Session One Hundred Nineteen: The Lord of the Many

The group began exploring the keep. There was the main hall, where they battled the Klar, and two small rooms adjacent to it. These small rooms were cluttered with bones and offal. There were stairs that lead to an upper level. However, the upper level was not stable and threatened to collapse, so they decided not go explore too much on that level.
Beyond the entrance hall was a large chamber. Inside the chamber was a basin, which had been set into the floor. There was also a great stone door. The door was heavily weathered and there were some marks on it. Dimitria thought it might be writing and told the group, but they ignored her. They pushed and pulled on the stone door, but it didn't budge.
Rafiq decided to use the way to open a dimensional doorway to go beyond the stone door. The dimensional doorway appeared and he stepped through, closing the door behind him. He found himself in a gray fog and he heard whispers all around him. He attempted to manifest another dimensional doorway, but could not do so. He heard whispers in the fog, but the voices were quiet. He could not understand what they said because they were mumbling or speaking a different language. Then he felt someone, or something, touch his shoulder. He reached up to grab their hand, but felt nothing with substance. He decided that it was his time to leave.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group thought Rafiq was quite rude from shutting the dimensional doorway without anyone else being able to pass through. Clavis discovered the the door slid upward. So, he lifted it up and forced it open. The rest of the group, excluding Rafiq, passed through the open doorway. They were surprised to not see Rafiq on the other side. They were also surprised that it was humid, a strange feeling for any Athasian. After everyone has passed through, Clavis jumped out from under the door and let it fall to ground.
They lit a torch to get more light and were surprised to see they were in a vast chamber. They were on a white platform with a strange thing in the middle of it. The thing was three bowls, stacked on top of each other with a foot of space between them, with a pole running through the middle of each one one. The largest bowl was on the bottom and the smallest on the top. They had no idea what it was for. After puzzling over the strange thing, the party began looking around.
There were walkways leading off of the platform they were on and no sign of Rafiq. Rafiq attempted to use the way to open another dimensional doorway, but it did not work to get him back to the keep. So, he used the way to teleport instead. He appeared back in the keep, in the room with the basin and door, and the rest of the group was gone. He tried using the way to phase through the stone door, but there was just rock beyond.
Rafiq uses the way to contact Dimitria and asked her to open the door. Confused, she said that she's seen him walk through walls, why would he need the door open? She told the rest of the group and Selia told her to be careful, they didn't know where they were and it could be mind worms, or something similar, pretending to be Rafiq. Dimitria then asked Rafiq how did she know it's really him and not mind worms?
Rafiq thought the idea was funny and entered Yusef's mind. He proceeded to convince Yusef that mind worms had infected Rafiq and were trying to take over Yusef. Yusef told the rest of the group. Everyone agreed to not open the door.

Taking a guess, Rafiq poured a gallon of water into the basin. He guessed correctly and the door opened. Upon seeing him, Yusef emerged from his hiding place and attacked Rafiq, Clavis joined him soon after. They were convinced Rafiq was infested with mind worms and Rafiq realized, as he was getting pummeled, that playing pranks like this was not a good idea. Rafiq backed off and told them that he wasn't infested with mind worms, that he was only joking. No one believed him.
Rafiq said that the Lord of Mind could prove it and he reached into his pouch to take it out. As soon as he touched the gemstones, Rafiq's countenance changed. The group knew that the gemstones had taken over Rafiq's body.
Rafiq spoke and said that he was now the Lord of the Many and he wanted Dimitria to hand him the rest of the gemstones. Dimitria refused, because she knew if she did, then The Lord of the Many would never relinquish Rafiq's body. And worse, it'll likely teleport to Tyr to take on Kalak directly. However, she told the Lord of the Many that she would join the gemstones she held with the Lord of the Many, if it relinquished control of Rafiq.
Clavis didn't understand what's going on and still thought Rafiq was infested with mind worms, so he punched him. The Lord of the Many teleported Rafiq's body to the opposite side of the platform. Clavis charged across the platform and tackled Rafiq. The Lord of the Many relinquished control of Rafiq's body. Rafiq called out that he was free. Selia ran forward and tried to grab the gemstones, while Rafiq attempted to throw them away from him. Neither were successful and The Lord of the Many took control of Rafiq's body again.

Clavis attempted to punch Rafiq again, but missed and stuck the hard stone floor. Rafiq then touched the gemstones to Clavis' leg. Clavis reached down and grabbed them. Rafiq became himself again, but Clavis' countenance had changed. Clavis stood and sneered. The Lord of the Many, through Clavis, then accused Dimitria of lying. He relinquished control of Rafiq and she had not kept her promise to join the gemstones together. Dimitria tried to explain that she didn't have enough time to do anything, but The Lord of Many would not hear it.
Clavis walked toward Dimitria and said that Clavis' body had the power to take the other parts of itself, meaning the other gemstones, by force. Ali stepped between Clavis and Dimitria. Clavis drew his scimitar, Joline, and Ali used the way to grow a scimitar from his arm. Before either could strike, Dimitria called out for them to stop.
She said that Kalak was their enemy, not each other. She explained that their goal was the same and she was worried that, once combined, the Lord of the Many would teleport away and deliver itself to Kalak. Then, all hope would be lost. She decided that she would trust the Lord of the Many to know that allies would be needed to kill the Ogre Doom and she hoped that her trust would be repaid. She then handed the rest of the gemstones to Clavis.
Clavis immediately joined the rest of the gemstones together. He then tied a leather cord around them and hung them around his neck, tucking them into his tunic. He thanked Dimitria for her trust and agreed to follow her plan. They then relinquished control of Clavis.
Clavis didn't care for the gems taking over his body, but he couldn't stop them from doing it again. Rafiq had been beaten badly, which he rightly blamed himself for, and suggested they teleport to the Lost Oasis to recover. The rest of the group agreed and Rafiq used the way. However, nothing happened. Then Rafiq finally understood. He turned to the rest of the group and told them that they were no longer on Athas.

Join us next time for another exciting session of Adventures Under the Dark Sun. 
2nd edition AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters 
Dimitria: Human female druid. 20 years old. Played by Mary. Speaks Urikite, Raamin, and Tyrian.
Clavis: Human male gladiator. 30 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Drajish and Tyrian.
Rafiq: Human male psychoporter. 25 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Tyrian, Balican, Raamin, and Urkite.
Selia: Half-elf female ranger. 27 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Elf and Tyrian.
Yusef: Human male thief. 24 years old. NPC party member. Speaks Tyrian, Nibnese, and Urikite.
Ali: Human male clairsentient. 26 years old. NPC. Speaks Tyrian, Urikite, Balican, and Gulgish.