20: The Dolindar Tomb

   

Map of the Hallix Mausoleum

After their harrowing battle with Vecna's mages, the group took a much-needed ten-minute rest, allowing Bessok to cast a powerful healing spell that invigorated everyone. Feeling restored, they decided to press on. Bessok took point, heading down the nearby stairs into an adjoining room (C16). Here, they found bones, robes, and occasional urns in nooks, with small beds aligned against the northern wall—no doubt where the two defeated mages had been resting.

As Bessok was about to turn, his hand brushed against a nearby urn, and it remained steadfastly in place, twisting slightly. Not wanting to risk it, he called Joe to inspect it, but Joe couldn't discern anything further. Bessok gave it a twist. A hidden door slid back, revealing a secret passage that ended in another door. As this door opened, they became aware of distant chanting to the south—a ritual was in progress.

Jerot Galgin,
Necromancer

Calling the others over, Bessok moved down the narrow passage and opened the next door, which slid open just like the previous one. Inside, the room (C25) was surprisingly lavish. A desk with a comfortable chair sat across the room, alongside a small bed. The walls were adorned with large, colourful tapestries depicting gruesome scenes: a vampire's fist through someone's chest grasping a heart, ghouls feasting on screaming victims, specters draining life from a kneeling woman. A truly "lovely" decor.

A search of the desk revealed papers detailing a ritual designed to drain a victim's knowledge and secrets, channelling the power directly to Vecna. The first test was on a cult member who had turned against them, left as a warning. The notes also mentioned a "shadow crossing," a perceived weakness in the area creating a potential rift between this plane and a plane inhabited by undead. The writer, Jerot Galgin, intended to research this crossing further when he had time.

With two missing persons still unaccounted for, they gathered the information and retraced their steps back to the common room. A quick check to the south (C15) revealed only a kitchen. So, they travelled north instead, down another set of stairs into a long corridor stretching east to west with multiple doors (C23).

Aware of voices to the east, Bessok was more intrigued by a woman further west in the corridor. Dressed as a cultist, she made no reaction to their presence, merely watching them, her arms and head hanging limply, long brown hair partly obscuring her face, which she made no attempt to adjust. She stood perfectly still, only lilting slightly as if not fully in control of her own body. Moving closer, Bessok reached out and pushed her to see if she was aware of them. The woman stumbled backward, regaining her footing, but still no response. After reading the previous notes, Bessok suspected she might be the ritual's initial victim, or what remained of her. Deciding to leave her alone, he returned to the sound of voices, leaving Gark to try and "help" the woman in his unique way. When the first slap didn't snap her out of it, he tried a few more times...

Bessok peered around the corner into the room with the voices (C17), finding four more Vecna cultists and two Ghouls, whom they were trying to push into tidying the books. The floor was uneven, bookshelves lined the walls, and a large stone coffin rested against the northern wall. Alerting the others, Joe was first into the room, unleashing a fireball from his trusty wand, which quickly turned the enemies to dust. So much for them!

A Barlgura

Taking a quick look around, Bessok found a secret passage. Though many books had been incinerated by the fireball, plenty remained intact, some of considerable value. Moving to the end of the secret passage, they heard strange, demonic voices, reminiscent of large apes, followed by the scraping of metal. Unsure what they would encounter, Morthwyl was placed at the front, the tough fighter ready to charge. The secret door opened, and she charged straight into the back of a Barlgura, who was scraping names off hundreds of metal plates on the walls—a "room of remembrance" (C19). With Morthwyl's powerful attacks, supported by Joe's precise arrows, the first ape-like creature was dead before it could even react. Morthwyl quickly moved to the next, and with Joe's support, the problem was swiftly resolved.

Indrina Lamsensettle

Continuing along their current path, they found a door on the other side of the room and opened it to a hideous, sewer-like stench (C20)! Here, they found another of the missing nobles: Indrina Lamsensettle, sitting on a mattress atop a low shelf, her mouth and nose covered by a silk scarf to block out the stench. Realizing she might finally be rescued, she quickly jumped up and asked to be taken out. However, Bessok stood in her way, demanding she reveal the secret the cult was after, recalling the note about Lord Neverember.

Not exactly employing empathy or reason, Bessok was refused. Indrina again pleaded to be let out. Deciding she needed a more "feminine touch," Morthwyl stepped in. Her softer voice almost brought Indrina to tears. Pleading to be released, she finally divulged the secret: Indrina had been researching Lord Neverember, using skilled genealogists, and had assembled proof that he was a fake, not related to the previous Lord Nashar. Assuming she was in danger, she had fled Neverwinter with her acting troupe, settling in Yartar, but constantly looking over her shoulder.

Content with this revelation, the group allowed Indrina to leave. Gark and Morthwyl escorted her to the common room and pointed her towards the exit. Indrina was last seen muttering about a long bath and plenty of perfumes as she disappeared into the dark.

With the third missing noble found, only one remained. Hearing the sounds of a ritual to the south, the group headed in that direction, down the long corridor, and to a door where the sound was loudest. Whispering plans of attack, Morthwyl was eventually the first through the door, revealing an enormous room with two raised galleries at either end (C26). In the centre of the room hung a spherical cage with their missing elven scholar inside. Below, six chanting cultists, arms upraised, circled. At the gallery closest to the door, a mage chanted along with them, magical energy flowing from him, circling the cultists, and rising into the elf. All around the mage, strange creatures with spikes along their spines and one large eye acted as curious guards.

The Ritual Chamber

As Morthwyl ran into the room, she threw a bead she'd taken from Joe across to the elven captive. As it hit him, it exploded outwards in a sphere of force, ensuring he remained unharmed while the group went about their "business." With the strange creatures closest, Morthwyl charged into the nearest, quickly becoming surrounded as they responded. Joe was second in, flying upwards and waving his wand to release another fireball, but this time, the mage lifted a hand, and the spark was extinguished before it could become a full spell.

Bessok was next, his horde of ghostly dwarves rushing in with him, smashing through the Nothics. A few more attacked the mage as he tried to flee to the other side of the room. The mage didn't get far, stumbling and falling under the attacks. The power of the ritual released from his grasp as he collapsed.

Arcs of electricity thrashed around the room as the controlling entity was killed, crackling up the walls and across everyone. Suddenly, there was a flash, and everything went dark.

Vecna

In some impossibly distant place, each group member experienced the same vision individually. Lines of glittering silver and gold energy surrounded them. The thought of their origin shifted their focus, and they found themselves watching Cultists of Vecna across the multiverse performing rituals similar to the one they had just witnessed. The thought of where the energy was channelled changed their view to Vecna himself, gathering all the threads and teasing them into a growing mass of energy in front of him. Intently focused, the lich, the evil God of secrets and magic, paid the watchers no heed. Then everything went dark again.

At first, darkness. Then, the sound of knocking and muffled shouts: "Hello? Is anyone out there? Help!" followed by creatures snuffling and grunting. The group slowly opened their eyes to a grey world. The sky above was blackened by ashen clouds, a skeletal dragon dipping in and out as it flew by, darting shadows flitting everywhere.

Eldon Keyward

Sitting up, they found themselves in old wooden coffins inside a large, 20-foot-high grave pit. One coffin was still sealed, the source of the knocking. Bessok opened it, revealing that Eldon, the elven scholar, had made the trip with them to... wherever they were.

Eldon declared this was, "...not good..." As a scholar of the planes, he explained that this must be Duskwater, the evil reflection of Yartar, a place on the plane called the Shadowfell. Since they were in a graveyard when shunted over, they were in a graveyard here too.

While Eldon explained the plane, Bessok peered over the edge of the grave pit to find a dozen ghouls shuffling about, looking for food. Once, a single ghoul might have been worrying; now, a dozen was a minor inconvenience. After half a dozen were dead, the rest fled, seeking an easier meal. This allowed Bessok a better look around the area. The graveyard was bustling with activity: lost ghosts searching for their homes, ghostly Banshees drifting across the open ground before unleashing horrifying screams, lights of will-o'-wisps blinking in and out, and several specters floating between tombs.

Duskwater

Eldon continued, explaining that these creatures were unlikely to bother them, except for the more mindless ones, as anything living on this side was either under the protection of someone powerful or powerful in their own right. Until they found otherwise, they should be... safe? He suggested heading into the city, where those with functioning minds might be able to point them to something called a Shadow Gate, a permanent rift between this plane and the Prime Material, which they could use to return to Yartar.

A Death Knight

Naturally concerned, Bessok asked his God for guidance, and the response solidified the idea that heading into the city might be the right choice. With Gark blessing everyone with a powerful stealth spell, the group cautiously made their way out of the graveyard and towards the city.

The city itself was in ruins. Its exterior walls had crumbled, the large siege doors fallen and rotting. The buildings inside were mere shadows of their Yartar counterparts, mostly harsh rubble or gothic spires. The nearby river churned like slow oil instead of water. A large knight in heavy black armour with glowing eyes stood at the gates. Apart from grunts and huffs, it made no attempt to stop the new arrivals.

Sangora

A few hundred feet further into Duskwater, the marketplace mirrored Yartar's. Instead of normal customers, wights, vampires, and even a lich or two wandered through, with shambling zombies looking for something to follow. Bessok was the first to hear a voice—a woman shouting for customers, offering warm blood, fresh flesh, and other assorted strangeness. However, her offer of information trade caught his attention more. When they came into view, the woman, Sangora, quickly switched to charlatan mode, asking who they were, what they were doing there, and whose protection they might be under. Bessok carefully sidestepped her questions, asking about a Shadow Gate. Sangora confirmed one nearby for "20 Gold!" Every question from Bessok was followed by "20 Gold!"—her favorite number, it seemed.

Finally, the group gathered enough information: the Shadow Gate was likely inside the Dolindar's Tomb on the eastern side of the graveyard. Sangora gave them directions and wished them good luck as they trudged off again.

Map of the Dolindar Tomb

It didn't take the group long to find The Dolindar Tomb. The word "Dolindar" was still clear on the stone outside, and the entrance was remarkably clean and tidy, with weeds cut back and dirt swept clear by... someone? They descended spiral stairs into a large burial chamber with upright slabs set into the walls (B2), carved with faded likenesses of robed humans. One slab was different, with a piece of paper stuck to it reading "Newmy's Room." Joe was examining the paper when a head poked through the stone—a young elven woman with blue hair, white skin lined with blue veins, and a curious smile. "Oh! Visitors!" she declared, then wove her ghostly self through the wall and solidified in front of Joe.

Newmy

The oddly cheerful ghostly figure only made the group realize how utterly miserable they felt in here. There was a crushing sense of isolation, of loneliness, to the point they barely wanted to deal with each other. As this ghost didn't seem aggressive, Joe continued talking to her. She introduced herself as Newmy, a cleaner for the Dolindars, hired so long ago she couldn't remember. She recalled being paid "several lifetimes worth of gold" but couldn't remember where it was. "Oh well!" she chirped. She explained she no longer ventured deeper into the tomb as the dead there weren't "resting right"; it was dangerous. The Dolindars themselves were trapped here by a family curse, unable to return to their plane, growing increasingly isolated and lonely. Regarding the Shadow Gate, she hadn't heard of it but suggested a puzzle room she hadn't been inside—perhaps it was there?

The crushing sensation eventually got to Joe, and he became more rude and insulting to the ghost, who eventually decided she'd heard enough and returned to her tomb, leaving them.

Deciding to go through the southern doorway, the group ascended a few stairs to an area with multiple pedestals (B4), each bearing a single piece of treasure. Around each pedestal was chiselled, "What use is treasure when home is denied?" Gathering everything without incident—how refreshing!—they continued to the next door and down some stairs, into a small hallway (B5).

At the end of this hallway, above a set of double doors, the word "DOLINDAR" was inscribed, with "NO WORLD TO RETURN" beneath it. Each letter was on a separate, pushable tile. After some discussion, they attempted a solution. As they pressed a letter on "Dolindar," the whole word pushed in. Continuing to each word, as the last was pressed, a wave of negative energy washed over them, a feeling of terrible loneliness that drained some of their will to live.

Though painful, it provided a hint: they could only use one letter from each word. They puzzled back and forth until Morthwyl finally exclaimed, "Oh! Alone!" The 'A' from Dolindar, 'L' from World, 'O' from To, 'N' from No, and 'E' from Return. The five words slid back as each letter was pressed, then with a creak, the double doors opened before them.

The Lonely Sorrowsworn

Inside (B6), a large tomb stretched ahead, its floor covered with sharp, upright blades. At the far end, a stone coffin rested, a strange creature crouched atop it. Though it looked dangerous, its blade-like arms capable of extending across the entire room, perhaps its sadness prevented it from being effective. It never landed a hit, while Gark repeatedly struck it with a thorn whip, dragging the creature through the blades. Arrows flew from Joe—it was only a matter of time before the creature lay dead.

Flying over the blades, Bessok found a lever that retracted them into the floor. The others joined him to open the stone coffin, revealing a swirling purple energy inside—a Shadow Gate. Gark was first through, jumping in to be thrown out the other side into a smaller tomb. The others followed, but Gark briefly returned to ensure the door was closed, preventing any undead from finding their way through this Gate into the Material Plane. Good thinking!

Hearing the tweet of birds outside, feeling the warmth of sunlight as they opened the doors, the group realized they were home again. Now, all they had to do was visit the Waterbaron for payment, and they could head south to continue dealing with the larger threat of the Elemental Princes.

After a quick visit to the Hallix Mausoleum to ensure the Vecna cultists were all dead—they had actually cleared out, leaving no proof of their presence—they visited the Waterbaron for their payment. Then, it was back on their Hippogriffs for the long journey south. With Feathergale Spire and Scarlet Moon Hall destroyed, they made a brief detour to Rivergard Keep, intent on claiming it as their own little castle. Gark summoned a few crocodiles to deal with the decaying corpses, created a couple of awakened trees to act as guards, and then, after spending the night, they continued on to Bargewright.

Along the way, they realized how busy the cults had been during their absence. The High Forest Guard protecting the Cairn Road were now dead, the homesteads, hovels, and farms in the area destroyed. A final stand seemed to have been made against a large, worm-like creature. Huge mounds of earth where it had dug its way up lay next to the corpses of the remaining High Forest Guard.

Joe gathered the fallen and created a funeral pyre, vowing revenge for his comrades. The group stayed long enough to watch the fire fade, silent in their thoughts, then it was time to move on.

Aldric Shadowveil

Several hours later, they were back at Bargewright, placing orders for new magical items and taking a moment to relax with a nice cold ale. As the sunlight dipped below the horizon, Aldric the vampire made his appearance, welcoming the adventurers' return and mentioning an idea for recompense for "services rendered."

He led them to an underground section of Bargewright, to a private sanctum that was his own pocket dimension, comparing it to the spell 'Magnificent Mansion.' It was a large open room with desks, tables, chairs, bookcases and comfortable sofas. Other rooms led to bedrooms, and across from the entrance, a large balcony offered an incredible view: open grasslands, a winding stream leading to a lake, a forest rising to distant mountains, and, notably for him, sunlight. "It's fake, of course," he explained, "...but it helps me feel more human." On a table, he invited the group to use his personal collection of six books, each designed to hone a specific attribute—intelligence, speed, strength, or others. The group decided among themselves who would use which, Aldric leaving them to their studies and promising to send word when their purchases arrived.