4/3/2024 Godday, Fertility Week, Sea Season, Year of the Overlord 2164 The party returned to the ruins on the southern end of Strum to try to find whatever source of power there might be there. The party focused their search on the ruins of the church where the giant bloody summoning circle had been. In a chamber off to the side, Garrack noticed something odd. The altar there was half broken, a signature sign of primal chaos. He called the rest of the party over, and after some investigation, a hidden switch was found which moved the altar away, revealing an obsidian spiral staircase leading down into the ground. The party ventured down the stairs, which led 15 feet underground and then opened to a zigzagging corridor. There was a thick layer of dust on the ground, but there were fresh footprints in the dust. The footprints were small and unnatural, facing irregular and nonsensical directions. Continuing down the corridor, suddenly Garrack was knocked hard to the ground by some unseen force! Igny pressed onward and at the end of the corridor was a horrid void creature with shifting and changing numbers of irregular limbs. Igny attacked the creature, and Tempest flew up along the ceiling and cast “Guiding Bolt” and “Fire Bolt” at the creature. After several rounds of back-and-forth, the monster finally fell dead and the party examined their surroundings. The creature had stood in front of a door emblazoned with all types of lizards, arranged in a hierarchy with the lizardmen and their king at the top. The door was clearly magically sealed. With signs of minor damage to the walls and door, it appeared that the void creature had been attempting to break through the door, but to no avail. After a few attempts to open the door by pressing in different places, Gunther eventually cast “Knock” and the door opened immediately. Past the door, in the antechamber, the party could feel a wave of energy pass over them. It seemed that some spell had scanned the party and determined that they could proceed. The complex itself appeared to be at least fifteen thousand years old! A thick layer of dust coated everything they passed. In the next corridor, Gunther noticed a symbol on the wall of a crescent moon and noted that there was a hidden door there. The door was magical and could only be opened if some sort of condition were met. Continuing on, the party came upon a larger room with two figures, covered in dust, one kneeling before the other. The two figures were completely stationary. Tempest cautiously entered the room and announced that the party meant no harm. Xaris, taking a slightly different approach, ran up and kicked the kneeling figure. Immediately, the two figures began to move and it became clear that they were mummified lizardmen! In the ensuing battle, Tempest cast “Shatter”, and Igny and Xaris formed the front line preventing the mummies from reaching the rest of the party. Fortunately, the undead fiends fell relatively quickly. The party searched the bodies and found three sapphires as large as hens eggs, 31 ancient Wheels, 117 ancient Lunars, a crown, and a crescent-shaped key. The room also contained a throne. Garrack sat on the throne, and immediately saw visions of lizardmen bowing before him. Chance decided to sit on the throne after him, and saw visions of a motley performance of lizardmen to entertain and delight him. Finally, Xaris sat on the throne, and a small compartment opened up in one of the arms, revealing a ring. Xaris put on the ring and felt he could speak new languages! The next room was much smaller, with a very large pile of dust in one corner. Igny approached cautiously and jabbed with Kekax at the dust pile. Immediately, four small skeletons burst forward, but the party made quick work of them. The room contained an additional Wheel and 7 Lunars. The party then backtracked to the hidden door and Gunther used the crescent-shaped key they had found to open the door. Inside was an old guard chamber, but all the weapons had long since disintegrated. In the next room the party found an old alchemical laboratory, with a magical heating stone and a stirrer. There was also a magical chest that opened and was cold on the inside, containing dwarf heads! At this point, there were two directions available to search. There was a door at the far end of the laboratory, and the corridor that the laboratory was on opened up into a wider chamber. Igny opened the door at the far end of the laboratory, revealing a narrow corridor running the same direction as the wider chamber. However, as soon as Igny stuck his head in the hallway, he was hit by a bolt of lightning! Tempest attempted to sneak down the wider chamber to flank the assailant but was discovered and attacked. Tempest cast “Thunder Step” and quickly teleported away from the undead creature, which scurried away into the darkness. And with that session ended. TL;DR: The party found an ancient lizardmen complex under Strum, and began exploring it.