Mahakala

Damn these fiends thought Grunyar as he merely ran past them into the next chamber.  There he quickly move to the north door, taking fire damage from the pillar of fire.  The rest of the party prepared for battle.  This didn't seem too hard but the fiends turned out to be incorporeal which meant that they were harder to actually hit. 

Magic missiles from Arvien struck the target while doing full damage.  The rest of the group kept attacking until the shadow fiends were eliminated.  In the mean time Grunyar had stuck his head into the elephant room.  This room had its walls painted to make it appear if he were standing in the center of a great battle between men and half-human tigers.  The ceiling was an ornate mosaic depicting a solar disc twenty feet above the floor.  In the center was a marble carving of an huge white elephant with an ornate howdah perched on its back.  They eyes of the beast scintillated and smouldered as if they were fragments of the sun.
The rest of the party, except Varrid who stayed behind with Minja, made their way through the fire to the elephant room.   Into this chamber they moved, spread out so as to not present a clump target.  Illusion magic was again present in the room.  As the party moved further into the room, glass jars fell from the ceiling, one with a green liquid and one with a red fluid, which smashed onto the floor and splattered the area.  All the heroes moved quickly trying to avoid the liquid splash.  Baru found himself getting hit by both sprays and his skin turned a chalky white and drew tight across his skull, making him look some horrible, grinning undead creature.  After this the party avoided any other areas of liquid on the floor.  They found nothing else unusual in the area, although Ralom did find that the smouldering elephant eyes were just and illusion.
So the only place left to go was the doors heading west off the balcony.  Arvien sent Summergale to determine if the fire wall that had blocked the doors was still in effect.  Summergale flew up into the balcony and returned with the good news that the wall of flames was gone.  So the party fled through the pillar of fire room into the balcony room and used the ropes to climb up to the balcony itself. Seglun and Baru moved to the brass doors, which opened easily at Baru's touch.  Beyond was a "T" shaped room with a column of fire rising up from the floor to splash against the ceiling overhead.  Baru moved further into the room, his natural fire damage reduction protecting him from damage of the flames.  To the north and south Baru saw brass doors.  He headed for the south door while Seglun headed north.  The southern doors did not open but Seglun easily pushed open the north doors.  Inside she saw a mostly square chamber, utterly devoid of interesting features.  The walls were common stone, cracked and chipped with the passage of time.  the floor was tiled with squares of slate, and the ceiling was bare like the walls.
Baru tried the south door again to no avail, so he headed north. Again Varrid and Minja stayed on the balcony while the rest of the party headed to the north room.  They cautiously crept in, Ralom determining that the floor was covered with illusion magic.  He tried to see through the illusion and saw that the slate tiles disappeared, replaced by a view directly into the elephant room.  He yelled to Drovic who had moved into the chamber to step back, the floor might be missing completely.  Soon it was determined that the floor was actually "invisible".  There appeared to be small doors that could be opened in the floor also.  Arvien immediately determined that the jars of liquid could be dropped through the floor.  "Be wary," she cried, "There may be people here!"
As she finished stating this a garrotte appeared around Drovic, Ralom and Seglun's throats.  Behind them were females dressed in dark robes.  "Dark Sisters!" yelled Arvien.  A quick battle ensued as the Sisters attempted to strangle their prey, others attacked with knives.  They were no match for the heroes and soon the battle was over.  Still the southern door was shut.
Varrid hurried to the southern door and attempted to open it, both with the north door open and shut to no avail.  Examining the doors she found a secret mechanism and told the party to be ready to head into the next chamber. 
Arvien meanwhile was interested in the pillar of fire.  She send Summergale to investigate.  When Summergale stuck her head into the fire she saw at its center a spiral staircase leading down to the first floor, apparently one could climb up or down if they could survive the flames.
Varrid easily picked the mechanism holding the doors shut and Baru immediately rushed into the next chamber, followed closely by the rest of the party, who spread out along the north wall.
Fine silk tapestries adorned the walls and rich furs formed area in the center of the room.  A large golden throne stood against the southern wall of the room.  Seated upon the great throne was an elegantly dressed creature that looked like a cross between a man and a tiger.  His clothes were fashioned of the finest silk and a large, golden hookah smoldered by his side.  As the party entered the beast drew deeply on the water pipe and smiled, showing the keen, deadly teeth of  a great cat.
"Welcome strangers," he said as he exhaled a long cone of smoke.  "My name is Arijani.  On behalf of the Dark Sisters and Black Mother herself, I welcome you to Mahakala.  I must say, you have certainly come a long way to find your deaths."
As he spoke seven shimmering, multicolored beams of light sprayed from his hand.  As each member of the party was struck by a ray, carious effects took place.  Ralom was hit by a yellow ray which inflicted 60 points of electrical damage, Baru by a Orange ray which did 40 point of acid damage.  Varrid and Seglun were hit by Red rays which inflicted 20 points of fire. Drovic was hit by a Violet ray but managed to stave off any negative effect.  Grunyar was hit by a Blue ray and was turned to stone.  Arvien was hit by an Indigo ray and became insane.
Baru and Seglun charged the horrid creature and Baru found that he could inflict damage.  Seglun was disappointed in the amount of damage her attacks delivered.  Drovic, whimpering, crawled under the furs after having a spell fizzle in his hands.  Varrid move up trying to get flanking on the Rakshasa, while Grunyar stood still attracting pigeons.  Arvien was randomly standing still gibbering, attacking the nearest person or creature or sometime acting normally.  Ralom cast some healing as he and some of the party were already in danger.  Arijani cast spells with impunity Inflicting critical wounds on Baru, causing an Ice Storm to erupt in the center of the chamber and then just as Ralom determined that a Good weapon was needed to bypass all damage reductions, Varrid stepped back wound the crossbow and let fly the silver bolt.  It missed Arijani completely and landed next to the far wall. 
Arvien in a short window of lucidity, ordered Summergale to play relay with the Bolt and Varrid.  Summergale flow over to the bolt and headed back to Varrid as she again wound to crossbow.  Baru and Seglun continued to press their attacks, with Baru inflicting major damage.  Just when the group thought they might actually have a chance, Arijani took to the air and flew to the northwest corner of the chamber and appeared to heal himself.  Ralom groaned and Varrid fired the crossbow bolt again, missing the target wide left.  Summergale headed for the bolt and brought it again to Varrid.  Meanwhile Grunyar was a statue, but Dirk kept nipping at Arijani's ankles.  Arvien still was gibbering in the corner once again.  Seglun and Baru charged the monster again doing damage but suddenly a rainbow pattern appeared in the room.  Drovic and Ralom stood rapt admiring the colors.
The battle continued to rage, just like Seglun, but it was beginning to look bleak, Varrid examined the crossbow, making sure the sight was straight and the mechanism taut.  Arijani once again took to the air and flew across the room near to Arvien  Grunyar was able to break the spell of stone and took to firing silver tipped arrows at the Rakshasa, Seglun and Baru charged at him once again and even Arvien tried to attack the monster. 
Ralom and Drovic stood enamored by the rainbow pattern as Arijani now broke out his terrible Falchion.  The terrible weapons inflicted horrid wounds on Seglun and Baru as Varrid fired once again, to no avail as the bolt flew over Arijani's head.  He looked at her and laughed a guttural, evil, wicked response, his eyes gleaming with joy.
Summergale was retrieving the bolt once again, Grunyar fired arrows, Arvien attacked Seglun.  Seglun and Baru attacked Arijani and the falchion flashed once again.  To Varrid's horror both Seglun and Baru fell to the floor.  Ralom and Drovic were still transfixed, Arvien was babbling and Arijani had lust in his eyes as he stared down Varrid.
Varrid fitted the silver bolt once again into the crossbow, rubbed it for luck, said a short prayer and aimed carefully.  She let the bolt fly once again.  It flew across the room, over the unconscious Baru and


Struck Arijani directly in the chest.  Arijani staggered back, clutched at the weapon buried deep in his flesh, and fell to the ground dead.  As Varrid move to stabilize Seglun and Baru the temple began to boil away into fog.  The group soon found themselves suspended in an endless cloud of billowing grey mists.  As they stood, Ralom and Drovic now recovered from the rainbow pattern, Arvien still babbling the mists evaporated and they found themselves in the middle of a forest, with a cold, damp drizzle in the air.  Ralom set to providing healing, which revived Seglun and Baru and snapped Arvien out of her insanity.  They sat for a short time breathing deeply and thanking their lucky stars to still be alive.
After a brief rest the group roused themselves and looked around.  The clothes were now drenched, chilling them to the bone.  The rain finally ended and they could see a dark forest, pale mist hugged the gullies and hollows that the path led around.  Mist veiled the skeletal trees and hid the ground which was sticky, muddy mess.  Suddenly, a shriek tore the veil and a dark form lunged at Seglun out of the fog.  Grunyar notched an arrow but lowered his bow as he saw a haggard woman, her clothes and hair a hideous, matted ruin standing before Seglun.
Ralom noticed a wolf poking its head out of the mists where the woman had come from.  Around the party they could hear the padding and baying of a wolf pack.  At the baying the woman turned, too quickly slipped in the mud and tumbled down into a gully, smashing her back on a large boulder at its bottom.  Seglun hurried down to her side.  In her death throes, she plead with Seglun, "Help my sons.  One needs only a small favor, but the other, who is a priest, is a prisoner in that foul place." 
She place a small brooch in Seglun's hand and quietly said, "Seek Mard'.  Mard' will know what to do.  Mard' can be found toward the sun's rising.  Look for the arch.  Death's hand will guide you."
Her death came quietly, a smile gracing the once handsome face, her clothes were once brightly colored but now caked with mud.
Arvien noticed a wolf sniffing at a package near the tree the woman had run from.  She moved toward the wolf, shooing it away.  There she found a bundle wrapped in swaddling cloths.  Inside the bundle was the skeletal remains of a child, although some bones were missing.
Ralom directed the burial of the woman and skeletal child after Baru and Seglun had dug a grave.  The party then determined which direction was east and headed down the path that way.  As the day wore on, the chill increased and the blanket of mists thickened.  There were wolves, just silhouettes pacing the party.  Once Baru saw spotted a piece of ivory on a grey stone.  It was a finger bone pointing to the east.
Ahead they saw tumbled stonework, two broken teeth jutted skyward.  The ground littered with stones overgrown with vines and moss.  Ralom moved up and studied one of the pillars of stone, there were carvings on it resembling skulls.  In the distance echoed the crack of a whip, the creak of wheels and the baying of wolves.
A wagon came bounding out of the mists between the pillars. The solitary wagon was driven by a single gaunt woman, the nag just as gaunt.  Wolves were pursuing the wagon and just as it passed the stone pillars the wolves harassed the nag who slid on the ground the wagon threw and wheel and spilled over on its side.
With a cry of dismay, the driver of the toppled wagon rolled off the seat to stand with her back to the wagon, whip in hand.  The ravening beats circle the wagon and the nag, snarling and snapping.
The heroes reacted quickly, Arvien webbed several wolves on one side of the wagon while Drovic entangled others on the other with plants.  A large wolf emerged from behind the party and attacked Drovic from behind.  The wolves were mostly intent on attacking the driver and the nag.  The heroes waded in and began elimination of the wolves one by one.  Arvien added a stinking cloud right on top of the web.  The battle was over quickly as the wolves were no match for the heroes.  They would have torn the driver and nag apart by themselves.
The driver was an impossible manikin, far too gaunt to be human.  She looked as though she could faint at any moment.  Seglun grabbed the Haversack found food and water, which she offered to the woman.  As Varrid reached to help her to her feet, she felt two thin hands, like withered leaves seizing upon her own.  A cracking voice rasped
"All blessings upon you travelers.  And more beside if you can assist me with my vardo and have food to trade.  I have precious little to offer, but will do you honest service for any assistance you can spare."
Baru, Seglun and Drovic set to righting the wagon, which was difficult.  Seglun set to feeding the nag some oats and hay which for some reason she had in the haversack.  The thin gaunt woman introduced herself as Marda.

Dm's Notes: The party earned 27,000 XP for the Mahakala adventure and now have 115,750 XP and are level 9.