Episode 20 - Vault Hunters

Vault Hunters

General Summary

• The Guardians of Golarion had stumbled upon the secret entrance to a cave. Ella forced the doors open, which set off an arcane rune flash-bang that rang the ears of both Ella and Godric. Inside was a small cave with a secret door in the back. That door led to a long dark corridor. The Guardians were ambushed by two of the large green humanoids with the skull masks that they faced on the Drow ship. They were also attacked by two drow snipers. At the far end of the cavern, the Guardians found a small hidden cache that held a journal and a wand of Charm Person. Hugo, the only one versed in Undercommon, skimmed through the journal.

• The journal belonged to a drow cleric named Shindiira. She was in charge of the excavation and the testing of the ritual. It had performed as expected, using the ritual to call down a meteor that destroyed a protective rune which shielded the Vault of Jel'va. 

• The Twilight Empire was torn on what to use the ritual for next. Some wanted to use it for revenge. Others wanted to use it as part of a sacrifice ritual. In any case, many were going to die.

• Shindiira left instructions with her minions to continue to use the charm wand on the Human (assumed to be Clegg) so he would find more Akata (the space cats). She wanted to use the creatures as weapons in Celwynvian, the abandoned city in the Mierani Forest. Drow had been rumored to be active in the area, and the journal noted several drow camps in the city.

• The journal had also contained several older pages from another journal connected to the Vault of Jel'va.  The pages were written by a drow wizard once known as Urthadar the Undying. In his pages, he wrote about how he had taken the body of a Sa'har Knight (Khaylin) and foolishly turned it into an unstoppable monster. He was forced to make a deal with a devil to contain the monster. It would be kept in the vault, locked deep underground. The devil demanded tortured sacrifices or he would break his half of the deal.  To forever hold the monster Urthadar had been given eternal life through an orb. With this eternal life, he sacrificed hundreds to save millions. Finally, if he were to die, the seal would weaken, and the monster will destroy all. 

• Valarius noted the drawing at the end of the corridor, channeled his ki into the image of an ancient bow from his order, and the portal came to life. Godric placed the discblade within and the portal revealed a door that everyone lifted to gain entrance. Everyone passed through except Shen (who somehow could not walk through, possibly due to Khaylin's spirit inside him) and Hugo (the gauntlet would not pass through). They both hopped into the disc, hoping that once the disc was brought into the Vault they could emerge. They could not.

• Once inside the vault, the door closed. Almost closed. It stopped but then slowly rose into the air. Lasdo and Ardura were there, and they stepped into the vault. Ardura, in person, seemed rather child-like and innocent. Lasdo thanked the group for opening the door. As a sign of good faith he released Belidas, and the Guardians watched her hologram as she ran into the Gold Goblin.  Lasdo still expected them to retrieve the crystal, as they promised. If they did not, he would have his men burn the Goblin down and kill everyone within.

• Lasdo needed to enter a temple in the Darkland. To do that, he will need both Ardura and the crystal. He needs power because as a human, the other members of the Twilight Empire are always looking to get rid of him. They are mostly drow and feel anyone who is not drow are beneath them. Lasdo wants to maintain balance by becoming too powerful for the drow to get rid of him.

• Inside the vault was a horror show. Blood smeared on the walls. Faint screams of pain and torture. Images of devils and demons torturing people. Lasdo started chatting up Ella, speaking to her as if he knew her. Ella revealed that she had stolen her ax from his mansion and fled.

• They approached a room with four flaming pillars in it - green, red, purple, and blue. After investigation and testing each flame by sticking an arrow into it, Valarius stepped into the blue flame. He disappeared, but all of his gear remained. Sakali summoned dogs and put an arrow in their mouths. He then sent them into each flame to see what happened. After some experimentation, the rest of the group stepped into the red flame and disappeared.

• Where is Valarius? Is he alive?

Missions/Quests Completed

• Gain access to the Vault of Jel'va

Character(s) interacted with

• Lasdo - The blue-haired human seems intent on remaining close to Ardura, but does not hold her with the same reverence he seemed to initially.

• Ardura - Seems a bit innocent and childlike. When she smiles, she looks a bit like Alyuin.

Notes

General Knowledge

Khaylin was an akashic monk who became a member of the Sa'har Order, elven knights who existed to protect elves from the human barbarians. Khaylin was one of a few with a strong connection to the akashic flow of energy. When his spirit was corrupted and removed from his body, the body remained connected to the flow. This power was what made Khaylin's mindless body to Urthadar's experiments.

Report Date

04 Feb 2019