Summary:
The party starts in a blown out, burnt up inn. It appears a great explosion has decimated the town. We all meet outside our second floor rooms, as we head down to the first floor Raogataj grabs the coins out of the cash drawer behind the empty bar. (17 cp, 2 ep, 7 sp). Most of the town has been destroyed. North looks out at the barrier peaks area and west is a scorched earth type desert as far as the eye can see. There is a small forested area that we head to with a small hedge shop, Lukos Fortune Teller is on a sign above the door. Outside the small building is a small table with a black cloth over it. There is a small box on the table cloth.
The party searches the building looking for Luko. Soromon finds a celestial map. The last thing the map appears to have been used for was a location in the sea of dust. Some sort of scrying of a temple/building directly west onto the sea of dust. Raogataj discovers a small trap on the box and disables it, looking into the box we see a tallow candle or bar of soap with deep markings on it. Possibly a former god of the orcs, evil god.
Baralas lights up a pink candle, it sparks like a sparkler, and the table seems to be in motion, as this is happening we seem to be looking at a dust bowl. There is a body tied up just outside a door leading into the sand. There is air/sand coming out of the image in front of us on the table with stairs leading up to a doorway that appears to lead into the sand dunes. The party moves through the portal and lands on the sand .
Halite is visible here and Hendel seems to think we are at least a 1000miles from our previous location to the west. The person tied up is Roric and he says he was just in the barrier peaks area until he woke up here. He has most of his equipment, but has lost his sword. Searching the area we find only a canteen with some water in it. The door looks like it has been propped open by the sand, Roric attempts to open the door and as he does he sees a figure with several arrows piercing it. It appears to be a lizardman and it probably has been dead for more than a month. Roric finds a crossbow and moves to the front of the party. As corridor narrows Roric sees another door and Baralas senses the hallway moves down at about a 10 degree slope. Baralas detects a trap on the door, spear trap. Downlo can disarm the trap, as we drag the lizardmans body over to cover the hole where the spear appears to shoot from. As Baralaas opens the door a spear punches out of the hole piercing the lizardman. Roric grabs the spear.
The door opens into a 30×30 foot room. There is a batlike statue in the middle of the room. About 12’ tall. Roric fully opens the door revealing the statue of a huge lizardman on a pedestal that appears to be a large skull. Downlo realizes that the lizardmen were much more intelligent in the past. Downlo discovers some sort of mechanism by the tail of the lizardman statue. If pulled the tail becomes a platform of some sort. There are small holes in the floor that are about a ½ inch big. Digging them out reveals a glowing light from below. There is a chittering sound coming up from the holes that we dug out. The room is lit up by these holes in a red glow except for the statue itself. Baralas pulls down the tail and there seem to be brass rungs leading down into the room below.
Roric climbs down the shaft and as he gets to the bottom 3 mandibles attempt to grasp him. He takes 4hp damage. Baralas moves down and into the room to discover 3 scarab beetles with green mandibles. Downlo moves into the shaft and goes down as Raogataj and Hendel follow. Baralas attacks, hits for 6hp damage and kills one of the creatures. The two remaining creatures attack and miss Hendel and Downlo. The creatures seem to be puffing up as Roric attacks and misses. Baralas, Hendel miss. Downlo hits for 2hp damage.
Round 2: Simultaneous! Roric misses, Baralas hits for 6hp killing another creature. Hendel hits for 14 hp damage killing the last creature.
Downlo bandages Roric for 3 hp.
Hendel picks up 9 of the caraprices that give off a 7’-10’ reddish glow. The room is 40’ x 40’. There is a door on the east wall, and two more on the west wall. There are several broken shards of pottery lying around and an intact pot with a black sludge liquid inside. Hendel dips an arrow into the pot and lights the sludge on fire.
The door to the east is a normal door and Baralas hears a crunching sound coming from behind it. He checks the doors on the west wall and hears a buzzing sound from those two doors. Downlo wraps a bandage around the pot with a burning arrow as we are trying to open the door to the east. We see a 6 ½ ‘ tall lizard munching on a corpse that has a white mask.
Round 1: Downlo throws the pot at the creature, it smashes into its face and it takes 5hp burning damage. Roric fires two arrows for 26hp damage, Lizard attacks Baralas and misses.
Round 2: Creature attacks Hendel for 6hp damage, the creature falls over as it takes another 6hp burning damage.
Hendel bandages for 3 hp, Roric searches the body and finds a longsword that appears to be elvish. The mask is white and appears to be birdlike. There was a spellbook , Roric cuts open the lizard and finds only a few coins(4cp,28sp, 6 clay bits with possible silver inside)
There is a broken crate with a writing desk in a 20’ x 20’ room. The south wall has a pale glow down a hallway, 15’ away, now 10’. Roric stiffens and takes 3 hp damage, Baralas saves vs poison and takes 8hp damage. Hendel hits for 9 and 8 hp damage. Hendel takes 3 hp damage. Soromon casts MM and kills the creature with 3hp damage. Bone scroll tube on table. We find 4 gems (2 worth 100gp each, 2 worth 500 gp each).
Soromon learns read magic and finds two scrolls 1. 2nd circle Web 2. 3rd circle Dispel Magic
We hear no noise at door across the room, Roric attempts to open door, can’t and a disgusted Hendel goes and helps. There is a 20’ x 20’ room w/ a small keg tipped over, a cot and an intact writing desk. Under all the dust we find a holy symbol, it is the symbol of the balance, incredibly old, from the time when lizardmen were much more intelligent. Very few gods use the balance as a symbol, made from petrified wood. Roric goes to the T junction looking north and south. Sees nothing. Roric moves south using his spear to check for traps on the floor. Another door is at 40’ and 50’ down corridor.
Roric notices a knight with robes and a white mask with a lightning bolt and an unfamiliar mark we cannot make out. He looks at us and motions to Soromon and Raogataj to wait in the room we were just in with Hendel and Baralas. Roric and Downlo are told by the knight to follow him. Knight has platemail and a longsword at his hip. Roric and Downlo try to return to the room with the rest of the party. The knight tells them to hurry up. Everyone walks down the corridor distracting Soar, the knight, as Raogataj casts charm person. It works and we learn that he brings males in for indoctrination. He reports to Loll, who is in the officers quarters down the hall. They live in the underdark city. He has an albino face that hasn’t seen the sun in ages if ever. He hands Raogataj his mask and it shows he’s mabden possibly or soulanese(?). He has a lightning bolt tattoo with a green claw holding the lightning bolt. Keepers sent Soar to repel intruders. 5’ 9” 120 lbs. we have to go by the cages to get to the lower levels. Through the southwest door, the righteous ones make the noise behind the door.
The end of the first day!
Raogataj Darklight, Of the Lost Isle for HARP 2020