Ven 34, 2424 - Session 13 - Things that go bump in the Dark

The first thing to hit us as we enter the cavern is the thiccc, with 3 c's, smell of metallic rot, ie blood, and spoiled wine.
Unnatural forms and shapes almost human. Hollowed eyes and intangible like a fleeting memory.
The forms spring to life., moving in unnatural jerking movements. Animated Skin Suits gross!
They shamble towards our group the smell is almost unbearable. They lung at Bruin flailing their arms and appendages.
Laslyn ran in swinging just cutting down the first one to approach. Z'ed came in with some precision needle darts from behind us.
Amani summoning thralls out here making it an undead vs skin bag melee. Klackers always the team player was out there throwing out buffs and support for the group. Bruin stalwart as ever tanking the assault head on! After taking a big hit Bruin became paralyzed. Great we just lost our tank! Klackers steps up to Bruins defense and just explodes one of the skin walkers. Black ichor and fumes emanated from the blast healing the other adversaries near by with some sort of necrotic energy. Z'ed just kept peppering them with her needle darts as Laslyn just cleaved another body tearing through the skin. Bruin shook off the paralysis and got back in the fight. Amani started sucking the life out of the one fighting Laslyn and it just fell to the floor then it also exploded in the same necrotic energy. Amani then took the life force and used it to heal Bruin. As Amani dispatched that foe her book started to pulse and almost come alive as it summoned forth an undead canine into the fray. Bruin just kept taking hit after hit holding his own but started looking a little worse for wear. I was staying safe for once and just chucking some fire bombs from a distance trying to burn the skin suits. God the smell was horrendous. Seeing Bruin looking rough Klackers attempted to patch him up and actually did a little more harm than good. Z'ed eviscerates one flanking Bruin and it just gets shredded with flying needles. Bruin sunk his teeth into the last one and somehow it still stood. These things were resilient piles of skin, DAMN! It lashed out at Laslyn but Bruin stepped in and took a share of the impact. It just kept flailing at her though. Hit after hit trying to take someone down with it. I tried to finish it off but couldn't hit it for the life of me. Klackers helped Laslyn recover from the absolute beating she just took. Z'ed shot it through the head with a final barrage of needles. In the sudden quite of the cavern we heard a cry for help. The face of Maris in the ichor calling out to us to release her from her torment.

We found some steps leading down at the back of the cavern and they lead to where the stone became smoother and the air thicker with stone dust magical essence. The chamber opened up into a circular vault. Glassroot growing all across the ceiling. Bruin informed us this was a binding circle. But it failed. It wasn't completed. But not only did they try to seal the evil but also forget it from memory. A small decent leads down we hear a hum and feel reality unraveling. The air vibrates and holds a taste of copper and ash. Green ichor weeps dripping from the stalactites above. As we approach a ledge we see spires with priests chained to them along with flayed figures forever in a look of torment. Maris' voice calling out for help. A green bolt strikes through towards an alter in the center of the chamber. Bone and blood coagulate into form. The Seamwalker arises. Grotesque fiends flanking either side of the chamber as we prepare for what we hope is a final confrontation in this hell hole.
The first fiend rushed fourth trying to cast something at Z'ed but she responded back with a lightning bolt crackling back at it. Bruin slid down the cliffside shield raised as I crept my way forward trying not to be noticed. Laslyn the strong willed fool ran straight in to engage the one throwing spells but soon found herself 2 against 1 as the other fiend joined it's buddy. The rest of us moved up to support Laslyn. Z'ed kept her position on the ledge above just throwing out thunder and lightning like a wild tempest. Bruin, shield raised charged the Seamwalker head on. I started throwing alchemist fire like its the forth of July. Setting the 2 fiends ablaze allowing for Laslyn to finish them off in a flurry of slashes from her great sword. Klackers patched up the front line assault as needed. Amani and Z'ed recalled from their researches that the Seamwalker was a bit tankier than we might expect but it had a weakness to cold iron, holy magic, and also that it could escape its current body and jump to another when it needs to heal. As soon as we are told that the worm inside the Seamwalker wiggled free of the body in a gruesome showing. From above Z'ed continued to rain down thunder upon the creature. Bruin attacked with a fierce bite sinking his teeth deep into it. Seeing how effective Z'ed's strikes were I brewed up a bottled lightning and threw it with all my might. A flash of blue light filled the cavern as electricity coursed through its body and taking it off-guard.
Laslyn taking the window of advantage struck forward, and in a split moment the cavern got dark and the glassroot turned molten in the , she then cut it's head off. Maris spoke out to Laslyn saying it shouldn't have been her "it was supposed to be you". The cavern pulsed and the voice of Kaelor the Bound filled every mind. Rising up from the darkness he came crawling into this reality through this innocent girl. Now standing tall in front of us we must send him back to the hell he came from. We all sprang into a coordinated attack steel swinging, fire flying. In response to this hostility he hurled a huge fireball striking Klackers, Bruin and myself. It hurt like hell but we withstood it best we could. Klackers cast bless so our attacks might strike true to vanquish this evil foe. Bruin a tornado of teeth and claws swipped at him. Laslyn wilding swinging her blade cut after cut finding their mark. Amani from the backline started summoning an army of thralls. Kaelor kept dodging Z'ed's Lightning and then blinked away in a flash appearing right next to Z'ed lashing out at her with a tentacle. With the forceful impact she fell to the ground lifeless. Laslyn taking a closer look at the alter decided to strike at it hoping it might hold some connection to Kaelor being here in this plane. As she cracked the slab in half Kaelor's from shimmered and shifted as his form seemed to becoming displaced and weaker. Amani seeing this realized that this action wasn't stopping him but was actually helping release him into the world. Just as soon as the warning to Laslyn escaped her mouth she cleared her mind and thought hard about what she just said and realized she meant the opposite and yes in fact the destruction to the tablet alter was weakening Kaelor. Seeing the damage Laslyn was doing to it he hurled another fireball directly at her. As the flames and smoke clear we saw Laslyn still standing despite all reasoning. She looks pretty bad yet still she remained. Standing defiant to death's face. Klackers rushed over to help smash up the alter. Bruin grabbed hold to Kaelor in a literal bear hug trying to pin him down. Laslyn takes one final swing smashing the alter asunder unleashing a wave of energy that struck to the core of Kaelor weakening his grip in our reality. Amani and I rushed up to where Bruin was wrestling with him. Bruin fought to keep him held down as we rushed to his aid. Laslyn from threw a sword from down town and in a final blow from the sky Kaelor was vanquished in a writhing form or faces and light. A blast of green shot out from where he fell. It shook through the entire mine around us. Last we remember seeing was the faces of those who were trapped in the memory of that place. We awoke to the smell of a burning campfire. The collapsed entrance of the mine behind us. The camp crew gathered around us recounting how they found us all almost as if we were carried out by some guardian force. The ritual site now buried hopefully forever.
The region is safe, the dark veil receding back as the sun rises on this brighter future.