The Saturday Game 5/11/19 – The Fortress

After offing the Naga Overseer Lyith, we question our halfling friend Bobus about the fortress on the cliff. He says the only thing he knows is that no one taken there has ever come out. Bobus is leaving town to return to his original home and re-open his smithy. We wish him well and begin our ascent up the road to the fortress under the cover of early evening. As we reach the entrance, we see huge double doors. Above these are two stories each containing a balcony. We do not seem to have attracted any attention. The Druid spider walks up to the topmost balcony. A rope is secured, and the rest of the party follows.

We descend some stairs into an octagonal shaped room. There are seven archways surrounded by inlaid gems. Five archways shimmer with magic and we assume they are portals. Exiting a door on the eastern wall we find ourselves on a balcony overlooking a rectangular courtyard forty feet below. This seems to be the central hub for the fortress and the area is suspiciously empty. Where are the inhabitants?

From here, two sets of staircases lead up. We climb the one headed north. A ramp curves into an area which leads to a larger area of darkness. Those with dark vision can see a ziggurat in the darkness. Party members light up the room with a variety of spells. As we approach the ziggurat, the party members are filled with intense dread. Only the Druid and the Princess Warrior are unaffected. The rest of the party is paralyzed with fright. The Druid inspects the monument. No doors appear on the ziggurat. There are no writings or magic symbols; however, an item perched on the top radiates strong magic. The Paper Merchant has the presence of mind to cast mage hand which grasps a pair of ethereal bracers and brings it down.

Upon his request, the Princess tosses the Druid up to the second level of the ziggurat. He notes that it feels like flesh. They both try to attack it, but weapons and fiery magic do not harm it. While standing on the ziggurat, the Druid feels like something is being modified, but he cannot notice anything different.

Having exhausted all means of investigating the weird magic monument, the Luchador jumps through one of two portals located on the western wall. The remainder of the party follows. This is the same room, but everything is vastly different. Cloaked figures surround the ziggurat worshiping a gargantuan snake perched on top of the ziggurat. Our recently acquainted wizard friend takes the opportunity of surprise to cast a fireball which instantly consumes two and injures three more. The Bard charms two. One of the cloaked figures shouts “Sertous empower me!” and a blast of power radiates from him injuring four party members. With an additional fireball, the wizard kills five more figures. The Paper Merchant takes his snake figurine and tosses it; out pops a snake creature which starts attacking the larger snake. The Luchador grapples and successfully takes one down. The Druid’s two wolf familiars kill another. With this and melee, we have taken out ten figures.

We continue picking off the figures and damaging the huge snake. At one point, the Princess fumbles and falls into the ziggurat. Party members hurtle spells at the monster, but there is no reaction from the serpent. He looks menacingly and makes frightening noises but has not harmed any of us. We concentrate on killing the remaining worshipers. The Luchador grapples two, jumps in the air and slams them to death. The Princess fails to extricate herself from the ziggurat and falls into it deeper. The Druid, Cleric and Warlock each take out one. The Luchador kills the last one and turns to pull the Princess from the ziggurat. As she stumbles out, the huge snake disappears. It was a projection all along! The party is astonished. Now what?