(G553 16/03/2024 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AL) YI20
[Fenrir the Warlock, Giselle the Bard, Corhim the Gnomish Wizard and Dak the
half-orc barbarian are inside the Fortress of the Yaun-ti.]
DAY 622 (15th Uktar) (November) cont ...
At about four in the morning, they all climbed down the rope from their hiding
place and re-entered the fortress.
They then carefully made their way to the entrance to a tower they had not yet
explored.
The rooms in this one had the same snake motifs as others they had seen so
far. As they went up the stairs into the upper areas they were attacked by
three undead baboons. These were easily dealt with.
Moving on up they were attacked by a necromancer and his undead minions.
These skeletons were armed with magic lightning scimitars which did a lot
of damage even when just touching someone. Dak was injured and then was
healed by Giselle. One by one he and Fenrir then destroyed the skeletons.
After that Fenrir blasted the necromancer down from his perch on top of
a sinister gold idol that hung from the ceiling in the centre of the
room.
With the upper part of the tower cleared of enemies they headed down.
The next chamber they came to was full of horrible demonic artworks.
Six ragged prisoners were chained up here, and just as our heroes arrived it
looked like one of them was making their escape.
There was also an evil cleric here but she was easily killed. The prisoners were
happy to be rescued and the tough one that had helped in the fight introduced
herself as Arzanezra. Dak sent the six prisoners on their way, but Arzanezra
said she would join them. Fenrir was a little suspicious and asked her about
herself. She told him she was a paladin, but that was about all he got out
of her.
Going further down the came to a portal. After having a good poke at it they
deduced that it would need "the right combination".
So they continued downwards into the bottom chamber of the tower. Here a large
golem lurked and it leapt out at them and attacked. It was mostly immune to
Fenrir's magic so Dak had to do all the chopping and biffing.
After the fight he asked Arzanezra to use "lay on hands" but she said she
had already used it for the day.
This tower now largely cleared of any threats they went back into the main
fortress and tried another one. After searching around for a bit they came
to a large library.
There was a balcony area in it, and from here a yaun-ti addressed them in
a deep voice.
"
I have wondered if you would show up here. I believe we should talk.
"
Fenrir and the others looked up and waited to see what he had to say.
"
I am Zoldathra, Master of the Word. I have been a member of the
Vanguard of Sertrous for decades. Until recently, I thought that
I was privy to the greatest secrets of my organization. I was wrong.
One day, Sertrous will rise and the Vanguard will rule in his name.
You cannot stop that. But perhaps we can work together in the interim,
to prevent the travesty envisioned by the Vanguard's current leaders.
Only recently have I learned that the creature they intend to bring forth
with the Sacrament of the Risen Abyss is intended not to rule the world,
but to help destroy it. I dare not move against my leaders directly, but
perhaps with my assistance, you can accomplish what I cannot.
"
Dak and Fenrir looked at each other and shrugged. "Go on then!' they
called back up.
Zoldathra gave them a lot of information about the ritual that they
mostly didn't pay attention to, but he did usefully tell them how to
operate all the portals and how to access the final tower where the
ritual was taking place - the Tower of Worlds.
"
The tower is built atop the cliff, but it is out of phase with the rest of
our world. The sacrament takes place there even as we speak. Be warned,
though - enough of the sacrament's components are already assembled that it
can no longer be stopped. Your only hope lies in thwarting the collection of
the last relics necessary for the rites, and in harrying the so-called leaders
of the Vanguard as they seek to complete their plans.
"
Corhim thought that they should kill Zoldathra now, but as they left Fenrir
said. "We'll get him on the way back".
Using the direction they had been given then found the portal they needed and
Fenrir went through first.
He found himself exiting through an arch that was in the centre of a room full
of corpses hanging from hooks. As the light from the arch faded a massive shape
rose from the darkness.
A mass of hairless blubbery flesh surrounded him on all sides. Countless screaming
mouths, rending claws and bloodstained teeth. It was a swarm of dretches, known
as the Wretched Tide. It was a bit much for him to handle alone and as he battled
this horror, getting nibbled on and covered in gore, he wondered where the others
were.
Dak and Corhim were arguing about how long to wait, not realising that Fenrir couldn't
get back again. Eventually Dak stepped through and joined the battle. Much blasting
and chopping ensued.