Meet 109, Adv 14, 1/11/25

Workmonth the 1st, 10:20AM. The group decided to give the two smaller rooms on the east side of the Common Room in Steading Manor a once over. After making sure the door was not trapped (a key was in the lock, 3 tumblers) we opened it up to see what might have been a lesser noble’s bedroom. The mattress was still here as well as a 3 drawer dresser. The mattress was a sack with a mix of fill. But it was very dusty and dry rotted. The drawers were empty. But Connal wants to flip the mattress. The group got out and the monk lifted the bag – but the fabric spit and old hay and feather rained everywhere. He held his breath and ran out of the room, eventually coughing and wiping himself clean.

Moving to the next room, it was a mirror of the first. This time we left the mattress alone. The next door was on the south wall of the Common Room and after doing our due diligence, we could tell that it was at one point a place for the Manor servants to stay. 6 in total. Again, nothing left but pallets and a single foot locker. Dizzy went to open the box from behind, but the leather hinges had given away some time ago – and it ripped off in his hand. Footlocker was empty.

Two doors left – west side- double door on west wall, single very nice carved door on north wall. Fanciful scroll work and on the top left was the dwarven initials “RTG” and on the top right a symbol of a black keyhole lock with a circle around it. We opened the door and it was the manor house master bedroom – now currently mostly empty. There was a 4 poster bed here, soft parts missing. But in the middle was a claystone dwarven whiskey bottle. We got closer and it was a 160 year old bottle of Doletite Whiskey Spirits – with 2 thick layers of wax on the top of it acting as a seal. Just sitting here. As if waiting for us.

We carefully checked it out and then took it along. Why was this left for us? We thought that whoever (Ralstrom) left it for whoever was to follow him and have a drink?

We went to the double door next – and after some worry – opened it up. It was “Outside” the Manor house – but still on the grounds. An internal garden area of some sort. Obvious cart path from outer garage door to outer garage door. A large outside building, most likely the cart house. The garden was fanciful stones and mushrooms. The walls of the grounds were 12’ tall. We looked over the cart house – really big well made cart in there. There was a stall for an animal, guess was once for a giant lizard – obviously empty.

Two doors on the south wall of the garden area, we took the one that led back to the Game Room that we had seen from around the inside. The crack in the cave still ran through here but we navigated it without issue. Two doors on the north wall – both locked. One was a vault door – reinforced concrete. Single turn wheel, combination lock below. We took a chance and spun the wheel – and the vault was unlocked.

Inside there was nothing left except for a brass and copper slide penny whistle with a silver chain that had a single fishhook threaded through the last link. Detect magic followed – and it was NOT magical. Right., Just...wtf? We had just made a big comment and production about being careful and not do anything off the norm as Connal picked up the whistle.

And blew into it.

“Making decisions, huh?” Dizzy asked the monk who honestly couldn’t explain why he blew into the whistle. On a good note – it made no noise – but Eoghan verified the whistle did make a noise – his Mastiff was able to hear it. Ok – high pitched whistle. But the fish hook? We spent a few minutes unthreading the hook and then Shim took it and placed it in the cork he was carrying already.

We went back around to the parlor and opened the south door there – and it was a smoking room – but it was NOT joining up with the other door in the Game room. So we went back around AGAIN to the Game room and Dizzy worked on unlocking the door. And it was an office. The empty shelves let us know there was once a library of some sort in here, and a single desk scarred and beaten was still here. The place was empty but there was a single sheet of vellum on the wall shelves.

We took it down and it was an application for a variance. 200 years or so old? Someplace called Nephtile Steel and the need to get an outside vent. Application was to use the venting in Lombard province instead and to drill a venting there from Nephtile. Why was this still here? And so random. We took it. We decided to eat lunch and by quarter after 1, went to the front door and carefully opened it. There was an open square to the east with a 35’ tall obelisk spire and some park area around it. Manor houses to the south, 3 of them had collapsed over the years. Some big buildings and stores to the east and north. Ceiling to the cave was 70’ overhead. And it was very quiet – no living things so far that we heard.

Pages littered the area, evacuations orders. 140ish years ago. Some sort of gas leak from mineshaft 39c and the place was to be sealed off for 175 years. Ok, explains the gas in the air but we weren’t sick. Also explained why no one was here. And we had a note earlier to seek out Ralstrom in Lombard province – where the evacuation orders seemed to say everyone had to retreat to.

We went north, Connal had marked a building there that might have been town hall and sure enough, it was! We passed the remains of a leather workers and there was a map of Ralstrom Province here. We took a rubbing of it and looked it over. Some things stood out. 3 Sons armor on the north, Barton weapons on the south, Sentar’s Runsmiths. Wilhelm pointed out two taverns: Tap and screw & The Good Boar. About 20 buildings had a single or double letter designation (L, S, TH, F, AC, CN, …). Based on what we knew, L was leather workers and TH was town hall. And far to the east? Nephtile Steel – and the passage to Lombard Province

We wanted to check out 3 Sons Armor. So we walked around the Town Hall where the cavern had broken. There was some standing water on the far end and we did not want to venture into it. But we approached 3 sons and could see that the Mineshaft 39C must hae exploded some time ago as the debris field was a good quarter mile in diameter and reached even to here. The road was a mess of broken stone. As we came to 3 Sons we could see something moving inside and a trilling.

And it hopped towards and then moved VERY fast – barreling into Connal and slapping a pair of tentacles on him – leaving two huge rust lines in the armor.

Fucking hell – Rust Monster. A quick Summon Monster had it driven back from Connal and the rest of the group was like – fuck – we are WAY too close. Considering through the window we could see…like a fuck ton more rust monsters. The party backed up and weapons were changed out. Summon Monsters came fast as we tried to choke the area with bodies. Giant rats, ghouls, gnoll, dire badger, giant lizard, bugbear. Shim, Dizzy, and Wilhelm called and cast one after another. Eoghan kept firing and his arrows would hit – or not – but the heads would rust away instantly. The gnoll we summoned had his flail and platemail eaten.

And then two of the rust monsters sprung out of the doorway towards us, hungry for metal. Clearing 30’ in a flea like springing jump. Fuck we had to do something. More shots and spells followed and we finally dropped one of the rust monsters.

One.

Out of 11.

And then Jarjar Lynx let Wilhelm know that something…something big was coming through the debris field to the east and heading this way. We looked over there and it was a 9' tall vulture headed carapace pinkish hues horror with 3’ curved hooks where hands would be.

Nope – fuck all of this. The party turned and ran. We dropped a few things to slow down the rust monsters and Dizzy used a scroll Thalin had given him long ago – Wall of fog – choking the entire area in a huge mass of fog – blocking vision to 2’. Connal blew the slide whistle and it seemed to REALLY piss off and hurt the Hook Horror! Good to know!

We ran hard and fast to Steading Manor where we hid inside again and locked the door. It was about 3. We were going to need something to distract the Rust Monsters. Shim and Dizzy were going to take apart the Chariot in the Carthouse and we would use the metal pieces to slow down any rust monster we might run into tomorrow. No more today. We ended up with 9 good sized pieces that the party spread out and each person took. As for the Trident, we looked it over again and after verifying it was for a larger handed type of humanoid – we had little more to go on.

We rested and awoke the next day on Workmonth the 2nd. Dizzy and Brading let the group feel good that it was morning (being dwarves and such) and by 8 AM, we had studied and prayed up and were ready to move on. We were going to head toward the Nornian Shrine and obelisk, then turn south by the Good Boar – and then turn east by Sentars and go for the Passage by the Temple on the south east section of town. Hook horrors? Blow whistle. Rust monsters? Drop metal and run.

We left again, shutting the door to Steading Manor and headed east. The Obelisk was partially under the debris field but Shim was looking it over, noting the faces of the Norns matched those in his vision. We hugged the wall and turned south, moving with care. At the corner where a cobbler might have been, we were ready to move on when something SNAPPED just in front of Dizzy – but his displacer cloak had him NOT where he was to be – and he was just missed.

We looked up and a 1 ton huge insect with a curved horned head, too many legs, and a vibrating shaking section of plates was rattling at us. We ran – and good thing as it shot off another line – also just missing Dizzy as he goaded Wilhelm to go faster. Cave Fisher. It was not going to chase us but we ran off anyway to the east.

And we arrived at the passage to Lombard Province at 9:15 AM. To find it was sealed off and caved in from the other side. There was NO way we were going through that way. Fuck. While discussing options (Nephtile Steel and the vent pipe to Lombard?) Dizzy noted the Temple on the south road had the same key hole sigil that was on Ralstrom’s bedroom door in Steading Manor.

We approached and coaxed the door open. The whorls of neon light did not go into the temple – instead there was a 6’ stone statue of a key glowing blue in the front of the place. We entered with care, the door closed behind us. The altar had a placard on it in burnished copper that read, “Temple of Dumathoin, Dwarven god and Keeper of Secrets. In honor of Father Enix Donnegarten.”

Donnegarten.

Two doors were past here. We took the left one and Dizzy picked it open. Inside was a nice high priest’s office and a place for a lesser priest to sit. A holy tome to Dumathoin was on a rolltop desk. He sat down and thumbed through the missive as we looked around. Deciding to take the tome, he picked it up and from below the desk, an ornate 5 tined key fell out, also with the Dumathoin keyhole symbol on it.

We went to the next door and it was locked – but Dizzy used the key and it was a 20’ square room beyond – but an automaton of brass, copper, and silver was here – steam coming from its neck plate. It looked at Dizzy and saw his key and identified him as Father Donnegarten.

It was the Keeper of the Portals and only Donnegarten and Ralstrom were allowed past. Ralstrom has not been here for a long time. And when he was, it was 7 times before he stopped and ordered the portals deactivated. It ignored the rest of the party but then grew angry that they were there hearing secrets.

The party left the Temple and eventually Dizzy put the tome back to avoid angering the Keeper. They talked about plans and Donnegarten’s master plan, Dumathoin, and that it was soon time to come to fruition. There were three portals in here – each with the center activation stone carefully removed and placed on the ground. One showed Donnegarten Stronghold. One showed some outside forest like city with a large 150’/200’ circle clearing in the center of it. And the last was what looked like Erylond but the buildings were oddly placed and all the gates were swapped north to south.

He shut the door on the Keeper, grabbed the holy tome again, and went outside to the party. We discussed and figured the two other portals were to Tilani…and Old Erylond? It’s on the maps, everyone knows it because it’s there – but no one ever has been there or knows anyone who’s ever been there. Why a portal there?

It was 10:15 now and we were going to go and try to get our way into Nephtile Steel – and eventually the vent to Lombard Province.

Meet 108, Adv 14, 1/4/25

Firemonth the 27th. The party wrapped up their purchasing and outfitting for the trip back to Donnegarten Stronghold and hopefully, a portal trip to Gorok. Shields, supplies, oil, food, and even an oxen. Wilhelm and Eoghan went to the stockyards where they purchased a good oxen, called it Bessie. The thought was that we’d get to Donnegarten and then butcher it for meat. As for one of Eoghan’s mastiff’s and Wilhelm’s 2 smaller cats, Godrick and Gryg were willing to take care of the animals while the rest of the party was out. Captain Asher and Annalee Mason were going to be working on Shim’s house adjustments.

So we set off: Eoghan, Wilhelm, Shim, Connal, Dizzy, and Brading. We also had Bessie the oxen, Jessie the rabbit, Jarjar the Lynx, and one of Eoghan’s mastiffs. The weather was not the best and Eoghan was already in a crappy mood. We weathered the walk for a while and eventually arrived at the waypoint between Canaslan and Erylond. The ranger was done, dropping his stuff and refusing to budge. There was some back and forth with Eoghan being an absolute bastard with everyone, eventually getting a shot in the face from Connal after giving the monk one.

We set up camp and eventually arranged watch. A few hours after bedding down, a travelling merchant caravan came from Canaslan, Durgaru Merchants, and shared the space. They were taking small casks of brew from Canaslan and selling them to market to places west: Erylond, Tariz, Stivil, and Sorton. We left the next morning (29th), heading ever eastward. By 2:30 we had turned off the road and headed north into the wild. Eoghan and Wilhelm kept the group on a steady path, following faint signs and blazes they had made weeks earlier. The canopy cover was strong and it was only until almost sunset that we finally emerged from it.

The same river we had to cross was here and the party travelled downstream to find a decent place to ford over. Once on the north side, we located a decent place to camp for the night and settled in. We awoke on the 30th and proceeded on. Up through the Mountain gap and then across 2 valleys to the Donnegarten peak. We navigated to the best place to climb and then started making our way upward.

It was slow going and it was shortly after we began that the ranger and druid and their animals all scented something on the slope ahead of us. There was the need for quiet and the group gave some serious listen and scenting. Rot, old, lots of it, undead. We were downwind of it, but it was coming closer and crossing our path. Soon they would be downwind of us and we’d be hunted. Dizzy had the group gather and a pair of Hide from Undead spells were cast and we waited as they covered all of us.

It was ghouls. Lots of them. Like over 20 of them. In a pack. At one point they were goblinoid and orcish – but now they were carnivorous undead eating packs of danger. Once they were surely past, we proceeded up the mountain. By 2:30 we were back at the right door and then we spent time working the valve open. From there entered the stronghold again and then forced the door closed again from the counterweights on the inside.

We traveled the 1st floor of the compound back to the lift control area and made our way across to light the burner and make sure the boiler was up and ready. Wilhelm and Connal were going to work the controls while the rest of the party made their way down on the lift itself. Once again, there seemed to be nothing in the compound except for us. At the ground floor we checked and verified that the native American gods and heroes were still here – strange appearing since a layer of dust had settled over them. The lights of the gates were still active, letting us know that the Terror Dungeon Glyph Gates were still in action.

And then there was a back and forth on the killing of Bessie. Brading was horrified at the idea even though it had been discussed ad nauseum that we would be killing the oxen and making food out of her. He tried to get involved and stop it and eventually Eoghan did the deed. This had the young dwarven cleric get so mad that he clonked the ranger on the back of the head with the flat of the battle axe. This drew more fighting and Eoghan eventually swallowed his words but bad blood was born between him and the dwarf.

Shim and Connal worked on Bessie, carving a good 45 pounds of meat from her flank which Dizzy and Wilhelm were smoking on drying racks, when they punctured a large intestine and sprayed liquid shit everywhere. A prestidigitation cleaned them both up and we were done for the night – 8:30ish.

Awoke the next day, Workmonth the 1st and by 8 AM, were heading off to the Offices. The doors were opened and we made our way past the dead dwarves to the office of Ralstrom Thermun Gorok. Duke of Razors. The portal was still there- dormant but visible. The triggering mechanism was still there, situated right over the mural of the dwarven city. We debated how best to go and decided that everyone in the room and between mural and glyphs was the best way. And then we pressed the button.

It sunk in and we heard a clunk, some lights sparked…and nothing. The button was depressed but the magical connection didn’t fire. While thinking about what to do, Shim called out an Open/Close spell and…WHAMMO!!

We all felt like something grabbed the back of our heads and we were violently pulled backwards at 40 mph. Our skin and limbs were stretching the wrong direction away from us and then there was a bang as we all hit what felt like a solid wall, bounced off, and then tumbled out of a portal…

And dropped almost 9 feet to the stone floor below. Most of us were jostled and a bit wounded, but alive. There were the remnants of a portal in the ceiling over our head and as we watched, it was cold and then dormant. Looking around, there was no portal switch anywhere. A 15’ square room, and a set of stairs going up.

Dizzy checked it out. Closed and locked. Stone door, opens away. Pretty tight seal. Took out his picks and it was a 4 tumbler lock (DC: 20). A few minutes and he needed a break as it did not open. So Shim went up and with his gloves of thievery, took a crack at it and unlocked the door. Dizzy was just staring at the gnome, muttering under his breath as he went back up to open the door, and using the mirror on the stick, looked around.

Strange neon looking colored light sieved through the door. The air was alive with it, giving everything an odd glow. There was an industrial scent to the air. The room beyond had a few windows on one side of the room closed and shuttered. 2 sets of double doors – one was on the far end and seemed the type that would be on the front of a house. The other was more fancifully carved and ornate. Both were stone.

We discussed it and went up to look around. Doors on north end of house were locked. Shuttered windows were shut from the outside. Door on west end of room was closed and not locked. We guessed this was a foyer of some sort. Someone’s house? So quiet. Abandoned? What’s with the lights?

We went west and opened door. Grand room. 2 smaller rooms north and south, many other ways, passages and doors out. A single 2’ tall 2’ diameter stone topped table with a note folded in half and settled on top of it. Once again, Dizzy went in.

He approached the table with reverent care , not trusting the note for some reason. Using his sword he tried to flip it over but instead knocked it to the floor. So he used the blade, pushed it around so he could get under it, then lifted it again and placed it back on the table face up so he could read it.

“I have been waiting for you to come through here for some time. Seek me out in Lombard Province. Ralstrom”

The note began to crumble as whatever spell was on it to preserve the paper was now fading. Group talked, was he talking about us, or just a generic “you”? The assumption was that this was most likely not to place the portal was supposed to bring the party to. Shim made a comment that we all felt a “bump” as if we hit something just before we ended up here.

Looking back, over the entrance to the hall was a sign in dwarven that read, “Steading Manor”. Dizzy took a fast look around. Two doors on the north wall (closed) and a small room with tiny shelves. On the south end of the room a double wide passage leading to some trophy hall (most things and spaces are empty). In the Grand Hall, the north tiny room was a coat room, a single green and brown cloak hanging there. The south tiny room was a guard room with a few armor stands, all currently empty.

Group entered and we all looked about. Connal verified the cloak was very old, we are talking decades old. Dry rotted and fell apart. No pockets. Shim checked the small room on the north, gut reaction was the size of the shelves and placement it might have been a pipe and tobacco area. Beyond it was a room set up like a parlor – single old and broken couch. Door on the south wall. Brading let the group know both doors on the north wall were unlocked and no sounds from the other side.

The strange lights continued to whorl about. The south passage and trophy hall – most were empty but there was a trident on the wall with an overly thick handle and a scrap of blue mesh or netting below it. There was a double door on the left side of the hall, and on the right side of the hall a single door then down and around, a pair of thin double swinging doors.

Dizzy went first again – the far room was the Manorhouse kitchen – again just about everything taken from the place. The swinging doors led to the dining room where the table still was – no chairs. We looked it over, so far no problems or issues. We then went to the double doors on the left side of the Trophy hall and the door here opened easily. The room beyond had a massive crack in the floor, where it looked like half the house was tilted at a 10 degree angle away, a gap in the ceiling showed the open air above. We decided not to go and explore here yet and shut the door, heading back to the Grand Hall.

We went to the 2 north doors and took the one on the left. It opened to a large Common Room and fireplace where travelers might stay over. Two bedroom doors were on the left side, both closed. The Common Room was pretty large and there were other doors in this chamber as well.

So far no monsters – which is ok! It’s 10:20 on Workmonth the 1st and the only clue we know we have is that at some point in the past (decades ago?) the inhabitants (of which we strongly assume Ralstrom was one of them) left here and went to someplace called Lombard Province – most likely still in Gorok. There is a strong industrial scent to the air, and strange gas light lights (neon?) are prevalent. Right now no one is exhibiting any breathing problems, but it’s only been 2 hours. Still much of Steading Manor to explore – and when and if we leave – the thought is we could use the Manor House as a safe house should we need one.

Meet 107, Adv 14, 11/23/24

We talked about establishing a shrine to Lathandar. After hearing about what had happened to the Church of Lathandar some 150 plus years ago, persecuted, demonized, and then dismantled by the court of public opinion because the Curate refused to go along with the Gorokian mandate at the time, the party, spearheaded by Eoghan, wanted to right that wrong.

The party discussed costs with the Sunrise Rabbits Orphanage, and also the potential cost outlay and space allocation with the Ecclesiastic Guild. There was a cost given of a couple hundred nobles which the party discussed. Very quickly the wealthier half of the party ponied up the money before even going out for donations. Which then had Captain Asher and Annalee Mason get involved. The Mason Matriarch would be happy to help take on the job, and even the upgrade of stone was tossed in.

And then we expanded the local number of shrines to 4. Lathandar – back on the map.

The group then went through the new Charter, taking the time to fill it out, reread the pertinent parts, and revote on leadership – which was mostly unchanged for now.

As time went on, we then discussed the visit to Ralstrom Gorok. In Gorok. If he was located anywhere within the Dwarven section of Gorok, we would need a way to disguise ourselves. No non dwarves can be in that area.

There was talk of disguises and best ways to do it. V, in the Terror Dungeon, had provided the party some polymorph potions at one point, giving us the chance to appear as Bugbears for 2 hours. That idea was discarded as we did not know if 2 hours would be enough time, there was no guarantee he would have a potion for dwarf, and we did NOT want to go to the Terror Dungeon and tip off the Gorokian Collective where we were or what we were doing.

We then took a trip to the Mage’s district where a talk with Shandrila at the Tower of Air and after some discussion of what we were hoping to happen settled on something called a Majorica Mask. It would take a “picture” of a being, and then whoever wore that mark would appear as that person for 2-3 days. That was doable. We could rent a number of them for 75 crowns a pop, with the knowledge they had to be returned. Also, invisibility might not be the end all best solution for exploring – there are anti-magic runes spaced periodically throughout the dwarven complex that will nullify spells or effects.

We left and took some pictures with the masks around town of random dwarves, and then arranged to purchase an oxen and food and water. It was 8 solid days to Gorok from here if we go through the Firvanir Lands – and 3 days to Donnegarten Stronghold. We decided that would be the best bet. Get back to Donnegarten, and then get to the 4th level and the Stronghold down there. Then activate the rune and portal in Ralstrom’s Office and hope it leads the group safely back to wherever Ralstom had the portal set up to deliver him.

We leave on Firemonth the 28th, tomorrow.

Meet 106, Adv 13, 11/16/24

Wilhelm was focused on the 15th of Firemonth, the Summer Solstice, longest day of the year. One of the holiest days to Frey. And the first chance since he became a member of the Druidic Circle to cut and harvest his own mistletoe.

He had gone to the druid elders at the temple and learned he would need to purchase his own silver sickle and gathering bowl. The entire druidic circle would be heading up river tomorrow @ 8 to a wild area north of the Enderlyn River where they could gather and harvest without issue. Mistletoe need to be cut without touching and caught before landing on the ground. Then it is prayed over and pressed and used afterwards to power the druid’s spells.

Either – if the spell requires components of a holy symbol and the druid does not have – the mistletoe is a usable replacement. Or, the mistletoe can be added at time of spell casting and the spell would be less random and more powerful (any random effects of the spell are automatically the maximum amount).

After spending his money, Wilhelm joined the queue up river where under the tutelage and guidance of the elder circle members, had a very successful harvesting session, easily achieving the top 25% of gathered herbs. Good Wilhelm!

For the rest of us, there was training and resupplying. Things to fix and sharpen, items to replace, and visits to various guilds to train up. The rest of the party had come back a few times and we discussed what we had learned and what our next steps were going to be. Dizzy took pains to disguise himself, as his skin and horns had those that encountered him disturbed and bothered.

It was a 12 days run of taking care of town business and issues. And throughout it all – Shim’s returning nightmares of the Norns cutting huge swaths of the skein…and the Mountain at Donnegarten’s Stronghold exploding…reminded us that the time to solve and resolve this issue was diminishing. In Shadowthyrst we know there is a countdown clock winding down. And during our time at Donnegarten, we also know that Fimbulwinter…Ragnarok…The exploding of the mountain…is slated, due, expected to happen at some point before the Winter Solstice.

And could happen as soon as tomorrow.

We were going to have to take a trip to Gorok and see about getting Ralstrom’s signature on the Addendum. And maybe get some damned answers as to what the reason was for all this…and maybe how to stop it.

Meet 105, Adv 13, 11/9/24

Firemonth 10th, 10:15 AM. After the scent of brimstone had faded away, the group left the toporified divine beings where they were and trudged across the feculent floor to the elevator shaft. Looking up, the group discussed options. It was going to be Wilhelm and Connal going back to the top. The druid cast a pair of spider climb spells and the two men began the long walk up to and back to the top. A light spell followed and eventually they arrived at the 2nd floor. From there, not trusting the duration of the spell, they turned to the stairs and made their way with care back to the top floor.

Wilhelm went back to the Lift Control Station while Connal made his up the rungs to the Lift Machinery. He shook out the fire pan, primed the pump. Made sure the pilot light was lit. Then it was kindling in the dampener and some time later the burner was hot enough to start heating up the boiler. As the temperature gauges rose Wilhlem stabbed the start button and the entire machinery burst to life again.

With smoke gathering over there, Connal made his way down the rungs and then back up to this side. Wilhelm started the lift rising up after getting a Telepathic OK from Shim 4 levels down – and the group was brought back up through the Donnegarten Complex and we were all together again. The machine was shut down and we let the fire box cool. We then made our way slowly to the entrance where we had to fuck with the doors and counterweights to get it to open again. We were outside by 1:15 and by 2 PM, had the place sealed up again.

Eoghan leading the way took us off the mountain and eventually to the valley floor below. We traveled to the southwest and in a cup shaped tree full valley, set up a camp. We rested, tired and exhausted, and awoke the next day feeling much better. A Create Water had our skins refilled. It was Firemonth the 11th sand by 9 AM after praying and studying, we were ready to go. Our foodstuffs should be ok to get us home but the party was pretty worn out. We discussed the 3 day trip back to Erylond, or we could press south to Great Road and head off to Canaslan and rest in Paxian. It would be late, but we’d be able to rest and eat properly.

Our road decided, we headed off south. We were out of the Mountain area by 1 and by 1:45, were safely across the river. We headed south, Eoghan and Wilhelm being dead on with their directions and picking the best trails and paths for us to take – maximizing our travel time. By 6:30 PM we were looking for a campsite and eventually bedded down for the night. Again, we were lucky not to be disturbed by the locals.

On the morn of the 12th we were up early, 6 AM, and by 7 were on our way. The travel was not arduous and we made the Traderoads by 3. We went east for an hour or so and arrived @ Canaslan without issue. On entering we noted the pressing heat and the fact that there was more drunkenness and merriment abounding. Turns out it was “Paxian Day” – roughly 16th year anniversary since King Seljack found the Sovereign Stone and became lord of Canaslan.

We entered the gates of Paxian which were thrown wide and were informed that King Seljack was picking up the tab for…well…everything. As long as it wasn’t top shelf crap or exotic food stuffs, just about all shows, foods, and drinks were gratis from the King. The place was already crazy with open bottles and fornication in the streets. Revelers were dancing and racing about, even the guards and constabulary were partaking.

We made our way to Third Shadow and got a room just off the main strip. We drank and laughed and had a good time. Someone came in asking about Knox, our donkey, and Connal wanted to know why. Was it for sale? One of the entertainers did not have a donkey available as hers had come up lame and wanted to buy ours. At first it was like, no, thanks but go away. Then when they offered 400 commons for it so she could do her donkey show, we were like, hmmm. The party discussed it and to a man, they all said to dump it. “Damn thing never liked anyone,” Wilhelm offered. “And I’m a druid. What is a donkey show anyway?”

After paying the monastic the bag of coppers, the pimp led Wilhelm out to the stables and the druid had the chance to see the awkward and perverted joining of equine and human set to the pounding beat of a kettle drum and a vibrating mouth harp. He was stunned and watched the entire show. Twice.

We awoke the next day amidst the rain and gloom and Eoghan was just a miserable fuck for it. With pounding heads and tired limbs, we left Thirdshadow and made our way out of Paxian. And Damn it to hell, King Seljack was there! He wished us a good trip and asked if we had a good time. He wanted his people to be happy and blowing off steam for a few days and not having to worry about paying for it (outside of a headache) was a cheap enough cost for him.

We travelled down the Traderoad westward, without a donkey this time, so we were all carrying the tool boxes, food stuffs, and other items Knox had been carrying. It was slow going and were were tired and wet. Eoghan snapped at Dizzy and Connal a few times before the day was done. We rested that evening without a fire and ate our rations cold.

The next day was warmer and brighter. Firemonth the 14th was already much better and we travelled on. The miles passed by with little fanfare and our steps were light and happy. We saw smaller thorps and farms, then larger estates, and in the distance on the hill, was the mighty city of Erylond. 6:30 had us going through the main gates and 6:50 at our home.

We greeted the friends there (Asher, Annalee, Gryg, Thalin, Godrick) and shared some of our tales with them. It was 8:15 on Firemonth the 14th, and according to our calendar – it had been 16 days since we had left Erylond to head off to Donnegarten.

Meet 104, Adv 13, 10/19/24

Firemonth the 9th. The group went through plans to come and the anticipation that we would be facing Jubilex tomorrow. Haztez, the Black Warrior was keen on it and Hiawatha was happy to be a part of it. Glooskap, the Skinwalker, would handle whatever large slime the Faceless Lord threw our way. The rest of us would react accordingly and allow the heavy hitters to do their attacks on Jubilex. We had a few surprises of our own, including 4 Thunderbird Arrows when the time comes.

We walked around, bottled up some water, and arranged a night’s rest. We slept well and awoke the next day anxious to get engaged. Prayers and spells were revisited. We climbed the buildings and talked about fighting from within. Did not want to move the shutters, did not want to get the party cut off from one another, did not want to set us up to fail. We drew up a line in front of the dwarven stronghold and after making sure of a good place to piss off Jubilex; Haztez summoned a line of flame and set fire to a large 60’ swath of assorted slimes, lichen, mushrooms, and fetid pools.

The smell was horrible and as it popped and smoked and filled the air, we heard a large “BONG” from the Maw above; where the 23 cables all ran together. A faint glow appeared followed by another “BONG”. And then another. And finally a huge slimy mass extricated itself from the hole, slid over, and grabbed a part of the ceiling. It then seemed to retract and from the hole…emerged Jubliex.

18’ tall, a mass of frightening eyes and snarling toothy maws, it shuddered and dripped and roiled in a sickening display of shifting colors. It brachiated across the ceiling until it finally drew close to the platform where its movements sped up and it became stronger and then some 80’ or so from our front line; it dropped the 70’ from the ceiling and landed with a wet splash here before towering over all of the party.

Haztez whistled, grabbing his cudgel tighter. Hiawatha readied his spear and the group tightened their grip on weapons and spells…and then Jubilex roared and charged us screaming with a dozen ragged mouths.

It flung a large slime out from a waving hand and it hit the ground and slithered towards the group. A Thunderbird Arrow was readied and then…fired. The struck the Faceless Lord who absorbed most of its power but still was burned for his efforts. More followed and Bless spells echoed out. Our lines grew closer and it ripped a hole in space, and a damned vampire spooled out and flew towards us, a cloud of bats surrounding its head.

Shim shot off a magic missile and the vampire was hit and it turned in the air, heading from the gnome. Connal raced to intercept and Hiawatha and Haztez smashed weapons into Jubilex. It rocked back and smashed out, flattening Haztez and then hurled another wave of slime out, and a 15’ square gelatinous cube slapped down right by Eoghan and Wilhelm. “I’ve got this one!” Glooskap ran to interfere, her hands outstretched into long talons and she plunged them deep into the cube, making it shudder as it tried to dissolve her enchanted skin and she tried to devour it.

Another Thunderbird Arrow flew out and Jubliex rocked from the blow. Connal was fast and the bats tried to blind him but the monk leapt and jumped and knocked them aside. The undead menace made to grab him and he managed to avoid the touch, instead using his enchanted bracers to deliver powerful blows against the vampire.

Getting hurt, Jubilex tore open a hole in space and had it consume Haztez, dimension dooring him half a mile away to land in the waters…where Sargonnas swims. Damn it! He them smashed Hiawatha, the hero taking 40 points of damage from that single blow! He shoved himself up and ran back to the fight. More spells were flung and then Jubilex hurled a few slimes to land near the ranger and druid, causing them to run back and avoid being consumed.

Connal and the Vampire were ripping into one another and Shim called, “Haztez! I call for your aid!” and the once a day answer came forth and Haztez appeared! Soaking wet and nursing a few bruised ribs he laughed and thanked the group for the call. He let his fire surround him, drying him off and giving him a barrier and he rejoined the fight. Glooskap had the Cube mostly devoured, the center of it hollowed out as she swelled larger and larger. A Vrock was summoned, the vulture demon coming in hot and causing Wilhelm and Eoghan to abandon shooting the Faceless Lord and hit the new threat.

It was the snake faced demon that came through next that had the group look for anything to end the fight before it got too large for us to handle.

Shim took out the Lightning Bottle he had been carrying for some time, raw lighting harvest from a Gnomish Skyship some time in the past. He pointed it at the Faceless Lord and yelled at everyone to get clear. He then ripped open the cover and let all 4 lightning bolts rip out. They cleared the 55’ feet between the sorcerer and the Demon Lord, and each one buried itself deep inside its nightmare body. Huge chunks of slimy material blew out from the scorching impact craters as it roared in agony and fell over and teetered slowly before finally beaten and then it dropped down.

Unmoving and dead.

The rest of the fights went easy well as the demonics did their best to re-gate home and the group could devote their efforts to unite and take down the last of the enemies. Exhausted and hurt, we finished them off and then looked over the very dead Jubilex. As his body melted away, a brass plate appeared in the mass of bubbling ooze and filth. Dizzy stepped forward, the one he was carrying burning as he got closer. The thought was to combine the two and then use its latent power to force the portal open back to the Happy Hunting Grounds. Sending all the denizens here home.

And when he touched it he felt an inrushing of demonic power. His skin grew red and his eyes yellowed. But when he tried to force a beam of power UNDER the water and into the gate, it burbled out and then time seemed to stop.

Everything stopped and the air grew still and stepping out of nothing, was a 6’4” tall red skinned man in a bespoke suit, handsome face, and a welcoming smile. “Just what do you think you are doing?”

“I was going to open that portal and send everyone here back. They don’t belong here.”

The figure looked around and nodded. “You are right, they don’t. But that portal. That portal? That’s not yours to open. That specific portal is deeded to a Ralstrom Thermun Gorok.” He pulled out a rolled up scroll and read it over. “Yep, signed it right there, see?” He showed it to Dizzy and it was some infernal contract. “Signed right there by his own hand. And the other signature is mine.” He pointed to a different scrawl. “Name is Asmodeus. Duke of Hell. And I have a contract that says you cannot open that up.”

Feeling the power of the Abyssal Tablets within him, Dizzy looked down at his fingers. “I have the strength to open up that portal.”

“I don’t deny you have the strength to open…A…portal. A. Portal.” He pointed east, “Not THAT portal. Not unless your name is Ralstrom…or you have a contract addendum that he authorizes you to open THAT portal.”

Dizzy frowned. “What if I just do it?”

Asmodeus smiled. “You would open a portal, and it would go somewhere. There are over a thousand other layers of outer planes out there past the Astral void. Over 600 of them lead to the Abyss. You want to open a random hole from this plane to another and hope you manage to get to the RIGHT plane where every divine being in here not nailed down gets sucked into and spat out,” he leaned over and smiled, “Then go right ahead. Let’s see if you get 772. Anything else, and it’ll be entertaining.”

Dizzy was very uncomfortable dealing with the Hellish Duke, but did latch on to one thing. “So if I get Ralstrom’s signature, I can open THAT portal?”

Asmodeus nodded. “Yep. His soul is eventually mine, but he is still alive and kicking. One of the last Axiom’s he adhered to was “Forever Alive”. It doesn’t mean what he thinks it does, but it applies to him and his situation at least for now.” He rummaged into his briefcase and pulled out a small scroll. He spent a minute penning on it and then held it out to Dizzy. “There. I don’t need your signature on it, but Get Ralstrom Gorok to sign off on this that he knowingly and of his own free will gives you proxy to operate the opening and closing 1 time of the portal specifically Donnegarten Stronghold number 23 between the Prime Material Plane and the Happy Hunting Grounds and then you can come back here and do what you need to do.”

“No tricks?”

Asmodeus nodded. “No tricks. Getting the old Duke of Razors to sign it is your issue. As for this place, I sort of forgot about it. The divine leak here is a no go so we are going to just,” he squinted and there was a strange squeal coming from the maw, “shut that down. There.” The feeble lights seemed to die off a bit and the bodies of Haztez, Glooskap, and Hiawatha all slumped further down, their bodies unmoving and their color seemingly muted.

He looked Dizzy over. “Two tablets. You are growing in power. I wonder what kind of Abyssal Lord you’ll end up being.”

“Excuse me?”

The Duke smiled. “That kind of power stains a person. When you die, and all mortals do, you will go like a comet to the Abyss where with luck, you’ll end up on a layer that is lightly guarded where you can let the powers of the tablets roar through you and do what you can to run the place. Mind you, Jubilex and Zuggtmoy might eventually get wind of you, but that’s a problem for the future you.” He looked at his wrist and smiled. “Time flies and I’ve got to go. Good luck, Idela Dizrea.” And then he stepped between worlds and was gone.

The group had not been able to move but heard all of it. Ok, we have to go to Gorok and soon. And while there, maybe get some more information from Ralstrom as to what the goal was to be here. And who the hell is Donnegarten? It was Firemonth the 10th, about 9:30 AM, and we had a long way to go to get out of this place and we did not have the help of Hiawatha of Haztez this time. And what of the Lolthian Spiders? Were they still here somewhere or were they now dormant too?

Meet 103, Adv 13, 10/12/24

Leaving the dwarven offices, we went over the map of the locales, 23 (22 active) of them and decided that we would walk down to the one that was marked as Tyche, Goddess of Luck (as opposed to Lord of Efreeti and King in Yellow). Hastez opted to wait at the top of the area (since he would be cut off from the divine if he left the platform), and we also left Glooskap, Connal, Knox, and both smaller cats.

The stairs were wide, no railing at the edges, but more than sufficiently able to support the party’s passage at over 50’ wide. They were designed for dwarven feet and legs so the rises were only about 7”, shallower than most found comfortable. The platform of stone below was pretty sizable, triangular shaped and about 200’ at the widest point to point. A squat keep of stone was here, 30’x 30’x15’ tall. A 5’ wide braided cable of steel was bolted to the roof somehow with a crimp collar, anchored in many places along the floor and then down into the water where it eventually made its way to the roof far above and what had been labeled the “maw”.

There was only an indistinct candle watt powered glow coming from it and looking over the entire building, there were no doors, windows, or ways in. Two of us went to the roof where they swept the grit, mushrooms, and fungi off the surface with a shovel, letting it rain to the floor around the keep. But nothing up here. Dizzy was pretty sure he could see where a doorway once was – 5’ wide, 8’ tall, but had been filled in with blocks of stone and mortared to match the rest of the structure. Dizzy’s guess? The blocks of the entire structure were easily 3’ wide and would not move. No way in.

We did look it all over and Dizzy had an idea. Taking a coin out, he flipped it and called it heads – and it was heads. Then he did it with 2 coins, then 5, and each test came up heads. The lucky effect only seemed to stretch out about 4’ from the edge of the building. We had the idea of luring Jubilex out to the area, get him to the edge of the platform, and Eoghan up here with his bow would shoot, landing shot after shot.

Why would Jubliex come to the edge of the platform at all, knowing the faceless lord would have reduced powers and strength? And a test of the shooting showed that the lucky effect stopped at 4” from Tyche’s gate keep – and the arrows fired had no special ability to hit, luck or not. It was about 10:30 at this point, an hour past all our checking over the area, and we wanted to go to the water and try to find the platform with Ahto, God of the Seas location. Thunderbird should be down there.

Eoghan poured over the map and once he was sure based upon where we were with Tyche, talked to Hiawatha about using the Native American’s canoe. He took it from his satchel and tossed it to the water where it grew large enough for Hiawatha, Eoghan, Dizzy, Shim, and Wilhelm to board. Standing there, arms folded, he plied in on the water and we sailed off into the darkness.

Wilhelm had spoken to the group earlier and going through animals he could transform into, it was Connal’s suggestion of a harbor seal that made the most sense. So he stripped off his clothes and down to his skivvies and when we got to an area in the underground lake that Eoghan suggested, Hiawatha stopped the canoe and had it settle lower in the water, magically anchored to this spot. Wilhelm got completely naked and then concentrated, green glow surrounding him before a flash of light and WHAM – 220 lb grey/brown harbor seal fat and blubbery on the canoe.

He managed to get to the side and roll over where his natural skills came to the forefront. He got used to his body and then swam down into the gloom. 30, 40, 50, 60’ down. He eventually came to a platform of stone and swimming around it found another one of those stone keeps on it. While circling behind it he was able to find the massive body, large as a Roc, of Thunderbird. The Native American god was dead here, neck twisted in a strange way. But cold and unmoving in the deep waters. He swam around it a few times, answering Shim’s telepathic questions when they arose, and once sure there was no way to lift the city bus sized deity, went looking for feathers he could pluck or remove.

It took some time, almost half an hour before he was able to find 2 feathers able to be removed. The god’s body was tough, firm, and unyielding – but 2 of them were plucked. Rising to the surface he gave them to the party, took a deep breath, and on Eoghan’s urging, went back down to try and get more. It was again some time before he was able to get 2 more – at this point he had been over the entirety of Thunderbird’s body, some hour plus, and we had gotten 4.

There was a stream of light that slowly rose from the top of Ahto’s stone keep, filling the cable and brightening as it made its way up the cable, through the water, and then up the walls of the cave and to the maw itself. Not wanting to be in the water any longer, Wilhelm swam up to the canoe, was helped in, and Hiawatha had us sail back to the shore. The druid shifted back to his normal form and the light stayed lit for half an hour before it eventually died down.

We came out of the water and made our way up the stairs to Tyche’s area and then finally to the top platform. We shared what we had learned with the rest of the party, ate some lunch, and Eoghan looked over the Thunderbird feathers. He figured he could split them and refletch one feather on 4 different arrows, imparting Thunderbird’s power (purple threads of magic seemed to infuse each arrow as he was successful). Wrote some scrolls and by now it was about 4 PM. We wanted to go and see if we could find the stone keep that led to the Happy Hunting grounds.

According to the map, it was off the northern most platform (efreeti), and then eastward 800 or so feet into the dark gloom – and from there, 100’ below the surface of the water. We each got into place again, leaving the cats, mule, Connal, Glooskap, and Hastez at the top of the platform. Canoe was cast on the water and we all boarded again, heading into the dark of the cave.

It was like being in a different world. The darkness. The stillness. Only the soft flap of water against the canoe echoed into the gloomy darkness. Eoghan did his best to guide us to where he felt the location was. There was some jockeying about and then Hiawatha stopped the canoe. He had it anchor in place, settling it a few inches in the water. Wilhelm again got naked and then transformed for the 2nd time into a harbor seal. The group had cast Light on a stone and Shim wove it into a necklace for the druid. He flopped over the side and had a harder time getting his bearings in the water before swimming deeper and deeper down.

It was hard going and at 100’ below the surface it was terrifyingly spooky. He swam around, pacing his place by an outcropping of stone before stumbling on a platform of stone deep under the water. He swam around it but there was nothing about it that stood out. There was also some light coming from the cable above it, meaning this was not the right location since the Happy Hunting Grounds was supposedly not finished when the orcs attacked. He swam back and up, finding another platform of stone and it was here that he came upon one of the 30x30x15 structures. The cable was dark. And the door…was open. A black rectangle.

Assured this was the place, Wilhelm swam back to the surface and then had the canoe move so it was over the right area. He spoke to Shim through the amulet and then was encouraged to go back and look inside. So he swam back down and went up to the door. And bravely, made his way inside. It was dark in here, his light stone helping to show the way. There was a 5’ diameter reflective surface standing up in the center, a few cracks near a corner. He crept closer and placed a flipper on the edge, where it seemed to fold over.

Looking it was a 30’ long tube 5’ diameter with a reflection of him at the other end – but the area was not the dark keep he was in, instead it was some ocean shore with a nice set of low cliffs and verdant lands beyond. Pastoral and wonderful. A voice, sounding like many layers on top of each other, asked, “Who are you?” Wilhelm tried to answer and it kept saying, “You are NOT supposed to be here. Leave!” And then as Wilhelm was trying to make his case the many layered voice said, “Sargonnas. Remove this interloper!”

And then an 18’ Tiger shark seemed to swim into the mirror view. Terrible and feral, it looked like what a perfect version of a shark would look like. It snarled at Wilhelm and he felt it ripple at him. And then it forced its way…into the tunnel! It seemed to be stretching and shoving. It bit and flexed and its flukes shoved it forward AGAIN, now more than half way down the tunnel and getting closer to Wilhelm’s face.

This is wrong. I have to go.

Wilhelm started waving himself backwards out of the stone keep as the Shark God shoved AGAIN – actually passing through the last of the disk and INTO the prime material plane. Here. Right fucking here.

"SARGONNAS!!!" It roared and the water swirled at its anger as Wilhelm turned and fled for the surface.

From above they saw bubbles rise and the water seemed to take on a strange hue. And Shim was asking Wilhelm what is going on as the harbor seal flew out of the water and beached himself on the canoe, screaming in Shim’s ear to get the fuck out of here. Shim was trying to pass the message along as Hiawatha turned the canoe from the area and started to move it back to shore. 800’ away. The closest area out of the water which at max speed was 50’/round – making us 16 minutes from safety.

And the Shark God was swimming below us.

Hiawatha was stunned. Sargonnas is NOT here and did not come through when the portal first tore open 144 years ago – most of the aspects of the mythology did not get sucked through. But now? Here? Dizzy was shouting, “What did you do?!” to the druid as Sargonnas finally crashed through the doorway of the keep below and swam to the surface, lifting entirely out of the water and snapping its teeth where we once were, Hiawatha sailing us back as fast as he could.

Eoghan shot an arrow out as Wilhelm turned back to human. The shark god charged the boat and sank its teeth against the back of the canoe, the enchanted vessel getting scored from the effort but Hiawatha’s will kept it upright and sailing along. Wilhelm called to Frey and summoned Monster 3 – and holy hell – got a shark! He sent his shark at Sargonnas and the two of them did bloody battle in the water as we raced away. The distance closed and then it came back for us and we fired and shot and more summons were made, and we got an ogre – dropping it right in the shark god’s mouth as he tried to bite us.

It held on and was screaming and Sargonnas chewed on its midsection, ignoring the blows, and dragged under the water. And we raced away, distance closing to shore. As it surfaced again more summons were thrown at it, 3 stirges and another shark! It ignored the stirges and did battle with the shark again, giving us more time to get closer. 6 mins away? It dove down and then breached again. More arrows fired off along with a trio of giant rats! Two got washed away or swallowed, but one hung on in Sargonnas’ mouth, clawing at the gum line!

As it approached Wilhelm had one more summons – and got a giant crocodile! It bit at Sargonnas and tail slapped him as it swam past. He bit it back and tore through the croc. And then the shark god hit the canoe from below, and this time Wilhelm and Eoghan were pitched over the side. Damn it! We drifted aside and the crocodile slammed at Sargonnas again. We looked over, the druid was treading water – but Eoghan slipped under!

At 250 feet from shore, Hiawatha went to Dizzy and said, “Spiritual Warrior, I do hereby give you the ownership and control of my canoe now and of my own free will!” The canoe shook a bit and Dizzy was coaxed to stand up, the magical boat following his commands as it drifted to Wilhelm, the druid hoisting himself over the side. Hiawatha looked in the distance where Sargonnas was doing battle with the crocodile and then dove off the canoe in the direction of where Eoghan had sunk under the water.

Dizzy was driving the canoe forward, controlling it as the shore got closer and closer. There was a final cry and the croc was slain and we were 75’ feet from the stairs – we were going to make it!

But Sargonnas is not just the god of sharks, he is also the god of tides…and tidal waves.

“SARGONNAS!!!” the shark roared in the darkness behind and a 25’ vertical wall of water CHARGED the canoe. Dizzy tried his best, pushing and coaxing every bit of speed out of the vessel but it wasn’t enough. The canoe leaned forward and rode the wave before Dizzy lost his contact with the floor and the vessel tumbled and rolled, driven forward and UP the stairs, smashing everyone to the stone steps and dashing the canoe to splinters. Everyone was knocked out, dazed, barely alive.

And Sargonnas growled in the dark and then turned back, Dorsal fin leading the way as it swam deeper into the cavern of Donnegarten.

As for Eoghan, he could not hold his breath before the Indian hero could get to him and he swallowed the water, it racing into his lungs and drowning him – taking him right to 0 hp. Hiawatha did find him and holding him backwards, swam him through the edge of the steps and then finally out of the water, terrified that Sargonnas would find them and come back.

The group managed to roll Eoghan to his side and let the water drain from his lungs. Pressure was given to his chest to force out more water and then finally healing was dispensed and Eoghan gasped back to life. Broken, sodden, a mess. But alive. Carrying our passed out friends, we staggered up the stairs to the platform and then finally to the rest of the group. Dizzy felt horrible about Hiawatha’s canoe but the Indian hero told him not to worry. It served its purpose well and he managed to save the 3 party members in light of Sargonnas’ assault.

We did LOTS of healing and we talked about what happened – and that for now, we would not be heading back under the water. Now with the threat of the Shark God down here.

It was 6:45 PM on Firemonth the 9th and we’ve been up for 18 hours. We were discussing what to do next and how bad things would be if Jubilex showed up now.

Meet 102, Adv 13, 10/5/24

Once the room was back in order, Hiawatha and Hastez (and Glooskap!) went with us out of the dormitories, through the waters of the 3rd level, and then up the collapsed stairs. We made our way over to the steps where Hastez had a conversation with his Ve’Estan. As soon as they hear ANY noise from above, play their belly drums loud! This will deter Hastel, the Red Warrior, from coming to investigate.

We led our group up the steps and over the gaps, making our way ever upward until we were back on the top floor. From here Shim, Dizzy, and Wilhelm went over the lift machine again, making sure we still knew how to work it. Some wood was gathered and Connal went down to the rungs and then up to the machine itself. The fire box was mostly ash, maybe 15 pounds of wood. The pilot light was still lit. And the water tank was hard to tell – less than half full? The thought was that Hastez could heat up the boiler with his hands so we could get the elevator back up to the top. And then we could do like we did before with the water elemental.

But according to the fill dial, the tank was not quite out of the red – pressure to work the main dwarven spiral gear would not be high enough. So we all brought our water skins over and Connal filled the reservoir with them – getting it CLOSE – but not enough. So Hastez held his hands up and concentrated…making it rain! A pounding warm summer rain fell all around the area and Connal used his cloak to act as a funnel, forcing the rain into the fill tank – and getting the boiler tank just into the green mark of the dwarven dial.

The Black Warrior was exhausted from his display of divine magic, but was excited for being a part of this. Getting the green light from Wilhelm, Hastez placed his hands on the metal boiler and HEATED it up with his touch. The water inside quickly grew hot and the whistle began to steam. Wilhelm started the lift and then with the engine running, manipulated the lift controls to get it to rise. On pushing the speed level higher though, he did forget about the blowback, and the lift boiler gave a loud BANG – and a 9’ gout of flame shot out scoring the two men. Hastez stood there and smiled as the flames coursed over him, but Connal had to JUMP, evading the worst of the fire and perched up on the machine’s top cowling.

As soon as the elevator came closer and closer, Wilhelm slowed the machine down and eventually engaged the brakes, locking it in place. The boiler was now about a quarter filled and the metal was cherry red for a bit until it eventually cooled off. The god and the monk jumped onto the lift and Connal pulled the platform out from the bottom of the lift. Meanwhile Dizzy and Wilhelm worked the controls and bounced and lifted the gantry until it finally slipped out from the wall and extended enough to bridge to the lift from this side.

All over here now, we had gathered some 100#’s of broken wood and Shim attempted to write a scroll. Needing more water, Connal and Hiawatha went down to the 2nd level and filled up the 5 water skins at the water from the bridge. The Native Hero’s presence kept the water babies at bay, allowing them to gather the needed resources without issue. From there they went back to the top floor and placing 2 of them in the middle of the loading area, Dizzy and Wilhelm cast Create water. As the water spread, 20 gallon pooling out, Dizzy cast it again and Wilhelm cast Animate water. It all gathered together into a 4’ tall fat bipedal form.

He guided it over the gantry and to the platform and then to the machine where he had it flow up to the fill pipe and then slowly pour itself into the boiler. We were now very much in the green.

Everyone got in position, Hastez and Wilhelm staying up at the machine controls. The druid then turned it on and sent it down the almost300’ to the 4th floor. When the smoke got too much, Hastez inhaled it. And when it was safely down, the fire god inhaled the flames from across the way and extinguished the fire box. Once off the lift, the group called out Hastezilini’s name and the Black Warrior grabbed Wilhelm and the 2 of them portalled down to the 4th floor.

The area here as a fucking mess. We had come from Shedaklah not too long ago and this was very much like that. Foul, feculent, mushrooms and slime and oozing stink everywhere. Also, unlike our Vision quest, the cave was filled with phosphorous fungi and lichen on the ceilings, giving it an otherworldly glow. The cables were also only dimly lit, visible in the half mile gloom of the cave but only just barely. Hastez also let us know about the strange feeling down here.

There was a 500 foot triangular platform of stone here with a dwarven compound on the north end. Three main trunks led off of the main platform to other landings where those keeps were. And from there they went off again into the gloom and down – but sunk into and under the water. This meant just under 20 of the platforms were out in the water and below the surface.

And no divine being can get off the platform. If they do, their divinity seems to be sapped. None of the gods have dared it. Only Thunderbird. He was the strongest of them all. Constantly looking for a way to get them all home. Jubilex makes his home in the maw above on the ceiling, a gathering of all the cables that go up into a nest of cables. He stays there for the most part, feeding on the residual energy before coming back down to the here to feed. It was during one of those times when the Faceless lord was at his strongest and Thunderbird was at his weakest that they fought and the great god fell from the sky and plummeted down to the water. According to Buffalo he rests near some gate to an Ahto, god of the seas from some pantheon. We don’t know which that it was. There is a compound to the north, so we decided to go there and check it out.

The door was still locked and the blast shutters were all in place. It looked like no one had been in here. Dizzy picked the lock and we looked in. Decent sized room, entrance area, some chairs. Signs for Offices, Meeting Room, and Record. And 4 dead dwarves here. Still had skin and hair, wearing rags. We entered and the first dwarf gasped and choked, hand out pointing to us. Then the next and the other 2. Damn it, ghouls! Dizzy called to Sif and turned them, and the ghouls all fled to the far end of the room, forced there but unable to get away.

So Shim shot a magic missile at 2 of them and damn it all to hell – they fell over dead! This spurred Hiawatha and Hastez to also throw projectiles, killing the last 2. Dizzy looked them over and assured us the dwarves were in such bad shape that even undead, they had only a few sparks of life. Still dangerous, but easily manageable.

We went to the offices first. Short hall, west door and north door, 2 more dwarf ghouls. We go west and find a conference style office table and chairs. Over 10 could sit here. There were signs on the walls (in dwarvish). Maxwell’s demon, work is the best reward, future is better when worked for. We then left and went to the next – a secretary’s office with the secretary here. Dead of course. Aaaand a ghoul. We killed her and looked around. Found a key to the next door and entered. Someone who ran this place, that’s who the office belonged to.

It was in pretty good condition, picture of Mt Gorok on the wall, some knicknacks and the like. Big desk. Just…no dwarf. No zombie. Placard said: High Thane of 3rd District (retired) Ralstrom Thermun Gorok, Ordained Nornian Threadbinder, General of the 2nd Gorokian Special Forces (Retired), Advisor to the Council of Thanes, Head and Master of Future Projects, Duke of Razors.

And where was he? Shim did a detect magic and we saw a single point, weak, on the wall with the Gorok picture and some real dormant but still possible ritual type on the opposite wall. We spent some time mulling it over and guessed it might be a portal of some sort. The place was supposed to be self contained, no one leaves ever. But this Ralstrom, had it seemed a back way to get out. And it was his name on that contract we saw in the vision quest with Asmodeus. Dizzy guessed that he might even still alive and probable ran away when the orcs hit the place, portalled back to Gorok. 144 years ago.

We then left and went to the meeting room, killed some ghouls, and then the records area. No ghouls here and there were 6 rooms on both sides of the hall – 41, 42, 43 and then the right was 44, 45, and 46. We went into 44 and looked about. 25’ deep, 10 wide,15’ tall, both sides lined with shelves to the ceiling. A rolling ladder on a track above allowing someone to get to any shelf either side. A mix of tomes, scrolls, folded pages, vellum, stone tablets, clay tablets, and other off things. Dizzy and Shim took some time to read them and it was some records that the researchers had noted a long time ago of getting portals open.

We guessed the numbers were the year in question the place had been keeping records. 6 years before it was overrun. Made sense. They went back to 41 and looked and it was mostly all stone bits and clay bits – no paper. All real old, like millennia old bits of legend. Kinslayer wars and dwarven combats. Legendary bits of ancient wisdom 1500, 2000 years old.

Thee went to the last rooms and it wasn’t full, likely the orcs had come and destroyed it during year 46. The missives talked about Ralstrom and the Randari getting some wind of this place. A traitor or spy on the Thane’s council. And each trip back to Gorok made it likely they’d be caught. Also, some notes about the entire set up being stable and not needing their support if they could get 30 gates in place. Something about the elves of Tilani and a frustration of the world tree.

We then went back and the two of them did a deeper dive into the older records and legends. Seems part of the genesis of this was the elves had a Lifetree, a huge 300 foot tall redwood/oak sort of Fey tree that was a descendant to their original home across the stars. And Tilani was unable to be broached. But a dwarven tactician named Oden had figured out a way to portal through the Astral plane, bypassing the elves defenses, and the Gorokian dwarven set a massive explosion at the Lifetree, crippling it and then it fell – a living natural embodiment of the elven home and culture. It demoralized them immediately and they lost the Kinslayer war, where they were subjugated to the dwarven empire for the next 300 years.

This. This bit of information was key to the entire Donnegarten Stronghold. And this Ralstrom was the chief researcher and architect of it all. Which eventually gave birth to the Terror Dungeon. And according to Shim, it will be ground zero for Ragnarok…or at least Fimbulwinter…very damned soon.