Session IX: To the Depths
Deeper Still
The party rested for a short while. During this time, Arves used his magic to commune with the All-Knowing, and ascertain what awaited below should everyone press on. The answer he got was eerie at best. There were things to be found and answers to be seen, which was good. But there were also things that would threaten the life of the party, which wasn't so good.
Even Rhazien admitted how enticed he was to see what could possibly lie below.
Even with this in mind, curiosity won out, and the party descended. It was nearly an hour of exploring, turning this way and that; Arves and Zephyrion came close to a bloody demise when several enchanted spike traps were triggered along the way. But, finally they reached the heart of this sanctum.
At the end of the pool (along the wall the doors were), a five-foot carved hole led into a second room as big as the first. She could see past the closed doors. They continued into another stretch of stone surrounded below by water. A massive shape swam into view from beyond the hole. It was a sea serpent, at least twenty feet in length, and it patrolled the water of the second room like some sort of guardian.
Corellia snuck her way through the water to try and surface on the stretch of ground, but some sort of invisible force blocked her from surfacing, so she swam back.
At the other end of the first room, Vox examined the doors, which depicted the Ronu Floodgate. He saw no handles on them. Tried as he did, the doors wouldn't lift or roll away; he had no idea how to open them. Rhazien laughed at him like a fool, and when prodded, Rhazien quietly pushed the doors open to the next room. Inside the room, the walls were barren stone, however the party could see the sea serpent's reflection hovering in the air, doing every it did below the surface like Corellia.
Arves weaved a detection spell, and found illusion magic coating the entire room, as well as abjuration magic — a wall of force — covering the surface of the water in the second room. Stepping out over it, they did not pass through into the water.
The stretch of stone led to an ending. At the ending, a small pedestal stood with a strange circular switch on it, and writing in Aquan was inscribed around it. It read, "Should thou wish to step further, the entrance from this can be born, and thou can be washed through the Pool of Similitude. But, woe to those whose hearts do not align with the Leviathan’s. Thine will be to incur anger from this realm’s guardian, Manolakian." The party discerned Manolakian was likely the sea serpent's name, however a Pool of Similitude was foreign to everyone.
Rhazien seemed to know more about them, but he was not questioned on it, so he said nothing.
Corellia turned the switch, and the far wall split in two, sliding away and revealing a staircase that led upwards. But, when she and Arves tried to pass through, they ran into the wall, as if the hole was just a hyper-realistic image on its surface. Something about the illusion magic and their reflections were responsible, and after some thought, they realized they could see the door's reflection in the water, and that it was it's reflection they needed to swim through. Which meant they needed to swim by Manolakian.
Gathering back in the first room, they devised a plan. Vox, with everyone's help, would keep the serpent distracted from one side of the room. Corellia and Arves would sneak through the other. The plan worked, but Vox nearly died in the process, being declared by the serpent in Aquan as a trespasser. It was only due to Corellia's words as a disciple that Manolakian was convinced to spare Vox this one time. Thus, Vox's life was saved.
through, and he was standing on the steps by the time they reached the pedestal. His only last words were that he was sure they would all meet again soon. Then, he rose up and he was gone.
The Sanctum of Manolakian
The initial chamber was a long stretch of stone from one end of the room to the other, framed by a set of stone double doors, surrounded on both sides by deep, crystal clear water. There was no light in the room, except for occult stones that glowed from the ceiling, reflecting the room perfectly on the water’s surface. Six statues stood on the walls, three to a side, each of different monstrous watery creatures. A circular plaque in front of them all listed their names in Aquan, which Arves investigated.On the left, the statues of Shuzo, Baron Manta, and Trivian'dus. On the right, the statues of Yaz'aabrutal, Ashathra, and Yaagruu'thr. Arves realized these were the Heralds of Loch of legend, the god's powerful servitors. Rhazien seemed to know more about them, but he was not questioned on it, so he said nothing.
Corellia jumped in the water, and the moment she did, everyone saw her reflection launch from the water and hover in midair, mirroring everyone she did underwater. For her, it was as if gravity flipped itself upside-down in an instant.
The Pool of Similitude
While Asterid kept Rhazien under guard, Corellia and Arves passed through the doorway as they expected, and ascended the stairs. At the top of them, they came across a dome-shaped room, with tentacle statues rising up to the ceiling, which depicted the kraken. Treasure from offerings throughout time covered the room, and a pool of black, opaque water, stood in the middle. They gathered this was likely a the pool the pillar talked about. Not knowing what to expect, Corellia jumped in. In an instant, where she just was ceased to be. Instead, she found herself floating in a dark expanse of endless water, darkness surrounding her. But, she felt something else is here. She was not alone. She could feel its presence in the water, sense how monstrously bigger it was than her. Feel it moving around her like a shark, deciding on whether to feast or gaze. The answer came when a ferociously low hum filled her ears, this entity approaching her from out of the dark. Like a humongous fish monster, tendrils of all sizes stretched from its body, which extended into the back as a long finned tail. Its face, Corellia saw, was a stack of three human-sized glowing red eyes, each of which gazed directly at her. Corellia didn't know at the time, but she stood (swam) before Yaagruu'thr, the Voice of the Leviathan. With a tremor of a voice, it asked her purpose for entering his domain. Unsure of what to expect, she asked of what she could do to help expedite Loch's release. To her was given the same vision Hex had received. Corellia looked through the eyes of a pirate. She was on a ship in the night during a storm. Two crews fought each other, but the vision singled in on one female. She wore a leather and a tricorn hat, as opposed to her usual dress, and she had just pulled her cutlass from a newly born corpse which she thrust to the deck, blood spilling from her lips. It was Clarissa, and the entire time the vision kept Corellia on her, she could hear a deep heartbeat in the air, like it was coming from Clarissa. But Corellia knew that heartbeat was not the Noblewitch's, but something else's. Then, the vision ended, and Yaagruu'thr tasked Corellia with the same thing it had, Hex. Clarissa was the key to the next step in freeing Loch. It had nothing else to say, so expelled Corellia, who came careening out of the water, only seconds after she had just jumped in.Pools of Similitude
A pool of similitude is a sacred pool of water collected from the Trench in the Plane of Water. To see one means someone was able to pass through the belly of Ashathra into the Trench and back out, an extraordinary feat. Enchanted by powerful priests, a pool derives its name from its purpose, which is to enter into an audience with the Voice of the Leviathan, Yaagruu'thr, a follower's way of speaking back with the servitor just as it once spoke to them. But, Yaagruu'thr only ever listens to those who once listened to him; those who do not follow the Leviathan are always expelled. A pool is used as a sacred communion, where guidance is gathered and prophecy is foreseen. Sometimes, boons will even be bestowed based on who it is that is before Yaagruu'thr. It is very rare to see such a pool, and in temples that do have it, it is its most sacred part.
Rhazien Escapes
Corellia spoke to Arves about what she saw, and both agreed to keep it to themselves. When two water elementals, guards of the room, appeared the moment they tried to grab some of the offerings, they decided to leave it all behind.They returned to the party, and like Rhazien could sense it, told Corellia that she now knew why Hex had terrorized the city like she did; that Clarissa was connected to the Heart of the Kraken. She didn't respond to him.
The party prepared to begin travel out of this temple, at last. But, just as they did, they heard a splash from the pool; Rhazien had managed to sneak away from them when they weren't looking, making a break for the pool. Corellia and Zephyrion dashed and flew to get to the pedestal and close the door first, but Rhazien was faster. A disciple of Loch, Manolakian had allowed him
Exiting the Temple
The party retraced their steps in their journey back; everyone was ready to get out of here. They reached the stairs back up out of the sanctum, and then later on left the temple entirely, breathing in the outside air as they stared at the Ravager still anchored at the lake. It was the dead of night. Exhausted and wishing for daylight, the party went back to ship and rested. There were many things they could focus on next. Clarissa. Taking a swing in the Helldiner. Picking up their commissions from Aaron. Taking Rumkeg up on his deal to take over Macdalli. Turning in Hex's bounty at Darkwater. Finding Arves' next step in his religious journey somewhere in Culloden. Finding out what happened to Fannik and helping him on his own quest. They would figure it all out in the morning. To be continued...Level Up!
Report Date
April 13th, 2024
In-Game Start Date
Eadriscus 16th, 1301 AC
In-Game End Date
Eadriscus 17th, 1301 AC
April 13th, 2024
In-Game Start Date
Eadriscus 16th, 1301 AC
In-Game End Date
Eadriscus 17th, 1301 AC
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