That's So Raven

Ubys read more of the Primeval Tablet by torchlight at the lake's edge.

It is older than the Beast Lord's tenancy.

The temple was taken from "Elves" — (or an older line. An ancestor of the Drow. A primeval root.) The cave system is Proto-Elven. The Beast Lord cult are the latest tenants, not the architects.

There is also a portal, the Tablet said.

You picked the left hole. It had tracks in and out of it.

Down the corridor.

A chamber opened.

Dozens of rats moved across the floor.

At the chamber's center —

A Rat Queen impaled on an obsidian spike.

She was alive.

She was not surprised to see you.

She made a sound.

Four corners of the chamber. Four Giant Rats emerged, each with a swarm at their feet.

In the far corner, as the Tablet had said:

A portal. Dormant. In a frame. Waiting.

You rolled initiative.

Round 1 — AC sigiled a swarm and laid into it. Ubys joined him with Voidfang and called up his Spiritual Weapon to finish the swarm. Moist threw fire spirits into a different swarm. KeYs and Falkor tore into a third.

The Rat Queen screamed.

Four Stirges flew out of the upper passages.

Round 2 — AC put his trident into the second swarm with fire on the strike — fire trident through it for 24 damage — DEAD. Ubys cast Armor of Agathys on himself; the spectral khopesh whacked the rat on AC. The swarms hit. Falkor took a CRIT. The Stirges started attaching. One bit Ubys and froze itself dead on the Agathys cold. Moist teleported out of his swarm, leaving fire to finish them.

The Queen screamed again. Four more Stirges.

Round 3 — AC tore the Stirge off himself and moved on the Queen. Pushed through rats. Ubys followed.

Round 4 —

AC CRIT with his trident and its charges.

Two hundred and thirty-six damage.

💥💥💥

The Rat Queen came off the spike and the chamber stopped.

The dozens of rats in the chamber went somewhere else.

The Stirges fell off the walls.

The four Giant Rats lay where they fell.

In the corner, the dormant portal stood untouched.

You searched the chamber.

You found:

One thousand and ninety-six copper. One thousand and four hundred and fifteen silver. Six hundred and seventy-four gold. Ninety-six platinum. Ten gemstones, each worth a hundred gold.

Three magic items.

Bracers of Defense. Wand of Magic Missile. A Potion of Frost Giant Strength.

The portal was still there.

The portal is still there.

You leveled up standing in front of it.

Next session: what comes through the portal.