Shadows in the Harbor Session 41
General Summary
The Descent
The party took a long rest after securing the abbess's office. Keck took the first watch and heard voices talking to him in the hallway beyond the door. He carefully opened the door after waking Tim, but was unable to find anything. The voices continued, but Keck ingored them. The rest of the night went without incident. Hours later, at roughly 2am, the party rose and carefully headed out. Fel'Shu led the way, relying on his knowledge of the monastery to guide them. Fel'Shu studied the chaos and carnage of the main temple floor. Blood was spattered all over the altar; benches were were smashed and strewn about. Fel'Shu did his best to reconsecrate the grounds as he offered up a prayer. Keck noticed a pair of bloody footprints leading to a curtain and a set of stairs headed down. Fel'Shu told the group that they led down to the crypt underneath the temple where many monastary leaders and influential figures were buried. The party followed the stairs down. The crypt was dank, but the braziers had been lit recently. Clearly this was the route that the cultists had taken. They passed several rooms holding the sarcophagi of past holy figures. As they wound their way through the narrow hallways, they found one lit brazier after another. They must be close! Keck pushed open the last door readily, surprised to see a bone white figure with a whip of a tail and a zombie in the room. The strange figure was searching for something, but he turned his attention to the party immediately. Without hesitating he sent the zombie charging at the party while lunging in to attack them himself. He whipped his tail and clawed at Damakos and Keck, but they fought him off. Tim killed the zombie quickly and moved on to this devilish figure. The fight wasn't going well for the devil as he was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the adventurers. He decided that retreat was the only means of survival and he pushed on the far wall. A secret door opened up and he took off through it. Fel'Shu and Keck followed suit, determined not to let this fiend escape. They followed him down the stairs into a small room; Fel'Shu was not familiar with this part of the crypt. The two of them finished off the devil quickly and watched as his body turned to ash before them.What the Devil??
Another door lay before them at the foot of the stairs. Fel'Shu had been unaware of the existence of this hidden crypt. What had the monks of the abbey hidden here and why would they go to such lengths to do so? Keck listened at the door and indicated to Tim the Not-so-Tiny that he could hear several sets of footfalls on the other side. They sounded humanoid, but that's the best he could tell. Tim pushed open the door, revealing two cultists, one on the far end of the room and the other close by. The close one drew his dagger while the far one readied a spell. Tim charged in slaying the close cultist with ease. Keck stormed in and shot an arrow at the caster. A hit! The cultist turned his ire to Keck and attempted to make him flee, but the half-orc resisted. The rest of the party ran in and quickly finished him off. He was no match for this band of heroes. The party was now in a rectangular room with lit braziers in either corner and statues in the others. Two doors led to rooms to the east, while a locked door led to the west; a pair of stone doors headed into another chamber to the north. The party needed to figure out which way to go, so they consulted with Fel'Shu. The monk took a moment to pray; he hoped for some kind of guidance. A voice spoke to him and whispered that their salvation would be found beyond the far door. The rest of the party examined the chamber room by room. All but one door was locked - the door on the far side. Keck took out his lockpicking kit and got to work. Success! The door slid open and a shimmering blue light emanating from a sarcophagus stood in front of them. The enscription on the tomb read "Eryndor Thorne." Fel'Shu recognized the name from his readings as a youth. Eryndor Thorne was one of several adventurers who died defeating the dragon known as Gemaen the Wrathful centuries earlier. He had heard that the remains of the adventurers had been buried somewhere on the monastery grounds, but the body of the dragon had never been found. Perhaps it was also somewhere on the monastery and the Cult of Baal was seeking it. Tim lifted the stone lid and the blue light went out instantly. Inside he found a set of plate armor, still shining. He consulted with Fel'Shu and agreed to return it once they were done here. He pulled it out and put it on, instantly understanding that it would protect against necrotic damage. The party pushed through the double doors into the next room.Here be Dragons!
This room held several statues and sarcophagi. Fel'Shu and Damakos recognized the names as being those of the other adventurers who had defeated Gemaen the Wrathful all those years ago. After looking through the room briefly, the party continued into the next room. An eerie green brazier lit the room which had a carving of a dragon on the floor. Two statues in the corner - one of a monk holding an empty bowl and another of a soldier - stood guard over the room. Keck read the inscription on the floor; it read "Leave your strength to proceed." The group pondered its meaning for several minutes, but realized they must leave an offering if they were to advance. They tried several offerings, such as money and jewels, but none of them worked. Finally, Tim put a weapon in the bowl of the monk statue. A line of light shone through the wall and a hidden door opened. The party could see the cultists up ahead and they were nearing the finale of their resurrection of the dragon. The cultists noticed the party too and one of them ordered an attack. Several zombies swarmed the party while Keck and Fel'Shu dashed inside the room. Time was of the essence and the odds were not in the party's favor. A chance shot of magical darkness, coupled with a suicidal dash by Fel'Shu bought them some more time. Baron Deeplight and Malark took out the zombified monks and several of the cultists. Several action-packed seconds later and the party had finished off the rest of the cultists, just in time to prevent the resurrection of Gemaen the Wrathful. They took one of the cultists prisoner to interrogate him, but first they would drink some healing potions and resuscitate the monk again...Rewards Granted
- 1000xp per player for advancing the plot and disrupting the resurrection of Gemaen the Wrathful
- 1229xp per player for combat in the dungeon
- 150xp for Fel'Shu for creative use of the explosives
Report Date
24 Jan 2025
Primary Location
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