After a suitably uneventful bit of overland travel, the group arrives at one of the northernmost outposts of the Thyr sect. Their journey being uneventful so far (except for the at one sighting of a red dragon – or was that just a cloud at sunset), the group is escorted into a narrow tunnel lined with murder holes, then allowed to ascend a steep and curving trail that deposits them in the iddle of a large courtyard.
Barracks, mess tents, training grounds, a massive obelisk with weapons piled high around the base? Seems like your standard military order of a church. Indeed it is, but it is not long until the group is summoned to speak with the commander.
He makes a long story short and sets the group on the path of the knights that he sent to find his daughter and the holy relic that she stole in her misguided attempt to impress daddy and become a real paladin all on her own. The bemused group springs into action. With flying druid and mage and a bit of elvish scouting they pick up the trail, or at least what they think is the trail Trail is confirmed some hours later when they come across the mangled bodies of two knights at the bottom of a large mountain spire.
Invisible scout mage flies off to do some scouting. ENtrances are scoped, and the least terrible option is chosen. Since the lowest doors are guarded by a chimeric duo, the ecision is made to fly ~400 feet straight up the side of the spire and land of a set of crudely carved stairs that hug one side of the pinnacle before disappearing into the mountainside..
The invisible flying party departs from miles away and flies into the side of the mountain. They land and briefly discuss options. The mage reports a lower cave opening with demons housed within, and distant shrieks of pain are heard, echoing up the interior of the mostly hollow mountain!
Flying is easier than walking so they take to the interior of the mountain, planning on starting at the top and working their way downward.
At the top a demonic entity housed in a stone statue attempts to possess Malchor’s body, but the mage shrugs off the mental attack and disintegrates the edifice. Take that foul beast!
Some searching, then he re-invisibilizes himself and the group descends through the interior. They bypass a pack of gargoyles lurking in hidden niches and guarding an exposed section of the stairs that wind in and out of the walls as they stretch off into the distance. Natural light is fading fast when the group reaches a level partially illuminated by a glowing red altar stone. The stone is distracting, but the elvish eyes of the party spot the massive harpy sitting in her nest , tucked into the side of the tower wall.
Elulyn unleashes a bolt of lightning, malchor and the monk add missiles to the mix and Goldpiece strikes the creature down. Woops! The monk dropped his crossbow and it plummeted out of sight. Loot and pillage? Check.
They resume their downward trajectory – attempting to put a bit of distance between themselves and the thunderclap that is still echoing in the tower. They drop down even lower, but then hear faint screams of pain – above them. Thinking they must have overshot their destination and hoping to find the missing girl, they attempt to pass over the glowing altar stone. they are attacked by vampiric cloaks – which are reduced to chair stuffing in seconds.
They move on and surprise a bunch of ‘cultists’ torturing 3 humans, a dwarf, an elf and a bugbear. The cultists are slain in short order and the prisoners freed. None of the prisoners is the girl they were looking for and the bugbear is convinced he can fly, so this is not an auspicious omen. The freed creatures aren’t really able to go anywhere…since the main entrance and exit is guarded by those darn chimeras…
Leaving the ex-prisoners behind the group takes to the interior airways again, dropping even lower. The mage estimates that they are below ground level and still dropping when suddenly they hit an area of magic null. With fly and invisibility spells canceled, several party members crash to the ground. There the monk and his crossbow are reunited. No time for happy tears for a pair of wyverns have emerged from hollows carved into the stone walls of the surrounding chamber and are moving to attack…
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