Session 3 - Salt and Sanctuary

General Summary

After a quiet evening at the local inn, the supposed heroes woke the next morning to continue their journey. A local temple worker named Horeig approached the group outside the tavern with a humble request to help him and his fellow priests at the temple of Chauntea upon their arrival at Junction. Bryn was quick to strike up the conversation and prod for details, sparse as they may be. Though suspicions were, of course, very high from the likes of Marty and Tatil, the group agreed to at least see what was to be said. It helped that Horeig offered the entire party a place to stay, free of charge, for their services. For many, the first jump through the portal was an interesting experience. Marty would have spent hours picking apart the intricate and all-inclusive magic that powered it had the group not been traveling by wagon. As much as the arcane interested the wizard, much the party was also amazed at the incredible site of Portal Park and massive buildings that welcomed them on the other side.   The temple workers were quick to guide the group to where they would be staying, a large “brickstone” building with a wide alley to stable multiple horses and room for their wagon. This is where a few of the group stayed behind with the wagon and their belongings, while a small detachment reached the temple.   The temple was very modern, sophisticated, and industrial in appearance. Though clearly a place of worship, it was also utilitarian and the source of 1/10th of the city’s water. Through creation and purifying spells, priests worked around the clock to pump water into the city. The High Priest Masaki informed them in secret much of the details of the operation, down to various percentages and operational aspects, as the party had a very curious wizard. It seemed that the city operated off multiple temples running similar operations, but this temple of Chauntea served mainly the poor districts. The most important information was their mission – Masaki revealed that a portion of the temple had to be sealed off as it was contaminated by salt water and one of their workers was locked inside. Tatil informed the group (those who didn’t already know) that the presence of sea water could mean undead. Masaki went to work climbing the company ladder to find records that may help the investigation while our “heroes” entered the sealed rooms.   A determined Tatil and Deltair lead the group down the dark halls. Deltair, with the best of intentions, called out for help, but only disturbed what others were expecting – undead. The group broke down doors, smashed skeletons, and fought off a large horde of zombies as they made their way through. In the literal heat of battle, a torch caught one of the zombies aflame and a small vial exploded chunks of flesh across the room. Curiously, it would appear as though each of the undead constructs was being powered by these small vials of seawater. This knowledge lead to the front line warriors opening up the zombies, revealing the power sources, and allowing the magics to cleverly prestidigitate away much of the saltwater.   One lone gnome zombie was spared momentarily to allow for a gruesome operation at the hands of Marty. The vile of seawater was retrieved and pocketed by the group for later examination. After this, the quiet Maxima examined the wounded Tatil and very subtly healed the tabaxi’s wounds.   Carrying on, the thick-headed militiaman was alerted to an eerie, unending scream coming from a sealed office. This scream, however, was not heard aloud, but reverberated through Del’s mind. He ignored the warnings of his friends and heroically charged into the room, reaching out for the suspended temple worker – the one they had been looking for! A barrier of flowing, spiraling seawater appeared before them, encircling the temple worker. Deltair stepped back and Bryn removed the remaining water from their knight’s gloves. A bit taken aback, the party looked at the suspended priest and the impassible barrier, considering their next move… (The party hits level 3)