Session 20: Group 2 Overview

RAMOS Eldnacht, Agent of the Order of Libertorius
ARESY, A humble healer from the South (Ysera Furyborn, Hell-Knight Signifer)
~1pm, 27th of June, 5th Era 1486 RE (Day 15)
Lake Aegis, Near First Harvest, the Western Reach

Gasping and panicking at the loss of his foot, Duncan crawls backwards away from the lake water. There was something beneath the surface, and it had chopped his right foot clean off. Ramos hit Duncan on the back of the head to stop his uncontrollable shrieking, knocking him out cold. Also somewhat panicked by the 'thing' in the water, Aresy and Ramos set about devising a means to fight back against this unseen foe. Aresy charged up a powerful shock spell and aimed it at the lake water, electrocuting everything within it. The lake surface smoldered and bubbled, and Aresy continued to channel this powerful magic against the lake's surface until she couldn't stand any more. With the water being such a good conductor, whatever lurked beneath the surface was sure to have been electrocuted. Content (and somewhat shaken) they recover Duncan's incapacitated body, and retreat back to First Harvest in order to cater to his wounds. They arrive back at the safety of the village and haul Duncan onto the dining table of the elderly woman's house. Straight away, Aresy tends to Duncan's wounds, casting Infernal Healing on his stump. She stops the bleeding and the wound begins to heal over at an astonishing rate. They rest up for a moment, and check up on the old elven woman (who is still in her living comatose state). Duncan seems stabilized, so Ramos and Aresy venture out to explore the village for more information regarding the lake. The inhabitants must have left some clues as to what was out there - their footsteps do seem to lead out to the lake after all. Ramos begins searching the 'Town hall' for clues. Although not known for sure, this building seemed to act as a mutual meeting place for the townsfolk. It was the biggest building, and inside was a large round table, and a study at the rear. In the study, he found many books and journals, and as he poured through them he found little that gave him any substantial clues. It seemed this room too had been ransacked, however there was something that had been left untouched. A locked desk drawer. Noticing this, Ramos picks the lock and inside he finds a diary -  a diary belonging to Tirandell Garrott. He rifles through the pages...Financial Figures...Crop yieldings...Village rumors and hearsay - most of it uninteresting. He searches for a pattern in the content of the journal. It seems that as he reads more of the journal, less and less is written each day. Tirandell frequently writes about the lake, and reports events that have taken place there. They seem innocent enough at first. "Little Jonny lost his fishing rod a few months back"...etc But then the events seem to get more severe. "Through years of meticulous control of the lake's freshwater fish and frog populations...It seems now that in spite of our restraint, the levels of both have decreased considerably...we are now taking special precautions to help control fishing and frogging in the lake so as not to empty the lake completely.". The last few entries in the journal are brief and vague. The last coherent entry dates back a few weeks ago, it reads: "We need to go...We need to go now.". A worrying prospect in Ramos' eyes, considering the last trace of the villagers were the footprints leading into the lake. Meanwhile, Aresy checks out the village's cemetery and is surprised to see a number of empty graves with memorial cruciforms. The majority of them state that the bodies were not recovered - the cause of this seems unclear, although one headstone reads "My beloved wife; Eladrin Garrott, she rests in the water now.". Ramos reconvenes with Aresy and Duncan at the old woman's shack, and informs them of his findings. They come to an understanding that the source of the issues in the region are originating from that lake...the 'Root of Chaos' as Glyph's prophecy puts it...perhaps they stem from under the depths.

For the duration of this tranquil summer's evening, They head out in search of food. Ramos tries his luck hunting in the nearby copse, and Aresy forages for ingredients in another. Both of their endeavors come up yielding little in the way of food. Ramos had caught a languid, emaciated gopher but decided against eating it for fear it was diseased. Aresy uncovered some wilting wild garlic, and as she plucked it, she unearthed an ants nest (the ants of which were similarly languid and sickly looking). They returned to First Harvest disheartened and with bellies rumbling. Using the stove in the old woman's house, Aresy prepared a broth of garlic, water and beef jerky. It was unpleasant, but it was food. Duncan rouses following the smell of cooked food. He seems much better thanks to Aresy's treatment of his wound, and also enjoys a bowl of broth with them.While they are eating however, Ramos hears a rustling coming from outside the shack. He darts over to the far window and slips outside in order to flank the source. Aresy places herself on the wall next to the front door, and Duncan sits defiantly on the table, with his hand on the hilt of his temple sword. The footsteps creep closer to the door, and then the door opens slowly with a creak. At this stage, Ramos leaps from the side with glaive in hand. And Aresy stands to face the cloaked figure at their door. The individual holds his hands up in surrender, and tries to reason with his captors. He seems to be a fetchling (like Ramos) although his skin is an ashen white where Ramos' is a charcoal grey. Strapped on his back sits a heavy crossbow. Ramos and Aresy question him cautiously for some time. He introduces himself as Exalis Grimdark; a traveling Inquisitor. He assures the pair of them that he means no harm, and that a vision he had received from his deity had sent him to First Harvest. From what Ramos and Aresy can tell, he seems to be telling the truth. The lightning storm that Aresy had created when she shocked the lake had also drawn him. Exalis claims that his deity is a master of the Air elements, and the lightning storm was also a factor which lured him to this desolate region.

As night fell on First Harvest, Aresy set up a bed for herself within the old lady's house. Ramos set himself up for the first watch. He was distrusting of Exalis, and wary of the lurker in the lake. What if it was amphibious? He couldn't take the chance, and made sure nothing would slip them by during the night. Exalis was understanding in Ramos' lack of trust, and he himself felt inclined to distrust Ramos back. He went into a separate shack of his own, barricading the windows and doors with furniture inside. Throughout the night, Ramos found it unusually difficult to stay awake and keep his vigil but he prevailed. Duncan on the second watch however was not so successful, and he fell asleep after only two hours. In the morning, they all woke, and found that they were alive and well. Peeved at Duncan for his insolence, Ramos kicked his rocking chair over (with Duncan still on it), and threatened that worse would follow if Duncan ever let him down again. Duncan apologized, but insisted that he as well found it very hard to stay awake. Perhaps a minor enchantment had been prevalent throughout the night. But if so, who or what was responsible? In any case, the three of them didn't want to spend any more time in this eery, empty part of the world, and knew that they would have to finally confront this malevolence that dwells in the lake. The inquisitor; Grimdark, also wakes from his night's slumber. He was compelled to go with the others to the lake - he felt that he was meant to go there, his deity had led him here to do something. Ramos, and Aresy permitted his accompaniment for the time being. It may prove useful in a combat scenario. Duncan would remain at the old lady's house in First Harvest when they went out to the lake again. He wished them all the luck in the world.

Using a kayak that Aresy found in the village, the group anxiously placed it on the lake's surface, and one by one they boarded it. They paddled out into the open body of water for many worrying minutes until they reached the center of the lake. The 'corpse' that had been floating out here had been disintegrated - following Aresy's shock spell the previous day - and only bits of it were left...floating on the surface. They were hoping that the lake lurker had also met a similar fate when they submerged into the waters. Aresy was able to cast a spell that allowed the three of them to breathe underwater for a number of hours, and so this made the situation infinitely easier for them. They submerged into the murky depths of the lake, they pulled themselves lower underwater using a makeshift rope, which they had anchored to the lake's bottom. Underwater,  they seemed to descend for many meters - hundreds even - before they reached the lake bed. A dense, slimy forest of kelp and reeds lay before them.

The Kelp Forests of Aegis Lake bed.

Warily and silently they passed through this tangled, slippery jungle. Some parts of it were so dense that Ramos had to chop his way through using his glaive. They continued on for some time until Ramos spotted something floating above. A long rubber cable hung down from above them but the water was too dark and murky for him to see where it was attached to. The cable seemed to be moving as if being pulled along the lake bottom. Ramos got himself close enough so that he could climb up the cable itself. He sliced into it using his dagger and the cable seemed to leak a greeny-black ichor. Aresy and Grimdark also followed him up the length of the cable and they all scaled it for some time until a large, dark shape could be seen at it's end.

The "Lake-Keeper" Aboleth

It became apparent as he scaled higher that the cable was connected to a huge underwater creature of some sort. He was surprised that the creature had not tried to shake them off at this point. It seemed very docile, and on further inspection, it seemed very weak. As if it was dying. Many of it's scales were charred and blistering - no doubt a result of the shock spell, and it seemed to groan in pain. Many parts of it's body had been augmented. Reinforced with metallic embellishments. On the ends of it's tentacles were metal graspers. Who or what had done this to this creature?
The creature seemed to communicate with them telepathically. It spoke of it's great pain and suffering. It spoke of an individual who had been responsible for it's mechanized enhancements. And spoke of the 'Sanctuary' - the creature was afraid of this place. Its finally asked to be killed for it was dying slowly already and had lived a terrible life of pain at the hands of this sinister new foe. Out of sympathy, and mercy, the three of them climbed onto the creatures back, and stabbed and sliced it with their blades until it finally died. The creature cascaded to the lake bottom and the three party members climbed back down the cable they had come from. With no real lead on where to head now, Ramos led them along the rest of the cable. To see where it ended. Trailing along the lake bed, the cable led through many forests and fields of kelp and reeds until it led to the edge of a shallow overlook. In the 'valley' beneath them stood this glimmering structure, built onto the very rock itself. This underwater 'facility' was like nothing they'd ever seen before. It's metal, riveted walls were made from this polished metal and there were great, thick windows built into it's side. Astonished, Ramos, Aresy and Grimdark progressed towards this structure. Could this be the 'sanctuary'?, and if so, should they themselves be afraid? They progressed closer still to the windowed walls of the facility until two spotlights shone down on them. In the nearest window they could make out a rather ordinary humanoid brushing his teeth. He seemed to spot them from his window. His actions slowed in astonishment, and he beckoned to another person in his vicinity. An elven woman came rushing in and stood next to him, she too began to peer out of the window, to gawp at Ramos and the others. What was this place? Could these people be the missing villagers?