AUTHOR’S NOTE: This session was played on December 27th which was our group’s only chance to play during my long absence for work. We have resumed what will be hopefully be weekly games. Given the long gap between playing and writing the recap, some details may be a little off; many thanks to Batengis’ player for taking detailed session notes which allows me to even begin writing this recap!
The party:
Hector, a 7th level Archontean fighter
Coco, an 8th level Archontean magic-user
Julia, a 7th level Archontean cleric of Lucreon
Capdoffer, a 6th level Imperial goblin
Batengis, a 7th level Khumus acolyte of Tingri
Susarra, a 6th level Archontean fighter (retainer)
Scylla, a 5th level Archontean ranger
While still outside the room Batengis extended the Alexia’s Useful Pole to it’s maximum length an began probing the floor near the door. While he did this Coco cast Detect Magic as a ritual, which indicated that the mosaic was magical. Walking into the room, Batengis probed the floor ahead and when he reached the mosaic it slipped through into apparent nothingness below. The party then searched the myriad crates stacked in the room, finding only some silver dust and moonstones.
Capdoffer and Hector tied Batengis to a rope and lowered him through the illusionary mosaic. He found himself in an enormous cave, its walls and ceiling studded with impressive columnar quartz formations. The light from Batengis’ Continual Light bounced off these crystals in multicolored beams and projection. Over a hundred feet below was another large octagonal room with multiple plinths rising from the sand covered floor. Four of the plinths on the non-cardinal walls were semicircular, and contained statues, while the other two plinths to the north and south were trapezoidal and contained doors. To the east and west were short corridors that ended in doors. Dominating the middle of the chamber was a five foot tall plinth containing a twenty foot tall life sized golden statue of a ancient, huge, gold dragon.
Capdoffer levitated down to just above the sand and prodded it with the Useful Pole. Nothing stirred at this intrusion but he did notice four dead bodies around the statue that appeared to have fallen from the upper chamber and hit the statue. The rest of the used Feather Fall and Levitation and soon joined him on the chamber floor.
While some of the party examined the equipment on the corpses and began gathering what was still of use Coco translated an inscription in Mithric on the large plinth containing the golden statue which read “Yasidoranicil, wiser counsellor to the wise mages, whose generosity supported the Sortians in their darkest hour. She loved Priscus with all her great heart, and bore away his earthly remains after his body had hung for three days above the Cemetery Gate in Narsileon.”
After Hector examined the statue and found it to be hyperrealistic Coco touched it. At this, the four statues animated and began making their way towards the party, while a large booming sound began to issue from the western part of the chamber and the sand began to shake. Coco brought out the bones of Jaken the Proud and handed them to Scylla as the party began to retreat towards the southern plinth. Finding the door there locked, Coco cast Knock to open it while the booming sound was revealed to be an iron golem which emerged from a chamber under the sand began to move towards the party.
Moving into the chamber the party took note of the contents including four rolled carpets, an ebony escritoire and matching stool two tripods which the party recognized to be Tripods of Heating, a portable fire pit made of wrought iron, a cithara made of ivory and ebony, and three wooden settees covered in red leather. Finding no exit from the storage room, the party retreated through their magic rug and decided to wait a day to see if the animated guardians would calm down.
On the morning of the 20th of Molivios Capdoffer returned through the rug invisible with the bones of Jaken the Proud. He found that the door into the mains chamber was closed and locked again. The rest of the party joined him and Coco cast Detect Magic as a ritual and the party began looting the storage room and searching for secret doors but found none.
Once again Knocking the door open the party entered the main chamber and found the statues returned to their plinths and the iron golem back in it’s now uncovered pit. Looking around the part noticed that about halfway up the tall chamber was a walkway that encircled the wall. Levitating up Capdoffer found that there were four balconies in the cardinal directions that were connected by the walkway. Examining the southern balcony he saw a statue depicting a male magic user dressed in puttees, breeches, a loose tunic, and a haversack slung diagonally across his chest. His left hand held a wand close to his body, ready for action. His right hand was held up with clenched fist. The head depicted an older man wearing the starched, five- cornered hat of the proctors of the Order of Thoth. His eyes were crinkled with laughter, his mouth smiling and wide. The plinth had an inscription in Mithric. The party attached their Elven Ropes and used them to ascend to the balcony. Coco was able to translate the inscription as saying “Macrinus Furiosus, whose ferocity brought low the Theosophs and forced them to negotiate.”.
Exploring the rest of the balconies revealed three other statues. The eastern statue depicted a male magic user in starched, heavy robes, wooden clogs, with a staff leaning against his chest. His hands were held before him as if clapping. The head depicted a middle-aged woman wearing a striped hood to cover her hair. Her eyes showed laugh-lines, but her mouth was set in a neutral line. The inscription Ron the plinth read “Hortensius Greywand, third proctor of the Order of Thoth, who approved Pulcher’s ideas publicly and privately.” The northern statue depicted a female human in a toga appropriate to members of the imperial bureaucracy. A set of sticks wrapped in cloth with a javelin protruding lies at her feet. Both hands were raised neck-high and held slightly apart, with palms cupped towards each other. The head depicted a rather severe looking man of advanced age with a roman nose and a scar running along his left cheek, his mouth twisted in an expression of anger. The inscription on the plinth read “Livia the Lictor, whose efforts to placate the implacable tyrants served as an inspiration to Priscus.” The western statue depicted a female figure dressed in the vertically striped toga of an Archontean judge. Both hands were extended, palms facing outward. The head depicted a young woman with a page-boy haircut with lively eyes, and her mouth was open as if speaking. The inscription read “Placida Gorgitrex, the wise and neutral judge, whose proper interpretation of the Ennian Code offered legal protection from proscription to the Sortians.”
After examining all four statues it was easy to tell that the heads and statues were mismatched and likely were some kind puzzle. After some discussion, the party decided to put the eastern head on the western statue, the western head on the northern statue, the northern head on the southern statue and the southern head on the eastern statue. Each head placed was accompanied by a loud clicking sound from the main chamber below.
Returning to the main chamber they saw that a slab had been revealed on the large plinth contains the golden dragon statue. Lining this further open the party discovered a stairway leading to a chamber filed with unimaginable riches. The floor was completely covered in ancient silver, gold, and platinum coins. Four bronze statues stood on plinths on the cardinal walls and depicted an Archonetan woman (presumably Isadora) wearing a long kimono with waist-length hair. The four statues depicted her as a magic user wielding a staff, an orator declaiming with outstretched right hand, an Archontean bride with half-veil and a bouquet of lilies, an empress complete with olive wreath and a scepter of authority.
Between the statues sat four tables with a variety of items. The northeast table contained a disaggregated skeleton along with a rosewood box. The southeast table held a ring, a rod, a brooch, slippers, a robe, and a staff. The southwest table contained six potions, two scrolls, two dozen pieces of jewelry, and two keys. The northwest table contained eight large gems, two porcelain blackware vases, a mirror set in a silver frame and six cones of incense.
Strolling across the room, Hector picked up the rosewood to see what it contained and was immediately attacked by four invisible stalkers. Someone threw the silver dust they had found in the upper chamber to reveal the stalkers and the rest of the party destroyed them while Juli and Batengis healed Hector, who had been pummeled nearly to death by the surprise attacks.
The keys were found to open other doors in the complex and the group began the long process of removing most of the valuables, with the exception of the bones and the rosewood box which contained hair, as they theorized these to be the remains of Priscus Pulcher. They also did not bother the golden dragon statue as they were afraid that it was not just a statue but the actual body of Isadora the gold dragon. They then spent most of the next several days assessing their monetary gain, getting the magic items identified (the most notable of which was a Ring of Wishes with one wish remaining), and thinking about how best to leverage their newfound incredible wealth and power and what goals they wished to work towards.
RIP:
None
Foes defeated:
4 invisible stalkers