Chapter 4 - In Search of the Soulmonger
Apologies to all for not keeping up on this blog! My hope is to be more consistent, if a bit less detailed, moving forward. We are going to jump ahead and skip some of the smaller details in this post.
The party strategically moved through the lair in search for Ras Nsi, with several battles with Yuan-ti along the way. One of the more memorable battles was in the blood baths and sauna area. Here they ran into a well guarded Yuan-ti by the name of Yahru. It was a near-deadly encounter with his strong bodyguards and a host of Yuan-ti that were alerted to the party's presence by an unfortunate casting of Toll the Dead by pork. They were fortunate to outlast the snake people and recuperate afterward. The learned some useful information from Yahru about Ras Nsi, such as he was suffering from the death curse like everyone else that had previously been raised from the dead.
After their brief respite, the party stealthily advanced deeper into the lair and stumbled onto the throne room. Here they found Ras Nsi along with his bodyguard Sekelok, along with a host of other guards defending him. This was another challenging battle; the powerful Sekelok was fearsome in battle; and Ras Nsi was a capable spellcaster, throwing fireballs and other magic at them. The party prevailed in the battle, as Ras Nsi was forced to flee through a teleporter. Kalain, bravely followed after thee fleeing leader of the Yuan-ti and luck was on his side as he found him in his hidden retreat. Kalain's skill in battle forced Ras Nsi to yield in battle, granting Kalain the missing puzzle cubes and an oath to not interfere with the party in exchange for his life.
The party was now ready to enter the tomb in search of the Soulmonger.
Progressing through the tomb in search of the odd skeleton keys, the figured they needed, they stumbled upon a magical mirror. Fearing that it was a device with evil intentions, they broke the mirror, releasing a slew of beasts and humanoids. Among the humanoids, were a dark elf mage named Tlad, a chultun warrior named Lukanu, and a human adventurer by the name of Biff Longsteel and the previous companion of Breen in the Company of the Yellow Banner. These three helped them dispatch the beasts released from the mirror and joined them on their quest.
After exploring the fifth level of the dungeon, with rooms sitting on giant gears that were rotated using a control panel, the finally gathered a skeleton key from each level and headed down a staircase into an eerie room:
They met three animated dolls in the room that warned them that this was the home of the Sewn Sisters, a coven of hags, and that they should not linger for they could return at any moment. On one side of the room was a cage that contained what appeared to be a clone of Fosgrim. At the far end of the room was a huge door:
They tried to insert the skeleton keys they had found, but the keyholes seemed to be blocked. The galleries above the room had five wooden doors set into walls around it with a different geometric symbol carved into their surfaces. The shapes matched the keys they had recovered, so the party decided to explore each one, figuring a trial was forthcoming for each. After successfully completing a room challenge, they found that the appropriate keyhole was exposed on the skeleton door. Prior to inserting their keys, they thought it appropriate to retreat to a safe resting location to recover their spells.
The party returned to the gate and started inserting the keys. Once the first key was placed, the sisters returned to their lair with an eldritch pop, demanding the characters surrender the keys. Of course, the party wasn't going for that and a fight ensued.
ROUND 1
Brenn started by casting haste on Sudo, who sent a barrage of strikes on Baggy Nanna and missed all four attacks. Fosgrim threw a couple eldritch blasts at Peggy Deadbells with limited success (10). Lukana made three strong swings of her greatsword at Baggy Nanna, who dodged two of the swings and resisted the damage on the one that got past her defenses (6). Kalain moved up to attack Baggy Nanna with his rapier, piercing her twice and making her yelp in pain (22). Pork conjured up the essence of his god Tharmekhul in a spiritual warhammer and sent it to smash Peggy Deadbells, with a max damage (13) hit, while missing with his mace. Erzenei snuck up into a blind spot of Peggy and found his mark with his rapier for a deadly wound (25) and followed it up with his off-hand rapier for another successful strike (5). Witnessing the assault on her sisters, Widow Groat decided to try to eliminate one of her foes and summoned a spell that turned Fosgrim into a lamb. Baggy Nanna tried a similar tactic on Kalain, but his divine aura thwarted the spell.
ROUND 2
Seeing that the hags were resistant to some of the damage done, Brenn chose to use magic missiles on Peggy Deadbells for good success (13). Peggy Deadbells conjured a lightning strike against Kalain and Erzenei and while Z was able to tumble to safety, it struck Kalain fully (37). Tlad took Brenn's success to heart, summoning his own magic missile to strike Peggy for 12 damage. This time around, Sudo was focused, sending a flurry of accurate blows at Baggy Nanna, striking her four times, including one blow that stunned her and just about finished her (39). Fosgrim milled about, looking for some grass to munch on. Lukana struggled to overcome the hags resistance to non-magical weapons, but was able to hit the stunned Baggy Nanna with two swings of her greatsword (10). Kalain used the stunned condition of Baggy Nanna to accurately pierce her with his rapier, including a critical (31). This turn, Pork was able to connect with a blow of his flaming mace on Peggy (13), while his spiritual hammer missed. Erzenei took advantage of the distraction to pierce what should have been a kidney with his rapier on Peggy Deadbells, landing a deadly blow (29). He then quickly spun over to Baggy Nanna and brought her down with his off-hand rapier (7).
ROUND 3
Seeing the death of her sisters, inspired Widow Groat to negotiate with the party, offering them valuable information about the rest of the tomb in exchange for her life. She had them swear on their mortal souls to not harm her once her information is divulged. They agreed and she shared the following information:
The party spent some time recuperating after dealing with the sisters, before returning to the task of opening the giant door. Kalain carefully inserted the skeleton keys into their respective slots, with guidance from Sudo to place them in the order of discovery. As he inserted the final key, the door slid out of the way, revealing a wide staircase leading down twenty feet into a large and eerie room.
This must be the soulmonger, the object of their long quest to end the death curse was within their grasp. If only they can persevere against this abomination, ending the suffering of all the lost souls and folk that were withering away, it would be a story for the ages!
The Fane of the Night Serpent
After finding most of the puzzle cubes to open the door to the tomb, the party learns that a Yuan-ti by the name of Ras Nsi has the cubes they are missing in his possession. The party first attempted a frontal entry into the lair of the Yuan-ti, but were thwarted by their defenses. This lead to a search of the surrounding area and discovery of a hidden entrance to the lair.The party strategically moved through the lair in search for Ras Nsi, with several battles with Yuan-ti along the way. One of the more memorable battles was in the blood baths and sauna area. Here they ran into a well guarded Yuan-ti by the name of Yahru. It was a near-deadly encounter with his strong bodyguards and a host of Yuan-ti that were alerted to the party's presence by an unfortunate casting of Toll the Dead by pork. They were fortunate to outlast the snake people and recuperate afterward. The learned some useful information from Yahru about Ras Nsi, such as he was suffering from the death curse like everyone else that had previously been raised from the dead.
After their brief respite, the party stealthily advanced deeper into the lair and stumbled onto the throne room. Here they found Ras Nsi along with his bodyguard Sekelok, along with a host of other guards defending him. This was another challenging battle; the powerful Sekelok was fearsome in battle; and Ras Nsi was a capable spellcaster, throwing fireballs and other magic at them. The party prevailed in the battle, as Ras Nsi was forced to flee through a teleporter. Kalain, bravely followed after thee fleeing leader of the Yuan-ti and luck was on his side as he found him in his hidden retreat. Kalain's skill in battle forced Ras Nsi to yield in battle, granting Kalain the missing puzzle cubes and an oath to not interfere with the party in exchange for his life.
The party was now ready to enter the tomb in search of the Soulmonger.
Exploring the Tomb
This is a brief summary of the highlights of the party's adventures in the Tomb of Annihilation.
The party cautiously explored the tomb, choosing to safely store most of the magical items rather than use them, after the first couple of possessions by the spirits of the nine gods. The exceptions to this were: Erzenei who wore the bracers of archery and was inhabited by Moa; Pork who was inhabited by Kubazan; and Brenn who used the pearl of power and ring of protection while being inhabited by I'jin.
While exploring a false tomb on the second level, just past the gravity ring, several of the members were trapped in the room while it started filling with wine. Here Ryjju decided to try to hide in the chest and the magical trap disintegrated her. The others escaped through the passage in the mouth of one of the gargoyle heads decorating the room walls.
The party found another companion while exploring the gravity ring passage. Here they met the gnome wizard, Brenn Orulenn. Brenn was part of the Company of the Yellow Banner that entered the tomb. His original party suffered from the death of several members and the separation of the remaining members as they fled for their lives.
The party found a very useful secret door on the second level of the tomb. Behind the secret door, they found a spiral staircase that seemed to lead to the bottom of the tomb as well as the office of a wight named Withers, that seemed to be in charge of the place. Not being the type that appreciates an intelligent undead wandering around, they chose to dispatch Withers and acquired a nice spellbook from him as well as an amulet of the black skull and a manual of golems.
The party found a very useful secret door on the second level of the tomb. Behind the secret door, they found a spiral staircase that seemed to lead to the bottom of the tomb as well as the office of a wight named Withers, that seemed to be in charge of the place. Not being the type that appreciates an intelligent undead wandering around, they chose to dispatch Withers and acquired a nice spellbook from him as well as an amulet of the black skull and a manual of golems.
Progressing through the tomb in search of the odd skeleton keys, the figured they needed, they stumbled upon a magical mirror. Fearing that it was a device with evil intentions, they broke the mirror, releasing a slew of beasts and humanoids. Among the humanoids, were a dark elf mage named Tlad, a chultun warrior named Lukanu, and a human adventurer by the name of Biff Longsteel and the previous companion of Breen in the Company of the Yellow Banner. These three helped them dispatch the beasts released from the mirror and joined them on their quest.
After exploring the fifth level of the dungeon, with rooms sitting on giant gears that were rotated using a control panel, the finally gathered a skeleton key from each level and headed down a staircase into an eerie room:
Green smoke billows out from a bronze cauldron in the middle of this twenty-foot-high vaulted hall. Barely visible through the haze are three rocking chairs, several work benches heaped with haberdashery, a spinning wheel, and a rusty iron cage containing a prisoner. Galleries stand ten feet above the floor to either side of the room.
They met three animated dolls in the room that warned them that this was the home of the Sewn Sisters, a coven of hags, and that they should not linger for they could return at any moment. On one side of the room was a cage that contained what appeared to be a clone of Fosgrim. At the far end of the room was a huge door:
This twelve-foot-high, ten-foot-wide door is made of green stone, its surface carved with grinning goblin skeletons. A belt of smooth stone spans the door at a height of four feet, set with five gold symbols in a row: a triangle, a square, a pentagon, a hexagon, and an octagon. Each symbol is engraved on a recessed circular seal.
They tried to insert the skeleton keys they had found, but the keyholes seemed to be blocked. The galleries above the room had five wooden doors set into walls around it with a different geometric symbol carved into their surfaces. The shapes matched the keys they had recovered, so the party decided to explore each one, figuring a trial was forthcoming for each. After successfully completing a room challenge, they found that the appropriate keyhole was exposed on the skeleton door. Prior to inserting their keys, they thought it appropriate to retreat to a safe resting location to recover their spells.
The party returned to the gate and started inserting the keys. Once the first key was placed, the sisters returned to their lair with an eldritch pop, demanding the characters surrender the keys. Of course, the party wasn't going for that and a fight ensued.
ROUND 1
Brenn started by casting haste on Sudo, who sent a barrage of strikes on Baggy Nanna and missed all four attacks. Fosgrim threw a couple eldritch blasts at Peggy Deadbells with limited success (10). Lukana made three strong swings of her greatsword at Baggy Nanna, who dodged two of the swings and resisted the damage on the one that got past her defenses (6). Kalain moved up to attack Baggy Nanna with his rapier, piercing her twice and making her yelp in pain (22). Pork conjured up the essence of his god Tharmekhul in a spiritual warhammer and sent it to smash Peggy Deadbells, with a max damage (13) hit, while missing with his mace. Erzenei snuck up into a blind spot of Peggy and found his mark with his rapier for a deadly wound (25) and followed it up with his off-hand rapier for another successful strike (5). Witnessing the assault on her sisters, Widow Groat decided to try to eliminate one of her foes and summoned a spell that turned Fosgrim into a lamb. Baggy Nanna tried a similar tactic on Kalain, but his divine aura thwarted the spell.
ROUND 2
Seeing that the hags were resistant to some of the damage done, Brenn chose to use magic missiles on Peggy Deadbells for good success (13). Peggy Deadbells conjured a lightning strike against Kalain and Erzenei and while Z was able to tumble to safety, it struck Kalain fully (37). Tlad took Brenn's success to heart, summoning his own magic missile to strike Peggy for 12 damage. This time around, Sudo was focused, sending a flurry of accurate blows at Baggy Nanna, striking her four times, including one blow that stunned her and just about finished her (39). Fosgrim milled about, looking for some grass to munch on. Lukana struggled to overcome the hags resistance to non-magical weapons, but was able to hit the stunned Baggy Nanna with two swings of her greatsword (10). Kalain used the stunned condition of Baggy Nanna to accurately pierce her with his rapier, including a critical (31). This turn, Pork was able to connect with a blow of his flaming mace on Peggy (13), while his spiritual hammer missed. Erzenei took advantage of the distraction to pierce what should have been a kidney with his rapier on Peggy Deadbells, landing a deadly blow (29). He then quickly spun over to Baggy Nanna and brought her down with his off-hand rapier (7).
ROUND 3
Seeing the death of her sisters, inspired Widow Groat to negotiate with the party, offering them valuable information about the rest of the tomb in exchange for her life. She had them swear on their mortal souls to not harm her once her information is divulged. They agreed and she shared the following information:
- “Hidden on this level of the dungeon is a library of lost lore, guarded by an arcanaloth whose true name is Ygga Raxyg.”
- “There is only one way to leave the dungeon: the ebon pool. Charred bones point the way."
- “The Red Trail leads to death.”
Opening the Door
The party spent some time recuperating after dealing with the sisters, before returning to the task of opening the giant door. Kalain carefully inserted the skeleton keys into their respective slots, with guidance from Sudo to place them in the order of discovery. As he inserted the final key, the door slid out of the way, revealing a wide staircase leading down twenty feet into a large and eerie room.
Crumbling balconies overlook a pool of lava filling this triangular chamber, above which is suspended an enormous crystal cylinder held in place by three adamantine struts. Wraithlike forms swirl inside the cylinder, and otherworldly screams hang in the air. Four long, writhing tentacles sprout from the cylinder’s cap. A shriveled monstrosity the size of an elephant floats near the cylinder. Its body is wet and malformed, its arms and legs are atrophied, and its oversized head drips black goo. The creature is attached to the cylinder by a twisted umbilical cord.
This must be the soulmonger, the object of their long quest to end the death curse was within their grasp. If only they can persevere against this abomination, ending the suffering of all the lost souls and folk that were withering away, it would be a story for the ages!
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