Progress is made . . .progress to
what though, no one knows!
Book Two, Chapter 1.1 (session 29, 2 nd November 2017)
You dusted yourselves off after your madcap helter-skelter down
the chute – the ball of bones shattered against the far wall. This chamber is
in good condition hung with huge tapestries (images of dark elder gods and
weird sigils) with two exits and a chute of light high in the south wall. In
all directions in the shadows and in your peripheral vision dark shadows flit
and move. Choosing the east exit, you enter another similar shaped room, this
time clearly a library, dusty and empty but otherwise again appearing in
excellent condition. Once more dark shadows and movement flit in the dim
corners of your peripheral vision. Also a ghost accosts you demanding you to
return the stolen books, after some hasty bargaining and Carharvilios running
in fear and Franz getting possessed Naergon eventually convinces Ildra that he
is seeking the books and will return them – Ildra has not seen Varram or his
party.
On from the library you enter another surprisingly well
appointed chamber, decked out as a throne room. A 12’ tall blue skinned man
sits on the throne, a voice demands tribute for knowledge. Everyone adds a few
coins to the pile in front of it. Investigation shows that the figure is some
kind of illusion. Naergon casts divination magic and determines that the room
is emanating wavs of necrotic and illusion magic. A door leads on, Ildra can go
no farther (tied to library you assume), Franz opens the exit door – on the
reverse is chalked “DANGER !”, steps lead into the dark.
Mads, Carharvilios and Franz enter – there are stone tables at
the north end 5 large purple skinned humanoids sit playing cards (their large
serrated glaives close to hand, their barbed beards wagging over the table).
They do not react to questions until Mads sits at the table and muscles into
their game, whereupon he has some kind of one-sided conversation with them
[telepathy?] Carharvilios moves to the stairs that lead south – the creatures
stir and tense, he backs away and goes to join Naergon next door. Naergon, Carharvilios
and Jamna [using PWT] stealth back to the stairs and down to another door –
this one spiked shut and “DANGER !” chalked across it. They stealth back out
again. Mads plays cards without knowing the rules and finds that he has accrued
a debt of 27 years’ service to some Lord Zariel. Leaving the creatures,
everyone exits via the north door.
A large chamber with a dried up pool / basin (20’ diameter),
again Naergon divines and once more detects an all pervading necrotic and
illusion but with strong divination in the pool. The floor is covered in
bloodstains, and a cultist’s body lies with its throat slit near the pool.
Across the floor are dozens of arrows with fang like heads – Franz /
Carharvilios identify these as being of Yuan-ti manufacture.
Through the northern door, definitely a tomb, brilliantly lit by
torches, walls decorated with life-size frescoes showing the lost gods of
Netheril and Anauria and reeking of necrotic magic., As Mads approached the
stone sarcophagus on its dais a deep, clear voice intones “You approach
Diderius in repose. I know what you seek. Yuan-ti have taken the one called
Varram beyond their portal in the northern wall. Be prepared, for I shall open
the way to peril.”
Then with a ringing chime, a secret door in the north wall open
– ROLL INITIATIVE
XP earnt is now irrelevant as the rest of ToD is based on milestone
XP.
In-Game the session ended at 16:00 on 8 th Nightal.