The Mouth of Doom: Session 40

General Summary

Glorious Purpose

While the other Wrenjers were investigating the pedestal maze, Vadim and Te’Leyuura had retreated to watch the group's back in case the minions of the Master tried to reestablish a foothold in the Mouth of Doom. They made small talk while maintaining attention on their task. At some point during their conversation they noticed the dark smoke billowing through some of the stone, it was being siphoned into the obsidian rod at the bard’s hip. Figuring that it was time for them to rejoin the others, Vadim and Te’Leyuura moved through the teleportation maze. By the time they found the others they were back in the room they were referencing as room seven. Around the large stone chamber were frozen aethrin. It looked like they were all moving away from the same point but were unable to leave the area of Prismatic Spray. When they arrived in the room, Vadim and Te’Leyuura were informed that Ansible was able to peer through the bodies and even their innards were stone which helped them come to the conclusion that it was Prismatic Spray rather than another form of petrification. Artem was pretty sure that the aethrin had been moved here. After some investigation they had determined that the villagers were from Tsar as their attire indicated the region and age. The only item left to investigate in the room was the chest that two of the aethrin were holding. It was also petrified and the Wrenjers were worried that they would destroy the bodies if they were not careful. They decided to leave that for another day and since the two Wrenjers that had been watching their flank had two fully alive and healthy familiars, they decided to test the southern pedestal.
The pedestals in room seven had not been fully explored. Leofric offered Octofrik and plopped their octopus familiar onto the pedestal. The cleric was unable to connect with their companion but when they brought Octofrik back they learned that they were anxious but not in any danger. Knowing that Octofrik had some limitations, Vadim turned to his raven, Sasha. After a quick conversation between the raven and the bard, Sasha was convinced that the adventure might give them more fuel for mocking their enemies. The raven was snapped back after a short while following their teleportation. Vadim shared that their familiar thought the other room contained crunchy food that the food was roughly Jarvis sized. The wizard brought her notebook out and showed a picture of an ant and Sasha started pecking at the picture. After some thought they determined that if they approached the wall they could retain their telepathic link to their familiar while they investigated the possible dead ants. Vadim resends Sasha into the room and with the link open they were confident that the room connected to the ant room.
While Sasha munched on some dead ants, the others tried to move the northern pedestal but it only brought them to the ant room. They all moved to the far end of the room where another pedestal sat. The bard had their familiar once again lead the investigation. When the talon touched the teleportation device the connection between them did not quiet. Instead Vadim was sent Sasha’s terror, “shit is terrible over here, I am in trouble.” Vadim brought Sasha back and the raven informed him that they felt like they were drowning as they had teleported and landed directly in water. The bard just calmly responded that maybe they should stop mocking the octopus. Sasha was given treats while Leofric approached the pedestal. They had already determined that the only cardinal direction that led anywhere was the water so they needed to continue their familiar investigation.
Octofrik and Leofrics’ connection did not sever when the familiar teleported. They were able to describe that the water was dirty, calm and deeper than their vision. The only other thing they could see was the flat island that a pedestal sat on. Leofric had him swim a bit, in hopes of mapping the area out a bit more and the tiny familiar tried their best at swimming stealthy. As they neared the western edge of the large cavern the water churned, they didn’t even have the chance to be afraid before Leofric lost connection to Octofrik. Knowing they had altered whatever lived in the water, they moved back through the maze to another location that only one of the familiars had explored.
Moving back through the maze they head to the room that had bubbles. They were worried that they could contain poisonous gas so Artem used their spork of good health to determine that they were not dangerous in that manner. Before they all teleported, however, Leofric used some of his inaethri blessed magic to heal himself. Usually it would be women and children first, as explained by Vadim, but when it is the cleric in need of healing, then always them first. They teleported into an angular room with the southern bit obscured by opaque green bubbles. Jarvis and Artem could tell that behind the bubbles it seemed like the room continued. The bubbles had a plastic smell to them and Te’Leyuura could tell that inside each bubble it radiated evocation magic. Investigating the room revealed that the floor had a fine layer of dust that showed a few disturbances near the bubbles in a circular pattern. The green bubbles seemed to gently bounce off one another and were highly pressurized. Testing the pedestal across the upper side of the room, the part they could actually travel, they send Sindragosa through. The tiny flying snake was used to being one of the forward scouts but had enjoyed the new companions taking some of the responsibility off her tiny scaled shoulders. Te’Leyuura could only see the churning waters before she lost connection to Sindragosa, once again it had been to quick for the familiar to be afraid. Obviously whatever they awoke in the water was still active and waiting for their meal to arrive.
With another familiar’s disbursement, they pondered what they could send through the pedestals that weren't alive. After a few tests they determined that it had to be an actual living creature to teleport but they could teleport via a short object touching the pedestal. The Wrenjers continued their testing with the wizard summoning her Mage Hand to bring and pop a bubble as far as they could away from the group and herself. When the opaque green bubble popped with a loud clap, a rush of force escaped in a ten foot area. An idea popped into the Wrenjers’ minds, what if they could fill a net with as many bubbles as they could and then send it to the water room. Vadim asked if Sasha would like to get revenge on the water, the raven was rather confused. After a bit of explanation the raven agreed. Zetwuzadi turned to the bard and simply stated that there wouldn’t be enough time to summon Sasha back and the bard just nodded, knowing that Sasha would serve a glorious purpose.
Instead of filling Leofric’s net, they had decided to make a line of bubbles from the pedestal to the rest of the bubbles. They used Te’Leryuura’s Mage Hand to hold a bubble down on the teleportation device until Sasha touched the bubble, instantly the raven and any bubble within 10 feet of the pedestal disappeared. Vadim could see, through Sasha’s eyes, the water then they instantly poofed. Unable to tell if the bubbles exploded, causing any damage to whatever swam in the water, Te’Leyuura moved across the room and sat down on the stone. As she went through the process of resummoning Sindragosa, some of the Wrenjers rest while the others start carefully moving bubbles. Their goal was to fill the area around the pedestal with as many green bubbles as they could. They focused their efforts on the area within ten feet of the device and by the time Sindragosa was prepared to deliver the bubble package, they had over one hundred of them in the area.
While they carefully gathered bubbles, they were able to get a better view on what was on the other side of the bubble hall. It looked to mirror the part they were in with more pedestals. Whatever magic that had created the bubbles worked instantly to replace the ones that were moved. They appeared out of nowhere, with only the sound of a balloon being filled announcing their return. With the bubbles assembled, Sindragosa reluctantly performed her task and touched the bubble being held by Mage Hand. The familiar and the bubbles teleported, however, the process of resummoning and arranging the bubbles allowed enough time for the creature in the water to calm down. Sindragosa had to start thrashing in the water to draw attention. It was still too fast for Sindragosa or Te’Leyuura, through her familiar’s senses, to get a glimpse of before the water around them churned and the fey was returned to the Feywild.
Without learning more about the creature they decided to move through the hall to investigate the area behind the bubbles. At first they thought that only a few would slink through, but they decided to attempt the entire group. They wrapped all the sharp pointy bits of their armor, weapons and gear with soft cloth before they slowly submerged through the force bubbles. After a quick investigation the only things of note were the pedestals. The northern device brought Erukoesk to the north side of the room, past the bubble obstacle. And after moving back through the field of green, the celestial bear helped move and investigate the southern pedestal. Unfortunately with them being the only familiar, Erukoesk had to be the guinea pig for the only cardinal direction the second pedestal worked. She instantly cannonballs into the water. Erukoesk moved quickly to the wall and climbed it, moving towards the island. Without knowing what would happen, Artem stowed his bow and prepared himself for potentially entering the water. The others moved closer together in case they needed to quickly teleport. Zetwuzadi lost their connection with their celestial companion but they learned that the creature or creatures were large snakes.
It was the most information they had learned about what lurked in the water but still it could be too many creatures to determine how to prepare. With some time left in the day, the Wrenjers decided to investigate the one demon statue room. It was a room that one of the familiars had explored but they hadn’t seen any pedestals but they did note a door that was left undiscovered. Knowing that Te’Leyuura would be able to get herself and one other back in case there wasn’t a way to return, Artem and the wizard lead the scouting party instead of Jarvis. The room radiated no magic and the demon statue was just spooky and not potentially magical which they had initially thought on the first investigation. Behind the single door they could hear scraping and scurrying typical of rodents. They believe that there must be at least a dozen large rats in the other room and the smell through the door seemed to confirm their thought. While the two were scouting the others waited their allotted time and followed. They hadn’t really indicated how they would communicate if they needed help. With the group assembled Jarvis kicked down the door.
Surrounding the lone pedestal was a large rat nest. The rats looked to have bloodlust and quickly moved toward the food source. Jarvis stepped into the room and called for Te’Leyuura for some pest control. The wizard moved to the doorway, she moved her hand out and with a flick of her wrist and sent a small bead of flame into the room. The fireball slaughtered the entire nest. The smell of burning rat, detritus, and excrement was terrible, they had to let the smell disperse before testing the pedestal. They used the time by destroying the demon statue. With the potential last room discovered and the water room waiting for more familiars and buffed Wrenejers, they leave the Mouth of Doom for the day. They spend the next day crafting, purchasing Cloaks of the Manta Ray, resummoning their better halves, and copying spells. They return to the Mouth of Doom on the 28th of Asha.
Taking the most direct route to the petrified villager room, they prepare to send Octofrik into the water. With the group tightly stacked around the pedestal, the tiny octopus teleported and plopped into the filthy water. The bubbles had spread out through the chamber but some had still clumped up enough for the familiar to hide in. Through the octopus’ vision Leofric could see the eight massive snake heads emerge from the water looking for the intruder. It was a hydra. Knowing what they needed to do with this information they waited for Octofrik to set off the bubbles and with the explosion of force, Octofrik fulfilled their glorious purpose and the Wrenjers teleported directly above the hydra.
One of the giant snake heads had been severed and it was turning the water murky. They could peer through the filthy water and see the detritus and loot lining the bottom of the cavern. With an excellent move, Leofric controlled the water to bring the Wrenjers and the hydra to the island. Jarvis stood his ground and readied himself for the snake. The hydra was still in the water; however, they understood that fire damage would stop the heads from splitting and becoming more of a danger. Vadim super heats the water boiling the hydra with their fireball. Zetwuzadi continues the onslaught by severing another head. The rogue moved back and pierced a head in two. With three of the heads severed and bleeding, Te’Leyuura drops her own fireball on the creature with Sindragosa breathing fire on the hydra before the familiar tucked herself into the ceiling. The hydra turned their attention to the wizard who withstood the attacks but dropped her concentration on one of her spells. Leofric lowered the water and with the hydra out of the water it was easier for the group to attack. Two more fireballs followed by Jarvis’ green flame severing another head. With three heads left Zetwuzadi and Artem attack. It was an efficient elimination of the hydra.
Once the hydra died, the Brume started to leak through the walls. The pedestal connected to the northern side of the bubble room. The bottom left pedestal teleported the companion scouts to another small room with a single pedestal. The walls of the room were carved with leering demons, armies of undead and aethrins being tortured. Behind the stone device there was a massive raised relief of the Master and even the teleporter was more ornate than the others had been. With a quick investigation, Soren and Erukoesk were unable to turn the dial, it only pointed east. They send Soren through, with a bit of protection of invisibility upon the curious tressym. Jarvis lost contact with them but the artificer waited a few moments and snapped Soren back.
The tressym appeared on the north end of a large hill. All around him were rolling hills and it was obvious that they were teleported outside. With a quick glance they noted the lack of a return pedestal and the clear sky above them that seemed to be the same sky they had seen before delving into the skull cave entrance not long before dealing with the hydra. Soren could feel that south of him was terrible, they felt sick without actually being sick. When they turned they saw the large depression in the ground where the earth itself had sunken down in the form of a cross. The area was filled with graves and close to where they teleported was a well with some sort of iconography that Soren couldn’t quite make out. What made them feel even more afraid was that there were no birds in the air. There were three green stone mausoleums with the central one larger, more ornate and covered with the same stone gargoyles. Soren expressed that they would not want to return but Jarvis calmed their familiar stating that when they would return there they wouldn’t be alone. The Wrenjers had found the Master’s Fast Pass to the Dungeon of Graves.

Report Date

17 Jul 2021