Session 364 - Escaping an Ancient Crypt
General Summary
The Story So Far
The King is dead. Long live the King.
King Minigath Elendsa, who had ruled the Kingdom of Kaldor well for thirty-three years, has been assassinated. His nephew, Sir Conwan Elendsa, has been crowned King, but the former King's bastard son, Sir Maldan Harabor, has contested this and made his own claim.
While the kingdom is embroiled in a civil war, the mysterious Esoterical Order of Lothrim has struck. Armies of orcs, many thousands strong, have invaded the fractured realm.
The heroes have been caught in a magical trap while attempting to Dimension Door in Olokand castle, currently occupied by the evil Magocracy of the Order of Lothrim. The spell has redirected the heroes into an ancient dwarven kyg, a long abandoned tomb where vile necromancy has made a death trap. Undead and curses roam these dank stone passages and rooms.
This is the continuation of Session 362 - A Most Devious Trap.
Location - Unknown Lost Dwarven Keg.
7th Halane (Autumn) 727TR
Part 1 – Wraiths in the Dark
The heroes need to rest badly, so Dryueh continues to explore to ensure that the nearby chambers are free of threats. His movements provoke restless undead. Wraiths emerge from coffers and attempt to drain the heroes' life force. Rycon is nearly slain and must withdraw. Things look exceedingly grim; death appears imminent; however, Valeria turns the tide using her last remaining powerful spell, Spirit Blast. This mystical explosion critically weakens the incorporeal undead, allowing the remaining heroes to finish them off.
Part 2 - Serpents in the Lake
After recovering, the heroes continue to explore, finding a small chamber opening into a shallow underground river. Something is lurking just under the water line. Dryueh stealthily wades in and rams his rapier into the side of a pale, snake-like aberration with an angular human head and arms. The serpent creature is enraged and bites back, but the thief effortlessly dodges and escapes. The Spirit Naga and another one nearby unleash powerful cold and lightning blasts on the party, forcing Valeria to conjure an Antimagic Sphere to negate the magic. This forces the Nagas to fight physically, and they engage the heroes in melee combat rather than using their impressive arcane powers. Rycon and Dryueh make quick work of the serpentine pair.
Part 3 - Putting the Dead to Rest
Continuing to explore, the party finds a large sarcophagus, with evidence that this has recently been opened from the inside. The party unlocks it and finds unholy symbols associated with the god of undead, Morgath, encircling its inside walls. The heroes believe it is the sanctum of the undead spider creature that’s attacked them earlier. Rycon, believing that the undead horror will reform in this vault, prays to the goddess Larani, sprinkles holy water into the sanctum, and disrupts the unholy symbols. He hopes that the Amorvin, a form of free-willed undead, will not be able to reform and will be destroyed.
A chamber further on has more decorated crypts and several gargoyles concealed in the stonework. They are easily obliterated.
Part 4 – A Way Out?
The remaining unexplored passage opens into a chamber with a locked stone door. Dryueh notes several mechanical traps, easily avoids them, and approaches the door, activating a third, more fiendishly concealed, undetected trap. A wall slides down from the roof, blocking the entrance to the room, trapping Dryueh in as the room fills with a powerfully, magically infused poisonous green mist.
Quickly, Dryueh works at the lock while holding his breath. Rycon, with an impressive display of strength, lifts the blocking door enough for Valeria to examine the mist and devise a magical counter. She soon dispels the cursed fog as Dryueh opens the locked door and disables the remaining traps. The party has found a stairwell leading up to the surface.
To be continued.NPC Interactions
No one this week.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L17 Shadow Sorcerer
Background - Magical Experiment.
Archetype - Beastmaster/Wizard.
Rycon - Human - L17 Fighter
Background - Rebel Knight.
Archetypes - Liberator Champion/Dual Weapon Warrior/Swashbuckler.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L17 Thief Rogue
Background - Scout.
Archetypes - Vigilante/Medic/Shadowdancer/Wizard.
Next Session
Rycon
Dryueh
Valeria
Esoterical Order of Lothrim
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