Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Khessa tries to find inspiration from the decor of the Library itself... and also asks Dawn for help: 'Help me concentrate my will, my friend... The Angels can probably do everything on their own even without my help, but I can't to just sit there and wait for them without even trying to contribute! Help me understand how I should do it... Let's try to focus together on what we can do, in the present, to banish or at least hinder the Demon Lords, shall we?'
In any case, the blonde arcane warrior, being equipped with long and athletic legs, begins to make good use of them and meanwhile moves independently within the section of the library dedicated to the present. If the decor did not suggest anything to her and her will, even supported by Dawn's help, were not enough, she would then try to start exploring the library in a conventional way, moving around on foot and consulting the books, looking for a section with relevant information.
Khessa's Wisdom check (assuming Dawn's help, this time): 20
"Yes, so I've heard. Dire tidings indeed. My reasons for being here are my own, but for now out interests are not entirely unaligned. Peruse the library, and then find me again before you leave." He gives a slight, sly smile before walking off with his companion.
(Insight:
Vizeran would certainly make a formidable ally, but Traydark of all people would know that most, nearly all drow are not so altruistic.
)
Several things happen as Khessa strikes out once more:
- She still gets lost in the wandering, twisting pathways of the present
- But as she looks into rooms she passes it becomes more and more curious that many of crystals look really familiar. Something about stone giants and crystals...there has to be a connection! And the rooms are not filled with books, but tablets, stelae, and similar fixtures with written records on them.
- Over each door is the inscription, which she can read if she knows Dwarvish or Giant:
The present is like sand, ever flowing and escaping one’s grasp without mercy or respite.
- After passing a few rooms and wandering some more, Khessa is met with a startling figure: the demon lord Graz'zt appears walking toward her. There is, however, a peculiar shimmer to his form, but as he draws closer her simply appraises Khessa for a moment, as if merely curious at her presence.
Khessa did not expect to find a Demon Lord here... but she remembers that acts of violence are prohibited in the library, so she believes that the unexpected encounter will not escalate into a fight. However, the first thing she does is to chant a short formula, tracing glyphs of protection around her with the rod with which she usually focuses her magical abilities... because the powerful fiend could still try to control her mind... and who knows whether the Library would consider it an act of violence or not?
Once warded, the blonde arcane warrior comments: “I knew we would meet sooner or later, Graz'zt… it was inevitable. But I didn't expect it to happen so soon. And I didn't expect you to be interested in knowledge. Don't you find it a bit... boring? From the way they told me about you, I thought you were into more stimulating pastimes. What would you say about sabotaging the plans of the other Demon Lords? It would be a great defeat for them, don't you think? And a remarkable triumph for you!"
The artificer was having absolutely no luck finding anything useful to his personal workings or the party's quest. He tries one more time to concentrate on finding something worthwhile that would help them keep the demons at bay or defeat them. (Last try! Wis: 15)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
"On the contrary," the demon lord responds, "I find the knowledge here quite fascinating. Plans? What plans? What are they up to?" He studies you again for a moment, "What part of the Underdark are you from, mortal?" (Feel free to make an Insight check)
Horkas gets rather lost again as well but their wandering is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a very old looking wizard with a pronounced hooked nose. They seem to be muttering to themselves and looking around, mumbling something about a lost spell. (You can make a history check to see if you recognize this person)
"[Góða heilsu, Sjáandi]," Lunaria warmly greets in Giant's Tongue, the low rumble of the language both rugged and melodic.
Keeping a tight rein on her emotions--though her tail flicks excitedly behind her at meeting the wisest and oldest of her kin--the cleric begins to explain (in Common). "I'm afraid we bring ill-tidings, Keeper. Those of which have brought us to yer great halls in search of answers. There's been an incursion from the Abyss--Demon Lords come to wreak havoc and death upon this plane. We've crossed paths nigh a fortnight ago with the Fetid Prince, though my companion has seen far more of their kind." She looks to Katryl with an empathetic smile, knowing she and the others had been through much before she and Horkas joined their party. She gives her the floor to speak to those encounters.
Katryl is a bit surprised as Lulu starts to speak in the unknown language. "Lunaria, you know who this is?" she asks.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Khessa's Insight check: 10
Khessa sighs: "Do we really need this charade, Graz'zt? As if no one ever told you about me... Or as if you didn't know that the other Demon Lords are also on the loose in the Underdark. Or as if you really couldn't understand what race I belong to. What part of the Underdark I am from? From the 'Surface' part, immortal. I am human. I am Khessa, does this name mean anything to you?"
"But in the end all this is not important" the blonde arcane warrior shrugs. "It's more important what you asked me, 'what are they up to'. I can tell you - and I can also work with you to defeat them, one by one, and send them tails between their legs back into the Abyss. Just think a moment about it! Consider what would you prove! Mortals would compete to make deals with you, rather than with those pitiful demonic losers you defeated! And in return I ask only one small thing, one that you can easily grant. What do you say? Are you interested, Graz'zt?"
Horkas History: 19 - finally good enough (I hope!)
Although the gnome couldn't quite figure out the library, he certainly seemed to recognize the old wizard they happened upon!
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
"I will do that Vizeran. I am sure we will find cooperation mutually beneficial." The noble Drow says with another graceful bow to the archmage and his Slaad servant, then resuming his diligent search of the past for more knowledge about what events specifically has led up to the demonic incursion into the Underdark before moving on to the present to understand the current machinations of the Demon Lords respectively.
A new Wis check if needed: 6
Katryl nods as Lulu looks her way. "Yes, we did see Demogorgon rise from the Darklake. And I think a fungus demon queen? Oh, and the Pudding King. Though that was a servant of Jubilex I think. Then we just recently ran into Jubilex, but I think Lunaria mentioned that already." She pauses a moment then says quietly, "I apologize. I don't know all the weird names like everyone else seemed to. I'm not very familiar with demons it seems. Or I wasn't. Guess I've met a few now."
Feeling like perhaps she's filled in as much as she can, she continues. "We're really looking for the way to stop these demons. To somehow get them back to... well, wherever it is they belong."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"What charade? The lords have escaped? Fascinating. And you're from the surface?" His eyes glimmer with further piqued curiosity. "That is very interesting indeed. An intriguing prospect, but I have my own information I'm looking for. Farewell, Khessa." He then proceeds past Khessa and disappears into a nearby room...and completely disappears. It occurs to Khessa, perhaps, that she wasn't actually witnessing the real demon lord, but something like an echo of him from a different time.
It takes only a moment or two before Horkas realizes he is standing in the presence of one of the most storied and powerful wizards in history: Elminster.
Traydark also unfortunately starts to get turned around in the labyrinthine walkways but also sees the same inscription over the doors here, which he can read if he knows Dwarvish or Giant:
The past is a crystal, for it can be seen from many facets yet it always remains the same.
He does also see that it is not books that are kept here, per se, but tablets and columns all inscribed with runes along with countless crystals of all colors. Like Khessa, he would also get the feeling from looking at the rooms that there is something missing in order to properly access the information. Something about stone giants and crystals perhaps.
As Lulu and Katryl recount their experiences, in particular with the encounters with demon lords, the giant's eyes get a troubled look to them. "These visions, they are coming true then! I see blood, death! Even my sight is obscured with horrid slime! Growth of rot and decay! Twin forks and bloody spirals everywhere! Much horror to come if things do not change!" The figure turns their head slowly to look at Lulu and Katryl. "The future seems so bleak, but so unsure as well. Tempting the visions can be but all the more fleeting they are. I cannot tell you the answers you seek, because I do not know them. I see only what could be, endless possibility, but many ways are darkened now."
"You don't know the answer and see endless possibility." Katryl then counters that, "All we need though is one thread where the way forward does not lead to darkness." She glances over at Lulu, hoping for her agreement. "If you tell us the tale of that one path, then we will be able to make it come into being." Her words are more confident than she truly believes. This feels like a long-shot to actually work, to her at least.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Before the powerful fiend disappears, Khessa can't help but make a pun on his name: "Well, anyway, for holding knowledge in such high esteem, rather than domination and destruction... gratz! And don't worry, we'll see each other again... we still have one unfinished business".
'Maybe I wasn't actually looking at the real Graz'zt, but something like an echo of him from a different time...' the blonde arcane warrior finds herself thinking. 'And speaking of the past... And of crystals... And of stone giants - like, for example, the Stonespeaker Hgraam, of Gracklstugh...'
The tall adventuress extracts the nineteen-inch-long shard of quartz that she has already used several times before... The one that had been donated to the party by the Stonespeaker Hgraam, of Gracklstugh (*)... She now remembers that the crystal had been created by the stone giant librarians of Gravenhollow... and wonders if it can help in consulting the knowledge present here. She begins to try to use it... to see if it reacts to nearby crystals... or to try to examine nearby crystals by looking at them through the crystal she has... Can she get any effect?
(*) For the newcomers: see Post 1890 if you are interested.
(What exactly is Khessa trying to find?)
The noble Drow gets more and more frustrated with his seemingly futile search for answers, but then he recalls something about a crystal gifted by the Stonegiants in Gracklstugh that Khessa should be carrying around still, so he wills himself to the blonde arcane warrior hoping the crystal will help them find the answers they need.
Another Wis check if needed: 14