Session 3: An Unexpected Ally
General Summary
The party descended the yellow elevator, arriving with no fuss and a pleasant “ding” sound on the floor below. Their passage forward was blocked by a large stone slab which had fallen from the ceiling. Lins managed to squeeze through to see what lay beyond, but before she could announce that all was well, she was assaulted by an unseen creature wrapping tightly around her throat!
Fortunately, Sigvurd, Vin, and Nemara were right behind her, and soon managed to tear off the Strangler, a strange aberration that Sigvurd handily turned to paste after Vins magic missile detached it from the fighters neck.
Moving cautiously forward, the party journeyed down a long hallway flanked with statues and found themselves in a broad square room with a large pillar in the centre. A strange sort of brown carpet or moss was growing off of another orange-paste fountain, and as Sigvurd brought the everburning torch near with the intent to burn it off, it doubled in size and almost overtook him! He threw the torch, retreating backward, but its blaze seemed to only fuel the fungus, as the brown mold rapidly expanded over the room, driving the party back toward the room's entrance.
Throwing another torch only seemed to quicken the spread, and it wasn't until Vin cast a ray of frost on the expanding growth that it evaporated, the ice shrivelling the mold faster than it could keep up.
With the brown mold cleared, a skeleton was exposed on the floor, fallen down with its smashed legs in the doorway of the northern chamber. Lins and Vin examined the body, finding the remaining Indigo lantern in its backpack. Inside the room, Vin detected strong conjuration magic emanating from a spherical object on the adjoining wall. Sigvurd and Lins also investigated an entryway on the southern side of the room, and Vin identified a glyph on its wall as being the personal sigil of someone called Nadroc.
On exploring the north chamber, they found themselves in a sculptor's workshop, surrounded by half-carved chunks of marble and an unfinished statue of Zosciel wielding a rod. The rod had six notches in it, dividing it into seven parts, and Lins gained insight into the temple's layout via some crumbling maps in a drawer.
On turning around to leave, they noticed a black marble sphere resting on a table against the far wall. It had a glyph on it, and as Vin touched it to cast her Comprehend Languages spell, it uncurled into a small earth elemental. The elemental demanded the party identify themselves, and Vin and Nemara worked together using Comprehend Languages and Nemara's telepathy to negotiate with the creature.
They discovered that Artophanx had been miserably imprisoned by the architect Nadroc, who was also a conjuration wizard, and could not leave that room without the long-dead summoners sanction. The party put their heads together, and as they thought, Lins speculated,
“How bad do we need to damage it before it's not a room anymore?”
They reasoned that Artophanx was the most equipped to damage a wall, and, amazed he hadnt thought of it before, the elemental – aided by the barbarian – speedily tore down most of the wall. Removing the support caused a good deal of the workshop to cave in, and sufficiently de-room-ified, Artophanx left the room a free being.
Grateful, Artophanx gave the party some advice: if they tried to ascend to the corridor of the screaming face without lighting all the lanterns, they would surely die. Also, he promised that the true tomb and its treasures waited beyond the face.
Vin thanked Artophanx and released him from his contract, allowing him to return to his home plane. Artophanx was touched by the party's help and promised to never forget them.
After bidding him farewell, the party set about lighting the lanterns and ascending into the true tomb (though Sigvurd had some trouble at first)
Rewards Granted
- An Elaborate Indigo Lantern.
Missions/Quests Completed
Solved the lantern puzzle and safely ascended to the Hall of the Face
Character(s) interacted with
Met Artophanx the Earth Elemental, who now owes the party a favor.