The Sanctum of Yeyvalla

Discovery, Exploration

To obfuscate the party's interest in hunting down the Coven of Covens, they decide to complete an "ordinary" adventure. They purchase a map detailing the location of an ancient and lost elven shrine and locate it to the northeast of Teris just outside the border of Dunsland. It is found to be underground - a casualty of the Calamity - and riddled with kobolds who seemed to have exchanged their draconic patron with something more horrible from the depths. A ghost is freed of her unfinished business, the altar is revealed and some treasures are found.

After slaying the disguised hag, Sister Meggett, and revealing that she is part of a larger conspiracy, the party decide to search for an unrelated adventure to build their cover. They acquire a map created by an unknown traveller pointing to an entryway to a lost elven shrine.

Upon arrival, they find that the entryway is a sinkhole created by a forest brook. There are clear signs of a lost elven settlement predating the Calamity as thin spires and sections of aged white stonework poke up through the forest floor. Upon following the passage down, the party find signs of inhabitation - a thin walkway dug out next to the stream and small footprints. It isn't long before the inhabitants are revealed; kobolds have taken refuge in what turns out to be a sunken temple to the elven goddess of Nature, Yeyvalla. Traps and ambush spots riddled the interior of both the temple construction and the addition tunnels dug out by the kobolds.

Before directing their attention on the mysteries of the temple, the party decide to clear out the hostile creatures. They fight their way through a chamber with oozes that splits the party with a flaming portcullis, a storeroom with a psychic sorcerer and, after a quick rest, slay the remaining kobolds in their final bastion: the sodden library of the temple.

The ghost of a long-dead elf attendant is found in a side room and she directs the party towards completing the sacred rite in progress when the Calamity struck - her unfinished business. They don sacramental robes and solve the "puzzle" of the ritual. This frees the ghost and she gives the party her wedding ring in thanks.

Finally, the party investigate the subterranaean lake fed by the stream from the surface. The rotting corpse of a young black dragon is found - presumably the previous master of the kobolds supplanted by another creature. The remains of another adventurer is found in a chamber inhabited by a mimic (which nearly eats Woyzeck) and an intriguing treasure is found on his person: the Singing Sword.

On their way out, the visage of an aboleth appears from the depths. It is revealed to be an illusion but not before threatening the nearest party member, Konstantin. It is assumed that this monster replaced the dragon as patron to the kobolds and was the genesis of their dark, psychic powers. The party return to Teris and discusses their next steps.