Kingdom on the brink - session 56
General Summary
The party gets a guide from the giants who leads them through the wilderness of the mountains, staying off well-traveled roads. The giant takes them all the way up to the edge of their clan lands, which has ruins of the shrine. The party starts to explore the shrine, seeing murals depicting the 9 dragons fighting Nadranth, Duromar and Uriel start to take notes and create rubbings of the murals. As Uriel finishes up he hears a voice complementing his artwork, Uriel thanks him, then realizes he doesn't recognize the voice and then turns around quickly. He faces a Barong, Uriel's sword is halfway out when he sees the creature seems to be fairly friendly, the party asks who he is. The Barong says that he is the steward of this shrine, to ensure the events that happened here don't get forgotten. The party enquires about the events and the steward recounts the events of the imprisonment of Nadranth by the 9 dragons, then mentions that Rugos, The reformer final resting place isn't far from here. Uriel inquires more and asks if the Steward could lead them there, the Barong thinks and says that's a big ask, he isn't sure if Uriel is worthy to acquire the tooth he is looking for. The party asks what they can do to prove themselves, the Steward speaks of a darkness seeping into and corrupting the area, referring to the giants being influenced by the cultists, a cult group searching the area for something, and the cultists setting up some sort of residence in the mountains. He asks the party to cleanse the mountains, which they agree to, Duromar casts Mordenkainan magnificent mansion and the party rests for the night. The group asks what the Barong's name is, he says it's simply the Steward, the group says they'll call him Stew (Which causes Uriel to sigh). Uriel and Rosemary spend four hours reading their manuals, the Barong recounts stories of Mordenkainan and how he had to figure out the magnificent mansion spell, he accidently sent some people to the Astral Sea when extradimensional spaces interacted with each other. Del Varis looks at Gregori's skull that's holding the gem of seeing and realizes he can reinforce it with adamantine, which will give him a little more armor. The party long rests, before they leave Uriel says that when he masses more resources he will send caretaker's to the shrine and restore it.
The party follows the Steward's instructions and find themselves in front of a cave entrance, as Duromar and Merigold approach they see some glowing figures and two golems exit the cave (Doom Golem and a Dragonbone Golem). Rosemary emboldens the party and the Doom Golem starts to dodge, the Dragonbone Golem moves out and uses its petrifying breath on Duromar, Bob, Merigold, Gregori, and Rosemary. Rosemary fails and starts to turn to stone, Gregori runs up and bites the Dragonbone golem and Duromar moves up strikes from the other side. Del Varis moves and strikes the Dragonbone golem and Uriel dismounts and uses his lay on hands to reverse Rosemary's petrification. Uriel dashes up and uses his aura of courage to raise the morale of the party. Rosemary destroys the Dragonbone golem, the Doom golem moves up and uses its wind of the boreas breathe weapon on Duromar, Del Varis, and Merigold. Amber Kerogen launches several eldritch blasts at the Doom Golem, Duromar and Merigold land several devastating strikes and Del Varis lands the final blow.
The party enters the caves and after going through the caverns, it opens up and the party finds several corpses with cult of Nadranth emblems all over them. Uriel summons his Nighmare. As Merigold goes through the pockets when the rest of the party hears noises from the entrances, they prepare to fight and are met by a Stone Golem, a Smaragdine Golem, and a Spider Drake. The Spider Drake moves up and attempts to web Duromar, but he casts shield, Uriel moves up and strikes the Spider Drake, he hits and smites it but his sword gets stuck. Uriel's Nightmare strikes the Spider Drake with its hooves, Merigold moves around and fires off two arrows as Gregori runs up and bits the Spider Drake. Duromar casts Danse Macabre and raises the corpses to fight for him, Del Varis closes in on the Smaragdine golem and starts to dodge, Amber fires off several eldritch blasts at the Spider Drake. The Smaragdine Golem attempts to slam Bob but fails, Bob retaliates with his hooves, the Spider Drake unleashes its poison breath on Rosemary, Gregori, and Merigold. Gregori breaks away from the Spider Drake and stays by Amber, Uriel breaks his sword out of the secretion, the Stone Golem moves up and critically hits Uriel. Duromar commands his undead to attack the Smaragdine Golem and launches scorching rays at it, Rosemary casts spirit guardians and closes the distance with the Stone Golem. The Smaragdine Golem slams a skeleton and Bob, But Del Varis smashes through the Golem, Merigold kills the Spider Drake with several battle manuevers. The Stone Golem attempts to slow Rosemary and Uriel, but fails, the Stone Golem quickly falls under the combined strength of the party. The party short rests and then continues further into the tunnels.
The party comes across another open area with a bridge and gentle slope that leads to a lower level, below they see more corpses. Merigold and Rosemary check for foot traffic at either of the tunnels, Duromar and Uriel keep watch, and Del Varis inspects the bodies. Del Varis sees that the bodies have been partially melted from acid, Duromar and Uriel notice some sand and stones begin to shake and they warn the group. Duromar brings the corpses to life with Dance Macabre and Uriel readies a charge. Seconds later a Purple Worm unburrows and eats a Zombie and attempts to sting a Skeleton, Amber fires off a readied eldritch blast, Uriel charges forward and with his divine accuracy he strikes the Purple Warm with his lance and smites it. The Purple Worm burrows again, Rosemary casts spirit guardians while the rest of the party gets to higher ground and readies several ranged attacks. The Purple Worm breaks through the ground and bites Uriel and attempts to sting him, the party hits the worm with arrows, firebolts, and needles (which leave the Purple Worm restrained). With the Purple Worm unable to move the party unleashes devastating strikes, while Del Varis is distracted a Sathaq Worm burrows through and bites him, Del Varis avoids being swallowed. The Purple Worm doesn't last much longer after being trampled by Bob, Del Varis lands several blows on the Sathaq Worm, leaving it stunned. The party makes quick work of the Sathaq Worm with Rosemary's spirit guardians ripping it to shreds. Del Varis attempts to get some Purple Worm poison, but his inexperience gets the better of him and gets the poison all over him. Merigold heads for the zombie corpses and Duromar moves them away from her, eventually letting her pick their pockets. The party inspects the northern passage and sees it has several abandoned mine tracks, that are in complete disrepair. The group then heads to the eastern passage, after some walking the tunnels open up and they are met by an abandoned encampment with more cultist corpses, at the center is the skeleton of a Tarrasque. The party spreads out and begins to explore, after several minutes they hear shouting echoing through the area "Who dares disturb my lair!" it says. Uriel says they are just here on a mission, and they mean no harm, he gets to higher ground and sees the voice is coming from a Beholder. The Beholder shouts they are trespassing, just like the ones before them, and they look just like them as well. Uriel attempts to reason with the Beholder and say they mean no disrespect, he asks for a name, the Beholder says it is Zalfar. Merigold and Rosemary climb to the top of the Tarresque skeleton, this draws Zalfar's attention to them. Zalfar gets angrier and starts to insult Merigold and Rosemary, Merigold hurls insults back, Gregori senses something is wrong and starts to run away with Merigold hanging on. During this time Del Varis and Duromar decide they should leave as well, Rosemary quickly follows. Uriel conveys their apologies and uses his cape to cast dimension door and leave the area.
Merigold asks what that was and Duromar says it's a Beholder, something that isn't easily trifled with, especially in its lair. The Beholder has was of disabling magic, which was what had Gregori worried (it interfered with his awakened spell). The party explores one final tunnel and comes across abandoned mining equipment, there appears to be an old, partially functional power source. Uriel attempts to set up metal to draw the lightning that's arcing off the power source, Duromar approaches and begins to inspect it. He realizes it's missing some shielding and the party helps fabricate some metal sheets, Duromar is able to replace the shielding on both sides, he gets shocked in the process of doing this. With the lightning arcs taken care he further inspects it and realizes it can be safely shutdown and removed, with Uriel's help they disassemble it and take the power source. The party believes they are done here and head back to the shrine to report to the Steward. The party says the cultists were already dead in the caves and they met a Beholder, the Steward says that Zalfar is a little rough around the edges but he's alright. The party decides to scout the residence the cultists have setup in the mountains.
The party follows the Steward's instructions and find themselves in front of a cave entrance, as Duromar and Merigold approach they see some glowing figures and two golems exit the cave (Doom Golem and a Dragonbone Golem). Rosemary emboldens the party and the Doom Golem starts to dodge, the Dragonbone Golem moves out and uses its petrifying breath on Duromar, Bob, Merigold, Gregori, and Rosemary. Rosemary fails and starts to turn to stone, Gregori runs up and bites the Dragonbone golem and Duromar moves up strikes from the other side. Del Varis moves and strikes the Dragonbone golem and Uriel dismounts and uses his lay on hands to reverse Rosemary's petrification. Uriel dashes up and uses his aura of courage to raise the morale of the party. Rosemary destroys the Dragonbone golem, the Doom golem moves up and uses its wind of the boreas breathe weapon on Duromar, Del Varis, and Merigold. Amber Kerogen launches several eldritch blasts at the Doom Golem, Duromar and Merigold land several devastating strikes and Del Varis lands the final blow.
The party enters the caves and after going through the caverns, it opens up and the party finds several corpses with cult of Nadranth emblems all over them. Uriel summons his Nighmare. As Merigold goes through the pockets when the rest of the party hears noises from the entrances, they prepare to fight and are met by a Stone Golem, a Smaragdine Golem, and a Spider Drake. The Spider Drake moves up and attempts to web Duromar, but he casts shield, Uriel moves up and strikes the Spider Drake, he hits and smites it but his sword gets stuck. Uriel's Nightmare strikes the Spider Drake with its hooves, Merigold moves around and fires off two arrows as Gregori runs up and bits the Spider Drake. Duromar casts Danse Macabre and raises the corpses to fight for him, Del Varis closes in on the Smaragdine golem and starts to dodge, Amber fires off several eldritch blasts at the Spider Drake. The Smaragdine Golem attempts to slam Bob but fails, Bob retaliates with his hooves, the Spider Drake unleashes its poison breath on Rosemary, Gregori, and Merigold. Gregori breaks away from the Spider Drake and stays by Amber, Uriel breaks his sword out of the secretion, the Stone Golem moves up and critically hits Uriel. Duromar commands his undead to attack the Smaragdine Golem and launches scorching rays at it, Rosemary casts spirit guardians and closes the distance with the Stone Golem. The Smaragdine Golem slams a skeleton and Bob, But Del Varis smashes through the Golem, Merigold kills the Spider Drake with several battle manuevers. The Stone Golem attempts to slow Rosemary and Uriel, but fails, the Stone Golem quickly falls under the combined strength of the party. The party short rests and then continues further into the tunnels.
The party comes across another open area with a bridge and gentle slope that leads to a lower level, below they see more corpses. Merigold and Rosemary check for foot traffic at either of the tunnels, Duromar and Uriel keep watch, and Del Varis inspects the bodies. Del Varis sees that the bodies have been partially melted from acid, Duromar and Uriel notice some sand and stones begin to shake and they warn the group. Duromar brings the corpses to life with Dance Macabre and Uriel readies a charge. Seconds later a Purple Worm unburrows and eats a Zombie and attempts to sting a Skeleton, Amber fires off a readied eldritch blast, Uriel charges forward and with his divine accuracy he strikes the Purple Warm with his lance and smites it. The Purple Worm burrows again, Rosemary casts spirit guardians while the rest of the party gets to higher ground and readies several ranged attacks. The Purple Worm breaks through the ground and bites Uriel and attempts to sting him, the party hits the worm with arrows, firebolts, and needles (which leave the Purple Worm restrained). With the Purple Worm unable to move the party unleashes devastating strikes, while Del Varis is distracted a Sathaq Worm burrows through and bites him, Del Varis avoids being swallowed. The Purple Worm doesn't last much longer after being trampled by Bob, Del Varis lands several blows on the Sathaq Worm, leaving it stunned. The party makes quick work of the Sathaq Worm with Rosemary's spirit guardians ripping it to shreds. Del Varis attempts to get some Purple Worm poison, but his inexperience gets the better of him and gets the poison all over him. Merigold heads for the zombie corpses and Duromar moves them away from her, eventually letting her pick their pockets. The party inspects the northern passage and sees it has several abandoned mine tracks, that are in complete disrepair. The group then heads to the eastern passage, after some walking the tunnels open up and they are met by an abandoned encampment with more cultist corpses, at the center is the skeleton of a Tarrasque. The party spreads out and begins to explore, after several minutes they hear shouting echoing through the area "Who dares disturb my lair!" it says. Uriel says they are just here on a mission, and they mean no harm, he gets to higher ground and sees the voice is coming from a Beholder. The Beholder shouts they are trespassing, just like the ones before them, and they look just like them as well. Uriel attempts to reason with the Beholder and say they mean no disrespect, he asks for a name, the Beholder says it is Zalfar. Merigold and Rosemary climb to the top of the Tarresque skeleton, this draws Zalfar's attention to them. Zalfar gets angrier and starts to insult Merigold and Rosemary, Merigold hurls insults back, Gregori senses something is wrong and starts to run away with Merigold hanging on. During this time Del Varis and Duromar decide they should leave as well, Rosemary quickly follows. Uriel conveys their apologies and uses his cape to cast dimension door and leave the area.
Merigold asks what that was and Duromar says it's a Beholder, something that isn't easily trifled with, especially in its lair. The Beholder has was of disabling magic, which was what had Gregori worried (it interfered with his awakened spell). The party explores one final tunnel and comes across abandoned mining equipment, there appears to be an old, partially functional power source. Uriel attempts to set up metal to draw the lightning that's arcing off the power source, Duromar approaches and begins to inspect it. He realizes it's missing some shielding and the party helps fabricate some metal sheets, Duromar is able to replace the shielding on both sides, he gets shocked in the process of doing this. With the lightning arcs taken care he further inspects it and realizes it can be safely shutdown and removed, with Uriel's help they disassemble it and take the power source. The party believes they are done here and head back to the shrine to report to the Steward. The party says the cultists were already dead in the caves and they met a Beholder, the Steward says that Zalfar is a little rough around the edges but he's alright. The party decides to scout the residence the cultists have setup in the mountains.
It is early afternoon on the 28th day of Leranth 2517 AGF
Missions/Quests Completed
Cleared out the old mines
Report Date
16 Mar 2024
Secondary Location
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