Report: Secrets of the New Arcana
General Summary
This report will be short and straightforward, as was our intentions.
Previously we had visited the Goodgub mines which had contained Torovion Catacombs. We had cleared the catacombs of the undead that plagued it for the miners there, but during our trip we had found a blocked off wall that seemed to be relatively new compared to the surroundings. Considering the circumstances, we decided investigation would not be plausible on that day. Understandably, the miners wanted to seal away the catacombs. Instead I paid a substantial fee in gold to have them leave access.
Which leads us to recent events. I, along with Monique, Aldric, and Patrick took a second venture to the catacombs, to explore the blocked off area. When we arrived, we had hoped we could just break through the wall. I had summoned a creature to help, but it was not able to break through the wall, and casting it prevented me from casting spells, such as Stone Shape.
Fortunately, Monique was well prepared and cast Stone Shape, creating a doorway for us to go through. Interestingly, when we looked into the next room we were met with strange green and purple mushroom creatures inside of some sort of temple or chapel heavily damaged with leaking water. The creatures were more of an immediate threat though. As we clashed against our enemies many of them exploded in purple or green clouds disorienting us or making it difficult for our wounds to be healed. Still, the creatures were no match for our fire magic which burned them away.
We searched the room and locations beyond which allowed us to recover historical documents which can now be found in the library. Eventually, we stumbled to a more dangerous location. We entered a room, almost like a large hallway. In front of us one on the left wall, and one on the right, where massive evil statues of necromantic beings with glowing eyes stood. Eventually someone approached, and skulls burning in flame left the eyes and flew towards us to attack us.
The fight was deadly. Our party flung spells at the skulls while Aldric attempted to engage in combat. The skulls launched a counterattack of their own, hitting us with fireballs. I was heavily damaged in this engagement, and Patrick was knocked out briefly, but ultimately we were successful in defeating the skulls. As we attempted to rest and examine the room, it became apparent the skulls were repairing. We were forced to use more magic, but Monique and Patrick were able to put the skulls down permanently.
We again continued, eventually reaching a room with a large statue of one of Ro’s Riders of Death, Theobold Longroth. Once a member of the Torovians and later became Bellum, Rider of War. We found a switch behind which revealed a secret path leading us to three more statues, albeit not as grandiose. The other statues were of the other Riders of Death. All of their Epitaphs can be read in the library and are truly fascinating.
Finally, we again found another secret passage by finding a switch behind one of the statues. This led us to a strange room that was clearly very important. Before us was a room filled with necrotic arcane energy and a strange device. In two corners there were two large statues and a third directly across us, forming a triangle. The three statues seemed charged with energy as if they were connected or powering the pad. Patrick moved into the room, attempting to investigate it, but suddenly a powerful spirit creature appeared before us and began to attack. The battle was intense, but luckily, I finally found some success with my radiant spells which seemed to damage it and make the creature more tangible to our plane. We worked with great efficiency and felled the creature.
Documents we found as well as general intuition seem to indicate this room was used as a test in an attempt to make the Torovians immortal. I believe it is feasible that the experiment did not go exactly as planned, which would help to explain why the people returned as undead. I ponder greatly what would have happened if one of us stepped on that pad, but the risk is too high, and could have left one of us dead, or worse. Curiously, this was a smaller scale project which would later be replicated by multiple mages on a grander scale. I am curious to know if they succeeded or if we will find more of…this.
Finally, it should not go unmentioned that Malkor was heavily involved in this project. He was training some mages. I would not be shocked to find out that Malkor ended up succeeding in obtaining immortality where all Torovian failed. I thoroughly look forward to going further into this tangled web of Torovia.
Scribed by Pale Moon
Adventuring Party: Pale Moon, Monique, Patrick Smith, Aldric Gates
Date: 27MAY22
Report Date
27 May 2022
Primary Location
Related Characters
Comments