Session 35 recap
The party:
Hector, a 12th level Archontean fighter
Coco, an 12th level Archontean magic-user
Julia, a 13th level Archontean cleric of Lucreon
Bjorn, a 7th level Wiskin assassin
Susarra, a 10th level Archontean fighter (retainer)
Scylla, a 9th level Archontean ranger (retainer)
After finishing up their conversation with the Head of Thoth Nertet-Indra, Bjorn convinced the party to return to the room where they had found a gold ring embedded in a stalagmite. After an hour of careful excavation with a rock hammer and somewhat more energetic exploration with a sledge hammer the stalagmite was reduced to a pile of rubble and no further treasure was found.
Returning through the erstwhile hag’s lair to the fungal foresters’ mushroom grove the party went north into a warm and humid room filled with mushrooms ranging ins height from three to seven feet. To the west was a mostly empty chamber with a patch of black sand; an exit to the northwest was found to lead to the pool side of the chamber containing the statue of Nertet-Indra.
Returning to the mushroom room and exiting east the party soon found themselves overlooking an extremely humid and hot cavern filled with massive translucent colorless crystals, some of which were three feet in diameter and over twenty-five feet long. Bjorn cautiously walked into the chamber to determine if the large crystals were the source of the unusual heat and humidity. He found that they were not, but as he entered the chamber two of the relative smaller crystals animated and approached. Finding themselves unable to communicate Coco handed one of the creatures a beryl and then the party retreated out of the cavern while she cast Tongues as a ritual. Returning to the chamber they began to converse with the creatures which called themselves Selenite Guardians. The party was able to barter for passage through the chamber with three golden beryls and ten aquamarines and promise not to damage any of the fragile crystal formations.
Travelling to the eastern end of the cavern they found themselves at a ten foot ledge overlooking a vast underground lake that stretched east and south past the extent of their Continual Light stones, while to the north was a stone jetty to which was moored two well worn old skiffs. Bjorn used his Slippers of Spider Climbing to climb up the wall to the roof the large cavern containing the lake and confirmed it would be possible to tie a rope to one of the many stalactites found there. Realizing that he didn’t have a rope he rejoined the party.
They then returned to the cavern of the fungal foresters and attained permission to cross the chamber with the assurance that they would not disturb the mushrooms growing therein, or the shriekers that the foresters were cultivating in the chamber beyond. The shriekers shrieks when the party entered the room but it attracted no monsters and they continued on their way. The next chamber contained a dry alcove about ten feet above the floor of the cave and was occupied by two lizardmen. With Coco’s Tongues spell still active the party was able to converse with them and learned that they had gotten lost while exploring the Halls.The party explained that they would soon be unable to understand the lizardmen but agreed to (eventually) escort them back to the Goblin Market which the lizardmen were familiar with.
Continuing to the northwest the party found a cave filled with a thick white mist which extended from floor to ceiling but peculiarly did not spill out of the chamber. A chicken was procured from Larel’s Sack and when placed in he room wandered into the NW corner of the room and remained there. Hector entered through room and felt a little weird for a moment after he inhaled the mist but then shook it off. Bjorn discovered that he was unaffected by the mist if he held his breath while walking across the the room and back.
Hector held his breath and explored to the south, where he found another chamber beyond the mist room. This low-lying cavern contained a large pool of light brown mud which was radiating heat. To the northwest was found a passageway that led to a four way intersection. Pantomiming to the lizardmen to hold their breath the party proceeded through the mist chamber.
Traveling north for a way they eventually found themselves in a room where a rope dangled in mid air, unattached to anything. Bjorn through. Rock into the area where the rope apparently disappeared while Hector held the rope, but nothing happened. When Hector started to climb the rope he fell to the ground, along with the rest if the rope and three people who appeared out of nowhere. After a tense standoff the man and women (who were somewhat out out at having been roused from their rest in the Rope Trick) introduced themselves as Roscoe, Trillip, and Iris. They related their experience of having accidentally insulted the head of the Guild of Service in the precincts of Set and losing there parry member Azgallatu, a cleric of Mitra, who was captured by the Settites while they fled.
With a large number of companions now needing escort back to what passed for civilization in the Halls, the party returned to the beastmen’s territory, which they were charged a hundred gold pieces to be able to escort the lizardmen through. They then made their way back to the Goblin Warrens, where they feasted on lizard-on-a-stick and planned their next move.
Remembering that a young artist my the name of Temrin had the ability to make maps to objects from only a description, Bjorn commissioned a map to the Statue of Bastet. Since there were two identical statues however, the map Temrin created led back to the Temple of Bastet. The party took an extended break for two more days giving Temrin time to make two more maps, but each of these led back to the Temple as well. On the third night Bjorn secretly went back to the villa and ‘borrowed’ five golden amulets to commission a map to the missing bracer from the pair they had found one of a few days prior. [DM’s note: I was transparent with the party that when trying to find an item that was identical to other items, there was an equal chance of getting asap to any of the items; they just got unlucky with their die rolls for finding the statue.]
Returning to the rope trick room on the morning of the 29th of Molivios the party moved to the west, entering a worked tunnel that led north to a crude stone door of Archontean manufacture. Opening the door revealed a partly finished cave. The floor and northern walls were of rough stone, while the walls in the northern portion of the chamber were finished in the Archontean fashion. In the center a solid gold statuette some three feet tall sat on top of a crocodile hide mat. Around the statuette were four badly decomposed corpses, three humans and one cave skink. The statuette depicted a cat sitting on its hind legs, and was solid gold with small jet gems for eyes and nose.
Determining that this was obviously the Statuette of Bastet that they had been searching for for the better part of a week, the party cautiously made their way into the chamber. While Coco ritually cast Detect Magic Hector approached the stage and noted that all of the corpses bore large claw marks. After determining that the statuette was indeed magical, Coco attempted to pick it up, whereupon large spectral cat claws lashed out at her. Clutching the wounds and gasping out a single word - “Poison!’ - she dropped dead to the floor. Utilizing a scroll of Neutralize Poison, Julia returned her to life.
Deciding that the statuette was more than capable of protecting itself from would-be absconders while the party decided how to deal with it, they continued exploring the chamber. A natural passage leading southwest was found to terminate shortly at a a buzzing force field of magical energy. Destroying it easily with a Dispel Magic cast by Coco, the party began to enter the apparently empty chamber where Hector was almost immediately attacked by a huge black passing dropping onto him from above. The party seized the initiative and Coco cast Magic Missile on the creature, which only produced multiple smaller puddings from the still formidable main pudding. Retreating out of the chamber Coco next cast Fireball, which killed he smaller pudding and greatly damaged the larger one, which Hector finished off by using the Flame Tongue feature of the Rod of Lordly Might.
The party next returned to the Well of Light level to ask Sysco if he had decided about their request to restore the mirror and repeat the Litany of Light. He was reticent at first until the party remembered his affinity for human clothing and offered to have human-style clothing specially tailored to accommodate his frame. At this, Sysco bounded out of the room and returned a short time later with a book detailing ancient Archontean fashions, indicating the four ensembles of clothing he was interested in. The party then returned to Gosterwick via Lankios’ basement, their rug, and the villa, and found the most renowned tailor in the town. After explaining the task at hand he indicated that the price would be 8,000 gold piece for all four outfits and a month of time. Agreeing tot his the party made a trip to the Rarities Factor to have some magic items identified while the tailor prepared one of his assistants to accompany the party to the Halls to procure the necessary measurements for the task at hand. Notable items that they had identified included one half of a pair of Bracers of Haste, a Hag’s Eye (this was the ruby in the necklace they found in the cave of bones and allows the hag, or an arcane spell caster who attuned to it, to see through the gem), and a Scarab of Protection, in addition to a shortsword of moderate enchantment and some potions. After apportioning and/or storing these items the party collected the tailor’s apprentice, a rathe nervous young man named Lemuel, and returned to the Halls of Arden Vul. Finding himself in the fabled Halls and in close proximity to the imposing, hulking, four armed giant albino baboon the poor lad soiled himself, but found a wellspring of courage and finished the task at hand.
After returning Lemuel safely to Gosterwick, the party returned to the Goblin Warrens to spend the night. Bjorn sought out Temrin and discovered that he was now the proud owner of a map to the vault at the Rarities Factor. Returning to the Statuette of Bastet, the arty used a large sack to move it through the underwater tunnel whereupon they place dit on a palanquin and made their way to the surface ruins, where they planned to go west to the entrance to the minotaur tunnels and then down the long passage to the Nether Reaches and the Temple of Bastet.
Shortly after setting out, the party noticed a large flying shape high in the sky. They had grown use to seeing the dragon Craastonistorex from afar on their infrequent trips to the surface ruins but the wyrm, evidently somewhat wary of the party’s burgeoning power had no accosted them in quite sometime. The high monetary value and magical power of the Statuette had evidently overcome the dragon’s sense of self preservation however, and it began to descend in its flight, looking to make a strafing run with its breath weapon before landing to finish off the survivors.
The party set down the palanquin and scattered to take cover in the ruins, hoping to deny the dragon a massed group of victims. As the dragon got close his folly was fully realized and he learned a lesson about challenging a powerful wizard, as Coco managed to cast a Hold Monster spell that evaded both the dragon’s innate magical resistance and constitutional fortitude, and it plummeted the final hundred feet to the ground, whereupon the party’s fighters leapt from cover and finished the dragon off with a flurry of blows the great wyrm was powerless to stop.
Picking up the palanquin and restarting their journey to the Temple Bastet the party was greeted by a chorus of huzzahs and hurrahs from the Inn of the Broken Head guards manning the Northgate Towers who had witnessed the battle. As they made their way across the city and back into the Halls, their discussion centered on starting to formulate a plan for recovering the dragon’s treasure horde, now guarded only by the two wyverns that had cohabited with the drake.
Finally returning to the Temple of Bastet, the priestesses warmly greeted the party and were delighted to see the Statuette of Bastet in their possession. Placing the Statuette back in its niche, Hector was rewarded with a nebulous sense of the direction a great treasure, a feeling of luck, and the knowledge of a newfound friendship with all cats. With another item on their to-do list thus checked off, the party continued discussing their plans to claim the dragon horde they had earned.
R.I.P.:
Coco, clawed and poisoned by a Statuette of Bastet [revivified by Julia’s scroll of Neutralize Poison]
Foes defeated:
A huge black pudding
Craastonistorex, a huge very old green dragon