Tag: treasure

Cultists and Death

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, PandoraLeave a comment

Heading down the stairs we follow some footsteps to a pair of cultists playing strip chess. They don’t mind us ransacking the room, seeming very focused on their game and each other. How strange, but they seem busy for the moment, so become a later problem.

The next room, I am encouraged to sneak into alone. It is a dormitory, full of bunks and chests. I rifle through each chest, avoiding the bed with the lone sleeper, relieving these cultists of their money seems the least I can do. Plenty of robes here, too, should the group decide to disguise up while we explore. The sleeper jumps up when I get to her bed, and a short scuffle ensues as she runs out straight into the rest of the party. Amazingly, Ard doesn’t kill her, but knocks her out and Gideon ties her up before waking and questioning her. Ashara tells us that she is well taken care of here. That Shamet promised her a better life. They knock her back out and bind her securely on her bed before we move on.

We continue on, finding a room with two people conversing quietly. I unlock the door and the group rushes in, to find what Tasha calls an Oathbreaker in black armor and a woman in leathers. I stay in the hallway while the group takes care of them. Once down and dead, they are relieved of all of their earthly possessions, many of which are magical, including a portable hole, currently empty, but quickly filled with everything, including these bodies. It takes some convincing to get Tasha to try on the platemail because it is blackened, a symbol, she says of oath breaking, but she’ll be safer in it.

Onward, we find a crypt with 5 bodies laid out in death. We decide to leave them be for the time, instead heading down nearby stairs to a single door. Inside, a woman in black robes reads from a book. I, once again, stay in the hallway while they fight her. Unfortunately, a man in red robes comes from up the stairs and tosses a spell at me. A quick shriek brings help out into the hall to deal with him, while I run into the room, tossing some rocks at the woman. She responds by summoning over a dozen zombies. It is very unpleasant in there until we get some turning power going. Afterwards, we have to head back to the entrance to get a quick rest and some medical care before we can continue.

Having still not found the prisoners, we have to head back in. Back in and to the right this time, we find some doors, an open sacrificial room, and a temple full of unmoving undead. There is a bell in the back of this latter room that seems like it might activate the undead – 30 skeletons and 30 zombies. They don’t seem to care if we’re in the back of the room by the hall, however. So, I open a nearby door to find just 6 undead, three of each type, guarding a couple women, Aseneth and Arpad, and merchants. We unlock them all and draw up a map back to the entrance to get them out.

We all head back down the hallway together, finding a collapse behind one door, and a double bedroom behind the other. This one has a couple more cultists who immediately attack and must be put down by the group. Laramond finds some historical tablets here and a book translating them – the story of the evil goddess this place is dedicated to.

Moving on, we check out the sacrificial altar room. The altar hold bloodstained containers, and the walls are frescos showing a man fighting past monsters that guard seven tombs to reach a woman in black. There is a single cultist here, a man hiding behind deep red pillars. We talk him out without a fight, tie him up and take him back to where Ashara is still bound.

Not ready to fight 60 undead, we head back to the crypt with five. And their shadows rise. Laramond is able to take control of some and between those and the recently found magic weapons, the group is able to put them down. They look around, but don’t find much else here.

We head back to the temple, checking out the small rooms around the edges, without bothering the silent undead. Finding a bedroom with a secret door hiding a treasure room. Using the new portable hole, we steal all the treasure. Tala comes back in from guarding the back entrance and takes a look for secret doors – many of which lead to the disorienting tunnels. Back in the sacrificial room, Ard tries to pick up the vessels on the altar, and is nearly possessed by one, so he uses a skeleton to move them all into the portable hole for later destruction. We’ll have to talk to Rafe about borrowing the forge for a few hours one evening.

Then we really do have to deal with the sanctuary. Do we collapse the tunnels? We don’t have the right gear for that, even if I could figure out how. Instead, we prepare a bottleneck. Gideon and I set up a tripwire in the hallway. The fighters line up to fight them, with the new Mace of Disruption in the middle. Then the clerics and Laramond line up behind them. I go hide in a little room with a locked door with the rescued prisoners, and eat the final remnants of Mendel’s food. The group wins out, but poor Tasha is unconscious for the effort.

We head back to the room where they fought the Blackguard, to see if his stone horse will wake up with the magic bridle they had found. It does, and Ard rides it back to the keep, with Tasha draped across its haunches. It looks stable enough, so we head out to go back to the keep.

Unfortunately, the bandits from a few days ago find us in the woods, and they’re unhappy at having been robbed. They demand half of what we took from the cultists, instead of just what we took from them. Laramond tries to negotiate with them. Several folks want to just fight them, but with Tasha down, and the others not feeling well, we should not chance it. Laramond pulls some money bags and art pieces off of his donkey and sets it down for them – around 2000 gold worth. They accept this offering and head off toward the caves. Gideon, Terak, and I trail them a little ways to be sure of their direction and number, about 20. Then we all get back to the keep for some rest and healing.

Report 23: The Temple of Shar…Mask

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, SvalaLeave a comment

The Riddle

  • We head down into the Valley of Lost Honor.
  • We were given a riddle about the location of Shar’s temple: Seek a place of rest, where the serpent’s head calls to shadow.
  • Dendar was sealed within these mountains by Ubtao, and Cover of Clouds points out a cleft where there is always more darkness.
  • Acid rain begins in the valley so we hunker down for the night.
  • On our way to the crescent-shaped cleft the next day, the ground begins to shake, and lava erupts from the ground.
  • We all get off the ground one way or another to avoid further lava and race across the open field. Except Shohei who just runs.
  • When we enter the cresent at midday, we all take to the air again as a Lava Worm emerges.
  • I banish it for a minute as we race away, avoiding what would have been a massive amount of burnt flesh.
  • From our high vantage point in this escape, we notice the shape of a serpent’s head in the mountains and land at the place of our riddle.
  • We find an open basin area where darkness clings.
  • In the darkness of night, we see the shape of the Temple to Shar emerge – an obelisk in shape, with no entryway.

The Temple of Entrance

  • The Shar symbol is clear, but the sides are all smooth.
  • There are divination, illusion, and enchantment effects present.
  • Even Mr. Darkfoot cannot see inside.
  • I remember an old Ritual of Admittance for Shar clerics – requiring an awful act to seal a secret with Shar.
  • I commune with Oghma to see if there is another way inside than murder.
  • He says we can all get inside without having to each perform the ritual, one of us could and get us all in, but even that is not necessary.
  • Ms. Lendiel tries to dig around the structure.
  • Mr. Trisfir bleeds on it a little.
  • Ms. Lendiel suggests sharing our secrets and Mr. Trisfir tries telling of the deaths of his parents.
  • Mr. Darkfoot asks Ms. Lendiel to bring out the Manifold of Mask that we stole out of the library for just this purpose.
  • Once activated, purple-green smoke pours forth, filling the area.
  • Ms. Lendiel can now see a doorway and calls us all over.
  • Shohei and Mr. Darkfoot find and disarm traps, allowing us entry into a very long stairwell.

Into the Depths

  • Going down the stairs takes quite a long time.
  • The coolness is a nice relief from the heat of the jungle and volcanic plain outside.
  • They foyer of the temple is full of skeletal corpses – killed with fists and teeth and rocks.
  • We push further into the temple through doors and hallways.
  • To a room with broken bookshelves and glass shards – which form into golems, whom we smash back to bits.
  • Moving on, we find a hall of mosaics of battles between the gods, which RoK and I dutifully record.
  • The door at the end of this hall leads into a sanctuary with similar decorations and a 20 foot globe of darkness in the center.
  • The rest of the room is full of skeletal bodies, some armed and armored as Knights of Shar.

Globe of Darkness

  • The darkness emits illusion, enchantment, and abjuration auras to my Sight.
  • Tuppance flies in, but is immediately bitten by whatever resides within.
  • Ms. Lendiel says the dead here did not just fight each other.
  • As we study it more, it appears to have been created through divine intervention.
  • A force cage and darkness spell of incredible power to trap something.
  • We decide to leave it alone for now, but only find a barracks and kitchen area in the other direction.
  • It is decided to use the Manifold in the morning on the globe of darkness.
  • After resting, we return and the revealing smoke of the Manifold eats away both the darkness and the force cage.
  • Revealing coiled white serpents seemingly made up of thousands of worms, including skulls for hands dripping even more worms.
  • After a terrible fight, we put down these abominations.

Mask’s Secret

  • Ms. Lendiel looks around with the lingering smoke after the fight, but no vault or entrance to one appears.
  • Mr. Darkfoot inspects the murals here and in the hall.
  • Questdrone looks for logical inconsistencies and finds instead a section about hearth and home being a place of security.
  • We return to the hearth in the kitchen area of the barracks.
  • There is a still-warm flue in the cooking hearth, but we will need the Manifold to access it, so must wait another day.
  • RoK and I record as much information as we can.
  • The rogue crew gets us through a door in the hearth the next morning.

Mask’s Trials

  • We head down a hallway to a a larger corridor with a Sphinx above the entryway, who invites us to Mask’s Trials.
  • The first trial is to answer riddles correctly.
    • We do not do well on this trial, debating two answers which could both be true and inevitably choosing the wrong one twice of three riddles.
    • But we are given fights to make up for our lack of luck: three gorgons the first time, and two iron golems on the third riddle.
  • The second trial involved a golden goat statue that sets off a blast of energy and move ten feet when approached.
    • They all investigate it and the door at the end of the hall.
    • Mr. Darkfoot finding the most important part of this puzzle, an arrow inside the goat that he can turn with his mage hand.
    • Shohei is then able to follow it at a safe-ish distance, causing it to shove itself right up to the door.
    • But he moves it too far, and there’s no pressure plates between it and the door to set it off again.
    • Mr. Trisfir manages to slam a sword down between the goat and the door enough to trigger another blast, destroying the door and moving the goat out of our way.
  • The third trial is a room full of rugs, many nailed to the floor.
    • Mr. Darkfoot sends Tuppance to investigate, and he is immediately wrapped up and crushed by a rug.
    • Shohei sends a Mage Hand floating in, but the rugs do not react.
    • We quickly discuss fire, flying, pointy sticks, and Eldritch Blast.
    • Mr. Darkfoot settles on blasting all the rugs and we find a path across.
    • Tuppance and Mr. Darkfoot go first, then Ms Lendiel – and they open the far door together.
    • The rest of us follow with no incidents.
  • The fourth trial is a room with steel cubes on pedestals and an eye shining down blue light from above of each one.
    • Ms. Lendiel sticks an elbow into the nearest blue light and her arm withers in a green flash.
    • Shoehei turns a Mage Hand invisible and sends it in to touch the box with no resulting flash, but only for a moment, for a white flash sends lightning shooting out in the next.
    • Mr. Darkfoot uses his special sight to look inside the boxes and finds one with a key inside.
    • Shohei tries to use a Mage Hand to unlock the box, but it takes a couple tries and the key is no longer inside by the time he opens it.
    • Mr. Darkfoot shrinks down and misty steps into the box that now holds the key, then resumes normal form, exploding out of the box head first.
    • This causes the eyes to all blink, the ceiling to shift, and all the eyes to refocus upon the door at the far end.
    • After some attempts with Tuppance and Mage Hand, rogue crew eventually gets the far door unlocked.
    • But how to get through is discussed, because the eyes are still open and deadly.
    • I try a Tiny Hut but it is immediately dispelled.
    • Shohei tries to cover an eye with a cloth, but it is incinerated, she he attacks, but nothing happens.
    • I cast another Tiny Hut, and it works for the moment, so we all rush through.
  • To be greeted by the fifth trial – a nice friendly tavern with five patrons and a barkeep.
    • We all stare awkwardly for a few minutes while we are ignored by everyone here.
    • Until Ms. Lendiel notices they are discussing a key – perhaps for the very large lock to what would normally be a kitchen door.
    • It seems we must talk to each of these folks to solve the puzzle of who has the key, but may only ask once about it.
    • I leave this discussion to the rogue for whom it was designed, and go have a nice drink and dinner with Mr. Trisfir.
    • Eventually Mr. Darkfoot steals the key off of a man named Davies, and Shoehei unlocks the door, dispelling the tavern and the slight buzz I had managed to achieve.
  • The sixth trial is a dragon on a golden horde. Mr. Trisfir believes it is an aspect of Bahamut himself, though why that would be true I cannot fathom.
    • There are several paths here, but fortunately, we decide to sneak past the dragon, though Yorgen needs a bit of convincing from Mr. Mandamus.
  • The final trial is the Vault itself.
    • We emerge from the dragon’s lair onto a glass staircase surrounded by darkness, above a massive vault which we can see into from above.
    • Axel falls out of his book in this room and everyone can see both my and his secret books.
    • No one asks too many questions though.
    • They are too distracted by Mask addressing us, I think, congratulating us and saying he is proud of how we meet and passed each challenge. Saying that nothing is out of our grasp now, and that he wishes to meet us, though not really in person per se.
    • He speaks in our minds then, asking me what I want most, and gets offended when I compare him to Mystra, eventually asking for power.
    • He asks me to keep the group from taking more than one thing each and he will provide.
    • I do my best, but someone gets greedy – I knew they would – am surprised it was only one.
    • Mask scolds that a good rogue knows restraint and wishes us luck as the floor opens up and everything begins to collapse.
    • We run and manage to escape the temple somehow, before it all explodes, showering the area with gold.
  • Done with this place, I teleport us all back to Candlekeep, the others will just have to find a way back where they want to go.

Report 11: Valarian

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, SvalaLeave a comment

Kurth’s Solution and His End

  • The final message from Kurth sounds a bit more frenzied. The orcs have infiltrated, and he believes there is only one way to save the city, which is to unleash his perfected spellwork.
  • Which turns out to be a powerful Deathknight, three mummies, and a small group of constantly reanimating skeletons.
  • The former of which seems to be stood guarding three treasure chests, which immediately get my companions’ attention.
  • The Deathknight bids us kneel to him and assist in bringing salvation to the lost city.
  • We do not, and the fight is joined as the first of his skeletons rise to his command.
  • It is the most vicious fight we have had thus far, though with careful and constant healing from myself and Ms. Rosewood, our final diamond is not needed.
  • My new Counter spell seems to not be worth the ink it cost to scribe, but I shall put more study into it.
  • Ms. Lendiel spent the fight invisible and, eventually, unconscious in the corner, having tried to extinguish lights for her other roguish companions.
  • Even #13 had to get in on the fight, occasionally stabbing even the Deathknight himself.
  • The chests were full of quite a bit of treasure, from money to magic items to scrolls and potions, and even a Manual of Gainful Exercise. Mr. Trisfir has acquired another necromancy spellbook, as well.
  • Strength is not a strength of this party, so we will see if we can trade it for something more useful back at the Library. I wonder if Kurth read it all those years ago in his hopes to fight off the orcs.

Aftermath

  • Verity tells us, when we return, that all the money we stole from the casino will be used to clean up the mess we caused in the stealing of it. Including, keeping people from coming after us.
  • Bookwyrm comes to fetch us the following day, to meet up with Great Reader Alkrist, who gives us a small sack of gold that I would have thought huge before meeting this group.
  • We are ordered back to our duties.
  • Mr. Darkfoot asks Bookwyrm about trading our Manual, and we are told we must speak with the Keeper of Tomes for that, and will set up a meeting for us.
  • Hopefully we can now all relax and stop wandering into deadly places for a while, I’ve had a very strange dream which I must research.

Sculptures and Symbols

On By ravonlockeIn Jin, JournalLeave a comment

Twitch says it is time to head for the castle at the center of the island. Doc and Saalym seem distracted by the freezing cold and don’t say much, so we change directions. Which annoys our ice friend, but he takes us to a big wall with holes in it. Inside is some kind of statue garden. Except they look like people that got frozen. Leshy says they Are frozen folks and critters, and we see a couple trolls having dinner of a couple of them. Nasty trolls, just biting heads right off, without even cooking them. So we kill the trolls and take all the magic stuff off the frozen dead people. It’s not as much fun with Doc in a snowblind daze.

Twitch’s boss lady wants the troll hearts. She says they can make us really strong, and Twitch convinces her to let us have them. Says I should eat one so I can heal while I’m fighting. It was almost as good as the frozen wine-sicles. We give Sandy the other one, I’m not sure if he ate it or not.

Next we find a real ice sculpture garden, not just frozen people. This one even has an ice dragon. I climb up on top and look around, but there’s no one here. And nothing moving. Everything is really pretty, though.

Then we’re at a mountain in the center of the island. I try to ask the icy guy if there’s a way in, but he says we have to climb up. It’s not so hard once I get Doc to help me. I wonder why he’s so out of it. Hope he wakes up soon. Up at the top, we go around to the other side of the mountain to find a big staircase we could have used. We scold our ice friend for making us climb and he runs off. It goes right up into a big skull’s mouth. Twitch says it’s called Grim Skull. Or something like that.

The doors are really heavy, but Eggy and Yogi get them open. There’s no one to stop us, so we go right on in. The first door has an old giant behind us who just stares at us and asks who we are. Twitch shows him the winter goddess lady symbol and says we’re looking for the vault. He says it’s down the hall. That was easy.

We go down the hall, staying out of trouble and find a bunch more icy friends, but they don’t want to talk. So, we go downstairs to find the vault. We find another talking walrus first. He says it’s his job to protect this place from bad people. Twitch shows him the symbol and he says we must be okay. I tell him we’ll bring him fish next time we come, and he tells us were all the hallways go out of his room. A bunch of trials and the vault.

We decide to just go for the vault. The others aren’t ready to actually make a ruckus and Doc is still being quiet. We head for the vault, but Eggy can’t get the door open. It says “The way is shut unless you pass the trials of cruelty, isolation, endurance, and… something. Twitch holds up his symbol, though, and the door just opens.

The next room has big chunks of ice with the petty goddess lady’s rules on it. Cruelty, Isolation, Endurance, and Preservation. I think the Winter Queen might get along with this goddess lady, if she weren’t so silly as to just take over ten tiny terrible towns.

Twitch waves his symbol at the next door, too. It opens up and there’s a big book in here, on a stand. It’s the book we are looking for! Twitch picks it up before I touch it, and his symbol disappears. We try the next set of doors, but without the symbol, we can’t get in. Everyone wants to leave. I want to talk to the goddess lady. I shout out, because if she’s a goddess, she should be able to hear me, but she doesn’t answer. The walrus says she doesn’t come downstairs. So we just leave.

Back down the mountain and through all the statues again. The icy guy said there were two more shipwrecks. That should be fun before we head back home again. The first one is guarded by a bunch of fishmen that Twitch calls Merrow. I wonder if they’re related to minnows. There was a bunch of money and jewelry on that ship. The last ship just has a bunch of giant oysters on it, so we have a really good dinner before going back to the dock.

Our whale friend takes us back to land. Twitch tells us all about the magical things we found. He says the book has spells and a big poem in it. His boss wants to go back to Bryn Shander and study it some before we go to the city under the ice. That sounds boring, but we do have to get back to the goblin tribe and make sure they get home safe. I really want to meet their chief.