Tomb of Annihilation: Wyfingrem Hulwir's Journal - Entry 35

My regular Dungeons & Dragons group is playing through Tomb of Annihilation and I am very excited to be doing so. For this campaign, I am playing a Fallen Aasimar Cleric of the Grave Domain named Wyfingrem. Her family is renowned among her people as Resurrectionists. With the world stricken by a Death Curse that has prevented resurrection, Wyfingrem and an odd assortment of adventurers have answered the call from a mysterious benefactor to find the root cause of the curse and destroy it. Each day, Wyfingrem journals her experiences as a way to feel close to people, especially those dearest to her heart.

Day ??? - I have long since lost track…

My dearest love,

Our journey has now taken us to a solid wall albeit for a single block that appears to be movable. Dimo bravely stepped up and pushed the block down. It revealed to us the room with the funeral barge that we had previously come across, only from above that time, and had narrowly escaped when a swarm of flesh-eating locust attacked us.

Stil laying on the floor were the remains of the dwarf and his shield made from bronze. We recalled from the symbols etched into the stones about him that the floor holds some sort of riddle, and one we failed to accurately decipher in our first attempt.

Someone from the group noted the symbol of a vulture on the medallion at the room’s entrance. We estimated that perhaps this is the secret, and that we must stick solely to the floor tiles with the same symbol etched in them.

Once again, it is Dimo who possessed the courage to test our theory, boldly stepping into the room and standing on a square bearing the vulture symbol. To our relief, no locust or other malady were released. No other trap seemed to have been sprung.

Emboldened, Dimo grabbed the bronze shield and began to search the body of the dwarf for clues or treasure that may be useful in our quest to eliminate the Death Curse. He came away mostly with some baubles that are useless to our cause, but among the dwarf’s possessions are two more of the crystal eyes, one dark blue and the other a vibrant purple, that we have been finding lately through this mysterious dungeon. We know not what they mean of what they will do, but we collect them all the same in hopes they someone are meaningful to our endeavor.

The next place to investigate for potential aid is the funeral barge itself for it bares a sarcophagus. Opening it carefully, Dimo discovered the bones of the another of the strange false gods worshipped on this island. This one is of the horned rabbit the locals have named as I’Jin. Also within the sarcophagus is a spiral horn that remains in excellent condition, as if untouched by the years. We quickly recognize it as one of the phylacteries for the island god spirits.

Upon wielding it, the spectral form of a rabbit appeared, spouting desperate request to let it inhabit one of our bodies to help stop Acererak. This is an unholy request, by my estimation, and so I deny it as to others.

Dimo decides however to accept the spirit of I’Jin and in doing so, he casts out the spirit of Nang Nang, which returns to the egg from whence it came. The barbaric reptilian man chooses to hold on to this object as well, wrapping it in the yellow turban taken from the deceased dwarf.

We determined there is nothing more to do or discover in that room and so we thankfully moved on again. The Death Curse remains the objective I am most focused on and not these distractions, however it seems this Acererak is likely intertwined with it somehow. It is clear all these dead gods have a vendetta against him. Is it perhaps that they too remain dead because of this Acererak and his potential connection to the Death Curse? I must pray on this to the Gods of Life and Death for answers and guidance.

After trying and failing to find alternate passages stemming from this location, we head back through the wave pools using Sir McManly’s magical trident to hold back the waters and grant many of us safe passage. Fortunately, I am deeply blessed by the Gods of Life and Death and so I need not the affects of such baubles to protect me, and I pass through the enchanted waters unmolested.

We discovered a new area with a smaller tunnel branching off it. Zilditch bravely volunteered to investigate it due to how much more ideally it accommodates his stature. After several tense moments he returned to us reporting many strange sights.

The goblin had found a vast room with balconies at either end and a series of platforms suspended in the air between the two. At the far end of the room was some sort of lever. He also noted many carvings of fiends – a troubling discovery, to be sure. I thought I recognized one of the fiends he described but I required seeing it in person to be sure (and I had hoped I am wrong). Most notably, however, was the presence of another of those strange skeletal figures with an oddly shaped head that serves as a key.

While the key will indeed prove important to our journey through these foul tunnels, more importantly the creature represents an abomination most slanderous to the Gods of Life and Death. And therefore, I knew I must see to its destruction.

Zilditch lead me back to the room along with Toni and Al’Variean. As I suspected, the carvings of the fiends represented a Nycolath. These winged demons are mercenaries fueled by their greed, but they are known to be fiercely loyal to their masters if treated well. This certainly is not a good sign as we are drawn deeper into this deadly dungeon.

The key-headed skeleton is nowhere to be seen, however. Zilditch deftly climbed across the room in search of it, and although he finds a branching tunnel off this cavern, the skeleton had seemingly disappeared for now. He then proceeded across the room the investigate the switch on the far balcony.

Upon throwing the switch, the Nycolath fists unclenched, and two objects dropped into the darkness. Before we could deal with that however a wind most foul sprang up in the room, whispering dangerous and deadly suggestions to those of weak mind and character. I know of an recognize these winds. They are the Winds of Pandemonium and they come from the plane of the Nycolaths.

Al’Variean broke out into a verbal fit, cussing everyone and everything. He reached for me with the deadly intent of pushing me over the balcony, but the Gods of Life and Death are forever with me, and I was able to overpower him. At the same time, the heinous winds tried to cloud my mind with their wretched suggestions, but the Gods remained steadfast at my side, as I have remained strong in my devotion to them.

Nonetheless, Sir McManly came to my aid, distributing himself between Al’Variean and myself and deflecting the drow’s magical salvos directed at me. Toni had already spoken a prayer to calm the emotions of all those afflicted by the Winds, but it was to no avail. I sought to bolster our friends’ ability to resist the call of the Winds with a prayer of my own while Toni blessed Sir McManly with greater protection from anything evil that might wish to harm him.

Blessedly, our combined efforts work, and we managed to get everyone affected out of the room. As we are doing so, Zilditch sought the objects the Nycolath stature dropped and returned with two more of the strange crystal eyeballs. We are now also in possession of a pearly white one and a scarlet red one.

We continued for some time to search the many branching hallways for the key head skeleton and eventually did come upon it. Zilditch made quick work of the wretched abomination and retrieved from it the circle key.

After a bit more investigation, we came across a strange door with a round mirror inset in it. Around the mirror are 10 small circular inlets, which we believe are meant to hold the crystal eyeballs we have amassed. With only seven of them in our possession, however, we decided to make finding the rest a priority.

Something incredibly important must be behind this door for it to requite such a collection of oddities dispersed throughout this malevolent place. My hopes and prayers are that it takes us to the root of the Death Curse and then we can finally rid the world of it!

Oh, what a joyous moment that will be, my love! Then we can be together again. My heart is filled with renewed hope that we have journeyed to the precipice of concluding our sacred mission.

After some discussion, we determined possible unexplored locations where more of these crystal eyeballs may be hidden. Back through the magical water pools we headed until we found one such previously unexplored tunnel that we felt held promise.

Zilditch entered to explore but shortly thereafter, we heard stone grinding on stone followed by cries for help from the goblin archer. Fulfilling on my duty to the Gods of Life and Death, I quickly ventured into the tunnel to find him. Instead, I came upon the corpse of a reptilian figure. Fortune was blessedly upon us this day as our suspicious proved true, and indeed among the deceased’s possessions was a red crystal eyeball. That makes eight!

We still needed to figure out where Zilditch has disappeared to however and how to rescue him. The ground upon which we found the reptilian figure included a pressure plate, we discovered. Triggering it, that section of the hallway rotated revealing a similar section of hallway but this one including Zilditch. After freeing him, we used summoned mage hands to deposit enough stones on the pressure plate to allow everyone to safely exit the tunnel.

Our party has now found its way back to the tunnels near the cavern with the Winds of Pandemonium. Here we find another tunnel but there is an incredibly heavy and sharp steel door blocking its entrance. It threatens to do serious harm to anyone or anything that attempts to pass it. We have great ingenuity among our group, Gods be blessed, and we determine that the immovable rod we have come into possession of will sufficiently prop open the gate so that we may pass.

With that, my dearest love, I must say goodbye for now. Please know that you are forever in my heart, and I hope that my suspicious prove true and that we are nearing the end of this diabolical puzzle.

All my love…