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Across the island, the DeathStorm heroes came ashore.  They were soon greeted by the sole Hill Giant survivor who asked for help.  The Hill Giant joined the heroes in the attacks on the other Giants, and they found that the priests were attempting to raise a sleeping Giant Diety.  The ceremony with the 3 Giant Priests progressed as the party attacked the observing giants.  They finally managed to stop the ceremony, taking some heavy losses.  (1 dead in the first running of the game, and 4 dead, 3 down, in the second running of the game)

The giants on the island are dead, but the Stone Giant's High Priestess knows the location of this island, and has an ancient map to its location.  The party snuck into the giant city through the sewer system.  The less said about the sewers, the better.  Modified permanent Blade Barriers helped keep air flowing through them, but travel was still difficult (and many fell ill from the filth).  Encounters included Giant Rats (12' long), a 120' Centipede, and an Alligator that swallowed Dunham in one bite (his Lighting Bolt from his staff gave the creature some massive indigestion).  The first group (the game ran twice) lost their only cleric in the sewers 4 hours into the 8 hour game.  It was their only death, but since they couldn't bring him back, it made the rest of the adventure very difficult.  The second group lost Dunham in the sewers (in the belly of the beast), but one of the clerics was able to raise him before they ventured up into the Giant Temple.

The temple itself was protected by an Unhallow spell.  The effect attached to this spell was an Invisibility Purge.  This surprised the invisible scouts that would calmly wander into the central courtyard containing giants only to 'blip' into visibility.  In addition, the parties' actions in the sewers clogged up the system somewhat, and routine checks alerted the city guard that 'something' was in the tunnels.  For the temple, the 'hunt was on', and many long-duration defensive spells were in place.  The High Priestess was a challenge, especially with the second group.  The first 3 rounds of combat went:  Destruction (ST failed), Destruction (ST failed), Disintegration (ST failed)--- front row of fighters down.  The single body-guard was then dropped, and instead of rushing the Priestess (beyond the now unguarded doorway) the party scattered about the outer room.  Round 4: Mass Heal.  The body-guard was now up again, and the main fighters were gone.  They actually managed to drop him a second time (thanks to flanking rogues), and again waited for the Priestess to emerge.  She did, glowing with active spells.  One amazing Dispel Magic later (5 of her 10 personal spells were dropped), she was finally susceptible to the party's magic.  One dead priestess and one looted vault later, the party teleported out.

Both parties accomplished their missions.  The priestess was killed beyond a Raise Dead, and the ancient map was discovered and destroyed.  Congratulations to both groups, they both played great games.

With Kas injured, and on the run, the group worked quickly to learn the whereabouts of Kas’s hideout. Hornig found a Beholder willing to talk, and with the bribe of a Ring of Spell Turning learned much. The Beholder’s name is T-T-Telen

Kas has made a pact with a tribe of Beholders. This pact was made while T-T-Telen was not present, and he’s resented it ever since. He doesn’t feel that his clan is making gains that are worth the risk. He is willing to help the party, on 2 conditions:

The party needs his help because:
    Ground entry is so protected that it’s unlikely any can enter that way.
    Only entry through the roof is possible, it’s under protected due to the magical sensors. 
    Any magical transit approach will be detected at 30’ and alarms triggered. (fly, levitate, etc.)
    T-T-Telen can run a rope from their spire to a neighboring tower. Beholder levitation doesn’t trigger the alarms.

The Lich’s Phylactery

Hail the King?

Find the King

The background: The group has explored one of the 3 remaining portals connected to their Astral fortress. They found this realm to be under the control of an evil king, who was actually an Arch-Devil, Lord Geryon, trapped in the form of a human for nearly 50 years. During his reign, Lord Geryon used his powers to bring in devil soldiers and a bride. He sired three children, and acquired four crowns which hid the wearers’ natures from all magical detection. He gave his soldiers the ability to polymorph, and protected the region from transportation magic, causing all creatures attempting these spells to be teleported to the castle. This region extends for 20 miles in all directions. 

Accomplished by the Party

The group was tricked into helping Lord Geryon return to his true form and regaining all of his powers. The bride and children were killed, and the Arch-Devil was literally chased off with his tail between his legs. The skulls of the bride and children have been mounted on spikes outside the castle since the battle. 

The politics were thrown into disarray, and only the power of the party prevented civil war. Over the years, Lord Geryon destroyed any heroes who developed too much of a reputation by sending them on the quest that would remove his curse; the same quest that the party eventually accomplished. King Seural now sits upon the thrown, and while not a friend of the party, he trusts them, and he knows that only their power put him in the throne without further bloodshed.

The party has found that they could return home by travelling far from the castle and plane-shifting, however they have sworn to track down Lord Geryon and destroy him, as his revenge upon the land is certain if they leave. They have spent the last 7 months searching, and using all of the spells at their command, however Lord Geryon still has one of the Crowns of Non-Detection and the search has not been successful.

The group explored one of the 2 remaining portals connected to their Astral fortress. They found this realm to be under water. A sprawling city of glass gave a beautiful view of the ocean bottom, with abundant sea life swimming nearby. 

The first problem encounted was the fact that the gate was underwater. The second problem was that the world's lay-lines were weak. Arcane spells above 3rd level work in only half the complex. Arcane spells above 5th level work only in rare locations. Divine spells don’t use the lay-lines directly, but the realm’s weak magic does hamper them. The gods can ‘push through’, but it took effort for priests to cast divine spells.

With the gate under water, there is a 1-way Wall of Force blocking it. This prevents the water from pouring through. The lay-lines are weak here, so ‘Disintegrate’ won’t work. The party was trapped until they found the exit portal.

The party discovered machines which dispensed elixers which gave the imbiber permanent powers. The dispensers required gems, so purchases were limited. There were also creatures, perhaps once human, who had mutated so far as to be almost unrecognizable. The party found their way back to the Astral base, but plan to return with more gems in hand.