Session 26: The Decaying Mistress

General Summary

Having reached the mysterious underground settlement of Artesia and sharing a drink with old and new ‘friends’ including Romero and Quinn, the gang followed Bathos to his home to stay the night. The party walked through the twisting subterranean tunnels, walls decorated with small shrines serving as offerings to Al-Thaid, the decaying mistress.
At Bathos's small abode, the party met Bathos’ husband, Fernand, a dark-skinned satyr, who made dinner for the gang before assigning them simple beds of straw. During the night, Balasar had a terrible dream, in which he spectated his father, Viphantez Zamath, in prison being interrogated by Commander Tao Artemiev of the royal guard, a constant antagonist of the heroes. He could not seem to see his son, but he did hear Balasar's words, and seemed happy to hear his voice. Balasar learned that he was being relocated to a different part of the prison and saw Commander Tao slice the side of his neck, drawing blood. Before he could interfere and save his father, the young dragonborn woke up and fell back into a deep sleep. 
Moses met Romero Sorelio Bravo in the shrine to the Decaying Mistress. The two spoke about their shared goddess, Scaros, the goddess of trickery and war, whose symbol is an eye. Romero gave Moses an amulet with an eye enclosed in amber, which they stated would protect the changeling. They also informed Moses that Quinn had the ability to teleport the group to Viso, though the dinosaurs and the corpses of the five cows Balasar and Nydyr had procured could not likely accompany the party. 
When everyone woke up, they realised that Devis and Ekxus had disappeared from their beds. Hearing the marching of feet and the wailing of voices, the party went into the tunnels to find a procession of people, all dressed in identical robes leading a litter. They learned that the townsfolk were worshippers of Al-Thaid, the decaying mistress, and there was to be a sacrifice of three people, who the gang surmised might be Ekxus, Devis, and Quinn or Romero. Using his endless charisma, Moses talked to one of the three women carrying the litter. He also noticed that a strange black mist existed inside the box.  
Through Nydyr's use of the darkness spell, the party managed to get ahead of the parade and jump through a veil behind the large shrine. They fell 100ft into a bed of dead flowers, which they noted were the symbol of Al-Thaid. The gang found that upon moving they were sucked deeper into the bed of flowers, causing brief suffocation most notably for Max. Eventually the party escaped and set fire to the decaying flowers, running into an adjourning tunnel.
In the complex of tunnels they found a minotaur statue, holding a bow and arrow. When passing, the minotaur advised the party to answer its riddle. Max solved it quickly, and they progressed into the next chamber. Inside the chamber they found 8 doors, four on either side. Upon investigating, the party found that the doors were each labelled with the words 'open' or 'close'. Unfortunately, the words were in different languages, some of which the gang did not recognise. A few mistakes were made, a giant spider was fought, and Max found himself in a shadow dimension. Eventually they solved the puzzle and the door at the end of the room swung open.
Walking through the door, the party found themselves in a fourth and final chamber, walls plastered with mirrors, in which hung three cages from the roof, containing Ekxus, Devis, and Quinn, all unconscious. Before them stood the three sisters who carried the litter in the parade. Behind them sat a skeletal woman in a throne. They expressed that they aimed to bring about the return of Al-Thaid, who would destroy all non-believers and those unworthy.
This all culminated in a fight against the three sisters (a druid, a spellcaster, and a fighter) and finally the mother. Eventually the party managed to defeat the mother, but only after several near-death instances.

Report Date

04 Dec 2020

Primary Location

Artesia