What Lies Beneath 3 - The Lord

 

Objective

Go to the Violet Flame, make contact with The Lord and ask him what he wants    

Observations

Facts about The Journey and The Landscape:       -The journey from the Waystation to The Violet Lake is roughly 4 and a half hours on lizardback.       -Taking a boat to the Violet Lake is possible, but the riding lizards are a smarter option as they can run across walls, and the way to the lake contains 2 waterfalls.       -There is a portion of the river that opens into a large pond that has glowing algae and mushrooms. It has a floating island in the center. It is extremely deep and the walls of the cavern are tall, possibly reaching the surface Something very big and very scary lives beneath the water there.       -When you approach the end of the river, a waterfall about 150 feet down will greet you. It is best to walk the lizards down the wall.       -At the bottom of the waterfall is The Violet Lake.       -To the east is a blue glow, that's where the Bizarre is. Items sold there are unverified as far as quality goes.       -In the center of the lake is an island with a pillar of flame. This is an offering site and alter to The Lord of the Lake. If you bring magical items to the alter, you may receive boons ans rewards.       -Below the surface of the lake are various precious items. This is a tax to The Lord. If you pass through the lake, you must leave an offering. Gold seems appropriate.       -The alter island has a garden dedicated to The Lord. It is tended by crab people. The crab people are friendly and should not be attacked. The garden should not be disturbed.       -When you offer items to the alter, a large crab beast will emerge from the sands and judge the items. Do not attack it.       -----------------------------------------       Tips on Etiquette and Interacting with the Lord:       -The Lord's name is The Lord of the Lake. The Lord's title is simply The Lord. Do not call him by other names.       -The lord is quite powerful, and is able to keep the undead out of his territory despite many attacks. He is also able to preform great feats of magic and bestow boons and information.       -The Lord is in need of items to fight the undead and necromancers. Do not offer him mundane items with no magical value.       -Always pay the tax when passing through his territory.       -Keep in mind that The Lord's goals and ours are aligned, that being fighting the undead. In this respect, we are allies.       ------------------------------------------       Useful Spells for the Journey:       Light, Dark Vision, and Water Walk. Also, Comprehend Languages would be useful, as the signs in the underdark seem to be written in the local language. It follows that you may find some use for tongues.      

Follow up

We should follow up on 2 points:       1) Track down and interrogate or spy on the necromancers of the underground to discover their plans for the underdark. Report findings to The Lord.       2) Investigate further the Bizarre on the lake, get to know the people who live there, and perhaps try to convince them to ally with us in the war, as they are neutral territory at the moment.  

Preparation Details

No preparation was made for the mission.  

Operation Details

We began our mission at the waystation, and met with Silvern who told us to gather information about the Violet Lake.       We got riding lizards and named them based off their traits. Mine was Bitey, because he bit me. Ilya's was sneezy, because she sneezed. Laef's was Stoney, because the lizard proved to be as smart as a bag of stones, and Torji's was Doc, because that seemed like a good name for a lizard. I cast speak with animals and found out that while dependable, the lizards are not particularly smart, and are not the best conversationalists, which disappointed me. We saddled up and journeyed south. The lizards were able to climb on walls effortlessly.       We traveled for roughly two hours before finding an opening, a large pond with a floating island in the center. Laef took Stoney down to the water so he, Laef, could drink the water. I found this fairly foolish, as glowing algae and mushrooms illuminated the pond. But, the water was potable despite this. Stoney too was thirsty, and he plunged his head into the water along with Laef, then the lizard decided to take a bath.       Laef didn't seem to mind the bath, in fact he unharnessed himself from Stoney and swam as fast as he could beneath the surface. The pond was very, very deep, and he wanted to see how deep. Moments later he shot out of the water shaking and hyperventilating. He swam to the center island and huddled in fear of whatever was in the pond. Something big and terrifying, but thankfully not hungry.       I led his lizard to him. While on the island, we found a plaque that looked tended to. The language was something like elvish, none of us could read it fully, but I gleamed that it was a dedication of sorts.       We left the area and continued into the darkness.       Eventually, we came to a very large waterfall. We walked our lizards down it. Once at the bottom, I cast water walking on the ten of us. We had arrived at The Violet Lake.       There was a sign, asking for a tax. The water glimmered with treasures. We all offered payment for crossing the lake.       Ahead of us was a pillar of violet flame shooting up into the cave hundreds of feet tall. We rode for the flame.       We arrived at the Northeast of the island. There were three beings tending the place, crab people who did not provide names. They spoke common, but it didn't seem like common was their first language, as their vocabulary was limited. They were friendly, and they answered our questions in a direct manner.       We found out that the island was a place to contact the lord of the land and make offerings to him. There was a violet alter to place your items next to the flame pillar.       Laef gave an item first. He offered a trinket, an urn which stole the eyebrows of the user. He demonstrated by looking into it, losing an eyebrow in the process. He placed the urn on the table and stepped back.       A crab bigger than and horse emerged from the sands. It took a massive claw and gently picked up the urn. It studied the object, then flung it into the lake, a denial of the offering. The crab returned to the sands. Laef heard the voice of the Lord of the Lake in his head. The conversation was one sided as far as the rest of us could hear, but we gleamed that The Lord required objects of personal value and permanence.       Laef is was missing an eyebrow.       Next, Torji stepped forward. He set on the alter a staff of bird calls. He explained the personal value to The Lord. It was a gift from Zorkey, the first and only gift Torji had ever received. (We should give Torji more gifts). Once again the crab emerged and judged the item. The crab took the staff and placed it into the pillar of fire. It disappeared. This was acceptable. The Lord spoke to Torji, saying the offering wasn't quite right, but was in the right direction.       I stepped forward next. I took the antlers from my head, a gift from a buck who I used to be great friends with. They were non-magical and had value purely from sentiment.       The crab judged the gift. The strange beast then proceeded to crush my antlers betwixt his claws, destroying them. I felt as crushed as the gift, but apologized to The Lord and stepped aside.       We still wanted more information, who this lord was, what he wanted, how we could help him, what the flame was for. But he would only speak to us after an offering, so we continued to give.       Laef stepped forward once more, he was determined to give the best offering. He produced a dagger, and slapped his hand on the alter. We then watched in horror and morbid fascination as the strange boy took out a dagger and began sawing slowly and painfully through his flesh and bone. He offered to this strange hidden figure his own, magic infused hand. The mad man didn't even scream. There is something seriously wrong with him, and he should not be around sharp objects.       His hand was judged, and accepted, being plunged into the flame. The Lord spoke in his mind once more. He explained to Laef that necromancers had been attacking the lake, and he kept them at bay somehow. He introduced himself as 'The Lord of the Violet Lake'. He said that was his name, not just a title. His title, somewhat confusingly was just 'The Lord'. He explained that the pillar of fire was his way of governing. He used it somehow to get into the minds of those he ruled over to issue commands.       Laef relayed this to us.       Hearing that The Lord was trying to fight off the undead, I was reminded of my lantern. It's a lantern of undead tracking, it's flame glows green when the undead approach. I thought this would make for a useful offering. It had been a gift from my father, which covered the personal value.       I lit and placed it on the alter, explaining it's significance. I asked for no information or favor in return. It was merely a gift to a fellow hunter of the undead. It was judged. It was found worthy. I heard The Lord's voice in my head for the first time. He said the gift was useful to him and offered me a reward. I accepted. He told me to wade into the water, and I did so. And an instant later, I felt lightheaded and tired, then I blacked out. I woke up floating face down in the shallows. I sat up.       I was no longer lightheaded, in fact my head felt heavier. I reached up to my scalp, and found antlers growing from it. I was in awe, and happy with the reward, feeling closer to nature. I thanked The Lord and went back to shore with my concerned companions.       I summoned my wildfire spirit and cuddled up. The spirit was warm, and the water had been cold.       Ilya went next. She did not give an offering. Instead she placed 8 candles, 4 on either side of the alter. They were necessary decoration. I had my wildfire spirit light the wicks.       Laef stepped forward, stump bleeding, and offered one last item to The Lord; his bow. The one handed archer proclaimed that he had seen a shiny bow in The Lord's lake, an offering to him. He wanted it in exchange for his old bow. The crab judged the offering, and broke the mundane item into pieces, not accepting the weapon. Laef had lost a hand, his main weapon, and an eyebrow.       We took our leave then. Away from the lake, up into the caves, and back to camp.       We arrived home, having been gone for about 10 hours.