Grim Hollow

Dia offers Tora a hand up and speaks very quietly to her in Infernal.

Infernal:

The succubus unfolds her wings for a moment. "Indeed, lead the way, you two. This is proving most interesting."

You can press on into the next room North, or you can back track around.

Father takes the lead and strides North, making sure his little chickadees are following behind as well.

THE MONOLITH
THE FOUNTAIN OF URTHIS
TEMPLE INTERIOR 
CORRIDOR OF THE SUPPLICANT
HIGH ALTAR OF THE HERALD 
UNHOLY CIRCLE OF RBTECHA
ANNIHILATION CHAMBERS
ALTAR OF COSMIC ETERNITY <----

Father: You enter a room with the same perfectly black stone walls - however, something is different - every side of the walls are writhing as if alive. An altar in the room stands out. Tentacles lash out from the walls but stop mere inches from you, as if showing signs of recognition. Something, or someone, in your mind speaks to you and offers you a gift. But not one to keep..one to give. Choose one soul, and share the Darkness with them, empowering them permanently with a new ability. No one else is allowed in the room.

GUSHING WOUND: Your successful attacks have a 20% chance to cause a bleed that will do 1d10 additional damage per turn until your target is dead. 
VOID RITUAL: Your successful attacks have a 20% chance to boost any attribute of your choice to 20 until combat is over.
INFINITE STARS: Your successful attacks have a 10% per attack to strike another enemy of your choice for the same amount of damage.

After you have made your choice, the Monolith empowers you all with it's Eldritch wisdom. Everyone gains a level.

Father takes a casual look over to the tentacles writhing and lashing out from the walls, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips when they stop mere inches away from him. He felt truly untouchable here. Powerful even. Accepted. There was no fear behind his eyes as he made way to the altar, simply enjoying the view, even reaching out to the inky tendrils that tried to lash at him as his grin grew wider. Upon the intrusion of the voice in his mind, he stood still before the altar and listened. The choices in gifts, while all gracious, was an easy decision on his part, but yet... who to give it to?

The priest emerges from the room with a small levitating ball of light in his hands, though soon, it is shrouded in darkness. "A gift from my lord," He announces to the group, raising the light briefly. "For one of you, of my choosing. A difficult decision, indeed... For I have felt the fear you all hold deep within yourselves no matter how much you try to hide it behind your masks, and that alone brings me great joy to know this place sets most of you at unease. Though, hah, there are some barely even wearing a mask at all," He gives a cool glance over to Madison before moving towards Tora.

"However, I find that you, despite not understanding the magnificence of this location... Braved it more than our compatriots here. Having walked into that little room before and surely having experienced something... terrifyingly wonderous. You deserve this for having the gall to do what the others wouldn't do. For you, my child," He offers Tora the light, it levitating in front of her for a moment before entering inside her body. "I grant you this boon."

(Skill gained! Gushing Wounds! Make them *****es FEEL it, Tora)

Exelda's fight or flight instincts keep pushing her to fade into the shadows. But here, the shadows will absorb you into the darkness. Her eyes have witnessed what her mind didn't want to believe... You become a part of the darkness, or the darkness becomes a part of you. They were all transforming one way or another. Whether she accepts it or not.

Gulp.

LeBlanc would ground herself the only way she knew how. Taking comfort with the hilts of her blades gripped into her palms, following the others down the path of inevitability.

Updating soon!

Now that I have plenty of time lol..

You're not sure how, but you can tell you have pleased an entity from another reality beyond your wildest comprehension. You can hear what could only sound like a door opening up somewhere else in the Monolith. 

Madison stared at Father. This was beyond her. Elves and dwarves were one thing, and half of her companions were unscrupulous. She would have to play her cards right. Play along. This place..it wasn't on Aetheris anymore. Her heart pounded like the thumping heartbeat in her mind. Was it fear? Probably. Was it nervousness? Absolutely. 

Father understood whatever was ruling this..place. This..dimension. The question was..what to do about it? Was there anything to do about it. She kept his eye on him. He seemed very comfortable in this place. Was he the enemy, then?

As we wrapped around to the other side, some of us were drawing power from this place - like Father and Tora. Villanelle had a terrible attitude, the succubus was borderline ******* us with her eyes, Tora was about to grow fur, and Freya was a sneeze cloud floating around. Only Xelda seemed along the same page as me. Vulcan I no longer understood. 

Dia watches Tora get her gift with a slight smile playing about her mouth. So this one can grant gifts, hmmm? The succubus let nothing of her internal thoughts show, merely tilting her head and observing Tora's reaction to her present.

"Right then, onwards?"

THE MONOLITH, PART TWO
TOMB OF THE DISMEMBERED <----

We walked around inside the Monolith and came to a new area.

A platform and an entrance deeper in the Monolith was before us. 

Along the walls were intricate perfect carvings of a massive tentacled star, and what appeared to be a map. Looking at it, it was difficult to discern anything. Two black inky sentinels guarded the way beyond. They looked like massive blobs of pitch black ink and rose and formed massive stationary talons. They looked very threatening and it was clear they were not going to let us pass. Or at least, most of us.

MECHANICS: You face two large shadow tentacles that are quite tangible and look poised to attack - they take the form of long blades or claws. They are rooted in the ground and will not move, but they will attack anyone who tries to pass. They have no initiative, they go last if you choose to attack, and will cause massive damage to all making melee ranged attacks. 

A mini hurricane of mist suddenly swirls around the group, coalescing into little ol' Freya, in the middle of the pack.  Quietly announcing "If we make one, major, all-out offensive, I think we can make it past those things.  Either that, or just turn around, and leave this weird place the exact same way we came in?"

Tora pauses before looking between Father and Vulcan. "Or... Someone could go try to touch it? Seemed to work two out of three times before."

Vulcan stares at the guards, then at everyone else, before shrugging. He mutters something in alien again before kneeling down in front of the group, a good ways away from the guards, and cocking his long powder stick (his musket). 

 He then fires at the first guard.

Attack: 12 Damage: 5

Madison draws her pistols and fires as well, using Vulcan's attack to her advantage to fire at the second guard. 

Pistol Attack: 20 Damage: 19
Feining attack extra damage: 8
Pistol Attack: 28 Damage: 28
Sneak: 18

The second tentacle exploded in a violent, inky mess, covering most of us in some cold, terribly cold, goo. Madison barked in surprise and spit, wiping her face.

Villanelle casts Elemental Weapon, covering her halberd in black fire before she swings at the tentacles.

Attack: 16 Damage: 15

Attack: 26 Damage: 17

2nd level smite: 16

The first tentacle explodes in a terrible mess, drenching you in cold eldritch ooze. While not damaging, it's messy and unnatural. They way forward is no longer blocked.

 Villanelle presses forward now that the tentacles are gone. "Another barrier down. Time to press forward."

THE MONOLITH, PART TWO
TOMB OF THE DISMEMBERED
HALL OF UMBRAL WORSHIP <----

We entered a vast room of cool darkness with a flat ceiling 20 feet high. Support pillars, perfectly round and smooth black stone, four on each side stood 10 feet from the east and west walls. Both the walls and the pillars contained extremely intricate hieroglyphics that made our eyes burn slightly at our attempt to look at them. Hallways leaded east and west from this location, in addition to a hallway north.

There was a 20 feet tall statue of an unknown person in the center of the room. There was what we knew to be writing on the base.

ARCANA DC15: ?????
Vulcan and Father have advantage and +10 on this roll. Tora has +5 but no advantage.

Dicebot dear, please stop ******* me over: 17

The dicebot will never stop ******* you over, Books: 15