The Dread behind the Flayed Report

General Summary

1489 DR - Autumn - 1, Marpenoth (10) - Maztica - Lost Shrine of Zaltec  

• After a brief rest and some coughed up blood, the party interviews Huden and Llewellyn about the other areas they briefly caught glimpses of when trying to catch up,
• The crew decides the least dangerous path is likely the one with the dead white tree they saw, but before that they want to check out the place the doppelganger was trying to lead them to.
• They bypass the lightning trap easily and enter the shrine of the Flayed one, with his statue dominating the room and a well of light. After deciding that the light is probably bad and not messing with it further after it blinds Huden, they begin making small sacrifices to the statue, which booms at them in a monstrous voice. They respond but there is no further answer and they are left confused as to what to do next.
• After recalling the hole in the ceiling above the well, they decide to climb up and pay respects to their Host of the Flayed skins for slaying his door guard panther.
• Oudman fires up a grappling hook, and Yasen climbs the stairs with the others slowly following suit.
• At the top, they are greeted by an Oni covered in flayed skins of humanoids, who after only brief threats attacks the party as they try to ascend. Lucyan flies up with his newly grown insect wings, and the others scramble up the rope to aid Yasen in the fight.
• Once the crew has arrived at the top, the might of the Oni cannot possibly stand up to them, and he is slain, but they notice that the body is regenerating. They proceed to chop it into small bits and toss the parts around the room, burning the head as no one really knows how to stop it from returning. This seems to do the trick.
• Examining the room, at one end of lair is a gap in the tanned hides of the many sacrifices made to Xipe in his years dwelling here, and what appears to be double black marble doors with Ancient Damaran symbols. There are glyphs and what appear to be illustrated scripture surrounding the Sealed doors. The only blemish apart from the fine seam in the center of the doors, is a small fist shaped indent with some writing around it. the door seems to be newer. The writing reads: The scripture is an epic prayer to The black tyrant, The Lord of Force, The Black Fist, Bane. It details Military conquest exploits outlining the Ahk Velar (a powerful artifact), the subjugation of Tiamat, and the destruction and banishment of the Frost Giant god Tsverlotta. The writing around the indent reads "Sealed on order of Khelden Destarin, under pain of eternal torture for trespassing. The evil bound here must stay bound, and never heard."
• The Chosen open the door with the fist key that Huden carries revealing a shimmering black portal. Huden steps through after throwing caution to the wind and has a vision: a monstrous castle sized figure looms, red skin and black gauntleted fists menacing. It speaks in a voice that shakes the very earth around you. "Do you kneel before Bane?" Huden kneels and offers a sincere 'I kneel to anything if it helps me survive, and is gifted with acceptance and a warning: "Beware the tongue of the one inside, servant of the black hand."
• Yasen and Xifor both also tried to enter, but Bane responds to their prayers with a violent "Unworthy" and flings them out of the portal into the walls of flayed skins.
• Huden enters a black chamber, the walls rough hewn obsidian with jagged bladed edges. The floor is smooth marble. The 20 foot square holds two alcoves directly left and right with small shelves, carved with flowing vines of silver from natural veins in the stone. The one on the left holds a stone polished pyramid about a foot high, carved from a single tiger eye gem and seemingly holding a dark eye inside the stone. The right a book, bound in some manner of green leather and locked with a latch. In the center of the rear wall from where you entered, is a man in chains, seated on an outcropping of obsidian and silver and polished into a throne. The chains seem to be formed of a greenish iron, and bind him hand and foot to the throne. He is clothed in a ragged robe, with ratty locked short brown hair, a thin face and strong hooked nose.
• Eyes blaze yellow as he peers up at Huden through a look that could only barely be described as casual regard. The sense of foreboding hits like a heatwave, making jelly of his knees and rubber of his tongue. (those outside see in the shimmer almost a remote view of the room and are able to hear).
• He begins to speak and all are compelled to listen: "So a meakling comes for me. Are you meant to be a snack? Or are you both so lucky and doomed that you know not where you are? I am amused and disgusted that you are here, for while you may give me a moments respite from this torture with your essence, it would be but a drop of light in my sea of eternal darkness."
• Huden asks if he is Keezor, but starts to hear a raking voice inside his head as Abigor asks for control. Keezor Responds: "I am he. Slayer of Vecna, Scourge of the city of Terrafon, Spawn of the flesh of Moander, The former lich king. So you've done your homework, maybe at least your talk will be amusing." Abigor begs to surface and speak. Huden being at a loss for words in Keezors presence, allows it, and Abigor takes command and says: "The Lord of Lies bids you repay a debt you are to incur Sheewrathomerandon (the name cause him to snap up and hiss, and there is power in it's speaking, it causes Hudens mouth to bleed). You are to be Dreadlord in his name, and as one of the Lords Heralds of Strife, I speak as his voice on this plane, until which time your voice shall ascend to be his. You WILL owe him for your freedom, and be bound to him, as such binding makes necessary. So Sheewrathomerandon is commanded."
• Keezor begins to laugh hysterically! The sense of evil coming off of him causes even the most vile of the Chosen to recoil a bit. "I see you carry one who has made this all more interesting, and his offer is good whoever he is, if you hold up what he promises you too." (Inside Abigor seems weakened and huddles in the corner of the void in Huden's mind, Huden takes back over and is weak at the knees again from the foreboding pressure. He covers it up as only an expert can, but Keezor seems to see through his mind and responds: "Why so frightened meakling? Do you honestly think we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that some of the definitions don't quite match." Huden asks how they can release him as they know it to be their task, and he responds: "You will need to retrieve three weapons to break this prison of mine. Whelm, Wave, and Vecna's undoing, Blackrazor. They are each held in private collections across the realms, and you will need to acquire them all and bring them here to free me. Only then can I fulfill my end of this 'Bargain'."
• Keezor also says the Banite protection on his cell will be gone by the time they return, as he is now feeling ambitious for the first time in a long time.
• He continues to talk idly with Huden, who asks some questions. He offers the book and Pyramid to them but doesn't know what the pyramid is for, nor anything about The Xanathar. He knows that the entrance to his cell was moved somehow and resealed after someone else came searching for him in the past, a thin man with a wavy long sword (who Huden thinks sounds like Cyrics earthly form from the Time of Troubles), bearing a symbol of a jaw-less skull and a black sun. Keezor says: "Much like the one Huden carries in his mind. An interesting coincidence, and I look forward to the reveal of this mystery."
• The Chosen the reseal the doors and leave down the way they came, now with a new quest to complete, however daunting it seems.
• They return to the tree, which is quickly identified by Huden as a Polyp and not a tree, but only too late to prevent it grappling and attempting to eat the entire party. Lucyan counter grapples it as a giant alligator, and they whittle it into mulch to escape, but only after sustaining critical damage.
• The next room houses fresh air! There is a small hole in the ceiling and a little afternoon light coming through, but the room contains a two headed snake that they proceed to chop into bits, but not before Xifor summons demons that then go wild and must be dealt with.
• A group of Baboons claims the room after the snake is dead, but the party quickly shows them their error.
• The walls are too crumbly to escapate from here, so they camp in the magical hut and recover a little. Xifor's plague subsides as his systems fights it off, but Llewellyn, Huden, Yasen, and Xifor succumb to a fungal induced poisoning that threatens their lives. Lucyan identifies some magic from a scroll tucked in Keezors book that can help and heals the party of the ailment with magical leeches.
• Llewellyn passes out during her watch due to the poison, but Huden is wakened from sleep by Abigor with a yell in his head. Huden sees the Jaguar Hybrid back and about to kill Llewellyn! He alerts the party who wakes and attacks the Were Jaguar. Some panthers are circling outside the hut and are killed from arrows, leading the crew to wonder how this thing got in. They also notice that Yasen is missing.
• They slay the creature even though it manages to break Llewellyn's Bands of Binding, which then reverts to Yasens Aasimar form in a nearly dead state. They ponder what to do next, but decide to sleep out the night.
• They wake in the late evening after somewhat recovering and decide to continue on through the door with the snake plaque.
• They climb the stairs and trigger some manner of trap that has a Dragon golem roll out and vent steam on the entire staircase. Xifor slides down and the rest slip past the dragon and proceed to smash it to pieces and the mechanism that moves it around. Finding a small geyser that powers it's steam breath behind the secret panel.
• The party gathers at the top of the stairs and realizes that they have arisen to the second tier of the temple. The stone work is definitely now all manufactured and they must be in the belly of the temple.