:::::::::::::::::: RECAP::::::::::::::::::::
The party arrived almost a day before separately, and they took up room at The Shady Dragon Inn. Someone named Xavster Humblevoice sent word he needed assistance with recovering something of immense importance the night the party arrived. Most of the party woke this morning to screams in the street. After the screams died down, most of the party discovered a mark on their neck. Resembling two red hands closed in fist. They are approximately 3-4 inches big. They tried to wash it of but no matter how hard they scrubbed it wouldn’t come off. Suddenly there is a knock at your door, and a Gnome handed each of them a letter, and bid them good day. The icon, which resembles an oversized, six fingered hand, shows up scratched into doors, burned onto walls, or drawn in the sands of Araleah. When painted, it is yellow or black. No one would ever claim to know where the six-fingered sign comes from, and anyone caught drawing the symbol would be castigated for inviting bad luck. Consequently, the six-fingered sign has a reputation for appearing mysteriously, as a portent of supernatural forces heralding approaching disaster, both natural and supernatural. The six-fingered sign is one of the few superstitions that recur throughout the varied cultures of the city states, and most denizens of the Coramear Region recognize it as a bad omen. For some, it is a warning, urging them to take action in hopes of avoiding calamity. For others, it is an indicator that it is already too late: The community has been marked for disaster.
The letter reads: our master Lord Humblevoice is ready to see you this day he apologizes for the delay please try to arrive around the noon time. He bares answers and gold.
The next day.
You all showed up at the temple of Xavster Humblevoice a very trusted and famous shaman of the Counsel of Coramear.
“The ancients taught us that life always moves in cycles—that from death, life inevitably
springs up again. They were wrong. The defilers taught us that the cycle of life can be
broken, that destruction can be made final. This is why the ancient trees of life were
sacred. They represented a deeper font of life, one that could not be permanently erased
with ease. If one could find such a thing today, it would be a treasure beyond reckoning.”
— Xavster Humblevoice, shaman of the Coramear Counsel.
He explained the history of the mark of the hand; Long ago, when the sorcerer-kings were still solidifying control of their city-states, a powerful blood mage from Altin named Zelemiss stood against the defiling tyrants. So great was the threat posed by the blood mage that the sorcerer-kings set their squabbles aside and briefly united to destroy him. Upon his death, the blood mage uttered a powerful curse upon his enemies, saying that his hand would reach forward through time, and that everything it touched would be purged from the world by his vengeance. Zelemiss words are long forgotten, and the magic he used to cast his curse has dwindled; yet, its embers occasionally fan to flame once again. When they do, a true six-fingered sign appears.
The shaman asked the heroes to find and bring back a seed he has foreseen will repair the damage known as the scar. Great riches and glory has been promised by the Shamon. The party agreed and set out toward the edge of the scar.
The characters are making their way across the desert when they encounter a supernatural dust storm. Two tembos are trapped in the storm. When the tembos got too close, the primal spirits that created the dust storm used it to trap the tembos, so that they are now battered, bloodied and weak. They attack the characters in a manic rage. Having offered meat to distract the beast Kronus quickly realized the beasts would serve him be better as pelts he could sell. Mortgage and Kronus finished off one beast as Ray, Althaea and Pancho finished off the other beast. After defeating the beasts, the characters find a formerly buried cave entrance (X) that has been excavated by the storm.
The storm cleared much of the sand from a clump of boulders in the ravine. Among the freshly exposed rocks, you see a green vine pushing up through a crack between the rocks. Looking closer, you see that the crack the vine emerges from what could be the edge of a stone trapdoor, almost perfectly blended into the surrounding stone.
Pancho slammed his hammer in to the stone and opened the chamber. Sunlight streamed in for the first time in millennia. Shortly after the characters advanced into the ancient refuge, they were confronted by some of its undead guardians.
The sloping entrance leads into a dark chamber. Skeletons litter the floor, and rotted weapons of ancient design are scattered among them. The walls are covered in growing vines. Suddenly, a rasping voice calls out. “Leafnes, ambitmeges of Gormack. We laestan to Avor Faeroath, voo nerians gafolmanug ond his Treow.”
It was translated by the party:
“Be gone, servants of Gormack. We harken to Avor Firesworn, who defends still this refuge and its tree.”
The party tried to explain they were not there on Gormacks behalf and wanted to bring the seed to the surface to bring life back to the region.
One of the wraiths lifts its blade overhead and dips its withered head toward you. It calls out in the ancient tongue, but its voice is distant, and you cannot make out the words. It motions toward the back of the chamber as it fades from view like a wisp of smoke. The other spirit hisses angrily; it’s clear that further negotiation will not succeed with it.
After the battle the party searched the room; while searching among the skeletons
turned up ritual scrolls of Animal Messenger and Comprehend Language as well as two exquisitely carved silver pendants; each portrays a silhouette of a lion’s head and is worth 1,250 gp. With a History check Althaea recalls that ancient cults revered a lion-headed giant named Taraskir who was renowned for wisdom and bravery. At the east end of the chamber, stone fragments on the floor show that two heavy doors were smashed into the corridor beyond untold ages ago. A hallway leads eastward into darkness. The walls are finished and smooth at this end, but gradually they become rough, natural stone. Clusters of thin vines grow out of this corridor, across the chamber, and out the entrance.
This is where we ended this session…till next time heroes!
Total XP for the entire campaign to date: 7903
