Session 34

# April 25th, 2019 - Bonebinder Sermon in the Black Shrine

## Amphibian Annihilation

The session began in the midst of the battle against the froghemoth and its many giant frogs underneath Castle Naerytar. The party was encircled with their backs against the cave wall with only a small strip of dry land to fight, with only the light of Rachen’s fallen torch. Alburt’s magic and Rachen’s greatsword severed the froghemoth’s tentacle that had wrapped up Lachlan. Then, in fear of Rachen, the giant monstrosity leaped away and landed near Thia, gobbling her up with its giant maw. The group fought valiantly, but suffered many wounds, and then Cadmus found himself consumed by the froghemoth as well.

The remaining party members focused their efforts on the giant beast and with their combined might gutted the froghemoth, spilling its entrails and freeing their stomach acid burned companions. The leftover giant frogs wailed in a frenzy, but were quickly dispatched as the sound of bullywugs came from the tunnel to their left. With her remaining strength, Thia summoned a *Spike Growth* around the tunnel exit as the frogmen spilled into the chamber. The hard branches and thorns erupted from the ground and enveloped the bullywugs, impaling and wrapping them up as they tried to get past. During this time, one of the darkvision capable party spotted a human cultist peering at them from the water logged exit tunnel on the far end of the chamber.

The party took a few moments to regroup, and used half of their *potions of healing* before pursuing the cultists through the far exit tunnel, clearly the path forward. Fearing what else may be deep in the underground lake the group used rope and lashed together multiple giant frog bodies into a makeshift boat. They rode the stinking mass to the tunnel, where it would not fit, and proceeded on foot. The tunnel did not extend far until the water ended and the dry passage turned to the landing of a downward stone staircase. Flickering torch light emanated from below, and the party cautiously proceeded down.

## Bonebinder Sermon in the Black Shrine

Rufus quietly crept down the staircase until he could see the chamber below, which was filled with cultists gathered around a blood drawn pentagram on the ground. Torches lined the hewn stone walls containing bas reliefs of conquering chromatic dragons, and each corner of the pentagram had a candle and a human cultist. Opposite the staircase in front of the pentagram was a wooden pedestal with a large tome opened upon it, with a male wearer of purple reading from the book. Rufus went back to the top of the stairs and whispered what he saw to his companions, and Alburt went first preparing to *Fireball* the group. Before he did, he witnessed the wearer of purple use a knife to slit the throat of a cultist standing in the middle of the pentagram, who fell to the ground with his blood spilling all over.

Alburt cast his spell, and the room erupted in fire and smoke. The party rushed down the stairs to engage the remaining cultists and the wearer of purple was back behind the book, reciting words none could understand. Through the smoke filled chamber the party saw the room beyond this one, another stone hewn room with torches and a platform with Rezmir the Black Wyrmspeaker standing upon it. At seeing the party, Rezmir mouthed an incantation and she disappeared. While this was happening, all the burned bodies in the room began to stand as risen zombies, and the party was encircled.

The sound of zombified creatures from behind them grew, and the party realized they needed to kill the wearer of purple who was still reading from the book. Between hacking undead humans in front of them and giant frogs behind, Rufus and Thia were able to kill the wearer of purple from a distance, and the dead stopped getting back up. Even Lachlan used a *Fireball* behind them, devastating the undead remnants of their frog-boat. Soon, the group heard the cheering sounds of lizardmen who had finally caught up to them, killing any bullywugs they had left behind them. Snapjaw emerged from the scene of frog corpses and congratulated the group of the mass murdering success of the day, recounting their great victory on the surface with the help of Harshnag.

The party wasted no time in looting what they could from the corpses, specifically the magic ring from the wearer of purple and the flesh-bound tome he had been reading from. Both items Snapjaw reminded them the black dragon Voraghamanthar desired as tribute. However, the party told the lizardman that their mission was not over, they needed to pursue Rezmir through the portal. When the lizardman protested, fearing the vengeance of Vorag, they lied in saying they would return with the items in time. The party gathered on the permanent teleportation circle atop the platform in the far chamber.

This chamber was also clearly part of this black dragon cult shrine or tomb, with more bas reliefs lining the walls and a large empty sarcophagus. One of the members spoke the command word they had recovered, and the group instantly appeared in the middle of a pine forest on the slope of a mountain side. They were in a small clearing between two standing stones, with a trail heading off in front of them and what appeared to be a stone and wooden structure a short distance away through the trees. The terrain was familiar, reminiscent of the forested elevations of the Worldspine Mountains. Rachen used his sending stone to message Lady Silverhand where they had gone, and that Harshnag and the Brotherhood agents may need help returning.

Thia scouted the clearing and verified fresh footprints headed off down the trail towards the structure. She went ahead of the group silently following the prints, and stopped when she saw a four armed troll with four white guard drakes following. That is where the session ended, near mid-day of the one hundred and forty fifth day since the raid on Greenest.

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