Episode 76: The Long Thick Shaft

## Plot

Beneath the shattered spear head the group hear the thrumming they heard earlier, emanating further up the spear itself and face a crossroads, to head up through the holes made in the cavern ceiling, or follow the twisting nautilus shell embedded corridors. Enkara cautiously inspects the still smoldering runes on the giant spear and reveals that there are two sets, one to strengthen the weapon itself, but the other set remains a mystery though the magic binding the runes to the spear seems unstable. Curious herself Aya, casts Detect Magic and identifies the sets of runes being of Abjuration and Conjuration, and further uncovers that the second set are made to pierce the veil between worlds, that the unstable runes will harm them if they get to close and due to the damage to the spear, they can remove pieces of the metal to have reforged into something else. Sarrek meanwhile looks into the crevasse heading downwards, and upon hearing the sound of rushing waters deep below, realises that it leads into the deep where they met Melissa and the Skull of Nzune.

Sarrek puts to the group of heading up, wanting to get out from underground and with no argument he is first to start walking up the spear, careful to avoid the unstable runes. With some encouragement the others follow; everyone but Kairos manages the climb without injury but the others slip and pass by the unstable rune that shock them with radiant damage. Kairos notices strange lights ahead in the chamber above, a fleshy covered cavern, with another shattered ceiling of some organic like stone. Before he can head higher a pseudopod that extends into a dozen small tendrils connected to a large yellow eye. As it stares at him Kairos catches a heat shimmer from the eye encompass him and he abruptly turns back down to the others. Kairos warns the group what he found as the heat shimmer above him becomes a beam of purple psychic energy that blasts him in the back. The tendrils retract around the creature and Aya takes a chance and calls up to it in Deep Speech, while Kairos joins the others and out of range of any psychic attack.

The creature replies in a language Aya doesn’t understand but Enkara recognises it as Celestial and hears the creature call them intruders and tell them to leave. Enkara explains that they didn’t mean to trespass, but are just trying to get out before asking if they went to be friends. Enkara’s offer is rebutted as it still considers them trespassers, and Aya offers to just banish the creature, but Enkara tries to get more information from them. In response the eye opens and the distortion effect returns as it takes aim again. Aya takes aim and fires two Eldritch Blasts that hit, and reveal the creature is immune to the force damage. However, the tendrils recover the eye and the creature retreats away from them. Enkara tries talking ot it again and get some answers but it just repeats its instruction to leave. Sarrek asks if Enkara could transform into a flying creature and head up through the holes to see where they lead. Enkara recalls the time she discovered an owl after heading to meet some friends at a hot spring, and how they spent a day with the owl, before taking it’s form and taking flight.

The creature takes aim at her and Enkara learns once it takes aim it can’t move, flies past and heads up to find a sinuous cylindrical corridor with a toxic smell. White globules the size of cows cling to the wall and she discovers a dead body in priestly clothes as a strange glowing plate at the end of the chamber. Investigating the glowing cap she sees two of the anemone creatures as well as two of the strange where oozes, before heading up further. She enters a stone room of a building with the smell of incense, the songs of holy choir coming from nearby and the top of the spear, enlarged to the giant size through a magic field, surrounded by scaffolding. A figure at the top clutches the spear, his body stabbed through with shard of black ice, emitting
black energy out of it similar to what they encountered when the mages where trying to make Necro-Celestials. Beside this figure is another, a priest of some kind whispering to the stabbed man. A tapestry of a giant serpent identifies this as a place of worship for Azi-dahaka and a reliquary chamber, within Enkara spies a Sun Fire Brazier at the back of the room.

Though the cultist sees Enkara they ignore her and she gets close enough to overhear the whispers, encouraging the stabbed man with words of religious fervor, that with the power given to them by Quinn Tara they can pierce the veil between worlds and allow in their god. Enkara attempts to use her talons to cut through the ropes holding the scaffolding together however her efforts are noticed and the priest stops his whispers and moves to catch her but she flies away up to the man holding the spear. She alights on the man’s shoulders and contemplates her choices and decides to return to the group, psychically revealing what she saw. Aya comes up with a plan to assault the rooms above, relaying on Sarrek’s speed and evasion to target and avoid the celestial’s psychic beams and Enkara for scouting in her owl form. The group agree and Sarrek heads up first while Enkara flies around the Celestial distracting it. Sarrek draws its attention too late and he makes it up, quickly followed by Kairos and Aya into the fleshy corridor above the first celestial.