Recent Posts For Tag: Chapter 5

Hakam set the torch to the constructed-flesh image of Calimshan's most powerful ruler, and the oil ignited. Without any ceremony, he turned and stepped back into the rowboat and was raised back up to the floating sea vessel.

   The party was emotionally neutral at their most recent happenings. They had soundly defeated their longest foe and saved entire kingdoms from potential tyranny and ruin. They had set back El Sadhara's plans a second and likely final time. They had come out of exile and gained the means to travel nearly wherever they wished.

   Yet they had lost a traveling companion that at least some of them had been growing very fond of, and they could see no immediate means of retrieving her or of pursuing Samber, the main goal of their divinely ordained quests.

   When the others had joined Belvin and Kytharrah on the ship, they were concerned by the amount of blood, but Kytharrah, oddly, did not seem worried.

   "Little sister not hurt, because of trick."

   "Trick? What trick?"

   "Stab and fix cut trick."

   "Ilthian has healing magic?"

   "I think that he is saying that Ilthian can regenerate," said Solisar.

   "Like a troll?" said Belvin.

   "Like the construct that she is," said the sun elf. "It makes sense. How do you know this Kytharrah?"

   "Playing."

   Solisar had found a final entry from Ilthian. It was written in the Thorass alphabet, like Common, but appeared to be a transliteration of Lantanese, (which was usually written in Draconic).

   She appeared to have been interrupted in the middle of writing a sentence.

...Kytharrah is not on the shape anymore. I see a giant man. Maybe he is one of Skata's family. He just vanished. Now they are all talking to Kytharrah. Now Belvordû a cûig dêag sos intleacht___________________________

   Solisar explained to the others, "The final words mean the following in Lantanese. Ordû means 'order', 'command', or 'instruction'. A cûig dêag means 'fifteen', which is Samber's number for Ilthian in one of the previous notes of his that we found. Sos means 'break', 'pause', 'rest', or 'stop'. I do no know the word intleacht for certain, but I strongly suspect it to be a loan word from common to mean simply 'intellect'."

   "So he can swap bodies now," said Leokas.

   "So it seems," said Solisar.

   "You spoke with Samber in Lantanese when he faced us," said Hakam. "What did you ask him?"

   "I asked him why he was in Calim's form, and he told me that it was what was available."

   "I am going to send to Ilthian," said Hakam. "Give me some time."

   When Hakam finished his prayer, he spoke aloud. "Ilthian, if this is you, know that we are coming for you. But if this is Samber, know that we will stop you."

   In a few moments, a frown formed on Hakam's face.

   "What was the response?" asked Szordrin.

   "'What right have you to stop me? The gods are petty, jealous, arrogant. As for you, you stole my property. I simply take it back.' It was Samber's voice."

   "What do we do now?" asked Szordrin. "I see no immediate way to pursue him."

   "At the very least, we need to regroup with Jayce," said Hakam. "He has uncovered clues to Samber's past that may aid us in finding him again."

   "I must return to Evermeet and report on my findings in the North," said Solisar. "While there, I can seek advice from my grandmother, who is exceptionally wise. She may be able to advise us. Also, my people are known to sail wildspace and may be able to advise us in such matters, if we desire to head to Bral. However, Evermeet is not keen on non-elven visitors. I would have to travel there alone."

   "I see no reason to go after Samber anymore at all," said Bevlin. "Thard Harr showed me that I would meet him, not that I should pursue him. This, I have done. My spirit quest is over. We have just saved the world; I think that it is time for Kamil and I to go home."

   "My friend," said Leokas, "the gods spoke to me clearly that this task was for all of us, not just for me. We cannot give it up now. This is just a setback."

   "I will seek a vision from Thard Harr at home," said Belvin. "Then, if he wills it, I will continue the search with you, my friend."

   "It seems like all of us desire to head in different directions for the time being," said Solisar, "to regroup later. Hakam, do you need to report to the heads of your order in Memnon?"

   "I have a special calling now and report only to Anachtyr directly," replied the cleric.

   "Szordrin, what are your thoughts?" asked Solisar.

   "My first desire has always been the pursuit of the Interlink Consortium," said Szrodrin. "We should go to Bral. I suspect that if any place might have information on Bral, it might be Calimport, and we are as near to that city as ever we have been. If everyone is going in separate directions for the time being, that is where Ferry and I will go."

   "So, this is the plan then?" said Leokas. "We split up to gather information and then regroup? If so, I will travel with Belvin to the Chondalwood. Perhaps Solonor will send me another wolf while I am there."

   "Where will Kytharrah go?" asked Solisar. "He cannot come to Evermeet with me, unless I appeal to have him accepted as an 'elf-friend', but that will be challenging."

   "He may go with Bevlin and me," said Leokas.

   "That is probably for the best. I am not certain that I could keep our young minotaur entertained while I research.

   "Is it settled then? We fly the spelljammer first to Calimport to drop off Szordrin, then to Chondalwood to drop off Belvin, Leokas, and Kytharrah. I will pilot the vessel back west to Lantan so that Hakam can join up with Jayce, and then I shall continue on alone to Evermeet."

   "When shall we meet again?" asked Leokas. "The more time we tarry, the closer Samber will get to achieving his ultimate goals."

   "A couple months should suffice, yes?" said Solisar. "I will contact all of you from Evermeet in the month of Ches."


The Frihet, Ilthian's name for the vessel, entered the clouds and sailed to the southeast, to the great city of Calimport.

   Far above — in a manner of speaking — two feminine entities watched its passage, or rather the passage of its crew, as they had been watching with interest for over a year now, from the Outer Planes.

   Your sister's power grows stronger, the meddler is now free again, and now these mortals give up search. If she is able to manipulate him....

   They have not given up search. They will regroup. Things will turn again. The Moringlord has come to our side, and the Seldarine are allied with us too in this. We need not fear.

   Not all the Seldarine.

   The Seldarine will follow Corellon's command.

   Will they?

   Take heart, Midnight. My followers have slain her chosen priestess. There is still hope.

   She will choose another. And there is already Lord Shadow and his entire city of worshipers.

   The city will fall in time. We need only hold out until then.

   And your own chosen, what came of her?

   Nothing came of her; she simply has been sidetracked. She will soon come to understand her power and act in accordance. It may be better that they have parted, as, for the time being at least, the meddler does not seem to be following my sister directly.

   Let us hope that it remains that way.

After several minutes of questioning, they ascertained that Pharos, the ancient baelnorn guardian of the Spinning Keep, had slain Allu's archwizard, Booyagh, and that Kytharrah had been fortunate enough to be standing on the correct panel when the remains of the goblin were ejected.

   "So, we succeeded then," said Szordrin. "The genies are still entrapped."

   Just then, with no announcement, a massive being loomed over them.

   It was a humanoid male standing some 25 feet tall. He was bald and had a pointed and trimmed goatee. He was dressed in an open vest and baggy pantaloons with booted feet, looking exactly like the images of djinn from Hakam's childhood stories, except that only the most powerful of noble djinn were said to be so very large. A small gem stone seemed to be embedded in the genie's forehead.

   Leokas and Belvin stood there like stone, not knowing what to do in the presence of Calim, the great ruler of the ancient empire pre-dating Calimshan.

   "Kytharrah," said Szordrin quickly, "are you sure that you did not touch the crystal?"

   Kytharrah shook his head. The genie looked each of them over.

   "How did you escape?" asked Szordrin boldly.

   "I bided my time until I could convince her to take her revenge against the efreeti," said the enormous figure with a booming voice. "She foolishly listened.

   "Now, enough talk. Give me back my creation."

   "Begone, evil djinni!" commanded Hakam, and he tried to dispel any magic upon their visitor, but there was no effect.

   Solisar spoke to the genie in Lantanese, and the others heard a reply in the same tongue before he spoke in Common to all of them. "Tell me where she is."

   Leokas suddenly understood; this was not Calim at all. "We have escaped out of exile to put an end to your plans. It is the will of the gods!"

   "It is Samber in another form," Solisar explained to the others.

   Hakam immediately joined Leokas in protest. "You are defying the laws of nature and the multiverse! Cease at once. The gods do not permit a mere mortal to create new life at his whim, nor do they...."

   "Be still," commanded Samber with a wave of his massive genie hand toward Hakam. The Calishite cleric felt a powerful compulsion in his mind, but he overcame the magic with the force of his will.

   "Your shadow magics will not affect me!" Hakam shouted back, emboldened.

   "For whom do you seek?" asked Solisar, simply to buy time while he swiftly but secretly performed the motions required for one of his most powerful divinatory spells.

   In response, the genie simply frowned and closed his eyes. "I ask you one more time," he said, "where is she?" Suddenly, all of them felt a presence in their minds.

   "Get out of my head!" shouted Leokas, and he tried his hardest to imagine Vashti and their early adventures together, so as not to picture Ilthian and where she waited for them on the spelljammer.

   Szordrin tried to bluff. "She was a hindrance to us, so we left her in the far north, selling her as a bride to one of the primitive tribes there."

   Samber opened his eyes at this, and his frown turned into a look of confusion. They all felt a lessening of the "presence" in their heads for a brief moment, but then the "genie" smiled and looked at Kytharrah.

   "Thank you, young minotaur."

   Then the genie vanished.

   "I did not get to thank him for healing my arm," said Belvin.

   The others seemed far more concerned about other matters. "What were you thinking about?" Hakam and Szordrin asked Kytharrah simultaneously.

   "Play with Little Sister."

   "The magic alarm is triggered," said Solisar. "He is on the ship!"

   "Kytharrah can still fly," said Leokas. "He is our only chance to protect her."

   "I can go with him," said Belvin, as he hurriedly began removing his clothing and gear.

   "Fly with Belvin to the ship and protect Little Sister," Solisar instructed the minotaur.

   Belvin, now in the form of a pteranodon, shrieked and flapped his wings, taking to the air.

   "Go!" said Leokas, giving Kytharrah a little shove.



Minotaur and pteranodon landed on the main deck. Calim's body was lying there lifeless, now barefoot. Belvin shifted back into an elven form and approached the body. Blood was on the massive body's forehead. The small gem stone that had been there was gone, leaving a tiny hole.

   "More blood," said Kytharrah. He knelt on the opposite deck by a pool of red. "Little sister."

   Small, bloody footprints led away from the main deck down the stairs. They rushed down them to Ilthian's room, finding the door open.

   Ilthian was standing there and turned to face them. She was carrying a satchel, which Belvin recognized had been hanging from Calim's belt previously. In her other hand, she held a bloody kitchen knife. She seemed to be wearing the missing pair of boots, now shrunken to fit her much smaller form. She was covered in blood, which seemed to have come from her head, but she had no clear wounds.

   "You cannot stop me," said Ilthian's voice.

   Then Samber vanished.

"Thank you, my friend," said Leokas to Belvin, while lowering his bow.

   "Thank Thard Harr," corrected Belvin.

   Szordin examined the area where Allu had fallen. While his body was destroyed, the genie left behind an assortment of golden items of jewelry, anklets, bracelets, and rings.

   Hakam entered the tent and searched around, finding nothing of interest. He came back outside. "If that was the efreeti, then his goblin is still unaccounted for."

   "There are goblin tracks in the sand," said Leokas. "They are no more than a day old. They head toward the Keep."

   Szordrin and Belvin began moving toward the spinning dodecahedron, and the others followed. On the ground below it, they found a small loin cloth, a finely crafted dagger, and a journal.

   "The goblin's," said Belvin.

   "The journal is completely empty," Szordrin informed them, after picking it up. He tossed it back onto the sand.

   Solisar went into a trance and began scanning the outer surface of the crystalline object. "I cannot get any closer than about ten feet to it, but all of its pentagonal sides appear identical," he reported.

   "Anachtyr open mine eyes to hidden paths," prayed Hakam, but he could see nothing new upon its surface.

   "Durbuluk and the gnome's journal agreed that the Keep repels all non-living things and all elves, humans, or genies," said Solisar. "Among us, only Kytharrah could get close enough to investigate further."

   "With our magic, we can let him fly to it and stick to its surface," said Szordrin.

   Hakam began to give instructions to Kytharrah, "We need you to walk around that spinning thing up there and see if you can find a goblin. Do you understand?"

   Kytharrah did not nod.

   Szordrin held the loincloth up to the minotaur's nose. "Find the goblin who wore this."

   Kytharrah winced and nodded.

   "Trust your nose and not your eyes," said Solisar. "You may see things that seem strange."

   "If you find yourself inside," warned Hakam, "do not touch the shining crystal! It is not the guiding light. This is not a time for play. Come here, I have a prayer for you." The cleric laid his hands on Kytharrah and gave him an increase in wisdom. "There. You will be more perceptive and — hopefully — make better decisions."

   "Kytharrah, you will have to leave all of your things behind," said Solisar, "and your axe."

   As Kytharrah removed his armor and kilt, Szordrin removed a spider from his pouch, swallowed it, and touched Kytharrah. Solisar held a bird feather in his left palm and touched the minotaur with his right.

   "Kytharrah, think about going up into the sky," said Solisar.

   The minotaur looked up into the air and began to rise up from the surface. He snorted and giggled as he rose higher and higher.

   "We should also make him invisible," said Solisar.

   "Not yet!" said Hakam. "Come back down. We have more instructions."

   Kytharrah seemed to get the hang of flying almost effortlessly, and he touched down to the sand near them again.

   "How will we be able to see what happens to him?" asked Szordrin.

   "I can still see invisible things by the spell that Solisar cast upon me," said Leokas.

   Solisar cast the remaining spell, as Hakam gave the final reminder. "Remember, use your nose. Find the goblin. Do not touch the crystal."

   Solisar touched Kytharrah, and the minotaur vanished. "Now, fly and land on the object and find the goblin."

   "Walk with your hooves and one hand," added Szordrin.

   Several long minutes passed. Leokas described to the others what he could see. Kytharrah flew and landed on the Spinning Keep, sticking to its surface. He began to move around from pentagon to pentagon, sniffing close to the surface as he went.

   "He has stopped," said Leokas. "He must have found the panel through which the goblin entered the Keep."

   Leokas described as Kytharrah tried various techniques to enter. He knocked. He jumped — which caused him to fly away from the surface and required him to find the panel all over again. He pounded. He gored with his horns. He smashed the panel with his forehead. Nothing.

   Then, suddenly, Leokas saw their minotaur fall upwards into the Keep. Simultaneously, everyone saw a collection of blackened objects tumble down to the ground along with a cloud of fine gray dust.

   Szordrin rushed over to the items, and Leokas joined him.

   "Bone fragments?" asked Szordrin. "Is he dead?"

   "Goblin bones," said Leokas. "No doubt the wizard's. I saw Kytharrah fall into the keep."


Kytharrah was on the bottom of the tumbling dodecahedron when the panel vanished. He felt the strange sensation of falling upward, which he thought was fun. The first thing he felt was bitter cold, which reminded him of the first time that he found his way to the surface and saw the guiding light in the sky. The next moment, he realized that he was floating in near darkness, lit by a light coming from the center of the open space. Twisting his neck back, he looked toward the source of the light and saw a grotesque, writhing mass of what appeared to be faces, silently screaming, straining, and stretching against the many sides of a large, nearly spherical, sparkling gem.

   This view only lasted a moment. First, the faces in the gem disappeared. Then the gem too vanished, and Kytharrah was no longer floating. His hooves were firmly planted on solid ground. He sensed immediately that he was in an underground maze.

   "Home?" he spoke aloud, but he knew that it was not home, though it was similar in many ways. The ground smelled different, more pure earth smell, with less of the smell of fungi or Underdark lifeforms. Still, it smelled somehow familiar.

   He remembered his instructions to grab any goblin. He had not seen a goblin, but maybe the ugly faces had a goblin with them. He did not know why he could no longer see the ugly faces, but he was a minotaur; he was certain that if he ran in this direction, then this direction, then this direction, he would reach the floating gem with the faces again. No matter how many twists and turns he made, Kytharrah had a perfect sense of the direction of the gem.

   Somebody was not playing fair. Kytharrah knew for certain that he should have reached the gem by now, but he could not see it.

   What was that? He heard something behind him. Spinning around, he saw something moving through the walls, as if they were made of water. Then it was gone. He rushed to the wall and pounded on it with his massive fists. Solid.

   There it was again! To his right, he saw it emerging from another wall. Kytharrah snorted in laughter. Such a silly creature, if it was a creature at all. It did not really have a head, but its body — which looked like it was made of pebbly clay — rested upon its stubby legs. In that respect, it reminded Kytharrah of the funny rock man that they had met when climbing that snowy mountain back when little sister was missing. But funny-rock-man had had two stumpy legs, not three. Funny-rock-man had also had no arms; this thing had three, spread out radially around its body, and between two of the arms, he saw a large yellow eye looking directly at him.

   The thing galloped across the hall of the maze, from one wall to the other, and leapt into it as if diving, top of its body first, passing through the wall and vanishing, its body appearing to merge into the stone. As it did so, it twisted through the air, and Kytharrah saw that it had a big yellow eye between each of its arms, three in all.

   Kytharrah knew this finding game; he was good at it. He ran this way then that way, knowing that the creature should be... right here! "Found you!" said Kytharrah. "I win!"

   The thing suddenly opened up at the top of its body/head, revealing a gaping maw of nasty teeth, and let out a very deep, guttural sound. Kytharrah hopped back. Those teeth would hurt! The creature jumped straight into the air, grabbing onto the ceiling of the maze with its black clawed talons, and it looked as if it were biting into the ceiling with the top of its body. It morphed into the ceiling and was gone.

   "No fair!" said Kytharrah. "Your turn find me!"

   "Kytharrah sniffed." A dead smell, not as strong and spicy as those wrapped up ladies but not as pungent as those big, dead, hairy goblins. He turned around. There was another person in the tunnel with him.

   It was an elf — or something like an elf, with long elven ears — a very, very, very old one, with stretched, pale skin and long white hair, cloak blowing wildly behind him. The skin was so pale that Kytharrah could see the elf's skull through the skin of his face.

   "It is not a time for play," said the somber voice of the dead-smelling, see-through elf, as he held out his palm. Kytharrah felt himself flying backwards through the air. The cavern walls faded away, and Kytharrah caught a last glimpse of the elf and several whirling clouds of air and flame about him as he tumbled backwards.

   Then, just like that, he was back outside again in the bright desert light, falling down from beneath the Spinning Keep. A magic spell that Solisar cast upon him immediately prevented him from slamming into the ground some 40 feet below, and he gently came to rest on his hooves again.

   "What happened in there!" the others rushed over to him.

   "A finding game!" said Kytharrah. "They cheated."

The spelljammer hovered over the surface of the dried sands of the Calim Desert. Solisar, Belvin, and Leokas had followed the gnomish illusionist's map to the Spinning Keep of Siri'wadjen without issue.

   The keep was not like any structure any of them had ever seen. To call it a structure at all was perhaps not the right language. The Keep was essentially an outer shell to the infamous Calimmemnon Crystal, the magical prison of the greatest two genies of Calishite history. The Keep was itself crystalline, a dodecahedron of pearly, translucent material, which was hard to spot in the day's sunlight until they were rather close.

   The twelve-sided keep magically floated some fourteen or fifteen yards from the surface of the sand and rotated on multiple axes simultaneously. It was more than 20 yards in diameter.

   About 100 yards west of the Spinning Keep was a large, circular tent.

   "Allu and his goblin archwizard are already here, as we expected," said Szordrin, standing at the railing of their spelljammer.

   "Let me take a look," said Solisar, as he removed a bit of bat fur from his component pouch. They waited for ten minutes for him to complete his divinatory spell, after which point he seemed to enter into one of his trances.

   "I am entering the tent. There are two cots here. One of the cots is occupied by a small goblin in robes."

   "The archwizard," said Hakam, "but who sleeps on the other cot, and where is he?"

   "Durbuluk?" suggested Belvin.

   "No, he stayed behind," said Hakam. "It is likely Allustairimarinastralmindivu's cot, and he has already entered the Keep."

   "He cannot enter the Keep," said Solisar. "The elven high magic prevents it, remember. Only the goblin can enter the keep."

   Belvin said, "Allu is gone, and his wizard is asleep — this is either a trap, or we are exceptionally fortunate."

   "Could the tent be an illusion?" asked Hakam.

   "If I were closer in body, I could scan it for auras," said Solisar.

   "We have to take the risk," said Szordrin. "This could be our only chance. Lunk, lower us to the ground."

   Kytharrah lowered them in one of the rowboats to the sand, then lowered Kamil, and finally came down one of the ropes himself.

   Szordrin stealthily approached closer to the tent and then returned to the others. "The tent itself has no magical aura, but there are some inside. The wizard likely wears some sort of magical items."

   "I can encompass the whole tent in silence," said Hakam. "The wizard will not be able to use any verbal spells or hear us as we approach."

   "Do not silence the flap of the tent, so that I can stand at the entrance and use my own magic," said Szordrin.

   "If the goblin is asleep, I can take it out with a single arrow," said Leokas. "Mark my words."

   "I can call on the winds to further guide your shot," said Belvin.

   "I can approach the tent invisible and open the flap," said Szordrin. "The moment that I do, let loose your arrows."

   Everyone agreed with the plan.

   Solisar granted Leokas the ability to see invisible creatures, while Belvin blessed him and enchanted everyone's ranged weapons. Leokas himself called for a blessing from Solonor.

   The others protected and readied themselves in other magical ways. Szordrin created illusionary duplicates of himself, and he and they all turned invisible. Belvin mounted Kamil. Kytharrah drank one of his potions.

   "Kytharrah, stay by my side," Hakam commanded. Then he completed a brief prayer that created a bubble of silence around the whole tent.

   "Follow my footprints," said Szordrin, and he moved quickly toward the tent. Leokas followed.

   The flap to the tent was whipped back, and several Szordrins appeared. They and Leokas took aim at the goblin. As the arrow left Leokas' bow, a powerful gust of wind rushed past the wood elf and visibly spiraled around the projectile as it traveled. Simultaneously, rays of fire erupted from the fingertips of the Szordrins.

   The flames enveloped the goblin, but seemed to do nothing to him or his robes, except to startle him awake. The arrow, however, struck through the goblin's right arm, through his side, and into his spinal column, striking with enough force to knock the tiny humanoid from the cot and unto the floor.

   Leokas nocked another arrow and took aim toward the ground. The goblin was not dead. Instead, he seemed to explode into a cloud of black smoke. The cloud was vaguely humanoid and much larger than a goblin or even a hobgoblin, filling half the tent. Red fire glowed for eyes.

   "He vanished into black smoke! It is Allu!" shouted Leokas in warning to those on the other side of the tent. He let fly his arrow, followed by two others, as the cloud immediately flowed under the tent and outside. The magic enchantment in his arrows caused the cloud to break apart with each hit. Szordrin tried to bind the gaseous form of the genie to the earth, but he could not overcome the efreeti's magic. Free from the confines of the tent, it rose into the sky.

   Hakam and the others outside the tent saw the smoke cloud rising and could make out the shape of arms and horns. The cleric touched Kytharrah and an aura of blue, watery mist formed around him. Belvin rode up and instilled him with extra strength. Everyone felt a surge of speed, as Solisar hasted them. "Attack the genie if it comes near enough to strike!" ordered Hakam, and Kytharrah took an offensive stance and waited.

   But the genie rose higher into the sky, far out of reach of any melee weapon. "You! You are the mortal scum who stole my gem!" came a booming voice from the cloud, just as Leokas and Szordrin appeared back outside the tent. The upper portion of the cloud formed into the bare upper torso of a muscular humanoid with bronze-colored, metallic skin, black, magma-like blood pouring from a wound in the side and arm. The blood struck the sand and sizzled and hardened. A ball of fire ignited in Allu's left palm as he opened his tusked mouth and roared. "Give it... ugh!"

   Surrounded by another tunnel of wind, a magical arrow escaped from Leokas' bow, piercing the efreeti's neck.

   The genie fell from the sky like a meteor, bursting into a black cloud on impact, which dissipated into nothing.

   They gathered around the scorched sand where the efreeti had fallen. "That was anticlimactic," said Belvin.