Session 56: Retreat
General Summary
In the aftermath of battle, Lins and Sigvurd stood, weapons dripping blood and worm-ooze, their companions either absorbed into Nemara's grimoire, or dead, infested with worms and rapidly turning a worrying shade of green.
Sigvurd used his mighty axe to slow the infestation's progress and lop off a leg that seemed free. Shortly after detaching it, however, several dozen worms writhed and wriggled from the opposing stump. Worried that he might have "missed a spot," Sigvurd chopped off a toe as well, just to be safe.
Lins agreed that time was of the essence, and they focused on Vin's spellbook to use Teleport—it was as if the consciousness of their wizard friend was guiding them through the process. Eventually the dungeon walls faded away, replaced with the scenery of Magepoint as they stood on the lawn of the Temple-Library, evening coming on as the reading-lamps burned in the windows.
They ventured inside and petitioned the priest-librarians for aid. Agath recognized them, and after his initial confusion on seeing them back so soon, listened to the situation. He agreed to help. However, the ritual would require a substantial diamond, which the library did not have on-hand. The PCs would have to go get it.
The priest kept the remains viable while the party travelled to the city to make a withdrawal from the bank, and when they returned, summoned his aides for the ritual. The priest-librarians surrounded Zeke's body, and it became wreathed in holy light as they reached out to his departed spirit, calling out that his work was not finished, that his destiny awaited him in the realms of mortals.
The two party members watched as Zeke's form was conjured back, complete with his armour, until the light faded and Zeke, with dark circles and a haggard expression, but alive and upright, sat on the bed where his remains had been laid.
Understandably exhausted, the paladin declared himself in need of a nap, and was peacefully absorbed into the spellbook. Relieved, Lins and Sigvurd decided to check in with Tenser before resuming their quest.
Tenser was intrigued by what they had discovered so far. The vivacity of Kyuss' wormspawn concerned hem, and he wondered if there might be some force within the ruins that was keeping the creatures viable for the wormgod's return. He hadn't gotten far in his research, but had uncovered a few prophecies about the Age of Worms and thought that - worryingly - most of them had already been fulfilled. It seemed they were short on time.
The party attempted to teleport back to the ziggurat, but having failed to retrieve an associated item, they accidentally misifred, and ended up in the Kingdom of Nyrond, instead. There, they met a helpful archaeologist named Trislee who let them rest among the researcher's tents. The following morning, they recast Teleport, and returned to the Zigurrat
They beheld another vision when investigating the southern room - Kyuss being taught how to interpret some brass disks by the spellweaver creature. Sigvurd was able to retrieve the disks from a desk - though they were warped by the heat of the Fireball spell. Lins cast Comprehend Languages on what few books had survived the blast, and determined the collection mostly covered necromancy, including a spell that tried to perpetually preserve corpses for reanimation by creating a sort of False Life Zone. There were also religious text relating to the church of Nerull.
After picking over that room, they decided to descend the pit, especially after noting tha a large number of volumes were missing, and that a slithery trail led out of the room and down into the pit.
They decided to explore some of the cavern openings that pockmarked the shaft, and after some exploring, found a treasure chamber! It was guarded by two bloated wormnagas, one of whom blasted Lins' mental faculties to nearly nothing. Fortunately, their arms and weapons still worked well, and they were able to slice up the creatures and access the stash of gems, scrolls, ammo, and a single potion in the chamber beyond.
It seemed the tunnels connected only to each other, however, and so they returned to the main pit. Far below, they could see that the pit narrowed to a 5-foot diameter, and the chamber it opened into had a floor composed entirely of writhing Kyuss worms!
Rewards Granted
- Ancient Bronze Disks with Flan writing on them
- 12 gems (emeralds, black opals, and sapphires) worth 1,000 gp each
- A scroll
- A case of crossbow bolts
- A scroll
- and a potion
Report Date
16 Aug 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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