Did We Just Get Loot?
The Thursday game, recapping 10/15/20 – As we stand among minotaur bones, a tolling sound comes from the east. In a room that once held an undead minotaur, a passage leads east, turns north, and ends in a room. A large grandfather’s clock stands on the north wall. A pendulum swings back and forth; a fist-sized jewel attached to its end. The time shows just past 4:00. We must have heard the sound on the top of the hour. The Warlock uses mage hand to move the hands of the clock. It does not sound on the quarter or half hour, but when the time reads 5:00, it begins to toll and a necrotic energy sweeps over the party. We watch in amazement as the Warlock ages before our eyes.
The Warlock identifies the gem as the Navel of the Moon, a magical artifact said to be a piece of the moon that allows its holder to always find their way home to their loved ones. Coincidentally, this was the item sought by the treacherous tabaxi, Bag of Nails, who fed us poisoned stew. The Warlock’s mage hand attempts to grab the jewel, but a magical force field protects it. The Cleric casts dispel magic and a plate with a keyhole appears over the gem.
We search through grisly bones, failing to find a key. The Monk, sifting through the remains of the shattered wooden chest, finds an invisible metal key among the splinters. He opens the clock and grabs the jewel while replacing it with a similar weighing bone. The clock stops.
We move back to the stone door with the words, “Warm like flame, cold for the cruel, still for the dead, gruel for the ghoul,” that is guarded by two serpent heads. Their fangs are hollow and look like needles could protrude. As the Monk walks through them, the needles inject themselves into his arms, draining him of blood. As he incurs minimal damage, the stone door slides into the floor. So, I guess the riddle answer is blood.
We enter a vaulted chamber with a ledge running around the room. Statues of six warriors stand in alcoves distributed along the north and south walls. Two sets of stairs lead to a lower level where three blind undead wander painting the walls with gruesome scenes of adventurers being tortured. One of them is of our Monk suffocating within a sarcophagus. We do not recognize the others, but they appear to be from a collective memory of all those who have perished here. The Warlock attempts to communicate with the undead via the message spell, but there is no answer. Across the room, a throne of skulls stands upon which lies an iron scepter. The spirit of Obo’laka advises the Cleric not to touch the scepter and she relates this to the party. While investigating, the Druid finds hidden doors leading north and east behind the two of the statues.
Going through the secret way north, we find a room with tile mosaics beautifully representing a jungle city below a clear blue sky. A basalt sarcophagus of someone named Napaka is in the center. Strips of lead secure the lid upon which rests a bejeweled cockroach. The Warlock takes the cockroach, which is a cunningly designed jewelry box, and opens it to see a necklace of beads. A golden orb of hammered metal floats above the room with a smiling expression on it. The Paladin and the Monk pry away the lead strips and lift the lid. Within is the remains of a woman, her face covered by a golden hornet mask, clasping an adamantine headed scepter. As the Warlock grabs the scepter, a searing heat is emitted by the orb and then it fades to dull bronze. When the mask is lifted from the woman’s face, she opens her mouth, and a gas fills the room causing necrotic damage to the three within.
After sustaining this damage, we carefully explore the passage east which ends in a set of stairs. We confirm it is a continuation of the set we found outside of Withers’ office, but do not explore. We briefly contemplate taking the scepter lying on the throne of skulls, but Obo’laka’s warning dissuades us. Instead, the party goes back to the four gargoyles room. As the Cleric steps down the east hall, the gargoyles animate and attack. After a short battle which includes a well-timed banishment from the Warlock, we easily kill the quartet. We pause for a short rest before continuing down the east hall.
