Written by the Almighty DM
Players present: Sophitia, Zyldi, Nor, Kanye, Elgard
After Zyldi’s scouting mission the group decides to go after Ras Nsi to get the final puzzle cube. They go to the secret back entrance of the Fane and Zyldi casts LOCATE OBJECT. She confirms that it is back towards Ras Nsi’s lair. They plan to quietly traverse the underground lake and get the cube from his chambers without drawing attention.
At the edge of the large underground lake there are 4 horrifying Yuan-Ti Broodguards guarding a pair of boats. After a quick battle our heroes dispatch the Broodguards without raising an alarm. They quietly board the boats and set off.
At the front of each boat is a bell. When Zyldi was scouting the lake she felt something huge moving beneath the waves. Kanye begins ringing the bell, hoping this grants safe passage from the beast below. They row halfway out to a wide point in the cavern.
Suddenly a writhing mass of large serpent heads explodes out of the water and destroys the lead boat! Nor, Zyldi, and Elgard are thrown into the water before the great Hydra as it tries to eat the party.
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Sophitia leaps out of the boat and assumes her angelic form, flying back toward the ceiling of the cavern. She lets loose a powerful GUIDING BOLT that smashes into the Hydra and causes one of the heads to wither and die.
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Kanye tries to distract it with the bell – this proves ineffective. He throws the bell at the Hydra in frustration
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Elgard, not wanting to draw attention to himself, plays dead and sinks beneath the water. As he does this he casts WATER BREATHING on the party.
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Nor stabs it from the water
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Zyldi transforms herself into a Giant Constrictor Snake and grapples with the Hydra. It is unable to move
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The many wounds on the Hydra begin to knit themselves back together and close as new heads burst forth from the body, more than replacing the heads that had been severed
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Sophitia launches another GUIDING BOLT
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Kanye angles the boat close and smashes recklessly with his hammer
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Elgard swims underneath the creature and decides it would be fun to cast FIREBALL from under the water. An explosion rocks the cavern and the screeching Hydra reacts with panic at the introduction of fire magic
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Nor stabs his blade into the side of the beast and climbs onto its body. He notices the Hydra’s regeneration has been slowed after getting blasted with the FIREBALL
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Zyldi constricts the Hydra
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The Hydra fails to regenerate new heads as it bites at Kanye. It begins to attack more frantically as the fire magic halts its regeneration
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Sophitia SACRED FLAMES it
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Elgard shoots more fire magic from below
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Kanye pushes some of the remaining Hydra heads against the cavern wall and smashes them to a pulp, killing the beast. He cuts a head off as the beast dies
As the Hydra sinks to the bottom of the lake, our heroes regroup and debate whether to take a rest. Hearing a slight commotion far behind them, they decide to press forward to the throne room.
They came ashore at the throne room to find its inhabitants waiting for them. Several Broodguards and Malisons, Sekelok the Yuan-Ti Pureblood Champion, and sitting up on the raised throne dais is Ras Nsi himself. He is powerfully built and has a commanding presence. The lower half of his body is a giant snake and he is covered in bandages. There are tell-tale signs of the Death Curse all over his skin.
Ras Nsi addresses the party in a cool voice: “New slaves! Do you know how difficult it was to get the Hydra down here? Why have you come to see me?”
Nor steps forward and says “We need that Puzzle Cube! You want to give it to us because it’s the only way to stop the Death Curse you’re afflicted with.”
Ras is puzzled by this. “Please, come in and let us parley” The party cautiously enters the throne room. Kanye boldly steps forward and drops a dripping Hydra head on the ground before the throne. He begins telling an Ogre Story to Ras, who is all too happy to let Kanye stall. Zyldi, still in giant snake form, wraps her body around a Malison and winds the rest of her giant form around the room.
Nor leads the party in explaining what the Death Curse is and why they believe the Soulmonger is in the Tomb of the Nine Gods. It is clear that Ras Nsi had no idea what his affliction was and had tried every method known to him and his servants to cure him.
They learn the following information from Ras:
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They want to summon Dendar the Night Serpent to destroy the world
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Acererak the Arch Lich came to Omu years ago, murdered the Nine Trickster Gods and forced the Omuans to build a giant tomb for their gods. After completing the tomb Acererak killed all of the Omuans
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Acererak told Ras Nsi a few months ago that he could help them unlock the Iron Gate to unleash Dendar upon the world. In return, Ras was to prevent anyone from entering the Tomb of the Nine Gods
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After hearing about the Death Curse Ras believes Acererak is playing him for a fool and is willing to help [title redacted] with their quest
Ras, wanting to confirm that [title redacted] is sincere and fully intend on destroying the Soulmonger, casts a GEAS spell on Elgard: Elgard has 30 days to destroy the Soulmonger. If he acts in a way that is counter to this goal he will experience intense pain.
Ras Nsi calls out in draconic and 4 Ghouls come out from behind his throne. He snaps his finger and a secret door opens up. The Ghouls enter the back room and come forth with treasures for the party:
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Vials of Yuan-Ti poison
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A spell scroll of GREATER RESTORATION
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An IMMOVABLE ROD that he got off a dead Red Wizard
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Nangnang’s Puzzle Cube
Having agreed to work in Ras Nsi’s interest, he allows them to leave out the front entrance and not interfere with their entering the Tomb. As they exit, large crowds of Yuan-Ti watch them leave.
As they get back to Papazotl’s, they decide to use the GREATER RESORATION scroll on Elgard to end the GEAS spell on him, rather than save it for the horrors of the Tomb.
Will our heroes successfully enter the Tomb? Can they survive the terrible traps and monsters that lurk within?
[title redacted] - D&D 