The session had some great roleplaying. I’ve read before that puzzles vary with every group of players. Something you think is difficult may be solved quickly, while things that aren’t meant to be complicated can be made so. [More on this next session.]
The ritual was a part of the night where it would have been great to make a video. From the moment where I asked (as Bai’Shah) “have you got the bell?”, the group trying to get my pronunciation of the chant written done, and the players decided one of their group who shouldn’t chant, to the final part when I’m silently counting rounds, and saying ‘do this now’, while two players chant “Kirlani baglayin, bagli olani serbest birakin” and one player says “ding!” after each phrase. The combat after this when the now solid Bai’Shah turns on them was fantastic, very tough but really fun for all of us. It was a great finish to the session.
The chant is meant to be Ordai (an old Baklunish related language) – represented by slightly modified Turkish. “Bind the broken, release the bound”
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18th Patchwall: The party leaves Falsridge and arrive at Hold late afternoon. Down to the Hall of the Gods and activate the statue of Dalt. (Suel god of portals, enclosures, locks and keys.) They head to the great stair and using rope climb down to the level of the Craft Halls. Down the circular stairs and look around. The western passage has a snake-man corpse and stairs descending, but they choose north to doors rusted close. Forcing them they get to a room with three other doors. Lanliss disarms a trap on one door, but triggers traps on the other two, becoming cursed with clumsiness. In one of the rooms behind the doors is a hidden compartment with a Helm of Languages, something Seldrel has been considering creating himself. It gets passed back and forwards between Seldrel and Merxif as they read and translate messages on some of the room walls. Lanliss enters a room with a metal grill floor. It begins to sink into water, but he pulls himself back into the passage. He checks the depth with a weighted rope at 20’. Bacon leaps across to another door, and Lanliss follows. They then jump across to a northern hall. Winter climbs around and the rest of the group fly. A room ahead contains burning skeletons. After destroying them they find one wears a pair of boots of levitation. Lanliss wants a second look at the water/grill room. He levitates, pulling himself around the chamber and discovers an illusionary southern wall hiding a third door. He opens this and Bacon leaps across. They find a small room with indentations in the floor tiles surrounding a stone block. The number of marks increases in a clockwise direction around the room, and he and Bacon find two secret doors that they cannot open. “Riddles” engraved in previous chambers refer to numbers and they suspect they are a code to open the secret doors. Lanliss moves about the room (his weight causing the tiles to sink slightly) in different patterns, but none opens the doors. After a considerable time, they decide to come back and try again another time. They return north, using the levitation boots to get many of the group across the water grill. A large room has four open pits and many doors. Three have spikes; one also contains the corpse of an elf. The long dead body appears drained and has considerable useful equipment and a few minor magical items. The un-spiked pit is itself trapped – spikes protrude from the walls as Lanliss reaches the floor. It is only the boots of levitation that prevent him being impaled. A SW door leads to a room that is an open spiked pit. Lanliss quickly learns the pit is an illusion. Three shadows attack while he investigates. As those at the front of the group move to attack, Winter sights more shadows behind them – some of which move through the walls to reach the group. Their chilling attacks slow rather than cause weakness. They are eventually destroyed with only minor damage to the group and the chamber past the illusion pit has two more old corpses – a gnome and a human. These also have an assortment of useful gear, and were likely killed by the shadows. One of the magical items recovered is another sphere segment.
With three pieces in hand, they return quickly back up a level to the crafting halls and call Bai’Shah. He is excited to know they have recovered the three pieces. He tells them to break open the skull of the Eildon – it reveals the last piece. He tells them (in more detail than before) about how he came to be a ghost, and about the writings on the walls while Seldrel studies them with his Helm. He explains the ritual they must perform and that the next few nights (with a full moon) are perfect timing. The group had forgotten they require a bell. Exiting the Hold in haste they realise that it is very late at night. They return to the Hall of Gods to camp for the night.
19th Merxif removes the curse on Lanliss and activates the statue of Baevan. (Gnomish god of forests and nature.) They hustle down to Falsford and buy two bells, some crafting materials in anticipation of being able to use the halls and more trail rations. Back to the Hold and down to the halls, they assure Bai’Shah that this time they are ready. He tells them to break what remains of the skull of the eidolon and they find the last piece of the sphere. Bai’Shah guides them through the steps of the ritual. Since they have to wait for the full moon that evening, Bacon and Lanliss return to Falsford to try and learn more of the Deities domains and what spells might be useful to activate more statues in the Hall of the Gods. The High Priest of Rao accepts donations of gold and provisions to feed some of those who come to the Temple for aid, and they collect some blood samples from Baklunish, Oeridean and Suel supplicants. Returning to the Krag once more they rejoin the group and practise the ritual. Bacon is specifically told not to chant and given a bell. One of the spirits roaming the halls attacks, causing considerable damage. Merxif heals them and wait for the sun to set – a magical disc in the ceiling shows a dim version of the sky above the hold. When moonlight shines down, Bacon and Lanliss chant while Hardaz rings the bell. Seldrel casts acid splash over the brazier with the sphere segments amid a normal fire. The sphere rejoins and energy flows out from the sphere. Bai’Shah’s form solidifies, but two others forms appear – their shapes being humanoid with small horns, tentacles at their mouths, and oddly bent legs with cloven feet. As Bai’Shah calls to these two unusual beings, his appearance changes to match theirs and all three attack. They are very difficult to defeat – they heal quickly and their attacks drain agility. Bacon particularly is badly wounded and Merxif is kept busy healing everyone else. When killed, they vanish in a smoky haze. Afterwards, Seldrel decides they are denizens of Leng – outsiders from another plane that wanted the whole sphere for themselves. Some of the arcane runes on the complete sphere are draconic and it has a very strong enchantment aura. Seldrel is unable to determine more. They take time to explore the halls after healing. Six rooms are each for different types of crafting – carpentry, metalwork, ceramics, alchemy, and varied magical creations. A final room is clean and tidy with six beds, water, dishes and cutlery.
Dragons of Lancasm 