Fane of the Night Serpent, Part 1

Session played on March 24, 2021

12 Nightal, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)
Day 60 of 79
Fane of the Night Serpent, Omu, Jungles of Chult

After getting a full night's rest the adventuring company, now officially dubbed The Amazing Bastardos, decided to try and find a back entrance to the temple-lair where Ras Nsi and the other yuan-ti were in hopes of retrieving the last of the puzzle cubes needed to enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods.

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After slaying King of Feathers and searching the bodies of the Red Wizards and their slain mercenaries, the adventurers searched for a safe place to rest for the remainder of the day.
While searching, they discovered an abandoned campsite. Torn backpacks and rotted gear littered the ground around three moldering tents. At the center of the camp, a scrap of dirty yellow cloth hung from a crude wooden flagpole.
A careful search suggested the camp had been abandoned nearly three months ago. Signs also indicated the camp had been since looted. A thorough search of the camp yielded a moldy parchment caught in the lining of one of the tents.
The letter was written by someone named Lord Brixton. It read:

Rue,
Devlin has a lead on the Eye of Zaltec! The old goat found an obelisk in the north that marks the entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods. The Eye must be within, but the door is magically locked. We think the secret to opening it lies in the holy shrines.

We're headed into the ruins to check them out: Gods willing, we'll be back tonight. Ras Nsi's serpent people are on the prowl, so be careful. If you get into trouble, sound the swan horn twice and we'll come running.

For the Yellow Banner,
Lord Brixton



"Didn't Syndra Silvane say that she had sent another adventuring group before us to Chult?" Alice asked the group.
"She did," Bolte answered. "And she said she never heard from them so assumed the worst."
"So she hired us," Nip'hto added. "hoping we'd succeed where the other group may have failed."
"By the looks of this camp, I'd say the previous group failed," Alice said.
"Well, we're clearly more skilled than the Company of the Yellow Banner," Atwix offered. "For one, we've found eight of the puzzle cubes. For two, we're still alive."
No one could disagree with the drow's logic.
Bolte looked at the letter again. "At least we now have a better idea where the entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods is."
While the others made camp, Orvex used the time to cast Identify on two wands the group had found during their journey throughout Chult. If they were going to face Ras Nsi, they thought it would do well to be prepared and well-equipped.
One of the wands turned out to be a Wand of Lightning Bolts. Orvex said only a spellcaster could use the wand. Alice, the cleric of Tempus, had already been holding on to it, so it was agreed that the wand should belong to her. Besides, with her being an air genasi, the wand seemed rather fitting for her.
The second wand turned out to be a Wand of Secrets. Orvex said anyone could use the wand. Its magic could help anyone holding it discover the location of any nearby secret door or trap. Bolte, being the group's rogue, held on to the wand.
Before turning in and taking each of their turns at watch, the group ate a bland but nourishing meal conjured up by Alice's Create Food and Water spell.


The next day, the group decided to head to the great ruin of the royal palace where Orvex said the Red Wizards claimed the Fane of the Night Serpent, the temple-lair of the yuan-ti people was.
However, The Amazing Bastardos was looking for a rear entrance. They considered fighting their way in through the temple's front door too risky to try, considering how easily the yuan-ti raiders were able to overtake Atwix's and Zartan's minds and stop them from fighting.
As they searched for hours, thousands of bats swirled above the ruins of the palace. Surrounded by a 15-foot-high circular wall, the adventurers came upon crumbling arcades, vine-choked statues, empty plazas, and buildings overgrown with banyan roots. Streets that weren't flooded were choked with rubble.
A few times, they saw several places that could have served as an entrance to the fane but ignored them.
Near highsun, the group found what they were looking for. Behind some large palm fronds, Bolte uncovered a narrow, rough-hewn passage descending into the earth.
Nip'hto examined the area and determined that more than one yuan-ti had used the passage in the last few days.
Bolte had the group stay behind while he entered the passage to find out how far it went and who or what they may encounter.
The passage wound its way into the bowels of the earth. The air was wet and sticky. The walls were slick with moisture. Harmless centipedes crawled across the floor as Bolte followed the passage to where it ended over one hundred paces later.
At its end, the passage turned right. Just beyond Bolte could hear the sounds of water lapping against a shore.
He also heard something moving nearby. Whatever it was walked with clawed feet that scraped the rough stone ground.
Peering around the corner, Bolte spotted an underground river. Stalactites hung low over its surface, and dripping water echoed in the dark. Two small rowboats were tied to a wooden post wedged into the ground at the river's edge. A cowbell dangled from a hook at the prow of each boat.
Stalking back and forth before the boats were two creatures the like of which Bolte had never seen.

Each was the size of a full-grown human. Both were emaciated and had no skin or hair. Instead, they were covered in tough scales that gave off a faint odor of rotting flesh. Their eyes were bloodshot and small. They had a forked tongue, which constantly flicked in and out of their mouths, which were filled with dull, yellowed, hooked teeth. They had long arms that nearly reached the ground. Their fingers ended in sharp black claws.
Moving as quietly as possible, Bolte made his way back to the others.
He told them about what he had seen.
It was agreed that since Nip'hto, Atwix, and Bolte could see in the dark, they would take the lead.
Alice, who wore a ring that shined as bright as a lantern, would follow a good distance behind, along with Orvex and Zartan.
The three lead adventurers quietly made their way down the ten-foot-wide passage. Each had a bow and arrow ready.
When they reached the underground river, they positioned themselves so as not to be seen by the creatures.
When all were ready, they pulled back on their bowstrings and fired as one.
Atwix shot at one that stood a few feet from the water's edge.
His shot took it right in the side knocking it slightly off balance. His second shot struck its neck. Thick blood oozed from its wounds but the thing was still alive.
Bolte made sure it wouldn't live a breath longer.
Having surprised the creature, Bolte was able to spend a quick second aiming at where he would hurt the creature the most. He took his shot and struck the creature in the center of its chest as it turned to face him. The creature shrieked and stumbled against the cavern wall behind it. It slowly slid to the ground and died.
Nip'hto learned out from the behind the passage he came from and saw two more of the creatures farther along the river's edge.
He drew back on his bowstring and let loose an arrow. It struck the nearest creature in the leg. It shrieked just as he fired a second arrow which tore through the thing's left arm. Having ambushed the creature, Nip'hto was able to knock a third arrow. Before firing, he focused on the creature he was aiming at and mystically marked it as his quarry.
The arrow flew straight, its aim true.
It struck the creature right between the eyes, causing its head to snap back. It fell backward. Its body jerked for a few seconds before lying still.
Nip'hto heard a fourth creature, just out of sight, run away.
"Sounds like a fourth one just took off!" Nip'hto warned the others.
"To get reinforcements, no doubt," Atwix said.
Without saying a word, Bolte took off to chase after the fleeing creature.
He ran past one creature that hissed at him from ten feet away. For a second, he considered stopping to fight it, but he needed to reach the fourth one before it could warn the others.
Bolte ran down a passage that twisted its way deeper into the fane.
When he turned a corner he spotted the fleeing creature up ahead. It had stopped running and was facing the entrance of a large cavern that was brightly lit. It hissed and snarled something in a language Bolte couldn't understand.
Suddenly, the rogue heard a movement behind him.
The creature he had run past was next to him!
It raised a claw and slashed him across the chest. With its other claw, it raked his arm. With a speed that surprised Bolte, its mouth opened impossibly wide. It then bit him, its hooked teeth tearing through leather armor and flesh.
Bolte screamed in agony.
A sudden flurry of arrows tore into the creature. It shrieked in agony then fell to the ground, thrashed for a breath or two then lay still.
Bolte saw Nip'hto, Atwix, and Zartan knocking more arrows as they prepared for more of the creatures to appear in the narrow tunnel.
Bolte turned and moved towards his companions. Alice offered a short prayer to Tempus and healed Bolte's wounds.
A woman's voice called to the group from around the tunnel's bend. "Strangers! You are obviously skilled enough to slay broodguards. I would like a moment to speak with all of you."
The group considered the woman's offer.
"We accept your offer to speak," Bolte said. "But if you so much as raise a finger to any of us we will slaughter all of you."
"No one will attack you if I order them not to." the woman replied. She then stepped into view.

Fenthaza (Yuan-ti high priestess of Dendar)

The adventurers were not expecting to see a strikingly beautiful woman with a lower half of a snake.
"I am Fenthaza, this temple's high priestess."
"We are the adventuring company, The Amazing Bastardos," Bolte said. "What is it you want to discuss with us?"
Fenthaza slithered closer to the group. "I simply wish to know what your purpose is here in the Fane of the Night Serpent."
The group did not want to divulge too much but said they were in search of a stone cube said to be in the possession of Ras Nsi.
Fenthaza's curiosity peaked. "I know of this cube you are looking for. Ras Nsi does have it."
"Then we are going to get it," Bolte said matter-of-factly.
Fenthaza smiled. "Perhaps. But are you really going to fight your way through a fane of yuan-ti?"
Nip'hto pointed to the slain broodguards. "We've made good progress so far."
"If it's the cube you seek, I can help you acquire it."
"Sounds like there's a price to your offer of help," Alice said.
Fenthaza grinned. "There is."
"What price would that be?" Bolte asked.
"It's simple. Kill Ras Nsi and you can have the cube."