A20

Following the battle with the army of the dead, the party (Dominic, Ignatius, and Jack with Drusila and Yarol) worked to help the people of Avalon�s Hope. They waited for the giants� attack but thankfully in vain. The giants fearing the onset of winter had retreated to their base camp. The party rested for a bit before traveling to Amberton, to discover the state of the town. Once there they discovered the town was abandoned and booby-trapped. The graveyard was devoid of remains, reduced to a pile of churned earth. The party discovered that a portal lay below lake, though within a sunken fortress from the old empire, undoubtedly Czet�s true stronghold. Vowing to return the next day, they returned home.
     With the defeat of the undead, the retreat of the giants and the arrival of the dwarven army, the town�s spirits finally began to lift. The party amused themselves by showing the dwarven leader Durin around their fortress and fixing up the place a bit more. At the town meeting, they and the other leaders discussed the recent events and what they should do next. They quickly determined that marching in winter against the giants� superior numbers (with defenses on their side) was foolish. With the onset of winter, they decided to restore their strength and engage in the usual festivities such as the upcoming winter solstice festival. Food supplies were good and if Amberton was cleared of undead they could cannibalize both it and other nearby towns for building materials.
     To this end they returned to Amberton. Using magic the descended into the icy depths of Lake Whirlpool toward the portal that gave its name. After a battle with some zombie crocodiles, they blasted their way past a ghoulish horde into the fortress. Inside they became entangled in magic webs as well as their enemies. After burning their way out and destroying a giant mummy. They proceeded through deserted imperial fort, finding the secret lair of Czet�s air breathing minions and the door to the portal chamber.
     As they entered the chamber they found themselves in a desperate battle with mummies, undead clerics, and ghast wizards. The leader was a powerful necromancer wielding a staff of power, the legendary staff of the court wizard of Umbria. After Drusila sustained massive damage by opening the door, Ignatius was able to disintegrate the giant mummy and let Jack enter the fray. As the party hacked and turned their way through the undead forces, the ghast wizards pummeled the party. When the undead clerics attacked real trouble began. Jack was held and burned as Ignatius cleared most of the room. The party (except for Jack and a confused Yarol) had to flee as an acid cloud filled the area. But not before Ignatius was able to unhand the Ghast Lord of the staff of power. Enraged the ghast chased after him leaving his surviving ghast mages to deal with Jack and Yarol.
     Outside the room he was soon encased in a barrier of force by Ignatius. Determine to win, he teleported behind them and through up a spirit wall, sending Ignatius and Drusila fleeing in the air filled portion of the dungeon. Dominic fled as well pretending to be afraid until he could come up with a way of destroying this abomination. Meanwhile Jack and Yarol fought and destroyed one the ghasts leaving the last to burn to death behind a wall of fire the Ignatius had left behind. In air filled area, the ghast blasted the door hiding Ignatius and Drusila open with lighting and then tried to wrench the staff from his hands. Dominic cast fire shield and attempted to bull rush the necromancer became paralyzed. After paralyzing Ignatius, he took the staff and the sorcerer and ran down stairs.
     It was here he was cornered by Jack, Yarol, and Drusila. Blasting both ways with his wand of lightning, the ghast was able to knock Drusila to the brink of death. But then as part of a tag team effort, Yarol snatched the staff of power, pushed past the ghast, and stabilize Drusila. Then ghast tore into him knocking him unconscious.
     All seemed lost, with only Jack left to defeat the as yet unharmed ghast. He tumbled past the ghast, snatching up the staff as he flipped over Yarol, and suing it to blast the fiendish undead with a mighty cone of cold. The creature pulled itself from the icy encrusted waters clawing at Jack with his powerful claws. Then another mighty blast washed over him. The undead cackled, �I will destroy you,� as he stepped forward and shattered into a thousand pieces.
     Reviving the others, Jack went downstairs to deal with the final ghast who was no longer trapped by the underwater wall of fire. The ghast was scared, holding a lever behind the throne. As he spotted Jack he pulled it, seemingly with no effect. Then the structure slowly began to collapse. The party rushed out barely escaping the crumbling fortress. For better or for worse the portal to the Grey Wastes was now beyond their reach.
     The party returned home and rested. Dominic decided that the time had come for him to return to his hometown, north of Tethyr. Based on his description, they teleported to an overgrown patch of ruins on a rocky shore. The foundations showed their elven heritage, seeming to grow out of the ground. Many of the foundations were cracked and melted by some powerful force. Dominic�s old home was practically erased.
     Using magic, Dominic looked into the distant past to see what had really happened here when he fled the village with Master Gregor. He saw the small town before the destruction, with happy people going about their business. In their midst was a figure in black. The stranger had long silver hair, and as he turned the party saw the red eyes and familiar face of the Dark Master. Suddenly, men in black attacked the town killing everyone they met. The Dark Master flew up into the sky and rained fire down upon the invaders. Everyone died, including Dominic�s parents. Dominic and Gregor fled and the vision ended.
     Amazed by this revelation, Dominic used a sending to ask the Dark Master if would talk with him about the events at the village. Even more amazing, the Dark Master replied, �I�ll see you tomorrow.� Of course the next day the nervous party waited with a great deal of trepidation. By midday a servant told Ignatius that an evil looking stranger was on the throne room level. Everyone quickly headed down and met Lothar Noctus, one the greatest sorcerers in the world.
     Lothar explained that he was in that village because he had heard that there was some threat to it. The invaders attacked to kill a prophesized threat to their plans. �Since you and I are the only survivors it must be one of us,� he explained. He also questioned the party and was interested in what help the party had in returning to Avalon. Most of the group soon left to go shopping, while Dominic and the Dark Master wandered the town. Later after he left, Dominic went to have a drink at the Crazy Stag. He talked with Hank about the sinister visitor. Hank once saw the Dark Master fight when he destroyed the army Hank was with. Gwenydd soon joined them, as did the rest of the group. As they talked about the Dark Master, the party was able to figure out that she was his daughter. Jack soon backed off. Talk moved to families and whether they were more trouble than they were worth. Jack had finally freed his father�s soul but the trials had made him cynical. Gwenydd expressed a more positive opinion, while the others were mixed.
     Finally that night, Dominic decided to take the next step in becoming closer to his goddess. He cut off his own arm and attaches the mechanical limb he had taken from the monk on the plane of shadow, thus becoming half-mechanical. Only time will show what effect this will have.

The Staff of Power and the Dominic's Revelation