gideonpepys
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
Session 104 - The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
Previously on Zeitgeist...
The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - Lower Levels
DM's Note: The support team will provide the means to replace dead characters and/or allow new players to join in the delve. (We're anticipating the return of a previous member who played Krazy Krauss, Sly Marbo and Conquo.) I changed the tribespeople to lizardfolk because I have lots of lizardmen minis.
Previously on Zeitgeist...
- Seconded to the REID, Ludo, Brajham and Wil, the three surviving members of Unit B, have travelled to the deepest regions of the Cloudwood, where the rule of law does not reach, and the borders of Risur extend only in theory.
- They are joined by two dwarves: archaeologist and arcanist Orum Dwist, and his assistant Throgmorton. Dwist claims to have located the site of an Ancient burial chamber, where a powerful icon might be found – an icon similar in nature to the one they lost to the dragon Tatzel.
- A team of support staff, porters and scouts has also been assembled consisting of the bugbear Ffenwig, two goblins and three dwarves. (The goblinoids were recruited by Brajham; the dwarves by Dwist and Throgmorton.)
- Travel was expedited by fantastic means: Dwist has discovered an ancient network of standing stones that enable teleportation across vast distances. The unit travelled two days into the bayou to find such a stone, and within minutes were transported into the oppressive heat and dense foliage of the jungle.
- They are now running for their lives, having found themselves in the territory of an angry tribe of lizardfolk. Separated from their support team, they have caught sight of an overgrown triangular mound that might indicate the location of a Ziggurat. Dodging a hail of spears and darts, they hightail it in that direction.
The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - Lower Levels
- Ground beneath their feet gives way and pitching them into the first chamber of the shrine. Poison gas pervades the whole area. In this first chamber they find stucco dioramas depicting the ancient Olman way of life. Touching the dioramas causes vengeful Olam spirits to be released, each capable of releasing more spirits from the dioramas (for a total of 7 spirits, all a capable of draining healing surges). The party does well here, dispatching two spirits before they can release any more. A 'shepherd's crook' in one of the dioramas turns out to be a key to the door here.
- In the Hall of Thrashing Canes, the party struggles to bypass a simple obstacle - a pressure plate causing stone screens to bisect the hall, requiring brute strength to open. No one in the group is especially strong!
- In the damp and slippery Roost of the Conch the party encounter the hermit-crab spirit Kalka Kylla and its crayfish guardian. They successfully parley their way through the area and choose the right-hand door.
- The corridor here is slick with caustic lime. Round a corner are stairs that end in a rockfall where fresh air can be sensed. But the party did not come here to find a way out! Back along the corridor is a 'secret door' which erosion has revealed over time. A huge limestone block, it needs to be mandhandled out of the way, causing injury to all those involved.
- In the foyer beyond are six urns and a set of bronze doors, covered in heiroglyphs. Orum and Throgmorton successfully deal with a dangerous soporific gas trap. Wil and Brajham find healing ointment in one of the urns.
- Beyond the bronze doors is a large tomb, with jagged pillars, and a magical axe imbedded in the far wall, casting the shadow of a clawed forearm. Determined to inspect every are before moving on, the party opens the tomb and gets the drop on an ancient vampire, masked in jade and armoured in bronze and obsidian. The creature reclaims its axe but is forced to flee in mist form. Brajham defecates in the vampire's coffin.
DM's Note: The support team will provide the means to replace dead characters and/or allow new players to join in the delve. (We're anticipating the return of a previous member who played Krazy Krauss, Sly Marbo and Conquo.) I changed the tribespeople to lizardfolk because I have lots of lizardmen minis.