Session 10

Here Comes the Sun
20 Kythorn (evening) - 21 Kythorn (also evening)

We pick up with the party deciding to explore the ancient temple beneath Annarei’s grove, as requested by the succubus. Inside they almost immediately run into undead--wights, zombies, and even two zombie ogres (friends of Giggles, apparently). What at first seems a reasonable fight quickly gets out of hand as more undead join in from side passages, turning into a very difficult encounter. As the party starts to get a handle on the situation one of the wights opens a sarcophagus, adding a mummy to the mess. Ultimately the party is successful in eliminating the undead threat without anyone dying, though Nespip comes pretty close.

Annarei, along with her umber hulk bodyguard (yes, Jeff, it was an umber hulk) come into the tomb, thanking the party for taking care of the threat. She feels the touch of Orcus, the Demon Lord of Undeath, in the tomb and believes that he is attacking Graz’zt through her. She decides to burn the undead and any dead bodies and keep an eye on the situation. A search of the temple turns up some treasure and a spellbook that Ralkor takes.

After a night’s rest the party moves on from the grove. Annarei is a little cooler towards the party in the morning and makes it clear that at least some members of the party aren’t welcome to stay indefinitely. Prince Derendil decides that he will stay, but allows Sebastian to try to remove his curse first. The spell doesn’t do anything, which Derendil takes to mean he is not in fact a cursed elf but perhaps a mad quaggoth. Ralkor points out some other possibilities--he may have been true polymorphed or wished into his current form--but Derendil decides he will be happier in Annarei’s grove and Annarei has no problem allowing him to stay.

Fargas tells the group that he expects they will reach the Tomb of Khaem that day, but will have to pass through the area where the Hammerfoot fought the gnolls (and, he believes, Yeenoghu). He tells the party what he knows of the tomb, which is basically nothing. It dates back to the Netherese empire and is the tomb of a sorcerer named Brysis of Khaem.

Kaia, scouting ahead of the party, hears some echoing tapping noises near an intersection. As she waits for the party to catch up faint yips and snarls can also be heard approaching. She casts rope trick and the party climbs into the hiding place just before two large monsters with hooks for hands run past, chased by four gnolls. After the coast is clear the party continues on, neatly sidestepping the planned encounter (aside: why are the hook horrors even running? Two hook horrors could absolutely tear four gnolls apart with hilarious ease. I guess there are more gnolls around).

Kaia continues to scout ahead, finding a camp of three gnolls near where Fargas says his group fought Yeenoghu. Unfortunately for the gnolls, the demon lord himself is not there and the party surprises and kills the gnolls without much effort at all. The party is then attacked from behind by a larger group of gnolls, including a leader of some sort, but these prove only slightly more difficult to defeat.

Continuing on from the gnoll area the party finds a dead end with a conspicuous 10 foot by 10 foot section of metal in the wall. Kaia attempts to make sense of the weird metal and discovers that it is anchored at the middle and not attached at either side. Sebastian points out that it is probably a door that pivots on its center. A little effort proves him right and the group finds the entrance to the Lost Tomb of Khaem. A soft feminine voice speaks into their minds, begging for help as she is trapped in the dark. Fargas, Jimjar, Eldeth, and Stool stay behind to guard the entrance and Nespip, Kaia, Sebastian, and Ralkor descend into the depths. Well, I guess Stool probably isn’t doing much defending.

The party descends about 100 feet down a stairway to the tomb itself. They find a room with four sarcophagi, resulting in them fighting four specters. The specters are successfully killed (rekilled?) except one that flees. Examining the room the group finds a secret entrance to another room under one of the sarcophagi. Climbing into the room causes an immediate attack by a wraith, presumably Brysis of Khaem. As the party attacks the specter from above also rejoins the fight. The group discovers that the tomb is in a wild magic zone, which causes some anomalous effects, but sadly nothing really cool. Sebastian and Ralkor even roll the exact same effect, and it’s a boring extra eye on their foreheads.

The wraith and specter are defeated without too much difficulty and a search of the sarcophagus finds the blade Dawnbringer, which turns out to be a sentient sun blade and the source of the voice the party heard above. Some more treasure is found in an invisible chest but has yet to be fully identified.

We leave off there, with Nespip not yet having a chance to get to know Dawnbringer and the party still at the bottom of an ancient (and not fully explored) tomb.