Chronology - Update

29th of Riyah: As the pouring water continues for the third day straight, our heroes decide, after investigating the palace and discovering a map to a mine, to go through the mountain in order to reach Sokkar. After casting darkvision on everyone, the trio engaged in the womb of the mountain.

After hours of navigating the carved corridors and following the map, our heroes arrive to a ledge where the water from the downpour is infiltrating the mountain, creating waterfalls. They spot a guard outpost on a ledge across a 30 feet collapsed bridge. Farooq first tries to use the rope he latched on the metal poles that use to support the bridge but the wet condition made it very slippery. Ramanhi, using the rope tied on Farooq, manages to hold on the slippery edge and pulls him up. After casting a jump spell on Ramanhi, he easily jumped to the other ledge. Saladin followed suit with the same spell and jumped over.

While investigating the guard post, the group discovers a metal locked door, and the spot where the key was only showing through the disturbed dust. Saladin requested a Knock spell to unlock the door. As Alia fetches the spell, the party becomes under attacks by decomposing tentacles that attack through the window and batter the wood door. While waiting for Alia to come back with the spell, our heroes valiantly fend off the slimy tentacles with a combinatio of slashing, spells and tactics. As they finished off the appendages, Alia brought the spell and Saladin unlocked the door. They walked down the now revealed stairs for what seemed hours.

After that lengthly descent, our heroes reach the mine which is in a rather abandonned state. While investigating the ruins, Saladin called on Zann to be able to detect any undead creatures that might be lurking around, Farooq nears one of the last remaining standing building as Ramanhi keeps both of them in view while nearing the entrance to the mine. Ramanhi and Farooq both hear a noise coming from the water. Spoting the exact spot over the water where the noise came from, Farooq lights up the area to reveal two Chulls movign towards shore. As Ramanhi switches to his composite bow and starts shooting at the Chulls, Farooq comes under attack from behind and gets entangled by a chocker that starts choking him. Saladin rushes to aid his friends.

Saladin rains lightning bolts and magic missiles on the chulls hard shells as Ramanhi drops his bow and takes his scimitar, gutting deeply into one of the beast before getting caught and feeling teh cruash of the Chulls claws. Farooq stabs away at the chocker as the creature viciously continues his neck grapple, sapping Farooq's life slowly away. In a feat of ingenuity, Farooq manages to free himself from the chocker and blindsides one of the Chulls an sneaks attacks it while Ramanhi frees himself from the grapple and Saladin finishes of one of the creature with a well placed volley of magic missiles in the head carapace. Farooq cures Ramanhi which in turns carves up the second Chull, chopping off a claw and gouging a huge cut down it's digestive tracks.

After dispatching the chulls, our heroes hunt for the choker but found no trace of it. they barricade themselves in the building and as Saladin's turn to stand guard, he hears a strange noise outised, like someone scraping something on their meakshift door. Also, his head spins and hurt as the presence of a powerful evil becomes overwhelming. He tries to wake up Ramanhi and Farooq but they are fast asleep. Decided, Saladin tries to unstuck their make shift door and the headache stops, and Farooq awakes. After waking Ramanhi, they investigate to find footsteps that go for about 30 feet then disapear. They found an inscription on their door, written in abyssal, telling them of the nodge to find Ur and to use cold and fire to fight the guardian of the portal to Sokkar.

30th of Riyah: After resting and getting ready for the coming confrontation, our heroes get into the office and steps on the portal altar that teleports them to the base of a mountain in front of steep stairs. The rain is falling and the cloud cover is very low. Farooq turns invisible adn climbs up. As he nears the top, he his struck by a lightning blast. Saladin and Ramanhi sees the head of an arrowhawk through the clouds. Saladin lets go of his Cold bolt and Fireball at the creature, wounding it. Ramanhi shoots at it with his bow and Farooq casts a searing light. Arrows, spells and wits vanquished the guardian. Farooq reaches for the block and vanishes. Saladin follows and Ramanhi joins them.

As their vision returns, they stand in front of a city made out of Mauseleums, cripts and at the center, three pyramids. Behind them, the fury of a black cloud of vengeance staring at them, waiting for them to get out of the protected area of the city...

Major Quest: The Lost Coty of Ur: Update

Saladin found a poem, with the help of a mysterious character, that gives him clues on how to locate the city of Ur.

He who seeks the lost city
must visit those cities three

First shall be Sokkar, city of Eternity
With it's undead guardian getting wary
Forever guarded by a storm most deadly
In the haunted lands the tomb robbers will be dealt swiftly
Right the wrong that was once buried
For the soul to rest for eternity

Second shall be Moradask, city of the Sun
Plagued by a cult like none
Near the pit of the Ghoul it shone
The horse people know the direction
Help the sheik in what needs to be done
To help the Cat as fiery as the sun

Third shall be Ysawis, city of the Dead
Where ajami queen and king rule the Dread
By caravan only can you be led
In the grey jungle ruins numbered in the hundred
courtly intrigue as been bred
That must be solved to put to rest the Dead

Only in then and in that order
Shall the key and way be clearer

Chronology - Update

26th of Diyah: After claiming his newly forged rapier of undead bane, Farooq and friends leave the city of Wands toward the Forrowed Mountains on flying carpet. At nightfall, they encounter Bulwar, a clockwork mage, and his mechanical lion. Around the firecamp, he explaims that he is looking to restore his family's honor by confronting his brother, the clockwork mage known as Yusef the Mad.

27th of Diyah: As the rain season pours its fury on our heroes, they locate the Ashraf estate, a palace carved in the mountain site. They found the house deserted and after some exploring, they discover a secret entrance in the library leading inside the mountain.

As they start exploring the caves, the path gave to a huge caver where copper statues came to life and attack them. After a fierce battle, the vanquished the mechanical foes. They explored the west corridor theat lead to an underground stream and lake. The heroes got attacked by a water elemental who was hiding in the stream. They quickly dispatched this threat. Coming back on their tracks, they explored the east bound corridor. As they explored, a mehcanical noise was becoming more clear until they reached a laboratory. In it, various menuals on mechanical devices and an infernal looking machine. As they explored the lab, Bulwar got snagged by the machine and had his arm cut off by the machine. As our heroes tried their best to free their newfound companion, the machine grafted a weird looking right arm. Saladin picked up automatically an evil feeling from that arm. Seeing what the machine does, the group destroys it before venturing on the corridor.

As they moved on, they started to hear manical laughs and mechanical noises. Bulwar was the first to spot the mechanical spiders made out of glass coming their way. He instructed the group to destroy them at a distance since those where designed to explode with a fireball spell when they were destroyed. After dispatching that treat, the group discovered the las cavern and where greated by Yusef the Mad who after some babble bout transfering his soul to the mechanical scorpion below, he jumps, crushing his head on the rocky floor.

As our heroes checked the mad saher, the mechanical scorpion came to life and started to attack the group, unleashing bolts from his numerous weapons and fending off blows with it's adamantite shell. Soon, our heroes had a strategy: Saladin was blasting away with his wand of Magic Missiles, sending force bolts to weaken the joints in the shell, Ramanhi, Bulwar and the mechanical lion where attacking the joints of the shell to break it. After a while, they managed to break the shell and Yusef turned his body to metal in order to have more protection but the battle was slipping from his grasp. He destroyed his brother's mechanical lion and pierced him with its mechanical tail while Ramanhi delivered the crsuhing blow to the mechanical vessel.

After burying the two brothers and removing the Frozen Flame of Kussuth from the mechanical scorpion, our heroes went back into the estate to heal and decide their next move. They have to reach the other side of the mountain, either through the mountain or around it...