The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Part 4

24 Marpenoth, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)   Day 12 of 79   Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Jungles of Chult     For nearly four hours the group pressed on, going ever deeper into the lost temple built by ancient Mazticans. Time was of the essence since the air they were breathing was poisonous.   Dr. Neverwinter Bones, a tomb raider from the famous Conclave of Silverymoon, has spent his entire life searching for the Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. He was recently hired by an adventuring party he met in Port Nyanzaru. He joined them hoping to find the hidden shrine which his research suggested was built by Mazticans who crossed the vast sea to reach the jungles of Chult.   But why travel all that way to build a temple and then vanish without a trace without starting a Maztican colony and extend the vast empire of their people? This eluded Neverwinter. His research indicated the shrine was said to be dedicated to Zotzilaha, the vampire god of the underworld. Zotzilaha was represented as a bat that Neverwinter had seen on numerous occasions depicted on the shrine's walls as he and the others pushed their way through the trap-filled shrine.   Besides the deadly poisonous air, the adventurers had come across several traps. Fortunately, they were able to either disarm them or avoid being killed by them.   The group also encountered zombies throughout the shrine. Some were still dressed in ancient ceremonial garbs. Perhaps they were dedicated servants of loyal guards tasked with guarding the shrine in the afterlife. While others like those buried inside walls, indicated many of the shrine's builders may have been entombed along with whomever, or whatever, they built the shrine for.   The group encountered strange creatures along the way as well. Like an elusive nereid whom Brostaff, with the help of a Comprehend Language spell learned called herself Dasa Zotz, which meant "Child of Zotzilaha" in ancient Nexalan, the language of Mazticans.   The group made their way past Dasa Zotz without incident.   They also came upon a room where two people awoke from an enchanted sleep after the group attacked them. The man and woman were angry from being awakened violently and immediately attacked the group. In the encounter, Merced was killed before the group was able to slay the man and the woman.   Merced's body was laid to rest in the room where she died.   Pushing on, the group came upon a creature that they thought was a Beholder. But after an arrow struck it, it exploded! The drow, Atwix, said the creature must have been a Gas Spore, a creature that spread its deadly spores after being attacked.   Eventually, the group arrived in a long passage lit in an orange glow. Faint line drawings on the walls depicted people playing a game that used a ball and had goals on either end of the playing field. Large stylized heads were carved into either end of the passage. Each of the heads' mouth was carved to form a hemispherical depression a foot in diameter.   In the middle of the passage, a ball floated in the air.   Neverwinter said the ancient game was called "Pelota", an ancient game which was also ceremonial in nature. The Mazticans would make captured enemies or slaves play against their own warriors. The losers were always ceremoniously slain, offered as a sacrifice to their blood-thirsty gods.   The group wondered if they would have to play the deadly game of Pelota. They also wondered what would happen if they lost the match.
Session played on July 30, 2020
Plot type
Chapter
Adventurers:     Alice (Female Human Cleric)     Atwix (Male Drow Fighter)     Bolte Bastardo (Male Half-Elf Rogue)     Brostaff the Battlebard (Male Human Bard)     Nip'hto the Tiptoe (Male Elf Ranger)     Tanjarra Greysword (Male Human Monk)     NPCs:     Doctor Neverwinter Bones (Halfling Rogue Archeologist)   DECEASED: Hal and Merced Charlen (Human brother and sister Nobles from Cormyr on a Chultan expedition)

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