As the party packs up the crates into their Bag of Holding, Azaven watches intently. Xyoddin continues licking his lips, but is exceptionally careful with the valuable wine.
“Easy does it, Xyoddin. We wouldn’t want any of the bottles spilling. Not only would it be a terrible waste of delectable wine, but I’m sure these fools would stain something awful.”
Xyoddin nods and continues helping the party get their spoils situation. As the last few crates are loaded, the party turns to leave. Suddenly, the walls and floor begin to shake and shudder violently. Bits of masonry crack and fall down from the crown moulding.
Azaven looks up. “Blast. Stand tight everyone, the Crypts are rebelling again. Must not be found of our new friends. Be on your guard!”
Just then, the stone walls, still stretching with these writhing hands and faces, expand out from the north and south, blocking off Azaven from to the east. There’s a shower of rock that explodes from the wall as five shadowy spectres burst from the stone, wailing like banshees.
You can just hear Azaven’s voice from the other side of the wall.
“Are you alright? Can you hear me? Those wraiths know no master, you must dispatch them. I’ll do what I can get break through to you! Xyoddin! Don’t you dare…don’t you dare do what you’re thinking. You will not be forgiven if you break this sacred bond!”
Xyoddin smiles widely, running his tongue over his pointed teeth as he pulls out a hunk of dark red flesh and takes a bite.
The Crypts Fight Back
The specters quickly surround the party from all sides. Fyn identifies them as wraiths, just as Azaven mentioned. Even though they haven’t had much experience fighting incorporeal creatures, the party seems up for the challenge.
In a matter of moments, two wraiths damage Fyn and Krask’s constitution. The others swarm towards Fobias and Trace. Meanwhile, Azaven continues shouting through the wall, warning Xyoddin to not betray their trust.
He doesn’t listen.
The cannibal grapples Trace and moves to pin the paladin. Luckily, Trace is able to wrestle free before Xyoddin can feast on his brains. He also bursts a blast of Turn Undead, which causes all but one of the wraiths to disperse. This wraith continues to plague Trace.
Thinking he has an ally in Azaven, Fyn casts Stone Shape to clear a hole in the stone wall. Azaven steps out, yelling at Xyoddin to stop. Then, the master of the Ravenous Crypts casts a spell in Xyoddin’s direction. However, the spell doesn’t go towards Xyoddin.
It goes towards Trace.
Azaven is tired of the charade and the party is duped! They genuinely thought they had an unlikely ally in Azaven, but it turns out that their original suspicions were correct. Fobias takes advantage of the momentary distraction to disembowel Xyoddin, dishing out some insanely massive damage. After Barnaby takes care of the final wraith, it’s time to focus on Azaven.
Black tentacles burst from the ground, entangling Azaven. It seems as though the party will be able to unload their full might on the necromancer, but he has other plans. With a smile and witty retort, he traverses the aether.
Exploring the Crypts
Cursing their trust issues, the party heals up and decides to hunt down Azaven. They assume, based on their conversations, that he is unable to leave the Runeforge and is still within the Crypts.
Their first stop is the Negative Energy portal to the north. Krask offers a suggestion to destroy the crystal pylons, somehow, either by pulling the statues down or smashing them directly. The only reservation, however, is that the party doesn’t know the ramifications of doing something like that.
As they delve deeper to the east, the party begins to uncover the grisly research being done in the Crypts. Dissected bodies, grotesque tomes, and preserved remains litter the alchemical research stations.
As they read through the tomes, they learn about Runelord Zutha’s plan to preserve himself in stasis in the event of Thassilon’s fall. He split his phylactery, a book called the Gluttonous Tome, into three sections. The book says that Azaven and others accomplished this task, but the whereabouts of the pieces is unknown.
Where did Azaven run off to? Is Runelord Zutha returning to power? Will the party take their pile of corpses back?