Against the Eye Of Terror Pt. 3 / Burning Witch Adventurers Session #97

  For the third wave in the attack against the Eye of Terror, Copra Kaan convinced a party to move against the demonic beings known as Mariliths that had seized control of the section of Level 1 that had once served as holding pens for creatures used in the experiments of the Imperial Mother's researchers. Copra thought that the holding pens might be needed once the Eye of Terror was finally moved against. For reasons that could not fully be ascertained, the demons had some sort of agreement with the Eye of Terror. This plan was a bit of a tough sell.

The Magician Phasmo was the most willing to entertain the idea.The magic-user held the belief that dealing with the Mariliths didn't necessarily mean meeting them in combat. Perhaps, the party could find out their aims (which most exist beyond the very terrestrial goals of the Eye) and negotiate with them to turn on the Eye. Just in case, he paid a visit to the wizard known as the Enchantress-- his mentor in the Transcendental Congress of the Aureate Precepts. She was known to have great interest in combating beings of "evil" and may have research on their weaknesses.

The bard Fancy Jean-Yves Beauvollier possessed great skepticism that a party could succeed in this mission yet he joined the effort nonetheless. Here is a look into Fancy's reflections on events form the bard's journal provided by his player Joshua:

A fancy journal entry.

We are all alive. … That’s what I never thought I would say after having faced a pair of greater demons and their horde of ghoulish minions.

The party (myself, Wolfgang, Phasmo, Crannoc, Peaches, Ur-Kel, Bex, and Nita) assembled with the utterly foolish plans of bargaining with not one, but two terrifying marilith. The same two maralith that many of us have witnessed being beaten by a minotaur with a myriad of weapons for… who knows how long.

By “bargaining”, I of course mean “inevitable combat.”

Anyway, as we neared the area where we thought to encounter them, we began to notice the drastically increased number of skulls littered about. Soon after, we also noted the directly proportional increase in the number of ghouls in the area. Among said ghouls were a pair of Lion-folk, servants of the Imperial Mother, that had been placed into bondage in the stead of the two demons we were hunting.

After I stuck the ghouls in a layer of slime (new spell) and dispatched them, we enlisted the aid of the two lion-folk and persisted in our task. At this point any facade of negotiation had been worn away and we were instead expecting only violent outcomes. At least we were being honest with ourselves.

We soon found the newly rehabbed lair of the demon twins and about 10 more ghouls all together in some weird party with strobing fires and chaos writing and skulls… so many more skulls.

The fracas was, unexpectedly, a rather short affair. Peaches and myself handled the ghouls while a summoned earth elemental did the heavy lifting of keeping the demons attention while they suffered the agony of volleys of holy water vials and such.

Somehow, we are all still alive.

The following is text that Phasmo inscribes in the blank pages at the end of the Treatise on the 66 Legions of the Sixth Realm, as he promised his patron the Enchantress he would, after encountering the Mariliths and learning more of their nature. This text, provided by Phasmo's player Ben, will be interspersed with the illustrated recap made by Nita's player Curtis recounting the same events.

Fancy Jean-Yves Beauvoiller level 5 bard

Along with Peaches and Freedom the Sapient Cat

Phasmo level 4 magic-user

Crannoc level 4 magic-user

Bex level 1 vat spawn
Nita Mushroom person level 1 mycillean

Wolfgang, remotely a controlling a janky replicant of himself 

All accomplished by the scutifer Ur-Kel of the Order of the Dragon

The following is text that Phasmo inscribes in the blank pages at the end of the  Treatise on the 66 Legions of the Sixth Realm, as he promised his patron the Enchantress he would, after encountering the Mariliths and learning more of their nature. 

So it was that we decided to slay the Mariliths, two demon sisters, who had taken up residence in the Complex. They had been under the yoke of the Imperial Mother, a half-elven being of great power, before they were accidentally freed along with an Eye of Terror. The Mariliths had entered into an accord with the Eye, showing them capable of working together with other nefarious forces when it suits their purpose. This alliance was one of the bastions of power for an Eye of Terror, and we knew that if we could break it, the tyrannical hold of the Eye over the complex might be weakened.

Aware of powers and some of the weaknesses of the Marilits from the pages of this very book, we hit upon a brutal plan. Although not hard to strike, the Marilith were immune to most attacks, except those by powerful enchanted creatures or magic weapons with a name or sanctified water. We knew as well that they had inherent defenses against most mortal magic, which would likely fail against them. One among our number, Crannoc had a precious scroll in his possession, capable of summoning an earth elemental of epic power. We believed that this entity could strike against them successfully and perhaps undo them. The weak link in the plan was that Crannoc would have to view and  concentrate on the earth elemental, and if his concentration was broken by an assault, he would lose control of the entity which would surely slay him. So, we thought up several ruses to try to protect him during this vulnerable period

Our backup plan should the elemental fail was this: flee and die.

We armed ourselves as best we could from the storehouse of artifacts available to the adventurers of the Burning Witch, including holy water, distributed amongst our group. We affixed what crystals we found laying about to our heads, including my prism diadem and strange crystalline fruit from the complex, but later we learned they were of insufficient quality to protect us from the mental powers of the demonesses. More research is needed here about the nature and purity of the crystals required.

We decided to take the elevator from the Athenaeum and come up into the region dominated by the Mariliths from below. We knew we would need to sneak past the mess hall where the Midnight Marauders, a band of mercenaries allied to our cause, planned to strike a blow against the Eye of Terror’s forces. So we waited until their operation would be well underway in order to sneak past the mess hall during what we hoped would be the ensuing mayhem. We were assaulted along the way by 5 vatspawn loyalists. They were felled by the cracking whip of Bex, the forceful punch of Nita the Mycillean, the blows of Wolfgang's double, and one of Crannoc’s well-placed sleep spells.

We headed into the area dominated by the Mariliths. I used an enchantment to locate them, focusing mind upon the circlets and bands with which these infernal entities delight in adorning themselves, and did some advance scouting under the cover of invisibility. This already teaches something of importance: it is likely that the Mariliths’ inherent resistance to mortal magic does not extend to the objects they wear or hold about their person. This is a weakness that could be exploited when they reappear in a century—although by then the sun will be long dead, likely as not.

One note of interest is that we came upon many ghouls in the area of the Mariliths. It seems that the Mariliths had made allegiance with, or perhaps come to dominate, this nest of evil undead who haunt the halls of the complex. Whether the Mariliths share a demonic link with the living dead who recognize them as inherent masters, or whether their bond was simply an affinity for cruelty and unholy chaos, I cannot say.

At one point we came upon a group of former librarians of the Imperial Mother who had been converted into flesh hungry ghouls. They were in the process of tormenting two of the Imperial Mother’s mighty lion guards, who were shackled upside down. We dispatched the ghouls with some difficulty, and managed to free the guards, who agreed to aid us in our assault. We then moved into the inner chambers where my spell suggested Mariliths dwelt. Becoming invisible I quickly scouted ahead and confirmed their presence.

They sat in a huge dark chamber, atop thrones of piled skulls. They were adorned with jewelry, and armed with motley weapons in their sixfold limbs. They were still and unmoving, whether they were contemplating subtle questions of demonic theology, or resting, or simply passing the time, I had no way of ascertaining. About them capered quite a number of ghouls. The Mariliths had set up cunning traps from ancient technology, suggesting their great intelligence.

With this information we formed our immediate plan of attack.  Crannoc used his signature spell to detach his eyeball. This he sent into the chamber, and from around a corner to look down on the Mariliths from above. Meaningwhile, I worked several enchantments. First I summoned my signature Lens that magnifies the force of my prismatic magics. Next I summoned a perfect illusion of Crannoc.

Crannoc used this floating eyeball to summon the earth elemental, that arose from the wall behind the Mariliths, striking at one of them with terrible force. Then all mayhem broke loose as both sides attacked simultaneously. The lion guards rushed at the ghouls, occupying their attention and holding them off from the rest of the group, although losing their lives in the process. I stepped into the room guiding my illusion. The Marilith’s protections do not seem to encompass an ability to penetrate illusions—this is another point that could be leveraged in future dealings, for one of the Mariliths tried to dominate the illusion with her mind, dispelling it. But it had already played it role distracting their attention from Crannocs floating eye, which now they had little chance to spot in the heat of battle.

The Marilith that was beset by the earth elemental cloaked herself in magical darkness, protecting herself from its blows. To our horror, the other Marilith began to open a gate to the Sixth Realm to call forth demonic aid! I believe that had she succeeded, I would not be recording this events. But to our great relief, the gate crumbled and no demonic aidn materialized. This reveals another fearsome power the sisters possess, as well as its limitations.

Wolfgang’s strange double and our knight moved to strike with his potent magical blade alongside the earth elemental, which bore the brunt of the Marilith’s numerous attacks. Even though the gate had failed, and we were striking in force, in truth my heart sank at seeing the power of these unholy sisters unleashed. In my mind, I am ashamed to say, I believed that our assault was doomed to fail.

But the tides then turned—the ghouls were slain by a pair of strange devices wielded by Fancy and Peaches that swallowed them in an explosive conflagration, removing one of the main obstacles to our victory. I was able to dispel the magical darkness enshrining one of the Mariliths, leaving her open to assault. (Again, we should take note that a spell countering a Marilith spell is not subject to their demonic protection.) Bex and Nita hurled holy water upon her revealed form, which seared her flesh, leaving open and festering wounds, and weakening her greatly. The Mariliths struck back with frightening force again, but one could see desperation setting in as they realized they were alone against an elemental of ferocious power.

It was then that something miraculous happened. It is doubtless my proudest day. Drawing on every ounce of mystical power, I called upon the most potent of my creations, summoning my Prismatic Bands to restrain one of the two Mariliths. Seeing that I was about to unleash a potent attack, the Marilith reached into my mind with hers—revealing vistas of flame and torment, and a hideous power, with which she exulted herself above my mortal soul. But my training held, and I cast her from my mind, completing my spell. So powerful was my enchantment when the Prismastic Bands sprung forth from the prism aloft my head, gaining luminosity as it sprung magnified through my prism, that it shattered the Marilith's demonic defenses with a sound like breaking glass and the screaming of a thousand souls. So I bound her with the force of my magic and held her helpless.

Together the elemental, Wolfgang, and Ur-Kel slew the other Marilith. They then turned upon the helpless one that I had bound and dispatched her as well. For we knew that were she released, she would destroy us. So the Mariliths were banished from our world for 100 years a day.

Treasure

• A large gold bracelet 500gp
• Matching serpent gold arm bands 2 x 800gp
• Gilded tungsten bracelet set with peridots x 900gp
• Ceremonial steel dagger with polished onyx in the pommel 900gp
• Ceremonial rose gold long sword with blue spinel in the pommel 1000gp
• Engraved electrum bangle set with silver studs 1100gp
• A bracelet of gems cut to look like small skulls 1200gp
• Matching electrum serpent tiaras set with black obsidian 2 x 1300gp
• A scroll containing the following druidic spells: heat metal, spear of fire (Level 4 spell that turns an oaken spear with a silver tip into a burning spear strong against the undead), dispel magic, the Singing Sands of Time (Level 4 spell that summons a whirling dust devil that ages those it touches in melee), and protection from poison
• A scroll containing the following magic user spells: protection from evil, levitate, magic jar, the rosy mists of reason (Level 1 spell that attempts to make intelligent beings parley), Backward Blast (Level 5 spell that reserves the flow of time for a target for one turn)
• Wyvern Fang (an enchanted +1 dagger made of a large fang for the Copper Dragon of the Order of the Dragon. Injects poison into a target on a Natural 20).
• Sapthacim (a enchanted +2 dagger forged by hill dwarves. In the hands of small demihumans, the blade extends to the size of a short sword. It also cuts stone and wood surprisingly well).
• Ring of Protection +1 (5' raduis), an identical match to Fancy's ring

Experience Points

• 9800xp from treasure
• Vat spawn soldiers of the Eye of Terror slept and killed 4 x 15xp
• Gorrilla Folk vat copy defeated 1 x 50xp
• Ghouls slimed and blown up 16 x 25xp
• The Mariliths defeated 2 x 1650xp

Player Character Cut

• 1470gp each (735gp to Peaches and Ur-Kel). 980 paid in the Iron Gate tax. If anyone wants to keep a piece of the Marilith's jewelry, just pay the amount out to other members of the party
• 2722xp ea. (1361xp ea. to Peaches and Ur-Kel). A reminder than only one level can be gained at a time. Xp can reach up to 1 less than what is necessary to gain the next level

Write-ups, maps and art submitted as play reports earn PC Level x 100 xp. Let me know of any downtime activities anyone would like to pursue.