Passing through the portal, we continue our trek. The neighborhoods seem to get more ornate as we progress. The atmosphere, reminding us we are under millions of gallons of water, is disheartening. It feels…… thick. The emberflies continue to light our way. The passages narrow to a path. A gate blocks our way. To our left is a mound of rubble. Something tops it. Echo, the most nimble of us (unusual being a humie) climbs the rubble. Standing in front of her is the Ashman. He invites the group up after greeting her. He is standing in the middle of a circle. Echo and Rod recognize it as a Circle of Summon Devils. His skin looks like glowing coals.
He reminds us that the enemy of his enemy could be his friend and that the enemy we have in common is ‘Scorch’, a demon. He tells us that beyond the gate is a vault that contains something he wants. If we obtain it for him, he will get us past the next barrier which is otherwise impenetrable, a wall of animated corpses. Without his help, he claims, we will not have enough power left to defeat Scorch and his minions. The item he wants is a crown, made from arrogance. He is telling us the truth.
Continuing, he informs that the crown is in multiple pieces and that he will provide us with information on even greater enemies. We agree to work with him and he relates to us a story:
A dwarven king ruled the island and demanded his priest make him a crown. The crown was made but the priest made a second, later known as the fanatics crown, creating blind loyalty and dominion over those that served him. It was this king that caused the destruction of the island. The crowns jewels were separated into power, dominion and loyalty. Three stones must be placed on the crown.
Ashman gives us a box and warns us not to touch the crown. Three trials must be completed, the crown assembled, then brought back to him. He will then clear the way for us and owe us several favors which we may claim now or later.
We walk down to the gate. A pair of huge knockers hang from leering faces. It opens easily when we use the knockers. A building ahead of us is the vault. Behind it is a lake. Coming from the side of the building is the wall that Ashman told us about. From the ground to the roof is a writhing mass of animated corpses, moaning and squirming. Echo pokes it and narrowly avoids being grabbed by numerous hands.
Returning to Ashman, he tells us the first three trials are related to the items we need to recover. The fourth is a trial of desire, we need to reject our greatest wants. He gives us his name… Cinder. We move on to the vault. A giant building. Runes carved in many places. Entering the building is a long corridor. There appears to be some ancient traps that no longer work. At the end of the corridor is a circular hall, domed. Three doors lead out from it outside of the one we’ve entered from. A fence blocks off the back and in the distance is the lake and island. In the center of the room is another summoning circle. This one for Jinn. In the middle of the circle is a lamp.
Rod prays for guidance. He says we should bypass the temptation. We ignore the circle and lamp and move to the first door. It is filled w/ a reddish hue. In the center is an obelisk, at it’s peak is a glowing gem. Supposedly the gem of power. There are four statues. Three man height. One giant. All sense as presences. I attempt to pull it out using telekinesis. It stays put. Echo summons a phantom to try and grab it. As soon as it touches the stone, the statues begin to move towards us. Rod and I charge one, Echo, King and Ackdor charge the other. Two shoot arrows at Ackdor, another hits me w/ a lightning bolt. The melee continues. Ackdor continues to get hit w/ arrows while we strike various golems. After the three destroy the one w/ the sword, I notice that our hits on the magic user have had no effect. I realize that like calls to like. Echo destroys it immediately w/ her ball lightning. I drop my shield and sheath Melina, the archer is mine. His fear causes his next shots to fly off target. The rest of the group focuses on the giant. I quickly eliminate the archer and then we all turn on the giant. It eventually falls. The obelisk crumbles and we gather the gem in the box.
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