Entry 4 - It Breathes Bees

In which we fight a creature that breathes bees and a monster that eats metal, and discover a colony of goblins with their own unique culture.
 
As I took a moment to catch my breath and patch my wounds, the others explored the temple space. A scrabbling sound led us to the room housing the egg, though Korrall could not identify the angular-headed limbed creature from a fleeting glance. Not wishing to disturb the creature unnecessarily, we closed the door and left it to its nest. Pandy and Perdun quickly figured out how to activate the locking mechanism on the steps behind the golden altar and the steps slid back to reveal a simple living space and a spiral staircase plunging into darkness. The chests in the living space contained some sets of motheaten robes covered with gold and cheap gems, but more intriguing was the large hood plated with golden scales at the head of one set of the robes. Another robe had a belt covered with larger scales than Friend's and a second chest held the splintered remains of bows and crossbows, but also some intriguing bolts. Friend assured us that she was comfortable with us handling the items, though she took a symbol of faith for herself.
 
While I feel less than comfortable writing Friend's history, it should be recorded for posterity, especially as she has agreed to join our crew. She was raised by lizardfolk who did not treat her kindly. They took her eyes because they believed she could cause harm with them. While the fact that she can sense things through her snakes offers some comfort, still I cannot imagine what kind of person would do such a thing. I do not care to think what I would do if I met them. Some may say that my offer to help her seek justice was rash, but I truly believe that Valeria would approve. Friend seemed willing to talk about it, however, and answered our questions patiently.
 
The spiral staircase led down into a dark tunnel with glowing blobs of luminous moss along the walls. The floor sloped down, worn smooth by the passage of some great creature - probably the giant snake. We came across a cascade of rocks blocking the way with a skeleton crushed beneath them. A scrabbling from a tunnel in the left hand wall heralded the appearance of a creature with a silvery, angular snout and bright red eyes, not unlike the creature in the nest on the floor above. It charged Teleos and though he backed off, it managed to clamp its jaws around his shield. My blade did little, ringing off its stony hide. Korrall informed us with her usual efficiency that the creature was a bullette, or land shark, and "it breathes bees". Teleos and I surrounded it, creating a wall of steel, only to swing at thin air as it burrowed into the earth and unleashed a swarm of creatures from the depths of its stomach - spiders, scorpions and a small creature that looked harmless, perhaps even adorable. That is, until Perdun explained that it was a rust monster, a creature with an insatiable hunger for metal. Teleos and I stayed well away from it, as you might imagine.
 
Thankfully our friends were quick off the mark - Pandy turned the arachnids to ice with a freezing blast, but Teleos discovered the dangers of the rust monster when he charged it, goring it against the wall. The creature’s feathery tendrils ran over his hide and armour, stinging and degrading where they went. Korrall lifted the thing up on an eldritch wind, and at Teleos’ fearsome bellow it skittered off down the corridor. Meanwhile, Perdun and Ilmi flanked the bullette, distracting it with cuts that slipped between the scales of its armoured hide, and then Korrall held it still until it went quiet. Teleos and Korrall patched the bulette up and released it back into the tunnel so it could return to its nest, and carefully caught the rust monster to hand in at the Admiralty.
 
The skeleton beneath the rocks was once a medusa, and in its right hand was a golden hood that perfectly matched the snake head device Perdun had. As we locked the hood into place and pulled it back, the snake’s mechanical mouth opened and disgorged a piece of snake skin with freshly-inked writing in a strange script not unlike the symbols on the outside of the ruins. Considering it had something akin to divine or arcane attunement (somewhat similar to a scroll, though slightly different) it makes sense that this is the arcane script of the Serpentfolk. The scales on the paper were of a similar size to Friend’s and we realised, to our discomfort, that the ‘ink’ was in fact old blood. It seemed that we had exhausted the object’s reserves, however, as it did not produce any further scrolls.
 
We built a cairn of rocks to cover the skeleton and said a blessing over their bones to whatever gods they followed, then pressed on. The corridor led downwards but then split into three, one leading upwards with a slight breeze and the smell of outdoors. The remaining tunnels clearly led to some larger cave system, by the sound of water dripping, so I asked Friend if she would make a luminous paste from the moss in the cave to mark where we had been. We followed a tunnel into a larger natural cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites with a large natural pool, so still there was barely a ripple on the surface. Unwilling to test the waters, we followed the edge of the lake round to a narrow a treacherous path over a deep chasm. Korrall spotted a piton driven into the side of the chasm with a rope hanging down: the piton had a foreign construction unlike anything we have seen in Amaranth. The climb was treacherous, but thanks to Perdun’s nimbleness, we all made it down in one piece. A worn path led alongside the river and we could see little purple motes illuminating the edges of buildings in the distance, perhaps fires, since Friend could sense warmth issuing from them. It was only as we observed the buildings that we realised a group of small, hunched figures with pointy ears were approaching us so stealthily we barely noticed them. Ilmi issued a series of clicks, but the figures did not respond until I spoke the word for ‘peace’ in Supernal. The goblins, as they did indeed turn out to be, introduced themselves and made an offer to trade: clearly they made excursions to the surface via the rope and were not averse to the idea of interacting with those outside their own people.
 
Those we encountered were a small scouting party sent out to explore, led by a goblin called Captain Ravane. We were honoured to be welcomed into their village, where weapons were left at the edge and a very ancient goblin with milky eyes held court over a large central area with a campfire and raked steps all round. This was Sirah, Destroyer of Mushrooms, the chieftess of the village. We traded supplies and Korrall’s moonshine concoction with the goblins, who were keen to have a greater variety of diet and spent a very pleasant time speaking with them and partaking of their hospitality. It seems that the purple fires are mushrooms they war with and then burn as fuel. They were impressed that we had beaten the bullette but disappointed that we did not bring them its meat: for any future diplomacy, a wide range of game is recommended, especially of predators. Korrall obtained some of their local spice, turquoise with a cool flavour, Teleos brought the good word of Hircus to several, and a group of goblin musicians and I played music together. The goblins use a drug called Dava, made with Residuum, and it seems that their alcohol must be very strong, as Korrall struggled to breathe after trying it. There was a very impressive moment where Teleos used his mote to demonstrate the power of Hircus, turning it into a bloody falcon sent with them to bring them luck on their hunt. Since the goblins do not follow a god of their own, they were most impressed by the tangible benefits of faith, and Teleos swore a couple of them into the church of Hircus then and there.
 
Regretfully, we had to depart from our new friends, following the long climb up towards the surface. We emerged into a rainy night, still taking in our experiences in the Serpent Temple and the deeps beneath it.