Ciprian was worried about the staircase. "Did Elder Thyrr tell us how to open the staircases from below?"
"She didn't tell me, and I didn't hear it during the conversation," Armania replied.
"Were we sure she had visited this level?" asked Erevel.
"She said she never was in the Soul, but I thought she knew the other levels," Ciprian responded.
Ciprian pulled out the burial shrouds and he and Ursina said prayers over the bodies and wrapped them up.
Erevel moved south and looked down the eastern hall where another body lay on the floor. Gavril was following and headed toward the body. Meanwhile Erevel moved further south and noted knocked-over shelves are stacked upon one another as a makeshift barricade preventing entrance to a chamber to the west indicated on the map.
"Go away and find your own refuge," a voice cried from behind the barricade.
"We are here to help. Do you need some healing?" Erevel asked.
"Go away. You are are here to rob us. You must leave. Find your own refuge!!" another voice responded.
Hearing the voices Ciprian moved down and asked "Is Elder Lythiin with you?"
"No. Leave or we will begin firing!" said another voice.
Gavril saw bookcases along the wall of the eastern hallway. The shelves were less cluttered. The air was cooler on this level and carried the scent of old books mingled with centuries of burned candles. A sooty film coated the stone throughout. The faces carved on the walls peeked out around and over books and curios on the shelves and as Ciprian moved past toward the body the eyes seemed to follow his passage.
Ciprian found a magic short spear on the body and then began to pray and wrap the body in a shroud. Gavril moved further to see the north passage where there were two more bodies. Erevel headed back to the T intersection to head east and meet the group when she saw a ghostly, incorporeal figure emerge from the northern wall, cross the hall and enter the southern wall. Armania and Paullus were following Ciprian. Armania took a quick peek into the chamber that the map indicated held the angel valve allowing access to the next level down. A preternatural stench was barely evident in the air here among the vandalism and chaos of the chamber. Blocks of stone from the ceiling and walls littered the ground, along with mounds of books and papers. The area would be difficult to move through.
As Gavril moved up the hall way he found a a single boot with a foot still in it. As he peered down at the horrific sight a incorporeal limb emerged from the wall to his west and attacked. Gavril felt his Constitution draining away as the limb disappeared back into the wall.
"It is some kind of ghost," Paullus yelled as he readied his bow to attack if it reappeared. Everyone in the hall moved to the opposite wall, not wanting to be the next recipient of an attack. Erevel continued to meet the rest of the party and said "I saw some ghostly figure moved from one wall to another across this hallway. Get ready to fight!"
And then nothing, the creature does not emerge, not even a limb. Finally the party lowers its guard and Gavril is given some healing. Then the party moved further north, keeping to the east wall, and examined two more bodies. One body had a slimy and dented breastplate while the other had a silver hip flask with etching “To MM, from your friends at the Esoteric Knights of Evolvement,” which showed up as magic.
"MM, Hmm that should be Miacknian Mun, but this body does not resemble his "Hollow Ones," Gavril observed.
"But it probably means Mun is or was down here somewhere," Ciprian added.
To the west Ciprian headed down a small corridor to an angel statue and he twirled the head around to face the wall behind it. As he was doing that Erevel, Paullus, Gavril and Ursina moved further north into a expanded hall that held many shelves and books. Gavril was searching a dead body he felt itchy skin and a subtle wave of nausea overcome him. Ursina felt the same feeling and cast greater invisibility on herself. Gavril stood and moved toward Paullus wondering where the feeling was coming from and Erevel headed back to the others.
The four began to receive disturbing and disgusting visions of a mass of pulsing, writhing fungal bloom and sickly tendrils reaching out to caress them, and in their heads they hear a guttural and airy voice utter the name “Xhamen-Dor.”
Erevel and Paullus began to moan as patches of mold and tiny, multicolored mushroom caps painfully pushed through their skin. The Charisma of the two fell as their disfigured bodies became evident.
Ciprian yelled for everyone to follow him towards the south but it seemed that no one listened as Erevel moved to look down the west hall, Armania joined the group in the area trying to determine what this effect was. Paullus stood stock still waiting for something to shoot at while Ursina headed to the body.
After waiting around again for another attack, the party was again surprised that no attack was coming. So the party headed further to the west where another angel awaited them. Erevel turned the head to face the wall. The party wound further west to another hall expansion with more shelves and books and another angel. Gavril, Erevel and Ursina were looking further to the south when Ursina began to feel the fleeting sensation of chilling cold, building heat, burning skin, and static electricity in sequence.
Ursina looked around but saw nothing so she peered further south to the last angel. A cage of force popped into existence as Ursina rolled out from underneath it. Inside Erevel and Gavril were the focus of an explosion of energy that dealt cold damage to the pair.
Gavril tried to leave the area but was stopped by an invisible force barrier. Armania found the outside edge of the force cage and could walk along the north wall to the angel in the corner. There she also felt her sanity drain as the oozing creature roiling with hideous and nauseating shapes came into view. In a rage Erevel ran up to Armania and bashed the force area with her greatsword to no effect. Paullus tried to harm the cage but failed. Ursina sensing that this was a Haunt cast Dispel Undead on the effect hoping that the positive energy would harm it.
Inside the force cage a new round of magical energy exploded dealing fire damage to Erevel and Gavril. Ciprian then used a wand to cast Cure Light Wounds on the effect again hopeful that this new strategy would bear fruit.
Gavril yelled to Erevel to throw her Holy Water against the force and they both did so. Armania cast a fireball at one of the creatures that then moved up and attacked her, grappling as an aftereffect. The other creature moved down a the eastern hall out of view of the party. Paullus moved along the north wall to the angel and turned its head to face the wall. Ursina cast Cure Moderate Wounds against the haunt.
The magical energy erupted again within in haunt dealing acid damage. Ciprian and Paullus both felt their sanity drain as they saw the mass of mouths, throats and organs ooze forth before them. Ciprian identified the monster as a Proto-Shoggoth, which resisted acid and fire and had damage reduction against all. He then began a Bardic Performance to help his mates attack the creature. Again he applied Cure Light Wounds and the force cage seemed to melt away.
Gavril and Erevel immediately attacked the hideous monster but found that it was hard to hit and did not take all the damage. Worse it was healing damage also. Armania Dimension Stepped away from the grapple and tried to fire a lightning bolt which fizzled from her hand. The monster then attacked Gavril and Paullus hitting but failing to grapple. Ursina headed to the fourth angel and spun its head around. Ciprian applied healing to Gavril as he was yelling for help.
The battle continued back and forth as Erevel was grappled but she escaped when creature could not hold it grip. Ursina followed the other Proto-Shoggoth but never saw it. He did see the ghostly monster again moved from wall to wall across the hallway.
DM's Notes: The party earned 4800 XP for the evening. The party is learning more about fighting Haunts but they are still confused by them. The battle against the Proto-Shoggoth will continue.
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