c02s04e13 - Attack on Penguin Temple Day 198 Torturing the captured demon is useful.. the team gets confirmation that there are 4 altars to kazarak the cult controls in the mountain terrain around New Cyre, and that these altars have become very active since the petrified demons have been missing from Cragwar. the captured demon points the way towards the nearest altar. the valleys of the Cyran terrain sink deep between the hell-rock mountains. A forest of stone spires, like tall candleabra, rise from the valley mists that glow a plae orange radiating Evil presence... Tar Soldiers like those harrassing the team's ships are seen in the mists below, and scaling the spires reaching up from the mists. The ships are too large to sink into the valley as the stone spires thicken at lower altitudes concealed in the jmists.. Eduardo spends time to ritual cast the control weather incantation while the fleet starts to carpet bombo the region, knocking the stone spires down into the fog.. once the cleric finishes his ritual it only takes an hour+ to clear the mist away, revealing piles of rubble caused by the bombing.. the mist already returning through the cracks of the rubble to valley slopes continuing to fall deeper and deeper into the landscape below. Eduardo turns the weather to rain and possibly flood out the kazarak troops beneath the rubble.. but the rain is distorted by Cyre's orbiting Hell.. the substance is like hot wax, drying when it hits the surfaces of the ships, and the terrain around. While the ships pull high out of the storm system, the wax coats and seals over the region; turning the whole area into a smooth surface with the mist and rubble trapped beneath. Obviously this isn't getting them close to the altar, and the captured demon chides that they're going to have to dig under the hardened rain to find the altar.. disembarking, the team heads down into the mists with a squad of brave pirates willign to earn some XP. The toppled spires buried beneath the hardened rain are the same material.. the whole area has been formed by the calcifying precipitation. outside the region of destruction the ships caused there's plenty of cavern like entrances now dotting the valley landscape. They pick one and get hoofing. the caverns have fresh drippe stalagmites from rain dripping through the cracks before calcifying mid-drip. Creepy echoes amplyfy feral growls from the tar demons deeper withing.. the mists become thick fog, obscuring the ceilings and walls of the expanding caverns until the terrain gives way to stone walkways through groundless mist all leading to a distant point of white light illuminating the pale orange atmosphere. Dhraksis gets eye on the source of light-- an altar atop a ziggaraut rises from the stonework paths suspended through the mists converging at the base of the structure.. tar demons roam to and from the altar like ants in a colony servicing their queen-- a pulsating light at the altar is tended to by two massive demons... one four-armed, snake demon fifteen feet tall with a massive glaive and a thirty foot penguin shaped fiend whose belly is split in half by a toothy maw.. while the ranger watches, a ball of enegry blinks into existence in time with the pusling light.. a long tongue lashes from the penguin's belly maw, swallowing the ball of lgiht and spitting out a new tar demon from the same orifice a moment later like the filth of chewing tobacco. numerous, similar tar demons dance about the altar and down the ziggaraut to the stone paths... when they get close enough both Dhraksis and Rogar open fire on the Penguin creature and draw attention fromt he tar demns and the snake fiend. the evil gang close distanxce after a few rounds of taking fire from the team snipers until they close the gap and tear into the pirate fodder. Rogar and Dhraksis continue to focus on the penguin that is rolling around off balance atop the ziggaraut while screaming in rage; its body becmoning more burned while shot after shot score hits along its massive bulk. Between Frank, THX and the Pirate gunners, the team is able to eliminate the tar troops and kill the snake demon-- sweet crit with smite damage coming off Frank cleaves the massive fiend in half and the paladin claims the oversized weapon for himself... the tar demons on other stone paths who had been cheering on the demon champion scatter in fear as the snake is felled and the team closes on the penguin atop the ziggaraut. Dhraksis lands a final crit on the massive creature, causing it to explode in a splash of vile black blood and screams. The altar has an active magic circle that pulses with white light.. a small ball of light winks into existance while the team is investigating the area and they recognize the light as an unbound soul not yet migrating to its final destination through The Nether. After carving up the magic circle to ruin the effects, the altar goes dark. Three more altars to go. <end of session> Day 198 2/3 to level 16 loot acquired (frank) TrueCleaver -- massive Glaive 3d10 magic slashing damage.. when attuned, the owner can spend an action once per long rest to make an attack roll against any magical effect within 60 feet as though casting Dispel Magic, using your attack roll instead of a spellcaster check. The item is Tainted by evil, and requires a cleansing ritual for 30 days to remove the taint. while tainted, the weapon cannot be used to Smite unless the owner worships kazarak.
