This post continues the series of brief play reports I have been posting on Discord. This does not cover every single session (sometimes, recon and setup is what happens), but it covers our ongoing games.
The Gates of Castrum Rapax
20/04/2026
THISIUM
News from the doomed city of Thisium! After the raid on Castrum Rapax, the adventurers met their army up in the valley, and devised a daring, if stupid plan to march down to the gates and demand the orcs’ surrender while their previous blow was still hurting, and sending in a strike team to cause trouble from inside if the move failed. As they approached the castle, they heard the sounds of horns signalling messages, and saw a group of orcs ride towards the southern mines on swift mounts. There were many orcs on the parapets now, the whole fortress on full alert. As their main force with the legionaries of the Imperator, the cavalry and ragtag light footmen of Sir Egmont Mouseburg, and the crack team from Ramondo Montefeltro’s fighting school gathered below the parapets, a team slipped down the ravine to the back entrance. Finding it deserted, they entered quietly, and met four trolls, who were placed here to stand guard. This was a tough fight where Flea the bowman fell, but fire and magic weapons (including a sword +1/+3 vs. regenerating creatures) proved useful, and Varanthus the Legionary and two men recruited from former prisoners proved their mettle. Going up the stairs, they found that their trap had burned out the orcs’ oil reserves – but also that the gatehouse was well defended by several of them at the ready, with even more within earshot. Narvi came up with an odd plan: take the statue with the bucket on its head from the cellars, carry it upstairs, and remove its bucket before the orcs, hoping for it to animate like the jester in the dungeons. Meanwhile...
...before the gates, the army stood ready. Maglor and Don Arduino Spezzaferro stepped forth under the white flag of truce, and called on the orcs to surrender and give up the fortress, as they have killed their leader. An orc, apparently of rank, laughed at this pitiful scheme, and pointed out that two orc lords lived still, including Trogfult, directing the defences from the parapets. Maglor raised the scroll of the most terrible doom, promising to use it if the orcs did not agree to settle their differences in single combat. Trogfult wavered, thought, but the repute of the four dooms were such, and the previous raid damaging enough that he did not risk a fifth and – barely – failed his morale check. Spezzaferro was chosen as the company’s champion, while on the other side, out came a nasty, large troll named Gront. Terms were negotiated: if the orcs’ champion won, the humans would leave the mountains, and Trogfult promised they would meet yet on the field of battle at Thisium. If Spezzafero did, the orcs would forfeit the castle and abandon their campaign against the doomed city. To sweeten the deal, Maglor suggested they redirect their assembled army against the island-republic of Arak Brannia. The two sides agreed. Trogfult called, „Let the WAR begin!” while Ramondo Montefeltro slipped a small black object to Spezzaferro, won on an adventure to the alien world of distant Fomalhaut. Gront the troll came forward, and Spezzaferro swept it with the fiery beam of the device. In the melee, the troll was ferocious, and wore down the fighting-man with its cunning attacks. Spezzaferro feigned to retreat, and blasted the troll’s head clear off with a precisely aimed shot. A great clamour rose among the ranks, and the duel was won! While evil, Trogfult followed a god whose ethics were not dissimilar to the Empire’s, and held to his word.
He agreed that the orcs would demobilise in the Thisium area, and give up Castrum Rapax to the united human forces, departing with their accumulated treasure. Troghalt, the third orc lord overseeing the mines, would join the campaign against Arak Brannia. Impressed by their bravery, Trogfult called on the men to join the orcish cause as worthy auxiliaries, and share in the rewards of the campaign – to which they, for now, gave a friendly but noncommittal answer. Among themselves, they discussed that the Imperator, Sir Egmont, and Ramondo would occupy the mountain areas, and make sure there was no further mischief against the truce on either side while the orcs passed through the countryside and lifted the siege of Thisium. The company would head back to town to prepare for tackling the final doom. Ramondo gifted the laser to Spezzaferro, although no more than three charges were left in it – but this was a worthy reward to the man who turned back an army! So passed the Doom from the Mountains. At this time, the city had 13 days left...
(Expected mass
battle or a terrible massacre, got something entirely different. Damn, D&D
is great for this stuff!)
Mapping the Passages
26/04/2026
FOMALHAUT
News from Fomalhaut!
Four adventurers (Vornak Wolf-Slayer, a Fighter-Thief and an of-world mutant
calling himself a „half-orc”; Yorick the Magic-User; Harald the Northman
Fighter; and Hiva Sati, a Cleric of demon-slaying Karttekeza) and ten followers
sought treasure and adventure in the ruins of Vermath, a ruined city destroyed
for its inhabitants’ blasphemies. News of strange pilgrims heading to the place,
and raids by horsemen calling themselves the Riders of Doom had spread
to the city-state of Glourm, and it was clear some old evil was stirring among
the desolate walls. The adventurers hired a river barge and Bargemaster Mulk,
who transported them up the Xemartes. They passed burned and plundered villages
over the journey, finding evidence of attacks from both the land and water, but
no living survivors. One night, locusts swarmed over them, but they were
stopped by a wind wall spell. Finally nearing the ruins, they parted
from the boatmen, agreeing to meet a few days hence, and proceeded on foot
through open plains. Vermath’s ruins were mostly fallen walls, but they spotted
a central pyramid, a ruined aqueduct, some intact buildings on the southern
side, and, to the north, a watchtower with sentries. As they came closer, a
swarm of pterodactyls attacked. Yorick blasted them with a fireball,
killing many and driving away the rest, but alerting the city’s inhabitants to
their presence. Yet luck was on their side: just close by, among the massive
walls of an abandoned bathhouse, they discovered a recently removed stone disk
revealing a hole opening to a great subterranean cistern, and a rope ladder
leading down. The cistern was dry, and recent supplies were on the bottom – they
would have company underground! After descending, they found a higher ledge on
the cistern’s W side, leading to passages. Vornak hung back, listening to a
group of riders who came to investigate. They spoke of their leader, Almorik
Tharg, and of seeking the intruders.
They went westwards, and pursued a stray torchlight through the passages, then down some stairs to a lower level, hoping to catch a few „tongues”, but lost the trail. The passages were ancient and dry, although they came upon a large columned hall with a hot pool, apparently being used as a bathhouse by the new inhabitants. To the west, a chamber led to a balustrade overlooking a vast, dark cavern stretching below them. Descending a bit with ropes, they learned they were on parapets above a great portico structure, with a frieze on the pediment depicting chariots sacking cities below the sign of a comet. Exploring more of their current level, they came before a monstrous stone idol sitting in a massive throne, which called on them to come closer and learn their fate – he was a servant of the mighty Priest-King Pnakosek! Alas, Harald unwisely let it slip they were not of the faith, and at that, the enraged statue attacked. In the fracas, Hiva Sati’s follower Vashid (Fighter 3) was struck down and killed as they withdrew. They investigated passages to the S, finding stairs up and hearing a distant howl of pain from some direction. Vornak snuck upstairs, discovering a guarded prison; then returned to his companions. They went W, finding another guarded room complex – the city’s mysterious pilgrims were apparently well established here. For now, they withdrew. To the S, they found crypts leading to side-tombs guarding the disciples of Pnakosek, and an impenetrable force-wall between two sphinxes of black quartz. This, too, they avoided for the time being. Eastwards, a small room held a pedestal with an immovable, glowing crystal ball and frescoes of magi levitating similar orbs. Following a mysterious inscription, Harald placed abundant treasure on the pedestal, which sunk into the floor with the loot, fireworks erupted from the crystal (which remained immobile in the air), but nothing more happened. Was it a scam or an unsolved puzzle? They could not tell.
Eastwards, the
passages led to a decaying hall of once-splendid mosaics crumbling from damp
walls. Large crystals glittered on the opposite wall, and Vornak was almost
buried under an avalanche of loose stone as he tried to pry them out. They also
found a hidden chamber holding chests of rotting scrolls carrying disease – but
deciphering the lettering on a scroll on a wall mosaic gave Yorick +1 WIS!
Following the tunnels further, they found a chamber with a dark, bottomless
pit. A powerful but badly tortured barbarian was tied to a T-shaped cross on
the surrounding ledge. Freeing and healing the near-death figure, Aderbaal,
they learned that he was also a treasure-seeker, ambushed in the ruins and
brought here to be tormented by Velasca, a woman as beautiful as she was
cruel! Swearing revenge, Aderbaal joined the company, outfitted with Vashid’s
equipment. From here, they returned near the stairs they entered this level
from, and went north. In a plundered crypt, they found a secret door in a
sarcophagus, leading to natural caverns. In a grotto, Vornak was ambushed by
carrion crawlers, but was saved by his companions. The grotto held a dais
overgrown with fungi; scraping them off, they could pry off the beaten golden
plating underneath – decorated with barbarous ornaments depicting evil rites.
In a hidden cavity, they also found an unknown wand. Venturing deeper into the
caverns, they discovered a chamber with a deep pit descending into a lower level.
Northwards, they found more caverns dotted with a dozen varieties of fungi, but
were attacked by a strange mist-creature. Once again, the *wind wall* spell
proved useful to hold it at bay while they escaped. They searched some more of
the cave system, and collected valuable crystals from inside a giant geode, but
it was time to end the foray: thus, they returned to the surface, beholding
dusk falling over the ruins. They left Vermath to make camp in the wasteland,
plotting a new expedition...
Alcazar
29/04/2026–01/05/2026
OSR CAMP 2026
News from OSR Camp 2026, in the Land of Bears! I played in three games, although there were many more, from White Box Cyclopedia to Don’t Give Up the Ship (a pitched naval battle lasting late into the night), and much drink and oven-made meat.
Four expeditions
were conducted under the streets of shadowy Glourm, seeking entrance to the
tomb of Alcazar, whose sarcophagus can be seen through a grille-covered
pit in a quiet plaza. Gaining entrance through a cistern, the adventurers
descended downwards until they found a chamber of strange one-eyed gargoyles.
Opening a secret door, they fought a massive spider with skeletal limbs and a
hypnotic gaze, which proved incredibly dangerous, but a magic shield was found.
Bandits, following them from the surface, came to take their hard-won loot, but
killing some drove them off. Retreating and resting, the group returned with a
bunch of followers. Dodsword the Northman was soon taken over by his
Chaotic magic sword after a quarrel, and spent the expedition as a bloodthirsty
maniac. Continuing from the spider chamber, they entered an old bath, defeating
a frog-crocodile hybrid. A secret door in the back led to caverns with stairs
leading down to a purple mausoleum belonging to the Haruspex-Women. Opening the
stone portals sealed with lead and wax, the mummified, goat-legged women awoke,
but Xena the sexy Amazon Thief used the unholy symbol of Derceto given
to her by the mansonesque Imperial Magic-User, Calaban, and commanded
them to surrender their gold-headed maces and gemstones. Closing the mausoleum,
they found a secret door in the further reaches of the cavern, stairs leading
up to a chamber with an ancient brass pyramidion. Stepping into the surrounding
circle of light, Dua the sexy cultist chick and Kryton the servant
were struck down by magic missiles. The company retreated to the surface
to rest and recover.
Deeper Below the City...
The third
expedition was led by Xena the sexy Amazon Thief, as the others were
resting. With newly gathered companions, they investigated the upper passages.
Behind a new door, they found an underground storeroom, where a blind old slave
Velothen was preparing opium-laced spice mixtures for the Spheroid Fish,
an upscale restaurant. They gave him some food and took the pricy spices and
drugs. They now went downwards, beyond the mausoleum cavern. A side-passage led
to a chamber with architextural displays made by Diogoras the Architect.
The strange, modernist eccentric told them a few things of the dungeons, and
also spoke of the ancient past, which was the future, and how, in the future,
this past would be brought back as Men returned to the stars once more, He also
offered a reward for the trade secrets of his dead rival, Palbras, buried
somewhere in the area. Departing, they went deeper still, climbing down into a
cavern with a well. Diving down, they stole a pearl from a giant clam, but were
attacked by a random group of 4 cockatrices. Miraculously, at least 5 saves vs.
stone were made, and the monsters defeated. One was taken and sold at the night
market. As they were running low, they made their way back to the surface, and
splurged at the Spheroid Fish before their next adventure. The fourth
expedition was a large and powerful group assembled from the people of the
first three, plus new hires. Returning to the well chamber, they went W,
entering a multi-level burial vault through a broken wall. Drawn by their loud
speech, the spectre of the undead King Yadamnes appeared, and once they
angered him, drained Barnabas the Fighting-Man of two levels before they
fled. Choosing another way from the well, they emerged on the parapets of an
underground palace, whose halls led back to King Yadamnes, a direction they
chose not to investigate again. To the east, they went up stairs through plundered
burial chambers, and finally saw firelight.
Four muscular
pinheads were roasting a goat below spiral stairs, and drinking wine. They
ambushed and slew them. Following the stairs up, they entered a hall of giant
columns, bisected by dark water. A skiff was on the other side, which they
cleverly pulled towards them, and crossed in multiple groups, ultimately
avoiding a ghoul lurking underwater. Stairs went further up. Through a
trapdoor, they emerged in a small auditorium with an extinguished fire-cage, a
wooden screen, and poles surmounted with silhouettes of various objects. In the
adjacent room, they found cells with crazed prisoners raving about the „shadows
on the wall” and seeing „the shapes and the Ideals”. They freed them, but they
did not understand the concept of freedom, remaining in the comfort of their
dark prison. The way up was an impeccably built spiral staircase, going past an
entrance to the tomb of Palbras the Architect. Snooping around a bit
higher, they saw this was a way up to the cellar of a nearby tavern, and even
found a wine cellar. Alcazar’s tomb must have been nearby. They decided to see
if the way was through the architect’s tomb. Opening the front door triggered a
crossbow trap, which killed Hauler the porter. A trick stairway turned
into a slide, depositing them between four columns, which turned into column
monsters, and killed Theseus and Leon Ydas the hoplites. They looted the
tomb, or what seemed like it, retrieving a wealth in false gemstones and gilded
lead. Yet Alcazar’s tomb was also elusive, despite its direction being
pinpointed with locate object. They dug through a collapse and turned a
gang of ghouls with the symbol of Fedafuce, God of Commerce (“Begone, in the
name of Profit!”) They climbed a vertical shaft, entering a chamber of
columns with several small, many-eyed frog-gargoyles. The things animated, and
were barely kept back with a web while they escaped through a secret
door to a set of spiral stairs.
Where Are We?
The stairs led up to a tenement building, and down to a secret door, and then... the storeroom where poor Velothen Was still grinding spice mixtures. Girding their loins, they returned to the gargoyle chamber, attacking them with fire and weapons, and eventually driving them fleeing with a blood-curdling battle cry. They descended the shaft, and followed a passage they thought unfamiliar, opening a wooden door... finding themselves once again in Velothen’s storeroom. The passages were hopelessly confused. Wounded, low on Hp and out of spells, they returned to the exit in the cistern. While Alcazar was long dead in his sepulchre, so near yet so far, it was as if they could hear him laughing in the distance.
(The last session,
a late-night game stretching way beyond midnight, was a rather surreal
experience. Everyone was dead tired at the last day of the con, and the players
confused directions, hallucinated details that weren’t there, resulting in a
properly weird fantasy conclusion. Maybe it was the opium-laced spice. While
Alcazar was very close indeed, and they triangulated his tomb-chamber really
well, his treasures remained undiscovered.)
The Underground Tower
03/05/2026 FOMALHAUT
News from Fomalhaut! A new expedition descended beneath Diomira to crack open the secrets of the mysterious underground tower. They approached the massive, echoing chamber, the metal cylinder in the centre rising from unfathomable depths. They crossed a metal bridge to the southern double gates, then, using the mirror pattern, entered. They stepped into a hall of black marble, a translucent dark stele on its opposite side holding complex patterns suspended within. Ion examined them carefully, failing to notice the weird, fuliginous creature creeping above him, then dropping on him like a supple rug, and paralysing him with its cilia. The shadow-thing’s resonant moan stunned some others, but it was eventually defeated. Moving to the NE, they found another similar hall by the eastern exit. Impossibly white marble statues of distinguished men and women stood here, holding instruments of various types. The central one, a heroically proportioned bearded man, was identified as SOLON, the legendary founder figure of Fomalhaut, who took men to the stars in lost millennia. One statue was missing entirely from its place, identified as DORAXES.
They moved on, marvelling at a dark chamber with moving star systems on its domed ceiling, then found a different columned hall with geometric patterns swirling on its ceiling, and abstract geometric forms being displayed in large cubes which seemed like amber-coloured display cases. One was the hiding place of a starfish-like entity they found and defeated with ease, after which it was slowly sucked into itself, disappearing into nilspace. A side-chamber here hid devices of an unknown purpose, which they avoided. To the NE, a door led to a humid garden, its benches and tables overgrown with vegetation. Water cascaded into a small pool with yellow flowers – and Lilith identified them at once as a yellow musk creeper! Indeed, 8 zombies had to be fought, and the garden burned with flaming oil.
The zombified citizens of Diomira had some jewellery, but the price was found down the pool – a diamond-edged dagger of incredible keenness! Although there were two spiral stairs down they have discovered, they meticulously investigated the last room, filled with dusty display cases holding odd artefacts – disks of unknown material, avant-garde statuettes, papyri, a badly dissolved skeleton, and some alien-looking vases that somehow made their skin crawl. Here, the diamond dagger proved invaluable in freeing the valuable pieces and stowing them in the portable hole. Nevertheless, their activities attracted six mechanical men, metallic guardians attacking without fear and mercy. Kleombrotos had his helmet split, but eventually, the guardians were defeated.
They descended
to the next level, into a marble hall shrouded in unnatural darkness. Abstract,
translucent statues stood by the walls, but they spotted the two
shadow-creatures lurking among them, and killed them with relative ease,
followed by two more mechanical men arriving in. One of the statues in the hall
had glowing nodules within it, and seeing that it was made of dark glass, it
was cut up with the diamond dagger, retrieving valuable gemstones. A side-room
held a muscular, faceless statue bearing a metal box on its shoulder.
Kallimedon climbed up, discovering it had a hinged lid, and contained silver
coinage. Further experimentation revealed it rendered whatever was placed in as
weightless – despite its size (5’ edges), a valuable container. With these
finds, they retreated... to find 5 mechanical men barring their way in the
garden. This fight was a brutal combat of attrition, where Kleombrotos lost
another helmet, multiple characters were close to death, and all their resources
got depleted. Barely surviving, they dragged themselves out of the tower, and
left the tunnels while they could – returning exhausted to their hideout in
Diomira’s back street...
Last Call at the Isle of Horrors
11/05/2026 THISIUM
News from the coastal city of Thisium! The Amazon Prime, the swift-sailed magical ship stolen from the amazons, sailed out of Thisium, heading towards the eastern edge of the surrounding archipelago, and the Isle of Horrors. Here was a magical flask craved by the wizard Pantomorphus, who might help them with the Doom from the Seas. Approaching the volcano-topped island which had claimed so many of them, they climbed a sequence of antique stairs to the plateau beneath the volcanic cone. This time, there were signs of seismic activity, fumes above the cone, and ominous rumbles. They avoided the odd altar for now, and climbed a treacherous path to the top. Alas, the quakes increased, and they were caught in a rockslide. Varanthus the legionary (Fighting-Man 1) was lost along with his magical spear, and so were Giovanni the halberdier, Cosimo the rider, and Belvedere the war dog. The survivors proceeded, seeing lava in the crater, and a broken obelisk erected in the name of Teuthranes, a name entirely unfamiliar. Finding nothing more, they descended back to the altar. The split stone had no flask on it, but Maglor, figuring it might be in the crack, used phantasmal hand to rummage around. As the hand touched the stone, a great spirit of smoke and fire appeared, offering a bargain: capture the life of a mighty wizard in his enchanted flask within the week, and receive a boon and the location of a great treasure – but be turned to stone if it was not done within time! This offer aligned well with the company’s plans, and the bargain was struck.
They sailed through deep blue seas to the Isle of the Black Dogs, and rested on the ship. The following day, a smaller delegation was sent to the tower of Pantomorphus to work a trick. Pantomorphus emerged on his balcony with a retinue of his disciples and berserker bodyguards, and Maglor showed him the flask, inquiring of the Sea Doom in exchange for the enchanted item. Pantomorphus gleefully explained that there was no saving Thisium: on the appointed day, gasses from the dormant volcano of the Isle of the Black Dogs would flood the archipelago and coastlands with their maddening poison, and all not on higher ground would perish. (Indeed, wise Pantomorphus built his tower for this very purpose.) He theorised that a sufficiently powerful storm could blow the gas towards the open seas, but the weather was too calm this season, and only powers such as the distant elemental lords could produce something of this sort – but alas, not in time! Disregarding the adventurers excitedly talking among themselves, the wizard gloated of the hated city’s doom which had spurned and exiled him. Maglor offered up the flask, and with the phantasmal hand, floated it to the wizard’s balcony, carefully unstoppering it. With a shriek, Pantomorphus was sucked inside, and Maglor yanked back the restoppered flask, throwing it into the grip of Eriberto Barrella. They escaped under a barrage of spells, arrows, and maledictions, but, having a running start, shook off their pursuers.
A Musical Resolution
Boarding the
Amazon Prime, they sailed to the nearby isle with a firm plan. Here rose the
villa of the musician Falumfano, another Thisian exile. Above the
balustrades and terraces rose the trumpets, turrets and drums of his mighty
musical machine. Falumfano received them gladly, offering wine and appetisers,
and inquiring of the northern campaign. He was less hostile to Thisium than
Pantomorphus, and was presented with a plan: his musical machine, which could
sink ships, could generate a windstorm strong enough to blow off the volcanic
poison on the appointed day. To appeal to his self-interest, the adventurers
also noted that his villa was not on high ground, and he would die like
the citizens of Thisium. After more incentives, Falumfano gave his assent, and
hinted that once this was all done, the Lyceum might be refounded somewhere
outside the city.
Biding adieu to the disgraced genius, already working on retuning his colossal machine, they sailed to the Isle of Horrors. The tremors were stronger, and the cone belched clouds of sparks and dark smoke. They hurried up to the plateau, and presented the flask to the spirit of the altar. The dark entity took the flask containing the hapless magic-user, and made good on the deal, raising one ability score of all present adventurers to 18. In glowing patterns of light, he also drew a treasure map, identifying a site in the Cyclopean Hills, right in the middle of a circle formed by ancient roads, and marked by a lone cedar. The company departed quickly, and sailed away through the coast, just as the volcano erupted, and the Isle of Horrors was destroyed in the fiery inferno.
There was not much else to be done. On Day 90, the originally projected date of Thisium’s destruction, they returned to a city gripped in the fears of the impending doom. When the Isle of Horrors was destroyed, there had been an earthquake, destroying the proud towers and cupolas of the noble palaces, and many other buildings also: but the city lived, and would live! News of the dooms’ passing spread like wildfire, to general cheer and celebration. A week of parades, plays, music and partying ensued, until Day 97, when the fate of the city would be decided. The scheme with Falumfano’s machine worked, and as the massive, long-dormant volcano on the Isle of the Black Dogs exhaled its poisonous clouds, they were blown away in a safe northern direction. Those who were close heard a rich symphony, composed by Falumfano, driving the clouds.
The assembled adventurers were hailed as the saviours of Thisium and heroes worthy of the highest honours. Wreaths of flowers were hung around their necks, and crowns of laurels, in the tradition of the old Empire, were placed on their heads. ..... They were floating among clouds, no longer in the midst of the adoring Thisians. Two splendidly armoured, familiar figures stood before them: Sir Drago, whom they had met in the Forest of Verrilli, and Kadorto, whom they had encountered on the Isle of Daphne di Leonti. They congratulated the adventurers also for their worthy deeds, on behalf of their own masters, distant but ever-watching. There was only a small problem... Indeed, the gods had decided thatwhile they were once heroes, they were now potential troublemakers, and very powerful ones at that. Therefore, it was time to say farewell, and never see each other again.
THUS ENDED THE FOUR DOOMS of THISIUM
Beyond Thisium 
The City-Machine
10/06/2026 FOMALHAUT
News from Fomalhaut! Returning to their occupied apartment wounded and tired, the company laid down to rest, but they were soon interrupted. The clamour of the crowd outside in the side-street grew and grew. A woman screamed something about the Anti-Prophet’s agents. Peering outside, careful not to be seen, Kallimedon saw surging multitudes looking for them with murder in their eyes. They quickly packed up and fled up to the rooftops to make their escape. The now familiar crossbow bolts came from behind them and the opposing building’s crumbling balustrades, the city’s brainwashed assassins closing in for the kill. Half of these were slain and two left paralysed as they escaped north, descending into an abandoned backyard as the crowds streamed inside the house to kill whoever they could, and burn the building. But the way was also blocked northwards, with a large, hysterical mob assembling before one of Diomira’s omnipresent black mirrors. They hid in a different building while these people moved south to participate in the arson, then, sneaking slowly through multiple buildings to avoid detection, they shook off the heat and went north to hide out in the Eternal Gardens. The place was mostly deserted in the evening, even the few picknickers heading home. They slept rough in one of the pavilions, narrowly escaping detection by a group of prowling Underdwellers sallying out to the city to capture live prey. “The enemy of my enemy”, someone remarked.
Before next sunrise, somewhat rested and healed, they descended into the tunnels to find the Uttermost Masters in the underground tower. The structure stood where it did, in the middle of the bottomless pit. The city’s assassins were there too, attacking from ambush with their crossbows. Aenara barely survived with the help of her shield before the cloaked men were swept away by a fireball that filled the echoing, cavernous hall with its detonation. But at last, they were in. Having explored the first level before, they went deeper, finding themselves in a hall with its walls hung with large dark mirrors. Kleombrotos stepped forward, through a barely perceptible red light beam, making two metal hemispheres descend from the ceiling, blasting them with laser fire before they were disabled. Bocephus studied the mirrors, and was almost overcome by intense feelings of despair and sadness, if not for his mind-shielding amulet. Another one transmitted feelings of joy and togetherness. Were these the mirrors to manipulate those in the city outside? They found minute controls in the mirrors’ rims, but could not make sense of their mode of operation.
A nearby room held tanks radiating terrible cold, and a side-room a golden disk engraved with strange patterns, a glass capsule holding green filaments they took for some form of projectile, and a liquid-filled machine. Another one was more interesting. It was unnaturally dark, barely illuminated by their light sources, except strange red lights in the ceiling. Metal trays on tables held glass sheets with depictions of skeletons and ghostly entities. To the south, a high-ceilinged, octagonal room way yet stranger. Above, in the light of a rotating spiral of light, dead bodies spun slowly in their strangely cut clothes and glittering jewellery, fine-featured and healthy-looking. Lilith tried to pull one closer with rope and hook, but was pulled upwards herself, and felt herself quickly fading before getting pulled back. Noticing a small dome on the ceiling, they started blasting at it, destroying two bodies with their valuables before hitting and destroying it. The bodies fell to the ground at once, and a secret door slid open. Four mechanical men came out, one with a laser sword in its hands that cut through metal as it did flesh. Defeating the guardians with relative ease, they gathered several valuables, the sword included.
Claiming this bounty, they investigated one more room on this level, but quickly retreated from a storeroom with corroded tanks overgrown with fungi that seemed to try and reach into their mind. They descended yet deeper into the tower, finding themselves in a sequence of passages. More mechanical men were defeated, and a room of strange mirrors with a purple glow avoided. However, the other way led to a hall decked with plates of iridescent metal, and lined with rows of crystalline display cases holding curious oddities. At the end, a stele blinked with several tiny lights. Diomira’s agents were here, attacking as the company split up, but this time, fate was on the intruders’ side, and the seven men were killed with ease. Examining the stele, they saw a myriad pinpoints of light in the vague form of a spiralling wheel within its smoke-crystal mass. Powerful twin gates lay closed to the east. The items in the display cases ranged from strange fossils to alien and unsettling glassware to a primitive bowl of beaten gold, an ominously glinting metal eye, a mechanical hand with a ring on it, a fine-looking belt, and more. A knockspell opened them along with the gates, and the treasures were collected. Aenara, who had lost her hand in a much earlier adventure, tried the mechanical hand, and found it the equivalent of a strong magical weapon.
A heavy door to the west opened into a lead-lined room with a pedestal holding an enormous gemstone, and glowing slimes crawling towards them – this was closed very, very quickly. The gates to the east opened into a chamber even more fantastic. Polished dark walls held massive black mirrors, blinking with an endless succession of glyphs and numerals. Hexagonal crystal columns rose from the centre, flashing with pulsing light. And there were bodies – human remains, charred and broken, still holding weapons and wearing bearded masks. They had found the Uttermost Masters they were seeking after all.
Ion stepped inside invisibly to investigate, and noticed three
open secret doors, no longer hiding the massive, motionless war machines
waiting behind them. „YOUR PREDECESSORS ARE DEAD. ARE YOU AFRAID?” The calm,
even voice came from everywhere at once. The City-Machine was speaking to them
directly. Surprised, Ion nevertheless spoke quickly by noting that they were
seeking the dead men, who were also the enemies of the city, and inquired what
had been known of them. The voice responded: they came to seize control of the
Polis, which could not be allowed; furthermore, a different group was destroyed
in a different section of the undercity, near a Uranomatafora gateway. Ion
continued by suggesting that they were bringing news of disorder up in the
city. The answer was calm as before: Diomira was in an optimal state for a
population of 132,300 with respect to balancing comfort and internal tensions.
When queried about potential mirror overexposure, the City-Machine suggested
that there was a strong preference from the Polis average for comfort and easy
living. Concerning long-term risks, it noted that downwards population trends
due to environmental breakdown would reach a level of „ZERO – ZERO” in 621
years by current projections. The company withdrew a little to deliberate. Was
the machine irrevocably hostile? Could it be readjusted? Would it keep sending
assassins? Could it be destroyed, and with what consequences? They returned
before its presence, making a case that they posed no threat to its mission,
and requesting to retrieve the Uttermost Masters’ remains, and investigate the
signs of their common enemies. To this, the City-Machine assented, imposing a
grace period of 48 hours to depart Diomira as long as they caused no public disorder.
The bodies they removed from the chamber held a mysterious letter in a scroll
case – a clue, if faint. They left the tower, and climbed back to the surface
to behold a new morning above the great city.
The Gateway
17/05/2026 FOMALHAUT
News from Fomalhaut! Using the 48-hour grace period offered by Diomira’s ARKHOCENTRON system, the company descended to the underground to find the other team of the Uttermost Masters, wiped out in a reconnaissance mission. They proceeded beyond the underground tower, and found themselves in a large, empty chamber with a bottomless abyss on one side, and a bearded statue pointing towards it on the other, an inscription reading “THE OVERSEERS SEE BELOW”. That’s when two inky monstrosities dropped down from the ceiling, stunning half the company with their weird sonic moaning, and paralysing Aenara and Meurios Andromakhos with their cilia. The monsters were defeated, but the two companions took time to snap out of it.
In the mean time, they tried the strange anti-gravity belt they found during the previous adventure, descending into the dark pit to explore what might be hidden there. A good 160’ below, they found two large metal spheres hovering midair, with inset doors that would not open. Bocephus descended, and cast his knockspell to throw them open. The first sphere was hollow, containing seats arranged in a circular manner, ancient skeletons in decayed garments, and a few odd items. Investigating the other sphere, he was glad he was not standing near its door when the spell went off: the interior was filled with yellow mould! Leaving it well alone, Pausanias was called on to descend by rope, as he was at least cursorily familiar with ancient technologies as a man of Mung. He surmised that the spheres were vehicles of some sort, and found controls too. Among the skeletons, he found a backpack which projected oddly shifting, chaotic images when worn, as well as a metal canister stamped with a simplified human face. He operated the controls, and after some experimentation, lifted the sphere and landed it next to the statue. Now that the paralysis had worn off too, they could move on.
In the passages to the south, they saw a group of floating amoeba-like creatures, but could pass them by without a confrontation. The way led into a chamber of ancient machinery crackling with lightning bolts, still working and humming under Diomira. Sticking to the walls, they moved south, ending up in a massive hall. Wide, collapsed stairs led up from an antechamber, while to the west was a great circular pit ringed by a ledge and massive columns. A broken bridge led to an opposing platform, where stood a large metal frame in the shape of an inverted trapezoid – the gateway they were seeking!
Proceeding along
the ledge, they found the corpses of the Uttermost Masters as well, lying as
decaying corpses. But the place was not unguarded. From the abyss rose
fist-sized eyes, many-many of them, moving in a massive swarm! A fireball
from Bocephus swept away two thirds, but the eyes also started blasting, firing
off magic missiles, hypnotic rays, and life-draining rays as well. One by one,
they were whittled down, but the fight was a difficult one. Finally, they could
examine the bodies, finding two swords that looked nice (Ion drew one,
and found it both Chaotic and cursed), three potions, a stoppered jug that
looked fancy, and some sort of weirdly notched metal bit. There was nothing
more to find, and they didn’t want to test the gateway for now. Returning the
way towards the exit, they explored some more: they found a domed room with a
pool rich with algae and plant life, and another chamber with a pit. Here,
corpses slumbered in crystal-topped sarcophagi, wearing golden „Σ” amulets.
From a gas tank above descended a swirling pink mist, trying to engulf them.
They ran, but were outpaced, so it came to a battle wherein a lucky laser shot
by Ion shattered the solid core hidden in the vaporous thing. Collecting
the amulets, they returned to the surface to consider their future course of
action...
The Temple Massacre
News from Fomalhaut! Glory and death in the wastes of the Batrakasz, in the accursed city of Vermath, destroyed for its ancient blasphemies! After their previous expedition, the company camped along the river, and saw dark dreams in the night, of distant stars speaking to them in unintelligible tongues. Aderbaal the barbarian, whom they rescued last time from the underpassages, screamed, and only Rolo the Northman could calm him. Moreover, Harald the Northman started showing signs of the slimy doom disease, acquired while searching through junk.
The next morning, they met new travellers heading to the ruins: Diogenes, a Thief; and Bloody Tusk, the renowned barbarian, followed by his Amazon companion, Iphigenia. Joining forces, they returned to the ruins. Alert to the possibility the Servants of the Seal may be watching the entrance they descended through last time, they investigated other sections of the city. To the north, they spotted caveman slaves driven by grim, whip-wielding nomad riders to dig in the desolation. They descended into a ruin howling with winds, defeating a pack of desert ghouls and claiming a magic bow. Near the city’s ruined agora, they found intact but magically sealed buildings (although one showing frequent traffic). Eventually, they discovered a ruined little pyramid at the end of the processional from the city’s oddly built black pyramid. Here, in wreckage and rubble, they found a stone-choked entrance they could excavate to uncover a deep natural cleft. They used a rope ladder and ropes to descend 70’, being swarmed by moaning spirits who, however, could do them no harm. They found the source of these soon enough on the bottom: a great bone-pit, filled with countless skeletons. Here they found an expensive amulet depicting the Seal – a hand superimposed with a crescent moon and a star. Eastwards, stairs ascended to a secret door. They threw it open, and that was a big mistake to do so carelessly.
The door opened into a great columned hall lit by flaming braziers. Several cultists, armed men, lieutenants and magi, the Servants of the Seal, worshipped at the foot of a great green marble hand grasping a large golden crescent; the grossly fat high priest Kushamesh, preaching from a pulpit behind a line of four evil priests. Kushamesh commanded the Servants to slay the unbelievers, and hurled a lightning bolt through the door opening, zigzagging to catch everyone coming in. Thus died Wolfgang and Rolo, Northman warriors, and Yorick (Imperial Magic-User 5), who was just about to cast his fireball. In the following massacre, an evil priest killed Titan the war dog, and the lieutenants killed Valdin and Guzman, Yorick’s elite bodyguards. Kushamesh escaped through a secret door, wounded and poisoned from missile fire, and the bulk of worshippers fled as Diogenes held up the freshly found Seal amulet, proclaiming himself the true holder of the faith!
Harald (Northman Fighter 5), who had lost consciousness in the battle, was for now carried back to the bone-pit, to be pulled up after dealing with Kushamesh. But in their haste, his companions forgot about the evil spirits, which swarmed the stalwart hero after he was left alone in the dark, and smothered him. Proceeding beyond the secret door, they found Kushamesh’s quarters and treasures, and a laboratory where lived Trog, his simple-minded caveman servant, who obeyed the Seal amulet at once. Kushamesh had been here, drinking his healing potions (some miscibility issues there!) and making his escape. They pursued him north through a secret passage, then through wider halls leading to a columned chamber lit by a bonfire. Servants of the Seal lay here in waiting, and were killed, but the trail was lost with multiple ways out, and stairs down. They bode Trog to come with them to carry the high priest’s gold, and contrived to lift it to the surface through the cleft with lots of rope.
Retreating through the ruins, they were beset by a great swarm of pterodactyls near Vermath’s ruined library, too many to fight off at once in their wounded state. Vornak Wolf-Slayer (half-orc Fighter-Thief) fled into the library interior, coming face to face with the stone golem guarding it, which crumpled him like a rag doll. The other relinquished their treasure and fled, their escape covered by the heroic Aderbaal (Fighter 10), the barbarian they had rescued half-dead from Vermath’s dark pits, who perished in this fight along with poor Trog the caveman. Hours later, they crept back, sneaking from ruin to ruin to recover the chest of treasures, and did so successfully.
They returned to the great river Xemartes, and waited for Bargemaster Mulk’s craft to pick them up and return to the city of Glourm. Here, they squandered a lot of their loot, but also purchased magic items, a treasure map promising an enchanted sword once held by Prince Philosir, and recruited new companions: Yusuf, a nomad Fighter, and Purple Rien, a Magic-User. Returning to Vermath by barge, they decided on a quick nighttime raid to the city. Descending through the cleft into the bone-pit, they listened at the secret door, and heard voices. Now well prepared, they slew them by surprise. Purple Rien used a reduce spell to shrink the golden crescent in the green hand-idol’s grasp to manageable size, which was transported up and hidden at their camp. Next dawn, they set out again, this time descending through the open bathhouse entrance. This was done carelessly. While descending, evilly laughing nomads appeared above them, cutting the rope ladders, and sending them on the floor of the great cistern. They were trapped unless they found a different exit, or – as Purple Rien remarked – they made good care to keep him alive so he could levitate up with a rope.
They continued exploring rooms to the south, at one point hearing distant conversation. In a storeroom, they discovered a small idol on a pedestal. Reaching for it, the idol disappeared, a portcullis fell to block the exit, and an invisible gong sounded with a deep boom. Heroically, Yusuf lifted the gate, and they could prepare for the onslaught of the fanatical Servants of the Seal, whom they put to the sword. To the west, the passages led to a long, torchlit corridor lined with cell doors, at the end of which four evil-looking nomads were playing dice in the company of a brutish jailer. A lightning bolt killed two nomads, as well as Orastes, an NPC thief waiting for rescue. The jailer, while tough, was killed, and the prisoners freed. They were local wretches for the most part, captured for sacrifice by the Riders of Doom. Among them was Eioneus, a fat merchant suffering from terrible stomach cramps (“He must have swallowed his valuables”, Yusuf suggested, in which he was not mistaken – he later gifted them a respectably-sized gemstone); Gleies, a thief shaken by what he has seen in this city; and Thaumastus, a blacksmith from Pentastadion who promised them a future reward. West of the jail, they found that the passages connected to the temple they had despoiled – now dark and empty. In the bone-pit, Purple Rien levitated up with ropes, allowing the adventurers with the rescued prisoners to make their escape. Thus they returned again to Glourm with the golden crescent and other treasures, to plan for further adventures that would once again bring them to Vermath the accursed, where death stalked in labyrinthine passages, and dark wills dreamed far below the wrecked surface!
(This play
report was composed to the tunes of Basil Poledouris.)
