VI. Mirror, Mirror

Almost a year passed after the party completed the trade mission. Darksea was substantially rebuilt and repopulated, and the new town of Eastgate was completed at the entrance to the passage into Darksea. All of the Enterprise members, as well as Mediel, prospered during this time. Finally, Edward, Green Arrow and the other Enterprise members were contacted by a member of the Enterprise (from the Armed Forces Liaison Office, Exploration department-the unit that ensured communication between the Armed Forces and Exploration departments), who gave them a message. The Armed Forces and Exploration departments had studied the journal of Dumoin Rudok (which the party had found in the Silverhold library), and had found some intriguing information that both departments had an interest in.

The party were invited to meet with the Liaison Office manager at his office, to which the liaison officer took them via teleportation.

At the Liaison Office, the party conferred with Lessic, the manager. It seemed that the journal of Dumoin Rudok had several pages written using the secret page spell. The secret pages described a journey to a strange world by means of a set of magical mirrors. The point of entry was in a room located at the end of an alley in a dangerous section of Greyhawk, for which the journal included a map and directions for locating a key to the door which Dumoin had hidden. Inside the room, behind a curtain, was a mirror which could only be activated by means of a special spell (also concealed by means of the secret page spell). Dumoin had managed to activate the mirror and step through it.

Once through the mirror, Dumoin had found himself in a corridor with brick and mortal walls and stone floor and ceiling. He carefully marked the mirror through which he had stepped with a "D" rune, and proceeded along the corridor. However, apparently some hidden horror soon attacked, because Dumoin wrote "the corridor was the site of a terror that even now I cannot commit to this journal, even in secret, still less in ordinary form; perhaps at some future time I will be able to do so. Only through desperate struggle was I able to make my way from the corridor and into a place of apparent safety." Dumoin was able to mark a second mirror, through which he had exited the corridor, with a hammer symbol to identify it should he pass through it again.

On the other side of the second mirror, Dumoin stated briefly that he had discovered "a land of strange magical properties and strange weapons of great power." He found the people to be non-hostile, in spite of his appearance (being a dwarf in a land apparently populated solely by humans) and their strange language, which required considerable time for him to learn sufficiently to communicate. He went on to write that he would soon include additional detail concerning the nature of the land. Unfortunately, there did not appear to be any additional information recorded in the journal.

Lessic told the party that, from study of Dumoin's journal, it seemed clear that Dumoin had accessed the Plane of Mirrors, a little-known but very dangerous transitory plane from which few had ever returned. He then proposed that the party undertake the following mission: find the land that Dumoin had found, learn what they can about it, and return with knowledge of the strange weapons to be found there. If possible, the party should recruit one or more weaponsmiths knowledgeable in the art.

The party took several days to make preparations. Lessic provided the party with a scroll of the mirror walking spell, and with the key Dumoin had hidden, which would unlock the door to a hidden room located in a dangerous part of Greyhawk in which the mirror was located. Firiona added the spell to her spellbook, and soon thereafter the PC's teleported to Greyhawk.

The party included a newly-recruited follower of Edward named Chip, a young human sorcerer with a talent for enchantments.  A guard at the gate of Greyhawk through which the party entered gave the party directions to Flandry Road, which would lead the party to a narrow, deserted alley in which the hidden room was located. After several hours' walk, the party reached Flandry Road, a shabby, dirty street fronted by abandoned and boarded-up buildings, low-class craftsmen's shops, sleazy taverns and run-down residences.

Passing by one of these taverns, the party was hailed by a stranger who asked, "Can you spare a copper for a bloke who's down on his luck?" Edward gave him a gold piece, but then another stranger came up from behind the party and asked for a handout also. At this point, Arnold decided to insult the fellow, which drew about a dozen men into the street. The first ruffian called out to the crowd, "Get 'em!" and a fight began. Unfortunately for the ruffians, they were vastly inferior to the party in a fight. The party wiped out almost the entire ruffian mob.

After searching the (now abandoned) ruffians' tavern, the party searched for a carved griffin's head that, they had been told, marked the entrance to the alley in which the hidden room was located. Eventually they located the alley, an even narrower path lined with even smaller, shabbier, more run-down shops and abandoned buildings. At the dead-end of the alley, the party found a secret door, which Edward opened using Dumoin's key.

Inside the room, the party found several crates and barrels, as well as a bookcase with a number of books. Firiona perused the books and located a spellbook including a number of new spells, most of which were in her prohibited school but available to Chip. In the back of the room was a heavy black curtain. Edward pulled back the curtain to reveal a large mirror: the mirror the party had been seeking. Firiona cast the mirror walking spell and entered the mirror, then pulled in the rest of the party after her. Edward secured the door to the room before entering the mirror, to prevent unauthorized entry.

The party found itself in a corridor, extending to the left and right, which resembled a wide hallway in a castle: stone walls, brick floor, stone ceiling, about 10-15 feet wide, and dimly lit. Green Arrow located a D-rune next to the mirror through which the party had entered, as expected from Dumoin's journal.

The party proceeded to their right. The floor of the corridor sloped upward gradually, then reached a staircase before continuing onward on a winding course. At intervals of about 200-250 feet, the party located additional mirrors which opened onto other planes. Firiona identified the mirrors as opening onto the Elemental Plane of Fire, the Elemental Plane of Air, Arcadia (near Mt. Clangeddin), Pandemonium (in the city of Madhouse), and the Positive Energy Plane.

Suddenly, an arrow streaked toward the party, striking Green Arrow! The party was astonished to see, charging toward them, seven figures who appeared to be exact duplicates of themselves, but opposite-handed! The party quickly realized that they were about to battle mirror-images of themselves. Surely this was the horror that Dumoin had encountered and barely escaped! The party knew they were in for the most desperate fight of their lives.

Edward was the first to take action, going invisible and speeding up. Mirror-Arnold loaded a cross-bow. Green Arrow fired a barrage of arrows at mirror-Green Arrow, killing him! The mirror-archer shattered into a shower of glass shards. But then things took a turn for the worse for the original party members. Mirror-Edward also activated boots of speed and turned invisible. But the real damage began when mirror-Firiona cast her prismatic spray spell! Green Arrow, Arnold and Mediel were all stricken with insanity, while Lou was poisoned and died instantly! Firiona was also poisoned, but she resisted the fatal effects of the poisoning, instead suffering severe constitution reduction and physical damage. Even Chip took serious fire damage, although he immediately quaffed a healing potion and overcame the worst of the damage. Mirror-Lou strummed a song of power that inspired greatness in mirror-Firiona, while mirror-Mediel rushed to attack his counterpart, who, while insane, was unable to effectively retaliate.Firiona was able to cast Bigby's grasping hand at her mirror-self. The hand successfully grappled mirror-Firiona, keeping her from casting most of her spells and preventing her from escaping. Finally, mirror-Chip fired magic missiles at Firiona, damaging her again.

Edward cast holy sword, preparing to deal devastating damage to the evil opposites of his companions. Mirror-Arnold took a vial of some substance and smeared his crossbow's bolt with it; the original party surmised that this was black lotus extract! While Arnold babbled, unaware of his surroundings, the now-insane Green Arrow turned on Firiona and killed her! Mirror-Edward, unable to see his counterpart, attacked Arnold, severely wounding him. Mirror-Firiona successfully cast dimension door to escape from the grasping fist, then ran away, seeing that her counterpart had now been killed. Chip fired magic missiles at mirror-Chip. Mirror-Lou ran away with mirror-Firiona, mirror-Mediel continued his battle with his counterpart, and mirror-Chip returned magic missiles at original-Chip.

While Edward remained invisible, mirror-Arnold fired the poisoned crossbow bolt at Green Arrow, but his intended victim managed to resist the effects of the poison. Unfortunately, the madman continued his assault on his own party, killing Chip. Mirror-Edward, surprisingly, was unable to damage the babbling Arnold, and mirror-Mediel continued hand-to-hand combat with his insane opposite. Mirror-Chip ran away as well now that his opposite was dead.

Now the battle began to turn back in favor of the party. Edward slashed at his counterpart, dealing an incredible amount of damage that almost, but not quite, killed mirror-Edward. Crazed Green Arrow, having killed two of his companions, now ran screaming up the corridor and away from the battle. Mirror-Edward attempted to take down his opponent, dealing damage almost as heavy as had been dealt to him, but Edward managed to survive the onslaught. Mirror-Arnold dropped his crossbow and prepared to join in hand-to-hand. Mediel, still insane, bolted from the battle and ran after Green Arrow.

Edward finally managed to dispatch mirror-Edward, then turned his attention to mirror-Arnold. Original Arnold suddenly regained his senses, and immediately attacked mirror-Arnold! Mirror-Mediel, in turn, attacked and battered Arnold. The battle continued until Edward finally dispatched both mirror-Arnold and mirror-Mediel. Edward then subdued the babbling Arnold and put him in his portable hole, along with the dead party members, then raced up the corridor in pursuit of Green Arrow and Mediel.

Finally, Edward subdued Green Arrow and Mediel, put them into the portable hole as well, and returned through the marked mirror into the secret room in Greyhawk. There he planned a trap for the remaining mirror-members, who he expected to try to enter Greyhawk and take over the lives of their slain counterparts. As he has foreseen, after a length of time the curtain was moved aside, and mirror-Firiona, mirror-Lou and mirror-Chip entered the room . . . only to be set upon immediately by Edward! They proved no match for the mighty paladin, and quickly fell, shattering into nothingness as they died.

Edward secured the secret room and headed toward Greyhawk's temple of Hieroneus, seeking healing for his living companions and resurrection for the fallen.

After a week of healing and resupply, the party returned to the hidden alley and the secret room. Passing through the mirror once again, the party passed by the previously-identified portals, as well as mirrors leading to the Outlands, Acheron and two other locations not further identified. Finally, they came to a mirror bearing a hammer symbol--the second mark of Dumoin!

The party stepped through the mirror and found themselves in a small, dusty room with a few empty crates and boxes. A door opposite the mirror was locked from the inside, but Arnold was able to open the lock. However, opening the door itself proved more difficult. The door seemed to be blocked. Edward attempted to force the door open, but surprisingly, was unable to do so unaided. Edward felt noticeably weaker as he tried to open the door. However, he was able to open the door wide enough for Arnold to slip through and survey the area on the other side.

Arnold returned, and Edward, with the help of Green Arrow, finally managed to open the door enough for the rest of the party to go through it.

They found themselves in a dusty cellar filled with wrecked crates and smashed barrels. They spotted a dumbwaiter as well as a staircase leading upward. Arnold went up the dumbwaiter and again returned with a scouting report. The party then headed upstairs, where they found similar wreckage. They appeared to be in a wine merchant's shop, although the shop had been wrecked and locked up; the window was boarded up and the door was locked, apparently from outside. In a back room the party found a fireplace, and Arnold promptly climbed up the chimney.

Outside, Arnold climbed down from the roof of the building. He found that the door was chained shut, and he picked the lock and unchained the door. The party restored the interior of the wrecked shop to approximately the state it was in before they arrived, then left the shop. It was late afternoon, and the sky was overcast.