The Great Temple of the Opiwangchecheng

Our heroes venture out onto the 3rd tier of the massive ziggurat that comprises the temple of the Opiwangchecheng. Covered in a dense jungle the party is surprised by giant praying mantis and giant tarantulas; with overwhelming odds our heroes triumph. They find a unique magic item: a single black pearl that functions as a cube of frost resistance. In the last room before the stairs that lead to the temple center, the party decides to finish off the last 2 Ochimo. Both remaining Ochimo challenge the samurai to a psychic dual, our brave samurai lost both. Never let them see you sweat, but if you do.... Don't run. A failed saving throw and the samurai aged a decade. Poison plagued the party, the shukenja the only light at the end of the tunnel. Our Kenzai and Wu Jen indispensable in a fight. 

Opiwangchicheng

After a battle with a wasteland spirit and giant mobats, our adventurers arrive at the accursed temple of the Opiwang. Before them stands a massive temple, a 3 tiered ziggurat of gigantic proportions. Here they meet animated cat statues of stone and black panthers. Their progress is hindered by traps until they meet the leopard lord who is held captive who offers aid to the party in hopes they destroy the Opiwang. (Though he has little faith in the party) they find a blind naga who is also held captive, the shukenja heals the naga and is freed. The stairs guarding the 3rd level of the ziggurat is protected by the Ochimo that remain! A samurai's motto is never let them see you sweat, nevertheless our brave samurai lost his psychic duel with the fire Ochimo. Time after time the Ochimo unleashed torrential torrents of fire upon the party, only to wave them off with superior saving throws. The battle continues...

Pirates, a camphor tree spirit and a river dragon

Our adventurers decide to venture towards the center of the island looking for the temple of the Opiwang (dead spirit king). From a rudimentary map they visit a pirate encampment marked on the map, only to find the encampment was completely destroyed except for an ancient shrine and plenty of undead. Along the way they find a camphor tree whose essence carries a powerful spirit who aids the party in many ways. After battles with giant spiders, spider trolls and oni, they meet a powerful river dragon who carries the party to the wastelands of the Opiwang where a temple is located somewhere within.

Journey to the island of Akari

With difficulty our samurai, kensai, shukenja and wu jen are commissioned by the family Ko to investigate the spirit disturbances on the island of Akari. Here they meet skeptical help by island folk who warn them about the Ochimo the spirit warrior. At every step they are warned to beware or leave. They decide to meet the Ochimo head on in confrontation, only to be beat by the town's scribe who is planning on selling them out. The plan backfires on the scribe and instead it is the scribe who is disintegrated to a pile of dust an inhaled by the Ochimo. Our brave adventurers manage to defeat the Ochimo at great cost only to learn that there are 3 more spirit warriors found on the island.

Dark Master defeated!

Our brave adventurers fear the last supper with the Dark Master and decide to go back to the temple where the casket labeled with a age-worn "H" is written on the heavy stone lid. Only the wizard and the ranger are able to move around invisible while the rest of the party becomes a loud distraction. The ranger and wizard make it into the temple and begin to make sharpened stakes worthy of a vampire. The wizard flips the latch releasing a poison dart sending the wizard to the floor for a dirt nap. The ranger decides to open the coffin only to find an old man in rags lying below! She stabs the old man with a stake at which time he awakes. The ranger then attacks with her scimitar using all attempts to destroy the evil intity in all haste. The old man returns the favor with choking fingers of fury. The rest of the party arrives to see a bunch of guards and a summoned storm giant surrounding the poor outnumbered ranger. The dark master begins his descent down a flight of stairs as he prepares to enter the fray. In a last ditch attempt the ranger strikes with her scimitar and a lucky "20" to finally send the old man in rags back into his coffin. The Dark Master never makes it to the battle as he succumbs to the icy embraces of death and stumbles down the stairs. The storm giant flees as the magic that held him is released. A massive battle ensues with many of the masters minions that remain and not a few of our heroes bite the dust and are revived throughout the carnage. Slowly our heroes turn the odds in their favor and begin to dispatch the nastiest of the dark master's minions and work their way to a final victory. The battle won and the temple of death defeated our heroes gather what treasure is available and flee before the bewildered inhabitants arrive to start asking questions. The long journey is finally over and the quest is at an end.

The Temple of Death

Our heroes continue downriver and hear a hunting horn in the distance. Soon they are surrounded by spectral hounds that materialize on the raft. The cleric summons a protection circle and keeps the beasts at bay. The battle is grand and a few are bit only to find their bodies slowly fading away. They dispel the effects and heal their wounds. Soon they are met by a sky ship with a skeleton crew who drop a rope latter, our heroes climb aboard and are flown to the Temple of Death where the master is waiting. After a lengthy monologue our heroes show some interest in joining The Master's cause.  They accept a dinner invitation where the Master's plans will be discussed further. They are taken to a room where they can rest, but instead of resting they quickly resort to spying. Their companion from the Great Pass reveals he is a doppelgänger, they hatch a plan to kill an acolyte in order for the doppelgänger to have the appropriate clothing. The doppelgänger and our invisible ranger with a squirrel in her pocket go spying. The going is rough because guards are everywhere. The encounter an old temple filled with coffins; they later find 3 radiate magic. They also encounter a massive statue in the perfect likeness of a storm giant also radiates magic. They believe The Master stays in the tower which is heavily guarded. The adventure continues.

The town of Magden and the Darkwood

Our heroes don't find a welcome mat in Magden, the local thieves guild pick a few pockets and enrage our heroes with the holy vengeance of crazy. They encounter a statue to man named: Hosadus and discover he is still being worshipped after 400 years. The murals at the shrine depict Hosadus during his lifetime. They then stock up at the marketplace and happen to view a puppet show depicting "The Master" defeating a bronze colored giant. They acquire a longboat and sail toward lake tros. Eventually they arrive at the borders of the Darkwood Forest. Our heroes explore a massive obelisk hidden in a clearing, our brave wizard touches the obelisk with the intent to identify it. The obelisk sends a bolt of light into the heavens and the heavens return a bolt of lightning tossing the wizard like a cheap salad. They receive for their troubles a poem or riddle glowing upon the obelisk.  Finally, they explore a black stone in another forest clearing, all of our heroes are immune to the effects of a spirit that inhabits the stone, all except our brave wizard who becomes possessed. The wizard decides to skip town and must answer a quick call of nature. The dwarf follows only to find the wizard dissapear. Our heroes rush to the boat to find the boat preparing to leave. The decide to shoot their teammate and brother-in-arms injuring him badly. The ranger decides to swim to the boat only to trade her hands for a pair of hooves - deer hooves that is! The cleric gets luck and casts hold person on the wizard holding him fast. They bind the wizard and return to the stone only to find they are unable to exorcise the possessing spirit. Finally, They trigger a powerful protection from undead scroll that drives the foul horror back into the stone; returning the wizard's spirit back into his body. They flee the area and continue down the river... The quest continues.