The Vine's (almost) Revenge

M. Justine took an initial survey of the camp and the source of the smoldering smell permeating the air as we neared the camp. Several tent scorched tent remains surrounded the demonic altar along with a few intact which held a few hostage lizardfolk , a horde of red dragon shards, and the scarves' leader. The rest of the group managed to free the hostages without drawing attention as M. Justine searched under the altar for more survivors. Meanwhile Darren and Jeeng managed to detect and dismantle most of the traps around the camp. Jeeng then stunned two henchmen guarding the vessel atop the altar in an attempt to disrupt the ritual but another scout noticed his antics shortly thereafter and the battle commenced in full. At first only a few guards charged the group, nothing Penelope's dragon couldn't handle with a flick of its tail and claws. However, following M. Justine's emergence from the underground another danger dino threatened to tear us all apart. Twas the work of a druid's persistent polymorphing one of his lackeys but I would not let the rex get the last roar and countered each transformation as the group dealt with the rest of the cult. M. Justine, bless her pyromaniac heart, couldn't resist the opportunity to burn the batch of them as they grouped together near the altar. Little did she know, her flames would fuel another entity possibly more terrifying than the thrice summoned t-rex. As the tent with the dragon shards burst into flames, the glow grew ominously darker with each second. Penelope did her best to cool the fire and for a moment, it seemed she'd put it out, but a second later another shocking combustion engulfed the tent and nearby druid leaving in its wake a spectre the likes of which we'd never seen. Ironically, this collection of souls took the form of another Rex, as if the dino refused to die. It immediately set its sights on the party, blasting us with necrotic roars. I managed to shield the first and deadliest of these attacks and with each one, the spectral rex seemed to deflate a bit until it all but withered away with a passing blow. Meanwhile we still had to deal with Teerik and his minions who tried to salvage the cauldron for their ritual. Darren and Lia stopped their escape while Jeeng, Justine, and I wore down Teerik with Jeeng eventually landing the finishing blow. We managed to catch our breath in the absence of another enemy wave and destroyed the ritual cauldron but the mission continued under the altar. Darren and Justine took a quick look before giving the rest of the party the clear to enter. The dark chamber held lizardfolk remains and another altar as well as a locked door. After fumbling around in the dark trying to figure out the passage's mechanism, Alison determined that a simple lock pick would suffice and set Justine to work. Wisdom of dungeons past told the rest of us to hide a safe distance away as the door opened. Unfortunately for Alison, Darren, and Justine, they caught a glimpse of something enthralling on the other side. To prevent the rest of the party from falling victim to this fate, I blessed Jeeng and Penny (and Fray although he disappeared shortly after Darren lost control) Jeeng was able to grab M. Justine before she waded into the water but Darren and Ali could not resist the statue's lure. To make matter's worse, as soon as we tried to disrupt the statue's effects by striking it, the boulders in the water revealed themselves to be hungry turtles possibly acting as its guardians. They surrounded Darren and Ali while the rest of us had to attack from a safe distance from the statue's influence. We barely dispatched the shellish fiends as Ali lay bleeding by the statue's foot. To give our sunken allies a chance to recover, Penelope obscured the statue in opaque water but this still did not prevent the effects from trying to ensnare my mind as I crept within range to smite it once and for all. M Justine, the scavenger that she is, attempted to salvage the potentially valuable remains with Penelope's and Darren's help. Meanwhile Jeeng and I investigated how to proceed beyond the next door. Try as I might, I could not figure out the door and left that up to the experts, Penny and Justine. I did however have the good sense to duck for cover as they opened it to be greeted by a barrage of arrows. Thus the final encounter began. Darren, Jeeng, and Joz came in swinging while the rest of us supported from the rear. We managed to wipe most of the remaining guards rather quickly but still had bigger fish to fry: Lanro and the Scarves leader too lunged a fierce counter. Penelope managed to disrupt Owta's sacrificial ceremony by shifting the earth beneath the circle, incurring his wrath. Nevertheless we whittled down his forces, starting with his druids while Darren and Joz pinned down the Scarves leader. With most his forces down, Owta desperately tried to bury us all underground with an earthquake but I reacted as the pillars crumbled to counter his spell and bought us a little extra time to rescue the captives. Still he persisted by trying to trap Darren and Penelope as they tried to free the lizardfolk. Darren tore through the thorny cage to show him what for with a stellar strike to the face letting Penelope teleport out with the majority of captives. After another fury of fists had him on the ropes Darren dealt the killing blow letting us all escape the collapsing chamber. On the surface, our spider guide greeted us with grim news of the cauldron's disappearance. We also scanned the Scarves leader and discovered her body to be a simulacrum, similar to Lia's. At that moment, Lia arrived with our airship and reinforcements.