The next day is cold and grey. The group reassembles downstairs in the main room. They decide on what to do with the stone that was stolen by the kenku, at the Palace. Azula has been holding on to the stone. As her and the stone bond their magical weave together, Azula feels her memories mixing with the memories of the stone.
The Stone Of Golorr
She remembers Neverember's vault being built by dozens of dwarves deep beneath the city. Beneath even the city of Skullport which resides deep under Waterdeep. He remembers a mage, Kwalish, wiping the memories of the dwarves as well as locking the vault with a series of three keys.- the telekinesis eye stalk of a beholder
- a strange glowing tube of blue energy
- a beautiful and intricate key of adamatine
Azula now knows where the vault is and perhaps how to get there but the memories are vague and sometimes hard to discern what they mean. As well, she feels the stone pull her own memories from her. But she is able to concentrate and be able to refocus and hold on to her own memories.
She shares most of this with the rest of the group.
Azula's Failed Army
There is suddenly a rush of air and the distinct sound of magical weave gathering and a portal opens and a drow steps through. Azula tells everyone to hold as it is her brother. Her brother has come to tell her that Azula's plan to move part of the drow army to Daggerford, in order to build trade and defend the small city from the invading demon hoards, has failed. The entire army has been wiped out by two dragons and a massive demon attack. The two drow talk and Azula tells him that they will deal with this later.
Azula's Failed Army
There is suddenly a rush of air and the distinct sound of magical weave gathering and a portal opens and a drow steps through. Azula tells everyone to hold as it is her brother. Her brother has come to tell her that Azula's plan to move part of the drow army to Daggerford, in order to build trade and defend the small city from the invading demon hoards, has failed. The entire army has been wiped out by two dragons and a massive demon attack. The two drow talk and Azula tells him that they will deal with this later.
The group decides it is best to go into the City Of The Dead, now during the daylight hours, to see if they can retrieve the remains of Lif together.
Travelling down the streets until they arrive at the gate that leads to the City of The Dead, they are stopped by the guards. They are greeted with the usual, "Sorry for your loss." and the group is asked where they are headed to. The guards tell them they have to be careful of who is in the City Of The Dead lately. There have been more and more disturbances, grave robbings and stolen objects. Grave robbers are nothing new but they have stopped a few wanna-be necromancers, trying to collect components for their evil ways.
Finally, entering the quiet grounds, feet crunching on the gravel paths, they find themselves standing in front of the elven crypt, where the remains of Lif reside. They enter the crypt, going down the stairs into the stone rooms below.
The Elven Crypt
The Elven Crypt
After retrieving Lif's remains, within a stone box, Messick shows the others the hidden symbols carved into the far wall, using his lantern of revealing. They see a series of numbers carved in a circle around the words, "We two together shall make a third."
Zombies, Why Did It Have To Be Zombies
On the far side Gunter can see, sitting on a pedestal, something which glows magically. Gunter strides across the room. Unfortunately, the rooms floor crumbles beneath Gunter's weight and collapses in a thunderous crash and a storm of dust. The others, still back at the rooms threshold, look down into a pit as the dust settles. When the air clears they can see Gunter lying in a pit, some 30 feet below, surrounded by several bulky zombies. They feel that they can easily dispatch these enemies but it would seem that these zombies left here were intended to guard the area and are not so easily taken care of.
But eventually they overcome the zombies and the group assembles into the center of the pit. Some begin to look for other hidden traps or doors while Gunter still focuses upon the pedestal up above which he now sees has stairs leading up to it.
A Ghostly Adventurer
As he climbs the stairs, a ghostly image of a young girl appears beside him. She wears ancient leather armor. On her belt she carries a sword, coiled rope and various other dungeon delving gear. She holds up a sputtering ghostly torch. She turns to Gunter and says with a wink, "Come on! Only the brave get rich". She climbs the stairs, approaches the pedestal and grabs the necklace with the large amulet sitting atop it. She smiles back at Gunter, then explodes in a magical energy surge.
Gunter, wide eyed, now thinks twice about grabbing for the necklace. He continues up the stairs, more cautiously now. But again, the ghostly image of the same young adventurer appears below him on the stairs. She climbs the stairs towards the pedestal. "Come on. Only the brave get rich." Again she explodes.
Gunter waits, and sure enough she reappears but this time he intervenes. He tells her to stop, as she probably doesn't want to explode. He talks to her and find the she and her sister have come here looking for treasure. But she has lost her sister in here somewhere. She heads off but soon disappears beyond a wall.
Messick says that he'll grab the amulet. Messick doesn't explode. He dons the necklace.
A Threat Trapped Within
Someone shouts that they have discovered a poorly concealed door in a far wall. The door looks like it was supposed to be hidden at one time but has been jammed shut oddly making opening it difficult. But eventually, the door yields and they move inside. Inside is a large corridor and room at the end of the corridor. The walls, floor and ceiling are all polished smooth. No dust or debris litter the floor.
As they move through the wide and high ceilinged corridor, Messick feels a drop of something splash on his shoulder. He looks up and sees something shimmering on the ceiling. That's when the gelatinous cube drops down off the ceiling and envelopes Messick.
But as Messick is completely within the gelatinous cube the gel around the amulet begins to boil and bubble. Messick holds his breath until the entire gelatinous cube begins to bubble and sizzle.
Soon the gelatinous cube shivers, shudders then explodes in a mess of gel everywhere.
They continue on through the crypt.
MetaGame Spoiler
The River King
banishment spell and the creature pops out of existence on this plane.
Dusting their hands they move on. The passageways become more humid as they walk on. Greenery begins to grow in the cracks between stones. Life is struggling to take hold here. They continue until they find themselves on a stone platform about 30 feet above a gently rolling pool of blue glowing water. The water begins to splash and build up on itself until it forms a column nearly 30 feet tall. Then the water falls revealing a large elven creature. Long blue hair flows down until it joins the flowing water below. Upon its head he wears a crown. He asks what the group intends with the remains of one of his people. The explain that Lif wants his remains back at the Trollskull Manor which he owned when he was alive.
The River King accepts their answer and allows them to leave with the remains but he asks that they leave the amulet where they found it, as it helps protect the crypt. Messick, disappointed, agrees to this. As the group passes the pedestal on their way out, Messick replaces the amulet.
Azula's Death
At some point, Azula remembers that she left her brother back at the Trollskull Manor....with the ghost. She rushes back to the manor only to find her brother possessed. The ghost fights back and soon Azula and her brother are dead.
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