Session 57: We Choose Murder!

General Summary

The party decided to take the opportunity that they had and attack Malthus and the red slaad. Both were taken down with quick and powerful attacks, striking them in surprise. When Malthus fell, however, his body turned into the form of a red slaad. A small group of cranium rats skittered from the two corpses and Illevaere quickly took them out. Ilbryen tried to glean more information from the book they found in the carrion crawler lair, but could not piece what it was that might be the key in the book that the cult was missing to finish their ritual and the party burned the book before breaking camp.
The party followed the tracks of the fake Malthus and the slaad, leading them to the mountains. Once there, Tiarjead’s familiarity with the terrain and aberrations, gave the party enough help to track down the tunnels from which the slaad were coming from.
Upon arriving, the party found a large room that had expanded in size as tremors caused portions of the walls to collapse and open other tunnels. In the far end of the room, there was a large, raised platform and at the end of it was a spinning device that pulsed with arcane energy. Three summoning circles with four cultists surrounding each were chanting in deep ritual, reaching through the thin barrier here to pull forth aberrations from another Plane.
Fully along the center of the room, cutting the room almost in half, was a great chasm that was opened and seemed to fall to unknown, inky black depths. By the arcane lock, the party saw Malthus with Rieta, ready to start the ritual to open the lock.
The party rushed in to attack and found that each of the circles began to summon in an aberration as the priests focused on the rituals and not the party or even defending themselves. From the summoning circles creatures from gibbering mouthers to powerful slaad began to appear.
Rieta misty stepped closer and used telekinesis to pull the Metatext from Ilbryen, and it was at that moment that Ilbryen realized that whatever is written in the Metatext, is also written in Emone’s book which chronicles history and reality in the world. With the magic and power being used in the ritual here at the site of the Arcane Lock, it is possible that writing in the Metatext could possibly alter reality and free Nyctelios. The Metatext was the book that was missing from the ritual, which Rieta knew Ilbryen had, and that was the reason why the party was summoned–to bring the book to them.
The book began to fly to Malthus as a Chronos Slaad was summoned. Illevaere used their magic to rend the earth beneath one of the summoning circles, then another, disabling the, Tertius, Levi, and Bolvaic moved up the dias, but Levi was held by a cultist’s spell, but soon broke free. As Bolvaic fought the Chronos Slaad, a second Bolvaic appeared, also fighting the Slaad. Bolvaic rushed past the others to try to get to the book and Malthus, but Rieta pushed Bolvaic back and the Chronos Slaad struck him, sending him back in time, to when the other Bolvaic appeared. Bolvaic rushed to try to reach Malthus, but Rieta used non-lethal spells to try to stop him. Malthus had the book, but was unable to begin the ritual with Bolvaic’s interruptions. Levi stood battling a red slaad and Tertius was on the Chronos Slaad. Tiarjead was battling the gibbering mouthers, when one of the cultists sacrificed himself to the mouther, being devoured as his mouth and screams joined the mouther as it grew. Illevaere and Ilbryen had stopped the rituals on this side of the crevasse but one still remained, drawing forth and summoning aberrations.

Campaign

The Gentlemen's League of Explorers and Adventurers

Protagonists

Levi Obadiah Kilgore

Chaotic Good Human, Northlander (Marked by the Beast)
Barbarian 10

105 / 105 HP

STR
17

DEX
14

CON
16

INT
14

WIS
12

CHA
9

Ilbryen Dorydark

Neutral Good Half-Elf (Sage)
Cleric 10

63 / 63 HP

STR
10

DEX
10

CON
12

INT
14

WIS
20

CHA
15

Tiarjead Faefyire

Neutral Good Dragonborn (Outlander)
Ranger 10

74 / 74 HP

STR
16

DEX
13

CON
13

INT
9

WIS
15

CHA
14

Illevaere Solandra

Chaotic Good Wood Elf (Outlander)
Druid 10

83 / 83 HP

STR
11

DEX
18

CON
16

INT
14

WIS
20

CHA
12

Donk

None Kobold (Burnfist Clanmember)
Paladin 3

22 / 22 HP

STR
8

DEX
16

CON
10

INT
8

WIS
10

CHA
12

Bolvaic Boradrak

Chaotic Good Mountain Dwarf (Outlander)
Barbarian 10

115 / 115 HP

STR
18

DEX
12

CON
18

INT
9

WIS
10

CHA
10

Tertius Greyhall

Neutral Good Human, Daoine (Noble)
Fighter 6
Warlock 2

50 / 50 HP

STR
8

DEX
16

CON
11

INT
15

WIS
8

CHA
18

Report Date

04 Jan 2024

Primary Location

Dunnith Mountains

Secondary Location

The Arcane Lock

Related Characters

• Malthus Normal
• Rieta