Discovered Locations:
Inside Jormungandr:
- The inner plumbing of a giant serpent that has been laying dormant amongst the mountains for decades. Rumored to be an omen of darkness and a sign of the beginning of the end of the world.
Summary of Events:
When we left our adventurer’s last, they had just survived a chaotic ascension from the Undercroft below as it collapsed, taking the Temple of Kaldrfjell with it. Their retreat is halted in an instant as they find themselves in front of a giant serpent, large enough to block out the sun. Moments later, the adventurers are plunged into a world of darkness as the giant beast devours them whole.
When the party wakes, their eyes begin to burn and their nostrils are filled with a horrible stench. The “room” they wake in - if you could call it a room - is filled with pink sinewy pathways that stretch in each direction over pools of bubbling green acid.
They are in the stomach of the Great Serpent.
The adventurers make a coordinated attack on the inner wall in an effort to make the great beast empty its stomach but it is fruitless. Moments later, two rotten-smelling and vile oozes crawl out of the stomach acid and the party exits towards the esophagus with haste.
After a difficult climb up the gullet, they arrive in the mouth with a determination for escape. Iolair casts Death Ward on the entire group, draining most of his sorcerous power in one impressive exhibition of arcane mastery.
Curious of his surroundings and their sensitivity, Ren casts Mage Hand and tickles the ridged and damp roof of the great beast’s mouth. “Won’t he just swallow us?” Azu yells just moments before the floor lurches below them and the serpent’s tongue slams Ren into the roof of its mouth. The party begins to dash for the front of the mouth, scrambling over the wildly lurching tongue that seems determined to see to their digestion.
Rota Ethereal Steps himself through a fleshly wall and lands in a room that is covered in a slimy, semi-translucent fluid. A hand reaches out to call for the centurion visitor. Rota approaches and finds a familiar old man; Elder Maxim. He appears to be half…digested. Rota pauses for a minute and then brings an end to his suffering.
The remainder of the party formulates a plan in the mouth. They are to jam a quarterstaff into the crook of the great monster’s jaw and cast Enlarge on it in hopes of forcing the mouth open. Iolair casts Web on the esophagus in case they get pushed back towards the hungry gullet. With all preparations made, they set the plan into motion.
The quarterstaff doubles in all dimensions, the wood groaning as it strains against the massive jaw muscles. For a moment, the jaws open slightly and a small streams of water begin to pour in between giant teeth. Suddenly the quarterstaff snaps in half and a shard jams into the gums. The great serpent screeches in pain and his jaws open wide, letting in a torrent of water. The massive wave slams into the party, shoving them backwards and into the web placed by Iolair earlier.
Azu, Chonka, and Iolair are able to pull themselves into a chamber that branches off of the top of the esophagus. As they enter a crudely triangular shaped room full of garbage, half dissolved creatures, and various heavily-damaged treasures, they notice a half-digested wood elf woman. She reaches out and says,
“My name..my name is Terrowin.
Please, I am in so much pain.
Jörmungandr… he was supposed to be… a myth. A nightmare…
Can you kill me now that you know my name?! Can you end my suffering?!”
Azu agrees under one condition; she must answer a question. She agrees and Azu inquires about escape. “Is it even possible?” He asks. She assures them that she has faith that there is. There are others she saw here, deeper below. Azu lays her down gently and cuts her throat open with a dagger. As he does, he prays to Skadi and asks for safe passage for the departed soul.
A moment later, the bloody corpse reanimates and speaks with a different voice. The trio stares into the cold deadness of the woman’s eyes as a smooth and reptilian voice says,
What can bring back the dead;
Make us cry, make us laugh, make us young;
Born in an instant yet lasts a life time.
What is it?
After some time, Iolair says “A memory.” The second he does, the possessed corpse snaps its head in Iolair’s direction and says,
“That’s right. The answer is locked in your memory, half-elf of the wood. Daddy didn’t care then and he can’t help you now.
The body disintegrates and from the remains, a magical item is found. They are wrist straps, meant for hauling great weights. They have a familiar magical inscription on the ends of them and seethe with arcane eenergy. These are the Atlas Straps.
Meanwhile, Ren and Rota are able to pull themselves into what appears to be the cardiovascular system. Upon sight of the blood, Ren refuses to proceed. There is just no way he’s going to step in that. Rota pushes himself into the cardiovascular tunnel and moves towards the sound of a very loud war drum; what he intuits is the beast’s heart.
As the centurion breaches into a cavity with the beast’s heart, blood rushes towards Rota and knocks him backward, landing in a heap. Rota pushes forward with determination and launches his glaive toward the heart. The glaive misses and transforms into a bolt of lightning, shocking the giant muscular war drum.
A torrent of blood surges through the cavity and Rota is knocked down a different tunnel. Rota collects himself and inspects his surroundings. Throbbing blue veins encircle what looks like thick, chitinous piping. Every few seconds, the organ expands as air flies in through an exit at one end and then contracts as the air escapes. Realizing the this must be the beast’s lung, Rota casts Entangle. Vines grow out in 20 feet in every direction, weaving into the multitude of little airways that are strewn throughout the organ.
The great serpent coughs and in their various locations, the advenurers hold on for dear life as foul smelling winds nearly knock them over. Ren finds Azu, Chonka, and Iolair back at the top of the esophagus. Ren leads them toward where Rota entered the heart. Chonka courageously volunteers to go forth and retrieve Rota.
Upon entering, the heart pumps and a powerful wave of blood pushes Chonka down a tunnel and into the other lung. In the corner Chonka finds a rugged, gray skinned dwarven woman. Lady Kahn first notices a scar over her right eye and then a familiar sigil on her right arm. It is the sigil of Castle Hendraheim.
Zuri. Frosthand. I am a solider of Castle Hendraheim. The mountains… they began to move. Then he came. Jörmungandr… They say on his back rides the end of the world
And then she dies. A moment later, the corpse reanimates and the same eerie voice that Chonka heard before slithers out of it.
Pronounced as one letter, and written with three,
Two letters there are, And two only in me.
I’m double, I’m single, I’m black blue and grey,
I’m read from both ends, And the same either way.
What am I?
Chonka ponders the mystery for a while and then says “An eye.” The voice laughs devilishly and responds,
Correct lady dwarf. There are eyes everywhere that see everything. They’re watching you now that you’ve meddled in their business. You’re. Getting. In. The. Way.
The body disintegrates just like Terrowin did and from the remains, another magical item is found. They are brass knuckles that seem to be dwarven in origin. On the faces, there are burning red runes that shift like boiling lava. They are warm to the touch. These are the Dwarven Fire Starters.
Running her fingers over the runes on her newfound knuckles, Chonka collects herself and thinks on where to go next…
Session End.
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