The Garden of Graves, Part 2
Played on April 6, 2012
Eleint 2 – 3, 1479, Year of the Ageless One
The lamia is a formidable opponent.
For what seems like an eternity, the adventurers have been battling the lamia, one of deadliest creature they have ever encountered. Weapons and spells seem almost ineffective against her. Each strike of blade or spell barely hurts the powerful fey creature.
However, the adventurers are beginning to wear the lamia down. Bloodied from its wounds brought on by the adventurers’ relentless attacks, the lamia is resorting to attacks that can cause the most amount of damage to everyone.
And so the encounter is truly becoming a battle for life. A battle to test and see who truly wants to win and live, or lose and die.
**
Kallin Rourke hears someone scream for help.
He turns his attention away from the elven boat and looks towards the river. There, struggling to swim against the strong current is a small person—a female gnome by the sounds and looks of it. Despite sensing a possible trap—for he knows not to trust everything in the Feywild—Kallin runs to the river’s edge. He quickly rummages through his gear and takes out a rope. It is strong yet supple. Tiny eldritch markings are barely noticeable across its silken strands.
With an arcane word, Kallin releases one end of the rope. Like a living snake, the rope uncoils itself and snakes its way across the top of the water, straight for the struggling gnome. Within seconds, the rope has reached the gnome. It ties itself around the gnome. Kallin then begins to pull the gnome back to shore.
Inside, the battle against the lamia has taken a turn for the worse. Outnumbered and bloodied, the lamia summons a swarm of scarabs to fight alongside her!
Jobek quaffs a potion of vitality as Fredara strikes the lamia in the arm. Not stopping, Fredara swings down on the swarm of deadly scarabs and kills dozens of them in one strike. Her momentum carries the blade back to the lamia. It screams in rage at Fredara’s onslaught.
The others, dazed by the lamia’s earlier are unable to do much to affect the deadly fey creature. Monro catches his breath and manages to ignore some of the pain he feels. Luthan, meanwhile, takes careful aim as he takes a careful step back from the swarm of scarabs. He lets loose an arrow that skewers several of the deadly bugs.
Outside, Kallin pulls the gnome to shore but keeps his distance. “Who are you?” He asks the gnome. The magical rope lets go of the gnome and winds itself back into a coil in Kallin’s hands.
The gnome gags and spits out a mouthful of water. “I am Orva,” she says. “I am with the other adventurers inside. We must hurry and warn them not to touch the door!”
Kallin runs inside. Orva quickly follows.
Within moments, the battle turns deadly.
The lamia unleashes a deadly swarm of poisonous beetles that swarms over anyone unfortunate enough to get in its way. The adventurers do their best, but in the end, Vyn succumbs to the poisonous beetles just as Patch kills the lamia. A few breaths later and the battle is over, the last of the deadly beetle squashed under Jobek’s boot.
**
The group rests for the remainder of the day. During that time, Kallin shares about his encounters in the Garden of Graves and of the death of a fellow adventurer he came across the day before. The others, in turn, share what they’ve encountered.
Orva also describes discovering a strange door in an adjoining room. A small pool of clear water rested on the door itself as if defying the very laws of gravity. She spotted a platinum key at the bottom of the _pool__, but when she tried to take it, she suddenly found herself outside, in the river, next to the obelisk. That’s when, she says, Kallin saved her from nearly being swept downriver.
Before they decided to deal with the mystery of the pool and the key, the group decides to place Vyn’s body in the Haversack hoping they can bring him back to life at a later date or at the very least, give the fallen paladin a fitting burial back in Bear’s Head.
As the group stands by the door with the pool, Kallin volunteers to retrieve the key. He plunges his hand as quickly as he can into the bottom of the pool. Almost reaching to the top of his arm, the water felt very cold. He grabs the key and pulls his arm out quickly. Suddenly, a snake formed of water shoots out and almost strikes Kallin’s arm.
The ranger leaps back as the snake loses its form and splashes to the floor.
With the key in their possession, the group decides to rest for the remainder of the day and explore the rest of the strange place after everyone was fully rested.
The next day, they cross the rickety bridge and enter the building they saw across the river. Inside, they come across a room full of hanging tapestries. One particular tapestry stole their attention.
On it, they noticed a door. A person holding a platinum key similar to the one they found the day before stood nearby, while lightning—seemingly lashing out from the door itself—strikes another man who may have tried to open the door.
As everyone looks searches the room, Kallin spots secret doors nearby. He tells the others about his discovery.
While the others try to find means of opening the secret doors, Kallin touches the tapestry with the real key. As the key touches the tapestry, everyone hears what sounds like a door opening someplace nearby, but to the group’s surprise none of the secret doors had opened.
Everyone looks puzzled, wondering what door had they opened.
Plot type
Chapter
Parent Plot
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