Kaylo’s Journal Part 6

By Andy Shuler

October 30, Y.F. 1432 ??? Underdark??? I have returned to life. I was killed by that thief at the entrance to the temple, and it is now a few days later. I feel very sick, like when I was a child and spun myself around as fast as I could, and then fell down. I don’t remember much this time, just images and flashes. It was not, somehow, as sharp as before… But I feel reborn to a new purpose. To purge the world of the Eleti and Vecna, the forces that conspire to control my destiny. To cheat death, to weave my own pattern.

We are planning to attack a renegade Drow temple, where we believe the artifacts of Vecna may be concealed. The Drow who we have a truce with now (and whom were thoughtful enough to raise me) will aid us. They worship the spider queen, while these renegade Drow have broken away from that sect, taken to serving the powers of Dar’Kyr, ally of Vecna, and usurped control of this neighborhood of the Underdark. Naturally, the Drow who will help us want to gain their power back. A mutually beneficial situation. They gain their rule, and we get our artifacts. Artifacts that must be destroyed! He will see that he does not control all, that his power can be crushed! I will not be ruled!

We have a map and are carefully planning our attack route. Most of the temple is protected by a forbiddance spell, but in order to summon their god or avatars and such, the top room of the temple is not protected. We can teleport our assault force in here, then force our way down into the main chambers. Those who cannot pass the forbiddance will be left behind. Taking down the forbiddance spell may be possible, using a scroll of magical dispelling that Evelyn scribed for us, but will alert everyone inside to an intrusion. Thus, we will not try it unless it is necessary.

Also, its seems our party has lost one member but gained two in my absence. Xeos, sadly has perished, and the party allowed the body to be swallowed by a portal. I am thankful that I died first, so my corpse could receive the relative safety of the bag of holding. In any case, he will be sorely missed. His devotion to his cause would ensure that the Hand and Eye are properly exterminated. He also would have been an ally in the utter destruction of the Eleti, a goal toward which the rest of the party is less enthusiastic. The new members are Viento, an air priest, and Wen, a strange warrior who fights with only his bare hands and feet. Viento can heal us, which is good. He speaks with a strange accent and is apparently not from Dragonfall or Noguard. His past is none of my concern, so I did not press the matter. Wen apparently appeared out of nowhere. He is peculiar, but seems to be a man of his word. His fighting style is interesting. When I was in the pits, I once saw a man who appeared similar to him fight the same way. Effective, but requires rather too much training. There are easier ways to become dangerous…

November 1, Y.F. 1432 ??? Adytum??? Much has happened since I last had a moment to write. I have come to understand a great many incomprehensible things. But let me start where I left off…

The attack on the temple went uncharacteristically smoothly. Not since the raid on the pirate isle has our party managed to work so well together. We teleported in, expecting heavy resistance, but instead found a burnt out husk. Some terrible power had been unleashed here, and we soon found a clue as to what. A keening spirit, apparently a priestess of the spider queen, appeared and let out her awful wail. Many were affected, and we finally could drive her off. This, we feared, would be only temporary. We hurried forward. Wen and Emjod could not penetrate the forbiddance, but the rest did. Interesting. I felt no resistance to my entry. Was the Grace and the Taint upon me already?

Inside the main compound we methodically sealed off the exits with the aid of my magic both to keep reinforcements out and survivors in. We slaughtered them all, room by room. There were some frightful opponents, including some vampires. Viento used some kind of sunray magic to incinerate one, and Riatha cleverly used the cloak of gentle repose to keep the now misty creature from escaping. Once most resistance had ended and it was clear that the remaining inhabitants were likely already aware of our presence, I invoked the Evelyn’s incantation and forbiddance spell came down. Once Wen and Emjod had rejoined us, we advanced to the inner sanctum. There was a terrible battle. The old witch and her two sisters had a friend. A sinister dark knight who Etrigan finally vanquished. We were able to overcome the three women after a draining assault. Viento found himself caught by a blast of magic fire and died. Pity, I had barely met him. Many of the drow warriors had died as well, but the priestess lived so far and survived the subsequent encounters. Though how she fared once the temple was returned to her, I am still uncertain.

While exploring the inner sanctum, things took a strange turn. We did find a secret door, and behind it a harp and a flute. We were at first frustrated because this is where we expected to find the artifacts. At that moment a group of four… demons, I suppose, appeared through a long fleshy tunnel. I used my magic to understand and speak their language. They demanded “the instruments.” I felt we were in no condition to fight, as we were on the brink of death, so was about to surrender what they asked for. Several party members cast a look at me that made me reconsider. I used some tricks I had learned from a street magician to switch the flute on the table with the broken Gith flute I had found near the floating citadel. I got the impression from the party that maybe we could get away with more. Perhaps the demons weren’t aware what an “instrument” was? I gave them the eye necklace that we got from El-Kax instead of the harp. That is when things got very interesting indeed.

An angelic woman appeared in a flash of light. She urged us to destroy the demon scum, and we, not wanting to face an unworldly beauty with a large sword who thought us too impious, joined her. They proved to be not as tough as they looked, though I still think many of us would have died if we had first resisted with violence. In any case, she asked us to hand her the artifacts for safekeeping. Did she mean to destroy them? Already I could see the use of the items for my purposes, and folly of destroying them. Perhaps in the end, we would, I thought, but only after gaining some advantage, at least as a bargaining chip. We didn’t have a whole lot of say in the matter, though we were beginning to grow suspicious of her intentions. We realized that “instruments” were probably known to this woman, so we surrendered the harp, but let her hang onto my broken flute.

At this moment, things got one step stranger. Another Tierra, this one dirty and bruised, yet defiant, came out of the demon portal. The original Tierra realized that the game was up, and vanished with her prize. The new, presumably real, Tierra told us her tale, and how a powerful being, Araketh, had disguised himself as her to trick us and claim the artifacts… Yes, the instruments were in fact the Hand and Eye. Now he was going to slay Vecna and claim ultimate power. As I now know, attaching a true artifact of Vecna, even a minor one, imbues the recipient with more than just the granted powers. Neither Vecna himself, nor his avatars, can directly harm the wearer of a true piece of Vecna. Also, the wearer cannot be scryed by Vecna either. Apparently that is why this false Tierra needed at least one of these items to make his move.

The true Tierra asked us to help her stop him. We agreed, each for our own reasons. Wen agreed to help, but refused to promise anything. He will not make a promise that he is not sure that he will want to keep. Interesting… A trustworthy man is hard to find, and to find a live one is even harder…

Tierra took us to a system of portals to other worlds called the septahenge. Through here we could find our way to Araketh, and stop him. Since he had but one of the two major artifacts, he was not invincible. Though the party was certainly not going to die for this cause, there yet seemed no reason to refuse. On the other hand, it has been made clear that some members seek to destroy Vecna, even at the cost of allowing Araketh to win. For me, at the time, I was excited at the possibility of destroying Vecna, and the chance to learn more of his nature and the web of control that he created.

What happened next is somewhat of a blur. There was a fortress, and a fight there. The next realm held great shambling zombies. I fought, trying to help Etrigan? Or just because of some minotaur battle lust? When they touched me, my brain went to mush and nothing made sense. Things make a great deal more sense to me now. I am told that Wen carried me, and the party made their way through several dangerous worlds to arrive here, the Adytum of the Rotted Lord.

Here, Etrigan placed me on the altar of Vecna… and I was restored. He was there. To forgive? No. I still have a part to play in his plans. He wants to use me, nothing more. But at the same time, I am embraced in his darkness. As he uses me, cannot I use him? It is all so clear, so new to me now, like words racing across a blank page, revealing the truth then vanishing too fast to read, but yet I know… I know what they say to me! I was so wrong this whole time, so very wrong. I wanted to escape control, escape the game. The way to escape control is to surrender to it. Slavery is Freedom! Victory is Surrender! I am now part of the circle. As Vecna controls me, so do I control him. He grants me power to extend his own, and I use his power to extend mine. He needs me, and others like me, just as we need him. He knows what I want… More power, more power than even He wields! Yet, we dance a dangerous dance, as He does with all beneath him, as I danced with the dirty cult members in that stinking tomb in Noguard. He controls his minions, but at the same time fears them, always balancing enough favor to achieve his ends but not enough to allow a usurper, like the cursed Kas, to betray him. But betrayal is a matter of time…

Much to think about… For now, I will search the reliquary here with the rest of the party. Does Drake share my good luck and ill fortune? He too, was touched, but he resisted. And burned them, burned them until the tomb was choked with grey greasy smoke… Will he find new favor with Him?

November 2, Y.F. 1432 ??? Cavitus I have gained and lost much to arrive between these bony walls. The Adytum held much fruit for those willing to submit. I recovered many items of use, and now wear one true piece of the Sacred Body, as does Drake. We explored the many chambers of Adytum, full of tricks and traps and false treasure. But some were real, and very powerful. Among the minor artifacts were pellets of knowledge distilled from the brains of worshippers, sheets of skin which attach themselves to your body granting you strength, and a knucklebone of channeling. From the brain pellets, I learned a magic word to control low ranking Vecnaites. The skin gave me great physical stamina.

The magic word proved useful after we made an uneasy truce with a band of Bast warriors. I was able to control some of the cultists that they had walled up and interrogate them. We learned some things, but not much of use. It does seem, however, that we will need one true artifact of Vecna to proceed beyond the Adytum. In any case, the Bast party was there to support this Araketh and is thus against Vecna. They have muscle, but I could tell already that they wouldn’t make it to the end to tip the scales either way, so I was concerned only with not having them attack us in the present moment.

With the Bast worshippers under control, we were left to explore a heavily trapped section that apparently held a great artifact of Vecna. And great it was! Though Drake found a finger, and we avoided the false “heart of Vecna”, what appeared to be the most sacred and powerful artifact was briefly in our grasp. The very head of Vecna! It talked to Drake and I, giving us advice and guidance. It did have some hold on us, for when Etrigan smashed it with his hammer, I felt my own head split in two as the connection was severed. But how could he destroy such a sacred relic? What madness! Ohhhh, the head…

After avoiding a few decidedly deadly traps, we found a way into the inner sanctum using Drake’s Vecna finger. The final guardian was a Hellball wielding priest of Vecna. He sent it hissing and spitting into our midst, catching Etrigan and some of the Bast warriors. Etrigan screamed and writhed on the floor in exquisite agony, but later recovered. The Bast worshippers, headstrong lot that they are, inflicted and received most of the damage. Few were left… and I could claim my prize. The priest had another finger of Vecna. Without hesitation, I cut off my own and replaced it with the artifact. It was a strange sensation, like a rot violating my body, but also a sense of connection, of becoming more… complete. There was power and there was slavery coursing through its shriveled bone and skin, and I embraced both in their beautiful duality.

We now faced a barrier through which the Bast worshippers could not past. It was something like the forbiddance, but more powerful and more specific. The icons of six gods were inscribed, most of which I could not identify. The avatar of Bast, a huge Titan, insisted that we promise to support Bast’s interests if he allowed us to pass. All except Wen did so freely enough, though our word is not exactly our bond… We were offered our choice of gifts. Either a pet gorgon or a Hellball. I preferred the Hellball since I had the gloves from the dead priest to go with it, but the rest of the party preferred the gorgon. It seemed like a good enough idea at the time, but once we went through the barrier and took a leap into the magic green mist, the beast was gone. We were left holding a magic leash of questionable usefulness. Oh well…

The mist led us to a wondrous place, beautiful and terrible. Cavitus. City of the Dead. It was this place that we sought to unlock with the horn of Tenubria nearly two years before. That trip first brought me into the eye of Vecna, and he into mine. Now we were finally here, and it is just as I imagined. The dead walking, and the living serving them. The walls, the streets, built from bones. There was no place in this city you could avoid the watchful stare of at least one gawking skull peering out from the walls. The city was at war, it seemed, but yet went on as most cities do. There was still business to handle, and the many lords of Cavitus did not stop trying to win some advantage be it political, economical, or military. We decided the best way to proceed would be to disguise ourselves in Vecnaite robes. There were humans here, but we thought it best to pull up our hoods and leave our flesh or lack thereof to the speculation of the viewer.

It was clear enough that we needed to find shelter fast. There were inns here that catered to the living, and we needed to get off the streets. It would be just a matter of time before something happened. My, my, if Xeos were still with us, he would have a fit. And I suppose he wouldn’t be terribly happy about my new skin or finger. And he definitely would have tried to separate me from the Head and tried to destroy it. May he burn!

In any case, we were apparently not looking purposeful enough, and were led by a skeletal enforcer to a “recruitment” station. Not wanting to launch what surely would have been a last stand against the forces of Cavitus, we complied. The fat sweaty bureaucrat behind the desk was ready to send us off the front lines to fight the forces of Kas, the traitor. Is this Araketh and Kas one and the same? A battle? Visions of the historic conflict I watched from the citadel chamber popped into my mind for some reason. Perhaps Kas is merely the source of continuing unrest, perhaps a ploy by Vecna to keep control over the Lords. In any case, it seemed rather likely that if recruited, our skin would not be joining us on the front lines. I hoped the Vecna artifacts would hold some sway over this official, so I conspicuously exposed my finger and told him we were not mere foot soldiers. He believed us and thought that he had made a terrible mistake. In his distress we could get the information we needed: the location of an inn. We departed, promising mutual silence about the affair. Now we sit, cramped into a sharp and bony room. Drake and I need neither sleep nor food, which is just as well since I wouldn’t care for either in this place.

Now we need to decide what to do. We have the Eye, hidden from Vecna’s sight in the extra-dimensional pocket of Riatha’s travel bag. We know that Araketh and Vecna will have a final showdown soon, though the winner will have little bearing on the party. There is not much profit in this business for them, but certainly a chance to win favor for I… and for Drake. Do I throw in my lot with Vecna, or with Araketh? Or try to destroy them both? Whatever situation will grant me the most power. Though I must be careful should I change allegiances. It is not something to be done lightly, for a pittance of power. The man who is always loyal is a proud man, the man who betrays once is a rich man, and the man who betrays twice is a dead man.

Though dawn never comes in this place, we shall see what tomorrow brings.