We left our stalwart adventurers as they realised the creature on the throne in the Tower of the Elephant was in fact a living being. Needless to say, the first assumption was that it was a demon of some kind, summoned into a statue to protect the jewel they planned to steal. However, it was Conan who began to think otherwise.
"That he did not instantly explode in a burst of murderous frenzy is a fact that measures his horror, which paralyzed him where he stood. A civilized man in his position would have sought doubtful refuge in the conclusion that he was insane; it did not occur to the Cimmerian to doubt his senses. He knew he was face to face with a demon of the Elder World, and the realisation robbed him of his faculties except sight..."
The creature, however, was more interested in finding out who the intruders were, and it became obvious to them it had been crippled with torture over many years. It revealed that it was a being called Yag Kosha, and that it had once been worshipped as a god in far eastern lands, before Yara had come into its presence and asked to become its apprentice, and learn of its magics. But Yara had eventually betrayed and trapped it, and brought it west to Zamora, to become his slave.
Yag Kosha said it did not want to live any longer, although the party did offer to rescue it. The alien explained that it was the last of its kind, and desired only revenge on Yara. It said that if they were to cut out its heart, pour the blood over the huge gemstone, and then carry the stone into the presence of Yara, it would be revenged on him.
The PCs were initially hesitant to kill Yag Kosha, but it was Conan who finally took the initiative, and cut out its heart. Having squeezed its blood on the crystal, the characters still debated whether to leave the tower and try to sell the jewel, but it was felt that Yara would pursue them murderously, perhaps to the far corners of the world. Better to be done with him.
Proceeding upstairs, they found a new level which contained Yara's library and study. There was no sign of the wizard, although Argol Arron searched through the books and scrolls, and recovered some items that he recognised as belonging to his old master Oomathax. It was Argol who was most keen to see Yara dead.
Up the next flight of stairs, the party was faced with two doors, plus steps going even further up into the tower. Argol peeked through the keyhole of one, and saw a muscled black warrior in armour, with a shaven head, dozing on a bed. He tried to lock the door with his thieves tools, but made too much noise, waking the warrior, who approached the door. Before he could get there, however, the thief had managed to lock it, and the man rattled the door and shouted - in vain.
Above: sketch of the Tower of the Elephant by the player of the pirate Molina Goth
The adventurers quickly stole over to the other door, and another peek through the keyhole revealed what looked like an old man in golden robes, asleep on a couch. Next to him was a hookah, and there was a strong smell of the yellow lotus in the air. The party surged into the room, waking Yara from his drug-addled reverie.
"Yara the priest and sorcerer lay before [them], his eyes open and dilated with the fumes of the yellow lotus, far-staring, as if fixed on gulfs and nighted abysses beyond human ken.
"Yara!" said Conan, like a judge pronouncing doom. "Awaken!"
The eyes cleared instantly, and became cold and cruel as a vulture's. The tall silken-clad form lifted erect, and towered gauntly over the Cimmerian.
"Dog!" His hiss was like the voice of a cobra. "What do you here?"
The adventurers produced the Heart of the Elephant, which Argol held out to the priest. Yara blanched at this, and it quickly became obvious that something was happening inside the jewel. "The jewel was no longer crystal-clear; its murky depths pulsed and throbbed, and curious smoky waves of changing colour passed over its smooth surface."
Indeed, the jewel was having a significant impact on Yara, who began to shrink before their eyes. Horrified, Argol left the jewel on the floor, and Yara was drawn inexorably towards it, shrinking further until he was only a couple of inches high.
"Now he had shrunk until the great jewel towered above him like a hill, and [they] saw him cover his eyes with his hands, as if to shield them from the glare, as he staggered about like a madman. [Argol] sensed that some unseen magnetic force was pulling Yara to the gem...Bending closer, [they] saw Yara clamber up the smooth, curving surface, impossibly, like a man climbing a glass mountain...And suddenly he sank into the very heart of the jewel, as a man sinks into a sea, and [they] saw the smoky waves close over his head."
Inside the jewel, the witnessed Yara pursued now by "a green, shining, winged figure with the body of a man and the head of an elephant - no longer blind or crippled...like the bursting of a bubble, the great jewel vanished in a rainbow burst of iridescent gleams..."
With the vanishing of the jewel, the party naturally began discussing the looting of the tower, starting with Yara's room. It was then they began to feel the floor and walls trembling, and rightly guessed that with Yara's demise the tower might be about the collapse. Going to the window, they saw an ornamental pond some 50 feet below in the gardens (Hero point spend). The trio leaped from the window into the pond, with Argol almost hitting the stone balustrade that encircled it (Hero point to re-roll the Agility check).
Behind them, they saw the Tower of the Elephant sway against the crimson sunset, its jewel-crusted rim sparkling in the fading light, and crash into shining shards. Being PCs, they decided they had about 30 minutes to loot the ruins for gems before the citizens of Arenjun plucked up the courage to investigate!
Thoughts on the scenario and Barbarians of Hyboria
The adventure and the rules were well-suited for a single evening's fast and furious swords and sorvery action. While the original scenario was written for 3rd edition D&D, I adapted it for BoH, leaving out some of the additional encounters. The characters were pre-gens, a mix of my own creation and from Barbarians of Lemuria. I wanted to have Conan in there as an option - and also offered Subotai and Valeria from the 1982 film, but neither of these were taken.
The party decided to go in by day, which meant they were unlikely to bump into Taurus of Nemedia - and the lions - in the garden at night, like Conan did in the story. I pondered having Taurus discovered in a cell in the basement level as well, but the players got so excited when the found the lions, I decided he would add unnecessary complications.
Their plan also meant that they would climb up the tower, rather than down, like Conan did. It led to early encounters with Yag Kosha and Yara, and they avoided the giant spider lurking in the upper level. They might have gone higher, but with Yara's death, the tower was compromised, as it was in the fiction.
A referee could, if he wanted, simply re-juggle the levels, so that the spider encounter occurs first, regardless of whether the adventurers proceed from below, or from above. The height of the tower and its smooth surface, obvious from the initial recon by the party, might have also pushed the group in the direction of the daylight subterfuge scheme.
This is the third outing for Barbarians of Lemuria/Hyboria for me, and I must admit I still like it for this kind of adventure. It is very rules light and does not get in the way of the story. The players loved the use of Hero points to manipulate the fiction - e.g. they asked if there was a pond or lake they might be able to jump into before the tower collapsed - the obvious answer from the GM being, sure, if you spend a Hero point...
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