Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
—Robert W. Chambers, The King in Yellow
The party headed for the former site of Iris Hill. Moving through the empty town was easy as parts of it were still missing. At times a building would arrive or the foundation would appear for another building. The cries of a panicked populace grew louder for each step the group took toward the Iris Hill site.
At the former entrance to Iris Hill the party instead found a tower of peculiar yellow stone standing where the manor once was. It was featureless and windowless. Spired battlements, like the tines of a crown, surrounded the top of the structure. A beam of pale yellow light stabbed through the eye of storm clouds that swirled around the tower in a ring. Surrounding the tower was an immense hedge maze with an entrance in front of the party. Shadowy figures could be seen moving on the tower’s roof in the gloom.
The maze seemed immense and larger than the hedge surrounding Iris Hill. Ofraham instructed Barnabas to circle the area and report. Barnabas headed off to look over the landscape but did not return. Ofraham could not even rouse a response of any kind from him.Ciprian and Erevel tried chipping away at the hedge walking unto the green grass that covered the ground. While the debate began about exploring the maze, Armania looked through her Gem of Seeing.
"It is all an illusion," she announced. "The hedge does not exist and the ground is a riot of sickly grayish-green grass and weeds intermixed with moss and toadstools that surround the tower."
"I don't believe it," Gavril stated. "The hedge is so real."
"There is a wavering stone walkway in yellow that meanders toward an entrance to the tower. A large standing stone or two wrap around the building." Armania continued.
"Lead us toward the door," Erevel suggested.
"Head inside, maybe it cannot follow us!" Armania suggested.
Strange glyphs and sigils were engraved along the odd yellow stone archways that lead inside. The chamber within was stark and barren, save for a staircase that wound counterclockwise up to the next floor around a central pillar.
Ciprian noted the glyphs and sigils were in Aklo and translated to “Praise to the Unspeakable One who will emerge from Carcosa as a god.”
When Ciprian entered the large room with a twenty foot ceiling he noted an invisible ratling on the stairs. The ratling, seeing the party scurried up the stairs and through the ceiling. Gavril headed up the stairs but Erevel wanted to lead the party. She emerged on the next level and spied a pair of Hastur Cultists. At least they reminded her of the Cultists in Thrushmoor. Ciprian came up invisibly and saw another Cultist.
After a quick pause to heal the wounded and restore ability damage the party began a plan to head to the next level. The enormous second level circular chamber was twenty feet high and held two sets of staircases. One set wound counterclockwise down around a central support pillar that the party climbed into this chamber. The second set of stairs ran clockwise along the wall up toward the roof. The ceiling in this round chamber was 20 feet high. A pale yellow light suffused the room from above, casting strange, flickering shadows on the stairs leading to the roof.
Invisibility was cast on several party members, haste was cast and Gavril headed up the stairs quietly to scan the territory. Dark storm clouds roiled low in the air about this hazy reflection of Thrushmoor, as a sickly yellow light emanated from the tower and pierced the churning gray sky. The tower’s roof was ringed with triangular battlements, but was otherwise flat stone. Ciprian blew the Horn of Peyhori-Han to bring in six fighters who were sent to the roof ahead of the heroes as sacrificial lambs.
Ursina cast Prayer as she made her way to the battle. Gavril and Erevel surrounded the Star Seed but found it difficult to hit and then it healed damage. The Shrike Worms began walking in the air toward the roof as Ciprian rose and saw that the landscape was a huge Yellow Sign. He luckily saved against the effect and helped reduce the fear of everyone. Armania cast Sunburst on the witch and the ratling which was just in the way. She caught one of the Shrike Worms who was blinded.
The Ratling read a scroll and a fireball exploded over the party as Ariadnah cast maze on Ciprian who disappeared into an extra-dimensional labyrinth. The battle continued with an evil eye hex on Armania who then cast Starfall which blinded the other Shrike Worm. Gavril gave up on hitting the Star Seed an moved to the witch. Ofraham first began firing his bow at the Star Seed but soon moved closer to use his vorpal weapon. Gavril was hit by a Misfortune hex and Ciprian was still missing in action.
Now Ariadnah began taking two turns every round as she rose into the sky and attempted a slumber Hex on Erevel who shrugged it off. Gavril moved under Ariadnah waiting for a fly so he could reach her. Ciprian popped back into sight in the exact place that he left from and used a swift action to move down the stairs. Ursina sped to Gavril's side to apply healing. The human guards tried to attack the Ratling but failed but at least kept him busy. Ariadnah then attempted a Bouncing Major Curse on Armania, who saved whereupon it bounced to Ursina who also saved. The Star Seed continued its attacks on Erevel and Ofraham who continued to try and avoid its Dread Decay. The Ratling again read a scroll of Fireball, wiping out more of the guards and damaging the party. The Ratling then moved behind the Star Seed.
Armania cast Mass Fly on the party as Erevel and Ofraham continued to attack the Star Seed although the Star Seed would block one of Erevel's attacks. Ariadnah then successfully cast the Retribution Hex on Erevel and moved away from Ciprian who flew up to her and fell asleep to plummet to the roof. Ciprian moved up the stairs, became visible and started his Bardic Performance against the Star Seed. He then cast Greater Dispel Magic on Ariadnah, the only manifestation was that her eyes no longer glowed blue. Ursina was now needed by both Erevel and Ofraham. She chose Erevel first as she was closest.
The Star Seed cast Horrid Wilting damaging the party from the flesh cracking and withering. Ariadnah then responded with a Greater Dispel Magic on Ciprian. The Ratling then touched the Star Seed and gave him a Heal spell from a scroll. Yonah, the Ratling, then moved next to Ofraham. Armania hurried to Gavril and slapped him awake with a Stoneskin spell. Erevel and Ofraham continued against the now more energetic Star Seed.
Ariadnah now cast her own Horrid Wilting and kept moving around in the air. All the guards were now dead. Gavril again flew up to Ariadnah and did not fall asleep this time. His attacks were minor though as the witch was resilient. Ciprian continued his performance.
All this time the Shrike Worms moved back to the ground or stood up but did not again attempt to land on top of the tower to join the battle. Ursina now hied to Ofraham and healed him. The Star Seed again attacked the enemies around him with its tentacles. Ariadnah tried Feeblemind on Ciprian but failed as Yonah moved to Ciprian and tried to read a scroll of Harm but was deterred by Ciprian's attack. Armania hurried over to Erevel to slap a stoneskin on her also. Erevel and Ofraham continued attacking. Ariadnah then had Yonah attempt Cause Moderate wounds by touching Ciprian but that failed as he only touched an image. Gavril fled to Ursina to get healing once again. Ciprian killed Yonah with his attacks as Ursina healed Gavril. The Star Seed continued unabated and Ariadnah tried to hex Ciprian with Slumber but failed.
Just as the heroes were becoming despondent Armania broke out Sunburst once again for Ariadnah's pleasure. This time the spell was more effective as Ariadnah appeared distracted and came out of the burst blind.
Erevel and Ofraham now attacked with more vigor even with the Star Seed trying to block attacks. Ariadnah cast Waves of Exhaustion toward Armania but caught the Star Seed also. Gavril now broke out his bow and fired at Ariadnah, with Sneak Attack damage. The tide was now turning. Ciprian moved just before Ariadnah cast a heightened Cloudkill where he had stood. Ofraham hit the rooftop after another attack from the Star Seed but Armania used her limited wish to cast Breath of Life to bring him back. Erevel killed the Star Seed just as Ariadnah cast another Cloudkill over her. Gavril's next attack left the witch splattered on the roof as she fell out of the air.
The exhausted members of the party sat down on the roof as the battle ended. The beam of yellow light from the top of the tower disappeared but the clouds and storm kept up its vigor. Ciprian made sure that the witch was dead. But since he knew that she was also a lich his concern moved to her phylactery. As the party began looking for magic on the roof, Queen Cassilda popped back into the scene.
"You have succeeded in preventing Carcosa from drawing Thrushmoor into its patchwork form and cuts off any power that Carcosa could have absorbed from such an event," she stated. "You can now return to your world with the Black Star ritual or you could stay and continue to fight against Hastur. You would likely attract his attention if you stayed to fight."
"Thank you for your help," Ciprian responded, "Do you happen to know where Ariadnah would have stored her phylactery?"
"I do not know anything of her tendencies nor where she might hide her phylactery. I am sorry for this bad news."
"That is fine we probably should just return to Golarion. We need to collect the Necronomnicon on our way." Ciprian responded.
The group noted that the town of Thrushmoor was no longer growing, the buildings began to slowly disappear as opposed to appearing. The loan moaning seemed to fade away as the party searched the roof and the bodies.
After finding a few scrolls and magical items on the Ratling and Ariadnah, Ciprian and Armania teleported the group to the Neruzavin Nexus where Ciprian retrieved the Necronomicon. He then began the Black Stars ritual, which came very naturally to him at this point. Just before the ritual completed the group saw Queen Cassilda's porcelain from begin to crack and fall away as an intense yellow light radiated from within. Cassilda recognized what was happening and shouted an agonized warning to the heroes. Tentacle and pseudopods grasped their way out of her body as she exploded and two larva of the Outer Gods emerged just as the party blinked out.
Arriving in Neruzavin, which looked much like they left it, the party began to heal some ability damage and cured Paullus of his Greater Madnesses. The party discussed what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Ciprian wished to find his family if they still lived. Erevel was eager to continue her search for her missing sister. Armania wanted to find her family once again while Gavril wanted to exact revenge on the Cult of the Black Stars, having a new appreciation of their goals. Ursina wanted to return to her family while Paullus just wanted to retire to a small shop, selling adventurers gear. He hope to never see any of his fellow adventures ever again.
In the morning the group teleported to Elder Thyrr's apartments in Katheer. There they found the raised Elder Lythiin who greeted them warmly and inquired of their adventures. The group recalled all of what they had been through after leaving Katheer. The Elders had felt a change in is atmosphere and hoped for better in the future for Golarion. Ciprian offered to return the Necronomicon and Elder Lythiin indicated that he had the reward of 5,000 gold. The Mysterium had been upgraded with more security and protections and Ciprian headed into the library with the Elders to return the Necronomicon to safety.
"I would like to come and study in the library from time to time," Ciprian stated.
"That would be fine, and it will cost you nothing to access any area of the Mysterium when you are here," Elder Lythiin offered.
The party then spent a couple of days and nights in Katheer before teleporting to Thrushmoor where they found that none of the citizens were aware of the horrible dangers that the heroes had thwarted. Cesadia Wrentz was eager to here of their exploits expressing shock at the lengths that Count Lowls had taken. There was no grand fanfare as they returned and no elaborate reward.
"There is a new Count and he is much better than Lowls ever was, at administering the town. We are now doing well," she stated.
From here the group eventually went to continue their lives trying to forget about the nightmare they had been through. But,,, every month or so each of them found their dreams plagued by unsettling nightmares and were suspicious that they were being followed by cultists, but they could never explicitly find those cultists.
DM's Notes: This concludes the Strange Aeons adventure path. Although relatively safe now, the heroes have drawn the attention of Hastur. The Unspeakable One is still out there, watching the group of six and could get revenge on them at any time. Maybe he will send Weiralai, the Denizen of Leng after them once again or the Pale Mask might be in for another go round with a group he is sure is dead!
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