The Dungeon of Graves: Session 24

General Summary

Stairs of Hope

Taking the path shown to them by Max, the Shrike’s collected adventurers move down the small tunnel. Mogg was still taking lead as his counterpart, Vai’len, was having some trouble fighting the supernatural fear she was feeling. Hoping that her companions would follow, Sinestra is the first one to enter the ogre area, dealing damage then moving to a hopefully safe location. Vai’len moves in next, but isn’t able to make contact as she ungracefully runs into a wall. The rest move in, all taking positions in the room. They had talked about having a frontline and the range focus firing but as each one moved in they acted to what the situation called for. Mogg disappears in the darkness and is able to single handedly kill one of the ogres. Halxion, somehow able to fight the fear better than Vai’len, moves in and becomes large as Kaertas focuses on him. The cleric of Vrokíva, Lothar moves in and finishes off another ogre.
From around a corner, the matriarch joins the fight; calling out for their ogres to use stones. Large Halxion moves in and engages the matriarch as Nam moves in to join Lothar in front of the ranged fighters. Kaertas sent Terrance in to give aid but as they were on Lothar’s shoulder as he approached an ogre, the ogre targeted the owl. These ogres are malicious and specifically cruel, not like other ogres in Myzelis. When they finished Terrance, they moved to target Dr. Carric’s familiar, Tink. The battle continues with the adventures dealing damage and the ogres falling. Halxion takes one too many hits from the matriarch and falls, leaving the range unprotected. Sinestra finishes off the matriarch with a massive blast to the throat.
After the battle, the room is investigated. Halxion heals those who were injured while they talk about the fear that Vai’len is experiencing. Both Dr. Carric and Sinestra try to reason with the rogue, she just has this sickening feeling that she will die on this floor and terrible things would happen to her corpse. The investigation found that this unit of ogres must have been a family and around the area they found a bunch of bags filled with a variety of items; a half eaten elf in a mithril mail shirt, bones, a mantle of a high priest. The mantle seems to be a rather magical item. A silvered mirror two feet long is found and Nam is not interested in any more mirrors after the one that sent him to the hells. With the items gathered, they fall back to Max’s abode to take a rest and to talk with the garbage eating creature.
Kaertas takes a look at the scroll case and hidden inside isn’t a magical scroll but a map. A map that looked to show a side view of an area with the words “The Beacon must be here”. Dr. Carric and Kaertas think about what the Beacon could be and they can only come up with it being possibly the artifact dedicated to destroying the undead. They all think about why it could be hidden in the dungeon and a couple theories arise; they could be trying to taint it or no one would think to look for an artifact like this in a place like this. If they were to ever stumble upon this place they would definitely make sure to investigate it.
During their rest, they chat with Max. Lothar had brought them some fresh refuse from the Ogres and they are much appreciated. So much so, they move about their garbage and find some lovely art pieces for them to keep. Mogg slips the Helm of Comprehend Languages on and quickly scans the journal they had found. It is written in halfling containing the “Wanderings of Helman Hairfoot.” Seeing and feeling the rogue’s fear, Max speaks up and mentions the temple of the Master that is just beyond the wall. On their travels up, Max had felt multiple temples to the Master, this one just happens to be the closest to the entrance.
Once again they are at a point in which they need to decide to continue or leave the dungeon. However, it has only been a couple of hours. With some of their resources spent, they push on with their pursuit of the Architect. Saying their farewells to Max, they head back to the ogre room. Sinestra’s pterodactyl taking point with Mogg behind, they go down one of the tunnels. The familiar flies a head and scouts a hallway with a slab stone door on the eastern side. As they turn down the hall they can see the hallway turns south and a bit of staircase that heads up. An odd seam runs the hallway but as the area is clear, five of them move in. Once they have stepped into the hallway, it drops and the path behind them is cut out with Nam, Dr. Carric and Vai’len being split from the group. The slab stone door opens and a black pudding slithers out. Mogg and Lothar were able to clear the hallway before the portcullis drops, isolating Sinestra, Halxion, and Kaertas with the black pudding.
Before the way out was completely blocked Lothar stated that they should meet at the surface. As one of the ones stuck back in the tunnel, Nam points the Ring of the Ram at the wall and busts a hole through it for anyone to fall back through. The forge cleric then falls back with Vai’len taking any que to leave the area. However, instead of just falling back through the hole, those stuck in the hallway just pop in and out of the hole shooting at the creature while Lothar and Mogg attack through the portcullis. As Mogg moves further away from the creature he is looking at the path behind him but shoots, the arrow bounces off the bars to the wall and back at the creature, nailing them and finishing them off. With a combined force, they are able to break the bars for everyone to join them on the higher ground.
As Halxion and Vai’len move to the upper hallway, they can feel the salvation, the hope from the staircase but Dr. Carric believes it could be a trap. Reluctantly they move past the staircase down into an empty room, it leads to another hallway and eventually to a room with three feet of water and a thin layer of oil on top. At the far edge of the water is a secret door that excites Kaertas, he has a rather good feeling about this one. The pterodactyl moves in with the others following, well everyone except Halxion and Vai’len who stay just inside of the doorway in the water. The hallway turns and reveals a massive statue holding two red flames that burn with pure red lights that still give off heat. Off to the side there is an ornate door with the symbology of the Master, the statue itself is of the Master and is 30 feet tall. Kaertas moves in to investigate, alone, and as he steps in front of the Master a loud booming voice rings out, in Abyssal "All must serve in life and death, for the glory of the Master. You who have not sworn your allegiance, fall to your knees or DIE." The only two who understand the voice are the same two who happen to be afraid; however, Halxion screams out “fall to your knees” and the wizard listens. On his knees, the red light washes over Kaertas. Another scream comes out “You may pass to give your flesh to the master.” Vai’len doesn’t utter this one out loud, but just turns to Halxion, “We should leave, this is bad.”

Report Date

21 Mar 2021