S1:E13: The Vast Riches of the Ruins of Filla...

Having surveyed the ruins of Filla, the party goes in for a closer look...

Transcript

Episode 13: The vast riches of the ruins of Filla…

[The party (Um, Fo, Th, Pi, En, Ka, Ma) Constitution Saving Throws (DC13)] Roll 7, 13, 14, 8, 21, 7, 11

The hike back up the dunes to the point of landing proves to be extremely difficult after a long day of mapping the city and, though the temperature is cool and cooling faster as Isvara drops in the sky, Umgurn, Piece, Kace, and Malege find themselves quite tired and having trouble making it up the sandy dunes. Fodinis, Theophania, and Enacelle seem to have no problem and push the others.

[Umgurn, Piece, Kace, and Malege suffer 1 level of exhaustion]

After struggling with the dunes for nearly an hour, the party crests a large dune and sees the ship hovering 10 feet off the ground with the ladder extended. They happily climb to the top, one at a time, and then pull the ladder up after everyone is boarded. Captain Fishdwain dispenses with pleasantries and immediately takes to the sky, journeying back to the hidden mountain anchor point. Gathered below deck once the ship is secured with one lookout (Filby) above, they begin their debrief.

“We were able to map about half of the ruins today in detail.” Enacelle pulls out her map and shows it to Captain Fishdwain. The notes are detailed and give the approximate size of each building, a general description, and a note on any contents worth possibly reexamining in detail once the site is secured. Some of the notes includes small drawings of patterns and etchings on walls.

[The party (Um, Fo, Th, Pi, En, Ka, Ma) and crew (Fish, Fil, Sara, Thess) make History checks] Roll 19, 3, 20, 14, 18, 19, 11 and 9, 6, 2, 4

Umgurn looks at the markings and notes that they look very similar to architecture in a book on religions of Angedrian that he studied, specifically of the kingdom of Loliminstein. Theophania recognizes a pattern in the buildings and the large remaining arches and notes that such vaulted roads were the main city designs of Loliminstein according to a book on ancient architecture that she read in Devenmere. Enacelle explains how the type of grass that is growing in this area and the diversity of the palm trees is all new growth within the last several years but some of the wall paintings in the buildings showed oak, fir, birch, maple, and cedar trees in scenes of city life. Kace notes that, based on his understanding of the Underdark, there is nothing below this ruin relative to the Underdark except a long tunnel leading north towards Ilelestedun which is at least 5 days' journey on foot.

“So, is the Blight what used to be called Loliminstein?” Malege studies the images and notes on the map carefully. Enacelle points out several similar drawings and common architectural designs. 

“It would seem so. Theophania and I have both read about Loliminstein, clearly, but, I must confess, I did not know where it was geographically in Angedrian.” Umgurn folds his arms across his chest and Theophania nods. 

“Any signs of anyone else having been here?” Captain Fishdwain sits down in a chair chewing on a pipe.

“No. Our familiars were very careful to look for tracks, debris, recent campfires, etc. As far as we could tell in the northern part of the ruins, no one has been here in… a very long time.” Enacelle pauses and closes her eyes in concentration. When she opens them, she blinks. “But, then, where did the bats and the dragon come from if not here?”

“There is still the southern half of the ruin to map, Enacelle.” Fodinis twirls a dagger in his fingers. 

“And the mine.” Piece sips hot tea that they made for everyone from palm fruits they collected at the ruin.

“What mine?” Fishdwain sits up from his chair and leans forward.

“At the eastern edge of the ruin, at the base of the mountains. There appeared to be a mine entrance  that was overgrown with some structure around them.” Malege sips his tea as well and smiles, nodding at Piece.

“An old mine would be a good place for dragons and kobolds and bats to hide. Best to be careful.” Fishdwain chews more aggressively on his pipe. 

“If possible, Fishdwain, could we be dropped off on the western edge of the ruin on the south side tomorrow and picked back up there. The climb out of the dunes almost killed us.” Umgurn pats his thighs vigorously which still burn and ache.

“Aye, climbing a sand dune in the desert WILL kill you. Lucky for you lot that the weather is so cool here this time of year. But, yes, we can likely do that. I suggest you all get some hard sleep. And, for you magic-types, best to prepare any fighting magic you have for tomorrow. We were lucky today to not be bothered but, if that dragon has friends, they will know something is wrong by the morn.”

[The party takes a long rest]

Isvara rises somewhat early with only the vast stretch of ocean to the horizon between the Lonely Lady and the bright light. The sky is cloudless and still. The party gathers on the deck with the Captain and his crew to look back at Filla in the early morning light and prepare for their second day of mapping out the ruins. The eyes of the familiars had found two statues/towers that may or may not have some sort of unique markings on them or possibly were inlaid with precious gems and metals. It was difficult to tell. There were three buildings in the northern half of the city which had structures inside that Enacelle marked as worth a second look. Possibly stone coffers or sealed vessels of rock. After a hearty breakfast of dragon meat, the party restocked with extra rations, prepared spells more aligned with a potential conflict, and agreed upon the scouting plan for the day.

Less than an hour later, Captain Fishdwain lowered the ship to about 10 feet off the ground in the southwest corner of the ruins. The party climbs down quickly and surveys the immediate area.

[The Party (Fo, En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi) makes Stealth, Investigation, and Perception checks] Roll 15, 24, 10, 21, 11, 10, and 13; Roll 14, 8, 2, 10, 3, 1, 10; and roll 2, 18, 10, 18, 6, 7, 12

The end of the sandy dunes from the coast catch the breeze off the water which leaves a dirty haze all around the party making it very difficult to see anything. As such, Fodinis, Enacelle, and Malege keep their footing as they move towards the first of the ruins but the rest of the party slips and slides in the sand, making a bit of a racket, despite the wind. As the sand begins to clear closer to the buildings, Enacelle and Malege both see a sparkle or glint of something near one of the tall archways that vanishes almost immediately. The central and souther rivers are not close to the archway so a reflection off water is not likely. They both hold up their hands in a fist for the rest of the party to stop, drop down low, and watch. As they watch the ruins in the distance where the flash originated from, the sand around them seems very calm and still as the breeze has died down for the moment. Enacelle and Malege, still keenly observing their surroundings, notice slight bulges in the sand ahead of them that seem to be moving. Enacelle nods to Theophania who notches an arrow and fires at one of the moving bulges.

[Enacelle makes a longbow attack with disadvantage vs AC15] Rolls 9 for a miss.

Her arrow whips through the air and hits the moving bulge but seems to stop and then roll down the sand having not hit anything solid. As they watch, the bulges, which there are now seven of, seem to have stopped dead still. Umgurn motions for everyone to stay completely still as creatures that burrow, in his experience, can sense movement on the ground. He is immediately concerned these could be kruthik with their last experience in Pathilia and does not wish to face any of those this morning. 

[Enacelle casts Magic Stone and Malege uses Magical Tinkering]

Enacelle twirls her fingers over three shiny stones in her hand and whispers, causing them to glow brightly for a second. Similarly, Malege has four pieces of obsidian in his hand with a small caliper and causes them to glow brightly for a second. From Malege’s hand, a rhythmic thumb begins. He immediately hurls all for stones far to the right of the party while Enacelle hurls all three stones to the far left of the party. As soon as Malege’s scatter bits of obsidian land, they begin a loud thumping. Enacelle’s stones strike the sand with a loud snap but then lay quiet. As the party watches, three of the bulges move towards Malege’s ruckus while the other three move towards Enacelle’s. The middle bulge does not move. Kace shakes his head, pointing at the last bulge. No one moves. After less than a minute, the party can see small pincers and feelers poking up through the sand near the stones. One of the pieces of obsidian vanishes under the sand. After a second, it emerges high in the air and lands near Kace’s feet, the surface of the stone hissing and bubbling with acid. Everyone draws their weapons and looks at Umgurn. He points at Enacelle, Piece, and Fodinis and indicates they should attack the left group. He points at Malege and towards the sole bulge. He nods to Kace and Theophania that they should attack the right group. 

[Malege casts Message]

Malege waves his hands at Umgurn, points a finger at him, and whispers a message. “I will get them to the surface.” Umgurn furrows his brow and then nods. Malege waves everyone to move away from him and places his hands on the ground.

[Malege casts Thunderwave into the ground]

An enormous peal of thunder erupts into the sand under Malege’s feet, shifting the sand next to him away from him. But the loud, underground cacophony had the desired effect. The seven bulges sudden erupt from the sand to reveal large, insectoid creatures which look like oversized fleas. 

[The Party receives one round of surprise attack due to disorientation of the Giant Sand Fleas]

[Theophania makes two longbow attacks (horde breaker) at Sand Flea F and G] Rolls 22 for 6 damage and 24 for 11 damage.

Theophania launches two arrows from her longbow at the fleas closest to her, striking both of them in the carapace and causing them to shriek.

[Malage summons Eldritch Cannon Force Ballista and casts Firebold at Giant Sand Flea D] Rolls 22 for 6 damage.

Malege manipulates his tools and a small cannon appears in front of him with four gangly, spider-like legs. The cannon is pointed at the flea directly ahead of him. He whispers and contorts his hands and a bolt of fire erupts from his hands and strikes the flea in the face, causing its antennae to singe.

[Fodinis attacks Giant Sand Flea C with shortsword (surprise, sneak, assassinate); attacks Giant Sand Flea B with shortsword (surprise, assassinate) ] Rolls 25 (crit) for 14 damage plus 14 Sneak attack plus 14 surprise attack (38 total damage) ; rolls 28 (crit) for 7 damage plus 15 surprise damage (22 total damage)

Fodinis, with the element of surprise, charges the nearest flea and slashes with his shortsword, catches it just under its head and slices open the head and abdomen, killing it instantly. He spins towards the next flea and slashes with his offhand swort sword, slicing deeply into its abdomen but not ending the beast.

[Piece attacks Giant Sand Flea B with Agile Spear; moves to melee with Giant Sand Flea A, spends 1 ki point to make fury of blows] Rolls 16 versus AC15 for a hit doing 8 damage, killing it; Rolls 17 for 8 damage and 12 for a miss.

Piece, seeing Fodinis down one flea and mortally injure a second one, hurls their spear at the injured flea, skewering it in the face and killing it instantly. They charge the remaining flea on the left and, using ki-infused claws, swipes at the flea twice, landing a solid slash across its abdomen.

[Kace manifests Echo between Giant Sand Flea E and G, attacks Giant Sand Flea E with Spear, Unleashes Echo for   an attack on Giant Sand Flea E] Rolls 26 for 10 damage and 11 for a miss. 

Kace bumps his fists together and a grayish echo of himself appears between the two fleas to the right. He hurls his spear at the furthest flea, stabbing it in the neck. His echo swings at the same flea but misses as the flea winces from the spear attack.

[Enacelle casts Ice Knife at Giant Flea F] Rolls 25 for a hit, dealing 3 damage to it. Fleas roll Dex Saves 14, 15, and 17 (3 saves), no damage

Enacelle balls her hand and clutches her staff, sending a shard of ice streaking towards the fleas near Kace’s echo. The middle flea is struck by the ice, which bounces off its carapace and explodes high in the air which they easily avoid. Kace’s echo, unable to move, is shredded by the ice shards and vanishes.

[Umgurn casts Guiding Bolt at Giant Sand Flea G] Rolls 19 versus AC15 for 13 damage.

Umgurn releases a bolt of radiant light from his fist clutching his amulet which streaks towards the flea on his right, striking it in the face, causing it to wince and shriek, and illuminating it in a ghostly glow.

[Everyone Rolls for Initiative]

[Theophania casts Hail of Thorns, attacks Giant Flea F with longbow, horde breaker Giant Flea G] Rolls 20 versus AC15 for a hit for 4 damage, Hail of thorns 2 damage, rolls 11 for a miss.

Theophania murmurs a few mystical words and her arrow illuminates with small thorns. She launches the arrow at the middle flea to the right, striking it in the carapace again. A shower of thorns erupt from the shaft and tear through all three beasts. She launches a second arrow and the adjacent flea but it misses wide and sticks in the sand.

[Giant Sand Flea A uses Caustic Saliva Spray] Rolls 5 damage, Piece and Enacelle make DC13 Dex Saving throws, roll 18 and 18 for 3 damage each.

The last flea to the left hisses loudly and a 5 foot wide, 20 foot long spray of acid emerges from his maw towards Piece and Enacelle who dodge the brunt of it but are burned a bit.

[Malege fires Eldritch Cannon at Giant Sand Flea D, Casts Firebolt] Rolls 8 for a miss and 12 for a miss. 

Malege activates his force cannon, firing a blast of energy towards the flea but hitting just in front of it, causing a burst of sand to erupt into the air. He follows it quickly with a firebolt but the flea, dodging the sand, side steps making the firebolt miss.

[Giant Sand Flea D move 30 feet, attacks Eldritch Cannon with smother] Rolls 24 (critical) for 22 damage, destroying it.

The flea in front of Malege seems annoyed by the cannon blast and charges forward, leaps, and lands on top of it, smashing it into a dozen pieces.

[Giant Sand Flea F moves 20 feet to Umgurn’s left, uses Caustic Saliva Spray] Rolls 10 damage, Umgurn, Theophania, and Kace make Dex Saving throws, roll 4, 14, and 21 (2 saves, 1 fail)

The middle flea on the right rushes across the sand and turns back towards Umgurn, releasing a spray of acid at Umgurn, Kace, and Theophania. The bulk of the blast hits Umgurn in the chest but it deflects much of the rest away from Kace and Theophania who are only mildly burned.

[Fodinis moves into melee with Giant Sand Flea A, makes two short sword attacks (sneak)] Rolls 8 and 8.

Fodinis slides next to Piece and makes two quick slashes at the remaining flea. However, the sand is slippery and both of his swings are too high, bouncing off the creature's carapace harmlessly.

[Giant Sand Flea G moves 15 feet to Theophania’s right, uses Caustic Saliva Spray] Rolls 4 damage, Umgurn, Theophania, and Kace make Dex Saving throws, roll 5, 21, and 20.

The far flea on the right moves across the sand and turns back towards Theophania, releasing a spray of acid at Umgurn, Kace, and Theophania. Having just witnessed this, Theophania and Kace dive out of the way but the bulk of the blast again hits Umgurn in the back.

[Giant Sand Flea E moves towards Kace and uses Smother] Rolls 8 for a miss.

The remaining flea on the right charges towards Kace, leaps, and tries to smother him but Kace easily pushes the beast off of him and back to the ground.

[Piece attacks Giant Sand Flea A with claws and then fury of blows (1 ki)] Rolls 26 (crit) for 13 damage, Rolls 13, miss, and 16 hit for 5 damage.

Piece, still stinging from the acid spray, unleashes three rapid claw strikes on the flea, landing two which gash open its abdomen, killing it instantly.

[Kace makes two-handed spear attack at Giant Sand Flea E, launches Dancing Longsword at Giant Sand Flea E] Rolls 18 for 8 damage and 22 for 9 damage.

Kace tosses his dancing longsword into the air then grabs his spear in both hands and lunges towards the flea in front of him. As his spear pierces through its head, the longsword slashes through its carapace, killing it instantly.

[Enacelle moves into melee with Giant Sand Flea D, makes a scimitar attack] Rolls 16 for 7 damage.

Enacelle rushes the flea next to Malege that just crushed his cannon and slashes with her scimitar, cutting through two of its legs. 

[Umgurn moves into melee with Giant Sand Flea F, makes two scimitar attacks] Rolls 23 for 7 damage and 9 for a miss.

Umgurn, burning from acid and angry, rushes the nearest flea with his scimitar and swings down through the creature’s abdomen, slicing it. His scimitar buries in the sand so that his backswing is off balance and misses completely.

[Theophania moves into melee with Giant Sand Flea G, makes two short sword attacks] Rolls 20 for 6 damage and 14 for a miss.

Theophania charges the flea nearest her and slashes twice with her short swords, cleaving through part of the carapace with one pass. 

[Malege casts Create Bonfire] Rolls 2 damage, Giant Sand Flea D makes a Dex Saving throw, Rolls 13 versus DC14 (fail) for 2 damage.

Faced with the flea that just crushed his cannon, Malege erupts a giant bonfire under the flea, singing its legs and antennae

[Giant Sand Flea D tries to smother Malege, moves out of melee with Enacelle and Malege] Rolls 8, AoO Enacelle rolls 19 for 8 damage, AoO for Malege rolls 20 for 7 damage. 

The flea in front of Malege, leaps out of the bonfire trying to smother him but fails and falls back into the flames. The beast panics and rushes away from Enacelle and Malege who both take attacks of opportunity, landing them in the flea’s back and killing it instantly.

[Giant Sand Flea F recharges Acid spray (fails), uses Smother on Umgurn] Rolls 14 for a miss.

The flea engaged with Umgurn tries to leap on top of him but Umgurn pushes it back down with his scimitar easily.

[Fodinis moves 30 feet to Giant Sand Flea F, makes one short sword attack] Rolls 28 (crit) for 10 plus 14 (sneak damage)

Fodinis bolts towards the flea with Umgurn with his shortsword raised over his head, swinging it downward when he is in reach, cleaving the flea in half.

[Giant Sand Flea G recharges acid spray (fails), uses Smother on Theophania] Rolls 23 versus 17 AC for 12 damage, Theophania makes STR Saving throw DC14, rolls a 9, restrained.

The flea facing Theophania leaps into the air and comes down on her quite hard, pinning her to the ground.

[Piece moves into melee with Giant Sand Flea G, makes three claw attacks (ki)] Rolls 9, 7, and 13 misses

Piece, seeing Theophania struggling under the large beast, rushes towards it to swipe again three times with its claws but slides on the sand when they are in melee, missing with all three passes and colliding with Theophania and the flea.

[Kace moves Dancing Longsword to Giant Sand Flea G, attacks with spear 2-handed] Rolls 27 (crit) for 11 damage (longsword) and 26 for 9 damage.

Kace charges the last flea covering Theophania and slashes it with his magical longsword in mid-air while thrusting his spear deep into its carapace, killing it instantly.

[The party receives 200 xp each]

Enacelle passes around potions of healing to Kace, Umgurn, Theophania, and Piece, healing all of them to full health. 

[Enacelle makes a Nature check assisted by Theophania] Rolls 15

Enacelle and Theophania examine the corpses of the flea-like beasts and determine that these are, in fact, giant sand fleas. The meat is dry and tasteless and the carapace for all of them, though possibly useful in making armor, has been completely destroyed in the battle. They do manage to salvage the acid pouches from 5 of the beasts.

[Enacelle receives 5 acid pouches (2d6 acid damage ranged attack)]

“Fleas typically drink the blood of larger animals, yes?” Fodinis kicks one of the carcusses. 

“Yes, that’s true. But what kind of creature could these possibly feed off of? And there is nothing on these creatures that would have made a shiny flash as far as I can see.” Enacelle and Theophania begin dragging the corpses to Malege’s bonfire where one beast is already mostly burned up. Kace and Fodinis follow suit. After a few minutes, all seven corpses are burning in the morning air, producing an acrid brown smoke that smells like sulfur and tar. 

“Let’s not wait around to find out.” Umgurn herds the party towards the ruins. Everyone calls their familiars and the process of mapping the ruins begins. As with the day before, the first pass moving west to east takes more than four hours but goes off without incident or encounter. As with the day before, Enacelle marks the map with as many details as possible transmitted from the familiars. At the western edge of the ruins, they decide to break for a meal and a short rest. Enacelle reviews the map and makes several notes about additional interesting buildings. Piece makes cups of tea for everyone from some herbs they brought and assures everyone it will calm them. Once they have completed the short rest, they agree that the last of the mapping back towards the extraction site will take about 3 hours. They are now close to the central river, moving along the buildings with their familiars. The shore of the river is variable high and low, creating patches of mud. 

[The Party (Fo, En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi) makes Stealth checks] Roll 23, 9, 20, 7, 11, 9, 24

Fodinis, Kace, and Piece move quietly through the ruins with their familiars. Enacelle, Malege, Umgurn, and Theophania struggle with the buildings closer to the river as the land is softer with mud, causing them to slip and slide, falling a few times and making a lot of noise. Several rocks and debris slide into the river and disturb the slow flowing water with loud splashes. The party looks at the water and notices that, though the river is 20 to 25 feet wide in most places, it looks very deep. Malege pulls a piece of obsidian from his bag, tinkers it to glow with 5 feet of bright light, and tosses it into the water. The party watches as it sinks for a very long time and then blinks out of site. 

“Must be at least 25 feet or more deep?” Malege looks at the group curiously. 

“Perhaps. And deep water can hide many things.” Umgurn stares concerned at the rivers’s surface. A silvery flash catches his eye under the water. “As we may soon find out.” The surface of the water erupts with a large blue silver head full of teeth on a long neck that snaps its jaws and swims towards the party.

[Everyone rolls for Initiative]

[Fodinis attacks Plesiosaurus with shortsword (Surprise, Sneak, Assassinate), second attack with offhand shortsword] Rolls 20 versus AC13 for a hit for 17 critical shortsword damage, 20 surprise attack critical damage, and 11 sneak attack critical damage (38); Rolls 26 for 8 damage

Fodinis, wasting no time and with the initiative, slashes at the large water beast with his shortsword, making a huge gash in its neck which bleed profusely. The second slash of his off hand sword makes a more superficial cut along the beast's side.

[Kace throws his longsword into the air, makes a grapple attempt on Plesiosaurus A] Rolls 21 (athletics) versus 22 (Plesiosaurus), fails, falls to river bank (difficult terrain); Rolls 16 (longsword) versus AC13 for 13 damage.

Kace joins Fodinis in attacking the water beast by tossing his longsword into the air which makes a slashing attack across the creature’s back. Kace attempts to leap onto the creature’s back to grapple it but fails, sliding off the side and onto the muddy river bank.

[Plesiosaurus A makes a bite attack at Kace] Rolls 10 for a miss.

The injured and bleeding water beast blindly snaps its jaw at Kace next to it in the river but misses, distracted by pain. Its profuse bleeding has filled the river with blood.

[Plesiosaurus C attacks Theophania with Bite] Rolls 23 versus AC17 for a hit for 12 damage.

From out of the water to the right of the first beast erupts a second beast which darts its long neck forward and snaps its jaws onto Theophania’s back.

[Umgurn casts Searing Smite, attacks Plesiosaurus C with Scimitar] Rolls 17 for 11 damage and 5 fire damage, Plesiosaurus is on fire

Seeing the new creature bite Theophania, Umgurn murmurs holy words, igniting his scimitar and brings it down on the creatures head, causing it to burst into flames and scream.

[Plesiosaurus B attacks Malege with a bite] Rolls 22 versus AC17 for 13 damage.

A third water beast erupts to the left of the first and immediately chomps onto Malege with its massive jaws.

[Malege uses Burning Hands] Rolls 10 damage, Plesiosaurus B rolls 21 Dex Save (save), Plesiosaurus A rolls 8 Dex Save (fail)

Fresh out of the jaws of the massive water creature, Malege unleashes a line of fire from his hands at both beasts. The original creature takes the brunt of the fiery blast, screeches one last time, and collapses. The other beast darts its head to the side and only receives minor burns to its neck.

[Theophania casts Hunter’s Mark on Plesiosaurus C, attacks with shortsword] Rolls 27(critical) for a hit for 14 piercing damage plus 5 Hunter’s Mark 

Theophania, equally unhappy about the chomp from the beast, murmurs arcane words and encircles its head in a ring of red. She slashes at the beast with her short sword, catching it across the neck, causing a deep gash.

[Piece moves to Plesiosaurus B, attacks three times with claws (ki-enhanced fury of blows)] Rolls 26 (crit) for 10 damage, Rolls 18 for 9 damage, and 12 for a miss.

Piece charges the water beast attacking Malege and uses their ki to deliver three quick claw slashes, two of which rake the beasts neck and slash the skin.

[Enacelle moves to Plesiosaurus B, attacks with scimitar] Rolls 11 for a miss

Enacelle joins Piece and Malege at the left water beast and makes a cut with her scimitar at the beasts neck but it darts out of the way.

[Fodinis attacks Plesiosaurus C with shortswords twice] Rolls 15 for 10 damage plus 3 sneak attack, Rolls 25 for 3 damage.

Seeing the middle beast fall, Fodinis turns to the creature on the right and makes two solid slashes with his short swords, cutting into the beast's flipper.

[Kace moves to Plesiosaurus B, attacks two handed spear, dancing longsword] Rolls 19 for a hit for 13 damage, Rolls 18 for 7 damage. 

Kace moves to assist Malege, Piece, and Enacelle and lunges into the beast with his spear, stabbing it in the neck. His dancing longsword joins him and makes a slash across the beast’s back.

[Plesiosaurus C attacks Theophania with Bite, Rolls Cons Saving Throw] Rolls 20 versus AC17 for 11 damage

The beast engaged with Theophania, Fodinis, and Umgurn seems to have a taste for centaur and chomps Theophania again, deeply cutting her sides and legs. The flames from Umgurns strike burn brighter and the creature howls with pain.

[Umgurn makes two scimitar attacks on Plesiosaurus C] Rolls 9 (miss) and 17 (hit) for 4 damage.

Umgurn moves close to the beast to try and protect Theophania, making a quick scimitar slash which misses because he is too close for leverage. However, his backswing catches the beast in the shoulder.

[Plesiosaurus B attacks Enacelle with a bite] Rolls 7 for a miss.

The water beast to the left didn’t much like the flavor of genasi (or is flames) and goes for a taste of Enacelle but she blocks its teeth with her shield.

[Malege casts firebolt at Plesiosaurus B] Rolls 15 for a hit for 9 damage.

Malege produces a small bolt of flame in his hands and streaks it toward the water beast, smalling into its eye.

[Theophania attacks Plesiosaurus C, twice with shortswords] Rolls 11 and 9 for misses

Theophania, struggling with the wounds from the two bites, attempts to slash the beast again, still marked with her magic, but her strength is fleeting and both swings seem to just bounce off the creature’s hide.

[Piece attacks Plesiosaurus B,  three times with claws (ki-enhanced fury of blows)] Rolls 15 for 8 damage, 22 for 9 damage, and 19 for 9 damage.

Piece moves closer to the water beast in front of them and again uses their ki to deliver three quick claw slashes, all three of which slash deeply into the beast's neck and chest, severing a major vessel and sending it crashing to the shore.

[Enacelle moves to Theophania, Uses healer’s kit] Restores 11 hit points.

Enacelle rushes to Theophania and uses her healer’s kit to stop the bleeding.

[Fodinis attacks Plesiosaurus C with shortswords twice] Rolls 26 for 11 damage 

Fodinis charges the last creature on the right and makes one solid slash with his short sword, cutting the beast neck deeply and causing it to collapse on the shore. 

[The party receives 200 xp each]

Enacelle uses a healer’s kit on Malege. She gives Theophania a potion of greater healing and Malege a potion of healing. 

[Enacelle makes Nature check assisted by Theophania] Rolls 17

Enacelle and Theophania inspect the creatures and determine they are plesiosaurus, very aggressive underwater reptiles. Together, they skin the three beasts and obtain 30 lbs of skin which Theophania stretches out on the ground and begins covering with sand. Enacelle is also able to extract 69 teeth from the three beasts which she says are used in making superior arrows to which Theophania nods. Fodinis strips to his loin cloth and harvests 60 piece of meat (240 lbs).

[Malege makes a Smith’s tools set] Rolls 19

Malege sets up a large bed of fire and creates a giant stone stove from pieces of the ruin which is able to accommodate all of the meat. He spends an hour flaming the coals and cooking the meat completely. The rest of the party takes a short rest during this time. When the rest is finished, Malege collects the meat in his bag of holding and the party pushes the carcasses back into the water where they sink. Hundreds of fish, turtles, and some larger creatures immediately begin feasting on the flesh as the corpses sink. 

The party completes their scouting of the southern half of the ruins with no further interruptions. Of note on this scouting, one of the buildings, a rather ornate one though still worn heavily by time, had what appeared to be a stone door in the floor which they had not seen in other locations. Close to evening as isvara begins to set behind their mountain island they’ve been using for a secure camp site, the Lonely Lady comes into view, descending towards the extraction point. They see Filby on the front of the ship waving as Sarafanee drops the ladder. Everyone climbs up as quickly as they can, and Umgurn motions for Fishsdwain to get them away from there as soon as possible. Within an hour, they are back to their secured site on the side of the mountain. Malege unpacks the meat from his back and puts it in storage on the ship with lots of salt. He pulls 11 lbs of it out for dinner and brings it back to the party. Captain Fishdwain wants to hear the entire story of the water creatures and is also curious about the large fleas. Everyone recounts their role in the fights and Enacelle gives an overview of her map updates including the trap door. 

“I’ve got good news and bad news.” Captain Fishdwain picks Plesiosaurus meat from his teeth with a bone pick. “The good news is this area appears very safe for repatriation and we can likely send in a larger force to secure it as soon as possible. That will allow you to explore further into the blight.” He pauses, pulls a particularly large piece of meat from between his front teeth and eats it. “The bad news is that the Lonely Lady only has 4 more days of flight before her fuels for both the dirigible and the engines need to be refilled. It will take us 3 days from now to get back to the launch base in Pathilia for refueling. So, you’ve got one more day here tomorrow. As I see it, there is this trapped door, there is the mine on the eastern side, and then there are all these curious things Enacelle marked for rechecking.” He looks at everyone smiling in a proud but concerned manner.

“That’s not the only option, captain.” Malege sits up from his seat. “If we unload all of our provisions in a secure building in the ruins, we have more than enough food and water to stay here until you return with more fuel. It would be seven days, assuming you need a day to restock the ship. I, for one, would like to stay. We’ve handled quite a few beasts and creatures. I can’t imagine there would be worse things.” Malege seems overly confident in his idea but still smiles assuredly at everyone. The party looks around at each other, unsure what everyone is thinking.

[Malage makes a Persuasion check versus the party’s Insight checks] Rolls 2 (crit 1)

Everyone seems unsure, sighs deeply, or looks off in the distance. 

“We have no idea what could be in those caves, Malege. Or down the trap door. Maybe there is nothing in either. Maybe the places we’ve marked are nothing of value or importance. It would take us, at the most, 3 days to explore all three. If we are here for 7 days, what are we going to do for the last 4. Kace has no one to fight, you have no one to impress with your juggling. Let’s just pick one, do that tomorrow, and we can tackle the other two when we get back.” Fodinis sits back in his chair and smiles broadly, attempting to reassure the genasi.

“That actually makes a lot of sense, Fodinis. I was just excited.” Malege settles back in his chair with a slightly broken but still shining smile.

“Then what shall it be?” Umgurn sits forward and pulls his augury runes from his bag.

[The party (Fo, En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi) rolls for their vote for which task to complete (1d12, 1-4 ruins, 5-8, trap door, 9-12 caverns)] Roll 5, 8,  11, 8, 4, 11, 5. 

“I would like to suggest we clear the ruins of Enacelle’s interesting places minus the trap door.” Umgurn puts one of his runes in a pile by itself.

“I vote for the trap door.” Fodinis takes another rune and places it in a separate pile. Quickly, Enacelle, Malagie, and Piece also place a rune in Fodinis pile and nod.

“I think the caverns would be more prudent. Could be a good hideout!” Kace places a rune in a third pile. Theophania smiles at Kace and adds one to his pile. 

“Alright. We have four votes for the trap door.” Umgurn gathers up all of the runes.

[Umgurn uses Augury] The result is Weal and Woe.

“Hmmmmm…. It seems that deciding on the trap door could have both good and bad results. But, what would we call the last two days?” Umgurn laughs, collects the runes and returns them to his bag. “Then we decided that we will explore the trap door tomorrow, Captain Fishdwain. Then we will return to Pathilia.” Everyone nods in agreement. After setting a watch, the party settles in for a long rest.

The following morning, Isvara again rose on a cloudless day and the party could see that the sea for many miles was calm and flat. In the very far distant horizon, the subtle outline of hills suggested where Santernafulse resides. For breakfast, the last of the red dragon meat was consumed. Malege, being eager to stay still despite the parties decision, did an assessment of all their food on board. 

“Just so everyone is clear, we have 10 quindays worth of food for the whole party including the captain and his crew.” Everyone smiled and laughed at the eager genasi’s desire to stay but no one took him seriously. “I’m just letting you know. In case, you know, we get stranded or something.” Without thinking about it, Malege wraps up the 34 lbs of dragon jerky that remains in a piece of oil cloth and puts it in his bag of holding along with 5 sticks of dynamite. Enacelle brings some torches and oil. Kace grabs a hammer, crowbar, and two coils of rope. Theophania grabs 20 pitons. Once everyone is comfortable with what they may need for going down a trapdoor, the Captain steers the ship to a drop off point that Enacelle has designated which is on the southwestern end of the ruins. To conserve fuel, Captain Fishwain parks the Lonely Lady on top of one of the 300 foot arches, allowing the engines to rest and the dirigible to relax its weight. From that point, the crew can see the building with the trap door and keep a lookout for the party. 

On the ground, everyone moves quickly to the ornate building and, once inside, takes a few minutes to study it in detail.

[The Party (Fo, En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi) makes Investigation checks] Roll 15, 11, 10, 11, 16, 5, 6.

Theophania and Piece seem distracted by the environment outside with memories of large water beasts chomping at them ferociously and cannot focus too much on what they are seeing. Enacelle, Kace, and Malege get a good feel for the building and can tell that it was clearly of very fine construction and has several smaller rooms with uniquely shaped windows, overhead holes in the stone roof for possibly light or water, and a complex tile floor that is somewhat intact when the sand and dirt are cleared away. Fodinis recognizes the general layout of the building which looks like, in the main room, could easily hold 40 to 50 people. Umgurn quickly assesses the same layout as well as the symmetry of the room and a slightly raised dais on one wall.

“I am quite sure this is some sort of temple.” Umgurn runs his hands along the wall, appreciating how smooth the stone is despite centuries of pitting sand damage. Fodinis nods and the others look around and seem to not offer any resistance to the explanation. “Let’s check out this trapped door.” 

[Kace makes a Athletics check assisted by Piece] Rolls 20

Kace and Piece place the crowbar in the edge of the apparent trap door, tap a few times with the hammer, and then push on the bar with all their strength, lifting the edge and sliding it over a few feet. A blast of slightly chilly air erupts from the hole along with a bit of dust and debris, encircling Kace and Piece and then dissipating quickly..

[Kace and Piece make Perception checks] Roll 13 and 17.

Kace sniffs the air and furrows his brow, smelling something odd. Piece looks at Kace and the others and frowns. “We are certain that what lies below is mostly death and decay, friends.” Umgurn instinctively grabs his amulet and murmurs a brief prayer. Enacelle and Theophania light torches from her bag. Malege’s hair blazes with orange light and his hand illuminates with a small ball of flame.  Kace and Fodinis step down into the hole first.

“There is a spiral staircase leading down.” Kace continues down and out of sight followed by Fodinis. The rest of the party follow one after the other. At the bottom of the stairs. Enacelle and Theophania’s torches illuminate a four way corridor heading roughly north, south, east and west.  Immediately evident in the flickering torchlight and beyond with the benefit of darkvision, the walls contain 3 foot by 2 foot stone rectangles protruding into the passageways. The floor is littered with bones, many sunk deep into the dirt with only small protuberances visible.

“This is a crypt.” Umgurn moves closer to one of the rectangular boxes protruding from the wall. “There is writing here.” The party each moves closer to one of the rectangles and studies the writing.

[The Party (Fo, En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi) makes History checks] Roll  17, 14, 2, 21, 20 (crit), 18, 19.

“I don’t recognize this language at all. But, I am just a big dumb lion.” Kace laughs and studies the bones on the ground.

“It’s Sylvan.” Fodinis looks at the group. “I don’t speak it.” Piece, Theophania, and Malege all pipe up in unison. “I do!” They all laugh and begin studying the nearest stone. The words are old and pitted and, in places, obscured by some sort of crypt moss growth. After a few minutes of looking at several stones, the three of them put their heads together for a moment and chat. Then Piece looks up.

“Well, this is quite amazing. Each of these rectangles appears to possibly be the end of a stone coffin. We can open one to be sure. But the writing at the end is a sort of life story. It has the person’s name, their family connections, and mentions several things about them like their occupation and any accomplishments. What is most fascinating is the dates and mention of events. If these several examples are the same throughout this crypt, there is literally an entire history of this culture waiting to be read. We do not know the date anchors or its relevance to current dates but this area seems to be the original crypt. It was dug away from this stairwell. You can see that this tablet closest to the stairwell has the dates AC001 to AC076 while this one two tablets down is newer with the dates AC014 to AC081. What a find! One could transcribe each of these tablets and construct a history of these people.” Piece is clearly excited and rings their paws throughout their soliloquy. Malege and Theophania nod in agreement.

“AC is ‘After Crosonoss.’ He was the first king of Anbeth at the start of this age. But then the cataclysm of the north happened which caused immense upheaval across all of Angedrian. That is why current isvarana are AHZ, ‘After HZ’. It is currently 502 AHZ and the cataclysm occurred in AC998. So, the first people buried here are from the start of this age.” Umgurn looks at the writing again, his eyes filled with wonder. 

“Wait. What is HZ? And how was time measured before AC?” Malage begins reading another tablet while waiting for Umgurn to respond.

“Before AC there was a period of no time for the surface world. A dark period between the destruction of the last civilizations and the emergence of the new.  For drow, the current isvarana is 57,653 but we do not speak of that. That was the point at which the drow began recording our history in the Underdark. The elves of the surface, of course, are similar. We even have historical texts of those first elves. But the harsh history of this world has decimated the elves many times over. They have nearly gone extinct many times. Along with most other races on the surface. But elves and drow were the first rulers of this world. But there have been many others. At one point, the entirety of Angedrian was human with all other races hiding from their tyranny and destruction.  But the drow do not dwell in the past. Those long dead civilizations are of no value to them. So, similar to the mindflayers, they concern themselves with only the here and now. I have been told that the entire history of the surface world of Angedrian is recorded somewhere, in some library, in the Underdark. But, we are forbidden to read about it because the ultimate result was destruction and devastation. So, my knowledge of this world in detail only extends to AC001. Before that, except for the general concepts and our meticulous count of the isvarana, I know nothing.” Umgurn stops and suddenly looks away. He walks many feet down the passage and, from the darkness, the party can hear a gentle slow sobbing. Malege turns to Piece and Theophania.

“I think it is our duty to gather this history and share it. If this is the civilization that was destroyed by Santernafulse, the Loliminstein kingdom, there may be valuable information about what happened.” He returns to the nearest tablet, reading furiously.

“But, little one, that could take many quindays. Several moonturns even. We don’t know how extensive this crypt is.” Theophania pats the genasi on the back. Piece frowns.

“You are right, of course, Theophania. We must spend many moonturns studying this crypt to write a proper history. Our suggestion is a cursory exploration of the crypt to map it properly. Take a few rubbings for documentation. Then return to the king to see if we can convince him to allow for a proper study of the site.” Piece pulls a piece of parchment from their bag, snaps a bit of burnt wood from Theophania’s torch, and makes a rubbing of one of the tablets. “See, this is easily readable and will certainly prove our claim.” Piece makes 5 more rubbings and returns them to their bag. As they finish, Umgurn returns to the group.

“This passage ends in a t-junction that goes pretty far north and makes a turn going south. I think this is a very large crypt.” Piece explains the rubbings and their idea to simply map it for now and return with the king’s support. Umgurn nods. Vizal appears on his shoulder and the rest of the party follows suit, calling forth their familiars. 

“Rather than going deaf and blind in the darkness, let’s just stick to telepathic relays from them every 100 feet. When we get to a junction, we will send them out in different directions. Enacelle, can you and Kace make map.” They both nod and begin making marks in the center of the parchment, looking up now and again to check their observations. “Quickly, let’s do this and get out of here.” 

Although the crypt is very large, none of the passages are more than 100 feet in length so the familiars have no issue relaying the dimensions, distances, and number of sarcophagi they see. In addition to the constant sarcophagi protruding from the walls, they find the ends of large walls with ornately structured piles of bones made of multiple skulls and other bones, designed to honor all of the dead, even those without a written history. Some of the tunnels end blind and have no sarcophagi, suggesting these are the newest tunnels for the not yet dead… or they were. Occasionally, the crypt opens into large, round rooms, in the center of which is a column from floor to ceiling made of bones. 

[The Party (Fo, En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi) makes Medicine checks] Roll 18, 18, 18, 8, 14, 18, 5

Throughout the crypt, Malege and Piece are a bit overwhelmed by all the loose bones and try not to pay attention to them, focusing on reading as many of the tablets as they can. Umgurn can see that some of the bones on the floor that are stomped down and half-buried are of orcs, ogres, kobolds, goblins, minotaurs. The structures on the ends of the walls and in the centers of the rooms have some half-elves, halflings, half-orcs, and dwarves. Fodinis, Enacelle, Kace and Theophania all pause at one of the central structures. 

“There is a distinct difference between those bones on the ground and those in the columns. On the ground you can see evidence of broken bones in life, poor dentition, and wear on the joints. These are the littered bones of slaves and are of orc, ogre, kobold, goblin, and minotaurs. The columns have half-elves, halflings, half-orcs, and dwarves which have better dentition, no obvious trauma, and less wear on their joints. I think these were servants. So, who is in these crypts?” Theophania stops and looks at the others who are all nodding in agreement. 

“There is one way to find out.” Kace pulls the crowbar from his belt and walks over to one of the sarcophagi. “Enacelle, Umgurn… may I?” They both nod solemnly. As carefully as he can, Kace taps the stone sarcophagus all around the end so that the tablet comes off in one piece which Fodinis catches and sets gently on the ground. Inside, amidst cobwebs and dust, Kace can see the ends of some wrappings. He motions to Piece who comes over. They both place their spears under the wrappings and slide them as far in as they can. Working together, they lift and carry the body out of the sarcophagus and lay it on the ground. Theophania unwraps the head. 

“Human. Let’s check a few more.” Malege settles on the ground and begins his ritual casting of magical detection. The rest repeat the process and after opening four more, they find the skulls of four more humans. 

“No elves. No drow.” Umgurn sighs. 

“But there are a lot of races missing. But, do you think this was a human society that kept other races as slaves and servants?” He completes his ritual and stands up, holding out his hands with his eyes closed. His eyes suddenly pop open and he turns to the party. “There is a LOT of magic here. It’s coming from many of the sarcophagi. Including these.” He stoops down beside the first body that was open and cuts through the wrappings down to the feet. Around the neck of the skeleton is a necklace made of gold with a large gemstone in a gold setting hanging from it.”

[Malege makes an Arcana check] Rolls 25.

“This necklace is magical and holds some sort of binding spell. I can’t be sure without investigating it further.” He gently picks up the gemstone pendant and lifts it off the body. The chain easily releases from the bones. Malege stands up and walks it over to Enacelle who caresses the pendant as well. From behind him, the sudden creak and snap of bones merges with a sickening wailing sound. He turns and looks in horror with the rest of the party as the bones form into a standing skeleton which charges towards the pendant.