Chapter XXIV: Planes, Manes and Elementals

Enna and Khragtnar
Enna wakes up on the floor of a spherical chamber, similar to the one in which the masked wizard cast his spell on the party. There is a large purple gemstone in the ceiling and the door to the room is barred with a cell-like lattice. Beside Enna lies a kobold who is gaining consciousness.

The kobold introduces himself as Khragtnar. He the last thing he remembers is arriving at a burning city with his men, when they were ambushed by some fiery creatures. He presumes his companions to have either escaped or been killed. He then realizes his armour and weapons have been taken from him and becomes extremely distressed. He explains that his equipment was given to him by someone very important, and that to lose them would be a serious insult to his benefactor.

Enna peers through the bars of the door and spots some slender and reddish lizard-like creatures standing guard, holding a spear and wearing armour.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
Astrio and Metamorpheus awaken on the floor of a spherical chamber. There is a large purple gemstone in the ceiling, and a solid metal door blocking the only exit to the room. Astorio runs up the wall of the room and pries the gemstone out of the ceiling with his dagger. Metamorpheus identifies the gemstone as very valuable. It appears to have been placed in the room as a means of sustaining some long-lasting spell.

Enna and Khragtnar
Khragtnar, eager to escape this prison and reclaim his equipment asks Enna for her assistance in escaping. Though she is put off by his pushy demeanour, she reluctantly provides him with a dagger and a cup of water, which he uses to arm himself and cast a defensive spell, respectively. Khragtnar approaches the guard at the door, who taunts him in draconic. Khragtnar uses a command spell to order him to open the cell door.

Free from the room, the pair notices three additional newts metal-smithing in a nearby bucket of embers. Khragtnar recognizes these creates these creatures as fire newts: the same creatures that attacked his party. Meanwhile the effect of the spell has worn off, and the guard has realized his prisoners have escaped.

Enna charges at the guard with her shortsword drawn, slashing at his neck and releasing glowing-hot blood, some of which splashes on her face. Khragtnar joins Enna in attacking the guard, carving up the guard's body with the borrowed dagger, and leaving him dead. The remaining newts, having witnessed this scene, drop their tools and flee through the opposite chamber.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
The two adventurers notice that the doorway to their chamber has disappeared. With no other explanation, they assume that the door was created by a spell that ended when the gemstone was removed. They peer through the doorway to see a long empty halfway, covered in dust. There doesn't appear to be any sign of activity within it.

After failing to detect any traps, the two head down the hallway and come upon a familiar catwalk across a twisting chamber. It's darker than they remember, as there seems to be less light filtering in through the crystaline windows. Looking down the chamber, they spot a moving shimmering flame-like light on one of the lower levels. They sneak across the catwalk and make their way to the chamber at the end of the hallway. From the entrance, they notice a large diamond gemstone in the ceiling of the chamber, and a flickering disturbance in the centre of the room. Entering the room, Metamorpheus feels a crunch underfoot and discovers that he has stepped on a tiny snail. Surveying the room, Astorio and Metamorpheus discover that the floor is covered with these snails, leaving little glass trails behind them.

Enna and Khragtnar
Khragtnar takes the dead guard's bronze shield and heads down the hallway with Enna. Upon reaching a central chamber, they notice the air is getting increasingly warm and smoke-filled, emerging from the lower chambers. They groups of fire newts running between the rooms on the lower catwalks. Not seeing any sign of his equipment, Khragtnar marches onward into the chamber opposite the one they emerged from. They see that it appears to be used as a storeroom, and that Khragtnar's stuff is sitting within it. A shimmering portal sits in the centre of the room.

Khragtnar immediately runs toward his armour, grabbing the attention of three fire newt guards who were speaking with the workers who had just fled. The guards engage with Khragtnar and Enna while the workers continue to flee. Khragtnar grabs his rapier from the pile and calls upon divine magic to cast fear into the guards, trapping them in his aura of conquest. Enna and Khragtnar make short work of the guards, killing two and keeping one to interrogate as Khragtnar dons his armor.

The guard tells Khragtnar that he and Enna are both going to die and threatens to conquer Khragtnar's lands. They had conquered the building they're currently occupying, and soon they will take the nearby city. He tells him that they intend to hatch eggs of "great fire ones", calling them better than dragons and insulting Khragtnar. Enna asks him about the masked wizard whom she recently met in this tower, whom the newt does not recognize. The newt spits fire in Khragtnar's face, causing him to excecute the newt. The pair then notices the sound of more fire newts approaching from the hallway below.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
Metamorpheus makes a telepathic link with Astorio, who approaches the shimmering disturbance in the centre of the room. He sees what appears to be be a small tear in reality. Through the tear, he recognizes the Earth Plane which he had recently visited. He attempts to stick his finger through the hole and experiences an unpleasant sensation. He then leaves the tear and removes the diamond from the ceiling, which causes the portal to blink out of existence. They then leave the room, apologizing the snails crushed underfoot as they go.

Looking down from the crosswalk again, they are able to identify several snake-like creatures as the source of the flickering light. They also hear the flapping of leathery wings coming from one of the nearby chambers. They make their way into the sixth-floor chamber, spotting the shimmery remains of another portal in the centre of the room, and an amethyst gemstone in the ceiling.

Looking through the portal, Astorio witnesses a clean-smelling world of clouds, emitting gusts of wind. He removes the gemstone from the ceiling and the portal disappears.

While crossing the next crosswalk, they are interrupted by a barrage of spikes from above. Metamorpheus is hit. The pair spots a manticore clinging to the underside of the crosswalk above. The two decide to run from the manticore to the next chamber, leaving a minor illusion of themselves behind as a decoy. The manticore attacks the illusion as the pair escape down the hallway.

The fifth floor room is filled with a thick yellow-green gas. Astorio wafts some of the air and identifies it as poisonous. He is immune to poison, but it is nonetheless unpleasant. He surmises that there is another gemstone in this room ane runs up the wall to attempt to remove it.

Enna and Khragtnar
Enna and Khragtnar run toward the approaching guards and are greeted by the sight of half a dozen fire newts and a young manticore on a series of poles attached to a collar. They appear to be trying to entice the manticore into attacking the two adventurers. As Khragtnar crosses the catwalk menacingly, Enna fires a lightning arrow overhead at the war party, striking the manticore in the side and shocking the fire newts.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
As Astorio struggles to remove the gemstone in the thick gas, Metamorpheus notices that the manticore is following them and telepathically alerts his companion. As the monstrosity charges toward him, Metamorpheus notices a lightning shaped scar on its flank. Right as it reaches him, Metamorpheus casts dimension door and teleports to the opposite doorway of the fifth-floor room. Now in a gas filled room with an enraged manticore, Astorio abandons the gem and uses Shadow Step to join Meta in the hallway.

Enna and Khragtnar
Having made his way across the lengthy catwalk, Khragtnar casts Wrathful Smite on his sword and strikes the manticore, casting fear into it and trapping it in his aura. Enna fires a peryton arrow, hitting the manticore through the cheek and base of the wing, then striking one of the newts before embedding itself in the wall.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
Curious about the situation he finds himself in, Metamorpheus casts Third Eye to see into the ethereal plane. He notices that the tower is anchord into the ethereal plane in a way that the rest of the world is not. He then casts Tiny Hut to allow himself and Astorio to take a rest. A short time later, the manticore emerges from the room, with a previously unnoticed scar across its cheek, and a withered underdeveloped wing. It claws at the hut, unable to enter.

Enna and Khragtnar
The newts and baby manticore continue to attack Khragtnar as he faces them in melee on the catwalk. Khragtnar slashes at the manticore's forepaws with his rapier, then slides underneath the monster and cuts it open from below. Full of righteous conquest in the name of Udrass, Khragtnar plunges his rapier into the heart of the manticore, killing it.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
From their seat within the tiny hut, Astorio and Metamorpheus watch in horror as scars appear on the underside of the manticore, before it vanishes altogether in a ripple. Astorio is horrified.

Enna and Khragtnar
Having freshly slayed the manticore, Khragtnar stares down the remaining newts and asks who's next. Enna asks where they got a manticore. Rather than answering either of these questions, the fire newts flee through the rooms toward the base of the tower, Enna and Khragtnar in pursuit. They pass through the sixth room, noticing a shimmering window into a cloud world, and the fifth room, which contains a portal to a swampy land. The fourth room is half full of water, apparently originating from another portal.

Upon reaching the third floor, the fire newts take a stand. A group of them are waiting at the entrance to the room, which is emitting a great deal of smoke and heat. On the crosswalk below, Enna spots a group of newts carrying a metal stretcher with a large smoldering obsidian egg on it. Enna fires a series of arrows at the newts below, who carefully set the egg down.

Meanwhile Khragtnar has made his way to the entrance of the room, which contains a large bonfire below a metal mesh. The eggs appear to be incubating over the fire. A crowned newt yells "we are servants of the fire lord. You will die kobold!" Khragtnar casts a cone of Fear at the group, causing three of the newts to flee. The crowned newt is not stirred.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
Astorio is shaken by his front-row seat to the horrific and mysterious death of the manticore, but proceeds onward with Metamorpheus. On the levels below them, Astorio spots several humanoid birds carrying some items into one of the rooms on the main floor. They are communicating in sounds, rather than language and cannot be understood by even Astorio's Helm of Understanding. The birds select an object and carry it into the second floor room. A gutteral roar is heard, followed by a flash of fire from the room. The birds on the ground floor look down dejectedly and disperse.

The two adventurers enter the fourth floor room, which is filled with water, level with the door. When Astorio removes the large sapphire from the ceiling, the trickle of water out of the room ceases. The two enter the water to cross the room, displacing water down the hallway which hits the atrium floor with a splash. Looking down the catwalk below, they notice a firey snake, investigating the source of the disturbance. The salamander is alerted by the sound of Metamorpheus' squelching boots and cries out to his siblings for reinforcement. Astorio fills his alchemy jug with salt water as several additional salamanders exit the second floor room.

The creatures assemble themselves on the crosswalks to capture the two adventurers. With the aid of his immovable rod and slow fall ability, Astorio slowly decends through the atrium, with Metamorpheus clutching onto him. The beasts throw spears at the pair. Astorio is able to catch one, but burns himself on the fiery hot metal weapon and drops it to the floor below.

Enna and Khragtnar
Enna fires one of her acidic arrows at the egg on the level below her, hitting it and corroding it with the acid of the slain dragon. The nearby fire newts become agitated as thick smoke spews from the egg.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
As Astorio and Metamorpheus continue their decent, one of the salamanders blinks out of existence, to the confusion of its siblings.

Enna and Khragtnar
Enna fires an arrow at the fire newt warlock and dashes to the entrance of the sphere where Khragtnar is reading for battle against the warlock. Khragtnar jabs at the warlock with his rapier and summons a spiritual weapon to aid him in the fight. The warlock points his finger at Khragtnar and casts Hellish Rebuke as the kobold narrowly dives away from the flames. The warlock then casts Scorching Ray at Khragtnar and Enna, missing both of them.

The newts, glowing red from the fire, charge toward the two adventurers and attack. Enna throws one of her vials of dragon acid at the cluster of eggs, corroding them as the newts continue to panic. Recognizing the smell of black dragon acid, Khragtnar asks if Enna also received them as a gift from a dragon. She lies that she had. Khragtnar is not fooled, but recognizing that Enna is a powerful ally who is necessary for his survival, he says nothing.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
Astorio and Metamorpheus watch as another salamander disappears. The salamanders continue to attack the pair on their slow descent. The birds watch from afar. Metamorpheus casts Mirror Image to create two false versions of himself, also clinging to Astorio. Astorio is having a bad time.

Enna and Khragtnar
The warlock continues to miss the two adventurers, as the remaining newts rush to join him. Khragtnar lays into the warlock with his rapier, taking large chunks out of him before driving his sword through him entirely. The remaining newts attempt to keep fighting, but are quickly becoming demoralized.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
Astorio is now hanging just above one of the Salamanders. With no other choice, he punches the creature. His fists sink into what feels like molten lava. It lunges at one of the Metamorpheus illusions, destroying it. Astorio uses his salt water jug to cool his hands as he he continues to punch the salamander. Metamorpheus joins in the fight as the remaining salamanders surround them.

Enna and Khragtnar
Enna throws another vial of acid at the eggs, destroying another three.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
One by one, fire snakes begin to blink out of existence, as the others look horrified. Meta and Astorio attempt to intimidate the remaining ones, claiming responsibility for their disappearance.

Enna and Khragtnar
Khragtnar takes the crown from the dead warlock and puts it on his own head. Thrilled at having conquered the tower, he invites the fire newts to serve of Udrass, warning them that those who flee would be hunted down. The newts all choose to flee.

Enna pours the last of her acid on the remaining eggs, and shoots a black gemstone out of the ceiling with an arrow. She and Khragtnar enter the second room to see a shimmering portal to the fire plane closing. Within it they see many more of the obsidian eggs, which the fire newts had been retrieving.

Astorio and Metamorpheus
The remaining salamanders vanish. Astorio and Metamorpheus are left standing in the atrium. The birds approach cautiously. Astorio and one of the birds struggle to communicate. Astorio discerns that the birds were captives of the salamanders, who made them scavenge and hunt for magical items. The bird leads Astorio to a side chamber off the ground floor of the atrium, which is comically filled with magical items.

Metamorpheus casts telepathy on the bird, the bird identifies itself as a Kenku and says that the items were collected from the ruins outside. They open the door and witness the burned out remains of a city under a faint grey sky. The kenku explains that their flock took shelter in the tower during the fire storms, when the salamanders captured them and forced them to scavenge the ruins for magical items.

Astorio and Metamorpheus search the room for items. It's full of items from a magical society more advanced than Metamorpheus has ever seen. The items were built by wizards for wizards. Ordinary items with magic pumped into them, such as a candle that never stops burning, a chair that folds up to the size of a paperclip, and a piece of chalk that never runs out. The pair laments that Flynn, who is not present has the bag of holding. The Kenku explains that the salamanders were looking for something to open a portal so they could go home.

Astorio realizes that have travelled back in time to Old Thray. Metamorpheus asks about the astral labe.

The kenku produces a bag of several labes and hands a large one to Metamorpheus, which he identifies as a chronolabe, not an astral labe. It is identical to the one the masked wizard used on the party. Understanding how to use the device, Metamorpheus tells Astorio to hold on to it, and he activates the device. The pair feel a familiarity with the device as the world fades to black. The world reforms around the two adventurers and they find themslves in the same room, but where the mounds of magical items were are tables and chairs. Fire newts are running about and evacuating the building.

Enna and Khragtnar
Enna and Khragtnar emerge from the first floor room into the atrium, where Enna notices Metamorpheus and Astorio emerging from a side room. The three adventurers compare adventures. They realize their displacement in time, and the effects of Enna and Khragtnar's actions on Metamorpheus and Astorio's time. Khragtnar looks on in confusion, then introduces himself and offers to let them join his adventuring party, reasoning that if they travel with Enna, they too must be capable fighters who can aid him in his conquests.

The party then turns their attention to the door, where they witness a burning city under a black sky. In the distance, Old Mount is erupting, leaving rivers of lava flowing through the streets of the city.

The party lays their hands on the chronolabe as Metamorpheus activates it.