"To Sir Martius, Captain of the Guard Greetings, I write to you in an endeavor to chronicle the happenings of last evening, for I know not the significance of the events that unfolded. It started with a summons to the village of Paws - it would seem that the Grey Wizard, Jupiter, had unearthed some secret which could threaten the Realm. With four members of the Petty Council in tow, we made our way to Paws. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a very esteemed company indeed! In attendance, at least those known to me, were of course Jupiter and Ragar of Paws, the good Lord Krake and several others from Project Sanctuary, Boothby (perhaps his last hurrah before retirement?), our good friend and ally Raven, Zyler, as well as the eccentric but interesting Dungeon Faerie (who seemed to join us on the promise of pizza). Whatever threat that Jupiter had uncovered must have been a dire one indeed to bring forth such companions! The Wizard was worried about the state of the Terrathans and Ophidians, and wanted to bring forth an Avenger to put to question. The Grey Wizard set about informing us of his portends (read here), and quickly strategized a plan. It would appear that we were to make our way to Papua, using a caravan laden with low-end Great Council items as a cover to deceive any enemy agents. We would be unable to use moongates for fear of them espying our rather sizeable force. The first task was set to myself, Lord Krake, and Ragar of Paws. We were to escort the empty caravan to the tower of the Great Council to fill it with the necessary items to ensure that our deception is not revealed (for an empty caravan would surely raise suspicion!) En-route to the Great Council tower, we were assailed by a giant spider, which poisoned one of the caravan horses... With quick action though, the horse was purged of its toxins and we were able to retrieve the items from the Great Council without further hardship. The escort back from the Great Council to Paws was uneventful, thankfully, for now the horses were laden with a great deal of merchandise and goods! Losing one at this point would have been disastrous for the Grey Wizard's plan. Upon our arrival in Paws, the good Wizard bade us to seek out the Delucia passage for the caravan. In rather typical Wizardly fashion, he then set off on his own accord, promising to rejoin us upon his convenience! I know little of Wizards, my Captain, but it would seem that with their great power comes a certain aloofness - though it certainly does occur to me that he perhaps matters of great importance to tend to whilst the caravan was underway. We led the caravan through the woods to the South of Paws. Before long, the forest merged with dense jungle... Within this hot and humid region, we noticed that packs of serpents were attacking the pack horses in the caravan! Did the enemy have spies here? Were they agents of the Ophidians, attempting to reveal our plan? We took no chances and slayed all reptiles and spiders that we came across. The mission was too important to leave to chance. The denseness of the jungle combined with the swampy heat and the general lack of knowledge of the terrain made for getting the caravan to the Delucia passage quite difficult. After several detours we finally made it to the passage, the full caravan intact. We rendezvoused with the Grey Wizard. Due to new information that has come to light, we would not be going to Papua after all, and the pack horses would remain in Delucia. Was this part of the Wizard's clever scheme all along? To inform the force that we were to go to Papua and then secretly have us go to Delucia to deceive any enemy agents that might be hiding within our ranks? The Wizard is clever, I give him that. He summoned forth a portal, and after passing through we found ourselves in close quarters with a dangerous Nightmare! Those knowledgeable of the temperaments of Nightmares were able to sooth the beast and have it join as our ally, a most fortunate turn of events! The force was then split into two at the Wizard's discretion. Lord Krake would lead some of the force to the Terrathans in an attempt to lure them to a pit the Wizard scouted. The remaining people were to reach the Ophidian layer and lure them to into the pit as well... the Wizard was counting on these two bitter rivals to spill blood. As time went on, our forces became uncoordinated in their tasks. It became difficult to continue to lure these rivals into the pit! A distressed courrier from Lord Krake exclaimed that they were overrun within the temple and required aid. As this was happening, some of our forces were starting to fall to the combined Ophidians and Terrathans. Gathering what forces we could, we marshalled forth into the temple to aid Lord Krake's forces. It would appear that the altar of Mephetis had sprung to life! This was an event unaccounted for by the Grey Wizard, and led to our forces being nearly overrun. We had little choice but to fall back. The Wizard's main plan had faltered. At this point, our numbers had dwindled to a precarious number. The Great Council alone had lost 3/5 of its number, a statistic that seemed to apply universally to the entire force. With regret for leaving the mission unattained, the Grey Wizard opened a portal to Paws. The Ophidian and Terrathan threat still loomed, though our foray into the heart of the enemy perhaps bought us all enough time to attempt another mission. I leave that to the Grey Wizard, for he knows best on this matter. The Wizard was quite adamant on stopping some form of great evil this evening. He had unearthed an incredibly ancient treasure map which he believed would lead us to a great demonic abomination and scourge to the world. We were fewer in number than we had set out with, but a force strong enough to perhaps still do some good. We set out, following Zyler and his compatriot's lead, for they were experienced in the reading of ancient maps. With great skill, an entrance was dug that led to a place I have never seen before... There was a great and deep demonic presence in this place. The very walls were corrupted! The Wizard's nose for detecting evil was quite keen - this place reeked of it! We quickly set to task of purging the demonic denizens of this antideluvian pit! We did encounter a strange series of energy fields. To what purpose the demons created these, I know not. The Grey Wizard seemed unphased by their demonic origins or potentially perilous nature and ran straight through them. Repeatedly. Beyond this point, we encountered a series of demons far greater than we know of on the surface. As we went deeper yet into this infernal abyss, a greater and ever-looming presence became almost tangible. After the slaughter of so many demons, we discovered a dark pyramid... Its purpose remains a mystery. Within its hollow core was a demon of minor power (though great compared to the demons we are familiar with!) The pyramid was also guarded by two Succubi. Were they protecting the demon inside? Or was he their prisoner? And at last, after but a short journey further we encountered the heart of the evil presence itself... Upon entering, we were fiercely greeted with growing waves of molten flame! A great and hideous demonic beast laid in the midst of a pentagram of blood - a foul creature which has no resemblance to any Britannian thing that we know. I was able to dodge these flames but twice. A third one caught me in a flame so hot that my spirit immediately left my body, I swear it. The good Wizard was kind enough to reunite my spirit and body, but at that point the terrible demon lord (god? I do not know) was slain. The fetid horror had guarded two coffers overflowing with magical and wondrous treasures... But the demon, of course, had the last laugh, as the chests exploded and inflicted further casualties to our already diminished force. Beneath this Bedlam throne room lay a sight that rivals the grotesquery of the horror that was just slain... Piles of bones and skulls littered this torture chamber. Who were these poor souls? Were these the bodies of the people who have disappeared from this world? When someone we know disappears without a trace, were they captured by this cabal of demons, to be tortured and murdered? I shudder at the thought! At long last we reconvene at the village of Paws to assess our waning strength and count the coins which were plundered from the depths of that hellish pit. Indeed, very few of us remained. Our casualties were great, but a great evil was vanquished - even if it was not the evil the Grey Wizard had originally set upon to stop. That evil, still dwells somewhere within the earth. It was set back, perhaps, but it will regain its strength in due time... On a more positive note, I did happen to win at a game of dice and took home an excellent trophy to display on the Great Council tower to serve as a reminder of this night where evil was defeated. I shall resume my duties in the morning after much-needed recuperation. -Martyn Caember Guardsman of the Great Council"
A little dark nights view of the final room. I guess in the darkness, Jake forgot the chests were armed with a deadly trap.
