The Mouth of Doom: Session 32

General Summary

Awakening or Experience

Before delving back into the Mouth of Doom, the Wrenjers were enjoying their evening around Castle Calaelen. Some were finishing up tasks, reading, cooking or just milling about the castle. Arddan had been copying Leofric’s journal about the Pestilence over the last few days and had just returned it to the pink mohawked cleric when the Crown Wrenjer called a meeting. He pulled everyone in the castle, just keeping a skeletal crew manning the posts. Apparently Kobek Huaru, the First Eldspear had given Arddan orders to explain to the other Wrenjers on what the small group was investigating. He explained that it would be easier for them to interact with the others. The bard weaved the story about their explorations, investigations, and accomplishments. One of the Ready Wrenjers stepped forward and asked why they were not tasked with this, meaning no disrespect with their words. However, Arddan explains that it is equally important to keep the castle safe. With their mission shared, some of the weight had lifted from the group’s shoulders as they had been keeping important information from their mentors and friends.
It had been raining for over a week and as the Wrenjer’s left on the 23rd of Asha, it was still pouring when they reached the Mouth of Doom. As they climbed down the familiar stone steps, there was no immediate danger as they traversed the first floor. They approached the transmutation pool as quietly as they could, descending the ladder to the next level. The immediate area hasn't changed from the last time they were down here. The doors remained shut, locked and untrapped. It was their goal to explore the mushroom room. The last time they had opened the door the shriekers alerted the ants and they had fled. Now they prepared to launch an immediate attack before the mushrooms could scream. When Jarvis opened the door, Enya was first to act. The druid boldly stepped into the room and burned a large group of mushrooms. It was impossible to differentiate between the regular mushrooms and the shriekers. Each Wrenjer targeted areas of the mushrooms, dealing damage but not knowing if they had killed a creature or fungus. When Jarvis stepped into the room and moved through the field to hit a mushroom at the back, he ran into one of the shriekers. Luckily the artificer was quicker and silenced the mushroom before it could scream.
Artem watched Jarvis step into the field and it inspired him to just test the entire area with his feline agility. Quickly the rogue moved through the patches until he was able to find the last creature before it alerted the ants. With the threat squashed and burned, they investigated the items Artem had spotted when they first opened the door about a month ago. A layer of mycelium had coated two corpses that the mushrooms were feeding from. One had tattered robes and various items and the other had plate armor. After collecting the loot, they noted the mycelium outline of a hidden door on the far wall. However, as the battle had ended they could hear the chittering of ants farther down the hall. The Wrenjers typically moved through the dungeon investigating the major open areas before opening any hidden door.
Quietly they moved down the hall, noting the side door but continuing near the northern turn until Artem could feel that if they stepped further they would be spotted by the ants. They remember that these particular ants are tough but rather unintelligent. Planning on fighting the ants in the hallway, Sasha flies in and alerts the ants. The familiar flies back to the group. They had created a frontline with Jarvis and Zetwuzadi; while the others were safely down the hall. The ants used the walls and floor to crawl towards the group. Only a month ago did this group flee from the terrifying large ants; however, today they made quick work of the group. The paladin draws first and last blood on the ants. Leofric had made some of them rather easier to hit and Vadim dropped his new Fireball onto the group.
With the ants slain, the group moves up and around the corner while the scouts continue their stealthy investigation. Where the ants had been milling about was an alcove. The ceiling rose to 60 feet and near the top were five smaller alcoves with green stone gargoyles leering at those who entered the area. Artem and Jarvis only quickly glanced as they wanted to go further down the hallway. It had felt like it would connect to the area where they had fought and captured Yaza and it indeed did. Once they figured out where the hallway went, they fell back to the alcove to give a thorough investigation.
As they entered the opening, a couple small pebbles fell on Jarvis as two of the green gargoyles leaped down and attacked, their clawed toes scraping the stone floor as they landed. Vadim was quick, he peaked around the stone wall and inspired Jarvis with a quick song after narrowly missing the stone gargoyle. With their recent rest, Leofric had gained a pink hued panther. On speedier legs than his own, the Mender moved into the area and Blessed those he could see. From a safe distance the wizard gave her familiar a little kiss and tossed the flying snake at the gargoyles before she targeted one, searing their mind. Sindragosa flew safely above Jarvis and breathed fire upon one of the gargoyles, unable to hit both without burning her friends. Knowing that their rogue companion hated to be anywhere near the combatants, Enya summoned her Wild Fire Spirit and dropped them on the group, hurting both her companions and the gargoyles. She then had the small flying fire worg bamf out taking Artem and Sorin, the new familiar of Jarvis, with them.
Quickly the Wrenjers moved and attacked. The beautiful warlock moved in and targeted a gargoyle with her genie powered eldritch blast, then fell back to a safe spot. Standing his ground, Jarvis taunted the gargoyles and readied for attacks. One of the gargoyles took his bait and were unable to hit him with their onslaught of claws, bite and horns. Noticing the plate armored artificer was sturdy, the second gargoyle moved to attack Artem. It looked that one of their claws were going to hit before the bard yelled “Gayley I gawk, guffawing nah giggling at your inadequate grinding of green stone” and the creature was so shocked that it missed the rogue. The paladin moved in and slapped the gargoyle three times with her weapon, causing pieces of stone to fall from them. With the shell cracked they could see the dark green flesh with black blood underneath. Artem aimed at the creature that had tried to hit him and as the arrow embedded itself in the head, the stone crumbled, leaving only two jet black onyx gemstones resting on the ground.
With only one creature left, the Wrenjers focused. Vadim opens his mouth and a white smoke billows out with lightning running through it at the gargoyle. The cleric dealt radiant damage, while the wizard had Sindragosa breathe more fire upon it, making sure she did not hit the slightly singed Jarvis. Te’Leyuura also used one of her new spells and the gargoyle’s mind got whipped. Again the Wrenjer’s focused their fire on the creature near their friend. Jarvis nearly killed the creature, black bile spilling from it’s stone mouth with his attack. It was Zetwuzadi who finished off the green stone gargoyle. With it’s death, two more jet black onyx gems hit the stone.
After the battle, Artem and Te’Leyuura examined the gargoyles. They had read about these creatures, they were connected to the mythos around Tsar and the Master. The gargoyles adorned many of their mausoleums and would pounce on anyone who walked by unaware of them. They were destructive, wicked and evil. If they were in the hallway, they might have been guarding something rather important. The wizard had further read that even upon their death they would reform but she was unaware of how this would happen. With detect magic up, Artem could sense that the eyes radiated necromancy and that in the two niches that they had been perched were a couple of magical items. Artem climbed the wall, and investigated the small alcoves. He finds gold, gems, an evocation potion, and an abjuration spell scroll. They decide to take the horns from the gargoyles, as they could potentially craft items with them. Still unable to determine how the gargoyles reform, they spread the eyes and horns out among any of the Wrenjers who volunteered. Vadim offers “Fairly certain if you take their magic glowing eyes they can't come back or they'll come back in your pocket. Either way I think you'll know."
Falling back to the door they had fought the ants in front of, the Wrenjer’s continued their exploration. With the door unlocked, Jarvis opens it revealing an empty room with a 3 foot statue resting in the middle of it. The statue was very simplistic in design. It was cylinder shaped and generally looked like a sad face with no nose. Across the room they noticed two doors. Artem asked the wizard if she knew what spell would have a universal magic aura. But Te’Leyuura had no idea, she had never heard of anything like it and was rather intrigued on what would radiate all magic. Ever the cautious group, they decide to send one of the familiars in. The flying snake did not volunteer but Sorin did. Nothing happened when the flying cat moved about the area. With the area deemed safe enough, Jarvis moved in right before Artem.
A gout of steam spews out of the sad stone face, washing over the artificer. All he felt was the cool mist and when Artem moved through the door, the same gout of steam resulted in some wet fur. The scouts moved about the area, the doors were not locked nor trapped and the tabaxi could sense a large universal magic aura behind the southwestern door. They decided to open the other door, the eastern one, and upon opening it revealed three stone benches with all sizes of boots underneath and a central rack of robes. Across each robe, written in ancient Gylidder, were the words: Awakening and Experience. Nothing magical about the items, it just seemed to be a dressing room with 30 different sized robes and boots. Artem steps in and selects his size and moves out. Meanwhile, outside they were pondering what this room could be as it seemed rather odd. Ansible was able to realize that the Master was both an Inaethri of evil and chaos and much like the gambling room, this could be a room to test the Master’s subjects.
The warlock steps into the room and lets the gout of steam wash in and over them. Immediately they turn invisible and hear ”leave your perceptions at the door...a greater awakening awaits you, living or dead.” Nothing happens to any of the others who followed Ansible into the room. Vadim moves to the side room and starts looking for a set of boots and a robe while the warlock dresses herself in the outfit and opens the southwestern door. As the door opened they could see the larger statue on the far wall and noted the circle of flagstone in front of it. The statue’s mouth started to move but only Ansible could hear the words. However, Artem could read the lips. “What do you wish, experience or reawakening?” Stepping into the circle, Ansible first speaks in Celestial “Reawakening” and nothing happens. They try again in the old Gylidder but nothing happens until they change their wish from reawakening to experience.
An explosion of light spews from the statue and Ansible is frozen in place for a moment before some of her lost memories return and she feels stronger. With this revelation, they all try to leave the room to see if the gout of steam would return and it does not. They figure out that it must act like a magical item and that it can only release it’s magic a certain amount of times a day. Te’Leyuura sits down and starts to identify the smaller statue. She learns that it is a Magical Primer that tests the will of a person. It can only function three times per day and confers one magical effect upon the person. She learns that the four magical effects last an hour and are: invisibility, shrinking in size, inebriated, and the ability to see things that are not present. The smaller statue acts as a rider for the Statue of Wishes. The wizard attempts to identify the larger statue but quickly realizes that it’s an artifact.

Report Date

22 May 2021