The ghostly hobgoblin led the PCs into the armory—a large chamber empty of any weapons or armor it might have once held. Paluur Draal had been explored and picked clean for hundreds of years, after all. But a bronze plaque on the ground was carved with symbols similar to the those etched into the Emperor's Key medallion. Upon seeing it pulled forth by Cypher, the hobgoblin shade kneeled before the warforged, and said in Goblin, "My liege." Though he was not completely subservient or responsive, the shade urged Cypher to issue commands (with the Key).
Eventually, it worked. Merely commanding it, the plaque rose up from the floor, revealing new shelves that had been stored beneath the floor. Within them were several new treasures, which the PCs took eagerly and quickly, as Magnus heard their pursuers coming.- Two leathery pouches containing an oily brown fluid and a watery black fluid.
- A glass decanter with some sort of smoky black liquid inside it. Xoma discerned an aura of necromancy about this.
- An ornate quiver made of bone. Cyzicus took this.
- A large metal shield carved with the symbol of a dragonne—which also happens to be the heraldric beast of House Tharashk, but Rendar doesn't think they're related in this case. Doongul took the shield.
- A cloth-wrapped blade. Upon unwrapping it, it was revealed to be an ancient scimitar forged from purple-hued metal. This may well be byeshk, the rare metal used by the Dhakaani Empire in ages past to fight the aberrations of Xoriat.
There was no real time for talk or investigation; the enemy was upon them! First, a pair of iron defenders appeared but were quickly destroyed. In this brief skirmish, Cyzicus discovered the property of the curious bone quiver. Arrows he drew from it and loosed split into two more—much to the chagrin of Doongul, who took one of these arrows in the side!
Moving back out into the cavernous throne chamber, the hobgoblin shade seemed to beckon the PCs toward the north end, by the throne itself and a smaller chamber beyond it. The throne was a large stone seat inlaid with bronze, with two panels of quartz-like "buttons" which Cypher promptly began to study.
As the party moved around the throne and saw the space beyond—which contained a mural-sized bronze plaque—Avashad's cohorts advanced into the throne room. Only Doongul's bullseye lantern pierced the gloom, but those with low-light vision were able to see them advancing first:
Emerald Claw soldiers. Iron defenders. Dolgrims. Dolgaunts. Another Karrnathi skeleton. The half-orc Drazul d'Tharashk. A cloaked figure who may have been the so-called Avashad himself. All had come and were moving forward, outnumbering the PCs and looking much less for wear.
But as the enemy advanced, a new and significantly larger figure lurched into the chamber from one of the side entrances: a ten-foot animated statue made of clay and carved to resemble a Dhakaani warrior. Crafted by high priests, clay golems usually guard temples—although largely ponderous, they're said to be infused with divine power and can move swiftly when the need arises. In addition to great strength, the wounds they deal cannot be healed by magic, only time. The golem strode in and immediately attacked the nearest creatures—one of the dolgaunts. The Emerald Claw soldiers immediately swarmed around it. Almost without fail, every time the golem struck one of the humans, it killed him instantly, pulping flesh and bone and nearly decapitating one with its earthen fists.
The dolgrims loosed crossbow bolts, some of which hit their mark. Blood spattered. Avashad never made any direct attacks of his own, although the PCs did see him cast to the floor some sort of snake. The focus for a spell?
Cyzicus loosed arrows. Xoma used his boomerang and his magic. Halbazar flung fiery javelins. Rendar, Doongul, and Magnus handled the melee. While the dolgrims were clumsy if effective with their crossbow bolts, Drazul was deadly with his bow. With one arrow, he sent Cyzicus slamming into the back wall, collapsing him. Some of the other PCs began to drop from their wounds, forcing Doongul to hasten among them, delivering his clerical touch to keep them from dying. Cypher, working to decode the throne's mechanisms, was shielded by some invisible wall of force. Two iron defenders, the skeleton, and a dolgaunt all reached the front lines before Cypher managed to activate the first throne-based defense: a wide section of the floor began to sink swiftly down, creating a small but dangerous chasm. Half of the enemies were cut off from attack.
Then Cypher activated a second configuration on the gem-buttons: a separate section of floor began to rise. What ultimately became of the clay golem and the Emerald Claw soldiers battling it the PCs did not know. What they did know is that Avashad and Drazul d'Tharashk—arguably the most dangerous of their foes—were cut off by the rising wall of stone and the swiftly descending pit. The cloaked wizard, or whatever he was, merely watched it rise. Almost patiently, or perhaps resigned to losing them again.
The dolgrims, not quite dumb enough to let themselves be squished by the rising wall they were standing on, ambled forward and fell to the bottom of the pit. The dolgaunt, skeletal warrior, and iron defenders were finally slain, but had left grievous wounds upon the PCs.
When the rising wall had completely closed off the rest of the throne room, the PCs fell back, exhausted, into the small chamber behind it.The hobgoblin shade urged them toward the bronze mural, which depicted an army of hobgoblins arrayed around a smoky pillar with sinister eyes lurking within.
"Command it to open," the shade said in Goblin.
The PCs ignored him. They wanted rest.
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