This will be a quick synopsis, since I’ve done a terrible job documenting each session on a timely basis.
- Deep underground, in the Nexus Chamber, the group picks one of the many entrance up on the walls to try exploring. They used their climbing gear to ascend to the selected tunnel entrance.
- They begin down the tunnel. The enter a large chamber and are attacked by carnivorous acid-secreting fast-moving giant slugs. They defeat the slugs
- They come to a section of floor that is tiled into a grotesque elder gods mosaic. The walls are also covered. The chamber is 40’ long, and the usual 20’ wide. 10’ ceiling. At other end of the chamber is door. Venturing into this chamber, they step on a pressure plate. A massive door opens in the ceiling at the other end, releasing a massive spiked roller that comes careening toward them. Mick misses his Dex roll and takes damage. One of the hirelings misses and is crushed. Dead. The PCs use one of the Revivify diamonds to bring him back.
- The door is metal and ornate. As they approach it they smell the stink of sulfur. Mick picks the lock. They enter a large chamber.
- Sitting the room on a huge black stone chair is a hideous and huge orange being. Its body glows, filling the room with a soft orange light. As they enter the room it awakens and attacks them. The creature, some sort of minor demon, bellow and laughs as it fights, yelling “FIGHT! FIGHT!”. The PCs damage it. It doubles over, vomiting on the stone floor. It vomits out two smaller versions of itself, which also begin to fight the PCs. Eventually they defeat it.
- They find a small chest of treasure, including a silver wand with a valuable gem set in one end (non-magical). They also see a door behind the demon’s chair.
- They open the door and find dark, narrow stairs leading down, down, down. Eventually the stairs end in a landing, before a 60′ circular pit. The pit is deep enough they can’t see the bottom. In the middle of the pit is an “island” — a column rising from the depths. Set into the island is a bridge built like a see-saw. It is tipped up almost vertically. They see mechanisms to “lower” it, connecting their landing to one on the opposite side. Only the iron framework of the bridge remains — the wooden slats are gone. Simon leaps across using his Jump ring, sets up a rope, and Jewell uses the rope to cross over. Together they manage to lower the bridge and lock it in place. The rest of the group begins climbing across on the bridge framework. In the middle of that they are attacked by Undead Stirges. They take a few hit points but kill the monsters. They cross.
- On the other side they fine a door set into the landing alcove, and a niche in the wall containing the preserved body of one of the Cyclopean priests. They examine the body. Nothing. They try to find a way to open the door. Nothing. Debi uses her Ring of Squishy Summoning to summon 5 of the creatures. She commands them to enter the cracks in the wall and attempt to slide the door open from inside the wall. Together the 5 squishes succeed. The PCs bolt the door open.
- Inside the door they find a tomb containing the remains of 8 of the Cyclopean priests. Each has platinum lettering avoid its resting place. They steal the letters.
- There is a curtain of shimmering black silk on the other side. They move it. The door is of flat black material. As they look at it, those closest start to become mesmerized by shining cosmic images appear on it’s surface. Mick fails to save, and it catatonic….
- They encounter a ghost of one of the beings guarding the vault. The ghost attempts to Possess the strongest-looking of the party, the fighter Jewell. She saves. They battle the ghost using spells and magic weapons. It is finally “killed” by Debi’s Dissonant Whispers spell. Jewell and Debi both fail saves and are aged 10 years from seeing the ghost. Mick eventually comes out of his trance. They open the door.
- They find a 15 x 15 chamber. Set into the far wall at waist height is a 4′ wide 2.5′ tall opening. There is a metal grate covering it. Looking inside, they see it goes a few feet in, but remains the same dimensions. Inside there is a wall, with a metal door set into it. The door has 2 dials – some kind of clockwork combination lock system. Jewell manage to lift the grate — it slide up into the wall. They spike it open. Mick lights it up with Dancing Lights. Looking inside, they see 2 very regular holes in the ceiling of the little chamber. Simon squeezes in, careful not to get below the holes. He jams 2 arrows up in them, feeling the arrows clink against something metal. He jams the arrows in, leaving them hanging there. Mick then crawls in and successfully picks the lock. The metal door flops down.
- Beyond that door they see a glass pane, and beyond that a large black diamond sitting on an ornate stand.
- Debi fires a sling bullet at the glass, causing a small chip.
- Mick fires a crossbow bolt. Also just a small chip.
- Simon tries Sacred Flame. No effect on the glass.
- Mick decides to use Mage Hand to lift the diamond from its stand. The rest of the party moves to the sides and corners of the chamber. Mick lifts the gem, and a cone of fire erupts from the gem’s vault. Simon and Debi are in safe spots. Jewell saves with enough to dive out the way. Mick and Greta don’t make their saves by enough and take half damage.
- Debi blasts the glass with Thunderwave, doing enough damage to shatter it.
- Mick Mage Hand’s the gem out. He drops it on some cloth to avoid touching it. He wraps it in the cloth and picks it up, intending to put it in the portable hole which he has spread out. Instead he misses a very difficult WIS save. Upon having the black diamond on his person, his mind is suddenly open to the horrifying nature of the universe of the old gods. He snaps. He begins gibbering nonsense, pulls out his daggers, and attacks Simon! He stabs Simon with his magic dagger doing 10 points! The rest of the group scrambles. Debi hits him in the let with her staff. Eventually Jewell grapples and restrains him, and Greta knocks him unconscious.
- Debi notices that the diamond’s display stand is knocked over. They find a golden key under it. She mage hands all the stuff out. Simon does Identify on the diamond, finds out it is magic, evil, and cursed. Detect magic reveals the key to also be magic. They use summoned squishes to discover a hidden treasure vault under the diamond vault, and use the key to open it. They put all the stuff in the portable hole.
- Jewell carries the unconscious Mick over her shoulder as they spend a couple of hour exiting the underworld
- Returning to the surface, they make haste back to the Temple of Ahki, where Abbot Lightman removes curse on Mick, who has now seen the dark side of things. He uses Greater Restoration to being Greta and Debi back to their true ages. Mick, always a great patron of the Temple, donates 200gp.
End of session. They are all within 200 points of 6th level, so the DM bumps them up to 14,000 xp and they move up.
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