Session 13: The Fane of the Night Serpent

Halveer picks up a few vials of Serpent Venom in the lab before we depart.
 
"Won't be effective against the Yuan-ti" he says. "But may work on some other jungle denizens.
 
Beyond the laboratory, we find a small side passage leading to a door. Nhile opens it to find a small chamber. A walkway surrounds a fifty foot deep pit. The bottom of the pit is filled with hundreds, if not thousands of writhing snakes. Even from the intersection that I am standing guard in, I can smell the rancid stench of the snakes. I can hear voices coming from another corridor that is opposite of the snake pit. Only one other way remains unexplored, I motion for everyone to quickly follow me.
 
We empty out into a massive cathedral dedicated to the Night Serpent. A huge statue of a viper looms overhead. It's mouth open and fangs are dripping blood into a large bowl like basin below us. To the right is a portcullis, and to the left a stone ramp leading up to a balcony. At the top of the balcony are two Yuan-ti guards. Fortunately their back are to us and they don't hear us enter the temple. I motion that Nhile and I will sneak up to attack them. We quietly make our way up the ramp. The Yuan-ti have humanoid bodies with snakes for arms. They stand near a large brass gong with the motif of the Night Serpent eating its tail engraved around the outer edge.
 
I blood curse the far guard as we approach and Nhile summons his echo in front of them. As we strike, Halveer and Cimber fire arrows and Kasimir blesses us with divine energy from Kelemvor. We dispatch them before they can react or sound the alarm. Outside in the hall, near the snake pit room, we hear a couple of Yuan-ti wondering who left the door open to the chamber. Luck is on our side as they leave another way and don't enter the sacred sanctuary. I look up at the serpent statue and wonder where the blood is coming from. We carefully remove the gong and carry it to the temple floor so no one else can easily sound an alarm.
 
We decide to investigate the portcullis leading from the temple. There is a lever, but we fear pulling it will create too much noise. "What of the alchemical jug?" Kasimir asks.
"Yes indeed." Halveer agrees. "It can produce enough acid to melt these bars and we can set a section to the side."
 
Halveer pours small amounts of acid on about 6 to 8 bars and frees a section of the gate leaving room for us to enter. But before we do, a snake folk guard appears at the end of the hall on the other side. Halveer and Cimber draw their bows and quickly fill him with arrows. We hear screams of alarm further within the chamber beyond the hallway. We dash down the hall and find a scented chamber with a fountain, couches, and alcoves. Several snake women retreat to the alcoves leaving a final guard for us to dispatch. We search the other alcoves finding only female hybrids. Kasimir, Nhile and myself give each other knowing nods. We cannot allow the abominations to continue breeding. "Go guard the entrance." I tell the lad ranger.
 
Afterwards we discover a glowing circle on the floor of one of the alcoves. It has four sigils inscribed around it. I realize from the mage books that I have studied, the circle is a teleportation device that will transport the user to one of four different locations. And I know how to activate it.
"All right mates. This here circle is a magic doorway." I tell them.
"A doorway to where?" Halveer asks looking at the pulsating runes.
I shrug. "Likely another place in this complex."
"Well we can't just step through it." He replies. "We don't know what awaits us on the other side."
"That doesn't matter mate." I reply back. "It's no different than opening a wooden door. Just like back there at the snake pit. We have no idea what's on the other side till we open it and go in. This is no different."
 
"Perhaps we check those double doors in the temple first?" Kasimir suggests.
I nod in agreement. "Good idear mate."
We re-enter the cathedral and make our way to a set of double doors leading out. However they are heavily barred on the other side and we have no way to bypass them without creating a lot of noise by bashing them down.
 
"Well I guess its through the magical gateway then." I say.
We go back through the portcullis, and as Halveer carefully sets the bars back, he sees a guard appear at the top of the ramp where the guards were. We had hidden the bodies, but he of course sees the gong is gone and no guards to be found. He also has a large reptile like creature on a leash. He turns and hurries away.
"We are about to have company." He tells us as I am showing everyone how to use the teleportation circle.
 
We all step through the magic portal, ready for whatever threat we may find on the other side. Surprisingly, we exit an alcove into a prison ward. There are four pits in the floor with metal grates sealing them. Chains and winches are attached to lift the grates. I shove my glowing battle axe Faefa into each pit to see who or what they hold. In the first pit I see A young boy, a few years younger than Halveer. He is with an older white male and a Chultan male. The second pit contains a surprise. A bright faced female looks up at me. She's dressed like the Halruuans that we rescued from the crashed airship in the trees.
"Hallo there young lass." I say with a smile.
"Well met." She replies. "Get me the fuck out of here!"
"Working on it." I reply. She shares her cell with a catfolk like our previous guides River and Wine.
 
In the third pit is a goblin, half dead already and a fire newt like what we fought at Hrackhammar. It flicks its tongue at me menacingly. "You buggers can sit tight."
In the final pit, is another white man and a Chultan male and female. All fairly exhausted.
"He's not bald of pate is he?" Kasimir replies when I tell him what I see.
"Nah, he's good to go."
"How do we know we can trust these people?" Halveer cautions.
"They were prisoners and sacrifices for the Yuan-ti. They have no love for them either." Kasimir says.
"Besides we'll trust em till they give us a reason not to." I add. "Then it will go poorly for them."
 
I help the Halruaan female out of the pit. After some water, she doesn't look to bad. "I can fight." she promises.
"What's your name lass?" I ask her.
"Oloma Authdamar. I was aboard the Star Goddess when it went down. I was able to make clear of the wreckage, but was captured by the Yuan-ti and brought here." she explains. "There is an evil female Yuan-ti that comes to the cells and selects a prisoner for her sacrifices. It was just a matter of time before we would all perish at their hands."
"Well that's not going to happen now love." I promise. "We have come with great purpose to destroy Raz Nsi. But first let's get you people out of here."
I hand her my crossbow.
 
The passage leading out is blocked with another portcullis, but we bypass it using Nhile's echo to swap him on the other side. But as the gate is opened, we are attacked by four of the Yuan-ti brood guards.
The paladin meets them at the end of he hallway and pushes one back so Nhile and I can enter the room. As we engage them, a door to the north opens and four female warlock Yuan-ti enter.
They cast a globe of darkness on the room. It emanates cold and we can't see the enemy. Kasimir misty steps to the other side of the females and Nihle and I push through the darkness to attack them as they are now the greater threat.
 
Two of the guards flee the darkness into the prison ward where Halveer and Cimber are waiting. They deal with them while we battle the snake witches. The female warlocks spit acid and cast Eldritch Blasts at us as we dance around the bloodied alter in battle.
Finally the darkness drops and we defeat them all. We assemble in the alter room. We can see where the blood of their sacrifices spill off the alter onto runnels in the floor that lead to holes no doubt exiting out of the fangs of the snake statue we saw in the cathedral.
 
I pick up the witch's scimitar as we move into the chamber they came from. It is triangular in shape and a basin rests in its point on the far end. There appears to be some kind of rippling black sludge contained in the stone basin. I dip the tip of the blade into the black fluid and draw some out. I hold the end of blade up to my face to sniff it. Then I peer into the shiny blackness.
 
My eyes glaze over. I see a vision of darkness covering the Realms. A massive serpent appears over the world wrapping its coils around Toril itself. and swallowing it whole. I scream as searing pain wracks my head and it is the most intense pain I have ever felt. I drop the Yuan-ti blade and fall to my knees holding my head.
 
"What is this my friend!?" Kasimir shouts in alarm. He places a hand on my shoulder. Mercifully the pain subsides and I look around in confusion trying to remember where I really am.
"I saw the end of the world." I whisper. The pain lingers even after they heal me. "I just need to rest a while."
 
We rest for about an hour before pressing on. I notice Oloma has wiped the scimitar clean and now carries it.
Down the hall from the altar room we find the chamber of the high priestess we killed earlier. Inside we find a magical urn. We don't know what it is used for but we take it with us.
 
We come to another ramp leading up and before us are two massive double doors, inlaid with gold. Great chains are hanging near by that will retract the doors. We sneak up the ramp to see several Yuan-ti guards. One of them eating eggs. More concerning, are the lizards they have on their leashes. Halveer gasps. "Look at the eight legs! Those are basilisks!"
"So what?" I say. "Looks like a big dumb lizard to my ownself."
"Yes, but the gaze of those lizards can turn a man to solid stone."
"Holy shite." I whisper. "That's the end of this quest if Kasimir or more than one of us gets fixed like that!"
 
We slowly back down the hall to discuss our next move.
"We need to see what's beyond these doors." I suggest. "I don't fancy being turned to stone."
"They will make too much noise." Halveer points out.
Kasimir sees the small hatch on the door and opens it peering thorough. "I see the jungle and buildings! These are the main doors to the palace."
 
I have a look and sure enough down some steps and we are right back into the city of Omu. "I say we open these gates and make a break for the city. Find some ruins to hole up in for a day. No need in carting these folks around here. They'll be in the way at best or killed at the worst."
 
Everyone agrees and we pull quickly on the chains to open the gates wide enough for us to pass. We rush out and down the steps back into the city, not daring to look back to see if we are pursued.
 
We find a quiet building to make camp in near the entrance to Omu.
 
I concentrate on the Urn we took from the priestess' chambers and discover it as the ability to summon a servant from the elemental plane of air. A powerful ally to be sure as long as the summoner is able to concentrate and control the spirit. Otherwise it will become rather hostile and turn on the summoner.
 
Later as we sit around a small campfire, the sky turns deep blue as night falls. I see Oloma looking to the sky likely wishing she were sailing overhead.
 
"We'll help you get back to your people." I tell her. "But we must finish our business with Raz Nsi and then enter the tomb what holds the soul monger."
She nods her understanding. "I owe you all a great debt."
"Well you are welcome to join us. Get some payback on the snake people and help us end the death curse."
"I will sleep on it." she replies.
 
"Ah yes." I agree. "Very much in need of sleep myself."
 
My slumber is fitful as I dream of falling in a pit of writhing serpents.