Summary
The party returned to the Temple of Yaloss, a dungeon bearing signs of previous battles. Before venturing deeper, they wisely stocked up on oil, lanterns, and torches. As Richard lit a torch and entered the hall, a mysterious gust of wind from a black wall immediately extinguished it, setting an ominous tone for their exploration.
Valtor took the initiative to destroy wall carvings, rendering their ancient messages illegible. They discovered a fountain with eerily green water, featuring a goat head with forward-facing horns, and empty closets that once housed waxy elves. Near a ruby red pool, they found disturbing blood stains and traces of strange ichor.
The adventurers encountered a misty well adorned with brass sigils and bearing the cryptic inscription “to the other below and beyond.” When Darn dropped silver coins into the well, the pieces vanished without a sound, disappearing into the seemingly bottomless depths. This discovery led them down a lengthy passage stretching nearly 2,000 feet, lined with black iron doors covered in celestial glyphs warning about imprisoned beings of Ramlaat.
In a chamber filled with mirrors, they discovered Essa, an elven priestess in deep meditation. She revealed she had been magically sleeping for 200 years, placed there by her high priest after drinking black lotus tea to help bind evil forces. The mirrors surrounding her had been used to focus energy for containing a powerful ruby, and upon learning of the party’s fight against Ramlaat, she eagerly joined their cause.
The exploration led them to three imposing six-foot-tall marble masks depicting the daemons of Ramlaat – the Carnelian with its sideways mouth slit, the eyeless Jasper with tusks, and the Diamond/Ruby with its elvish features and black eyes. They also found a decaying tapestry showing an epic battle between glowing elves and daemon forces, led by a fearsome horned daemon wielding a scorching whip.
In a cavernous chamber, they encountered the Tiger’s Eye, a floating orb creature with tentacle-eyes commanding an army of light-sensitive mushroom folk. The battle was intense, with the creature using powerful ray attacks to paralyze and transform party members – even turning Valtor temporarily into a mongoose. The tide turned when Richard landed a crucial dagger throw, transforming the creature into a fist-sized tiger’s eye gemstone that whispered tempting offers of power.
After their victory, the party returned to town to sell their acquired treasures. The diamond statue fetched 40 gold from a suspicious buyer, while a magical prosthetic eye brought 50 gold. The tiger’s eye gemstone proved most valuable at 250 gold. Each party member received 73 gold and 6 experience points, along with luck tokens for completing the dungeon. They celebrated their success with a grand carousing session that earned them a bard’s lasting friendship and additional experience points.
Scenes
Entering the Temple of Yaloss
The party returns to the Temple of Yaloss, a dungeon they had previously visited that contains signs of battle.
- Party discusses previous events in this temple including Sagie jumping in a hot tub
- Group stocks up on oil, lanterns and torches before proceeding
- Richard lights a torch and enters the hall
- A gust of wind from the black wall extinguishes the torch
Exploring the Temple Halls
The party explores halls with strange fountains and doors, finding empty closets where waxy elves once were
- Valtor destroys wall carvings making them illegible
- Found fountain with greenish water and goat head with forward-facing horns
- Discovered empty closets where waxy elves used to be
- Found blood stains and ichor near ruby red pool
The Mysterious Well
The party investigates a misty well with strange inscriptions
- Found well rimmed with brass sigils filled with foggy mist
- Read inscription ‘to the Utter Below and beyond’
- Dropped silver coins into well which vanished without sound
- Decided not to climb down the seemingly bottomless well
The Long Passage
The party travels down a long passage with iron doors covered in celestial glyphs
- Found black iron door with anti-diabolic inscriptions
- Traveled approximately 2,000 feet down passage
- Reached another black iron door with similar inscriptions about imprisoning beings of Ramlaat
Discovering Essa
The party finds an elven priestess in meditation surrounded by mirrors in a ritual room
- Found Essa in lotus position surrounded by mirrors
- Essa reveals she was put into magical sleep 200 years ago to bind evil forces
- Essa explains she was an acolyte given black lotus tea to enter suspended animation
- Party learns the mirrors were used to focus energy to bind a ruby
- Essa agrees to join the party after learning they are fighting against Ramlaat
Discovery of Daemon Masks
The party finds three large stone mask sculptures depicting daemons of Ramlaat.
- Found three 6-foot tall marble masks depicting daemon
- Masks identified as Carnelian, Jasper, and Diamond daemons
- Essa recognizes them as depictions of greater daemons they were meant to contain
- Party discusses potentially selling the valuable but evil relics
Ancient Tapestry Room
The party explores a room with a historic tapestry and dangerous fungus.
- Navigate around dangerous shrieker mushrooms
- Discover tapestry showing elven army battling daemons led by horned daemon
- Find inscription ‘Victory over Ramlaat’ in Elvish
- Locate mysterious eagle head fountain with caustic substance
Exploring the Cistern Room
The party investigates a mysterious cistern room with pipes and an eagle head fountain leaking caustic liquid
- Found a stone cistern sealed with a thick lid
- Discovered copper pipes running from an eagle head fountain
- Found inscription ‘Hoggo died here he sings no more’
- Decided not to test the pump mechanism due to risk
- Refilled oil for lanterns
Harpy Statue Trap
The group encounters a trapped harpy statue guarding a gate
- Found a dry fountain with harpy statue
- Discovered the statue was rigged with razor darts
- Identified mechanism connecting harpy to gate
- Located dead orcs riddled with dart wounds
- Retrieved equipment from fallen orcs including chainmail and weapons
- Essa equipped herself with recovered orc gear
Battle with Tiger’s Eye
The party battles a floating orb creature and its mushroom folk minions in a phosphorescent cave.
- Party encounters telepathic mushroom folk who flee from their light
- Tiger’s Eye appears – floating orb with tentacle eyes
- Tiger’s Eye uses ray attacks to paralyze and transform party members
- Valtor gets transformed into a mongoose
- Essa gets thrown into the river but survives
- Darn lands critical hits while invisible
- Richard throws dagger that delivers killing blow
- Tiger’s Eye transforms into large tiger’s eye gemstone
- Remaining mushroom folk throw themselves into river
- Gemstone whispers offers of power when touched
Return to Town and Rewards
The party returns to town to sell their loot and divide the rewards
- Sold diamond statue for 40 gold to a sketchy buyer
- Sold prosthetic eye for 50 gold
- Tiger’s Eye gemstone valued at 250 gold
- Each party member receives 73 gold and 6 XP
- Party gains luck tokens for completing the dungeon
- Group pools money for carousing and gains barred ally
NPCs
Ramlaat
Some kind of imprisoned diabolic entity mentioned in the celestial inscriptions throughout the temple, whose followers and daemons were fought by elves.
Essa
An elven priestess of Yalos the Rainmaker who was found in magical meditation. She had been sleeping for 200 years as part of a ritual to bind evil forces, put there by her high priest after drinking black lotus tea. Now a level 3 priest with holy weapon and healing abilities, she joins the party equipped with recovered orc gear including crossbow, longsword, and chainmail.
Tiger’s Eye
A floating orb creature with a central maw and six snaking tendrils each ending in an eye. Could speak telepathically in multiple languages simultaneously and commanded mushroom folk. Had powerful ray attacks that could paralyze, charm, and transform victims. Was ultimately defeated and transformed into a gemstone that retained some consciousness.
Mushroom Folk
Humanoid creatures with spongy elongated bodies and toadstool heads, serving the Tiger’s Eye. They were telepathic and sensitive to light. After their master’s defeat, they threw themselves into the underground river.
Locations
Temple of Yaloss
A dungeon with signs of previous battles, containing black walls with glyphs, cream/gray/black tiled floors, balconies, and a semicircular wall of carvings. Features various rooms including secret closets, mysterious wells, and ritual chambers.
Ruby Pool Room
An 80-foot wide pentagonal hall containing a still pool of ruby red liquid that supposedly drives people mad, black statues with outstretched arms, and black double doors.
Mirror Room
A ritual chamber with white walls covered in round frameless mirrors all focused on a central dais where Essa was meditating.
Ritual Chamber
A 60-foot wide circular chamber with a 30-foot tall domed ceiling, four white stone statues, and a raised platform in the middle of a crimson circle on the floor covered in dry clay.
Cistern Room
A 30×30 foot room containing a large stone cistern with copper pipes running through the walls and connecting to an eagle head fountain that leaks caustic liquid.
Harpy Hall
An 80-foot wide hexagonal hall featuring a dry stone fountain with a winged harpy statue, an iron gate, and several dead orcs. The harpy statue is rigged with razor darts as a trap mechanism.
Mushroom Cave
A large cave with ankle-thick white mushrooms jutting from every cranny, phosphorescent fungi providing a ruddy reddish glow, and a 10-foot wide river meandering through flowing south. Home to mushroom folk and the Tiger’s Eye creature.
Spells
Light
A spell that creates magical illumination, cast on shields to provide red light that proved particularly effective against the light-sensitive mushroom folk.
Black Lotus Sleep
A magical effect induced by drinking black lotus tea that put Essa into suspended animation for 200 years while binding evil forces.
Holy Weapon
A powerful blessing spell cast by Essa that makes non-magical weapons temporarily +2 magical weapons, manifesting as blue light the color of rain clouds.
Items
Light Sources
Various lighting tools including oil flasks (5 silver), lanterns (10 gold), and torches (5 silver). Lanterns proved particularly effective as they provided bright light and couldn’t be extinguished by wind.
Black Iron Doors
Heavy doors engraved with celestial glyphs denouncing the diabolic and praising virtue, with inscriptions about imprisoning Ramlaat’s kind.
Ruby Red Pool
A pool of still, ruby red ichor that supposedly drives people mad and makes them throw themselves into it.
Ritual Mirrors
Large hallway-sized mirrors that were used to focus magical energy to bind evil forces. Each mirror takes up 3 item slots to carry.
Daemon Masks
Three 6-foot tall white marble masks depicting the daemons of Ramlaat- the Carnelian (with sideways mouth slit), Jasper (eyeless with tusks), and Diamond/Ruby (elvish face with black eyes). Valuable but evil relics.
Ancient Tapestry
A decaying tapestry depicting an army of glowing elves battling daemon forces led by a flaming horned daemon with a scorching whip. Has Elvish inscription about victory over Ramlaat.
Orc Equipment
Recovered gear including four suits of chainmail, great axes, two adventurer’s kits, shields marked with Orcish clan symbols, and 110 silver pieces.
Prosthetic Eye
A fake eye made of tourmaline that glints bright blue, taken from a dead orc. The eye patch covering it was marked with the Orcish rune for ‘wizard killer’. Sold for 50 gold.
Tiger’s Eye Gemstone
A fist-sized sphere of tiger’s eye worth 250 gold, created when the Tiger’s Eye daemon was killed. Contains the creature’s essence which whispers offers of power to those who touch it.
Diamond Statue
A large statue depicting an androgynous elven face with carved out black eyes, bearing celestial writing identifying it as ‘the Diamond’. Sold for 40 gold to a suspicious buyer.
Dubious Heroes 
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