Session 18
General Summary
As the traps have felt more pronounced and deadly, you all had the strong feeling that you were nearing the end of this long and dark trek through the crumbling halls of Ma’ar’s lost stronghold. As you descended through a narrow stairway, you found a room with four central pillars, topped with the roaring figures of dragons surrounding a intricate circular design in the floor.
On the other three sides of the room, you could see glimpses of stairs leading upwards, but no immediate exit was in evidence. On the far wall across from where you entered, a mural and writing in an ancient script were visible. However, before much investigation could be done, Bjorn stepped too close to one of the dragon pillars, activating the ancient mechanisms and an acidic, poison gas began pouring into the room from the figures. Bjorn quickly stuffed his bedroll into the gaping mouth of one, but it only slowed, not stopped, the fumes.
Whisper, recognizing the script as a form of ancient elvish, but a dialect variant, struggled to translate the writing with the pressure of the filling chamber around him. The Companions, after quickly conferring amongst themselves, offered a solution that, while taxing to them, would enable the full party to assist in the translation. Utilizing their divine gifts, the Companions were able to delve into Whisper’s mind and transfer the knowledge of ancient elvish to the rest of the party.
As the various members scrambled to the higher stairs, they found rooms with rotor gauges but no clear instructions on what pattern they must be in to hopefully stop the flooding room. Combining efforts, the group was finally able to translate the writing on the wall and identify the clues needed for the pattern of rotor gauges and successfully cut off the flow of gas. After waiting a bit for the air to clear, everyone descended towards the central area of the room where, once stepped on, the circular design was revealed to be a lowering platform.
Everyone speedily jumped on as the platform began lowering into the darkness. As the decent continued, murals decorating the walls were revealed of various beasts and monsters, a handsome dark-haired mage figure as a central focus in many of the images. Scenes of battle and war between some familiar creatures and some not so familiar filled the walls until the bottom was reached and a final mural of marching figures led off into a tunnel.
Report Date
17 Dec 2022
Primary Location