A Demon at the top of the Stairs: Amber Temple Session #3

Neferon

The Gang took a Short Rest and recovered some HP and powers. They took their rest at the bottom of the stairs in X14 North Staircase since the wretched smell of ghasts and the creepy voices of the Dark Entities were diminished there. The radiant light of Elyrion’s Sun Sword lit up the stairway, allowing the Gang to see anything that might want to ambush them.

At the end of their rest, a man with red glowing eyes appeared at the top of the stairs. He wore black robes, a placid smile, and held up his hands in a gesture of non-violence.

“Please. I wish to talk.” The man and the Gang had a conversation that lasted about ten minutes. Here are the highlights:

• He was the one responsible for all the fireballs coming from the statue. His name was Neferon and he was an Arcanaloth, a type of demon. He had chosen this human form to avoid alarming the party. He’s known for negotiating treaties between demons, but little interaction with “...your types."

• Neferon wants the Gang to restore the Lich Exethanter of his madness. He suspects that the lich’s madness originates from his frail human origins.

• If they do this, then he’ll let them leave here alive.

• [waving in a Northwesterly direction] “He’s somewhere over there. Go find him.”

• When asked why he wants the lich’s wits restored, he said: “I want what’s in his library. You can take anything else.”

• He has some control of denizens of the temple, but not much. In short: The guardians will continue to guard.

• The Gang started asking more questions. The demon rolled his eyes and disappeared.

The Gang backtracks to X6 Southeast Annex. Grant casts Pass without Trace making the Gang virtually invisible unless they’re holding a light source.

While sneaking across X4 The Overlook, Grant spotted the Flaming Skulls that they had previously destroyed had somehow revived  and were floating around in X2 The Entrance. With the help of the Pass Without Trace spell, the Gang was able to avoid them.

They found the door in the southwest wall and explored X3 West Barracks. Nothing much there. With the double doors to the west wedged shut, they retreated back to X6 Southeast Annex to discuss what to do next. They decided to go downstairs and explore X5 Temple of Lost Secrets.

One of the mages cast Light on an arrow and Grant fired the arrow at the southwest marble pillar in room X5 Temple of Lost Secrets, plunging it into a fissure in the pillar and illuminating the western portion of X5.

X5 Temple of Lost Souls

Four black marble columns supported the vaulted ceiling of the temple, at the north end of which stood a forty-foot-tall statue of a cowled figure in flowing robes. The statue's stony hands were outstretched as if in the midst of casting a spell. Its face was a void of utter blackness. The ominous statue stood between two black marble balconies, one of which had partially collapsed and fallen on the temple's black marble floor, in front of an open doorway. The walls of the temple were sheathed in amber, and the doors that led from it were made of amber as well.

Lower Amber Temple

Grant the Shifter Ranger and Sleeps the Monk Tabaxi snuck down the stairs to X5. They exited the cavernous room and moved into X36 Lower West Hall. The light from the arrow partially revealed the Lower West Hall:

X36 Lower West Hall

Glistening amber had coated the walls and ceiling of this enormous hall like sculpted honey, and dust had covered the black marble floor. The vaulted ceiling had stood twenty-five feet high. Set into the walls at a height of five feet had been amber ledges lined with life-sized alabaster statues of cats, frogs, hawks, owls, rats, ravens, snakes, toads, and weasels. Many of the statues had fallen off their perches and lay shattered on the floor.

There were two doors in the west wall that they could see. They approached the northerly door and the Tabaxi opened it. The featherweight Monk was propelled up into the ceiling, took damage, then free-fell to the marble floor for more damage. [When a DM asks how much your character weighs, it’s never for something good.] The door slammed shut, seemingly of its own accord.

They retreated to X6 Southeast Annex, then everyone returned to X36 Lower West Hall under the protection of Grant’s Pass Without Trace spell. They saw the entirety of the hall:

An amber door in the north wall stood open. To the south, along the western wall, was an open passage. Four other amber doors to the west and south stood closed.

Donkar opened the same door as Sleeps. A broken table leg came hurtling out of the darkness of the room and smacked the heavy Half Orc Barbarian for some damage. He closed the door.

The gang decided to explore the opened door in the north wall.

X33d. Breached Vault

The amber door to this room hung open. The room had amber-glazed walls and a floor of purplish-black marble. Two amber sarcophagi stood in alcoves to the west and east. A third sarcophagus that had once stood in the north alcove lay shattered on the floor. Clustered in the middle of the room were four loathsome, hunched creatures. Each one had a single large, baleful eye.

They fought the loathsome creatures and defeated them. Grant extracted one of the eyes, wrapped it up, and stored it in his pack.

They found two other closed doors that were magically locked. The last closed door revealed an old bedroom undisturbed but decayed by time.

They took the open passage to the south along the western wall. It led to stairs leading up.

X21. West Staircase

Three 10-foot-long staircases, separated by 10-foot-square landings, connected areas X18 and X36. Thick dust covering the stairs had not been disturbed in ages.

They entered room X18 Hallway from the west side and walked twenty feet to the eastern door. Grant opened it and Flaming skulls approached. The gang defeated the skulls. They walked into the large hall that stretched north and south

Upper Amber Temple

X17 Upper West Hall

The walls of this twenty-foot-wide, seventy-foot-long arched corridor were sheathed in amber. The southern half of the hall had been scorched by fire, and a charred corpse lay on the floor there, under a burned fur cloak. Several amber doors led from this hall, and three arrow slits had been cut into the east wall. >The southern half of the hall was scorched by fire, and a charred corpse lies on the floor here, under a burned fur cloak.<

The Gang focused on Neferon’s vague directions to go northwest to Exethanter and decided to open the double doors in the north end of the hall. (The charred corpse is Jakarian, the former master of Vilnius. The apprentice would have reacted here. He’s going to bring this up first thing next session. I screwed up.)  

X22. Northwest Annex

Torches in sconces illuminated a dining table in the center of the room. Covering the table was a magnificent feast that filled the hall with the rich smells of cooked meat, sweet vegetables, piping hot gravy, and wine.

 When they approached the table the illusion disappeared, but a large ornate pitcher of wine remained. When someone reached for the pitcher, seven specters appeared along the walls and attacked. The Gang defeated them.

END SESSION