(Cybele, give me an Arcana check. If you get a 15 or higher:)
The statue is amplifying the eldritch surges in the mansion - those strange occurrences like the air thickening or that shadow of yourself. If the statue is destroyed, the eldritch surges will probably stop occurring throughout the mansion.
Cybele can't make heads nor tails of the work or the statue. At this point, the cultists have stopped their work and are now staring at you all with a "You can leave now - you are interrupting us" look...
From the temple room (24), the party heads south through the double doors into a vestry area (26a). This dusty chamber contains four unlocked wooden trunks, each of which contains four dark-purple silk robes. Deciding to try and 'blend in', the young adventurers each grab a robe and put it on over their armor. In the next room (26b), iron brackets bolted to the walls hold four sputtering torches that cast this otherwise empty room in dim light. On the far side of the room, a spiral staircase descends into darkness. From below, you hear a human voice chanting in a blasphemous tongue.
The staircase leads to a roughly circular cave (D27) that is empty and unlit. Opposite the stairs, though a twelve-foot-wide archway, you see a similar cavern lit by purple light emanating from four large crystals jutting from the floor. All crystals flicker in concert with the chanting that echoes through the caves.
The chants come from a sallow, dark-robed figure who stands near the edge of a circle of arcane runes inscribed on the floor. The figure recites an eldritch passage from a book, then carefully sets the book atop a wooden crate near the back wall. The figure turns toward the circle, wherein kneels a headless body in plate armor. A sluglike creature has attached itself to the body’s neck, almost like a makeshift head. The slug’s form is covered with mouths and eyes that open and close in and out of existence!
Meiki realizes that whatever far realm entity is causing the magic anomalies in the mansion is likely controlling the figure, and he manages to get Markos to wrestle with the possibility that he’s not in control of his actions. He continues trying to complete the ritual, but is distracted. The party, not wanting to face the conjoined creature wafter the ritual is complete, gang up on the weird, wormlike thing acting like a head.
Turns out, it was a fragment of Krokulmar. Markos was trying to attach it to the headless body of one of Elra’s adventuring companions, thus enabling a piece of Krokulmar to exist outside the Far Realm. By destroying the fragment, you end the possible threat of this creature! Sending the fragment back to the Far Realm ends the eldritch surges in Delphi Mansion, frees Markos from Krokulmar’s influence, restores Zala Morphus and Esquire to their former human selves, and causes the cultists in the mansion to flee. Once free of that influence, Markos is horrified by his actions and gladly gives up The Celestial Codex.
The Celestial Codex is filled with arcane lore about the stars and the planes of existence. Nestled among its benign descriptions are eldritch incantations written in Celestial, and tucked between the book’s pages are two spell scrolls (armor of Agathys and arms of Hadar).
(This concludes the adventure! You return to Daggerford with the COdex and return it. The mage tells the Duke about your exploits, and you are invited to join the Duke and his sister for a formal dinner to celebrate your victory! Cybele is even asked to perform, showcasing her bardic talents for all of the high-class merchants and friends of the noble family!)
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Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
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(Cybele, give me an Arcana check. If you get a 15 or higher:)
The statue is amplifying the eldritch surges in the mansion - those strange occurrences like the air thickening or that shadow of yourself. If the statue is destroyed, the eldritch surges will probably stop occurring throughout the mansion.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Arcana: 3 XD
Cybele can't make heads nor tails of the work or the statue. At this point, the cultists have stopped their work and are now staring at you all with a "You can leave now - you are interrupting us" look...
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Map of the mansion:
From the temple room (24), the party heads south through the double doors into a vestry area (26a). This dusty chamber contains four unlocked wooden trunks, each of which contains four dark-purple silk robes. Deciding to try and 'blend in', the young adventurers each grab a robe and put it on over their armor. In the next room (26b), iron brackets bolted to the walls hold four sputtering torches that cast this otherwise empty room in dim light. On the far side of the room, a spiral staircase descends into darkness. From below, you hear a human voice chanting in a blasphemous tongue.
The staircase leads to a roughly circular cave (D27) that is empty and unlit. Opposite the stairs, though a twelve-foot-wide archway, you see a similar cavern lit by purple light emanating from four large crystals jutting from the floor. All crystals flicker in concert with the chanting that echoes through the caves.
The chants come from a sallow, dark-robed figure who stands near the edge of a circle of arcane runes inscribed on the floor. The figure recites an eldritch passage from a book, then carefully sets the book atop a wooden crate near the back wall. The figure turns toward the circle, wherein kneels a headless body in plate armor. A sluglike creature has attached itself to the body’s neck, almost like a makeshift head. The slug’s form is covered with mouths and eyes that open and close in and out of existence!
Meiki realizes that whatever far realm entity is causing the magic anomalies in the mansion is likely controlling the figure, and he manages to get Markos to wrestle with the possibility that he’s not in control of his actions. He continues trying to complete the ritual, but is distracted. The party, not wanting to face the conjoined creature wafter the ritual is complete, gang up on the weird, wormlike thing acting like a head.
Turns out, it was a fragment of Krokulmar. Markos was trying to attach it to the headless body of one of Elra’s adventuring companions, thus enabling a piece of Krokulmar to exist outside the Far Realm. By destroying the fragment, you end the possible threat of this creature! Sending the fragment back to the Far Realm ends the eldritch surges in Delphi Mansion, frees Markos from Krokulmar’s influence, restores Zala Morphus and Esquire to their former human selves, and causes the cultists in the mansion to flee. Once free of that influence, Markos is horrified by his actions and gladly gives up The Celestial Codex.
The Celestial Codex is filled with arcane lore about the stars and the planes of existence. Nestled among its benign descriptions are eldritch incantations written in Celestial, and tucked between the book’s pages are two spell scrolls (armor of Agathys and arms of Hadar).
(This concludes the adventure! You return to Daggerford with the COdex and return it. The mage tells the Duke about your exploits, and you are invited to join the Duke and his sister for a formal dinner to celebrate your victory! Cybele is even asked to perform, showcasing her bardic talents for all of the high-class merchants and friends of the noble family!)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?