Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law

“Well this isn’t good,” Sandru grumbled, as he eyed the wall of solid stone that now blocked their only escape from the cavern. The ghost of Emperor Ito had apparently escaped, casting a spell on his way out that left them trapped in his underground throne room. “I’ve got it,” Marie assured him, and sure enough, her Dispel Magic caused the wall to vanish. Everyone readied their weapons and spells, but the vast cavern outside was empty. Marie flew out, her Invisibility Purge still active, but she found no sign of the fleeing Ito.

Sawyer wasn’t convinced that the Emperor’s ghost hadn’t doubled back, so he activated Suishen’s own Invisibility Purge and moved back into center of the throne room, but the only thing that appeared was Nicki, cursing that the Invisibility spell he’d just cast had been wasted. Bella, still lurking in the cloud of fog she’d created, blew her Horn of Fog once more, and its bleat echoed through the Well of Demons. Unlike the stationary cloud in which she hid, Fog-Cutter Goggles firmly in place, this one began drifting towards the exit.

Suddenly a figure materialized behind Zhustin. It was a skeletal form, wreathed in smoke shot through with flames. The Blast Shadow clawed at him, but missed. Nonetheless, Zhustin could feel his skin already blistering from the waves of heat washing off the creature, and knew he needed to put some distance between them. He tightened his grip on Emperor Shigure’s corpse and used his Dimensional Step to teleport into the safety of Bella’s fog cloud. Ameiko was also too close for comfort, and she skedaddled up the natural stairs leading away from the throne room, away from the Blast Shadow. Sandoval, while far enough away that he wasn’t being singed, decided to stick close to the princess.

Marie ignored the commotion behind her. She was sure Ito was still lurking somewhere in the larger cavern, and she was determined to find him. She continued into the cave where they’d fought the Nightwing, peering into its darkness, but saw nothing. Shinjiro came with her, and went even deeper into the cavern, far from the rest of the party.

Nicki was still floating near the throne room’s ceiling, holding his spells for what he was sure was Ito’s inevitable return. Sawyer saw no need to be so patient; he charged the Blast Shadow, and sliced it with Suishen. Suddenly a volley of arrows flew out of the bank of fog. The Blast Shadow apparently didn’t share its master’s ability to see through fog, and they caught it by surprise. Unfortunately, it didn’t die quietly. Instead, it exploded in a fiery blast that caught Ameiko, Sandru, Sawyer, and even Zhustin in its flames.

As Zhustin beat out the patches of flame on his cloak, he became aware of a presence in the fog behind him. He turned, and saw Ito’s ghost rising up out of the floor. Bella saw it, too, and was able to dodge as it attempted a Quickened Vampiric Touch. But then, to Zhustin’s shock, the ghost suddenly shot forward and flowed directly into Bella’s body! Her eyes rolled back into her head, and her head rocked back. When she reopened her eyes, they were solid black, and she gave a shudder of evil ecstasy. “Ah … this is far better than Shigure’s body would ever have been!” The voice that came from the little rogue’s mouth was that of an old man, speaking Minkaian – Emperor Ito!

Zhustin had been about to cast Greater Invisibility on Bella – now he was glad he hadn’t. With a yelp, he Dimension Stepped out of the fog, right back to where he’d been a moment before. “It’s Ito!” he screamed. “He’s back!”

“Where?” cried Sawyer.

“Inside Bella!” Zhustin cried, pointing at the fog cloud. “Marie! Help!”

Ito had found the host he’d been seeking, and he couldn’t have been in a more advantageous position. Bella’s cloud of fog hid her from view, but her Fog-Cutter Goggles allowed him/her to see out without difficulty. Sandoval rushed forward and cast Heroism on Sawyer, even as he changed his song to a Frightening Tune, but no terrified, possessed Bella emerged from the cloud. As Sandoval’s Harmonizing Echoblade continued singing Inspire Courage, Sawyer charged into the fog. He was guessing at Bella’s location, but once he got close, he could make out the rogue’s presence in the murk. He felt some qualms (but just a little) as Shuishen bit deep into Bella’s flesh. Sandru also charged, but he couldn’t be sure of Bella’s location in the dense fog, and his swing went wide.

Then a Quickened Fireball erupted in the room, catching everyone near the fog cloud – including Bella. An instant later, a sickly ray shot out of the fog towards Nicki. He felt his mental faculties start to fade, but was able to shake off Ito’s Feeblemind spell. Marie and Shinjiro were sprinting back, but they had been so far away that they couldn’t reach the action quickly.

Zhustin and Nicki were hamstrung: Bella’s fog hid her from view, so they couldn’t target her directly with spells, and there was such a crowd around her that area of effect spells were likely to do more harm than good. Nicki, still sweating the near-miss from the Feeblemind, cast Invisibility on himself, but then Marie re-entered the room and her Invisibility Purge popped him into view again. Sandoval tried a different tack, and began singing Dirge of Doom, but it had no effect on the undead entity inhabiting Bella.

Marie finally reached the action, but she was at a loss. She’d figured out from all the shouting that Bella had been possessed, but there was little she could do about it. She had a Break Enchantment at the ready, but she knew that that spell would not end a spiritual possession. Dispel Magic could – but she had just used her only Dispel to bring down Ito’s wall. There were other spells that she knew would work – Protection from Evil, Dispel Evil, Banishment, Dismissal, and the like - but she didn’t have any of those at hand. However, there was one other sure way to eject a possessing spirit – to kill its host. With tears in her eyes, she swung her mace at Bella’s head, and didn’t know whether to be happy or sad when she ducked under the blow.

Sawyer had no such compunctions; an enemy was trying to kill him, and it didn’t matter if she used to be his friend. He tightened his grip on Suishen and poured all his skill into killing Bella. The flaming blade flashed, slashing through Bella’s guts. It swept in again, opening her femoral artery. Then he made a two-handed thrust, and Suishen’s blade entered Bella’s throat and exited the back of her neck. As Bella collapsed in a lifeless heap, Ito’s spirit flowed out of her, materializing beside the body – still inside the fog.

Ito glared at Sawyer with limitless hatred. “I liked that body!” he shrieked, and clutched at him with his long-nailed hands. Sawyer’s heavy armor was no help as the ghostly claws drained his life-force into Ito with a Quickened Vampiric Touch, then swept through his heart, shredding his soul with their Corrupting Touch. He staggered under the onslaught of negative energy. He fought back, connecting time and again with Suishen, but the blade swept through Ito’s incorporeal body, doing little damage, and the ghost seemed impervious to its flames. Badly hurt, Sawyer backed out of the fog.

Shinjiro ran, huffing and puffing, into the room. He was still too far away to reach the fight, but Ameiko cast Heroism on him as he passed. Zhustin dashed forward, skirting fog cloud to take a position behind (he hoped) Ito, then cast a Quickened Haste on his nearby allies. Ito clutched at him from within the fog, but the mage’s brazen action had surprised the ghost, and his attack missed. Sandoval changed songs again, singing Inspire Greatness aimed at Sawyer and Shinjiro. Then he started to dance, stamping his feet, bugging his eyes, and wagging his tongue in his haka. Although he couldn’t see it, within the fog, Ito’s face paled and he began to shake. Overhead, Nicki cursed at his inability to do anything.

Sandru emerged from the fog, dragging Bella’s body through the ever-widening pool of her own blood. Marie cast Breath of Life on Bella’s corpse, and her eyes fluttered open. She grasped for her bow, but the Daikyu was still where she had dropped it when she died, lost somewhere within the fog. Standing up, she reached into her Handy Haversack and drew the Nine-Fold Spirit Sword, activating one of its rings to give it the Undead Bane ability.

Shinjiro leapt into the fog, slamming Ito with a failed attempt at a Stunning Fist before springing away out of reach. With a grim expression, Bella re-entered the fog, hoping to get flanking with Zhustin and whale away on Ito with the ghost-touch sword. But Ito was too quick for her. He cast a Quickened Mirror Image creating a dizzying swirl of copies of himself. Then he clutched at the rogue with his Corrupting Touch, and for the second time in less than a minute, Bella was dead.

Zhustin was close enough to Ito to barely make out his ghostly form among the fog. He cast Disintegrate on the spirit, then backed away, out of his deadly reach.

“When this is all over, I am so going to smash that fucking horn!” Nicki growled from his perch near the ceiling. He still couldn’t see Ito through the fog, but at least there was enough room around him to let him try something. With a screech, he called forth a gout of Hellfire that managed not to engulf any of his friends (although it did little damage to the apparently-fireproof Ito).

Sawyer gathered up his courage, and stepped back into the fog. He was confronted with a myriad of fog-shrouded copies of Ito, each equally threatening. He stabbed repeated with Suishen, and while two of his strikes merely dispelled imaginary copies, two more actually seemed to strike home. Marie found Bella’s corpse in the fog, and cast Heal. Once again, Bella struggled back to life, and picked up her Spirit Sword. She swung at Ito, but only managed to dispel another image. Shinjiro unleashed a furious ki flurry, and while he seemed to do little damage, when he was done there were no more illusory copies of Ito fluttering around.

The ghost seemed to realize it was overmatched. It clawed at Sawyer with another Corrupting Touch, almost bringing the fighter to his knees, then sank into the floor and out of sight – and reach.

With a temporary respite from Ito’s attacks, the party retreated to gather strength. Zhustin headed towards Ameiko, downing a Potion of Cure Serious Wounds. Sawyer followed, also quaffing a potion. Sandoval stopped dancing, and his sword’s singing petered out, although Ameiko took up the refrain. Marie cast Channel Positive Energy to heal her friends, then headed back out into the larger cavern, certain that Ito would head that direction again. Shinjiro followed again, unwilling to let the cleric wander off on her own. Bella darted into the fog, found her Daikyu of Commanding Presence then took up position in the center of the room.

Suddenly a Spectral Flame Strike engulfed the group clustered by the throne room’s exit, followed an instant later by a Quickened Fireball. Ito was back, having risen back up in the exact spot he had vacated, safely ensconced within Bella’s protective fog. But this time, everyone was farther away, and Ito was in a free-fire zone. Zhustin fired off an Empowered Fireball on the cloud of fog. The spell managed to burn away the last of Ito’s Protection from Fire. A moment later Nicki, unleashing all his pent-up frustration, unleashed a Maximized, Empowered Delayed Blast Fireball on the same spot. “That’s how you do it, bitches!” he screamed, as bits of sizzling ectoplasm flew out of the fog.

Ito seemed to be really and truly dead – at least for the moment. As Marie dispensed healing, Zhustin dragged Shigure’s body over to Bella. “I’m getting tired of hauling this guy around,” he said, panting. “Can we drop him in that hole of yours?” Bella obliged, then began searching the room. She was pissed that she’d died twice and couldn’t find any loot to make it worthwhile. She didn’t find any valuables, but the wall at the far south end of the room looked suspicious. On closer examination, it turned out to be an Illusory Wall, and behind it was another opening overlooking the lake and the waterfall that tumbled from high above.

The group gathered around this new opening, looking down the vast, water-filled cavern. They could barely make out some sort of island in the lake, and beyond it possibly an opening in the cave wall. Past that, it was too dark to see. There was a boat moored to the wall of the cavern, just on the other side of the waterfall, but no one was much inclined to trust it as a safe mode of transport.

They decided to make their way to the opening they could see on the east wall. Marie used her wings to fly across, carrying Bella, and Sawyer Air Walked with Ameiko. Zhustin gathered Sandoval, Sandru, and Shinjiro, and used Dimension Door to meet them on the sandy beach. Nicki followed, flying on his bat-like wings and staying out over the lake. The water down here seemed unusually viscous, and was covered with an oily sheen. The sandy island in the center of the lake was marked with a pile of stark-white skulls, each glowing from within with a soft white light, illuminating its unseeing eyes.

The beach on which they landed was of coarse sand, and sloped upwards. Behind it opened a low, dark cave, its floor sandy. The cave appeared to be empty. From their new vantage point, they could see a similar opening on the western wall opposite them. There was still another cave just to their south, and another pair of islands. Beyond the islands was a broad, sandy beach, its roof supported by three columns of water-carved rock.

The PCs earned 11,200 XP for the night, putting them at 517,262, with 635,000 XP required for level 15. We’ll be a Joette & Rich’s next Sunday.