DM Commentary

This adventure started with a casual decision I made in the middle of writing the Grail Quest adventure. In the crystal cavern hidden behind the Grail Tower (aka The Tower of the Lovelorn Knight), there was a Hall of Many Doors, with a pit at the end. On a whim, I decided to have you find a set of ancient bones, and strange cards bearing names like "James St. John" and "Isaac MacAllister". It was intended as just a way of making you, as players, go "WTF?!?".

Epilogue

Having defeated Tynillios and his collection of the party's alter-egos, the party debated about how long to wait before returning to Earth. The Gatestone pointed to a weathered flagstone in the center of the tower's floor, and Earth's was the only facet still glowing green on the Gatestone. After healing up as best they could without an overnight rest, they decided there wasn't likely to be any danger waiting for them back on Earth, now that Twynillios was out of the picture. Placing the Gatestone on the flagstone, they pressed the facet for Earth, and felt the familiar stretching sensation.

The Final Confrontation

The party took an extended rest after defeating the SpellWeaver, and then prepared to leave. They were reluctant to leave all that valuable-looking loot behind, but could find no way to separate any item from the rest of the hoard. The Gatestone only had two facets left untouched: the one for Earth, and one more unknown universe. Pressing that facet, they felt the now-familiar stretching sensation as they were transported across dimensions.

The SpellWeaver

Having survived their encounter with the gremlins, the party paused to catch their breath and bind their wounds.  They searched the room, but found nothing magical (or almost anything that wasn't broken, shredded, or befouled by the gremlins). That just left the doors in the far corner of the room, so arranging themselves, they pushed them open.

Don't Feed Them After Midnight

After finishing off Professor Frink and his robots, the party spent some time healing up and searching the room. They didn't find anything of interest on the bodies of the Professor or his assistant, but Chuck was worried about the machinery that still hummed and crackled in the corner. There was a very female robot hooked up to the machinery, and although it appeared completely inanimate, Chuck decided that he'd sleep better if he smashed it up a bit. The Gatestone now pointed almost due east, but the only obvious exit from the room was to the south, so the party spent some time searching (unsuccessfully) for secret doors along the east wall.

I, Robot

The party was still in battle with the alchemists and their plants, but the tide had clearly turned in their favor. Phil managed to escape the vines that had ensnared him and tried to put some distance between himself and the creature. The lone remaining active alchemist slipped away from Joe and hurled a couple more vials of chemicals his way, but it was too little, too late, and he soon became compost for the greenhouse. The party briefly considered leaving the plants alone, but another Caustic Cloud from the Vine Horror Spellfiend that left Joe blinded (again) quickly changed their minds.They had little trouble finishing off the two remaining plants, then delivered a coup de grace to the Held alchemist and his master. There was more rustling and movement from the far reaches of the greenhouse, suggesting that more of the plant creatures still remained, but for now, all was quiet.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Having fended off the welcoming committee that had demanded the surrender of their weapons and magic, the party took a brief rest and then checked the Gatestone. It seemed to point towards the building they could see on the hill a mile or so away, so they set off.

I Feel Funny

The party had defeated a strange assortment of monsters, robots, and ray-gun wielding baddies, and used the Gatestone to transport themselves to the next unvisited universe. They found themselves standing on a floor of chipped and weathered marble. Crumbled walls, columns, and arches surrounded them, and if there was ever a roof to this place it was long since gone. Behind them stood a half-domed grotto holding a statue of a winged woman, almost like an angel, but the face of the statue was weathered to the point that it was impossible to tell whether she was benevolent or cruel. Despite the long-abandoned and ruined nature of the rest of the building, water bubbled merrily in a fountain before them.

Long Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away ...

The party had completed their mission for the King of the Fire Elementals, returning (very reluctantly) to Ravenloft to bury the gem he had given them, creating a new-born volcano in the process. They hurriedly returned to Castle Lightningspire, ignoring the bodies of the dead circus folk strewn about outside, and used the Gatestone to re-close the gate.

The Fortress of Glass

At the urging of their oracle, Queen Amal and her Amazon warriors had agreed to to take the party across the "Lake of Fire" to the "Fortress of Glass" - whatever that meant. Mounted on the Amazons' pterodactyls, the party flew up the side of the volcano at the center of the island, and over the lip of the crater. At that moment, the oracle's words made sense. Below them, the caldera was a filled with a lake of molten lava, seething and bubbling. Rising from the center of the sea of magma was an island of black rock. Seeming to grow out of the rock itself was a tower of black obsidian. At a command from the Queen, the flight of pterodactyls banked as one, and began descending towards the tower.