Oh My God(s)!!!

As the stone moves away, a plain wooden door is revealed. Carindrina leads the way through the door. There is running water under a metal grate to walk across and fresh bubbling lava on either side. After some searching, Belladonna sees a single set of footprints and they decide to follow. The place is a labyrinth, but the footsteps only go one direction, to the right. On the left there is a hidden area with a large hand statue. This is a very old statue, but judging by the disruption of dust and the scratches on the floor, it has recently been placed here. There are also spots of blood both on the hand and the ground. There were several areas that had been sealed off by rocks. A second chamber, past the initial one, as soon as it was entered, lava began pouring from the ceiling and bubbling up in a well in the center of the room. It was decided to go back and try to follow the footsteps. As they wound through the hall there was a horrible stench of rotting seaweed and sulfur, with steam erupting through the vents. There was a small hallway filled with skulls of different creatures. Carefully, they rounded the corner and a large pool of the bright green water was visible. A slime ooze rose from the pool and they managed to fight it off. It receded into the pool and they continued. Furus attempted to collect some of the water from the pit, but nearly fell in, burning his arm in the process. There was much to see. It looked as though some sort of evil alchemy was being attempted, but also that someone was living there. There was a bed, a kitchen, a pantry, a meeting room or office, and other signs of comfort. Nira and Carindrina both collected papers from the office. There was also a Temple that Nira recognized as a god of light, although the temple was not wholesome as the religion was known for being. Although the courtroom style set up wouldn’t have been out of place, the manacles and blood most certainly were. Leaving the living quarters, there was an entrance to what was clearly a temple. Adalia recognized it needed water magic to open and was able to open the temple door. It was a large area with many pools of the same greenish water, although the main water was more clear. As Nira entered the room, a prismatic shift occurred and a shining light rippled over the room. A crystal altar was set in the water. Nira went to investigate and suddenly appeared possessed as she stiltingly waded through the water towards the altar. At the altar she produced a knife and sliced the heel of her hand, seeing this, Carindrina dove to grab her and pull her away, but a single drop of blood landed on the crystal altar. WIth a thundering roar, a black rift opened, from it emanated deafening noise. As it grew, the party ran from the water temple, Carindrina dragging a resisting Nira. Once through the doors, and the doors securely locked by Adalia’s water magic, the spell over Nira seemed to break its hold. She insisted she did not know what was going on, but everyone agreed to investigate more. As they returned to the main area of the dungeons, they found a holy well of blessed water. Carindrina placed her left arm in the water and felt the sensation that had lingered after the mist had grabbed her leave. Furus then jumped in, he felt his burns heal, but realized that the longer he stayed, it started burning and feeling like his cells were regenerating too quickly. He came out and they continued. Another Temple was found, a water temple, but it had been desecrated, the flowing water polluted with the same putrid stench. Furus inspected the pipes, but with the rate and pressure at which the water was flowing, it was unlikely the source of the contamination was anywhere in the areas they had explored. Pentagrams had been drawn in blood on the floor. Wanting to find the sword, the group turned around and searched the areas of rubble. They found the entrances of a temple, and a room. Nira initially wondered if there was a childbirth that had gone awry with all of the blood, but on inspection, noticed the spray marks that indicated it was likely a vampire attack. They quietly crept through the temple, on breaking through the next barrier they could hear screams and the laughter of a man and a woman emanating from a deep pit in the center of the room. Carefully walking around the pit, they came to another room with a sacrificial stone surrounded by red runes and splattered with blood. The runes were clearly meant to trap someone inside them, so they avoided walking straight through the room. To the left was a staircase leading down, Carindrina went down and saw that it hid a bit of blood, bones, and tissue that was boiling and bubbling like it was alive. Backing out slowly, she rejoined the group. They walked into the next room and were instantly confronted by two goblins that appeared out of the shadows. Midna made the killing blows on each. When they were dead, the bodies were investigated as was the room. The altar on the right with a sun on the lid was actually a sarcophagus, Carindrina and Nira opened the lid with great effort. Inside was a skeleton still dressed in regal clothes, though obviously quite ancient and tattered. A crown lay on his head and a wooden stake was through his chest where his heart would have been. On the other side of the room, the rest of the group examined the body of one of the fallen goblins. It had a weird density, it was both firm, but lightweight. Venus was sure that he had been dead before they killed him. When opened, the green ooze came out. He was pushed aside, and the second sarcophagus was examined, marked with a moon. This one was much more difficult to open. When it was opened, a female skeleton in ancient but regal robes was visible, with a tiara, but this one had two stakes through the heart and manacles around both her wrists and ankles. When the crown was inspected it emanated a very strong evil force, so both were closed back again. Before leaving, the third altar (middle) was examined, it was covered with fresh blood and a knife was left on it, which NIra took. The decision was made to leave, return to Stoneblood Manor, and regroup. While returning to the entrance, they found a hallway that had pipes of the corrupt green water, but though the pipes were running, the water was draining through the floor. Deciding this was a mystery for another day, they left the dungeon.