Chapter 35 - Ritual Summons

General Summary

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Day 47 (Corrupus 19th, 1053) - Morning

Wirt Django defeated, the orb on the dias in the center of the spell circle, as well as the circle itself dim from bright hot white to a duller orange glow. The pulses of necrotic energy have subsided and the undead in the room disintegrated to dust that rests where they fell on the floor.
On the back wall of the upper section of the space, opposite where the paerty entered below, is a small opening in the rock. Zoe offer to fly everyone up to see what lies beyond while she and Jen stay back in the ritual space to analyze the circle and the still glowing spell focus.
Relevant Stat Blocks:
Frida Suarez
Zoe Aves
Jen Wakeman
Skeleton Bandito
Fused Skeleton Bandito
Santana of the Dead

Django's Treasury

In the small alcove beyond the ritual space lies a trove of coin and items. The arrangement would almost suggest an offering of some kind, although it's unclear to whom:
In the center of the space is

A Wooden Desk

On which rests a folded letter written in a strange language (Abyssal).
In two piles on opposite sides of the alcove

Coin

Totalling 900gp, 450sp, and 500cp
Frida states that the money wasn't taken from the people of the city, and she has no personal need for it. As far as she's concerned, the party can do with it what they want. Glancing back towards the rest of Django's trove, she makes a face and leaves to help the others with looking at the ritual.
A DC 12 Insight check reveals that she's looking with deep sadness at something in the back of the room. With a 16 or higher, you can tell that what she was looking at was the items under glass on pedestals in the back.
Past the piles of coins are two groups of three

Treasure Chests

3 on the left and 3 on the right.
Chest 14

• 6 blank pieces of fine parchment
• 2 full inkwells, sealed

Chest 15

• A sack of 40gp worth of crushed gemshards in various colors

Chest 16

• A sealed glass jug containing 1/2 gal of jet black liquid (fine quality ink)
• A sealed glass jug containing 1/2 gal of a congealed dark red liquid (old blood)
• 3 empty glass potion vials

Chest 17

• broken parts and strings totalling to 3 guitars of varying design
• DC 16 Investigation check finds a small, flat, triangular piece of metal with an intricate skull design etched into both sides (Pick of Destiny (replica))

Chest 18

• 3 strange arrows with orange fungal ooze and thin, spindly mushrooms growing near the tips (Cordyceps Arrows)

Chest 19

• A small woodend box with scuffed writting on the top. A DC 12 Investigation determines the remaining text to read "Th- -eck of M-n- Th--gs". Inside are 13 cards. It is The Deck of Mini Things
• A cylindrical bit of machinery made of silvery metal. Completely flat on one side, with a raised lip on the other consisting of uneven ridges and exposed wiring. A fragment of containment.

Stationed in the back of the space between the groups of chests are two

Pedestals

One displaying a golden sombrerro, torn in half- the strange machinery inside sundered beyond repair.
One displaying a pair of bronze plated boots, scuffed and dented, but probably fixable by a skilled craftsman.
Nestled in the very back of the alcove, centered between the pedestals, rests a large

Golden Guitar

A 5 ft long metal instrument, polished to a near mirror shine and boasting a star and a skull-and-crossbones emblem on the face.

• Styk picks up the letter, but no one can read it
• Lake takes the Bronze Boots but can't identify them until he attunes later
• Bee takes the arrows, but can't identify them
• Styk picks up the small box of cards. Lake takes it to try to read the words and mistakes it for the Deck of Many Things. Bee snatches it, curious to pull a card, but then Styk snatches it back. They're then interrupted by the ruckus in the ritual space.

After the amount of time it takes the party to have had a chance to look at the wares, theres a force explosion in the chamber outside. The pedestal with the orb has been brightening back to its previous glowing state subtely over time and it's just let out a burst of energy that knocked Frida and her friends back into the passage leading to the Uppder Tunnels.
The ring of lava quickly begings to bubble up and over the lower ritual space, covering the floor and blocking off the exit to the tunnels below. The circular rocky area breaks from the stone beneath and begins to float as the lava raises it up to be level with the rasied circular platform.
The golden guitar flies forward from its place in the alcove and hovers briefly above the summoning circle before it spins rapidly in place, a drak smoke appearing to swirl around it, engulfing it in a drk whirlwind as a ragged laugh echoes through the chamber.
Santana: Ahaha Yes! You've none it grandson! Now that I have been manifested in this new world, we will suplpant the death gods and- Django? You! What have you done with my grandson?
As ths smoke clears, you see a 10 ft tall skeletal woman. She has black socket eyes with glowing red pupils, brown eyebrows with decorative brown lines around her skull-like face and arms. Most prominently on her face are a pair of blood red lips grimacing over a set of crooked brown teeth.
She wears a black dress covered in small white stars, with a red collar, and long red sleeves connected to her arm bones, and black gloves torn at the tips by her razor sharp bone claws. She also wears a red sombrero with little white decorative skulls hanging around the black circular brim, small pink stars, and a skull emblem on top of the hat.
In her arms she holds her Golden Guitar. The strings glow with a sinister red light.
(Combat Ensues)

• Bee opens by insulting Santana's appearance
• Santana's Cloudkill spell renders part of the battle field poisonous for much of the fight
• A Fear spell renders Lake unable to approach for much of the fight
• Bee is knocked unconscious by two hits of Santana's Discordant Strum as she tries to puch him into the lava.The last hit misses only because Bee falls prone
• Bayle uses a Potion of Greater Healing to get Bee back up after 1 successful Death Save on his part
• Lake, taking shelter in the alcove, overcomes the effects of Fear and runs in to finish off Santana just as she lands to line up Bee, Styck, and Andromeda for another devastating Power Chord

The Party takes a short rest as they wait for the lava, which receeds back to its norval level, to cool in the tunnel leading back out of the chamber.

Report Date

09 Feb 2025