Zenith Trajectory - Chapter 3
Zenith Trajectory – Chapter 3
OOC Notes:
Exp for 6th level is 1250, 5th is 1500 and 4th is 1600.
This Week’s Adventure:
We spent some time staring out into the vast rift canyon. Even the glowing phosphorescence didn’t illuminate the entire thing and it was difficult to see if there were any surprises lurking below. After several minutes of observation, no guards or patrols were to be seen and we descended the slick ledge that lead to the cavern floor.
The bottom of the canyon was dry for perhaps a hundred feet before the water started. The murkiness made it difficult to tell how quickly the floor fell away but we were hesitant to risk facing aquatic creatures in their element. While debating a way to cross, a gentle splishing sound came out of the darkness. After a few moments, the rhythmic sound grew and soon we could make out a shape in the mist – a frog-like creature in a large canoe. It was leaning over one side, paddling calmly towards us.
There was a quick exchange of “fight, talk or flight” looks but it was only one kua-toa and it seemed unlikely he’d row up in a canoe if his intentions were hostile.
“Greetings,” Astrid said in undercommon.
He stopped paddling close to the water’s edge – the size of the boat revealed the water must deepen very quickly if he could get that close with so large a craft. “Hello,” he said slowly. His undercommon was rough but understandable. “Seek ye the Smoking Eye? I shall guide you to the maw.”
Weren’t we told NOT to seek the Smoking Eye? I thought at Astrid.
Well, yes. But this looks promising for a way out there. she replied.
Stalling, Astrid said “Please, tell us of the Smoking Eye – we have heard about it and we are curious.”
The creature nodded. “It swirls among the darkness, inside smoky chambers surrounded by whips and attended by prophecy. I see it swirling in darkness.”
While he spoke, we thought.
Let’s take his offer and see where he takes us. If we have to fight, then we still can later.
Astrid said “We will seek the Smoking Eye.” The kua-toa brought the boat closer and everyone got on board. The canoe was made from bone and the hide of some watery creature and was quite well constructed and solid. Without any further word, the creature paddled slowly towards the temple and once there, we got out. He paddled off again into the darkness.
“That was entirely too easy,” Elizabeth quipped.
Bellsin’s only response was to shove Elizabeth out of the way of a crossbow bolt that shot down from above. Inside the empty eyes of the temple, something moved that wasn’t as glad to see us.
Everyone moved up the stairs into the mouth that was the temple door – everyone except Glyph, which left him as the lone target for the next volley of crossbow bolts. He was scratched up but was newly motivated and moved out of the line of fire. The kua-toan guards leapt down from their posts in the eye, and we charged back out to meet them.
Elizabeth opened with a quick, graceful cut but the kua-toa blocked with his shield, and the weapon immediately stuck fast. It was still in her hands but unusable as it was. Elizabeth would remain locked with this creature while around her, the rest of the Tygers systematically killed the other kua-toa. Spells and arrows worked particularly well of course. Finally Bellsin stepped behind Elizabeth’s adversary and neatly finished him.
Even with the creature dead, the falchion took some effort to free, causing no small amount of s
ing. Examination showed that all the shields were coated with some kind of slime that made things stick fast. Unwilling to be caught again, Elizabeth sheathed her weapon and took one of the short spears and shields to turn the tables on the kua-toa.
In the entryway were frescoes and two large statues. One was a kua-toa but the other was a squat humanoid with a black sphere for a head. I wasn’t sure what to make of this other image and none of the more educated of the party had any idea who it represented. Side passages branched off, including one warded by a portcullis. The lever to open it was in the foyer, implying it was meant to keep something in rather than keep anyone out, so that was the first avenue of exploration. Immediately beyond the portcullis were four cells and for a moment I actually thought this might be a very quick mission. Sadly, there was no Zenith, just two prisoners half crazed from paranoia. The group tried to talk to them but they gave up no useful information, and the group moved on, promising to come free them when they were about to leave.
A stairway beyond the pens lead up to a torture chamber, knee-deep in water. As we started moving through, a creature rose up out of the water – it was soggy and worm-ridden and definitely not alive. Krisfallion invoked the word of Faulkon and the creature recoiled in pain. It was a good thing too – upon catching sight of the creature, Astrid and Tzaddik were crippled with fear and loathing and couldn’t act. Kris invoked a ray of brilliant light, combined with a ray of flame from Maris and the creature soon fell forward, still smoking in the water.
The hallway beyond came to a sudden stop. If you ask me, if you’re going to go to the trouble of having a secret door, you should at least make it look like there’s some other reason for a hallway to be there. The secret door was found, and Astrid disguised herself as a kua-toa. The combination of her study of the creature we had seen earlier along with her racial abilities and the hat of disguise combined to considerable effect, though I believe most of the group still believes she is only human. The new Astrid carefully opened the door, and crimson light leaked into the hallway. Murmured chanting became audible and she could see a large chamber beyond. A seventy foot high statue of a woman was the centerpiece – she had the head and claws of a lobster and it was obvious this was the kua-toan goddess. There was an iron-railed balcony above around the edge of the chamber, and then another one further up. The walls were painted with frescoes of bloody sacrifices. She carefully closed the door.
This chamber, while interesting, was clearly populated and was unlikely to be a place to hold a prisoner, so the group decided to try another route and went back to the entrance.
Right near the entryway, there was a small chamber with four sleeping kua-toa. Despite the racket from the earlier guards, the loud noises from raising the portcullis, and the general moving about, these so-called guards were blissfully asleep. It was odd, but sometimes things are. The guards were dispatched and beyond them was a passage leading up to the eyesocket sentry posts.
This left the large carved stone doors as the only unexplored direction. They would almost certainly lead into the large chamber with the god-statue. The doors were protected by a magical glyph. Our Glyph managed to deceive this protection, and was able to open the door safely. Upon cracking the door, crimson light seeped into the room confirming what we would see beyond. This door opened onto the lower balcony. From here we could see four priests at the base of the statue, chanting, though fortunately there were none on this level to notice us. The balcony above had gaps in it, and it seemed there were small drawbridges that lowered to allow passage across. Stairs lead both down to the floor from our location, and up to the upper balcony.
“I don’t suppose there’s any way to avoid fighting the priests in their temple in front of the statue of their god, is there?” someone asked rhetorically.
Apparently not.
Loot:
8 masterwork large steel shields, complete with goo
4 short spears
8 masterwork hand crossbows with ammunition
4 masterwork rapiers
5 large steel shields (may not carry out)
