Session 8

After defeating the leader, we took a well-deserved rest before venturing further into the ancient ruins to clear out the current floor. The last thing we need is more surprises, so we rested, encountering another one of those strange green pulses.
 
The first room we happened upon didn't look like much. It was relatively sparse inside, save for a few things lining the walls, but what caught my attention was the large manacle in the middle of the room. I wonder what was down here that needed such a thing to keep it captive. Upon first glance, it doesn't look like much in the room, but looking up at the ceiling, a skull is carved into the tile.
 
I know a treasure cache when I see one, and Arlanval confirmed my suspicions, saying that he ran into something similar when making his way to Maford. These caches are usually sealed with something dangerous.
 
Just as I was about to suggest a closer look at it, Harper takes this a bit further and calls forth his new eye, which scrambles up the walls and onto the ceiling... I'm confident this will haunt my dreams or rather nightmares for the next several nights, along with the visions of the man removing his eye.
 
Ashton decided he would climb the ladder and poke at the tile. Once it gave way, a black ooze within oozed its way onto the ground, and we began dealing with it. The ooze separated into several smaller versions of itself, spilling acid onto us, but we eventually made work of it—or rather, them. Where they once were was some kind of shiny metal that Ashton says is something called Ambersteel.
 
With the ooze taken care of, we headed deeper down the hall, stumbling upon a lone hobgoblin and taking pity on the creature; we allowed him to escape as his friends were taken care of by the traps in the hall and us. Taking the lead as the party expert in traps, I make quick work of most of them. Of course, the last trap at the end of the hall gets me, and I end up taking damage from it.
 
At the end of the hall is a sight I'm familiar with: one of those mosaic walls that hide something behind. After finding the mechanism, I open the door and alert everyone to follow as I've cleared the way.
 
Within the room is an amazing pile of gold, which is shared equally among the party, and several boxes that have been taken by time. In the one remaining box is a circlet that Harper identifies as a Starmetal Helmet, which is given to Mara as she would make the best use of it.
 
Having cleared the floor, we head back to the stairs and descend even deeper into the ruins after a short rest to catch our breaths after the fight with the ooze. We decide to do it away from the stairs as the feeling of whatever is beneath us bothers Mara's eye. Again, as we rest, there is one of those strange green pulses.
 
I am wary and also curious about what lies beneath us.
 
Once we make our way over the bridge and down the stairs, we are met with a green glow in the room. Is this the same glow we've been encountering on the floor above? In the center of the room is a strange thing glowing and pulsating with energy. All around us are these beautiful purple crystal structures, and at the corners of the room, there are tombs.
 
In the middle of the room, close to the energy vortex, is a table with a man's stature lying across it. While Chael ventures in to look at the statue, I investigate the whirling magical vortex, even though I likely won't know what I'm looking at. As it is something I've never seen before, I can't help but be curious.
 
Chael undoes the cold iron chains around the statue, and the parts that were once covered by chains are no longer stone and begin to crack. At the same time, the light in the room around us starts to flicker, and Chael puts the pin back in the chain. The room lights up once more, and being a curious young man, Chael pulls the pin back out for the room to dim again and moves to unchain the statue's wrist.
 
Ashton gives a word of warning, saying that we don't know what we are messing with and doesn't think it is a good idea. There is wisdom in his words, but I cannot help but be curious about all around us and want to learn more. When I pass the portal, I look down into it and am surprised to see a lush, vibrant forest deep within. Leaning in to get a better look, I realize that the energy is flowing into our world and being sucked into the vortex. Telling the party what I am seeing, I start to feel unwell of mind as Ashton and Harper don't see what I do, but thankfully, Mara is able to confirm there is indeed a forest within.
 
While we are distracted by the portal, Arlanval undoes another pin, which causes the stone to fall away, revealing flesh beneath. Realizing what he's doing, we tell him to stop. It seems he didn't know he was doing it, which makes us put all the pins back in. It is best to leave such a thing alone, especially if we don't know what we are dealing with.
 
Just as we decide to leave whatever is happening here alone, as someone took great care to seal that person in stone, and whatever is here is protecting against the darkness, according to Chael, I feel a pull towards the statue that I can't resist. I make my way to the statue, where I sit on the altar and pull out two of the pins before going to the other side and removing the others.
 
From within the statue, a man with purple skin with blue veins running through it, blue hair, and pointed ears emerges. He sits up on the altar with a broad and toothy smile. He says that he's been looking for someone to help him for a very long time, and I just happened to be the one to answer his call.
 
Upon asking him why he is like this, he — Droman Selezan — says that the elves of our realm are greedy and want to keep this fault of power open, which leads into the fae realm so that no one else can use it. He was used as an anchor to keep it open. After taking me for freeing him, he stood, and I didn't realize how tall he was when he was lying across the altar. He offers to repay us for freeing him, and when Ashton asks why his fellow elves kept him here, he's quick to correct him, saying they are not his fellows. Droman says this is a leyline; they are founts of power spread worldwide and have a great deal of energy.
 
From what I know about the history of our lands, it has been about two hundred years since the war and elves were last here, so he has been chained to this place for at least that long, if not longer. Given that they were summoning demons and extraplanar creatures to help win the war, I shouldn't be surprised to see such a creature as Dorman here, but it still surprises me that anyone would go to such lengths for power. Especially given what I've dealt with regarding the cult and my family.
 
When Chael asks what elves are, it is apparent that Droman has no love for them, and I don't blame him. Chael asks him what it is, and Droman says that he was once in charge of nightmares and is something like a fae creature. When asked about his intentions, he says he's going home.
 
Before leaving, he gave me a blue flower and placed it in my hair. A gift for freeing him, and Chael asks him if he would like to return sometime for a conversation. Droman seems a bit apprehensive but agrees as he does owe us and doesn't "want to leave a debt lying on the table" — his words, not mine. Chael reveals that he has a bag that calls people here, and the grinning man takes great interest in it and gives approval from Chael to inspect it; he pulls out a glowing crystal and says if Chael gives me the crystal to crush, he will do his best to say hello.
 
As a grand gesture before leaving, he boops me on the nose before heading into the portal.
 
While we are all discussing what just happened, the green crystal we found in the cultist camp begins burning its way through Arlan's robes and makes its way to the center of the room as it is sucked into the energy and shatters. The tombs begin opening as darkness overtakes the room, and the same creatures we fought in the room above, the one that Chael was most bothered about, come out and towards the swirling black magic. We take this as a cue to move away, thinking this is the darkness they should guard against.
 
A feminine form emerges from the darkness along with the shadow creatures that the skeletons are fighting. It seems that Harper knows this woman, and her name is Luisa. Harper converses with the woman who attacked one of the creatures from the tombs, and we assist the shadowy creatures.
 
Chael uses his ability to sense things, and his arm catches ablaze. I try to subside the white flames with a wet cloth and then pat them out as he screams in pain while the others take care of the shadow creatures. Chael, possessed with some frantic energy, charged at the shadow creature and attacked it. After falling the last shadow creature, Chael begins attacking the portal, and the zombie sacrifices itself to help close the portal.
 
Harper seems traumatized by what happened, and Chael doesn't look to be in a good place either. I, along with others, advise Harper to use caution and tell him that the woman had the same yellow-colored eyes as Wyrm.
 
With the portal taken care of, we leave the ruins. Taking the statues around the statues with us before returning to Twin River to turn in the plant parts we had gotten days before when taking care of the request posted on the bounty board. He gives us a book to help us collect valuable parts from creatures we kill.
 
We all head back to the Frowning Boar to rest and recover.