Mask’s Assam and the Lord of the Black Guardsmen

• Characters: Bixtbie, Dak, Cromwell, Forkbeard, Jebeddo, Rog, Sentalial, V.L., X-Requinn, Zaytheon
• NPCs: Uljary Blackshore, Armunestor the Mouth of Mask, Zedrick Neely, Councilman Dimlock
• Synopsis: As representatives of the City of Assam, the horsemen lead by Captain Uljary Blackshore present to the adventurers Armunestor, the Mouth of Mask. The ethereal appearance of the man is astonishing, but Assam’s welcoming committee praises the group for passing the four tests of Mask. With Assam now a theocracy under the direction and guidance of Mask, all citizens are followers of the god. Those that were expelled and failed to vacate the city were sundered during the tests. Some of the group questions the methods, but the calm demeanor of the horsemen lead straight into negotiations. Zedrick Neely, exiled former leader of the Night Masks of Westgate, appears before the group summoning an exotic mansion to serve as a comfortable site to begin negotiations. Jebeddo, wizard class of the Year of the Gauntlet, represents the Army of Nature’s Wrath, and asks the Dark Lancers to join the war against the Black Legion. Zedrick is well aware of the war, serving on the Circle of Holundi as well as knowing the intimate details of Westgate herself. The Mouth of Mask speaks of the common enemy and agrees to join the war, working in conjunction with the attack against the forces of Mystenaculis. The Dark Lancers will fight against the Black Legion and retake the fallen Westgate, restoring Zedrick Neely to his command of the Night Masks. The plan unfolds; in three days time the army of Cormyr will reach the western front. Simultaneously the Dark Lancers will attack from the south and the Army of Nature’s Wrath will attack from the east. But in order for the coordinated effort to succeed Mystenaculis’ second-in-command, the Lord of the Black Guardsmen, must be defeated. The group is to travel to the fallen war mage College of the Fire Hawks where spectral forces are being dispatched by the Lord himself. Zedrick reveals that the Black Bard Mystenaculis is preparing a host entity for the lost god Myrkul, former god of the dead who seeks to regain the power. The group agrees to destroy the Lord of the Black Guardsmen. During the down time, Dak, Zaytheon and X-Requinn receive gifts from Zedrick to aid them in their scope. On the third day Zedrick teleports the group outside of the war college. Bixtbie scouts ahead and surmises that their target is in the largest building at the rear of the compound as spectral warriors are being dispatched in constant fashion. X-Requinn stone shapes an entrance into the building triggering a ward. Moving inside, the party is surrounded by eight stone golems. A lone figure standing the far corner is encased by a wall of force and begins directing the golems against the party before disappearing. Against the far wall is a mirror portal that appears to house the attacker. Moving through the magic portal, the group attacks the necromancer as he has erected another wall of force against the back wall of the new chamber. The maneuver works brilliantly as the stone golems can only move through the portal one at a time, creating a bottle-neck effect. As the rear warriors keep the golems at bay, Forkbeard, Bixtbie, Jebeddo and Dak attack the necromancer. The gambit is a massive success as one stone golem after another is destroyed. Jebeddo opens a dimensional door to access the Lord of the Black Guardsmen while Forkbeard squeezes through the crawlspace at the top of the wall. Relishing the opportunity to use his well-earned armor, Dak vaporizes into a cloud of gas appearing above the necromancer. The fighter’s attack is unrelenting as the spiked chain breaks again and again on the wizard’s body. Surrounded but not out-matched, the Lord releases diminishing spell after debilitating spell before his grand finale. Arced lighting bounces back and forth between his attackers pulling their life force apart in dramatic fashion. With their last breath and concentrated effort, the wizard falls. Immediately the wall of force vanishes and the stone golems cease the attack. Beneath the cowl is Dimlock, former Councilman of New Kelvin and one of Forkbeard’s and Cromwell’s old enemies. Before the dust can settle, the door to the chamber bursts open as a skeletal dragon rears. Cromwell calls on his god and the group is teleported to Threshold with their task achieved.
• Encounters: eight stone golems, Lord of the Black Guardsmen Dimlock
• Achievements: created a temporary alliance with the Dark Lancers of Assam, defeated the Lord of the Black Guardsmen Dimlock, and secured the Crown of the Stone Golem.