06/22/2023 Virtuous Age Session 49: Too Many Words, Wall of Time, and Smells Like Uncle Bhishma

We begin this week’s session in the main chamber off the main stairs around 9pm. Minding our own business when suddenly eleven summoned frost giants appear around each of us ready for action. 

Frost giants have blue hair and eyes they are dressed in pelts and jewelry, these have great axes and rocks in bags at the ready and have about 150 hp.  

During the battle Tena casts a Wall of Time, a spell gained while in the Embassy, to great effect. Aevum bolsters our defenses with wall of water that wear down the giants. 

Eventually summoned chaos beasts appear around us then more summoned foes. Kron dispatches the giants after being sufficiently doused. Eabrossi conserves his bardic performances but Tena expends the most resources of all of us. It appears that we are going to have deal with our harassers- all this rings of Zaigan’s Uncle Bhishma and his machinations. 

Our characters debate the feasibility of resting with our group being somewhat split with Kron ready to draw blood. Tena was able to talk him down just as we wrap this weeks session. 

06/15/2023 Virtuous Age Session 48: Arrival Date September 22 to 23, Hyperion Descended, and Attuning to the Embassy

We begin this week’s session having just arrived to prime earth near the Embassy. Agamotto’s faithful immediately feel secure in their connection with their deity. It is with this connection our characters expend their limited wishes granted by the avatar of Agamotto. 

Kron uses his limited wishes to become permanently affected by enlarge person making Kron huge (headband slot). Eabrosi uses his limited wish to cast Legend lore on the cloud continent specifically Coeus. (DM Post incoming) 

In brief: Coeus is currently part of the Titanomachy, and they are behind schizism between titans and the gods of Greek mythology. Coeus has 2 daughters- one a lover of zeus. Zeus is the son of Chronos who is the lord of heaven and head of the pantheon. Zeus is part of the group overthrowing the old with the new. Coeus is caught up through his daughters. 

This is current divine drama. Furthermore the continent is vast with several domains. The cloud continent is broken pieces of demi planes that coalesced into floating landmasses that  join and sometimes become part of others. Our characters are now unsure if the continent is on the prime material or not. 

Tena uses her limited wish for a Legend Lore regarding the last orb of Agamotto. (Post incoming) 

Aevum uses his limited wish for permanent see invisibility (eye slot), while Zaigan uses his limited wish to instantly retrain his shield proficiency. 

Our character arrive near the Embassy it is the night of September 22. This is a mythic event as we are currently at 2 places at once. Our characters realize Agamotto could not go back farther than god intervention and raising Kron. 

There is chaos of slaves, dragonic troops about here now that the ziggurat is on the prime material thanks to Agamotto. Confusion is rampant and they are in shock. 

Agamotto has revealed his return to Tiamat. We each have an overwhelming desire to rest as Aevum is mentally taxed to the limit. 

We approach the Embassy cautiously. The flat top has two large sets of stairs that descend into the inverted pyramid. We find two gnoll bodies and two half dragons splayed out grotesquely. 

Kron leads the way down the closest stairs. Most of the place appears to be made of marble but the stairs seem to be made of various metals. As we descend we feel like the architecture of this place indicate a much larger place at one time. We note several arcane sigils that light up as Kron passes. 

This reveals something noble about the embassy and Kron as well. He is of royal blood (in the line of Hyperion we come to find out). We eventually find what at first looks like an astrological chart. It is a map that they used to track things in the sky. Kron intuits that it is some kind of navigation dial. Then suddenly Kron realizes he has begun a 24 hour attunement process. 

During our rest we experience a new sensation of having dual-dreams. Shared dreams with our other selves in the timeline. When we awaken we realize that the clamor out side has increased. The enemy is organizing. 

It is 6:30 in the morning September 23. 

There are two adult dragons are outside and present watching humanoid half dragons testing the pool of water. They cannot get near the pool. The dragons seem to have survived the trip to the prime material in relatively good health. These are void dragons- one Kron has possibly killed before. 

We are relatively sure they cannot enter the Embassy so our characters decide to explore more of the Embassy. The stairs continue down. Across the inverted pyramid however there is another set of stairs. These are black and very different from what we are on. It goes down to a steep descent. It is here Eabrossi sees a dark medium sized humanoid moving spiderlike on the black stairs. 

The figure casts a spell and flees from our view. Eabrossi sends some dancing lights to the black stairs. They stop at what we discover is a wall of force. Eabrossi draws his weapon to dispel the wall but fails. Tena attempts the same but also fails because ... walls of force are immune to dispel attempts. 

As we figure out how to bypass the wall of force we hear noises outside increase. We descend the black stairway to encounter magical darkness. Aevum takes care of the darkness and follows a passage that opens into a larger chamber. 

To the side is an angled door situated before a chamber that is clearly a crypt for giants. Aevum scans the area with his new see invisibility and does not see the dark humanoid

We venture to a ceremonial chamber where nobles were embalmed in days past. There are mosaics and statues here. One side is the birth of the gods and at the other is the end of the mosaic life cycle is death. On the floor are depressions where offerings are made. There is another set of stairs and another crypt entry. 

Our characters still do not find the individual. But nothing looks bothered. 

Then Kron and Aevum receive a vision in its original glory. 

This embassy is the bottom of remains of a flying citadel/ part of the cloud continent. The crypts are followers of Hyperion the skygod, this place is his ruling stronghold. Hyperion was the first to understand the movement of the cosmos and seasons. And to let that be known to others. He was also looking for an orb of Agamotto. 

We look at the other crypt door and it is similar to the other door. Kron, blood of Hyperion, turns the wheel of crypt and lifts the door also bypassing the wards. 

Inside is a magnificent hall full of treasure and displays. Their are bodily remains in the walls and the floor but the room is clearly dominated by a huge sarcophagus- the remains of the titan that used the spear against the avatar of Tiamat and one of Kron’s parentage. Here lie the remains of Hyperion's lineage and fallen loyalists giants and humanoids alike. 

Aevum realizes Coeus wanted to split from the giants who wanted to help the cursed civilization in the rift. 

When we leave this crypt Kron seals it with his blood and reset the wards. 

We head to a lower chamber where there is a lot of greenery and large snakes. This was once a receiving area were giants were to meet medium sized creatures. 

We can no longer see the adult dragons outside but we still hear a jumble of sound outside the Embassy. 

This alerts us to what could be back a top the Embassy. We begin to hear speaking in draconic. Eabrossi (invisible) investigates the noise. On the two far corners are the two dragons our character saw earlier and there are 8 half dragons. 100 yards back is another dozen half dragons near a crude canopy. 

We decided to leave the intrusion be for now and descend further into the Embassy searching uncovered areas while Kron attunes to the Embassy at midnight. 

Kron realizes a few wards are triggered and the half dragons retreat for a time. They know something is alive inside the Embassy. Kron will finish upgrading Shieldbreaker and begin next session around 9pm September 23. 

06/08/2023 Virtuous Age Session 47: Bowels of Tiamat, That Still Only Counts as One, and the second Eye of Agamotto

We begin this weeks session in a large spherical chamber where the mound of black stone- the avatar’s heart was contained. Bony spikes protrudes threateningly. At the end of the chamber is a bronze altar to Vishanti Agamotto. The whole area permeates with taint.

From the remaining muck are four serpent furys and the hydra- the furys are tough to see  and used this tactic in combat. The hydra was able to jump nimbly around the chamber- in and out of the Tiamat skulls as Aevum continues to have time visions.

Kron kills the hydra but a moment later an older version with an additional head appears. For Eabrossi, he begins to experience the time dilation visions of the past. In combat other characters get fluxed into time. 

Kron eventually kills the second hydra as the others see Kron killing the hydra throughout time.

A bright light ascends above the altar. We avoid the blindness as the avatar of Agamotto appears before us seemingly restored. This area is reclaimed; outside the embassy is restored to earth-prime. We gain a mythic tier and a character level. As a further reward the next month we are blessed with divine health and courage immune all fear and disease supernatural or otherwise.

In addition, we gain the benefit of a bless spell for a month. Everything is cleansed, treasure is also evident. The Avatar says he will grant all of us a limited wish or one full wish.

Tena asks the avatar where the third orb of Agamotto is- his answer is: somewhere on the cloud continent.

Tena is given a holy symbol from her god’s avatar and now understands she must unite the three orbs to restore Agamotto to major deity on prime-earth. Restoring me is the first step in removing the imposter from rule. He has laid claim and the remains of Tiamat avatar. Everyone recovers 2,500 pp

Random Rolls:

Butch: Magician’s Hat, Tome of clear thought +1 (Aveum)

Russ: 4 wands of 2^nd level CL7, +2 light fortification Juggernaut armor (Kron)

James: Staff of Feast and Famine (Tena), Ring of Force shield

Josh: 3 wands of 2^nd level CL7, Minor metamagic rod maximize (Eabrossi)

Rob: +3 weapon (Zaigan), ring of spell knowledge 3 (Eabrossi)

05/23/2023 Virtuous Age Session 46: The Next Lower Level, Ghostbride, and The Remains of Tiamat's Avatar

28 hours later…

We begin this week’s session rested up and ready to descend deeper into the ziggurat. When we move to leave our characters observe that the defeated engraver and his son remains are gone and lost to time. 

Our characters reenter the long hall and return to the archway door where we first arrived in this section of the ziggurat. We descend a long flight of stone steps and notice a rich stench as well as a body watery filth- the size of a small lake. 

Eabrossi summons a fire elemental to eliminate some green slime that blocked our passage.

As we continue Aevum has visions of how this temple was (without the muck and a nightmarish form of a hydra or some other kind of multi headed worm- foreshadowing Tiamat's avatar we discover later). His new device begins to move and keys Aevum on how to use the device to calibrate time. Several more visions of battle flash in these dream-like images.

Eabrossi comes to the first door which proves to be magically trapped. He draws Valgyre to defeat the trap. The hall makes a couple turns before we come to a long chamber that are filled with the wailing sounds of agony.

The light our characters use attracts the attention of a form that coalesces from the mists of the room. A broken spear lies in the corner. We are able to defeat the creature. We continue to follow the scream.

Another trapped door leads to a larger chamber: a ladies dressing room where the screams are emanating from. Living tears attack us as Eabrossi investigates the next door. 

Beyond is a similar sized room that is filled with a sense of sorrow, it is filled with various items and a ghostly voice speaking in an ancient language. We are hit with a sonic attack. This is a wedding ceremony bride’s room. A ghost occupies this room.

Aevum gets another vision of this place before the ziggurat was created. He finds himself in the presence of the avatar of Tiamat. Her five heads in deadly combat with titans and giants. Eventually Aevum sees Tiamats avatar defeated by a titan and in her dying breath Tiamat unleashes a curse. From these words races become twisted as some humanoids become minotaurs, others become werewolves, wererats and other lycanthropes. 

This happened during the time of the dawning and was the origin of the schism between the giants. One faction of giants wanted to leave these cursed races behind while other, more benevolent giants felt responsibility and wanted to help these victims of Tiamats curse become a society. 

Meanwhile back in the zigguarat Tena and Eabrossi approach an alter and finds there are bones piled in places. These bones need to be taken to a place in order for the ghost to make peace. 

Kron temporarily defeats the ghost which gives our characters time to look around. There are wedding gifts around and various valuables around including a vile (2 does of phylactery of faithfulness- Agamotto, a tablet and magic items spending 30 minutes to do so.

Our characters back track to a hall taking the bones and remains with us from the alter ghost room to the main ceremony chamber. Aevum realizes that if he were to make whole and consecrate the area, a simple wedding ceremony should satisfy the ghost.

We spend an hour preparing the area for the wedding ceremony. After the ceremony there is a stark change in this room and is restored. Our characters hear a grating stone sound and rushing water  draining away.

From where the mucky water was is revealed a passage going deeper into the ziggurat through the skeleton of tiamat’s avatar. Kron has a brief struggle with Shieldbreaker as it seems drawn to the fallen avatar. A stone altar is built into one of her five skulls. It is from here where her corruption began.

There is an other way down through the bones about 40 feet down where the tunnel opens to a passage to the north west or south. We happen across more storm spirits that are tied to another altar. Each skull is magical including a 3’ horn.

We can’t do anything with the large horn or any of the skulls so our characters head down the south passage to a heart shaped chamber. The room is still filled with muck residue. Eabrossi and Tena create water to clean the area to better search. We find fragments of teeth and bone scattered about from the white dragon head.

We continue on south to a round chamber. In the center is a large mound of black stone, the dead heart of Tiamat. Impaled in it is a giant sized glimmering bronze spear tip. Again Kron struggles with Shieldbreaker and we share a vision through time watching as a titan delivers the death strike.  

Kron cautiously approaches the spear. Suddenly the spear glimmers and is absorbed into Shieldbreaker. When this happens, once the spear tip is removed from the heart there is a great movement.

)The spear was a brilliant +2 holy shock spear. For Kron is provides material payment for the next three ability upgrades- this will eventually bring Shieldbreaker to +5.)

Four large reptilians aberrations rise from the muck and move to attack, in a chamber to the south a seven headed hydra turns its attention to us and begins to move. 

We begin our next session with combat.