The Green Die, So Beautiful, It Calls To Me

On the morning of Planting 16, SWAG enjoyed breakfast at the small inn at the center of Surrinak village. PFOS summoned a mighty feast at a nearby table, and chowed down. SWAG noticed a magical scry sensor hovering in the air above them.

Horses approached, and four heavily armed men entered the establishment, along with a female elf and a strange figure hidden under a flowing cloak. A hush fell over the locals, who avoided glances with the new arrivals, while PFOS perked up and closely watched the members of SWAG.

The figure whispered to the elf in a language that appeared to be Undercommon. The elf relayed that Baron Surrinak welcomed the esteemed Professor Carrack and his group, but that unfortunately a tour of the castle could not be arranged due to Surrinak family illnesses. SWAG asked questions but received few answers, and most of the entourage left. Quintavian made arrangements to "visit" one of the guard later that night.

SWAG slipped out of town to the north, and then circled back through the forest toward the Surrinak hunting lodge. They noticed a hawk following them, but it later circled and departed. SWAG found a trail and located the stone lodge - meticulously clean but entirely empty. They silently approached and found a secret entrance with stairs descending into the depths, and noticed an abjuration spell hidden 10' beyond the door to the descending stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, female drow with bucklers bearing the Surrinak logo opened fire with bows and poisoned arrows, but Red uncannily dodged aside. The room had two sets of double doors heading north and south, and a glowing violet field covering a demon gate to the east. The group then entered melee, eventually taking out the drow. They heard a bar slam on the doors to the south, blocking that exit.

SWAG headed north, finding a hallway leading to a violet demon gate and another ending in a demon gate emanating a curtain of flames. Carrack remembered a bard tale of a similar device, enabling him and Erlwyn to disable the violet gate. The violet, shimmering curtain disappeared, revealing two more drow bearing hand crossbows and rapiers in a room with a stagnant, oily pool, sinister looking elephant statues, and yet another flaming gate. Petra then took out the drow with her mighty cleavage.

Carrack and Erlwyn disabled the flame gate, revealing an octagonal room with four altars bearing old women holding mysterious objects. In the room a powerful drow cleric and two grimlocks bearing mighty axes attacked. The grimlocks attacked, landing mighty axe blows while the drow cleric announced herself as the High Priestess Lanthurrae. She drew a wand of sound burst, repeatedly blasting SWAG with its cacophonous waves. Quintavian put one grimlock to sleep, while SWAG took out the other one. Red charged Lanthurrae, inflicting enough damage to force her to withdraw with an invisibility spell. SWAG blocked the doors and stumbled into Lanthurrae, dealing her final death blows.

All was quiet again in the room, save for the hum of the nearby demon gate. SWAG began to search, examining the mysterious objects on the altars and rifling the pockets of the deceased drow priestess...