The Hawthorne Guild stumbled upon a lost Temple of Valkur while on a mission transporting statues from Waterdeep to Hawthorne. Led by Han Duo and Daniel Stormhelm, the Hawthorne Guild has gained access to the temple.
The First Seal
Entering the temple, one can find a large waterfall coming out of a cliff face and disappearing below a stone bridge. Across the bridge a huge carved face serves as an entryway deeper into the temple. The way is blocked, however, by a stone door that could only be moved by using the first of three keystones, the Sunstone. The Hawthorne Adventurers Oyvind, Vanna Kovain, Ashling of the Ride, and Valfar brought the Sunstone and used it to unlock the first seal.
As the party went through the now unlocked first seal, they felt a gentle sea breeze hit their face from within, smelling of the sea. Oyvind, however, experienced something more profound. His holy symbol began to glow, providing him resistance to lightning damage while beyond this seal.
The Gallery
Through the first seal the party found a long hallway with 3 murals carved into the walls.
The first was of ship breaking through sheets of ice with the caption in Elven "Only those who celebrate his Holy Day have the knowledge to pass."
The second shows a confrontation between a large sea serpent and a ship's crew. Underneath in primordial it reads "Only those who can move as a great water serpent will have the fleet of foot to pass."
The third shows a ship at night with several priests all on their knees in prayer. Under it in celestial it reads "Only the penitent shall pass."
The Three Trials
Walking past the murals the hallway turns and opens into a small room holding the first trial, with blocks clearly cut out in the floor every 5 feet, each block having a carving of a letter on it. Oyvind figured out to spell "Shattering" in reference to Valkur's holy day to successfully move across the room.
The second room also had plates on the floor. Stepping on an incorrect plate sent gallons and gallons of water flooding out of the far wall, pushing anyone in the room back against the back wall. Vanna Kovain figured out the correct places to walk, successfully getting through the second trial.
At the third room, an eerie darkness pervaded the passage forward. Ashling of the Rideand Vanna Kovain figured out one must crawl through this room in penitence, or else blades slice at those who refuse to bow down in prayer.
The First Guardian
Passing the three trials, a hallways opens up into a large chamber. At the center of the chamber stands a large statue of a sailor. His features are dull and much cannot be gleaned by studying it, other than the detail of the gauntlets that the sailor wore. These were crafted in exquisite detail. In this room, serving as the first Temple Guardian, was a Blue Wyrmling. Defeating the Wyrmling and some lightning traps within the room, the party soon found the second seal and the location for the second keystone, the Moonstone.
The Second Seal
On a subsequent adventure, Vanna KovainOyvind, Ashling of the Ride, and Arkantos brought both the Sunstone and the newly aquired Moonstone to the Second Seal. Solving the puzzle, the stone door opened and allowed the party access to the inner temple. Traveling through the second seal, the party felt a strong wind and light rain coming from the seal, but Oyvind felt his holy symbol glow even more, providing him additional lightning damage on his attacks. The door led into a large room with many smaller rooms contained within. Several traps and puzzles stymied the party's progress, but they eventually solved each in turn, releasing the temple's second guardian, A Lightning Gladiator. Defeating the guardian, the party entered a maze, finding levers hidden within to unlock the door at the end of the maze. They did, however, stumble upon a large snake-like head statue, much like the statue of Valkur at the first seal. Oyvind decided to pry it open, unleashing a wall of water and electric eels upon the party. Arkantos made quick work of the eel, and the party swam their way to the third and final seal, solving sliding puzzles that revealed the location of the final keystone, the Worldstone.