Konata succeeds in her first instant-death critical strike against a foe. After the fight, Motoko wanders around the beach pushing aside small mounds of sand with her foot in her mysterious monk way.

Digging in the sand, you discover an old metal key...

Motoko picks up the key and strolls back to where the rest of the party are investigating the adjoining wall of the cavern. Apparently a notice has been posted:

A notice on the wall read: 'Lost at Sea, D.J. Locker, Red X 3E 1N'.

"We haven't seen any red 'X' anywhere, have we?"

"Uh-huh. Sure. Nope." [Presses a button hidden in the rock.]

A rather large secret passage swings open beside the party. A couple of stooped giants shuffle out through the opening. They look at the dead bodies of their comrades, and then at the party.

"Um. Hi!"

Ten seconds later, the party clean the giant blood from their weapons and take a look inside the passage. Surprisingly, given the giants, it only leads to a single cramped guard chamber in front of a gate. Motoko hands Shaana the key she found on the beach earlier. Opening the gate, the party are greeted by a posse of siren sorceresses.

"Uh...madness makes us free?"

[Grabs Shaana and throws her out of the way.]

[Casts a spell, which hits Motoko.]

The sirens bombard the party with spells of paralysis. Only Wrath, with his fast reflexes, and Shaana, thrown to the floor, avoid being frozen in place. Fortunately, Shaana can do battle lying on her back if need be, and immediately puts the nearest two sirens to sleep, while Wrath surges forward, blades slicing the mer-creatures to pieces mercilessly.

Wrath and Shaana discuss politics while waiting for the rest of the party to regain the power of locomotion.

To keep herself busy, Shaana approaches the chest that the sirens were guarding and works on disarming any traps before springing the lock. Inside is another cylinder of ash, another sword of striking just like the one that Alva had acquired right at the start of their explorations, a tusked kabuto helmet for Wrath to wear, and two resurrection scrolls.

[Unfreezes, then frowns.] "Should we be dying more?"

[Unfreezes, looks at Wrath, and shrieks.] "Monster!"

[Unfreezes, then sighs.] "You only just noticed?"

"Unkind, mage."

[Unfreezes; does nothing.]

Having explored the small isle, the party set out once more on the water. A short way further on there is another side-channel leading to another chest containing a couple of old spellbooks. Whisker takes the opportunity to learn ice shield, which will be useful if he ever has to to fight himself in some kind of demented mirror match, while Alva learns cure lesser condition, useful if the party gets nauseated again and Konata can't be bothered to help.

Next, the party encounter yet another Isle, rising up from the middle of the river.

Isle of the Keep

Upon this latest isle has been built a squat yet sturdy looking keep. They party set ashore near the entrance, immediately provoking some activity from within.

A beautiful tropic woman emerges from the small fortress and says:

Someone of the Amazulu tribe, again?

"Welcome to the Island Keep! However I'm afraid we don't have any more room for storage here...perhaps you should try back later!"

"Storage...?"

"Well this isn't in the sagas."

As the party member most capable of conducting a normal conversation (Alva being still disqualified for the bauble incident), Shaana opens negotiations with the woman from the keep.

"Hello there!"

"Oola-oola! I am Mai-Lai!"

"Right. So...what are you all about then?"

"I'm the clerk of the storage facility."

[Looks up at the keep.] "This is...a storage facility?"

[Looks at Shaana as if the bard was slow.] "We keep things in storage."

"Yes, I get that."

"Perhaps we can trade goods here?"

It is indeed possible to trade with Mai-Lai. The clerk indicates a stall set up by the keep's entrance. Alva's eyes gleam as she sees the range of armours available, including full field plate. As she begins excitedly inspecting the goods, Wrath and Shaana also take a look, leaving Whisker behind to talk to the clerk. Motoko and Konata just look bored.

[Awkwardly.] "So..." [Looks out over the Styx.] "Any news lately?"

"Bork says he's bored and wants some action."

[Nonplussed.] "Who?"

"Bork is one of the guards."

"Fascinating."

Alva buys an entire suit of plate armour with the accumulated loot from her adventures. Wrath purchases some studded chausses, while Shaana buys a jazeraint skirt and a rather heavy-looking portable organ. She trundles it over to Whisker.

"What have you just bought?!"

[Excitedly.] "Listen to this!"

Shaana presses a few keys on the organ, causing it emit a succession of low bass tones that are not so much heard as felt through one's bowels. Dust falls from the parapets of the nearby keep. In the distance, a sea serpent howls and swims away from the isle.

"Nice huh? It's got a real rich timbre."

"Good Gods, that was unpleasant."

The midnight choir causes terror in a group of enemies. Satisfied with their purchases, and having lost a good chunk of their wealth (not that it was much use to them in the underworld anyway), the party say their goodbyes to Mai-Lai and move on.

"Come back again soon!"

[Eyes Alva.] "I hope that our water wings can bear the extra weight."

[Narrows her eyes at Whisker.]

"Ooh!"

Following one side of the river-cavern, the party continue their exploration of the Styx, and spot something distinctive on the cavern wall:

A bold red 'X' has been painted on the surface of the rock, like some kind of special mark...

"Red 'X', three east and one north..."

"Three and one what?"

Crossing the water three, ah, standard dungeon-crawl units east and then one crawl unit north, the party find themselves hovering over a nondescript patch of water.

[Stare down at the murky waters of the Styx.]

[Look at Motoko.]

[Looks bemused and shrugs.]

"But you always have something. Like a cheese-wheel, or an auger."

"Or a giraffe!"

[Look at Konata.]

"I might have dreamt that."

Despite there possibly being something hidden beneath the waters, the party have no means to claim it, especially given that the siren's magic actively repels them from the water's surface (and dispelling the magic would be spectacularly stupid, especially for the fully-armoured Alva). The exploration of the Styx continues.

Another edifice looms from the waters before the party, but stone walls block any attempt to make landfall. The river parts on either side; the party elects to go right (east). Just as they start to make their way around the obstruction, another side-channel is spotted, leading to a locked door just above the waterline.

No lock can withstand Shaana! (If I reload often enough.)

Within the chamber beyond is a chest on an alcove, which Shaana quickly deals with. Within is a holy basher (a heavy mace for priests), some barbed arrows, some leather greaves and a breastplate, none of which are as interesting as they once were, but which at least might be good for selling to Mai-Lai.

Continuing on, the party make their way around to the other side of the edifice that took up so much space in the midst of the river; a compound taking up the entire surface of an isle, its entrance on its north side, looking disturbingly familiar.

"This is..."

"The Isle of the Dead, as I recall."

"But we passed this on the ferry, way back over there." [Indicates back upstream.]

"If this is indeed that isle, then we first launched onto the river somewhere over yonder."

The party cut across the river to its west bank, wherein they find the stony bay upon which they first summoned the ferryman Charron.

The River Styx, again

The river is not free of pests. Aside from giant sea serpents, there are also giant flying insects.

Buzz.

Not to mention giant river crabs.

Clack, clack.

However these threats are naught against the existential threat which the party now faces, as they realise that they've emerged at the very point they first set out on the river as passengers of the Ferryman, albeit this time from upstream—even through the river more or less runs straight its entire length.

[Suspiciously.] "And you're certain we're not all secretly dead?"

[Blows the Horn of Souls.]

"Huh? What did you do that for?"

"We have another urn of ashes for the Ferryman."

[Nods and holds up the third cylinder of ash.]

After a short wait, Charron returns with his boat. Motoko moves to hand the ashes over to the Ferryman, but it raises one skeletal hand as if to ward her off.

"Sorry, but I can't touch this one! You'll have to return it yourself..."

Charron pulls a dark iron key from its sleeve and hands it to Motoko.

"Here, take this key and return the ash to the Isle of the Dead for me, okay?"

And with that, the Ferryman leaves.

So it transpires that the River Styx has no beginning and no end; that is no excuse not to map it thoroughly. Continuing downstream, the party can expect to re-encounter the Isle of the Damned—but last time they took the ferry. This time they can walk on the water, and explore a little more thoroughly. Just past the bay linking the Styx to the Castle above, Motoko spots another chamber dug into the rock, sealed with a locked door. It does not stay locked for long. Inside the chamber, a chest is found containing a fishing line, fish hook and cork bobber.

"Who fishes in the Styx anyway?"

[Affixes the hook to the fishing line, and pockets the cork.]

The party proceed to walk on by the Isle of the Damned, and then on by the pulley system that they'd used to propel themselves via raft to the Siren's cove. Keeping their attention fixed on the other side of the river-cavern however, they find something that had escaped their notice previously, that being a small inlet with a sign posted on the tunnel wall:

Bottle Oracle

"Hmm. Do we have a bottle?"

[Nods, producing the empty wine bottle she picked up in the castle cellar a ridiculously long time ago.]

"Do we have anything to put in the bottle?"

[Shakes her head.]

"Hmm. Maybe later then."

Further investigation downstream leads the party to familiar territory; the Isle of the Lost, then the Isle of the Keep (wherein they sell a few extra pieces of junk to Mai-Lai) and then the red-painted 'X' on the cavern wall. Three dungeon-crawl units east and one unit north later...

A quiet afternoon on the Styx.

"So here we are again."

[Nods.]

"And now we're standing here, magically suspended over the water..."

"Yep."

"...while we watch Motoko fishing."

[Sits cross-legged on the water with a fishing road, the line descending into the depths.]

"On further consideration, dear Shaana, yes we are dead."

Suddenly Motoko stands up, tugging at her line.

You snagged onto something! It feels heavy!

Wrath and Alva assist Motoko in reeling in the fishing line.

You manage to pull up the heavy locker, which crumbles into shards of rust as you haul it out of the water...

Moving quickly to grab the contents of the disintegrated locker before they fall back into the deep, the party manage to salvage a wand of ghosts (which can dispel the undead) and the lynx ring (of unknown power).

"So now what?"

"I believe that all that remains is the Isle of the Dead."

"Actually, there's still a small blank spot on my map."

Continuing on towards the imposing compound built upon the Isle of the Dead, there is one more unexplored side-channel on the west bank, where previously the party had hewed to the east. A winding passage leads up from the water, to a gate, opened by the key Motoko had dug up on the Isle of the Lost. Passing through and upwards, the party breach the surface for the first time in a long while...

The Swamplands

You emerge into the castle swamplands, the spooky marshes east of the castle. A path skirts in and out of its broody trees, enabling you to cautiously walk through the watery moor...

The swamp looks like...everywhere else really.

The party's first impression of the swamp is that it is full of mosquitos. Giant, Konata-size mosquitos. The second impression is that they're now some way out from the castle.

You can barely discern the silhouetted outline of the castle breaking through the mists, as it stands towering above the trees...

"Wait. Does this mean that we're free? We can leave?"

[Look around the swamp, and the endless bog surrounding the few patches of solid ground.]

[Deflating.] "Yeah, we're still stuck, aren't we?"

[Growls.] "Might I remind you that we're on a mission of paramount importance, to acquire the Cosmic Forge?"

"To stop bad people using it!"

"Hmm? Yes. Absolutely. That reason."

[Eyes narrowed.] "Because if there is one thing we've learned, it's that anybody trying to use the Forge falls prey to the curse."

"Right. Correct. Why are we even discussing this?"

"Heh. Look at the funny snake people."

Funny snake people.

The swamp is crawling with a menagerie of creatures, not limited to the snake-like yuan-ti that attack the party as they investigate their surroundings. An epic fight ensues, by which I mean Shaana puts them to sleep and the fighters hack them to pieces while they're disabled. The life of an adventurer is not always glamorous, but is sometimes hilariously unfair on the monsters when you have a master bard in your party.

The party explore the swamplands, but find little of note, and no clear path through the surrounding marsh back to either the castle or any road leading away to civilisation. In fact, the only real sign of civilisation are some strange footprints.

Just barely visible in the boggy earth are faint little footprints, made from some small hopping creature, and which trail off into a nearby brush...

"I wonder what manner of creature made these?"

"Whisker. Goblins ahead. Charging at us."

"Are they resistant to sleep?"

No.

The party let sleeping goblins die.

"Do you think these tracks may be important?"

"Eh. Hard to say. I suppose not everything is."

[Collapses in front of Wrath and Whisker.]

[Sheathes his katana in the creature's chest.] "Indeed not."

Elsewhere in the swamps...

Directly ahead, you see a most curious sight. A rather unusual oddity of many arms and legs is sitting high atop one of the toadstools at the swamp's edge, looking somewhat nervous and agitated.

This is your game window on drugs.

Perched high upon a fragrant mushroom, a huge worm-like creature is busy with pen and parchment, writing a series of very complex mathematical formulas...suddenly surprised at discovering your presence, he emits a small "snort" and momentarily dropping his paper, says:

"Um...oh my!"

"Tell me the rest of you see this."

His two tiny eyes look huge, magnified by a pair of spectacles which rest on his nose, and after a short deliberate glance at the party, he ventures:

"You wouldn't have a smoke, would you?"

"Alas, no."

[Sighs.] "I'm ashamed to say it, but I've put my hookah water pipe somewhere and now I can't seem to remember where..."

The caterpillar show off its writings to the party.

"As you can see, I have been working on the recalculations of my exact spatial and temporal locations in relationship to the last known physical coordinates of said hookah pipe in question, in an attempt to derive its current position in the universe..."

[Looks over the calculations.] "I see, yes."

"You understand all this?"

"Absolutely. Our good friend here is deranged and possibly dangerous."

"...let me do the talking." [Clears throat.] "Hello there!"

"Sure wish I had a smoke!"

"Okay. Um. What do you do?"

"I am in fact, a caterpillar..."

"You don't say? So what's this about a missing hookah pipe?"

"I remember taking it when I went on my island vacation last summer, and I put it somewhere for safekeeping, but now I can't remember where I left it!"

"Well the only islands we've been to lately have been in the netherworld, so I don't think we can help there."

"All I found in evidence is this little strip of paper which was in my pocket, and I quote from it as follows:"

"Please inform clerk you wish to make a 'reclamation' to redeem merchandise left in storage."

"Storage?"

"I remember a storage facility on the Isle of the Keep!"

"The Isle of the Keep? Um...you went on an island holiday to the Styx? Bye!"

"See ya!"

Shaana huddles with the rest of the party.

"So basically Whisker is right and this giant caterpillar is a dangerous lunatic."

"Should we not perhaps return to the Isle of the Keep and see if we can reclaim our caterpillar friend's lost property?"

"I'm not making friends with a big caterpillar."

[Crossly.] "Hey! We faeries are related to caterpillars!"

[All look at the faerie.]

"Don't any of you know how faeries pupate?"

[Shudders.] "Trust me. You don't want to know. I, alas, do."

The caterpillar actually sells a few things of interest, in particular a pan flute (an instrument that can charm enemies) and incense. Shaana purchases the flute to add to her growing collection as well as a few incense sticks.

With little else to recommend to the swamp, and no obvious links to the Bane King, Xorphitus or the Cosmic Forge, the party return to the banks of the Styx, and look in on the Isle of the Keep.

"You've come to reclaim something? Ooh! That's great! We sure do need the space! What's the claim number?"

"Um. Number?"

"I'm sorry, but you must have a claim number, or else how would I know you aren't imposters trying to steal?"

Indeed. The party traipse back to the swamp.

"Claim number? Claim number?!"

"Yes. Claim number."

"Oh my goodness! So that's what that number was for! No wonder my house of Mercury insisted on colliding with Venus over Aquarius! But now that you mention it, I haven't the slightest idea of what it is..."

"Then we have a problem."

[Thoughtfully.] "This sounds like a job for...'Bottle Oracle'."

[Flatly.] "What."

"The bottle oracle is really very easy! All we need to do is to put a question in a bottle and let it go in the river at the sign saying 'Bottle Oracle'..."

"Oh yeah! I remember!"

"After that, you then only need to find the bottle, and as if by magic you will have the answer inside!"

"This is really dubious."

"It's really very wonderful! Oh, why didn't I think of it sooner!" [Scribbles on a piece of paper then hands it to Shaana.]

"Oh, uh, thanks..."

"Here, take this message and seal it in a bottle and give it to the bottle oracle. Soon we'll have an answer!"

Shaana looks at the piece of paper in her hand:

Dear Bottle Oracle,
I forgot my claim number at the Isle of the Keep. Do you know what it is?
Signed Bugbrains

"Well. Let's do this, I guess."

The party return (again) to the Styx and, buoyed by the magic water wings, travel downstream to the site of the Bottle Oracle. Motoko takes the message from Shaana, pushes it into the empty wine bottle she'd kept carefully stowed all this time, and plugs it with the cork acquired along with the fishing rod earlier. She then carefully drops the message in the bottle into the water, and the party then solemnly watch it float downstream.

You place the bottle in the water and watch it float far away...

"Godspeed little bottle."

[Salutes the departing bottle.]

"So, Shaana..."

"Hmm?"

"About that talisman you secreted about your person back in Xorphitus's laboratory..."

"Eep?" [Coughs.] "I mean, talisman?"

"The ruby talisman, yes. What, might I ask, do you plan to do with it?"

"Well, it does go rather nicely with my jabot..."

"Well, since you don't have any particular practical use for it, perhaps I could prevail upon you to give it to me, since I can use it to enhance the magics I put at the entire party's disposal?"

[Meekly hands over the talisman.]

Having just reached parity with Shaana's intellect, but ultimately being better capable of making use of it to enhance the casting of his spells, Whisker invokes the ruby talisman, enhancing his intelligence even further.

A little further downstream is the Isle of the Lost, which seems an obvious place for the bottle dispatched at the Bottle Oracle to end up. The party fan out to search the beach.

"Over here!"

An old stoppered bottle has floated to the shore, just lying in the sand...

[Retrieves the bottle, nodding as if satisfied.]

You unplug the bottle and discover a message inside which reads: 38-23-36.

Given what seems very likely to be the claim number, the party set off for the Isle of the Keep once more. Just outside the keep itself, they meet up again with Mai-Lai and give her the requested number.

"Ooh! Great! Wait a minute while I check it out..."

Mai-Lai enters the keep through a small postern gate. A few minutes pass.

"I hope there aren't any further problems."

[Winces and covers her face with one palm.]

"Eeeeek! Help me! Help me!"

And suddenly the tropic girl runs out of the fortress screaming, jumps into the stream, and swims away as fast as she can go...

"So...I guess we won't be buying any more cool stuff from her?"

"Into the keep!"

You enter the fort. It's in a total mess...

"Damn!"

Suddenly you see a two-foot midget, running around trashing the place...

Another hapless victim of beard gangrene.

The erstwhile guardsman Bork and his giant friends attack the party on sight. Knowing that giants don't tend to go to sleep easily, Shaana pulls out her angel's tongue to bless the party instead, while Konata, reverting to habit, casts blinding flash on the giants. Wrath, Motoko and Alva use the blinded giants as cover to surround and ambush the berserk Bork, while Whisker tries to calm him down with a high-powered energy blast (Whisker is not a trained therapist). After a few rounds of frenetic combat, Bork goes down, with the party only taking light scratches. The giants are then quickly disposed of before they sit on somebody.

[Looking around.] "I guess we should just retrieve that pipe ourselves?"

Shaana finds a strongbox and pops the lock. Inside is the hookah pipe, a lifesteal scroll, a wand of razing (which Motoko determines is cursed) and a third sword of striking. Having retrieved what they came for, and performed a little light looting to cover operating expenses, the party make to leave the keep.

"I feel a bit bad. Should we tidy up before we leave?"

"Ehh...no. Not our fault, not our problem."

The party leave the Isle of the Keep, and return, hopefully for the last time, to the swamplands on the surface. They make their way through the winding path through the bog to the location of the forgetful caterpillar.

"Did'ja find it, did'ja find it, did'ja?!"

"Yep, we found it." [Hands over the pipe.]

The caterpillar quickly fills the pipe and give it a try.

"Mmmm..." [Puffs on pipe.] "Ahhhh!"

"So..."

"Nothing like a good toke, eh wot?" [Puffs some more.] "Eooooeeeee!"

"Aha, yes, well I wouldn't know, but—"

[Puffs again, and wheezes.] "Huhp! Heh." [Starts to choke.]

As the caterpillar is coughing and gagging on hookah smoke...

"Guess I better try a smoother blend..." [Chuckles.] "And now for something really smooth...you wanna get 'small'?"

"Yeah!"

"Then try this sometime!"

The caterpillar hands Konata three red mushrooms.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I (heh) think I'll just crawl on down to a cozy tree I know about and get reacquainted with my pipe (heh, heh, urp, wheeze)."

"Well this was certainly worth all the effort."

The Isle of the Dead

By general unspoken consensus, the party had decided to ignore the Isle of the Dead for as long as possible. Damned is all very well and good, but Dead is Dead. Yet now it seems the party have no choice if they are to unlock this final mysteries of the Cosmic Forge and the Bane King, and so the party approach the isle by its ostensible entrance.

The final isle.

Shaana unlocks the door blocking the way inside the compound using the key given to Motoko by Charron. The party make their way inside...

Inside the bizarre crypt, your senses give you a creepy feeling, perhaps an early warning sign of imminent danger or possibly just the reality of being surrounded by so many dead people...

The compound is full of alcoves bearing the bones of the dead. Not all the bones here are quiescent however; their progress is stymied by animated skeletons, which must be cut down by magic and force, and the occasional judicious application of Alva's dispel undead spell. Eventually, the party find a stairway leading downwards, under the river Styx. Following a long corridor, they find themselves in a gloomy chamber, in the middle of which is a stone memorial.

The Lost Warrior
In Memoriam
May he find his way home

Before the memorial is an altar.

Upon the altar sits a black urn filled with small mounds of fine ash. The ash has a pleasant fragrance, and it seems a contrast to the otherwise gloomy bow of these catacombs...

"Can you give me some of that incense you got earlier, Shaana?"

"Okay, Alva. But why?"

"There are things that should be done in places such as this."

You insert the incense into the nearby candle, igniting it into a glowing pod of smokey sweet aroma, and gently drop it into the small urn...

[Spare a moment for silent reflection.]

[Floating upside down.] "Booorrred."

There is a sudden lightness to the air, as if the restless spirits had a brief moment of thankful calm...

[Steps forward with the cylinder of ash.]

You place the small cylinder of ash on the altar...

With a low grinding noise, a portcullis blocking progress deeper into the complex raises up into the surrounding stonework. The party regard the sign carved into the lintel:

Hall of the Dead

They proceed into the quiet corridor beyond.

You thought you heard something...

"Hold. I hear something."

It sounds like a faint voice...

"Leave this place..."

"Who are you?"

"Return to your own world..."

Maps, River Styx and the Swamplands

Party review, level 11 (mostly)

Entering the Hall of the Dead, the party look as follows:

Sword 100, Oratory 12, Ninjutsu 100, Mythology 15, Thaumaturgy 40, Kirijutsu 31.

Master of sword and shadows, Wrath can also cast blink, allowing him to phase into and out of reality during combat (potentially thwarting attacks against him). Of course, he'd need to not attack for a round to cast it, wouldn't he?

Wrath is the fastest in the party, tied with Whisker, and is tied for strongest with Motoko. He's also very tough, not to mention keenly intelligent, though not so personable or pious.

Hands & Feet 100, Oratory 34, Ninjutsu 100, Mythology 14, Theosophy 45, Kirijutsu 31.

Master of killing people with her bare hands without them seeing her coming, Motoko can now cast blades, allowing her to summon magical swords to slice up an enemy. So in a way she's finally learned to use weapons. In a way.

Like Wrath, Motoko is very strong and fast, and also the most pious (not that anyone can tell).

Pole & Staff 100, Sword 72, Oratory 44, Ninjutsu 95, Mythology 18, Theology 50, Kirijutsu 25.

Master of the spear and almost master of sneak attacking enemies with it (which after all is actually rather difficult with a two-handed polearm), Alva's oratory is starting to noticeably improve due to her more frequent use of magic. This level, she learned to cast cure paralysis, which is recurrently useful.

Alva lacks some of the extreme attributes of her fellows, other than a very respectable vitality, but she is generally capable in all aspects.

Bow 100, Sword 47, Throwing 38, Hands & Feet 27, Ninjutsu 49, Artefacts 49, Mythology 16, Alchemy 97, Kirijutsu 11.

Master of bow, but who cares, because she's a ninja now! Konata is able to use a wide-range of weapons, mainly because she hasn't actually settled on one over any other. Her ninjutsu is not up to the level of the three original fighters, who have much more practice, but she has maintained her study in alchemy, almost mastering it, and has begun to learn kirijutsu.

Based on the accumulated experience requirements to reach new levels, Konata has settled in her new class at one level behind the others, though of course her ten original levels of alchemist underpin all her abilities.

Due to being able to learn new alchemy spells as a ninja (from level 5 onwards), Konata has actually managed to sneakily learn just about every useful remaining alchemy spell, though her actual magic reserves have only modestly increased. Thus, Konata can now cast fire bomb (continuous fire damage to a number of enemies over multiple rounds), poison gas (continuous poison damage to multiple enemies over multiple rounds), purify air (purges the area of cloud-based attacks like the two just mentioned), create life (temporarily creates minions to aid the party in combat), cure stone (cures the petrification effect on comrades) and noxious fumes (damage a group of enemies, with a chance of making them nauseous, which can lead them to miss turns due to uncontrollable gagging).

"So Konata became a more capable alchemist...by stopping being an alchemist?"

"Yes. It's rather inexplicable. However it is the quality, not quantity of magics known that is most important in a spellcaster."

"...sure it is."

Konata's attributes are silly. She has the greatest vitality in the party, despite being a faerie, and the greatest dexterity (which is more reasonable). Her strength, intelligence, speed and personality are all extraordinary, though in each second to one of her peers. Perhaps her extremely good karma is the reason.

Wand & Dagger 21, Sword 76, Music 100, Oratory 48, Skulduggery 74, Ninjutsu 82, Mythology 16, Thaumaturgy 62.

Shaana is master musician, as well as an increasingly competent locksmith, burglar and mage. And to prove the last one, she's learned one of Whisker's signature attack magics for herself, the ever-useful iceball spell.

Fast and smart, Shaana's most prominent advantage is her charming personality, a quality that is nearly useless when spelunking the underworld. Her other characteristics are good also, except of course for her abysmal karma score.

Mace & Flail 100, Oratory 100, Mythology 9, Scribe 11, Thaumaturgy 97.

Not to be outdone, the master of whips and oratory and very-almost thaumaturgical magic has learned asphyxiation, a spell that causes all enemies in combat to have a chance of immediately suffocating to death.

"That's...horrible."

"No alchemist-ninja-faerie is going to out-murder me." [Pauses and clears throat self-consciously.] "All for the greater good of course."

Thanks also to the ruby talisman, Whisker's intelligence has been raised past the natural maximum to 19, making him more obnoxiously intellectual than ever. He is also the fastest in the party tied with Wrath, very dextrous and pious, and even a little more hale and hearty than he once was, though his strength is still rather poor. Like his peers, he maintains a naturally high karma by using Shaana as some kind of walking karma sink.