The PCs rested without incident and they were eventually joined by Zaane and Akriel. Hadarai, Benjaar and Humphrey decided to rest a little further in the comfort of Moonstone Keep. The dragonborn fighter eyed Akriel as he left and threatened "While I'm gone you better stay on the frontline. You're gonna earn that money, drow!" Rested and healed, the PCs decided to pull the levers to see what happened. Zaane had an attack at the ready, in case something should jump out from behind the door, but the doors swung in noiselessly, trailing thick webs behind them. Helios cast a light spell as they moved into the room, but that did little to illuminate the rest of the cavern beyond the door. The cave, in its entirety, was choked with spider webs. Moving further in, climbing down a small ledge to do so, they noticed the bodies of several humanoids, mostly humans with a few elves and a dwarf. The PCs didn't recognize any of the bodies and Cassius and Helios noticed pairs of puncture marks on the abdomens. However, they could also tell that this was not the cause of death. Investigating the cave further the group found SPIDERS!!! Seemingly dozens of cat-sized spiders and a pair of the same leaping spiders they'd fought before swarmed the PCs. The smaller arachnids did minimal damage but their insidious poison nearly cost Cassius and Zaane their lives more than once. After a grueling and fraught battle the PCs eventually defeated the horde of spiders. Some quick healing and a continued search of the cave followed. They managed to find a nice-looking Mithral Shield, and a very large Feast Table, both magical. The table could conjure a feast for 12 on command, which the PCs took advantage of and thought how nice it would look in their tower. Helios summoned a Tenser's Floating Disk which could support the massive table, but failed to fully encompass it. With help from another disk from Cassius, them managed to move the table. It seemed someone had placed the table against the cavern wall to block a hole. It was large enough for a medium size creature to crawl through, and Akriel caught a whiff of the Underdark from its depths. The group immediately looked for ways to block the hole, using rubble and coffins from the other room.
Another ledge, taller than the first, led down again into a smaller area. Upon a search the group could find anything at first. But, Helios recognized the Illusory Wall for what it was and led the group through a series of twisting tunnels that led to another pair of doors. Readying their weapons, the group threw open the doors, to find a massive catacomb flanked by four acid pits and obelisks. Before them stood a mass of zombies on a symbol of Orcus, painted on the floor in blood. At the far end standing below a shrine to Orcus was a man dressed very much like the necromancer they'd killed just hours before and a large Black Dragon. The necromancer waved lazily at the PCs saying "Kill them." The PCs snapped into action blasting the zombies with area attacks, eliminating all but one. The dragon dove into one of the acid pits, likely to reappear at another, and the necromancer rushed off to the side, out of sight. The group tentatively fought their way into the chamber as a zombie hulk arose from behind a pair of coffins. The dragon reappeared and blasted Cassius and Zaane with acid (rather ineffectually) as the hulk lumbered into battle. The PCs retaliated (still pissed about almost getting beaten by spider minions) with righteous fury. The zombie hulk barely managed one attack before it was sliced and diced and dumped in the acid. The last zombie managed to grab hold of Cassius but Zaane cut it away. The zombie popped like a ripe blister, dealing a little necrotic damage to the cleric and avenger. Mab blasted away with Voice of Krakas trying to daze the dragon while maneuvering his way around the chamber. The necromancer tried to hinder him with Restless Dead, but Cassius and Zaane locked him down and managed to push him, too, into the acid. The zombie hulk climbed his way back out of the pit, only to have Mab blast it's guts open with a Blade Vault. The genasi kicked the large corpse, unceremoniously, back into the acid. The necromancer couldn't manage to get out of the acid and dissolved away into necro-soup.
The dragon popped out of another pit and tried to take off down the tunnels, but Akriel and Helios let loose with an arcane barrage, dealing a good bit of damage. The group then pursued the dragon down the tunnel and cornered it in the spider cave. After a stubborn fight, they finally took it down.
They returned to the catacomb to destroy the shrine to Orcus. In doing so they discovered a secret room with the dragon's swag. Amongst the coinage and broken chests, Cassius found a large, slightly glowing pearl on a chain. He was about to hand it to Akriel and Helios for identification, when he felt the pearl's hesitance to leave his grasp. He could feel it searching his mind for his intentions, pause for a moment, and give him knowledge of its powers. Cassius was anxious to get to the shrine of Bahamut at the Temple of Pelor to glean his god's take on this strange artifact.
The PCs exited the Tombwood and returned to Moonstone Keep, along with the Feast Table and the head of the Black Dragon. They waited a few minutes for another audience with Lord Markelhay (leaving the dragon head outside the chamber). They informed him of what they had found and fought in the Tombwood. The Lord seemed satisfied and said he'd see to it that the shrine was consecrated and the bodies in the spider cave would be given a proper burial. The PCs took their leave to attend to other matters, and consider their next adventure…
RSS: New threads | New posts
As the PCs exit Moonstone Keep, they encounter a familiar young woman. The bespectacled Calindra (the demonologist the group met before their excursion into the tower of waiting) approaches the group, "It is good to see you all again. It's been a rather exciting few days. Did you manage to get any samples for me?" she asks expectantly.
Cassius seems a bit confused for a second, but recovers.
"Ah yes, Miss Calindra. You speak of the abominations we uncovered within the Tower. Well, I must apologize, as we were entirely too caught up with destroying the vile abominations to properly preserve any of them. However, I should think it quite alright for you to take whatever samples you can from what's left of their corpses. But I should warn you, it may be a revolting sight."
She looks a bit crestfallen at the news, "Oh my. Well, I'm sure the samples won't be any good after so long. No worries. I have heard rumors of cult activity out in the Gardsburry Downs. Where there are cults there are usually demons."
She digs through her rather large pack and produces a red octahedral gem on a chain. In the center of the gem appears to be a jet black eye. "As soon as I'm close I should be able to sense them with this," she pauses, "funny… I didn't sense the demons in your tower when I arrived earlier this week…"
Helios joins the conversation and chimes in: "Perhaps, the fiends in the tower were in fact devils and not demons at all?"
"Hmm…" she thinks to herself, twirling some of her blonde hair in her fingers, "No, I don't think so. From Brother Cassius's descriptions they were most definitely demons, and apparently infused with some power from the Shadowfell."
She digs a large tome from her pack and flips through its pages, "Yes, here it is, 'Rupture Demons, Evistros, Barlguras, Dretches. Definitely demons," She says as she slams the book. "Was there a ward in place? Perhaps that could have blocking my reading…"
"That is most definitely a possibility, Miss Calindra. As I recall, there was some sort of ward we had to deface in order to eliminate one of the traps. I suppose it's possible that was blocking your readings. Perhaps we should head to the Tower of Waiting and give it another inspection. And while we're walking, could you tell me more about that fascinating amulet?"
"Oh, yes! I would be quite interested in seeing that ward," she says excitedly as she hoists her pack.
"From your account on how many demons you fought, the ward would have to be very powerful. I wonder how long it was sealed…"
She thinks for a moment, adding numbers in her head, then snaps back into the conversation, "Oh, the amulet?" she says, lifting the gem from her bosom, "Its an abyssal eye amulet. They're quite common in St. Balthas. Very handy in dealing with the demon hordes from Ckalle. If you concentrate on it, it tells you the direction of the nearest demon and its type; mezzoloth, canoloth, dretch, whathaveyou, as long as they're within 1 mile."