THE PORTAL OF DARKNESS
Blackmoon 6, 4433
Characters:
Tardif, ranger 2
Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 3
Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Krom, fighter 2
Veythar Varros, incantor 2
(NPC) Zhalgas, fighter 3
The Final Confrontation!
The group continued their exploration of the temple of Set in Viridistan's undercity.
DM: "You might fight magically Jacked Cobras!"
Player: "That sounds like a brand of pre-workout."
After destroying an invisible imp (last session), the party explored the dusty old library, discovering it was a repository of forbidden and evil lore. They looted a few tomes and scrolls that looked interesting and began to search for hidden doors.
This precipitated the final conflict when Tarr opened a secret door. An ominous chanting could be heard in the room beyond, where black and purple mists poured forth from an inky black archway. Two lumpen and misshapen humanoids moved to attack, while a cloaked figure accompanied by two giant constrictor snakes cast spells from the center of the room. They were in danger, but there on the altar of Set was their goal: the Chalice of Aldren!
A pitched battle was waged in the secret passageway against the un-men, most of it fought inside a globe of magical darkness cast by the evil priest.
While Tardif held the line against these horrors backed up by Zhalgas and Tarr, the rest of the group (Lothryk, Krom and Veythar) circled around to the front door of the high priest's chamber and attempted to open the door covered with magical runes.
[At this point, an offhand comment from the DM sent the players off in the wrong direction. That one was kinda my fault guys, oops!]
Touching the door with his torch, Lothryk found it transformed into a hissing cobra right in his hand, along with a handful of his arrows. This group was embroiled in a battle for their lives against (possibly) venomous snakes! Veythar sensibly decided to cast invisibility.
Tardif, battling for his life, heard the ominous words "embrace... death!" uttered in the darkness. However, the black hand of Set did not descend on him that day and he fought on, pushing his foe backwards.
[The DM rolled like shit, and the priest's death touch couldn't hit even a blinded and constricted victim. Lucky you!]
At about this time, both parties pushed forward into the room in a two-pronged assault. The Setite priest snatched up a magical spear from the altar and prepared to battle to the death - but Veythar, using the sneaky tactical thinking typical of Incantors, crept forward invisibly and snatched the Chalice from its resting place!
The priest was too late, and was more or less helpless against two waves of plate-armoured death descending on him - he was slain, fittingly, in a final stroke by Zhalgas, the pious warrior finally delivering his revenge against the serpent-cult and fulfilling his sacred oath. The magical spear was snatched up by Tardif, whose eyes immediately began to glow ominously, as if reflecting distant furnaces.
After that it was all a mop-up operation. The group messed with the black archway a little bit (it healed Tarr but others declined to touch it), explored another secret room and looted the priest's personal chambers, left alone an ominous icon of Set, and distracted a giant snake with some cultists' corpses.
Climbing up a spiral staircase, they broke through an old wall to find themselves back in The Sequence! The cult of Set had been operating right under their enemies' noses in the Undercity this whole time.
Handing off the Chalice of Aldren, the group were cured of the Crimson Curse and treated as the saviors of the district.
The rich and powerful of Viridistan may not take note of their actions this day, but among common people and the servants of good, the group will be noted as men and women of great merit for this deed. Return to The Sequence later as they may be willing offer you magical healing, sell you items, give you information, or point you towards more adventures to advance the cause of good and help the poor and downtrodden of the city.
* Potions and simple magical items have been identified and costs deducted. The snake venoms cost so much to identify because they all look the same and none were labeled. Thus, the alchemist had to test each in turn - a small price to pay for not playing Russian Roulette with the one dose of lethal asp venom in the bunch!
Payouts *added to your sheets already*
Lothryk, Tarr, Krom, Veythar - 450 sp
Andras, Katamtaman, Gaddock, Tardif - 225 sp
* You'll note this isn't a lot of money. This is the tradeoff for going into a dungeon with a huge party of adventurers - it's nice to have the extra muscle, but shares are smaller. Remember, the best treasures are hidden...
NOTES
Hero points were awarded all round!
This is the current state of experience points, hero points, etc. so update your sheets accordingly.
You guys elected to go on an adventure with capped characters instead of training due to the Crimson Curse. This means a fair chunk of experience points are wasted, but there was really no good option available. These are the kind of difficult situations that AD&D presents you with - sort of like real life!
We will deal with training and identifying items in downtime, but for now enjoy your success!
