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Nycaloth, Vilnius, and the Book

Curse of Strahd = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Session 60 – 2022-05-21

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Session Summary

Session 60

We were fighting a Nycaloth, Rinn was first and began the night by moving down the far stairs and down the floor, along the wall, stealthing. Misty climbed down one of the nearby walls and made her way to a nearby shadowy area. She prepared to fire a magic missile at the creature, should it become revealed. Kyanna cast a daylight spell breaking the darkness blocking him from view. Haldar fired at it and hit it a couple of times.  Dain fired a crossbow twice at it and basically only barely scratched it. Zanfyr, as a giant bat attempted to bite him but missed. Kassamir moved down the stairs and ducked behind a column, fired a crossbow at him and hit him. The Nycaloth disappeared and reappeared by Rinn, taking a shot at him but missed. Snoggly fired magic missiles at the Nycaloth and finished him off.
 
We moved back to the door at the top of the stairs on the eastern side or that floor. Rinn made his way back up to the others. Dain cracked open the door and peaked inside. The room was empty except for a ten-foot diameter hole in the floor, empty torch sconces on the wall, double doors of amber stood open to the north and a single closed door was just south of us. Dain looked up and saw nothing on the ceiling. Dain moved into the room to the hole and looked down into the hole and saw that the chamber below was where the three amber sarcophagi were. It’s the room where the flame skulls came down to attack us earlier. Rinn checked the single door to the south and opened it. The room is very cold and there are bits of wood crushed and scattered about. Rinn came in and searched for secret doors on the far side and found one and opened it. It led to a room with arrow slits looking into the entry hallway. In the northeast corner of the room was a skeleton in robes holding a wand. Rinn scooped up the wand.

Rinn moved out into the main chamber, and nothing yelled at him about being a robber and thief. He checked the walls of the main chamber for secret doors and didn’t find any. He checked it for traps and found none. He used his mage hand to open the door while Misty took the front position. The door opened to a wide corridor with Amber double doors standing open to the North, and closed doors in the center of the Eastern wall. There were arrow slits in the western wall. The walls are coated with glazed amber. The floor is cracked. Misty picked a spot and shadow stepped across the corridor. She examined the floor to see if it looked safe. What she saw was more like the floor is cracked from impacts. Using a message spell that Rinn is keeping opened, and she told him that the floor looked safe and there was nothing in the corridor. Rinn moved in and scoped it out.  

Rinn made his way into the corridor and to the doors on the eastern wall, checked them and prepared to open them. This room was lit by red copper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The walls were sheathed in amber with bas-reliefs of wizards with spell books. There were stairs to the North and South leading past rows of red marble benches descending to the main floor, facing an obsidian lectern on the far side of the room. Behind it, hanging from chains, was a black slate. Rinn moved down the Northern stairs toward the lectern, looking down each row of benches as he passed for anything that might be sitting in there. He searched the lectern for traps and anything on it. He found nothing. He did spot someone behind the a desk, near the hanging slate. Rinn backed away from the slate and messaged Dain that there was someone behind the desk, asked him to pass it on. I tried to determine what kind of creature it was. Dain passed on the message, Rinn messaged Haldar as well, before he called out to the creature, “Hello, I see you hiding back there. We all know you are hiding back there. We’ve not come here to hurt anybody.“.  The creature moved a little, slowly showed itself to us before quickly hiding again. He called out, “Please don’t hurt me, please!”. Rinn replied that we have no intention of hurting him but that he must come out where we can clearly see him.

A figure finally crawled out from behind the desk and stood up. He was small, with unkempt hair, and his face looked burned. His arms appeared covered in blisters. Rinn asked him how long he’d been here. He indicated he’d been here about two days now. Rinn said, “I assume you hid here because of all the flame skulls lurking around outside this chamber.”. He said “No…You mean you haven’t seen it?”. Rinn replied, “Haven’t seen what?”. The person replied, “The big statue thing!”. Rinn told him that we destroyed a big statue thing, not sure if it was the same one, he described the Golem we destroyed before. The person said yes, “It was big and the same color as these walls.”. Rinn asked how he got to the temple as it was very difficult for us to get here. 

He stepped out a little more into the light and what we thought were burn marks were actually boils and blisters and such, all over his skin. He said, “Don’t be afraid, I know I look hideous. I assure you, it is not contagious.”. Snoggly spoke up and asked, “So lad, what’s your name and what are you doing in this place?”. He stepped out a little more, looking towards the voice that had posed the question and said, “My name is Vilnius, I’m not sure how I came to be here.”. Snoggly began questioning his clan heritage but Vilnius did not know of whom he spoke. Snoggly asked him if he knew some bare breasted woman with an 8 pound baby but even for Rinn, it was hard to discern. Vilnius looked to Rinn asking, “What did he say?”. Rinn just indicated that he does have quite a strong accent. Rinn asked again, “How did you get here?”. 

He said that he came seeking a cure for this condition. My family has been unfortunate enough to be afflicted by a terrible disease. It is not contagious but stays within my family. I am originally from a town called Calimport. As children, my sister brought this curse upon our family when she … found something or .. we don’t really know how. She came home one night behaving sullen and distant. The next morning she was gone. She was missing for several days. During that time My father, mother and I began developing this condition. Blisters and boils on our skin. Our skin was red and raw as if burned by the sun.  We pressed on in our search though none would help us, for fear of catching what we had. In a weeks, time we found my sister’s corpse in a mire, near our home. Her body consumed by molds, fungus’ and rot. Was this to be our fate? We found naught nearby but a thatch hut. Recently abandoned. My father said my sister (Cara) was cursed by the ancient fey creatures that dwelled in the swamp. She had no doubt trespassed among them they cursed her bloodline for her transgression. I grew up shunned and mocked. For years I have sought a cure. 

In my search I thought to question the sages at Candlekeep. In the region, I came across an encampment near Beregost. Fortune tellers and mediums, Vistani they called themselves. I was desperate and they foretold a way to be cured. I paid them from my meager possessions and an old woman laid out cards before me and told me of a mountain shrouded in mists and ice. Ancient knowledge in Amber halls. There, my hope is contained and will be known to me. After the reading, and for a price, they could arrange my transport to this place. Their guide, Alexei, led me north for several days then one morning I awoke in a thick and blinding fog. Alexei was gone and I was left for dead. It was so cold, but these ragged garments had been left for me. When the fog cleared, I had but one path. The remnants of an ancient road leading down this mountain. I followed it here. Snow, wind, and many perils I faced, The terrible sounds of the whatever lives (can live) outside, made me thankful to find this place. Once inside, I saw the amber.. as foretold… but soon I was set upon by flaming skulls and I fled only to find a huge amber giant. I hide here. But I hear it outside. Tell me, what is this place? Where am I? Who are you?

Rinn introduced us and told him that this was a place called the Amber Temple. We’ve been told this is a very evil place and those that come don’t leave or if they do, they are scarred or changed in some way. We expected to run into a powerful Lich which we may have, but if he is the powerful Lich, he seems to be going mad. Snoggly spoke up then and asked what the Vistani told him he had to do in this place to get rid of his pox. He was told it would be revealed to him. Snoggly asked if anything had been revealed to him yet to which he replied that though it sounded crazy, he thought he knew where he had to go. Snoggly said something about Kassamir knowing where he had to go. Then Snoggly asked where he had to go. Vilnius said well, first he had to get out of this room and asked if the beast was still out there. We told him that the flame skulls were destroyed, and that we had destroyed that matched his description but didn’t know that there might be another around here. Snoggly asked if he had picked up something in here as that might be what’s caused them to attack him. He said “No.”. He told us that he only walked in the front door. Rinn told him that he’s not allowed to take anything from this place unless it is freely given. 

Snoggly suggested that Kyanna should look at his condition. She looks him over and determines that this is something she doesn’t really want to be exposed to. He assures us that we can’t catch it as it only affects his family. Then he suggests that we look like a strong group, maybe able to help him. We offered to allow him to tag along with us. Snoggly does point out that if he does find something that might help him here, that he probably wouldn’t be happy with the result. Then there was a discussion about the bastard on the hill. Rinn explained to him who Strahd is and that he is a Vampire. He finally makes his way up the stairs and looks out into the hallway. Ezmerelda and Kassamir are in the corridor, and he asked them if they’ve seen anything. Ezmerelda and Kassamir both seemed shocked at his appearance. They keep their distance from him, and he introduces himself to them. Rinn finishes searching the desk and lectern and slate and finds nothing. 

 They all return to the corridor and begin heading North with Vilnius indicates that what he is looking for is South. We decide to follow him for a bit to see what he is searching for. He heads South and Dain catches up with him and keeps close by him. He heads to the top of the stairs leading to the main room and begins making his way down the stairs. He doesn’t have dark vision, so we tell him what’s ahead and we descend into the main chamber below. Ultimately, we follow him back to the same room where we found Kassamir. He opened the door and entered the room, making his way to the Southern Amber sarcophagus. He becomes very aggressive as he moves towards it saying, “I’ve found you at last!”. His hand moved toward his chest and his arm made a downward and outward motion. He smashed something into the Amber, the Amber begins glow and crack as he yells, “There you go you putrid bitch! I’ve done it! Now cure me and let me go!”. We here a very mocking sort of feminine laughter and a female voice saying, “No!”. The Amber sarcophagus shatters and collapses into pieces on the floor. We see a tall woman, with paled Purple Grey skin, in a dress of deep violet, and grey green hair that resembles a fungus that extends on either side of her head and her eyes were covered with a purple fungus that mimics the shape of a masquerade mask. Poor Vilnius is suddenly and violently consumed by the boils and blisters on him, as they seemingly come alive and begin eating his face and chest and down his arms as he screams in terrible pain. Within about 30 seconds, it consumes him entirely and he is gone! The woman laughs evilly shouting, “I am freeee!”, and she vanishes. 

Rinn wondered aloud, I wonder who that was. Snoggly said, “I don’t believe we wanted to know who that was. In thinking back, Dain believed that he slammed an amulet into the Amber. We were wondering who might be in the others when Snoggly asked Kassamir, “Who’s in the one you talked to?”. “Fekra”, he replied. Snoggly asked why he didn’t let that one out. He simply said, “Because it didn’t ask me to!”. Dain found the remnants of a chain but the item at the other end is gone. This reminded Rinn ot the two amulets he carries, one for Sykane(He) and one for Yrrga(She). He remembers their promise that they would free his sister from Strahd if he come to them in the Amber Temple. He would learn secrets that would aid him in saving his sister. Now though, he thinks they are sinister. If they are of this place, they can not be trusted. They saved Vilnius by destroying him. I explain to the rest of the group about the two amulets and after much discussion, realizes that this is probably a very bad idea to aid Sykane or Yrrga. After everyone searched their memories of things studied, it was decided that the creature released might possibly be an avatar of Zgutmoy, the Lady of rot and decay, a demon queen. Dain considers that the temple may be a sort of prison where powerful creatures such as this, are held and their power siphoned off and used by the temple, or the Lich of the temple. After a great deal of speculation, we decided to head back to the room upstairs that we hadn’t searched yet. 

We made it back to the opened double doors and look into the room. The Eastern wall has collapsed, there are double doors made of amber in the Western wall. In the center of the room is a 10-foot-tall statue of a Jakal headed warrior made of Amber. We discuss the statue and decide that we can take it on better in the corridor outside this room. Everyone but Haldar and Rinn moved to the other end of the corridor, Dain taking the front there to act as a barrier. Rinn hid just outside the room, Haldar entered to room planning to get its attention and lead it out into the ambush. Haldar moves closer and closer, but nothing seems to happen. He moves to the Western door and opens it. It’s the balcony. To the West of it, is the forty-foot statue and to the North is another door. 

He tells the rest of the group that the statue has not responded. It’s suggested that he throw a rock at it. He moved behind the statue and picked up a rock and moved back near the door and threw the rock at it, nothing happened. He moved up to it again and kicked it. Besides hurting his foot, a little, nothing happened. Dain moved back into the room and chops at one of its legs until it broke off and the statue fell over. He then chopped off the head and pronounced victory. We all enter the room and Rinn searches for secret doors but finds nothing.  

We move through thew Western door and then to the Northern door off of the balcony. Rinn checks the door and uses hies Mage Hand spell to open the door. This room mirrors the other shrine on the other balcony except its obsidian statue is down and left shattered on the floor. Candle sticks were lying on the floor. There are two anti-alcoves North and South of the Eastern end of the room. Haldar entered the room and checked it out. It does mirror the other room but, in this room, everything is destroyed. Rinn searches the rest of the room for secret doors and find’s nothing. Haldar moves to the Western side of this room and opens a door leading to small room with a seat and an arrow slit into the main chamber below. We thought about it a while and decided that we missed one secret room in front on the top floor. We moved back there and found it mirrored the other room on the Eastern side with arrow slits overlooking the entry way. Next, we decided we must have missed something in the liches chamber so we headed back there.

We make our way back to the library where the lich is waiting for us. Once in the library, the Lich starts into his regular series of questions, but Rinn cuts him off with his own questions. As he asks his questions, he uses his mage hand to lift the robe of the Lich about a foot off of the ground to see what he is standing on. He is standing on his booted feet. Kyanna suggests he open the robe hire to make sure there isn’t a belt pouch under the robe. The Lich doesn’t seem to pleased with this but doesn’t struggle. We find nothing. We begin searching the room thoroughly. He asked if he could help us. We told him we were looking for his laboratory. He thought for a long while and told us it is beyond the skulls. We debated what skulls he was talking about. We finally decided that the rooms with doors that we hadn’t opened yet might be a good place to search. 

The skulls were hidden behind a wall. That was the final clue.