Serpent's Skull:Log: Difference between revisions

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The party continued toward the mountain where Gelik had seen the lightning strike, arriving around noon. They made their way up the mountain, from whence they were able to spot a group of standing stones on the shores to the north near the mouth of a small river on the shorts of the bay. As they scouted the area, a great winged creature flew overhead, circling menacingly. Pezzock declared it was the "Red Mountain Devil" and became afraid. The party went for cover to hide, with Richard choosing a questionable position and the creature began swooping towards him.

==Session 5: The Temple Beneath the Cove==

The party faced the winged chupacabra and bested it. The creature retreated after first trying to make off with Gelik. They pursued the creature down near where the standing stones are located. The creature, however, emerged from its lair and, with Jask's ''Comprehend Languages'' spell, he was able to determine that the creature wanted to give the party a bribe to allow it to live. The party decided to leave the creature be and accept the bribe, which consisted of a mithril hook designed to be connected to a severed hand (which Ishiru kept), a brass sextant, a +1 buckler with a skull & crossbones on it, an efficient quiver full of arrows (20 normal, 9 ''cold iron arrows'', 7 ''+1 arrows'', two +''2 arrows'' and an ''aberration slaying arrow'') a ''javelin of lightning'', a masterwork composite longbow (+3 Str), and 246 sp, 234 gp and 13 pp. The party divvied this treasure.

The party climbed down to where the water had receded from the bay and noted not only the sunken ship within the cove, but also a pair of great doors depicting images of vampires. The party approached the ship and were verbally accosted by a brash ooze elemental mephit named Ekubus who claimed to be the captain of the vessel. It was notable that he claimed to have cannons (but there was no evidence that they were functional) and his "crew" consisted of miscellaneous sea creatures. Desmond sneaked up on him and he surrendered immediately. He explained that a snake-tailed woman had gone through the "scary doors." While in Ekubus' ship, Desmond found a coiled silver rope, mysteriously undamaged even after apparent years of being submerged.

The party approached the large doors, which depicted vampiric demons feasting on maidens. Jask suggested that it was likely related to a cult of demon worshipers. The party agreed that sounded likely as not. As the door was ajar, Jask, Ishiru, Desmond, Richard and Sarek entered the temple. They immediately encountered a pair of javelin hurling skeletons with little to no self-preservation drive who threw their javelins and promptly fell to their near deaths before being finished off by the party. They found a hidden trap door with bones and spikes below (accompanied by fetid odors), but were forced to close it when some sort of unseen force tried to make its way up and force its way out.

They continued down the hallway and up a set of stairs. They avoided several pit traps before coming to a room with a blood fountain in the middle of it. They heard a faint whirring and ticking noise in the room and left before the doors slammed shut and the sounds of grinding came from within. When the doors reopened, they were able to locate buttons on the pillars in the room that, when pressed, seemed to disable the trap. Through the doors beyond, they encounter a serpentfolk woman wearing the familiar robes of Ieana the scholar from the ship. She regarded them with some slight surprise and cast and ''enthrall'' spell to ensure that combat would happen on her terms and schedule.

==Session 6: Fighting a Snake Lady==

The party asked Ieana what she was doing, and she explained that the temple contained inscriptions that she believed would take her to the hidden location of Azlantean ruins. She explained that the cultists of the Demon Lord Zura who inhabited this island previously were exiles from the Azlantean city of Saventh-Yhi, where an ancient Azlnati hero overcame the serpent god Ydersius and severed his head, leaving his body to writhe and twist its way through the Darklands to this day. However, she explained that she believed that if the head of this grim god could be found, it could be reattached and bring about a new age of serpents. Ieana further explained that she had been decoding this information and determined that Saventh-Yhi was protected from location somehow, but that the cultists seemed to know of another city that they could use to locate it and gain access.

The party asked why she beached their boat and killed everyone aboard and she explained in a matter of fact manner that the "stupid egotistical monkeys" were largely beneath her notice and it was just a convenient way to get to Smuggler's Shiv. She then went on to explain that she would enthrall one or more of them to assist her in leaving the island. She indicated that Ishiru (whom she referred to as "young man" in what may have been an attempt at humor) would do nicely.

At this point, Tsarek asked her about whether she was near Carptown at some point and she stated that she had been in the vicinity, but that she could not be bothered to remember every detail of her less important activities. He clarified that his wife and four-year-old daughter had been killed, and Ieana recognized, based on his explanation, that Tsarek's late wife had been the source of her information on the whereabouts of the temple of Zura she was seeking. Tsarek demanded to know if she had instructed her henchman to kill his family, or if it had been incidental, and Ieana explained that they were beneath her notice, so she did not care (nor, for that matter, did she care about the henchman Tsarek killed). She alluded to the fact that there had been other Serpentfolk present and that they had separated back in Varisia.

While she spoke, Ieana edged closer to a statue of an emaciated bat-woman-thing on the far end of the chamber and, after gathering a cupped handful of blood from the stream on the floor, smeared it on the lips of the statue, causing her to immediately become somewhat insubstantial. Several skeletons rose from the bloody stream that emptied into the underground river at the other end of the chamber, and Richard and Jask made short work of them. Early in the fight, Ieana enthralled Ishiru and they were forced to disarm him. Richard used his lightning javelin and the party members were poisoned several times over by Ieana's fangs. Eventually, though, they overcame her and, after Desmond impaled her on his blade, Richard curb-stomped her to ensure that she was well and truly dead. Tsarek used the glass dagger he had found long ago on the cultists to extract some of Ieana's blood and also pried out one of her fangs as a trophy. They pried a couple of whispering rubies from the eyes of the statue and left the cave by way of the underground river, which emptied into the waterfall.

The party filled their companions in on the situation and Gelik suggested that for such an enlightened superior being, all of Ieana's plans were incredibly short-sighted and seemed to be predicated on the assumption that the bridges she burned behind her would never be a problem (demonstrably false, since the survivors of the ship she beached had, y'know, killed her). He helped the party identify several of the magic items they found on Ieana.

The party returned to the lighthouse, where they worked to complete its construction. During this time, Gelik went over Ieana's notes with Tsarek and determined that they were fairly specific about the location of the ruins. With the proper maps, he believed it would not be difficult to find them. He then explained that he was a member of the Pathfinder Society, and that they would have a keen interest in the ruins. Together, he explained, they could form an expedition and uncover the incredible secrets of the past as well as incredible treasure. Ishiru suggested that he knew how best to fund an expedition, and that they could become very wealthy indeed from a successful excavation of ancient ruins. The ruins, unfortunately, would be located somewhere in the Mwangi Expanse - the vast jungles of norther Garund.

While rebuilding the lighthouse (a task Pezzock was remarkably useful for architecturally), Tsarek spoke with Jask, who admitted that upon returning to civilization, he believes he will be executed. Jask explained that he was involved in smuggling, but when the operation went south, he was scapegoated by corrupt Sargavan officials so that they could evade responsibility. He suggested, however, that if Tsarek were to allow the Sargavan government to have control of an expedition to Azlantean ruins, they would almost certainly be willing to mete out a pardon. Tsarek conceded that Jask had likely saved their lives - and his particularly - several times over, and that he would do whatever he could to help Jask. Desmond and Richard were generally amicable to this idea. Jask also warned that Ishiru bore a tattoo hidden on his shoulder that marked him as an affiliate of the Aspis Consortium, a trade organization As they returned to camp, Aerys approached them and explained that, as a member of the Free Captains of the Shackles (whose ship was tragically lost), Aerys explained that she has the ear of the Hurricane King of the Pirate Counsel, and that he would be very interested in the sort of treasure that could be liberated from Azlantean ruins.

No one asked, nor wanted to ask, Sasha why SHE would no doubt also want to be involved in an expedition.

[[Category:Adventure Log]] [[Category:Pathfinder]] [[Category:Serpent's Skull]]

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 The party continued toward the mountain where Gelik had seen the lightning strike, arriving around noon. They made their way up the mountain, from whence they were able to spot a group of standing stones on the shores to the north near the mouth of a small river on the shorts of the bay. As they scouted the area, a great winged creature flew overhead, circling menacingly. Pezzock declared it was the "Red Mountain Devil" and became afraid. The party went for cover to hide, with Richard choosing a questionable position and the creature began swooping towards him.
+==Session 5: The Temple Beneath the Cove==
+The party faced the winged chupacabra and bested it. The creature retreated after first trying to make off with Gelik. They pursued the creature down near where the standing stones are located. The creature, however, emerged from its lair and, with Jask's ''Comprehend Languages'' spell, he was able to determine that the creature wanted to give the party a bribe to allow it to live. The party decided to leave the creature be and accept the bribe, which consisted of a mithril hook designed to be connected to a severed hand (which Ishiru kept), a brass sextant, a +1 buckler with a skull & crossbones on it, an efficient quiver full of arrows (20 normal, 9 ''cold iron arrows'', 7 ''+1 arrows'', two +''2 arrows'' and an ''aberration slaying arrow'') a ''javelin of lightning'', a masterwork composite longbow (+3 Str), and 246 sp, 234 gp and 13 pp. The party divvied this treasure.
+The party climbed down to where the water had receded from the bay and noted not only the sunken ship within the cove, but also a pair of great doors depicting images of vampires. The party approached the ship and were verbally accosted by a brash ooze elemental mephit named Ekubus who claimed to be the captain of the vessel. It was notable that he claimed to have cannons (but there was no evidence that they were functional) and his "crew" consisted of miscellaneous sea creatures. Desmond sneaked up on him and he surrendered immediately. He explained that a snake-tailed woman had gone through the "scary doors." While in Ekubus' ship, Desmond found a coiled silver rope, mysteriously undamaged even after apparent years of being submerged.
+The party approached the large doors, which depicted vampiric demons feasting on maidens. Jask suggested that it was likely related to a cult of demon worshipers. The party agreed that sounded likely as not. As the door was ajar, Jask, Ishiru, Desmond, Richard and Sarek entered the temple. They immediately encountered a pair of javelin hurling skeletons with little to no self-preservation drive who threw their javelins and promptly fell to their near deaths before being finished off by the party. They found a hidden trap door with bones and spikes below (accompanied by fetid odors), but were forced to close it when some sort of unseen force tried to make its way up and force its way out.
+They continued down the hallway and up a set of stairs. They avoided several pit traps before coming to a room with a blood fountain in the middle of it. They heard a faint whirring and ticking noise in the room and left before the doors slammed shut and the sounds of grinding came from within. When the doors reopened, they were able to locate buttons on the pillars in the room that, when pressed, seemed to disable the trap. Through the doors beyond, they encounter a serpentfolk woman wearing the familiar robes of Ieana the scholar from the ship. She regarded them with some slight surprise and cast and ''enthrall'' spell to ensure that combat would happen on her terms and schedule.
+==Session 6: Fighting a Snake Lady==
+The party asked Ieana what she was doing, and she explained that the temple contained inscriptions that she believed would take her to the hidden location of Azlantean ruins. She explained that the cultists of the Demon Lord Zura who inhabited this island previously were exiles from the Azlantean city of Saventh-Yhi, where an ancient Azlnati hero overcame the serpent god Ydersius and severed his head, leaving his body to writhe and twist its way through the Darklands to this day. However, she explained that she believed that if the head of this grim god could be found, it could be reattached and bring about a new age of serpents. Ieana further explained that she had been decoding this information and determined that Saventh-Yhi was protected from location somehow, but that the cultists seemed to know of another city that they could use to locate it and gain access.
+The party asked why she beached their boat and killed everyone aboard and she explained in a matter of fact manner that the "stupid egotistical monkeys" were largely beneath her notice and it was just a convenient way to get to Smuggler's Shiv. She then went on to explain that she would enthrall one or more of them to assist her in leaving the island. She indicated that Ishiru (whom she referred to as "young man" in what may have been an attempt at humor) would do nicely.
+At this point, Tsarek asked her about whether she was near Carptown at some point and she stated that she had been in the vicinity, but that she could not be bothered to remember every detail of her less important activities. He clarified that his wife and four-year-old daughter had been killed, and Ieana recognized, based on his explanation, that Tsarek's late wife had been the source of her information on the whereabouts of the temple of Zura she was seeking. Tsarek demanded to know if she had instructed her henchman to kill his family, or if it had been incidental, and Ieana explained that they were beneath her notice, so she did not care (nor, for that matter, did she care about the henchman Tsarek killed). She alluded to the fact that there had been other Serpentfolk present and that they had separated back in Varisia.
+While she spoke, Ieana edged closer to a statue of an emaciated bat-woman-thing on the far end of the chamber and, after gathering a cupped handful of blood from the stream on the floor, smeared it on the lips of the statue, causing her to immediately become somewhat insubstantial. Several skeletons rose from the bloody stream that emptied into the underground river at the other end of the chamber, and Richard and Jask made short work of them. Early in the fight, Ieana enthralled Ishiru and they were forced to disarm him. Richard used his lightning javelin and the party members were poisoned several times over by Ieana's fangs. Eventually, though, they overcame her and, after Desmond impaled her on his blade, Richard curb-stomped her to ensure that she was well and truly dead. Tsarek used the glass dagger he had found long ago on the cultists to extract some of Ieana's blood and also pried out one of her fangs as a trophy. They pried a couple of whispering rubies from the eyes of the statue and left the cave by way of the underground river, which emptied into the waterfall.
+The party filled their companions in on the situation and Gelik suggested that for such an enlightened superior being, all of Ieana's plans were incredibly short-sighted and seemed to be predicated on the assumption that the bridges she burned behind her would never be a problem (demonstrably false, since the survivors of the ship she beached had, y'know, killed her). He helped the party identify several of the magic items they found on Ieana.
+The party returned to the lighthouse, where they worked to complete its construction. During this time, Gelik went over Ieana's notes with Tsarek and determined that they were fairly specific about the location of the ruins. With the proper maps, he believed it would not be difficult to find them. He then explained that he was a member of the Pathfinder Society, and that they would have a keen interest in the ruins. Together, he explained, they could form an expedition and uncover the incredible secrets of the past as well as incredible treasure. Ishiru suggested that he knew how best to fund an expedition, and that they could become very wealthy indeed from a successful excavation of ancient ruins. The ruins, unfortunately, would be located somewhere in the Mwangi Expanse - the vast jungles of norther Garund.
+While rebuilding the lighthouse (a task Pezzock was remarkably useful for architecturally), Tsarek spoke with Jask, who admitted that upon returning to civilization, he believes he will be executed. Jask explained that he was involved in smuggling, but when the operation went south, he was scapegoated by corrupt Sargavan officials so that they could evade responsibility. He suggested, however, that if Tsarek were to allow the Sargavan government to have control of an expedition to Azlantean ruins, they would almost certainly be willing to mete out a pardon. Tsarek conceded that Jask had likely saved their lives - and his particularly - several times over, and that he would do whatever he could to help Jask. Desmond and Richard were generally amicable to this idea. Jask also warned that Ishiru bore a tattoo hidden on his shoulder that marked him as an affiliate of the Aspis Consortium, a trade organization As they returned to camp, Aerys approached them and explained that, as a member of the Free Captains of the Shackles (whose ship was tragically lost), Aerys explained that she has the ear of the Hurricane King of the Pirate Counsel, and that he would be very interested in the sort of treasure that could be liberated from Azlantean ruins.
+No one asked, nor wanted to ask, Sasha why SHE would no doubt also want to be involved in an expedition.
 [[Category:Adventure Log]] [[Category:Pathfinder]] [[Category:Serpent's Skull]]