| Session Date | September 21, 2019 |
| Start Date | 25 Greenmonth, 1272 |
| End Date | 25 Greenmonth, 1272 |
| Starting Location | Astraharsis' Quarters, Eburnean Vaults |
| Ending Location | Temple of Chaos |
| Player Characters | |
| Base XP Gained | 7700 |
The party returned to their quarters form the tavern and Dark Market, stopping briefly to see if the talking fish was present in the water column - it was not but the food Iban had left was gone. Shortly after, the party ran into a pair of Displacer Beasts but slew them handily, taking the pelts afterward.
The party then settled in to rest and Iban used his crystal ball to check in on a few things. First, he checked for his missing sword, taken months before by the Brigands off of the poor Ranger Wulfric. He found it at the side of a brigand somewhere in a wilderness area. Next he checked on the torture priestess on the level above, finding her in a dungeon area with another of her folk and a party of Hobgoblins; he also could see the shadowy form of a dwarf standing nearby, not moving. He stopped scrying her when she sensed his prying. Last, he looked at the Ogre Mage that had captured them the previous fall. He was in an underground room of some sort, screaming at a group of Bugbears.
After a night of rest, ZZ cast Augury to see if using their recently acquired potion of treasure finding was a good idea. It seemed to be, so they made their way to the amphitheater room where Cadwallider quaffed it, sensing a treasure to the east-northeast. He then dimension doored back to their quarters to triangulate and found it sensed the treasure to the northwest. Cadwallider then began to walk back to the party but ran into the same armored vampire they'd fought before who sensed his presence despite invisibility. Cadwallider immediately cast teleport as the Vampire charged him, returning to the party. The party moved to the treasure location, hurrying as they believed it might be the vampire's lair. They soon found a secret door and a room beyond, along with a very sizable treasure in a chest. Dimbul also found a poison needle trap in the chest the hard way, but Mordecai cast slow poison to save him.
Iban now scried the Vampire but failed to detect him, so Cadwallider tried and succeeded, finding him in their quarters. After Cadwallider dropped an explosive runes scroll in the Vampire's room, the party then decided to return a different route, soon arriving in Astraharsis' quarters. (I did not write down and have forgotten if she chased out the Vampire or he simply left). In any case, Astraharsis revealed to the party her idea for having their chaos curses lifted. She informed the party that they must placate a Lord of Chaos (i.e. a god) in order for him to lift the powerful curses. To this end, she recommended that the party enter the Temple of Deeper Chaos, where they must seek out the demigod known only as Trickster to ask for his assistance. Whether he helped or not she could not say (he is a being of true Chaos, of course), but he certainly has the power to do so and is likely far safer than seeking out one of the more powerful gods. To assist the party, Astraharsis would cast Astral Spell to transport the party to the Temple. She would NOT accompany them beyond Astral space while they traversed the Temple of Deeper Chaos. The spell must be cast in the Shrine of Chaos on the level above. Lastly, she considered this to be a very significant favor and that the party owed her for it.
To make things worse, as a god of Chaos, Trickster could appear in any form or guise and thus identifying him may be difficult. However, she knew he had a dwelling place in the Temple, though there were no consistent reports on what it looks like (it might not even be a recognizable “home”). When the party wishes to return to the Eburnean Vaults, they must do one of two things: either exit the Shrine into the Prime Material Plane and then teleport back from wherever they end up, or find the “stone hut” and exit from the door there, which should lead them back to the Chaos Shrine on level one from which they first left. Being subject to Chaos, she cannot tell for certain what will happen. In any case, the Temple is reputedly extremely dangerous, so the party should be very careful with what they mess with inside (though there are likely great valuables within worth plundering).
When ready, the party teleported to the chaos shrine to avoid the torture cultists (who cast it? also, the Ogre did not accompany the party, per Astraharsis' order). Then, Astraharsis took the entire party Astral and traveled with them for some indeterminate time until she said farewell and they all appeared in a stone room with three red, frog-like demons. These were quite tough but eventually slain, and a tidy treasure was taken. The party now wandered out into a weirdly shaped space. Passing through one door they entered a 60' cubical room with doors on every face. From a different face, and standing perpendicular to the party, a group of archers came out and attacked. The party fled form their weird place and came down a set of stairs into a more normal dungeon hallway...