Rex, having been kidnapped by a magic user named Kipper, is taken to the demon No Baiano’s Siphon and imprisoned deep in the earth, somewhere called the Sanacris. No clothing, no items, and locked in one of many cells centered around a pit, a radiant beam running from below and up through the whole facility. His only companion is a mysterious voice calling itself Ellis, who says he has been forgotten here as the beam is slowly sucking Ellis’ life force away.
Rex tries a spell, only to see the magic sucked into the central beam. The siphon. Kipper arrives to question him, and he tells Kipper that he wants to join the demon No Baiano’s forces. He is taken to a floor upstairs where other human magic users dump spells into the beam, rest, repeat – a slightly nicer prison. Before leaving the Sanacris, Rex counsels Ellis to do the same, to pledge loyalty the next time someone comes down. Then, there will be plenty of death and vengeance for them both.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party and their companions have travelled via elemental airship to a dead forest on a contested island, the trees comprised of layers upon layers of light gray ash. They find a well-tended garden of poisonous plants, and the boat used to carry Rex and the cages, fitted with a strange elemental artifact. Sheddar, the dranger, leads the group deep into the forest, where the shadows thicken nearly to night.
Without warning (but a little fore-shadowing, heh-heh) shadows slide over a few party members, grabbing them, restaining them. In the darkness around them, they hear ragged, slow breathing coming closer, and glimpse ashen figures with greatswords sifting between the trees. After hasty, creative pruning, the group circles, backs to each other, kobold in the center, holding out torches to keep the living darkness at bay as they travel deeper into the forest.
Sheddar reminds everyone that she had wanted to take a deer trail instead.
The path ends at a large rock with a tree growing next to it. Neke pushes the rock, and moves through, feeling a familiar tingle of magic.
Stuff happens, and the players and companions step into an entryway. They follow an elderly, deaf lunch man down into the Sanacris, discussing morality. They find a few, wasted, nearly dead magic users in an otherwise pristine facility. On the lowest floor, they hear Ellis, who offers his loyalty. They release Ellis and find out he/she/it is a dopplegainger, weakened, only able to change forms for a few moments.
The group climbs up up up out of the Sanacris, discussing philosophy, off to rescue their poor, helpless sorcerer. Neke gives an honorable duel to a fleeing guard. They continue up.
Rex has been busy. He discovered that basic cantrips don’t trigger the magic siphon, so he convinces a majority of the captive magic users on his floor to work together to take on the guards… 1-4 hit points at a time. It is cantrip chaos on the floor. The rest of the party joins in the fray, Sheddar breaking off with a looted set of keys to release and transport those still left in the Sanacris levels.
The tide of battle turns. The fighters see two guards kill themselves, rather than face failure to No Baiano. The magic users are sent downstairs to the others. The player characters, back together again, rescue the elven magic users on the 3rd floor. On the 2nd floor, Neke and Rex stand at the railing of the pit, looking at the beam and discussing philosophy until they realize that somewhere high above them, people are being thrown into the beam, disintegrating. Um. Whoops.
They race to the top of the stairs, to the door of the 5th floor. Is No Baiano on the other side, waiting for them? Ellis turns into a sexy, greasy tiefling guard he saw once, and unlocks the door. Pushes it open….
And that’s where we ended the session.
The Tome of Adventures 