White-hot Worm, Compelling Chronicles and an Ancient Apartment

## Hot Experiments

* The treacherous stairs were navigated successfully through prodigious use of misty step, and ropes for the less arcane inclined
* Lysandre felt his footwear begin to melt and sear his skin as he stepped on a darker patch of the cavern floor
* Breena investigated the unusual contraptions at the back of the chamber: she found a stone desk with single piece of parchment atop, a pair of nice gloves, several vials and potions - 2 were basic red healing potions, 3 contained acid, and one was a mysterious liquid alternating between clear and red
* Lysandre took the platinum vial, and Bayul put in the bag the gold and ruby vials and the potions
* The various contraptions appeared to have abjuration magic surrounding them, they featured bellows to channel the extreme heat from the lava below, generating steam and driving gears
* It became apparent that it hadn’t been used recently
* The parchment on the stone desk said (in Sylvan):
	+ *“To my growing frustration the Rod proves to be indestructible. My strongest spells bounce off it like water. Lava and great temperatures fail to cause even the slightest burn. It remains unbending under the highest of forces and is indissoluble in the face of the most powerful acids known to me. Even my contacts among the Archwizards of Netheril are at a loss to explain how it can be destroyed! I can only assume that the Rods existence is linked by some dark and terrible force to its creator. If this is the case, then further efforts aimed at destroying it will be futile. Perhaps I should switch to a strategy of containment and defence…”*
* Various gods and powerful beings throughout history have had Rods associated with them, but it was not clear whose this was

## Lava Larva

* Leo and Lysandre noticed an underground disturbance and everyone had chance to prepare themselves second before an enormous lava worm erupted from the melting ground, with Lysandre taking point 60 feet in the air atop his summoned Beholderkin, Jeff
* It was immediately barraged by spells, bolts arrows, taking chunks from its molten form
* Bayul failed to penetrate its exterior with his bow but gave Kunai the opening he needed to place a pinpoint bolt deep into the creature
* Lysandre lashed out at its mind, causing crippling psychic pain and for valuable seconds
* Belgaer’s eldritch blast scored a groove across its flank, while Leo’s spiritual weapon showed it the meaning of purity and faith, and Kunai sent a second bolt directly after the first, boring a deeper hole that made it screech
* In response, the enormous maw widened and spewed forth a cone of orange-hot rock over Belgaer, Leo, Bayul and Lysandre and the Beholderkin, the latter of which was decimated
* From his former perch, a roasted Lysandre plummeted 60 feet to the ground and fell unconscious upon impact
* Leo was on the case rapidly, getting Lysandre back on his feet and tolling the dead on the worm in retaliation
* Azurial then swooped over behind it and stabbed his blade of solar energy into its form, though found his own arms burning in such proximity and was then surprised as the tail lashed out and lacerated his back
* Bayul stabbed into it multiple times, releases spurts of lava that gave him minor burns, while Kunai scored yet another devastating bolt hit
* At last, Belgaer’s eldritch blast punctured its form, causing it to erupt in a bubbling inferno and splashing all nearby in droplets of blazing lava

## Dragon’s Crater

* They all returned to the top of the stairs, Azurial carrying Breena and the rest using the ropes from earlier + Jeff mark 2 (who Lysandre had re-summoned).
* As the others ascended more slowly, Breena explored the large crater and realised it’d been made by draconic claws
* She also found a single, small golden scale and handed it to an extremely happy Azurial
* As the others arrived, they noticed the smaller claw marks along the smaller tunnels from this one, and Bayul’s sensitive nose detected the undeniable scent of rot down one path, as if something had been partially eaten recently
* Breena proposed checking out the other doors, given that these tunnels were unlikely to lead to anything of archaeological interest

## Sariel’s Condo

* From the main chamber, they took the partially rotten wooden door
* Along the corridor was another tribute to another being "Sealtiel the Defender, Dog of Jovar", that Azurial felt he should recognise but didn’t, nor could he identify which layer of Celestia that Jovar was
* This led to another old, moth-eaten room containing furniture and several more doors branching off
* In the next room, seemingly a bedroom, were several interesting objects:
* Bayul found a broken chest that contained a bag and when he went to check what was inside came face to face with a seemingly endless void — he promptly handed it to Breena, who identified it as a Bag of Beholding
* Azurial found an altar that he and Leo began to pray at, bringing each a renewed sense of peace and calmness
* Belgaer found an entire rack of books written in Sylvan: they ranged in a series from 1-15 numbered, and were penned in the same handwriting as the note from downstairs
* With a scan, he found that this was the diary of Sariel (a wood elf) and took all of the books
* Lysandre and Bayul break open a mounted elk head and find a key (for the desk) and a silver tuning fork, which also goes to Breena for use by a smart person
* On the desk, Kunai saw a scroll written in an ancient version of common — it made little sense but he vaguely recognised a few details — the old names for Ostaria (Katashka) and another pre-breaking Kingdom (Keris), also mention of the Eladrin, an old race of fey/elves:

*Dear Sariel,*

*I hope this letter finds you well. Congratulations again on your victory against those damned cultists! We here in Keris shall sleep sounder in the knowledge that those vile cretins will no longer harass us. My sincerest apologies for not sending more troops to your aid – as you know, we are currently embroiled in struggles of our own!*

*Indeed, it is for this reason that I write to you. The Eladrin and their succulent “pets” continue to harass and destroy our outposts. I hear that King Walben of Savasia is having similar issues. Please understand, we do not seek to conquer the Eladrin, far from it. We simply need space to grow, expand, and sustain our existence. The land here in Katashka is so damned desolate. My people will starve if the Eladrin do not allow us access to their forests. I have tried to explain this to them, but my pleas fall on deaf ears.*

*Anyway, perhaps you can petition them on my behalf. Being close of kin, perhaps they will listen to you. It seems they, like us, owe you a debt of gratitude for your actions in the great battle, so they will hopefully heed your words.*

*I eagerly await your response.*

*Kind regards,*

*King Crudak of Keris.*

* Azurial also found another letter written in Celestial:

*Dear Sariel,*

*I must say I was surprised to receive your correspondence. Your request is unusual to be sure. My Inevitables are usually reserved for enforcing contracts forged here in Mechanus. However, I have spoken with Jazirian and she has convinced me that the purpose for which you require one of my creations is both just and enforceable via contract.*

*As such, as soon as you the teleportation circle is complete, a Quinton shall deliver an Inevitable to you directly. Beware, once you sign the contract the Inevitable will be bound until either the contract is fulfilled, or it is destroyed. But rest assured, this new vault of yours will be well guarded – Jazirian refused to tell me exactly what was to be stored there, but it must be quite terrifying to require such defences!*

*If you have any queries or questions about the contract don’t hesitate to bring them up with the Quinton, who is authorised to make any amendments as required.*

*Best wishes,*

*Primus*

* Lysandre and Belgaer filled in the group on the context of this letter:
	+ Lysandre knew that Mechanus was a mechanical plane and that Primus was a lawful God who helps forge contracts between deities and powerful beings
	+ Belgaer knew that the 'Inevitables' were constructs designed by Primus to enforce contracts and hunt down those that break them. They were extremely hierarchical and Quintons were the 5th level (of thousands), making them very powerful.
	+ People speculated that Sariel wanted to guard a vault, potentially containing the Rod referred to previously, which may still be in here somewhere
* Azurial also found a document titled “The Serpents of Law":

*As revealed by my patron, the following scrolls outline the ancient history of the Serpents of Law, otherwise known as the World Serpent archetype. In the beginning, the multiverse was nothing but swirling chaos. Into this entropy, formed the Primal Spirits, the pre-cursors to the divine beings who now rule the planes. Among these Primal Spirits was the greatest of Law's champions, the Twin Serpents: Jazirian and Ahriman. Originally intertwined with one another, Jazirian’s tail in Ahriman’s mouth and vice versa, the Twin Serpents established the fundamental principles of the planes: the ring-shape of the cosmos, and the plane of neutrality called the Concordant Opposition or the Outland. However, once their creations were complete, Ahriman and Jazirian, who originally worked together in all things, warred over which plane would be the centre of everything. Ahriman favoured Baator, whilst Jazirian chose Celestia. They struggled so greatly that, with their tails still in one another's mouths, they forcibly torn apart. The blood from Jazirian's damaged tail formed the first couatls, whilst the blood of Ahriman, whose terrible fall created a vast pit called the Serpent's Trench, formed the first pit fiends. A terrible cosmic war then ensued, with the fiends of Ahriman and the might of Baator pitted against the angles of Jazirian and the strength of Celestia. Many deities joined the conflict, some simply looking for an excuse to continue pre-existing grievances, whilst others joined to further their own secretive agendas. The war lasted for a millennia. However, the might of Celestia and the Tome Archons that ruled it were not to be overcome, and eventually the forces of Ahriman and his allies were defeated. Ahriman, grievously wounded, was imprisoned deep in Baator by the Triad, bound there by the laws he himself created. Stuck in the Serpents Trench, deep in the heart of Nessus, he took the guise of an archfiend, and quickly used his supernatural cunning to claim dominion over all Baator. Following the war, Jazirian retired to Celestia, deeply ashamed of her part in the conflict. To atone for the violence she helped initiate, she became the deity of peace and learning, as well as claiming patronage over the couatls and other scaled beings. Unlike Ahriman, Jazirian did not seek to increase her power and influence, instead choosing to fade quietly into the background, secretly using her couatls to monitor and gather intelligence on Ahriman's movements.*

## Pianos and Paintings

* All of that being investigated, they pushed on deeper into the quarters
* Azurial found a very fancy looking lyre that he took for Elyan
* There was also a Piano in the corner with some kind of puzzle that Leo and Breena devoted their thoughts to, one aspect of which read ‘The Keys are the Key'
* Kunai looked closely at a large painting of a Hag stood in a misty field, holding a large set of keys, three of which stood out as shining in silver, gold and platinum
	+ As soon as the lizard folk reached for one he found himself pulled into the painting
	+ He tried speaking to the Hag but she was just a painted figure, so he took the keys from her grasp
	+ The rest of the party could see him inside the painting and attempted to get him out, but all rebounded from the surface of the picture
	+ Searching the robes of the Hag he found several vials of paint-remover and poured them over himself, gritting his teeth through the searing pain and manifesting in the room once more, keys in hand
* Multiple doors also branched off this room, one of which led to a broad room adorned with art and with a map on a table in the centre
* Finally, the fireplace itself also rotated, suggesting the presence of a secret tunnel...