• Maervahr - Stoneskin
• Fandilas - Stoneskin
• Lazathu - Stoneskin
• Jacob
• Josalyn - Stoneskin
• Thorgard
• Tatrin
• Oriyan - Stoneskin, Invisible
• Elias
• Erasma
• Kek - Stoneskin, Invisible

We have returned to the ruins beneath Solot Peak which were once part of the ancient city called Notosotomo.

As we re-enter the caves we come to an area with white stringy mushrooms growing out of cracks and a 20' tall platform against the far wall that is not suspended. Sitting on top of a stone wall is a shrine dedicated to the god Zo. Around the front is an altar and in the front of the altar there are two stone platforms, where the Gargoyles were previously sitting, the ones that killed Galeria.

Kek eats one of the stringy mushrooms attached to the wall.

Meanwhile, we find a series of 8 copper and bronze tubes with metal arms. The arms look like a stand and are bent downward and the tubes are sticking out of the stone altar. Attached are 8 lenses of various sizes with some that are a few inches across. Elias previously removed the lenses as we replace them to get a better understanding of this equipment.

The glass tubes go up about 8' and are capped with a brass cap. Inside of these tubes we see more dead Patir Larva. It appears that the lenses were pointed at some of the stands in the tube. There is no sunlight in here so the only light other than from our carried light sources is from the 6 glowing orange tubes. There are no removable parts.

Erasma searches the area and can tell that the altar is in pristine condition. Maervahr is investigating the tubes and notices that the location where the arms meet goes to the back of the altar that ends in a ball joint. He can tell that these are not precise lenses for alchemy but are made for directing light. They were once in heavy use and then they were moved into different directions.

Maervahr notices that the two stands on the back, where the Gargoyles previously stood. He can see some very faint sigils where there was once a mark or a ward. Each of the sigils look identical to each other. He also finds a crease on the ground where the walls of the stairs meet the floor and he sees a faint glow for a second. It is a glowing that came out of the sides of his vision. With this, he sees that there are even more faint sigils at the top of the stairs.

Maervahr aligns the lenses to the sigil on the north stair and with this, there is suddenly a MIGHTY BOOM! The bottom step begins to shift to life and starts grinding upwards. All the stairs begin rising up to a new platform. Once the stairs get to the ceiling, there is a hidden panel that slides open revealing a passageway.

When Maervahr removes one of the lenses, the column goes back down and the ceiling closes back up. He tries to do this again but this time pointing at another sigil and this does the same thing, only to a new area has another high ceiling passage.

Leaving the passages for now, we decide to finish exploring this level.

We go through the door leading to the south room and find two huge faces built into the wall. They are elongated faces with an abstract design. They look like a big “Voodoo Scooby-Doo mask”. Kek searches the faces.

He notices that the cut patterns on the faces are made by deep claws. It looks as if a single big claw caused a gash, or several gashes, with some not too deep and others made by a claw that would have been a few inches long. The gashes are wider than a sword strike.

The door opens up to a corridor where there is another stone face that is also torn up. This one faces to the east. Elias turns on a lantern as we begin to search. Maervahr uses detection of magic but does not see any magic. The iconography in here is similar to what we would see inside the Temple of Zo.

Kek pushes on this face and it seems sturdy to him. Then, Kek decides to put some of those mushrooms he gathered in the eye indentations but they just fall out. The features look like they are carved into the stone wall directly.

Just as we finish talking, a door opens just outside the light radius. Maervahr immediately casts Shield.

From out of darkness come a pair of 9' tall bipedal creatures. They have grotesque beaks and their arms end with a single claw…HOOK HORRORS! They move to engage the party.

The Shield spell is cast and it lasts for 40 rounds. Both of the Hook Horrors attack Elias and Thorgard. There is one hit on Elias but the other one misses Thorgard. Fandillas hits one of them for 10 damage using his Ring of Shocking Grasp. Kek hits one for 11 damage. They each have AC 3.

With the next round, Kek kills one! The first Sabertooth Tiger does 1 and 6 damage and the 2nd one does 3 and 6 damage respectively. Thorgard does 8 damage to the Hook Horror as Oriyan opens the door.

Lazathu unleashes a spell and blasts it with Magic Missile…the Hook Horror is slain!

We must rest for 20 minutes or 2 turns in total, normally this is only 1 turn. During this time Elias is healed for 2 hitpoints.

Kek finds that his mouth is a bit dry…once we are rested, we go down to the door and find another hallway. There is another chamber beyond the door.

In this chamber there is another collapse on the south wall. We see several corpses of Rats, Centipedes, and Humanoids lying along the ground. We continue north and find another big collapse on the north wall but the passage curves to the right and left.

We switch to single file movement as we head down the corridor which ends in a collapsed point. There is a bed of rubble in the back and a bunch of large sacks. These are OLD, very dry looking sacks, approximately 10-12 of them. When we check inside it looks like there are coins but we only see some copper coins. Thorgard checks further, digging through the sacks.

He finds many copper pieces in each but in the second to last sack, he spots a dark brown pouch tied with leather. It is a silent pouch when shaken, pretty lightweight, and it contains gemstones.

• 7 gems

It would take us hours to excavate the rubble to continue past and there is no other way beyond. The rubble is basically an impassable wall. There is a chance the rubble could collapse too.

Maervahr's detection of magic is used in the room but he finds no other magic auras besides the objects in our possession already. As a jeweler by skill, Maervahr can identify the value of the gems.

• 1000 gp star ruby
• 20 gp banded agate
• 10 gp banded agate
• 1000 gp black pearl
• 2000 gp star ruby
• 100 gp rock crystal
• 5 gp small banded agate

We go back to the main stair room and realign the lenses. Stairs reform and we quietly find ourselves in a large chamber. There is a very large orange tube filled with the same liquid with an orange luminescent quality. This tube however contains no Patir Larva. We manage to get to the top of the stairs.

As we continue onward, suddenly a voice speaks out. In a whispy, but direct voice it floats out a demand, “Hey! come over here!”

From the other side comes another voice, “Don't bother with that deceiver. What you want is this way!”

We ask the voice, “Who be ye?”

The voice responds, “I am the vestige of Eurastrian…I was Eurastrian, or used to be.”

We do not recognize the name…so the voice continues, “Has it been so long that the deeds of the strongest Warrior of Zo has been forgotten?”

After some discussion and determination by the voice, it tells us that “We are unfit for this task but you have the ability to complete the task that lays before you!”

Meanwhile, Kek goes north and a pair of empty eyes shift over to him. The face transforms into a knowing but calm smirk.

“That guy down there is pretty loud, you don't want to deal with him”.

Kek offers this face some mushrooms to eat. and it says, “I have not eaten in a long time.” He decides to place some mushrooms inside the mouth but the face does not register that anything was put in.

We ask the face it's name. “My name has been forgotten to the ages but do not listen to the one down there. I have told you the truth and have only glory to offer you.”

Jacob yells, “Please tell me of this task”

The other face reponds, “I have, down here, the arms and armor of my former body from a millennia past. I have sought a great warrior to go to battle. Only a great warrior can do this and I do not take kindly to Thieves.”

The north face loses its smirk and then looks over to Erasma, “You will take nothing, you will die here if you try. I will melt you.” It then smiles at Kek who has placed mushrooms on its eyes. It does not react to the mushrooms on its eyes and it also appears that the face has forgotten how to chew.

Maervahr reaches out psionically but does not sense that there is a mind to these things and he cannot go psionically invisible to them. The north face tells us, “Don't bother returning here if you go to the south.”

The north face continues, “It has been many millennia that I have endured him, now that you listen to the voice to the south. Whereas I offer you a chance to be something more to PURGE something. I offer you a reward outright, not like that liar to the south.”

The face to the north tries to whisper to Kek, “Within the stone behind you is a dark visage that the Priests trapped. Free it to destroy it and then rid this chamber of an evil that plagues me. There will be a ritual to perform and I will give you a just reward for that.”

We ask it who it was and the face tells us, “I was a guardian.” We follow up with a question, “What sort of evil did you trap?”

“In ages past this temple was plagued by the undead. Beyond the stone is a powerful Wraith but you must free it. The face says it will protect us and not bring us any harm.”

We ask about the Wraith that is trapped here. “It was a Wraith…a person, a snake. There is great evil inside the stone which is in the center portion of this chamber. It is an evil Wraith or a Wight.

The face squints its eyes. “I can hear it, whispering even when that thing shouts to the south.”

“Who were you before?” we continue to inquire. “I remember some things from the past but the whispering torments me so, how can I help a traveler. I must enable them to perform one final deed with this evil spirit.”

At this point, we see a mirror image emerge. The south face says, “GOOD. I can hear your approach. There are evil deceptions from the one to the north.”

With that, Kek spits on the south face. Suddenly, the stone of the south face twists into a spiral of anger and anguish. It touches its chin to its forehead and then a black beam erupts from the mouth but the beam strikes the back wall silently.

It shouts in anger, “Speak again, you foul wretch, inside the vestige of EURASTRIAN!”

A whispy, dreamlike voice is then heard, “Cleric, you have not been received. Retrieve your companions before it is too late.”

The south face is staring at Kek as he jumps out of the way and SAVES TWICE!

The north face tells us that, “The Cleric of the god of conquest had summoned two great warriors, and joining their power together, they were combined to destroy evil together.”

However the south face remarks, “There is no evil in the chamber, that other one is crazy, I remember not what it looked like. You may gaze upon the reward I offer.”

At this point, a wall opens revealing a wide corridor. Hanging in the chamber is a set of plate armor and a longsword.

• SIDE NOTE: this is FULL PLATE ARMOR (from Unearthed Arcana), which is only available in treasure hordes.

The south face speaks, “Quarrel not! A Warrior can COME FORTH!” At this, Erasma goes to retrieve the armor and places the helm on his head. It adjusts to fit his head.

“Finally a warrior that does not doddle!” it shouts. Erasma continues to don the rest of the armor and now wears the suit full plate armor. Jacob takes the sword as one does…

The armor is a suit of Full Plate Armor that has AC 0/0 with a shield. It also has damage absorption and can absorb points of damage based on its magical bonus. We must pay a fee to maintain the suit of armor.

THE ARMOR XP GOES TO ERASMA!

• Full Plate +1 (not cursed)
• Long Sword +2

Meanwhile, Elias is healed for 3 hitpoints and Jacob is healed for 8.

The south face speaks, “GO IN THE NAME OF EURASTRIAN. SLAY SLAY SLAY!”

At this point, the north face chimes in…“So you have chosen death”.

We turn the lenses so the south stairs now DESCEND and form a staircase leading down below the chamber. This goes into another chamber that is also glowing with an orange light.

Fandillas takes a +2 longsword and then casts Strength on himself. He now has Strength of 18/10.

We go down the stairs.

Into a room illuminated by the tubes, there are 4 obullar face statues with a topaz in each mouth. Each one also has an orange topaz in each forehead. The face statues appear to gaze out of the room. We also locate a 15' long statue of a Gynosphinx. Thee is a name chiseled onto the base that reads “HERCLIS”.

The statues each have a ghostly visage that seems to distort the air around them, like TV static. They have two bright radiant glowing eyes and some black static stretches apart from them from a smiling grimace. We see this through the static.

There is something floating 15' in the air.

Maervahr casts Mirror Image and then becomes psionically invisible. The Clerics attempt to Turn Undead but fail. Maervahr now has 2 images and Fandillas gets 1 mirror image.

The Wraith creatures charge. One charges into our lower party and another goes up the stairs. The creature charges Josalyn. The Sabertooth Tigers can attack against AC 5 and one tiger hits for 4 and 3 damage.

Suddenly, the Tiger looks distraught. Josalyn has AC 3 Takes 2 points of damage and then looks as though she is confused and scared. She has not been drained.

One attacks Elias who has AC 5. He is HIT! Elias takes 5 damage from a chill touch and is then overcome with a look of terror and confusion!

Maervahr moves to the other side of the room as Oriyan yells out the name on the statue, “Herclis!”

Josalyn fails her save and also looks confused. Elias however, makes his save! The other Sabertooth Tiger fails it saves and is confused. We must hit an AC 4 against the Wraiths.

Kek does 10 and 1 damage against one Wraith. Suddenly, Fandillas finds that the +2 longsword he was given is no longer in his hands but in Jacob's. Jacob is now attacking a random target.

Jacob tries to kill a Sabertooth Tiger and must hit AC 6. In general, cursed weapons wait until the heat of battle before revealing their curse! He does 10 damage to the Tiger, which was the Polymorphed one that was created from a Bull by Maervahr.

The Wraith is now attacking Jacob. The other Wraith attacks Thorgard but both MISS! It then attacks Elias, but Elias EVADES!

The Tiger hits it for 1,3 and 5 damage, which RENDS THE WRAITH! It then drops to ground in a state of confusion as the black Wraith thing dissipates into the air.

Meanwhile, Maervahr casts Dispel Magic on the cursed longsword as Fandillas casts Jump. Hold Person is also cast but Jacob resists! When the Dispel Magic is cast, it DOES NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT!

Elias saves against the Confusion this time as Jacob attacks the Tiger that took 10 damage from him previously. It HITS for 9 damage and the Tiger is now at 4 hp.

Jacob FAILS his spell save but this ends the onslaught. The Tiger attacks whoever ever cast the spell of Confusion, but this time it goes for Erasma. It hits dealing 12 damage! This is partially absorbed by the armor so the damage is reduced by 4 points from his full plate. He has 36 points of damage that it can absorb in total.

Kek slices the other Wraith in half and it is destroyed! However, combat continues as the sword overcomes Jacob. This time he attacks Thorgard but MISSES! Thorgard is confused and does 7 damage to one of the Tigers. This is the one that has 16 hp. The Tiger attacks Thorgard and does 5 damage.

Next round, Kek tries to wrestle a Tiger as Maervahr comes up and starts tying up Jacob. The Tiger attacks Erasma in its confused state and does 2 damage.

KEK SUCCESSFULLY GRAPPLES THE SABERTOOTH TIGER!

• Fandilas hits for 11 damage to one Tiger.
• Thorgard hits for 9 damage to a Tiger.

THE TIGER IS KNOCKED OUT!

Maervahr has bound Jacob up with the rope and Josalyn goes to attack the person who tied him up. Meanwhile, Kek takes the magic katana from Jacob.

In the next round, as we try to figure out how to stop him, Maervahr casts Polymorph Other on Jacob but JACOB SAVES! He does not turn into a box turtle.

Kek is grappling Jacob. He does 9 plus Strength and an 8 for the helm. Fandillas is being held by a HOLD PERSON spell!

With a successful grapple, Kek manage to knock out Jacob.