Dark Laboratory

Standing before the spherical room the group discussed their options.  Try climbing down into the bottom of the sphere, have Melisana fly across with a rope to ferry others over, leave and try the other tunnel.  Seeing only another empty(?) platform on the far side of the sphere Mara suggested just leaving but others argued that sometimes things were hidden.  Meanwhile Pretis, tired of moving slowly asked about a Ritual that could remove this aging affect that was besetting her.  Melisana brayed in that she would like the ass' head removed also, but replaced by her own again.  


Alhellara volunteered to attempt the Remove Affliction Ritual on both of them.  So 2 hours were spent invoking the ritual.  With Melisana's aid Pretis returned to her normal age, while taking damage of a quarter of her health.  Melisana's lovely head returned with no additional damage.  

Now the party determined to move ahead through or into the sphere.  Melisana again flew but found that after entering the sphere she was slowed and decided to return to the platform rather than end her turn in the sphere.  Next Lythandar and Melisana descended into the bottom of the sphere, took some damage, then Melisana climbed out carrying the rope which Lythandar then climbed to the far edge.  The rest of the party followed suit and soon all were on the far side of the sphere.  Looking around Melisana found a 10' pit in the southeast corner and in the pit was a concealed door leading east.

The group clambered down and found themselves in a rough hewn passage leading north.  This led to a passage leading west that was lined with flat stone.  The passage wound around north, south, east, north and west.  In the last western hall mystic runes covered the walls,  Three stone arches at the end of the hall were identical to the arches in the entry hall but gray mist obscures what lay beyond them.

Again reading their necrotic dripping message Melisana guessed that they were at the part that said The keys you steal ... Beyond your reach in distant halls.  Melisana noted that these could be distant halls.  Lythandar suddenly gave his two staffs and dagger to their owners and stepped through the southern arch.

Suddenly the mist in the arch swirled black, and with a lurch, Lythandar was pushed back into the passageway.  All three arches had disappeared, and a weathered wooden door was in front of Lythandar.  Looking around he saw all his compatriots but past Alhellara in the back the hall ended.   Looking for magic the party saw Melisana's and Lythandar's eyes glaze over for a second.  When this passed both related that they felt like they had seen a different plane or area of existence for a moment.   Lythandar said he saw Stillness of dusty stones replacing the dread darkness.  Emptiness pervaded a desolate ruin, its decaying walls untouched by life or magic.  Melisana related a seen where The stones of the floor were inlaid with sigils and holy symbols, most unrecognizable.  Faint on the air, a lament in an unknown tongue carried echoes of a nameless dread.  

Lythandar remarked that this was similar to a feeling he had in the Garden of Graves at times.  Looking at the wooden door, he saw unrecognized glyphs and sigils, some vaguely reminiscent of holy symbols which flared with a violet light along the walls.  Demin moved up to check for traps of which he found nothing, determining that the door was not locked he moved back behind Pretis and Mara.  Mara pushed the door open and a dark room presented itself. Lythandar cast light into the middle of the room which revealed shelves and tables strewn with equipment and scrolls.  A faint haze of mist twisted above three stone vats set across the chamber.  Melisana moved in to look at a table while Pretis, Mara, Gofin and Lythandar also made their way into the chamber.  Melisana noted that the equipment on the table was similar to the fey engine in the Garden of Graves.

Suddenly from behind the vats, two Bodaks arose and attacked.  The battle was quickly underway as Mara and Pretis found themselves weakened, while Melisana lost a healing surge after another Bodak rose from behind the third vat.   The return volley from the characters was impressive as heavy amounts of damaged were inflicted by Demin, Mara and Gofin who conjured a "Bleak Gallows" next to one of the Bodaks.  Alhellara moved into the room and Turned two of the enemy, followed by Melisana's Rebuke of them also.

When the Bodaks attacked again, Pretis was weakened and dazed and immediately fell to the floor after and attack by the second fiend.  The group continued pressing the enemy and Gofin returned his target to the gallows.  Alhellara healed Pretis as she lay unconscious just before the green and black liquid in the east and west vats shot out tendrils which damaged various party members in the room.  Melisana had moved to the southwest corner where she perceived a concealed passage of some kind.  Lythandar and Melisana took turns suppressing the eldritch energy of the vats.  But they kept up the attacks.

After the Bodaks had all fallen, Pretis scampered out of the chamber beside Alhellara who was slowed.  Demin and Gofin attempted to open the door and after some consternation finally were successful finding the top of a stone stairwell leading south.  Alhellara spent some time trying to regain her speed and finally joined all the others on the stairs.  Mara, Pretis and Gofin had descended and found a passageway leading east interrupted by a 30 foot long, 10 foot dip pit which evidenced hundreds of spikes on the bottom.  Over the top of the pit was a shimmering area, seemingly a bridge across the pit.  Gofin headed off over the solid bridge with a rope and pitons nailed into the wall, around 20 feet in the shimmering suddenly disappeared, Gofin fell into the pit held by the rope but just as she felt safe the bridge reappeared severing the rope and Gofin fell into the pit with a loud oomph.  The party was unsure how to proceed, spent some time talking about flying over, although Gofin couldn't be retrieved with the bridge in the way.    

Scorecard: The party earned 1057 XP for the Dark Laboratory and now have 59714 XP needing an additional 9286 to reach 16th level.  Either Lythandar or Melisana claimed the Skull Bracers, I can't remember which.