1998.08.22 Shadow, James, Heather, Rich
Rich grants us all our characters' birthday wishes. I roll 5 on d8 (7 = comeliness, 8 - reroll, 2 = re-roll since INT is 25) and then 4 on d4. Constitution increases from 11 to 15.
Windrush figures out her high-level powers. We had never determined her followers and so forth: she has 400 followers, 25 men-at-arms to guard the temple (3rd-level fighters), 25 1st-level acolytes, 5 5th-level prefects, and 2 7th-level lamas. She builds a fabulous temple to Zeus. People follow her about with great awe. I contribute 100 pp to the temple coffers. Meanwhile the mayor of Riftcrag sends an invitation by courier. He says he would be honored if we would come to a great feast in our honor. The people of Greyhawk are given renewed hope by our actions, and the population of Riftcrag increases form 80 to 471, 450 of which are followers of Zeus. In fact, Riftcrag is renamed Windrush City. I establish a magic-users guild in the new city. Vincenzia took her hut and moved it into the city and made it look like a regular building. A wooden sign stands in front with a blank scroll upon it. We each have a large room in the temple.
I roll for Ulthar's psionic powers. Minor devotions: hypnosis, suspend animation, sensitivity to psychic impressions, reduction. Major sciences: probability travel, aura alteration. We make an adjustment for Rich's drunkenness so that Ulthar has 300 total psionic points rather than 600, which would be absurd (start at first level of mastery, advance one level per character level).
After a pre-mission briefing at Vincenzia's, we go to the meditation center at the temple and prepare for our astral journey. Windrush's fanatic followers will protect our bodies while we are gone; Vincenzia has enchanted our items so that we can take them with us. We need to find a rust-colored pool if we want to go that route, but it would take us to the top level, Oinos, and we'd have to travel through all three layers to get to Hades. Yggdrasil or Mount Olympus would get us there directly by climbing to the bottom. Vincenzia gives us each five Potions of Extra Healing, three jars of Keoghtom's Ointment, and a non-dispellable Potion of Total Healing. As we lay on the meditation couches, the scent of the incense and the drone of Vincenzia's chanting are the last things we experience before we black out... and find ourselves in the silvery-grey vastness of the Astral, our silver cords trailing behind us.
A huge blackness approaches, with flashes of indigo shot through it. We are unable to escape it, and are absorbed into it. After ten minutes of being buffetted about by the terrible psychic wind, we emerge on the other side only to see an astral cyclone, which we evade. We travel endlessly through unlimited space, but eventually encounter half-a-dozen babau, who psychically link and attack Ulthar. A foolish attempt, which shortly results in their deaths. After 100 hours, we find a large rock formation which looks like a mountain. We meet Albert the hollyphant, for whom Windrush makes some cherries. He is very pleased, and tells us where to go to get to Hades.
Hades and his buddies are really angry to see us, because we see, much to our horror, that the walls of Hades' palace are covered in Motley Force graffiti, including the statement "thanks for the dog, dumb ass". We are taken by Hades himself and locked in his dungeons. The glooms of Hades start to get to us after a while. After two weeks, Ratri, goddess of the night, visits me. She saw Dernameth and Vecna steal the dog and tag the wall. She agrees to release us if we agree to do her a favor some time (which is disturbing, since she is evil). She also asks about our mission, but Ulthar is loath to reveal much. She unlocks our cells and tells us to go through a cobwebbed metal door that is never used -- it leads to Pluton, the underworld, but rather than try to find Mount Olympus again, Windrush casts an astral spell to bring us back to the temple of Zeus.
When we return, we tell Vincenzia our story. We ask her if she knows where to find the Land of the Black Ice. She says it might be easier to find if she had something belonging to Dernameth. We have nothing, so she asks if we have something of Vecna's. We do, of course, and she asks to see it. As I hand it to her, she transforms into a lich who is missing one hand and one eye. It is Vecna! He replaces his hideous eye, massively damages the temple, then turns into a wisp of smoke and disappears. I immediately notice the real Vincenzia on the floor, bleeding to death. She had been covered by an illusion. She tells us that she needs to do some research to pinpoint the location of the Land of Black Ice (lair of Dernameth and Vecna), but will then reveal it to us in the morning (it's in the extreme north of Greyhawk).
During the night, we each have vividly gruesome dreams of Hades killing us for defying him and taking his dog (which, of course, we didn't). In the morning, Vincenzia shows us a crystal ball showing a black archway with skulls and hieroglyphs embedded in it. She tells us to stand on a pentagram to be transported there.
We pass through the portal and find ourselves in the presence of Dernameth and Cerberus. Dernameth is irritated to find us still alive, and says "let's end this feud once and for all: Cerberus, eat them!". Combat ensues. I cast 9th-level wind tomb on Cerberus, but he shrugs it off. Karnov fumbles with a 1/1 and takes a critical hit from his own powerful weapon, King Henry, which cuts him in half and then disintegrates him (1 on save vs. magic). Windrush and Ulthar beat a hasty retreat and teleport back to the temple. Vincenzia says that she can no longer help us, but there are two people who can: Lufkin and Jupiter, angels who have been watching over us. They are the ones who saved us from the fiasco at Lolth's lair. "Find a desolate grotto, perform a ritual of summons, sacrifice something, and perhaps they will show you the light."
Ulthar goes to his room, falls upon his knees, and weeping, prays to Labelas Enoreth, berating himself for loosing Vecna on the world and beseeching the god for help in the coming endeavor. An avatar of the god appears and removes the sexual curse that arose from having the complete Rod of Seven Parts. "This is an abomination to the elves, who are a loving people", she says, and restores Ulthar's libido with new strength, breaking it in in the process. The avatar then tells Ulthar that the grotto they seek lies 100 miles east of White Plume Mountain. He is told to seek out Lufkin and Jupiter, for only they can help. The avatar then tells Ulthar that more will be revealed in a dream (see other file Lufkin and Jupiter).
We travel east to find the grotto, and place the Rod of Seven Parts on the stone altar. Ulthar casts gate, calling the name of Lufkin. Surprisingly, Vincenzia appears, apologizing for his duplicity. "Vincenzia died many years ago", he says, "but knowing how much you trusted her, I took her form to guide you." She transforms into Lufkin, who puts a bag of ashes on the altar, which Windrush restores to Karnov's form. Lufkin sprouts wings and says "I will be watching over you, as Jupiter will. Fulfill your destiny." He then disappears. We journey to the Nyr Div to equip Karnov from the Elb.