Deep Dark Places

Deep Dark Places



Resting up in the somewhat smelly confines of the ghoul/ghast room we recovered spells and licked our wounds before determining to continue south through the exit revealed at the base of the pit. In setting up ropes for the transit below, Eldras detected a secret lever in the south west corner of the pit which opened a secret door.

This revealed a passageway running west which sloped down to end in a pool. Ripven, sounding it out discovered that though small it was deep. After some debate Roscoe stripped off surplus equipment and tied a rope around himself. He used a potion of water breathing and dived deep discovering an underground tunnel running west which ascended west after a while.

He emerged into the bottom of another pool but before he could take anything in he was attacked and knocked senseless by skeletons. Barakor, aided by the rest of us pulled back his limp body and he was revived with some difficulty to recount his story. Looking at the map and hearing his account I reckoned we were looking at a tunnel connection to the cavern where earlier we had sealed the roof trapdoors and been attacked by skeletons emerging from the water.

Abandoning this direction we returned to the passage east that Barakor and I had previously flown through. We negotiated the open pit with a system of ropes after Eldras spider climber around and Holly contemptuously leapt across it.*

*Reports that she can leap tall buildings in a single bound remain for the moment, unconfirmed.

We reached the major east/ west corridor and turned east again, passing the throne room where we had so nearly met a grisly fate on our scouting expedition. The next door was a small ante chamber that led to an empty room with two exits. The choice was North or East. To the north, a room was revealed that was filled with a mist after about fifteen feet.

To the east was a long wide corridor with a short flight of steps some distance away. On the landing beyond, doors on both walls. More immediately, double doors to the north close to where we stood. Opening these we found ourselves at the south end of the corridor with the multi layered floor that we had seen from the northern end where it joined the kitchen. We decided to checkout the mist room, Eldras first, where he once again detected a secret door as he strolled across the ceiling, this one in the west wall.

Opening the secret door several things happened at once: The whole room filled with freezing cold spray, the noise deafening and visibility dropped to a few feet. The alcove disgorged a mummy which attacked the thief, who was frozen in terror by its appearance.

We engaged, but hampered by the mist could not get our turns in from the clerics by the door. Nor could we use fire, the traditional enemy of the mummy for obvious drenching reasons. Barakor did manage to eventually and it was finished by him and Holly but even as they did a second mummy attacked from the north, targeting Saladin but also freezing Kravaine and Zionestes with terror. Ripven was able to turn this one after Barakor failed to hit the disease ridden creature with a cause serious wound spell,* and it fled out of sight.

*Probably just as well then

We withdrew after searching the alcove and Barakor found the water in the centre of the room caused him scalding pain and damage for some unknown reason. It felt like acid, but his equipment was undamaged. During this fight Roscoe had done his disappearing act checking the other room, but apparently he found nothing.

We checked the north door up the stairs and discovered a small friendly dog that jumped up and fussed a surprised Barakor. Holly chatted to it using her monkish wiles; we were all puzzled to know how it had got there and how it had survived. It revealed a surprising intelligence and said that it was called Gareth; it could not remember how it had got there.

Saladin suggested polymorphing it and it occurred to me that perhaps magic was at work here: Sure enough it detected as magical and Barakor successfully dispelled the enchantment affecting it.

Revealed was a human named Gareth Vladich, an adventurer apparently trapped in dog form after being part of a raiding party that entered these halls five hundred years ago. He was understandably hungry and enjoyed food and drink whilst he told his story. It seemed he was the sole survivor of his party, he remembered fighting human guards and or possibly undead. He attached himself to Barakor who had been his first contact, Eldras who had offered food first but most especially Holly who had talked to him.

We were able to equip Gareth in a leopardskin robe though he spoke wistfully of his missing armour, and he armed himself with spear and hammer. He slaked his thirst heavily in the room through the southern door where we found a pool of clear drinking water. Here we were able to detect magic on the southern wall but try as we might we could not work out what was the cause. We rested protected by Nigel, Ripven’s latest glyph trick.

We went back to the main corridor and tried the eastern exit there, but after a few failed attempts by Eldras we changed our mind and returned to the corridor where we had found Gareth. This took us north and there was a door to the east where the passage turned west. We entered this room, a huge chamber, filled with rubbish, rubble and debris. We could see an exit to the south and a large statue which animated as we spread out.

The stone golem was carrying a large bucket from which he picked out various missiles, hitting Barakor with a vase and others with glassware and bric a brac, As it approached, Holly and Saladin grabbed a rope and they ran around it trying to tangle its powerful legs. However, from a fissure in the ceiling to the north a horde of screaming devilkin flew into the room initially attacking Gareth, Barakor and Holly.

Several of us including myself slipped south towards the exit and began to force the door, Zionestes eventually kicking it in decisively. I fired a lightning bolt at the devilkin destroying three of them, the trio that had unsuccessfully attacked our weretiger. The devilkin were screaming loudly making communication impossible and impairing our ability to fight or cast spells. Mind you Ripven and I had already wasted two trying spiritual hammer and magic missile respectively on the magic resistant golem.

The devilkin brought down the unarmoured Gareth as others returned to the combat after finding the room to the south an empty dead end. The devilkin once reduced to five fled back to the fissure, losing two more as they did so and we concentrated on the golem, which to be fair seemed almost harmless* and had taken to throwing stones at the devilkin.

*If it had shared this area with devilkin for hundreds of years they had probably driven it nuts!

Holly dragged the body of Gareth away and Zionestes administered healing whilst the rest fought the golem. The automaton managed to keep its feet despite the tangle of ropes woven by Holly and Saladin but eventually it tripped, crashing onto Roscoe whose little legs failed to carry him to safety. As a result he was badly crushed.

The halfling actually struck the killer blow as we swarmed it after it rose to its feet again and we were left in possession of the rubbish strewn room. Cautiously looking up the hole in the ceiling to the north, faint daylight could be glimpsed, a possible way out then. Time for more R & R now, though maybe not here with the devilkin still on the loose, maybe even now gathering reinforcements.

Kravaine
Screaming Devilkin 360

Total 360

Eldras
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Detection of secret door room 21 20
Detecting secret door room 28 20
Screaming Devilkin 60
Stone Golem 800

Total 920

Barakor
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Healing 50
Mummies 800
Not Killing the dog 100
Dispelling Gerald’s curse 50
Screaming Devilkin 60
Stone Golem 800

Total 1880

Holly
Characterisation & Roleplay 40
Mummies 550
Talking to the dog 150
Saving Gareth 50
Screaming Devilkin 60
Rope attack on golem 250

Total 1100

Saladin/ Grom
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Mapping 20
Mummies 100
Suggesting dispel magic on the dog 250
Screaming Devilkin 60
Stone Golem 800
Rope Attack on Golem 250

Total 1500

Ripven
Healing 50
Mummies 250
Use of Glyphs 50
Screaming Devilkin 60
Stone Golem 800

Total 1210
Roscoe
Scouting underwater tunnel 75
Screaming Devilkin 60
Stone Golem 800

Total 935

Zionestes
Healing 50
Saving Gareth 50

Total 100

Name Class 2nd Class B/F Cumulative Target Current Level
Kravaine MU*
396 72,096 72,492 95,001
( 7
Eldras T*
1012 67,174 68,186 70,001
( 7
Barakor F*
1034 C*
1034 42,909
42,909 43,943
43,943 70,001/
55,001
(7/7) 6/6
Holly M
1100 70,142 71,242 98,001
(7) 6
Grom/ Saladin F*
1650 74,191 75,841 125,001
( 7
Roscoe T*
1029 49,379 50,408 70,001
( 7
Zionestes C*
110 74,594 74,704 110,001
( 7
Ripven C*
1029 67,413 68,442 110,001
( 7

*EP Bonus applied 27.9.14