Aylen the Black & Fress

Aylen the magic-user and Fress the thief were created for a D&D Holmes game run by Aron Clark. Fist, we played The Lichway (1978) by Abie Fiore taht was published in White Dwarf magazine #9. The rest of the party were:

Tark (dwarf)

Balzon (fighter)

Franz (fighter)

Caspian (magic-user)

Later, after exploring The Lichway we delved into The Halls of Tizun Thane (1980), also by Abie Fiore, from White Dwarf magazine #18. This time the party had some new members:

Rollo (thief)

Chad (fighter)

What follows is a summary I put together after the fall of Aylen & Fress.

"Pressed by the fact that Fress wouldn't be able to control Lokota the demon much longer, Rollo and Aylen agreed to move forward into Thaark's four-story tower. Chad followed with his lantern. The bottom room was a richly furnished dining room with a long table fully dressed with china and glassware occupying the center. On one end of the table, a fireplace big enough to roast a boar with a 12-inch tall figurine of a casting magic user on the mantle and a dragon skull on the wall above it. On the other end he table a big mirror. Rollo checked the fireplace but found nothing. While Lokota waited here the rest went through a door and up a spiral staircase. The room was relaxing lounge with rugs and comfortable chairs, and also a fireplace. Upon inspection the group discovered the fireplaces were connected, so Fress and Rollo decided to climb the chimney while Aylen and Chad went up the spiral stairs. Lokota waited in this room after laboriously navigating the staircase. The thieves, Rollo carrying just his sword and Fress a dagger, a torch and his waterskin, nimbly ascended the sooty shaft into a dark room smelling of wool and parchment. Strange snores and mumbling could be heard from the room above. Rollo opened the heavy door to let Aylen and Chad in, the torchbearer's lantern revealing a library with countless tomes, some opened in wooden stands, with the floor covered by a thick woolen rug. Fress called Lokota to get there too. Aylen cast Detect Magic hoping to find something of interest here but only perceived a strong dweomer emanating from the room above. Lokota started to make a strange keening noise that was reciprocated from above and a thunderous voice could be heard through the fireplace. 'Who dares to enter my dominions unannounced!?'

The sound of heavy footsteps lumbering down the stairs set everyone but Lokota, that stood its ground, into motion. Rollo hid around a corner, Aylen behind a bookstand, while Chad and Fress tied a rope to a metal ring and threw a rope down the chimney. Thaark, an apeish fur-covered brute clad in a purple robe and wizard hat, both too small for its frame, bursted into the room. The group was slow to react but the demon looked confused by what he saw. Rollo and Fress tried to sweet talk the fiend but things didn't turned as expected and the demon started to cast! Rollo swung his sword but missed. Fress emptied his waterskin on Thaark. The demon cast Charm Person on Fress but the thief resisted. Lokota moved in and launched a barrage of attacks (claws, talons and beak). Aylen cast Frost Shroud on the demons, freezing the water and dealing more damage. Rollo took a step back and reached for his bow but with his frostbitten fingers couldn't take a shot. Fress moved next to Aylen, that was casting again, to retrieve some holy water from her back pack. Thaark used his magic again, this time a blast of fire engulfed the room. Aylen, Fress and Chad fell burned to the ground. Rollo dived away just in time avoiding the flames. The room started to burn, wood, parchment and wool feeding the blaze. Lokota, apparently unaffected by the fire, lounged forward and teared Thaark's flesh with claws and talons, killing the demon, but also grazing Rollo with its beak in its charge. The surviving thief, ignoring Lokota now free from its master, grabbed some potion from the shelves and urged the demon to help him. Lokota agreed and rushed to help Aylen and Fress; poor Chad was a charred corpse beyond all hope. Sadly, despite Rollo's bravery and efforts none of them made it through.

There he stood, face to face with a masterless demon that longed for a heart to be free. He offered the hearts of his fallen companions, that the demon gladly accepted. As Rollo escaped, Lokota feasted on the corpses Aylen and Fress before flying away from the inferno of what once were Tizun's Halls.