Return to Arkamys

7th August 2023

## Adventurers Attending

* Maxwell
* Aristaeus, Third of His Name
* Tas
* Peace
* Yax
* Roldon

## Mission Notes

With Yax arriving back in Beefington’s office, Beefington expressed his appreciation that Yax was finally back and suggested that an associate of his was financially interested in the guild’s endeavours at Archemis and Beefington hoped that Yax could provide a pair of eyes on the progress there, while assisting in their success. Meanwhile, Maxwell was invited to the guild to meet with Diana again, who having taken some time with the stone tablets of Archemis, had discovered them to be the stone tablets of Arkamys, a minor but important distinction.

Diana explained to Maxwell that the promise of ancient secrets from the stone tablets had been a little lacking, but that the tablets held symbols or a key that ought to be of assistance in unlocking the secrets from the pyramid. Key signs of Sun, Moon, Rainfall and ‘Skyfire’. After receiving recommendations for an improved stronger party to assist her, given some of the failings of the last outing, Maxwell assembled the team of Peace, Tas, Aristaeus, Roldon and a very available Yax. Teleporting the party to Leodis, they travelled by horse to the Wall and alighted at Haddie’s outpost on the wall, where Haddie greeted everyone, and Diana left the party to travel into the desert. Aristaeus got his magic binoculars out and began to appraise the landscape taking in the features and relaying them to the party.

The party descended to the Goldstone mining post and waited there for the afternoon for the desert’s heat to recede before heading out in the late afternoon, heading directly to the pyramid, with map in tow and a number of good navigational decisions the party made good time to their destination before being ambushed a bunch of Tlincalli. After being surrounded, the party entangled a bunch of the Tlincalli and despite a number of stinger poisonings, the party managed to deliver a lot of damage with the help of Peace turning into a huge sloth and Yax being particularly mobile. Once the fight was over, it appeared the group were being watched from afar, by a bunch of Leonin, who didn’t appear to be immediately threatening.

Arriving at the pyramid, the group successfully attempted a short rest, though, became aware that the desert isn’t the most restful of places. Investigating the symbols and pictographic stories carved into the rockface inside, the group peered beneath the layers of lizardfolk tales, to the Elven histories layered underneath and finally they recognised a set of draconic archetypal symbols for Sun, Moon, Rain and a Meteor, all set equidistant at the centre of each facing wall. Upon further investigation, these symbols appeared to be buttons and as each were depressed the floor opened revealing a staircase. Descending the staircase, the party discovered another floor beneath the pyramid slightly larger than the one they had left. As the adventurers entered and began exploring a number of traps were set off, but it seemed the traps had either been expended or disarmed. The place had signs of Elven habitation and a continuation of elven themes, stories and histories adorned the walls. Roldon stumbled upon a large collection of bones piled in what appeared to be dormitories. Others discovered an Elven shrine of a figured adorned with bird tokens and totems featuring the symbols of clouds with a bird at their centre around their head. The shrine had a small water supply fed to it by carved wooden tubes, that led across the ceiling to water inlets at the far end of the room.

As the party lit some of the available sconces and torches left in the room to provide additional light, they discovered a large stone door at the far end of the room featuring the symbol of a snake eating itself - which seemed to be a consistent symbol for the theme of knowledge elsewhere in the room as sets of Draconic symbols and stories were discovered beneath the Elvish ones – surrounded by a large symbol of a waterfall that fell on both sides. With Yax on Peace’s shoulders they unclipped some of the piping from the roof and allowed the water to flow instead into the trenches beneath, with the water disappearing inside the building. After a minute or so, this lit up the symbols on the door and as the symbol of the snake was depressed by Peace, the door began to open.

The party moving inside, found another corridor with steps that led deeper into the pyramid and discovered another large doorway below, who’s arch was adorned in long snakes that help at it’s pinnacle a large sun. Entering the room another pressure plate was activated and flashes of arcane light, began to run along channels and feed runs and routes into the room, this created a low arcane glow in the room. Trenches and channels at the centre of the room began mechanically rearranging themselves and as the party entered a young Behir entered from the floor as well as a large constrictor snake and a number of displacer snakes from the wall. As combat began, the Behir set to trying to constrict Maxwell, before the party aided her escape from its binding, while others set to picking off the other snakes. With Maxwell’s minor escape, Peace turned the Behir into a pig, but the tasty looking future bacon was attacked by one of the displacer snakes bringing the Behir back. As Yax single handedly dismantled the large constrictor snake after it tried to constrict him, the Behir managed to constrict Roldon in its large slithering body, before attempting and succeeding to swallow Roldon whole. Unfortunately for the Behir, Roldon proved to be explosively spicy and before long the Behir was downed allowing Roldon to slide out of its acidic stomach and out of its mouth onto the floor. As combat came to a close, confident all the snakes had been dealt with the party found another large stone door at the end of the chamber displaying 5 bronze circles that looked to be representations of the sun, surrounded by coiled snakes with the symbol at the centre of the 5 slightly larger than the other 4. Thinking better of descending further into this dangerous structure, Maxwell took notes and drawings for Diana and the party proceeded to return carefully to the guild.

On their return it was discovered that all the Tlincalli had disappeared leaving only mild signs of the former skirmish, with no sign of the Leonin anywhere.

Successful in opening up further layers of the pyramid, who knows what other secrets lay in store for the adventurers return.

## Rumours

* What secrets lie in the depths of this pyramid?
* Who was the god on the Elven Shrine in the lower layer?
* Lizardfold, Elves, unusual draconic, there seems to be many cultural layers to this structure? Why? What is the story here and why is it significant?