The Mouth of Doom: Session 34
General Summary
Temporal Shift
Report Date
05 Jun 2021
The room the Wrenjers were staring into had to be the most peculiar room they have encountered thus far. It looked to be a well appointed inn room with two two large comfy looking beds, modest yet nicely made furniture and a soft looking rug in a nook at the southern end of the room. Overall the room seemed pleasant and didn't radiate any magical aura. Leofric offers that there could be illusion magic at work while Ansible felt tired and was drawn back into the obsidian rod given to them by their Patron. The scouts moved into the room, walking back to the northern bed. As Artem and Sorin glanced at the bed, wistful looks crossed their faces before they curled up and slept. Jarvis could feel the drowsiness trying to take over but the artificer shakes it off. He turned to tell the others that magic must be at work and soon after he got those words out, the bed looked rather too comfy and he as well curled up to take a rest. The paladin noticed her companions asleep, marched into the room and grabbed each of them separately, shaking the sleepiness out of them by the time they reached the side room.
Making sure nothing else was at work, Leofric quickly scanned the scouts and the new familiar. It looked that they were having trouble breathing but once cleared of the room they were able to take full, healthy breaths again. Te’Leyuura wonders what could be at work and believes that it must be a sleep spell that works more like rendering the victims unconscious and it is being covered by an illusion. But this wouldn’t explain why those in the room were having trouble breathing. They determine the room must have foul air. Not truly knowing if it’s a sleep spell and/or bad air they plan on sending Enya in as their canary. Being of elven blood, Enya wouldn’t be susceptible to the spell but the bad air would affect her. For some reason they decide to send her in while she holds her breath, first to test if she falls asleep. Before sending her in, they tied a rope around her waist and informed her not to cast any fire as it could ignite the foul air. Even the candles in the room were not on open flames.
With the rope tied securely around her and Zetwuzadi’s waist, Enya moved into the room. Although she has watched Artem and Jarvis investigate a room before, her job wasn’t as thorough. After reporting back to the others that she didn’t feel like anything was trying to affect her, Artem moved in with Enya to work the room together. As Artem moved to the nook, they lifted up the rug. Right before he fell asleep on the rug he had just removed from the floor, Artem spotted a trap door. Enya had to keep jostling Artem awake. But they find that around the slab trap door a breeze could be felt. Falling back to the adjoined room, they discuss who should enter the room. Te’Leyuura volunteered as it should be harder for the sleep to affect her. They both moved in, the wizard fought the sleep well and after Enya removed the stone slab, they could hear a skittering that delved deeper into the earth below them. The slab is thrown onto the bed and on the underside was a nest of detritus and bits of cloth in a spiral pattern. In the hole they noticed unworked stone and in this particular spot there was a crevice that was a foot to foot and half size into the earth. There were bodies shoved into the hole that all look to have fallen asleep contentedly. Leofric, with his keen medical eyes, noticed that everyone in the antechamber was having a bit of trouble breathing.
They all fall back to the hallway, closing the door behind them. Not only did this help them talk without altering whatever was down in the hole but it allowed them to regain their healthy breathing. Another short discussion about who and how they wanted to pull the bodies out. The wizard offered to make one of them invisible but Jarvis and Enya eventually get chosen to move into the room again. Through multiple slapping and jostling to keep Jarvis awake, they pull out all the bodies. Just before one of the times his eyes drifted shut, Jarvis was able to spot the creature. It was a dire water bear. They have no eyes and the creatures use their other senses to observe. They must have claimed the area after noticing how easy it was to gather food. The room above would lull victims to sleep and the bad air would kill them. Then the dire water bear would collect them and feast. It seemed like if they were able to seal up hole then deal with the magic in the room, then the room would be cleared but the Wrenjers would need to do both. Zetwuzadi marked the room with chalk while Artem followed up with the Wrenjer symbols for bad air and bad magic. They planned to head back to the floor above to rest when the paladin received a sending from Inako, the Prime Thrall of the Shrike of Czira.
Inako had stated that they were responsible for the other group of agents working in the area and that they needed help to strike the Master. Conferring with their companions, the spell lapsed. However, noting their reluctance Inako followed up the first sending with another simply stating that they will come alone. It was obvious that Inako was watching them as she clearly knew that it was the tabaxi that was reluctant with it being a possible ambush. They decided to meet up at the giant skull outside the dungeon after the Wrenjer’s rested. During the rest, Te’Leyuura identified some of their magical items. They were outside the skull when Inako teleported a safe distance away. Before either side talked, Inako casted a spell. The wizard was ready to counter when Jarvis waved her off. The Prime Thrall was a well dressed master necromancer. She has pale skin and dark hair neatly pinned up behind a veil. She had casted private sanctum to guard from any prying eyes and ears.
She claimed that she was not there to lie or for falsehoods. Inako was there to seek their help. Inako can not act on her own but she needed to implore help secretly without the Shrike’s approval. Her plan was for the Wrenjer’s to aid her agents indirectly. So that the attack they are making against the Master can be successful. Inako was incredibly hard to read. But she seemed genuine in needing their help. The other agents were striking at the Upper Temple of the Master. They believe that the Master’s powers and presence in the area are dictated by the temples. The others have gotten themselves over their heads. Inako would teleport them into the dungeon to a place that had aided the temple in a previous fight. The cleric’s allies are incorporeal undead. Wraiths with magic and in their thrall specters that are stronger. Inako was not sure of their relation to the Master but knew that they were powerful. Obviously anything that the Wrenjers find would be theirs to keep. She would need to take them back to the skull immediately so as not to raise her agent’s and the Shrike’s suspicions. She clearly states that no one was willing to work for the Shrike. One of the Wrenjer’s asked how long they have been watching them and she claims it has only been a day. The Wrenjers agree to help but that they need a day before they could do so. Luckily there was a temporal shift happening because of the brume. When Inako teleported to them, it was the 20th for her. When she arrived, it was the 23rd. She believed that with this temporal shift, it would allow them to arrive in time to help. They make camp for the day planning on teleporting with Inako at dawn on the 24th.
They are teleported to a large cavern in the underdark. The air was humid and dry and ahead of them a secret door was shoved aside. Within the exposed unworked stone wall rested an ornate and gaudy sarcophagus. It was adorned with images of wealth and it looked to have belonged to one of the merchant lords. Someone, probably Inako, had pushed it to the side and it exposed a mechanism that opened a secret staircase that delved deeper into the earth. Before the Wrenjer’s moved down, Inako explained that if they need to fall back they will need to fall back to this spot as she cannot join them. “Thank you and good luck,” were her parting words as they climbed down the stairs. From the stairs they could see the area beyond, it was just barely fully lit but had enough light to illuminate the area. On the floor there were stone tiles that were red and led from various side chambers down the middle of the room and met the large ornate double doors. The doors were carved with a gaudy image of a powerful wizard with a golden chain around their neck holding a sapphire. It might have attempted to make the wizard look powerful and impressive but honestly, it just made the wizard look like an ass. Looming above the wizard was the Master. As they descended the stairs, they could hear the fire in the torches crackle.
The chamber was eerily quiet. Most of the Wrenjers pressed forward to the double doors to investigate. There was an abjuration aura but not a trap on the doors but the doors were expertly locked. As Artem moved to unlock the door, they noted the Arcane Lock but they went about unlocking it anyway. They could hear stones shift and corporal creatures climbed out of the tombs. As they approached the group. They could see that the undead were dressed in clothing that mimicked the mage’s pompous attire. They were crafted with care that a necromancer would wield and were armed with shortbows, shortswords and half plate. Although there were no great places to stand while the door was being unlocked, the wizard’s choice was fairly unfortunate as she was an easy target. But with the bard and wizard casting shield, only a couple arrows hit the party. Vadim fires his bow, nailing them with an arrow. Javis moved forward, wacked one and gave the wizard sanctuary making it harder for the enemies to target her. Artem shifts from the lock and slays a skeleton with his expert aim. Te’Leyuura falls back, holding a spell to maintain the sanctuary placed upon her. Zetwuzadi moved forward, away from the door, and clobbered one skeleton until it laid in pieces at her feet. The undead pressed forward, circling Zetwuzadi and Jarvis while some approached Enya and Vadim at the base of the staircase. They land a fair amount of hits on the Wrenjers. Vadim targeted a large group around Jarvis is a hypnotic pattern, unfortunately the artificer also succumbed to the visual patterns.
Vadim then sings a song about fire and destruction to Enya. Using her fire, she singes Jarvis breaking him out of the pattern. She then moved into the room, past the distracted skeletons. With Enya’s damage, Jarvis was able to move and finish off the skeleton that he had hurt the round before. Artem aims for the one in front of him, severing their spinal cord. From her protected place near the door, the wizard holds a fireball until the skeletons grouped a bit more. The paladin finishes off another creature when Enya yells to Te’Leyuura to bring the fire. The wizard releases her fire upon the group, having it dance around her companions. Vadim breathes lightning on one near him. Joining her fire dance, Enya summoned her wild fire spirit. Dropping them on the skeletons, slaying three of them. His new mace burns with fire and although Jarvis missed the skeleton, Enya watched the embers. Artem and Te’Leyuura finished off the last two skeletons. Jarvis and Artem moved to the door and were barely able to unlock the door. Zetwuzadi whistles a birdsong, calling her wren familiar and sending them off out of the way. Each of the Wrenjers hold a spell or arrow waiting for Jarvis to open the door.
A chamber of decadence and opulence opened in front of them. It represented a life well lived, to the wizard who’s tomb it was; however, the wealth did not persist through death. Much of the richness had already been stripped from time or from other adventurers. When the door opened, more skeletons released their arrows. The specter image of the mage released a fireball upon the group. However the Wrenjers weather the onslaught releasing their own spells. Vadim nailed the central mage with a dispel magic that cleared their mirror images as well as their armor.
