A Better DAy

A Better Day

After an unexpected delay with the Mage I caught up with the party lying battered and bruised at the foot of the stairwell east of the stepping stone pillars cavern. We healed, rested and recovered spells and moved off with some cautious mirror scouting the order of the day. Proceeding east we came upon a chasm crossed by a wooden bridge, Saladin, confident in his ring and trap detection sword crossed first and it proved robust.

Round the corner we came upon a chamber with another set of stairs against one wall, again leading upward. At the top through a door we emerged into a chamber containing a fallen statue of a magic user, perhaps, this was the fabled Ryzek? This room had the look of a major junction with no fewer than five unexplored exit doors.

We checked each exit cautiously revealing two small dead end ante chambers, corridors running south and east and some sort of guard room. This last was a chamber with a mezzanine floor and arrow slits punctuating its southern and eastern walls. The southern slits covered the corridor leading to the statue room, the eastern overlooked a kitchen.

Presumably our detour south from the entrance chamber had brought us behind the defences of the complex as this set up was clearly defending against an approach from the North and East. The guardroom’s first floor level was accessed by a staircase, but there was also a metal pole, sliding for the use of.

Roscoe did some considerable searching around the statue but to no avail, nor were our detector systems showing anything unusual. The southern corridor turned west and entered another room, but we elected to take the arrow slit lined corridor eastward, confident that they presented no threat. We might have felt differently of course, had we approached from the other direction.

Leaving Roscoe behind for the moment we headed east, finding that doors on the south of the corridor led to two rooms connected by a crawlway underneath the dividing walls. Eldras boldly made his way underneath and successfully made it from one to the other but his daring yielded no reward.

The corridor led as we knew to the old kitchen. It was dominated by a central fire pit ten feet deep and scattered around the room were crates and barrels, some intact but many damaged or smashed altogether. A chest on the opposite wall caught the eye, plus exits north and south.

Eldras made a beeline for it and consequently was the victim of attack by the Gambado that leapt from the chest as he approached. Barakor and Saladin moved to his aid and helped finish the jack in the box like attacker, so quickly that it was all over before Holly had even finished her transformation. The chest contained jewels and gems, one ring detected as magical and Barakor put it on. This later proved to be a ring of fire resistance, though we did not know this at the time.

Checking the exits from this room, to the north the corridor went east again, to the south an unusual corridor: It was almost ten feet wide, but only the central three foot spine of the corridor was level with the room, on each side the corridor was about two feet lower presenting a conundrum: Which, if any, was the safe path, or was this just a paranoia inducing design feature?

We retreated to regroup and headed south from the statue room. This took us west and we could see a dimly lit chamber at the end. We also noted a severe stench. Eldras scouted ahead, walking on the ceiling as is his habit. Suddenly he stumbled, discovering that the high ceiling became illusory close to the chamber. Something grabbed at him and he swung his sword at the invisible opponent(s). He then knelt to look up through the floor only to be seized and pulled through.

Kravaine cast Fly on Barakor who tied a rope around his waist and flew up with Saladin in tow. Emerging through the floor he saw a dozen ghouls and ghasts on a ledge above the eastern side of the chamber and the end of the entrance corridor, several of which were tearing chunks off the paralysed Eldras. On the opposite side of the room, another ledge with another dozen undead on it.

Presenting his holy symbol he successfully turned the whole of the eastern undead horde which cowered with no line of retreat. Meanwhile, Kravaine had entered the room below and it had begun to rise up. The rest of the party that was able to piled on with her leaving Ripven and Roscoe to follow Saladin up the rope. The floor rose to connect the two ledges allowing the western ghoul/ ghast horde to assault, however, anything Barakor could do, Zionestes could do better* and he successfully turned the western attackers.

*Although this was proved false almost immediately

This bought time for everyone to arrive at the upper level, but Zionestes’ turn wore off fast and Kravaine, Barakor, Saladin and the pair of clerics found themselves under attack. Saladin had thrown oil at the western ghouls and he and Kravaine fired it igniting several of the fell creatures. Ripven and Barakor with fresh turning drove the majority of the western attackers back again, two of them tumbling more than thirty feet to the floor on the western side in their panic.

Kravaine, having cast levitate on herself floated out of reach to the ceiling to elude her remaining attacker whilst Barakor continued to fly around to good effect. Only Ripven took hits but managed to avoid becoming paralysed like Eldras. Most of the opposition fell to assassination strokes rather than combat and one of two were killed by the flames that had affected half a dozen.

Eldras was healed and his paralysis wore off and we were left to loot several thousand pieces of silver and electrum. There were also three potions and a sword that Saladin took. The sword glowed blue when close to the undead bodies, and red when pointed at any of us though we weren’t exactly sure what it was detecting.

Barakor, still flying noted that underneath the raised floor there was an exit in the eastern wall amongst the mechanical rams that had pushed the floor up and he and I scouted the passage it opened into. The narrow corridor was blocked by a pit that of course presented no problem to us and beyond yet another staircase led upward.

This brought us to a major east west corridor with more stairs up in both directions. We could see doors to the east and there was a door opposite. Behind it a corridor led south blocked by multiple portcullises; there were also winches, presumably for their operation. However, Barakor who was running his detect traps spell could see that there were also more concealed portcullises.

We turned east and tried the first door on the north wall. This revealed a chamber with three throne like chairs opposite. Entering the room we could see the words ‘Strength’ ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Life’ written over each one. I sat in the Life chair and was rewarded by an attack from six coffer corpses that burst through the paper wall behind the thrones, locking their bony hands round my and Barakor’s throats.

I fired my Burning Hands spell, injuring two but was unable to rise from the throne to turn and fight the third. Two had Barakor but he was able to turn the corpses and after that I was released and they were easily despatched. I took a dagger from one which seemed a well made weapon. We decided not to push our luck further and returned to the others.

I should have mentioned earlier but there was a glowing orange archway in the south west corner of the room with the illusory ceiling plus quite a bit of rope, apparently for use by the undead to drop on their victims. Barakor examined the archway but it did not appear to operate as a portal, it might just be a lure to get people onto the rising floor platform. We rested.

Kravaine
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Mapping 40
Room 18 treasure 475
Casting Fly on Barakor 100
Ghouls/ Ghasts 200
Room 21 treasure 1200
Coffer Corpses 45
Dagger room 12 150

Total 2230

Eldras
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Negotiating crawlspace 61 20
Gambado 60
Room 18 treasure 475
Discovering illusory ceiling at 21. 100
Room 21 treasure 1200

Total 1875

Barakor
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Healing 50
Gambado 60
Room 18 treasure 475
Taking rope up through ceiling 50
Ghouls/ Ghasts 1920
Room 21 treasure 1200
Find Traps Spell 100
Coffer Corpses 225
Dagger room 12 150

Total 4250

Holly
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Room 18 treasure 475
Ghouls/ Ghasts 200
Room 21 treasure 1200

Total 1895
Saladin/ Grom
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Crossing Bridge 59 first 20
Gambado 60
Room 18 treasure 475
Ghouls/ Ghasts 400
Room 21 treasure 1200

Total
2175
Ripven
Room 18 treasure 475
Healing 50
Ghouls/ Ghasts 400
Room 21 treasure 1200

Total 2125

Roscoe
Ghouls/ Ghasts 200
Room 21 treasure 1200

Total 1400

Zionestes
Healing 50
Room 18 treasure 475
Ghouls/ Ghasts 400
Room 21 treasure 1200

Total 2125
















Name Class 2nd Class B/F Cumulative Target Current Level
Kravaine MU*
2,453 69,643 72,096 95,001
( 7
Eldras T*
2,063 65,111 67,174 70,001
( 7
Barakor F*
2,338 C*
2,338 40,571
40,571 42,909
42,909 70,001/
55,001
(7/7) 6/6
Holly M
1,895 68,247 70,142 98,001
(7) 6
Grom/ Saladin F*
2,393 71,798 74,191 125,001
( 7
Roscoe T*
1,540 47,839 49,379 70,001
( 7
Zionestes C*
2,338 72,256 74,594 110,001
( 7
Ripven C*
2,338 65,075 67,413 110,001
( 7

*EP Bonus applied 13.9.14