Session 12 Recap 6/28

Session 12 Recap 6/28

The party struck out into the first level of the jungle heading into the hex SW of the hanging merchants. From there, they followed an easy trail to the hex NW of there. Here they came upon a charming path that was a little too easy for their liking. Skirting it, they stumbled upon dense bramble cages suspended from the branches above. The party released one occupant, a birdlike humanoid rose with glorious but filthy plumage. As a reward he informed the party that there was a place where the worthless shining baubles that stupid man craves can be found, “a house of man idols”, to the south of the “small mountain” in the densest part of the jungle (level 2). A large lumpen man, claiming to be a hermit, then confronted the party, trying to lure them to “his home”. He was knocked off the brambles but sprang back with a leap and began uttering incantations in the voice of a crone. Cletus immobilized him with hold person and he was kicked off into the depths of the jungle.

The party soon found the mountain they were looking for, descending precipitously from the jungle above. They skirted it, passing through the hex to the NW where a smaller waterfall sprang, and strange fruits grew from vines clinging to the wet rocks. As they were rounding the mountain, they proceeded into the hex W. Here they came upon a large tunnel, almost perfectly oval, cut clean through the brambles, running north to south. The tunnel was lit with a natural sunlight emanating from a perfect oval of blue at its northern end—presumably the end of the jungle and beginning of the Endless Azure Sea. Close examination revealed that the tunnel had been gnawed through. At the tunnel’s other end, the party found a series of natural cave in the rock face. They were not easily accessible without climbing, and the party decided to leave it for another day. They camped in this hex for the night without event.

The next day they passed through one hex to the west, and rounded the mountain, heading to the SW. Here they came up the Funerary Shrine of the Lady Shirishanu.

Her cenotaph was carved directly into the red living rock of the mountain. Up a few steps, past four elaborately carved columns, an archway led into the darkness. The rock-face to the right and left of the entrance, was completely covered in snaky vines that obscure the mountainside beneath it past the rock ledge on both sides, descending from ledges 70’ above. Beyond the pillars, an 8’ high and 12’ wide carved marble arch extended 5’ into a passageway that leads deeper in. The arch was white with golden veins and covered in marble work depicting curling vines and blossoming flowers.

Tossing a rock through the arch, the centers of the flowers flipped around to reveal clear crystals. Beams of sunlight converged on the rock, instantly transforming it into a swirling cloud of flower petals that came to rest on the floor. With experimentation they learned that there was a time lag on the mechanism. Exploiting this, they spent quite away trying to damage crystals and succeeded in hobbling if not destroying the mechanism. With due caution everyone made it through without incident.

The party moved forward into a small room with an entryway to the north. The western wall was taken up by a carving of a youthful female figure. One hand was on her chest, and her head was pointing upwards, the mouth open as if in song. In her other hand she held an elaborately carved staff, from which rays of light extended. Beyond the light, at the edges of the carving, frightening and amorphous figures seemed to press in, hungry and angry. Beneath an inscription reads: Lady Shirishanu, although your body rests in the heavens below, may your name be preserved in the song of the Sibilant Maiden, which holds at bay the devourers, until its last note is sung.

Proceeding further north, the party came into a large room with exits to the east and west. A copper chandelier hung over a spacious nave leading up to a statue of a woman. The statue was carved from the purest marble, a woman reclining on a divan, one hand resting on the hilt of a long and elegant sword. Its scabbard was decorated with swirling forms, and its hand-guard looks like the petals of a great flower. So graceful was the woman’s form, and so noble her countenance that the party found themselves aching to see her move and to speak with her.

Behind the statue of the maiden, the high curved wall was decorated from floor to ceiling with a mural of a garden. Little green monkeys played in the spray from a golden multi-tiered fountain carved with pleasing grotesques, while high above fish with rainbow fins seem to swim placidly through the air. To her right a great tree rose up nearly to the ceiling., it’s branches ending in fruits the shape of stars, moons and other heavenly bodies. To her left a nearly hidden path led back into the recesses into a lush bower, of which the viewer had only a mysterious and inviting glimpse. Behind all of a tall grey glittering wall rose at the back of the mural to the base of a bulb or onion dome high above, giving the impression that the mural depicted some kind of enclosed garden. Other furniture, divans, couches, chairs made of fine a dark wood like cherry, with sumptuous cushions, were arrayed around the statue of the woman, as though inviting visitors to join her in her sojourn in the garden.

Without dallying overlong in the room with the statute, the party headed to the west. There was a smell of decay and death as they entered the room. A large altar composed of a smooth gray material lay against the west wall, with narrow passageways leading to the north and south. A huge rent ran through the floor of the room coming from the northwest corner of the room, passing just in front of the altar. Somehow torchlight did nothing to illuminate its black recesses. Salinger explored the altar, and found that it was made of a smooth glistening stone that was hollow. Inside, he found a slimy clutch of eggs that he scooped into a sack. Feeling a bit nervous about this situation, the party hastened south.

This was a small room almost complete taken up by a plain 7’ by 3’ box composed of the same grey glittering material as the altar, with a lid. Salinger examined it for traps and found none, but the party had a bad feeling and proceeded back to the room to the North, which was identical. Checking once again for traps and finding none, the party decided to risk it. The lid was light and within they found a wooden coffin with handles painted with an image of a lion. This is where we paused the game.

XP per player: 75


Chris P. Joshua Blackketter Aleksandr Revzin B. Portly