Session 47 recap

The party:

Hector, a 13th level Archontean fighter
Coco, a 13th level Archontean magic-user
Melnax, a 7th level elf
Bjorn, a 9th level Wiskin assassin
Susarra, a 10th level Archontean fighter (retainer)
Scylla, a 10th level Archontean ranger (retainer)
Kormak the Snake, an 8th level Wiskin fighter (retainer)
Rex, a 6th level Archontean fighter (retainer)

Hector and Susarra explored The Scary Room which was found to be full of torture implements. Bjorn attempted to enter it a second time but was unable to overcome his fear. The party then proceed north through a (now obvious) secret door, finding that it was the back of a shrine devoted to Set the Warrior in his form as a human with the head of the Set animal. The shrine consisted of a low pedestal on top of which was a six foot statue of the god. Arranged around the statue were bowls with the charred remains of lotus flowers as well as two iron candelabra. The other walls showed the same image of Set as warrior dispatching all manner of enemies, including ibises, falcons, snakes, turtles, and even crocodiles. The north area of the shrine alcove was open to the main Temple of Set beyond, the heavy black drape that once separated it burning and smoldering the floor.

Moving into the main temple area they saw that the central axis of the huge chamber ran from a pair of large bronze double doors in the west to an altar and statue of Set in the east. The ceiling was fifty feet high in the middle, sloping down to twenty feet on the the northern and southern sides. The north part of the fane was still obscured by heavy black drapes running from floor to ceiling.

To either side of the bronze doors were painted thirty-five foot tall images of Set in human form with Set-Animal head. The angled walls behind the altar also featured the same colossal images. The eastern-most tip of the chamber was also cloaked by heavy black drapes rising twenty feet to the ceiling. The floor is clad in blood red tiles. Two thirty five foot long pools flanked the central axis and contained clear water and lily pads. At the eastern end stood a dais which rose in three steps to eight feet off the floor; on top of this dais was a red stone altar, behind which is an enormous statue of Set. Torches on the western and eastern walls lit the temple, aided by a pair of sconces set into each pillar.

The party moved into the chamber and examined the altar and statue. Carved from a single block of red marble, the main altar pulsed with an evil red light. On the top of the six foot long pulsing slab was a human-shaped indentation, blood grooves, and copper shackles. On it rested a jagged stone knife with a crocodile-hide hilt, a green jade cup for catching blood, and two black candles.

Behind the altar was a twenty-five foot tall statue of Set, in Set animal form with long flat ears, forked tail, and a long curved snout. Set was shown grasping a Was stick in his left hand and an ankh in his right. The statue was made of an enormous block of granite, although the head was made of ivory, gold, and lapis, with two lemon-sized rubies for eyes.

Coco cast Detect Magic as a ritual and found that the altar and statue were magical. Deciding to leave them alone the party began to explore the rest of the temple. Looking under the large black curtains on the north side of the temple Bjorn found more smaller shrines including a table on which was placed several large silver basins glistening with silver liquid, two golden candlesticks, and two mummified objects, one a hand and the other a small crocodile’s head, and a stone table on top of which a green serpent coiled, writhed, and hissed, but did so in an awkward, mechanistic way. The western alcove contained what looked like an empty guard station. Examination of the southern wall showed another shrine in addition to the one with the secret door, this one a stone table on which sat a large statue of a crocodile, with mouth open for the attack. Another guard station occupied the southwestern corner.

While some of the party explored the periphery of the chamber, Coco and Hector examined the pools, finding them each to be inhabited by two very large crocodiles. Scylla cast Speak With Animals and through a conversation with them learned that there were “shiny things” at the bottoms of the pools and that the crocodiles were mainly food oriented. The party fed the crocodiles dead Settites until they were sated and Coco used her Staff of the Frog to gather the items from the bottom of the pool, including forty aquamarines, a skeleton wearing a torc that read “Nyema”, and a leather pouch containing two enormous eye-shaped sapphires.

Having seen that the crocodile head statue in the southeast corner was magical, the party began to examine it. Coco put a crossbow bolt and then a spear in the statue’s mouth but nothing happened. Bjorn then dragged the corpse of a cultist over and placed its arm in the statue’s mouth whereupon the mouth snapped shut and cleanly severed the corpse’s arm and a tear oozed from each of the statue and hardened into aquamarines. Bjorn then inserted the other arm but it was only mangled and not severed and no aquamarines were produced.

Scylla attempted to communicate with the snake in the northeast corner and discovered that it was a mechanical automaton. Bjorn used an Alexia’s Useful Pole and knocked it to the floor, shattering it. Exploration behind the curtain on the east end showed a small roughhewn tunnel that led to a chamber containing spy holes that overlooked the Temple of Thoth. Moving to the western end of the Set Temple Bjorn threw open the large bronze double doors, revealing a wide corridor with alternating stairs and landings leading down. On the first landing were two side passages run north and south. Down the south passage was a T intersection, the eastern portion of which led to the room that Coco had Fireballed earlier and contained plastered walls that depicted scenes of Set animals preening, receiving worshippers, and being adored. The charred bodies of twenty-three cultists and two acolytes lay scattered about the room.

Image courtesy of Artvee

Returning to the T intersection and taking the western path eventually led to a room brightly lit with Continual Light spells and featuring large frescoes with images of Set crushing enemies (ibises, baboons, bipedal amphibians) and receiving tribute from abject specimens of many races. Two racks by the south wall contained ceremonial robes and headdresses, while four leather chairs and several tables with metal cups and flagons sat by the east wall. While searching the room most of the party found a secret door in the southern wall but only Melnax found the small hole in the ceiling above that opened it. Behind lay a narrow tunnel leading east and west. Exploring the corridor the party found a small room containing masks with face of the Set Animal, another with spy holes that overlooked a torture chamber, and another with seven ten foot square cages, all but one of which were occupied.

Seeing no immediate way into the detention cell room the party circled back around to the main temple and then to the room where the barricade had guarded the stairs. Exploring a door in the southern part of the room showed a small bedroom containing a locked chest. Coco Knocked the chest open, revealing a few minor treasures. The party returned to the intersection that had led to the secret door and proceeded to the south down a steep stairwell dimly lit by black candles. As the party descended the candles started to emit thick black smoke as blood curdling screams seemed to come from all around them. At the bottom of the stairs were doors to the south and east and a hallway leading west. After Bjorn used the Conch to listen at both doors and heard nothing hector opened the eastern door.

Beyond the door was a room containing four Set guardsmen, a grinning scarred fighter, a wizard, and frowning smooth skinned fighter who had been silently waiting in ambush after being alerted by the screaming from the stairwell. The party, their nerves on edge from exploring the Set Temple were not surprised but the Settites seized the initiative and rushed the door, the guards seizing the initiative and the wizard activating his wand to no visible effect. Hector killed one guard and Bjorn snuck invisibly along the wall into the chamber while more doors opened in the hallway behind the party and four more guards and three Set priests came rushing out. The Settite priests attempted to Hold Person what had been the rear echelon of the party but only Kormak failed to resist the magic. Coco and Melnax cast Fireballs on this newest group, killing two guards, bloodying a third, bloodying two of the priests, and wounding the third. Scylla cast Heat Metal into the eastern room, effecting the remaining guards and fighters, while Bjorn crept behind the magic-user and Assassinated him. The scarred fighter assaulted Hector with a whip while Coco cast Confusion on the guards and one of the priests in the hallway, while the other two priests quaffed potions to become unbloodied.

Taking advantage of the Confusion, Coco retreated to the middle the party while Bjorn knocked out the frowning fighter with a sleep dart, but he was soon awoken by damage from Scylla’s Heat Metal spell. Susarra cleaved through the scarred whip fighter last guardsmen as Hector bloodied the frowning fighter. The Set priests Dispelled the Confusion and Coco answered by casing Pummeling Fists in the hallway, forcing the priests to retreat beyond the Fist Zone while the guardsman advanced after having his mace torn from his grasp by the Fists. Drawing his spear to continue the fight he was quickly vanquished by Hector and Melnax. The remaining two priests fled to the west and Hector and Susarra followed, slaying them as they attempted to open one of the cages, presumably in an attempt to kill or take one of the captives hostage. A quick check of the remaining doors in the hallway revealed no other foes but there was an unconscious, naked, manacled woman in one of the rooms. They then returned to the room with the cages, finding the following people held within:

• Lillian, the canon of the temple of Mitra in Newmarket

• Gribble, a goblin captain

• A fishman

• Geleg, a male Archontean magic user

• Azgallatu, a male Archontean cleric of Mitra

• Grist the Hammer, a male dwarf

Hector retrieved a Potion of Healing from Kormak’s still Held body and used it to revive the manacled and unconscious captive, who said she was Eadgithu, a female Thorcin ranger. They recognized Lillian as someone they had been told to look for in the halls many weeks prior. The captives were in various states of disrepair, depending on how long they had been held captive by the Settites. The party was particularly shocked to learn that a couple of the captives including Lillian had been captured and sold to the Settites by beastman patrols. While the rest of the party conversed with the humans and dwarf, Bjorn killed the near feral fisherman in its cage, reasoning that it was a kinder fate that leaving it to starve to death. The captives were anxious to leave the Set temple, saying that there were many more Settites on the lower level who would surely come quickly in larger numbers after word of the incursion spread. As they left the Halls they informed the party of the main way for non-Settites to enter the Forum, which was to shine a red filtered lantern at the cliff and be brought up in a basket by ropes. Gelled rejoined the goblin as they passed through their territory.

Returning to the villa via rug from Lankios’ basement, the party gave the freed captives 1,200 gold coins and six aquamarines from the Set temple to help them get back on their feet. They helped Azgallatu reunite with his adventuring party while Gelled and Grist indicated a willingness to live at the villa and help in the running and defense of it. The party then escorted Lillian to the Temple of Mitra in Gosterwick where the chief priestess Jador the Just not only paid them the reward for rescuing the canon but also offered to schedule a meeting two days hence with Lady Alexia. Accepting this offer and agreeing to meet in two days time, the party went to the Rarities Factor to get som magic items identified and discuss what to do until their meeting with the Green Lady.

R.I.P.:

None

Foes defeated:

Eight Set guardsmen
Three Set deacons
Two fighters
One magic-user
One fishman