Abyss Modified Session 34: Behold, a Well Below

Our adventure started with the group talking with the Pulldiver Delvers about an escape plan and raiding the rest of the treasure hoard. The professor had a way out and would share it with the group. The party heard the sounds of battle above them as battle was joined and the dragon was back from its banishment. Orion reported Haskan was gone as he rejoined the group. They teleported back to their ship, found a wayward Tamin on board, also hired by the Companion, and set sail as far away as they could get. Their journey to the Moonshae Isles was quick. They observed swarms of flying creatures above Waterdeep so they kept their distance. Large swaths of destruction swept across the land, strange monsters could be seen hunting animals and when they hit the ocean, they found the putrid green water polluted with the corpses of dead whales and what appeared to be a dead kraken. As they watched something bit the kraken in half and pulled it under the water.

They sailed higher in the clouds as to not be noticed by whatever was eating krakens, and eventually started seeing islands in the distance, almost glowing green on the horizon. They flew over majestic mountains and forests that seemed almost untouched by the devastation found elsewhere. There were castles that looked as if they were under siege by other worlds creatures, but helping them was not the groups goal. They checked their map and found Oman, the island they needed to find within sight. They eventually found a strange tower next to a large burial mound with a deep cave on its side. The party noticed the piles of corpses littering the ground between the cave mouth and the stone tower.

They called out a greeting and watched as one of the windows on the tower, an iron slab covering it, lifted up and a small head poked out and asked who they were. Before they could answer the slab slammed shut and another one opened, again revealing a small face and vaguely they could see red hats on the figures. The party asked about all the dead bodies and were told the people had tried to rise up against the tower, and for that were struck down. the group asked who was in charge and was told the master was down in the mound, doing some sort of magics. The group thanked them and headed into the mound, avoiding the pile of humanoid corpses.

The tunnel was a perfectly smooth cylinder carved out of the stone. It led miles upon miles down into the island and eventually the party lost sight of the light behind them. They came to a chamber with two stone figures sitting in the center, facing the entrance and slightly blocking the way out, another smooth tunnel. The party was not sure what the figures were and Drifting Cloud started casting detect magic. As soon as he started the magic the figures started talking to each other, placing bets if Drifting Cloud would finish his spell or not. He stopped and one stone man passed the other a few coins. The group grilled the strange rock men, claiming that they themselves had come here to work with the master, with a high deception check. The stone men, Galeb Duhr, claimed that Many Eyes had come down and was doing magic with the old Moon Well. Many Eyes, or Zaelzorb as they found out, seemed to be some kind of monster with undead minions and was further into the mound. The Galeb Duhr demanded the party, even if they shared the same boss, that they would need some sort of tax to let them pass. Godric asked if they would have to pay on the return trip and the creatures laughed. They gave the creatures a few coins and headed deeper into the mound.

Zaelzorb and his henchmen at the Moon Well

Finding cover

They found a large chamber with a domed ceiling and a hill topped with a green glowing well.there were broken buildings and a few pillars on the field as well, almost as if the ground itself had devoured this chamber to lock it away. At the apex of the dome a faint ray of moonlight trickled in. Two cloaked figures and a huge beholder were staring deeply into the water of the well. Mild panic set in and the group separated, Xanaphia and Tamin running off towards the broken building, Drifting Cloud, Godric, and Orion attempting to hide behind a large boulder. Godric only got as far as a smaller outcropping of rocks. The beholder, Zaelzorb saw them. He turned his central eye on the ruined building, catching Xanaphia and Tamin within its anti-magic cone. It blasted at Godric, Orion, and Drifting Cloud with its eye beams, they were able to resist most of their effects. Drifting Cloud dropped a spiritual guardian of Anubis, which took a few chunks out of Zaelzorb before getting out of range. The beholder took to the sky, wanting to reduce the effectiveness of the two melee fighters closing in.

Chaos

As the battle progressed the cloaked figures made their way around the ruins and the pillars and attempted to restrain the group with magic so their master could blast them easier, one succeeded in holding Drifting Cloud in place. Orion was thrown into the air with telekinesis, Tamin found magic oils do not work while within the gaze of a beholder, various members of the group were blasted with death rays numerous times. Godric was able to get on top of the beholder and lop off one of its eye stalks, driving the beast into a rage. Orion attempted to throw his javelin of lightning but it failed to activate, falling to the ground. Once Orion was free, he attempted to get the javelin again but the beholder hit him with a sleep ray. Xanaphia wild surged quicker spells, which only helped a little bit, allowing for a spell and full weapon attack using the almost forgotten crossbow. Tamin made great use of his sneak attack, picking his shots carefully and attempting to not draw attention to himself.

Pesky adventurer being tackled by a bag of bones on a beholder

Godric, atop Zaelzorb, continued to hack into the beast, eventually getting tackled by one of the cloaked figures, a deathlock. He was being sick of getting blasted with terrible arcane energy and fled with misty step to run and heal up a bit. Around this time, he noticed Orion asleep so he threw one of the juggling mushrooms from his pack at him, waking him from his badly timed slumber. Orion was then hit with a fear ray, which he elected to ignore being a monk. Eventually they took down the two deathlock cultists and Zaelzorb had had enough. He started fleeing but Godric was in his way. He used his telekinetic ray and just shoved Godric into the corrupted moon well. Zaelzorb started retreating towards the domes moonlit peak but was struck down by the combined efforts of the group, almost falling on the submerged Godric.

Moments before Godric was in the corrupted Moon Well

The group pulled Godric out of the disgusting water and he was in drastic pain, possibly even cursed. Drifting Cloud cast remove curse twice, once on Godric removing his goopy affliction, and once on the Moon Well. They harvested parts of the beholder, tossing it into braziers and cleansed the demonic essence from the burial mound. We stopped there for the night, and the party leveled to level 11.  

*I did not make the amazing battle map, it belongs to my FLGS*