S1 E15: Mopping Up the Temple

General Summary

In which the gang finds the missing townsfolk, Willow Candler, and an unexpected tenant...

Highlights

• Found a second Gelatinous cube in the back room of the main temple. Evidently someone figured out how to transport them from cave G, and use meat on a string but out of reach to keep them in place for a while.
• Also found a Goliath, an elf and a dwarven cultist, hiding out in the hopes the temple-invading PCs would move on and skip their room. Some quick talking and intimidation helped turn them from hostile to at least indifferent, and in the case of the elf Scelendril, cooperative.
• Scelendril showed the way to the Sow Creche and the mysterious 'tenant' who had been here in some kind of dormant state, evidently, when Naphan had showed up to convert the temple from Dendar to Camazotl worship
• The party saved the pigs, with the goliath helping to escort them out the small access door to pen up for transport to Deakin's farms
• The party found the Dwarven furniture merchant, Galapple Dors, as well as a member of the Zefferelli Collective, Arbegas, in hungry and maltreated but otherwise healthy shape; but a female identified as Austice, a farmer, was petrified and in the third cage, and the statue showed some signs of damage - missing a few fingers and scuffed on the face and shoulders
• Scelendril led them to the Sow Creche, stopping in an alcove along the way to pick up some spare weapons
• Guards were concerned about pigs here too, agreed to leave with them and help guard the rescued captives as well
• They discover after pulling her up from the oubliette where she was held captive that the tenant is a Yuan Ti, of a kind that resembles what Xi Shi has heard of before as a Nightmare speaker - a Malison, type 3 from her studies at the temple, the ones with a snake body below the waist, but stylized snake decoration worn in their hair; by contrast this being is a true Medusa, with gold and green snakes spilling over her shoulders and rising up to peer at all of them. Below the waist she's a dark green serpent. She agrees somewhat generously not to petrify any of them and mentions casually that Willow is down there, and petrified. Xi Shi is somewhat at a loss of how to act in the presence of the temple keeper, the largest and most powerful Yuan-ti she's ever encountered, other than in dusty tomes and obscure scrolls.
• Realizing that they've left most of Naphan's materials untouched - they had been to his waiting room and saw the sign on the office door: "Not In." but hadn't gone in.
• Three cultist holdouts attack and fight as if to the death, but Blizzard's use of the Staff of Bat Swarm and additional threatening moves by Claude break the resolve of the final fanatic. He folds and tells them that he will tell them everything, anything they want to know.
• In the room they also find a glass case on the desk, a vault under the bed, and a case holding 2 scrolls of Greater Restoration. 1 of Greater Invisibility, and 1 without a label.

Rewards Granted

XP

960

• 2 x scroll of restoration
• 1 x scroll of greater invisibility
• 1 x scroll of ??? (will update when identified)

Missions/Quests Completed

• Meet the Tenant
• Free the captives
• Find Willow Candler

Report Date

12 Jul 2022

Primary Location

The Caves of Chaos

Secondary Location

The Borderland Marches