Abyses 42: Into the Swordgeon

# TL;DR

* The Acquaintances found a large portion of the fallen city of Corvidae, where they learned more about the civilization from murals and a boney bard.

* They reached the sword’s temple after fighting their way through a horde of zombies, a smallish rayvern, and a pissed off lake of blood.

# The Ruined City

* Before reaching the ruined temple Ylsa marked on their map the Acquaintances passed through a larger portion of the fallen city of Corvidae.
* As they approached there was noticeably less life, no bugs, fungi, or rats. Even the soil turned gray and loose, like dust or sand. The only exception was the occasional Raven, which Rat King shot.
* The ruins consisted of about a square mile of towering spires, all expertly carved. The decorative architecture depicted raven symbology as well as repeated use of a certain magical circle.
* Notable landmarks included a gigantic broken chain leads from the edge of the settlement towards the center, collapsing several buildings under its weight; and what Fergus was able to identify as a graveyard, a place where ancient peoples used to bury their dead in a time before the undead curse.
* As they made their way through the party began to hear lute music coming from the center of the city and went to investigate.
* In the middle of the city they saw a dried up fountain, adorned with a statue of a caped woman with raven-like armor and the same magic circle embroidered across the pedestal. Ivis identified the statue as the Raven Queen, which Fergus knew as an ancient human goddess of death and Rat King knew as the patron deity of Corvidae.
* Sat next to the fountain was a skeleton with a guitar, his clothing didn’t resemble any culture the party knew of but he was recognizable as a bard.
* The skeleton was unresponsive at first but when Rat King tried joining in the bard’s song using his pan flute the bard reciprocated.
* He also answered some questions the party had, strumming once for yes, twice for no, and three times for maybe. By speaking with him the party learned:
	+ The bard was born in Corvidae, and is loyal to the Raven Queen.
	+ The Raven Queen lost a war.
	+ Her enemy’s identity was known to the bard, and clues to their identity might be hidden somewhere in the ruins.
	+ The bard cannot move from the spot he is sitting, and he does not wish to be carried.

* As the party listened to his song they began to hear the chattering of a crowd, as if they were in an occupied city. They also began seeing shapes out of the corner of their eye.
* Next the party made their way towards a direction the bard indicated might have what they were looking for.
* Bernhol took the lead, being the most skilled investigator and the most suited for squeezing through the mostly collapsed halls and passageways. The party found several platinum coins and a scroll of Animate Dead.
* There was also a hall containing several frescoes:
	+ The first was a city, presumably Corvidae based on the architecture and context, being held aloft by several raven-like creatures with clawed tails gripping massive chains. Overlooking the city was a black-haired bearded human man with a crown of bird skulls. The same face that appeared on the platinum coins.
	+ The second was the same man with the Raven Queen standing above and behind him. Below them were bloodied giants, knights with raven-like armor, and an army of bleeding undead. Across from them was a rival army, or armies, consisting of other undead each with a theme contrasting the bloodied zombies on the Raven Queen’s side. The other zombies were covered in fungi, slathered with bees and honey, or studded with metal bolts that had electricity coursing through them.
	+ The final mural showed the Raven Queen cradling the corpse of a knight wearing the same armor as those from the second mural.

# Entering the Temple

* The gang said farewell to the decomposed composer and continued towards their destination, and reached it after a few hours of relatively uneventful spelunking.
* While the journey was unimpeded, the destination was quite hazardous.
* The temple was smaller than most of the structures the party had seen in the larger ruins, and was half buried in the stone behind it. It was surrounded by zombies and a lake of blood, and there was a large raven creature perched on top of it. The avian resembled one of the creatures holding up Corvidae from one of the frescos in the ruins, though much smaller.
* Bernhol was able to get a good shot off on the raven before it noticed the party, and thanks to Rat King’s spike growth half the zombies were shred to ribbons before they even reached the Acquaintances. Most of the remaining zombies were slashed and stomped by Ivis and his trusty steed. The raven was a significant threat, nearly landing a devastating grab that was blocked just in the nick of time by Rat Kings loyal citizens. Fergus wasn’t so lucky, and was snatched out of the air. However before the beast could begin tearing into him Fergus banished it to Verdant knows where, giving the party enough time to prepare a devastating ambush.
* As they made their way towards the entrance around the blood lake, a sanguine tendril reached out and whipped the Giant Rat that Rat King had sent to scout ahead.
* Thanks to Bubble’s bravery, the party made it into the temple without sustaining further injury.