The cavern thundered as the twenty-foot-tall Bluespawn Godslayer approached.
Engaging the Bluespawn Godslayer, Balthasar slashed into it twice with Rufus, ratting it. Advancing, T’haaxilos, the last remaining drakkenwhyte, blasted it with Ice Breath. Moving off to the side, Jaervellios sunk two arrows into it. The Bluespawn Godslayer smashed Balthasar with its dragonhead shield. Gruffudd cast Heat Metal on its armor. Camwise hit it with an Acid Arrow. Rezyrius sunk two more arrows into it. The Bluespawn Godslayer hit Blasthasar with Lightning Breath as a Blackspawn Crawler emerged from the pit and released its toxic breath, leaving Camwise and Gruffudd reeling and ending the druid’s Heat Metal. Engaging the Blackspawn Crawler, Dameron smashed it with his morningstar and his Spiritual Hammer.
Avoiding the Bluespawn Godslayer’s swing and bite, Balthasar slashed into it three times with Rufus, stunning it. Flanking the Blackspawn Crawler, T’haaxilos stabbed it three times with his spear but was constricted by it. Moving closer, Jaervellios sunk an arrow into the Bluespawn Godslayer. Still recovering, Gruffudd and Camwise withdrew. Advancing with his saber, Rezyrius slashed the Blackspawn Crawler. After biting T’haaxilos, the Blackspawn Crawler dropped him down the pit to his death. With his morningstar and Spiritual Hammer, Dameron slew the Blackspawn Crawler and it too fell into the pit.
Furious at the death of T’haaxilos, Balthasar swung Rufus, cutting down the Bluespawn Godslayer.
Beyond the large, tiered cavern was a corridor leading to a circular ritual chamber lit by a pulsating hemisphere of light shining down on five hobgoblin warpriests and two squads of fanatics. They stood around a circular stone structure with five draconic necks ending in upturned heads. Camwise ascertained that they were using the souls to summon Takhisis. To the north was an alcove with a ten-foot-wide shaft in the ceiling leading up out of sight.
Engaging the nearest warpriest, Balthasar slashed into it three times and struck the ground with Groundshatter, killing the warpriest. Eight wraiths appeared from the summoning platform, swarming Balthasar. Gruffudd cast Insect Plague in the chamber, lightly obscuring it. Dameron blasted a wraith, a squad of fanatics, and a warpriest with a Lightning Bolt. Moving out of the cloud of insects, a squad of fanatics hit Gruffudd with Inflict Wounds. Balthasar slashed into the fanatics as they tried to cast a spell. Dropping down from the ceiling next to Balthasar, Rezyrius slashed into the fanatics. A warpriest caught Rezyrius with Hold Person. Camwise blasted the chamber with a Fireball, incinerating one squad of fanatics.
Scrambling through the chamber, Balthasar slashed two warpriests with Rufus, breaking their concentration on the ritual. In the center of the summoning chamber, the Shadow of Tyrgyruln the Father appeared and unleashed its Anguished Breath, killing one wraith and the remaining fanatics. With a Lightning Bolt, Gruffudd killed the last concentrating warpriest, and the Shadow of the Father along with all the wraiths disappeared. Dameron advanced into the chamber. After being struck by a wraith, Rezyrius flanked a warpriest and struck them down. The last two warpriests slit their own throats in the name of Takhisis.
Using his Wand of Secrets, Gruffudd found the secret door the drakkenwhyte’s had told them about.
Camwise opened the door, revealing an Iron Golem and, built into the wall, a twenty-foot-high statue of a five-headed dragon.
The Iron Golem breathed a cone of poison gas on Camwise, Gruffudd, and Rezyrius. Dameron hit it with a Sacred Flame. Engaging the Iron Golem, Balthasar struck it twice with Rufus. Rezyrius followed and slashed it twice. Camwise cast Dispel Magic to no effect. Gruffudd cast Wall of Stone, blocking off the statue.
The Iron Golem smashed Balthasar with its sword. Dameron blasted it with a Sacred Flame. Balthasar slashed into it three times with Rufus. Rezyrius slashed into it and Camwise smashed it apart with his staff.
Gruffudd’s Wand of Secrets pointed toward the statue. He dropped his Wall of Stone. Balthasar spotted a claw lever just beyond the statue. Rezyrius dashed in and pulled the lever, causing the statue to go dormant.
Rezyrius chanted a known passphrase, “By the grace of Takhisis do I live and breathe,” and summoned everyone into the chamber, seeing five chests, each made of the scales of a different colored dragon and that dragon’s skull as a lid.
With Dameron’s Guidance, Camwise investigated the chests, finding magical traps on all of the chests.
Balthasar and Rezyrius tried to open the white chest and were blasted by cold. Rezyrius suggested they look for a key.
In the corridor were two doors. Pulsating magical sounds could be heard from the north door. The south door was quiet but a spicy, sweet aroma came from it.
Camwise found no traps on the south door but found that it was locked. Balthasar managed to work the door open, revealing a small, thickly carpeted sleeping chamber. The walls were adorned with colorful tapestries depicting a dark woman silhouetted by a five-headed dragon that rose triumphantly over a city in one scene, and looming over the bloodied and broken body of a platinum-scaled dragon in another. In the southwest corner was a four-poster canopied bed piled high with a mound of cushions and furs. Nearby was the source of the aroma, a bejeweled water pipe crafted to look like a five-headed dragon.
Within one of the pillows, Dameron found a set of five bone keys and handed them to Balthasar.
Returning to the chests, Balthasar used the keys to open them. They were filled with gold coins, gems stones, jewelry, and art.
They took a short rest while they rummaged through the chests.
The white chest contained 12,000 silver coins, 6,500 electrum coins, and 360 platinum coins.
The black chest contained several bags of gemstones. Six of the bags contained fairly low-quality gems, while the seventh bag contained somewhat higher-quality gems.
The green chest contained a large amount of personal jewelry and small works of art the drakkenwhytes concluded must have been stolen from various victims and rival tribes over the past several years. There were twenty art objects in this chest, each of which was worth 200 gold coins.
The red chest contained a small bag of seven black pearls, a tiny mithral box containing three emeralds and a large diamond, and several potions: 2 potions of hill giant strength, 2 potions of frost giant strength, 3 potions of growth, 14 potions of greater healing, 5 potions of lesser restoration, and a potion of resistance.
The blue chest contained various items that Camwise had to Identify: a Rod of Entropy, a Ring of Shooting Stars, a Rust Bag of Tricks, a Keening Scabbard, a Portable Hole, a Cloak of the Bat, a Candle of Invocation, and a Staff of the Web-Tender.
Working together, Rezyrius and Camwise examined and opened the north door, revealing a small octagon-shaped chamber with a twenty-five-foot-high dome-arched ceiling. Inscribed in the center of the chamber floor was a ten-foot diameter circular diagram inlaid with alchemical silver and cold iron.
Working together, Dameron and Camwise reconfigured the summoning circle so that it was no longer tied to Takhisis and managed to summon a golden glowing winged solar deva sent by St Aster.
Balthasar drank a potion of Frost Giant Strength and was afflicted with permanent Frost Giant strength, doromania (a preoccupation with giving gifts), and acrophobia (a fear of heights).
Gruffud used his d’mberville Compendium of Champions and summoned a headless halfling who pulled his head out of his hat and introduced himself as “Sausages” Rompo.
Glazhael the Failed returned and offered to carry the Daring Friends up the shaft to the inner sanctum beyond.
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