Alcohol Is Good For So Many Things

As the adventurers easily solve the runes laid out among the stone tiles upon the floor of the chamber an orifice opens allowing them to leave. They continue their trek through intestinal tunnels. The smell continues to worsen until they walk up to an opening to a large chamber in which the smell intensifies.

What A Smell You've Discovered

Most of the room seems dedicated to a collection of garbage, refuse and other rot that nearly fills the room. The pile looms high in the middle of the room to tower above the group. The refuse pile is large enough that they cannot see what is on the other side of the room. So they split up.

Smallfang and Rook move one way around the foul mound. They ind a series of tables, barrels, glass beakers and copper tubing which is connected to a system which is somehow attached to the pile of garbage.
Hope moves round the other way. She finds a large handle of a switch attached to a wall. She calls out to the group that she has found a lever and asks if she should pull it, her hand already on the switch. They yell to her not to touch it. At least not yet.

Attack Of The Grubs
4,000 XP

Barb moves ahead to inspect the pile of garbage. He shoves his hands into the pile of stinking refuse with no hesitation or trepidation. He immediately feels biting and slithering on both his arms. Barb pulls them back to find several creatures attached to his arms via tentacles. He watches with some odd dissociation as they pulse and bury their tentacles in deeper and he then passes out from the loss of blood. Katya and Lirath rush to Barb's aid.

Lirath uses his psionics to blast the minds of the creatures, stunning them. Barb scrapes the blade of his axe down his arm removing some of the grub-like creatures.  But the psionic blast has disturbed something deep within the mass of waste.

Smallfang and Rook are puzzled by the apparatus in the room. Is is some sort of chemical storage room. Katya comes around and puzzles out the tubing and substances in the barrels. She figures out that it is a sort of still system. Sure enough they check some of the barrels and they seem to have some sort of alcohol. It is greenish and a bit putrid but it definitely has the pungent smell of alcohol.
Three massive glass jars, the size of a human torso, sit upon a table. One jar is empty with its glass top missing. One is full of of liquid, the strong smell of alcohol wafting out of the top of the jar, as it is missing it's lid. The last is also full of liquid but the top is sealed with a glass lid.

The Worm Awakens
13,100 XP

As Lirath assists Barb to his feet, the massive pile of garbage shifts and begins to slough off to the sides as a worm-like creature rears up out of the pile. It lunges after Smallfang as it tries to catch the dragonborn within its mouth. Smallfang is able to avoid death by swallowing but falls unconscious from the massive hit.

Soon enough they are able to defeat the sathaq worm and the begin to investigate the room in earnest. Katya assures the others that the device is a still which ferments the garbage pile into alcohol. The jars of clear alcohol seem to be a refined distillate of the more raw alcohol in the barrels. Barb hears the word alcohol and rushes to pick up the full jar without the lid. As he tilts the jar towards his mouth, the liquid doesn't pour out...It slides down towards Barb like a gel.

That's No Alcohol...That's a Gelatinous Cube
450 XP

One might say like a gelatinous cube. It hits his face and begins its acid like attack. Thankfully the creature is easily lured away with the promise of more alcohol as Smallfang topples over the barrels of unrefined alcohol. But as the group listens they can hear the sound of the alcohol flowing and dripping down into an large and echo-y chamber below. There is some sort of chamber hidden underneath the garbage heap.

Hope returns to the switch at the wall as the group gives their agreement, Hope pulls the lever.

Cast Into The Pit of Carkoon
3,600 XP

The floor drops open underneath the garbage pile and pitches it down into the depths below. There is a deafening bellow. Some sort of creature, now covered in alcohol and refuse begins to climb its way out of the pit. Before the creature can be fully seen the group lights the whole ensemble on fire. The garbage soaked in alcohol, which also now covers the beast climbing out of the pit, lights easily and burns hot. The creature roars a deafening bellow.

Lirath blasts the creature with psionic power which pushes the massive beast back while Hope runs back to the switch which she activates. The floor panels swing back up into place locking the burning creature into its holding pit.

Barb, disappointed he never got a taste of this exotic alcohol, returns to the barrels. Hope follows excitedly. Barb takes a deep and long drink. The alcohol is powerful and different. He enjoys it but finds his constitution barely able to withstand its effects. His vision narrowing a bit he decides to abstain from more. Hope sees Barb successfully imbibe so she decides to follow suit.

Hope passes out.

Smallfang slings Hope over his shoulder and the group moves out before the creature below is able to get out. As they leave Lirath casts a spell to link all their minds together so they can communicate telepathically.

Hokey Religions and Ancient Weapons

They travel for some time. Traveling through tunnels more organic than carved. That is, until they enter a new chamber. This one is made of carved and smoothed stone. The room is circular and in the center is a 10 foot wide hole. On each side of the hole, are two massive stone hands, the palms facing inward as if close together to hold something.

They move closer to inspect. Each massive carving of a hand has many scratches and scars across it's palm. Perhaps thousands of layers of ancient dried blood cake the palms until they are stained a dark reddish brown. At the floor they see a large hole which seems to be protected by some arcanic barrier. It seems impassible and they cannot see down below the barrier.

At first they try sacrificing something. Rook conjures the illusion of a young lamb and forces it to become real. The lamb struggles as they hold it upon on of the palm statues. They cut its throat and let it bleed over the palm. But nothing seems to happen.

I Love You.  I Know

Katya strides to stand in the middle of the hole on top of the barrier. She uses one of her claws to scratch across her opposite palms until both palms are bleeding. She places her palms against the palm statues. Blood pours from the statues and pools below Katya's feet. Then in an instant, the pool of blood forms a sphere around Katya and begins to descend through the hole into the dark below. Katya's eyes go wide as she looks to the group before she sinks down and out of sight.

Thankfully, Lirath had cast a spell to link their minds telepathically. He calls out to Katya and she tells them that she has descended in her blood sphere into a dark vast chamber as her vision only extends enough to show her passing past an enormous face of a statue made of some sort of crystal. She continues descending down past a crystalline chest until she comes to a rest upon a massive crystalline stone hand, as her blood sphere disappears.

Even with her darkvision, Katya cannot see anything but darkness beyond the hand and arm she stands on. She tells the others telepathically that she is alright.

One by one, the others do the same as Katya, cutting their hands and placing them upon the palms of the statues. Some go together in two's. Finally Lirath and Barb are left. Barb slashes his hands but finds his dwarven arms are to short to reach the palm statues. Lirath has to perform the blood offering and together they descend.

Aren't You A Little Short For An Adventurer
24,500 XP

Together everyone stands upon the upturned hands of a crystalline statue which must stand near one hundred feet tall. Rook transforms into aarakokra form and flies through the room and around the statue. He finds that entire statue seems to be made up of crystals that are bound together into a humanoid form. At each of the joints the crystal structure looks as though it were made to allow for movement, a perfect smooth line forming each joint.

The rest of the room seems empty except for 4 massive braziers, one in each corner. Above each is a polished piece of silvered metal. Perhaps a mirror to spread the light of the brazier. At the base of the statue is a tiered pedestal which stands about 10 feet off of the floor. Under one of the statues feet seems to be a small opening which can be just barely seen. Other than that opening the room seems to have no other exit. At least not one the group can find.

One by one they light the enormous braziers until the room comes to full light. Rook and Smallfang run across the room, each positioning the mirrors until the reflection of the light hits various parts of the statue, making it glow a deep green. Light reflecting and refracting off of and through the crystals of the statue makes a beautiful display of green light across the room's walls, as they move the mirrors.

They try focusing the light upon the statues feet, then legs, then chest. But nothing seems to change. As they move the mirrors focusing the light on various parts of the statue they notice light catching on something not green within the statue's head. One by one they focus the light reflected by the mirrors upon the statues head. Something in the head glows a bright and deep red.

Once all four mirrors focus the brazier light upon the statue's head, there is a flash of red from within and the statue comes to life. It immediately and with surprising speed closes its hands upon the adventurers still standing upon it's hands, save for Katya who is able to jump out of the way quick enough. Katya scrambles up the creatures vast arm and across it's torso.

Barb is able to break free of the grip while Lirath discovers that teleporation spells do not seem to work. Eventually the entire group is free to attack but they find that the statue seems impervious to a lot of their attacks. Finally they are able to topple the statue and the group begins to hack away at the protective crystal structure in order to get to the glowing red crystal deep within the head.

Just as they expose enough of the inner crystal, Hope blasts it with a disintegration spell and the statue becomes still and ceases it's attacks.

The room is quiet save for the labored breaths of the adventurers.