KWN.2.5 The Dark Below

Session Preface

The wight's corporeal forms collapse to the ground, withering away into ash and dust that hangs like a low cloud, mixing with the ever-present mist in the stagnant air. Before you, the pair of blue lights slowly revolving around one another in concentric circles fade away. Grinding and groaning against the floor, the stone doors slowly slide open, revealing a long hallway leading further into darkness.

The hallway beyond extends to another, larger pair of stone doors opposite you, glowing faintly in shimmers of colors spinning in a dizzying array. You cautiously approach the middle of the room and discover another statue. Towering over you, the statue stands dutifully, his halberd extended in a defensive position. His rigid, angular features seem to look down in judgement over you, the dark red ruby eyes, glittering in the dim light of the door's magical seal.

Observing the door more closely, you recognize the same two blue orbs of energy swirling and encircling one another in a hypnotic pattern. Alongside them, a red orb and a green orb trace orbital paths around one another, surrounding the two blue orbs. Beyond the numerous doors throughout the hall, you can just barely make out faint murmurs of unrest and the dragging of flesh against stone.

Session Summary

Pressing onward, the party finds themselves exploring the barrows before being attacked by four wights and a myriad of zombies. As the party defeated the first two wights, the blue orbs sealing the door disappeared, leaving only the red and the green. After the defeating the third, one of the wights regenerated, and the door didn't change. Struggling to continue fighting, Aethuriel realized the red and green orbs correlated to the two statues in the room - one with ruby eyes, the other with emerald. When the companions tricked and shoved the remaining two wights into the statue's reach, the wights were defeated and the door slid open.
Beyond the threshold, a massive marble statue overlooked a pair of pits filled with skeletal remains on either side of a sarcophagus covered with a melted-gold dome sealed with jewels and gems and treasures within. A spectral form appeared from within, beckoning the party forward. Deckon Thar, the self-proclaimed bandit king, revealed to the companions that Arkmenos, along with his Zhentarim underlings, had raided his barrows, disturbing his rest, and stealing, among other relics, the Truesilver Crown, his most prized artifact. As retribution, Thar had sent his most trusted lietentant, Ravencreek, to the city to kill those responsible. With the power to sway the minds of others and overlook the restrictions of the Silverymoon Mystal, however, Arkmenos remained beyond the bandit king's perception.
The party negotiated with the bandit king, ensuring the return of his crown in exchange for the safety of the city and its inhabitants. Deckon Thar agreed, though warning that the longer his restless rage continued unabated, more and more undead would continue to rise until he had an army sufficient enough to raze the city and find Arkmenos himself.
With a clearer picture of those responsible and turning their attention towards their next tasks, the party departed from the depths of the barrows and began the journey back towards Silverymoon.

Session Overview

Date Played:
January 25, 2021
Party:

• Aethuriel
• Pax
• Tristain

Time Passed:
Elesias 20, 1493 (PM) - Elesias 23, 1493 (AM) [returning to Silverymoon]
NPCs:

• Deckon Thar
• Arkmenos

Loot: