After more than a months repose, we continued the adventure on the 4th of July with full ranks, though Stitch & Dirk left early and Tom started late..
Sitting in the bloody remains of the battle, you hear more Kobold activity further down the hall. Beyond the great hall Yusdrayl awaits you an Yusdrayl knows.. After a quick appraisal of the situation, you realize that the green stained clothes are obviously drenched in Kobold blood and rat shit. And no fresh clothes in sight..
Bloodied but ready to talk themselves out of any situation that might arise, they started off to talk to Yusdrayl. After procrastinating for the meeting by thoroughly searching trough 2 deserted rooms, they picked up their (proverbial) balls and carried them into Yusdrayls throne room.
Yusdrayl gave them a cold reception, waiting for the adventurers to explain their presence, and then, after another long silence, stating that they simply didnt belong there. They told a brave story of how they fought together with her Kobolds to kill the water mephit and in an extreme charismatic effort by PikjoerLoesie, they succeeded in persuading her. Yusdrayl had by then however sent a minion to investigate the scene.
The adventurers tried promises to rid them of their Goblyn neighbors and gifts of friendship, but Yusdrayl stayed cold and silent at these words. She told the adventurers she didnt know of any human adventurers in here and showed them the doors that lead into the Goblyn parts of the keep.
Shortly after, the aide came back, accompanied by two burly fighters, so far as their race produces them. The aide ignored the party and barked sounds at Yusdrayl over their heads. None of the adventurers understood the meaning, but they gathered there to be a problem. Yusdrayl focused on Cade and demanded an explanation why 2 of her men were sliced with sharp weapons when her other troops were torn apart in a watery rage. She attempted a spell to force him to truth, but when it failed, decided to give them the benefit of doubt and banished them from the Kobold chambers.
In a final attempt at diplomacy, Pikjoerloesie suggested trading gifts of goodwill. He proposed she gave him the ornate iron key in the dragons mouth behind her and he would give her whatever she might propose.
Amused by the bold attempt, Yusdrayl decided the banishment might be reevaluated if they ‘d bring her the heads of 8 Goblyns, a mischievous sparkle dancing in her eyes.
The adventurers, out for that key, agreed to this bargain and left the rooms for the Goblyn territory.
Wandering deeper into the citadel, they walked beyond the lit areas and wandered into the darkness, until they came upon yet another room with dragon themed wall carvings. To the right they discovered an intricate fountain and to the left, what turned out to be a beautiful door, flanked by 2 carved draconic skeletons.
Unfazed by their beauty, Lelie quickly put her tools and trade to use to find what lock and maybe even traps might be on the long closed door. She was amazed that there wasnt really a locking mechanism she could locate, but soon thereafter found a scythe trap, waiting to maim anyone who attempted to open the door. After swiftly disabling mechanism waiting to operate the huge blade, the door however remained locked by some mysterious mechanism. The skeletons radiated an eerie cold and the inscription of “Tana Aman Heka Men” or “Channel good, open the way” puzzled the adventurers.
In the mean while and on the other side, Tenthirty took a closer look at the fountain and discerned the word “Nainarya” (Let there be fire) inscribed on the fountain. They decided to put their heads together and talk it all through when Tenthirty apparently triggered the fountain by speaking the word out loud. Pikjoerloesie and Thenthirty were quick to notice the reddish liquid seeping out of the dragons mouth and forming a puddle in the otherwise dry fountain.
Awed by what must have been the original workings of the fountain, they all watched until in an unrelated revelation, Thenthirty realized that a way of channeling good, would be to release his priestly powers on the radiating skeletons and try to repel them. The attempt worked wonders and the doors silently swung open. They revealed a room filled with 5 dusty sarcophagi, their fronts intricately carvedwith the resemblance of a noble elflike humanoid in ceremonial robes. Beyond them stood a shrine carved of obsidian on which a single candle yet burned.
They carefully ventured inside and PikjoerLoessie took a moment to attune himself to the magic around him. Detecting slight stirrings from the sarcophagi and powerful radiations from 3 objects on the shrine: the candle, a transparent whistle and a red tinted potion.
Thenthirty continued to investigate the sarcophagi and decided to pry one open to find out more about the source of magic PikjoerLoessie was talking about. Moving the huge stone was harder than he d obviously expected when starting the effort, but he found it grew easier the further the construction opened. Everyone soon realized that they had disturbed the burial chamber of 5 elven lords and that their skeletal remains didnt really appreciate the fresh air. At all!
The skeletons threw themselves on the unexpecting troupe and after another repelling effort and a fierce fight, one of the skeletons was in bits on the ground. Lelie, still fearing for her life picked up the whistle and blew it, hoping it would dispel the force animating the skeletons. It did quite the contrary, raising the shattered skeleton anew. Giving her quite the scare, she lashed out at the undead creature, though not dealing enough damage to alleviate her angst. In the mean while, the others killed 3 of the other skeletons. The raised skeleton however, did not attack and Lelie, in an adventurous mood, tried to order it to attack one of the skeletons standing around. Combat continued and another skeleton hit the dust. This left the one standing skeleton, the one Lelie tried to turn her personal skeleton on. Small continued her attacks and switched to the one skeleton, though a bit too energetic and thus falling flat on her face in front of it. A well coordinated attack from PikjoerLoessie and Thenthirty crushed the skeleton before Lelies puppet came anywhere near.
Everyone was amazed at the obedient corpse and marveled at the possibilities. Everyone took turns in questioning Lelie about her control over the fiend and all were amazed. Lelie was quite happy then and there; so she painted green markings in the shape of a curled up dragon on her face, in likeness to the whistle, and decided she would be called “Kai” from then on!
Everyone was psyched, except for Small. Small figured that the skeleton was of bad will because it didnt attack the target when ordered, threw a blow at it, shattering it anew and permanently. A fierce discussion flared up where the band tried to explain to small that the skeleton couldnt attack before it was in range, thus not showing the least sign of disobedience. But Small called bullshit on that theory, contrary to the many facts and people pointing her in the other direction. Kai, (formerly known as Lelie) promised Small that “The next time you kill a potential ally, you ll bleed too!” Small wasnt impressed, though the rest of the group did seem to back the promise.
Realizing their dangerous situation, they once again put the problem aside and continued on in the citadel. PikjoerLoessie pocketed the strange potion and Small continued the investigation by looking at the candle. She figured the perpetual burning could best be tested by chopping off the wick. That however extinguished the age-old flame, destroying the eternal fire in this place of perpetual darkness. PikjoerLoessie and Small talked about reigniting the flame, but they quickly realized that the effect was broken and the candle wouldnt burn like that ever again. Thenthirty did pocket the chandelier, figuring it d be a pity to let it go to waste in this unfriendly environment.
The next room revealed a door and after preparing the crossbows, Small yanked it open. It opened on a wide hall strewn with caltrops and finished off with a shoddy crenelated wall. They did however not have much time to appreciate those details, because the loud clanging of a bell alerted the Goblyn behind the wall that it was time to shoot that arrow he had readied when he started his watch one hundred ninety three minutes ago. The clanging and the arrow persuaded Small to slam the door closed and everyone voted for the “look for an alternate route” option.
The alternate route led them past some abandoned rats nests and .. some rats. From whom PikjoerLoessie learned that diving into an abandoned rats nest to get the loot .. isnt always that smart 🙂
The next room is laid with a cobblestone floor that contains two trapdoors, blocked open by iron spikes. It’s obvious that if the tops of the trapdoors were flush with the floor, they would be difficult to spot. The north wall holds a dry fountain carved with the bas-relief of a dragon.
The adventure (probably) continues the 26th of July.
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