Session 31: Demons and Strangers

General Summary

The party found themselves standing in the logging camp looking to the northwest, towards where they believed the giants were coming from. They gathered their things, and themselves, and headed off that path.
Atreena taking the lead, the party traveled for the rest of the day; the elevation rose in the forest as they headed towards the mountains. The took a rest along the way, but the next day the party started the leave the forest into the more barren, rocky and brushy mountain terrain.
Atreena took a look around and saw to the not distance south an actual unnatural path heading up the mountain. The party moved to that path and continued the climb.
After a few hours, along a straight path, they saw a long figure coming down the mountain on the same path. Everyone but Brother Les and Pooka quickly hid in the rocks, while those two waited on the path.
The figure eventually noticed them because they took a look behind them then started to run a desperate run to the party. When he arrived, the man, in traveling robes, claimed he was really happy to see them and that he needed their help. Once it was clear that he wasn't an immediate threat, Eglantina and Zanthros came out of hiding, but Atreena stayed hiding for now.
The party learned that his name was Gillando Lorafir, a human researcher who found some ruins that he believes were a temple to the betrayer god Tharizdun. He was doing some research on the location when creatures started showing up and he barely made it out alive. But, he left valuable research in his pack there and needs it back. The party believing that the giants leaving and this monster threat might be related, agreed to help him. The party and Gillando started again up the mountain path...with Atreena following behind in the shadows.
The party found a flat area that night and took a rest. They invited Gillando into the tiny hut but Atreena enjoyed a cold night outside without a fire.
The next morning, before Gillando woke up, Brother Les cast a Zone of Truth on the area. When Gillando woke up, he immediately knew what was casted and started to question what they were doing. Brother Les convinced him that everyone needed to know who everyone was and let some truths out. So, Brother Les cast Zone of Truth again and Gillando accepted the spell. The party didn't anything else of importance other than what he believed the temple was to, and why he was there. Atreena revealed herself during this conversation as she wanted to know what was being said.
A couple hours after noon, the party approached the area where the temple was. Gillando warned them that it was coming. The party crested the last rise on the path and saw a large clearing in a bowl in the mountainside. From a distance, they could see several broken and dead trees, lots of rocks, and the path lead through it all to a tower next to a pit. Between them and the tower/pit were several goat headed bipedal creatures and other smaller bluish humanoids. Laying on the ground were 5 bodies spread out.
The party considered sneaking around them all but there really wasn't a lot of cover. So, Brother Les cast Protection from Good and Evil on Pooka and sent him in to kill. And kill they all did.
Pooka rushed forward towards them but Atreena got the drop first. She sprinted ahead towards a tree in the way, jumped up onto a branch and called upon the Raven Queen to weaken her enemies.
They responded by bouncing forward like kangaroo goats, most surrounding Pooka immediately, but a couple jumped up into branches next to Atreena, one trying to swipe at her with its spiked tail.
Zanthros quickly found out these things were not as flammable as his usual victims when a fireball washed over Pooka but barely singed the goat head and blue squatters. Eglantina threw her standard but powerful fey blasts to good effect. Brother Les called on Pelor's spiritual weapon and it bashed into the goat heads left and right. Pooka lashed out violently.
The goat heads, with their terrible stench that physically hurt everyone on occasion, chased Atreena from the tree and she danced around the demonic creatures, stabbing here and there, occasionally passing throwing her necrotic eneergy.
Zanthros resorted to some magic missiles and occasional fire bolts, saving his energy for later.
Brother Les, with his god at his side, attempted to bash his enemies with his mace, but they usually proved too fast for him. But his spiritual weapon took its toll on them.
Eglantina kept her distance and blasted away, hurting them here and there.
Pooka ripped throats and goat head flesh with the lash.
In short order, the goat heads and blue creatures lay dead. The party looked over the 5 dead humanoids and found they were male and female, 2 dwarfs, 2 humans and a tiefling. All had non-magical gear and nothing valuable on them.
The party approached the tower. It stood roughly 5 stories high. It was wider at the base floor and the top floor than the others. There were noticeable holes in the walls in the third floor and fifth. It looked old.
The party took a quick look at the pit and saw that it was about 100 ft in diameter and had a stair case that snaked down along the side. It went into the darkness, farther than Eglantina's magically sighted eyes could see (beyond 120ft). They decided to check out the tower first.
While the rest of the party went in the front entrance (the doors were missing), Atreena used her claws to climb up to the 3rd floor. She stopped just short of the large hole and listened. Aside from the breeze through the bowl, her exceptional hearing heard the slight rustle of what sounded like metal or chain being moved across rock. She risked a very slight peak over the edge. Her eyes were met with a subtley frightening sight: the room was mostly barren with the exception of a table in the far corner, a pair of pews that were facing the opposite corner, and in that corner hovering over a flat stone circular altar was pure darkness, swirling and whispy. And in that darkness were rusty chains of all shapes and sizes. And it all moved around and around slowly.
Atreena smartly climbed back down slowly.
While she did that, the rest of the party moved into the first floor. Here was some old stables, boxes and crates of common items like buckets, brooms, cups and other such items. Stairs circled upwards on the opposite side of the floor. The party went up.
This led to a tight 5 foot wide corridor that turned at the corner. Down that corner was a door going further into the tower and more stairs heading upwards. Pooka and Brother Les cornered the door then opened it.
Inside was what could have been an old prison or torture room. Chains hung from walls, dark red stains spread over the stone flooring, and two more goat head creatures stood over the body of a silver dragonborn on the ground. The creatures immediately turned and attacked.
One demon quickly rushed into the hallway, blocking a lot of movement. Pooka moved his echo into the room then swapped places with his possible outcome, then whipped at the one demon still inside. Meanwhile, Brother Les bashed with his mace and Eglantina sliced with her shadow blade. But the majority damage during the fight was Zanthros who rushed past them, spoke words of power, placed his hand on the goat heads face and fried it with electricity. And again against the other.
All this battle, despite the extremely noxious stench the demons had that physically hurt the party.
The demons lay dead and the party barely hurt more. The Brother Les went to search the body of the dragonborn to find that it was still alive. She turned over and looked up at him...
What does she say and who is she? What lies at the top of the tower? And what can be found at the bottom of the pit? And where is Gallindo?

Report Date

23 Jun 2021