Session 08

The night passed quietly and the group awoke to find that Camero had performed a ritual to transfer the enchantments on Coldfire onto Gotrek's favourite axe. PLeased with his new flaming/freezing weapon the dwarf led the group back up the rope to the "weakness door". There Braken prayed to his god and with the power of his magic was able to open the door. It opened into a large gallery. On the south side were various states - these of impressively powerful creatures that Orbius had clearly defeated. On the north wall were hung two paintings. One was of a firey sky over Cauldron and the other was of Celeste. After shifting his senses into the magical spectrum Camero was able to sense this painting was a powerful prison and they surmised that Celeste had been captured by Orbius and imprisoned in it. To the north was also another vault door, this one requiring lightning magic to open. Unfortunately no one possessed any such magic but Camero knew a ritual to magically enhance an item and so he spent an hour chanting and enchanted Gotrek's already magical second axe, to have a lightning enchantment on it.   Now equipped to open the lightning door and realising this must be the way into Orbius lair Harley quickly grabbed the painting of Celeste and stuffed it into his backpack. Then they lined up opposite the door and Gotrek swung his newly magical axe at the door, letting a streak of lightning play off the blade and onto the door. The door split into three sections and swung open from the middle. Beyond was a huge one hundred foot in diameter chamber with a strange pentagon painted in the middle. Inside this pentagon floated an evil, huge and disgusting looking beholder! And on all five points of the pentagon were tied up various creatures. As the group took in the scene, strobes of necromantic light arced from the creatures into Orbius, who seemed to grow in power as the green lights struck him. Suddenly all five creatures exploded into dust and shadow, the arc lights stopped and the giant beholder shuddered. It slowly opened its huge middle eye and regarded the group evily.   Gotrek rushed the beholder with both axes flying, Camero ducked behind the door and peeked out, firing magical spells at it over and again. Harley moved in tentatively, wary of the many eyes the beholder could bring to bear and decided to utilize his shuriken rather than getting into melee with his rapier. Braken threw his spiritual weapon at the beholder, which kept it occupied, and then used his support spells to annoy and damage the creature whilst backing up his companions. Gotrek was a huge menace to the undead fiend and the beholder had to spend more of its time concentrating on the sturdy dwarf. Of course Orbius/Vhalantru knew the group well and so was aware of their strengths, weaknesses and tactics. It soon realised that the dwarf was never going to be killed by sheer damage and so it changed tack and began to try and petrify the group. Many times people were close to being turned to stone but at the last second just threw off the effects. At one stage Braken used a mighty prayer to help remove any ill effects on the party whilst simultaneously aiding them in their attacks. This prayer probably turned the fight as in just a few seconds Morgan and Harley threw off the effects of nearly being turned to stone and Gotrek, who was half dead from the beholder's death ray was suddenly full of life again. It was a long and drawn out battle but there was only going to ever be one winner. Magma Force used team tactics and fought for each other, making the most of months and months of fighting side by side and eventually Camero fired a magical barrage of arcane power (from the back of the room still!) and the beholder exploded in a vortex of necromantic power. Orbius was dead.   Taking a minute to breath the group limped over to the back of the room where Vhalantru had his desk. There, draped over the chair was the simularcrum suit - a magical item which would allow the wearer to take the shape and form of Vhalantru the half-elf, and which when so worn would not radiate that it was magical at all. There was also a large amount of magic and monetary treasures and a scroll which filled the group with great joy: the teleportation code to the Portal on the edge of the Fiery Sanctum! Vhalantru's associated notes said that teleporting directly into the Sanctum was not possible, due to the effect of the Tree of Shackled Souls, which supressed teleportation nearby, but the Portal was apparently located just outside the main gates to the fortress. Magma Force now had the means to find the Fiery Sanctum, the headquarters of the Cagewights themselves. Were they up to the task of taking the fight to this evil organisation in their own back garden however?