Summary
The party followed the passage down which the clay dragon construct had fled, descending a short flight of stairs and opening into an antechamber beyond which three glowing crystalline pillars could be seen. In the darkness along the back of the room a raspy voice was reciting incantations, and alongside the pillars two large men holding battleaxes stood facing the party with vacant expressions. Pale Noon and Fizzwig slipped off to one side, stepping cautiously over the rubble and some fallen, unmoving bodies as they circled through the small chambers along the sides of the large temple floor. The rest of the party moved slowly forward, skirting the large face of a dragon inlaid into the temple floor with a pit where its mouth should be. Twin rivers of blood flowed from the back of the room down in the gaping maw, and yet the berserkers did not flinch at the party's approach.

Suddenly the raspy voice ceased its incantations and shouted in common for the men to attack. As the party engaged the berserkers, Galstaff sidled over a few prone forms and into a corner of the room to safely throw his spells from. Just then the prone forms all around the room began moving and revealed themselves to be vampires. With a squeak Galstaff wiggled his fingers and disappeared, only to reappear all the way back at the entrance to the room. The surprise addition of the vampires dealt serious damage to the party and kept them busy while the chanting began once again.

Too late the party realized the chanting was a summoning ritual. Skeletons wreathed in fire could be seen surrounding a dark robed figure at the end of the room, and a series of fireballs flew towards the party. With the rest of the party still dealing with the berserkers and remaining vampires, Fizzwig and Ruhsbaar rushed forward to deal with this newest threat. They underestimated the power of the immolation and were severely burned before they could bring down the robed priest who had begun chanting anew. Ruhsbaar was within inches of dying and only a prayer from the charging tiefling paladin saved him from falling.

The rest of the party began moving towards the burning skeletons, and Galstaff once again found himself well behind the party but suddenly surrounded as a series of dark flowing figures burst from the open hole in the floor. The fight reached a desperate pitch as the party found itself surrounded by fast moving shadows on one side and immolating skeletons on the other. First Rolen, then Ruhsbaar, Galstaff and Fizzwig nearly succumbed to the flames. Companions threw healing potions to those in gravest need, and more than one foe was killed just as it raised its weapon to strike a fatal blow. Indeed Galstaff lay unconscious, dying to the nearby flaming skeleton and only Rolen grabbing the healing potion from his belt and forcing it to his parched lips saved him.

As much damage as the skeletons and dark creepers could dish, the party was returning in kind and finally only a single shadowy figure remained. It flitted towards the gaping maw, seeking to escape the way it had come but the paladin raised his enchanted sword and called upon it to fight or face the wrath of Torm. The figure tried to continue fleeing, but a bolt of divine energy flew from the paladin and only a pile of dust descended down into the gaping maw. The few party members that remained conscious and on their feet dragged themselves to treat their less fortunate companions, and injured groans punctuated the constant drip, drip, drip of blood as it fell into the dragon's mouth. A careful investigation of the room revealed it to be a defiled temple dedicated to Bahamut, and the corpses of what must have been the lost trade caravans appeared to be fueling the unholy ceremonies resulting in vampires and skeletons.

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OOC
Sorry about the late post, been super busy with other stuff this week.

Experience

• 200xp (1400/7) for 2 enthralled berserkers, 6 vampires, 4 dark creepers, 4 burning skeletons and 1 bad ass priest dude

  • Pale Noon, Galstaff, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Daelius, Rolen, Ruhsbaar