The Second Tomb of Oroch-Vaan [Part III]

** Howl of Oblivion Campaign Page **

The party moves through another secret passage that wasn't so carefully hidden and continued north - except Walkul.  Borz and Khaine again attempt to rob the ancient tombs, searching for traps and only finding the rusted and ineffective remains of them.  Borz then attempts to carefully extract another red gem from the bull-like sarcophagi, but is able to dodge the resulting fine mist this time.  Khaine attempts the same and isn't so lucky.

Apparently compelled to seek out the thrum of the mystical vibrations in the maze-chambers, he went into the twisting corridors alone to seek the source.  It isn't long before he enters a mystic circle in the apparent center of the maze.  He blesses himself as a horrific serpentine guardian made of bones and a human skull appears and advances in a swaying, hypnotic way.  

Unaffected by the minor magic of the guardian, Walkul readies himself to smash the offensive monster.  The snake-like construct is lightning fast, and gets not only the drop on Walkul but hits a vital spot as well...

Fortunately, at this point Walkul doesn't really have to worry about the paralytic poison of the bite.

The party soon wonders where Walkul is, but none of them realize he is alone and dying.  Sensing danger, they race toward the center of the maze where Walkul lies bleeding.

Iris makes it to Walkul first on her nimble elven feet.  She forces a healing potion on him before the golem begins to stir again.  The rest of the party enter the room, and everyone but Anverth and Iris are taken by it's hypnotic swaying!

Iris is bitten severely by the snake-thing, and collapses paralyzed on the ground.  In the span of a few minutes, Anverth and the snake-thing square off. It is a tense contest where everything rests on Anverth, but is the gnome who gets the upper hand and smashes the skull from the serpentine body in a single blow!

As Borz and Khaine recover their senses, the party decides to retreat to the L-shaped hidden passage and rest.  Iris shakes off the paralysis as they are carried back to safety, but Walkul does not.  After a rest, another potion is applied to Walkul's inert form and he finally awakes.  Undisturbed in their hole in the wall, the party decides to continue resting until Walkul is fully cognizant.  Anverth takes time during this period to decipher the magical script in the Limbolibram, unlocking the power of some of it's arcane secrets.

As soon as they feel ready, the party returns to the center of the maze and immediately all go in different directions alone.

Even Walkul hurriedly walked off alone again.

Soon everyone realizes they have walked off alone into the dungeon.  For Iris and Anverth, it was hearing the sound of rushing wind to the north of the complex.  Khaine soon assumed everyone else was dead and he was the last survivor, as he could not hear Borz return to the center of the maze and cry out for everyone to return to investigate the north section.

"It sure is dark in here.  Good thing I have *slides on shades* INFRAVISION."

The maze section gives way to a more proper temple area.  Before the gigantic statues (which the party learns depicts the interdimensional sorcerer Oroch-Vaan) are the heart and liver of some massive beast (which the party learns is that of a huge dragon).  The party learns all this from a Jasidan Cookbook that Anverth had taken an interest in and picked up in an antechamber.

Following the sound of the rushing wind, the party sees a massive vortex in the next chamber.  They pick around the antechambers, attempting to ascertain any dangers before it's too late.  Odd carven statues at the feet of the giant bull sculptures seem a little strange...

The ominous vortex looms in the chamber beyond the two giant statues.  This MUST be the gate to Limbo.  Warily, the party scans the chamber for any sort of movement, though it is difficult to see with the kaleidoscopic gateway looming...