Soul Search

As the heroes step through the mirror they are unrecognizable, their faces and bodies are altered.  They wear different clothing,  the armor with a Kingfisher emblem.  The street is narrow and filled with dark smoke. The smoke stung their eyes and choked their lungs.  A nearby building was on fire, and menacing shapes rushed through the gloom.

Overhead was the sound of mighty wings flapping.  From closer at hand came the clash of weapons and agonized screams.  A figure came stumbling out of the darkness toward the party.  He was a half-elven knight, wearing plate mail armor embossed with Kingfisher designs.  A golden crown encircled his brow.  He carried a sword in one hand, a black rose in the other.  He gently kissed the flower.  "Kitiara, my love," he said.  "I fight for you this day."
The knight looked up and saw the heroes.  "My friends!" he cried.  "There you are. Rally to my side and fight well, or Palanthas will surely fall."  The knight introduced himself as Tanis, the city is Palanthas, which is under attack by Lord Soth.  Tanis is the paramour of Kitiara, who with his help will rule in Palanthas. 
Suddenly the wind shifted and the smoke parted.  There advanced a broad-shouldered man with blonde hair and a mustache.  His surcoat bore the emblem of a red rose.  Raising his fist, the Rose knight challenged the half-elf.  "Tanis!" he cried.  "Prepare to die.  The crown of power and Palanthas both will fall to me this day!"
As he spoke, six winged, dragon men glided down out of the sky.  They landed behind him in the street and drew jagged swords from their scabbards, licking them as the snarled.  The half-elf trembled, but he stood his ground.  "I will fight you according to the Measure, Lord Soth."
The other knight smiled wickedly and raised his sword.  As he did, a large black bird winged its way past him, barely clearing the fair locks on his head.
"Lord," it cawed.  "Lord!"  And then it was gone in the smoke.  Soth and the dragon men advanced.  Ralom found the dragon men as evil, but no one else.  Seglun advanced and was attacked by a draconian.  Grunyar fired arrows at Soth, while Arvien moved off to the west out of the fray.  Tanis and Soth met in the middle of the street surrounded by the dragon men attacking the heroes.  An Arvien fireball burst in a small flame around a few dragon men and Soth.  Baru moved up to attack Soth while Drovic tried to be inauspicious behind Seglun.  In short the heroes were assailed by draconians, while Varrid moved forward trying to find a flanking area on Soth.  Seglun found herself paralyzed by the attack of a draconian, who then licked his sword in glee.  Soth was swinging mightily at Tanis who wobbled under the assault. 
Arvien brought her dire boar into the battle with Soth, giving Varrid flanking.  Varrid laid a heavy attack on Soth, who seemed to ignore her presence.  Drovic was trying acid and flaming blade on the draconians as Seglun came back to attack with renewed vigor.  Soth landed a critical blow on Tanis who fell to the pavement.  As he fell Soth reached out and plucked the crown from his head, planting it on his own brow. 
Seeing Tanis fall, Baru raced for the black oval and winked out of sight.  Now the party found what a fireball really felt like as it exploded from the crown on Soth's head.   Damage abounded to the party and the draconians.  As the battle continued the heroes continued to assault Soth and the remaining draconians.  But then they were hit by a prismatic spray from the crown.  The boar disappeared, draconians, Ralom and Seglun fell in battle.  A fireball left Arvien by herself on the battlefield where she fled to the black oval.
Back in the throne room the party tried to piece together what happened in that mirror.  Arvien found that Magda's story had Kitiara dying in the assault on Palanthas, but she was in league with Lord Soth, not against him.  Baru was convinced that Soth was changing the past and maybe he needed the parties help in one of the mirrors.  It appeared that he had not yet succeeded since the ghostly figure still sat on the throne.
Mirror five looked on colorful tents surrounding a tournament field.  Two figures were in combat between the tents while a large blue shape lay beside a pavilion.  When the heroes passed into the mirror they found themselves standing on a wide, grassy field.  A few hundred yards away, four colorful pavilions stood in an open square.  In the space between the tents, two figures in gleaming armor fought with swords while others watch; the clash of sword rang out across the plain.  Beside one of the pavilions lay a large blue dragon, curled in sleep.  The heroes appeared as warriors, each a strong handsome knight.  Behind them was the familiar black oval.  The group headed toward the pavilions to get a closer look at the battle.
The two knights were locked in combat, oblivious to the cheers of the onlookers.  One knight wore plate mail and carried a shield; its emblem was a kingfisher with a red rose in its beak.  He had straight blonde hair and a long mustache.  The other knight wore chain mail and carried a blue shield embossed with a silver dragon.  Both his hair and his drooping mustache were white, and his face was wrinkled with age.  But he fought like a man in his prime.
A dozen young squires stood around the field, cheering as the battle progressed.  "A cheer for Lord Soth!"  shouted some.  "Fight well, Lord Pal!" shouted others.
The pavilion immediately east of the spot where the two men struggled was open on one side.  In a carved mahogany chair sat a beautiful young warrior, clad in blue armor.  In one of her hands she held an embossed scarf, her favor.  Raising it slightly, she called out to the two knights fighting before her.  "To the victor goes the spoils!  My hand in marriage to the winner of today's contest.  For I shall only wed a man of might who can beat all challengers!"
The white-haired man turned his head slightly to look at the woman, acknowledging her with a smile.  In that instant, the other knight struck.  His sword pierced the older knight's throat.  Blood sprayed fro the white-haired mans chest. His eyes flew open wide as he sagged to the ground.  "That ... was ... and unfair...."
The victorious knight bowed before the woman in the pavilion, the turned and dragged the body of his foe over to the blue dragon.  Opening one eye, the monster licked its lips.  Beside it lay a number of bloodied suits of mail, torn open like foil.
Ralom, scanning the action found that everyone except Lord Pal and Lord Soth were evil.  Arvien decided that the woman in the pavilion was Kitiara.  The group stared in horror at the scene and then the victorious knight turned to the open pavilion.  "I have won, Kitiara," he said, wiping his bloody sword.  "You are mine."
"Not quite yet," the woman replied, a crooked smile on her lips.  "Look there -- more competitors have arrived."  She pointed in the direction of the heroes.  The group looked around and saw no others behind them and in a quick second volunteered Baru to battle Lord Soth.  Baru began to prepare casting Divine Favor on himself.  Just as Arvien was about to cast a spell, Kitiara's voice boomed a warning, "No help from anyone else, he fights by his own methods!  Skie is still very hungry!"  she stated, pointing toward the dragon.  Rebuffed in their efforts to buff up Baru the heroes spread out slightly among the squires looking for a view of the tournament field. 
Baru and Soth face each other on the field, slowly circling and feinting.  Baru attacked and gave Soth a wound,  In response Soth swung his mighty sword with exacting skill, bringing the blade down twice with devastating effect on Baru who fell under the attack.
Seglun, feeling a little faint, started heading back to the oval.  "Who is next?"  queried Kitiara, "Who wants my hand in marriage."
As the party all started leaving the area, the squires began pelting them with rotten fruit and ridicule.  "Running off like the little children you are!  Come back a fight, you disgrace your Lord!"  Ignoring the taunts and dodging the fruit, the heroes make it back to the oval, apace and leap through.  "Well, that was exciting" said Varrid as they found Baru in the throne room.  One mirror left, Seglun leaps through into the air surrounding the ruined temple.  As the others come through she saw that they resembled ghosts -- lost spirits in the realm.
The party was floating above the rooftop of a shattered temple whose columns were jagged stumps.  Around the edges of the rooftop, hundreds of vaguely humanoid spirits swirled in a ghostly dance.  All were uttering agonized cries and low moans of torment.  Nearby was the familiar black oval.  Behind it a flight of stairs descended into mist and ended in a broken edge.
Up the staircase walked a knight clad in plate mail armor.  The knight had long blonde hair and a drooping mustache.  In one hand he held a chain, from which a black medallion hung.  His eyes ranged over the spirits who swirled around him as he raised the medallion over his head.  "Kitiara!"  he called.  "Show yourself.  Come to me."
The heroes noticed that the medallion looked exactly like the one Tickelmop found, except that it is complete -- it had a black sapphire gemstone, carved in the shape of an unopened rose bud, mounted at its center.  Soth reached the top of the stairs and moved out on to the ruined surface of the temple, the spirits flitting around in the sky, the heroes among them.  Some time later one spirit separated itself from the rest.  The ghostly figure had no distinguishing features, it looked like all the others -- vaguely humanoid in shape.  It floated to the medallion and entered the gem at its center.  Soth then laughed triumphantly and started to descend the steps.  As he did so, the remaining spirits transformed into large black birds.  "Dark," they cried swirling around him.  "Dark."  When Soth reached the broken edge he disappeared and the group found themselves back in the throne room.
Baru quickly looked at the figure of Soth on the throne to see if there was any change.  Alas the figure looked exactly as it had before, ethereal and insubstantial.  His lips were still barely moving but no sound was heard, just as before.
Drovic, concerned that it was getting late in the day suggested that they look out one of the doors on the balcony.  Seglun took the two still unused keys and opened one of the doors.  Sure enough the sun was just setting below the horizon.  So the party fled to the outside temple area, where the platinum dragon statue awaited them.  Seglun attempted to re-enter the third mirror before they left with no success.
Again at midnight the party heard the singing of the Banshee's in the keep, which lasted for 5 hours this night.  In the morning Baru wondered what they were actually supposed to do in the mirrors.  His previous concept seemed to be null and void since Lord Soth apparently changed history but his figure did not change.  On the way to the throne room Arvien insisted that they should enter mirror number one and protect Gladria.  If she was still living maybe Soth would not become enamored of Isolde.  Varrid questioned this strategy, but recalled that Soth had turned Isolde away before he knew of Gladria's demise.  Once the group reached the throne room, Seglun immediately entered mirror one, followed by the whole party.  Events unfolded in the same manner as the previous venture.  The knights stopped for a rest, even though Arvien attempted to urge them to move on.  Gladria and Paradur were in the carriage as the company stopped.  Baru and Arvien tried to warn Soth and the knights to ignore any cries they might hear from the distance, but when Soth heard a woman cry in distress, he charged into the woods, followed by the knights.
The party stayed behind at the carriage with Gladria and Paradur.  Varrid was warning Gladria about the elf maiden's presence, encouraging her to leave them behind.  Suddenly four ogres attacked from the rocky surroundings.  They were killed in a quick fashion by the party.  Gladria and Paradur had fled to the carriage, but were grateful after the fight ended. 
Soon, Soth and the knights returned from the distance with fourteen elf maidens following them.  The party explained what had happened with the ogres.  Soth was grateful for the group's help and invited them to come along on the pilgrimage.  Soth was in a hurry to head to Palanthas to have Paradur's blessing completed.  On the second morning of the journey, Lady Gladria is found dead in the carriage.  Soth's reaction is one of little care, only Paradur seems to matter to him.  Isolde and the rest of the elf maidens are alienated and disgusted by his actions and leave on their own to complete their journey to Palanthas.
The heroes found themselves back in the throne room.  Again Baru's first response was to look at the figure of Soth on the throne.  The ghostly knight seated on the throne seemed to have moved slightly.  His hands now were clenched around the sword in his lap, and his forehead was wrinkled in a frown.  His eyes remained closed, but every now and then the eyelids twitched.  "I suppose we must frustrate Soth in the mirrors, instead of helping him," he concluded.

DM's Notes:  The party earned 1000XP for the night and now have 28,472 XP.