Venerikine 13th, 989 IaC
- Beset by a large number of animated, drained husks, the group retreated into the back of the room as the drained followed
- The corpses were soon ensnared by the roots of the nature spirit, which began to constrict around them
- Cora was stuck in a precarious scenario, but managed to escape with minimal injury
- Rorug Fletsworn again utilized the personality of Ragathor, deftly escaping the room as the drained clawed as the retreating party
- The group came to a long hall with many doors, soon coming to find that many were trapped or held more Drained behind them
- Ilryn opened a door, coming face to face with a number of Drained, who she quickly slammed the door on
- Further down the corridor, the party spotted a large, armored figure, soon discovering it to be dead
- The corpse was caught in a door trap, seemingly dying of a poison
- Kel checked for traps, knocked on a door and eventually opened it, revealing an axe that swung out towards her, which she was able to nimbly dodge
- Steve opened another door, revealing more Drained
- Lambchop opened yet another random door, finding more Drained which he hauled out and attacked
- The party attacked the Drained and went down the cleared out corridor
- Opening trap doors in the floor, the group discovered halls of tombs heading deep underground
- Unwilling to meet the hordes of Drained head-on, the party retreated back to the hallway after shutting the encroaching Drained out
- Heading back, Cora investigated the armored corpse, finding a small metal bead on the back of its neck that was embedding itself into her body
- Cora pulled out the bead, adding it to her collection
- The group looted the corpse for supplies
- Cora pulled out the bead, adding it to her collection
- Heading down to the end of the hall, the group began to check the doors one by one, soon relying on Steve's Mage Hand to trigger traps from a safe distance
- The group was caught in a poisonous cloud trap that afflicted Cora and Ilryn with poisoning
- Eventually, after spending a significant amount of time in the corridor, the party was able to feel a slight bit of fresh air circulating through one of the doorways, which opened into a safe room
- The group came face to face with a large metal door, out of place with the rest of the temple and covered in Batraxian imagery
- An imprint of a hand was centered on the door's face, with an inscription that read in Abyssal: A question, answered
- After some trepidation, Cora placed her hand on the imprint as the door boomed out a word into the group's mind, and the halfling felt an eerie presence that seemed to watch her
- After Cora asked a question, the door seemed to deactivate
- Ilryn touched the door next, quickly providing a question to the word the door gave her, causing it to open
- The party arrived at an intersection
- Door locked, voices behind
- Headed left to a room, burst in without reading the door
- Poking around, Kel lifted the cover off of a stone coffin
- Triggered trap, caustic gas burning through party
- Break door from both sides
- Other side of corridor
- Lambchop picks up dagger with key attached
- Room goes dark, Lambchop feels he needs to complete a hunt with the dagger
- Open door with key
- Heading down into the next room
- Cora finds a crazed Rorug on the other side of a caged door around some eviscerated Drained, freeing him
- Rorug attacked as Ilryn stepped out further into the room,
- Doors open, drained flood out and overwhelm the group
- The party manages to escape to the other side of the room to drop a trellis between them and the Drained
- Veckwin, Serasha, Abwe and Rorug are left behind
- Party forges on to next room, finding a bunch of clues and a large Batraxian ritual circle
- Lampchop found a strange beetle-like artifact that began to communicate with him
- Steve reads a Batraxian spellbook that places a spell on him, filling him with dread and anxiety
- Ultimately the beetle is placed on a corpse, per its request, which reanimates
- Inside a body, the Beetleman is able to speak with the group, but seems to remember little
- He is apparently capable of controlling the undead
- The group discovers a back passage with two blocked doors, and a large mat on the ground
- After some cajoling, Steve used his Inkwell Ring to complete a symbol of Merrav on the mat, opening the doors
- One room contained a number of thorn-covered chests and a gargoyle facing them
- Ilryn attacked the thorns on one of the chests, causing the gargoyle to spray out a corrosive acid that melted the chests into the ground
- The other passage led to a cave system with a moderate breeze, hinting at an exit
- Lambchop chose to stay behind and follow Beetleman
- Beetleman began to move through the catacombs, exercising precise control over the Drained
- Coming across the corpse of Bacca, Beetleman reanimated it and brought it along
- Eventually, the party moved back into the crypt to follow, with Steve begrudgingly pushed along by some of the Drained
- The group arrived in a side corridor containing a locked door and a mat similar to the one in the other room
- After some arguing about the intentions of Beetleman, Steve used his ring to unlock the door
- The party discovered various treasures inside, which they pillaged
- Beetleman was interested in a crystal the group found in the room, which he asked for
- Uneasy, Steve identified the crystal, believing it to be some form of power source, perhaps fueled by a soul
- Steve, again begrudgingly, handed the stone over after some convincing
- Promising to recall the Drained wandering the surface, Beetleman escorted the group to the entrance of the crypt
- Before bidding farewell, Beetleman acquired some of the party's hair as a means of "communication"
- The group headed back through the forest, eventually making camp for the night
- Discovering it was Cora's birthday, the party held a modest celebration, with Ilryn and Lambchop bringing back an elk for dinner
- The party was later disturbed by the sight of the Rampager, soon after finding Erdo Elfast following the beast
- Erdo convinced the party to assist him in killing the creature, despite their tired state
- The party followed Lambchop as he tracked the beast through the woods, eventually arriving at a maze-like glade