Session 13 - Statues and Enemies

General Summary

From Kleeck's journal, X Martius MMCIII
After taking a minute to collect ourselves, we ventured further into the necropolis in the direction indicated by my spell. I prayed that Thiala still wore the distinct suit of green leather armour we were using to track her, and that we would find her safe.
We travelled through a narrow canyon, sheer cliff faces to either side of us. Eventually the canyon opened up into another large underground cavern. We could see more of the barrows we had encountered throughout this place, as well as a large building in the distance with strange lights emanating from it.
Our attention was immediately drawn, however, to a blue statue to the south of us lit up by the glowing blue flames from a pair of braziers. Around the statue a group of strange bipedal lizard creatures were moving and chanting as if in worship. They looked different from the ones we had just encountered; smaller, with frilled heads and long ragged claws. They were so enthralled in their chanting that they failed to notice us as we approached with weapons drawn. Taking advantage of the element of surprise we launched our attack.
The battle was quick and fierce. Hassan incinerated one of the creatures with a perfectly placed bolt of flame. Baunda dropped another, but only after getting mauled so badly by its claws and teeth that I had to dart in and heal him for fear that he would pass out from his injuries. Laura and Mkali (with aid from Erky) took out the rest, though the foul stench the creatures gave off was so powerful that they both were nearly sick in the midst of the melee.
We took a brief moment to examine the blue statue (a hydra perhaps?) and then proceeded towards the building with the strange lights.
The building turned out to be a large temple topped by a domed crystal, with a pair of doors as its only entrance. The strange lights were being emitted by three powerful columns of flame directly in front of the doors; one blue, one red, and one black. The flames had no apparent source, reached to the ceiling of the cavern far above, and burned hot enough to reduce a quarrel to cinders in moments. There was no way to get to the doors without passing through those flames.
We had a strong suspicion that our missing friends were being held within the temple, but the question of how to get past the flames confounded us. We looked for clues, tried different spells, and got nowhere for our efforts. Hassan attempted to see inside using the newly discovered clairvoyant powers of his pendant, but to no avail.
Just when I was beginning to despair we were struck by what I am tempted to call divine inspiration from Apollo himself. I say ‘we’ because truly it was a different person who came up with each piece of the puzzle; though I was the one who suggested that we may have missed something back in the caverns that could be the key, it was Hassan who made the connection between the columns of flame and the coloured fire that burned in the braziers at our last battle site, and Laura who immediately suggested we should go back and try to douse them. We rushed to where we had fought the 'troglodytes' (as Laura identified them) and quickly poured water on the burning braziers. I flew back to the temple and was able to confirm our theory, for the pillar of blue flame was now gone.
Tracing our steps back to the place where we fought the other lizardfolk we repeated the process, smothering the red flames that burned there. But where was the source of the black flame? Certain that we must have missed something we tracked back to the northbound path we had passed by earlier and followed it. Sure enough, we soon came across a group of small lizard creatures, similar to the ones we had first encountered at the Nemasus Cemetery, cavorting around a black statute of a bizarre cobra-headed being. Black flames burned in the braziers beside the statue.
We would have had the element of surprise again had Hassan not loudly stubbed his toe during our otherwise stealthy approach. It should be noted that he had not been himself all day, so unnerved he seemed by the gloom of these caverns. He had taken to muttering to himself, mumbling in fear or randomly sputtering names from his past. (who is the Eris anyway? I swear I have heard him call that name out in his sleep as well, and if the tone with which he speaks it is any indication it is someone who he has a...meaningful connection with.)
Surprise notwithstanding, we made quick work of the vile little creatures. I was even able to take their leader alive, using the pommel of my dagger to knock them out with a sharp blow to its head. I somehow remembered that maneuver from one of uncle Heehk's many war stories, though I had never imagined that I would get the chance to put it to use.
After hurriedly dousing the black flames and binding our captive, we rushed back to the temple. My mind raced with all we had seen in these caverns: the ancient necropolis, the strange statues depicting mysterious deities, the bizarre assortment of lizard creatures that had gathered here. Was there a connection to the blight in the woods above? What about the Necromancer's Note we found in the Nemasus Cemetery? Could it all tie back to the statue in the hidden alcove in the temple of Apollo? I prayed we would find answers, and feared we would be left with more questions.
When we arrived back at the temple all the columns of fire were now gone and the doors stood before us unobstructed.
We woke our prisoner and interrogated them, hoping to learn something that may prepare us for whatever lay ahead. The creature taunted us at first, refusing to answer our questions, but Hassan loosened its tongue with threats and intimidation. It spoke of a summoning ritual almost completed, and a ‘shadow dragon’ that would be our doom. It mentioned a name, Ssothiss. And it suggested that our friends were being used to fuel this foul ritual, and their lives were in danger.
We had heard enough. Hassan gave a nod, and Bandua ended the creature’s life with a swift strike from his blade. I shuddered involuntarily; I have seen Roman justice delivered to its enemies before, but it was a different thing to be a party to the delivery. If an act is ‘just’, is it necessarily also ‘good’? Muttering a prayer to Apollo, I put the grim business behind us and joined the others as we entered the temple.
We quickly passed through a corridor that led straight to a large chamber at the centre of the temple. 
Light filtered through the domed crystal ceiling, and rows of pillars lined the sides of the chamber. Arrayed evenly around the room were eight statues mirroring the ones we had seen scattered through the necropolis. There was a strange pattern of circles laid out in the tiles of the floor. On the far wall there was some kind of mystical 'portal' (for lack of a better term), large enough to drive a chariot through and swirling with black smoke-like arcane energies. We could see unconscious figures bound to the statues at the far side of the room, with Thiala and Saurel among them. The portal seemed to be 'feeding' off of them, drawing black-smoke energy from their inert bodies.
Between us and the captives stood half a dozen undead skeletons, armed and armoured, their eyeless gazes boring into us as we entered. And behind them, muttering incantations that were clearly driving the ritual happening there, was a strange snake-man who must have been the Ssothiss the little lizard creature had spoke of. He was covered in green-black scales with the body of a man but the hooded head of a cobra, wearing dark blood-red robes, and carrying a strange double-bladed scimitar-like weapon.
One look at the sinister scene and we knew we had to stop the black ritual taking place.
But Ssothiss was ready for us. As we moved into the room he held out a scaly hand and pointed it at Laura while hissing out an arcane phrase. I saw her suddenly gaze around with a confused, maniacal look in her eyes. A crown of jagged iron wreathed her head, materializing out of thin air. Without warning she drew her sword and lunged at Bandua, delivering a nasty slash to his back that made him curse in pain. A bad way to start the battle.
Shrugging off the unexpected attack Bandua rushed into the room, putting distance between him and Laura as he lashed out at the skeletons left and right with his Dolabras. I took to the air and skirted the edge of the chamber, using the pillars for cover while I harassed the skeletons with divine magic. Mkali and Erkie charged forward to chomp and claw, with Erkie eager to be reunited with his master. Shaking off Ssothiss’s enchantment, Laura quickly joined the fray with sword and dagger in hands.
Hassan meanwhile was attacking in his own way, locked in an arcane battle of wills with Ssothiss. I could see him trying to freeze the creature in place with a spell, while simultaneously countering the summoning ritual with his own counter-chants. I tried to offer prayers to aid to Hassan's efforts but in my fear and excitement I may have done as much harm as good with my half-remembered mumblings. Though he was unable to bind Ssothiss with the holding spell, I could see Hassan’s counter-chanting working to undo the ritual that was holding together the ever-growing portal.
But Ssothiss continued to use his considerable powers against us as well. Just as Bandua felled a skeleton, Ssothiss pointed his scaly hand and called out “your work isssss not done yet” - and the crumpled pile of bones pulled itself together again to continue its attack. Without defeating Ssothiss it looked like we could face an unending horde of these undead abominations.
As the battle raged, the portal continued to swirl and roil, the black smoke thickening and darkening ominously. I turned away from the melee for a moment to look at it, and I swear to Apollo I felt something from within it looking back at me. Something within the portal called to me, beckoning me in a way that was both horrifying and compelling. I felt the urge to dive into those black depths, and took all my will to turn my eyes away from the vile portal.
Looking back to the battle I could see Bandua nimbly weaving his way through the fray, slipping past skeleton after skeleton as Laura, Mkali, and Erike engaged and distracted them. As he ducked past the last skeleton and made a dash across the tiled floor I broke from the cover of the pillars and flew out. Holding my holy symbol aloft, I called on Apollo to strike Ssothiss and guide Bandua’s hand. A beam of radiant energy streaked out, hitting Ssothiss squarely in the chest and momentarily blinding him. Seeing his opportunity, Bandua darted forward and landed a vicious blow in the very spot my bolt had lit up seconds ago.
Hassan was quick capitalize on the moment as well. He redoubled his efforts in counter-chanting, sweat pouring from his brow as he focused his words and will. I saw him stretch out his arm and scream out the final words of his chants. Suddenly, with a loud ‘whooshing’ sound, the portal started to fold in on itself. The trails of black smoke being drawn from the prisoners’ bodies tapered off. With a final ‘pop’ the portal disappeared, leaving whatever monstrosity Ssothiss was trying to summon trapped on the other side.
We had stopped the ritual, but we now had an enraged Ssothiss to deal with. The snake creature’s eyes blazed with hate as it looked across the room at Hassan. The ritual having been foiled, Ssothiss now seemed determined to vent his wrath on the one who foiled it. He drew the double headed scimitar off his back and then, before Bandua could land another blow, vanished from the spot where he stood and appeared with a vaporous ‘poof’ next to Hassan. He slashed at Hassan with his wicked weapon, drawing blood and driving him back.
In the end it took all of us together to slay him. He continued to chase Hassan, using his teleportation power to evade the rest of us as we harried him with blade, claw, and spell. But even a creature as fearsome as Ssothiss was could not survive our combined onslaught. In the end Laura delivered the final blow, leaping up to swing her sword and take off his cobra-like head at the neck.

Rewards Granted

1,650 Experience Points

Missions/Quests Completed

• Minor Milestone - Deactivate the Black Flames
• Minor Milestone - Deactivate the Blue Flames
• Minor Milestone - Deactivate the Red Flames
• Minor Milestone - Reach the Eastern Necropolis
• Minor Milestone - Reach the Ancient Temple
• Major Milestone - Enter the Temple
• Major Milestone - Shut down the Shadow Rift
• Major Milestone - Rescue Thiala and Saral

Report Date

05 Sep 2020

Primary Location

Rhodanensis