Phlegm
Number of posts : 802
Registration date : 2007-04-26
 | | Subject: A Draining Experience Mon 13 Oct - 17:22:11 | |
| A Draining Experience
We decided best not to remain in the mad golem’s room and huddled in the chamber off it theorising that no one much would want to risk its wrath. We then returned to the corridor outside and followed it to a dead end and another room full of floor silos, presumably another grain storage area.
We returned, intending to tackle the portcullis corridor and perhaps points west from there but first we checked out the door at the eastern end of the major corridor. The room revealed had a floor studded with foot high pyramids that whilst not dangerous might be difficult to negotiate with any speed or fight in. Eldras took his usual approach avoiding the issue by striding across the ceiling.
He reached the centre of the room when the southern entrance to the room burst open and thee dwarves rushed in shouting warnings in common and stumbling toward us. Eldras fell back and the rest of us waited to see what they were fleeing. As they neared however the three hurled their battle axes, catching us all by surprise. Barakor was particularly surprised as two struck him.
The creatures, for dwarves they weren’t reached our front pair and bony hands reached for our throats. I fired off my burning hands spell killing one and injuring the other two which were finished off by Barakor and Eldras. The engagement was short and sharp, the creatures took on their true undead visages when killed, disease bearing huecuvas, fortunately Barakor though struck was not tainted.
We picked our way across the floor, apparently proven safe by our ‘dwarf’ friends. Reaching the still open southern door we checked two more chambers, one with a daemon portrait on the floor. In the first Eldras found a secret switch that raised a pedestal in the middle of the room with what looked like a small receptacle on top. We tried filling it with water and Eldras even tried using his blood, but we could not find any purpose to it or activate whatever it was supposed to do.
We continued south down a corridor that bent east, but before we could follow it Eldras found a secret door and we took it west. We checked another empty room and discovered a corridor heading west with a short flight of stairs down, and also an ancient armoury containing old weapon racks that had once held bows and spears and perhaps more. Gareth found a serviceable spear and we headed along the original corridor where we could see a green curtain concealing who knew what.
Saladin was about to check the curtain with his sword when our various trap and magic detection swords flashed warnings in multi coloured glory. We decided to try and dispel the magic, but in failing Barakor triggered the glyph of warding which took the form of a dazzling explosion.
Anyone touching the curtain would surely have been killed, as it was Holly, Barakor and Gareth were all blinded by the burst of light. Six mind shadows summoned by the explosion attacked the rest of us but we were able to kill them, in particular, my magic missiles took out half of them and the shadow attack failed to possess Saladin. The blindness fortunately wore off fairly quickly.
Behind the green curtain of which only a few tattered pathetic whisps survived, shelves loaded with bottles, many empty but some detected as magical and others give the blue result that we have come to believe indicate the presence of undead. We took them all.
We continued south through a room with a pair of statues and took a corridor west past two skeletons half buried in the floor of the corridor. We then reached a room containing a well, which Eldras descended. He continued for some distance and ended up in a corridor running east west some fifty or sixty feet below. We followed him down.
He then located secret doors at each end of the corridor and ignoring the eastern one and two obvious normal doors, we headed west after Barakor impressively opened the door by pulling out four retaining pins that bore its weight. As the weight on each pin increased as each was withdrawn, it became progressively harder, but Barakor pulled it off with his super dwarven strength.
A corridor west took us to a room with a pitched roof, somewhat odd underground. Through the northern exit to this room there was a platform overlooking a drop. On the roof a dual track with handles hanging from it gave a clear method of possibly hazardous descent, falling away at something like a 45 degree angle northwards to the floor. Eldras checked out the drop, some 40’ but we tracked back to check another door before any ceiling hanging slideway heroics.
The western corridor here led to a room with its western and eastern walls lined with wicked spikes, and a line of rampant daggers down the centre of the room both floor and ceiling. These led to an exit on the far side. Eldras detected pressure pads and traversed the room on the ceiling as usual.
I used my fly and levitate spells to aid in the crossing of the room which we achieved safely. Later on the other side we discovered a small room packed with equipment that appeared to reset this trap, but we hadn’t triggered it and left well alone. We also found a room that was completely dark and it resisted several attempts to dispel the darkness, either by casting light spells, use of various types of illumination and dispellation spells, cast several times by our clerics with no result.
Puzzled we headed east, then south, discovering a large room, possibly an old torture chamber containing cages, maiden and most notably, two pentagrams, one of which appeared to contain a lich like creature which hissed and spat at us from within its trap.
We moved in, Saladin hailing the imprisoned fiend, only for it to burst from the pentagram and attack him, causing fearsome injury with its huge two handed sword. Others were also injured by mental attack that it unleashed. Fortunately we outnumbered it significantly and surrounded it and killed it in short order.
Saladin took its sword and we levered ten gems out of the pentagrams. We then located two secret panels using our detection swords, one in two of the corners of the room. Eldras found a spellbook and key in the south east, plus a stairwell leading up. To the Northwest Barakor found scrolls and a magical gem. None of this aided by Eldras drinking his potion of treasure finding which showed no major hoards within range.
The stairs up led to a ledge that overlooked the room through a section of the ceiling that was illusory. There was also a stairwell down that led to an empty small chamber. Barakor checked it out and disappeared. As then did Eldras. Hoping this was a teleport and not a disintegration chamber; we followed and found ourselves in another room, presumably elsewhere in the complex though we had no way of knowing.
Somewhat relieved to still be alive we explored our new surroundings, finding ourselves in a maze of passageways. We headed what we believed to be west based on Barakor’s underground senses. Suddenly there were spectres all around us, approaching from three different directions.
Zionestes at the rear failed in his attempt to turn as did Barakor and Ripven. I turned myself invisible and worked my way round to attack the two spectres attacking Zionestes and Roscoe at the rear. Both of my comrades were hit and suffered energy draining, Saladin meanwhile was struck too but his sword protected him from the energy drain.
Ripven now managed a turn and the first spectre fell as it was hacked at as it fled. Another appeared though and drained Holly. Now Zionestes managed to turn one as did Barakor and with my burning hands playing their part the one fighting Roscoe fell too. So one spectre escaped but three of us had suffered energy drains, not good.
We returned to the room where we had arrived and rested up before checking a neighbouring room and then the chamber from where the last spectre had arrived. Here was a trapped chest and an iron maiden containing a skeleton. Here also, the last spectre which attacked Saladin as he entered but was quickly despatched.
Eldras disarmed the trap on the chest and in a secret compartment discovered gems, gold, a potion and cloak of protection with a magic mouth on it that shouts a warning whenever a weapon is raised at it. There was also an executioners hood which we gave to Gareth for some reason and a headsman’s dias and axe. And that is as far as we have now come, lost and weakened, unable to say where we are or how we can find anything, not even knowing the way out.
Kravaine
Huecuvas 80
Mind Shadows 80
Bottles room 11 175
Spell use to cross area E 100
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Use of Invisibility 100
Total 3775
Eldras
Huecuvas 80
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Mind Shadows 20
Bottles room 11 175
Scouting the well 50
Trap detection Area E 50
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Disarming crossbow trap 100
Spectre treasure 1200
Secret door detection 60
Total 3805
Barakor
Huecuvas 80
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Healing 50
Bottles room 11 175
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Total 3575
Holly
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Bottles room 11 175
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Total 3445
Saladin/ Grom
Characterisation & Roleplay 20
Mapping 30
Mind Shadows 20
Bottles room 11 175
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Total 3495
Ripven
Healing 50
Mind Shadows 20
Bottles room 11 175
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Total 3495
Roscoe
Mind Shadows 20
Bottles room 11 175
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Total 3445
Zionestes
Healing 50
Mind Shadows 20
Bottles room 11 175
Helghost 50
Helghost treasure 1000
Spectres 1000
Spectre treasure 1200
Total 3495
Name Class 2nd Class B/F Cumulative Target Current Level
Kravaine MU*
4,153 72,492 76,645 95,001
( 7
Eldras T*
4,186 68,186 72,372 110,001
(9) 8
Barakor F*
1,966 C*
1,966 43,943
43,943 45,909
45,909 70,001/
55,001
(7/7) 6/6
Holly M
3,445 71,242 74,687
25,946 98,001
47,501 6
5
Grom/ Saladin F*
3,845 75,841 79,686 125,001
( 7
Roscoe T*
3,845 50,408 54,198
23,846 70,001
42,501 7
6
Zionestes C*
3,845 74,704 78,549
31,346 110,001
55,001 7
6
Ripven C*
3,845 68,442 72,287 110,001
( 7
EP totals in bold are live totals following energy drain
*EP Bonus applied 11.10.14
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