Session 23 Recap

Having cleared the fey mercenaries, the temple was very quiet. There were several doors along the side & back of the main sanctuary. Toradin ventured in from Overlook, done with his family matters. Kava and Reed decided to go home, but couldn’t exit the temple. They stood guard in the entry hall, while the others pressed on.

One of the back doors led to living quarters and a smaller sanctuary. The earthquake had heavily damaged the room and the ceiling was unstable. Seregdur spotted some shinies near the altar at the other end of the room. He worked his way through the rubble as the others watched from the entry. Scattered around the altar were various ritual tools (goblets, ceremonial dagger, tray). He grabbed what he could and headed back. The venture was nearly done, when the ceiling decided to drop on Seregdur. He dodged, weaved and made it out alive, but not untouched.

The other hallway at the back of the main sanctuary led to additional living quarters, storage, a kitchen and the reliquary (library). The door was shut & locked. Peering through the keyhole, the adventurers were able to see several Goliaths standing guard over an Azer. No one understood their conversations, and others could be heard in the room. The lock was picked, but some of the adventurers decided the Azer wasn’t worth the trouble. Should they bother? At that point a couple Goliaths came up behind the group and sounded the alarm.

The fight started in the hall, but quickly moved into the library. The trolls were tough. Fire was less effective than expected. The redspawn firebelcher granted it’s allies some resistance (unknown to the heroes). And even when the trolls took fire or acid damage, it didn’t always negate their regeneration. So, they focused down the Goliaths first. Then the dragonspawn. Once it went down, the trolls weren’t so tough. They fought on for a while, but died in the end.

The Azer was chained and half-mad. Torture had driven him (near) insane. It took the party over an hour of soothing talk, religious compulsion and healing to bring some sense to the man. He eventually snapped out of it, though he was exhausted and confused. The “Caretaker” was normally the sole inhabitant of the temple. He had magical control of all the guards, wards and entrances. General Zithiruun wanted control of the various portals for troop movement. He could bring soldiers in from the Astral Sea, then out to Overlook, or elsewhere. In his madness, the Caretaker lost control of the portals. Zithiruun took control and left the temple (guarded) to progress his plans elsewhere. Now that the Caretaker is alert again, he has re-established control. The heroes may leave at their leisure. He will actively block entry to the temple for a time to thwart the Githyanki.

The group recuperated and assisted the Caretaker in reconsecrating the temple. Then they returned to Overlook. Ancestor Durkik was given the relic/book. Then they visited the city council to warn them of the pending Githyanki attack. General Zithiruun used Sarshan (Shadar-kai), Sinruth (Hobgoblin), Tusker (Orc) and others to further his plans. He has mercenaries (fey, trolls, goliaths, orcs, others) staged to assault Overlook from within & without. The council asked the group for input on how to best defend against these foes since they are familiar with many of the Githyanki’s troops. The rest of the day was spent discussing city defenses, portals and enemy weaknesses.