This is my first campaign diary. I hope you guys enjoy it! I labeled each section in case you want to skip around.
The land is uncharted territory 25 days on a ship to the West of the Sword Coast. The only settled location is a small fortified town called Brokenstone. It has everything the adventurers need for survival, but the locals have no actual knowledge of outside of the walls, aside from a few hunters and farmers. Even their knowledge is highly limited.
The Backdrop
The land is uncharted territory 25 days on a ship to the West of the Sword Coast. The only settled location is a small fortified town called Brokenstone. It has everything the adventurers need for survival, but the locals have no actual knowledge of outside of the walls, aside from a few hunters and farmers. Even their knowledge is highly limited.
The Party
The Hook
The adventurers were quick to run-down a rumor; it was of a strange standing stone with intricate carvings just off of the road to the West. It's located maybe four or five miles out from town. The hunters who discovered it said that they had found some strange animal tracks –they looked really large too– leading passed the standing stone and that "[they] felt uneasy" in its presence. The possibility of gold and adventure was too much to turn a blind eye to because... well, they were all broke. Maybe they could sell what beast they found or become local heroes... or something. So, with what little money they had left, they had purchased a few more provisions for the journey: a mule and a sturdy saddle bag from the local stable. Now they were really broke, and desperate. On the road they went...
The Journey To
The sky was cloudy and the wind was cold coming from the hills. The sun wasn't bright enough to penetrate the heavy clouds. To top that off, a storm was brewing and headed directly their way. Lighting and carpets of rain were seen off in the distance. Magni, in the lead, looked towards the north, "Aye, let us move with haste." The rest followed, with the mule in tow.
About an hour and a half to two hours into the trek, Carter began hearing a low hum in the distance moving their way. "Does anyone hear that?," asked Carter. The sound was getting closer, louder, and deeper. It was like a wave of bass heading directly towards them. Each of them darted across the road, away from the noise, into the tall grass. All of a sudden, as if the clouds shed a piece of themselves, a gargantuan swarm of rather large blood sucking insects burst through the tall grass, and hovered just feet from their position. Luckily, the wind was in their faces; for that, they dodged a big bullet. The whirring cloud picked up, and took off. Not eight hours into this new land, and they've already spotted a life-form that would love to tear them to shreds. Like true adventurers, on they pushed.
About an hour and a half to two hours into the trek, Carter began hearing a low hum in the distance moving their way. "Does anyone hear that?," asked Carter. The sound was getting closer, louder, and deeper. It was like a wave of bass heading directly towards them. Each of them darted across the road, away from the noise, into the tall grass. All of a sudden, as if the clouds shed a piece of themselves, a gargantuan swarm of rather large blood sucking insects burst through the tall grass, and hovered just feet from their position. Luckily, the wind was in their faces; for that, they dodged a big bullet. The whirring cloud picked up, and took off. Not eight hours into this new land, and they've already spotted a life-form that would love to tear them to shreds. Like true adventurers, on they pushed.
The Obelisk
Some time passed, Cutter the Rogue spotted a set of tracks that led towards the north. They were off of the road, just like the hunters said. They couldn't quite pinpoint what the tracks were made from, too much time had passed. However, they were large nonetheless. They followed the tracks and came upon a clearing with a giant, black obelisk set in the center. Again, the story checks out. It stood around five average men tall, and two to three men – shoulder to shoulder– wide. "The stone seems to be made from... maybe obsidian," Willem the Wizard surmised. Pieces of carved out bone in the shape of human skulls adorned it. Under the miniature skulls, were writings in a strange language nobody in the group seemed to recognize. Willem instinctively pulled out a piece of parchment and some charcoal and began to methodically copy the script. "Look there, beyond the trees," the Kenku said. In the distance they spotted a single spire that seemed to be just past the tree tops.
"It's getting late in the day," said Magni, "we camp here for the night." They sat their camp up right beside the obelisk, out in the open with a roaring fire. They shared stories of their past life for a few hours and slowly began to lay out their bedrolls for their sleep. An hour into Magni's watch, he saw some movement through the treeline. It was a group of humanoids stalking them. He didn't say anything until he saw the figures approach. He called for the group, "wake up, and get ready." However, the people didn't seem very keen on combat. They were more curious than anything. They wore animal skins for clothing and had stone tipped spears and arrow heads. After the wizard's quick wit and good trading, the group made peace with each other.
The wizard pointed towards the tower that was then bathed in the moonlight. The largest of the men, obviously the one in charge, gave a look of absolute fear and shook his head. "Seems they fear that place," said the wizard in a serious but flat tone, "I wonder why." After a while of very strange communication, the people left and the party slept, albeit wakefully.
"It's getting late in the day," said Magni, "we camp here for the night." They sat their camp up right beside the obelisk, out in the open with a roaring fire. They shared stories of their past life for a few hours and slowly began to lay out their bedrolls for their sleep. An hour into Magni's watch, he saw some movement through the treeline. It was a group of humanoids stalking them. He didn't say anything until he saw the figures approach. He called for the group, "wake up, and get ready." However, the people didn't seem very keen on combat. They were more curious than anything. They wore animal skins for clothing and had stone tipped spears and arrow heads. After the wizard's quick wit and good trading, the group made peace with each other.
The wizard pointed towards the tower that was then bathed in the moonlight. The largest of the men, obviously the one in charge, gave a look of absolute fear and shook his head. "Seems they fear that place," said the wizard in a serious but flat tone, "I wonder why." After a while of very strange communication, the people left and the party slept, albeit wakefully.
The Search
The next day was hot and muggy, the sky was beginning to darken with a storm. The group gathered themselves after a quick breakfast and sat off towards the tower. After about an hour and a half of traveling, the party broke from the small forest. Suddenly, the sky seemed to open up as did the view of the newly discovered ruins of an ancient city. Blankets of rain and hail pelt the adventurers while bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the vista; the large tower ended up being the top portion of an odd looking pyramid that was located on the other end of the clearing. There seemed to have been three others, but were all lying in ruins. "Step pyramids maybe?" The Wizard said, scratching at his bald scalp, with rain water running down his face and into his eyes. The party ran for the closest buildings not wanting to be completely drenched. They found a small sturdy structure made of dry stacked stone with a small skylight and wishing well. It soon filled up with water, and ran outside. The party decided to wait out the storm. In the shelter, they found a few urns with intricate geometric shapes painted on them; although, they were almost completely faded. Inside of them, they found bones, and one that contained a sword made of bronze with a heavy flattened tip with a few oddly shaped copper and silver coins. The party wasted no time in quickly scooping them up. They determined that it was probably burial urns for the various families that resided there years and years before. Again, more of the strange writings were on the walls. The Wizard took his parchment and charcoal and began copying.
After about two to three hours of monsoon like rain, it finally began to clear up. So, the party began their search of the place. The made their way to the still standing pyramid. It was roughly thirty foot high, not including the spire. The other pyramids were arranged in a square pattern, with this one being the one furthest to the north west. The steps were cracked and falling apart. The outside of the pyramids were made of some naturally occurring stone. "Possibly... there's a quarry around here," Willem said, "Maybe that's where they get this type of stone from. This is not man-made. I'll tell you that." The group half listened to him, but the Dwarf nodded his head in approval. The pyramids were described as Mayan-like, with some of the same base architecture as from south american cultures.
They made it to the top. A stone double door blocked their way. Without missing a beat, the Dwarf shoved it opened, worrying about nothing. A slight hiss erupted from the door, cracking the seal revealed the interior of the building. From where they could see, the support structures in this building were actually statues acting as pillars. The statues all had outstretched arms, pointing towards the back of the room. The back was cast in shadow and dust. Magni lit a torch, and began walking in. In the room contained four large statues, an altar with a golden idol atop it, and two more urns to the left and right of the altar. The back of the room was more of the strange writing from before. The Wizard again, began copying what he could. The rogue walked to the idle and immediately snatched it off of it's pedestal. Everyone held their breath... but nothing happened. The Kenku marveled at his new prize, then stuffed it into his sack with glee. "If I die here because of you..." Magni said... and the Kenku just cocks his head to the side and walks off, examining the rest of the room. Once they felt the room was sufficiently... plundered, they walked back outside.
With a better view, they were able to see something odd. The wizard pointed out, "There seems to be something missing. In the back center of the field, there's a large square. Possibly where the main pyramid should be." They walked back down the steps and to where the square was, and began examining it. Willem poked the air in front of him with his staff and exclaimed, "It's not invisible! It's just not here! Ahhhh, I see now!" Proud of his discovery, he began trying to figure out where it may have gone. As he was pondering the others were searching.
Magni got back on top of the step pyramid and began ordering the others around, thinking he has a superior vantage point. After some time, they discovered a small cavern hidden away in the back side of the abandoned village. "I say we head back to town and regroup there. We may need our strength to continue on." The rest of the part agreed. They all backtracked their way to town. The next day, they sold the idol for a pretty good amount... enough to afford better equipment, a lot of ale, and the ability to train for a few days. Carter and Willem studied with the local wizard, Vildathrat. Magni trained with the city guards, and Cutter trained with the scouts. Once they were ready, they set off following the same path as before.
In Willem's studies, he discovered a spell that allowed him to read the script. He finds the group and said, "the standing stone is filled full of warnings saying to keep out of the pyramids or perish, more or less. I say we leave at first light," said Willem. The others agree, and drink the night away.
After making it back, the group gathered at the mouth of the cavern. They tied off the mule near the entrance. The group entered the cavern. It was pitch black. Only the dwarf was able to navigate without a torch, so he lit one for the others. Onward they traveled. They made it about 300 feet or so, and found a small chute. Magni the dwarf looked down, tilting his helm back to normal and said, "I'll anchor you, so you can descend. It's about thirty feet or so down."
Willem asked, "What about you?"
"I'll be fine, I've fallen further." So one by one, they began to descend down the chute. At the bottom was slight gradient. It was just enough to barely cushion a fall. After the last one was down, the dwarf slid through the chute. He rolled and smacked his face on the bottom, giving himself a bloody nose.
"I'm sure this isn't your grandest moment," said Carter with a slight chuckle. The Carter reached out his hand, but the Dwarf picked himself up and stood as tall as he could, glaring at the little human. Carter laughed more. Further on they went, the cavern got smaller and smaller, curving and winding, and starting to become thick in webbing. They all look at each other, and draw their weapons. At the end of the cavern, an extremely large web blocked their path. The dwarf looked back to the rest of the party, shrugs and sets the thing on fire, flash burning all the way up. In the distance they spot a strange sight: the missing pyramid illuminated by giant luminous mushrooms; however, it hangs from the ceiling like a stalactite some forty feet in the air. The room it is located in is gargantuan. It spans beyond even the Dwarves darkvision. The ever curious Cutter runs out to the front to get a better look. All of a sudden, six large spiders descended upon him. The Bard instantly casts sleep on the two nearest to Cutter, inadvertently putting him to sleep too. The Kenku and the spider fall into a deep slumber The one directly to his left is unscathed by the spell and lashed out, sinking his fangs into the Kenku's neck as he falls to the ground, injecting the deadly venom into his veins. The Kenku writhed in pain, and starts to foam at the mouth. The fourth spider began to drag the Kenku back up the spider silk to the safety of the ceiling. The group lashed out with a vengeance and starts cutting their way through them one by one. The dwarf smashed one over the head with his maul, instantly killing it. The wizard blasts another one with magical fire, incinerating some of its hairs. All while this is happening, the Kenku is being spun into a web on the ceiling. Finally, the last few were easily cleaned up. After a few minutes, the Kenku, still attached to the ceiling, succumbs to the poison. The group waited for over an hour trying to watch for some type of movement. Sadly, he was lost.
After a few more minutes of tossing rocks up to the Kenku, the Bard hears some movement towards the back of the cavern. The dwarf instantly spots what it is. A lone Kobold. The Dwarf charged ahead, ready to destroy it. But stops when he noticed his hands were up and weapons aren't drawn. The dwarf holds his maul to the thing and asks "Who are you?"
"I am Dosk(Ricky), I come to you asking to travel with you. I was expelled from my clan because I was different. I wanted to do good in the world," nervously said the Kobold. After some time, and questioning, the group finally accepts the Kobold into the party. Onward they went.
They made their way underneath the mammoth pyramid. (This pyramid looks more akin to the Pyramid of the Sun) It was obviously the missing structure the party was after. But 'what brought it here, and why', they wondered. Most importantly, how were they going to explore a structure that's upside-down? The group began investigating the surroundings. They went around the room to find some mechanism or something to lend them a hand. Nothing seemed to show itself. Finally, the wizard tossed a rock at the structure in annoyance... and strangely, it didn't fall... "It didn't fall!," he said. Right away they concocted a plan. The wizard summoned his familiar, lashed two ropes together, gave the imp the rope, and instructed it to tie it to a nook. As swiftly as the wind, it took off with the rope in hand... or foot... either way, the plan was initiated. After a few minutes, the rope was secured to a pillar. The first adventurer, Dosk, began to climb his way up the rope, down to the top of the pyramid. But what they didn't take into account was the shift in gravity at the event horizon... Once Dosk hit that point, he plummeted to the ground with a great crash, taking the rope with him. Luckily, the pack broke most of his fall on the way down. The Kobold tossed the other end of the rope back down. The adventurers found a place to anchor the other side off, and began to climb the rope, one by one. They each were able to fight the change in gravity to keep from plummeting to the floor.
Standing on the top of this pyramid at the ceiling of this massive cavern gave everyone a strange feeling of vertigo. They all managed to come to their senses and push forward. Before them stood a massive set of double doors. It had beautiful and intricate carvings in it. The great archway the doors were set into, were actually two giant sized humanoid statues with their hands clasped in the middle, where the seam of the door began. They altogether pushed open the door. Inside it was pitch black. Magni, lit up a torch which illuminated the room a bit. Four large statues lined two by two on each side of an ancient walkway leading to an alter. Again, another idle gleamed in the torchlight. Behind the alter was a horrifying high relief set into the wall. It seemed to be some sort of narrative scene that began on the far right and left sides and ended in the middle. The sides of the walls depicted people in some sort of servitude or prayer to something in the sky. Rays of sunlight shined down onto them. But further to the right, carnage and war filled the scenes. Warriors with swords and spears battled strange beasts with three arms and conical shaped heads. The tides of battle seemed to shift to the beasts. The scene furthest to the right shows many many wounded and dead. In the center is a very high relief, almost a statue in the round of a beast like the others, but more defined. It's eyes peered out towards the room and what's left of it's massive clawed hands reached out to the alter. Most of this statue lay in shambles, although, the story still stood. "Seems we've stumbled onto a bit of a mystery, haven't we?!" Gleefully exclaimed the wizard.
"I don't like it," grumbled the dwarf.
"I found something!," said Dosk. The party moved around the alter to find a hole leading down to another level. "How did they manage to make it back and forth, with magic?" asked Dosk.
The Wizard quickly took in his surroundings and let out an "ah ha!" and pointed towards the remnants of a ladder. "But good thinking my little friend!"
Magni peaked his head into the hole peering left, right and down the way. "Clear." One by one, they lowered themselves into the next level. "So strange... there's nothing and no one here." The others looked to each other and nodded, pulling out their weapons. To the left and right were shoddy wooden doors. Further down the hall was a stone doorway, with the same style of archway as before. The walls were less maintained down here. The floors were covered in rubble, making everything difficult to move through. The ceiling looks as if it's a breath away from caving in. Onward they moved, clearing room after room. Finding more burial urns filled with silver, remains, ancient bronze weapons, and ancient jewelry.
Dosk quickly gathered up what they found and put it in his many pockets. Noticing everyone was staring at him, he grinned and explained, "We'll split everything later, friends," Everyone agreed, and carried on. They finally moved on down the hall. About halfway down, the Dwarf stepped down on a loose tile and heard a click. Out of the walls sprang two large spears, they broke against his helm and armor, knocking the wind from his lungs. He was not pierced, however.
"Shit traps, they are..." The gears that would have retracted the spears back in place ground to a halt. Further down the hall they moved, until they made it to the large stone double doors. Everyone feeling for traps with their daggers turned up nothing. So, Magni pushed the doors open revealing the exterior second level of the pyramid. On the other side of the structure, they found another hole leading a lower level. This hallway was larger and even less defined than the one before it. Each member was struck with an odd sensation in the lower levels. 'Something wasn't... right' they though. Again, they cleared room after room, finding more weapons and silver. Again, they only worried about the coinage. The poor Kobold was about to spill over, the others decided they'd carry some of the weight too. Further down the hall, the group pushed. Magni, walking on the left. He had a sixth sense at that moment. Before anyone else could react, the floor gave way out from under him, leading to around thirty or forty feet down to a pit full of spikes. Magni was able to jump back before he fell in. "Are ye trying to get me, or what ye damned gods!?," Magni yelled, echoing throughout the entire chamber. Everyone was dead silent for a moment... thinking maybe the gods may answer his call, but nothing came. They moved down to the end of the hall, with another large set of stone double doors. This time, they had beautiful carvings all throughout it. The party searched for traps the best they could, the torchlight bouncing off the walls before them, beginning to become dim.
Magni, pushed open the double doors effortlessly revealing an astonishing sight. Before them, floating above an alter was a glowing green orb. The energy pulsating from it was intense, shock waves rippled through the room, snuffing out the torchlight, leaving only the eerie green florescent glow from this thing, creating shadow shapes that seemed to dance on the walls and many doors in this room. There were statues in this room, like the ones on the first level, facing towards the altar and the orb. The faces of these were twisted in disgust and fear. The party froze, partly out of fear and partly out of wonder. Willem the Wizard was the first to approach. Upon closer inspection, the orb seemed to warp space around it, giving off a slight humming sound. With his staff, Willem prodded the thing. It made a slight tink tink noise when he poked it. Other than that, nothing else happened. The wizard looked back and licked his lips, sweat trickled down his head... with one deft motion he grasped the orb. Like a blink, the orbs light was snuffed out. The room was pitch black, even to the dwarf. "Me eyes!," the dwarf yelled. The room seemed to come alive. Clawing noises emanated on the other side of the wooden doors in the room. The group quickly realized things were going downhill, and fast. The dwarf fumbled for a torch and struck it up. The light gave way to many skeletal hands clawing through the wooden doors. "Wizard, what's the count!," cried the dwarf.
Willem took a moment to analyze the situation, "Maybe 90... 100, more maybe. Let's make haste!" The group sprinted back to through the doors and up the stairs, the Dwarves eyes began functioning again like normal.
"More up ahead!" the Dwarf exclaimed. He dropped the torch and ran head long into the group of skeletal warriors, screaming a war cry of his people, swinging his maul into them, crushing the first one with a mighty blow. The rest of the party followed suit. Seven skeletons stood in their way, armed with the bronze swords they left undisturbed in the burial urns, and an untold number behind them. They each cursed themselves. The group lashed out at the skeletons, sending bolts of fire, arrows, and blades their way. The skeletons fought on with an undying fury: no fear, pain, or remorse. The dwarf took a blow to the shoulder, nearly downing him, the ancient blade broke off into his armor. He raged on, filled with more fury with his wounds. The group made quick work of the skeletons, finding purchase in every blow. The skeletons were nothing more than a pile of dust by the end of it. The Dwarf yelled, "They keep coming! Who was the last one out, and why isn't that door shut!?" It was too late the horde was pouring through. Luckily, the heavy debris is obstructing their movements somewhat; however, they moved as one through the wreckage. The party made it to the hole leading up to the second level... but realized they didn't lower themselves in using a rope. They hung by there arms to drop in. The horde moved closer.
"What should we do?" Dosk asked, nearly in panic. "Maybe I can run up the wall?" He attempted and failed landing flat on his back. The wizard and bard shot bolts of fire at the oncoming horde. They moved closer and was nearly on top of them. The Wizard forgetting he had a familiar, sent it up to the top with rope, ordering it to tie it off securely somewhere. After moments that felt like hours, the familiar telepathically communicated that the rope was tied off. One by one, the group made their way up to the second level, back to the outside. Not wanting to risk backtracking through the pyramid, they began lashing two ropes together to tie off. In the middle of all this, two more groups of archer skeletons made their way around both sides of the pyramid, pelting the group with arrows.
"Hurry it up! They're going to turn us into pin cushions!" As the group had long range battle with these undead warriors, the familiar again flew up to where they anchored the ropes off the last time and began tying the rope. The wizard took a shot to the leg, and the bard one to the shoulder. Everything seemed bleak until the familiar gave the 'all clear.' One by one they moved up the rope, narrowly escaping death with a strange other worldly possession in hand. Once they made it to the bottom, they cut both of the ropes, and ran out of the cavern, leaving this place in the past.
On the way back, Willem pulled the now inert orb out to examine it. It's a deep dark black, almost as if it's absorbing some light around it. He shoved it back into his pack and moved on, "I hope it was worth the price," said Magni as he began untying the mules. As he did that, Dosk and Carter fill the saddlebags up with their loot. The unlikely party sets off, back to town with new stories to tell and ale to buy.
After about two to three hours of monsoon like rain, it finally began to clear up. So, the party began their search of the place. The made their way to the still standing pyramid. It was roughly thirty foot high, not including the spire. The other pyramids were arranged in a square pattern, with this one being the one furthest to the north west. The steps were cracked and falling apart. The outside of the pyramids were made of some naturally occurring stone. "Possibly... there's a quarry around here," Willem said, "Maybe that's where they get this type of stone from. This is not man-made. I'll tell you that." The group half listened to him, but the Dwarf nodded his head in approval. The pyramids were described as Mayan-like, with some of the same base architecture as from south american cultures.
They made it to the top. A stone double door blocked their way. Without missing a beat, the Dwarf shoved it opened, worrying about nothing. A slight hiss erupted from the door, cracking the seal revealed the interior of the building. From where they could see, the support structures in this building were actually statues acting as pillars. The statues all had outstretched arms, pointing towards the back of the room. The back was cast in shadow and dust. Magni lit a torch, and began walking in. In the room contained four large statues, an altar with a golden idol atop it, and two more urns to the left and right of the altar. The back of the room was more of the strange writing from before. The Wizard again, began copying what he could. The rogue walked to the idle and immediately snatched it off of it's pedestal. Everyone held their breath... but nothing happened. The Kenku marveled at his new prize, then stuffed it into his sack with glee. "If I die here because of you..." Magni said... and the Kenku just cocks his head to the side and walks off, examining the rest of the room. Once they felt the room was sufficiently... plundered, they walked back outside.
With a better view, they were able to see something odd. The wizard pointed out, "There seems to be something missing. In the back center of the field, there's a large square. Possibly where the main pyramid should be." They walked back down the steps and to where the square was, and began examining it. Willem poked the air in front of him with his staff and exclaimed, "It's not invisible! It's just not here! Ahhhh, I see now!" Proud of his discovery, he began trying to figure out where it may have gone. As he was pondering the others were searching.
Magni got back on top of the step pyramid and began ordering the others around, thinking he has a superior vantage point. After some time, they discovered a small cavern hidden away in the back side of the abandoned village. "I say we head back to town and regroup there. We may need our strength to continue on." The rest of the part agreed. They all backtracked their way to town. The next day, they sold the idol for a pretty good amount... enough to afford better equipment, a lot of ale, and the ability to train for a few days. Carter and Willem studied with the local wizard, Vildathrat. Magni trained with the city guards, and Cutter trained with the scouts. Once they were ready, they set off following the same path as before.
In Willem's studies, he discovered a spell that allowed him to read the script. He finds the group and said, "the standing stone is filled full of warnings saying to keep out of the pyramids or perish, more or less. I say we leave at first light," said Willem. The others agree, and drink the night away.
The Discovery
Willem asked, "What about you?"
"I'll be fine, I've fallen further." So one by one, they began to descend down the chute. At the bottom was slight gradient. It was just enough to barely cushion a fall. After the last one was down, the dwarf slid through the chute. He rolled and smacked his face on the bottom, giving himself a bloody nose.
"I'm sure this isn't your grandest moment," said Carter with a slight chuckle. The Carter reached out his hand, but the Dwarf picked himself up and stood as tall as he could, glaring at the little human. Carter laughed more. Further on they went, the cavern got smaller and smaller, curving and winding, and starting to become thick in webbing. They all look at each other, and draw their weapons. At the end of the cavern, an extremely large web blocked their path. The dwarf looked back to the rest of the party, shrugs and sets the thing on fire, flash burning all the way up. In the distance they spot a strange sight: the missing pyramid illuminated by giant luminous mushrooms; however, it hangs from the ceiling like a stalactite some forty feet in the air. The room it is located in is gargantuan. It spans beyond even the Dwarves darkvision. The ever curious Cutter runs out to the front to get a better look. All of a sudden, six large spiders descended upon him. The Bard instantly casts sleep on the two nearest to Cutter, inadvertently putting him to sleep too. The Kenku and the spider fall into a deep slumber The one directly to his left is unscathed by the spell and lashed out, sinking his fangs into the Kenku's neck as he falls to the ground, injecting the deadly venom into his veins. The Kenku writhed in pain, and starts to foam at the mouth. The fourth spider began to drag the Kenku back up the spider silk to the safety of the ceiling. The group lashed out with a vengeance and starts cutting their way through them one by one. The dwarf smashed one over the head with his maul, instantly killing it. The wizard blasts another one with magical fire, incinerating some of its hairs. All while this is happening, the Kenku is being spun into a web on the ceiling. Finally, the last few were easily cleaned up. After a few minutes, the Kenku, still attached to the ceiling, succumbs to the poison. The group waited for over an hour trying to watch for some type of movement. Sadly, he was lost.
After a few more minutes of tossing rocks up to the Kenku, the Bard hears some movement towards the back of the cavern. The dwarf instantly spots what it is. A lone Kobold. The Dwarf charged ahead, ready to destroy it. But stops when he noticed his hands were up and weapons aren't drawn. The dwarf holds his maul to the thing and asks "Who are you?"
"I am Dosk(Ricky), I come to you asking to travel with you. I was expelled from my clan because I was different. I wanted to do good in the world," nervously said the Kobold. After some time, and questioning, the group finally accepts the Kobold into the party. Onward they went.
They made their way underneath the mammoth pyramid. (This pyramid looks more akin to the Pyramid of the Sun) It was obviously the missing structure the party was after. But 'what brought it here, and why', they wondered. Most importantly, how were they going to explore a structure that's upside-down? The group began investigating the surroundings. They went around the room to find some mechanism or something to lend them a hand. Nothing seemed to show itself. Finally, the wizard tossed a rock at the structure in annoyance... and strangely, it didn't fall... "It didn't fall!," he said. Right away they concocted a plan. The wizard summoned his familiar, lashed two ropes together, gave the imp the rope, and instructed it to tie it to a nook. As swiftly as the wind, it took off with the rope in hand... or foot... either way, the plan was initiated. After a few minutes, the rope was secured to a pillar. The first adventurer, Dosk, began to climb his way up the rope, down to the top of the pyramid. But what they didn't take into account was the shift in gravity at the event horizon... Once Dosk hit that point, he plummeted to the ground with a great crash, taking the rope with him. Luckily, the pack broke most of his fall on the way down. The Kobold tossed the other end of the rope back down. The adventurers found a place to anchor the other side off, and began to climb the rope, one by one. They each were able to fight the change in gravity to keep from plummeting to the floor.
The Pyramid
"I don't like it," grumbled the dwarf.
"I found something!," said Dosk. The party moved around the alter to find a hole leading down to another level. "How did they manage to make it back and forth, with magic?" asked Dosk.
The Wizard quickly took in his surroundings and let out an "ah ha!" and pointed towards the remnants of a ladder. "But good thinking my little friend!"
Magni peaked his head into the hole peering left, right and down the way. "Clear." One by one, they lowered themselves into the next level. "So strange... there's nothing and no one here." The others looked to each other and nodded, pulling out their weapons. To the left and right were shoddy wooden doors. Further down the hall was a stone doorway, with the same style of archway as before. The walls were less maintained down here. The floors were covered in rubble, making everything difficult to move through. The ceiling looks as if it's a breath away from caving in. Onward they moved, clearing room after room. Finding more burial urns filled with silver, remains, ancient bronze weapons, and ancient jewelry.
Dosk quickly gathered up what they found and put it in his many pockets. Noticing everyone was staring at him, he grinned and explained, "We'll split everything later, friends," Everyone agreed, and carried on. They finally moved on down the hall. About halfway down, the Dwarf stepped down on a loose tile and heard a click. Out of the walls sprang two large spears, they broke against his helm and armor, knocking the wind from his lungs. He was not pierced, however.
"Shit traps, they are..." The gears that would have retracted the spears back in place ground to a halt. Further down the hall they moved, until they made it to the large stone double doors. Everyone feeling for traps with their daggers turned up nothing. So, Magni pushed the doors open revealing the exterior second level of the pyramid. On the other side of the structure, they found another hole leading a lower level. This hallway was larger and even less defined than the one before it. Each member was struck with an odd sensation in the lower levels. 'Something wasn't... right' they though. Again, they cleared room after room, finding more weapons and silver. Again, they only worried about the coinage. The poor Kobold was about to spill over, the others decided they'd carry some of the weight too. Further down the hall, the group pushed. Magni, walking on the left. He had a sixth sense at that moment. Before anyone else could react, the floor gave way out from under him, leading to around thirty or forty feet down to a pit full of spikes. Magni was able to jump back before he fell in. "Are ye trying to get me, or what ye damned gods!?," Magni yelled, echoing throughout the entire chamber. Everyone was dead silent for a moment... thinking maybe the gods may answer his call, but nothing came. They moved down to the end of the hall, with another large set of stone double doors. This time, they had beautiful carvings all throughout it. The party searched for traps the best they could, the torchlight bouncing off the walls before them, beginning to become dim.
The Escape
Magni, pushed open the double doors effortlessly revealing an astonishing sight. Before them, floating above an alter was a glowing green orb. The energy pulsating from it was intense, shock waves rippled through the room, snuffing out the torchlight, leaving only the eerie green florescent glow from this thing, creating shadow shapes that seemed to dance on the walls and many doors in this room. There were statues in this room, like the ones on the first level, facing towards the altar and the orb. The faces of these were twisted in disgust and fear. The party froze, partly out of fear and partly out of wonder. Willem the Wizard was the first to approach. Upon closer inspection, the orb seemed to warp space around it, giving off a slight humming sound. With his staff, Willem prodded the thing. It made a slight tink tink noise when he poked it. Other than that, nothing else happened. The wizard looked back and licked his lips, sweat trickled down his head... with one deft motion he grasped the orb. Like a blink, the orbs light was snuffed out. The room was pitch black, even to the dwarf. "Me eyes!," the dwarf yelled. The room seemed to come alive. Clawing noises emanated on the other side of the wooden doors in the room. The group quickly realized things were going downhill, and fast. The dwarf fumbled for a torch and struck it up. The light gave way to many skeletal hands clawing through the wooden doors. "Wizard, what's the count!," cried the dwarf.
Willem took a moment to analyze the situation, "Maybe 90... 100, more maybe. Let's make haste!" The group sprinted back to through the doors and up the stairs, the Dwarves eyes began functioning again like normal.
"More up ahead!" the Dwarf exclaimed. He dropped the torch and ran head long into the group of skeletal warriors, screaming a war cry of his people, swinging his maul into them, crushing the first one with a mighty blow. The rest of the party followed suit. Seven skeletons stood in their way, armed with the bronze swords they left undisturbed in the burial urns, and an untold number behind them. They each cursed themselves. The group lashed out at the skeletons, sending bolts of fire, arrows, and blades their way. The skeletons fought on with an undying fury: no fear, pain, or remorse. The dwarf took a blow to the shoulder, nearly downing him, the ancient blade broke off into his armor. He raged on, filled with more fury with his wounds. The group made quick work of the skeletons, finding purchase in every blow. The skeletons were nothing more than a pile of dust by the end of it. The Dwarf yelled, "They keep coming! Who was the last one out, and why isn't that door shut!?" It was too late the horde was pouring through. Luckily, the heavy debris is obstructing their movements somewhat; however, they moved as one through the wreckage. The party made it to the hole leading up to the second level... but realized they didn't lower themselves in using a rope. They hung by there arms to drop in. The horde moved closer.
"What should we do?" Dosk asked, nearly in panic. "Maybe I can run up the wall?" He attempted and failed landing flat on his back. The wizard and bard shot bolts of fire at the oncoming horde. They moved closer and was nearly on top of them. The Wizard forgetting he had a familiar, sent it up to the top with rope, ordering it to tie it off securely somewhere. After moments that felt like hours, the familiar telepathically communicated that the rope was tied off. One by one, the group made their way up to the second level, back to the outside. Not wanting to risk backtracking through the pyramid, they began lashing two ropes together to tie off. In the middle of all this, two more groups of archer skeletons made their way around both sides of the pyramid, pelting the group with arrows.
"Hurry it up! They're going to turn us into pin cushions!" As the group had long range battle with these undead warriors, the familiar again flew up to where they anchored the ropes off the last time and began tying the rope. The wizard took a shot to the leg, and the bard one to the shoulder. Everything seemed bleak until the familiar gave the 'all clear.' One by one they moved up the rope, narrowly escaping death with a strange other worldly possession in hand. Once they made it to the bottom, they cut both of the ropes, and ran out of the cavern, leaving this place in the past.
On the way back, Willem pulled the now inert orb out to examine it. It's a deep dark black, almost as if it's absorbing some light around it. He shoved it back into his pack and moved on, "I hope it was worth the price," said Magni as he began untying the mules. As he did that, Dosk and Carter fill the saddlebags up with their loot. The unlikely party sets off, back to town with new stories to tell and ale to buy.
End
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