11.4 Zigging and Zagging (Milestone - 12th Level!)

SESSION DATE: April 05, 2025
PRESENT: Rory, Kemurial, Freya, Lim Dul

Deep Dive

![[Rory - 11_4 Zigging and Zagging.wav]]

Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[Zigging and Zagging.mp3]]

[Verse 1]
Gold in the cracks of Kemurial’s skin
He says it’s nothing—just something within
Rory shrugs, kicks the past back to the pool
The weight of a corpse can’t rewrite the rules
Echoes above, horns start to rise
Drums in the ceiling, smoke in the skies
We argue the ramps, we argue the stairs
Time stretches thin but nobody cares

[Chorus]
Zigging and zagging through the burning light
Climbing a temple just to earn the night
Flames at our backs, and ghosts in the walls
We run toward silence, we answer the calls
Zigging and zagging through fury and fire
No gods to pray to, just grit and desire

[Verse 2]
The city returns like a half-lost dream
Marching dust clouds, a glimmering beam
Lim Dul lights the sky with a blood-wrapped spark
A signal for wings in the gathering dark
Freya lifts us, the old man waits
Says “My children still hunger,” speaks of fate
Lim Dul grins, and the blade comes fast
No room for sermons, this chapter won’t last

[Bridge]
They come in waves, each step a hymn
Of teeth and fury, and beast-skined limbs
Karl draws the line with a wall of flame
Kemurial walks through it like it knows his name

[Chorus]
Zigging and zagging through the broken sky
No promise of safety, but we still try
Fire in our lungs, smoke in our veins
We dance with death and forget our names
Zigging and zagging from dusk to the fray
We don’t look back—there’s no other way

[Solo]

[Verse 3]
Illusions break, but fear holds ground
The lines grow tighter, we hold our sound
Rory carves paths with a laugh and a scream
Freya sets fire to the edge of a dream
Ropes descend from the iron sky
And one by one, we leap and fly
The Spirit waits with open arms
We fall into steel, away from harm

[Chorus]
Zigging and zagging through ash and flight
Hearts like drums in the endless night
We gave them hunger, we gave them flame
Now we sleep, nameless, unashamed
Zigging and zagging from chaos and war
We’re not what we were—but we’re something more

[Chorus]
Zigging and zagging through the howling dark
Each scar a sentence, each breath a mark
Clutching the ropes, and the stories we claim
No need for glory—just remember our names
Zigging and zagging 'til the morning’s light
Burned but breathing, we did it right

World Anvil Journal

sooo... aftew we fot tha aboweth we had to taik a wetht and wile wethtin i notithd that kimiweel wookd difwint cuz he had a hawo over hith hed and he had wingth and hith thkin wookth wike it hath wike gold metel in it or thomethin and i never thaw that befowe. i akthd him abowt it and he thaid that he dint no why he wookd wike that but he theemth cool with it tho i gueth ith a gud thing. dum dum hath a pwobwem with it tho cuz now heth wike a angle or thomethin but i think he wookth awthome.

n e way aftew are wetht we herd thome noitheth fwom up abov that thowndid wike hornth and ekthpwothinth and im wike oh no we gotta git bak to tha ship quik. we wint down tha hall acwoth fwom were we caim and fownd thome thtairth. they wint up to thome wampth and other thtareth. im wike we gota taik tha thtareth to git up their fathter and tha otherth thot we shud taik tha wampth up inthted to maik shure nuthin cometh up behind uth, im jutht wike okay fine im jutht fowwowin u guyth i gueth. well we dint find n e body on tha wampth tho i gueth we waithtid tiem o well.

we git up to tha top and we come owt owtthide on tha top of thith wike pewamid thing. thereth a hoe that wookth down into the pool of water that aboweth wath in and we r vewy hi up tho we dont wanna fall in cuz that wud hurt. we wook owt over tha thitty and thee a bagilion n m eeth movin tord uth. the woof of thith pwathe ith gwowing wike a wite shootin into tha thky tho they mutht no were hear but tho doeth the areship and we thee it fwyin tord uth and dwoppin bomth on tha peepel bewow. we wook bak and thee tha old man agin. heth wike can u imajin evwywon whoth been thwone down hear ath thacwifitheth to tha aboweth ith to bad u killd him. im jutht wike oh wath that the thing u thaid needed to be fed cuz we ate and were thtill hungwy. the guy thaid we dint no hunger and they come or thomethin. fwaya cathted fwy on her and karl and me. dum dum thaid ur childwen mite be hungwy but ur gonna be tha won that feedth them. i think he ment that to thownd intimidatin but i thot to mythelf ya heth gonna be tha won to feed them thath wat heth bin twyin to do tha hole tiem i don get it but watevr.

dum dum jumpth to tha old man mage and killth him wile the wetht of uth focuth on all tha guyth comin up tha thtareth. dady karl maid a wall of fier to bwock the top of tha thtareth and kimiweel fwieth into it cuz fier cant do n e thing to him. there wath tho many peepel comin up tha thtareth that i wotht twack of them all but i thaw them thtawtin to cwimb tha wallth of thith pwathe twying to git up top. i thtaid on the thide of the wall of fier to keep them fwom comin up tha wall and that workd pwetty gud. thith fite ith wike fwayath dweem come twue cuz she did jutht abowt nuthin but fierballth she wookd wike she wath havin a gwate tiem and she did weel gud taikin owt tho miny of them it wath awethom to watch. kimiweel kept shootin witenin at them and that did a ton of gud altho he wath goin cwazy with it and it wookd wike he wath havin fun to. dum dum twied thtabbin tha woof i dont no wat gud that wath gonna do but u gaiv it a good thtab budy gud job. thin he thtawtid shootin hith bow wich akshuwy did thomethin gud. we did all we cud to keep all thethe guyth bak wile we waited for tha areship to git to uth. it took a wittel bit but finawwy they got hear and we cwimed up tha wopeth and bak onto tha ship.

that wath pwetty fun. ath thoon ath we got on tha ship evwywon met uth and wath givin uth hi fiveth and thtuff and were wike man that wath awthome. vawek athkd uth wat hapind to uth win we dithapeerd and we towd him evwything. they towd uth abowt thethe piwamidth gwowing ath thoon ath they finishd wepawing evwything and how they took off weel fatht to twy to find uth.

we r thuper gwateful they did cuz that wud hav bin bad.

dwaugnir pweethe wach over uth.

Private Notes

• After the battle with the aboleth and we've had some time to decompress, Rory notices that Kemurial looks very different. Suddenly, he has a halo and wings?! He has undergone a transformation from a high elf into an aasimar. Rory asks why his skin looks like it has gold flakes suddenly. He's unsure. He says he always though it was eczema or something.
• While resting, we let Friar Karl use the Staff of Fire, but it still belongs to Freya.
• We discuss lugging around the aboleth's corpse, but ultimately we decide to leave it behind. Rory kicks it back into the pool.
• After our rest finishes, from high above us, we hear the sounds of horns and drums coming from the hole in the ceiling above. We can hear faint sounds of explosions. Rory suggests we quickly make our way to the surface and back to the ship.
• We continue southward through the hallway. There's a staircase in the hallway that turns upward. Going up, we see spiral staircases, ramps and entrances to the balconies. We stop a moment to discuss whether to take the ramps or the stairs. Rory suggests the stairs so it's faster to get to the sounds of the explosions with no time to waste getting back to the Spirit of Grugni. Lim Dul suggests we take the ramps to ensure we clear the area as we move so nothing comes up behind us. Kemurial agrees with Lim Dul. Rory just follows, suggesting whatever we do, we hurry.
• We take the ramps. It's all the same the whole way up. Rory thinks it's time wasted, but hey, what does he know?
• Finally we make it to the roof, the top layer of this pyramid-shaped building. Looks like we're in a ziggurat.
• Looking out, we see the sprawling city we were in before we were teleported here. In the distance we see thousands upon thousands of forces moving into the city, kicking up dust. Above is the Spirit of Grugni, unmoored, flying toward us. There is a glow emanating from the top of the ziggurat. There are bombs being dropped. Everyone is moving toward this beacon.
• In the middle of this ziggurat is a hole in the platform. Looking down it, we see the aboleth's pool below. It's a long way down.
• Lim Dul wraps a bandage around an arrow, asks one of us to light it, and fires it into the air to let the Spirit of Grugni we're here. He suggests Freya cast Fly on herself, Friar Karl and Rory so we can fly to the zeppelin.
• Looking back toward the center of the ziggurat, we see the old man again. "Can you imagine the thousands who have been thrown down this hole as sacrifices to the aboleth? It's a shame you've ended its existence." Rory says he assumes the aboleth is who this guy referred to as needing to be fed. Rory says we've eaten, and we're still hungry. The old man says "You don't know hunger. My children still hunger. They come." We look at the base of the ziggurat and see some forces coming up the ziggurat.
• Freya finishes casting Fly on us.
• Lim Dul moves toward the old man saying "Your children may hunger, but you're going to be there to feed them." and leaps next to him. INITIATIVE!!!
  • Round 1
    • Kemurial uses Otherworldly Slam on the old mage, then casts Lighting Bolt on him. The mage uses Counterspell. Because it's a spell and he's within 5' of Lim Dul, Lim Dull in turn gets his own reaction to make an opportunity attack. Lim Dul hits him, and the he saves on the Topple effect. The Counterspell goes off and Kemurial saves, so his Lightning Bolt goes off.
    • Lim Dul's turn. He begins chanting, and makes an attack on the mage, hitting him. The mage fails the Topple this time, falling prone. Lim Dul's second attack hits as well, killing the old mage. Lim Dul does a quick search of his body. Lim Dul suggests that we take off and get onto the roof, and does so himself.
    • Freya's up. She holds her action to use Fireball if and when enemies get near.
    • Friar Karl's up now. He uses the Staff of Fire to cast Wall of Fire at the top of the ziggurat's steps.
    • Rory's up next. He rages and flies up to the roof as previously instructed.
  • Round 2
    • The first group of forces reaches the top of the stairs. Once within range, Freya unleashes her held Fireball on them, taking out a ton of them!
    • Kemurial's turn. He drinks a Potion of Speed, dismisses his dire wolf, grabs his cloak and flies up to the roof with the rest of us. He then casts Fireball.
    • Lim Dul's turn. He moves to the opposite side of the roof and attempts to drive his sword through the roof to break the beacon of light. He hits it, but it doesn't stop the light from emanating.
    • Freya's turn. She casts another Fireball, this time at the rear of the group coming up the stairs. She takes out tons more, leaving only Bestigors.
    • Friar Karl's next. He casts Fireball as well.
    • Now it's the Bestigors' turn. One of them shouts "WITH ME!" and runs along the wall of the ziggurat level he's on and climbs up, getting past the Wall of Fire.
    • Rory's turn. He flies down to meet the Bestigor and introduces him to his soul sword, killing him.
  • Round 3
    • At the start of this turn, we notice a couple new types of Bestigor join the fray, some more armored than others and some more shamanistic looking.
    • The shaman's turn next. These are called Bray-Shaman. He returns our gifts in kind by casting his own FIreball at the roof, catching Kemurial, Freya and Friar Karl in its blast. Kemurial is immune to fire. Freya uses her reaction to cast Absorb Elements. Friar Karl gets hit and fails his save on his concentrated spell. Freya also fails her concentration on Fly, so we can't fly at the moment.
    • Another Bestigor's turn. He moves his way up to the wall, but is unable to climb it just yet.
    • Kemurial's turn. He flies out over the Wall of Fire and down onto the surface near a Beastman Ungor and casts Divine Favor. He then attacks that Beastman Ungor, whiffing two swings, and hitting with his Hasted attack. That's one less Beastman Ungor to worry about.
    • Lim Dul's turn. He's still chanting, and aims his longbow at the shaman in the distance. His aim is true.
    • The Beastman Ungors are up. They all move up and toward the wall and climb up. Some of them unleash their heavy crossbows on Kemurial, but they all miss.
    • Freya's turn. Another Fireball, taking out tons more of the little ungors and even one of the bestigors. Nice one!
    • Bestigor's turn. He just moves up.
    • Friar Karl next. He casts Minor Heal on himself.
    • The Beastlord is up. He moves up and drops prone on the steps.
    • Rory's turn. He moves up to the ungors and unleashes three swings, taking all three out. One remains in reach, and the bestigor is still just below.
  • Round 4
    • On the sixth round, the Spirit of Grugni will be overhead and dropping mooring lines. We should be positioned and ready to catch them.
    • More Bestigors join the fray.
    • The Bray-Shaman's up. He moves up a bit casts Fireball again. This time he's able to catch Freya and Lim Dul in the blast. Freya once again uses Absorb Elements. Lim Dul makes his save, but Freya fails. Lim Dul maintains his concentration.
    • Bestigor's up. The one below Rory moves up the wall and makes two attacks at Rory, but misses both. Another moves up and drops prone on the steps near the Beastlord.
    • Kemurial's turn. He casts Lighting Bolt, catching the Beastlord, the bray-shaman, and some others in its blast. He takes out one of the ungors with the bolt. He moves up to some ungors nearby and uses his Hasted action to attack one, hitting it. He pumps a Divine Smite into it, killing it. He then moves backward into the Wall of Fire, cuz he's immune to Fire thanks to his ring. Boss! Moving provokes, but they miss.
    • Lim Dul's up. He pokes his head up and aims at the Bray-Shaman and hits again. He then ducks back down and moves away from his initial position out of line of sight.
    • The Ungors are up. Three of them attack Rory, hitting with all three attacks. All others advance up the steps. 18 of them are in range to fire their crossbows at Kemurial. But Kemurial casts Shield and every last one of them miss him. Ain't nobody touching him!
    • Freya's up. She casts Major Image above the Wall of Fire. She creates an image of an Empyrean flying in the air busting into reality in an attempt to frighten the enemies. Awesome image! She then retreats behind the peak of the roof, ducks down and uses a Potion of Healing on herself. The ungors, bestigors and the Bray-Shaman all fail their saves, so they're frightened of this image.
    • Bestigors are up. They don't fire at Kemurial seeing as 18 of them just missed, so they turn their attention on Rory. One hits, the other misses.
    • Friar Karl's turn. He casts Minor Heal on Freya.
    • Beastlord is up now. He stands up and moves forward and bit. He chucks three javelins at Rory, hitting with one.
    • The Bestigors are up. They fire at Rory, missing.
    • Rory's turn. He takes two swings at the nearby bestigor, hitting once. He uses Action Surge, taking out the bestigor and the other nearby ungor. He moves behind the Wall of Fire to break their line of sight.
  • Round 5
    • TONS more ungors move in.
    • The Spirit of Grugni is very nearly overhead.
    • The Bray-Shaman's turn. He fires a Scorching Ray at the illusory Empyrean and realizes it's an illusion, calling that out to his group.
    • The bestigors are up. They move forward unable to see much to hit.
    • Kemurial's turn. Another Lightning Bolt, this time hitting 18 enemies himself. Do unto others! He takes out the majority of those he hit!
    • Lim Dul's turn. He aims his longbow at an ungor, hitting it twice and taking it out. He then moves to the corner of the roof hoping to be outside the range of any Fireballs that might come his way.
    • Now it's the Ungors' turns. One tries to grapple Rory, but fails miserably. The others move up.
    • Freya's up. She casts Fly on herself and Friar Karl.
    • More bestigors get to go now. They move up toward the top of the ziggurat. One of them attacks Rory twice with a heavy crossbow, missing both times.
    • Friar Karl's up now. He casts Minor Heal on Freya.
    • Yet more bestigors go now. They move forward.
    • The Beastlord is up. He moves up toward the top of the ziggurat. He gets within line of sight of Rory, but is unable to do anything from his position.
    • Rory's turn. He makes one non-Reckless attack at the nearby ungor, killing it. He waits for Kemurial to cast Fly on him, so he sticks around for now.
  • Round 6
    • Spirit of Grugni is overhead and deploys its mooring lines.
    • The Bray-Shaman's turn. He moves up, unable to see anyone to attack.
    • A bestigor makes his way to the top of the ziggurat and fires two crossbow shots at Kemurial, missing with both.
    • Kemurial's turn. He casts Fly on Rory, then grabs his cloak and flies himself away to the roof and positions himself near the ropes.
    • The bestigors move up.
    • Lim Dul moves to the tip of the roof and uses a Scroll of Summon Beast to summon a bull next to Rory. He then grabs a mooring line.
    • The ungors move up.
    • Freya moves to the mooring lines and climbs up to safety. She turns around and casts one last Fireball, taking out more ungors.
    • A bestigor moves up to Rory and tries to grapple him, to no avail. Rory shakes off both attempts.
    • Friar Karl climbs the mooring lines.
    • More bestigors move up, unable to do much.
    • The Beastlord moves up, able to make to Rory finally. He hits Rory once.
    • Rory's turn. He Disengages and flies 60' upward and toward the ropes and grabs onto one.
    • For brevity's sake, the army advances, shots are fired toward us, but we swat them away as we make our escape.
  • Combat over.
• We are immediately met by the dwarves on the ship. They welcome us back and praising us. Varek asks us what happened and we explain everything. They tell us about the pyramids glowing right as they finished their repairs and they took off as fast as they could to come find us. We are grateful they did.
• Lim Dul asks someone to identify the mage's staff and spellbook. It's an Eldritch Staff. The spellbook has some nice spells in it, but as none of us can really use spellbooks, we sell it as well.
• We retreat to our quarters where we can finally take a long-awaited and deserved sleep.
• TNGBU.

That's it for this session.

Adventure Loot

• Eldritch Staff (20000g + 4000g (Persuasion success))
• Spellbook (1075g)
  • Light - 0g
  • Mage Armor - 50g
  • Mage Hand - 0g
  • Prestidigitation
  • Fireball (4th) - 200g
  • Invisibility - 100g
  • Cone of Cold - 250g
  • Fly - 150g
  • Misty Step - 100g
  • Counterspell - 150g
  • Shield - 50g