Cha'alt Campaign Diary 3: Liberation

 Holy hell, it's been a long time since I updated.

The Cha'alt game has been chugging along just as much as ever.  I fully intended to do a write-up much more frequently, but things kept on happening in such a way that getting it up to date would mean either leaving things in an odd place or possibly accidentally leaving hints for my players.  We don't want that! I'll try to break these things up into segments and recite things as best I can.

Traveling the S'kbah

Cha'alt, as written, admittedly didn't come with regional encounter tables for traversing the desert.  The more I look at it, the more it seems to be a very brief gazetteer regarding most of the civilizations and a very detailed funhouse dungeon.  So, I took the creatures that Venger offered as possible encounters and put them on a table.  By this point, Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise was released, so there were some particular encounters I was able to pull from as well.  I also made use of a desert weather generator so that I could reference how the weather would be for each 12 hour period, and in lieu of taking the time to use an actual hex map, I used random generation as we played to bring up useful elements, whether it was food/water sources, ruined settlements, raided caravans, whatever.  Shortly after leaving the Pit, the group found a water source.  I determined that due to the fact that they had just experienced an extensive dungeon crawl, I'd throw them a bit of a bone, so I put in there a potential social encounter.

They approached a series of tents, many with cuts, dried blood, arrows, scorch marks all around them.  An oasis sat nearby, but the players were wary of anything remaining from what appeared to have been a recent battle.  They gave the tents a wide berth, inspecting from afar.  They espied some shuffling among a pile of tattered cloth, and Zeveran called out.  "Who goes there!"  A laser rifle was tossed to the ground outside the tent, and two lobster claws with narrow up arms extended themselves in surrender.  An old man, beaten by the suns and changed forever by the beams of radiation, greeted them with complete and utter obedience.  It was just another tale of a sole survivor counting down the days until the desert swallowed him as it had thousands of others.  The Cleric offered the healing hands of Pelagia, and unknowingly, Zeveran cured the man of his severe case of crabs.  Another converted!  Zeveran brought him into the fold of his faith, and henceforth, the lobster man was keeper of this wayward shrine of Pelagia.  Until he's killed by skeevers.

Most of my rolls beyond then were uneventful for several days of travel.  It was quite bizarre, honestly.  Though there was one notable event...  A wee lad, the Food-Taster (an Occupation listing in Hubris), woke one evening to find that his throat was being torn out by a horde of ghouls.  Zeveran and/or Thomas (I can't remember which) held their holy symbol(s) aloft and sent the horde reeling, many of them crackling, boiling, and turning to ash from the divine wrath.  The rest were put to the sword.

As a sidenote, at this point, I ensured that the players knew that some of the creatures I had on the encounter table are far beyond the capabilities of all but the most powerful adventurers, and that I would not be pulling any punches.  So, truly, they were fortunate that I had only rolled the ghouls.  But alas!  Within a day or so of additional unimpeded travel, A'agrybah was reached once more.

What Plants Crave

When last we left A'agrybah, Zeveran had grown a neat little congregation and began renovations on a temple.  As it turns out, the growing Thirst Cult in the city took grave offense to a Temple that has people thinking about vast quantities of water.  Zeveran was notified quickly upon his return that his people had been heckled by this cult.  Zeveran entered his temple, gathered his followers, and prayed to the Goddess Pelagia to bring rainfall to the city.  For those unaware, DCC has a "Divine Aid" mechanic that allows a Cleric to call for help from the gods to achieve a means at the expense of some of the gods' favor.  In that case, he rolled exceptionally high and it was a task that was to the immediate benefit of the Goddess herself, so it was granted.  The rain fell for nearly an entire day.  People clamored to the streets, catching the rain directly with their mouths.  One of the more enterprising party members purchased several barrels and collected the water as it fell from the sky (totally legal in A'agrybah, I'll have you know).  The cult leader was displeased, and he knew just who to blame.  He sought out Zeveran outside the temple, then launched some heated words at Zeveran, who retaliated with a calm and pleasing demeanor.  By the end of the fracas, Zeveran had clearly sown some doubt in the minds of a few of the Thirst Cult's adherents.  Enraged, the cult leader challenged Zeveran to a debate in the square the noon of the day that the rain has ended.

It was basically party time in the city of A'agrybah, as precipitation to this extent was damn near unheard of.  Laeana (formerly known as Breeder-san) spent the evening kidnapping an alien to feed its brain to one of her braingrubs.  The Fool climbed atop the tallest building near the palace and stood upon its roof, looking onward to see if the Queen could be seen.

Quick recap time, because this might seem out of left field.  So, Cha'alt has this thing in it right here:

So you've got a King with anger issues and a Queen with an infernal ancestry.  At one point, the players took some time to investigate the royal family and they dug up a lot of dirt from previous subjects, many of whom were the rare former subjects who didn't die in bizarre circumstances:

1. King Druta'al became King through marriage.

2. The Queen's father was a benevolent ruler and died mysteriously after the Queen was married.

3. King Druta'al beats the living hell out of people and the Queen has become a bit of a hermit.

4. The King's rule has been incredibly prosperous for the city.  Trade and security has improved substantially since he took control.

With all of this information, and a bit of conversation The Fool's player and I had about a mechanic I found in a DCC #90 The Dread-God Al-Khazadar for True Love, the player decided he wanted to give them a spin and try to woo the Queen. (mechanics below)

I thought "eh, what the hell.  We'll see how it goes."  So anyway, that's why he got up on the roof.  I decided that it was incredibly likely that she would be on the balcony due to the fact that it never rains and this was a curiosity, but I left it to chance as to whether or not she could see him waving to her.  The roll succeeded.  The Fool made a romantic gesture toward her from afar, she was amenable to it and reciprocated, then we moved on to Rahuul, who gained intel on the McManus mansion.  They discovered that McManus has a group of elite mercenaries in his employ in addition to his guards, several giant scorpions, and a chimera guarding the sewer entrance.  The elite mercenary crew consisted of Essantis the Warrior, Nelor the Wizard, Ikki the Thief, and Ballis the Cleric. I'd be pulling them in soon. 

The next day, the party began forming alliances with the Noble Houses of Qua'ad and Drove.  Qua'ad was consulted for their tactical prowess and their known distaste toward McManus, Drove due to the fact that a dignitary from the Drove House was the one who contracted the party to save his "son" from the People of the Pit in the previous adventure.  Between the assistance from the two houses and the intel they had received, a plan was put in order:  they would go in the guise of food supply deliverymen and sneak to McManus Jr.'s quarters to murder the squirt while his guardsmen are distracted by technological malfunctions (provided by Drove).  It would take the evening to get all of the preparations in order.

The Great Debate

As the time drew near for Zeveran to debate the leader of the Thirst Cult, preparations were made.  The members of the group took to various placements in the square to serve as a perimeter looking out for anything amiss.  Zeveran prayed for guidance.  Several followers and hirelings took to the stands as moral support.  The Fool climbed atop the building that served as a dressing room and prop storage for theater performances, lying prone to stay unnoticed.  Zeveran met his adversary in the square, but took a moment to cast Second Sight.  This allowed him to have a slight glimpse into the possible results of a course of action that he intended to take.  What he witnessed was the Thirst Cult leader having a bottle thrown at him that engulfs him in darkness.  A roll was conducted to see if Zeveran could tell which direction the bottle was flying from, but he failed the roll.  Zeveran, believing that this may be something he can prevent, asked to switch podiums with the Cult Leader.  The Cult Leader, being all kinds of suspicious now, asked why.  Zeveran casted Second Sight on the cult leader (supposed to be for "self," but I allowed it to be used as "touch" in this circumstance) to allow him to see his potential fate.  The only problem... it's only 75-85% accurate.  The roll was in the 90s (too high).  The Cult Leader witnessed himself switching places with Zeveran and being the decided victor of the debate.  He smiled and switched places with Zeveran, believing Zeveran to be showing him this outcome out of good will (which he was).

The debate began.  I couldn't really do it justice here, but essentially the Cult Leader suggested that Zeveran was providing false hope and Zeveran used his deeds as proof of his devotion and suggested that the people not dwell in despair, made a rousing speech about how there is something greater than the endless sands and that he means to bring it to the people.  It was pretty cool.  SMASH!  Glass broke on the Cult Leader, he was enveloped in a thick cloud of darkness, and his appendages were ripped and thrown out into the crowd as they stood in horror.  At this point, several of the party members sprung into action, darting toward the commotion.  With The Fool being perched upon the top of the building and trying to survey the surroundings for other threats, I gave him a luck check.  This was going to be more of an extremely fortuitous observance than just closely paying attention to his field of view.  He passed with flying colors.

I told him that as he crawled to the edge of the roof, he spotted the head of a crossbow bolt sticking out of the curtain of the building beneath him.  He drew his magical shortsword, and between two successful attack rolls and a successful deed, he performed the classic aerial assassination maneuver, landing on top of her and driving his blade into her skull.  Ikki the Thief lay dead at his feet.

As for the cloud of darkness, it turns out that it was the buzzing of a cloud of flies concealing a bizarre Chimera (I actually used The Monster Alphabet to roll it up with my kids' assistance).  As tough as it was, some potent blasts, a turning, and a smiting made short work of the creature.  Ikki's plan was to use the creature to frame the party with the murder of the cult leader, and assassinate one of the party members in the commotion.  Didn't quite happen that way.  With Ikki's body serving as evidence of a known assassin's involvement, enough suspicion was cast that the party was not implicated.

Killing The Kid

Unfortunately, at this point, one of our regulars for all of this time had his workload increase and he had to take a hiatus.  With the gap in the player count, I was able to pull a friend named Haven into the group.  She made an Avarian named Sarang.  In Hubris, Avarians are magical, shapeshifting birdfolk with some Thief skills.  For the ease of transition, the table decided that Sarang would have been a prior associate of the party who had grown to appreciate their style and wanted to work with them some more.  Unfortunately for her, she joined them just as they planned to murder a 13-year-old... and her character isn't that big on violence.

The day of the siege had come!  The party met with the employees hired by Qua'ad to get them kitted up and inside the McManus estate.  An incredibly nervous deliveryman greeted them and showed them to their company outfits.  The company was called "Amarkra" after "Aramark," because why the hell not.  I gave them one last opportunity to do some scouting if they wished, but they declined.  After some time passed and The Fool gave the delivery guy a peptalk, they set off.

The McManus estate was surrounded by a moat of quicksand and giant worms, which was surrounded by walls covered in automatic laser turrets and crossed via a drawbridge.  Getting in the place was going to be a serious hurdle if this plan didn't pan out.  As their wagon was arriving, I performed a reaction roll from the guards to see just how attentive they were going to be.  I rolled less than average, so I interpreted that as a sense of heightened alertness.  The guard inquired about the new hires with the delivery company and grilled them for a moment.  After The Fool, Zeveran, Sarang lightened the mood, the guard walked away satisfied that they were just doing their job.  The drawbridge lowered, the wagon crossed into the estate, no alarms were raised.

The estate was divided into four levels: a basement, a guest/security floor, the living quarters floor, and the laboratory floor.  The wagon was taken into the basement through a delivery ramp, and a guard accompanied them down to the storage area where the goods were to be dropped off.  By this point, the players were well aware that their survival in this place was completely relying on the fact that they stay undiscovered for as long as possible.  There were dozens of armed guards patrolling the premises with several giant scorpions, the three living members of the mercenary company, and a collection of turrets and security cameras.

Once they spotted the security camera in basement, I genuinely wondered at that point if they planned on going through with the attack.  I'm ashamed to admit that I can't remember which player did this, but one of them remarked about how nice the security seemed and told the guard that they were interested in becoming a guard as well.  Using that as a bridge, they asked if they could see the security room, as they're a bit of an enthusiast for that kind of technology.  Another reaction roll, this one incredibly high.  He happily agreed to escort them to the security room once they finished unloading the goods.

On the way to the security room, the PCs were guided up the stairs to the first floor and past the foyer, where several guards were heavily invested in a game of cards.  They continued on through a winding hallway and arrived in the security room, where a stereotypical nerd monitored the equipment and a pair of bored guards yammered on as they watched the screens.  The PCs began grilling them on some things, taking note of some of the things the cameras were seeing and trying to take in all the information they could.  One of the PCs asked about recordings and back-up files, and the nerd assured them that all of the recordings would be saved on a server.  Zev nodded to the Fool, and immediately the three guardsmen were dispatched before they could raise an alarm.  The nerd was tied and gagged.  From that point on, I rolled a d6 every ten minutes to see if the unconscious guards had been discovered (hint: I never rolled a 1).

The PCs pulled a map off the wall that denoted the locations of the cameras and the rooms.  From their previous conversation with the guards, they learned that McManus' quarters were directly above them and that he was currently "with someone," which accounted for all of the stomping around they could hear.  They snuck around the foyer, taking care not to alert the guards playing cards, and continued on through the kitchen.  Some distractions were utilized to get past some chefs preparing food.  Laeana, being her usual sociopathic self, turned on the gas on one of the stoves as if to start a kitchen fire.  Fortunately for the chefs, they smelled the gas before they lit any flames and turned the gas back off, starting a bit of an argument about who left the gas on.

They carried on, sneaking upstairs on the eastern end.  On the second floor, they discovered a guard listening through a doorknob outside of a bedroom.  They said "fuck that" and walked in the other direction.  They arrived in the room that used to be Jr.'s, showing telltale signs of things having rested in the same location for long periods of time and then being moved before the PCs arrived.  They stepped onto the balcony and quickly picked the lock to a massive iron door that led to the laboratory.  This was a rather tense moment, as they were completely exposed to the guards in the courtyard while trying to pick the lock.  I did a few rolls while they were picking the lock to see if any guards spotted them, and I'll be damned if the guards weren't oblivious.  They burst through the door and laid their eyes upon Nelor and Ballis in the midst of chimeric experiments and foul worship.  Nelor was affixing metal prosthetics to a fish-canine as Ballis was smearing entrails on an altar.

At this point, I should probably mention that Essantis, the Warrior, is on the OTHER balcony that is a single door away, and that a single door away from that is McManus Jr. and a gigantic snake.  Again, things are very touch-and-go at this point.

Initiative was rolled, The Fool went first.  With his first attack, he critted against Nelor.  The Fool is a level 5 Warrior, but he rolls on the chart is if he's level 6 due to a feature of his magic sword, Shadeslayer.  I can't overstate just how lucky this group is (though tactics are certainly also a part of it).  Nelor was instantly killed.  Ballis was pinned to the altar with a mighty deed.  Ballis pulled the blade out of the altar to free himself and ran for the door to call for help, but the door was blocked and he was cut down before he ever got the opportunity.  Laeana recovered Nelor's grimoire and the group inspected a magic circle etched into the floor of the laboratory.  Detect Magic was cast: while there was certainly magical energy emanating from the floor, the energy behind a painting in the room was far more enticing.  Painting moved, safe cracked, treasure recovered.  Among the gold and jewels, this quiver was obtained:  (in the vault: Quiver of the Sky-Elf Prince.  30 arrow capacity.  This fuchsia leather quiver is richly decorated with golden stitching.  A character with the ability to translate the Blood-Elf dialect will detect a litany of pejoratives against Sky-Elves and their Prince, who foolishly sought to unite the clans through marriage.  Any arrow sitting in the quiver for more than 12 hours becomes enchanted as a +0 arrow, and when a 6 or higher is rolled on the damage die with one of these enchanted arrows, the target must make a 12 Fortitude save or be blinded until they take an action to clear their eyes, as the shaft of the arrow explodes in a puff of sand.

Any Sky-Elf who sees this on your person will be intensely hostile (-6 on Reaction Rolls) and likely seek to kill you. Additionally, a good or neutral natured character will need to make a 12 Willpower saving throw to get a proper rest while within 30 feet of the quiver, or else they will suffer nightmares of the Sky-Prince's last moments.

More rolls to see if anyone noticed the unconscious guards or tied up nerd.  Nope.  Sigh.

At this point, Sarang opened the other iron door, crept onto the stairs, and took a shot at Essantis, who was standing at the edge of the balcony, from behind.  Crit. Rolled on the crit chart, the result was that she knocked him prone.

Well, there's only one ruling for that, isn't there?  Essantis goes knocked in the back of his helm by this arrow, loses his balance, and falls flat on the stone tiles of the courtyard, taking a pretty hefty bit of damage.  Guards in the courtyard scramble to check on him.  The rest of the party says "oh shit" and dashes into the only room they haven't checked: McManus Sr.'s room (now inhabited by Jr.).

As they bust the door open, they witnessed McManus Jr. with a whip in hand, a young woman strapped to a vertical table, and a gigantic snake stuck to the ceiling by a glyph.  As Jr.'s pupils dilate in fear, the glyph releases the snake, the snake falls to the floor, and the table (with the woman) is smashed against the wall.  Initiative starts.

Y'know, I can't remember exactly how they won this one.  All's I know is that Laeana nuked the everloving hell out of the giant snake and The Fool carved up McManus Jr. as he was bloating into a noxious troll creature.  The Fool threw McManus Jr.'s corpse onto the courtyard and told the guardsmen "Don't bother coming up here.  He's dead.  Nobody's paying you to defend a dead guy."

Essantis rose from the stone tiles, turned, and looked up at The Fool.  With a grunt, he put his axe away.  "Let me know if you guys are hiring later."  Some of the guards began looting the mansion, but Zeveran dissuaded them.  With McManus Jr.'s death, Rethakis would be the inheritor of the estate.  Being on Rethakis' side is an enormous asset, given the fact that he is the guard captain of the city.  Before they left, though, they untied the nerd and got him to show them how to wipe the recordings.

Everyone had their own things in mind to do that evening.  Laeana decided to go visit a local alchemist and start trying to learn how to make potions, using her womanly charms *cough, offering sexual favors cough* in exchange for instruction.  The grumbly halfling cursed at the fact that he had just cranked one out an hour ago and the need just doesn't come as much as it did when he was a youngin', but he took her up on an IOU.

While she was learning about basic alchemy, there was a knock on the door at the alchemist's shop. Surprisingly, it was for Laeana.  A representitive of House Simblix, Zzzurik, greeted her and extended an offer: Join our house as an operative and we'll give you access to more arcane knowledge.  She happily agreed.. VERY HAPPILY.  Even after she was told that she was going to have to trick her party into believing that the demon sacrifices are over when they were just going to be carried out privately instead.  Laeana doesn't give a shit about keeping secrets from the party.

Party Time!

With McManus Jr. dead, Rethakis assured the party that their bounty was cleared and they would no longer be pursued by any legal channels.  But the party had a significant loose end to tie up.  You see, many sessions back, the party started a bit of a ruckus by objecting to a regular practice in the city.  This one.

Some time ago, the party did some digging into this ritual.  What they came up with is the information there, but they also learned that there was something of an Archdemoness who is being catered to in particular: the Queen of the Sands.  The Fool & Co. decided that they would take the purple crystals they had recovered from the Temple of Kra'adumek (which contain anti-charm properties {and unbeknownst to them cause mutations after prolonged exposure}) and make necklaces out of them to give to the people, but especially the Queen.  The Fool put a hefty sum into having a necklace made that is fit for a queen, and a jeweler got to work on the project.  After some time, the project was finished and the necklaces were delivered.

The party decided that they would throw a party in the public square and invite the Queen, pass out all of these necklaces, and they believed that this may give her the ability to resist whatever mind control she's suffering at the hands of the King.  They met with Zequaat, the city's most prolific party-thrower (and the commentator in the Arena from before) to get a hell of a party going.  They had to give a damn good case and a solid plan, but he agreed to go along with their plan for the party as long as they would agree to fight a former Arena champion if the party turned out to be a dud (Zequaat can't have that on his reputation, now can he?).  A fair bit of extra planning took place.  They utilized some of their contacts to pull in more personalities in the city that would draw even more attention, deliver great cuisine, held auditions for rising musicians to be discovered by providing music.  All in all, it was turning out to be a fancy ass shindig.

While Sarang was preparing some authentic cuisine from her homeland, she stepped away for a moment and found a stranger pulling a vial out of his pocket.  It was entirely up to chance that she witnessed this; just as he was removing the stopper, she approached him.  He tried to play it off as if he was seasoning it, then took off in a sprint.  Zeveran caught him, tackled him, and sat on him as he was interrogated.  They discovered that he had been hired by House Verran, the house of assassins and was told to poison the dish.  Sarang, ever forgiving, decided to let him go after he expressed his certainty that House Verran would kill him for failing in the task.  Did he get away from Verran's clutches?  Probably not.

Before the party began, Rethakis and Nara (the King's advisor) arrived with a large group of soldiers.  They informed the party that the King himself decided to attend the party.  It was the King's intention to ensure that the entire party was present before they were all arrested and eventually executed, and that took a display of good faith.

Now, some time before, I had decided that the King was, himself, a demon, and that he would have an entourage of demons with him.  I decided that he would use charming effects on anyone who looks upon him that makes him look incredibly attractive and makes people want to do as he says.  It's something of a visually projected Charm Person effect.  Now, guess what happens when people wearing these purple necklaces look at the King?

As the party was underway, the moment came: the group was wearing their necklaces and they witnessed the faceless King and his faceless council arrive and take their seats.  Understanding the implication, the party began handing out the necklaces to the common folk, who slowly started becoming mortified and confused as they noticed the King's appearance.  The Queen was given her necklace, and once she wore it, she recoiled in horror after looking at her husband.  The King tried to grab the necklace off of her.  The party called out "The King! He's attacking the queen!"  Voices in the crowd cried in alarm "He's got no face!  It's not the real King!"  Initiative rolled.

A massive Magic Missile (holy shit is Laeana lucky with her rolls) delivered an excess of 80 points of damage to the formidable but not godly Demon King, atomizing him instantly.  A very high Turn Unholy roll from Zeveran resulted in the accompanying demons fleeing in terror from his deity's majesty and the guardsmen beating them to death (Since they were Type 1's, they took half damage.. but that didn't save them).

The Queen addressed the public, informing them that she believed this was indeed the real King, and that she had been a slave to his whims for decades; that she had felt as though she had just awakened from a long and arduous slumber.  She offered her deepest apologies for allowing herself to be manipulated by such a horrid creature and vowed to never let it happen again.  Rethakis started a whole "long live the Queen" thing and the populace seemed very much on board with her ruling.  She don't need no man.

The Banquet

After the party ended, Laeana got high on some incense and sped through learning more alchemy.  The Fool walked around the outside of the palace and was handed an invitation to a banquet at the Queen's palace in their honor.  Zeveran tucked in for the evening.

The next morning, The Fool informed everyone about the banquet.  They were all happy to go along with it; even though Sarang despised events like this, she saw the strategic value in attending and decided to accompany them.

Zzzurik visited once more, and Laeana led him into the "corpse room" to discuss things privately.  Zzzurik reiterated that even though the King was dead, they intended to continue the sacrifices and that when the time arises, Laeana may be needed to ensure that the party does not interfere.  Laeana inquired as to why Simblix does not simply destroy the Queen of the Sands or subjugate her, and Zzzurik assured Laeana that if such a thing would be too grave a risk when so far the agreement they have is at such a low cost.  Laeana told Zzzurik that he and Simblix by extension are clearly too weak.  After some "peeing races," Zzzurik left fairly certain that he and Laeana had come to an understanding.

Laeana went shopping for a nice dress, The Fool started using his real name (Alaric) and had himself a make-over montage in which he obtained a fine set of clothes and learned some proper etiquette and dances, and Zeveran.. just went as he normally does.  The hour arrived.  Jer'aia, the old man who was the former advisor to the King when the Queen's father held the throne, met them at their home and escorted them to the palace.  He let them know that with Nara being AWOL and the King being dead, he was reinstated as the Advisor to the Queen.

Once they arrived in the palace, there was a fair bit of chitchat.  The Queen gave them heartfelt greetings individually while offering thanks and recognition of their accomplishments.  They sat down for dinner, and ALMOST IMMEDIATELY Laeana started grilling the Queen about her positions on various policies, most notably Demon Summoning.  It should serve as no surprise that the Queen is wary of any dealings with demons after what transpired, but she admitted that prior to the sacrifices, the city was victim to the occasional attack and was not nearly the trade capital that it has become.  The political discussion carried on for a few minutes until Alaric very graciously suggested that they just try to have a good time and celebrate.  As a DM, at this point, I was entering "fast forward..?" mode, where I basically suggest that time can go forward OR they can take a bit of time focusing on something.  I did this by saying "she would go on to ask you all several questions about yourselves, real deep conversational questions, quite obviously positioned from the perspective of someone who isn't typically able to make her own decisions."  At that point, Sarang thanked her for the meal and started to leave.  Zeveran assured the Queen that it was nothing personal, that Sarang never likes get-togethers.

As Sarang was leaving, she saw Nara accompanied by a strange woman: a scarlet-skinned woman with yellow eyes and insect-like wings, scantily clad.  I described her as having a magnetic personality, an unmistakable confidence, and an otherworldly beauty.  Sarang decided to try to follow them, stealthily.  She rolled low.  The scarlet skinned woman turned and looked directly at Sarang, grinning, as she opened the doors to the throne room.

The Queen stood up in worry.  Rethakis ordered his men to arrest Nara.  Initiative rolled, Nara and the Queen of the Sands go first.  Nara casted Scare.  I rolled a critical success, which, as a level7 spellcaster, resulted in a 34 roll result.  Everyone within 120' of Nara had to make a 34 Will save or they'd flee, terrified, for 16 rounds and take 2d8 damage.  Everyone was racked with pain and these horrifying sounds and images flooded their brains.  The Queen of the Sands (the Scarlet woman) introduced herself and chastised them for getting rid of her puppets, then told the lot of them that she expected them all to kneel and submit, or die.

As the fear began wearing off, Nara enlarged herself and the Queen of the Sands.  Nara stood at a sizable 10' tall at this point, and the Queen of the Sands at a towering 15' tall.

Now, here's where things were really tense.  The players knew that their PCs would be dead at this point if that was what the Queen of the Sands wanted.  She believed she had nothing truly to fear.  As a demon, she's impervious to anything nonmagical, and Nara had the magic business covered.  She wanted the satisfaction of putting them in their place.

What she didn't expect was for Laeana to put everything on the line.  Laeana spellburnt just about everything, achieving a barrage of magic missiles that surpassed any protections that Nara could have mustered without putting her own life on the line.  Nara was an obedient servant, to be certain, but she wasn't willing to die for the Queen of the Sands.  Nor did she believe that Laeana had the potential to do the job.  The Magic Missile barrage dealt a whopping 100 points of damage even.  A second casting dealt an additional 11 points of damage, which is how much HP the Queen of the Sands had to the 'T' after the additional 20 points provided by the Enlarge spell.  She was absolutely squashed into the marble, dead, twitching.

Zeveran's turning unholy failed, but eh, no big deal.

Then we had Alaric's turn.  Nara was eager to tuck tail and flee for her life, but the dice had another notion.  Alaric (The Fool, remember) threw his +2 Shadeslayer at Nara.  Critical.  He rolled a 30 on the Crit Chart.  Instant decapitation.  Aa'grybah no longer suffers under the shadow of the Queen of the Sands.  But things aren't over.. not quite yet.

What Comes Next?

The player of Alaric/The Fool said that he plans on having Alaric remain in the city; a new PC may be in order.  Zeveran is still very committed to visiting the Black Pyramid, as Pelagia gave him a vision that suggested that there may be a means to bring the waters to the land inside the pyramid.  Laeana (after resting, because holy shit she spellburned 20 fucking points) is considering trying to take over House Simblix.  Sarang.. we're not sure what Sarang is planning on doing.

As for the party, the player for Laeana is about to depart for 90 days of being unable to play while the player of Rahuul should be returning soon.  As a result, we're talking about putting these characters on hold for a few months until Laeana can be part of the group once more.  We're talking about some scenarios for new characters to play out for the next few weeks before our friend ships off.  I'm going to make a couple pitches and see what sticks.  Right now, I'm thinking about offering a couple:

1. A group of Cha'alt natives break into Elysium to destroy it from within and stop the draining of Cha'alt's resources.

2. A group of gladiators/slaves in Ja'alette try to escape the clutches of the matriarchy.

3. IDK Death Frost Doom or something, fuck you. ;)