DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Rodrigo (Swashbuckler 3), with henchman Corvus (Fighter 1)
Kwinsea (Aquamancer 4), with familiar Hermes
Abdul el Abdul (Fighter 5), with henchman Otock (Dwarf 1)
Chaff (Vivimancer 4), familiar Pretty Bird, riding dog Puppy Whuppy
"No 7" (Halfling 2)
Aug-Wahmn (Calmonari 1)
Before proceeding, Chaff rook a few moments to loot Torek's body of potentially useful magic items, ring of invisibility and light dagger. As this was underway, a newcomer arrived amid the chaos; Awg-Wahmn, a calmonari guest of Rodrigo's recent bacchanalian brouhaha. As the new addition to the group settled in, Rodrigo lit a torch and lead the party down a wide corridor towards the sound of the running water. It led into a room covered in blue and yellow tile, with gaudy and misshaped brass ornaments on the walls. The sound emanated from a fountain in one corner, the water pouring from a bearded, leering satyrs' head, into a large basin. Abdul el Abdul strolled over the the satyr and was about to yank it off the wall when Chaff stopped him. The vivimancer had noticed hidden shelves behind the head, and proceeded to use his cantrips to lift a collection of bottles filled with scented powders and oils off the shelf and onto the floor. One would not budge, so Abdul el Abdul simply grabbed it and placed it with the rest. Meanwhile, Kwinsea poked around in the bottom of the fountain and in the drain, hoping to find a bit of lost treasure or two. But with no luck.
Moving on, Rodrigo and Corvus once more took the lead, entering a long narrow passage. At one end was a set of stairs going down, and at the other was the doorway leading into the High Priests wine storage. In the middle lay another room, lit by the soft glow of moonlight beaming through rounds glass windows in the domed ceiling. The light all focused on a silver decanter which sat on a pedestal in the centre of the room. Kwinsea, Otock and Awg-Wahmn immediately had a sense of danger and started to search from the door to the pillar for traps. They found nothing, but upon reaching the pillar noted the decanter was covered in alchemical symbols. Awg-Wahmn glanced inside the decanter, and saw it contained a clear liquid, perhaps water, as well as droplets of distillate clinging to the sides of the neck. After much consideration and debate, the calmonari touched the water, and luckily nothing happened except a feeling of sanctification. So Awg-Wahmn emptied his waterskin and filled it with the mystery liquid before pocketing the now empty vessel.
That exploration complete, the party headed for the stairs, entering a room which chilled them with an unnatural cold. The acoustics were likewise icily sharp, the party footsteps echoing with ponderous doom as they passed through to exit a pair of archways in the south wall. These led to another domed room with a pool. Abdul el Abdul glanced into the water, observing another chamber at the bottom. This looked like a job for one of the water-breathers, so Awg-Wahmn stripped down, tied a rope around his waist, and dove in. The rest of the party immediately saw the pool fill with blood as the calmonari yanked frantically on the rope. When he emerged from the water, Awg-Wahmn was covered in long razor-like lacerations, reporting there were some sort of invisible blades around the walls of the pool. Chaff, poking around with his bone staff, confirmed the location of the blades. With the danger now known, Kwinsea dove into the water, emerging in a magically suspended column of water in a plain dungeon room. She swam back up to report her findings, and the party started to prepare to dive down to explore. Rodrigo and Corvus first did a quick scout of this floor, to make sure they were not leaving any danger or enemies in their rear. Finding nothing but prayer spaces and a library, they returned and joined the dive. Kwninsea, meanwhile, went back to the first cold room to try figuring out what was causing the chill. As she stood in silent contemplation, a ghostly figure appeared and reached out to touch the aquamancer over her heart. The figure then disappeared as she screamed, and Kwinsea immediately felt as if a heavy load had been placed on her shoulders. Further investigation also showed a golden hand print was now burned into the skin over her heart.
Now donewith this level, a series of ropes were strung to allow easy travel down the water column to the lower level. Once gathered below, everyone felt a sense of sinister foreboding in the air, and resolved to search quickly for the
conch. They were also well aware that time was running short if they wanted to emerge from the temple before sunrise sent it back to the dream-realms. The party swiftly passed through a room with another fountain, a large chamber with eight sealed stone wells, a room of junk storage, and several seemingly empty rooms. They at last entered yet anther domed room decorated in yellow and blue tile. A second archway opened into a dimly lite room filled with a scattering of treasures. Kwinsea, Otock and Awg-Wahmn once more started to search the entrance for traps, but Chaff, Rodrigo and Corvus decided to carefully huge to edge of the passage to get into the treasure room. But found themselves instead in an identical blue and yellow domed room, which looked back on the treasure room and their companions on the far side. They had somehow passed through the treasure room without stopping.
Meanwhile, the trap-searchers had not turned up any danger, but Kwinsea did read an inscription on the floor. It stated "MAY ONLY THE LIGHT OF YOUR PURPOSE LEAD". After some thought and discussion, the party decided to cover their light sources and try entering the treasure room again. This time it worked, and all found themselves safely in the room. A golden pattern of watchful eyes covered the black dome overhead. The room was lit by an amber glow from a basin of fluid in the centre, which also contained some red and gold fish. Around the basin lay many objects, including:
- six heavy silver decanters;
- a large iron bound chest;
- three sets of blue plate mail on stands;
- a scimitar in a mother-of-pearl scabbard;
- a series of glass prisms on a brass table;
- a small yellowish box made of some unknown substance; and
- a gold and silver gilded conch.
Although everyone was eager to grab the conch and other treasure, the building sense of oppression made them wary. Awg-Wahmn used
aquatic telepathy to 'speak' with the fish in the basin. He received from his piscean friends a sense that overwhelming malevolence, doom and terror awaited them if they lingered. That got action. Focusing first on the conch, Chaff tried to
cantrip it off its pedestal, but with no success. The party was then hit with a feeling of sharp pressure and a metallic taste in their mouths, adding to the sense of oppression. Feeling the need to move fast, Rodrigo used his sword to knock the conch into a sack held by Corvus. Everyone then headed at full speed out of the treasure room. Abdul el Abdul grabbed the scimitar on the way, and Chaff doubled back to grab the strange box. As he was leaving the treasure room with his loot, however, the little vivimancer felt an overwhelming force, as if he was being pulled apart limb from limb. He stumbled back to the entry room to join the rest of the party, and they started to discuss how to get the rest of the treasure. They didn't talk long, however, as Rodrigo now experienced the same rending force as Chaff, quickly followed by Otock being torn to shreds and scattered about the room by the same force. That got everyone moving, and FAST! Without pause, the party rushed back to the water column, swam back up to ground level, recovered Torak's body, and ran out of the temple just as the eastern sky was brightening with the rising of the sun. They watched for a while as the image of the temple began to waver, before finally disappearing in the first rays of sunlight to leave just the ruined and deserted plaza once more.
TOTAL XP
1390
GAINS
6 bottles of bath salts (6 x4 0gp)
5 bottles of bath oil (5 x 30gp)
1 botle of magical bath oil
silver decanter covered in alchemical symbols (500gp)
Scimitar in a mother-of-pearl scabbard (500gp for scabbard)
Weird yellowish box (containing two laser pistols and 3 extra power packs)
THE CONCH!
KILLS
none
LOSSES
Otock
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