Session 22 – City Underground
General Summary
After a long rest, the group investigates the room across the hall from the temple of the Magi of Usamigaras. They find what is clearly a bunkhouse, containing six bunkbeds. They also locate the secret door in the south wall leading to what must be the personal chambers of their leader, Auriga Sirkinos.
Guarding Auriga’s chambers is a wolf, which once subdued is soon befriended by Sylbella , who names him Bucky while the others locate a chest under the bed and claim the coinage contained within.
Not satisfied that they were unable to completely explore all of the lower tiers but realizing that the area that was protected by the lightening door may be underneath the Brotherhood of Gorm’s are of tier two they pay the one faction that has befriended them a visit. Their leader, Kanadius is overwhelmingly amused that Sylbella has taken Aurgia’s prized pet wolf as her own. She chooses not to tell Kanadius that Auriga is dead.
Despite tradition dictating that only fully sworn members of the Brotherhood may enter the temple, Kanadius invites the entire group below and presents them with medallions, making them honorary members. This will allow them to visit the temple, but only if accompanied by a full member. Afterwards, the team makes their way to the tunnel in the large meeting hall on the fifth tier that leads to the underground city. There they find that it truly is an underground city with streets, an underground lake, buildings, livestock pens, and more. They immediately go to the Brotherhood of Gorm stronghold figuring that to be the safest place to begin where they meet Gyleon who shares more about the history of the city, how generations ago Cynidecea thrived on the surface but when the pyramid was build in honor of the dead King Alexander, the diggers uncovered the creature Zargon. Zargon killed most of the workers, then began hunting prey at night through the streets of Cynidicea. The city guard was not able to kill the monster. At last, the city rulers began sending criminals from the jails into the pyramid for Zargon to feed on. In time, a strange cult arose that worshipped the monster as a god. The cult viewed the monster's victims as religious sacrifices. Before the cult, most Cynidiceans worshiped Gorm, Usamigaras, or Madarua, but they were forsaken in favor of the worship of the monster Zargon. Finally, most of the citizens of Cynidicea worshipped it. The worshippers of Zargon began to look for strange pleasures. They sought oblivion in rare wines and bizarre drugs. Workers no longer repaired the irrigation ditches. Rich land turned into desert. The army lost its discipline. People outside the city rebelled or moved away as chaos spread outward from Cynidicea. Later, barbarian and orc warriors stormed over the walls and destroyed the city. The only people of Cynidicea who survived its destruction were those who had fled underground to the vast catacombs under the city. There, led by Priests of Zargon, the Cynidiceans tried to rebuild the city. The surviving people based their new life around a huge underground lake fed by channels cut through solid rock. Built in the reign of King Alexander, the lake had been the original city's water supply. On its shores, the people grew mushrooms and other edible fungi. They built houses using stones from the ruins above. The new underground city was much smaller than the ancient capital, but it was safer because it was hidden beneath the desert sands. Above, drifting sands covered the original city, and Cynidicea was lost in the vastness of the desert. Until the party arrived, the Cynidiceans honestly believed the world above was gone, having been destroyed by the gods. Generation after generation of Cynidiceans have lived out their lives underground. The Brotherhood, Magi, and Maidens have attempted to restore the worship of the old gods but of course barely tolerate each other making it difficult to mount any real opposition to the Priests of Zargon.
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