Shadowdark – 06/06/2025 Shipwreckers – Geeks & Games

Summary

The adventuring party began their journey by preparing their boat for departure, paying their crew of six sailors two gold pieces each, and gathering essential supplies, including torches and oil flasks. Wulf visited the Temple of Aere in Vishrun to report their mission to Nithair, fulfilling an obligation from when the temple had cured his blindness. They calculated their rations carefully, knowing each person would need to carry about twelve days’ worth of food, though their survivalist could supplement with foraged provisions.

The party sailed upriver for several days until they reached Riverwood, a bustling logging and fur trapping town populated by elves, humans, and halflings. Unlike typical forest-dwelling elves who revered nature, these elves embraced logging and resource harvesting, operating smokestacks and actively hunting forest animals. The town featured a general store, a blacksmith, and a single temple marked by a carved red boar symbol above its entrance in Celtic knotwork style. One party member purchased special hunting arrows from an elf merchant for 10 gold pieces, while another bought a silver dagger for the same price, and Patick lost money arm wrestling with the town’s burly elf blacksmith.

Leaving their boat behind, the party began the arduous climb into the mountains, following the river upstream through increasingly steep and rocky terrain. At high elevation, they heard faint bellowing sounds coming from up a cliff face and discovered large dragon scales scattered on the ground – mossy green and dark blue in color. After an hour of difficult climbing, they reached a cave where the sounds originated and discovered they were hearing draconic language being spoken in apparent distress.

Inside the cave, they found a massive thirty-foot-long dragon-like creature with wings and a scorpion-like stinger tail, writhing in pain with a giant spear embedded in its stomach. Orm carefully removed the spear shaft and immediately cast cure wounds to heal the creature, stopping the bleeding and earning its grudging tolerance. The dragon hissed and spoke in Draconic but did not attack, instead backing away defensively while the party searched its nest. They discovered giant-sized boots from a partially eaten giant before the dragon flew away, apparently recovered enough to leave its lair.

During their brief mountain night, the party witnessed a mysterious sight in the sky – a slow-moving red ball of light that revealed itself to be a black horse with flaming mane and hooves, wearing black plate armor. The supernatural steed galloped steadily across the sky from north to south, moving at normal horse speed but through the air, completely ignoring the party below. They speculated this could be Nathair’s mount, given its direction of travel from where their enemy was supposed to be located.

After two more days of difficult mountain travel, the party finally reached their destination marked on their giant leaf map – a cliff face built into a mountainside with cave entrances over one hundred feet up. A waterfall cascaded down from a hole in the rock face, creating treacherous conditions below with jagged rocks. Patick volunteered to climb first, securing rope at the top so the rest of the party could ascend safely to reach the cave entrances.

Upon entering the cave system, Orm cast a light spell on his warhammer, causing it to glow bright pink and illuminate the passages ahead. They discovered a network of stone corridors with eleven burial alcoves containing frost-covered corpses dressed in brown monk-like robes. The party searched the bodies and found about 20 gold pieces total, but their exploration was interrupted when Wulf wiped clean some diabolic glyphs carved on an archway. The glyphs began glowing red and spreading throughout the passages, reading “all who enter shall be slain, Morkaal’s might shall be supreme” in Diabolic script.

The activation of the glyphs caused all eleven skeletons in the burial alcoves to animate simultaneously, creating a chaotic battle as undead emerged from every direction. Essa cast turn undead with devastating effect, causing several skeletons to explode into dust while others fled in terror down various passages. Patrick attacked with his spear while Wulf struggled with his longsword, and the party fought desperately against the overwhelming numbers. Through a combination of magical turning, healing spells, and determined combat, they managed to destroy most of the skeletons, though some escaped to other areas of the tomb complex.

Exploring deeper into the complex, the party discovered massive eighteen-foot-high bronze doors with no visible handles or locks. A grotesque rotting arm jutted from the center of the doors, groping around blindly, while Diabolic inscriptions provided cryptic clues about needing “a jewel in hand” and “a pair of entombed tomes.” The party attempted to interact with the arm by offering it skeleton parts, but realized they needed to find a specific jewel to unlock the mechanism.

Their exploration was interrupted by banging sounds from the southern doors, which opened to reveal their nemesis Nathair in black barbed armor. Inside the armor, they could see Richard’s ethereal form trapped and in pain, his eyes flickering with recognition when he saw his rescuers. Nathair spoke in Sylvan, claiming Richard had given his body willingly, and drew his black sword to challenge them to combat. The party mentioned seeing his horse in the sky, referring to the flaming steed they had witnessed earlier.

The battle with Nathair proved intense and dangerous, as the possessed warrior fought with supernatural fury and skill. Patick was knocked unconscious twice by critical sword strikes, while other party members struggled to damage their heavily armored foe. The turning point came when Cadabra successfully cast protection from evil on Nathair, allowing Richard to make saving throws against the possession. Wolf physically tore off Nathair’s helmet, freeing Richard’s head, while Slant removed the breastplate and hurled it over the cliff edge. Richard’s spirit struggled free from the remaining armor pieces, coalescing back into his normal form as the empty armor collapsed to the ground.

Grateful for his rescue, Richard immediately removed a gold and ruby amulet from around his neck and gave it to Cadabra as payment for their efforts. The amulet featured Diabolic glyphs around its edge and appeared to be an important key or artifact. Nathair’s defeat left behind a magical black longsword that whispered telepathically in Sylvan to whoever held it, though the meaning remained unclear to those who didn’t speak the language.

The party discovered a giant statue of a soldier on a cliff platform, with an indentation that perfectly fit Richard’s amulet. When they placed the amulet in the slot and turned it, the mechanism only moved partway, suggesting they needed additional components to fully activate whatever ancient device this represented. Frustrated by the incomplete activation, Patick attempted to push the massive statue over the cliff edge, but this action caused the stone figure to animate into a powerful golem.

The battle against the stone golem proved to be their most challenging fight yet, as the creature’s stone hide proved nearly impervious to normal weapons. The golem attacked with massive bronze fists and cast slow magic that reduced party members’ movement speed, creating bands of energy that solidified around its targets. Multiple party members were knocked unconscious during the prolonged battle, with Essa repeatedly casting cure wounds to keep everyone alive. The tide turned when party members successfully cast holy weapon spells on their weapons, wreathing them in divine flame that could damage the stone creature.

During the chaotic battle, Cadabra attempted to escape using misty step but unfortunately teleported directly into a hidden pit trap, requiring rescue by rope. Patick suffered constitution damage from being reduced to zero hit points multiple times, while Wulf was knocked unconscious repeatedly by the golem’s devastating attacks. The final blow came when Slant, his great axe wreathed in holy flame, managed to decapitate the golem, causing it to collapse into rubble and ending the threat.

With their enemies defeated, the party collected their hard-won treasures, including Nathair’s magical black sword and pieces of his cursed armor. They retrieved the amulet from the golem’s plinth and began their journey back to civilization with Richard safely rescued. The return trip proved uneventful compared to their harrowing adventures in the ancient tomb complex.

Back in Vishrun, the party reported their success to the Temple of Aere, whose priests showed great interest in acquiring the cursed helmet and armor pieces. The temple offered either gold payment or magical services in exchange for the dangerous artifacts. A local blacksmith examined the strange black armor but admitted he had never seen anything like it and couldn’t help with the cursed items. The party discussed taking the artifacts to elven blacksmiths who might have the skill to decurse the armor and make it safely wearable.

The successful mission resulted in significant advancement for several party members, with Patick reaching level 2 and gaining increased combat abilities, while Essa advanced to level 4 as a priest and learned the powerful smite spell. The party divided their modest treasure haul of 4 gold pieces each and planned their downtime activities, including attempts to learn new languages and carousing in local taverns. Their adventure had successfully rescued Richard and dealt a significant blow to their enemies, though the incomplete activation of the ancient mechanism suggested their work in the region was far from finished.

Scenes

Departure Preparations

The party prepares to leave on their boat journey, paying crew and gathering supplies.

Party pays crew tips of 3 gold each (12 gold total for 6 sailors)
Character visits Temple of Aere to report their mission to Nithair
Party gathers supplies including torches and oil flasks from the boat
Discussion about rations and survival preparations for the journey

Journey to Riverwood

The party sails upriver and arrives at the logging town of Riverwood.

Party sails upriver for several days
Arrival at Riverwood, a town of elves, humans, and halflings
Observation of the town’s logging and fur trapping operations
Notice that the elves here are different from typical forest-respecting elves
Purchase special hunting arrows from an elf for 10 gold
Buy a silver dagger for 10 gold
Discover the town’s only temple has a red boar symbol above the entrance
One party member loses money arm wrestling with a burly elf blacksmith
Learn about signs of dangerous creatures in the woods

Journey into the Mountains

The party leaves their boat and begins climbing into the mountains following the river upstream.

Party disembarks and starts climbing into mountainous terrain
Travel becomes difficult with steep, rocky terrain at high elevation
Hear faint bellowing sounds coming from up a cliff face
Find discarded dragon scales – mossy green and dark blue colored
Climb up cliff face for about an hour to investigate the sounds
Discover the sounds are coming from inside a cave
Scholar character identifies the sounds as Draconic language

Encounter with the Wounded Dragon

The party discovers a wounded dragon-like creature in a cave, trapped with a giant spear in its stomach.

Party hears draconic roaring sounds coming from a cave up a cliff face
They find discarded dragon scales on the way up
Inside the cave, they discover a 30-foot-long lizard with wings and a scorpion-like stinger tail
The creature has a broken giant spear embedded in its stomach
Ragnar attempts to remove the spear and heals the dragon with cure wounds
The dragon hisses and communicates in Draconic but doesn’t attack
Party searches the dragon’s nest and finds giant-sized boots from a partially eaten giant
The dragon flies away after being healed

The Flaming Horse in the Sky

The party witnesses a mysterious black horse with flaming mane and hooves galloping across the sky, heading south from the direction of Nithair.

Party observes a slow-moving red ball of light in the sky during the brief night
The light reveals itself to be a black horse with flaming mane and hooves wearing black plate armor
The horse gallops steadily south across the sky without acknowledging the party
Party speculates this could be Nathair’s mount and discusses the implications
The horse moves as fast as a ship (4 hexes per day) but through the air

Arrival at the Black Tooth

After two more days of travel, the party reaches their destination – a cliff face with cave entrances high above and a waterfall.

Party arrives at the location marked on their giant leaf map
They find themselves at the base of a cliff built into a mountainside
Cave entrances and ledges are visible 100+ feet up the cliff face
A waterfall cascades down from a hole in the rock face
Party realizes they need to climb the cliff to reach their destination
Patrick climbs up first and secures rope for others
All party members successfully climb to the top of the cliff

Entering the Cave Complex

The party enters a cave system with burial alcoves containing corpses and discovers diabolic glyphs.

Patick has light spell cast on his warhammer, making it glow pink
Party discovers cave passages with burial alcoves containing 11 corpses
Party searches the corpses and finds about 20 gold pieces total
Discovery of an archway with carved Diabolic glyphs covered in webs
Wulf wipes clean the diabolic glyphs that say ‘all who enter shall be slain, Morkaa’s might will be supreme’
The glyphs begin glowing red and spread throughout the passages
All 11 skeletons in the burial alcoves animate and begin attacking

Battle Against the Undead Horde

The party fights a large group of animated skeletons that emerged from burial alcoves throughout the tomb.

Patick attacks with spear, dealing damage to skeletons
Turn undead spell cast, causing several skeletons to explode into dust and others to flee
Wulf swings and misses with longsword repeatedly
Slant successfully hits with axe, destroying a skeleton
Essa casts protection from evil, creating a spinning ring of sparkly energy
Multiple skeletons flee east and north down passages
Party defeats most skeletons, with some escaping to other areas
Magic trap is disarmed as the glowing glyphs fade after skeleton destruction

The Bronze Door Puzzle

The party encounters massive bronze doors with a grotesque arm jutting out, requiring a jewel to unlock.

Party finds 18-foot high bronze doors with no visible handle or lock
Discovers a rotting arm jutting from the door that gropes around
Reads Diabolic inscription: ‘if you need a hand, look’ and ‘The jewel in hand is a pair of entombed cones’
Attempts to interact with the arm by giving it skeleton parts
Realizes they need to find a jewel to place in the arm’s hand

Confronting Nathair and Rescuing Richard

The party encounters Nathair possessing Richard’s body in black armor and attempts to free Richard.

Hears banging on the southern doors
Opens doors to find Nathair in black armor with Richard trapped inside
Nathair speaks in Sylvan, claiming Richard gave his body willingly
Party sees Richard’s ethereal form trapped within the armor, looking pained
Nathair draws his sword and challenges them to fight
Party mentions seeing Nathair’s horse (referring to the flaming horse they saw earlier)
Slant shoots an arrow at Nathair but misses
Cadabra casts protection from evil on Nathair to give Richard a saving throw
Orm casts holy weapon spell successfully
Nathair attacks with sword and fury, dealing massive damage
Patick is knocked unconscious from Nathair’s critical hits
Wulf tears off Nathair’s helmet, freeing Richard’s head
Slant removes breastplate and throws it over cliff edge
Richard struggles free from the armor and becomes whole again
Nathair’s armor collapses, leaving behind a black sword
Richard gives Cadabra the gold and ruby amulet as payment

The Stone Golem Battle

The party discovers a giant statue that animates into a golem when they try to push it off the cliff.

Party finds a giant statue of a soldier with an amulet slot
They place Richard’s amulet in the statue but it only turns partway
Patick attempts to push the statue over the cliff, causing it to animate
The golem attacks with stone fists and slow magic
Multiple party members are knocked unconscious during the fight
Essa repeatedly heals fallen party members
Orm attacks with a magical warhammer but struggles to damage the stone creature
Essa casts holy weapon on party members’ weapons to make them magical
The golem uses a slow effect that reduces party members’ movement speed
Cadabra falls into a pit trap while trying to escape with misty step
Slant throws a rope down to rescue Cadabra from the pit trap
Patrick takes constitution damage from being at 0 HP
Wulf is knocked unconscious multiple times by the golem’s powerful attacks
Slant successfully has holy weapon cast on his great axe, wreathing it in holy flame
Wulf delivers the killing blow with holy weapon, decapitating golem
The golem collapses into rubble when destroyed

Victory and Return to Civilization

After defeating their enemies, the party collects magical items and returns to town.

Patick picks up Nathair’s black longsword, which whispers to him in Sylvan
The party collects pieces of Nathair’s black armor
The party retrieves the amulet from the golem’s plinth
The party returns to Vishrun with Richard rescued
They visit the Temple of Aere to report their success
The temple offers to buy the cursed armor or cast spells in exchange for it
They visit a local blacksmith who is unfamiliar with the strange black armor
Discussion about taking the cursed items to elven blacksmiths for decursing
Party receives 4 gold each from their treasure haul

Character Advancement and Planning

The party discusses leveling up, gaining new abilities, and planning future activities.

Patick levels up to level 2, gaining +1 attribute, d8 hit points, and weapon mastery bonus
Essa levels up to level 4 as a cleric, gaining d6 hit points and a tier 2 spell
Essa selects the Smite spell as her new tier 2 spell
Discussion of spell mechanics including Cleansing Weapon, Zone of Truth, and Augury
Players recover luck tokens and discuss game mechanics
Characters plan downtime activities including learning new languages
Discussion of carousing results and bard allies gained
One character gains a famous bard ally from carousing

Npcs

Ship Crew (6 sailors)

The boat’s crew of six sailors requires payment of 2 gold pieces each for their services. They grumble during the upriver journey due to the hard work required.

Temple of Aere Priests

Religious authorities at the Temple of Airy who cured a party member’s blindness in exchange for regular reports on the party’s activities and missions. They are lawful and rigid believers of the constellations who show great interest in acquiring Nathair’s cursed helmet and armor, offering boons or gold in exchange.

Elf Arrow Merchant

An elf in Riverwood who sells special hunting arrows. Charges 10 gold for a quiver of 20 really sharpened, high-quality hunting arrows to the party.

Burly Elf Blacksmith

A big, strong elf blacksmith in Riverwood who arm wrestles with party members for money. Has really nice teeth and easily defeats challengers, taking their gold before returning to his forge.

Wounded Dragon

A 30-foot-long lizard-like creature with wings, arms, legs, and a 15-20 foot scorpion-like stinger tail. Has bluish wings and was found with a giant spear embedded in its stomach. Communicates in Draconic and behaves like a wounded, wary animal. After being healed by the party, it flew away without attacking them.

Animated Skeletons

Eleven undead skeletons that were lying in burial alcoves, dressed in brown monk-like robes. They animate when the Diabolic glyphs are activated and attack the party with claws. Some were destroyed in combat, while others fled to different areas of the tomb.

Morkaal

An ancient figure whose name appears in the Diabolic glyphs, described as having ‘might’ that ‘will be supreme.’ Connected to the book that the party seeks and appears to be the original owner or creator of this tomb complex.

Nathair

The primary antagonist, who had possessed Richard’s body and wore black barbed armor. Spoke in Sylvan, wielded a black sword, and claimed Richard gave his body willingly. He was ultimately defeated when the party freed Richard from his control by casting protection from evil and removing the armor pieces.

Richard

A party ally who had been possessed by Nathair and trapped inside black armor. His ethereal, ectoplasmic form could be seen inside the armor, looking pained and silently screaming. Was rescued by the party and became whole again after they cast protection from evil and removed the armor pieces. Gave Cadabra a gold and ruby amulet as payment, and now has faint memories from Nathair’s centuries of experience.

Stone Golem

A giant animated statue of an armored soldier came to life when the party tried to push it off the cliff. Had bronze fists, could cast slow magic with misty bands, and was extremely durable with Diabolic runes covering it. It was finally destroyed when its head was severed from its shoulders.

Local Blacksmith

A blacksmith in Vishrun who examines the party’s strange black armor but admits he has never seen anything like it and cannot help with the cursed items.

Elven Blacksmith

A skilled craftsperson mentioned as someone who could potentially decurse the armor and make it wearable, though they would require the party to perform a task in exchange for their services.

Locations

The Boat

The party’s vessel, used for river travel, was equipped with supplies, including torches and oil flasks, for distribution among the crew. The boat has 6 sailors who require payment and grumble during difficult upriver travel.

Temple of Aere in Vishrun

A temple where one party member was cured of blindness and now reports their activities to the religious authorities. The temple priests are lawful and rigid believers of the constellations who show interest in acquiring cursed items.

Riverwood

A logging and fur-trapping town populated by elves, humans, and halflings who harvest resources from the surrounding woods. Features extensive logging operations, fur trapping, and smokestacks. It features a general store, a blacksmith, and a single temple with a red boar symbol carved above its entrance in a Celtic knotwork style. Notable for its practical, resource-harvesting culture and elves who embrace logging rather than forest preservation.

Dragon’s Cave

A cave high up on a cliff face, about 50-60 feet deep, containing a wounded dragon’s nest made of tree branches, ferns, pelts, and dead animals. The cave required climbing up a cliff face to reach and contained the partially eaten remains of a giant.

The Black Tomb

A cliff face built into a mountainside with cave entrances and ledges 100+ feet up. Features a waterfall cascading down from a hole in the rock face into the river below. The location is marked on the party’s giant leaf map as their destination and serves as the entrance to an ancient temple complex.

Ancient Tomb Passages

Stone passages with alcoves containing burial slabs and corpses covered in frost. Features an archway with diabolic glyphs and stairs leading east (both ascending and descending) and a passage north. The passages become icy further north, with shadows deepening. Contains 11 burial alcoves with skeletal bodies dressed in brown burlap robes.

Cliff Platform

A high platform on a cliff face with a 120-foot drop, featuring a waterfall and a large stone statue of an armored soldier. The area contains Diabolic runes and serves as the site of an ancient mechanism requiring an amulet to activate. Contains pit traps and provides access to the dungeon complex.

Bronze Door Chamber

A chamber containing massive 18-foot-high bronze doors with no visible handles, featuring a grotesque rotting arm jutting from the center that gropes around seeking a jewel. The doors have Diabolic inscriptions about needing a jewel in hand.

Vishrun

A town where the party returns after their adventure, containing blacksmiths and the Temple of Aere. The party seeks services here to deal with their cursed treasures and reports their successful mission.

Spells

Cure Wounds

Cast multiple times throughout the session. Ragnar used it to heal the wounded dragon after removing the giant spear from its stomach, successfully stopping the bleeding. Essa repeatedly cast it during both battles to restore hit points to fallen party members, particularly crucial when Ragnar was knocked unconscious twice during the golem fight.

Light

Cast multiple times on weapons to provide illumination. Ragnar’s warhammer was made to glow pink, then later an attempt was made to change it to neon green. The spell provides magical light but has a limited duration.

Turn Undead

Cast by Essa, caused multiple skeletons to either explode into dust or flee in terror. The spell affects undead based on damage dealt and has a duration measured in rounds, forcing affected creatures to flee for five turns. Highly effective against the animated skeletal enemies.

Protection from Evil

A focus spell cast by Cadabra, first on herself and then successfully on Nathair. When cast on Nathair, it allowed Richard to make saving throws to break free from his possession. The spell appears as a spinning ring of light around the target, described as looking like a sparkly hula hoop.

Holy Weapon

A divine spell that makes weapons magical and wreathed in holy flame for five rounds. Cast by Essa and Ragnar on various party members’ weapons to allow them to damage the stone golem effectively, as non-magical weapons proved ineffective against its stone hide. Provides bonuses to attack and damage.

Misty Step

A teleportation spell that allows the caster to vanish in smoke and reappear 30 feet away. Used by Cadabra to escape danger, though she unfortunately teleported directly into a hidden pit trap.

Smite

A ranged magical attack spell that deals d6 points of damage. Works as a bolt of magical priestly fire that can target any creature, not just undead. Essa selected this as her new tier 2 spell upon leveling up.

Slow Magic

A spell cast by the golem that reduces party members’ movement speed to half for several rounds, creating bands that solidify around targets. Multiple party members were affected by this during the golem battle.

Cleansing Weapon

A spell that adds magical damage to weapons (1d4 against regular creatures, 1d6 against undead), though the casting attempts during the golem battle were unsuccessful.

Bless

A spell mentioned as being available once per session per player that allows restoration of luck tokens, though it was not actually cast during this session.

Items

Special Hunting Arrows

A quiver of 20 really sharpened, high-quality hunting arrows purchased from an elf merchant in Riverwood for 10 gold. While they don’t have magical properties, they are noted to be exceptionally well-crafted.

Silver Dagger

A silver dagger purchased in Riverwood for 10 gold (ten times the normal price due to the remote location). Acquired as a potentially useful weapon against certain creatures.

Torches and Oil Flasks

Basic adventuring supplies distributed from the boat’s stores, including five torches and five oil flasks that the party divides among themselves for their upcoming mountain journey.

Rations

Travel food supplies that the party calculates and distributes for their journey, with each person needing to carry about 12 rations total, though the survivalist can supplement with foraged food.

Dragon Scales

Large discarded scales were found while climbing in the mountains, about the size of a flanged-out spear tip. Colored mossy green, dull white, and dull blue, indicating they came from some kind of draconic creature.

Giant-Sized Boots

A pair of large boots found in the dragon’s nest, taken from a partially eaten giant. The boots are significantly larger than human-sized and take up inventory slots.

Giant Leaf Map

A map drawn on a giant leaf that Cadabra carefully keeps in their possession. It marks the location of the Black Tomb where the party needs to go.

Climbing Rope

60 feet of rope used by the party to climb the cliff face. Multiple ropes were used and secured at the top of the cliff to allow all party members to ascend.

Ragnar’s Glowing Warhammer

Ragnar’s warhammer was enchanted with a light spell, causing it to glow bright pink (described as ‘Voodoo Donut pink’). The magical light illuminates the dark cave passages.

Diabolic Glyphs

Carved glyphs covering an archway and alcoves throughout the tomb passages. When wiped clean, they glow with sullen red light and activate the undead. The text reads ‘all who enter shall be slain, Morkaal’s might will be supreme’ in Diabolic script.

Black-bladed Longsword

A magical +1 longsword left behind after Nathair’s defeat. The weapon whispers telepathically in Sylvan to its wielder, though the meaning is unclear to those who don’t speak the language. It appears to be a cursed or enchanted weapon with unknown properties that provides bonuses to attack and damage.

Gold and Ruby Amulet

A pendant worn by Richard featuring a gold setting with a ruby center and glyphs around the edge written in Diabolic script. The amulet fits into an indentation on the stone statue and can be turned partially, suggesting it serves as some kind of key or activation mechanism. Richard gave this to Cadabra as payment for his rescue.

Nathair’s Black Armor

A suit of black plate armor riddled with cruel barbs that previously contained Richard’s trapped spirit. The helmet and breastplate were removed during combat, with the breastplate being thrown over the cliff. The armor appears to be cursed and may require special treatment to be safely used. The Temple of Aere shows great interest in acquiring it.

Bronze Doors

Massive 18-foot high bronze double doors with no visible handle or lock mechanism. They feature a grotesque rotting arm jutting from the center that requires a jewel to be placed in its hand to unlock, with Diabolic inscriptions providing clues.