The Age of Worms / Hall of Harsh Reflections pt. 5 / Vish the 29th, 3592 CE / 5-26-19

General Summary

In the aftermath of the battle with their doubles, Rikit, Lulu, and Los decide to proceed forward through the secret door revealed by the fleeing Ixian. Lulu discovers that the doorway leads to a disorienting maze, a hall of mirrors. As they enter, she triggers a pressure plate, causing her to smack into another mirrored wall which has been raised. Putting a plan together to successfully negotiate the maze, Rikit creates alchemical smoke to show an unobstructed path, while Los levitates the party so that they can move along the ceiling and not trigger anymore pressure plates. As they make their way slowly through the maze, the party hears the sound of doppelganger guards seeking them, but by hiding and throwing one of Rikit's vials as a distraction, they are able to slip past. They finally come to a plain wooden door which seems to signal the end of the maze. Using a long-arm potion, Rikit, opens the door from the ceiling and peeks through. He sees a strange device, a chair with a silver helm attached, and the unconscious form of the elven prisoner, Ilya Starmane. Downing an invisibility potion and venturing in further, he sees a man with a strange symbol on his head sitting on a throne, with the doppelgangers Ixian and Elaxan in their respective disguises at his side. The party attempts to sneak in, but stealth ultimately fails when the prone form of Ilya is revealed to be another doppelganger in disguise, and she alerts the others to the party's machinations. A pitched battle ensues, with Telakin, the head doppelganger, revealing himself to be a powerful spellcaster. Lulu is able to sneak up on him using Rikit's invisibility potion, and infect him with her plague, but he appears undeterred. Elaxan is slain, and then Ixian, as Lulu gets the ultimate revenge on the doppelganger who has been causing her so much grief by casting death knell on him. However, Telakin's powerful spells lay the party low. As their fate appears sealed, Lulu negotiates on behalf of her and her now unconscious teammates. She states that if the doppelgangers steal their identities, there should be no reason to kill them. Telakin responds by revealing that he has been contracted to destroy them by the same overlord who has given him the strange mark on his forehead, a powerful being named Zyrxog. He states that Zyrxog would have to be killed for the contract to end, but if he were, Telakin would reward the party with their freedom for freeing Telakin from his own bondage. Lulu agrees to the terms of the deal. The party (along with the corpse of Drask) are deposited unceremoniously outside the the gates of the Sodden Hold.

Character(s) interacted with

Rikit Bhang, Lulu Victry, Loscivia Cantri, Telakin (disguised as Valdagan), Ixian (disguised as Lulu), Elaxan (disguised as Myrianas the merchant), doppelganger disguised as Ilya Starmane, doppelganger guards

Report Date

02 Jun 2019

Primary Location

The Sodden Hold

Secondary Location

Kedesh