The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Part 2
24 Marpenoth, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)
Shrine of Tamoachan, Jungles of Chult
Dr. Neverwinter Bones couldn't believe it. The group had just discovered the hidden shrine of Tamoachan!
Neverwinter examined the small statues in the room. "These are definitely Nexalan, or Maztican, in origin." He was beaming with pride at having found the shrine he has spent his entire life researching and trying to find.
Tanjarra walked away from the display he was looking at. "Well, that's all good, but how are we supposed to get out of here?"
Bolte called for the group. He stood next to the eastern stone door.
The door was carved with a sun symbol and appeared to open into the room; there were hinges on the side facing the room and scratches on the floor. There were no visible lock or handle on it, although a slight gap stretches across the top of the door. Eight holes seemed to have been bored into the door; they were about an inch in diameter, but nothing could be seen in them. The door seemed to be fairly thick. The lintel was arched, with a keystone at the top.
"I've examined the door and can't find any traps," Bolte said.
A further close examination couldn't determine what the eight holes were for and what could possibly go into them. However, the group did find a keyhole hidden under the keystone over the door. Further examination revealed the small metal staff the small statue of the scout watching the panther from an outcropping resembled a key.
Taking it from the statue, they found the 'key' did fit.
Just as they opened the door, the scuttling sound of nearly a dozen fire beetles was heard from the collapsed area. Merced screamed as the beetles, their glowing glands illuminating the area around them in red, hellish light.
The group fought and killed them all but dozens more were seen scrambling down from the jungle above. The group realized it was safer to leave the chamber and close the stone door behind them.
The group, now made up of nine people, stood at the south end of a corridor. The walls were carved to resemble a stack of bamboo-like logs. The passage sloped down from the door they came from, the lintel of which had been crafted to represent a stylized cavern entrance. Towards the north, the corridor led to double doors of beaten bronze, worked to resemble a forest of seaweed.
The group searched the corridor for traps. Bolte did find that halfway down the corridor, five-foot-wide parts of the walls were made to swing out quickly. Pressure plates farther down would have triggered the trap causing parts of the east and west wall to swing out from either wall and buffet the party towards the north.
Bolte carefully disarmed the trap while Neverwinter examined the north bronze door and determined it wasn't trapped.
But as the halfling was examining the bronze doors, Merced began to cough violently. Hal tried to comfort her, but he too began to cough. Taking a small handkerchief to his mouth, Hal found that he had coughed up a small amount of blood. Soon everyone found themselves coughing as each felt a painful irritation which each breath they took.
"What's going on?" Atwix asked.
Nip'hto took a whiff. "I think the air is poisonous."
"I did notice a strange odor in the air when we first arrived in this place," Tanjarra said. "But I thought it was just Brostaff."
A few breaths later, the group wasn't coughing as much but did notice the unusual odor in the air still lingered. Even Neverwinter's lantern seemed to be affected by the poisonous air. The lantern's flame sputtered and glowed a strange hue of red and illuminated only half of the area it should have.
"We better hurry through this place," Alice warned everyone. "No telling how long it may take before the air alone kills us." She looked at Hal and Merced who both looked gravely ill. "Don't worry, I'll heal you both."
The others looked at the two nobles. If either one died, they would never get their promised reward of 6,000 gold pieces each.
The group quickly continued on and entered through the bronze doors.
Beyond was a room constructed of large stone blocks, buttressed in the corners. The walls were wet and slimy. Mud covered most of the floor in a thin coating. To the east and west were stone doors recessed in the wall, and to the north, a set of stairs led down to a stone door.
In the center of the chamber sat a large polished boulder amid a pile of smaller rounded rocks. The boulder was five feet tall and colored brown with dark streaks and spots. Leaning against it was what appeared to be a bamboo staff.
The group's attention was suddenly drawn to the mud around the base of the boulder because it was moving!
A shape, looking like a crayfish faced the entire group and seemed to be aware of their presence.
Session played on June 11, 2020
Plot type
Chapter
Fire Beetle by Wizard of the Coast
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