RC Jalpiar: Journey to Elmardia

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Early the next morning, Robidolian was able to successfully cast the remaining charges from the Sea Hag’s wand into Syanne’s healing wand, he then broke the Sea Hag's wand. The group then proceeded to the Government center and found the ship registry office where the Clerk was waiting for them. After a brief discussion concerning the name of their new found vessel, they decided to wait a bit before signing the ownership papers and instead proceeded to the Temple of Finasterra. Along the way, Aust, having decided that the life of an adventurer was too risky for him, informed the others that he was not going to accompany them on this next adventure. Robidolian had come to the same conclusion and when they approached the Temple District, He bid them farewell and went to the Temple of Alvernus to hone his Bow-making skills.

Upon entering the Temple of Finasterra, the remaining four party members were greeted Endrin Singol, the head of the Temple of Finasterra in New Jarla. Syanne showed him the letter she had found in Calico Jack’s journal, and the circumstances of its finding. Not knowing what course to take, Endrin prays for a short moment and decides that an information gathering expedition is in order and offers the party 500 gold plus passage and expenses if they would travel to the Island of Elmardia to assess the situation there and report back to him, They agree after a brief discussion. Endrin agrees to pay them half of the 500 gold in advance and lets them know that he will book their passage later that day, they are to return in the evening for the ships name and departure date.

It is agreed that the party will sell the ship “The Flying Shark” to the City instead of trying to operate it themselves. Syanne, Elstarius, and Thrimmel return to the government center to discuss terms with Lord Jorgen Von Arnim. Khaira wanted to practice her performing skills and decided to visit the Commons Marketplace to sing 'The Ballad of Calico Jack’s Treasure', her recently finished work. Her performance was excellent earning her 150 copper pieces. Her newly trained monkey, Fegin, proceeded to steal 11 gold worth of junk jewelry during her performance, attracting the attention of a wizard named Sarval. He approached Khaira and noted the monkeys activities. He didn’t seem interested in reporting her to the local authorities but was interested in coming with her if she was affiliated with other adventurers. The two left and headed back to the Temple of Finasterra. During this time, Syanne, aided by Elstarius and Thrimmel, negotiated the sale of the ship to the city for 6000 gold, payable the following day in platinum. The three then proceeded to the temple where Endrin was waiting for them. At dawn, two days hence, they were to board the merchant vessel “The Gray Gull”, captained by Varran Ableford.

Having a few days to wait, the party decided to take up lodging at the Purple Worm. During their evening meal that night, they were approached by a seedy looking sailor named Thran who asked them to transport some “to be stolen” Elven Artifacts recently discovered on the Island by the Monks living there. Syanne agrees to the deal, giving them half of the profits of the goods and learns that the items will be located in a dead tree on the summit of Saltreach Hill. The mysterious man then leaves, saying that he will meet her on the third night of their return in this very inn.

Each party member receives 100 experience.

[ February 18, 2003, 02:57: Message edited by: Baldak Oakfist ]

 

At dawn on the following day, the party met with Captain Varran Ableford, he was expecting them. In preparations for the journey, Varran had cleared out his cabin and the party would be staying there during the journey. The trip to Elmardia would take nearly four days. Along the way, they would stop once to pick up fresh supplies at Velith Isle. During that time they would be able to get off the ship for several hours if they wanted to. The small village of Pindil on the northern tip of Velith Isle, where they would be stopping, was noted for their exceptional craftsmanship with musical instruments and leather goods. During the voyage, they should feel free to move about the deck, but don’t interfere with his crew. His first mate Dasmar Larieth showed them to their quarters. They would be shoving off in an hour. If anyone needed to attend to any last minute business, they should do so now.

For a map of the intended voyage route use this link:
http://home.attbi.com/%7Ebaldak/Jalpiar/Voyage_Route.JPG

For the deck plans of the Gray Gull use this link:
http://home.attbi.com/%7Ebaldak/Jalpiar/Gray_Gull.JPG

[ February 25, 2003, 22:01: Message edited by: Baldak Oakfist ]

 

Sarval started to practice putting aside his prized bow and grabbing one of his wands. "I am a wizard! I have to remember that." he kept on telling himself. "Use the bow when you can, but remember to use your magic."

 

At the appointed time, Captain Varran Ableford boarded his ship and made ready to set sail for Elmardia. The first two days journey were quiet. The seas were calm and there weren’t any other vessels in sight. They docked at the small village port of Pindil in the early evening on the second day. The party made their way to the local inn, The Midnight Unicorn. While at the inn, Thrimmel and Khaira moved around among the crowd, gleaning information on the happenings around the island. Apparently, there had been some attacks on local ships near the southern end of Velith Isle. Khaira was approached by a friend of Varran’s and asked to give him a message. He was to be careful when approaching the southern tip of Velith Isle and be on the lookout for Kuo-Toa.

As the festivities at the inn were coming to a close, the party made their way back to the ship. In the morning, Varran returned with fresh supplies and made ready to resume the journey. Knowing that they would have to eventually pass near the southern tip of the isle, Varran decided not to alter his plans. The rest of the day was spent restlessly watching for any signs of the Kuo-Toa, but none were seen. Varran has spent most of the day resting so he could remain up all night and keep watch. The attack came at dawn. Elstarius saw several humanoids approaching the ship from the east but when the others looked out, the sun began to rise over the horizon, blocking their view. The ship was struck by something from beneath, causing all on board to fall down except Khaira. Seconds later, the Kuo-Toans were on the ship, attacking with tridents while their leader tried to cast spells. The fighting raged on for many rounds with the Kuo-Toans taking out many of Varran’s crew, and nearly killing Varran. It seemed as though the entire crew would be slaughtered when Elstarius thrust her dagger through the heart of the Kou-Toan leader, killing it instantly. The last remaining one fell to one of Sarval’s arrows. From the strange sea humanoids, the party acquired several pearls of various colors, 5 tridents, one of very fine craftsmanship, and 5 lengths of silk rope each 50 feet long. After clearing the deck of bodies, and having healed the captain, they resumed their journey toward Elmardia.

With the crew on edge from the attack, one of them speared a sea lion with a gaff hook, thinking it may be another of the dreaded Kou-Toans. As it turned out, the sea lion was a Selchie. Syanne healed the creature who in turn gave her a magical pearl. The creature then dove back into the ocean and was gone. Elmardia could be seen by this time and Varran made preparations to lay anchor. Elmardia didn’t have any docks and they would have to use the long boat to reach the shore.

Each party member received 700 experience points

 

Sarval, curious about the weapons and pearls that the group acquired from the frog-like Kuo-Toans, casts a Detect Magic spell and tries to determine if any of the items are magical.

 

OoC: I think I lost count; I'm at 5550xp, is that how much we're sopposed to have?

Elstarius, slightly curious herself, wanders over to where Sarval is to wait his results of the pearl.

 

Sarval gets a magical glowing from one of the tridents. "Hmm...", he thinks to himself, "magical. I wonder how strong..." Curiosity overtakes him and he studies up on an Identify spell. The next morning he casts the spell on the magical trident.

 

After a few hours, Varran was ready to go ashore. The Gray Gull was safely anchored a few hundred yards off shore, near Westbeach. There was a path that sloped up the cliff there, giving access to the island. "We will be heading to shore now. If you want to go to the abbey, follow the road through the forest and you will get there. I will be heading to Vhalantru to make arrangements for some more crew members. If you want to wait until the morning to visit the abbey, you will find decent accomodations in the Vhalantru at 'The Drunken Morkoth Inn'. If you need me, I'll be at 'The Tipped Tankard Tavern'."

 

Wanting to check in at the abbey, the party decided to take the road through the wood that would lead them to there. Upon reaching the abbey, the party entered the walled compound through the main gate, making their way up to the front entrance. After opening the doors, they entered the entry foyer. From there, they could smell cooking coming from the kitchen off to their left. To their right, there were a large set of closed double doors and if front of them a hall lead off to the cloister. Written on a slate message board next to the double doors was a riddle; of man-made work am I, A home to the son of the Sun. I drink but do not eat, sleeping by day, rising by night.

Following their noses and stomachs, the party found their way into the kitchen. There they found a body on the floor and a casserole in the oven. Sarval went to the oven, while Syanne checked out the body. She was able to determine that the cook had been dead for only a few hours and that his life force had been sapped by an undead creature. Pondering over the riddle, thinking that it held some clue to the current situation, Khaira finally figured out that it referred to a lamp.

They decided to open the double doors next, finding a small chapel dedicated to the Goddess Finaseterra, four more bodies littered the floor. Three were near to the door with one near the altar. Upon inspection, Syanne discovered that the parson near the altar was still alive. The other three were killed by some sort of flame or heat source with one being severely charred while the other two were merely singed. At sunset, the three dead bodies began to glow with an eerie greenish flame. Syanne immediately channeled some positive energy toward them, destroying the undead creatures before they could animate. After that, she revived the one living monk. They were able to ask only a few questions of the aged cleric. The person they found was Abbott Olmaren. The others were slain by something he called the shadow Klinn wielding magical fire. There were a total of 10 members of the abbey, not including servants. After that, he fell unconscious again needing to rest to fully recover from his injuries. Searching the chapel, they found that each of the bodies was wearing a pendant and wore a ring. Each ring had a different symbol on it. The three shapes were a diamond, a crescent, and a star. The abbot also had a ring, his was a cube. Syanne discovered a hidden panel on the north wall which revealed a stairway leading down once opened.

Khaira led the way down the stairs, using her stealth skills to remain hidden. She arrived at the bottom of the stairs, a hallway led off to her right. At the end of the hall, a creature stood watch, facing the other way. As she entered the hall, she tripped, causing the creature to turn. It was a horrid looking zombie-like creature with a glowing red hole in its stomach and glowing red eyes. Thrimmel Decided to lure the creature into an ambush by moving down the stairs and attacking it with his bow. The damage done with his first arrow was enough to cause the creature to attack. Thrimmel then retreated back up the stairs with the creature following. Sarval used several magic weapon spells to enchant the weapons of those attacking the creature. After many round of exchanging blows with the undead creature, the party was finally able to kill it, the narrow stairway made the battle difficult even for the creature. Khaira searched the body of the creature, finding a ring that matched the abbot’s along with a key.

Through the doors, another hall lead of to the right, two doors were on the opposite wall, one at each end of the hall. The first room contained a bed, a desk with books and scrolls, a chair, a chest containing clothing, and a small wooden box containing writing materials. At the other end of the hall, they could see a mural painted on the wall. Above the mural were decorative tiles, the center one held the inscription; “The Siege of Tarimthol-irl, Elven Reckoning. The other tiles had patterns on them indicating numbers. Elstarius noticed that the wall behind the mural was a secret panel. Khaira checked it for traps and found a magical one that she was unable to disarm.

Checking out the other room, the party found a small room with a bed, chair, and table. The table had one drawer in it containing a sketch of a pedestal and one containing dwarven numbers; 3-8-1-4. Khaira then hit the tiles above the mural in that order, hitting the center tile last. This opened the secret panel. Behind it was a hall that went both left and right. To the right, the hall ended in a library, to the left it ended in a door. The library contained books of general knowledge. Through the other door, they found a storage room containing a weapons rack, a table, and many barrels and crates. The weapons rack held 6 maces, Syanne took one and offered the other to take one for themselves, Sarval and Elstarius each took one just in case.

Elstarius noticed a secret door on the south wall while Syanne noticed one in the north-west corner. The door in the north-west corner led to a storage room below the kitchen. A dumb waiter lead to the kitchen. The door on the south wall had a strange looking lock that had two square indentations on it. Remembering the rings, the party sent Khaira’s monkey Fegin up to remove the ring from the abbot. The monkey returned with a different ring, this one a simple gold band with an inscription inside reading “A gift from Aedrinia.” On the second try, Fegin returned with the correct ring, and the door was opened. The chamber beyond contained four chests, a cushioned chair and a table. Around the walls were many niches, some containing urns. Each niche that held an urn also had a plaque in front of it with a name and date inscribed on it. The chests contained many religious texts, one in particular looked very old, A skull and bones wrapped in lambskin, four sacks of coins containing 100 gold pieces each, a scroll case, a belt, and a small box with a hinged lid. Inside the box was an amulet. Sarval identified the amulet finding out it could do two things, Protection from undead and Turning Augmentation.

After waiting until sunrise, the party headed toward the upstairs of the main building. Around the corner of the hall, they noticed a gate. Khaira found a trap on the gate, and triggered it while trying to disarm it; she was engulfed in a ball of flame. After failing another time with the same results, Khaira decided to refrain from further tinkering with the gate. Sarval tried to lift the gate next, and he too was charred by flame. After that the party proceeded up the circular stairs.

At the top, they entered a small reading room, a hallway led off to the left. It had four doors on the right wall. The hall turned both left and right after the last door. Sarval moved down the hall, and felt a chill from behind him as he reached the last door. The others could see a creature emerge from one of the doors and attack Sarval. The party was able to destroy the creature without taking any damage themselves. The room the creature emerged from contained a desk, a bed, and a chair.

Each party member receives 700 experience points.

 

Following the encounter with the Wight and having searched the rooms in the short hall, the party continued into the next hallway. Sarval decided to begin with the first door on the south wall. The room was again the living quarters for one of the resident monks living there. Other than some mundane books, the party found only one scroll. The next door they checked was the one at the end of the hall. The room behind this door was the meeting chamber for the cloister. It was now occupied by two undead creatures that immediately attacked. Syanne was able to determine that these undead were being bolstered by some outside force and hence were resistant to turning. Khaira led off the attack with a lunge striking one of the creatures with her rapier. She noticed that the wound began to slowly heal as she watched, these undead had some sort of regeneration ability. As the battle progressed, the party finally took down one of the creatures, but at that moment, another undead creature attacked Sarval from behind. Although they did not know what the first two creatures were, Syanne recognized this one as a Death Knight. At that moment, she took out the mace she acquired in the lower armory and attacked the Death Knight. Her blow sent the creature flying back causing it to disintegrate as it hit the wall. The battle with the one remaining creature continued until Syanne again attacked it with her mace yielding the same results as before. One last hit against the one creature down destroyed it too. Sarval used an Identify spell to determine that the mace Syanne held was a Mace of Disruption, the bane of all undead creatures. Needing to rest and regain spells, the party decided to return to the chapel and check on Abbot Olmaren.

The abbot was awake when they arrived back in the chapel. Syanne and Sarval led off the questioning and discovered some information. During an excavation, the monks of the abbey discovered some ancient ruins. Years passed until about two weeks ago, they happened upon a secret passage that led to a tomb of sorts. The entry way of the tomb contained a pedestal with a lack orb in its center surrounded by three huge gemstones. Some sort of energy beam shot from the orb in pulses that hit the back wall. One week after the discovery, the gemstones were stolen and strange things began to happen. The abbot believes that all of his brothers have been killed or turned into undead creatures. The last three were killed by a skeletal form that shot fire out of its hands. He was able to channel enough positive energy to force the creature to flee. He was knocked out by a strike on the back of his head. Abbot Olmaren believes that a powerful demon is trapped inside the tomb and that the pedestal was the device that kept it trapped. The gems must have augmented the device and with them gone the creature has regained some of its powers, but not the ability to escape. At least that is what the abbots research leads him to believe. At the urging of the party, the abbot decided to journey to the city of Vhalantru. He knows the owner of the inn and will be staying there if they need to contact him.

Each player receives 500 experience points.

 

Before leaving the abbey, the party decided to rest up. Syanne volunteered to keep watch for the first three hours. As her watch was ending, she felt a presence behind her immediately followed by searing heat. The flames engulfed the entire party dealing damage to all. Syanne turned to face this new menace as the others quickly readied themselves. The skeletal figure standing before Syanne wore Studded leather armor and held a heavy mace, but it began to cast another spell. Syanne took the opportunity to attack but missed. She was then struck by four magic missiles. Sarval was the next to strike, hitting the creature with a ray of frost. The next spell cast by the creature was directed at Thrimmel, who fled in fear. Syanne was then successful in hitting the creature with her mace and the creature was destroyed. In the pile of dust that was the creatures remains, the party found a Heavy Mace, Studded Leather Armor, a Buckler, a pair of Gauntlets, and 4 gems.

After completing their rest period, they decided to head to Saltreach hill. There they could see the still standing truck of a dead tree. It was there where Thran, the fence they met in New Jarla, said the gems would be hidden. Khaira moved up to the top of the hill, using her stealth abilities. Approaching the dead tree, she inspected it closely for any traps or creatures hiding within. She did see one reptilian-like creature inside, but could not see it very well, She could also see one large red gem. She returned to the others and reported her findings. Sarval Again grabbed his wand and climbed up to the top of the hill. He fired a Ray of Frost into the dead trunk at the creature living inside. The Wyrmling Forest Dragon was not at all amused by Sarval’s attacking him and he countered with a breath attack. Sarval was sent reeling from the gas as the others moved in to aid their companion. The dragon attacked Sarval with its claws and bite, striking with all three attacks. Sarval ran away as Elstarius pressed in with her attacks, striking the dragon once. Khaira managed to strike the dragon with an arrow flank attack as it breathed again, this time toward Elstarius. The combined attacks of the party during the next round took a toll on the small dragon and it flew away, abandoning its nest in the dead tree. Syanne began the task of healing the party as Khaira emptied the tree trunk of its cache. Syanne was disappointed to find out that only one of the three gemstones, the ruby, was hidden inside the tree. They would have to search elsewhere for the other two.

As they rested on the hilltop, contemplating their next move, they were approached by a ghostly image. It did not seem to be evil, and was trying to communicate with them. The vision appeared to be a male human about middle aged, wearing robes of some kind. As it spoke to them, each one could hear the words through telepathic means. It spoke six things to them and then disappeared. (“Beware the Maurezhi”, “It seeks to be free”, “Return the gems to the star”, “It grows as it consumes”, “Diamasin knew its name”, “Seek his final resting place”) They remained on the hill, trying to decide what they should do in the light of their new information.

Each party member received 1080 experience.

 

"I think I'm going to put my mail shirt back on." Sarval muses as he tenderly rubs the bruises and scratches the forest dragon inflicted. "This idea of using Mage Armor is just not working out. The stupid spell only lasts three hours. Just not enough time."
"Maybe I'll wear the armor whenever I don't expect too much trouble and take it off and cast Mage Armor when I expect to be casting spells...I have to come up with SOMETHING better!"

 

El strokes her hilts absently, "Well, you could always stash up on mage armor spells... And anywho, what do we plan to do with the gem that we have? And what happens if Diamasin doesn't have a grave...? Indeed, we are in a fix."

 

It was finally decided that the group would head to the city. They hoped to again meet with the abbot as they had some questions that needed answering. They entered the city from the southern gate, just as the sun was setting. The guard at the gate gave them directions to the local inn after a brief parley. The city of Vhalantru is located in the crater of a small dead volcano. It terraces down toward the center where a small lake has formed. Four main roads circle around the city; Obsidian Ave, Magma Ave, Lava Ave, and Ash Ave. The Drunken Morkoth Inn was located on Obsidian Ave. north of the West Gate.

Upon arriving at the inn, they could not find the abbot anywhere. Khaira moved about the dining area, gathering any information that she thought was useful. Thrimmel decided to head to the Tipped Tankard Tavern to do the same. Khaira heard some rumors of a demon worshiping cult that was kidnapping locals and sacrificing them to the demon. The most recent abducted was Coryston Pike, a priest from the Temple of Finasterra. Thrimmel managed to arrive at the tavern just as Halpeen Welvihk, the owner of the Drunken Morkoth, and Rivek Mol, the owner of the Tipped Tankard, were discussing the whereabouts of their friend Abbot Olmaren. He had missed their last two card games, an event that hadn’t ever happened.

Shortly after Thrimmel returned to the inn, Halpeen also returned, looking quite distressed. Thrimmel suggested the party travel back toward the abbey along the road that the abbot would have taken, looking for signs of his whereabouts. Syanne approached the innkeeper and asked about the situation. Halpeen told her that the abbot, Rivek Mol, and he met every week on the same day to play cards. They had been doing this for over 60 years and Abbot Olmaren had never missed a game until two weeks ago. Now he had missed two in a row. Earlier that day, The High Priest of the Temple of Finasterra, Coryston Pike, traveled out to the abbey and he hasn’t been seen since.

With Elstarius leading the way, the party set out on the road toward the abbey. Upon arriving at the northern fringes of the abbey’s orchard, she was found signs of a struggle. Leading away from the site were two trails of footprints, one heading north and one heading south. The trail heading north was composed of three sets of humanoid prints while the trail heading south contained only one set of giant prints. The party followed the trail south. It led through the orchard and then turned east, heading directly toward the cemetery.

Upon reaching the cemetery, Thrimmel climbed up to the top of the hill near the entrance. He was able to see a mausoleum in the southern section of the cemetery. A torch was lit near the entrance of the mausoleum and he could see a large figure standing there. Thrimmel returned to the party and related his findings. At this point, Thrimmel, Khaira, Syanne, and Elstarius tried to move around the hill toward the mausoleum as quietly and hidden as possible. Sarval decided to head over the hill instead and when he reached the southern slope, he lost his footing and slid down, causing quite a bit of noise. At that moment, the torch light went out.

The other four used that distraction to move up quickly and they noticed the large figure heading toward Sarval. Sarval also noticed this and attempted to put the creature to sleep using a spell. This did not work and he then pulled out his trident and waited for the eventual assault. Thrimmel was the first to strike, hitting the Ogre from behind with a critical arrow shot. The Ogre, now in a full charge, continued toward Sarval and attacked him with his greatclub. Sarval managed to survive the first blow and Elstarius survived the attack of opportunity she received from moving in for the attack with her longsword. Each of the party members attacks struck the Ogre and when Sarval hit the Ogre with a critical strike to the gut with his trident, the Ogre fell dead.

The body of the ogre was hauled back up to the mausoleum where they propped it up in a sitting position. Syanne found two torch holders on the front of the mausoleum near the entrance and placed a lit torch back into one. In the center of the mausoleum was a very large sarcophagus. Khaira could find no traps, but did manage to notice that the sarcophagus was hiding a secret trap door. Sarval was unable to open or move the sarcophagus alone and the party began to make preparations for a joint effort to move it.


Each party member receives 400 experience.

 

"That's it! That's it!", Robidolian steams to himself. "I don't care if I have not a single Level One spell, I am taking Armor, more armor, and more armor. I try to stay out of the way and harm comes to me!"

"There is just no getting around this. I am going to have to defend myself and I need to get some sort of protection! I have a wand of Sleep spells. That will have to do for now. I can cast Web spells when needed. Until I figure out a few more, I am taking ARMOR!"

 

"You try to stay out of the way? May I remind you of the dragon you attacked that was minding it's own business and sleeping in the tree..."

 

"And let us not forget the ogre you alerted in your, ever so, graceful climb up a hill."

 

"The dragon was NOT my fault. Khaira said there was a small--I repeat SMALL--lizard in the tree. I was just trying to put it in temporary hybernation with a Ray of Frost. If I had known that the thing was a FOREST DRAGON, I would have left it alone, thank you very much!"

 

Thrimmel made a closer inspection of the sarcophagus and noticed that the markings on the floor indicated that it pivoted around the north end. With Syanne still on lookout, the others jointly pushed against the southern end of the stone block and pivoted it around to reveal a 5 foot wide stairway leading down. Khaira was chosen to investigate it first. She had descended to the fifth step when she triggered the trap, the stairs turned into a ramp. Khaira tumbled down to the bottom, bruising herself along the way. She found herself inside a small chamber. Two statues adorned this room, one to her left and one to her right. In front of her she could see a wider stairway leading further down into the earth. Sarval secured his rope to the stone block and Thrimmel began to slowly descend the ramp. Khaira, hearing that someone was climbing a rope down, yelled up to the others to slide down as it was much faster and not too dangerous. Unfortunately for her, an Ankheg near the bottom of the other stairs also heard her and moved in for the attack. Thrimmel and the creature arrived at Khaira’s location at the same time and the battle ensued. Syanne decided to slide down the ramp bow in hand to aid in the battle. She arrived just as Thrimmel led off the attack with his greatsword hitting the creature. Khaira thrust her rapier toward the creature also, but somehow managed to lose her grip and it went skittering on down the other stairway. The creature grabbed Khaira in its huge mandibles and began to crush her while Syanne fired off two arrows, missing the creature both times. As Khaira tried in vain to break free from the creature’s grip, Thrimmel and Syanne continued to press their attacks. When Khaira fell unconscious, the creature tossed her body toward Thrimmel who stepped aside to avoid being hit. While Thrimmel pressed on with his attacks, Syanne used the Wand of Simberal to halt Khaira’s bleeding. The creature jumped past Thrimmel to attack Sarval as it was hit by an arrow fired by Elstarius. Lucky for Sarval, his mage armor held up. Thrimmel used the opportunity to attack the beast from a flanking position, and killed the creature with one last thrust from his greatsword. Thrimmel decided to disembowel the beast and was rewarded for his efforts. This Ankheg had swallowed a large sapphire gem. The gem, upon close inspection, resembled the ruby gem they had found in the tree trunk.

As Syanne healed up Khaira, Sarval pivoted the arms on the east statue down resetting the stairs. The party then continued their downward trek. At the bottom of the stairs, they could see the tunnels carved out by Ankhegs. The tomb passage continued northward in an alternating pattern of stairs that went up and down. The party decided to explore the tunnels first. They wound around toward the east until they came upon a chamber filled with brightly colored fungus Khaira noticed that some of the fungus resembled a poisonous variety she had read about. They decided to take another path. As they traveled through the tunnels, they moved back westward and eventually came to a very large cavern with many tunnel exits. Thrimmel moved to the other end of the cavern, using his stealth abilities to remain unnoticed. Upon arriving at the other end, he noticed three more adult Ankhegs and about a dozen hatchlings swarming about a nest of debris. Not wanting to risk another encounter with the Ankhegs, they decided to take one of the northern passages. The tunnel wound around back to the east where it intersected the main Tomb passage again. This time the party took the stairs and headed north.

After traversing one set of the up and down stairs, they came upon a large stone block that completely blocked the passage except for a crawl space on the top. Thrimmel climbed up and investigated further. He found that there were in fact three such blocks set next to each other in the passage. At the end of the blocks, the passage only continued for another 5 feet ending in a large stone door. He also noticed the remains of a humanoid creature partially beneath the block and ancient elven runes inscribed on the large stone door at the end of the passage. The inscription read “Beyond this door lies the Tomb of Diamasin, the Greatest Elven Sorcerer.” Thrimmel returned to the party and informed them of his findings.

Each party member receives 160 experience points.

 

Following Thrimmel’s return, it was decided that Khaira would climb up and move to the other end of the blocks. She gave Syanne one end of her rope and trailed the rope to the other side. The others followed her over with Thrimmel and Sarval bringing up the rear. Faced with the same stone door, Khaira noticed a large keyhole set in the lower portion of the door. After several failed attempts and a concentrated 10 minute effort, she was finally able to trip the locking mechanism and the stone door slowly lowered into the floor revealing a small chamber with three more stone doors, one set into each of the other walls. Inscribed into each of the doors they noticed more ancient elven runes. The west door read: “Only one color, but not one size, Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain, Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.“ The north door read: “I bring enlightenment to some, while gripping others in the hand of fear. With me it can be a journey of inexplicable joy and sorrow. What I will show you will often be unreachable. Journey with me and what you see may haunt you. Journey with me and you may never want to return home. Journey with me and you will never know when it will end.” And the east door read: “No legs have I to dance, No lungs have I to breathe, No life have I to live or die And yet I do all three.”

It was determined that the passage on the western door referred to a shadow. Syanne spoke the word “shadow” using the common tongue first with no effect then in elven. Upon uttering the word in elven, the door slowly slipped into the floor revealing a large chamber. Torches attached to the walls cast a dim glow over the chamber revealing 10 alcoves, 5 on the northern wall and 5 on the southern wall. Syanne was the first to enter and she immediately heard voices calling to her. Elstarius and Khaira, who were close behind could hear nothing except for Syanne speaking to no-one. First the voices warned, “Do not defile the tomb of the master.” They then instructed, “You must speak with the mistress.” Syanne asked where to find the mistress and received the answer, “Summoned she can be, but in the abyss she resides.” She then asked how to summon her and received the reply, “The summoning Chamber lies within Dreams....Avoid the Fire.” Khaira decided at that moment to hide in shadows and explore the room. Syanne then heard the following, “Defilers, only those who hide defile....you must die. If you leave now we will spare you.” Then 5 shadowy figures appeared before Syanne threatening to attack. Syanne warned Khaira to cease hiding and the three exited the chamber. Syanne then explained the conversation she had with the voices.

With the clues given to her by the shadows, Syanne determined that the passage on the northern door referred to dreams. She then uttered the word “dreams” in Elven and the door slowly sank into the floor. Beyond this door was a hallway heading north. After moving 15 feet north the floor in front of Syanne collapsed revealing a pitfall. Syanne managed to jump back just in time to avoid falling. Along the edges of the pit, a narrow ledge gave them their only chance to continue unless one was to attempt to jump the pit. Khaira tried three times to navigate the ledge and failed all three times. Lucky for her she tied her rope around her waist and gave Sarval the other end. Syanne was the next to try and she managed to reach the other side on her first attempt. The others used the rope for balance until Elstarius, the last to go across also fell into the pit but was saved by the use of the rope as a lifeline.

Heading north again, they immediately came upon two sets of stairs leading upward, one on each side of the hall. Exploring the eastern stairs, Khaira determined that there were no traps. The stairs ended in a small landing and a door. Khaira unlocked the door revealing a small room with the stuffed remains of a griffon located in the center. A plaque was set into the floor which read, “Here lies the stuffed remains of Caecyn, trusted mount of Diamasin.” With noting else of note in the room, they explored the western stairs. This time when Khaira opened the door, She could see the large visage of a troll standing in the center of the room, similar to the griffon. The only difference between the two, besides the obvious, was that upon entering this room, the stasis placed on the troll was dispelled and the troll attacked. With the sustained attacks of the party, they managed to subdue the troll into unconsciousness, but not before Syanne and Elstarius were hurt by the claw attacks of the troll. While Thrimmel continuously maimed the body of the troll to keep it down, Syanne returned to the hall to grab one of the torches. Sarval doused the troll with oil and when Syanne returned, she set the creature on fire, killing it. Elstarius noticed a secret panel beneath the troll. Khaira went to work and pulled out a map case which contained a map.

Continuing northward, they came upon a chamber but stopped before entering it. Syanne noticed that the floor was different in this chamber. The floor was made up of flagstones of different shapes and sizes; Circular, Oval, Diamond, Square and Triangular. On the walls mosaics depicted terrible monsters rearing up for the attack. Syanne noticed that two of the shapes on the floor created paths which led to the other side of the chamber where another stone door with an inscription awaited them. Khaira suggested using the troll body to determine which path was safe since she could not figure it out. This tactic worked and the party used the diamond shaped stones to reach the next stone door. On this door, they discovered two inscriptions, one was mostly hidden by years of accumulated dust. The first one read: “Many things can create one. It can be of any shape or size. It is created for various reasons, and it can shrink or grow with time.” The other one read: “What has no content yet you are still able to see it?”

Each of the party members received 320 experience for defeating the troll.