Return of Ironbriar

“Return of Ironbriar”
Rise of the Runelords episode
Episode no.	Episode 65
Date	2009
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Gloriana Honeypot Nell Velicia
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Below Tarheel" "Tricking a Dragon"
Rise of the Runelords chapter list

In this chapter continuing through the underground complex the heroes encounter an old enemy.

Return of Ironbriar

Infernal kobold riding a lizard..

We entered a larger room with a raised platform in the middle. There were strange portals on each side midway through the room. It looked to be more magic than I like so I kept still near the entrance. I could see that the portals led to very different worlds one an ashen wasteland and one a dense jungle. There were spores pouring out of that one. Suddenly even more came through. Two goblins riding lizards were sucked through. I later learned that the reason they looked strange was that they were infernal. They charged at us with spears and a fight ensued. One of the riding animals if slain. With a tornado of strikes I threw my magical dagger at the other still mounted goblin and its mount, forcing it off and to the ground close to the portal from which they came. Honeypot made them stumble back through the portal with a wild dance. The last mount was quickly killed.

Continuing through the room out the other side was a corridor leading to a magical laboratory. I searched it for traps but there was none. Instead I found three paintings, three pillars decorated with skulls, each pouring out red, yellow and blue liquid. In front of them was a large cauldron. In a close by storage area there were shelves. I found powder in the same color, lead bricks and a key encased in amber. The others became obsessed with solving some magical puzzle. I waited outside and used the time to have something to eat. Kaven had found a very good cheese.

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Finally they gave up and we continued to search through the other rooms. There was a lava pit and a cauldron filled with lava in one room, a library with lots of books, a labyrinth where dead goblins had a note marking traps in it and a room with tiled floor and big spikes all over the floor and ceiling. When the others were finished searching the library we concentrated on the tiled, spiky room. Velicia started by hammering a nail into the wall and connecting a rope to it. Then she climbed out expecting something she called reversed gravity. I have no idea what that meant but suddenly she turned up side down. I found that strange and went back to a cave-in where a corridor had been blocked and took a few pebbles. I threw them into the room and they fell to the ceiling. Gloriana walked into the room and fell slowly to the roof thanks to her boots. Honeypot ran into the room and fell to the roof hurting herself on the spikes. There was a willow wisp that had tricked her. I have heard of these as strange creatures often living near traps. Velicia teleported through to an alcove where stairs led down and I retreated back into the corridor and hid. Then I ran through the room jumping over the spikes, but landing on one, hurting my leg severely. The pain caught me totally off balance and the willow wisp attacked with its magic. I ran out and we continued down the stairs.

The stairs led down into a corridor with many doors. We looked through a room with a strange machine that the others said used necromantic magic to do something. You would put a corps into it and it would suck something out of it. The next room was an office where a scientist stood behind his desk and there was a big statue in there. We stormed in. The statue took damage from our attacks to the scientist. Soon he tried to run and teleported through the left wall. We followed through the door into the room filled with cells. There we saw three strange animals, a giralon, a grick and a cockatrice. The doors to their prisons were opening. We all ran in there and I noted him hiding in the last cell. We closed the door to the giralon but the other animals were killed. The scientist teleported through a wall again. We followed into a room filled with growing plants and some strange murky water. Velicia used a magical thunder attack bursting through the greenery. Two shambling mounds got angered, but I caught a glimpse of our elusive prey teleporting on to the next room again and we followed.

Honeypot got stuck in the greenery room but all others stormed into the next room which had a small house inside. In there the man stood by a sarcophagus. There was a mass of disgusting beetles swarming the room. He cast some awful spell at Gloriana and me and pushed the lid off.

Ironbriar mummyfied.

"Rise, Ironbriar." he said.
The blood froze in my veins. I knew he was dead. I had killed him. I retreated behind a corner to regain strength enough to face him, or what was left of him as he was obviously dead. I could still hear him talk, even if it was with an even colder voice than when he was alive.
"I'm here to take care of you Nell."
I threw a dagger at him, but he still slowly walked towards me. Gloriana felled the creature that once was justice Ironbriar. It exploded in a cloud of dust. I coughed hard and felt slightly cold.

The scientist had been killed and the beetles were gone. Honeypot had joined us again. She hugged my shoulders and told me to rinse. I coughed a lot but felt better. It was as if I had coughed a dark shadow of Ironbriar out of my lungs and stomach. Velicia returned and said she had found some sort of teleport portal and that we could leave to get some sleep in safety. She suggested that we should go to Sandpoint and we agreed. As we gathered to leave Honeypot said that she would stay behind. I thought that would be too dangerous, but she insisted so we let her.