Session: 01 - 17 - Voidherald Arc Pt. 2
After a few days my companions I decided to go back and explore the remainder of the underground settlement with the mysterious dome. We headed out early in the morning from our refuge and headed due east. In order to maximize our efforts we decided to scout an alternate path that was parallel to our earlier passage and we found some cart tracks heading in our general direction that we assumed belonged to some kobolds.
Upon our arrival to the crevice we found a well dressed kobold looking down into the hole and pacing back and forth in a concerned manner. I attempted to charm him in order to facilitate a more productive conversation but I am not sure if it worked. Having said that, when we approached he did not attack but we could not really understand his language so it was somewhat futile.
After playing charades for a bit I started to get some sort of understanding of what might be happening. The Kobolds name was Mepo and a youngling kobold named Buttwaz went into the crevice and was lost. I attempted to tell him that we will go get Buttwaz when he shook his head no and placed his finger across his neck making a cutting gesture. He then left north. How much of that is spot on accurate I do not know but it makes me think I should start researching some way to speak with these creatures.
Once we descended into the underground settlement we detected abjuration magic and set of an explosive trap. We took a moment to recuperate and bind out wounds. I felt it made sense given that we were still at the entrance but I think Wax wanted to head in sooner. We had a bit of a debate about the kobolds and if they were sacrificing themselves or being punished by some greater power. Could they be sacrificing themselves to release the dark ones?
During the our quick rest Alvyn found additional tracks heading through the dome. They went through a small portion of the dome wall that had a translucent hue to it, different to the pale shell around it. The spot with the light variation showed us a brief image of a mansion for a moment, suggesting it might be some sort of a portal. Wax attempted to push his mage hand into the portal for a brief moment before his cantrip collapsed. Throwing rocks against the same spot only attracted kobold aberration noises from the darkness.
After giving up on the dome we headed down the stairs in the monastery and we found a room with a diary on corpse. Most was illegible apart from a few passages that included the following:
"I always thought Otwic's desire for knowledge was dangerous. Curiosity is not a sin, but where does one stop? He told me 'Strength before weakness' and knowledge is strength. I just fear there are things us mortals are not meant to know"
Our second discovery was a temple room with an altar occupied by a kobold aberration that could use magic. The fight was difficult and Jasper almost fell a few times but he stood his ground and we prevailed. We now know that some of these aberrations can use magic or get magical blessings from some dark power. Either way, we should tread carefully as there is more here than meets the eye.
To the east side of the complex we found a hallway with 4 statues of robed man holding books. One book was missing and the other books could be removed from the statues. The books were stone slabs similarly crafted to the statues themselves. At the end of the hallway stood a magical barrier with a massive library on the other side. We spotted a whimpering kobold dressed like a librarian that hid from us behind some shelves. I didn't even know kobolds could read...Regardless, we could not access the library and the only way to proceed was a staircase to another lower level.
The lower level was dark and damp, with an almost palatable sense of sadness and anger. It is quite difficult to explain but all of us felt it as we descended the long staircase. The entrance hall on the lower level had a stone door that had a crack in it, which clearly displayed a burial chamber with a sarcophagus. There was no way to move the door or access the room. Two additional passages circled around the burial chamber into a large tomb with 8 stone coffins. A plague in the tomb read: "The 8 keepers of Aelmor Monastery".
We proceeded through a single door that led east from the Tomb and found ourselves in a chamber with 2 statues. To the north an elderly man holding a iron lantern and a book. To the south a women with an outstretched palm and a small plague stating" Wisdom is but the lightest of burdens. May it open your doors."
By rotating the lantern we opened the door to the east, which held a statue of a mermaid with a glowing orb. The wall of this chamber held 6 symbols: Moon, Sun, Seed, Flower, Owl, and Candle. Anyone entering the chamber felt a compulsion to touch the globe, which delivered a painful discharge upon contact. The base of the mermaid had a single sentence inscription: Some belong in shadow. Wax and I used Mage hand to cover the owl and the moon, which dimmed the globe and produced a clicking sound from the statue with the lantern.
When we examined the lantern we found a feather that we placed in the hand of the female statue. This opened a secret door to a room with 3 stone gargoyles. The moment we entered the room the door started to close behind us and as I was starting to get ready for a gargoyle attack water started pouring into the chamber. I was quite surprised but Alvyn immediately started searching the walls until he found a secret mechanism to open another door...saving our lives and clothes at the same time.
In the next chamber we found the remains of a large armory with some rusted weapons. I found a shield which was a bit worse for wear but beggars can't be choosers! Perhaps I can find someone at our dome to fix it up for me. We also found some tracks that led to a trapdoor to one of the houses at the dome level near the surface. Had we discovered this at the beginning we could have skipped the entire first level of this blasted maze. Apparently the kobolds are aware of this path as well since we found their tracks around the hidden exit.
With that we decided to head back to the safety of our dome.
Another day...another copper.