Session 28: The Hidden Shrine

General Summary

The Ratcatchers spend their time resting until later in the evening before they slip out of the Coenoby to check out the clean well within the caverns hidden behind catacombs. Kal sends his owl familiar Breen to scout ahead. What she finds instantly lets our Ratcatchers know they are on the right track to figure out what is going on here in the arena. As they climb up the well with the help of a grappling hook and rope they find three Spawn of Kyuss shuffling bout in the room next to them. Our Ratcatchers unfortunately alert the Spawn who are quick to attack. Our Ratcatchers quickly go about in killing these foul undead spawn. After the battle they search the room and find mostly grave dirt within the sacks of the room. The Ratcatchers decide to head down the hallway to search the next area. Beyond this door they find themselves in an old training hall, with many more Spawn of Kyuss shuffling around. The Ratcatchers are quick to put these undead down as well.
Our Ratcatchers at this point continue into the facility looking for clues on what could be going on. The next room over they find their answer. In the small shrine they spot an Infernal as well as four more Spawn of Kyuss. The Infernal is quite irate that our Ratcatchers have stepped into the shrine and mentions that Loris Raknian has allowed such trash to sully the shrine. With this the Infernal and the spawn engage our Ratcatchers. The Infernal who proves to be proficient in spells quickly casts protection on himself creating an armor of bones to cover his body. While the Spawn move to engage Koris who continue to prove he is an effective wall to the rest of the Vandals of Fate. The battle does not last long and victory is claimed by our Ratcatchers. Within the room on the altar is the The Apostolic Scrolls covered in a strange green light that acts as a barrier preventing our Ratcatchers in removing the scrolls. The scrolls however seem to be empowering something and the Ratcatchers follow the light through a set of double doors. Beyond these doors they discover a huge worm of Kyuss currently dormant. Unfortunately the only way to remove the barrier Kal figures is to get a cleric who can destroy the undead then at this point it might be vulnerable to dispelling magics. With no way to get past this barrier our Ratcatchers continue to explore the area.
As they enter the second set of doors they find themselves in a hallway that leads to the sleeping quarters of the Infernal. Within this room is the quickly identified sister of Ekaym Smallcask. However she is dead and has been turned into a zombie. Koris quickly ends her suffering and collects a necklace to return to Ekaym so he can have closure. While he does this Kretzle searches the bookshelf for any alchemical recipes while the rest of the Ratcatchers look over the chest within the room. It is quickly identified by Elora to have a magical trap etched upon its surface. Fedi quickly dispels the magical trap and the Ratcatchers open the chest and find it filled to the brim with loot and useful scrolls of magic. Collecting all of this our Ratcatchers continue through to the second door on the other side of the room. Here they run into a Devilkin who quickly attacks our Ratcatchers for trespassing within the shrine. It charges Koris and pulls off a full tornado kick with its hooved feet and lands a blow directly into the midbody of Koris. Thankfully Koris's armor is far more sturdy than the kick and he quickly brushes off the attack. The battle is quickly won with our Ratcatchers cutting down the Devilkin immediately after it struck Koris. The Ratcatchers search the room and find another magical trap on the curtain to the south. Fedi dispels the magical trap and the party takes the two emeralds and the curtain itself as they are both worth something to the right buyer. The Ratcatchers find themselves at the end of the shrine with no more way forward so realizing that there has to be a hidden entrance somewhere they group backtracks looking for it. They find it and a set of stairs the lead upwards beyond the room with the first three Spawn of Kyuss. The Ratcatchers however decide its best to return to the Coenoby. They know that they need rest for the next day and they need to plan on what to do next. The next morning the next battle is posted and the Vandals of Fate are to face Pitch Blade at 2:00 pm. Kal can't help but point out these Dwarf barbarians are under the employ of Captain Okoral, who serves Loris Raknian.

Report Date

16 Aug 2024