Meet 83, Adv 5, 5/4/19

The party finished up the "Chime" part of the Glyph Gates which will allow them to no longer worry about the 8 hour limit before the exits move - and should let them explore a bit away from the local rooms near the exits. There are 20 Glyph Gates in the Dungeon and some are common, others less so, and a few rare. They all require different material to open them and once opened, a smaller side dungeon and quest and reward is there.

Write up follows:

Looking into the chamber not one person in the group wanted to actually step in. Created from a dozen or so bipedal creatures all melted together, the figure was a piteous mess of moans and sobs. The smell was rank and it was sitting in a slurry mess of its own waste product. The cancerous wooden lump upon its combined backs and skulls was the zebrawood we would need to “harvest” and hack away – and it would require stepping in and getting close and personal with the beast.

The biggest relief was that the size of the beast made it impossible to step out of the room since the door, sizeable at 8’ by 4’, was still too small for it to navigate through. We tossed bits of food, some of it soaked in blood, and the figure at the offerings disgustingly and with obvious relish. Threats with a spear had it cover away, the beast moving in a wave of barely conflicting flesh. At one point we even managed to see it devour part of its own anatomy, sucking the flesh off its fingers in an orgiastic display of contentment.

We went through our options and the best bet was to have Dizzy and Negan alternate the summoning of creatures and hope we could get one that was capable of wielding one of Brading’s axes to do the job. We ended up with a kobold first, clad in leathers and seeming to be an engineer of so sort. With the axe in his hand he went in and began to hack at the beast.

The chimera sobbed and wailed and cried piteously. Each axe blow cause fresh blood to run down the carbuncle and even though the kobold was making good progress, as it was finishing up the second part of its cuts, it began to cry and sob, moan and wail. It staggered out of the room and curled up into a fetal position, begging not to go back in. We sent it in and it failed to finish the job, dropping its axe and lying on the ground in misery. Gryg stepped in to get the axe and the psychic miasma was almost too much for the dwarf who started to weep as well.

Connal then stepped in and dragged Gryg out before he was affected, the axe coming with them and the kobold was dismissed. Taking stock of the situation the cutting need to be finished and we would need another creature, hopefully one that wouldn’t be as mentally affected by the chimera’s cries. Another summoning occurred and this time – a clad skeleton appeared! Practically perfect!!

Giving the skeleton the axe, we sent it into the room and it had zero compunction in hacking the rest of the zebrawood out of the chimera’s back. Coming out it handed it to us and then, we sent it BACK in to get another chunk! It succeeded a second time and then the chimera finally reared up and tried to smother/absorb the skeleton. We had it toss the wood and axe to us, gathered them up, and then dismissed the creature, letting the door close.

Following the gnomes advice, we loaded the zebrawood into the machine, clamping it place. There was another clunk and the stones on the far wall fell off. The newest stone showed an “R” to go along with the C, A, V, and E we already had. The gnomes were pointing to the north wall and saying, “Per…Fec…Sea…”

A quick look of the letters gave us Carve, so after getting the hint “Cut”, we placed the letters and the last secret door opened. The smell of flowers and fresh earth came out. There was a hall area covered with increasing dirt and loam and wines until it opened to a larger room 30’x 20’ where lots of plants filled the floor and walls. There were firefly looking creatures flitting about slowly – at least a dozen, definitely more. And it seemed like a few pedestals barely a foot and a half tall were on the floor.

Bit by bit we looked around with light stones and tossing food. The fireflies ignored the light but did take what food we tossed in, dragging them slowly through the air and out of sight. Getting closer down the hall but NOT into the room (none of the fireflies ever made it into the hall even once) we could tell they were inch and a half tall naked male and female fairies, each of them illuminating light from their skin. All we heard were strange tinkling when they would get close and they did not seemingly reply to anything we said.

On the pedestals, five we could see, were bells – each of them of differing sizes, composed of brass and with zebrawood handles. We wanted to get a better look at the bells and Connal and Peris both entered with shields at the ready. But the fairies drew closer and eventually got close enough to sit on their ear – and this close, the two adventurers could actually understand them! One was Rose, the other Chrysanthemum, and they wanted the group to pick up the bells and ring the perfect “C”.

We looked under the two closest bells and one had a “3” on the underside, the other had a “4”. A look around the room at this point showed 2 other pedestals buried in the foliage also with bells. So we had 7 of them, which was the right one?

According to the fairies, the right one would have them all be fantastically happy and cause the birth of NEW fairies – the wrong one would drive them all deranged and they would whip around the room in a frenzy of flying burning bodies and some would die. Which is the right one? They don’t know – but they know it when they hear it.

We were leaning towards the 3rd bell since there were 7 musical notes, but we wanted the perfect C and what if they were octaves instead of notes? The only hint we had was the bells were VERY dissimilar in size so the party thought it was octaves instead. Which meant the 4th bell would be the Perfect C – the one in the middle. The gnomes weren’t looking for C, but Perfect C.

So with great care Connal lifted the 4th one and rang it. And it was correct. The room grew with new life and more flowers, the fairies all whipped around in graceful loops and song, and from some of the pods, 4 more fairies were born and were greeted to the room! We left the chamber with the right bell, the fairies remaining behind, and the door closed.

From there we added the bell to the tray and there was more clunks and the stones fell from the wall. The gnomes were now saying “Ack..Tih..Vate.” again and again, pointing at the north wall. Looking at the base of the machine, two more letter stones appeared and “A” and an “I”. We had C, A, R, V, and E already and we were stuck on the word until we touched the machine and the gnomes added the hint “Want” to their repetitions.

AVARICE.

With the letters placed on the wall, the room vented and cooled off a bit and the machine trundled and twisted and ground until there was a series of chiming noises and we had a wire wrapped wound set of chimes on a zebrawood handle that upon taking, had a faint flash of reddish light and we were back in the hall right outside the room of the Glyph Gate. Awesome!

We had Brading give us a guess of 2:30 as to the time (almost 3 hours so far down here) and we decided we were going to go back to the steps and out of the dungeon. Sybil and Dizzy were on point and as we came close enough to the south passage, our two scouts stopped the party and backed us up quick. At the extreme limit of their infravision range, they saw two almost 9’ tall heat sources down the hall. They think they moved back fast enough to avoid being seen but we have a problem – if the party tries to get to the south passage, they WILL be within infravision range of the assumed ogres.

We needed a distraction.

So once again, we summoned a monster and this time a giant rat appeared. Negan gave it explicit instructions to RUN at the Ogres and then if possible, KEEP running. The rat took off and within a few moments we heard excited calls in Ogrish as they tried to hit the rat, missed, and then ran after it giving chase.

Our chance and now.

We booked around the corner and kept going. Sybil thought at the side passage leading to the trashed furnishing room before the portcullis she saw the heat signature outline of a Grue but our approach and torches scared it off. We kept going, getting closer, and closer – close enough to see the portcullis was down.

And 4 goblins armed with light crossbows were on the other side, lying prone, and unloaded on a surprise round on the party. Sybil was missed, Dizzy fell, Peris fell, and the rest of the group was struggling to get out of the way. While they were shooting, the goblins were crying and shouting in their language, “Here! Here! They are here!!”

Crap.

As they launched more bolts at the party, withering more hit points and knocking hit points south, Gryg and Sybil tried to return fire with their own missile weapons, mostly ineffective as the goblins were lying prone and the bars were providing cover. We crept forward trying to close but with the gate down, whoever was going to work the chain was sitting duck.

And then we heard the Ogrish voices from behind us echoing back in our direction as the diversion we did earlier had apparently played out.

And then whipping around the corner came two goblin warriors clad in heavy armor and spinning battle axes into the group. Sybil, Connal, and Dizzy were at the front line as this combat was spiraling out of control. And then the Halfling let us know that MORE goblins and the FUCKING GRUE, with a bag tied to it head, were coming towards us from the furnishing room.

Negan called out for more summoned monsters and shot off THREE giant rats back down the passage to head off the Ogres and slow them down. Magic missiles stabbed out and weaved through the bars burning one of the goblins while missile fire took another. Connal was at the bars knocking aside bolts and trying to stab the goblins who were just outside of range. Brading shot off more healing and the group was trying to get a handle on the combat before the Grue was in the fight.

Peris used his scroll of Summon Monsters and got a hobgoblin…clad in platemail and shield, sporting a wickedly sharp long sword. Directing the militant warrior INTO the furnishing room it assaulted the two goblins their leading the Grue and cut the ropes dragging the blinded creature forward. No longer being guided the Grue sat down and tilted its head.

We needed the damned gate open NOW so Negan charged forward and hit the gates full force. The squealed under his impact and he bent low and LIFTED the 420 lb metal gate straight up WITHOUT the use of the chains, just about 6’ off the ground, arms quivering as he dared to stand in place.

The way clear we all tried coming down the hall, battle axes flailing, sling bolts flying, voices raised and screaming. Negan felt a pop and let us know we had only two giant rats left holding the ogres back. The prone goblins were unable to rise up in time and were dispatched quickly while the hobgoblin spun wildly about and slashed the bag OFF the Grue’s face.

Who went wild from the light and SMASHED one goblin, killing it, and then turning SMASHED another goblin, killing it…before running off into the gloom. Negan lifted the gate HIGHER, and pulled himself under it while he felt another distant pop, we were down to one giant rat slowing the ogre’s down. Peris called for the hobgoblin to RUN and it whistled around the corner and joined the rest of the group just in time for Negan to let the portcullis fall behind him and crash to the ground in a shrill clanking boom.

No longer delaying, we ran for our lives as the goblins and Ogres (last rat popped away!) were giving chase. We hit the stairs and climbed up swiftly, Peris letting the hobgoblin return, and emerged at 2:55 PM back out of the Terror Dungeon and safely once again up top and out of danger.

Meet 82, Adv 5, 4/27/19

Once out of the Terror Dungeon we made our way back to the Visitor’s Hall where Hjalgrim was given a chance to rest. His mortal wounding during the fight meant he was out of action for at least a solid day and should avoid travel as well. The group all agreed it was a good idea and we crashed for the night by 10 PM.

The next day, Spiritmonth the 10th, we awoke early and discussed our options for the rainy day. We were NOT going to travel back to Erylond for now as it was a long trip at this point and Hjalgrim needed the rest, so our earliest departure date would be the 11th. Instead we went back to the map Darius had been crafting and looked at it in depth. There was some information about heading to get the Chime somewhere near Entrance Two, and we knew which corridor we had to travel down to get to the correct Glyph Gate.

We decided that just before 12 when the entrances would shift correctly in our favor again, we would head into the Terror Dungeon and find the gate, getting the Chime if possible. Since Hjalgrim was out of the possibility of entering and Percy was going to administer to him, Brading offered to come with us so we would have a full complement of people to enter and explore.

It was Marketday and even though it was raining, Lord Corface Bork always allowed 4 hours of trading and bartering between 8 and 12 for those who came to sell their wares. We wanted the chance to get some more oil and before all that, Gryg and Negan needed their armor fixed and maybe some new shields as well.

We spent almost 2 and a half hours getting the scale and studded leather armor repaired, bought some clothes, oil, new shields, replacement weapons, and other needed supplies before we would chance another trip into the Dungeon. The fixed armor wasn’t new by any sense of the matter, but it was less likely to fall apart during combat especially since we knew Ogres were close to the area we were heading into.

It was 11:45 when the group of us returned to the Terror Dungeon and descended to the gloomy depths. The smells were foul and the room we were in was the same we had seen before – 4 obvious ways out of the chamber, two of them with archways of stone – one appearing to be a Ogre’s mouth, the other looking like a series of swords and daggers.

With 2 torches lit, Sybil went to look over the western of the two northern exits – the one with the Ogre’s Mouth carving. The archway of stone was just that – mere stone and the paint had been applied in the past and thick, giving it that monstrous look. Beyond it the hallway had painting on both sides showing some larger creatures eating smaller creatures but the paintings had been faded and chipped over time.

We proceeded with care until we arrived at a portcullis in the down position, braced about a foot and a half off the floor by a pair of heavy stones. Beyond it there was a side corridor to the right and the main passage continued north unabated. The chains ran on both sides of the portcullis and could be used to lift and lower the very heavy gate (we estimated a couple hundred pounds) but the amount of wear and rust also let us know to do so would risk making too much noise.

So we discussed options for a bit and decided on Brading hitting the area with a silence spell, the party lifting the gate, Connal chaining it in place, and Sybil inching ahead past the limit of the spell and seeing if she could hear anything else in the distance.

The plan worked without issue and Sybil did note that the side corridor to the east led to some chamber with some broken furnishings in it and BEYOND that, the distant sounds of Ogrish voices.

All together again, we made our way with care and silence beyond the side passage and further for another 20 or so paces until the passage “T’d” to the east and west, just past an area where dripping water was filling slowly from a crack in the ceiling and staining the floor of the dungeon.

At the “T”, to the right was gloom and darkness and somewhere beyond all that, a lone slow-burn torch. To the left the passage went off for 40 odd feet and ended at a doorway. We discussed it and decided the Glyph Gate might be to the left and went in that direction.

Our estimation was correct. There was a door here, 8’ tall, 4’ wide. Atop the lintel was an oversized red glassine gem with 4 pairs of “radiant lines” chiseled next to it and then with some writing around it, and the middle of the door (which had no handles or knobs) had a raised section where numerous hand and finger prints marred its surface. The writing (in whatever language the reader felt comfortable with) read “The Eddas Major Count of High Ones, Less Frigga’s Doomed Blessed Son. Composed of zincs and composed of coppers, Forges horns and bits and stoppers.”

We spent some time mulling it over and decided it meant 11…Brass…Bits. So most of us went back to the “T” and around the corner, Gryg and Sybil watching both passages, while Connal withdrew 11 Brass Bits, held it up to the Glyph gem near the lintel and pressed the worn section in the middle of the door.

The gem glowed bright and a ripple passed through the air as the radiant lines flashed white – and the bits in Connal’s hand faded away – and then the ripple shot down the hall as the radiant lines each grew brighter until it hit the corner where the party was and went past – but enough of the rippling distortion hit Sybil and Gryg, and all their brass bits in their pouch faded away as well.

BUT – the door opened and we all came down the hall quickly and made our way through while the gem seemed to be losing brightness from the top down in a steady pace – we guessed a count of 100 and then it would go out. Once everyone was inside the room beyond the glyph gate the light did indeed fade and the door shut. There was a handle to open it from this end so we assumed we weren’t trapped in here.

The room was huge, 50 by 30, dominated by a large brass and clockwork machine some 7’ tall, 30’ long and 8’ wide. A series of oversized chimes were firmly mounted to the center of the machine, the chimes being 6’ in height. There were broken bits of swords and daggers, spikes, and chewed up rocks as if someone in the past had tried to stop the gears in the machine from turning – the machine was currently dormant but had many open places and pinch points that a person no prepared could accidentally lose a finger or limb in the machine.

At the base of the machine on the east side were 3 large stone blocks, 2’x 3’, each with a carved letter emblazoned on the front: C, E, and A. The south side of the machine had 3 different apertures – the leftmost one had a spindle where wire would be wrapped around the center post and fed into the machine. The next had a pair of clamps that would hold something in place; currently the clamps had wood splinters only along the edges. And the last aperture had a receiving plate where something would be placed but was currently empty.

Finally on the south wall were 4 5’ tall clockwork looking gnomes composed of brass and other metals, faint light glowing from within them and some heat emanating as well. There were scrapes on the floor near their feet letting us know they did move at some point but for now were dormant.

No other doors in or out of the room. We decided to not fuck with the machine or gnomes at this time and after giving the place a once over, looked carefully for secret doors. And our search paid off as we could find THREE different exits from this chamber, one on the east wall, two on the west. But no amount of pushing, prodding, or anything had them budge.

So we went back to the machine and gingerly touched it. And all 4 gnomes become noisy and animated and stepped away from the wall. They pointed to the left most aperture and said in unison “Brass. Why. Her.” And then repeated it. The group mulled it over and deduced it was “Brass wire”. But we had none.

However on the north wall, a trough of stone had opened in the wall about 3’ off the ground, 10’ long. A trough big enough to lay something against it. The group went back to the stone tablets and sure enough, we could stack all 3 of them in place here against the wall like tiles. The thought was to try and match the cadence of the gnomes speech pattern and the party laid them out C, then A, and then E.

The gnomes all vented heat and steam with made the chamber warmer and a bit more moist for now. Then repeated themselves from earlier “Brass Wire” but this time added the words, “First Rate” right after.

With no venting in the room, the steam and heat had nowhere to go so we knew we could only made a small number of mistakes before the chamber grew too warm for us to work in. Looking at the letters we decided to change the order of them to A, C, E – Ace – something first rate.

And our guess was correct. The door all the way on the eastern wall opened up revealing the chamber beyond. Just on the inside of the door was the remains of a humanoid and a large chest; everything had been well chewed and splintered, leaving nothing of value behind. Past that the chamber was 20’ square with a molten pool in the center of the room of brass. An extrusion hand wheel was positioned around the pool, close enough to be hot and skim the top of the pool. A trough would lead the molten yet cooling metal down to a waiting spindle that would rotate and spiral up as the wheel circled the pool. It would take a slow, dexterous, and steady hand to operate this.

However, there was also a 400# clockwork mastiff in the corner with smoke and steam coming from its many orifices, watching the party. We discussed our options and came up with a working plan. Gryg and Sybil would be on sling and crossbow duties, Negan was going to hold the door open with his body. Dizzy and Brading were on spell duties for either healing or whatnot, and it would be Connal walking the wheel and extrusion machine around – with everyone watching the mastiff to see if it did ANYTHING.

It took a bit of doing before he realized how slow he had to walk before the brass wire cooled properly to firm up and adhere to the spiraling spindle. The Mastiff watched him as he walked SLOWLY around the pool and the wire amassed on the spindle. It was at the end of his 2nd circle when we had about 60’ of wire that the Mastiff began to growl and steam was venting from its opened mouth. He stopped and the molten metal separated the wire from the spindle. He picked it up carefully and watching the mastiff, walked out of the room and the door was closed behind.

Going to the machine at the first section of the receptacles was a similar spindle and the 4 gnomes were pointing at it. So he placed the coil of brass on the spindle and it whirred to life and a piece of it fed into the machine and then we heard a CLUNK. Dropping out of the east side of the machine was another stone tablet – this one with the letter “V” on it. As soon as we noted it, the trough on the north wall slid into the stone, dropping the other three tablets there, before popping back out, this time about 11’ wide.

Sybil noted that the A, C, E, and V all spelt Cave so we touched the machine again and the gnomes all pointed at the north wall and said, “Wood…Han…Dell.”

Wood Handle. Got it. A 2nd touch and placing of a single stone had them repeat the next step and this time add “Hollow” to their litany. Good job Sybil, Cave made sense.

We added the tablets to the wall until Cave was spelt and there was a crackling of stone and the secret door on the west wall opened. It was a larger room and the reek of rotting growth was strong. We peered in to see an oversized creature perhaps 10’ around like a melting chimera of dozens of types of beings moaning and sobbing. A carbuncle of wooden growth was on its back, patterned zebrawood, that showed numerous hacks and chunks had been carved out of it. But the piteous figure on the floor flailed its seemingly useless limbs about and cried with almost identifiable words through it dozens of ragged, twisted mouths.

And the gnomes pointed into the room and repeated, “Wood…Han…Dell.”

Great.

Meet 81, Adv 5, 4/13/19

The group had a very successful trip back into the dungeon this go round. Focus driven - slime room and leave. There was LOTS of real world figuring it out and I had them up from the table for almost 20 minutes showing me EXACTLY what they were doing.

So it's a win, but they are again loosing more than gaining - no treasure, material and items being used up, armor and weapons breaking down - and right now no treasure yet to replenish what they are spending. They need a longer trip in and that is the focus of their next foray - to get the Brass Chime to summon the steps no matter what time of day.

Write up follows:

It was 7:35 when we arrived at the Entrance to the Terror Dungeon where we were met with the chronicler Kara and the 2 guards. We made sure our name was entered and was assured that another adventuring group, Fishers and Farmers, had gone in earlier today and by our estimation were at Entrance 2.

After the doors were opened we went down with care, Dizzy and Sybil in the front, Connal and Hjalgrim following, then Peris and Percy, and finally Negan and Gryg taking up the rear. At the main entrance room we could see the slowburn torch on the eat wall was getting low and we heard NO noises from any of the doors. We went back over the map Darius had given us and were aiming for a storage room past the hall with the floating table in it where supposedly the slime in question was located.

We proceeded with care, Gryg once again propping up lengths of wood on the doors behind us to hopefully alert us of anyone’s presence following. When we arrived at the room with the zombies, bodies, and couches, it was obvious that something had happened here as the door was blocked by a large dead body with many blunt force marks about its head. Beyond and further into the room more bodies were strewn about.

We went in with care, Dizzy calling on Sif to assure him that no undead barred our way. Of the 16 odd bodies in here, more than half were dragged off the couches and left upon the floor. The vermin in the room were loud but gave us a wide berth. We continued past, Percy lighting a candle with Tyr’s light and in due time, made our way further into the Dungeon.

The short hall with the slowburn torch was next and then eventually the room with the floating table. We slowed down here and looked around the corner. Where once there had been a single ogre keeping guard, now there was nothing. Sybil thought she heard the door at the far end of the hallway close and that spurred the group on to press on.

At the door to the trophy room, Dizzy and Sybil let the group know the door was not trapped – but was LOCKED and from the inside! Listening revealed only faint breathing and nothing else. In wait? For us? Sybil, Dizzy, Connal and Hjalgrim made their way further down the hall, Peris and Percy staying near the corner, and Negan and Gryg remaining in the room with the floating table for now.

Peris cast a “stick” spell on an arrow and placed that on the door to the trophy room, a last ditch chance to alert us should something try to come out. At the end of the hall Dizzy listened and could hear fair shuffling beyond. He took a rope and tied it from that door back 16’ down the hall to another door handle, effectively stopping both doors from opening. As for the room with the slime, with slow measured care, Connal shifted that door about ¼ open and we were able to see. It was 20’x20’, and there was a line of salt on the floor past the swing of the door from wall to wall, blocking off the entrance corner of the chamber. Lumpy greenish slime shot through with sickly red veins was affixed on the floors, lower walls, and stone shelves of the room.

If Sybil drew too close to the slime, it seemed to rise out of itself and send fingers slowly questing towards her before retracting if she moved away. Taking her allotment of salt, she reached further into the room and drew a second longer arcing line of salt, cordoning off more of the entrance section from the slime.

From there, she drew out her metal tongs and a glass flask. Using a few drops of pig’s blood in the vial as a lure, she placed it near the slime, stretching into the room while Connal stood behind her ready to pull her back if need be. The slime stretch out towards the vial and then entered. When she had a small amount within, she turned her tongs, rolling the slime over the metal and spinning off a small section from the larger amount. Her tongs were beginning to smoke and she pulled the vial back until it was between both of the salt lines. She then turned the tongs over entirely and placed the vial on the floor mouth end down, hoping it would trap the slime within.

Instead it spilled out slowly and made a puddle on the floor about 8’ in diameter. Her tongs no longer useful, she tossed them into the room and the group then thought about how they were going to lay Hjalgrim backwards into the slime puddle.

Upon further thinking it through, they realized it would bring them TOO close to the larger slimes inside the room which were agitated by our presence. Connal tried tossing salt at it and it seemed to make the slime grow frenetic as tendril shot out violently almost 3’ before the slime seemed to slough a bit off the wall and then try to climb the surface again.

At this point a new plan was hatched. Taking one of the older K’Morat javelins, Connal dripped some pig’s blood on it and then dipped it into the slime on the floor while Percy helped Hjalgrim remove his armor, gambeson, and underwear to reveal the “Crackling” afflicted area. As the slime was growing on the javelin he brought it close to Hjalgrim’s back and PUSHED. The pain was terrible and Hjalgrim arced in agony as the slime hit the Crackled area, spread out, and was absorbed – turning to speckled dust.

His back? Still afflicted but less.

Peris moved closer to the group and now realizing they were too far back, Negan and Gryg moved up to the corner near the closed trophy room and watched alternately the party and Hjalgrim and the hall they had come from.

Reintroducing more pig’s blood to the javelin Connal carefully gathered another larger dosing of slime from the puddle on the floor. He did note that a large patch (some 3’ around) had broken off from the rest of the slime in the room and was crawling up the wall at a tangential angle, bypassing the salt on the floor and oozing slowly towards the hallway. Problem for later.

The second dosing of slime was brought to Hjalgrim and PUSHED again. And AGAIN the dwarven cavalier bucked in pain but the slime MOSTLY turned to dust, his skin flaked off to normal, and then it was over! With slime on his back, Percy shoved the lit torch against it, burning the patch away and singing the dwarf a bit – but the Crackling was now gone. Some healing was cast, taking care of the most obvious wounds followed up by a folded length of bandage wrapped about the cavalier’s midsection.

Hjalgrim was just…touched. He was so thankful to the group and appreciative that everyone felt just a bit better.

And it was at this point that Negan and Gryg both realized that there was an odd click or something coming from the hall they had come from…and the light from the candles was now gone. Plus, the smell of rotten eggs was growing stronger and the two of them were suddenly unsure. Gryg looked forward, creeping up and saw two ogre sized shield bearing figures coming closer from the opposite hall of the table room.

Company, and now. As the dwarven ranger came back, the half-ogre cleric called on Odin to produce flame in his hand. A ball of fire the size of a volleyball appeared in his palm and began to spark blue fire and he whipped it away and deep into the room.

And the dungeon seemed to implode. Air rushed TOWARDS the room and then LIT, and then a concussive blast raced AWAY from the room along with a wall of fire. At the last moment Negan slammed his large shield down between Gryg and the fire, hugging the dwarf close and the wall of fire hit the corner and blew the two of them off their feet and back. The shield absorbed most of the blow, crackling apart and raining burning brands everywhere while his armor snapped upon impact and caught flame.

The fire continued down, most of its impetus stolen but it was still enough to drop Peris on his ass and burn the form of the elven sorcerer. As the group was trying to figure out what was going on, from the table room we heard an Ogrish voice shout out, “GET THEM!” followed by pounding feet. From the trophy room, the door tore open and two ogres each with 14# mattocks strode into the hallway and laid into Negan who was still on the floor and struggling to his feet. Gryg fired his crossbow and Sybil let bullet fly. Percy and Hjalgrim quickly started relacing the chainmail hauberk back in place while Dizzy tried to get down the hall to heal Negan as the Half-ogre finally rose to his feet and met clubs with great sword.

From around the corner we could see the upended floating table being used as a barrier as the ogres behind it maneuvered it into the hall and prepared to rush down. Peris let fly two magic missiles and Connal enticed a large swath of Slime onto his javelin by literally stabbing himself in the leg and then shoving it at the wall patch of slime.

Negan took another smash to the head and Gryg dodged blows from the furious ogre while more sling bullets and magic missiles when flying. Dizzy managed to get a much needed heal on Negan who was staggering down to single digit hit points and then we heard voices at the END of the hall trying to rip open the door that we had tied shut!

Connal charged down the hall and told the group to DUCK and everyone did, including the ogre Negan was fighting, and the green slime coated javelin flew out and slammed point first into the table being used as a barrier – transferring slime to it!

Hjalgrim finally dressed charged down the hall spear and shield at the ready and took front line with Negan. The cavalier plied weapons hard on the ogre already weakened by bullets and bolts, driving his spear up under its ribcage after 30 solid seconds of furious combat, killing the monstrous foe. Bless spells hit the party and our blows fell with more accuracy as we struggled.

With the ogre line slipping down one and Negan doing terrible damage to the other one, the three ogres in the back, one dropped the table on its face (burying the slime beneath it) and with its own two handed sword, two more of them marched forward to do battle while the last lifted its crossbow and fired, shooting into our tightly packed group. The last poorly armed ogre fell as the battle line closed to the two armored ones and the fight was a chaotic mess. From the closed door behind us we could hear goblin voices chanting, dozens and dozens of them as the door thrashed and bounced and the rope began to fray

Gryg lost a shot at one point, driving it into Hjalgrim’s back, mortally wounding the cavalier who redoubled his efforts against the ogre before him. Negan was once again horribly wounded and was beginning to bleed terribly as his hit point total plummeted. Using the rest of Connal’s rope we went back to the roped off door and tied a second length again between the two doors, giving us another precious handful of minutes.

Another ogre died and the one with the crossbow shot into our ranks as the table in front of him grew softer, and eventually succumbed to the slime which was consuming it – and then the dead ogres on the floor around it! Deciding it was time to leave, he turned and ran back around the corner while more magic missiles and sling bullets helped finish off the last ogre.

Hjalgrim was staggering, Negan had perhaps 1/10th of his health, goblin horde was breaking into the door at the hall’s end, and there was now a 12’ swath of green slime on the floor between us and the way out. Connal took Gryg’s hammer axe and smashed the green slime door down, pulling it away and bringing it to Negan who took aim and threw it into the middle of the 13’ puddle of slime. We then tossed two of our folded up bedrolls on top of the lime and using the entire thing like a bridge, the entire group ran and jumped their way across the mess until we arrived at the other side and then dodged into the trophy room. A well places ray of frost rolled the slime away from us as we ran in and then shut the door behind us.

Percy and Dizzy managed to pull the bolt out of Hjalgrim’s back and get him a healing. The cavalier was going to power through it but he was mortally wounded and would need some rest when this was all over. More healing was dispensed on Negan and the rest of the party and we took stock of our situation.

We didn’t want to stay. At all.

So after 5 minutes we cracked open the door and then ignoring the now 16’ puddle of slime in the hall and the door at the end of the hall the goblins were forcing open, we made a run for it, charging out of the room and back towards the now burned out room where the table once was. No ogre was here but we kept going. At the zombie room we could hear suddenly MUCH louder goblin voices in the hall behind us, indicative that they had forced the door open. We moved double time into the hall, through the zombie chamber, and then down the long hall.

We paused briefly at the door to the entrance room and once sure it was not filled with ANYONE, we made our way to the stairs and up fast until was arrived at the top and at 9:33 on Spiritmonth the 9th, emerged back out of the Terror Dungeon and safely once more in Bork Keep.

Meet 80, Adv 5, 4/6/19

The group spent this meeting following the clues which had them running back to Erylond and then again to Paxian and finally Bork Keep. The "solution" involves going into the Terror Dungeon and gives the party an opportunity to adjust the makeup accordingly and try the delve again. Their mission is focused on a particular locale and destination and then leave - but that remains to be seen if it'll be the play of it.

Write up follows:

It took us a few minutes to ready ourselves for the trip back to Erylond from Paxian, the bad news about Hjalgrim weighing heavily on the cavalier’s mind. The decision was to go back to the Wizard-Lord Shandrila, present her with the stoneware jug, and then ask her if she know of the Freyleaf Astringent and possibly a way to ameliorate its effects.

We decided that we would force march our way westward, trusting to the night, our strength of arms, and the purpose of our trip to keep us safe. We left Paxian through the main gate, passed through Slopover, and then made our way to the main Trade road where we espied one of King Seljack’s mounted knights sleeping on the side of the muddy roadbed using his horse’s stomach as a pillow.

By a quarter after 6 we were out of Canaslan and moving at a ground eating lope westward. This late in the day we say few travelers until almost 8 when a 3 cart caravan coming our direction on its way to Canaslan reported the road behind them was clear all the way to Erylond save for a Thorpe to the north of the road where some villagers were have a local festival. We both passed without issue and by quarter to 10, passed the merriment making village as we had expected.

We trouped on, growing more and more tired and weary as we travelled, the miles passing behind us until we eventually saw the lights of Eylond in the distance and we arrived at the East Gate by 11:15. The guards passed us in and we stayed along the main road along southwall until we managed to come to the Mages’ District on the east end of town. We went to the Tower of Winds, expecting to leave message that we’d like audience in the morning when we were informed that Wizard-Lord Shandrila is currently up and often stays awake for days at a time. Yes, she would see us now.

We dropped weapons and were made welcome once again at her study on the third floor where Shandrila met with us. We gave her the jug, she checked the seal, checked the contents, and declared herself happy with the matter. She asked as to Thimbles and his wares and then we turned to Hjalgrim and his affliction on his back. She looked it over and gave Hjalgrim a pitying look.

The “Crackling” is indeed fatal – faster is a multiple or concentrated dosage does get upon one’s skin. Freyleaf is not grown anywhere near here, instead it appears in an area between here and Asgard referred to as Freystag – a sort of pocket garden where the lord of nature grows wondrous things and tries them out to see if they can be incorporated here in Midgard. Freyleaf is harvested there (often without Lord Frey’s knowledge or consent) and then it is rendered down, dried, pulverized, and reconstituted under exacting parameters to become the Astringent – the entire process taking the better part of a half year.

As for cures, there is none – its job is to dry out spores, molds, slimes, and fungi – anything without a skin. We asked about gelatinous creatures and she said to a lesser degree – gelatinous creatures such as cubes have a membranous skin and is not the best. She did suggest that if a slime or ooze of sufficient mobility and virulence were placed upon the Crackling area, it should be enough to cease its spread and end the affliction – but this was educated conjecture at best.

Does she have any slime, or do we know anyone who does? The long answer? No, that sort of stuff is highly dangerous and typically needs a dark wet area to grow and thrive. A few crazy people in the past have tried to transport and sell it but the damage done was astronomical and 11 of the nearest 15 cities have such types of slimes and oozes declared as illegal to have, own, buy, or sell.

We thanked her and left, heading north to the Livestock district where we took a pair of room at workman’s tavern called the “Fox and Hen.” Ok, Does Thimbles have green slime? Trip back to Paxian. Terror Dungeon? Maybe it’s there, that’s a day to the east. The group remembered seeing some at a lake near the Base Camp in the Moratian Mountain passed Sorton – 6 SOLID days to the west. And no guarantee it was still there.

According to Shandrila, it was maybe 4 or 5 days of spreading Crackling as it works its way further across the person’s skin and then 5 or 6 days of terrible agony and it continues to consume them outside and works its way deeper into their body and then death. Hjalgrim thanked the group for their efforts and we decided to send some aviaries out tomorrow. One to Thimbles in Paxian to see if he had any and green slime and if so, get it ready for us. One to Connal @ Bork Keep and ask him to let us know if the group had found any green slime and where to go and get it – reply to us in Paxian if need be. And Hjalgrim wanted one to be sent back to Sorton to the Temple of Tyr there – because he was under the impression according to his vision at the time of his knighting that he had a “purpose” and was not supposed to be this close to death. The entire situation had shaken the cavalier and he was much more tractable and understanding to the group.

We slept and Dizzy might have gone out to ask his contact at the Stinky Cat if they had any avenues on where to get green slime from before coming back and the group getting to sleep. We decided not to eat hear and instead went further south to a restaurant called “Salted Toys” where we ate our full and were back on the road by 9ish going east to Paxian. Hjalgrim had sent off the 3 avians earlier and we hoped to arrive in Canaslan with some good news waiting.

It wasn’t.

He had none on hand and only a small number in the time in the past had he ever had an opportunity to get some. Of all the adventuring groups, only the Unseen Hand, run by a dwarf named Walt Grimbeard, ever had the green slime to sell, and it was a few small vials that he transported in enchanted glassware to withstand blows. How much? Thimbles had paid at one point as much as 20 crowns for a vial but its only if he has a market and buyer for it because it’s terribly dangerous to store and transport and illegal as hell.

Hjalgrim helped pay for Thimbles to write to Walt in Erylond (we assumed) if he would know WHERE to find green slime in the Terror Dungeon and if so, forward that info to the group there as soon as possible.

We then pressed on to Bork Keep – arriving there just after 8 PM that night. We got to meeting from the outriders, informed of what was required of us, and then met with the locals in the Keep and directed to the Visitor Halls where we saw our companions were actually in the Terror Dungeon at this time. We looked into the aviary where we received OUR note addressed to Connal and Thalin…wrote a missive to Pha-iyr Carom that we DID have King Seljack’s signature on the Letters of Credit and we got sidetracked in order to help a hurt companion.

We had an opportunity to then meet with Lord Corface Bork, learn about the group’s efforts so far, and then rested.

It was Spiritmonth the 9th in the morning when the Vanguards of Ragnarok were all together again. We all shared our experiences over the last 4 or 5 days with each other. The decision was that half the party head back to Erylond with the two Letters of Credit and the other half go into the Terror Dungeon armed with Darius’ map in order to find the room we suspected had the green slime in it. Avulstein was belligerent and commented often that he had survived death twice and for now was NOT going back into that fucking hellhole. He had some nasty words with Dizzy and Hjalgrim who called him out for not paying him back for the cavalier laying out HIS share of the Terror Dungeon Amulet.

We decided that Hjalgrim, Percy, Negan, Sybil, Gryg, Peris, Dizzy, and Connal would be going back into the Terror Dungeon for the third time after 7:30 this evening to take care of Hjalgrim’s back. We made some purchases, moved some equipment around, and after resting the day and adjusting our spells, were ready to go to the Terror Dungeon again.

Meet 79, Adv 5, 3/30/19

The original write up for this portion of the adventure was to have a random person in the party have the planted vial placed upon them. However, we've had some shifting at the table and the player running Hjalgrim is away from our group for the time being. I am not sure what his long term viability for the taciturn dwarven cavalier was to be, but I found him to be grating to the rest of the group. So since I have taken him for now as quasi-NPC/DM's character, having him be the recipient of the Crackling seemed best as it gives me a chance to role play a serious character change into his story - ie: he is GOING to die.

Something that he has been strangely unaware of until this day.

Write up follows:

We decided to stick around the Black District a bit longer and then made our way back to the Bawdy Wench Tavern. Once there Dizzy made a brief contact with the local guild personages there to get some information on King Seljack and Barb took a more prosaic approach and hit up the bartender with a hefty bribe.

Between the two of them they got some information and we discussed their findings. When King Seljack got the Sovereign Stone there were two other hirelings in the party – an assassin woman who joined him as his King’s Thief and personal bodyguard (we met her standing behind the king at the meeting today) and a wizard of some skill who was struck and cursed with a permanent invisibility. He’s taken to becoming King Seljack’s fixer and spymaster – but he has become strange over time and taken to not wearing clothes, personally spying on those he needs to instead of relying on spells.

He can become visible but only when he polymorphs himself into something else.

The Fox and the Henhouse is directly owned by King Seljack and the wizard has the place under surveillance should need be. The Bawdy Wench pays a stipend to King Seljack based upon volume of business and the king’s wizard tends to shy away from scrying unless need be. Just to be safe, we bounced from the 2nd floor to the 3rd, taking a room there. And we also learned that the wizard can easier scry on someone if he has a small token, personal, to them.

So we sat and ate and surreptitiously checked everyone over to see if anything was missing. It was later in the dinner that Thalin and Shim both noticed that one of Percy’s beard fetishes was missing a charm – something small and personal to him. Thalin escorted him upstairs to the 3rd floor where there seemed to be a serious number of plants in the hall – 2 on the right hall, 2 on the left, and 3 by the stairs. The majority of the plants were fichus, but the three by the steps were a transplanted juniper bush and 2 other smaller white dusted ground plants.

After getting Percy in the room, Thalin fired off a light spell on a coin wandered by the plants, gave it a piercing look, and then dropped the coin by the plant before walking away. When he turned back the juniper plant was gone and the window at the end of the hall had opened and someone was out there excited about his luck at finding a glowing magic coin.

Closing the door he informed Percy of the missing fetish and the dwarven priest was worried. Was he part of the King now watching the group? Should he stay behind? The thought was to be honest in our dealings and not give the King any reason to be concerned about us or our doings.

Meanwhile down in the Common Room, a guy came in with his friends, clutching a red glowing copper common and declaring it was a lucky magic coin and he needed to play darts again with that guy who beat him last week – triple stakes. The party left the Common Room and made their way upstairs where we saw two small white dusted ground clearance plants in pots outside our room.

As we were entering, Barb got pissy and moved the plant, pinching one of the leaves real hard to break it. The plant suddenly yowled in her hand, and BIT her, turning into a large tabby cat who then clawed the hell out of the barbarian before running down the hall and leaping out the window. The 2nd plant did the same, another cat. Inside the room Percy felt horrible for the cause of this and healed Barb of her injuries while we discussed the invisible wizard and then eventually fell asleep.

We awoke on the next day the 7th, knowing we were checking out today, where we were going to walk around town for a bit before meeting King Seljack for lunch @ 12. While touring the western ends of town, near a series of malters, we were stopped by a group of 5 green clad elven folk who were doing surveys. They were representative from Greenmourning, and the Emerald Queen Nylwire and they were wondering about the beers we had drunk and what flavors we liked. Greenmourning was looking to set up trade with Canaslan but wanted to send only what the people would want to drink and taste – not what the vendors were willing to purchase.

We answered as best as we could and then made our way to Castle Whitehall. The King had a meal set up for us and we ate and talked for a while, discussing our past adventures, killing kobolds, and things we had done and seen in our past. Eventually he decided the group was well meaning enough and wanted to have a better relation with Erylond and Pha-iyr Carom so signed off on the two letters of Credit and returned one to the party to take back to Erylond. We left on good terms and decided to head off to the Black District and get our required delivery package from Thimbles and the Canaslan Export Company.

There were 4 larger style companies in the district and Thimble’s organization seemed to be about the same as the others. He had 9 people working the warehouse and about a dozen shopping the wares. We went back to an office in the rear of the building where a human with leather pants and sword was waiting but Thimbles had him sit down and express this was all ok. As we were entering, it was noted that 2 people left the selling floor after watching our party, and headed out the door.

He is an acquirer and is always in the market for anything interesting that comes out of the Terror Dungeon or other places that he can turn a profit on. King Seljack has an intense hatred from below the board smuggling and thievery – as long as it’s known and he can get a piece of the action, he’s ok with the operations. The blood of the crested dracomen was in a stoneware jug, corked, covered, and wax sealed. We took property of it, signed off on the manifest that we had done so and then asked him to keep it here. He refused saying it was not his job but agreed to warehouse it for 30 bits until tomorrow.

We left, pushing our way through the crowded selling floor and eventually back to the open air. We went to the Bawdy Wench and was going to stay one more day, leaving on the morning. Arranging a room we went to the Common Room and ate a hearty lunch, listening to the minstrels ply the crowd. It was closer to 3:30/4 ish when there was some drunken brawl going on behind us. Barb thought she recognized one of the guys when he was shoved hard and hit Hjalgrim, bowling the cavalier forward.

He had his arm pressed tight against Hjalgrim’s back, partially inside the backpack and seemed to be fumbling about. As the group got up and it was about to get ugly, the man’s companion gave him a full on body check, smashing him into Hjalgrim’s back and then he pulled away, grimacing in pain and holding his hand cradled to his chest as the two of them made a mad dash for the exit.

We were going to follow when Hjalgrim started complaining about his back hurting and we quickly took a look. Something was broken in his backpack, the back of his backpack was dried and cracked looking, and his shirt was damp. We went up to the room and took a look. There was a spot on his back about 5” in diameter that looked like dried cracked flakey skin, the flesh below was angry and red. He was complaining that it hurt and a fast Cure spell fired into him..but nothing happened to the wound – it stayed.

We also tried a restoration, again no difference. Whatever happened, something broken against his back OR inside his backpack and the other guy was responsible for it. But why? We looked through his back pack and although a few things looked messed up, it was all still there. However, there was a broken small vial/ampule in there, the label affixed to broken glass read “Freyleaf Astringent”.

No one knew what that was and the back of the label showed that it came from the Canaslan Export company – Thimbles organization. Maybe he would know what was going on? As for Hjalgrim, we even tried putting on a layer of bear grease but it only caused the cracked looking skin to spread, giving the cavalier a bit more pain for his efforts.

It was almost 5 when we came back to the Black District and Thimbles business where we found his people pointing and shouting at each other and Thimbles angrily telling the group ,”no refunds – you paid for a full day.” He didn’t have much time to talk to the group, seems someone robbed his place earlier today and his staff were frantically pointing fingers.

Shit.

We asked if it was Freyleaf Astringent and he grew cold, telling us to come in and tell him everything. Turns out the Astringent was stolen earlier today, around the time we were in the shop. The belief was one of the “shoppers” planted it in one of our backpacks “Hjalgrim” with the assumption they would retrieve it later far from the Black District. During the altercation at the Bawdy Wench it broke and covered the thief’s hand and Hjalgrim’s back through the pack.

It is used to rapidly dry the flesh of various oozes, slimes, and molds in the preparation of crafting components and inks. And it is expensive – that little ampule was 900 nobles, money that Thimbles was out. He did know it was not supposed to get on anyone’s skin ever and if it does happen, the person will die in horrible agony in about 2 weeks – nothing to be done for it.

Hjalgrim asked, “So, I’m going to die?!” Yep – nothing for it. And you’re going to die in agonizing pain.

The group was stunned. Surely SOMEONE knew something that could be done? Thimbles didn’t know anyone but suggested the party try Erylond as they might have some luck there.

So we took the jug of blood and decided to brave the 7 to 8 hour trek to Erylond now, leaving Paxian @ 5:30 and won’t arrive back @ Erylond until maybe 2 in the morning.

Meet 78, Adv 5, 3/23/19

The Party had a chance to explore part of one of the Stolen Kingdoms, or Sovereign Lands; Canaslan. This is headed by a former mercenary Seljack of Madar, a fairly successful swordsman with 12 years of skill under his belt before he lucked out and had the Sovereign Stone on exiting the Terror Dungeon. His place is a "sellsword's haven" and the principle city is a former orcish trading city known as Paxian.

What's strange to the group, although the entire place stinks a bit of BO and beer, there ARE some redeeming qualities about the place that does sound attractive. For now.

Write up follows:

Paxian was at one point a minor trading city in the Ympire of Rand over a century ago but had been sacked during the dwarven assault and remained either a veritable ghost town and shattered remnant of its former self. When the Sovereign Stone was found almost 13 years ago and the Mercenary Seljack of Madar was lucky enough to be found holding one, the next area around Bork Keep that was open encompassed the moldering city of Paxian and it’s barely 1,000 residents.

Paxian, now the crowning jewel of the Kingdom of Canaslan, houses a bit over 10,000 souls and is known for having one of the largest and most active black markets in the nearest two dozen leagues. The group walked their way up to the city, having to pass through a shanty town of slurry roads and broken lean-tos where the scent of despair and drudgery filled the air. The walls to the city showed long ago damage that was inexpertly repaired and there was a run off from the wall to a pool where the people living outside the city brought buckets and gourds to get something to drink.

The outer gates were long gone, the portcullis had been torn free, and as we passed through the breezeway, we could see other signs of disrepair. The Courtyard was cordoned off by a palisade of wooden slat fencing, piled stone, and other barriers, the main gate was an ox cart laden with long sheets of metal, spears and spikes, and lengths of undressed lumber. We could tell that we were inside a “kill box”, bracketed on all sides by crossbow wielders on the other side, while two guards stood at the gate, each with a kris-bladed broadsword and a halberd at the ready.

They wore a mix of brigandine and scalemail and had tabards on, red, with a large “X” inside a circle. We identified ourselves, Barb taking point on the discussion where we got a list of rules and generally accepted behaviors in Paxian and Canaslan at large. Freedom of speech important, freedom of religion important, freedom of love and sex important ONLY if both parties interested, murder or the like sentenced to immediate death. All rules were sacrosanct and violation of them would result in being beheaded and your head stuck on a spike outside Castle Whitehall.

Touching on Castle Whitehall, everything else in town seemed to be in poor condition and barely held together, ruts in the cobbles, poor drainage, questionable buildings – but King Seljack’s castle was…perfect. White alabaster marble walls, blue tower tops, 4 or 5 stories tall, minarets, flying buttresses, and a the huge flag of red with a the X and circle – in complete contrast to the rest of the town.

We were invited to stay at the Fox and Henhouse Inn and Tavern in White Shadow (upper class district near the castle) and made our way inside. The main market square was mostly empty, a few vendors selling some meat on a stick or some left over vegetables that were remaining on their carts. A towering large half-ogre in an over-sized trench coat was watching the group as they entered and looked around. He motioned them closer and then asked them if they wanted to take a shit.

What?

He opened the trench and showed he had a cup of wet rags tied on his right knee, a foul bag tied on his left knee, and between them on the floor was a brass chamber pot. Yep, a portable outhouse. Most of the businesses won’t let you use their facilities unless you were a paying customer and being caught crapping on the streets of Paxian was a punishable offence, so for a bit – there were a group of a dozen or so half-ogres who set up this business for citizens who needed to go.

Thalin went, dropping a bit for his troubles, and we talked to the half-ogre, named Eydis, for a bit, getting his take on the city. On an average day he makes about 150 bits (his share) but on Marketday he could clear over 300 bits in 8 or 9 hours. We asked him the best place to stay and where to go and he suggested the Bawdy Wench Tavern, take the western main street up and around to White Shadow and the Tavern was there.

As we walked the streets of Paxian we saw some signs of commerce and industry, but easily 1 in 3 or 4 buildings were being underutilized, leading us to understand that Paxian could continue to grow and had plenty of room to do so. There were chicken about, quiet a number of them. And we also noted many of the shops and businesses had something to do with the brewing of beer. Malters, mashers, strainers, fermenters, conditioners, and the like – there was an aroma of sugar in the air as well as hops and barley.

We arrived at the Bawdy Wench Tavern and after getting a place to sit in the Common Room, a pair of wenches took care of us, taking our writ of stipend from the GRSAG to cover our room and meal, but also introduced us to a variety of local beers: Paxian Brown, His Majesty’s Deep Lager, Two Cask Beer, even something called Pumpkin Head Beer that Dizzy enjoyed. No one wanted to try the brew referred to as Grimyrian Shadow which we understood came from a trading deal with the nearby Sovereign Kingdom where the fields of barley were fertilized with “god knows what” and came from “the undead kingdom – no thanks!!”.

We drank, ate, sampled some braised steak on a stick and crusty buttered rolls, and had a nice night. The thought was to get some information about the crates and their costs as made locally here from whoever would craft such things, getting a price and seeing if we could use that the help sell the idea of the Letter of Credit to King Seljack. A few of the wenches and bandy-boys did try to make a run at the group but we shut them down and they knew that there was going to be no business for them tonight.

We rested and awoke the next feeling pretty good. The rooms were in good repair and had numerous safeguards and measures in place to dissuade casual thievery. At breakfast we asked the locals where the best place was to see about boxes and were told to head to the east end of town to the carpenter’s district.

We went on our way and say a number of men (and women) working with a variety of saws and the like, stripping long boles of trees and getting useable lumber out of it. We questioned a few now and again, learning that there was crate maker who made for the King himself on the next block named Hongor. Hongor was a middle aged dwarf who was working with his 3 journeymen when we arrived.

Once pleasantries were dispensed we learned that the King had indeed commissioned 24 such crates almost 5 months ago, first time he had done so with the specifications that they were more than twice as sturdy as the normal shipping crates (5’x 3’x 3’). When tested they could withstand 800lbs of force and had a double cross buck system supporting the inside and out. Each crate was built to exacting specifications and took about 2 days each to make interspersed with normal business.

So it was a surprise when a bit over a month ago he requested 19 more of them and only a week ago Hongor and his people finished the order. He would not tell us what the King paid for them, but if we wanted a similar crate, it would cost us 80 nobles per crate, with a probably discount if we ordered multiples of them. We thanked Hongor and armed with that knowledge left the woodworking district and made out way back to White Shadow and eventually Castle Whitehall.

We had a better feel for how we were going to handle the King and the Letter of Credit and arrived at the line outside Castle Whitehall where some 2 dozen stood in line in front of us. The King was meeting with people from 8 to12 and then again from 1 to 4. We were assured we would NOT meet with the king before lunch but would be shortly afterwards as he was with each group some 15 to 30 minutes before moving to the next.

Eventually another Half ogre with a trench coat and chamber pot arrived and we took advantage of his presence and then a travelling meat seller arrived and we took advantage of that as well. Eventually the line snaked in again and then after some traders from Grimyria went ahead we had our chance to meet with King Seljack.

He was well protected in a throne room seated on a raised dais, surrounded by halberdiers and crossbowmen, a leather clad woman was positioned behind him as if a bodyguard, and there was a small cordoned off section where sycophants and courtiers stood in audience. Seljack was about 50, thinning greying brown hair, still a muscular build, bearded and having a few scars and laugh lines on his face. A simple but well used kris style longblade was near his throne and he seemed to have a smirk and smile of a man who was comfortable and just in his place in the world.

Within a few minutes he was apoplectic in his anger at Pha-iyr Carom and the Greater Rand Sellsword and Adventuring Guild. We talked about the missing crates, the ignominy of the GRSAG, Pha-iyr being a cowardly prick, and the group being sent here to face his ire while the half-elf hid back in Erylond.

We tried to present the Letter of Credit in a good light, Seljack noting with irony that the Duke himself had been dragged into this mess. It seemed that Seljack and Pha-iyr had a long standing hatred and rivalry dating back 15 years to before the Terror Dungeon ever opened and the half-elf black listing Seljack when the Adventuring Guild first opened its books. Since then it’s not gotten any better and this “fortuitous destruction of MY property” is just the latest icing on the cake.

He did talk about his trip into the Terror Dungeon, The Glyph Gate for the Sovereign Stone was found on the 7th level, and something about Vampire hair was a component to help enter the place. We paid attention to that (along with wandering Minotaurs on the 3rd level!!) and knew that this could be bullshit or very outdated information since it had been 13 years since Seljack ever wandered the Halls of the Terror Dungeon.

Eventually he sounded like he would agree to it and we should come back tomorrow at lunch, eat with him, and he’d sign the two Letters of Credit then. We left without issue (passing a few guys sharpening metal spikes to put on the walls) and were back in the streets, north of Castle Whitehall and it was almost 2 pm.

We decided to visit the Black District for now but NOT go to see Thimbles until tomorrow when we were ready to leave Paxian and return to Erylond. On the north end of town, taking us the size of a city block, we were surprised at how…open it was. No one bothered us, as long we kept to ourselves and our money was good, we were welcome. We did stop at a weaver who sold double sided clothes and a few of us got some for now, allowing only a short time to effect a quick change of appearance. Some boots with hollows in the heels wrapped us up and we did not where Thimbles location was, a warehouse with the signage “Canaslan Export Company” upon it.

It was almost 3 on Spiritmonth the 6th and we were deciding what to do next.

Meet 77, Adv 5, 3/9/19

At this point we are bouncing to the Surface Group to give them a chance to catch up in time as well flesh out the other part of this adventure. It will be 3 or 4 meetings on the surface than a catch up of both sets and a hopefully another trip into the Terror Dungeon for something. Oooo, Aaaaa.

Write up follows:

We find ourselves going back 5 days in time, at the moment when the two groups diverged, half heading to Bork Keep, and the other still at Erylond and looking to get some work done for the Adventurer’s Guild.

It was Spirit Month the 4th around 9:30 when the party was ready to leave our room at the Flying Pegasus Inn and head off to the Greater Rand Sellsword and Adventurer’s Guild. We had a meeting with Pha-iyr Carom, the Guild’s facilitator who was going to give us a job to perform this early in our charter. It would give us some coin and allow us to show the Guild that we were happy to be promising members and able to help out.

Thalin, Merica, Barb, Dizzy, Hjalgrim, Percy, and Shimlagesh finished their breakfast and then made their way to their meeting. We arrived in a timely manner and two of the Guild’s Enforcers, a pair of Half-Ogre toughs, met us in the foyer and had a brief conversation with us. We divested ourselves of our weapons, chatted with them briefly, and then made our way to the lower library where Pha-iyr Carom was waiting for us along with another person.

An adult male Grey Elf was waiting there along with the Half-elven facilitator. Having that etheric thinness that many Grey Elves develop, the figure was wearing a set of Sorcerer Robes from the Arcane Academy and both him and Thalin expressed enthusiasm as seeing one another.

He was Paris, a nobleman elf from Tiloni, a major city on the northern portion of Rand, and at one point had been on of Thalin’s mentor’s during his time at the mage’s guild there before he decided there was more of an opportunity in potentially striking out on his own and joining up with other like-minded people in mercenary work.

Paris, along with other members of the Academy, had been getting Thalin’s missives for the last 2 years or so, about 1 a month, and following his trials and tribulations during that time. But, it was the seemingly increase in power and influence the one time apprentice had been amassing that was a source of conversation, and indeed envy for those who were still part of Tower life. How can a person in two years equal the skills, experience, and capabilities that a tower worked individual might have spent 2 or 3 decades achieving?

Paris had presented his arguments to the Tower council, including his own family who were on the board, and was told that he should not worry about such things and spend his decades with care building his path one small step at a time. This rankled the normally well balanced sorcerer who after 40 years of indoctrination, realized that perhaps Tower life was not the answer to the way of things. He was instead looking to show his skills and capabilities were beyond that of a neophyte magic user and was hoping to establish himself as a valid enchanter even with a Testing.

Most magics were beyond his skill so he took to performing longer rituals, powered by the blood and mana. Since he was lower level, he used blank requisition documents and presented them to the Local Magistrate for prisoners who were to be executed that day and used their dying to power some of the spells that were normally outside his purview. It did not go well – in fact it went poorly both times he attempted it.

Eventually he was called to Council where harsh words were bandied about and he left in anger and some disgrace. Already knowing where Thalin was and his own successes, he partook of the next caravan heading across the Randari plains in effort to arrive in Erylond and hopefully learn how Thalin was able to amass his skills and power in the face of the Tower’s teachings and learnings. And if possible, join the adventuring guild and the local Mage’s Guild.

Pha-iyr Carom had numerous documents supporting Paris’ skills and abilities, and was willing to have him meet the group – but his time with the group would be limited to his ability to learn to control his baser instincts and how to temper his time and maturity into working with the body as a whole. If his time with the party on this small mission went well, Pha-iyr Carom would green light his admission to the Guild and would pass on the approval to the Arcane Academy here to have his standing and rank transferred from Tiloni to Erylond. If he did NOT do well, then…it would suck to be him very quickly.

We talked for a bit and then came to what Pha-iyr Carom and the GRSAG wanted for us. We were to go to Canaslan, one of the Sovereign Kingdoms (actually the 2nd one) and meet with the King, Seljack of Madar in the capital city of Paxian. The story was that King Seljack had commissioned the GRSAG about 4 months ago for some Steel Wool (metallic wool found on subterranean sheep in the Terror Dungeon) from sanctioned adventurers – delivered after 3 months of gathering to Canaslan. He supplied 24 large wooden crates for the GRSAG to fill with the understanding that all crates, empty or full, were to be returned after 3 months.

A fire in the warehouse caused by an errant former member of the guild fireballing the area, resulted in 19 of the 24 crated being destroyed. So upon the completion of the contract, the GRSAG delivered 5 crates and three large bags of Steel Wool. Since then, there have been a month and a half of increasingly angry letters back and forth with King Seljack getting angrier and more belligerent each time. According to the letter of the Writ and the Esquire’s opinion – the Guild IS responsible for the crates. So, Pha-iyr is sending the party to Canaslan to meet with King Seljack and give him the letter of credit drawn against the Duke of Erylond’s own coffers for the full market value (and then some) for the 19 crates: 85 nobles per crate, for a total of 1,615 nobles.

There is no negotiating, the Letter is what it is – it’s the group’s job to make this offer and make it palatable. His signature needs to appear on each Letter and a copy of the Letter comes back here and the GRSAG will present it to the Duke at that time allowing the money to be withdrawn. We’re getting 3 crowns each for the job and the GRSAG will cover our room, meals, and lodging for 2 days.

While the paperwork is being drawn up we are told that Shandrilar, Wizard-Lord of the Tower of Winds, would like the group to pick up some material she had ordered from Paxian and Canaslan and is now ready – and we split up – Hjalgrim, Percy, Dizzy, and Barb head off to the Stinky Cat Inn (on Pha-iyr’s hint dropping to Dizzy of a potential avenue to meet with the local Thieves’ Guild) while Merica, Thalin, Shim, and Paris head off to the Magic User’s District to visit the Wizard-Lord in question.

The Magic User’s District is along the inner wall of the outer ring on the western side of Erylond. A sizable district, it is surrounded by a low 4’ wall with multiple gates. Six main towers and some 30 to 40 smaller structures make up the District and we follow direction to Shandrilar’s. It’s some 80’ tall, flying buttresses, fanciful carvings, and a spiraling blue and yellow color from base to roof. It has a fenced in area of 100’ square as its yard and we wait briefly to be allowed entrance. A palanquin is seen near the stables.

Once inside we find a dampening field that retards the magic a bit and then are led to meet with the Wizard-Lord in her dining area. She’s human, appearing to be in her 30’s, and is tall, almost 6’ and aloof. Her mannerisms seem aloof and after introductions are made she gives us her job. She requested a quart of Crested Dracomen from a gnomish “acquirer” named Thimbles, found in the Black District of Paxian. This type of blood takes some time to gather and once done, is potent for a few weeks before begins to spoil and she was just informed it was ready. She wants us to get it and bring it back. It’s already been paid for so all we need to do is just pick up the material and return without issue.

Sadly Paris had an abrupt way of speaking to the Wizard-Lord who vented her anger on the novice sorcerer who collapsed down screaming, his clothes whipping off his shoulders and lines and welts appearing on his skin. It lasted some 15 seconds where he then arose shaking and much cowed, convinced he had been tossed into Tartarus. She then repeated her requested and Paris answered much more contrite and willing to listen.

We took the job, she gave us 15 crowns (oh my god, she had NO idea what the job would actually be worth to do, overpaying the party who took the mission without saying a word) and we left going to meet the group back again at the Stinky Cat.

Meanwhile the other half of the group made their way further along the main thoroughfare, coming to the Stinky Cat Inn, a massive 3 story structure with its own stables and small smith house. The plethora of feral and semi-tamed cats littering the outside of the establishment gave credence to the place’s name. There was a large U shaped central bar, a decent sized minstrel stage on the right hand side, and a double wide set of stairs going up to the 2nd and third floor where and overhang balcony looked down to the main Common Room, large enough to seat 4 to 500 easily. Before entering, Dizzy did spot on the lintel of the main entrance and Guild Marking identifying the place as an Elysium: a safe place for all members to come and meet as well as a place where no crimes were to take place.

At the main bar Hjalgrim and Percy took center place attracting the tender over with long sweeps of his arms and a booming voice. Dizzy and Barb took a place furthest away along the left side at the end of the “U” where a tired wench in her 40’s took our order and Dizzy Canted to her a desire to “meet”. She didn’t reply but returned 2 beers to the pair of them and Dizzy was instructed to “drink up and quickly”.

At the bottom of his mug was a scratched message in CANT to “Sit at 3rd booth”. And to the area behind them were a series of booths privacy walled and poorly lit. Dizzy waved to Barb and left her at the bar before taking a seat at the booth in question with his beer. The Half-orc was enticed to join Hjalgrim at the bar leaving Dizzy on his own.

He sat for some time, watching the bar and seeing who might be the person in the Common Room he would peg as a contact for the Guild. Imagine his surprise when a portly, on the edge of obese, sweating man of late 30’s came from out of his blind spot and asked to sit with Dizzy “Just to rest a second”. He made lots of blowing noises and seemed to mop his forehead a bit before getting some information from Dizzy and Dizzy getting some from him. His name was Caetius and he asked Dizzy if he’s be willing to talk to a few of his Friends – since they have a different idea of what’s a good member and that he had been known to make harsher and less forgiving decisions in the past.

After introducing Dizzy to three others, a human woman named Varia with a cold attractiveness and an unsettling look in her eyes, a waifish young and thin boy barely 16 named Arritius, and a late 30’s Halfling named Syppon – Dizzy being entranced into playing a game of checkers.

The game was a ruse and Dizzy was questioned by the 3 of them who had different ideas they were looking for. Varia wanted loyalty and honesty, Arrituis wanted someone who could be part of a group, and Syppon wanted someone who wasn’t into it for the thrill but had more of a clearer view of the long term aspects of his decisions. After the conversation went on for a bit, Caetius returned and flat out said he didn’t like adventurers. They owe allegiances to the guilds and their groups first and the Thieves guild end up getting the short end of the shaft. Their guild has a deal with the mage’s quarter and it’s been working well for them.

Dizzy tried to sell them on his ability to act as an impartial outsider who can vouch for Thieves guild members if need be, plus his party has 5 different mages and sorcerers already in their ranks so it makes sense to tie their skills together. Caetius was unsure and was willing to revisit this later. Right now the group had a mission to Canaslan and Paxian and something to do for Shandrilar of the Tower of Winds and if that went well, he would take it as a provisional ok that Dizzy could be admitted on a trial basis.

At this point the entire group got back together and we shared all we had learned as well as advised Paris to tread more carefully in the future – a consensus he seemed to be more apt to do along with a few much needed flagons of Ale.

We left the following morning on Spiritmonth the 5th, heading east down the maid road out of the Tradegates. The land within 3 or 4 miles of Erlyond was all farms and the like, well traveled and used. However as we went further away the population diminished and we were walking in mostly unsettled territory. It took us the better part of the day until we came upon a singular strange phenomenon – the air before us shimmered as if from a heat mirage, but nothing was there.

As we passed through the temperature rose from upper 40’s to upper 50’s and the air took on the scent of beer and ale as well as the faint underfunk one gets amidst unwashed clothes. The straight lines of the fields took on a bit of a wave and seemed less clean and crisp. A few people we saw welcomed us to Canaslan, and from their stance, seemed a bit…inebriated.

It was closer to 5 when we spied a main road travelling north off the highway, heading about half a mile to a walled city with a singular white castle seen even from this distance. That had to be Paxian, and there we would eventually meet with King Seljack.

Meet 76, Adv 5, 3/2/19

We lost another person at the table this week and it was a blow for me personally being as I regard him as a good friend. I had no direct idea it was coming and for myself, I was ill prepared to learn that he was not coming back and saddened. It happens, sometimes in this hobby people's lives change and the ability to free up time diminishes, but my argument has always been that in a 168 hours, I am asking for 5, maybe 6 if you include drive time. It's not even close to breaking and not every week.

So this means I have to find another person to fill the seat which I hate doing. Luckily I had only done this 7 months earlier when we found Rik and at that time I had 3 other people who I had promised I would keep their information if something worked out.

One of the 3 was still available and we met him, he checked off the minimal amount of boxes I was looking for, and we offered him an invite which he was thrilled to get and will be here on the 9th to roll up his character and sit down with us.

As for the group, they finished a local exploration of Entrance 3 and decided to cut bait while they still had time on the clock. They really want to get the Chime of Exiting and are hoping to make that their direct destination the next trip in.

Write up follows:

The group spent a good amount of time looking over the remains of the trophy room, knocking the walls for secret doors and trying to get a feel for the chamber, meanwhile Avulstein was working on a raising the fleshy skeletal remains of the Ogre. Once the ritual was done it staggered to its feet and took a few instructions to get situated with its new place in life.

Once we were set we lit two more new torches and Sybil checked out the door back to hall. She heard nothing and we opened the door, torch light spilling out when she a gasp from down the hall and then breathing and running feet. She slammed it closed and let us know what was going on. We then waited a few minutes before she opened it again, the torches held away from the portal so her infravision could kick in.

Nothing was out here now and we risked some torch light along with the light already down the hall and then emerged with care. Something had disturbed the bloody area the ogre had been killed in and we came closer to further identify what happened. There were large bare footed bloody footprints running down the hall away from us to the north and along the wall a number of spears in the wall and gore of some taloned 3 fingered hand that was again, taller than us and larger than normal human sized.

We took a blanket and laid it across the blood to avoid trailing our own and Sybil, Connal, and Negan crossed the gore, Brading and Gryg stayed close, Darius and Avulstein (and the ogre skeleton!) watched the hall to the west to make sure nothing snuck up on us. There were three doors on the hall, two on the right, one on the left, and in the gloom it looked like there was a door at the end of the long hall.

The closest door had a number of gnaw marks on the bottom, and a few in the center and top of the door, as if something inside the room gnawed its way out long ago. It was in poor condition and looked like it had been forced many times in the past and then hammered back into place. A faintly wavering orange glow was coming from within the chamber seen through the cracks, but we couldn’t tell what it might be.

The next door, some dozen paces down the hall also looked like it had been forced in the past. The scent of rot, salt, and a vinegary smell. We assumed pantry and decided to move on for now. The last door was on the opposite side of the hall. We gave a listen and heard nothing. That left the main door at the end of the hall. It was closed an according to out torchlight, whoever ran here (whatever!?) hit the door, fumbled for the knob, left bloody hand prints on doing both, and then most likely stepped through.

We decided we didn’t want to do that at all. We scattered a few bags of caltrops just to make sure and then went back to the middle door. We took our time and Darius who was keeping track of it for us, let us know we had time to look at one door only and then we should get the hell out of here. The door was opened and there were stone shelves filled with rotting stuff upon it. In a semicircle pattern just inside the door was a large dumping of salt and the walls and floor has some sort of olive green and red veined slimy coating upon it. We assumed slug?

Either way – we wanted nothing to do with it for now. So we shut the door, reconvened together, and began our walk back to the entrance, supposedly about 2 hours plus before the entrance would move if Darius and Brading’s estimate was good.

Back through the table room, back through the zombie room, and back through the long hall we stopped at the door and could hear voices on the other side. The same deep masculine sounding voices speaking a language we didn’t know, and the feral piping sound of goblin voices. Shit. How many? At least half a dozen, maybe more.

Ok, we listened for a bit and were able to deduce the goblins were talking to the other figures who were guarding the room on supposed adventurers and one of them was named Hrabi. We didn’t think they were leaving any time soon so we hatched a plan – we would cast silence on the ogre skeleton, send him in to attack anything inside there, and then while distracted, we would charge up the stairs and get out before the crap hits the fan.

We all drew weapons and got ready, Brading cast silence and the Ogre went in we waited until we could hear ourselves again and then charged in. It was 20’ to the steps and as we hit them and started climbing, we had the chance to see a dozen goblins and three 8’ tall almost naked blue skinned figures shouting (silently) and pointing. We ran, calling for the dwarves to open the door while whatever was giving chase emerged from the silence spell in the gloom behind us, its roars were rippling the air and we could feel it buffeting the group as we charged the doors.

They were opened and we all ran inside, the amulets doing their job as we cycled through the lock and the doors were shut and chained once more.

We emerged again a bit after 1 in the morning and were met with Kara and the dwarven guards once more. They let us know the blue creatures were Quillians and if they roar long enough, people fighting them become flustered and confused during the combat, swinging wildly.  We went off to the Mess Hall where a round of beer and whatever foods were still available were eaten and discussed what happened and what our next objective was.

Besides going in and checking out Entrance One, the thought was to go back to Entrance Two and find out where the Glyph Gate to the Chime could be found. We knew enough that is was in that area. While discussing possibilities, Brading suggested just asking the two adventuring women we had met in the dungeon and the bar earlier today (Ketik and Abera) to at least eliminate some possibilities for us and offer to pay. We knew they were leaving tomorrow so we decided to switch to the Second Visitors Hall where they were staying and approach them in the AM.

We fell into an exhausted sleep and it was a bit after 8:30 that the two adventuring women woke us up with the sound of their packing. They apologized for their noises and we talked briefly about our 2nd trip in (still not a Foray) and what we had learned. We allowed the conversation to flow for a bit and shared our Ogre sized pipe with them along with some halfling’s weed while the party steered them around the conversation for a bit until we touched upon the Chime and how to get one.

At this point Negan excused himself to go to the bathroom and went outside to the lavatory where he called upon Odin to allow him to Read Mind – pushing his efforts through until he could settle on Ketik and then Abera who although the female fighter had been quiet, her thoughts were different and quite talkative, letting Negan know much about where they should go and what they should do. Meanwhile inside the Hall, we had offered a small pile of gold for some information on what to do from the 2nd Entrance and were told to go down the North Passage, the one with the archways – which Connal using his enchanted headband was able to verify was NOT a lie.

Eventually we thanked them enough and they left, we shared what we had learned and agreed that we should take a day to rest up and swap some spells around, then go back in tomorrow (around 3:30) to the 2nd Entrance and try to find the Glyph Gate. Negan did let us know that Abera had mentioned something about Brass bits so we were going to go to the Castellan and see if we can get some change for the time being.