Session One Hundred and Ninety-One Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 191, August 7 2024

Introduction

We continue at 3:40PM on the 30th of Anurilden (00.000.08.00 on the Apocalypse Clock) with most of the party making their way down a staircase leading into the lower levels of Hdrasta. This comes shortly after Renthark, discovered by wandering hobgoblins, ran off yelling at the top of his lungs to draw away the guards that had been blocking access to those stairs. With the Hdrasta's DVL-allied defenders now aware of some kind of infiltration, time runs short for the group to avoid a pitched battle as the adventurers make their way to the locked vault. Will the party slip past the enemies standing between them and their goal now that those monstrous foes are on heightened alert? Will Renthark escape his pursuers or fall in battle much like his Borthan? Is there a way to escape after accessing the vault? Find out next time; or not.

Larry's Summary

Druul spikes the door behind us. We are still Silent.

We head down the stairs with Thorfus leading the way.

There is a closed iron-bound wooden door with many old scattered bones many pulverized. They look to be very old.

We hear heavy boots above get louder then fade.

Just as we reach the door, we hear a horn echoing, but pretty far away.

There are 3 short blasts somewhere above.

A bar can be placed on this side of the door, but there is no bar. There is a latch.

Thorfus opens the door.

There are 3 bone devils milling about one facing us and notices the door open. It does not seem to see us and isn't too concerned about the opening door.

A different bone devil spots us.

Velkin steps forward and says lets keep moving and we move forward with Kauri and Lambertus doing blood magic spells and becoming visible.

Lambertus Bless, Kauri lightning bolt, Thorfus rocket launcher affecting at least 4 DVLs knocking at least 2 of them down.

Vikram and Glompus also fire their rocket launchers dropping smaller DVLs and doing a lot of damage to the bigger ice DVLs.

The explosions weaken the wire framework holding up the pillar of dragon bones and they spill out off to one side not affecting us.

Druul misses with laser rifle and misses. Peronelle fires with shear rifle and misses, Prix fires with laser rifle and misses.

Velkin pops one gem out of his bracer.

One of the bone DVLs gates in another bone DVL.

The other bone DVL casts some sort of ice and snow ability that blinds us.

Druul moves back 15feet. Velkin smacks Thorfus to break invisibility and moves back 5 feet and pops another gem and pops it in a pouch.

Thorfus fires his rocket launcher in the direction where the ice DVLs were.

Amon is in the alcove where Kauri did a lightning bolt on two bone DVLs. Glompus fires his rocket launcher wounding him and killing his winter wolf.

Vikram also shoots his rocket launcher at him. He mouths something ("Run!")

Peronelle fires the shear rifle and misses. Prix fires her laser rifle and hits.

Kauri's dispel magic to drop the Silence 15 foot radius on Druul so we can communicate.

Lambertus casts Protection from Evil on himself.

Now we can hear Vikram telling us to run.

Druul ~~casts Protection 10 feet radius blood magic.~~ runs to get away from Amon. He comes to the vault door.

Amon heals himself and Prix, Peronell, Glompus, adn Vikram. Prix saves, Glompus, Peronelle, and Vikram failed.

Amon roars in rage and runs up and slips just before he bashes Thorfus with his huge mace. The ice around us was not melted by the rocket launcher rounds.

Peronelle, Vikram, and Glompus flee in terror up the stairs.

Velkin dodges, then shadow steps to the hallway with the vault door.

Prix chances running by Amon and is hit.

Lambertus runs past Amon who can't hit him due to Protection from Evil.

Kauri casts blood magic dispel magic on the three who were feared, so they come back.

Thorfus stabs Amon with the nanocarbon dagger and Amon disappears.

We move to the vault door.

Velkin takes the three stones and puts them in the door.

As the last stone is inserted, there is an exhalation of stale air is expelled from the edges of the vault door and it falls backwards and rolls to the side.

There is a slightly raised pool of maybe water in the center of the multi-sided wall.

Covering all the walls we can see are odd machines that sort of remind us of ancient dwarven machines in ruins. They have circles on them, maybe a cable or rope connecting a couple of circles together. Everything is very dusty.

Other machines with cables connect to the wall and dipping into the water, suggesting it is deeper than it appears.

Another machine like an ancient dwarven terminal, but more rounded.

The screen on this terminal comes to life with a green glow. Some of the wheels start to spin and lights light up.

Kauri says that through his mask this room is very odd with all of this machinery turning on. There is no sign on transpatial energy.

The stones are still in their sockets and we don't see them since the wall is wheeled to on side.

There is a panel that will allow us to close the door.

We come up with Vikram staying outside to

The ceiling above has odd lights. Directly above the pool is a mirror a 5x5 circle directly above the pool.

The terminal says:

Waiting for Input Current Destination: Prime Dimension (0001) Change Destination?

Y/N?

Velkin plans to grab the stones when we close the door and shadow step before the door closes.

There is a big boom and the pillar of bones collapses and fills the end of the hallway.

There is a loud whoomf and the bones bump into Kauri, it is a very tall figure with a goatee and for second it looks like shadowy wings as he brushes the bones out of the way.

Velkin grabs the last stone and shadow steps and comes out of the shadows still outside the room.

Velkin can't shadow step in time so he tosses the stones in to us.

Velkin chances it with continuing to shadow step.

The door slams shut on both arms that are completely mangled and crushed.

He is somehow conscious with two stumps.

Druul gives Velkin many healing buds to heal him ASAP.

Velkin is "healed" and leans back against the door and is sounds like someone is distantly knocking and saying something. Velkin attempts to listen. It is a very faint, "There's no need for this. Open the door. This changes everything, the tower is unnecessary, just open the door."

Velkin says to Vikram, congratulations, you're free, I think. The geni ring and the ring that allowed him to shadow step undetected were both smashed.

Vikram says, Oh, I do feel different.

Velkin says, Just hang out there for a while and we'll get back to you on that.