Twitchy, nervous, and on guard, the party collects itself, heals from the ropers and vicious assassination attempts and takes some time to decipher the ancient druidic runes slashed into the stalagmites . Vasco, having permanent comprehend languages cast on his eyes, sees that their topics vary widely. Initially, they appear to concentrate on local detail of weather patterns and the eating habits of sharks, with some being simply gibberish. A few more minutes, however, reveals that they are in a pattern of chapters of an ongoing history of the natural world. As the runes move towards the centre, they become warped, chaotic and nonsensical. There is, however, a glowing green crystal growing out of this rocky bed. It doesn't appear magical, but Zeek carefully uses his hammer to break it off and bring it along.
The party pushes forward through the maze. They are stuck looking up, at the scale of the place, with ancient black basalt walls and standing stones risking out of sight into the storm, which rages 60 feet above. Vasco decides to fly ahead, keeping just shy of the ceiling of the storm. The others track for footsteps or trails, but no tell-tale bird feet can be seen.
Rounding a corner, they find a pile of rubble collapsed and cluttering up a corner of the giant stone walls. It doesn’t seem quite right to Yldar, who quickly determines that it is an impressive illusion. Seeing through it, a simple camp is revealed, with one small unlit fire and a bedroll. The camp has clearly been in recent use.
Vasco scouts ahead, noting large obsidian disk set into the floor at the very northern most part of the maze, and another wide area of rubble and broken statues. While checking it out, he feels the sting of two crossbow bolts. Letting off a scorching ray into the general area he things the assassin bird may have shot them from no one is revealed. He flies quickly back to camp, skin itching from the bolts, where they are determined to have been poisoned. Luckily, it seems the poison did not take. Strategy is discussed. Half the party want to chase down the solitary bird, true seeing lantern unmasking any invisibility the assassin may be using but the Seekers in the party – archaeologically fascinated with the place – want to continue their exploration of the obsidian disk and broken statues.
At the 20' diameter obsidian disk set into the stone floor they find more druidic runes to read “Return my eyes to me, and I shall gaze through the storm” There are three shallow divets set around the circumference of the disk, at the pupils of stylized eyes. “The crystal must be the eyes” says Talis, and they strike out to find more.
Arriving at the site of the broken statues, all is quiet. They search around carefully, and see some fairly recent bloodstain amongst the rubble and on the wall. The statues appear to have been of some druids guardian, each cloaked and holding mammoth stone quarterstaffs. Shattered now, they lie in ruin. Under a huge torso of one of the statues there is a faint blue glow. The party words together to push and leverage the torso aside, and they hear the crushing of rock as they do so. There is a scatter of blue glowing crystals, with at least seven major pieces and many tiny fragments recoverable. Talis tries again and again with a mend spell, but the crystal does not reform. She hassles Zeek for some gnomish crafting skill, but Zeek declares that he’s an architect not a jeweller and is unable to help. They pocket the fragments, and go looking for more.
Pressing south back into the maze, and still concerned that any one of them could fall victim to a swift assassination, they find a large pool that Vasco had spotted. The murky tidal pool seems to be filled from a small break in the ancient ruin, and there are clumps of driftwood and seaweed all around. From the centre is an immense black plant – at least 20 feet in diameter – with a thick truck and eight major limbs. It sways in the gentle wind the storm whisks through this place.
Vasco, with a few minutes of his fly spell left, picks up a stone from the nearby debris and flies 15' over the giant tree to drop the stone on it. A look of complete surprise crosses Vasco’s face, as the dropped cobble provokes an entirely unexpected reaction from the tree. All eight major limbs simultaneously swing violently up and smash into Vasco. Every single one hits with sheer, bludgeoning force. Every bone and organ in Vasco’s body is crushed and broken. The momentum of his flight and the force of the hit hurdles his lifeless body to the floor skiddering gruesomely up against one of the stone walls. Vasco is dead.
Yldar, not to be phased by the site of his lifeless, powerful friend, fires arrows deep into the core of the tree, doing massive damage with only two well-placed shots. Fire damage, more arrows and some electric shock follow, before the ancient octopus tree responds by throwing a huge, thick wall of thorns. Not before blood was drawn from nearly everyone one in the party, Kydara managed to dispel the thorns away, and more arrows puncture into the now sapping tree. A forceful line of energy emits out, strongly repelling all wood away from the tree, pushing nearly everyone back almost 60 feet. Yldar tries to let loose some arrows, but they splinter and shatter in mid air. Now smouldering with fireballs from Talis, the tree finally is taken down. Ash and smoke fill the air and water, but the threat is gone – and fortunately there had been no sight of the assassin.
Kydara, not having known Vasco for long, feels the obligation to kneel at his corpse. Bringing the power of Pelor into the room, and forfeiting a minor fortune, he sets about performing Raise Dead and Restoration. After some time, with nearly all from the party now gathering around to observe, Vasco’s broken lifeless form revives. Kaydence nods with the impressiveness of this seldom-observed power. All respects paid to Pelor as Vasco, gingerly stands up, returning from the dead.
Zeek, not standing on ceremony, asks if anyone has water breathing, as he wants to plunge down into this pool and find what must be the crystals below. His eyes stinging and straining to see through the ashy murk, he persists and thoroughly searches the bottom, coming up with the lost magic armour and weapons of the advanced octopus tree’s last victims, and a handful of glowing red crystals.
They return to the obsidian disk, unable to activate it without the blue fragments repaired. Kydara finally decides to try stone shape to reshape a new crystals from the fragments and the base rock at the original site. Success. With two blue crystals, three red crystals, and one green crystal with them, they approach the disk and spend several moments buffing up. They step onto the disk, place the crystals into the small hollows, and find the world shift completely around them. The crystals are gone, and the cloud enshrouded maze is replaced by a bright, vibrant life-filled landscape, with a forest nearby, meadows to either side and a backbone of mountains behind them.
“I am Tylanthros, guardian of this realm. We are the Last Resort, as surely as the trees and stones and sea and air around you. We protect the secrets of this island from all trespassers. You have mastered the portal of storms, and therefore must be brave, but it remains to be seen if you belong here at all. Why have you come to Last Resort?”
Vasco offers that they are here to fight a great evil, with Zeek embelishing with a story of how they are the emissaries of the ancient Wind Dukes. There is a pause in the response from Tylanthros, who considers their answer and seems non pulsed. He continues,
“You seek the Fountain, although you do not yet realize it. The Fountain of Dreams is linked to all things in Last Resort. The earth, the dark trees of the Doomshroud, the clouds above, my life and that of my brothers are a part of it. If the waters are consumed, the Order of the Storm’s rite is undone. The secrets kept from the world will be released, and the great creatures of legend imprisoned here on this isle shall be unleashed upon the Material Plane once more. You say you are heroes? This remains to be seen. Accomplish four tasks and prove yourselves to be the heroes of old returned. The Fountain shall not be despoiled lightly.”
The strange creature looks at his four brothers, then back to the party. “The Fountain of Dreams shall know those destined for its gifts in but one way. It will know them by the Trials of Tilagos. Survive these trials, and you may slake your thirst on what you seek. Fail, and Last Resort shall be your grave. I am Tylanthros, and the first trial is the Claiming of Kratharios’s Golden Belt.”
A second of the quartet of creatures speaks up next. “I am Beskawahn, and the second trial is the Silence of the Doomshroud’s Mournful Song.”
The third speaks. “I am Thadimar, and the third trial is the Death of the Thorn Vale Nightmare.”
Finally, the last creature speaks. I am Sayren-Lei, and the final trial is the Harvest of the Living Feather of the Roc King.”
Tylanthros speaks again. “These trials complete, return here and we shall show you the Fountain of Dreams. Until then, we shall watch. And wait.”
All four turn away and three slip instantly into the plants. Zeek urgently tries to catch their attention with a question about if others had been there before. Tylanthros pauses his retreat to say,
“You speak of the Hand of the Lich-Lord. He has come to Tilagos with his flock, seeking knowledge as you do. Even as you linger, they seek to complete the tasks we have named. If they outspeed you, then the secrets of the Fountain are theirs. Who claims the secrets of the Fountain matters little to us, for once these secrets are claimed our role in Last Resort has come to an end.”
Then he is gone.
Kydara offers to commune with Pelor and to seek an answer to where they may find the trials they face. After considerable discussion, she asks what island environment they may find Kratharios’s Golden Belt. The commune reveal that Kratharios may be found on the shore. Disappointed but not deterred, the party sets out west for several hours before taking up camp.
