A3: Ch6: Rin's Temple

The uncovered entrance to the pyramid depicted three figures, each emanating a type of energy which colors could be seen as yellow, purple, and blue. The yellow figure depicts Hathar, the god of creation, as an elderly man with a long grey beard resting upon a chiseled stone throne next to a tree with vines and wood starting to overtake the throne. The purple figure depicts Iros, goddess of death, as a woman split down the middle, the left side serene and angelic holding a bloodied dagger, the left side looks decayed with holes in the rotten flesh and maggots seen in the eye socket, the right hand held out at her side cupped containing soil and a plant sprouting atop. Lastly, the blue figure depicts Mondis, God of Justice, as an armoured man with a winged helmet with hands resting on the pommel on his sword in front of him touching the ground, the hilt of the sword forming scales with the two pans hanging from either side.   The party casts spells lighting up the purple and yellow figures while they lacked the spell type necessary for the blue. Luckily, Cal had a sword from Badur with a zenith rune giving it the magical properties needed to satisfy the rest of the puzzle and the door opened. The party enters, leaving their cart outside. Upon entering they smell rotting food and find that the food and water they brought inside has rotted and evaporated. Inside they are greeted by a large statue of a sphynx with a path on either side and riddle inscriptions above each pathway. Taking the left path they find their way past some traps to a dead end but there is an air shaft leading up. Shen turns into gaseous form and ascends up into a room filled with treasure and a slab with a chained skeleton laying atop. Seeing another shaft above the slab, Shen ascends further to a dark room where he can make out a sarcophagus suspended in air wrapped in chains. A slit for the eyes can be seen in the sarcophagus and it is positioned in a way facing a hole in the ground. He looks into the slit and sees dark, wild looking eyes staring back at him. Going back to the treasure room he tries to take a piece of the treasure before heading back down to the party but finds upon taking anything he feels considerably weaker. Leaving the treasure behind he returns to the group.   Finding a secret path leading further down, the party follows it to a room with more sarcophagi of varying sizes. They open and the group is attacked. Taking care of the mummies, they continue to the end to canopic jars and a cryptex on a pedestal with a riddle inscription 'I can resurrect those who are long lost, I am born swiftly yet die when your soul has crossed'. They take the cryptex and the jar containing the heart and head back to the first room.   Taking the second route next to the sphynx sculpture. Along the way leading up they find a door with many key holes in a triangular array, they decide to keep moving. The first room they find a statue of a bony figure. The door shuts behind them and the statue bursts with a purple light and they are greeted by the undead looking figure telling them to leave. They refuse and defeat the undead progressing to the next area. There they are find a statue of an Eladrin and a large pit with spikes beneath. The door closes behind and the Eladrin statue comes to life with a burst of yellow light. He tells them to leave which the party refuses thus he agrees to let them pass if they can find him. He turns invisible and the party scrambles to find him. Figuring out the illusion of the fake pit and false floor they capture the Eladrin and proceed to the next room. There they find a statue of an angel holding an eagle. The door closes and in a flash of blue light the angel and eagle come to life. The angel tells to party to leave and they again refuse but try talking to the angel. Telling him about the stones and what they are trying to do he agrees their efforts are noble but cannot let them to Rin and asks them to find another way and leave. The party refuses and defeats the angel and eagle. Progressing finally to the room Shen has seen with the suspended sarcophagus they talk amongst themselves about what to do.    They solve the cryptex puzzle with the answer being 'memory' and find a map with marked locations. Shen then realizes that the orb he purchased in which he saw visions from someone's point of view is one of these memories. Though the emotions he felt in that memory were filled with anger and contempt. They figured they could use the orb with the runes on the coffin to restore the memory, but with what Shen felt from the orb that they have he felt it best to retrieve the others first and come back instead of filling him only with anger.   The party left the pyramid and headed back to Hasaab. Along the travels back they see an ancient statue mostly buried in the sands with a giant gemstone in one of the eyes. They remove the stone and continue. Upon coming back to Hasaab they find the city has calmed down and the search for them has quieted. While in the city planning for the heist, Bink recieves a distressed message from Daxius saying that Rydel's men have been captured and he is on a suicide mission to get them freed, he needs help. He says he will make a temporary teleportation circle should they find one in the city they can use. They talk about continuing their plan for the heist but decide it would be best to just find the teleportation circle and head to Daxius and Rydel. They give Cal the gemstone they looted from the giant statue as thanks and tell him he could probably find a place to settle down in the colonies of South Vithrin. Xar goes back to the family who he saved to find that they did indeed schedule a tour for one of them and thanked him again even knowing who he was now. Shen went on the tour while Bink went back to the library to tell the archaeologists about the pyramid and city location they found to which they were very excited and would send a team there immediately. On the tour Shen finds that the teleportation circle is in the Prince's meeting room where he quickly changes the runes to set their destination. He heads back and tells the party. They go decide to just force themselves in and activate portal. Passing a handful of guards they open the portal and pass through, but one guard manages to follow them in. They find themselves in a small clearing in the Picris forest next to Daxius and Rydel.