The party caught their breath in the aftermath of the battle with the Ivy Heart and its cohorts. Taking a short break they scoured the room but found no interesting items. The far west area was covered with runes, so plentiful that they almost ran together. Lythandar did an Arcana check and determined that the energy was drawn from all over the graveyard and focused near this area. Demin check out the doorway leading south, it was open a crack. He listened but didn't hear anything on the other side of the door. Lythandar decided to open the doors using his Mage Hand. Everyone moved away from the area and the door swung open.
The group saw a narrow hallway leading south, ending some 50' south, with a door on the west. Mara and Pretis led the way to the double doors and listened. They heard nothing but a faint humming noise coming from the other side of the doors. Again Lythandar used his Mage Hand to open the doors. Inside the party saw a pentagonal shaped room. This chamber was clearly the heart of some sort of eldritch design. Runes such as they had seen before spiraled along the walls and floor in various intertwining patterns, all finally culminating in the precise center of the room.
In that area was an intricate contraption of iron rods and wooden shafts, crossing and crisscrossing each other. At each intersection, a rune was stamped on wood and metal, and several of the larger joints were adorned with gem stones. At the top, the device came to a pyramidal peak, with prongs holding a gleaming emerald.
Lythandar again performed an Arcana check and determined that there was definite magic in the device, its arcane brilliance an almost blinding light. He thought he saw a different aura deep within the device, part of it and yet separate. Apparently one of the wooden shafts supporting the device was a magic item unto itself. This area was definitely meant to channel eldritch energy, though precisely how - or where to - was unknown to Lythandar.
The group was loathe to enter the room and Lythandar tried to pull out the magic staff with his Mage Hand but this did not succeed. Demin approached with his gloves, one of which floated out into the room and carried a rope which Lythandar's hand and Demin's glove wrapped around the staff. Bringing the end back Lythandar and Pretis yanked on each end of the rope causing the device to crash to the ground in a sudden flash of energy from the emerald. From an unimaginable distance, they heard what sounded like a shriek of frustrated rage, cut off in mid breath.
The party searched room finding some gems stone intact but nothing else of interest. Discussing what to do next, some members wished to visit the building that kept time or space shifting on them, others were content to return to other building to see if anything had changed. Demin wanted to find the Eladrin Paelias and collect the group's reward. They entered the sundial room where no change had occurred, same with the pool room and the map room. Skirting the time/space room they arrived at two obelisks on the north side where Mara and Alhellara noticed a slight glow from under the dirt between them. Brushing the dirt away revealed a stone slab on which a teleportation circle was inscribed.
Rereading the note found on the remains, they determined this was probably the circle and that they may be heading to Vor Rukoth, or Tovag Baragu. Since Tovag was the name of Kas' realm earlier encountered Melisana was not certain she would like to go there again. Iuz being a prince of demons or a demigod of some kind was a lure the group could not ignore. So they stepped onto the circle.
They stepped off in a semi desert area near a road with some buildings and tents off to the north. Moving in that direction they came upon a mostly tent "city" with three permanent stone buildings, a tower, a low building with a sign indicating "the Dancing Lizard" and another "the Canteen." The tents were of all sizes, some providing scant shelter from the heat, or night's cold, others large and complex seeming to have multiple chambers. Tieflings, Dragonborn, Dwarves, Halflings and Humans were all in evidence. The party entered the "Dancing Lizard" and found a tavern run by a dwarf with metal lower left jaw. He brought them food and drink and told them this was Coyote's Refuge. Coyote being the Halfling "mayor" of the city. He came to the area about 25 years ago with a party of adventurers and discovered the ruins of Vor Rukoth, rumored for centuries to contain great wealth and knowledge. Coyote started the Refuge for the groups that came to "explore" the ruins, providing them with the essentials needed for those with the audacity to venture within.
Coyote does not allow the building of any more permanent structures, hence all the tents. The group recalled the legends of Vor Rukoth, the jewel of the great Tiefling empire of Bael Turath, sometimes called the City of Forges. During the long and violent war with the Dragonborn empire of Arkhosia, the powerful of Vor Rukoth entered into diabolical pacts to protect the city. On the Day of Devils, legions of fiends spilled out from the Nine Hells and repelled the dragonborn on the outskirts of Vor Rukoth but then slaughtered the thousand that inhabited Vor Rukoth. The city was then lost and forgot for centuries.
Asking about rooms they found all eight rooms were full, so they asked about supplies. Terris the dwarf said to visit the Canteen, and Inferna the Tiefling that runs it. The Canteen was full of adventurers effects, including the only water available. Prices were high but the group bought a tent and some other supplies. They asked Inferna about Tovag Baragu but she knew not the words. She suggested that they might find more information in the Great Library of Vor Rukoth, which was rumored to still exist in the Ruby Court. The group also picked up a map and left to spend the night.
In the morning the party marched the mile to the walls of Vor Rukoth and entered the ancient ruins. They passed first into an area where bleached bones littered the streets and blood stained the cobblestones. The building left were low one or two story structures poorly built. Many structures had fallen into piles of stone and rotting wood. Moving farther into the city the group saw large pits dug into the ground surrounded by what looked like seating areas made to view the pits.
Scorecard: The group received 714 XP for this nights adventures and now have 26447 XP and are at 11th level. They need 5553 more XP to reach 12th level. The magical staff was a +3 Staff of Unparalleled Vision which was claimed by Lythandar. Also garnered were four gems, an emerald (1,200 gp), a fire opal (800 gp) and two bits of alexandrite (500 gp each).
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