Session 7:  Into the Depths 9/5/21

Grange 6: When we arrived back at the keep, Squish was back, but they wouldn’t say where they had gone.  They seem… different somehow.  Hopefully we can talk about it later.  There was also someone else at the keep, a red-headed elf warrior in chainmail with a shield and morning star.  He introduced himself as Isaac Gelrek, a Paladin of the Order of Watchers.  He had been sent to help with problems in the area and had heard of our exploits.  The Menagerie grows!

We gathered our things and headed to the Old Woods.  Rasp met us again and when we said that we were going to assault the Spore temple, he offered to help.  He appeared to be an archer of some skill.  As we approached the temple, all our magic began to fail due to some sort of anti-magic field.  The radius of the field was alarming, close to a mile across!  That should have been our first clue that something was seriously wrong. 

Spore scouts outside the temple noticed our approach and a brief fight took place.  I told everyone that we needed at least one of them alive, but no one heeded my request.  The last member of the group was taken out by Rasp, who used a poisoned blade.

As we approached the gates of the temple, a group of mushroom crowned humans shambled toward us, seemingly from out of nowhere. They dropped lifeless as we shot them but as I moved close to examine the fallen, they exploded in cloud of spores.  We managed to avoid any serious injury or infection from the spores.  Then we approached the massive temple doors where two statues flanked the entrance. I recognized one as Boiria, yet another of the witch demigoddesses.  Elairiel recognized the other as Zehir, the God of Poison.  Rasp told us that he was s a follower of the god and he had a key to the door.  Beyond was gateway leading to a fleshy tunnel.  Rasp told us that his god “swallowed” the temple and it seemed that we would be entering through the god’s… ass?   What the hell?

At first, Squish and I refused to follow the others inside, but we would never forgive ourselves if our friends were harmed and we weren’t there to help.  Only a little ways inside, we saw Morchid poking a fleshy sack hanging from the ceiling.  Acid spewed out and burned the reckless druid.  As we moved through the tunnels, we saw the bodies of cultists embedded in the walls, slowly being absorbed.  Rasp finished them off with quick stabs of his sword. 

Further in, we encountered a pit that periodically spewed acid which we must jump over. Morchid changed into large venomous snake and stretched across the opening.  I didn’t quite make the jump and the acid burns were quite horrible.  After that, we entered a massive chamber.  There was an enormous toothy maw in the center flanked by two flesh golems which immediately moved to attack.  At one point Morchid, still in snake form, bit the god.  I’m certain the venom didn’t harm the entity.  I would assume that the God of Poison is immune to poison.   

There is a reaction, however as pools of liquid at the edges of the rooms began boil.  I try to get everyone to back out of the room, but streams of the liquid shoot into the air and down the open mouth. Soon afterward, the golems meld into one.  I really have no idea if the two phenomena were related but the battle raged on until the golem was finally defeated.  Sometime during the battle, Rasp had disappeared and seeing no need to go further into the bowels of the god, we left to rest and heal.

As we moved back through the woods, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my back along with a searing flood of poison.  Then there was nothing but white.  I woke up to find everyone standing around me.  They told me that Rasp shot me.  As I fell, the worm appeared and said it “wasn’t my time” and a blast of lighting arced out from me and turned Rasp to dust.  After apparently saving me, the worm disappeared, and I was left feeling thoroughly exhausted.  Seeing no other threats, we headed home to rest.

After a brief discussion around the table, I went to my room and fell into a deep sleep.  It’s morning now and I feel refreshed and energized.  I am going to start working on my spellbook.  I’ve spent the last few weeks going over my notes and the arcane theory tome I acquired from the wizard academy and it’s time to expand my arcane abilities.

But to what end?  I have no idea what we should do next.  It seems that these witches are going to continuously interfere in our lives.  Maybe we need to talk more with Vos’trin and the other more powerful individuals of the city to determine a course of action.