PotS 1x09 - The Deeper, Older, Ruin

These posts are from our DnD group's latest game. The current adventure is a return to the world of Eberron, and specifically Xen'drik. With the Watchtower secure, the wounded dragons dealt with, and their repaired (and improved) ship waiting in the harbour, it was time for the party to be thrust once more into the depths of the earth, to explore another hidden dungeon. 

Back Underground
Once Hassan struck a light, the team could make out the arched ceilings and elaborate mosaics marking the chamber they had been teleported into. The size of the chamber spoke of its giant heritage, meaning that most of the mosaics were of said giants - an understanding that caused readjustment of what they depicted. On the whole, the structure was far more ancient than anything they had come across before, suggesting that the knights who settled here had taken over a pre-existing structure, and built upon it.

There were three different paths leading from the initial chamber, and with nothing to guide them, they headed to the nearest one. After passing by what was most likely once a giant-sized toilet, they saw flickering firelight in the next room. By the light, they could see that algae coated many of the walls; it, as well as the dust and webbing, showed this section to be in worse upkeep than that they had already travelled through.

Horrors from Xoriat

The sound of battle hurried them on, and they burst into the room to see a drow battling against two chuuls; a mind flayer and beholder watched on. Combat was met, and the numerous rays of the beholder almost saw the end of Kami, but they proved their skill and slew the aberrant beasts. But not before the mysterious drow vanished into the darkness, a parting compliment to Hassan lingering on the air.

Not only had the structure been tainted by the Xoriat presence, but now, their minds felt afflicted, too. When he used his card, Regdar had been lost in a vision, dating back to when the paladin order was still in control. He saw one paladin drawing a card from a deck, and then chaos erupted. This action, he knew, wiped out most of the paladins, decimated their order, and tore a hole through to Xoriat. Despite their victory in the Watchtower, this connection to the far realm still lingered somewhere nearby.

The vision stuck with him, causing him to become delusional. The others were also affected - Hassan seemed haunted by things that weren't there; Tvennr was more forgetful than usual; Urquilla couldn't stop yawning all the time; and Kami felt as if her joints were as old as her ship.

Deciding against going deeper into the maddening maze just yet, the party turned around and retraced their steps.

Remnants of Warforged
The areas they travelled through were far cleaner than their first choice had been, and after a while, the lack
of dust or spider-webs gave them the strange feeling that the place was still relatively well kept. Aside from the darkness and the general age of everything, it almost felt neat - surely, with a few open windows, some new furnishings, and a spot more light, the place would be quite serviceable! Of course, it would need the warforged removed, too (even if they were the ones who kept the place in such a neat state)!

The first of the scouts shot from their positions, luring Urquilla aside, whilst Regdar and Hassan chased down a group of soldiers. Unlike other warforged that the party had seen since the days of the Last War ending, these acted without any trace of emotion or personality. And, within them, they held unstable weapons, brimming over with arcane enchantments. One knocked out Urquilla just as he was starting to rage; another threw people through space itself; yet another caused Tvennr to vanish and reappear some time later. But despite their tricks (and in some cases, because of them), the warforged were defeated, and the party gathered to discuss their plan for further exploration of the buried ruins.