Shattered Star #92: Ardathanatus, Defeated?

At the end of last session, we left our heroes recovering from an earthquake that buried several of the party.

Ardathanatus it seemed had temporarily escaped the heroes by melding into stone. Thus, they had a few moments to plot and plan. They decided Ardathanatus could not be allowed to escape. Vesleng wanted to let him suffocate when he emerged under the rubble while the rested wanted to force him from the stone (and then slay him).

After a few minutes of conversation and planning, the party attacked. Cortanna used the fallen Ausk’s adamantine battle-axe to smash away at the stone. After a few moments, he had caused enough damage to force Ardathanatus from the stone. Even better, the foul cleric was still trapped below the rubble!

Using the many large cracks and holes in the stone the party attacked the near-helpless cleric. He couldn’t attack them, but could cast spells and heal himself (which he did with annoying regularity). Eventually, badly injured—and unable to slay his tormentors—he used a plane shift to escape.

Dismayed, the party decided to collapse more of the ceiling to completely block the Doomsday Door. This they did, with a well-placed fireball from Karelia, before retreating to rest.

Their night was uneventful, and the next morning they planned their next move. They had retrieved the Shard of Envy, and sealed and blocked the Doomsday Door. Victory was there’s, but the forces of evil still held the dungeon and abbey above. A sending from Shel Heidmarch heralded the arrival of an old friend—Ariquis.

He arrived with the ioun stone the party needed to suppress the curse of the Shard of Envy. Ariquis then used the shard to discover where the next lurked—several hundred miles to the north near a legendary, haunted locale known as Guiltspur.

With this news, the party decided to quickly clear the dungeon and abbey. Exploring the rest of the lower level, they discovered an embalming room and another chamber which seemed to be a treasury. Tarnished coins and gemstones lay scattered across the floor. Five old earthen jars also each contained a magic item. At her companion’s urging, Karelia started to identify each item…