Write up follows:
Party talked at length what the next options were. There were many ideas tossed about but the crux of it was to look for secret doors, identify where the stairs to the next level down were, and perhaps find the next glyph gate.
Before going on though, there were two doors in this area that we wanted to check out first. The first showed signs of being smashed open from within and upon looking, there were water troughs, bins, and burn marks. Scratches on the walls and inside of the door – someone had trapped a grue or two in here in the past and they got out…pissed. We looked around for secret doors and even looked in the room with the trees when we heard goblin voices getting closer.
The party hid and listened. Through the long corridors we heard the echoing noises of goblins knocking rapidly in cadence on a door and some ogrish voices answering them. From what we could tell, the goblins were looking for Ogres to sell or talk to and a number of them had gone off to sell/trade wood – should be back in a few days. The goblins then left.
Ok. Still feeling safe, we went to the other door and it had been broken the other way, as if someone had smashed it down to get in. We managed to move the door out of the ay and the ceiling fell down, deadfall. Waiting for the dust to clear a moment and healing a few points of damage, we looked around the room. Various broken piles of rock, looked like someone had been buried in the back. Sign on the wall in chalk read “Quiet, bugbears near.”
The back of the room had some yellowish mold growing around a partially visible backpack. Holding breath, Sybil managed to open the pack and as the mold was moving, Shim hit it with a ray of frost – making it temporarily dormant. She then started to fling mold everywhere while digging in the pack, eventually unearthing a tarnished heavy statue. The mold was becoming animate again so she was dragged out and water was dumped everywhere, gloves thrown away, even the old blanket Silk pulled out of the party’s pack was used to clean off the mold and discarded as it too began to smoke.
The statue was eventually revealed to be that of a squat bipedal humanoid creature with symmetrical exacting features and an octagonal open face helmet. On the bottom was the initials GG1. We weren’t entirely sure who it was, there was talk about Primus, lord of Mechanus, but even Asher’s deep well of priestly lore wasn’t sure.
We went south to the original ogre room and looked down here for secret doors, eventually finding one at the end of the long wall where the rat’s had been. It required a hard push (Percy and Connal) to force it open, but once inside it was a long corridor and bolt hole that looks like it had been used by other adventuring parties in the past. On the wall was a list in chalk: Grue, Ogre, Frostmen, Bugbear, Quillian, Volt, Carrion Crawlers. Sybil added Goblins, Ghasts, and Giant Rats to the list.
After eating lunch and making sure we were ready to go on, we left the bolt hole and returned to the main part of the Terror Dungeon. We traveled east, following where Duragond and Company had gone. Connal worked the slope with grapple and rope and we came to another room. Some stools, door on south wall, signs of ogres being here, open passage to the right. Once down we continued on down the eastern passage eventually to a room large and signs of a fight and water damage in the past.
Old blood stains, table for 6, legs busted, water logged on the top, same with the broken chairs, only water logged in one direction. Darius was puzzled a bit by this and we looked under. The thought was the room flooded…but maybe frostmen? We kept going, on high alert.
The passage beyond here went north for some 20 paces and then was a 4 way intersection. East was a short 5’ run to a door, north eventually another door after 20 paces, and to the west, another 20 paces to 2 doors, one on opposite sides of the hall. There seemed to be a puddle of water at the end of that hall, and a breeze coming out of the door to the east.
The group drew up and Sybil gave the east door a good look. The hinged were set into the mortise but opened in our direction. So Connal took hold and opened…
Silk, Menarius, and Vulwulf all at the back went back around the corner and taking out a coil of rope, held tight and let the free end trail down the hall where it flailed around. Looking in the room, Connal was able to see there was a pit, 6’ square with a 1’ lip around it, everything racing into and down the hole. On the south wall which was a sharp 90 degree angle, was a 3’ lever in the down position. As the group made a chain of people, Hjalgrim reached up and grabbed Sybil, holding the Halfling fast.
Connal let go of the frame and tumbled once into the room, ringing off the wall and floor and ending up right by the lever. He planted his feet and slowly the level rose with a ratcheting noise until it clanged up and the pit made a similar noise…and the air stopped moving. Trap turned off.
We all picked ourselves up and took noted of how we were doing and what have been lost. Shields were doled out and we all gathered together. Sybil let us know that the trap could be by passed if we opened the door first into the room instead of out. Good to know! As for the room, there was a door on the other of it…and it was a Glyph gate!
The presenting gem up top only had 2 radiant lines- meaning a short range for the presentation. As for the riddle, “Gorokian Toothpick, Cutter and Slasher, Shank and Edge, Brand and Sabre. Warrior’s need, mantelpiece mount. Scion’s dressing, Yeoman’s Doubt.” We talked about what it could be at length, eventually deciding it had to a sword or something iron.
So we gathered together at the other end of the room and Connal touched the gem – activating the glyph gate, holding a sword aloft. And it faded away, the blast of red light extending barely 10’ before stopping. And the door was open!
We charged into the room and we all hit the hall well within the 2 minutes before it closed. There was a long hall, mustard yellow looking and perfectly square and exact looking. There was a single cylinder of light, flickering off white, hanging on the ceiling 10’ overhead. We doused our lone lantern and followed it in. The passage eventually turned south and was a good 60’ long. Halfway down was an archway on the west wall showing a poorly lit Nordic looking bar. Rough hewn timbers, stools, dart boards, barrels, and some racks for cloaks and weapons.
Behind the bar was an 8’ tall 8 sided figure with 4 arms and 4 legs rubbing absently at the bar. As the group entered there was a faint sound of whirring noises and the figure’s face spun until a smile appeared and it announced itself as “Hail! I am Decron, 4th Unit, 3rd Cohort, Mechanus Army Retired, Number 84219423. Please remove your cloak and/or cape and weapons and place them on the rack and come up to the bar!”
He did this again and in the same order and manner of speech as we came in. He said that this was the Asgardian Rathskeller Outlet serving only the finest Heroic Deep Root Stout. He wanted their drinking horn to fill it and when we said we did not have one, suggested we can get a horn torn “from the head of the Frumious Bandersnatch” if they are feeling worthy.
How pray tell? Simple, continue on to the Corridor of Deeds and get the Keys to the Bandersnatch Pen. We talked to Decron and some of his responses effected different emotions and another spin on his face for a different expression, but after a while, it was obvious that we had exhausted new questions to ask.
We thanked him and left, taking a cue to look in the “Hall of Adventurers” on the way. At the end of the hall before it tuned east was a door that had its lock augured out and the frame forced by crowbar. Inside were shelves and shelves, the entire top 2 were filled with broken equipment and shredded clothes – each with a small brass plague on it with dozens and dozens of names of past adventuring parties. As we looked down the shelves, the last plaque had nothing there but a wooden “T” holder and written “Reserved for the Vanguard of Ragnarok” Yuck yuck yuck.
As we went down the last of the hall was a door with the words “This way to Bandersnatch Pen”. We pushed it open to see a room of rough stones with lots of signs of past battle. On the south wall was an iron bound door chained shut with 5 different esoteric locks on it. The east wall was a door without handle but looked like someone had attempted to force it open but failed. And the north door was a sign that read “Corridor of Deeads – This way to room One of Five”.
We gathered up and got ready, opening the door and entering. It was a short 20’ passage with a door at the end where a stanza was written upon it: “It was brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimbel in the wabe.” Ah…crap. We looked at it for a bit until the suggestion was that it might be magical. So Shim cast Read Magic and the words changed for him to read: “It was brilliant and the stealthy toads did dodge and fly in the cool air.”
Not much better but it made more sense. We talked about WHAT it might be but Asher and Darius were adamant that they expected to face flying angry fanged frogs in the next room and were going to be ready accordingly.
