Forest of Wyrd Session #26 - The Gloaming Lord Released

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Vegarious (Changeling 3)

Ranza (Changeling 3)
Jonesomon (Specialist 4)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 4)

Hobbs (Hedgefey 4) 

A whispered conversation (out of earshot of Lithilith) resulted in a plan of action to deal with all their potential foes.  First step would be take care of Lithilith and the wolf. Remembering the anti-magic properties of the true water , the party decided to lure the strange creature to the moon pool and push her in, hoping that she was some sort of magical construct and could perhaps be deactivated that way. Getting her there was easy; she simply followed along after the party as they made there way to the chamber.  Once there, Ranza distracted the creature by asking questions about the inscription, the moonlight, and so on. Once Lithilith  was distracted, Hobbs dropped down behind her and Vegarious pushed her over the hedgefey and into the pool. The water unfortunately had no obvious effect, but it at least got her out of the way for a bit as she swam to shore. The wolf, however, now turned on Vegarious and breathed a chilling cone of frost at the changeling. In return., everyone else turned on the beast and in short order the animal was dead and floating in the pool. By now Lithilith, having endured a rain of missile fire, reached the edge of the pool and hauled herself out, lashing out at Hobbs who stood closest. It turned out her touch also spread a chill, but the tough hedgefey shook it off. And in short order Lithilith was likewise slain, her bone and porcelain body shattered by multiple blows.

While considering what to do next, the party headed to Lithilith's chamber to search for loot and clues. Apart from the two blue and silver tapestries, the only items of real interest was a stone jug and basin. The jug contained a thick and viscous blood red liquid, the purpose and power of which the party could not decipher. While most of the party was engrossed with the gross liquid, Jonesomon headed out into the outer round corridor to look around. And ran head long into one of the column guardians from the central dome. Clubbed nearly to death, he yelled a warning to the party and started to retreat back to the room. Thinking to trap the thing in Lithilith's chamber so they could leave it there out of (their) harms way, Vegarious cast invisibility and slipped out of the other door to get behind the thing. Everyone else prepared to meet it and lure it in the room. The plan went somewhat to plan, with the guardian  in the room, but obviously powerful enough to beat down the door, as it now turned to do. So the party opted to destroy it instead, a task at which they were successful after much beating and hammering on it. Pausing for a moment after that battle to mend wounds and clean weapons, they next decided to take care of the last column guardian, so as to not leave it in the rear. It still stood immobile in the central chamber, so everyone opened up on it with long range missile fire through the portcullis separating Lithilth's room from that chamber. The guardian pushed forward and ripped open the portcullis, but luckily had taken so much of a beating the party was able to turn it into a pile of rubble like the first with little additional harm. 

However, several of the party had taken some harm, so they decided to climb back above ground and spend a few days at rest in the inn to recover and prepare to face the Gloaming Lord. Heading back to the chime room, most of the party assembled around the Gloaming Lord's resting place while the still invisible Vegarious range the chimes to reproduce the tune hummed by Lithilith. This caused the resin in both sarcophagi to soften, but not enough to allow someone to reach in. Jonesomon went to the empty sarcophagus and attempted to drive in his spear. Which did work, but at the same time it seemed to draw in both the spear and Jonesomon; only by luck and quick reaction was the specialist able to release his grip on the spear to time to avoid being drawn in himself. And once he let go, the resin 'rejected' the spear, pushing it back out to fall on the floor with a clatter. As this was going on, the others noted the Gloaming Lord started to stir, settling back into somnolence when Jonesomon and the spear had been expelled from other resin filled sarcophagus. And it then dawned on them what needed to be done to release the Gloaming Lord; another living thing had to be encased in the second sarcophagi to take his place in whatever realm of statis he lay. 

But did in have to be intelligent? Gnarl headed up above ground, and scooped up a wayward squirrel. While everyone else got ready the shank the Gloaming Lord if necessary, Vegarious rang the chimes with Lithilih's tune, and the wood gnome tossed the squirrel into the softening resin. It sank almost immediately to lie down among the crown and other treasures. Meanwhile, on the other side the Gloaming Lord stirred and rose out of the resin. He was obviously blind, his eyes completely white and sightless. Clad in mail made of lacquered metal leaves and clutching a gold and lapis lazuli rod, he stepped out of the resin, essentially ignoring everyone around him. Hobbs and Ranza started to ask questions. But he brushed them off with non-answers, being particularly dismissive of the changeling, who got the distinct feeling she was considered less than dirt to this fey lord.   The only useful tidbit they gleaned was he had been imprisoned here by Lord Iroch, a name they recalled from the Woad Chief's Barrow and the Twilight Archon. 

Ignoring all, Nimon just walked away, heading to the upper level. While Hobbs and Jonesomon worked to recover the treasure in the resin, the invisible Vegarious followed close behind the Gloaming Lord, and Ranza and Gnarl trailed further back out of contact.  Nimon went straight to the secret room. There, he laid his hand on the surface of the levitating cube, and in an instant it split in two. Inside was a golden reliquary, inside which Vegarious could see a beating heart. Thinking nothing good would come of whatever was happening here, Vegarious and the now arriving Gnarl and Ranza drew their weapons and confronted Nimon. He just raised  a hand, cast a spell, and the three found themselves trapped in an extra dimensional maze. Thankfully, it was only temporary, but when they retuned Nimon the Gloaming Lord has disappeared.  

TOTAL XP

9650

GAINS

Mirror in silver flower setting with round moonstone and onyx [900sp]

Scepter of golden vines, topped by a large ruby [700sp]

Silver fife inscribed with flowing unreadable script [300sp]

Goblet carved from a single piece of translucent, blood-red stone and set with green gems. [600sp]

A gold crown, carved to resemble a laurel, bedecked in green gems [1500sp]

A brass and silver telescope, inlaid with images of unknown constellations. [200sp]

A miniature, folding astrolabe [200sp]

KILLS/VICTORIES
Lithilith, the Watcher of the Resting Place

Rime Wolf

2x Column Guardians 

LOSSES
none