The party contemplates a few different passages away from the three starving, chained air cult initiates. Haerelben leverages his invisibility to become the inquisitive pneumatic projection of Yan-C-Bin. The first starving, chained initiate doesn’t buy into the ruse. The second starving, chained initiate doesn’t buy into the ruse. The third is willing, but can’t muster the moisture to produce the recognition whistle of the cult. He does report that Prophetess Aerisi Kalinoth can be found in the temple.
“Initiate” Theren leads the party north toward a moat-surrounded pyramid of dwarven construction that doesn’t look unlike a temple. Meega and Bromsby are loosely bound by rope as Theren and Lefty’s “prisoners”. The crashing sound of falling water fills the underground chamber. Bromsby notices a wyvern perched atop the pyramid and a rider perched atop the wyvern. The rider notices Lefty and they swoop down to ask Lefty just who she thinks she is, bringing prisoners to the temple? Lefty takes the sky weaver’s point and was just wondering the same thing, but Theren persists and wishes to offer Meega, one of the butchers of Feathergale Spire, as wyvern food. Lefty flicks a dart at the rider, but accidentally sticks Meega instead, outraging both Theren and the rider. Imposter Lefty is bound to Meega and Bromsby, and the rider directs Theren to lead the procession to Aerisi.
It takes just a few moments for Theren to realize he isn’t actually in the air cult, and he doesn’t know which direction to follow for Aerisi, but that never stops Theren. He leads the procession straight to double doors across from the waterfall into the temple pyramid. He confidently throws open the doors and leads the prisoners in. The rider, a sky weaver, blocks the doorway behind them with his wyvern.
Seven cultists levitate slightly off the floor of the chamber, chanting the praises of Yan-C-Bin. Pillars of carved dwarves stretch twenty feet to the ceiling. A pair of staircases lead up. Howling air blasts up into the room from a pit in the center.
Theren addresses Aerisi directly and begs pardon for the interruption. The cultists all touch down, turning their piercing attention to Theren. Theren again offers up Meega, this time to Aerisi. The cultists swarm and attack Theren. They know something Theren does not: Aerisi is not here.
Theren is brutalized by the riled cultists and the wyvern who whips him nearly to death with its poisonous stinger. Invisible Haerelben, observing the mayhem from outside the chamber, banishes the wyvern and its sky weaver rider to a harmless demiplane for a hot minute. Lefty and Meega each drop a pair of cultists. A sky weaver chases Bromsby with lightning, and a hurricane chain punches Theren while catching Theren’s retaliating crossbow bolt.
Bromsby grasps the magic flute and launches a thunderwave at the sky weaver. The magic flute and Iron Oath launch themselves in opposite directions and the thunderwave backfires on Bromsby. Meega charges the sky weaver, smashing her to the ground and bisecting her with Giant Slayer. Bromsby decides he can wield only one artifact at a time and grabs up Iron Oath to critically and lethally erupt earth under the hurricane. That’s more like it. Theren eagerly accepts the magic flute.
The cultists are searched and mined for their uniforms. A pile of magic darts [10 seeker 120’ range 1d4 + DEX + 3d4 lightning] is collected up by dextrous Lefty.
The wyvern and sky weaver will return imminently. Theren channels a wind wall outside the doors through the magic flute to prevent the wyvern’s escape. Haerelben blesses the party. Everyone prepares a surprise attack and the wyvern and rider pop back in.
Damage pours on the duo with the grand prize going to Bromsby’s erupted earth. Neither the wyvern nor the sky weaver can manage a counterattack before being brutally cut down.
The party prepares for a short rest, dragging bodies into the chamber and closing the doors. Bromsby points at the stairs that everyone else has forgotten. Resting might be difficult if the ruckus was heard from upstairs. Hopefully a more discrete location, nearer to the exit of the cult area, can be found to catch some rest. But the party does take a moment to toss a dead cultist into the howling air pit to see which direction it goes: down, but slowly.