Session 8-29-07

8-29-22CR: After a fitful sleep, Nathaniel presents the crystal to the fire elemental, who thanks him in his native Ignan tongue.  “You have freed me from the bonds of Chaal-Nathra.”  Nathaniel recalls hearing this name before in a text on the Far Realms that he read while studying at the Academy in Aerendale, but cannot recall any details about it.

A moment later, the elemental plane shifts back to its home, now free of its binding to the Prime Material plane.  The party forms up its ranks and moves deeper into the quarry complex.  The sandstone corridors slope downwards gently towards a narrow hallway and a short set of stairs going down about 20 feet.  Uld and Vashnak follow at a safe distance as the party descends the stairs.

                The stairway opens into a wider room which measures approximately 30’ x 60’. Before Tel can search the room, a muscular orc covered in ritual scars leaps from the shadows and attacks!  The orc growls out a horrible prayer to Ethoar, and Zara recognizes him as the assassin Omaagho Bloodflayer, who led the attack outside the Bench and nearly killed her.  She attacks with fury as Londario moves in to flank the orc.  Suddenly, Nathaniel spots more movement in a shadowy corner of the room – another orc assassin.

                As the second assassin moves to assist Omaagho, Zara and Londario both strike out with their weapons and wound him deeply.  The cuts seem to drive the orc mad with pain, and its flesh starts to re-form before their eyes.  A moment later, the orc flesh seems to melt away, leaving a grey-skinned humanoid shape with barely formed features in its place.  Despite its appearance, the shapechanger is a formidable foe and lashes out effectively with its longsword against Zara.  In turn, she skewers the grey-skin just as Nathaniel’s lesser orb of fire impacts its chest.  The odd creature falls to the ground and shortly ceases all movement; it is quite dead.

                Omaagho has taken a number of solid shots and is bleeding from his many wounds.  The orc cultist withdraws from combat with Zara, Tel and Londario on his heels, quaffing a potion of gaseous form and escaping through a small, carved  hole in the wall.  Zara curses aloud at his escape, but the party continues deeper into the quarry tunnels, knowing that Omaagho could ambush them at any time.

                The next turn in the corridors ends in a 20’ wide set of iron doors which are tightly shut.  Tel approaches the doors and searches for traps, but as he does so, they begin to writhe and shimmer before the companions’ eyes, turning into a mass of thin, fibrous blood-colored tentacles and then vanishing.  Nathaniel recognizes this spectacle as an illusion, using his Cereborn-enhanced spellcraft skills, but the gory vision is disturbing nonetheless.

                The room beyond the illusory door appears to be full of these same writhing tentacles – a mass of flesh and sinew which moves with constant organic fluidity.  A deep, rich voice echoes through the chamber.  “This is not your place… we who are bound await the proper time… leave us…”  Nathaniel studies the horrible mass of nightmares made flesh and again determines that something is projecting an illusion.  The wizard calls out: “We wish to speak to those from Chaal-Nathra.”  The illusionary tentacles fade away, revealing a large chamber that seems to have been converted into a dungeon for prisoners.  The chamber holds eight cages, each with a pale, emaciated humanoid inside.  Each prisoner is shackled to his cage by the wrists and ankles.  At the far end of the chamber, a raised dais sits beneath a pool or well, from which a ghastly red glow pulses, filling the room with deep rust-colored light.

                The air shimmers before the party and a nine foot tall creature appears about 10 feet away.  The creature is bipedal, slightly hunched, and has sickly yellowish skin.  Its brain pulses clearly beneath a cage-like structure which runs almost the length of its spine, and its face is brutishly fierce with a terrible pale gleam of intelligence in its black eyes.  “We, the slaves and masters of Chaal-Nathra, come as we are called.  All that we say is lies… all that we say is true.  You seek deliverance in the Writhing Sorrow, and we offer both peace and the opportunity to serve.  Our city is mighty and forged of flesh and dreams… come and share our vision…  You will be welcomed there, you will be devoured there.” 

Nathaniel steps forward bravely to speak with the creature.  He recognizes that this one and Sulanesh are of the same origins – and that the place called Chaal-Nathra is likely the home of both of these aberrations of life.  “We will broker no bargain with the allies of Sulanesh,” he says, “but we are here for Brother John Randall, and you cannot keep him.”

The horrific creature leers down at the five companions, sniffing the air and taking stock of them.  “Sulanesh’s prey turned predators, we honor your choice to oppose us.  We wish only friendship.  We are merciful and splendid, and shall prove such when we remake your flesh in our image, greater than ever before.”  It then vanishes as the air shimmers again, revealing itself as yet another illusion.  At that moment, Omaagho Bloodflayer emerges from his hiding place in the shadows and battle is joined.  The creature Nathaniel was speaking to emerges from the blood-colored pool at the far end of the room and leaps down, pouncing on Zara and tearing into her with its claws and teeth.  Its yellowish skin drips with the rust-colored viscous ooze from its pool.

The orc assassin whirls about with his blades as the aberrant creature of Chaal-Nathra joins the fray.  “Zara Oberwald, Ethoar knows your name and offers this challenge: come to Ijruk’s blind and face his servant Krothaer!  Join the great contest, and see if your faith will shield you from the true power of the Soul Burner!”  Omaagho lashes out with his tongue-tentacle, catching Zara with a burning cut across the torso.

Londario takes several solid blows from Omaagho but gives as good as he gets, while Zara concentrates on keeping the Chaal-Nathran creature at bay.  Telenvor flanks the assassin and helps Londario keep him occupied while Essedar moves around the battlefield healing his compaions’ wounds with Shandae’s divine mercy.  The battle is fierce and tense, but the companions turn the tide as Nathaniel strikes Omaagho hard in the face with a lesser orb of cold, killing the orc cultist outright.  Omaagho’s face freezes and his limbs stiffen as he falls to the ground motionless and dead.

The nightmarish creature sees his servant Omaagho fall, and moves away from the party to withdraw.  Zara strikes it hard with her spear as it moves past her, but despite her prowess the monster still lives.  It moves outside of melee range and with a subtle gesture, a red nimbus of energy envelops it.  A heartbeat later the creature is gone, having used greater teleport to flee the battle.

The party catches its collective breath and then Telenvor moves about the room unlocking prisoners from their shackles, beginning with Brother John Randall.  The young cleric’s handsome features have been lessened by his imprisonment; his skin is extremely pale grey and his sandy blond hair and beard are unkempt.  Worse yet, John Randall and the other seven prisoners (five humans and two half-elves) all show signs of having been fed upon by the creatures of Chaal-Nathra.  Upon seeing the leech-like 2-inch circular wounds all over the prisoners’ bodies, Essedar and Nathaniel begin examining them for signs of infestation or parasites.  John Randall and the others are still in shock from being rescued, but all eight are most grateful for the party’s arrival. 

Brother Randall speaks haltingly of his weeks’ imprisonment at the hands of the Ethoar cultists, who brought him here and gleefully tortured him before turning him over to the Chaal-Nathran creature for daily “feedings.”  He peers at Nathaniel for a moment.  “You… I saw you in my dream.  You came and rescued me.  I dreamt of you while they fed upon me…”  Unfortunately, he has no further insight into why he might have dreamed of Nathaniel.

After a very thorough two hours of exhaustive work, they determine that none of the prisoners has been infected with the strange tentacle-growths that Omaagho’s cultists showed.  Satisfied that quarantine is unnecessary, they begin to search the room for other treasure.

Aside from Omaagho’s combat gear, Zara finds a small translucent blood-colored crystal in the shape of a pyramid in his belt pouch.  When Tel searches the creature’s pool, sees a glimmer of metal inside.  He experimentally tosses a bit of waybread into the pool to test for acidity, and nothing happens.  “I always wanted to try this,” he deadpans, stepping into the pool and immersing himself in the liquid (which seems to be nothing more than a thick, warm nutrient fluid).  A moment later, covered in the rust-colored stuff but unharmed, Tel emerges with a 7”x7” pyramid which seems to be made of a golden metal – perhaps pyrite.  The pyramid is segmented and covered with filigreed lines in various arcane geometric patterns.  Nathaniel takes the two pyramid-shaped items for further study.

The party gathers the eight prisoners together, and Essedar makes sure that all are prepared for the long walk back to the surface.  By early evening they emerge from the quarry’s main tunnel and report back to the makeshift orc camp to discuss their findings with Valthirok, Boboka and Cho’do.

Falling Stars, Rising Hope