Where Lightning Meets the Sea

The next morning was somber as the party awoke to the sight of an even worse looking Zenriel. She had gotten a full night’s sleep but was still feeling sick. It seemed the Dragon Ward was still doing its job and trying to make Zen leave. She felt nauseous and could barely lift her arms. Since Magnificent Mansion lasted for eight hours, Kaladrax brought it into existence and insisted that Zenriel stay within the confines to rest and hopefully get better away from the plane that held the Ward. 

In the meantime, the group had uncovered some of the clues on the map that Laeral had given them. One of the vaults seemed to be located somewhere off the coast of Waterdeep. The Hand of Destiny decided to check it out while Zenriel recovered her strength. They headed out to the docks and went into the water. Kariss was about to ask Aqua for her help in getting to the vault when the group noticed that Milo was not in the water. He was trying to slink off back to the top of the docks. When the group found out and confronted him he screamed that he could not get back in the water. There had been too many near misses with him and water and he was not going into the sea ever again. 

The first time they had been met with resistance from Milo about going into the water, Kaladrax had just used Resilient Sphere to hold him and drag him with them but he didn’t have access to that anymore. Aleera thought quickly and cast Calm Emotions on Milo when he wasn’t looking. After she cast it, a serene look came over Milo’s face and when they suggested going into the water for a bit he walked in without hesitation. It was clear that the spell worked and the group made their way towards the vault without further problem. They swam down with Milo weaving behind them, content to float in the water under the effect of Calm Emotions. They reached the vault under the sea and now they had to figure out a way in. 

All they found was a giant statue of a muscled man holding a lightning bolt in his hand raised to the sky. It was a formidable statue and a plaque at the bottom was barely legible. All they could make out was that lightning might be able to open the vault, but they didn’t quite know how. Then Kariss had the idea to use her Chain Lightning spell and aimed it at the top of the lightning bolt in the statue’s hand. First she asked Aqua to separate the water near the hand of the statue to allow the lightning to hit and not be dispersed by the surrounding water. Then she shot her spell at the hand and lightning. 

At first there was nothing but silence as the group hung suspended in the water by Aqua’s power. Then movement by the raised hand. Out of the tip of the finger that was touching the lightning bolt rose a clear cylinder that the party stepped into. It transported them through the statue and down into a base that looked like it belonged to some sort of crime fighting vigilante of old. There was a large cavernous main area with old elven pillars adorning the inside. They had seen old sites like this before. Many of the races had built on the original building the elves had left behind when they retreated to their sanctuaries or specified territories. 

There were a few ledges of rock sticking out like shelves or desks. Across many of them were scattered wanted posters. They were crumbling at the edges and some of them were so far gone that the original writing was illegible. On another ledge was a series of old articles talking about a masked hero with a lightning motif on his chest. Most were as illegible as the wanted posters. This was an abandoned vigilante hideout and where there was a hideout there were usually items of great worth. The party spread out to try and find some loot. 

The only other things they could see in the center of the room were the elven pillars. There were four of them in different colors surrounding one neutral pillar in the center. It took a moment to figure out what to do. Kaladrax figured it out first. After seeing the color of the pillars, Kaladrax began thinking that maybe the vigilante had been a wizard like him. If he had been a wizard, magic was a huge portion of their identity. Anything acting as a lock on some loot would be protected by magic. In his studies he had learned that the specific schools of magic were often identified through color. Evocation was the red pillar, conjuration was the blue pillar, enchantment was the green pillar, illusion was the yellow pillar. Kaladrax let them know and asked them to cast at the pillars to activate them. 

Hepolita quickly threw a firebolt at the red pillar. It flared in a bright wave of red light and dimmed like it was waiting. Milo was a little confused and still angry at being calmed against his will. He threw an attack spell at the green pillar but it was not the right school and a low humming started in Milo’s body. He said he felt tingly and thought he had been electrocuted but not severely injured. He only knew something was wrong when a lightning bolt hit him and another began to charge. Milo started running around trying to avoid the lightning strikes. He was struck a few more times before Kaladrax cast an enchantment at the green pillar to fulfill the need. The pillar pulsed a green bright light and dimmed like the red. The others quickly cast the other schools of magic at the remaining pillars and waited for the end result. 

A moment of silence was interrupted with a hissing as the four pillars flared and the lights arched out of them towards the middle pillar. They gathered there and sank into the simple stone of the center pillar. The object then began to rise, revealing the magical storage below. Below the pillar was a hollow cylinder, similar to the one that brought them down here. Inside was a robe of bright blues and yellow. There was a large lightning bolt across the front and smaller ones decorated the sash that held the robes together. There were accompanying gloves and a glorious blue and gold staff, both with lightning bolts decorating them. 

They had found their first vault and their first set of loot. This had been a good day. They had rescued Zenriel and gotten some amazing items. Kaladrax had done the most work so he was offered the fruits of their labor first. He agreed, donning the new suit and attuning to the accompanying staff. He hadn’t upgraded his robes since meeting the group and he had been in dire need of new clothes. These would be especially helpful to him as a wizard. He looked majestic as they exited the vault and made their way home.