A Draining Experience

“So now what?” Zhustin was looking over the bodies of the dead hydrodaemons, and staring out over the dark waters of the subterranean lake. Much of this level of the Well of Demons was still unexplored, and every new cave seemed to hold new terrors. They could see a cave mouth in the wall of the cavern opposite them, and another atop some cliffs just to their south. Far to the south, beyond another pair of islands, they could see a broad beach with a large open area beyond it, but any more detail was lost in the darkness.

Nicki flew out over the islands, and reported back that they were (apparently) barren. Taking advantage of the Water Walking that Marie had cast during the hydrodaemon battle, they began island-hopping across the lake to the opening on the opposite side. As they crossed, Nicki flew up and peeked into the cave atop the cliffs; it wound away off to the south, and nothing tried to ambush him, so he flew back to rejoin the others. Once across, they cautiously explored the new cave system. It led back through a series of chambers to the north, with high ledges to the west, but held nothing of interest or danger.

The group decided to move on to the far southern end of the great cavern. Marie’s Water Walking had expired by now, so they crossed the polluted water through a combination of flying and Zhustin’s Dimension Door. The southern end of the lake ended in a broad beach, stretching across the entire width of the cavern. The cavern’s ceiling dropped down here and was supported by irregular columns of rock. The wide grotto was empty, but a narrow passage led off to the west

The group moved to the west, and Bella proceeded up the passage. It opened into another cave, and she peeked around the corner. The long cavern was deathly silent. To the north, a wall of eldritch blue light flickered, stretching from floor to ceiling. Although the wall of light looked like it should crackle and hiss with arcane power, it made not a sound. Standing before it, their shadows wavering eerily before them from the mysterious wall, were a pair of ominous figures. One was a tall skeletal figure wearing a black kimono, long horns curving from its skull. In front of him was a creature that looked like a bipedal lobster, with enormous pincers at the end of its arms, and an array of tentacles below its mouth.

Sugimatu Nobinoru

The tall figure in black was aware of Bella’s approach, and it bowed deeply in her direction. “Welcome, honored visitor. Please – bid your companions to join us.” Bella, and the others heard the voice clearly, although nothing broke the oppressive silence of the room; the voice was speaking inside their heads.

Realizing there was no hope of surprise, the rest of the party moved into the room, staying at the far end away from the frightening figures. Bella, at the front, once again found herself playing party spokesperson. “We come seeking royal blessings,” she said, and felt a surge of pride as the figure bowed again – apparently she’d said the right thing.

“I am Sugimatu Nobinoru, son of Sugimatu Taro, once Emperor of Minkai,” the figure in black said, rising from his bow. He motioned to the over-sized lobster. “This is my majordomo Ikku. Whom do I have the honor of welcoming to my domain?”

One by one, the others bowed and introduced themselves formally. All identified themselves as scions of House Amatatsu, save for Bella. “I’m nobody important,” she said. She couldn’t have said why, but she was wary of giving her true name to this creature. Then Ameiko stepped forward and introduced herself, stating her history and her mission as she had so many times in recent months. “I seek your noble blessing,” she concluded with a formal bow, “so that I may take my place on the Jade Throne as my ancestors before me.”

Marie had immediately recognized Nobinoru as a Thanadaemon, and its minion as a Piscodaemon. She also noted that, unlike the other imperial ancestor spirits they’d encountered, this one had made no attempt to mask its cave with illusions of imperial splendor, or to disguise its true nature.

Nobinoru bowed deeply again to Ameiko. “It is indeed an honor to welcome you, Princess, and I would be happy to see you take your rightful place on the Jade Throne. Too long it has suffered the presence of a vile usurper. I will gladly offer you my blessing. I have but one small request in return. I ask that you, any of you,” he opened his arms, the gesture encompassing the entire party, “simply allow me to have just a tiny piece of your soul.”

Everyone was taken aback, but Nobinoru continued. “I assure you, you will suffer no lasting effect from your gift. Perhaps a temporary weakness, but that should pass within a day, or with a simple Restoration spell. And this gift will not obligate you to me in any way, either in life or in death.”

No one quite knew what to make of this request. Zhustin, guessing how things would end, quietly cast Haste on his friends. Nobinoru saw him cast the spell, and shook his head sadly. “Really? There is no need for suspicion or fear. I have no ill intentions toward any of you. I simply want the merest, tiniest sliver of one of your souls. I swear that you will never even notice its absence.”

“What do you want with part of a soul?” Marie asked. Nobinoru turned his attention to her. “A fair question, Marie of Argavist. You have no idea what it is like to live for centuries devoid of any soul. The emptiness, the sense of loss – it becomes unbearable. I desire only to fill a tiny piece of that emptiness, to ease a tiny fraction of that pain.” His voice quavered, and they half expected to see a tear roll out of his bony eye socket.

Bella was tempted – it seemed like an easy way to get on with Ameiko’s mission. But maybe too easy. Ameiko spoke up before Bella could do something foolish. “A true emperor of Minkai would not ask such a thing,” she declared, and Nobinoru nodded. “I agree. But I am no longer an emperor of Minkai. I am no longer even a man. I need this far more than when I was human. I need it because I am no longer human. I promise you upon my honor, it will do you no harm.”

Sandoval was listening intently. He could spot a con from a mile off, and this was a big one. Nobinoru might be telling the truth about giving up a piece of their soul not doing permanent harm, but he had some bigger game in play, and he wasn’t being honest about why he wanted the soul. “You’re not telling us everything,” the bard stated boldly, “and none of us will agree to your bargain!”

Nobinoru turned to Ameiko. “Is this true, Princess? Does your servant speak for all of you?”

Ameiko stood tall. “Yes, he does.”

Nobinoru sighed. “So be it.” His bony hand suddenly made a clutching gesture. Ameiko gasped. It felt as if something was trying to tear her out of herself. She felt her body stretch from the center, as if a giant hook were ripping out her very being. She screamed in agony, and mentally scrabbled for something to hang onto, something to anchor her to herself. And what she found, was herself. She was Ameiko, Ameiko Kaijitsu, daughter of a cruel father, sister to a fallen brother, lover to a brave dead man. She was a tavern keeper, a singer of bawdy songs, and a princess of Minkai. And she was a friend to everyone in this room, people she had not known two years ago but who had risked their lives countless times on her behalf. In this split second, she saw each of them, saw into their souls: brave, dour Sawyer, sweet Zhustin, bloodthirsty but broken Bella, glib joking Sandoval, earnest and loving Marie, honorable steadfast Shinjiro, and Nicki, trying so hard to be evil in spite of himself. And Sandru, the father she’d always wished hers had been. She held on to each of them, and to herself, and she felt Nobinoru’s grip on her soul slip away. She gasped for breath, then raised her face in fury. “Kill him!” she whispered.

Zhustin had been ready for trouble, and once again his instincts proved right. He instantly Dimension Stepped next to Bella, and cast Greater Invisibility on the rogue. “Go get ‘em, tiger!” he called, clapping her on the back, but Bella needed no urging. She whipped out her bow, and a flurry of arrows filled the air, most finding their mark somewhere in Nobinoru’s body. With a snarl, Nobinoru waved his staff, and another Thanadaemon suddenly appeared next to Bella. Despite her invisibility, it had no difficulty locating her and slamming its own staff into her belly. The injury was minor, but Bella felt some of her lifeforce drain out through the weapon, leaving her weakened and less sure of her abilities.

Nicki still wasn’t sure what magic was most effective against daemons, but he cast a Freezing Sphere as far back in the room as he could. The explosion of bitter cold just missed hitting Sawyer, but engulfed both Nobinoru and Ikku in its icy grip. Marie cast Mass Bear’s Endurance as Sandoval began singing and cast Good Hope; both wanted the party to have all the unfair advantages they could give it.

Ikku shook off the frost coating his exoskeleton, then cast a Stinking Cloud that surrounded all the party members except Nicki, flying air cover overhead. Ameiko and Sandru were instantly overcome, vomiting violently from the stench. They stumbled out of the cloud, but could still do little but gag and retch. Zhustin had initially managed to resist the Cloud’s vapors, but as he drew a breath to cast a spell, the combination of the noxious gas and Ameiko and Sandru’s projectile vomiting became too much, and he joined the other two in showing off what he’d had for lunch.

Sawyer charged out of the cloud, dashing past Ikku to stab Nobinoru through the chest. But the daemonic emperor retaliated, and as its staff struck Sawyer he, too, felt his lifeforce ebb. Shinjiro also emerged from the Stinking Cloud, kicking the summoned Thanadaemon in its netherworld regions. Bella took advantage of its momentary distraction to slip behind it, delivering blow after savage blow that left it crippled and barely able to raise its staff. Too weak to retaliate, the Thanadaemon suddenly vanished. It reappeared in the cavern outside, and drew a large gem from a pocket of its cloak. The gem glowed with a deep purple light, before the Thanadaemon closed its fist around it and crushed it into powder. There was a scream of mortal agony as a mote of light flashed from the gem and flew through the air into the room where the party fought. It zipped through the room, the scream following it, until it collided with the glowing wall of light with a brilliant instantaneous flash of light that cut off the scream like a knife. In the far room, the Thanadaemon let out a maniacal laugh, throwing its arms back as its wounds began to heal with startling rapidity. Marie shuddered in horror; he knew that she had just witnessed the daemon consuming some poor mortal’s soul.

Nicki flew along the far wall of the cave, angling to get a line on the summoned Thanadaemon. As soon as he could see him, he unleashed another Freezing Sphere, and much of the strength the creature had just regained was sapped by the bone-chilling cold. Shinjiro took off running, dashing through the cloud of gas after the daemonic foe who had just escaped him. He launched himself through the air and struck the Thanadaemon in the face with the full force of his body, and the creature collapsed into a heap of lifeless bones.

Sandoval began dancing his haka, and both Ikku and Nobinoru were shaken in their boots by his display. Marie took advantage of her magically enhanced speed, and raced to get behind Nobinoru. The blow from her mace went wide, but now the emperor had two foes to dodge. That gave Sawyer an added edge, and the fighter used Suishen to full effect. The ex-emperor had tough bones beneath his cloak, and seemed all but impervious to the sword’s flame, but Suishen’s keen edge combined with the strength of Sawyer’s arm made for a deadly combination, and Nobinoru seemed ready to fall. Then he, too, vanished. From far off in the distant regions of the cavern, they heard another scream, which grew louder as yet another soul came flashing in, only to vanish into the pulsing miasma of light. Standing right next to it, Marie could feel the waves of necromantic and conjuration power washing off the glowing wall, and as the soul vanished into it, she had the briefest glimpse of its true purpose: it was a portal, a tiny link to the plane of Abaddon, the apocalyptic wasteland that served as home to all daemons.

Ikku was fearful of Sandoval’s display, but not helpless, and he called still more help to the party. With a wave of his arm, a pair of Hydrodaemons appeared. Marie dodged the daemon’s blow, and the one beside Bella swung clumsily and harmlessly at where it hoped the invisible rogue might be. Bella took advantage of its confusion, and slipped behind it. Her swords flashed, and the hapless daemon fell to the floor, gutted.

Zhustin was still puking along with Ameiko and Sandru, so that left only Nicki to provide long-range firepower. He peered into the far reaches of the cavern where he thought Nobinoru had retreated to, but he could see nothing in the darkness at this distance. But that wasn’t necessarily a problem, as he fired off another massive Freezing Sphere that encompassed the entire far half of the cavern, eliciting a pleasing roar of rage in response.

Sandoval continued dancing, intimidating the newly arrived Hydrodaemon as well as his summoner. Marie smacked it with her mace, but the creature ignored her. It stepped away, then fired off a gob of poisonous spit at Sandoval. The Sleep Spittle struck the bard full in the face, and he collapsed in a deep slumber. His harmonizing sword continued singing his inspiring song, but freed from the sight of him dancing, the daemons regained their resolve.

Ikku turned on Sawyer, clamping one of its immense claws around his chest, trying to crush the life out of him. Sawyer gritted his teeth and drove Suishen into the creature’s chest over and over again, drawing forth a spray of green ichor. Bella sprang behind the piscodaemon and her sword opened its shell like a lobster ready for melted butter. With a gurgle, it sank to the floor. Nicki hammered the surviving Hydrodaemon with a volley of Magic Missiles, the followed up with a set of Quickened Magic Missiles for good measure. Marie swung her adamantine mace and crushed the daemon’s head into jelly.

Shinjiro was already in the far cavern, where he had just killed the summoned Thanadaemon. He could see Nobinoru standing near the far wall. Taking advantage of his enhanced speed, he charged. He infused his blow with extra ki, and attempted to incapacitate him with a Stunning Fist, but the emperor resisted. He lashed out with his staff, and like the others, Shinjiro felt a level of experience drain away with the blow. Worse, he saw the Thanadaemon grow stronger as it consumed each tiny bit of his lifeforce. But he knew he couldn’t allow the daemon to escape, so he gritted his teeth and unleashed a ki flurry on the emperor. Behind him, he could hear Sawyer’s feet pounding as he tried to close the distance to Nobinoru before he escaped again. But the emperor took a step back, and pointed his finger at Shinjiro. The monk barely had time to duck as a ray of Ennervation narrowly missed his head. Then Nobinoru vanished.

Back in the cave, Ameiko had finally recovered enough to do something other than vomit. She saw Sandoval snoring peacefully on the floor, and staggered over to him, giving him a few friendly kicks to rouse him. The bard awoke, then groggily cast Heroism on Bella, not knowing whether the fight was over or not. Nicki, worried about what might emerge from that glowing wall of light, cast a Wall of Force in front of it, just to be safe.

Zhustin also staggered out into the larger cavern, his robe covered with breakfast and lunch. He joined Shinjiro and Sawyer in searching every corner of the room, but found no sign of the missing emperor. As he searched, he summoned a small Air Elemental and ordered it to blow the remnants of the Stinking Cloud out over the lake.

Marie sprouted her angelic wings, and flew out over the lake. She made first for the cave they hadn’t yet explored, the one that sat atop a set of low cliffs just north of their beach. As she flew into the cave mouth, she spotted Nobinoru, hiding against the near wall as he waited to recover his strength. With a cry, she reversed course and flew back over the lake. “He’s in here!” she shouted, pointing, but just then a sickly ray shot out from Nobinoru’s hiding spot, striking her in the back, and she staggered in mid-air as she felt her levels drain.

She recovered, and flew down to meet Sawyer on the beach. She cast Fly on the fighter, and didn’t have to give him any instructions as he sprang upwards towards Nobinoru’s new lair. Shinjiro ran to the water’s edge, and looked warily up at the cliff face. He hadn’t had much luck with climbing lately, but this was no time to question his abilities. Taking a deep breath, he began picking his way among the handholds and outcrops, slowly moving up towards the ledge above.

Zhustin ran to Bella’s side. “Hang on!” he cried, grabbing her arm. A split-second later they were standing atop the ledge. They saw Nobinoru and Sawyer circling each other warily at the far back of the cave. Bella dashed forward, slicing Nobinoru where she hoped his hamstring would be. He bellowed and whirled, swinging his staff at her head, but she ducked just in time. As she did, a volley of Magic Missiles flew through the space her head had just vacated, striking Nobinoru full in the chest, accompanied by Nicki’s peal of laughter. As Nobinoru rocked back, Sawyer caught him off-guard. Suishen’s blade exploded in flame as it severed first one limb and then another, finally separating the Thanadaemon’s horned head from his neck.

Everyone stood panting. Sandoval had Dimension Door’d in with Ameiko and Sandru in the battle’s final moments, so everyone was together. They looked at each other with battle-exhaustion as Marie began to circulate to assess everyone’s condition and administer what healing she could. The physical wounds she could deal with, but the lost levels were another story; she’d already used her available Restoration spells today, and she wasn’t sure she had any more of the diamond dust she’d need to bring anyone’s levels back anyway. “How’re you doing on spells?” Nicki asked Zhustin, and the wizard just shook his head. “Wait – are you saying you can’t make me invisible any more?” Bella asked with alarm. “I still can,” Sandoval said without looking up. “Whew! Sounds like we’re good to go, then!” she chirped.

It had only been a few hours since they’d left Amatatsu Maemi’s lair and descended into the lower reaches of the Well of Demons, but the series of taxing battles had left them all but drained. They knew they still had to face Teikoku Sokai upstairs. Perhaps they could just agree to his request to destroy the torii gate guarding the approach to the Well of Demons, and they wouldn’t have to fight him. Maybe nothing bad would come of that. Maybe pigs would fly down here and give them a ride out.

Physically and magically exhausted, they flew/teleported back up the waterfall to Amatatsu Maemi’s rooms, where the embers from their breakfast campfire were still warm. Maybe things would be clearer after a little rest.

The PCs earned 12,343 XP for the night, putting them at 536,005 XP, with 635,000 required for level 15. We’ll be back at Leo’s next week. The following week (July 31) I’ll be in San Diego, then there’s a good chance I’ll be in Australia for the three weeks after that. We’ll decide next Sunday what’s going on (I know one of those Sundays is GenCon).