Black Stars Beckon

            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

Chronological Corrector

The party sat around discussing all their magic items and capabilities.  Some items were swapped from hero to hero.  Armania came up with her preferred list of spells to use for the final day.  After the discussion the party took a night's rest and awoke refreshed with Ofraham still in their midst.

Queen Cassilda ask them if they were ready to visit the Carcosan version of Thrushmoor and when the group emphatically stated that they were prepared. Cassilda teleported the group and they arrived near the shore of Avalon Bay. The queen immediately cried out in a startled and tortured scream and flickered out of existence.

The Blighted Tower

The streets of Paris were now much safer as the group saw no more gendarmes patrolling.  They headed down the river Seine, which still smelled foul and the sky was almost dark even with the light of the two suns of Carcosa.

As the river curved to the south in the distance they saw what appeared to be a blunt tower.  As they moved closer the remnants of a fantastic iron tower stood here over a broken and rubble-strewn street. The tower was fashioned from a lattice of riveted iron girders. The shattered remains of an elevator system occupied the leg area along with a set of iron stairs. The height of the tower was once approximately one thousand feet, though it had since been snapped in half. The base and two floors were still somewhat intact, although wreckage and twisted metal littered the structure and surrounding area.

Cabaret Du Oubli

"Careful with that axe," Ciprian implored Ofraham, the new Paullus.

"I am very good with weapons, my sword is just a distraction," he retorted.

"Are we going directly into the Gendarmes territory?  Or should we stay on the edges trying to set up a trap?" Gavril queried.

"I think we should march right in and attack the first patrol we run into.  Maybe they will then parlay," Erevel countered in her usual fashion.

"We really should not antagonize them too much," Ciprian said implying caution.

Rue d'Auseil

The next several days were spent traveling through Nexuses that were mostly deserted.  Some times small rodents were spotted.  In others larger animal life was spotted in the distance or around corners but these never approached the party.  The last three magic items were a Rod of Lordly Might, a Ringe of Spell Storing (Air Walk, Mage Armor) and a Spell Lattice (Dimension Door).

While traveling the group continued to restore sanity and reduce the possibility of further problems with Madnesses that had afflicted the party.  By the time Erich said that they were approaching the Seine River the group was back to relatively good health.

Late that day the party reached the banks of a River.  Erich wrote on his pad that this was the Seine leading to Paris.

Riot and Ruin in Rime

The party decided to head out to the rest of the underground area, firstly going to the northeast.  This led to another pentagonal chamber. A ten-foot-by-five-foot block of greenish black marble sat at the north end of this pentagon-shaped chamber. A large section of the top of the block had been cut away and lined with a strange steel alloy to form a basin or pool. A scent like a mixture of lavender and ozone lingered in the air. The walls and floor were smooth stone as elsewhere, but also remarkably clean.

The Mutate

The Elder Things cast Stoneskin on Agna and Ciprian to support their battle with the Mutate.  They also made sure the party understood that letting the Mutate escape from the Laboratory would be devastating for Bohlvarai and the heroes both.

"What else do we need to know about the Laboratory?" Ciprian asked.

"The whole complex is protected by a Permanent Wall of Force.  Additionally here are three small pentagonal stone chips cut from a pinkish translucent stone.  We are not precisely sure what they’re used for, but we know they somehow are required for a locking mechanism to the vault that holds the Star Stela."

Bohlvarai Archive

"Ursina, are you feeling well?" Ciprian asked.

"I feel slightly sick. Maybe this thin air is affecting my health now." Ursina responded.

"Should we continue on to the Archive?" Gavril queried.

"I think we need to at least see the Archive.  We can then decide to return to the warmth of the drained city to get a nights sleep if we need to." Armania suggested.

The party headed on to the Archive and came upon a long plaza at the end of which stood a modestly sized, five-sided pyramid. The pyramid was constructed or possibly carved from sandstone by some titanic force, sections of it bear rings and multicolored ripples of color on the surface. The pyramid was a little more than ninety feet in diameter. A ten-foot-wide doorway was visible on the southern face, and window-like openings were set into the sides approximately two-thirds the way to the top.

Knowledge Stone

Fighting the thin air the party finally got around to some healing.   Searching for treasure of the Wendigo turned up nothing.  So after a short rest the group headed once again toward the spire.

The trek to the site of the spire was without further incident.  The group arrived breathing hard but not impaired in any other way.

A five-sided spire stood as a monument on a ten-foot-high base that is accessible via a ramp that spiraled up the base’s side. The stone was approximately twenty feet in diameter and forty feet tall, and was marked by countless small runes, glyphs, and sigils. Five smaller triangular stone markers, all of which pointed to the center spire, surrounded the monument.

Frozen Bohlvarai

Ursina kept an eye on the penguins who remained haphazardly moving around the same area.  Agna kept attacking people or herself randomly.

"The dwarf has an insanity spell cast upon her," Ciprian stated, "We should try Break Enchantment on her."

Armania used her Break Enchantment staff on Agna but it had no effect whatsoever.

Ciprian meanwhile cut down the web at the ceiling but it had no magic or other effects in or behind it.

Erevel noted the thrown web still moving and Armania said to Erich to play a high note if he was outside the web.  She immediately heard the lowest note the viol could play.

Ambush

After standing around in silence for several minutes, Agna spoke up.  "I believe that Endure Elements or Endure Elements, Communal would do the trick.  So would life bubble."

"How long do those last?" Gavril inquired.

"Endure Elements is for 24 hours, but I would need seven of them.  That uses all my first and second level spells, not that I use them alot."

"We don't know how long we will need this protection," Ciprian piped in.  "Maybe only for a short time."

"But what if we need it for longer, like the whole day?" Gavril countered.

"I would like to be protected," Erevel added.

Reydeloptrix

The huge dragon opened its mouth and breathed a blast of acid that caught several of the party.  Gavril luckily jumped out of the path but the others were not so lucky.

The party was still a distance away from the dragon but found that Geists began emerging from the surrounding ruined buildings.  The creature were incorporeal and had a bite that would reduce the subjects constitution.

Gavril fired arrows at the dragon but they did little damage.  Armania cast invisibility on herself as Ciprian identified the dragon as an ancient nightmare dragon and cast mirror images.  Ursina cast invisibility while Erich began a performance against the enemies and cast Arcane Concordance.

Aevan-Vhor Star Stelae

Wrangling about the magic items took a while to complete.  As usual the group could not make definitive decisions on who wanted which items.  The most popular items were the more powerful Cloaks of Resistance.  The two Ioun stones were divided between Erevel and Ursina.

Erich found his tunic and dagger in the loot, but was left with a lesser Ring of Protection. Paullus took several items as he recovered his memories and ability to talk and woke up with his old self active once again.

The group took a night's rest and started out early for the vineyard following the directions of Lord Eldarius.

Lord Avaric's Might

The sarcophagus chamber was quiet and dusty.  No prints were evident in the room and the carvings on the walls were just unnerving.  Ciprian moved forward to the actual sarcophagus and noted that it was not sealed.  He could move in in gaseous form.  He whispered to the group as he entered the burial coffin.

Erevel kept watch on the chamber, while Gavril and Agna were busy looking back into the maze, sure that they would soon be attacked.

Gavril found the inside of the sarcophagus did not hold a body and he moved around in the dark.  He then decided to take time to become corporeal once again but before that he told Gavril and Erevel to check out the other doors.

Catacombs

After seeing the Dybbuk try to escape Ciprian jumped up and over the creature to stop it from leaving the Gaol.  Ursina used the wand to Heal Erevel but it did not get rid of the deafness.  Agna's flurry of arrows, with help of a couple of critical hits, dropped the Dybbuk to the ground.

The party then moved to explore the rest of the cells in the Gaol and Ciprian looked down at the character in the pit.  Gavril opened the only locked cell and found a magic dagger on the floor along with two magic items in a wooden bucket in the corner.  Ursina noted that one other cell had something magical in a crack in the masonry of the northwestern wall.  Digging she found a purple colored prism shaped stone.

Gaol of the Damned

Ciprian messaged the group suggesting that they all meet at the kitchen.  They would try to enter the locked room from there while also distracting the cooks.

The group met in the dining hall with Gavril being made invisible by Armania.  He then entered the kitchen with Erevel and Ciprian right behind.

"We are low on the chicken snacks and some other items are missing altogether," Ciprian stated.

"Sorry sir, we will replenish them directly," the main cook responded.

She loaded a tray for delivery and her assistant took it out to the dining hall.

Delmaria

Nor is it to be thought that man is either the oldest or the last of earth’s masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, They walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen... unseen and foul in lonely places where the Words have been spoken and the Rites howled through at their Seasons. The wind gibbers with Their voices, and the earth mutters with Their consciousness. They bend the forest and crush the city, yet may not forest or city behold the hand that smites.
                                                         

                                                                                —H. P. Lovecraft, “The Dunwich Horror”

Private Parlor

Ciprian had entered an octagonal room with the two Sayona.  Ovonda was lying upon the pillows unbuttoning her dress while Ultor stood by the door.

The rest of the party was outside the room with Armania and Ursina having cast Greater Invisibility.  Gavril took it upon himself to begin a fight with these creatures.  He did not appreciated the attempt to Dominate his mind. Accordingly he stepped up and unleashed a full attack on Ultor. He noted that the creature had a gaze attack but ignored it for this interaction.

Ultor responded by slamming the door shut and locking it.  Ciprian's voice immediately went up an half an octave asking for the party to enter the room.

Suns Set Over Aevan-Vhor

The nethermost caverns... are not for the fathoming of eyes to see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth’s pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl.

                                                                                          —H. P. Lovecraft, excerpt from the

                                                                                            Necronomicon in “The Festival”

Seeking the Living Among the Dead

And lo! I beheld a light in the depths of the lake below that pulsed to the very beat of my heart, and I knew that this was the selfsame flare in the firmament I beheld in my dreams. I felt the pulsing within my very soul, echoing back through my memories, and perceived this light had come to the world eons ago, when the stars themselves first took umbrage against those pathetic and unworthy creatures who dwelt below, scouring away the most unworthy. And I knew that what pulsed within me was growing, and that it was not my heart that was pumping within my breast, for I had long been a dead thing, and this instead was the pulse of the seed of God. 

“Iä! Iä Xhamen-Dor!”

                                                                                                          —Il-Asziph Mavmameniris,

                                                                                          Ninshaburian apostle of the Star Seed