The party was relatively unharmed from the fall, having landed in the water, but Regdar had the wind knocked out of him by landing on the beach. And yet he still tried to wriggle out of his ropes to attack the party as they tried to question him! They were able to intimidate him into not trying to run away, but by this point they realized he was never going to stop resisting them. So they cut him down one last time and left his corpse on the cavern floor.
The party rested for a minute, then began to explore the cavern. They made their way down a long, dark tunnel. At the end of it there was a large room, and although a torch lit their way they were unable to make out much. They loitered cautiously at the entrance, try to determine if there was anything lurking. They realized that there was, but they couldn't figure out what it was. They managed to distract it momentarily, but before they could slip on by, a large skeletal dragon emerged from the shadows and attacked them! The party knew they were up against a dracolich. The beast fought viciously, but the party's weapons, especially Tselem's and Azeri's radiant damage, brought it down. As the final blow shattered its phylactery and blew its bones to ash, they heard it whisper a thanks for ending it's horrible, abominable existence.
During this dungeon crawl, the party found a scroll for the Brew Potion ritual. They weren't so inclined to use that at this time, but they did decide to use Tselem's ability to cast Hand of Fate to let them know where to go next. Leading out of the room they were in was a smaller tunnel, but in front of them was a stone wall, clearly man-made, with a small locked door. Tselem cast Hand of Fate and they inquired of it where they should go to find Akta and get out. The Hand unambiguously pointed to the door every time. Edge, tired of the long fights and mazes, bashed in the door, revealing a very narrow staircase, only wide enough for them to go single file. The party steeled themselves and headed up.
At the top of the staircase, the party found themselves looking down an equally narrow corridor. They were able to sneak down it without being detected, and peered around the corner to find that it opened in a long hallway with only two human guards standing in front of a large door. Azeri tried to sneak out and bluff them into letting her pass, but was unable to extract herself from the narrow passage, and the whole party tumbled out. The guards rushed at them. A short but intense battle followed in which the guards were dispatched.
The party picked the lock on the door and went in. To their surprise, them found themselves in a large and luxurious room. Sitting in a chair in this room was a tiefling female. She arose as they entered, stared, and then said, "Tselem?" It was Akta, at last!
Everyone was bursting with questions. Tselem asked Akta what happened all those years, the night she disappeared. Akta says a wizard came and killed everyone, and since that time he's kept her prisoner here. She reveals that this person was none other than Zelian d'Deneith, the current head of House Deneith! This of course just raised more questions, but Taumir pointed out that they're still in the process of breaking out of this prison, and maybe the reunion should wait till they're someplace safe! The party agreed. Akta dashed into another room and grabbed a bag with some belongings, and then they all left the room. Out in the hall, they stepped over the bodies of the guards and made their way up the stairs at the other end.
Rewards
- 1,100 XP each.
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