Hardcore Heroes: Episode 52

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== Synopsis ==
The adventuring party, consisting of Van Healsing, Malakai, Frank, Kel Lucila, and Kel Belle, explores Falstaff's Tomb by Crusty Lake in the Red Desert. They encounter a series of chambers, each marked by virtues like "Temperance," "Family," "Strength," "Harmony," "Prudence," and "Justice." The chambers present various challenges, including avoiding fire, solving puzzles, and combating animated gargoyles. They discover Falstaff’s magical items, including a powerful Staff of Light, and several other enchanted artifacts. After overcoming the trials and retrieving the treasures, they teleport back to Bon' Theris. They later hold a funeral for Frank, who perished during their journey.
==Recap==
===11th September, 1511===
The party, Van Healsing, Malakai, Frank, Kel Lucila, & Kel Belle, are gathered outside Falstaff's Tomb near Crusty Lake in the Red Desert. Before them is a stone slab door that is barring their entrance. Malakai opens the door with a Knock spell. The party head down the spiraling staircase, lit by Malakai's light stone.
At the base of the stairs the party arrive at door with a plaque upon it. Malakai, who now knows how to read Akuban, reads the plaque:
:Only a virtuous heir, in an hour of great need, should enter this place of rest. Your life with be threatened inside these rooms.
Malakai deliberately mistranslates the plaque to remove the word "heir" to the others. Malakai opens the door open. Within are expertly carved but not adorned stone chambers made by dwarves design. The party travel down the hall way and come across another door, this one with the word "Temperance" upon it.
===Temperance Chamber===
The party enter the "Temperance" chamber and discover in the centre is a font with oil in it. There is a plaque on the font with the word "Temperance" upon it. There are gutters that run along on floor height and head height of the tomb also filled with the oil. All the oil is connected, so any flames would light up the entire tomb. Malakai tells the others he assumes that the "Temperance" is to avoid using fireballs. Frank casts detect magic, and finds nothing magical about this chamber.
===Family Chamber===
The next chamber says the word "Family". Kel Lucila opens the door and it reveals a larger chamber. On the left side are 2 rows of stone tablets 10" x 10" sized each, each row has each letter of the alphabet. On the right side of the room is a recessed column with a slot on it for a place to place some of the tablets, 10 at most. Directly ahead is a door with a lever on the side. On the ground are a series of stepping stones leading in 3 directions, one to the tables, one to the recess, one to the lever. The air in this room is stale and dry. Frank sees no magic within the room. Malakai remembers Falstaff's Family Name is Haraziem, and that could be the word.
Van spells out Haraziem with the tablets then goes over to the lever and casts "Unfailing Premonition" on himself then pulls the lever and the door slides open. The party move onward.
===Strength Chamber===
The next chamber has the word "Strength" carved on its door. The chamber is a long corridor that they can't see the end of. Malakai throws a pebble down the corridor to light up the end, to reveal a door 70 feet away with a chain that goes from ceiling to floor next to it. Van leads the party down the corridor. Val pulls on the chain and the door slowly opens. The party put Frank on pulling chain duty and the rest of them get ready for a fight. The ceiling of the 70 foot long corridor starts to descend.
Van and Kel Lucila enter the next chamber, "Harmony", though the half open door as Frank keeps pulling. Malakai turns into a spider to get though the entrance. Van helps pull Kel Belle into the chamber. Frank loses his resolve and retreats down the corridor to the previous room. 
===Harmony Chamber===
In the Harmony room is a corridor 60 feet long with a 20 foot wide pit cutting it in half. Behind the party is another chain to open the previous door. The pit itself is smooth and featureless. The party have Kel Belle pull the chain to open the door to get Frank into the room. The base of the pit cannot be seen. Malakai drops one of his 3 continual light stones into the pit and they find it is a hundred feet deep with spikes at the bottom. Malakai flies to the other side of the pit and sees nothing except another door that says "Prudence". Malakai returns to the party.
Van casts Nap upon himself. While waiting Malakai plays chess with Frank and loses. When Van wakes up he memorises new spells, then casts solipsism to create a bridge across the pit. The party cross easily and enter the Prudence Chamber.
===Prudence Chamber===
The chamber is 15 feet across in a circle. There is another door on the far side that says Courage. In the middle of the room is a dias with four 28-inch pits in it. The whole dias is 4 feet across with the pits arranged in a circle. Next to each hole is a lever.
Malakai drops a copper coin in the "north" hole and it falls for 30 to 40 feet before it hits something below. Malakai looks down the hole and sees something is coming up. A ghostly shape and figure. The party back away from the ghost, but it grabs Malakai's face, but Malakai resists the drain, but is injured. Malakai returns fire with a magic missile, killing the ghost. Van heals up Malakai. 
The party then try dropping Frank's sword down the north hole then Frank pulls the lever. The north hole raises up, bringing Frank's sword and the copper coin back to the surface. On the raised tiny platform is also traces of silver. Malakai raises up the East Platform, and inside this one is a large egg, maybe an ostrich egg. Van lifts the south pit is another egg. Malakai discerns the broken silver pieces could have made up another egg. The two eggs vibrate.
The party back off, ready for a fight. After a minute nothing happens. Van cautiously pulls the last lever and a 3rd eggs rises up. The 3 eggs vibrate more intensely. Malakai inspects the broken egg and can't figure out a way to put it back together. The party has Frank remove the eggs and the door to the next room opens. Franks puts the eggs back on the dais and the door stays open.
===Courage Chamber===
The room ahead is a hallway is sloped to the sides, the ceiling slopes upwards, 30 feet wide, 15 feet tall, 60 feet long. At the far end of the hallway are 2 stone Gargoyles. Between them is a door. Malakai throws a light stone to light up the whole chamber. As the party move into the chamber, the gargoyles animate.
The party get ready to fight and the Gargoyles charge, one attacking Lucila, the other attacking Belle. Belle hits a Gargoyle with Harvest Moon. Malakai casts slow on a gargoyles, but they resist. Van heals Lucila up and she focuses on the damaged Gargoyle. Malakai Magic Missiles the damaged Gargoyle. Belle gets knocked out by a gargoyle and Lucila is battered. Van casts Unfailing Premonition and steps in the way of Lucila defensively. Van Healsing gets his nose broken in a heavy attack from a gargoyle. Malakai throws more magic missiles, almost taking it out. 
A gargoyle attacks Frank, throwing his head down the corridor. Malakai gets hit a few times, removing a few charges off his stoneskin charges. Van then gets knocked unconscious. Just Malakai and Lucia are left standing.
Malakai casts Cone of Cold on the Gargoyles, takes out the weakened Gargoyle. The last Gargoyle takes out the last of Malakai's stoneskin charges. Malakai casts mirror image, created 4 illusions. Lucila keeps attacking the Gargoyle. Malakai casts "Monster Summoning 1", summoning 7 Muckdwellers. The Muckdwellers attack with their water jets with 2 of them landing very minor damage.
The gargoyle attacks a Malakai illusion then hits the real Malakai. Lucilia its the gargoyle hard. The gargoyle hits another 1 Malakai illusion and misses a Malakai illusion. Malakai tries to cast dispel magic on the Gargoyle, but nothing happens. The gargoyle destroys another illusion the hits Malakai, droping him to 1 HP. Lucila finishes off the Gargoyle. 
Lucila and Malakai drag Van & Belle through the Justice Door. Malakai drinks a healing potion. They then go inside the Justice Chamber.
===Justice Chamber===
The chamber is full of treasure with a door at the far end. There is a shelf with a glass window with 9 rows of books with matching leather binding. They are Falstaff's Spell Books. There is a shelf of 20 potions and a potion recipe book Encyclopedia Magica: Potions, Oils, and Inks. There are 3 wands in a case, a Wand of Wonder, a Wand of Size Alteration, and a Wand of Magic Detection. In another case are 2 rods inside a glass case, labelled Rod of Cancellation. There is an enormous amount of wealth around the chamber The door at the back of the chamber says "Falstaff".
After some time of waiting, Malakai walks into the Falstaff room. Within is a sarcophagus with an embossed mummy of the top. Malakai sees there are carving on the back wall.
:These tools are for your judicial use. Be virtuous.
Malakai gives thanks to Falstaff, then open the sarcophagus carefully. Within the sarcophagus is a mummified body. The body wears 2 rings, a dagger, a cloak and the staff.
:Staff of Light: It is a staff of white Oak with a bright brass pommel on the base. The top has an elongated white/clear crystal a foot long but 2 inches wide, held in place by hooks. It will shine with light at will. It will negate magical darkness with a touch of the staff permanently. A wave of the staff will light torches, candles, campfires, and other lit ready to light fires. It can cast a ray of light that will blind a person for 2d6 turns or permanently (choice of caster) once per day. If you thud the staff upon the ground, all creatures within 120 feet radius, on the ground, will be illuminated as if they stood in full daylight for 10 minutes, twice a day. Also can fill the current room and all adjacent rooms with light, 4 per day.
Malakai picks up Falstaff's Staff, then takes the other magical items from his remains. There is a record of what the magic items are. A ring of feather fall, ring of fire resistance, cloak of displacement, the dagger is the spirit blade used by his assassin to kill Falstaff, which phases someone out of the current phase and allow you to attack the soul directly.
===12th September, 1511===
Van & Belle wake up, then Van starts to healing people and casts a Efficacious Monster Ward, then a Nap on himself. When Van wakes up he Heals again. Van also casts "Know Age" on the Staff of Light and is told it is 834 years old.
Malakai & Van carve out a teleportation circle. Malakai casts the spell and it turns into a working circle. Malakai explains what the items the Judgement Chamber do to Van, as well show him Falstaff's Research notes and spell books. Van casts extra-dimensional detection and finds a bag of holding that can hold 70 cubic feet or 400 lbs. Malakai researches the books for information on the Demon Plane.
===13th September, 1511===
Malakai casts the teleport with the circle, bringing the party back to Bon' Theris. 
The party get refreshments from Jeeves. Later they hold a funeral for Frank and cremate him overnight.
==Experience==
11,216 exp per character for this episode
25,000 Exp to Van Healsing for past episodes (not including +10% prime requisite bonus)
* Van Healsing levels to level 9
** From HP 46 to HP 48
** Total Exp 226,470
62,000 Exp to Malakai for past episodes (not including +10% prime requisite bonus)
==Battle Stats==
 	DamageSustained	DamageInflicted	Hits	Misses	Crits	CritMisses
Malakai 	28 	80 	4 	1 	0 	0
Van Healsing	48 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0
Frank 	46 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0
Kel Lucila 	42 	47 	5 	6 	2 	1
Kel Belle 	44 	10 	1 	4 	0 	0
Category:Hardcore Heroes Episodes