2025/06/06: Horrors Under Snake Mountain Part 3

General Summary

Buzz, Et-Kehri, Kelsey, Sith, Terana, Othar, Union   Kelsey returned, informing the rest of the party that the spider-golems that had hunted Egwin previously were the ones attacking the ship again. Three of Sith's avatars showed up at the same time, riding the coattails of Kelsey skipping past the teleport ward with Killgleam.   Two of the Siths were wearing full plate, the last was wearing robes. One of the armored ones had a horned helmet, and also had a very large hilt sticking out of a very small sheath.   As our heroes came together to greet the new addition(s), several nagas came forward to negotiate.   The nagas were polite (or worried) enough to wait until the party finished its reunion. Magical senses revealed that the visible nagas were illusions; the real ones were elsewhere.   The nagas were part of the Temple of Set. Sith had been sent to destroy the temple, or at least get it out of this place. The nagas negotiated for assistance in moving out in exchange for information. They said the Key of Set was long lost, having been stolen by the leader of the civilization that took over after the Set worshipers. It's now probably in their tombs.   The nagas offered info about the Animus Society. The base is 500-600 feet directly below the cliff face where the party came in. They've set up all manner of wards and defenses, and they've warped magic so only a very limited range of magic works. They've also done a ton of summoning that is generating the snake invasion. That was not, in fact, the Set worshipers.   The woman in charge of the Animus Society dungeon has only been here for a few months. She was very careful to take an area of the wall far away from any of the crypts or anything notable. She dug a very long tunnel deep into the roots of the mountain and put a crystalline coffin down there. (That's definitely where the kid is.) It wards against all but conjuration magic. The tunnel has since been erased and the location of the coffin warded with magic, but the nagas know where it is.   The ghosts that guard the Key of Set are powerful. A king and his powerful knights. To find his tomb, look for the sigil of the eagle. Heraldry and weapons on either side of the entrance.   There are gods more ancient than Set who have followers left in this mountain.   The nagas told the location of the hidden tunnel to the friendly bluish-green snake Terana had befriended. He and a few of his compatriots would lead the party to the location.   The party headed back to the scaffolding to climb down, but found it had apparently been torn off and possibly eaten. After some discussion, the group opted to take the narrow ledge along the side of the cavern rather than making a new scaffold.   On the way, the party ran into a fire-breathing giant snake. Terana talked to him. While he had trouble understanding a lot of the concepts involved, Terana convinced him to go to the temple. Buzz offered to teleport him there, but he was uninterested in "more" teleportation; apparently he had gotten here through some big liquidy green portal. Since sending him off on his own to probably get killed by elves was a bad plan, the group escorted him back.   Before they could leave, a spectre with a swooped hat and a cowboy look rose out of the ground before him. The subsequent puzzle fight turned out to be solved by basic elemental damage.   The party headed out of the cave. In the distance, Terana spotted movement in the trees: An army of elves was on the move.   As the snake approached the altar, it turned a more golden-red color, and a crown of what looked like wheat appeared on its head. It curled up nearby; apparently it had been adopted by the god!   As a reward, Terana received a slender wooden wand with living leaves growing on it. It allows the wielder the ability to "detect balance" at will, and it also serves as a channel for Commune With Nature.   Nature god quest part 3: Save the fairy princess.   Tgath the Tester. The elf ghost showed up again. While he "danced" with Kelsey, he explained (upon request) that he is looking to teach the "one of the blood". He isn't sure who among the party it was, but it was one "powerful enough to raise me from my very grave". The party pushed Egwin to the fore. After a little back and forth, Egwin got a good strike in, and the ghost exploded.   The party headed downward. They found a boulder blocking a path, and Kelsey managed to pick it up and toss it out of the way. This was the path to the tombs. A little farther along, they encountered a couple of undead guardians. Then they got through a door and found themselves in a big open catacomb area full of individual tombs.   Next room, up stairs, had 22 cairns in a circle, surrounding a central cairn with a big two-handed sword stabbed directly into it. Each cairn has a couple of flags draped over it, military awards, etc.   Big, broad-shouldered dead king with a holy avenger. Talked with Kelsey. Gave her the key on her honor that it was needed to save the kid and she would bring it back after.   The key looked like a metal snake statue.   He gave it to Kelsey, she bowed, and then suddenly the tomb was undisturbed again.   The party headed down, looking for the entrance to the tunnel to the imprisoned child. Terana summoned an earth behir (she was trying to summon Baby, but it didn't work), and she paid him to tunnel a way to the correct path.   4' tall white haired fairy princess tattooed with nets and webs. Trapped in a green coffin gem. Buzz freed her with a Phoenix Gate miracle. The girl has gossamer little fairy wings.   The girl woke up. Was feeling snackish. Much more alert than the boy from before, though still weak. She said her name was Yiea. Terana introduced herself.   Headed back for the surface. Encountered Tgath again. He told the party that if they wanted to keep the bad guys from escaping, they needed to have the girl enhance elemental magic in the area and then have Egwin stab a specific spot on the wall nearby. There was some debate, led by Buzz, over the morality of including the kids in this fight, but the final consensus was in favor of letting them do this simple thing and then heavily defending them or evacuating them the moment things got hot.

Rewards Granted

2 xp

Character(s) interacted with

Egwin, Temple of Set nagas, big fire snake, balance god, Tgath the Tester, dead king, Yiea

Notes

Sith is a chaosian, not a human. Not that you can tell the difference.