As Melisana investigated the statue and Pretis and Demin headed down the hallway a gray angel armed with a scythe suddenly appeared behind the statue. Demin remembering the gray unicorn immediately fired upon the angel. The angel responded with a burst that caught several party members in necrotic damage. The encounter continued with Pretis charging the angel but missing and the rest of the party attacking. Just after Gofin looped around the statue to come up behind the angel, she found herself flanked by two more angels that just appeared next to her. The party found that their healing attempts provided less healing than normal. After Melisana cast a Brilliant Beacon of light Mara pulled the last angel into the Beacon. Just as quickly as the angels appeared they again disappeared.
Being cautious the party tried to determine if the angels had just become invisible or maybe had fled through the doors to the outside. Seeing nothing the group decided to follow the south hallway. Just then an angel appeared behind Demin and upon falling to the parties attacks again burst necrotic damage onto the party. Slowly the party followed the carved footprints to the south where Pretis found an eastwest hallway with another identical statue located in a niche to the east, even the marred face seemed the same. The footprints continued west and south where they entered a larger hallway, as expected the layout was the same as the catacombs but the feeling was even darker. Mara led the way into the hall with Pretis checking that the south door actually led back to the Garden of Graves. Demin and Alhellara followed lastly into the hall as Mara moved northward.
At the north facing door a passage led east into a chamber where hundreds, perhaps thousands, of humanoid bones jutted from the marble walls, Skulls, femurs, fingers and hands, spines and ribs were intertwined and set into the walls, forming a rough surface of repulsive complexity. A robed and crowned statue similar to the others was also set here, and many of the bones appeared to be pointing in its direction. The carved footprints led into the chamber and ended at the eastern wall behind the statue.
Mara charged the statue and failed to hit it, at which point two dark angels appeared and flanked her for damaging attacks. As the rest of the party entered the room the angels moved around the party, reaping with their scythes and then using Fingers of Death to cause a burst of necrotic damage, which seemed to be increased for the party in the room. Soon every member of the party except Alherllara was bloodied. Melisana and Demin soon found that standing next to the walls caused more necrotic damage. Quickly the party continued to pepper the angels with attacks while Melisana's Beacon was moved into the area. Healing spells and surges still seemed to be less effective in this area and Alhellara decided it was time for a Battle Surge.
As the first angel died it again burst necrotic damage on the party, followed by Gofin dropping the second angel dying and somehow Melisana was spared even though the rest of the party was sorely damaged. With all three angels gone the party stopped to catch their breath and several moved next to Mara to receive healing from her Wellspring strike. Several characters trying to sense what they had to do in this area found no insight, or known history from the statues or bones. Melisana's religion told her that the were no longer in the Feywild (obvious) but where was a mystery. The general miasma of despair put here briefly in mind of the Shadowfell, but that didn't feel quite right. They were.... somewhere darker.
Demin found a scroll under the statue which was identified as a Ritual of Water Breathing. (DM Note, I will allow the Ritual able characters to learn the Ritual from the scroll.) Lythandar has the scroll.
Scorecard: The party gained 514 XP for the Dark Angels and now have 23883 XP. They need 2117 more XP to reach 11th level. Lythandar has the scroll.
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