Shattered Star: The Asylum Stone [IC]

[lostsole31]

As everyone seems to have asked what they will ask, Abra hands each traveler a small crystal on a thong - an item he calls a halflight charm. These small magic items glow as bright as a torch but without the smoke and hassle, and in case of emergencies or if a traveler becomes separated, the wearer can use it to call for help. Though worn about the neck, they do not take up the neck slot. Once everyone is wearing one, he nods, swings open the great bronze gates of the Twisted Door, and leads them through.

Beyond the Twisted Door, the Halflight Path is a roughly 15-foot-wide, 15-foot-tall tunnel that winds up through the cliff at a steep but manageable slope. The tunnel begins as a natural-looking cave, with minimal work done to widen it, but as it climbs, it passes through numerous distinct regions—places where the tunnel has been painted with crude pictographs or decorated with elaborately carved pillars and frescoes, or where it becomes a mirror-smooth tube or a square-walled path filled with right angles, like a labyrinth in which every wrong turn has been blocked off. Sometimes it emerges briefly onto narrow ledges along the cliff face, and at one point the tunnel even opens up into a larger chamber where both walls are carved with elaborate porticos and balconies, its many doors and archways all carefully locked and barred or bricked up completely. Abra explains that maintaining the barricades that separate the Half light Path from the rest of the passages below Kaer Maga is one of the Duskwardens’ chief jobs.

Passage through the Halflight Path takes 2 hours, with the limiting factor being Bolgar Grumm and his hand cart, which takes up most of the tunnel (filling a 10-foot-square) and is pulled by his two sons. All three Grumms are noticeably nervous in the tunnel, and flinch at every distant roar or shriek that filters through the walls. Because it is absolutely possible to have too much light, and cause glare, all PCs who have (or just gave themselves) darkvision will be assumed to have put their charm under their clothing for now. Then, because glare is still a bit much, the only ones who have their charm out and burning are ALL of the merchants in the back because of fear. Abra, interestingly, does not have his own charm lit. The half-elves (Telgarana and Iluvar) get plenty of light from everyone else so have their charms obscured. Once you travel a bit, even Bian Jin secures his light, because there is too much coming from the Grumms, and the merchants refuse to put away what, for them, are safety blankets. But .... in case of danger, at least you still have them should you be separated.

After awhile, you get a new section of passage. The tunnel here is long and straight, maintaining its 15' diameter. On the right wall, elaborate carvings depicting a falling star wreaking havoc on a humanoid populace flank an enormous archway carved with twining vines that almost obscure leering skulls. The space inside the arch has been crudely bricked up, with many of the bricks broken or sticking out at right angles.

As the party passes the archway, Abra pauses to look at the poor brickwork on the barricade and mutters, “That isn’t right.”

Surprise Round!

At that precise moment, the unmortared brickwork explodes outward as a trio of slithering horrors come barreling through.

Everyone, roll three Will saves. These saves must be rolled in spoilers here in the IC, not Discord.