Book 2: They Watched the Stars

Chapter 4: Ruins of Domora

Or, Yelling at Zombie Dragons

loreify.ai session notes

Session Summary

The party, joined by Sakuachi, went to the final site: Domora Hume’s Tower. There they battled and defeated a zombie black dragon (Ymynsallion), harvesting scales and horns and discovering gold in the zombie’s stomach. Sammakko considered but then decided against eating the necrotic flesh of the zombie dragon. Investigation of the tower revealed godcalling history, a tapestry of successors summoning Dyzad, the crustacean goddess, and scrolls about Hume’s Pool feeding an aquifer under the city. The party also discovered a spacious pouch with potions and more gold.

Returning to the lake bed, Droog’s dowsing rod located a tunnel to the subterranean cistern. They followed the tunnel and fought a Vrock demon. Yoi-ko grabbed and threw the demon against the wall for Hector to smash it with his maul. Sammakko spit caustic bile into the demon’s wounds and it succumbed to death by acid. The spirit Ruun spoke to the party and instructed them on how to proceed. The party then entered the Howlingblood Well, where Sakuachi made an offering of her spear which activated the spirit Waiixi’s haunt test: phantasmal owls and spiritual force damage. Disabling the occult haunt unsealed the well, filling it with water and ejecting the party. Three wells remain before the central cistern with the demon Malgamon inside.

Timeline

1. Camped at dried Hume’s Pool, ate auric noodles for magic detection.
2. Approached Domora Hume’s Tower from south, entered crumbling gate.
3. Triggered zombie dragon combat.
4. Defeated Ymynsallion, looted 500 gp treasure, scales, horns.
5. Investigated tower: found tapestry of godcallers summoning Dyzad, Hume’s scrolls on aquifer.
6. Discovered spacious pouch with potions of quickness, moderate healing potions, 500 gold.
7. Dowsing rod found tunnel entrance in lake bed small pool.
8. Entered murky tunnel to cistern, scouted with stealth and detect magic.
9. Ambushed by Vrock at cistern entrance room, which summoned mirror images and spores.
10. Voice of the spirit Ruun instructed on four wells guarding cistern.
11. Explored Howlingblood Well: 10ft drop, red statue, blue ice barrier.
12. Sakuachi offered spear, triggered Waiixi haunt: mantis god, phantasmal owls, force damage.
13. Disabled haunt via skill checks, well filled with water, party ejected safely.
14. Treated wounds in hallway after haunt.
15. Planned next wells amid collapsed tunnels.

Investigating the Ruins

Domora’s Tower Lore

Tucked between the staircase and the wall are a quartet of large metal plates, each etched with a portrait and a fantastical story of one of Domora Hume’s most talented students. These four students came from four separate Sarkorian clans. Their names were Sagiyas Howlingblood, Jaki Allriver, Gennin Wintersun, and Alkin Stareye.

A tightly rolled tapestry was spared destruction. The tapestry shows Domora Hume’s four successors standing in a circle, enacting a ritual. A beastly yet regal crustacean the size of a bear rises from a pillar of water between the assembled god callers. Sarkorian runes describe the scene, explaining how the city’s greatest god callers could, even after Domora Hume’s death, channel their combined powers to summon the original divine protector of Domora, the goddess Dyzad.

Hidden in the ceiling tiles is a series of vellum scrolls. The scrolls were written by Domora Hume himself, and they concern the matter of divine beings rising from the depths of the nearby lake called Hume’s Pool. Hume speculated that his city was a good place for god calling because the lake’s blessed waters ran beneath Domora via an extensive aquifer system.

Domora’s Deities Lore

Even after Abyssal magic dried Hume’s Pool to a muddy pond at the center of a dry lakebed, it remained a sacred site. Knowing this, Malgamon lured his prey to Hume’s Pool, then funneled them into his lair through a now-dry tunnel to the city’s cistern system. Dyzad—the first Domoran goddess—and four powerful spirit guides were the last known deities to enter Malgamon’s cistern lair.

Entering Domora’s Wells

“Silence! I am Ruun, one of the four spirits who guard these wells. I felt your presence when you first entered this domain, and I believe you may be worthy. At the center, elder Dyzad does unending battle with the demon Malgamon. To prove yourself, visit our shrines at the bottom of the wells in these tunnels. At each, you must make a worthy sacrifice, and you must overcome a challenge posed by the shrine’s patron. Complete my three siblings’ challenges, and we will unseal the central cistern. If you can defeat Malgamon and offer me your final sacrifice, then I will agree to give you my power.”

Treasure

• 1000 gp
• a spacious pouch (type II)
• 2 potions of quickness
• 4 moderate healing potions
• Zombie dragon scales and horns