Ephemera Session 5: Light, Loss and the Star of the Maiden

Cast of Characters

Conner, Magic-User ( +Tim Shorts )
Egbert, Magic-User ( +Rob Conley  )
Sandy, Dwarven Fighter ( +Daniel McEntee  )
John the Rotund, NPC Hireling Fighter (KIA)
Alfred, NPC Torchbearer
Tub, NPC Charmed Frost-Goblin Guard
Bob, NPC Charmed Swarthy Dwarf

After exploring the refectory in the abandoned Temple of Balus at the end of the last session, the party returns to the room they had spiked shut previously and take down the four skeletons they had seen there.

Moving on, they enter a Prayer Hall, containing murals of satyrs and satyresses, dancing in the woods. One older, larger satyr seems to preside over the frolic. In the center of the ceiling, some 50' up, is a skylight carved in the shape of the sun, through which daylight filters down in a 10' diameter column. In the center of the column of light is a pedestal on which nothing sits.

Sandy reaches his hand into the light and finds that it feels "healthy and wholesome" and senses there is something magical about it. When he casts a glance at the older satyr in the mural, he could swear its eyes twinkle.

Curious about the light, Conner asks Bob, the swarthy dwarf (charmed NPC), to give himself a minor cut on the hand and then extend his hand into the light. Some grumbling, coaxing, and a reaction roll later, and Bob complies. The tiny wound heals immediately.

Continuing onward, the party enter what was, apparently, the high priest's chamber, and therein are attacked by another Phantom Cloak. Sandy reacts very quickly to this one and dispatches it before it can do any harm. A search of the room yields several objects of interest including a silver statue in the form of the sun atop columns of light extending downward, and small box with a brass plaque labeled "The Star of the Maiden." The box contains a brilliant pink gem, similar to the one previously discovered on the Frost Demon's Island, which bore the legend "Star of the Courtier."

Pleased with this discovery the party move on to the next room which turns out to be a library. Another four skeletons are encountered, and though they are destroyed, it is not without loss. Egbert's hireling fighter, John the Rotund is slain by the undead fiends.

However, the party discover a secret compartment in the wall, in which they find a Scroll of Protection from Magic (10' radius).

The party advance into the next room, an alchemical laboratory, where they find a potion in a bottle with a sun symbol on it, whose color and consistency resembles that of a Potion of Cure Light Wounds they had found earlier.

In a bid to revive the deceased John the Rotund, the party return him to the Prayer Hall. They lay his body within the column of light, hoping it will bring him back. The light seems to form a sparkling aura around him, as if magic were at play that was trying to work, but nothing happens.

And with that, we ended the session.