(Trying to catch up on all the session write ups that I’ve missed out so these will be shorter and since they happened weeks or months ago I might mix up some of the minor details. But you’ll get the general idea of what happened.) Our heroes took a moment to harvest the Bone Naga’s fangs for Finklestine and then moved on to explore the rest of this strange underground household. They explored a great many rooms, which were mostly empty but seemed as if everything had been packed away rather than looted, a large feasting hall with hidden passages behind the tapestries leading into a kitchen, the kitchen itself had a cellar that had an icy enchantment upon it with a vast amount of frozen meat hanging up. A very full wine cellar, which would mostly be forgotten about. Part of the kitchen area had caved in relatively recently and the party surmised that the collapsed tunnel would have likely lead to this area. So, they moved on from the feast hall and kitchen area onto the Library / Study portion of this Sanctum, for they were sure now that they had found the Sapphire Sanctum of Garak the Destroyer. This was the second Sanctum that they have come across with one other, The Ruby Sanctum having been discovered and explored a few years prior by members of The Hidden Heart a guild of explorers and adventures which Sarin is a member. The Library was the first place the party found signs of life, foot prints left in the dust and a pile of books left on the central table along with a strange stone disk with glowing runes carved upon it. The disk when used summoned forth a translucent illusion showing none other than the famed Garak the Destroyer, or at least as far as anyone could tell from paintings and statues they had seen, he spoke as if leaving a message for Duke Ironheart though likely to be for the current duke’s ancestor. The message apologised for modifying parts of the duke’s memory as well as building a tunnel leading directly to the duke’s bedchamber. Garak referred to the other members of the Tarsonis Ten and how they refused to act now that the Thousand Eye War was over so it fell to Garak to do what needed to be done, he was leaving and may never return but had left Duke Ironheart a window into the danger that the world faced as well as a powerful artefact in the form of an Enchanted Greater Devil’s Horn that could close a small tear in reality. The library contained many books that Mandark wanted to examine at greater length but that could be left for later, they also discovered a hidden side room used for quiet study that had a number of very complex arcane tomes about dimensions and planer travel. Also, a magical tome that imparted great wisdom to the reader and a few potions that enhanced both intellect and wisdom or removed exhaustion for a short time. Moving on from the Library they came across a room with a large circle of teleportation with four doors, the door labelled “Guest Quarters” that just led to a few smaller teleportation circles though no one had the capacity to utilise. The door labelled “Servants Quarters” just led to several small, clean and abandoned rooms that had nothing of interest apart from the five barrels at the end of the corridor, filled with small (humanoid children at best guess) skulls. The last two doors had warnings about trespassing and their signs read “Armoury” and “Guard Station”, Sarin could find no trap on the doors so Amon opened the door to the armoury only to vanish. The armoury was not fully stocked but there were some magical items found including some magical Full Plate, A belt of Ogre’s toughness, a magical great sword (and maybe something else but I can’t recall if they got it now or later) the party happily looted the armoury without any apparent concern for Amon’s safety or wellbeing. |
The Guard Station door seemed safe and so they entered to find Amon floating in one of three large glass tanks filled with a dark liquid. Very much like the tanks found in the “Live Storage” room within the Obsidian Sanctum a few months before. Amon seemed to be alive but asleep floating in the tank which gave of a strange necrotic magical field according to Mandark. So, they set about searching the room for a way to safely free Amon.
Hurn found a glyph on the wall next to a desk and pressed his hand against it before it could be examined by someone trained in the Arcane Arts. The glyph summoned forth a large clay golem in the middle of the room which was dispatched by a few well-placed Shatter spells by Tom’O’Thunders and a few mighty swings by Sur Albert the battle was made more confusing by the fog cloud that Sarin summoned but the golem seemed just as effected as the rest of the party. They did not free Amon until after the golem had been smashed to small halfling sized pieces and finding little of value in the room apart from their companion they retraced their steps back to the garden that they started the session in.
Moving onward they took the eastward door down a long corridor and managed not to fall through an illusionary floor, under which there was a very long drop. Oddly there was also a halfling clinging to a quarterstaff wedged about 30ft down the pit trap, he seemed alive but exhausted and the party quickly rescued him. This halfling introduced himself as Malachi Eighth, from the blood of THE Marvellous Malachi HIMSELF!
Malachi was a mercenary hired in Narn, a city in the north west of the Drazi lands, and he was part of the adventuring group sent into the mines after the priests of Grabthar had failed to return. After a little prodding, the party also found out that he had been hired to come to the mines weeks before there was any trouble. But the group he was working with, strangers to him before being recruited as an arcane assistant, were not only cruel but stupid. The party trap seeker died in the first tunnel (The exploded corpse down the tunnel the party didn’t venture) and another member of his party died while trying to smash down a doorway (Using the magical ring of siege craft that Tom’O’Thunders gained by lubricating the corpse in an attempt to slip the ring off its finger easier) and then the Half-Orc leader decided that Malachi should take the lead in finding future traps just because he was a halfling. On finding the illusion covering the pit trap the Half-Orc leader found it amusing to kick Malachi into it, which he was lucky enough to get wedged in, this was about two days earlier.
Moving up the corridor they came to a brass and wooden door with strange lumps and markings all over it, Sarin could find no traps so once again Amon opened only for a massive thunderous wave to knock him flying down the sloped corridor… right into the pit dropping him 100ft. (I honestly thought that the fall would kill him but failed the knock back save, a save to slow or stop his slide and a save to catch himself. But he lived although highly wounded)
Once Amon had been retrieved the passed the strange brass door into a large workshop, this seemed to be focused on making golems as the half build segments of several different golems were littered around. Amon and Sarin explored ahead when they heard a noise. They quickly summoned the rest of the party as they had come across a trashed room with a tear in the fabric of reality. On one side of it, a priest of Grabthar looking half-starved holding a huge demonic runic horn that was shooting a beam of red and black light at the tear. Withered bodies of other priests lay littered around the ground seemingly drained of all life and the priest called out pleading in desperation for aid! Someone must take the horn and hold back the rift. Sur Albert wasting no time strode forth and grasped the demonic artefact and gasped as he felt the life being drained from his body.
(And that is where we ended the session. With Sur Albert on the cusp of death, slightly rushed the drama at the end but we were running low on time and since we were close I wanted to end with them finding the priest. I had a feeling that Sur Albert would rush forward and we shall wait and see if he lives)
Hurn found a glyph on the wall next to a desk and pressed his hand against it before it could be examined by someone trained in the Arcane Arts. The glyph summoned forth a large clay golem in the middle of the room which was dispatched by a few well-placed Shatter spells by Tom’O’Thunders and a few mighty swings by Sur Albert the battle was made more confusing by the fog cloud that Sarin summoned but the golem seemed just as effected as the rest of the party. They did not free Amon until after the golem had been smashed to small halfling sized pieces and finding little of value in the room apart from their companion they retraced their steps back to the garden that they started the session in.
Moving onward they took the eastward door down a long corridor and managed not to fall through an illusionary floor, under which there was a very long drop. Oddly there was also a halfling clinging to a quarterstaff wedged about 30ft down the pit trap, he seemed alive but exhausted and the party quickly rescued him. This halfling introduced himself as Malachi Eighth, from the blood of THE Marvellous Malachi HIMSELF!
Malachi was a mercenary hired in Narn, a city in the north west of the Drazi lands, and he was part of the adventuring group sent into the mines after the priests of Grabthar had failed to return. After a little prodding, the party also found out that he had been hired to come to the mines weeks before there was any trouble. But the group he was working with, strangers to him before being recruited as an arcane assistant, were not only cruel but stupid. The party trap seeker died in the first tunnel (The exploded corpse down the tunnel the party didn’t venture) and another member of his party died while trying to smash down a doorway (Using the magical ring of siege craft that Tom’O’Thunders gained by lubricating the corpse in an attempt to slip the ring off its finger easier) and then the Half-Orc leader decided that Malachi should take the lead in finding future traps just because he was a halfling. On finding the illusion covering the pit trap the Half-Orc leader found it amusing to kick Malachi into it, which he was lucky enough to get wedged in, this was about two days earlier.
Moving up the corridor they came to a brass and wooden door with strange lumps and markings all over it, Sarin could find no traps so once again Amon opened only for a massive thunderous wave to knock him flying down the sloped corridor… right into the pit dropping him 100ft. (I honestly thought that the fall would kill him but failed the knock back save, a save to slow or stop his slide and a save to catch himself. But he lived although highly wounded)
Once Amon had been retrieved the passed the strange brass door into a large workshop, this seemed to be focused on making golems as the half build segments of several different golems were littered around. Amon and Sarin explored ahead when they heard a noise. They quickly summoned the rest of the party as they had come across a trashed room with a tear in the fabric of reality. On one side of it, a priest of Grabthar looking half-starved holding a huge demonic runic horn that was shooting a beam of red and black light at the tear. Withered bodies of other priests lay littered around the ground seemingly drained of all life and the priest called out pleading in desperation for aid! Someone must take the horn and hold back the rift. Sur Albert wasting no time strode forth and grasped the demonic artefact and gasped as he felt the life being drained from his body.
(And that is where we ended the session. With Sur Albert on the cusp of death, slightly rushed the drama at the end but we were running low on time and since we were close I wanted to end with them finding the priest. I had a feeling that Sur Albert would rush forward and we shall wait and see if he lives)