The Awakening

January 22, 2008

It was middle of spring and most of the group had gathered again.  Reece wasn't back, nor was Arindal, but Deuce, Notch, Jaden and Finn were talking at Deuce's.  Jaden had received a vision.  It was of this group going into a cave.  He didn't know more or even where it was.  He described it as best as he could but no one recognized it.  He prayed for Lathander to reveal more and he found it was near a keep, and somewhere in Cormyr, but still wasn't exactly sure. 

The group talked to some contacts and finally settled on the keep being High Horn, the garrison on the north west border of Cormyr.  Having a direction and the vision, the group that was there set out the next day.  The trip was uneventful.  Without Reece, they avoided the towns and the Inns, in case they were being followed, magically or otherwise.  They roughed it as much as they could.  When they approached High Horn, the went around it, and headed north.  Several hours later, they saw the cave and Jaden recognized it. 

The cave had a flat area in front of it, thirty feet long and twenty wide.  As Deuce approached, he saw there were writings of some kind on either side of the entrance.  Recognizing them as magical, but not what kind of magic, Jaden tried to dispel them.  It failed.  Two huge reptiles appeared on either side of the cave entrance and attacked!  In a few heartbeats, Deuce had been slashed to ribbons.  Jaden was hit and almost eaten whole.  Then, Finn and Notch ran forward to attack while Jaden moved back and healed Deuce.  As Deuce tried to retreat, he was swallowed whole by the reptile.  The creature than turned toward Notch and swallowed him as well!  Finn was holding his own, doing a lot more damage than he was taking.  Jaden was also casting spells and helping where he could. 

Notch managed to step between space and out of the creature's gullet, attacking it as he did so.  Deuce then blasted the creature with holy fire.  With a few more attacks from Finn, the one creature went down.  The other creature, although tough, didn't stand much of a chance and it was soon gone as well.  Then Finn went back and sliced open the reptiile, letting Deuce out.  He wasn't happy. 

This time, both Jaden and Deuce cast the dispel spell and it worked.  But, it was only surpressed.  It would be back soon.  Inside the cave, it was dark.  After figuring out how they were going to see, the group started into the cave.  There was writing on the cave walls that Jaden translated.  Something was entombed here.  They kept going forward and felt the cave get very cold.  Unnaturally so.  They soon found a metal door in the cave.  They searched it but didn't find anything to help open it.  Deuce threw his die at it, to help make the decision but it landed on its side, resting against the door.  As he scooped it up, he brushed the door. 

They noticed the ice was melting in the cave.  The door and area were warming up.  Deuce figured that the area must have been some sort of stasis.  Deuce pulled out his Gem of True Seeing to figure out more and that's when he noticed the lizard like creatures creeping up on them.  He tried to warn the others but was too late.  They came foward and attacked Finn and Notch.  However, Notch has good senses and managed to move out of the way.  Finn is too well armored to be taken out with a single blow.  The caster further up the cave got a few lucky spells in but they were all soon killed. 

The door seemed to open of its own accord.  It swung open.  However, touching the face of it caused some damage to Deuce.  They ended up grabbing the bodies of the lizard men and using them to open the door.  When they hit, they swung it open a bit but the body disintegrated. 

The first room was a tomb from old.  The floor, walls and ceiling were all gold.  There were two cabinets with three drawers made out of gold.  On top of one of them, was a jade sceptre.  There was more writing, naming the sceptre.  The group stayed here a while, checking things out.  There were what looked like miniature lizard men and some lizards.  However, Deuce figured out they were in stasis.  He thought that maybe the sceptre controlled them.  As they were talking, they were interupted.

From deeper in the crypt, a snake like creature but with arms and a torso covered in scales, came into the room.  The group was unsure what to do.

It asked a question in a series of hisses and clicks.  Jaden cast a spell to allow him to understand it.  <What are you doing here?>

<We were brought here for a reason and are trying to find that out ourselves.  Who are you?>  The others only heard hissing from Jaden as he talked with the creature but Jaden told them what was happening. 

<I am (insert name here). (Sorry, don't remember now.)  What has happened?  Why was I awoken?  Where are the others?> 

<Others?> 

<Yes, others.>  The creature stepped back and closed it's eyes, concentrating on something far away.  <I do not know where they are.> 

Deuce kept looking at the things around the room.  It was powerful magic here.  He wasn't sure if he wanted this . . . thing to have it.  However, the others kept waving him off as Jaden spoke to the creature. 

<What are you?>

<I am a sarrukh> it answered.  <I was put into stasis a long time ago and thought I would be awoken many millenia ago.  However, now I can tell that much has changed.  The air is a bit colder and less humid.  Even for winter, it isn't right.>

The sarrukh looked around at them.  They group couldn't tell if he was sizing them up or not.  <I must eat.  Here.>  He left there room to go further back, and game back with a large sack, which he shoved into one of their hands.  <Use this to buy the land where I am and as much around it as possible.  Make it mine.  Come back to me no sooner than a tenday and we can talk.  Until then, I ask for solitude.  I must find out what has happened.> 

The left the cave, wary of the trap on it but nothing happened.  The creature, once outside, grew wings and flew away hunting.  The group returned to High Horn to warn them to stay away and to make the purchase of the land. 

Notes

• Several of the guys, including Notch's player, wrote up what they did with the break the character's had.  In Notch's case, he left to train in Waterdeep and didn't tell or invite Julia. 
• They actually fought some improved dinosaurs.  It's at that point where it's tough to say how things are going to go.  It's still fun but the fights sometimes can go either way.  Maybe that means it's balanced?
• However, the lizard men were really not much of a challenge.