While Malchor spies with his little eye, Elulyn erects a ring of fire around the group. That keeps the snakes at bay and gives the party ample time to listen to the scouting report. The report details a set of descending stairs and a large chamber containing a sarcophagus carved in the form of a snake-monk. This chamber gets a long, hard investigation. Eventually, the arcane eye passes close enough to a small hole in the wall that it is noticed. The hole leads to a tube that passes through the stone wall. Exactly the type of thing a gassy person might use to get around. More investigation reveals little else of interest.
When the eye returns to the top of the stairs, Malchor realizes there is a bolt under the throne that locks it in place. Once that is bypassed with a Knock spell, the group slides the throne aside and descends the stairs, while the roaring ring of flame keeps the venomous snakes at bay. Locking the throne behind them, the stairs are descended. The landings feature elaborately carved snakes and it is from the mouth of one of these that a misty form spewed, then rapidly solidified into an angry looking snake-monk.
Although the lead characters are surprised by this turn of events, there are enough who keep their wits that the attacker is vaporized by a hail of magic missiles. As they approach the second landing, they are ready – and the second attacker dies even faster than the first. At the bottom of the stairs, a huge hall with many carvings on the walls. Paranoia levels ratchet upwards appropriately, but this time it isn’t snakes, but a swarm of shadows that nearly leech the life out of the hapless Mr. T. He is prodded into verticality by the staff of restoration, then nearly succumbs again to the strength draining touch of the evil creatures. The shadows are banished – then another group is banished. More exploration is undertaken and the room thoroughly scouted before the sarcophagus is approached. Wax is used to seal the hole in the wall, to prevent any escapes. The crypt is opened. It is empty.
Well, no not really. There is a false bottom that is opened and the snake-monk within leaps to the attack. At this stage, no one is surprised by the jack-in-the-box approach and the party blasts and bashes the attacker into a puddle of water. Wait. What? Erick opines that this is evidence that the creature was a simulacrum – essentially a magic snowman that acts as a double. There must be more than meets the eye. All eyes point towards the hole. With the flying carpet as an elevator and a handy passwall spell, the group is in a corridor that ends in an obsidian slab. Kiko busies himself by summoning an earth elemental – which works well enough given the clashing elemental forces outside.
Once the slab has been swept for traps, some small finger grooves are noted and the efforts of the strongest party members are needed to lift it. While the earth elemental holds the slab up, the group fans out to sweep the chamber that lies beyond. A shelf on the wall with a few containers and a large sarcophagus that is carved into the likeness of a snake-monk awaits the party. The group spreads out and Mr. T goes to relieve the earth elemental. The elemental shoves the lid off the sarcophagus and out pops a snake-monk, this time accompanied by a host of shadows.
The party is prepared and the attackers are reduced to vapors in a matter of seconds. In fact, there is more threat from the party’s collateral damage than from the attackers themselves. Tight spaces make magic exciting! Still, there are some doubts. This seems a bit too simple. More investigation is needed. The shelves are scraped of items both magical and mundane, and no one is surprised to find a small hole and tube combination that leads into the wall. Some muttered consultation amongst the mages produces a stone-shaped opening with which to peer into the space beyond.
Beyond is a strange combination of electrified jail cells and floating cyclopean eyeballs. They might be undead of some sort. Tough to say. The hole is used to plop a fireball into the room, just to see what happens. Death happens. The obsidian slab is spiked open and the elemental is used to break through the rest of the connecting wall. The elemental starts opening a path through the iron bars, suffering electrical damage before it is cloaked in a protection from elements. That enables a path of destruction that crosses the room and ends before another obsidian slab. The slab is lifted and a room made entirely of obsidian – with a mirror smooth finish – houses a large chunk of obsidian carved into the likeness of the now-familiar snake-monk. There is no lid, apparently.
Mr. T spikes the door while the others investigate. Malchor starts to develop subtly paranoid thoughts about the mage that now stands at the rear of the entire party…most of which are crammed into a small room. The hairs on his neck tingle as he ponders the possibility that this could be Melkerech. Is he just toying with the group? Malchor shares his paranoia with whispered remarks to Elulyn and Cosmic. Neither are very much alarmed since neither were subjected to the near TPK event many years ago. They don’t awaken in a cold sweat with the words ‘Melkerech sends his regards’ ringing in their ears, so they listen and nod while they search the stone slab for the opening they are sure must be there. Indeed! A hole and tube that leads into the solid block of obsidian! Elulyn sticks his finger into the hole and tries to angle a lightning bolt ‘up the tube’. He is incredibly successful and the rolling thunder goes on and on. Stress fractures start to develop in the sides. The group takes a half-step backwards.
Cosmic notices that there is a mist pouring out of the vent-hole and it is starting to solidify. Oh holy hades! It lived through a completely contained lighting storm? He screams ‘gassy snake-monk!’ and Kiko throws up a wall of wind to seal the chamber. As the creature solidifies, the rest of the group scrambles to retreat. The creature begins pleading with the party to leave it alone and asks if they can come to some sort of accommodation. What is it that they want anyway?
The group is stunned by the offer of parley and the party mages begin a discussion. Erick is miffed, since he was tortured and imprisoned here, but Justicar decides he has heard enough and incinerates the creature witha coumn of fire. With that, the entire structure starts to disintegrate and fall apart, spreading into the elemental chaos that rages all around them. The group gathers into a circle to plane shift away and urges Erick to join them. He smiles – and ‘vanishes’. The party members find themselves holding small pouches as they plane shift away.
They return to the vineyards outside their Moonsea manor and scout the place. All looks well so they venture within and set about relaxing. Malchor discusses his strange premonitions as the party investigates the contents of the pouches – which end up being small pouches of holding.. The mages receive very small and portable spellbooks that can hold far more than would seem possible. The cleric receives a candle that allows direct communication with his deity. Mr. T receives a snuffbox of berserk rage and Kiko receives a bag of magic acorns. Malchor’s spellbook is different. It contains a bookmark. Embroidered upon the fine silk is one word: Regards. Now fully alarmed, Malchor looks for traces of the raised bumps that marked the spellbooks of Melkerech. He finds them and with trepidation, begins to ‘read’.
In the end, it seems his paranoia was correct. Erick was indeed Melkerech, but the once-homicidal librarian seems to have undergone a change of heart – and alignment – and is no longer interested in pursuing revenge. Wasn’t he a lich, though? Whatever! Malchor is glad to close that chapter and to stop looking over his shoulder. Well…at least there is one less enemy on his list. Still…someone or something killed Pearsay and it couldn’t have been Mel, so there are still enemies a-plenty out in the world! No need to relax too soon, so the next adventure is plotted.
A quick astral jaunt across the world leads them to a likely place. After terrifying most of the locals by their sudden and fearsome appearance, the group heads out in search of the local evil, apparently housed in a partially ruined tower in the woods. The tower is discovered and a preliminary investigation reveals extensive damage to the upper floors. A summoning circle and a small shed grace the roof, but no ways to enter the building are apparent. They scout a few balconies and eventually settle on one adorned with a horned woman holding a blade overhead, flanked by two ‘demonic’ creatures.
Three….two…one…knock!
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