Session 48 recap
The party:
Hector, a 14th level Archontean fighter
Coco, a 14th level Archontean magic-user
Julia, a 14th level Archontean cleric of Lucreon Thoth
Melnax, an 8th 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)
Armenius, a 7th level Archontean thief (retainer)
Rex, a 7th level Archontean fighter (retainer)
With two days to kill until their meeting with Lady Alexia the party decided not to continue their guerrilla warfare against the Set cult until afterwards. They spent the rest of Toternios 2nd distributing magic items and Coco and Melnax used some the stash of arcanum to recharge select wands.
Arising on the morning of the 3rd they returned to Lankios’ basement via the Rug and then made their way to the old Temple of Thoth on the Goblin level. Julia climbed up the statue of Thoth and replaced the large sapphire eyes that the party had discovered in the crocodile pools in the Set Temple. A wave of white holy energy washed through the temple, and the heavy miasma of evil that had always permeated the area was noticeably gone. Melnax and Bjorn felt their abilities heightened as a result.
Deciding to tie up another loose end the party returned to the Nether Reaches via the long descending route via the Minotaur Tunnels. After waiting for the Bliss Pollen effects to wear off they mad their way to the flowstone room and Coco, whose magical powers had increased to their maximum, attempted again to Dispel the “KB” Wizard Mark but was still unable to. Bjorn, who had heard her and Melnax discussing the abilities of arcanum as they had recharged wands the previous day, suggested using a chunk of the material to enhance her casting of Dispel. A noter fragment of arcanum was acquired from the villa via the Rug and Coco attempted the spell again. This time the attempt was successful and as the mark faded three items popped into existence and fell to the ground: a small bag, a scroll, and a cartoonishly large key. The bag contained powdered platinum, the scroll was a scroll of Passwall, and the party was certain that they would not the similarly oversized keyhole in the door leading to the tomb of Liskon the Mad. The party decided to wait until after their meeting with Lady Alexia the following day to attempt entry into the tomb, and returned to Lankios’ basement and then to the villa.
In the morning Coco transcribed the scroll of Passwall into her spell book and then the party made their way to the Azure Keep for their afternoon appointment with the Green Lady. After presenting her with gifts including tapestries portraying the fourth and seventh labors of Vul and the Augury backgammon set (which she received with sincere delight) she asked the party if they could comfort or disprove the veracity of some rumors about Arden Vul she had heard, including rumors about a drowned canyon, the goblin king and his scepter, a mysterious stranger who rescues people from otherwise certain doom, the Sun-Scarred Knights, a Lord Kauket of the 497th layer of the Abyss, a surface level shrine of Thoth, and the possibility that Arden and Vul had ascended to demigodhood. After discussing what they did and didn’t know about these subjects, she then asked about the resurgence of the slave trade under the auspices of a resurgent Set cult. After some discussion of the party’s recent probing assaults against the Settites, Lady Alexia agreed to provide a force of thirty mercenaries and ten Knights of the Azure Shield to help with a substantive assault on the Temple and Forum, to be available on the morning of the 11th of Toternios.
The party awoken the morning of the 5th and made the long journey to the Nether Reaches and prepared to finally enter the tomb of Liskon the Mad. After inserting the large key and entering the tomb they were immediately attacked by two invisible stalkers which they were able to dispatch with little difficulty, and began their exploration of the tomb.
The walls were decorated with shallow carvings of imperial officials in archaic togas and costumes performing administrative and judicial functions. At the center of the scene was a bearded archon. These had been covered with a set of three large tapestries; one showing the signing of the Compact of Ennius, one depicting the great victory of the imperial legions at Trenner’s Rock, and the third displaying the grim court held by Emperor Maurikios IV Sanguinator in the smoking rubble of Arden Vul after its sacking. The northern section of the sanctum contained a trio of leather easy chairs, a low oak table, a wine rack with six rare and still drinkable Archontean wines, a daybed with satin sheets covered in dust, an oak scroll cabinet, and a staff rack with six walking staffs. The southern portion of the chamber still held Liskon’s tomb, a large block of granite carved with an image of the the bearded man with the cylindrical hat from the walls. Someone had draped a now-rotted cotton tablecloth across the tomb, and a sixteen piece set of silver tableware rested atop it. A pair of the silver cups held a map open on the tablecloth. The map showed a substantial section of the precincts of Set, in full detail including secret doors, and including annotations by Kel Bormol, indicating the function and/or residents of each area. Along the south wall were three crates that contained long spoiled foodstuffs.
Searching the scroll cabinet revealed eleven items, all cheesy light fiction and soft-core pornography, with titles like the Whispering Widow, Legionary Rex and the Celadon Shipment, Paulus and the Goblin King, The Night Urges, Euphronia’s Awakening, and Meson’s Guide to the Brothels of Archontos. A secret compartment was found that contained eleven spell books belong to a Kel Boreal, and Coco nearly passed out from delight. Upon hearing the name, Scylla said that she recognized it as being a notable archmage from her time. The party took the spell books back to the villa via the rug before beginning the long journey back to the surface.
On the morning of the 6th the party returned to the Halls to do some reconnaissance on the Set areas. Bjorn scouted ahead invisibly and found that the cult had reconstructed and manned the barricade at the top of the stairs. He reported this back to the party and they decided to once again have Bjorn lie in wait while Coco cast Fireball into the room but as he returned to take his position he found that the guards were nowhere to be seen. The party proceeded forward and dismantled the barricade before cautiously entering the main temple area, which was empty. They went to the large bronze doors and opened them a crack so that Coco could cast Pol’s Improved Eye to scout ahead. Sending the eye down the stairs she found that the alternating landings and stairways continued for a few hundred feet, with each landing containing a pair of marble busts in alcoves to either side. At the limits of the spell’s range Coco could see a mass of guards and clerics waiting for an incursion via the stairway.
Having reached the limit of Coco’s spell the party crept closer to see further. This allowed her to see into the main forum area, which contained a large statue of Set in crocodile head form which intermittently released puffs of a nearly invisible gas. Three naked, abused captives were chained near the feet of the statue, each with a different tattoo on their forehead, one each of Horus, Isis, and Thoth. A deserted market area and forge was also visible.
The party decided to take out the guards and rescue the captives before retreating for the day. Coco summoned an invisible stalker and tasked it to attack the guards, causing confusion and panic. Coco and Melnax followed this up with fireballs, killing the guards that remained but not the clerics who had retreated at the first sign of trouble. Coco cast Pol’s Improved Eye again and saw two groups of seven Set priests all armed with Was sticks, each guarded by elite guardsmen, on either side of the entrance to the forum. Deciding not to risk it the party withdrew and returned to the surface where they entered the Chamber of the Beacon so that Bjorn could ask Akla-Chah about he weird fleshy ovals they had found. She informed them that these were Breathers; when placed over one’s nose and mouth, they filter all contaminants, making the wearer immune to harmful effects from smoke, gas, stench, airborne poisons, and spores.
After turning to Lankios’ basement and going through the rug to the villa they were shocked to find a haze of smoke in the air and the screams of wounded and dying people. He quickly found Chert and he told them that there had been an attack by an armed group of some thirty to forty mercenaries with multiple casualties amongst the inhabitants of the villa, including six workers and Capdoffer. Julia Raised Capdoffer from the Dead but was unable to do so for the gardener she attempted it on. As she was doing this the rest if the party was helping to clean up and gather information. Base don belonging the party found that the mercenaries were members of the Wine-Dark Cohort, a large and skilled group headquartered in Archontos. On the body of one of the mercenary lieutenants they found a piece of parchment with a map showing the location of the villa circled and a note reading:
“Kill them all
Bring me the loot
S.”
R.I.P.:
Capdoffer [Raised from the Dead by Julia]
Foes defeated:
30 Set guardsmen