Summer Palace: The Cliff's Notes

Summer Palace: The Cliff's Notes

The hanging Summer Palace was built by the spiderlike Chittering Masons for the Incandescent Kings at the height of Zyan’s civilization. The party learned of its existence very early on in the campaign (Session 8?), when interrogating a captive, Ulantanu, whom they hauled from Wishery to the waking world. In addition to its presumed unparalleled riches, the party has sought it because their patron, the child witch Adriana, one of the apprentices to the Chatelaine of Storms in Rastingdrung, has reason to believe that the great palace library contains a magical tome that is lost to the waking world. It is called Evocations of the Doomed City.

The party found the location of the Summer Palace from the Chittering Masons. Arriving there, they found that the Summer Palace was encased in a fine mesh sphere of magical qualities. They opened the brass valve at the top of the sphere, and took the grand winding staircase down through a column of trees, destroying (three of) the deadly flying heads that protected it. They could see from above that two wings of the palace were separated by a garden, into which the staircase led. The Northern Wing clearly had partially collapsed, dropping down and tearing through the mesh sphere at the bottom. As a result, the whole structure inclines slightly to the southeast.

The party explored part of the gardens, coming upon many things, including a grove haunted by the shade of Lathanon the last of the Incandescent Kings. Proceeding south, they emerged from the gardens and headed to the South Wing. They parlayed along the way with Plumed Reavers, barbaric birdmen, whom they learned were inhabiting the fallen portion of the north wing, somewhere in the jungle below. They learned as well that there was some faction of people (humans) who live cowering in the tunnels beneath the Summer Palace.

Reaching the south wing they came upon an immense, open room with enormous worm infested pool on the first floor. They slew an Origami Soldier there, a folding metal guardian that was fearsome in combat. Noting various riches, albeit of a cumbersome sort, they proceeded to a door on the western side of the room. This lead them into a space adjoining a grand chapel. Going up some stairs they explored some areas on the second floor of the South Wing filled with artwork of various sorts, and then finally proceeded into the chapel. It contained a grand stained glass window depicting what appears to be the current line of monarchs of Zyan (i.e. not the Incandescent Kings). The top panel depicting the current monarch, Umpalior weeper of indigo tears, appeared to show him imprisoned in some kind of dungeon, under the unwholesome light of the necromantic moon. This is strange, because the party has never heard anything about the current monarch being imprisoned.

At this point, the party was attacked by two of their hirelings, Cavimesh and Marulu who turned out to be agents of the hidden king, the diabolical counter-monarch of Zyan. Slaying Cavimesh, who turned out to be only a husk, they lost Marulu when he turned invisible. The party then attempted to loot the chapel, but the big haul appeared to be in a cabinet protected by some kind of magical song that held the players at bay. (They got within a hair’s breath of perhaps opening it.)

Frustrated, and not wanting to waste any time in their search for the library, the party decided to ascend an external set of stairs that lead directly from the gardens to the exterior of the third floor of the South Wing. On the way up the stairs, the houri Satareh heard the invisible agent following them. Laying a careful trap, the party stripped him of his invisibility and captured him. After an interrogation, which revealed something of his nature, and resulted in ominous warnings, but little of tangible benefit, they pushed him off the edge of the castle to his death.

On the exterior of the third level, they found a door leading in, but it was guarded by beams of golden light (pew-pew). Looking in some windows, Satareh was shocked to see a seated man and woman, drinking wine in an opulent looking room. Unfortunately, they saw her too and fled. The party split, each group circling the exterior of the top floor to quickly ascertain its layout. However, three young men in white robes, bearing the crest of the Incandescent Kings, emerged from the door. They wore circlets in their hair, and carried smooth glassy bows, set with crystals. They challenged one of the two groups of the party and prepared to attack after a failed parley. However, Satareh and Unasi doubled back when they heard the exchange, and in an incredible daring move, Satareh was able to take their leader from behind with her garrote, slaying him and causing the others two to flee. Cletus called on Nephthlys to stay the fleeing bowmen, and one was held rigid, while the other escaped through the door with the beams. This tense moment is where we stopped things.

I will gather together the relevant maps of the South Wing and post them together, including a new map of the exterior of the third floor.