Session 19.
Lamashan the 7th (Cont).
Our busy day continues. As we observed the stone structure about one hundred and fifty feet south west of us, we heard a cacophonous ruckus in the jungle on the opposite side of the structure. We observed the location for some time, but nothing more came of it.
We approached the round stone structure carefully, keeping about fifty feet between ourselves and Max, who was on point. We noted nothing out of the ordinary as we approached. The smoke still rose unchecked from the western portion of the structure. When Max reached the roots of the Baobab and the wrecked stairs he signaled for us to stop. He had spotted a stone deadfall over the stairs. Working swiftly and quietly, he quickly disabled the trap then signaled for us to approach.
As I got closer to the high walled structure, I realized the building had many features common to ancient Azlanti construction. Innumerable petroglyphs covered most of the the walls, their meanings lost to time.
The interior of the stone structure was open to the sky. We saw a network of bridges over tar pits and a bas-relief along one wall representing a beheaded serpent. I recognized its relevance immediately, Ydersius, lost god of the Serpent-Folk.
When I pointed out a gemstone glinting in the eye of the severed head of Ydersius, Max went over to investigate. Within a stone coffer nearby, he found gold filigree, uncut stones and other treasure that was obviously scavenged from the ruins of Tazion. The moonstone gem within the eye of Ydersius proved to be magical, though I could not immediately establish its use. We pried it from its base and tucked it away.
Within the coffer I also found two golden lions. I was quite excited when I verified that these two small gold statuettes were indeed Figurines of Wondrous Power and would transform into actual lions for up to one hour per day, a very interesting and useful find.
We continued on, across the bridges to another chamber. Within, we encountered more of the Charau-Ka, including one in elaborate snakeskin armor. They had three prisoners, wrapped like flies in a spider’s web and hung over a fire. Another prisoner was tied up in a corner of the room. As combat commenced a large snake joined the fray and attacked the unarmed prisoner who had just wiggled free of his bonds.
Max was frozen in his tracks for only a moment by some magic from the leader in the snakeskin armor, but his trance was broken as he was mobbed by the other Charau-Ka.
With steel and magic we forced our way into the room, Max and Kay’Es going for the leader, while Ace and I dealt with the others. Ace tried to help the lone prisoner by creating a magical pit beneath the snake, but the slick edges caught the prisoner as well and they both tumbled in. I’m beginning to see a troublesome pattern with that particular spell. When Ace cancelled his spell, causing the floor of the pit to rise up to our level once more, I tried to make my way over to the unarmed prisoner to offer him my dagger for use against the snake. Unfortunately, I underestimated the reach of the serpent and was caught within its coils. It was quickly crushing the life out of me, but I wasn’t too worried. I knew I could probably use magic to escape on my own, but then I noticed Max had finished off the leader and was turning his focus upon the serpent. I knew at that moment my magic would be unnecessary as the snake’s timely (for me anyway) demise was at hand.
Once combat had ended we set the prisoners free. N’Ketchi recognized them as members of a local tribe. Three chose to return to their tribe, but the fourth chose to join our quest. We are hesitant to share our mission with outsiders, but if he seems trustworthy I will fill him in on the details when we rest. As it stands, we are still very much in fighting form and ready for our next challenge. He says his name is Blayn and is a skilled woodsman and archer.
Other than an odd statue of an elephant, there was little else of note in this area. The room was obviously used for ritual sacrifice to the god Ydersius. I realize the Charau-Ka are known demon worshipers, but I find it strange that they revere Ydersius, the serpent god.
After considering our next step for a bit, it was decided we would approach the three tiered ziggurat to the north, as that seemed to be the place where we would most likely find the “Pillars of Light”. We went up the stairs of the ziggurat to the second level and found the floor within caked in mud and vines. It would seem the jungle is working hard to reclaim even the interior of the structures of Tazion.
As we entered we were attacked by large wasps. They were quickly defeated and their large nest was found. Another wasp, probably the queen, attacked as I set the hive ablaze. She was soon defeated as well and we found nothing of interest within the ruined hive.
We exited the main hall through doors in the back of the room. They opened to stairs going down to a small chamber. Within the chamber were four small alcoves with odd little statues hovering within them. As I tried to ascertain what purpose they might serve, we all felt a wave of hostile magic wash over us and the little statues floated out of their alcoves. We leapt into action, beating the diminutive statues to the ground.
As they fell, they each projected a light showing different scenes. It was as if a memory had been trapped within each statue and had now been set free. The details are a little fuzzy, but I’m sure they referenced the Pillars of Light, showing their activation using four gemstones. I recognized one of the stones as the magical moonstone we had found earlier. Hopefully the remaining stones are still within the boundaries of Tazion. On with our search.
) for the most part and they seem to have a lot of fun with it. I will be reading it sometime down the road, to be sure.
