Shearphorus, Part 3 (Lamashan (X) 30th, 4712 AR)

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Tears of the Forest. The ritual continued: 

  1. The acid showers continued and the heroes were subjected to the effects of acid fumes.
  2. The acid showers ceased, although the heroes were still subject to the effect of acid fumes. The tendrils withered away, leaving Lephrelourge to fly on his own.
  3. Smaller tendrils snaked out of the root-holes and again attempted to wrap around the heroes. The tendrils withered away soon.

The plants supporting Lephrelourge during the ritual partially protected him from melee, and he attacked with his tongue. Lephrelourge retreated through the plant-wall when gravely injured. He spoke the command word to open the plant-wall ("Witness the Forest Fall", spoken in Draconic), and used it to close the wall behind him.

The heroes decided not to pursue and break through the door instead. During that effort, tendrils again appeared. The plant-wall separating this chambers from the Emerald Graveyard twisted open momentarily, and then closed again.

The Spiral Passageway. A steep spiral passageway bores through the stone. It leads up to the left, where a faint light is visible, and down to the right, into darkness. The passage is at least thirty feet wide and equally high, and from the visible curvature, the spiral made by the passage must be close to two hundred feet across. The outer surface of the great stone doors blended well with the passage walls. Despite their size, the gigantic doors looked to be difficult to detect when whole.

This passageway leads up to the Throat of Shearphorus. Travel was under shadowy illumination.

Screams can be heard. From here, the heroes could only determine that a gigantic creature is somewhere venting a terrible rage.

The Throat of Shearphorus. The proportions of this space are immense: this is the bottom of a circular stone shaft nearly two thousand feet deep. Here, the shaft is two hundred feet wide, while it is perhaps twice that at the ragged peaks above, where gray clouds pass overhead. Circular stone columns form the shaft’s walls.

One cluster of columns forms a distinct pillar rising straight from the floor to a height of more than eight hundred feet. Although the pillar stands just twenty feet from the walls here at its base, the walls fall away above as the pillar continues its vertical climb. At its peak, the pillar stands alone as a wide plateau, connected back to the mountain’s side by only a narrow stone saddle. Something stands on the plateau, bellowing in rage, its deep roars echoing up and down the great stone throat. To be audible at this distance, the creature must be gigantic.

A wide ramp spirals upward against the stone walls for a few hundred feet, continuing the path from below, before abruptly ending.

Two tongues of rebuke (one each imbued with lightning and cold) stood watch and attacked the intruders.

The tongues of rebuke began combat with their roar special attacks and then alternated between their breath weapon and roars. They also used their bite attack on opponents within range or moved, flying. They did not coordinate their actions. The tongues fought until destroyed.

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