Session 26 - "Uninvited Guests" Report

Jundar 27, 1246

We start in media res, with the Fate-Steppers having just disturbed three arcane sentries inside the tower. Foenix Stolnent immediately steps back into the shadows, hiding from the golems in an attempt to get the drop on him. Unfortunately, these constructs have better sight than most would expect, and so as he attacks and his dagger hits true, he is unable to get any extra damage in for surprising his opponent.

Olena works herself into a rage, flying at the same sentry and recklessly striking with her hammer. One hits a particularly vulnerable spot, denting the armor (critical hit), while the other still does some damage, but certainly doesn't ring like a bell as the first strike does.

Micaiah Louvre steps back from the melee, throwing out two eldritch blasts at the same sentry that his two comrades have just hit. It was the right choice, as both bolts of arcane force strike the armor, scoring and denting it. Jonquil lets loose a dart as well, but it bounces off the armor harmlessly.

The sentries begin to move, the most damaged one bringing down two sparking fists on Olena's chest. One makes her wince, but the other makes her howl as it hits a sensitive spot (critical hit). Thais Argyri whips towards them both, and puts out a finger, rebuking this violent attack against her friend and ricocheting the damage back at the construct as well. One of the other sentries takes flight, hovering above the dodecahedron as it raises it's fist, then lowers it like a lever.

Blue arcane fire blasts from the faces of the four hooded figures in the room, making a grid of death. Thais is, thankfully, the only one caught in it and is able to withstand the blast's heat - only slightly singed.

The final sentry marches towards Thais and throws out two metal fists, one catching her in the jaw. Not to allow herself to be sucker punched, Thais activates her sun blade and swings down on the armor, her sword missing the first upward stroke, but hitting true on the downward pass.

Meanwhile, Jacob Sterling uses a mind sliver to attempt to give Thais some breathing room, and the construct fails to resist the magical attack.

Foenis switches to the pearler's blade and uses Olena's wild swings as cover while he sneak attacks, hitting the sentry in a chink in its stomach plate. Olena once again unleashes a series of reckless attacks and on the first swing cleaves the sentry right in two. She looks up to the sentry hovering above the party's head and decides to do something about it, switching to her speak and throwing it. The weapon hits true, embedding itself in the construct's chest as it still hovers above the combatants.

Micaiah swings his lute around and begins to play heartache, targeting the sentry that Thais is in combat with and Jacob has served on a silver platter for spell attacks. It works, with the sentinel failing to resist the heartbreaking cords as its arcane core flickers, unable to know or understand the emotions it has been demanded to respond to. Jonquil takes the opportunity to let loose a bolt, and while it hits the sentinel, it does little more than give it a splinter.

The hovering sentinel activates the fire grid again, and Thais stoically takes the heat again as it flies down to flank Foenix. The first blow upon his back forces Foenix down onto one knee, struggling to breathe, as the second makes him vomit up a bit of blood as it surely ruptured some organ (two critical hits).

Thais, spurred on by her friend's peril, swings her sword twice and on the second swing bisects the sentry. The two halves of the armor aren't even scattered on the floor before she's run over to the sentry that has stricken Foenix as she forces herself to be a second target for the construct.

There is only one sentry left, and so Jacob extends both of his hands out in front of him, clasped together with one on top and one on the bottom. He pulls them apart, struggling to contain the energy of the chromatic orb before launching it at the sentry. The crackling ball sails right past the sentry's head, unfortunately, and scatters against the stone wall behind it.

Foenix doesn't waste that moment of distraction, and stabs at the thigh of the construct, hitting true. Then he steps backward as fog begins to envelope him and he appears on the far side of the platform with the dodecahedron spinning atop it (misty step).

Olena makes use of the old idiom "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and recklessly attacks again - the first time strikes the sentry, but the second attack she attempts to utilize her abilities as a great weapon master to go for a killing blow. This fails, with her over compensating and landing hard on her right foot, two inches from striking her head against the armor. She doesn't waste the opportunity, however, and bares her wolf-like teeth as she bites into the armor like a hunting hound.

Another two bolts of eldritch blast batter the sentry, and Micaiah calls for Jonquil to shoot now! Jonquil's bolt hits, but once again the poison fails to affect the sentry.

The sentry suddenly steps back, utilizing the time it could have used to strike at Olena and Thais and instead dodges both of their bodies as it runs back towards the dodecahedron. It climbs the steps and reaches out, putting a hand on a handle on the side of the dodecahedron. Thais decides she doesn't want to find out what happens if that thing is opened, and runs over to the sentry and attempts to grapple it. While it manages to dodge the first attempt, her second attempt gets her arms around the armor, holding it in place as Jacob sends out another mind sliver to keep it down, which it again fails to defend itself against.

Foenix runs up from the other side and uses the pearler's blade to stab into the neck of the armor and suddenly, its ephemeral form within the armor begins to fade away before it clatters to the ground.

As the party tries to catch their breath, Thais gazes warily at the dodecahedron. She attempts to detect any magic coming from it, which it has in spades. It seems to be evocation - energy and harnessing magic in all its forms.

Foenix gets closer, inspecting it and eventually declares it must be a power source of some variety. As he does so, Micaiah creeps up to the dodecahedron from the back and presses his hands against it, listening to its strange, quiet hum. As he does so, glowing geometric lines begin to spread up his arms, which he watches in fascination... until they reach his elbow, where he quickly lets go of the power source. The lines do not retreat, but rather fade off of his skin.

Unaware of Micaiah's experimentations, Foenix asks for everyone to step back as he uses mage hand to open the small door on the side of the dodecahedron. When he does, the inside seems bathed in the same greenish white light, with a small orb suspended in a stream of air that it bobs gently within. He reaches out with his mage hand, but as soon as it touches the orb it completely dissipates. The party decides it's too dangerous to remove for the moment and so decide to come back later (Micaiah throwing a scarf over it before they leave, reasoning it will remind them all to come back for this item later).

From there, they all proceed to the southern door off of the rotunda, which opens up into what is obviously a crypt.

The crypt is dark and silent, with five sarcophagi on each side of an aisle leading up to a podium where the most pristine sarcophagus sits. A large gargoyle statue - or perhaps a demon? - leers down at the sarcophagus on the podium, snarled teeth bearing down on the stone effigy of the coffin's inhabitant.

A bad feeling overwhelms Thais, and she proactively pushes out with her divine sense. She is immediately flooded with the sickening pinpricks in her consciousness of many, many undead, waiting within the coffins. She warns the others, and they quickly back out of the room and close the door.

Jacob suggests that, since the undead are not wandering around, they must be triggered by messing with something inside the room - probably the sarcophagus on the central podium. The Fate-Steppers agree that that's probably the case, and decide to arrange for barricades in the rotunda and bait the undead into the choke point of the doors once someone triggers them. Foenix volunteers and, after Olena and Thais work together to move the furniture into barricades and Micaiah, Dharma, and Jacob sequester themselves behind it, Foenix cautiously enters into the crypt.

He approaches the sarcophagus, staring at the human king's stone features as he draws near. Quick as a flash, he slaps the stone and then runs away, getting halfway down the aisle before turning back around.

Nothing happens.

He cautiously walks back to the coffin, staring up at the gargoyle, then back down at the coffin. The idea occurs that maybe messing with the body contained within would be the key, and so he summons up his halfling strength to shove the coffin lid aside, revealing the skeletal king through the gap in the coffin lid (which is as far as he was able to push it). The armor and shield upon the body are unknown to him, but he DOES notice a strange crown made of some predator's jaw bone and studded with gems resting on the brow of the king. Foenix reaches out and slaps the skeleton. Nothing.

Then, Foenix reaches out and grips onto the crown. He carefully begins to wiggle it, working it off of the skull. It is only when he gets it free and lifts it out of the coffin that the undead in the other sarcophagi burst free - not all of them at once, but over the next minute wave after wave attack Foenix and the party at the choke point at the rotunda.

Micaiah comes in at the eleventh hour, shooting two fireballs into the midst of the crypt once Foenix is clear and incinerates about 3/4 of the undead horde. The rest are dispatched in short order without any casualties - or even someone going unconscious.

As they take a breather, it is noticed that there is a large iron door, locked and barricaded on the opposite side. Foenix approaches first, taking a good look to check for traps on the door before working to open it. It is indeed trapped, but as he begins to work to open it it is inadvertently triggered, encasing his hands in two iron gauntlets that begin to crush his hands as he calls out to the others for help.

Olena is immediately on the case, rushing forward with her hammer and knocking the gauntlets free of the wall before working with Thais to pry the restraints open so Foenix can get his hands free. The rogue thanks them both as he massages his hands before cautiously approaching the door again. This time, he is able to unlock and open it.

Water spills out as the chamber is opened: it's dirty, and the (once six feet, now four feet) of water looks foul. Algae covers the walls of the chamber. Water drips from the ceiling, and minor amounts escape from tiny cracks under the waterline. A brazier sits in the middle of this room on a pedestal, and chained to it is the disintegrating skeleton of a mermaid, who has clearly been rotting in this stale soup water for a while now - the smell in the room is awful.

Foenix immediately reacts with disgust, stating that whoever owns this place is a sick pervert. Jacob walks closer, staring up at the brazier. Balanced across the top of it and out of the mermaid's reach is a strange staff. He points it out, and as Foenix prepares to nudge it out of position with his mage hand, Jacob harnesses his tempestuous magic to bolster himself on air currents and flies up to the top of the brazier, lifts up the staff, and slowly lowers himself down.

Foenix simply lets out a "huh," and lowers his arms as Jacob offers the staff to him for safe keeping...