Refugees From Real Life – Page 2 – Gamers so old, our 20-siders are spheres

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – #28

DotySeptember 1, 2023September 1, 2023

==Roll Call==
Childe Raymonde, Githyanki Paladin (Doty)
Bell, Kenku Cleric (CJ)
Blynce, Human-hybrid Fighter (Eric)
Vaal, Eladrin Rogue (Tim)
Bumi, Goblin Wizard (Matt)
Sheeza, Aasimir Wizard (Joanna)
Senzei, Human Monk (Frank)

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 28)

In Ank'Harel, we were staying at the Stepaside Inn, a reasonably priced place. I was disturbed that there appeared to be no worship, nor even knowledge, of the Luxon here. But perhaps I've not been here long enough to really know.

We went to the Sand-herald district in the center of the city, where Senzei (somewhat ill-advisedly) enrolled in a tournament of some sort. Afterwards, a few of us went to the Guided District, where many temples were located. Sheeza conferred with her fellows in the weird organization she belonged to, and one of them had a job for us, an investigation of sorts on a potential wrong-doer. We decided to take the job, and began following our target.

Our pursuit was somewhat uncoordinated, but we wound up befriending our target, and escorted him home after an accident.

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – #27

DotyAugust 18, 2023August 18, 2023

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 27)

In Betrayer's Rise, we continued our quest to find the truth behind our visions. Our erstwhile rivals, having been abandoned by their patron Aloysia, still abided by the truce. We still wanted to find out what happened to the Agents of Kobold's Soul, who had disappeared somewhere in here.

We talked with the Taskhand, and Bumi was reluctant to say how we bypassed the magical ward -- I felt bad withholding that information, but if he didn't want to reveal the gems he held (the Jewel of Three Prayers), then I wasn't going to make him.

Sheeza told us that Question's and Prolix's superiors in the Kobold's Soul wanted to debrief us on our adventurers. They were interested in why the Consortium wanted the Jewel of Three Prayers (Sheeza having revealed to Question that Bumi had it, much to my annoyance).

Ank'Harel was suddenly a place we could go to, due to Prolix's having a teleportation tablet! After a short delay, we went! (We also brought the other adventurers with us -- perhaps they would be helpful to us, or perhaps not. But I'm sure we'd find out.)

We met with the Kobold's Soul folks -- they were very interested in the Jewel that Bumi carried, and concerned that the Consortium wanted it.

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – #26

DotyJuly 7, 2023July 7, 2023

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 26)

My apologies, O masters, but my memory is somewhat fragmentary of what occured once we went down the tunnel. I recall the following, but am not quite sure what it all means….

Order Symbol
1st Spider (Lolth)
2nd Bleeding Eye (Gruumsh)
3rd Jagged Spiral (Tharizdun)
4th Trio of Arms (Torog)

…The awful wailing noise gets even louder as you approach this chamber. A beam of light from above illuminates a statue in the middle of the room. The statue, made of pale marble, is shaped like a man on his knees, arms pinioned behind his back, trussed up in chains that cut into his skin. Hooks line the corners of the figure’s mouth, pulling his lips away from his teeth, and smaller barbs encircle his eyes, holding the eyelids open. All the while, hideous noise comes out of the statue’s open mouth—yet still, its expression is one of ecstasy. A double door made of iron is set into the statue’s chest; these surfaces have no handles.
A triangle, each side forty feet long, is carved into the floor around the statue, surrounding it. At each of the triangle’s points, a stone arm juts up from the floor with its hand outstretched….

…The passage defies reality, distorting any sense of direction as it twists and turns, making its way through the earth to another place deep inside the Betrayers’ Rise. The passage ends on the east side of a circular chamber. Its walls are covered with softly glowing amber-colored crystals that fill a crater at the room’s center. At the bottom of the crater sits an altar made of the same crystal….

…A spectral figure blossoms forth from the amulet. This warrior, who called himself Alyxian in your previous vision, looks up at you with a faint smile and says, “You came… you followed… you can find me.” The crystals around you glow brightly, and your vision goes white. Then you see a company of armored soldiers, Alyxian among them, marching into the Betrayers’ Rise. Their expressions are grim. Though they do not speak, you can tell that none of them expects to come home.
The vision shifts again, and everyone in the company of soldiers is dead except for Alyxian, who continues to fight while surrounded by the corpses of mortals and demons. He is hurled across the battlefield by the claws of a gorilla-like demon. The scene blurs, and he falls to his knees, pleading, before a simple wooden altar that bears the holy symbol of Avandra. At the end of his prayer, he’s lifted to his feet by a tall young woman with light brown skin and flowing black hair.
A foreboding voice cuts through this scene of divine intervention, and Alyxian freezes. “The Change Bringer and a mortal,” the voice intones. “What brings you into my sacred, devouring darkness? Even if you save him, Change Bringer, he will suffer. He will die. He will be forgotten. All that he has worked to save will crumble and be devoured by worms. Why invite further suffering? Let go. Give in. All is futile in the end, so why…”
As the voice trails off, Alyxian turns to face you and falls to his knees in tears. The scenery shifts, and the forsaken warrior is now underwater, amid the ruins of a sunken city. “The Crawling King spoke true,” he mutters. “All was futile. All has been forgotten… and I am lost in darkness. Please, help me set it right.”….

We were down at the bottom of a pit, and we saw our erstwhile rivals from the Jigow festival at the top!

They demanded the jewel. We dithered. Eventually, they grew impatient and began trying to kill us with arrows. Vaal's servant began to climb out of the pit to face our attackers, and we noted that not all the rivals were joining in the attack.

The battle started turning in our favor, and Aloysia (who seemed to be employing our rivals), used a scroll to cast Earthquake! But that seemed to hurt our rivals as much as ourselves, and Aloysia was separated from us all by a rockfall. Combat ended and an uneasy truce began.

They explained that Aloysia wanted the jewel, and further said that Aloysia thought we were misguided in "wanting to free Alyxian." For some reason, their leader Ayo was over-the-top hostile to us, which precipitated the battle. They had no explanation for that. In fact, there was some discussion as to whether or not anything was truly different with her.

Our rivals were quite dissatisfied; they were told that this would be "easy," that we would "see reason" and surrender the crystal -- not that they tried reason. Ayo had immediately resorted to dire threats.

The others did confirm that Ayo seemed a bit different -- and they told the story of a vision they saw, markedly different than the one we saw.

Our attention was drawn to Ayo's spear -- it seemed to be closely aligned to Gruumsh. In fact, this might be an "Arm of the Betrayers" endowed with great malevolent power. "Ruin's Wake" -- Gruumsh being The Ruiner -- the legends say that the Arm (this spear) is intelligent.

Ayo was so disturbed her own team-mates tied her up. We discussed what to do but decided first to escape this cave. We found a spent teleportation tablet -- no doubt left by Aloycia.

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – #25

DotyApril 14, 2023April 14, 2023

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 25)

Inside Betrayer's Rise, we had just destroyed some disgusting mouthers.

We approached a skull-shaped vase on a small table in an alcove. There was text written in Abyssal: "Cast that which you value into oblivion." The 'Chained Oblivion' was a name of one of the Betrayer Gods, Tharizdun. We debated what, if anything, we wanted to do. We eventually figured how to open the secret door behind the vase.

Apparently this was the opening to some sort of temple. We entered cautiously, hearing faint music coming from an unknown source. We saw nine symbols of evil gods -- Asmodeus, Bane, Gruumsh, Lolth, Zayhir, Tharisdun, Vecna, Taurog, and Tiamat.

My companions began to dance to the music … voluntarily … and the flaming braziers reacted by growing in size and brightness, touching some of the symbols.

Vaal's manservant began playing a discordant song and the dancing flames attacked us. They immediately stopped attacking when Vaal's servant stopped playing.

After some more investigating, Bumi found a secret passage. We heard low voices talking about "dragging into darkness." Vaal's servant was grabbed by chains! I freed him but took psychic damage. Vaal's servant continued to explore, and went down a shaft, out of our sight. He came back, saying that it was safe down there.

Bumi attempted to go down the hall, but the chains attempted to grapple him. He escaped, but I succumbed to some psychic force. Eventually, we all managed to pass the force in the hallway and we all stood looking down the shaft.

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – Part 24

DotyMarch 31, 2023March 31, 2023

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 24)

We had just reported to the Taskhand our findings about the smuggling gang and the red-veined rock we'd found.

We decided to go to Betrayer's Rise to see if we could find out anything more about the visions from (about?) Alyxion. With the Jewel of Three Prayers, we thought we might be able to accomplish something, but what that might be remained unclear. (In other words, we really didn't have much of a plan.)

At the doors, we were attacked immediately by two flying demons! Vaal was instrumental in dispatching them quickly. We approached the doors.

We found a relief carving (somewhat damaged) of Ivandra the Change-Bringer. Bumi said that his jewel was warming up, and the doors inside began glowing. Bumi's touch caused the doors to open.

Inside we found many carvings depicting the history of Betrayer's Rise -- the battles against the Betrayer Gods at the beginning of the age. We heard a whistling sound -- it came from a number of tiny holes drilled into the walls. Proceeding down a turning corridor, oozing gore began to cover the walls, and it began to pool on the floor around us. A larger chamber was ahead of us, so we moved into that to avoid the ooze, all except Sheeza, who became immobilized by the gibbering mouthers that had appeared. We went back to help her and destroyed the mouthers, but the ordeal was disgusting.

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – Part 23

DotyMarch 3, 2023March 3, 2023

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 23)

We decided to go to the warehouse that the fence (Jacinda) indicated. Senzei (the servant of Vaal) scouted an upstairs window, and then the roof. After much fumbling around, we gained entrance.

A Drow assassin and a couple other humanoids attacked Bell, severely wounding him! We rushed to aid. A battle broke out, and I initially questioned our standing -- were we not in the wrong here? I must confess to you, my masters, that my bloodlust quickly overwhelmed me, and I entered the fight with abandon. I could justify my actions by pointing to the fact that our opponents were clearly evildoers of some sort, but the truth is that my self-control was simply not there.

The fight was in our favor, and we questioned the surviving opponent, an arcane caster of some sort. He claimed to be a low-level thug of the Myriad (a local organized crime gang) and that he knew little. We searched the warehouse and found much contraband, including the bizarre rock that we were looking for -- apparently the stolen loot that Jacinda told us of.

We decided to tell the Taskhand about the rock, as well as the documentation we found (all sorts of gang-related activities, including consorting with the Dwindalian Empire). I volunteered to run over there, but for some reason my companions preferred me to stay in the warehouse and send the servant Senzei.

When the Taskhand showed up, my companions were somewhat less than forthcoming about all that we had found, particularly the strange stones. I regretted their deception, but then thought of our over-arching quest, and that perhaps the Aurora Watch would not turn out to be acting completely in sync with our goals, and that maintaining some distance would be best.

One of the Watch found some evidence (a tattoo of the Raven Queen) that one of the gang members we fought was actually an agent of the Empire.

(Additional information on some of the stuff we found:
The Myriad have stashed two wooden crates and a small lockbox here. The first crate contains small sacks of Suude: two each of brown (extended spell) and red suude (distant spell) and one bag of blue suude (twinned spell).
When suude is smoked, the user must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 10) or be knocked unconscious for 2d4 rounds. Upon a successful save, the user gains one sorcery point and access to a metamagic option for one hour; more sorcery points can be gained by smoking more suude, but doing so increases the risk of an overdose, as the DC increases by three for each additional dose.
The exact Metamagic granted is based on the color of the suude:
Brown suude: Extended Spell, Blue suude: Twinned Spell, Red suude: Distant Spell
The second crate contains ten vials of Zeal, which appears as a thick purple liquid that tastes of ash.
When drunk or applied to the skin as an action, the user of zeal must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, becoming paralyzed for 1d4 rounds on a failed save as their muscles seize up. On a success, the user's weapon attacks deal 1d6 additional damage for one minute. After this time, the user gains one level of exhaustion, regardless of the saving throw result.)

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – Part 22

DotyFebruary 18, 2023February 18, 2023

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 22)

In the mansion, I was paralyzed by a ghost. My companions brought me towards the party's chambers at the inn, but my condition did not improve. They figured it would take a Greater Restoration spell from a high-level cleric to bring me back to normal. Mid-way, they changed their minds and brought me to the Temple instead.

Finding Fogholm the Firbolg priest, they asked for assistance. I was restored to full functionality, and we told him of our adventures.

We rested in the temple, and had the following vision!

Glass crunches underfoot amid overgrown weeds. Collapsed walls have been replaced with rows of wooden shelves that hold earthenware pots. Numerous alcoves are being used as planters for stubborn flora. Just outside the far end of the enclosure, a smashed mosaic of stained glass sits in a splintered window frame next to a withered, skeletal tree.

You see a young human, curls plastered to his brow by sweat, sinking to his knees in the garden. His eyes betray a lack of sleep, and despite the softness of his features, he looks like he has experienced more pain than any one person should bear. “They’re counting on me,” he whispers. “They need me, but I’m exhausted and frightened. What do I do? Please. Someone tell me—what do I do?”

The moons race across the sky, soon replaced by the angry red sun that rises before a fateful battle. Five silhouettes approach the temple, and one claps the kneeling figure on the back. Their voices are muffled, as if coming at you through water, but you see them embrace, standing strong, before marching off to war.

Upon awakening, the Firbolg priest told us this story:

“The Kryn capital of Rosohna was the Betrayer Gods’ citadel of Ghor Dranas in the time before the Calamity, and the Betrayers’ Rise was once a fortress protecting Ghor Dranas. In the darkest days of the Calamity, the Prime Deities and their most loyal champions laid siege to Ghor Dranas before capturing the Betrayers’ Rise and routing the Betrayer Gods’ forces there. Though storytellers have long since forgotten the names of many of those heroes, the force of their bonds still resonates across the land.”

We supposed it had to do with Alyxion, the man in our visions.

Five alcoves in the temple had the following carvings in common. The plants here seemed more healthy than the others.
“Friends forever. Don’t——forget——”
“You owe me a drink in Marquet, A——”
“I am writing this——record of me stating——I will never, ever duel you again.”
“This——written proof——promise to show you the mountains of my home one day.”
“We love you. We will always be with you.”

The priest gave us some insight into the symbol that Bumi had drawn some time ago -- the Jewel of Three Prayers. It was actually three symbols together: the symbols of three gods.

The priest bid us well and we went on our way.

We went to report our adventures to the Taskhand. The Taskhand thanked us for the information, and asked us to consider taking on a job for him. Apparently there was a smuggling ring active in Bazzoxan. (The magical mineral ore being smuggled was gray with red veins, similar to the skin of the woman from our vision.) The best place to start is to start to the known fence (Jacinda Almarie - Human) in town -- in the Seventh Clasp. The Clasp was an organized crime group on Wildmount.

We went to see Question, who was sitting with Prolix in the Inn. We told of our adventures. She told us of the death of Maggie Keen-Eyes. Prolix identified the ore (a sample which was carried by Bumi) as Ruidium, which can be used in weapons and perhaps even as a spell component. The Consortium is trying to acquire a supply of it, according to Prolix.

We then went to the Seventh Clasp, a trinket shop. The shopkeeper offered to tell our fortunes, and I immediately agreed. We bought some items (and surreptitiously searched the store, finding some correspondence about the smuggling):

Forward Aloysia’s shipment to the First Eclipse. Be very careful with it, we need it intact this time if we want to get ahead of the Allegiance.
-Aradrine the Owl
The following letter is in Thieves' Cant
LF FNCE N RTHLD. CALA GDS TRE GMS TRDE. 5in5 ENCRCH N TERR. FNISH N DEM TWN N CM RTHLD.
SP.R.ACD-A

“Looking for a new fence in Rothold. We deal in many Calamity era goods, treasure, gems, and trade. Five-in-five (Myriad) wants us dead. When you’re finished in demon-town you should come.
Spireling of Rothold, Arcadia”

Bumi's recurring dream: a Gray lady with red veins - "He's in prison, save him! Hurry!" Presumably this has something to do with the vision in the Grotto.
Sehanine - at the end of the Emerald Grotto, where Bumi found the Gem of Three Prayers.

We all had this vision (including our "rivals"):
The light around the pedestal fades as a spectral figure in the form of a male human rises from the amulet. He is dressed in leather armor and a tattered red cape and wears a shield. His face is framed by curly brown hair and bears a melancholic expression. He pleads, “I am imprisoned. Please help me.”
Suddenly, the ground vanishes beneath your feet, and you fall, tumbling through a vortex of golden light. You fall deeper, deeper, deeper, then suddenly stop. The golden light subsides, and you find yourself suspended in a pitch-black expanse. You feel water buoying you. A vermilion light appears in the distance, illuminating the melancholy warrior, who is shackled to the ground by disgusting strands of a fleshy, crimson substance.
He raises his gaze to the heavens and, sobbing, chokes out, “Moon Weaver, I beg of you. Guide those with the power to save me to the site where first I prayed to you.” He looks around, and his eyes settle on you. “Oh, gods, there you are! My name is Alyxian. I am lost in darkness. Long ago, I prayed to the Change Bringer in the heart of a temple of evil. I beg you, take my jewel and…”
You feel consciousness leaving you, as if the pressure of the water were crushing the life out of you. Alyxian’s voice is the last thing you hear before you pass out. “Save me. Please.”

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – Part 21

DotyFebruary 17, 2023February 17, 2023

Netherdeep Campaign Friday, February 3

Roll Call
(Absent) Childe Raymonde, Githyanki Paladin (Doty)
Bell, Kenku Cleric (CJ)
Blynce, Human-hybrid Fighter (Eric)
Vaal, Eladrin Rogue (Tim)
Bumi, Goblin Wizard (Matt)
Sheeza, Aasimir Wizard (Joanna)
Senzei, Human Monk (Frank)

GM (Chris)

GHOST IN THE STAIRS

The party forgoes rest to forge ahead up the stairs.

Just as they begin their climb a ghostly, icy-blue figure appears through the stairway wall and surprises the party. The ghost immediately freezes Childe Raymonde and his cold, rigid body slowly slides down the stairs. Senzei attempts to make friends with the ghostly lady, telling her, “We come in peace”. She smirks, but otherwise ignores him. Vaal attacks her with his mighty Time Piercer. Blynce swiftly draws his long bow and fires two arrows, wounding the ghost. Bumi shoots buckshot at the ghost with no effect and uses telekinesis to ease Childe Raymonde’s fall. Sheeza attacks with Fire Bolt. The ghost still stands. Bell casts Sacred Flame, but the ghost is unscathed. Vaal steps in to finish the ghost with his Time Piercer rapier. Senzei swipes Childe Raymonde’s sword from his icy grip and manipulates his frozen body into shameful poses at the base of the stairs as the rest of the party ascends.

GHOULS IN THE DEATH ROOM

The party proceeds to the hallway at the top of the stairs where they hear scratching sounds and see a flickering light coming from an open room. The room is a large, dusty chamber with sparse furnishings, and it smells of soot and death. Little else is in the room except for some parchments and a bookshelf. Blynce sends his Echo into the room to investigate further. He observes a smashed urn in a pool of dried blood in the center of the room.

Echo attacks and wounds a Ghoul that was hiding in the corner. Senzei creeps up to the doorway after he hears the faint snap of Echo’s bow string. Bumi moves up and casts Chill Touch on the Ghoul. A strange mangled, humanoid corpse scuttles down from the ceiling and lunges at Blynce’s Echo, attacking with its tentacles. Echo disappears. The corpse then approaches the doorway directly in front of Sheeza. Sheeza reflexively stabs at it with her dagger. Blynce fires his bow from the doorway, aiming at the wounded Ghoul in the corner. Another Ghoul emerges and attacks the reappeared Echo, but misses. The wounded Ghoul heads to the doorway and tries to claw at the real Blynce, but misses. Vaal lunges at the corpse with his rapier. Bell casts Toll the Dead on the corpse, but the target is unflinching.

Vaal swings and lands a wounding blow to the corpse with his rapier. Senzei attempts to put the pointy end of Childe Raymonde’s sword into the Ghoul but fails. Bumi catapults a piece of debris at the corpse, missing him. The debris continues flying, landing on the unwounded Ghoul. Bumi manages to shove Sheeza out of harm’s way (away from the corpse in the doorway). The corpse responds with a tentacle attack directed toward Vaal. Sheeza takes out the corpse with Fire Bolt. Blynce’s Echo fires an arrow at the unwounded Ghoul. The Ghoul advances toward the doorway and attacks the real Blynce. Bell crushes the wounded Ghoul with his Cactus Mace. Senzei attempts to chop at the remaining Ghoul with Childe Raymonde’s pointy stick but misses horribly. He pokes again at the Ghoul with the pointy end and finally kills it!

Sheeza investigates the room and finds more black stones like the one found downstairs. The items were taken from Betrayer’s Rise. Bumi uses Mage Hand to place a dozen black stones in the Bag of Holding. There is a key and three vials on the table, along with some sketches scattered about. Sheeza takes the sketches and the key. Vaal recognizes the vials as acid and Bell acquires the vials. Sheeza recognizes the dead corpse from a portrait of Tenaryn Hythenos downstairs. The party hears movement from the end of the hall and makes haste in the direction of the sound.

THE NOISE AT THE END OF THE HALL

The party heads towards the noise at the end of the hall. Blynce attempts to open the door at the end of the hall, but lightning flashes and a glowing Rune appears on the door. Bumi has the Mage Hand open the door. The room is a bedroom inhabited by a potbellied Maurezhi demon and a flying, decayed Aurora Watch soldier. The soldier flies past Blynce and he shoots it with his long bow. The soldier attacks Blynce with a tentacle. Senzei attacks the soldier with what he is now referring to as “his” sword. Sheeza Fire Bolts the soldier and moves to the back left corner of the room. Blynce switches places with his Echo and fires his bow at the soldier. Vaal attacks the soldier with the Time Piercer and takes it out. As the soldier fell Vaal saw a black, shimmering shadow fly out of the soldier and go through the floor below. Bell sees figures moving in the room and runs to the entryway to cast Toll the Dead, but it is ineffective. Bumi casts Chill Touch on the pot-bellied demon that walks through the doorway. The demon bites Blynce. A Ghoul approaches the doorway.

Senzei attacks the Ghoul in the doorway with his sword. Sheeza Fire Bolts the demon. Blynce swaps places with his Echo to escape the grasp of the demon and attacks with his bow. Vaal attacks the demon with his rapier. Bell smacks the demon in the face. Bumi catapults through the demon and the Ghoul in the hallway, killing the Ghoul. Senzei attacks the demon with his sword. Sheeza Fire Bolts the demon, but it still stands. Blynce wounds the demon with two shots from his longbow. Vaal then decimates the demon with his rapier.

Sheeza finds a journal on a nightstand near the bed. The journal is Hythenos’ coded notes. Bumi determines that his notes say Betrayers Rise can be cleansed by destroying Arms of the Betrayer in the capitol and that Ruin’s Wake is still in Betrayers Rise. Sheeza’s new-found key opens a foot locker containing 140 gold, 20 platinum, 2 vials of healing, and a Periapt of Health. There are several knapsacks near the bed. They belonged to the Cobalt Soul investigators. The knapsacks contained 34 gold and a scroll of Comprehend Languages. The party will later decide who should take the potions and the periapt.

EXITING THE HOUSE

Downstairs we see another animated corpse attempting to attack Childe Raymonde’s frozen body at the end of the stairs. Immediately after we dispatch the corpse, yet another corpse comes out of an adjacent room. The party quickly eliminates the threat and realizes the shadowy figure Vaal saw upstairs seems to be a Dybbuk, which is a spirit creature that moves from corpse to corpse. Bell determines Childe Raymonde needs a spell of Greater Restoration to reverse his frozen state. Bell recalls meeting Fogholm the Firbolg priest in town and suspects he may be able to help Childe Raymonde. The party must now decide whether to rest or promptly attend to Childe Raymonde.

Vision of Our Quest

DotyDecember 24, 2022December 24, 2022

Netherdeep Campaign Journal – Part 20

DotyDecember 24, 2022December 24, 2022

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 20)

In Bazzoxan, we continued to explore the increasingly-sinister mansion. In the library, we found:
● The Umbra Gates lead to many different manifestations of the tunnels underneath, and constantly shift and change. The Aurora Watch has never found the same path twice, but very rarely they’ll find the same room again, just in a different configuration.
● The Cobalt Soul researchers discovered mention of a lost shrine to Avandra in the heart of evil. A last bastion against the tide of evil that is Betrayer’s Rise
● Something there might be powerful enough to help close the main rift under Betrayer’s Rise.

Pushing down the hallway where we had fought the demon a few moments before, we found some sort of museum room -- display cases, collections of various historical artifacts. We found much pertaining to lower planes and evil deities, and I confess I felt a chill. What was the collector of such things doing? Gathering knowledge of how to fight such evil enemies, or something much more sinister? Suddenly, during our exploration, the two large statues near the door moved, gesturing towards Vaal. Vaal felt the sting of magical force! Vaal continued to open the case (holding a wand) that had triggered the statues (somewhat foolishly, in my opinion, but my advice was not requested).

We started fighting against the now-walking statues. They were not very powerful and went down easily. My companions went back to their investigation of the room, which I sadly noted was beginning to shade towards out-and-out looting. On the other hand, we didn't want to just leave dangerous items sitting around, so they might as well come with us.

In an adjacent room, a storage closet, I found some sort of thing -- an undead monstrosity of some sort, or maybe a demon? Definitely a demon, a Maurezhi. Bumi's Wand of Magic Missile, which he had just takend from the museum room, apparently was cursed because when he tried to open fire on the demon, the want instead targeted Sheeza! But the demon went down before our attacks rather easily.

Bumi found himself unable to drop the cursed wand, and asked the cleric if a Remove Curse could be cast at some point.

We wandered back out to the main hall and started looking into some side rooms. Agh! Ghouls! More combat. They could not withstand us.