September 19th, 2009
Heroes: Thorgan, Rhinox, Bagheera, Kebi Dabu, Kairn, Lysandros, and Dashiell
Game Date: Highdain, Falling 23, AD1017
Our heroes were hired to investigate a newly discovered set of ruins in the northern portion of the Jagged Plains. They are currently working for a company called Ancient Eridus Historical Group, or AEHG for short, and their main assignment is to make the ruins safe enough for the researchers and historians to come in and begin their work. After several days of walking through the ruins they have managed to clear out anything living in the upper level, they learned of a lower level made up strictly of natural caves, and they are now searching through the second level of the complex.
Once again it was time to rest after several members have become fatigued from the battles they had fought. The heroes have found a safe room in the chamber with the three statues that attacked them. It is typical for them to rest there. Unfortunately this room is up on the first level of the complex 40 feet above where they are. They have not been able to decipher the runes that will take them through the portal back to their destination so their only other option is to climb the wall that leads back up. This is a minor achievement; accept for the dwarf named Kairn. He still feels the bruisers from the attempts at climbing.
The group is rested and they head back down to the next level to continue their search and their sweep of the level. There is not many places left to search so they begin by going south from the bone room. They come across a long chamber, or hall, with alcoves lined on each side. In the alcoves is a pedestal with a glass sphere sitting on top. Some of these spheres glow with the energies of elemental life. The members of the group that have studied the arcane arts know these spheres to hold elementals from the Elemental Chaos as prisoners.
Standing in the hall, between each of the alcoves, is a large statue made of near black stone. These strange statues have large crystals where their heads should be. With a bit more searching it was discovered that each of the pedestals inside the alcoves has a plate that flips down with a plaque inside. The plaque was identified as a ritual that allows one to transfer the elemental trapped in the sphere, into the crystal head of the statue out in the hall. This affectively gives life to the statue, proving them to be more like constructed golems than statues. The party decides to leave them the way they are and continue on.
After a short passage beyond the Hall with the golems, the heroes find a single at the dead end. The room has a small foyer leading into it with a podium standing to one side. On the podium is a plaque with a ritual scribed into it. In the room, in the center of the floor is a large circle of protection runes. On either side of the circle are large round pillars rising to the ceiling. Around each pillar is an inscription written in the Primordial language. Kebi Dabu is able to perform a quick ritual of his own and read the writing which reads; “Vathros’Zal.” Once he tells the party what the writing says, the two pillars rise to reveal smaller protection circles underneath.
These protection circles are occupied by strange beings from beyond the mortal realm. To the right is a being of golden splendor. The creature has eyes but not nose or mouth. He has arms and a torso but from there his body ends in a trail of white mist. He bears wings made of metal that have numerous deadly blades as sharp as daggers. He had come to be known as the Angel of Battle. Opposite this creature was another semi humanoid figure with no lower body. This one appeared to be made of the elements themselves, a raging storm surrounding him at all times. This creature was known as a Storm Archon.
Both creatures tried talking with the heroes; one trying to get them to leave, the other trying to persuade them to set them free. The party decides to perform the ritual written on the plaque. The ritual changes the form of the protection runes on the floor. The two smaller occupied circles merge with the large circle in the center of the room, putting both creatures in the same circle. The sworn enemies, one from the Astral Sea and the other from the Elemental Chaos, engage and do battle. The heroes decide the only course of action is to destroy the pedestal with the plaque; in so doing, they free the battling pair. The group chooses a side and helps the angel against the archon. Kairn refuses to believe the angel means them no harm and continues to fight against both the immortals. Finally the archon falls and the angel goes free. This last encounter was definitely a strange development indeed.
With the second level cleared, the group’s next step is to make their way down to the caves they learned about earlier. In the northern portion of this level there is a large cavern dug out from the finished halls. There is a hole in the floor of this cavern that leads down to the caverns below. That is the way they must take. A rope is dropped and the party begins their decent into the fiery caverns below.
The hole in the floor leads to a star shaped room with a flow of lava coming from one point and ending in the center of the room. Lysandros discovers the lava is being fed directly from the Elemental Chaos but where it is draining to is still unknown. The caves they find are mostly natural but something has caused them to collapse into these jagged shapes. Taking several turns and following a slime filled passage, they come to yet another cavern with the star pattern and the shattered walls. Investigating the chamber, the heroes discover a small number of insect creatures called ankhegs feeding on a large troll. The insects see fresh meat and attack. During the battle smaller ankhegs join the fight, taking the opportunity to attack when a group member has been grabbed. Rhinox was carried away deeper into the lair of the insect creatures and two of his teammates rush to his aid. Dashiell and Bagheera end up in the back of the lair with Rhinox when a large elemental creature made of the earth itself crashes through the wall and attacks. Even when the odds were against them the heroes prevailed and saved Rhinox from a horrible end.
The party returned to the passage to take another turn and continue their investigation of this level. They quickly learned this level had more secrets than they bargained for. Dashiell and Thorgan walked straight into an invisible wall of some sort of gelatinous substance. Immediately they were sucked into a cube of the stuff as the acids of the gelatin began eating away at them. Other slime and fungus creatures fell upon the rest of the party. These fungi proved to be a bit of trouble for a few of the party members, one of the slimes even split into to separate creatures. In the end the heroes prevailed.
What awaits the heroes in these deep dark recesses of this complex? Is this the end of the trail? The party has only just begun their search into these natural caverns and passages, but what exactly caused all this damage? There are spots in the caverns that appear to have been pulverized or broken to pieces. What could have caused such damage? The group is merely clearing the complex to make it safe for others; it might not be their problem. Or will it?
