Session 13: The Passage to Dolendai Part III Report
General Summary
Lysday the 29th of Harvestide night in the year 3025 AF
The witty banter continued until they found a suitable place to stop for the night. They set up camp in the middle of the ruins of a circular building which provided a defensible position. They broke out the tents that Druss had packed and Arveer and Tenzin went off in search of firewood. As the dragonborn ripped a door off the hinges and began cutting it into kindling, he asked Tenzin about the incident that had happened at Morgrim Brightblade's tomb when the cleric had used the power of Morwen to kill one of their foes. Tenzin told him that he would never get over it because he felt that he had lost favor with the goddess. Even so he said he would do it again because he had saved his friends from death. Arveer told his friend that he understood the feeling as he had lost faith when his brother had died at the hands of the Green Blades and Tenzin told him that he would do whatever he could to unite the dragonborn with his sister. Arveer in turn told him he would try to help the cleric regain favor with the Goddess. With that they gathered the last of the wood and returned to camp.
Shayne and Iados talked as they put up the tents. The conversation turned to the tiefling's father. Iados confessed that he could not wait until he had the chance to kill his father and any of his siblings that might come looking for him. Shayne warned his friend that he should not let rage cloud his judgement and they both agreed that they would not do so if confronted with enemies from their past.
They started a fire, had something to eat and then went to their rest. Shayne was on the first watch. A fog had settled in around the campsite limiting his visibility beyond the surrounding ruins. The drow decided to hide in the shadows so that he could surprise anything that might approach them. As the evening wore on, the horses started to stamp and whinny becoming extremely agitated. Shayne thought that he heard a moaning sound coming from the mist, but he could not see anything. Staring intently into the mist surrounding the camp near the horses he thought he could see a large shadowy shape, but since he was not sure he decided to remain hidden.
He did not have to wait for long. A hideous creature burst through the fog and into the camp. It was almost ten feet tall and had greenish, sickly looking skin covered in sores. Shayne moved stealthily from his hiding place and stabbed at the vile creature, his sword biting viscously into his back. The monster roared in pain and slammed its fist into Shayne knocking him to the ground unconscious.
Arveer rose slowly from his sleep at the sound of battle and quickly surveyed the scene. He noticed that in addition to the large monster, smaller, emaciated human creatures were crawling into the camp through the mist. Iados jumped to his feet quickly and cast a shatter spell at the nearest two humanoids. Both creatures recoiled form the blow with one of them falling to the ground as the stone around him cracked from the force of the spell.
The heroes recoiled in horror as the giant monster charged into the midst of the camp and began to feast upon poor Bepop one of their trusty pack horses! One of the humanoid creatures snapped and clawed at Iados raking him in the chest and the tiefling fell to the ground.
Using his athletics feat, Arveer leapt up and slashed at the ghoul that had downed his friend. The blow almost cut the creature in half as it fell to the ground in a pool of sickly green blood. Tenzin emerged from his tent immediately realizing that they were facing undead ghouls and an ogre zombie. He cast healing word on Shayne staunching his wounds and getting him back into the fray. Iados was on the ground fighting for his life so the cleric case spare the dying to stop the bleeding.
Shayne renewed by the healing powers of Morwen silently rose to his feet and stabbed at the Ogre Zombie from behind taking it by surprise. The blow would have felled a normal creature, but the folds of fat in the zombies skin looked as it it would take many more blows to fell it. The rogue then quickly slipped away from the monster. Unfazed by the blow, the Ogre Zombie continued to feast upon poor Bepop eating the last of the horse meat leaving behind a bloody mess. The other horse, Rocksteady, finally broke free from his tether and fled, disappearing into the mist.
A ghoul leapt through the archway attacking Arveer slashing him with a claw across the arm. The dragonborn struck back at the fiend missing him with a wild swing. Tenzin turned and began rummaging through the tent to find one of his healing kit finding it at last buried beneath a blanket. The drow attacked the Ogre Zombie once again continuing to bloody the creature. The giant would not fall and turned quickly to swing his meaty fist at the rogue, who was able to dodge the blow. A ghoul attacked both Shayne and Arveer missing the dragonborn but biting into the flesh of the drow who resisted the paralyzing poison from the fiends fangs.
Arveer decided to down the Ogre Zombie slashing his arm and landing a blow, but the creature continued to advance. Tenzin rushed to Iados and used the healing kit to get the tiefling back into the fight. Shayne focused his attacks on the ghoul kicking him in the gut and stabbing his sword up through his chin into the creature's skull killing it instantly. Iados rose to his feet and moved next to the Ogre Zombie with outstretched hands casting burning hands upon him.
Surrounded and singed, the Ogre Zombie raised his fist and smashed at the dragonborn who blocked the blow with his shield. Arveer used the creature's momentum against him and slashed at him under the arm and into his chest, but still the creature would not fall. Tenzin moved next to Shayne and using his healer's kit he quickly patched up some of the drow's wounds. The drow immediately attacked the Ogre Zombie again with another stab and green blood gushed from the wound, with skin falling off of the creature. Iados cast a fire bolt at the zombie but only grazed him. Bloody and wounded, the Ogre Zombie punched the tiefling in the jaw, knocking him to the ground once again. Arveer had seen enough and using a nearby wall for leverage he lunged at the zombie slicing open it's gut releasing the horsemeat within and then with an almost casual blow he decapitated the zombie ending the conflict.
Arveer began searching for Rocksteady, but he could not find his tracks in the mist. He asked Tenzin to help him and together they could hear the horse clomping around in the distance. The dragonborn lit a torch and moved into the mist. After a few minutes he located the scared animal and was able to coax him back to the camp.
Belsday the 30th of Harvestide in the year 3025 AF
Leonardo informed his friends that he needed to enter a period of fasting and prayer and that he could not partake in their adventuring. Gilligan agreed to stay with the paladin to watch his back and also watch the cart with all of the party's loot.
The heroes made their way toward the tower and as they did so the elven ruins became more and more dense. At one time this must have been a truly grand city, but it was now fallen into decay. As they walked they pondered the riddle that they had uncovered in the place of trails. They knew that they would need to have the answer when they reached the tower.
Around midday they came to a large building in the center of their path. Most of the building was in ruins, but it must have been a truly impressive structure in it's day. Runes in old elvish were carved into the intact face of the portico of the building. Iados studied the runes with guidance from Tenzin and translated them as "The Great Library".
The heroes were not sure what to do. The library was directly in their path toward the tower on the horizon. Eventually, they decided that they wanted to investigate the building hoping to discover something useful within. Leonardo and Gilligan waited outside with the cart and horse as their friends climbed over the rubble into the library.
The building was mostly intact, but the roof had collapsed in many places causing extensive damage to the interior. Most of the books were waterlogged and destroyed. They picked their way carefully through the rubble moving deeper into the library. Shayne glimpsed an impressive, golden door through the debris about 100 feet ahead of them. The Fatebound would need to clear the debris to reach the door.
Druss returned to the cart outside and brought back some tools to help clear the way to the door. After about a half-hour of work, they had created a safe path through the fallen stones.
They had broken into a cavernous chamber. The floor was covered in cracked marble tiles. The golden door was about 100 feet away in the center of the far wall. Wary of possible traps, Iados examined the floor carefully and offered to lead the way across the room safely. He did not find any traps, but he did notice that sections of the floor were not sturdy and he warned his friends to tread carefully so they would not fall through. Druss suggested that they follow in the Tiefling's footsteps.
Iados walked gingerly forward into the chamber. After a few feet the floor began to give out in front of him, but because he had been prepared he was able to jump back to safety. He looked down into the hole and estimated that the floor of the chamber below was about 50-60 feet beneath him. Druss suggested that they tie a rope to Iados just on case he fell through one of the damaged floor tiles. They all agreed and tied a rope around the Tiefling. Arveer held the rope in the middle and Druss wrapped it around his own waist acting as an anchor.
Shayne decided to scan their surroundings as they tied off the rope. H heard the sound of dirt falling in the distance and even though he could not see anything, he told his friends that he believed that they were not alone in the chamber.
They proceeded in this way across most of the chamber when suddenly Iados stepped onto a rotting floor tile and fell through! Arveer and Druss quickly grabbed the rope and halted the Tiefling's fall. Shayne who was still on guard heard the sound of falling rock, but still he could see no one in the area.
They were now close enough to see the golden portal. Writing was etched its surface.
They stood now on solid ground in front of the door and considered the etched writing on the door. Tenzin was sure it was a puzzle or a riddle that once solved would allow the door to open. There were five unknown words near the lintel of the door connected by a geometric pattern. Iados studied the writing and determined that the four words to the right and left had an unknown meaning and he guessed they were written in an ancient elvish magical language. The words at the top and bottom seemed to be names. Tenzin and Iados spoke quietly together trying to figure out the meaning of the words on the door.
Druss noticed that Shayne was on edge so he asked him what was bothering him. The dark elf told his friend that he had a feeling that they were being watched. He was sure that he had heard something, but now all was quiet.
Arveer listened in as he friends debated. Not sure what to do to he spoke the name,"Thydos". As he did so the word "Ydos" on the door glowed briefly and then stopped. The heroes determined that "Ydos" must be the ancient elven word for the God Thydos. Thinking that they needed to say more names of the gods, the dragonborn spoke the name, "Lystra" but nothing happened. Arveer then spoke the following words, "Ydos, Ret" Ydos lit up, but after saying Ret a bolt of energy shoots from the door and hits the dragonborn searing his skin. They now knew that saying the words in the incorrect order would have consequences.
Druss deduced that the writing was so ancient that it might be better for Shayne and Iados should work together to translate the four words on either side of the diagram to try and discern their meaning. As they worked together, the tiefling realized that they were written in an obscure magical language and that one of the words, "Ret", means earth. Shayne suggested that the four words might mean the four elements of earth, air, fire and water.
Tenzin Lurong spoke the word "Aurus" with no effect. Iados tried "Ydos" and the word glowed red on the door then "Aurus" and after speaking the second word he was zapped with energy from the door. The cleric was certain that they needed to say the words in order and he recalled that when the dragonborn spoke earlier that the words "Ydos" and "Ret" both lit up red and then he was zapped with energy. Druss suggested that they must say all six words in order or they would get hit with the energy from the door.
Remembering what Shayne had said moments before, they all decided that the four words on either side must be the four elements. Now they only needed to figure out what each word stood for. Arveer and Iados also determined that "Sindra" must stand for the mother and the name of the elvish people from this region the Sindrallen.
Iados and Tenzin worked together and suggested the following order based on what was written on the door: the destroyer, then fire, then air, then water, then earth and then Sindra the mother. The heroes all agreed and Arveer stepped forward as he wanted to take the damage from the door if the words were incorrect. He then said quickly, "Ydos, Gni, Aru, Qua, Ret, Sindra". The first five words glowed red and then the last word, Sindra, glowed green as the door zapped the dragonborn charring his armor and skin badly. They noticed that the electrical rays come out of the words that glowed red.
Tenzin knew that the answer was hidden in the cryptic text that was written on the door and he stared at the words intently trying to work out the correct order. Iados spoke the word "Ret" and it turned red and zapped him with electrical energy. Shayne realized that he might be able to dodge the electrical bolts emanating form the door when the incorrect words were spoken so he asked Druss to watch their backs and stepped forward to say the words. The warrior interrupted him and told them he was sure that something was lurking in the darkness of the chamber, he just could not tell exactly what or where it was.
The cleric believed that he had finally figured out the correct order and he gave it to the dark elf who spoke the words, "Gni, Aru, Qua, Ret, Ydos, Sindra." All six words glowed a magnificent green and the golden door began to glow! Tenzin had figured it out and his friends praised him for his cleverness. The door then slowly creaked open revealing a dark vault beyond.
Before they could react, the creatures that had been stalking them finally broke from cover. Druss shouted a warning and they all turned to see that the Githyanki were attacking them.
Druss was on watch so he was not surprised and Shayne was also alerted to the attackers based on his years of training. The Drow reacted first and quickly pulled out his bow, but as he fired it at at the nearest Githyanki the string snapped making the bow useless. He then ran through the now opened golden door into the vault beyond. Druss picked out the most dangerous looking warrior and heaved his javelin of lightning at him striking him in the stomach. The githyanki was covered in crackling electrical energy and also became nauseated from the blow. Druss then stepped back drawing his sword.
The githyanki then blinked briefly from sight and abruptly appeared in front of the heroes using their misty step ability to close the distance quickly. The nauseated warrior swung wildly at Druss missing him with both attacks. Two of the warriors attacked Iados and slashed the tiefling with three vicious attacks from their great swords.
Shayne stepped forward toward one of the warrior attacking Iados and stabbed him in the back with a sneak attack. Druss raised his greatsword preparing for a mighty blow, but he overextended himself which allowed the nearest enemy to slash him in the chest first. The hero then used his action surge and struck back at his adversary, but the swing missed and his sword clanged on the stone floor. Iados motioned to Arveer who strode forward to defend his friend using his maneuvering attack to move into position while also allowing the Tiefling to slide behind him and move away from his attackers. At the same time the Dragonborn landed a blow on the githyanki and then used his a hero point to land another attack. Iados responded by casting a sculpted shout spell at the two githyanki blasting the one wounded by his friend into small pieces and damaging the other. Tenzin called upon the power of Morwen to bless Arveer, Shayne and Druss.
Two githyanki still menaced Druss and they lashed out at him with four greatsword attacks. Three blows hit with one being a critical that slashed him across the chest. The seasoned fighter stood firm absorbing the blows as his attackers moved to surround him. Arveer tried to riposte an attack, but failed. Shayne used his quickness to safely move away from his attacker toward one of the foes around Druss hitting him with a sneak attack in the kidney. Druss took the opportunity to compose himself and attack, but his opponent dodged out of the way. Arveer attempted to trip his foe, but the enemy was too quick and leapt behind him. The dragonborn then spun around and slashed him across the legs drawing blood. Decided to throw caution to the wind, Arveer called upon his inner reserved of strength sticking him two more times. Iados then blasted the githyanki with a fire bolt nearly killing him.
Tenzin was standing in the doorway and could not help but think about what he had done the last time he had faced these strange, yellow-skinned warriors. It was not a pleasant memory. He took a deep breath and raising his hand in the air, he tried to focus energy from the marks on his skin and spoke the following words in an strong, even voice, "The last time we faced one of you, I sucked the life right out of you. I would not want to harm you again. Please stop hurting my friends and leave while you can." The githyanki appeared not to heed his words and renewed their attacks.
The githyanki that was attacking Arveer used misty step and disappeared and the heroes could not detect where had gone. Druss was struck by another attack and Shayne dodged two sword attacks from his foe. The drow stabbed back at his attacker slitting his throat from ear-to-ear. Druss swung wildly at the uninjured githyanki in front of him, but the attacks were easily dodged. Arveer looked around to see if he could find where his attacker went, but was unable to find him. Iados blasted a firebolt spell at the nearest attacker searing him in the arm. Tenzin saw that Druss was severely wounded so he cast healing word on the fighter soothing him with the power of the goddess. He then sensed something in the vault behind the golden door and he saw a githyanki who had just grabbed something from inside the vault.
The githyanki emerged running from the room, holding a tube in his hand. He passed by Iados who slammed him with his staff across the back just as he used misty step to move thirty feet away. He then continued to flee not realizing that the floor was trapped. The githyanki trigged a pit and stumbled forward screaming as he fell to his death. The tube he was carrying slipped from his hand and now was teetering on the edge of the pit.
Druss was attacked and missed twice by the githyanki in front of him. Shayne tried to move quickly to reach a new foe, but lost his footing slipping on the blood spraying from the body of the warrior he had slashed across the throat ad he fell to the floor prone. Druss landed a massive blow on his enemy almost disemboweling him. Arveer noticed the cylinder teetering on the edge of the pit and so he knew he had to dispatch his foe quickly. Feinting at tripping maneuver he forced the githyanki off balance and then slashed the creatures legs out from under him killing him instantly.
Iados tied a rope around his waist and threw it to Tenzin before sprinted toward the pit getting close enough to see what the cylinder looked like. It was wooden and had a series of six dials on it with numbers. Shayne picked himself up and moved across the floor quickly, but carefully trying not to trigger any pits. Druss decided to help the cleric hold onto the rope. Arveer took in the scene and joined the cleric and fighter holding the rope. Iados reached the pit and bent down to picking up the wooden cylinder.
With the githyanki dealt with, Druss suggested that they go into the vault not only for safety, but so that they could search it carefully. The room beyond the golden door looked as if it had escaped the destruction in the rest of the library. Enchanted candles were mounted in sconces along the walls casting a flickering light within the chamber. A stone pedestal was in the center of the room, most likely where the wooden cylinder had been before the githyanki took it. Druss removed a torch from his pack and ignited it shedding a brighter light in the vault. The room was lined with bookcases and a locked chest rested on the floor opposite the golden door.
Shayne bent down and looked over the lock and the chest carefully trying to spot any traps. He did not detect anything dangerous and so took out his tools preparing to pick the lock. Druss looked around the room to see if he could find any writing or paintings there, but he found nothing of interest. Iados moved toward the stone pedestal in the center of the chamber. Shayne found that the lock was very difficult to pick. As he manipulated the mechanism with his tools, he failed to notice a small needle coated with poison and it jabbed him in his index finger. The drow pulled his hand away and fell back onto the floor, damaged and poisoned.
At that moment, Arveer noticed a dusty key hidden in between two old books in the case along the wall. They used the key to unlock the chest and open it revealing the treasure contained within. There was a suit of untarnished chain mail and a jar with a wax seal on top of it. There were also a silver statue of a swan, a golden statue of an eagle, two small portraits of beautiful eleven women and a set of pewter wine goblets with carvings of grape vines on them. Iados then cast a ritual detect magic spell and then scanned the area for magical auras. The jar and the chain mail did not radiate magic and the books along the walls were also mundane items. Tenzin approached the drow and using his knowledge of healing was able to ease his pain, but he knew that until the poison in his veins would have to be removed or run its course.
Tenzin decided to open the jar hoping that whatever was inside could be used to help the drow. He broke the seal and saw that inside was a creamy paste that smelled slightly of aloe. He decided to test it on himself and tasted a tiny amount. It tasted wholesome to him and so he decided to spread some of it over Shayne's wound. Within moments the poison was gone and the drow felt better. Tenzin then realized he had found a jar of Keoghtom's Ointment.
Iados took the chain mail and tried it on. it was very light and easy to wear and fit him as it it had been made for him by an armorer. It was then that the tiefling remembered that he had read about elven smiths that had invented such lightweight armor. More importantly, he would be able to cast his spells while wearing it without any difficulty.
They prepared to leave the chamber, but Iados took one last long look around the room to see if there were any books there that they might find useful. He found ten books that looked to be valuable and also his eyes were drawn to a leather-bound tome that was slightly open on one shelf. Looking at it more closely he discovered it was a diary. It was written in Sindrallen and as he glanced at it he was able to read a few passages.
The Fate Bound now turned their attention to the wooden cylinder they had found. The numbers were all on dials and could be turned to line up with the arrows on the sides. Druss wondered aloud as to how the Githyanki knew that where to find the object and why they had comet to get it. Shayne then suggested that they search the body of the Githyanki who had taken the cylinder and fallen into through the pit in the floor. So they tied a rope around the waist of the drow and lowered into the hole.
He saw a cavernous chamber below with rubble covering the floor. He quickly located the body of the fallen warrior and his friends began to lower him down. As they did so, Shayne felt an unseen force push him hard and he began to swing back-and-forth. He thought he heard a scream as well. but he could not see anything. The drow was then struck again and decided to cast dancing lights and illuminated the empty, ruined chamber. Tenzin felt a malicious presence coming from the cavern below and immediately told them to pull him up. They pulled him up quickly and he was visibly shaken. They decided to stay away from the chamber below.
They decided not to rest in the library and so they took what they could carry and retraced their steps leaving the building. They reunited with Leonardo and Gilligan and found a place nearby so that they could take a short rest to recuperate from their recent adventures.
Shayne told Tenzin that he was still a bit shaken from what had happened under the library. Some malignant, evil force has pushed him to get him to leave. He also thought that maybe it was a trapped spirit that could never leave that place. He just could not get it the thoughts out of his head.
As they rested they turned their attention to the wooden cylinder that they had taken from the vault in the library. Iadosi decided to look for clues in the diary he found, but he could not find any reference to the cylinder. The entries were clearly from a researcher who was working on a way to control weather.
Iados suggested that they start turning the numbers on the wooden cylinder to see what would happen. Just as he was doing so, Shayne got up and accidentally brushed against the tielfling and the first dial stopped on the letter two. As it did so, the number glowed green. Iados turned the second number to 6 and it turned red and the whole cylinder began to warm to the touch. The tiefling thought that if they choose too many of the wrong numbers that the cylinder would lock up.
They started to discuss what the numbers could mean so that they could move the dials to the correct positions. They could not see a way that the numbers could signify dates or a time measurement. Looking at the dials, they realized they could move any of them in any order and that the arrows on both sides did not move. @Shayne turned the second dial to the number one and it turns red. heating up the object a bit more. Shayne mused that perhaps the numbers on the cylinder was tied to the words on the golden door of the vault.
Looking more closely at the numbers on the cylinder, they could make out a faint trace of the color yellow on the numbers two and eight on the dials. Tenzin decided to turn the number eight down to a seven as he thought perhaps the yellow color meant that the numbers on the dials were off by only one digit. The seven then turned yellow and it was a bit brighter than the other numbers. The cylinder did not heat up after this. They then tuned the seven to a six which turned red. They then decided to move it to the number nine and it turned red. When this happened they noticed that the nine in the last position was slightly red.
Iados then suggested that he believed that a red number meant that it was not in the solution at all, green was the correct number in the correct position and that yellow meant that the number was used in that solution, but that it was in an incorrect position. Arveer then suggested that they turn each of the dials to an eight one at a time. As they did so, the eight turned yellow in each position until it turned green in the last position. They now had the first and the last position correctly filled. They did the same with the yellow number seven and found that the correct position was in position four. They then turned the second position to the number two and it turned green. They then turned the third position to all of the existing green numbers and discovered that none of them were correct. The object was heating up and they knew that they only had a few guesses left. They knew that six and nine were red and would not be in the puzzle solution.
Druss then suggested that they look at the cylinder out of the firelight so that they could detect any faint glows on the dials. As they did so they discovered that the numbers one, six and zero all glowed a faint red. They turned position three to the number three which turned yellow. Since there was only one other open position left they turned position five to the number three and it turned green! There was now only one location left and it was position three. They had to guess the last number which they knew had to be a four or a five. Arveer blurted out "Four!" and they moved the dial to four and it turned green. The solution was two, two, four, seven, three, eight.
As they spun the final dial into place there was a clicking noise on the device. Iados decided to open the cylinder and inside he found a small piece of cloth with something wrapped inside of it. He carefully unwrapped it to find a necklace on a fine golden chain. Iados put it in and stood stock-still appearing to look into the distance. The tiefling was seeing a vision. It was the same as the vision they saw when they all touched the monolith. He was looking down on a tower. The necklace he is wearing is being worn by an elf. The green runestones they had found were being placed in a glowing monolith. Here ends session 13.
A Good Night's Rest?
Leaving the place of trials, the Fate Bound decided to find a safe place to rest and recover from the ordeals they had faced in the elven ruins. Knowing that they would eventually have to reach the elven tower from their visions, they located it on the horizon and set out for it with Shayne scouting ahead. As they traveled, Arveer commented to Tenzin that he was impressed with his ability to solve the puzzles the elves had left behind. The cleric commented that he had a love for puzzles given to him by his mother who had given him riddles and puzzles to solve as a child. They also discussed the agility that Shayne had shown in the trials. Everyone also praised Iados for his cleverness and Arveer for his battle prowess. Arveer also told his friends that they may encounter someone from his past that he has longed to face for some time. The dragonborn assured his friends that he would no longer act rashly and that they would all be in this together.
The witty banter continued until they found a suitable place to stop for the night. They set up camp in the middle of the ruins of a circular building which provided a defensible position. They broke out the tents that Druss had packed and Arveer and Tenzin went off in search of firewood. As the dragonborn ripped a door off the hinges and began cutting it into kindling, he asked Tenzin about the incident that had happened at Morgrim Brightblade's tomb when the cleric had used the power of Morwen to kill one of their foes. Tenzin told him that he would never get over it because he felt that he had lost favor with the goddess. Even so he said he would do it again because he had saved his friends from death. Arveer told his friend that he understood the feeling as he had lost faith when his brother had died at the hands of the Green Blades and Tenzin told him that he would do whatever he could to unite the dragonborn with his sister. Arveer in turn told him he would try to help the cleric regain favor with the Goddess. With that they gathered the last of the wood and returned to camp.
Shayne and Iados talked as they put up the tents. The conversation turned to the tiefling's father. Iados confessed that he could not wait until he had the chance to kill his father and any of his siblings that might come looking for him. Shayne warned his friend that he should not let rage cloud his judgement and they both agreed that they would not do so if confronted with enemies from their past.
They started a fire, had something to eat and then went to their rest. Shayne was on the first watch. A fog had settled in around the campsite limiting his visibility beyond the surrounding ruins. The drow decided to hide in the shadows so that he could surprise anything that might approach them. As the evening wore on, the horses started to stamp and whinny becoming extremely agitated. Shayne thought that he heard a moaning sound coming from the mist, but he could not see anything. Staring intently into the mist surrounding the camp near the horses he thought he could see a large shadowy shape, but since he was not sure he decided to remain hidden.
He did not have to wait for long. A hideous creature burst through the fog and into the camp. It was almost ten feet tall and had greenish, sickly looking skin covered in sores. Shayne moved stealthily from his hiding place and stabbed at the vile creature, his sword biting viscously into his back. The monster roared in pain and slammed its fist into Shayne knocking him to the ground unconscious.
Arveer rose slowly from his sleep at the sound of battle and quickly surveyed the scene. He noticed that in addition to the large monster, smaller, emaciated human creatures were crawling into the camp through the mist. Iados jumped to his feet quickly and cast a shatter spell at the nearest two humanoids. Both creatures recoiled form the blow with one of them falling to the ground as the stone around him cracked from the force of the spell.
The heroes recoiled in horror as the giant monster charged into the midst of the camp and began to feast upon poor Bepop one of their trusty pack horses! One of the humanoid creatures snapped and clawed at Iados raking him in the chest and the tiefling fell to the ground.
Using his athletics feat, Arveer leapt up and slashed at the ghoul that had downed his friend. The blow almost cut the creature in half as it fell to the ground in a pool of sickly green blood. Tenzin emerged from his tent immediately realizing that they were facing undead ghouls and an ogre zombie. He cast healing word on Shayne staunching his wounds and getting him back into the fray. Iados was on the ground fighting for his life so the cleric case spare the dying to stop the bleeding.
Shayne renewed by the healing powers of Morwen silently rose to his feet and stabbed at the Ogre Zombie from behind taking it by surprise. The blow would have felled a normal creature, but the folds of fat in the zombies skin looked as it it would take many more blows to fell it. The rogue then quickly slipped away from the monster. Unfazed by the blow, the Ogre Zombie continued to feast upon poor Bepop eating the last of the horse meat leaving behind a bloody mess. The other horse, Rocksteady, finally broke free from his tether and fled, disappearing into the mist.
A ghoul leapt through the archway attacking Arveer slashing him with a claw across the arm. The dragonborn struck back at the fiend missing him with a wild swing. Tenzin turned and began rummaging through the tent to find one of his healing kit finding it at last buried beneath a blanket. The drow attacked the Ogre Zombie once again continuing to bloody the creature. The giant would not fall and turned quickly to swing his meaty fist at the rogue, who was able to dodge the blow. A ghoul attacked both Shayne and Arveer missing the dragonborn but biting into the flesh of the drow who resisted the paralyzing poison from the fiends fangs.
Arveer decided to down the Ogre Zombie slashing his arm and landing a blow, but the creature continued to advance. Tenzin rushed to Iados and used the healing kit to get the tiefling back into the fight. Shayne focused his attacks on the ghoul kicking him in the gut and stabbing his sword up through his chin into the creature's skull killing it instantly. Iados rose to his feet and moved next to the Ogre Zombie with outstretched hands casting burning hands upon him.
Surrounded and singed, the Ogre Zombie raised his fist and smashed at the dragonborn who blocked the blow with his shield. Arveer used the creature's momentum against him and slashed at him under the arm and into his chest, but still the creature would not fall. Tenzin moved next to Shayne and using his healer's kit he quickly patched up some of the drow's wounds. The drow immediately attacked the Ogre Zombie again with another stab and green blood gushed from the wound, with skin falling off of the creature. Iados cast a fire bolt at the zombie but only grazed him. Bloody and wounded, the Ogre Zombie punched the tiefling in the jaw, knocking him to the ground once again. Arveer had seen enough and using a nearby wall for leverage he lunged at the zombie slicing open it's gut releasing the horsemeat within and then with an almost casual blow he decapitated the zombie ending the conflict.
Arveer began searching for Rocksteady, but he could not find his tracks in the mist. He asked Tenzin to help him and together they could hear the horse clomping around in the distance. The dragonborn lit a torch and moved into the mist. After a few minutes he located the scared animal and was able to coax him back to the camp.
Belsday the 30th of Harvestide in the year 3025 AF
The Great Library
After completing their rest, the Fate Bound awoke to another gray morning in the Blighted Waste, luckily today there was no rain and the land was for once free of storms. Iados recharged his wand of magic missiles to full potency. As he did so, Arveer approached Druss to apologize for his rash actions during the elven trials. He promised not to react so rashly again. The human warrior accepted his apology and told him that he understood that sometimes the adrenaline gets pumping and it causes you to act rashly. Arveer told him that he was a great leader, but Druss told him that he was not interested in being their leader. After a pause, he told Arveer that he would be a great leader someday.
Leonardo informed his friends that he needed to enter a period of fasting and prayer and that he could not partake in their adventuring. Gilligan agreed to stay with the paladin to watch his back and also watch the cart with all of the party's loot.
The heroes made their way toward the tower and as they did so the elven ruins became more and more dense. At one time this must have been a truly grand city, but it was now fallen into decay. As they walked they pondered the riddle that they had uncovered in the place of trails. They knew that they would need to have the answer when they reached the tower.
Around midday they came to a large building in the center of their path. Most of the building was in ruins, but it must have been a truly impressive structure in it's day. Runes in old elvish were carved into the intact face of the portico of the building. Iados studied the runes with guidance from Tenzin and translated them as "The Great Library".
The heroes were not sure what to do. The library was directly in their path toward the tower on the horizon. Eventually, they decided that they wanted to investigate the building hoping to discover something useful within. Leonardo and Gilligan waited outside with the cart and horse as their friends climbed over the rubble into the library.
The building was mostly intact, but the roof had collapsed in many places causing extensive damage to the interior. Most of the books were waterlogged and destroyed. They picked their way carefully through the rubble moving deeper into the library. Shayne glimpsed an impressive, golden door through the debris about 100 feet ahead of them. The Fatebound would need to clear the debris to reach the door.
Druss returned to the cart outside and brought back some tools to help clear the way to the door. After about a half-hour of work, they had created a safe path through the fallen stones.
They had broken into a cavernous chamber. The floor was covered in cracked marble tiles. The golden door was about 100 feet away in the center of the far wall. Wary of possible traps, Iados examined the floor carefully and offered to lead the way across the room safely. He did not find any traps, but he did notice that sections of the floor were not sturdy and he warned his friends to tread carefully so they would not fall through. Druss suggested that they follow in the Tiefling's footsteps.
Iados walked gingerly forward into the chamber. After a few feet the floor began to give out in front of him, but because he had been prepared he was able to jump back to safety. He looked down into the hole and estimated that the floor of the chamber below was about 50-60 feet beneath him. Druss suggested that they tie a rope to Iados just on case he fell through one of the damaged floor tiles. They all agreed and tied a rope around the Tiefling. Arveer held the rope in the middle and Druss wrapped it around his own waist acting as an anchor.
Shayne decided to scan their surroundings as they tied off the rope. H heard the sound of dirt falling in the distance and even though he could not see anything, he told his friends that he believed that they were not alone in the chamber.
They proceeded in this way across most of the chamber when suddenly Iados stepped onto a rotting floor tile and fell through! Arveer and Druss quickly grabbed the rope and halted the Tiefling's fall. Shayne who was still on guard heard the sound of falling rock, but still he could see no one in the area.
They were now close enough to see the golden portal. Writing was etched its surface.
The Golden Door
Druss suggested that the stones near the door should be more sturdy and that they should make their way there first. Iados moved forward quickly and stepped through another rotting floor tile, but he was held up once again by the strength of his friends. The last row of floor tiles before reaching the front of the door were also rotted and Iados fell through one final time once again to be pulled up by his friends.
They stood now on solid ground in front of the door and considered the etched writing on the door. Tenzin was sure it was a puzzle or a riddle that once solved would allow the door to open. There were five unknown words near the lintel of the door connected by a geometric pattern. Iados studied the writing and determined that the four words to the right and left had an unknown meaning and he guessed they were written in an ancient elvish magical language. The words at the top and bottom seemed to be names. Tenzin and Iados spoke quietly together trying to figure out the meaning of the words on the door.
Druss noticed that Shayne was on edge so he asked him what was bothering him. The dark elf told his friend that he had a feeling that they were being watched. He was sure that he had heard something, but now all was quiet.
Arveer listened in as he friends debated. Not sure what to do to he spoke the name,"Thydos". As he did so the word "Ydos" on the door glowed briefly and then stopped. The heroes determined that "Ydos" must be the ancient elven word for the God Thydos. Thinking that they needed to say more names of the gods, the dragonborn spoke the name, "Lystra" but nothing happened. Arveer then spoke the following words, "Ydos, Ret" Ydos lit up, but after saying Ret a bolt of energy shoots from the door and hits the dragonborn searing his skin. They now knew that saying the words in the incorrect order would have consequences.
Druss deduced that the writing was so ancient that it might be better for Shayne and Iados should work together to translate the four words on either side of the diagram to try and discern their meaning. As they worked together, the tiefling realized that they were written in an obscure magical language and that one of the words, "Ret", means earth. Shayne suggested that the four words might mean the four elements of earth, air, fire and water.
Tenzin Lurong spoke the word "Aurus" with no effect. Iados tried "Ydos" and the word glowed red on the door then "Aurus" and after speaking the second word he was zapped with energy from the door. The cleric was certain that they needed to say the words in order and he recalled that when the dragonborn spoke earlier that the words "Ydos" and "Ret" both lit up red and then he was zapped with energy. Druss suggested that they must say all six words in order or they would get hit with the energy from the door.
Remembering what Shayne had said moments before, they all decided that the four words on either side must be the four elements. Now they only needed to figure out what each word stood for. Arveer and Iados also determined that "Sindra" must stand for the mother and the name of the elvish people from this region the Sindrallen.
Iados and Tenzin worked together and suggested the following order based on what was written on the door: the destroyer, then fire, then air, then water, then earth and then Sindra the mother. The heroes all agreed and Arveer stepped forward as he wanted to take the damage from the door if the words were incorrect. He then said quickly, "Ydos, Gni, Aru, Qua, Ret, Sindra". The first five words glowed red and then the last word, Sindra, glowed green as the door zapped the dragonborn charring his armor and skin badly. They noticed that the electrical rays come out of the words that glowed red.
Tenzin knew that the answer was hidden in the cryptic text that was written on the door and he stared at the words intently trying to work out the correct order. Iados spoke the word "Ret" and it turned red and zapped him with electrical energy. Shayne realized that he might be able to dodge the electrical bolts emanating form the door when the incorrect words were spoken so he asked Druss to watch their backs and stepped forward to say the words. The warrior interrupted him and told them he was sure that something was lurking in the darkness of the chamber, he just could not tell exactly what or where it was.
The cleric believed that he had finally figured out the correct order and he gave it to the dark elf who spoke the words, "Gni, Aru, Qua, Ret, Ydos, Sindra." All six words glowed a magnificent green and the golden door began to glow! Tenzin had figured it out and his friends praised him for his cleverness. The door then slowly creaked open revealing a dark vault beyond.
Before they could react, the creatures that had been stalking them finally broke from cover. Druss shouted a warning and they all turned to see that the Githyanki were attacking them.
Githyanki Warrior
The githyanki then blinked briefly from sight and abruptly appeared in front of the heroes using their misty step ability to close the distance quickly. The nauseated warrior swung wildly at Druss missing him with both attacks. Two of the warriors attacked Iados and slashed the tiefling with three vicious attacks from their great swords.
Shayne stepped forward toward one of the warrior attacking Iados and stabbed him in the back with a sneak attack. Druss raised his greatsword preparing for a mighty blow, but he overextended himself which allowed the nearest enemy to slash him in the chest first. The hero then used his action surge and struck back at his adversary, but the swing missed and his sword clanged on the stone floor. Iados motioned to Arveer who strode forward to defend his friend using his maneuvering attack to move into position while also allowing the Tiefling to slide behind him and move away from his attackers. At the same time the Dragonborn landed a blow on the githyanki and then used his a hero point to land another attack. Iados responded by casting a sculpted shout spell at the two githyanki blasting the one wounded by his friend into small pieces and damaging the other. Tenzin called upon the power of Morwen to bless Arveer, Shayne and Druss.
Two githyanki still menaced Druss and they lashed out at him with four greatsword attacks. Three blows hit with one being a critical that slashed him across the chest. The seasoned fighter stood firm absorbing the blows as his attackers moved to surround him. Arveer tried to riposte an attack, but failed. Shayne used his quickness to safely move away from his attacker toward one of the foes around Druss hitting him with a sneak attack in the kidney. Druss took the opportunity to compose himself and attack, but his opponent dodged out of the way. Arveer attempted to trip his foe, but the enemy was too quick and leapt behind him. The dragonborn then spun around and slashed him across the legs drawing blood. Decided to throw caution to the wind, Arveer called upon his inner reserved of strength sticking him two more times. Iados then blasted the githyanki with a fire bolt nearly killing him.
Tenzin was standing in the doorway and could not help but think about what he had done the last time he had faced these strange, yellow-skinned warriors. It was not a pleasant memory. He took a deep breath and raising his hand in the air, he tried to focus energy from the marks on his skin and spoke the following words in an strong, even voice, "The last time we faced one of you, I sucked the life right out of you. I would not want to harm you again. Please stop hurting my friends and leave while you can." The githyanki appeared not to heed his words and renewed their attacks.
The githyanki emerged running from the room, holding a tube in his hand. He passed by Iados who slammed him with his staff across the back just as he used misty step to move thirty feet away. He then continued to flee not realizing that the floor was trapped. The githyanki trigged a pit and stumbled forward screaming as he fell to his death. The tube he was carrying slipped from his hand and now was teetering on the edge of the pit.
Druss was attacked and missed twice by the githyanki in front of him. Shayne tried to move quickly to reach a new foe, but lost his footing slipping on the blood spraying from the body of the warrior he had slashed across the throat ad he fell to the floor prone. Druss landed a massive blow on his enemy almost disemboweling him. Arveer noticed the cylinder teetering on the edge of the pit and so he knew he had to dispatch his foe quickly. Feinting at tripping maneuver he forced the githyanki off balance and then slashed the creatures legs out from under him killing him instantly.
Iados tied a rope around his waist and threw it to Tenzin before sprinted toward the pit getting close enough to see what the cylinder looked like. It was wooden and had a series of six dials on it with numbers. Shayne picked himself up and moved across the floor quickly, but carefully trying not to trigger any pits. Druss decided to help the cleric hold onto the rope. Arveer took in the scene and joined the cleric and fighter holding the rope. Iados reached the pit and bent down to picking up the wooden cylinder.
Mysterious Wooden Cylinder
Project code cryptex with mazebox
Shayne bent down and looked over the lock and the chest carefully trying to spot any traps. He did not detect anything dangerous and so took out his tools preparing to pick the lock. Druss looked around the room to see if he could find any writing or paintings there, but he found nothing of interest. Iados moved toward the stone pedestal in the center of the chamber. Shayne found that the lock was very difficult to pick. As he manipulated the mechanism with his tools, he failed to notice a small needle coated with poison and it jabbed him in his index finger. The drow pulled his hand away and fell back onto the floor, damaged and poisoned.
At that moment, Arveer noticed a dusty key hidden in between two old books in the case along the wall. They used the key to unlock the chest and open it revealing the treasure contained within. There was a suit of untarnished chain mail and a jar with a wax seal on top of it. There were also a silver statue of a swan, a golden statue of an eagle, two small portraits of beautiful eleven women and a set of pewter wine goblets with carvings of grape vines on them. Iados then cast a ritual detect magic spell and then scanned the area for magical auras. The jar and the chain mail did not radiate magic and the books along the walls were also mundane items. Tenzin approached the drow and using his knowledge of healing was able to ease his pain, but he knew that until the poison in his veins would have to be removed or run its course.
Tenzin decided to open the jar hoping that whatever was inside could be used to help the drow. He broke the seal and saw that inside was a creamy paste that smelled slightly of aloe. He decided to test it on himself and tasted a tiny amount. It tasted wholesome to him and so he decided to spread some of it over Shayne's wound. Within moments the poison was gone and the drow felt better. Tenzin then realized he had found a jar of Keoghtom's Ointment.
Iados took the chain mail and tried it on. it was very light and easy to wear and fit him as it it had been made for him by an armorer. It was then that the tiefling remembered that he had read about elven smiths that had invented such lightweight armor. More importantly, he would be able to cast his spells while wearing it without any difficulty.
They prepared to leave the chamber, but Iados took one last long look around the room to see if there were any books there that they might find useful. He found ten books that looked to be valuable and also his eyes were drawn to a leather-bound tome that was slightly open on one shelf. Looking at it more closely he discovered it was a diary. It was written in Sindrallen and as he glanced at it he was able to read a few passages.
We can do it! All of our research and hard work has finally paid off. At long-last we can put an end to the tempests and storms and give our people peace. Some argue that we should just use Control Weather spells, but that is not enough! Why control the weather for only eight hours when we can do so at will? No more storms. No more tornadoes. No lightning clouds or floods. We will be the masters of nature!
I don't care what the damn clerics of Aurus say! She has been in ascendance since the cataclysm. It is time for us to take charge. No more deaths. No more suffering.
The Stormlords have come. We have angered the gods. Now we must try to save what we can of our civilization. We will send what we can as far from them as we can. Someday we will rise again!The heroes listened as Iados read the passages. They knew that theStormlords were associated with Aurus, but they were not sure if they were a cult or a sect and if even if they still existed.
The Fate Bound now turned their attention to the wooden cylinder they had found. The numbers were all on dials and could be turned to line up with the arrows on the sides. Druss wondered aloud as to how the Githyanki knew that where to find the object and why they had comet to get it. Shayne then suggested that they search the body of the Githyanki who had taken the cylinder and fallen into through the pit in the floor. So they tied a rope around the waist of the drow and lowered into the hole.
He saw a cavernous chamber below with rubble covering the floor. He quickly located the body of the fallen warrior and his friends began to lower him down. As they did so, Shayne felt an unseen force push him hard and he began to swing back-and-forth. He thought he heard a scream as well. but he could not see anything. The drow was then struck again and decided to cast dancing lights and illuminated the empty, ruined chamber. Tenzin felt a malicious presence coming from the cavern below and immediately told them to pull him up. They pulled him up quickly and he was visibly shaken. They decided to stay away from the chamber below.
They decided not to rest in the library and so they took what they could carry and retraced their steps leaving the building. They reunited with Leonardo and Gilligan and found a place nearby so that they could take a short rest to recuperate from their recent adventures.
Shayne told Tenzin that he was still a bit shaken from what had happened under the library. Some malignant, evil force has pushed him to get him to leave. He also thought that maybe it was a trapped spirit that could never leave that place. He just could not get it the thoughts out of his head.
As they rested they turned their attention to the wooden cylinder that they had taken from the vault in the library. Iadosi decided to look for clues in the diary he found, but he could not find any reference to the cylinder. The entries were clearly from a researcher who was working on a way to control weather.
Iados suggested that they start turning the numbers on the wooden cylinder to see what would happen. Just as he was doing so, Shayne got up and accidentally brushed against the tielfling and the first dial stopped on the letter two. As it did so, the number glowed green. Iados turned the second number to 6 and it turned red and the whole cylinder began to warm to the touch. The tiefling thought that if they choose too many of the wrong numbers that the cylinder would lock up.
They started to discuss what the numbers could mean so that they could move the dials to the correct positions. They could not see a way that the numbers could signify dates or a time measurement. Looking at the dials, they realized they could move any of them in any order and that the arrows on both sides did not move. @Shayne turned the second dial to the number one and it turns red. heating up the object a bit more. Shayne mused that perhaps the numbers on the cylinder was tied to the words on the golden door of the vault.
Looking more closely at the numbers on the cylinder, they could make out a faint trace of the color yellow on the numbers two and eight on the dials. Tenzin decided to turn the number eight down to a seven as he thought perhaps the yellow color meant that the numbers on the dials were off by only one digit. The seven then turned yellow and it was a bit brighter than the other numbers. The cylinder did not heat up after this. They then tuned the seven to a six which turned red. They then decided to move it to the number nine and it turned red. When this happened they noticed that the nine in the last position was slightly red.
Iados then suggested that he believed that a red number meant that it was not in the solution at all, green was the correct number in the correct position and that yellow meant that the number was used in that solution, but that it was in an incorrect position. Arveer then suggested that they turn each of the dials to an eight one at a time. As they did so, the eight turned yellow in each position until it turned green in the last position. They now had the first and the last position correctly filled. They did the same with the yellow number seven and found that the correct position was in position four. They then turned the second position to the number two and it turned green. They then turned the third position to all of the existing green numbers and discovered that none of them were correct. The object was heating up and they knew that they only had a few guesses left. They knew that six and nine were red and would not be in the puzzle solution.
Druss then suggested that they look at the cylinder out of the firelight so that they could detect any faint glows on the dials. As they did so they discovered that the numbers one, six and zero all glowed a faint red. They turned position three to the number three which turned yellow. Since there was only one other open position left they turned position five to the number three and it turned green! There was now only one location left and it was position three. They had to guess the last number which they knew had to be a four or a five. Arveer blurted out "Four!" and they moved the dial to four and it turned green. The solution was two, two, four, seven, three, eight.
As they spun the final dial into place there was a clicking noise on the device. Iados decided to open the cylinder and inside he found a small piece of cloth with something wrapped inside of it. He carefully unwrapped it to find a necklace on a fine golden chain. Iados put it in and stood stock-still appearing to look into the distance. The tiefling was seeing a vision. It was the same as the vision they saw when they all touched the monolith. He was looking down on a tower. The necklace he is wearing is being worn by an elf. The green runestones they had found were being placed in a glowing monolith. Here ends session 13.
Rewards Granted
For killing the Ogre Zombie and Ghouls Iados, Arveer, Tenzin and Shayne received 220 XP
For solving the puzzle of the golden door Arveer, Shayne, Druss and Iados received 100 XP and Tenzin received 150 XP.
For defeating the Githyanki Arveer, Tenzin, Shayne, Druss and Iados received 560 XP.
For solving the puzzle of the wooden elven cylinder, Arveer, Tenzin, Druss and Shayne received 50 XP and Iados received 100 XP.
Leonardo Gallois
Level 6
Human
Lawful good Paladin
(Folk Hero)
(Folk Hero)
61 / 61 HP
Druss the Destroyer
Level 1
human
lawfull good Fighter
(Soldier)
(Soldier)
10 / 12 HP
Gilligan Trottle
Level 6
Halfling
Neutral Bard
(Entertainer)
(Entertainer)
42 / 42 HP
Tenzin Lurong
Level 6/1
Human
lawful Good Cleric/sorcerer
(Acolyte )
(Acolyte )
42 / 42 HP
Iados Mahari
Level 6
Tiefling
Chaotic Good Wizard
(Sage)
(Sage)
28 / 38 HP
Arveer Bloodbane
Level 6
Dragonborn
Lawful Good Fighter
(Folk Hero)
(Folk Hero)
2 / 61 HP
Shayne Karth
Level 6
Drow
Chaotic Good Rouge
(Criminal)
(Criminal)
46 / 47 HP
Report Date
06 Jul 2022
Primary Location
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