Session 047 - The Snake Pit
General Summary
12th Nuzyael (1) (Spring) 721TR
The story so far
Quazzy learns from her Warlock Patron, Desridaen that her lost memories correspond to her time spent in the isolated Earthmaster site of Anisha. The party joins her investigation.
They are permitted by the Chief of the nearby village of Haruch to explore Anisha and have found a way in through a side entrance under an Obelisk.
Continuation of Session 46 - Valley of the Obelisks.
Part 1 - The Side Passage
The heroes make their way past the psionically hidden entrance, then down through the passageway under Anisha. At the end, they find a wooden door, and from behind it, Yureb hears movement. Opening it, he is shocked to see a large floating spherical creature, with one huge eye and numerous long barbed tentacles waiting for him. He immediately rolls onto the room behind the monster and strikes it hard with his short swords. Each attack punctures deep holes into it, but instead of blood, electricity sparks out onto those nearby. Athena and Kalin join the fight, eventually killing the monster.
The party finds themselves in a small room. It has a locked door and a circular hole on the floor, likely a well, and another the same size directly above it on the roof. Yureb unlocks the door, and the party makes their way up a spiral staircase to a storage room.
Part 2 - The Snakes in the Supplies
This room contains cooking equipment and packages of dried and preserved foods. A quick examination shows these have recently been spoiled and are infested with snakes.
Before the heroes have a chance to deal with this vermin, more dangerous opponents arrive, strange snake people. Some had serpents for arms, others were covered with scales, some had snakeheads, and a few had the lower half of a huge constrictor snake. Added to this are several ugly, deformed humanoid reptilian monsters that attack aggressively with no regard for their safety. The snake's people strike first at range with their oddly carved bows, then closed to melee after Quazzy unleashes her area affecting spells. The battle is fierce, and eventually, all of these creatures were cut down.
Part 3 - Hall of the Past
Following a trail of blood, the party finds a larger chamber with a dozen frescos painted on the walls and the roof. These illustrate the history of Anisha from the first days of human occupation.
The early frescos are well made, showing a high degree of artistry and skill.
Panel 1 - A human tribe moves into the valley, Anisha in the distance.
Panel 2 - Emerging from Anisha is a man in robes, wearing what looks like the familiar Heart and Soul of the Tondan, plus the Silver Armbands which are currently worn by the village chief. The tribesmen worship him.
Panel 3 - He teaches the tribe farming, construction, medicine, and the arts.
Panel 4 - The village is now an advanced town with stone buildings. Priests teach the young and the stranger, leaves his artifacts, behind and reenters Anisha.
Panel 5 - The town grows and trades with other human tribes and Dwarves.
The next frescos were created with less skill and inferior pigments.
Panel 6 - A man with a long dark shadow arrives. He points to Anisha, and the townsfolk reject him.
Panel 7 - Behind him are horrible humanoid monsters and the Orc army. The town is attacked, destroyed and the townsfolk flee or are killed. In the background, among the Orcs are representations of the Gold Skulled man and a Woman surrounded by Ravens.
Panel 8 - The man with the long dark shadow is thrown in a pit filled with starving monsters by Dwarves. Dead Orcs are everywhere.
Panel 9 - Survivors of the Orc attack, few in numbers, return unhappily to the town.
The last 2 Frescos are very crude and much more recent.
Panel 10 - The survivors rebuild the village, but the priests are looked on with suspicion.
Panel 11 - There is a conflict within the village, and the priests flee, taking with him the two artifacts, the Heart and Soul of the Tondran.
The last Fresco was started but abandoned before completion.
Part 4 - The Metamorphosis
The heroes attempt to rest in this chamber, but before an hour is up, doors swing open, and more snake-men emerge. One looked like a very dangerous individual with his left side entirely covered in serpents. The lesser snake-men were quickly killed, but their leader appeared to have more powerful magical abilities. Yureb immobilizes him briefly with a spell, but all too soon, he shrugged the magic off. Decisively the severely injured Athena attacked and dispatched him before he could act. The heroes hear cries of pain from a nearby chamber, from where the snake creatures emerged.
Investigating, they see a strange sight, a man chained to the floor. He appears to be undergoing a strange Metamorphosis into a reptile. He is already half changed and clearly in agony. Begging for death, he is willing to tell the party all that he knows in return for a quick end.
Part 5 - The Cultist's Sad Story
Recent Events
He was one of the cultists who were ordered by the man with a Golden Skull Mask and the Raven Woman to hide in Anisha and lay a trap for Quazzy. They believed that at some point, she would find her way there.
Unfortunately instead of Quazzy, about a week ago snake people emerged though the Godstones. These quickly overwhelmed the cultists and forcing one to use a magic scroll containing some a "Death Spell" originally intended for Quazzy. This killed the snake people's leader, who he believes was a powerful spellcaster and psionicist. With her death, the snake-men have not been able to activate the Godstone and leave Anisha.
He has no idea what the snake creatures want. He thinks they may have come by accident.
Most of the human cultists were captured alive and then fed noxious potions, which slowly transformed them into the reptilian horrors the party has battled. The Snake-men ate those cultists that did not survive the transformation.
He estimates that only a half a dozen snake-men remain, including two huge monsters and a few giant snakes.
Regarding the Cult of the Golden Skull and the Raven Woman.
He doesn't know their names, but the man has a new body aged around 25 with light blonde hair, and the woman has white hair and is late middle-aged. However, they frequently use magic to disguise themselves.
When the snake-men attacked, his group's wizard magically called them for help. Their reply was, "You have failed us, you deserve your fates."
They use something called the Arganaku Repository, located upstairs, to swap bodies, and have offered their cultists use of this Earthmaster artifact if they serve well.
He believes they are based in the Kingdom of Melderyn. About every 30 years they take on a new body, sometimes that of one of their apprentices, and live out another life among the many Wizard Guilds and secret societies within that Kingdom.
They travelled to Anisha using the Godstones at the Guildhall of Arcane Lore in City of Cherafir.
After imparting this knowledge, Quazzy ritually kills the man, bloodily sacrificing him to her Patron Desridaen.
To be continued next week.Creatures Overcome
1 Death Kiss.
6 Yuan-ti Broodguards, 7 Yuan-ti Malisons and 1 Yuan-ti Pit Master.
Character(s) interacted with
Cultist, unnamed, halfway through the transformation into a Yuan-ti Broodguard.
Created Content
Godstones - How Godstones function and how they are used.
Related Reports
The Earthmasters - Updated.
Notes
Players Character Status
Athena the Banshee - Level 12 Paladin of Vengeance.
Yureb - Level 12 Arcane Trickster.
Quazzy - Level 5 Necromancer and Level 7 Warlock Disciple of Desridaen.
