Fane of the Night Serpent, Part 2

Session played on April 1, 2021

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

The Amazing Bastardos, has made a tenous alliance with Fenthaza, a yuan-ti high priestess. She offers to lead the party to Ras Nsi so they can slay him and retrieve the last of the puzzle cubes needed to enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods.

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Fenthaza, the high priestess of Dendar, offered to safely take the group to Ras Nsi's throne room.
When asked why she was willing to help the adventurers she said Ras Nsi has become physically weak. He is getting weaker and may even die soon. In his weakness, Ras Nsi has started to cede power to his champion, Sekelok, a yuan-ti pureblood.
Before that happens, Fenthaza wants to take over as the fane's leader. With Ras Nsi's death, she would be able to ascend as the leader of the yuan-ti.
The party agreed to slay Ras Nsi. In return, they demanded safe passage out of the fane once they have the puzzle cube in hand.
Fenthaza agreed.

***

Fenthaza escorted the party through the fane.
Along the way, they saw over a dozen prisoners being kept in a slave grotto. They looked liked native Chultans.
Alice asked the others if they should help free the prisoners.
They wanted to but they needed to get the last puzzle cube and find the soulmonger as soon as possible. If possible, they considered returning to the fane after they've completed their quest and saved their patron, Syndra Silvane.
As it was, they only had 19 days before Syndra Silvane would die again.
Alice conceded that time was not on their side. She wondered too if time wasn't on the slave's side.
How many of them would die before we return to free them? Alice wondered.
The yuan-ti priestess escorted them through a large room that seemed to serve as the fane's storeroom. Stacks of sturdy wood crates, bundles of cloth, and clay amphorae littered the floor.
From the shadows behind a stack of crates, slithered a giant constrictor snake.
"Azi Mas," Fenthaza intoned. "These strangers are with me. We are simply passing through."
The giant snake which nearly filled half the room, coiled around a stack of crates. It raised its large head. "I will commit their facesss to memory," the snake hissed.
The party was stunned after hearing the snake speak in common.
The entire entourage walked through the room under the watchful eyes of Azi Mas.


After making their way through a few passages, the group entered a huge underground cathedral.
At one end, a sculptured balcony perched atop five rearing stone serpents. Blood dribbling from the serpents' jaws fell into a semicircular basin, and from there flowed along a sloped trough into a wide stone bowl set into the floor.
South of the bowl was a mezzanine, prominently situated atop which was a cauldron of steaming broth that exuded fleshy odors. To the west, a huge gong carved with snake patterns stood on a second balcony.
The adventurers can only wonder in horror the bloody rituals that had performed in the temple in homage to their god, Dendar.
Alice asked Fenthaza about Dendar.
Fenthaza said Dendar the Night Serpent, also known as the Eater of the World, came into existence shortly after the first being slept and had a nightmare. Dendar usually takes the form of a giant and tyrannical extraplanar serpent that feeds upon the forgotten nightmares of mortals.
Dendar had an uncountable horde of horrible dreams and foul visions in her gullet that she had been devouring since the dawn of time. She relished the taste of particularly choice nightmares and savored the dreams of kings and deities alike. More horrifying, if she did not feed her insatiable appetite, every being, mortal or deity, would remember every nightmare he or she has ever dreamed in excruciating detail.
Fenthaza proudly said that Dendar will be the harbinger of the end of the world and even the gods themselves. When that happens, the yuan-ti people will populate the world.
The high priestess saw Alice's reaction. "Don't worry my child. You and the others could be spared. All you need to do is become one of us. I could arrange to have all of you transformed into yuan-ti. You would gain abilities beyond your current ones."
"No thanks," Bolte said. "I'd miss the way I look."
The cleric of Tempus was curious. "Wait, you're not born this way?" She didn't care if she sounded insulting.
Fenthaza laughed lightly. "The yuan-ti were once human. Long before humankind dominated the continent of Faerûn, the Creator Races ruled Toril. The reptilian Creator Race, the sarrukh, were foremost amongst these and built up great empires. They bred the first yuan-ti by magically experimenting with and breeding men with snakes, also creating nagas and, through a similar process, lizardmen."
"Ras Nsi was once human?" Atwix asked.
Fenthaza nodded. "Ras Nsi is a barae, one of the seven Chosen of Ubtao, undying men and women who ruled the holy city of Mezro as priest-kings. He became one of the chosen in 1372 DR."
Orvex was shocked to hear this. "That means Ras Nsi is at least over a hundred years easily."
Fenthaza continued. "In time, Ras Nsi sought bloody and violent revenge against the Eshowe tribe of Chult and for the creation of the majority of the undead that roam that land. Before then, Ras Nsi fancied himself a Cormyrean noble and even controlled a fleet of ships. When the city of Mezro was "destroyed" by the Spellplague, it was assumed that Ras Nsi was destroyed along with it, as the barae were prophesied to crumble to dust if ever the city were annihilated. However, this was not the case—Ras Nsi instead joined us and dedicated himself to the return of the primordial Dendar. It was I who transformed Ras Nsi into a yuan-ti malison. He was strong and easily took leadership of the fane and all the yuan-ti in it."
"So why do you want him dead?" Bolte asked. "You crave the power he has?" Like Alice, he didn't care if he was insulting in his inquiry.
Fenthaza didn't seem phased by the question. "No. Despite being a strong leader at first, he became weak when he allied himself with the Oerthan lich Acererak."
"Oerthan?" Atwix asked.
"All I know is that Oerth is a world similar to this world, Toril." Fenthaza said. "It's where Ras Nsi said Acererak is from."
"Acererak is said to be the one who built the Tomb of the Nine Gods," Orvex said. "It's where he sealed the remains of the nine trickster gods and possibly hid the soulmonger."
Fenthaza led them to a set of stone doors. An image of a huge serpent eating an entire world was carved onto the doors.
"Behind those doors is Ras Nsi's throne room," Fenthaza said.
"What do we expect to encounter in there?" Bolte asked Fenthaza.
"Ras Nsi surrounds himself with broodguards, ghouls, two yuan-ti malisons, and of course his champion, Sekelok."
"Alice can easily deal with the ghouls," Atwix said. The others agreed.
"We'll lead with range attacks as soon as we open the doors," Nip'hto said. "Alice, do you have that wand of lightning bolts?"
Alice nodded.
"What does Ras Nsi have on him?" Bolte asked Fenthaza. "The more we know, the easier it'll be to help you with this coup."
"He fights with a sword known as a flame tongue," the priestess answered. "He also wears a set of bracers that help protect him from all attacks. He has no weaknesses, if you're wondering."
Bolte turned to everyone. "Watch your backs for any surprises. And help each other when possible. Let's focus on Ras Nsi. Maybe by cutting off the head the snake--literally--the others with him will see the errors of their ways soon after."
The others agreed.
Nip'hto cast rope trick and told Orvex to climb into the spell's dimensional pocket. He'd be safer there.
Orvex didn't need any more encouragement from the ranger.
Fenthaza left the room as the group prepared for a fight that they felt could test their skills and abilities.
Bolte checked the double doors for traps. After finding none, he opened it. The others stood in front of the door, ready for battle.
The doors growled open as it scraped against the stone floor. Beyond was a ten-foot-wide corridor. It ended in a large room some 40 feet away.
Four pillars supported the vaulted ceiling of the room beyond. A ten-foot-wide opening in the east wall led to a flooded cave.
In the room were three broodguards and Sekelok. Ras Nsi's champion wasn't wearing any armor. He was wearing only short leather pants and leather bracers around his muscular forearms. He held a greatsword in both hands.
Although the group didn't surprise those in the throne room, Alice was able to point her wand of lightning bolts at Sekelok.
A clap of thunder followed a bolt of lightning that arced across the corridor and into the throne room.
It struck one of the broodguards and Sekelok. The pillar the broodguard stood next to protected it from the lightning bolts full impact, but Ras Nsi's champion wasn't as lucky. The lightning bolt struck his left side. Arcs of electricity danced around Sekelok's body as it burned flesh wherever it touched him.
Although hurt by Alice's attack, Sekelolk had survived it.
Ras Nsi, surprised by how the adventurers had managed to pass through the fane's yuan-ti guards, ordered the broodguards and his champion to slay the intruders.

***

The battle against Ras Nsi, Sekelok, and his broodguards was hard-fought.
Despite having suffered severe wounds from both weapons and spells from Ras Nsi's guards and champion, and even as Zartan and Atwix were convinced to lay down their weapons and cease fighting by suggestive spells from the yuan-ti, the group prevailed and had slain Ras Nsi.
Sekelok and the broodguards had been slain as well.
As promised, Fenthaza gave the group the puzzle cube they came for. And after telling them the possible location to the entrance of the Tomb of the Nine Gods, ordered them to leave her fane immediately.
The group took the puzzle cube, left the fane, and found a safe place to take a much-deserved long rest.