Deciding on a plan for the temple, the group veers off in a different direction, performing an aerial tour of the swamp. They find a dismembered leg, then a legless torso. They spot some shambling mounds and see a ghostly figure poking through the ruins of a structure. The druid tries to detect thoughts but gets nothing. They press on further and overfly a second structure (less ruined) and spot a ghostly figure as they approach. Again the druid tries to detect thoughts and is surprised to learn that the figure sees them approaching and is fairly happy about it. “Oh goody! More suckers!”. Hmm. That is interesting – onwards they fly, but as they enter a large cavern, a surface to air flash-bang grenade detonates nearby, ruining everyone’s vision. Crossbow bolts speed out of the darkness and the group goes into a defensive posture. When they have regained sight, the attackers are nowhere to be found.
The group returns to the nearest structure and encounters the ghostly figure which turns out to be a ghost who attempts to control Gutboy’s mind. Happily, Gutboy has a ring which defends him from such things and he ends up taking control of the creature. They pump it for information, they fly away before their spells expire. Back to the rope!
The following day, the group swoops down upon the large structure and unleashes a barrage of spells. The druid collapses the entire edifice by turning it into mud. A few seconds later, one of the mages transforms it into solid stone, entombing whomever is inside. A lightning bolt into the water near the entrance slays the assembled guards and just like that, the party are proud conquerors of a giant stone slab.
The slab is subsequently turned back into mud. Malchor deploys a floating disc and flies around with the party in tow. The druid uses the opportunity to blast away the mud with the decanter of endless water she carries around. The mages halt the sluicing operation whenever the gleam of magic is detected. After a bit of time, they decide to investigate further and spend more time exploring the highways and byways of the flooded caverns.
Deploying the flying eye allows them to locate the way down to the next deeper level and enables Malchor to spy upon a mage as he writes a letter to someone detailing his inability to join ‘the school’. While Malchor spys with his little eye, the mage and his skeletal henchmen begin to pack up and prepare to depart. Back to the rope!
Some time spent identifying magic reclaimed from the temple then back to the skies. They fly around and discover another of the mysterious gates. They activate it but decline to enter. They spy a battle between a ghostly naga and four ghostly snake folk, but the vision somehow ensnares some of the party members who are now fighting for their lives. They survive and experience a vision as they slay the naga and raise it from the dead as some kind of bone creature…
Leave a reply