Session 19 - Zagreus Comes Forth
General Summary
The swirling cloak of darkness that enveloped the party in the Underworld clears, and we find ourselves back in the Labyrinth, in the chamber where the snake woman had been guarding the portal. There is no hint of the snake woman, and the statue that was there is now missing. All the bodies have been removed, and there is no evidence of a serpent either.
As we regain our senses, we cannot see the shade that was Zagreus. Abraxas is the first to speak, but he speaks with a different voice, and Pyro asks, “Zagreus?” and Abraxas, now Zagreus, answers, “Yes.” He tells us Abraxas is inside too, but will not appear until he leaves.
We have only the light of a moonstone which Xenobia holds. Ischyrós, who is still blind, rides upon her while Pyro always follows closely. The rest are nearby as the moonstone offers only a 5 foot radius of light.
Pandion is still with us. As we deliberate what to do, he reminds us that in the eyes of Minos, the king, the labyrinth befouls those who enter it, and they will never be permitted to reenter the palace alive. We will have to fight to get back through the entrance door.
Nevertheless, we make our way back through the maze toward the entrance, our best hope. We come to the serpent eggs again. While most of the party make their way through, Pandion accidentally steps on one. The battle ax he is carrying was found at this exact spot, and now as Pandion destroys one of the eggs, the ax that was bound to protect these eggs rebels against him. Pandion throws it away, but Candid, on his way through, picks it up.
We proceed to the area of the blood vines. They have regrown. As we are looking for a way through, Pyro hears Theresa on the other side and runs to her. A vine grabs Pyro, but he escapes to reunite with Theresa. Candid next attempts to cross, but he is also grabbed and is injured. Theresa and Pyro come to his aid, but he is bleeding and goes down. Zagreus then touches the vine, and it becomes a grape vine. The rest of the party passes through safely to join Pyro and Theresa.
Theresa has been here the whole time, and she leads us back to the entrance where she has established herself. We take a long rest, use healing spells, eat honey, and plan our escape. Pyro suggests using the grapes that have sprung up out of the vines to get the palace soldiers drunk.
We settle on a plan to head south in the labyrinth. We figure that the labyrinth is actually part of the palace, and on the south side of the palace there is a bluff. When we reach the southernmost point in the labyrinth, Theresa will dig horizontally through the dirt through the face of the bluff.
Before we start, Zagreus asks us to get grapes and put them into a vat. The allure of wine, he says, will get the guards to open the door. Sure enough, the doors open and the guards take drink. Zagreus asks the drunken men to take him to their leader. They take him to King Minos.
Minos, unable to resist, fully accepts Zagreus as the return of Dionysus from the dead. He commands a feast to last 10 days.
During the feast there was much rejoicing, drinking, and debauchery., Ischyros recovers his sight (after 3 days), then finds he is good a gambling. Theresa trades wine for honey.
Our quest now is to return Zagreus to his body, find and return the Fleece to Hades, and find a place to house the overflow of souls.
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