Expedition 124: Scouting Divaki

## Summary

We return to the Greying Desert to excavate a Leyspire for study and to explore the ruins of Divaki.

## Detailed Writeup

We excavate a Leyspire, find a Druidaica tunnel to the preserved ancient ashborn city of Divaki, explore the city, find a Druidaica teleportation network, encounter an ancient ashborn ghost that possesses Ranag, fight off the ghost, and gain access to the seedvault, containing Candletree Seeds, ashborn Namesongs, and an iridescent dragon egg.

Take everglow orb powering mageline light, cloudkill trap

Make our way to the leyspire Mol told us about with the ruins, following the circle of leyspires.

Along the way find the destroyed one, broken off a few feet above the ground. We find a petrified armored man - and then a couple dozen more. We dig up the first one and bring them with us.

Uzmir locates candletree seeds 150ft down and a quarter mile north of the leyspire.

We excavate at that leyspire using the drill. Leyspires are ~200ft tall when uncovered, made of spiraling striations of marble, covered in etched runes, in an overall bell shape.

While excavating, we are attacked by two Vespers, like those encountered near the time knife in Otiluke's. We learn that the energy they absorb determines how they explode.

We find a path 200 feet down in the sand, ringed with and possibly held open by stones with transmutation aura. In celestial it says

"If entrance to this ancient city you seek,

Come curious and come meek"

Leave our weapons

City of Divaki, well preserved

2 bits of movement - pale thing in a window of a tower, glint of metal

Magic -

-tower - bowled out top ~ 30ft

-pyramidal stone shape, probably holding the sand back,

-spiraling coil of trees out west

Some wooden structures, stand out from the ashborn architecture

Some are bunks, made of planks

One made out of a tree, forming a one room structure

Petrified candletrees in front of seedvault

Iron door with a knocker in the shape of a dragon. Ranag knocks, dragon's head speaks to us.

"Traverelers to the vault of Divaki."

"You are welcome on the hallowed grounds you tread, But"

"The vault of our future is currently sealed."

"Discuss with the keeper of antiquities or the keeper of defence to earn a right of entrance."

Knocker has magic mouth on it. Door is locked, two keyholes, one above and below handle.

Go to tree room structure. Whistle from door says in druidcant - "The chamber of translocation is a restricted area; please state the Cant of Trust for this region to enter."

Large extended modron comes and communicates with us

Pottery Ziggurat with Gonerton's tools

Tongues with modron, grants  Ranag recognition as surviving member of Ashborn, grants Ellie permission as "defender of mothers and daughters," rips door open for her

Teleportation circle,

Four cardinal arrows around a central wheel

North is Red

East is Brown

South is Blue

West Grey

Central Wheel is Green

Keeper of Defence in Great Fortress of Divaki - points to massive stone building where Ellie saw movement

Keeper of Antiquities: Buried in northern Burial ground

Uzmir discovers that it functions as teleport circle, but can also cast it for you if you put a 5th level slot into it, targetting one of the five places.

Spectral, plate armored ashborn - keeper of defense

Ranag allows domination to verify is ashborn, it breaks its promise

Takes us into the seedvault and then attacks, posess ranag but banished, posess Ellie but protection from good and evil with dust from silver dagger

>100 Candletree seeds, dozens of namesongs on scrolls,