We begin in the throne room, surrounded by eggs, and there are choices to be made...
Gaerfinas, tests the door leading from the throne room, hearing a deep voice when he slowly opens the door. He closes it to report-back to the group. Rania finds the door locked when she tries. Kelnor attempts to use his newly-minted mage hands to re-open the lock to no avail -- very disappointing.
To avoid further giving away their presence to whatever the source of the voice is, the group gives up and re-explores the throneroom and the reception room behind it. Finding nothing, the group moves carefully up the long stairs, with Kelnor scouting ahead in the shadows. A long corridor leads into the darkness. Rio and Kelnor spy some snake statues with sparkling eyes, and on closer inspection they see small rubies which they proceed to pry off and pocket.
The corridor continues, with no end in sight. Something nags at Rania, and the group slowly realise they are seeing the same part of the corridor over and over again. Kelnor investigates the snake statues more carefully and on moving one reveals a hidden alcove containing a stunning steel box crested in decorations of what look like they are steel flames.
As Kellan begins to cast a spell to discern what magic there may be around the chest, a message comes through on the status of the interrogation back in town. Apparently, a purple wand which would have been useful to Haemish's investigations was missing from the objects collected with the black rock; Haemish refers to it as a purple wand.
Kelnor uses mage hand to open the box. Inside is an ornate egg -- he retrieves it for closer examination. Rio examines the plinth, which is inscribed with the dwarven word for 'power'.
The egg is clearly magical, and Kelnor puts a crowbar under the chest and levers it into the portable hole with a clatter. The chest is not structurally damaged (it is a sturdy object), but some of the decoration may have been impacted. The group retraces its footsteps, but appears to be trapped in the corridor endlessly repeating. The group eventually find an illusory wall that they can pass straight through, and on the other side is a hole that leads down. Rania volunteers to go first, and Rio and Kelnor lower her down. Something happens part way down the shaft as Rania loses her footing, fortunately Rio catches the fall without losing his own footing.
Caught in a moment of surprise, Rania is attacked by an arachnid creature. Both of them swinging around in the tunnel suspended by tethers (Rania by rope, the spider by silk), It misses her, alerting the elf ranger to its presence. She calls up, alerting the group to the danger. Gaerfinas casts a sacred flame upon the web, setting it alight where it hits, and Kelnor starts to pull the rope up. Artus swipes at the web, severing it, and the spider plummets to the ground. The group pull Rania to safety.
Artus is volunteered to be the first down the the tunnel to manage the spider at the bottom. He is successful in descending into the complete darkness, and is swiftly followed by Gaerfinas, Kellan and Rio. Kellan bumps his head on the way down. Rania struggles to climb, apparently shaken by her spider encounter, but with Kelnor’s help eventually makes it. Kelnor is the last to descend, utilizing his immovable rods.
As the group consolidate on the group of the reception chamber, Kelnor shoots the wounded spider cowering in the corner with a bolt, and Artus throws a javelin - neutralizing it. The spider dies in a curled-up ball. To exit the room, the group jump over a swarm of spider eggs and leave through the door. They decide their only choice now is to try the door again....
Experience:
Artus (60)
Gaerfinas (60)
Kelnor (60)
Rania (60)
Rio (60) + 50 XP for session log
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