Session 29: Hunt for the Throne Pt.4 Report

The party had managed to escape the toxic gas that filled the bottom portion of the dungeon. After harrowing fights, they found a place to rest and recoup their adventures safely. Still, that was not enough for the committed Azid. The wizard was entranced with the possibility of exploring every inch of the pyramid to find magical items. The rest of the party, a bit wary after some of their previous fights, decided to follow his lead. Doing so led them to a cube of lightning that they crossed through to reach double bronze doors.

Xipe's Audience Chamber

Crucelia was having enough of Azid and the party's reckless behavior. She checked the bronze doors for traps and cleared them but refused to proceed. Azid opened the doors to a room filled with sanguine light and flayed humanoid skins hanging from the walls. As Glebnor entered, they saw a statue of an ogre-like creature covered in flayed flesh and swallowing a horse. A panther guarded the statue and crouched low. A well-filled white, oily liquid glowed a faint white light on the other side of the room. Above the well was a hole going up into another chamber.
The panther began to pace menacingly and then pounced at Glebnor. It appeared utterly oblivious to the other party members as it attacked. Azid, with a perfectly placed firebolt, blew the feline guardian into pieces.
They investigated the room further until they heard a voice coming from the hole in the ceiling. It bellowed in giant so Azid cast comprehend languages to understand it. The voice was that of Xipe, Lord of the Flayed Skins, and he demanded to know what they were doing in his domain. Azid told it that they were passing through, and it asked for fresh skins. The wizard said to the voice they would return with skins for him, and the party slowly backed out of the room.
Outside the room, the party adamantly said that they did not want to come back to that room. Azid said that it could be worth it to bring him skins. At this point, Crucelia had enough of Azid and said she was returning to the room where the serpent had been. She would not risk her life for someone as reckless as Azid or the rest of the party. Glebnor tried to persuade her to stay, but the best they could do was convince the rogue to wait at least and consider staying with them. Crucelia agreed to believe it, but from the room that they already cleared.

Backtracking

Glebnor and Azid led the party back through the hallways they had previously explored to reach the lower levels of the pyramid again. They found another staircase leading deeper, and they followed it down. At the stairway's base was a giant stone cube that took up almost all of the hallway. The party worked together to push it a few feet forward to clear the path to another hallway.

Chamber of the Nacehual

The hallway led them to another chamber where they found two corpses that did not look decayed. One of the corpses held what appeared to be a wand. Azid checked for magic, but none could be detected. All the same, he went to take the wand which animated both corpses. The female corpse flicked her wrist, and the wand turned out to be a fan. They struck fighting poses and demanded tribute for waking them from their slumber.
Glebnor calmed the emotions of the female, and she convinced her husband to stand down. They used the last two orbs of gas that Azid had to put themselves back to sleep. Once they were under the effects of the gas, Azid robbed them of their jewelry.
Leaving that room, they entered a new hallway filled with zombies. The party made short work of the undead, giving Azid a chance to create two new minions: McBeefy and OJ.

Spirit Guard of Ayocaun

More exploring led them to a large chamber full of statues depicting soldiers. At the far end of the room was a stucco cairn, and Azid detected some enchantment emanating from within. He tried to break through, but none of the party was helping him. They started to leave the room one by one, and Azid was forced to retreat with them.

Silver Coffer

On the way back from the Spirit Guard, Glebnor discovered a silver coffer. Azid still complained about not getting the magic item in the last chamber, so Kouvian walked towards the coffer to investigate it. As he did so, a trap was sprung, and he fell down a slope, the wall sealing behind him.
Azid offered to help him if he agreed to help him get the magic item in the cairn, but Kouvian refused. Kouvian then asked Stinkbreath for help, who obliged. The ratfolk expertly aimed his crossbow at the trigger and shot it, releasing the trapped door so Kouvian could hurry up the slope. As he scampered up, he stopped by the coffer, took out a small statue made of copper, and took the silver box for good measure.
With a little more investigation, they could locate the previous hallways they had traveled, confirming that they had searched everywhere thus far. It was then that Azid suggested that since they had some extra zombie corpses, they could take the skins back to Xipe. No one thought it was a good idea, but they followed Azid.

Return to Xipe

Azid brought the party back through the complex cube of lightning so they could reenter Xipe's lair. Azid called out to the Lord of Flayed Skins. Xipe replied that he would lower some rope. Azid tied the zombies to the end and feigned that he was coming up. Xipe then told him to stand under the hole to receive his reward. Azid hesitated, and Xipe grew tired of his games and said that he should leave at once if he wouldn't do so.
Reluctantly, Azid stuck his head out under the hole. In a flash, Xipe flew down the hole, clutching the wizard as he did so. The rest of the party looked surprised as Xipe stood holding Azid, except for Kouvian, who watched with a bemused smirk.   Session ended at 2:00am.