Northern Reconstruction 14: Unquale Mine 2

 

Objective

Clear out the mine and solve its issues regarding the curse    

Observations

There are no diamonds in the mine, instead there are these fragile shining crystals that give off light.       The strange melodic sound that emanates within the cave is an ominous warning in some kind of ancient elvish that serves to ward off intruders from getting to the deepest part of the cave.       The deepest part of the cave is some kind of ancient prison that holds a being who was imprisoned there by one of the three sisters, the Sister of Gems, and this being has been there for many many years.       We managed to gain entry to the beginning of this prison, where we found strange shrines to the Sisters made by this being who desires forgiveness. The being's worship is apparently flawed as Halar picked a fight with the being saying it was acting incorrectly.       A fight ensued, in which a set of armor sprung to life and the being transformed into some kind of 6 legged lizard that used an icy breath to take out four members of the party. The creature seemed to want people to stay alive and wanted to keep their bodies for something. The fight dragged on a bit longer but eventually every member of the party was killed except for Tide.  

Follow up

The crystals could(?) be of some use if someone chooses to study them.       Also the being was informed about a priestess who knew the sisters and he wanted to speak with them so he could gain forgiveness for his crime. Someone else could either go to this priestess and try to follow through or try to kill the being, recover the bodies, and clear the prison.  

Preparation Details

   

Operation Details

Before we left, I attempted to retrieve my fish Melody from the frozen pond. Things didn't go great but I did discover that the ice covering the pond will refreeze if broken. Also, I did save Melody thanks in part to the druid. We were told that the cave had ominous voices coming from it and that two people had gone missing in the cave. We're also told that there was a group of individuals at the cave and that they found a new way up to the cave that is less dangerous.       We teleported to the embassy and were informed that there was a guest waiting for us. We went out and met this person, a human woman named Talla, who said that she would take us to the cave. We set out, traveling for 2-3 hours, learning that wildlife was returning to the forest and were led to the base of a mountain where the cave was at the top. Talla told us they found a new route up by traversing some old elven ruins. We moved through the ruins and crossed a dangerous bridge that had most of its supports destroyed, but made it to the cave unscathed.       We were introduced to the individuals at the cave, some scouts that were watching over the place, and they told us that they had lost 2 men who went into the cave. We went in and started hearing the ominous sounds. I used comprehend languages to learn that the sounds were actually rhymes that were made to sound ominous and were in some kind of elven dialect. We pushed further in and discovered that there was a cave-in with only a small hole to crawl through. After learning that the cave-in was far to much to clear, we went through the crawlspace and came out into a tunnel that was lit up by shining crystals coming out of the walls.       While in this area, we encountered some sort of large snail with a pile of bones on its back. We originally tried to sneak past it, but it noticed us and attacked. We learned that the snail was quite weak, however when it died it let out a loud shriek and turned into a goop that quickly deteriorated any organic material it came into contact with. We moved further into the cave, hearing the ominous rhyming grow louder and found what seemed like some sort of old lift that descended deep into the earth. Once we had made it down a ways, we were assaulted by more of those large snails but dispatched them with ease.       We made it to the bottom and found that another tunnel led to an area where there was an orb on a pedestal. Teddie went to investigate and around the walls of the pedestal were large eyes that looked at anyone who went through that area. The tunnel also continued on but was blocked by webs covering the tunnel. After some investigating, mist started to appear from the bottom of the pedestal that then formed into an elven man. He originally spoke in the same dialect as the ominous rhyming, and called us trespassers. After a bit of negotiation and questioning, the man switched to common and introduced himself as Silmarien Silverleaf and said that he served the Sister of Gems. We asked him about the two individuals who were lost and he said that they had become one with the harmony that is all creation. He also mentioned that this place was his sins to bear and that this was a prison for him. He continued that the only thing he desired was forgiveness and he could only gain forgiveness from the Sister. We told him that we wanted to enter further into the tunnel but he asked us not to enter his prison and die like the others. Caelindriel hummed a tune that was familiar to one from Pembroke, which caused the elf to perk up and claim that he recognized the tune a bit but that it was somewhat wrong. Caelindriel mentioned that he knew a priestess who worshiped the sisters and the man practically begged him to go and speak with her about his imprisonment. After hearing the tune, the elf allowed us to see the first room past the webs which is where he had his shrine to the Sisters. One thing of note was that the ominous sounds stopped as soon as we passed by where the webs were. Also, the elf told us that the crystals higher up in the cave were a result of the prison. The crystals were as beautiful as diamonds but as fragile as glass.       We agreed to enter and were led into a room where there were multiple bones, bodies, and doll parts. These remains had been turned into some kind of mismatched mannequin with a cleaver in its hand. Past that was a suit of armor that had mist covering the floor below it. The elf also showed us his shrine to the sisters, The Sister of the Sky, The Sister of Gems, and the Wanderer/Traitor. The shrine depicted three skeletons, two with white dresses on and one with a black dress. We mentioned the ominous rhyming and he told us that it was a warning to scare off any intruders and that he could stop it. During this, Halar checked out the mannequin and then claimed that the elf was lying and asked why he kills people. The elf said that the Sisters demanded sacrifice and Halar disagreed with that mentioning that he is wrong. The elf got angry with Halar and threatened him, which caused Halar to decide to attack.       Once the fight started, the elf transformed into a six legged lizard that had icy mist flowing out of its mouth. The armor also came to life and the party was split between the enemies. Early on in the fight, the lizard maneuvered around us and hit four of us with its icy breath, which downed everyone it hit. Valas was the last one left but he was stuck fighting the armor. I managed to wake up thanks to a certain tattoo, and noticed that the lizard didn't seem specifically hostile. I tried to reason with it, but it didn't seem to react, so I healed Teddie and tried to run. Halar was already dead at this point and Teddie tried to save Caelindriel. After Caelindriel got up, he tried to drag Halar's body away but this prompted the lizard to begin attacking and downed Teddie and Caelindriel again. I got away from the close range combat while Valas stayed behind and kept trying to revive the other members, however the lizard and the armor would repeatedly down anyone who got up. Eventually Caelindriel managed to get up and get away but Valas was knocked out in this time. The lizard started pulling the bodies away while the armor chased after us. Caelindriel used a spell to hold the armor in place and we managed to destroy it which led Caelindriel to push back in and try to retrieve the other party members. Unfortunately, the lizard had been waiting around the corner to attack anyone who moved up so Caelindriel was swiftly knocked out and captured. Extremely bloodied, beaten, and with no magic left, I chose to return to camp instead of throwing my life away. I informed the scouts that the mine was not as valuable as we thought and that the bottom of it was certain death for them. After that, I alone returned to camp.