.JPG)
+v1.JPG)
Journal - Session 7
Having explored the ruins of the Temple of the Red Crescent, an abandoned and crumbling ruin of ancient origin erected on the site of an older, pre-human settlement (and infested with lizardfolk), a party of six bold adventurers – Barrack, a plain-spoken dwarven Fighter, powerful wielder of the hammers favored by that strong and dour race; Marik, a reptilian dragonborn Warlock, heir to an ancient and proud lineage, but inescapably bound to a pact granting him supernatural powers; Jaeran, an elven Cleric upon whom the gods have granted a measure of divine power as a reward for his faith; Luke, a cloaked half-elf Wizard of mysterious origin and arcane might; Syxia, a tiefling Rogue, dark daughter of a cursed bloodline, her ancestors given to the infernal worship of fiends; and Ur-Kadar, dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, a holy warrior dedicated to upholding the tenets of his faith and protecting the weak with his battle axe – returned to the town of Folkestone, their temporary base of operations, to rest, relax and prepare for their next quest.
Concerned about a possible ambush laid by those pursuing Syxia and bent on her abduction, Luke performed an arcane ritual and sent an animal messenger (a small sparrow) to the Wizard Neltharian, and asked if there was anyone either new in town or asking about Syxia or her whereabouts. Several hours later, an owl appeared with a reply from the Wizard: “Her guests have yet to arrive.” Encouraged by this information, the party entered the town through the eastern gate. They were headed to The Crested Cock, the inn and tavern that has served as their base of operations in Folkestone, when Jaeran noticed two men leaving Neltharian’s shop. One put up a cowl and hood before heading to the back of the shop, disappearing out of sight. The other went behind the building, but later emerged and headed for the town market, where he was able to seamlessly blend into the large crowd milling about the town square, making an effort to follow him all but impossible.
The party went inside Neltharian’s shop and asked him about these two men. Neltharian stated that they were merely looking for alchemical components. Never one to mince words, Barrack asked about Neltharian’s progress with the book that the party had previously retrieved for him from a Wizard’s tower, A Complete Guide to Gates and the Planes. Neltharian said that since he was focusing on learning more about closing planar gates, he had no new information concerning the whereabouts of the Lost Temple of Shar-Ngrond. Neltharian did ask them if they found what they were looking for at the Temple of the Red Crescent. Barrack replied that they did not. The party then told Neltharian that they would soon depart for the Crypt of Marzoth and Lucritica.
Ur-Kadar and Barrack went to check on the progress of the Shrine of Bahamut, and found that it was going quite well. Most of the party had already returned to The Crested Cock, but Syxia went to visit both the tailor and the leatherworker, where she placed orders for two custom corsets (a white satin one from the tailor, with pink garter tabs, laces and straps, and a midnight blue leather one from the leatherworker, with black tabs, laces and straps; matching panties were also ordered for both from the tailor) – which cost a small fortune – before she returned to the inn and immediately went to her room and took a long, hot bath and washed her long, dark blue hair before climbing into bed, exhausted.
After his visit to the shrine, rather than returning for ale at the inn, Barrack went to see Greven the Magistrate, who told him that there had been no signs of undead activity in or around Folkestone. Greven then asked the dwarf about where the party had been. Barrack told him that the party had assaulted the ruins of the Temple of Red Crescent. Greven demanded to know what the party found there and, in his usual manner, Barrack told him: “Dead lizardmen, although they weren’t like that when we arrived.” Barrack asked if there might be anything that the heroes could do for him or Lord Jessup, the ruler of Folkestone. In reply, Greven revealed that while trade with Dunwin and Carrowheel had opened up, there was a lack of goods coming from the infamous port of Inequity. He had dispatched two of his best scouts to investigate the trail, but he was open to the notion of getting back to the party should their assistance be required. Barrack then returned to the inn, where the innkeeper, Meldrick, stated that he would really like a giant crocodile to compliment the drake that was now proudly displayed over his mantle (having obviously heard that the party had slain a visejaw crocodile during the final battle against the lizardfolk chieftain). The minstrel Pendingle had many questions for the heroes and proudly announced that his work on their ballad continues.
The party slept in late the following morning. There was fierce debate about getting horses, but the group ultimately decided against it (in any event, only half of the party could even ride regular horses; the dwarf would need a pony, and the hulking dragonborn would need massive draft horses). On foot, the party set off. They travelled on the road for three days in the hope of seeing the scouts from Folkestone that Greven had told Barrack about, before deciding to cut back overland for the next two days. On the fifth day out from Folkestone, Jaeran spotted smoke in the distance, which he estimated to be perhaps three hours journey away. As the party carefully moved closer, the smoke eventually disappeared. Jaeran determined that they were very close to the source of the smoke, however.
Carefully scouting ahead, Syxia snuck up to the area and saw a mausoleum, as well as a small hobgoblin camp around the area. The party decided to attack with surprise. Syxia and Ur-Kadar went around one side of the building, while the others proceeded around the other side. As usual, Syxia (unable to restrain herself, as always) pressed forward, but did not realize that she was somehow heard by the hobgoblins. As she turned the corner of the mausoleum, she gave a yelp of surprise as she found herself face-to-face with two hobgoblin soldiers; a bugbear warrior also jumped out of the underbrush behind her. Syxia once again found herself in trouble, so Ur-Kadar rushed forth to hold off the hobgoblins while she focused on the bugbear, unleashing a blinding barrage of daggers to devastating effect.
Meanwhile, the other group members had also moved forward. Luke busied himself hurling scorching bursts; Marik’s halberd sliced through the air, landing crippling blows on his cursed enemies; Barrack’s hammer rung in rhythm; and Jaeran’s holy words carried through the air. The group quickly dispatched four goblin runners and multiple hobgoblin grunts. With those enemies eliminated, Luke rushed over to help Syxia in her battle against the bugbear.
In uncharacteristic fashion, Jaeran raced forward and around the corner of the mausoleum, only to be attacked by a bugbear strangler who had been lying in wait; the stealthy brute quickly grabbed him with a garrote and began strangling him. Barrack charged the bugbear and attacked, but the crafty goblinoid used Jaeran as a human shield, and Barrack’s war hammer slammed hard into Jaeran. Jaeran spent several rounds desperately trying to free himself from the bugbear’s grasp while slowly being strangled. He was finally able to use his divine power to command the bugbear to the ground; the monster released the Cleric from his grasp, and Jaeran staggered away, falling on his hands and knees and gasping for air. The hobgoblin commander and warcaster then charged into action. The warcaster used magical force attacks to push several party members about the battlefield while also attacking with his electrified quarterstaff. Marik teleported onto the top of the mausoleum, and brought his mighty halberd to bear upon the bugbear strangler, killing it before switching to his dreaded eldritch powers.
On the other side of the mausoleum, Ur-Kadar finished off two hobgoblin soldiers as the commander charged forth to attack him. The party members quickly found that the heavily-armored hobgoblins were certainly better trained and capable warriors than their goblin cousins; the hobgoblins also fought very well in pairs, owing to their martial discipline. Syxia, with help from Luke, finally finished off the bugbear that had attacked her; she then joined Ur-Kadar. While the hobgoblins made difficult enemies, they proved to be no match for the mighty Paladin and they were eventually bested, falling beneath his axe; the Paladin took a moment to catch his breath, wiping the black, ichor-like blood of the hobgoblins from his surcoat. While the party was obviously a bit rusty, and was clearly caught off-guard, they eventually won the battle and finished off the remaining hobgoblins. The party was exhausted from the lengthy combat, but decided to search the hobgoblin camp and the mausoleum before making a decision about where to camp for the night. A quick search of the area around the camp led the adventurers to believe that this group of goblins must simply have been a traveling warband. It also appeared as though the monsters were using the mausoleum as a place of storage, without knowing what was below. After a closer look at the floor of the mausoleum, the party discovered a large stone lid set into the floor that appeared to be held fast by a powerful arcane lock. The lock was intact, so the party decided to rest for the evening in order to regroup and refresh before venturing into the crypt.
The evening passed uneventfully and after the group awakened the next morning, they returned to the mausoleum. Luke studied the arcane lock, and came to the conclusion that while difficult, he thought that he could break it. With the help of Marik and Jaeran, he succeeded. The group lowered themselves down 30’ to a room that was 40’ by 40’ with doors on the north, east and south walls. The 20’ by 20’ area that they descend upon had a fiery eye emblazoned on the floor. An inscription was carved into the west wall:
Some try to hide, some try to cheat,
But time will show, we always will meet.
Try as you might, to guess my name.
I promise you'll know, when you I do claim.
The group pondered the riddle and quickly came up with the answer – Death. However, they were unsure if this was simply a warning or if it might be a key to be used later. Syxia searched for traps outside the 20’ x 20’ area the party was in and found nothing on the floors or walls. It was decided that the party would try the eastern door first. Syxia checked it for traps and, finding none, she opened the door and it exploded with in a massive blast of energy. Jaeran and Barrack were out of range, but the other four party members were hit by the blast. Fortunately, the damage was minor, and it did serve to raise the party’s vigilance. They then examined the door leading north. It was not locked and did not appear to be trapped. They proceed forward a few feet and came to another door. Again, this door was not locked (nor was it trapped), and the party cautiously pressed forward with Syxia in the lead, followed closely by Barrack.
As the party entered an octagonal room, they all saw an altar with two burning candles and small piles off to the right and left. Not everyone saw the same things: Jaeran, Barrack and Marik saw a golden scepter on the altar with piles of gold coins, while the others saw only a hunk of twisted old metal and piles of bones. A discussion ensued as to which of these visions – if either – was real. Ur-Kadar inspected the bones and noticed that they appeared to have been sharpened. The first thought of the party members was that the bones may turn into some sort of undead monster if anything in the room was disturbed. Luke used his mage hand power to move the scepter to him, fearing a trap if anyone moved toward the altar. When the scepter was touched, a trap was sprung. The illusion faded as the scepter was revealed to be merely a hunk of rusting metal; the door to the room also slammed shut. A powerful cyclone began blowing around the room, picking up the bones and making them into dangerous projectiles, although the center of the room was safe. The party pondered their options and decided that Syxia could likely open the door, with Marik’s assistance. However, the flying projectiles would almost certainly do them a great deal of damage and probably cause them to fail. Barrack and Ur-Kadar stepped forward to serve as shields against the barrage, allowing Syxia and Marik to focus on the door. It took over a full minute to force open the door, and Barrack and Ur-Kadar took substantial damage from the bone shards (but not enough to dissuade the powerful warriors from protecting their friends), but the party was free.
The party then tried the southern door, finding it locked. Syxia successfully picked it, and it opened into a 30’ x 45’ room with a large pit in the middle of the room, 15’ wide and approximately 30’ deep. When the party entered the room, Syxia, Ur-Kadar and Marik saw a small stone bridge extending across the pit, while the others did not. Again, a discussion about what was real – and what was illusory - then ensued. Barrack and Ur-Kadar threw some debris from the rocky floor over the bridge and watched the rocks fall into the pit below. Barrack also noticed that the edge of the pit had been sharpened (in order to cut any ropes). Syxia considered doing a running handspring vault across the chasm, but a different plan emerged. Barrack banged away at the edge of the pit in an effort to wake the dead and/or dull the sharpened edge to prevent any ropes the party used to lower themselves down from being cut. Then Barrack and Jaeran were lowered into the pit, wherein they found six skeletons, hidden by alcoves not visible from above, and combat ensued as the undead creatures struck. Syxia attempted to somersault gracefully into the pit using an acrobatic maneuver to significantly reduce any damage she might otherwise have taken from the fall (although she still ended up on her tight, shapely little ass). Marik and Luke blasted away as best they could from the top of the pit, before the Warlock teleported to the other side. The combat ended with the destruction of the skeletons. Those at the bottom noticed one more trap, in that the first 5’ of the opposite side of the pit had been dug out; if someone would have tried to jump across it, the area would have likely given way and they would have plummeted into the trap. Marik helped everyone in the pit up, and Luke, after tying a rope to his body, managed to jump across. The door on the far side was locked, but Syxia was able to pick it. The party then proceeded down a corridor and turned west to find another door.
The door was unlocked and led to a 20’ x 40’ room. Each person who entered the room noticed a large pile of gold and silver coins in the room. At first the group suspected that this was yet another illusion, but they soon realized that they were all seeing the same thing. Syxia and Jaeran carefully searched the floor, walls and ceiling for traps, but found none. Sensing a pattern, Barrack mentioned that the trap is probably under the pile of gold. However, the group was by this time hungry for treasure, and Syxia started by moving just one coin off the pile. The coin was real and there was no adverse effect. They party then decided to scoop up all of the coins, securing the treasure in sacks, belt pouches and backpacks. As they reached the bottom, they realized their mistake as a glyph of fire was revealed; the room exploded around the heroes as a huge fireball ignited. Syxia evaded most of the damage and her tiefling fire resistance helped to reduce the damage she took almost entirely. The others were not so lucky. Luke, in particular, reacted too slowly; the Wizard was instantly knocked unconscious, and his smoldering body hovered between life and death. However, a few quick words, intoning prayers of divine healing, from the Cleric roused and healed him. The party did net 300 gold pieces and 200 silver pieces for their efforts.
The door in the room was unlocked and led the adventurers to a 10’ x 40’ hallway. When the hallway was first revealed, it was dark but within seconds pillars of flame erupted from four cauldrons along the side of the passageway, lighting the hallway and revealing two undead foes. A skeletal legionnaire was first, and beyond this undead horror was a flaming skeleton, like the ones the heroes faced in the ruins of Stillthorn Keep. The hall was arranged as follows: the first set of fire pots, the large skeletal legionnaire, a second set of fire pots and finally the flaming skeleton. This presented a challenge, as the skeletal legionnaire could hold the defenders at bay while the flaming skeleton could punish the group with fiery blasts from afar. Syxia made a bold move and decided to engage the flaming skeleton. She rushed forward, springing a trap: one of the fiery pots exploded, creating a line of fire blocking the hallway. She pressed on and relied on her resistance to fire to keep her unscathed, and charged past the legionnaire (but in so doing, she drew an attack that wounded her slightly). She pressed on through the second set of exploding fire pots and attacked the flaming skeleton waiting beyond. Her attack hit with deadly precision, and she was able to throw the skeleton back in the direction from whence she came. In heroic fashion, she followed-up her initial assault with yet another one that hit home. While unconventional, the attack raised party morale and inflicted significant damage on the flaming skeleton. The rest of the party rushed the large skeleton and began hammering and slashing away at it. Barrack used his great strength and his shield to force the large skeleton into the fire, adding to the damage dealt to it by the other party members. Syxia’s fire resistance protected her as the skeleton’s fiery aura, which proved a significant problem for the dwarf weeks ago, had no adverse effect on her. Syxia finished off the skeleton by herself and the rest of the group finished the skeletal legionnaire. The group proceeded to the doorway and through the unlocked doors.
Concerned about a possible ambush laid by those pursuing Syxia and bent on her abduction, Luke performed an arcane ritual and sent an animal messenger (a small sparrow) to the Wizard Neltharian, and asked if there was anyone either new in town or asking about Syxia or her whereabouts. Several hours later, an owl appeared with a reply from the Wizard: “Her guests have yet to arrive.” Encouraged by this information, the party entered the town through the eastern gate. They were headed to The Crested Cock, the inn and tavern that has served as their base of operations in Folkestone, when Jaeran noticed two men leaving Neltharian’s shop. One put up a cowl and hood before heading to the back of the shop, disappearing out of sight. The other went behind the building, but later emerged and headed for the town market, where he was able to seamlessly blend into the large crowd milling about the town square, making an effort to follow him all but impossible.
The party went inside Neltharian’s shop and asked him about these two men. Neltharian stated that they were merely looking for alchemical components. Never one to mince words, Barrack asked about Neltharian’s progress with the book that the party had previously retrieved for him from a Wizard’s tower, A Complete Guide to Gates and the Planes. Neltharian said that since he was focusing on learning more about closing planar gates, he had no new information concerning the whereabouts of the Lost Temple of Shar-Ngrond. Neltharian did ask them if they found what they were looking for at the Temple of the Red Crescent. Barrack replied that they did not. The party then told Neltharian that they would soon depart for the Crypt of Marzoth and Lucritica.
Ur-Kadar and Barrack went to check on the progress of the Shrine of Bahamut, and found that it was going quite well. Most of the party had already returned to The Crested Cock, but Syxia went to visit both the tailor and the leatherworker, where she placed orders for two custom corsets (a white satin one from the tailor, with pink garter tabs, laces and straps, and a midnight blue leather one from the leatherworker, with black tabs, laces and straps; matching panties were also ordered for both from the tailor) – which cost a small fortune – before she returned to the inn and immediately went to her room and took a long, hot bath and washed her long, dark blue hair before climbing into bed, exhausted.
After his visit to the shrine, rather than returning for ale at the inn, Barrack went to see Greven the Magistrate, who told him that there had been no signs of undead activity in or around Folkestone. Greven then asked the dwarf about where the party had been. Barrack told him that the party had assaulted the ruins of the Temple of Red Crescent. Greven demanded to know what the party found there and, in his usual manner, Barrack told him: “Dead lizardmen, although they weren’t like that when we arrived.” Barrack asked if there might be anything that the heroes could do for him or Lord Jessup, the ruler of Folkestone. In reply, Greven revealed that while trade with Dunwin and Carrowheel had opened up, there was a lack of goods coming from the infamous port of Inequity. He had dispatched two of his best scouts to investigate the trail, but he was open to the notion of getting back to the party should their assistance be required. Barrack then returned to the inn, where the innkeeper, Meldrick, stated that he would really like a giant crocodile to compliment the drake that was now proudly displayed over his mantle (having obviously heard that the party had slain a visejaw crocodile during the final battle against the lizardfolk chieftain). The minstrel Pendingle had many questions for the heroes and proudly announced that his work on their ballad continues.
The party slept in late the following morning. There was fierce debate about getting horses, but the group ultimately decided against it (in any event, only half of the party could even ride regular horses; the dwarf would need a pony, and the hulking dragonborn would need massive draft horses). On foot, the party set off. They travelled on the road for three days in the hope of seeing the scouts from Folkestone that Greven had told Barrack about, before deciding to cut back overland for the next two days. On the fifth day out from Folkestone, Jaeran spotted smoke in the distance, which he estimated to be perhaps three hours journey away. As the party carefully moved closer, the smoke eventually disappeared. Jaeran determined that they were very close to the source of the smoke, however.
Carefully scouting ahead, Syxia snuck up to the area and saw a mausoleum, as well as a small hobgoblin camp around the area. The party decided to attack with surprise. Syxia and Ur-Kadar went around one side of the building, while the others proceeded around the other side. As usual, Syxia (unable to restrain herself, as always) pressed forward, but did not realize that she was somehow heard by the hobgoblins. As she turned the corner of the mausoleum, she gave a yelp of surprise as she found herself face-to-face with two hobgoblin soldiers; a bugbear warrior also jumped out of the underbrush behind her. Syxia once again found herself in trouble, so Ur-Kadar rushed forth to hold off the hobgoblins while she focused on the bugbear, unleashing a blinding barrage of daggers to devastating effect.
Meanwhile, the other group members had also moved forward. Luke busied himself hurling scorching bursts; Marik’s halberd sliced through the air, landing crippling blows on his cursed enemies; Barrack’s hammer rung in rhythm; and Jaeran’s holy words carried through the air. The group quickly dispatched four goblin runners and multiple hobgoblin grunts. With those enemies eliminated, Luke rushed over to help Syxia in her battle against the bugbear.
In uncharacteristic fashion, Jaeran raced forward and around the corner of the mausoleum, only to be attacked by a bugbear strangler who had been lying in wait; the stealthy brute quickly grabbed him with a garrote and began strangling him. Barrack charged the bugbear and attacked, but the crafty goblinoid used Jaeran as a human shield, and Barrack’s war hammer slammed hard into Jaeran. Jaeran spent several rounds desperately trying to free himself from the bugbear’s grasp while slowly being strangled. He was finally able to use his divine power to command the bugbear to the ground; the monster released the Cleric from his grasp, and Jaeran staggered away, falling on his hands and knees and gasping for air. The hobgoblin commander and warcaster then charged into action. The warcaster used magical force attacks to push several party members about the battlefield while also attacking with his electrified quarterstaff. Marik teleported onto the top of the mausoleum, and brought his mighty halberd to bear upon the bugbear strangler, killing it before switching to his dreaded eldritch powers.
On the other side of the mausoleum, Ur-Kadar finished off two hobgoblin soldiers as the commander charged forth to attack him. The party members quickly found that the heavily-armored hobgoblins were certainly better trained and capable warriors than their goblin cousins; the hobgoblins also fought very well in pairs, owing to their martial discipline. Syxia, with help from Luke, finally finished off the bugbear that had attacked her; she then joined Ur-Kadar. While the hobgoblins made difficult enemies, they proved to be no match for the mighty Paladin and they were eventually bested, falling beneath his axe; the Paladin took a moment to catch his breath, wiping the black, ichor-like blood of the hobgoblins from his surcoat. While the party was obviously a bit rusty, and was clearly caught off-guard, they eventually won the battle and finished off the remaining hobgoblins. The party was exhausted from the lengthy combat, but decided to search the hobgoblin camp and the mausoleum before making a decision about where to camp for the night. A quick search of the area around the camp led the adventurers to believe that this group of goblins must simply have been a traveling warband. It also appeared as though the monsters were using the mausoleum as a place of storage, without knowing what was below. After a closer look at the floor of the mausoleum, the party discovered a large stone lid set into the floor that appeared to be held fast by a powerful arcane lock. The lock was intact, so the party decided to rest for the evening in order to regroup and refresh before venturing into the crypt.
The evening passed uneventfully and after the group awakened the next morning, they returned to the mausoleum. Luke studied the arcane lock, and came to the conclusion that while difficult, he thought that he could break it. With the help of Marik and Jaeran, he succeeded. The group lowered themselves down 30’ to a room that was 40’ by 40’ with doors on the north, east and south walls. The 20’ by 20’ area that they descend upon had a fiery eye emblazoned on the floor. An inscription was carved into the west wall:
Some try to hide, some try to cheat,
But time will show, we always will meet.
Try as you might, to guess my name.
I promise you'll know, when you I do claim.
The group pondered the riddle and quickly came up with the answer – Death. However, they were unsure if this was simply a warning or if it might be a key to be used later. Syxia searched for traps outside the 20’ x 20’ area the party was in and found nothing on the floors or walls. It was decided that the party would try the eastern door first. Syxia checked it for traps and, finding none, she opened the door and it exploded with in a massive blast of energy. Jaeran and Barrack were out of range, but the other four party members were hit by the blast. Fortunately, the damage was minor, and it did serve to raise the party’s vigilance. They then examined the door leading north. It was not locked and did not appear to be trapped. They proceed forward a few feet and came to another door. Again, this door was not locked (nor was it trapped), and the party cautiously pressed forward with Syxia in the lead, followed closely by Barrack.
As the party entered an octagonal room, they all saw an altar with two burning candles and small piles off to the right and left. Not everyone saw the same things: Jaeran, Barrack and Marik saw a golden scepter on the altar with piles of gold coins, while the others saw only a hunk of twisted old metal and piles of bones. A discussion ensued as to which of these visions – if either – was real. Ur-Kadar inspected the bones and noticed that they appeared to have been sharpened. The first thought of the party members was that the bones may turn into some sort of undead monster if anything in the room was disturbed. Luke used his mage hand power to move the scepter to him, fearing a trap if anyone moved toward the altar. When the scepter was touched, a trap was sprung. The illusion faded as the scepter was revealed to be merely a hunk of rusting metal; the door to the room also slammed shut. A powerful cyclone began blowing around the room, picking up the bones and making them into dangerous projectiles, although the center of the room was safe. The party pondered their options and decided that Syxia could likely open the door, with Marik’s assistance. However, the flying projectiles would almost certainly do them a great deal of damage and probably cause them to fail. Barrack and Ur-Kadar stepped forward to serve as shields against the barrage, allowing Syxia and Marik to focus on the door. It took over a full minute to force open the door, and Barrack and Ur-Kadar took substantial damage from the bone shards (but not enough to dissuade the powerful warriors from protecting their friends), but the party was free.
The party then tried the southern door, finding it locked. Syxia successfully picked it, and it opened into a 30’ x 45’ room with a large pit in the middle of the room, 15’ wide and approximately 30’ deep. When the party entered the room, Syxia, Ur-Kadar and Marik saw a small stone bridge extending across the pit, while the others did not. Again, a discussion about what was real – and what was illusory - then ensued. Barrack and Ur-Kadar threw some debris from the rocky floor over the bridge and watched the rocks fall into the pit below. Barrack also noticed that the edge of the pit had been sharpened (in order to cut any ropes). Syxia considered doing a running handspring vault across the chasm, but a different plan emerged. Barrack banged away at the edge of the pit in an effort to wake the dead and/or dull the sharpened edge to prevent any ropes the party used to lower themselves down from being cut. Then Barrack and Jaeran were lowered into the pit, wherein they found six skeletons, hidden by alcoves not visible from above, and combat ensued as the undead creatures struck. Syxia attempted to somersault gracefully into the pit using an acrobatic maneuver to significantly reduce any damage she might otherwise have taken from the fall (although she still ended up on her tight, shapely little ass). Marik and Luke blasted away as best they could from the top of the pit, before the Warlock teleported to the other side. The combat ended with the destruction of the skeletons. Those at the bottom noticed one more trap, in that the first 5’ of the opposite side of the pit had been dug out; if someone would have tried to jump across it, the area would have likely given way and they would have plummeted into the trap. Marik helped everyone in the pit up, and Luke, after tying a rope to his body, managed to jump across. The door on the far side was locked, but Syxia was able to pick it. The party then proceeded down a corridor and turned west to find another door.
The door was unlocked and led to a 20’ x 40’ room. Each person who entered the room noticed a large pile of gold and silver coins in the room. At first the group suspected that this was yet another illusion, but they soon realized that they were all seeing the same thing. Syxia and Jaeran carefully searched the floor, walls and ceiling for traps, but found none. Sensing a pattern, Barrack mentioned that the trap is probably under the pile of gold. However, the group was by this time hungry for treasure, and Syxia started by moving just one coin off the pile. The coin was real and there was no adverse effect. They party then decided to scoop up all of the coins, securing the treasure in sacks, belt pouches and backpacks. As they reached the bottom, they realized their mistake as a glyph of fire was revealed; the room exploded around the heroes as a huge fireball ignited. Syxia evaded most of the damage and her tiefling fire resistance helped to reduce the damage she took almost entirely. The others were not so lucky. Luke, in particular, reacted too slowly; the Wizard was instantly knocked unconscious, and his smoldering body hovered between life and death. However, a few quick words, intoning prayers of divine healing, from the Cleric roused and healed him. The party did net 300 gold pieces and 200 silver pieces for their efforts.
The door in the room was unlocked and led the adventurers to a 10’ x 40’ hallway. When the hallway was first revealed, it was dark but within seconds pillars of flame erupted from four cauldrons along the side of the passageway, lighting the hallway and revealing two undead foes. A skeletal legionnaire was first, and beyond this undead horror was a flaming skeleton, like the ones the heroes faced in the ruins of Stillthorn Keep. The hall was arranged as follows: the first set of fire pots, the large skeletal legionnaire, a second set of fire pots and finally the flaming skeleton. This presented a challenge, as the skeletal legionnaire could hold the defenders at bay while the flaming skeleton could punish the group with fiery blasts from afar. Syxia made a bold move and decided to engage the flaming skeleton. She rushed forward, springing a trap: one of the fiery pots exploded, creating a line of fire blocking the hallway. She pressed on and relied on her resistance to fire to keep her unscathed, and charged past the legionnaire (but in so doing, she drew an attack that wounded her slightly). She pressed on through the second set of exploding fire pots and attacked the flaming skeleton waiting beyond. Her attack hit with deadly precision, and she was able to throw the skeleton back in the direction from whence she came. In heroic fashion, she followed-up her initial assault with yet another one that hit home. While unconventional, the attack raised party morale and inflicted significant damage on the flaming skeleton. The rest of the party rushed the large skeleton and began hammering and slashing away at it. Barrack used his great strength and his shield to force the large skeleton into the fire, adding to the damage dealt to it by the other party members. Syxia’s fire resistance protected her as the skeleton’s fiery aura, which proved a significant problem for the dwarf weeks ago, had no adverse effect on her. Syxia finished off the skeleton by herself and the rest of the group finished the skeletal legionnaire. The group proceeded to the doorway and through the unlocked doors.
This set of doors led to a stairwell going down 10’ and ending in a small 10’ x 10’ room. A quick glance at the floor revealed a trap door. It was inspected for traps, and was found to be clean and unlocked. It was opened and a light source was dropped into the room below, revealing a 20’ x 40’ room with a large glass pillar inside. Barrack, Syxia and Ur-Kadar dropped into the room, about 12’ down, to investigate further. Syxia found a trap door with a lock on the other side of the room, while Barrack carefully examined the column. Inside the column looked to be several hundred gold coins and several keys; the column also appeared to contain a liquid of some kind. The group decided to have Syxia and Ur-Kadar climb back up to the small room and let Barrack, with ropes tied around him, break the column with his throwing hammers. As the column cracked and exploded, the group realized that they now had a problem. The column was connected to a large pool of water, probably the small pool they saw on the surface near the mausoleum. The water in the room began to quickly rise.
.
Realizing that this would probably mean that they could venture no further without something drastic happening, the party formulated a quick plan. Syxia stripped off her armor – as well as the rest of her clothing – surprisingly quickly, and the nubile devil-girl jumped into the water with Barrack, one of her sets of Thieves Tools wrapped carefully in a waterproof lining and held in her mouth; she left the rest of her equipment (including her clothes) in the charge of the party members who remained behind. They made their way over to the other side of the room, Barrack walking and Syxia swimming (with the dwarf’s head now fully underwater). Both realized that there was no way that they could find the keys, which were somewhere amid the coins now strewn across the floor of a room that was submerged completely underwater. Syxia stood on Barrack’s shoulders, and their combined height allowed her to barely reach the lock, which she then began to pick. It took many moments (and what time that passed surely seemed twice as long to the dwarf, even given his prodigious lung capacity), and the room was almost completely underwater when she finally succeeded. She opened the lock and popped her head through the trap door and gasped in surprise, as the first thing her golden eyes unfortunately saw was a glyph of lightning as it lit up blue and sent a massive bolt of energy through the water. She was grievously wounded, along with Barrack, but managed to maintain consciousness. With the trap door open, and the glyph spent, the others were able to swim between the two trap doors, and the party regrouped on the far side. However, the adventure had been so taxing that they decided to wait there, rest and heal their wounds. The other party members were so good as to return to Syxia all of her equipment and clothing, with one glaring deficiency – her cute, ruffled pink panties. Luke would only leer, and claimed that her panties must have been lost in the crossing. Non-plussed, Syxia donned her clothes (including what remained of her lingerie) and armor, and gathered up her equipment. She did not seem too terribly upset that she would now have to adventure on without panties – in fact, it would not be out of character if Syxia were revealed as something of an exhibitionist.
No comments:
Post a Comment