The Devil in the Mists Part 2
Setting: Town and sewers of Fair Haven
Characters:
- Zook gnome cleric
- Snu-Snu half-ogre fighter/ranger
- Lana whispergnome dragonfire adept
- Lashari warlock (shadow) wood-elf
- Krune master of many forms
- Tomorra human factotum1/archivist5
An invitation to tea
At the
ruins, the party discovers a scroll case (White—bone? with gold caps, labeled “Gregor”. Magical.) containing 5 arcane scrolls, parceled out among the party:
- 2 haste
- 2 gaseous form
- 1 disguise self
Councilman Canton had earlier given the party permission to use an abandoned town guard barracks. The party returns to the barracks, a long narrow room with beds, usable mattresses, no sheets or pillows, footlockers, wrought iron chairs, and awoken door (no lock yet).
The azure mist affects: Lashari, Snu-Snu, Tomorra, Zook
Krune (in the form of a dire badger!) sees a young boy running up to the party. The boy says, “I was told to bring this to you,” gives Krune a note, and dashes away. The note reads, “Please come to my office right now. It’s urgent. —Canton.” Tomorra leads the party through the mist to the councilman’s office and bangs on the door with her walking stick. A man in plate mail comes out of the mist, sword unsheathed, demanding, “What are you doing here?” Tomorra shows him the note, and the man knocks on the door. The door opens, revealing an elderly man in livery uniform. He lets the party in, and introduces himself as Zoffrey. “The master is waiting for you.” The mansion is elegantly furnished. The mist doesn’t enter the mansion (or the barracks).
Councilman Canton invites the party to tea, including kippers and scones. Tomorra complains of her bursitis and Canton requests Zoffrey give her a flask of his private formula [10 doses of pain elixir: 30 min +2 hp & +2 save vs azure mist].
Canton shows the party a map of the sewers. He is unaware of the journal and its contents. “We don’t know exactly what’s causing the mist, there are tales of devils and such, but who knows?”
Snu-Snu: “How room so fresh?”
Canton: “We had someone put together a spell that keeps the mist out for a day.”
“Might we have a scroll of it?”
Canton: “Zoffrey?”
Zoffrey: “We have a small number, sir. Of course, if we give any to these adventurers, that leaves fewer for the house.”
Canton sends Zoffrey to fetch some scrolls for the party. While Zoffrey is away, Canton tells them more about the map. Zoffrey returns, and cleans up after Krune pooping on the fine imported rug. When he finishes with that, he hands two scrolls to the party. [2 scrolls of azure mist protection level 3, keeps mist away from 2500 sq ft from a point for 24 h] Canton offers the party 250 gp each to investigate the source.
Snu-Snu: “How many go before?”
The party bids him up to 300gp.
Look like an angel…
The party climbs down the icky, slimy, sewer. Dripping water can be heard to the north, crimson light glows from the tunnel to the west.
We find an
everburning torch. Lana notices the walls have drawings showing ancient battles including aquatic humanoids, that Tomorra believes are
locathah. Lashari explores the tunnel to the west. The room to the west has a statue of an angel upon a pedestal, and holes in the wall with dark rusty stains. There is a small dais before the pedestal with a nine-pointed star. Lashari detects powerful arcane magic from the statue and the dais, and notices that the statue is demonic, not angelic. Three chains are attached to the dais. One of them is attached to a book, the others to two sets of manacles. At the base of the pedestal is an inscription in Common:
Become the prisoner, and you shall gaze upon truth.
Become the prisoner, and you shall be set free.
Reptilian scales, not feathers, and small, sharp fangs protrude from the mouth. It appears to be similar to a bone devil in some ways, but not in others; perhaps it is a representation of Sareth’tuel. Lashari blasts one of the chains for a bit.
Lashari continues on to the room to the north of the statue room, which is covered in a couple feet of fetid water. The are four onyx statues of locathah in the corners of the room. The males each wield a trident, the females wear spiked crowns. Lashari returns.
Snu-Snu puts a manacle on her left wrist. Nothing Happens. She puts the other manacle on her right wrist, and the book floats into the air. Panels open up at the sides of the statue, shooting darts at everyone in the room. Words start forming on the book (again in Common):
The angel lies, and the devil cries,
For loss, and for misery
Tears, they rise, from three bright eyes,
Of blood, of envy, and sea
Open these eyes with three jewels that defy
The dark lord of insanity
Watch the angel arise as the devil dies
And chain rampant mists once free
After one round, the words fade, the book sinks to the ground, the manacles release, the panels close. Lana and Zook have taken str damage from the purple worm poison in the darts (Lana was taken down to zero str). Zook restores some str to each of them.
The party goes to the north of the entrance. There is a 10’ high midden heap in the NE corner. Krune notices some monster in the garbage. Snu-Snu, Lashari, and Lana attack the mound with melee weapon, eldritch blast, and cold breath, respectively. The monster lashes out with a pseudopod at Snu-Snu and grabs her in a crushing grip. She breaks free, and Lashari and Lana continue their attack upon the mysterious refuse entity.
