The Age of Worms / A Gathering of Winds pt. 5 / Kith the 3rd, 3593 CE / 1-15-23

General Summary

Not By Choice is in the Tomb of Icosiel the Wind Duke, deep below the rocky foothills of the Ironreach Mountains in Pell. Having rescued the sage Allustan Neff from one of the Wind Dukes' many traps, they now must further plumb the depths of the dangerous tomb on a twofold quest: satisfy an oath of vengeance from Flycatcher the Shadow Spider in order to save Lulu's brother, Taavi, and locate a piece of the legendary Rod of Law to use as a potential weapon against the forces of Caius the Worm-God. As they prepare to leave the room of the now-disabled tempest globe, Nataliya opens the door leading south and declares that the party may not like what comes next. The female drow hangs back as the rest of the party peers into the darkness of a sheer drop-off descending down forty feet. Iron rungs provide a means of descending, and one by one the party climbs down into the dark of another tunnel. However, as they muster at the bottom, a pressure plate is set off and in the distance. Lulu can hear the grinding of rising sluice gates and the rushing of water. The trap also sends a metal plate slamming shut in the doorway above, leaving Idra and Nataliya trapped on the other side. The quick-thinking Nari draws on her well of magic to conjure a ray of disintegration which destroys the obstacle, but moments later a torrent of brackish red water washes over the hapless party members in the tunnel. As Allustan clings tenaciously to the ladder, the rest of the party is washed down the eastward leading part of the tunnel by the cross current. To their horror, they see that the water is moving into a now-open chamber and pouring down a large hole in the center of the room to an uknown fate below. However, they also spot another strange presence in the chamber of the Falling River; a firey red troll, who, upon seeing the party's predicament, leaps into the sky and airwalks over to them to assist their escape from the watery pit. Only Nari is unlucky enough to be washed into the pit, but she is able to use a feather fall spell to slow her descent and then transform into a tiny fox so that Idra can swoop down and retrieve her. As the bulk of the water drains away into the pit, leaving the party soaked but mostly unharmed, Allustan catches up with them and the fire troll introduces himself as Coal Belchfire, an itinerant cook who found himself trapped in the tomb after a hapless fall through a crevasse in the Ironreach Mountains. Seeing a door leading north out of the pit chamber, the party progresses forward, with the exuberant Coal leading the charge. They find themselves in a passage guarded by six statues, five of stone and one of metal. Unfortunately, the metal statue turns out to be a powerful guardian left behind by the Wind Dukes. It demands the party leave the tomb, but the strong-willed Coal will not back down from the challenge and a fight ensues, as the metal guardian uses powerful magic and magic resistance to hold its own with the combined might of the party. Meanwhile, Nataliya, who was sneaking and quietly observing in the party's wake, uses her power of object possession to control another of the room's statues and join the fray. The metal guardian retreats into the next hallway leading north, this one freezing and covered with ice, much to the hot-blooded Coal's dismay. As Coal and Jozu push forward to pursue metallic guardian, it calls forth for aid, and two statues made of ice come to life, evening the odds and making victory in battle much less of a certainty for Not by Choice.

Character(s) interacted with

Lulu Victry, Nari Ashida, Nataliya Cantri, Idra, Jozu, Coal Belchfire. Allustan Neff, kolyarut invevitable, red ice golems

Report Date

29 Jan 2023

Secondary Location

Pell