• Randimir
• Adaeril
• Kek
• Sarkas
• Fandilas

• THE RELIQUARY OF GEL'SHA'IL. There is an old reliquary or shrine that was constructed 1000's of years ago and it lies about 40-50 miles into the woods of the West Reach of Hollow. This was the location of a battle site, where Elves fought against Demons. It was a great fight before the Demons overtook the shrine. The Demons were lead by a powerful Demon that engaged in battle with the most powerful Elven Magic-Users and spellcasters. The Demon Leader was known as BULRAK and it is said that his legions slaughtered everyone at the Shrine. However, once the battle turned against the Elves, they initiated a powerful use of magic in the form of a great sacrifice. Gel'Sha'il sacrificed himself inside the shrine to seal himself inside the reliquary, causing the earth around him to seal it off from within and leaving him to remain, locked beneath the stone and dirt, as the tale is told by the Wood Elves.

• The Wood Elves learned of this tale through some rare, found scrolls gathered from places around the Hollow. Through communication with their deities, the entities of the Outer Planes determined that Gel'Sha'il can be released to allow him to ascend and become a Demi-God. The Elves have asked Randimir and his companions to open the seal with a command word and release Gel'Sha'il. Their divinations have revealed that he is still alive and these Wood Elves in the Wistari Village are known to worship Cine, Venha and Geos. The location we are told to go to is the same location of the old shrine but a newer one was built atop the old Elven shrine. It is still old but was converted to an existing Human temple who were drawn to this site of power. The Wood Elves do not know what lies inside of the Reliquary.

The reliquary is said to be buried. The Elves provide Randimir with a runed scroll containing the rune called “Sylvasavil Shelbis Alir”. There is still a ruined Human temple built more recently standing atop the Elven shrine.

We head east, south east from the Wistari village and travel through rough, un-pathed terrain. We are guided through the easiest routes by Shelnir who knows the land well. We camp and find a clearing where there are ruined rocks covered in thick layers of moss and rounded stones. The grass was trampled flat and there appears to be a Human temple here.

A single half wall still stands, surrounded by foliage, but there are no flagstones on the ground. Shelnir says, “This is the place of the rune-word. It is the site of the old shrine”.

Randimir reads the rune from the scroll as the earth trembles. The rune word is spoken aloud and the half-wall of the ruined shrine topples. The ground splits open and widens as some stones fall down into the opening in the earth. A pit has opened up before us with a stone staircase descending downward into the darkness.

Shelmir looks amazed. In the sunlight, through the trees of the forest, a set of stairs descends 80 feet down into the pit. We can see that the bottom has a stone floor that looks untouched by time and there are some skeletons of man-sized figures lying there, broken ancient skeletons. There is also some remnants of broken armor and a helmet that is much less rusted than we would expect.

Adaeril's longsword glows with a 20' radius and he casts Strength on himself.

We descend down the stairs and examine the remains on the floor. The armor looks like it was damaged from battle as we see some blade wounds and dents as if bludgeoned by some great hammer or fist. There is significant rust on the edge of the blades and the armor. Although they are said to be over 2000 years old, the blades are in better shape than they would normally be in. The craftsmanship of the Elves is well known and these swords are strong and thin for dextrous combat, including some daggers and some hatchets found amongst the weapons.

The passage continues on, past three doors until it ends in a great stone double door. The doors are wooden and bound in brass. As we head down, we can see that the hallway continues down and is about 20' wide. The stone door is a brownish gray stone.

We go through and find a chamber where a gap opens above the center of the room. The room is lined with gray stones that are arranged to look like a mosaic, resembling a spiral of teeth. The stone door has a texture of wood but is made of stone. Some words in Elvish are scratched into the door:

“You who have found this forgotten place, turn back and forget once more.”

The door has two great rings of brass.

Randimir casts Find Traps but no traps are revealed. We open the stone door and it pushes open with a grind. The hall beyond flares out then continues south. We see many, many Skeletons with broken weapons and armor. The Continual Light from Sarkas's holy symbol extends to the end of the chamber where the back wall is taken up by a great mirror. The mirror rises up 18' into the air and spans across the back wall, which is about 20'. Mercurial arms extend from its plane and made of the same mirror stuff itself. In the hands extending out from the mirror is a black figure about the size of a Giant with the head of Demonic Goat. The form has claws capable of terrible rending scars and wears the battle dress of the lower planes. The huge muscular form grimaces as if from great exertion and its arms and mirrored hands are about 5' thick, and it appears that the mirrored form that encases it struggles deeply to hold the giant figure back. The arms of the Demonic Form stick out, holding the creature up in the air.

We check for traps but find none. However, we do notice a faint glow coming from behind an armored body. From this body we can barely hear an ancient Elven voice that beckons us to come forth. The voice calls out,

“Come. Come to me so that I may speak to you. You are here to free Gel'Sha'il. I am Gel'Sha'il…”

Sarkas sees what is glowing, it is a longsword that is glowing a bright white. He sheaths his spear and then picks up the sword but when Sarkas goes to pick up the blade, it cries out,

“Stop! You must not lay hands upon me. I have been tainted by the foul magics that were cast here, in this place that was once a shrine.”

Sarkas asks the sword if it may be blessed with holy water first and the sword says, “That is well but you must do so with haste. Annoint me with the holy water but then you must pick me up and slay the Demon with a single blow. You must destroy the mirror and slay the Demon that is trapped within.”

Using the Rod of Alertness, Adaeril can detect an overwhelming sense of evil coming from this place. After several moments we consider the sword's command and then exit the chamber. It is also apparent that the blade lies…It cries out as we depart, saying we must not leave, and it beckons us to return.

Some forms appear in the darkness and then emerge into our light about 2“ away. There are two forms that are about man sized and they charge at the party. Sarkas is being charged and will take 2 claw attacks and a bite each.

The 2 bites hit and Sarkas takes 6 damage. Standing before our party are two round, rubbery looking creatures with two long arms and wide flat heads that look like a squished frog. Their fingers are long and end with sharp nails. They can move very quickly.

Adaeril activates the Rod of Alertness but we still lose initiative.

Suddenly, our vision goes black…but does Continual Light negate this? Immediately pressed back by the holy symbol of Sarkas and pushed back by the magic, our vision is no longer hampered!

We can see the stone floor as the Rod of Alertness splits open and light pours out from the rod. One of the creatures attacks Fandillas and another attacks Kek. Fandillas defends himself against the creature but one of the claws deals 1 damage to Kek.

We need to hit AC 2 and these are small to medium, 4' tall creatures. Randimir casts SLEEP but the creatures have Magic Resistance and it ignores the Sleep spell.

Adaeril attacks and hits for 14 damage due to the bonus from the Prayer.

In the second round. Randimir casts the ineffective Sleep and Adaeril attacks with his longsword. Fandilas cuts one down and the 2nd one disappears suddenly.

The rubbery body of the destroyed creature remains on the ground but the other one has disappeared.

The Strength spell lasts for 24 turns but so far, 4 turns have been expended.

We are SURPRISED this time!

We try to push open the doorway and find a 10' corridor that is exposed. A foul stench manifests and we appear to be surrounded by cloud of stinking gas.

Adaeril failed his saving throw and is helpless. One of the creatures is wounded but the other creatures are charging forth. We can see that there is one that is still down there so Kek also charges.

Adaeril goes to hold the door…actually he does not. There are two of the creatures that are making assassination attempts against us. The targets are Randimir and Kek and they have a 50% chance to be assassinated.

Kek and Randimir take 4 damage but are not assassinated. Kek drinks a potion while Sarkas prays for Divine Intervention. When Sarkas uses Divine Intervention, he asks for the favor from his deity, which is Mot. There is a flat 10% chance for it to work…but it does not.

Kek uses a potion…actually he does not because he does not have his potion anymore. There are 3 creatures and they have 4 targets. Randimir is NOT assassinated but takes 4 damage. Fandillas is also hit but is NOT Assassinated! Kek is also NOT Assassinated!

Everyone begins to attack and must hit AC 2. There are 2 wounded but all 3 are up. Randimir is attacked and takes 6 damage. Another one hits him for 3 damage. Stinking cloud is still there but Adaeril is no longer helpless.

Kek joins the melee and together they slay the creature, Fandillas strikes a terrible blow on one using a non-magic weapon and it takes 5 damage,

A second creature raises up its clawed hand and tries to gate in an ally! There is a 5% chance that a Demon comes through but nothing answers the creature's call. Fandillas is struck and takes 3 damage while Kek attacks and Randimir heals himself. Adaeril busts open the door as Sarkas attacks.

Another creature attempts to gate in something from the lower planes, nope! Meanwhile, Fandillas takes another 2 damage and Sarkas takes 6 damage. Adaeril continues trying to bust open the door as both Demon Creatures are attacking Fandillas. He takes 2 damage then takes 5 damage plus 4 damage from a bite.

Both attacks are now on Kek…but not before we manage to take them down! All three of the Demon Creatures now lie destroyed on the floor.

Sarkas heals Fandillas for 7 hp. Randimir worships Tralith, the God of Luck, but Sarkas still heals him for 8 hp.

There is still 3 hours left on Adaeril's Strength spell. We find some ancient worn cloths of a red color and a gold trim along with some toppled tables. The Elves in our group can tell that there are some sigils of an artistic style and are associated with protection and reflection. These styles are commonly associated with Venha. We find some handles that are strewn about and we can see a faint glow that comes from the toppled table.

Adaeril grasps the Rod of Alertness and uses it to Detect Evil as well as Magic. He senses a powerful glow of evil and magic coming from the toppled table. Kek goes to check it out. Near the hand bones of an ancient warrior is a glowing sword. As he approaches there is some kind of auditory presence of a church bell and then we can hear the clopping of hooves on stone. It seems to be coming from all around us. The sound gallops and then fades away.

Sarkas casts Find Traps but does not see anything. We search the walls for secret doors and Randimir detects a sliding wall but no way to open it. We search for a turn but find no irregularities on the wall and the secret door is sturdy. We do find a tall gold candle holder which is thin and standing on the ground. As we investigate the candle holder, we find that the sconce rotates slowly and reveals a thin 5' wide hallway that goes perpendicular to the room.

We continue down the hall and find a place that opens into a 10' room with a door on the left. Adaeril listens while Sarkas looks at the door. There are no traps but Randimir also listens. He also does not hear anything. We open the door.

The first thing we noticed is that this room is in better shape that the others and looks like a lounge or meeting room. Inside are some stuffed chairs made with fine woods. There are not very many supplies here but looks as if it is unused and just dusty. We find an iron coffer under the desk and some faded paintings of Elven warriors, maidens, etc. There is a thin red book with Elven script on the pages.

Adaeril takes a look at the book which is titled “The Way of the Red Woad”. Randimir has heard of this and so have the other Elves, The Red Woad is the most ancient order of warrior Elves that has ever existed. It has been in existence since the Dwarves, Gnomes and Elves were created. Though it was once prominent, it was a secretive group and today it is said that some still exist. The Red Woad did not partake in wars or in politics. We do not know of any members.

We find some more Elven script that is written in some kind of code. We may be able to translate it with a Sage of Elven history. Overall it is in decently good shape so Adaeril grabs the book. Sarkas notices a small trap on the latch of the iron chest or coffer.

Kek tries to lift it up and finds that it is 1150 coins in weight. There is something rolling around inside. We search the room and find nothing more than what we already have. The paintings could be valuable and they are all done in wood. The wood appears to be treated and the paintings on their surface are faded. Some weigh 10 pounds each. 12 of the big ones also weigh 100 coins and the 12 medium paintings weigh 75 coins and the 18 small paintings are 50 coins.

we grab 3 of the large paintings and 1 medium painting.

The sliding wall of the secret door remains open but Randimir closes it. We ascend the stone steps to the surface safely. Sarkas will prepare a remove curse later.

We travel back,

Fandillas's Hawk familiar will alert us to creatures in the woods as we make the trek…and it alerts us to something up ahead! It can see great gray beasts with horns which it conveys to Fandillas. He says they are Rhinos.

We camp for the night.

Once we arrive back at camp, we discuss what we have found with Shelnir who says that all of the Wood Elves know of the Red Woad and they say how they disappeared into secrecy and legend. We bring up the Demons that we encountered, Shelnir has heard of the Demons that we described and he believes those are Dretches.

Meanwhile, Randimir has healed Fandilas for 5 hit points. Shelnir does not know who they are in the pictures but he finds it awe inspiring to see art from so long ago. Randimir tries to heal himself and it works. The ring is removed and his spells work!

The book can be decoded by the Wistari sage. Adaeril also feels more confident that a Sage would expediate the process but given enough time, even Adaeril could decode it.

Meanwhile, Kek snags a rabbit while hunting.

We begin camping for the evening.

Randimir awakes with Kek just as a branch snaps and they realize that we have been surrounded. They can see 5 big shapes, like Ogres, that are moving in quickly. The Ogres charge and they need a 9 to hit Randimir. They hit and he takes 8 damage! Kek is also struck by an Ogre and takes 9 damage.

They are 3” away from us and a Sleep spell is cast. One of the Ogre is put to Sleep. They have an AC 5.

In the next round, a Magic Missile is cast by our Magic-User and does 8 damage to one Ogre while the magic ring worn by Shelnir destroys one Ogre, it is a Ring of Shooting Stars. The Ogre crashes to the ground with a blase from a Lightning Bolt.

A Morale Check is made for the Ogres and they flee. The Ogres disappear into a forest cave about 3 miles to the north.

The dead Ogres have coin sacks.

• 30 gp,
• 80 gp.

Kek is healed and Randimir is also healed. The party has gathered up all the paintings and we see no movement in the dungeon. We head 20' down the thin hall and find a door to the right. We do not hear anything beyond the door and there are no traps detected.

We push it open and are struck by the strong scent of brimstone. It is as though the room was made of it. There are some padded chairs staring at each other from opposite corners of the room and there is a door on the other side.

Kek sits on the chair which explodes with a huge cloud of dust. I use the Rod of Alertness to Detect Magic and Evil but we find no magic or evil. Randimir also sits down to an exploding cloud of dust from a chair.

We start searching the room as some will keep an eye on the hallway. Randimir listens at the door but hears nothing. Inside the cupboard, Kek finds a twig and a piece of wood, like a chip.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves on stone is heard. It is heard for twice as long as we heard it before. The twig in the cupboard disintegrates when Kek touches it but the other wood chip is petrified. There is no magic detected within. Kek keeps it.

We are having trouble with the door but finally after a few tries, we open it. Beyond is a hallway with a door on the left and at the end of the hallway is another door with a keyhole. Heading in to the hall, we open the door on the left. As we push it open, we find another small passage that goes back and forth like a zig zag. It is an unscarred corridor.

As we check out this area, we find a shrine made of dark hardwood on the south zig-zag wall with the etching of an Elf clad in ancient battle dress and a robe. On the shelf is a black jar made of dark marble, some incense. Inside the jar are 3 gems and it has an inscription, “Nil Tousmin of the Red Woad”.

• 3 gems

Kek lights the incense and we feel a sense of peace wash over us.

Fandillas searches the shrine but does'nt find anything and Kek did not find any secret doors. We decide to check out the southern door…

When we open the door, it reveals another room with some broken bowls made of wicker and glass. There is a door on the opposite wall and some piles of random things. The Elves and Half-Elves in our group recognize these items as cleansing ritual materials like those used in a bathing ritual. The objects include brushes and bowls.

Suddenly, we notice some movement from behind us. A Gray Slime begins crawling toward us!

Adaeril casts Magic Missile and Randimir casts Web. Another Magic Missile is cast by Fandillas. The Magic Missiles have NO EFFECT on the creatures but the Web is cast along the border. The Gray Oozes, two of them, just continue moving through it.

Kek and Sarkas are being attacked.

Adaeril attacks and does 6 damage and it retaliates with attacks on Adaeril. Both attacks miss. Randimir is attacked next and takes 6 damage.

In the next round, both of the attacks are on Adaeril's Mirror Images. His Mirror Images are destroyed. The Ooze does 7 damage to Randimir.

Both oozes dissipate to nothingness as we destroy them.

We burn out the Web and head through the doors as we are returning to camp.

The party makes it back to the surface without incident and we head back to the Wistari Village.

Sarkas gets 2000 xp for the Ring of Spell Turning which has a 17,500 gp value.

We will decide what to do next time.