The Lost Sanctuary

[at]

Whatever the naga are up to it doesn't seem that they have intentions of a quick strike, and as the magical fog clears there is no sign of them.

In the calm after the battle each of the party notice that this place feels a little different. There is power nearby, above this central area, though the exact nature of it is unclear. Vadania is at least satisfied that it is not the curious time-twisting energy that accompanied the release of the first demon.

[harknail]

Jan 11, 2024 11:59:42 GMT -5 crazydave said:

Archibald will gladly return the handshake firmly.

His Strength score is 24, for the record.

Neera smiles, this is the first time she's found someone at her level of strength. She takes another look at him, considering him as a posbile romantic partner, if he sticks around after getting out of here that is.

Neera's strength is 25 in hybrid form, so they are very close, well past human limits. As for romance, not really planning on doing anything with that, don't want to make you uncomfortable. But it will give her a favorable impression of him.

[harknail]

Vadania will listen and look for any clue that the yaun-ti are still nearby, ready to spring the ambush again...

[crazydave]

Brenner will use Detect Magic to see if there's anything going on in that regard.

I appreciate your consideration. For now, Archibald is quite focused on the mission - and I as a player am not comfortable with it at this time. But thank you for asking!

[at]

Power. An overwhelming power that pierces through the mists, as much as they seem to seek to dampen it.

Brenner can tell that the magic is that of the conjuration school but it is otherwise beyond his comprehension. It seems that stories of the old magics within the empire were not understated, what kind of wars must there have been for such power to now be lost to man.

[crazydave]

Brenner's eyebrow will raise. "Well, I'm not sensing anything particularly focused towards us, but I have to say - whatever this place is, it's old and powerful. Far more powerful than anything around today. Conjuration... This whole place could be conjured, in a manner of speaking. Either way, we should be cautious as we continue, but whatever ambushes await us are likely to be mundane in nature rather than magical, for now."

[at]

Moriana adds, "I sense it as well. I don't think these platforms are the source, the mists here seem to be as much to dampen or hide the power as anything else."

The maps they had copied from the naga cave show nothing beyond this point save for the marked location. Vadania looks to the book recovered from Clearwater in hopes of some insight and finds the symbol matches what appears more like a vast rocky cave than anything here.

[at]

(The group may make relevant skill checks and/or wisdom checks if they wish to try and interpret the ancient book. Archibald in particular may have some fresh insight given his background)

[harknail]

Just including any that might be relevant...
Vadania:
Knowledge (nature): POZPtm8yp_1-20+14=28
Knowledge (religion): p_1-20+3=21
Sense Motive: p_1-20+3=23
Search: p_1-20+3=14
Spot: p_1-20+14=25


Neera:
Gather Information: p_1-20+0=3
Knowledge (nature): p_1-20+0=3
Search: p_1-20+0=3
Sense Motive: p_1-20+2=14
Spot: p_1-20+11=24


I expect that most, if not all, these roles are irrelevant1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20

[at]

The images mean little to Neera who wonders why the authors of the book were so vague in its creation, as it seemed little made sense until they had already stumbled through it and viewed the images in hindsight.

Then again perhaps any form of map that would actually lead people to these once trapped demons may have been a poor idea.

To Vadania though some patterns had begun to emerge by comparing those images she could identify to past locations and events. Curiously here the symbols on the staff that the had found split between the buried city and the naga cave featured prominently, and the structure of the images resembled those of the two past prisons and more heroes fallen.

But if the staff had relevance here why was it broken, scattered and guarded? Had the demon they were chasing come and gone in that first attack and what now did its minions seek here?

[crazydave]

Archibald's skills are limited. He'll roll Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) and Wisdom, in order:

kltRrK95p_1-20+ 11 = 17

p_1-20+ 0 = 7

Brenner, meanwhile, will roll Knowledge (History), Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (The Planes), and Wisdom, in order:

p_1-20+ 6 = 10

p_1-20+ 12 = 26

p_1-20+ 6 = 25

p_1-20+6 = 23

He will also muse a bit on what Vadania said: "A staff broken into pieces and under heavy guard, now being sought out by our foes? I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that we should thwart any efforts to repair this staff, should such an opportunity present itself."

Archibald chimes in. "Sound logic. Like something out of a fable - an ancient evil kept at bay by the splitting of a key into pieces. Though, I always wondered why one would simply not destroy the key outright..."

1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20�1-20

[harknail]

Vadania replies, "Perhaps, rather than the key it's the prison, and destroying it would release the great evil?"

[at]

Archibald thought back to his teachings, and while information as to the demons and their prisons had long since been hidden away even from his master and those before him he had during his travels studied the histories and rulers of these lands.

One symbol that surrounded the staff within the books images look similar to the crest of an order of the light, it's true name lost to history but the symbol itself still borne by a few scattered priests and crusaders and engraved upon magical items that create light rather than flame.

Perhaps the larger image in the book was not a cave but a pool of light surrounded by shadow, the demon trapped within. Upon voicing these thoughts Brenner recalls where they found the broken staff - one half cast into shadow and the other within the cave where the naga had thought to summon darkness across the lands, though the darkness had not come until after the first attack upon Alamut.

Indeed as the two halves of the staff were brought near they had pushed back against the maelstrom of darkness created by the nagas magic, though both the staff head and the silver rod that called to it have been dim and silent since that time, carried apart by the party.

[crazydave]

Brenner, incredulously, will see if anything happens if he tries to put together the staff head and rod - provided the party consents, of course.

[at]

Brenner moves the two halves of the staff together and the rod seeming to flow like liquid to reforge the two parts into a single piece.

The staff begins to glow once more, brighter and brighter with each moment but the light does not dispel the mists and shadows around the maze, rather it seems to close in on the group pushing them onwards and upwards towards the heart of this place as if seeking to return to the place it belongs.

[harknail]

Vadania shrugs and comments, "At least we seem to have a guide now. Let's see where this brings us..."

She is willing to go in the direction that the staff is trying to get us to go in.

Neera is just looking forward to the next encounter with the yuan-ti...

[crazydave]

"I can't believe that worked..." Brenner mumbles to himself as he follows the group in following where they are being guided.

[at]

The staff glows more brightly as the party advances, light seeming to stretch away from it towards some unseen point. Behind them the maze darkens and closes in.

Advancing the stairway to the upper levels cautiously it quickly becomes apparent as to what the staff seeks - a swirling portal of light not unlike the one they used to enter this domain, though far larger. Unlike the rest of the maze this platform is ornate and engraved with circle within circle of arcane warding which has been burnt and cracked by an intense heat. This then was likely the prison, or at least the gateway to it.

[harknail]

Vadania asks Brenner, "Any chance that you can repair the runes of the barrier?"

[at]

(The first step would be a spellcraft check)