Loose threads [small descriptions of unfinished business or hooks you left behind. Anything you feel interesting for other players to follow up.]
Participants Shirkad Aoife Soo Tozket Swampy
Locations Underwater Pyramid
Short summary:
In the cold depths of winter, we have decided to do an unadvisable thing and went swimming to the Underwater Pyramid.
Therein we have discovered a still functioning cult of humanoids transformed to function in the aquatic environment. Though we spent couple hours exploring the pyramid, what we have discovered has not taught us of a way to counter the last of the cultists we fought, and we were forced to evacuate using our recallers in the middle of combat.
Hopefully, the information we have gathered will be enough for any future party to find a way to rid the place of the cultists.
Full Report
This report has been conducted in the form of an interview with the party:
How did you reach the Underwater Pyramid?
There's not much to say about travelling there. Trivial, just had to reach the shore and go swimming. It only got complicated once we were underwater. We all know where it is now, so let's just skip to that part.
Very Well, Then please tell me, how far into the sea is the Pyramid right now?
It's about 30 minutes swim away, at the very bottom of the ocean floor. Maybe less if you're a quick swimmer. And since I know you'll ask, it's still a massive structure, though it looks somehow different than previously reported. Can't quite put my finger on it. It has been fortified, no whirlpool entrance in sight, any obvious entrance sealed off. A lot of silver was used for that. Like, a lot a lot. There was some Transmutation magic at the very top, but that's as much as I can tell about that. Can't pinpoint a source of magic yet, only its presence and type.
It also looks like it was somehow... moved across the bed, or plunged into it. It was not built underwater, nor was it built there before there was water.
There is almost no wildlife around except for some deep sea fishes.
In the end we slipped into the pyramid through what could have only been a waste tunnel. I think Tozket caught some disease in there even.
What about the inside of it then?
Ugh... we entered into a kitchen with couple doors leading into pantry and to the rest. Like I said before, not built for underwater use, and it was filled with rotting food that was there for gods only know how long.
That sausage was not tasty at all.
It was also dark in there, so better make sure you have light sources that work underwater, or you can see in the dark.
We also saw some cultists, they were doing something on the floor, flailing they arms, like... they were praying? Maybe?
Well, either way, nothing to be said - we engaged in combat, which ended in a pursuit after the remaining cultist, where we also learned that there are magical barriers that only allow those cultists to pass through, but apparently they can be tricked into thinking we are members as well.
What happened after that?
We ended up in what was essentially a maze. We first went down, to what had been some kind of weird prison before. The barriers we mentioned before? They look more like they are keeping something from escaping.
When we went downstairs we found a lot of debris and corpses. A sad way to go, really.
It opened up into a chamber filled with rows and rows of cages, some even filled with corpses, and in the middle of it some kind of horrific surgery table. There were even tools made of silver, expensive looking, but we figured we should leave them alone. A mistake in retrospect. Should have taken them with us.
It must have been busier in the past, which is a terrible thought to think.
It was also the deepest this... temple goes.
Only way from there was up.
What was up, then?
At first we got lost, and returned to the kitchen from before, though we now noticed tables in the dining area were nailed to the floor. Again - like it wasn't meant to function underwater.
Swampy found some kind of shortcut. Once we followed it, we found ourselves in some kind of forge. Occupied of course, and another combat ensued.
It was massive, with tools adapted to the aquatic environment despite everything else being ignored in that aspect.
It... feels important, though we spent far too little actually investigating it.
Silver tools, forge that burns underwater as bright as the sun. Some kind of gel that protects from heat.
We would have taken some material from the forge, but it would have been far too hot to handle. But they were forging silver weapons. A lot of them.
There were more doors there, but we returned to some kind of fancy staircase. It seemed important, so...
You don't seem happy about that choice. Why is that?
'Cause it was a mistake. There were more things to learn, more things we should have looked into before going there.
Turns out that place lead to some kind of... preaching room, or a ritual room. More cultists were there, some summoner who summoned a fuckin' demon, and on top of that fuckers just wouldn't stay down.
Oh yeah, and some weird thing was attacking our minds, making it all the more annoying.
I dunno' they all had some silver pendants, maybe we should have taken those away, maybe the silver barriers... nah, they weren't part of that summoning circle, that was for the demon, and it was incomplete when cast.
Do you think you could finish it if you went back there?
Shirkad:
Hell no! I ain't goin' back there. Ever!