Session 33: Tharizdun Ruin Wrap-up

General Summary

The party had found their way back to the room where the late Gillando was staying in, moved his body out and hunkered down for a short rest. A quick hour later, they got on their feet and moved out to explore the rest of the ruins.
They made their way back to the room with the secret door, but decided against the watery cavern to explore first. This was after Atreena tested the water for any potential dangers by throwing a rock at it.
They turned to the southern stairs in the room and heading down. They quickly found a small crypt where 7 roughly evenly spaced sarcophagi lay in alcoves. Half were missing their lids. Around a corner stood an iron door with a lock on it. Atreena took one look, broke out her tools and easily dismantled it. Pooka then had Akoop open the door. A larger sarcophagus lay just inside.
The party decided to go ahead and open it, so Pooka gave the lid a good shove and opened it wide. Inside lay a still rotting corpse in fine, but rotting, clothing. The body started to move. Then another 2 more closed sarcophagi kicked off their lids, and the undead bodies rose from their slumber.
The ghoul from the locked room got hit and then let out a screech that scared the bejeezus out of Pooka, Brother Les and Eglantina. Because Atreena was inside one of the alcoves, she couldn't see the frightening eyes and the screech merely turned her cold but didn't scare her.
At first the party was concerned by these undead. While the party dished out series damage, including Brother Les' cherub spirit guardians, the ghouls themselves scratched and bitch with terrible effectiveness. Brother Les even contracted a bad disease from one of the bites. But between Atreena's rapier, Pooka and the Lash, Eglantina's shadow blade (which she shoved hard through the torso of one of the ghouls to wicked effect), and Brother Les' spirits, the ghouls were defeated and the bodies destroyed.
Inside the locked away coffin, they found a grey crystalline ring with a skull on it. It radiated magic after Eglantina gazed at it.
Despite winning the viscous battle, they were drained. They decided to take shelter in the crypt area, around the corner, and take a rest. Pooka took the first watch while the rest slept, and Atreena rested.
During those first couple hours, Pooka, using Akoop as a guadian, heard evil goat bleating coming from one of the halls ahead. He crept back and kept an eye out. He watched as three of the goat headed demons bounded into the room outside the crypt, looked around, then left a different direction. Eventually the demons couldn't be heard anymore.
After a swap of watch with Atreena and a good rest for everyone else, they awoke and continued exploring the ruins. They back tracked to the well and then continued upwards some narrow nearby stairs. They led to a door. Checking for light or movement through a crack in the door, they could see two shapes moving.
They readied themselves, then opened the door. Inside were two of the larger demons, the Hezrou, inside smashing pottery. They charged. Immediately, Brother Les banished one of them and the party cut down the other. Considering that the demons were originally from another plane of existence, the Hezrou that was banished was sent back to hell, maybe to plot to return and exact revenge? Who knows with these things.
They checked the pots and found a small vial with yellow liquid with black streaks that moved on their own. They pocketed it.
They found that this path led back to the entrance and then returned to the secret door that led to the watery cavern. Brother Les took 10 minutes to cast Water Walk, then the party walked out over the water and through the cavern. It led them north a bit until they found an entrance to a dry area. They stepped over to it and entered. That led them through a couple larger areas until a man-made room was found with another sarcophagi and an iron pot.
They examined the iron pot but it was just that: an iron pot. They eventually decided to open the coffin. Once they did so, two arcs of light sprung from the iron pot, arced through the air to opposite sides of the room, then formed into large humanoid-like beings made of lightning. They attacked.
The party quickly discovered their non-magical weapons, like Atreena's rapier or Brother Les' mace, were completely ineffective. They resorted to all magical attacks. Using Eglantina's eldritch blasts, Atreena's magical arrows, Pooka and the Lash and Brother Les' extra radiant damage from his mace, they quickly brought down the lightning golems.
They checked this coffin and found a pair of silver and amber eye glasses clutched in the hands of a finely dressed cultist of Tharizdun corpse. Atreena tried looking through them and found she could see aura's of magic around known magical things. She would have to experiment later.
Last thing they wanted to do in the ruins was to check out the crushed body at the entrance of the ruins. It still lay there at the feet of the swirling Tharizdun idol. Considering many options, eventually Brother Les attempted a crazy solution.
He called upon his connection with Pelor, the god of the sun, to help him remove the magic that brought the vile, evil idol to be animated and violent. As he did so, he was unsure if he had that powerful of a connection with his god. But then, as the day was in full affect above the entrance that was 150 below the ground level, a shining, almost blinding pillar of light fell down upon the swirling black idol of death and tore the terrible magics from it. The black inkyness disappeared and the chains fell to the ground.
He went over and found a necklace on the corpse. It was a generic silver chain, but it had a large ruby gem pendant with a black tear drop like shape etched into it. It was not magical.
With the ruins cleared and the goat headed demons nowhere to be found, the party decided they had done their good deed by destroying what was probably summoning demons from hell and causing the giants to leaving their nearby caves. They looked forward to returning to Tussoa, and Port Damali beyond it.
What lies in store for them in Port Damali? Will they check in with Tathar Enxysis, the contact of the Myriad, to let them know about the Dark Highway? Will they find Immal Haqwen at the Opulent Crab for their reward?

Report Date

14 Sep 2021